Daniel Cady. His last appearance at the bar was at the Saratoga Circuit before Judge Willard in May, 1847. In August, 1846, he had com menced a large number of cases to recover farms in Saratoga County, in favor of the heirs of Sarah Broughton, who was a direct descendant from one of the original grant ees under the patent of 1708, which covered nearly all of the land in that county. The suits were defended by different lawyers, among whom were the late John K. Porter, Judiah Ellsworth, Judge Warren, and the writer of this sketch. The counsel for the defendants feared the result of the cases, although their clients had been in pos session about fifty years, for infancy and coverture rrad suspended the operation of the Statute of Limitations. The County of Saratoga was organized in 1792, and no conveyance was recorded in that county which could save the defense. Fortunately the writer made a search in the office of the Secretary of State at Albany, where he found an ancient deed given by the married ancestor and her husband, which cut off the plaintiff's title. As the cases had been post poned many times, in May, 1847, the writer was prepared to try the case which was brought against Elisha Howland in which he appeared for the defense. The other counsel representing the other defendants postponed their cases. When Mr. Cady arrived at the court, for the first time he met the writer, then twentysix years of age. The fact that so young a man appeared alone to defend so import ant a case upon which the title to farms worth over $100,000 depended, excited the alarm of the distinguished ejectment lawyer, and he asked, " Are you going to beat me?" I replied," Certainly." Mr. Cady then said, "You and I can try this case as well in my room at the hotel as to appear before the court. If you are right, I do not want to be defeated in court, as this is the last case I expect to try as counsel." We at once repaired to Mr. Cady's hotel, and upon
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seeing the old deeds, he immediately gave up the case and told me to go up and tell Judge Willard to enter a non-suit, which was done. Although Daniel Cady had a giant intel lect, a commanding presence, with great book-learning, yet his greatest power with the people and before juries was his purity, truthfulness and integrity. That reputation so long and well established gave a magic to his every act and word. He ever hated deception of any kind, and how bitter his denunciation of fraud in court, and espec ially before juries. He would demolish the cause of his adversary by exclaiming to the jury, "That's a cheat," "That's a fraud." And again by saying of his own side of the case, in strong Saxon, "That is honest. This is right." These expressions were alone sufficient with many juries (who knew the high integrity of the man) to overcome the doubtful evidence of his opponents, and demolish the sophistry of his adversaries. When Mr. Cady was admitted to the bar in 1795, Robert Yates was chief justice of the Supreme Court, and he continued in practice before eleven successive chief justices, of whom Greene C. Bronson was the last, and who held the office until July I, 1847, when the old court was superseded by the con stitution of 1846, and Mr. Cady was elected a justice of the new Supreme Court. The judicial district from which he was elected was normally Democratic by about 2OOO majority. Justices Paige, Willard and Hand, three of the candidates on the Democratic ticket were elected by about that majority, but Judge Cady, running on the Whig ticket, was elected by the same majority, defeating the other Democratic candidate. With his great reputation as a lawyer and his high character, when before the people, he always drew a large vote from his political opponents. At the time of his election his age exceeded seventy-four years, but he was re-elected in 1849 by a large majority for a term of eight years. As his
