It is fortunate indeed for Mr. Esmond at this time that he has all these resources to fall back upon; else might he have been wholly crushed by the cruel sorrow that came to him and his devoted wile in the recent loss of their only child, Paul Warner Esmond, one of the most precocious, promising and brilliant boys who ever lived. His poems, dealing with the problems of life and death, are as mature, reflective and suggestive as though written by a man of fifty. That such a child of genius should be snatched away when the angel of death leaves untouched so many circles from which one could be better spared, is a mystery that has never ceased to perplex mankind.
Howard Thornton, of Newburgh, bel-esprit, bon-vivant and raconteur, the favorite of society and the delight of dinner tables, is not one whit less a good lawyer because he can smooth away the difficulties of a hostess in entertaining her guests as easily as he can glide over the difficulties of his client's case in court. The best lawyers have always shone in society, from Hamilton to Choate, and Mr. Thornton's social gifts have never interfered with his devotion to his profession. Every morning, year in and year out, the early riser can see Mr. Thornton at seven o'clock wending his way to his office where by ten o'clock he has already accomplished a day's work and is ready to talk with his clients
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Mr. Thornton has always found his chief pleasure in some abstruse question arising out of the law of wills or of real estate. He has been drawn into some very important litigations involving the construction of the transfer tax law and his contentions have been uniformly sustained by the Court of Appeals.
Mr. Thornton's service in the Assembly, of which he was for three years a member, showed his capacity for public affairs. He was chairman of the judiciary committee and took high rank in legislation and politics. But his tastes incline him to the more arduous and less devious duties of his profession in which he has gained the reputation of an honorable, talented and brilliant lawyer.
Russel Headley, of Newburgh, is the son of the eminent historian Joel T. Headley from whom, doubtless, he inherits those literary gifts which account in part for the direction of his energies into the field of legal authorship. But this is not the only reason. It is but justice to him that it should be known that Mr. Headley was interrupted in the very midst of a brilliant career at the bar by the coming on of that most disqualifying of all infirmities for an advocate—deafness. This naturally had the effect of turning Mr. Headley to the labors of authorship for which his inherited tastes and acquired accomplishments so well fitted him. His works upon assignments, witnesses and criminal justice are well known to and widely read by the profession.
Mr. Headley filled the position of district attorney of Orange County for two terms. He especially distinguished himself at this time by his abilities as a trial lawyer.
Mr. Headley accepted in 1902 and still holds a position in the legal division of the State Excise Department at Albany. His research, his faculty for writing sound, able, exhaustive opinions and his knowledge of the law of pleadings make him a most valuable member of the legal staff of that very important branch of the public service, in which questions are constantly arising which could scarcely be expected to come within the purview of an arm of the service devoted to the enforcement of a single law. In this work Mr. Headley is able to reconcile himself to the surrender of those more spectacular triumphs of the court room in which his activities and his ambition once found a more congenial field.
Cornelius L. Waring, of Newburgh, is an authority in the law of municipal corporations. He was for many years the attorney for the city, the interests of which he always most zealously and successfully protected. He has a large general practice including among his clients some wealthy business corporations.