Married Carrie L. Palmer in Illinois in 1867. Children: Judge Edmund Burke Carrigan and Nora Carrigan. From the book, History of Dodge and Washington Counties, p. 339:
"John Carrigan settled at De Soto late in the '60s. He was a returned Civil war soldier and died in 1880. He was a great criminal lawyer."
From article in the Thursday, April 22, 1880 Fremont Weekly Herald, p. 2
Tribute to the Late John Carrigan
The resident attorneys of Fremont, and others in attendance at the present term of the District Court, participated in a tribute to the memory of John Corrigan, of Blair, whose death on Wednesday is so sadly lamented, not only by the members of the profession, but by thousands of friends all over the State. During the session of the Court last night, Judge Post announced that a committee be appointed to submit resolutions appropriate to the occasion, and he requested Chief Justice Maxwell, who was present, to preside on the bench as a special mark of respect to the memory of the deceased. N.H. Bell then presented the resolutions, introducing them with some well-chosen words expressive of his regard for the many good qualities which had endeared John Corrigan to the members of the bar and all who knew him. The resolutions submitted were as follows:
The members of the Fremont bar learn with regret of the death of Hon. John Carrigan, of Blair, and desire to bear their testimony of his eminent ability as a lawyer, his unswerving integrity, and the generous, manly qualities of his character. In his intercourse with the bench and bar, he was ever courteous, gentlemanly and dignified, always reliable—his word was as sacred as the most binding obligation; and while working with unrelaxing zeal in the interests of his clients, he descended to no artifice to secure success. In his death the bar of the State has lost one of its ablest members, and society a genial, true-hearted man.
That the foregoing resolution be spread upon the Journal of this Court, a copy of the same be sent to the widow of the deceased, and a copy furnished to each of the Fremont and Blair papers for publication.
Judge Post first spoke in support of the memorial, and his eulogistic remarks justify producing them in full, not only from the fact that the tribute derives peculiar force, coming from the judicial bench, but also for its eloquent presentation of the ability and the gentlemanly qualities of the deceased as a practitioner before the courts. Judge Post said:
If the Court please: I have but little to add to the resolutions; we are all too liable to fall into the idea, and those who are not closely connected with such scenes as these, get the idea that they are cold and formal. It may be a duty which we owe instead of a very sad and an only pleasure, but however sad it may be it is all that is left.
In thinking today of this matter—in thinking while Mr. Carrigan was not a member of the bar of this judicial district, the close proximity of his home to this bar, the frequency of his visits and the amount of legal business which he transacted, was such as to make him almost a member of our legal house, and when we see the curtains drawn, see the crape upon the door of our neighbor we feel, and in this case, almost as sad as if the destroyer had been here and taken one of ourselves.
True, death has not visited the bar of this district for the last four and a half years, and this comes to me almost the same as if I had been associated with the deceased for a lifetime, I have known him but a few years. We never met in the relationship of attorneys; we were never associated together in a case, nor were we ever adversely connected. I became acquainted with him as a lawyer after I began to discharge those duties in which I am now engaged, and from the first he impressed me as a peculiar man, and I venture to say that the only thing which has impressed with peculiar force upon the bar of this State, the death of john Carrigan, is the fact that he was a peculiar man. I think there is no other John Carrigan living in the State of Nebraska.
In thinking of him today and trying to analyze the elements of his success, I am not certain I have been able to do so. That which gave him his strong hold upon the people, that which commended him with such force to the Courts of the State, I think was the element or quality which is expressed in the resolutions, "he never resorted to artifice or tricks for success." He impressed me not as a great advocate in the ordinary sense of the word, if we understand by the word "advocate" the power to show and portray the weak side of a case and make it seem the stronger; if we understand by "advocacy" the power to dwarf the right and magnify the wrong, I certainly think Mr. Carrigan was not entitled to be regarded as a great advocate. I never heard him speak upon any question, whether of law of fact, that he did not shed light upon it, and he never presumed to speak without having first a complete understanding of his subject. No difference whether the Courts agreed with him in his position, I think no Court in doubt upon any legal proposition could hear Mr. Carrigan discuss it without feeling they had been assisted in the research and conclusion although a conclusion was reached adverse to the one he argued for. He never argued from false premises. The law when laid down by him, although laid down without consideration, was a clear and concise statement of the law. I was always glad to hear John Carrigan discuss any proposition and have often and often felt it was an assistance and an aid to the truth, and what little I can do to bearing testimony to his worth and to help forget his faults—for faults I presume he had—we all have faults.
"He who hopes a faultless piece to see,
Hopes what ne'er was, nor is nor yet shall be."
So with John Carrigan. The sum of his virtues, the sum of his good deeds, far outweigh all else.
Messrs. Marlow, Munger, Ghost, Marshall, Sterett, Loomis, Gray, and Col. Smythe of Omaha (who was present) next followed with fitting remarks relative to their association with the deceased as a lawyer and in the humbler walks of life, and they all bore uniform testimony to his character and ability. No man who ever took genial John Garrigan by the hand could ever forget that hearty grasp which betokened sincerity and a warm soul. Let it be said, John Carrigan never betrayed a friend—he was open, frank, and generous to a fault.
Many of the tributes from the gentlemen last evening were really eloquent and deserve a place in our columns, but the space is not at our disposal. Altogether, the occasion was a worthy tribute to a man who numbered his friends by the thousands and whose abilities were recognized all over the State.
The following is from Hon. Chas. H. Brown's beautiful tribute to John Carrigan, before the Omaha Bar Association:
I shall briefly allude to Mr. Carrigan as a professional man. He was by nature a lawyer. His mind was so organized it brushed away the technicalities so often surrounding litigation and reached the true merits of the case as if by intuition, rapidly working down through a mass of conflicting statements and seemingly conflicting legal opinions, it struck the bed rock upon which every case should rest: justice and right; laying hold with a firm grasp upon these anchors, is it strange that he was eminently a successful lawyer? Trick, artifice, and what is sometimes called sharp practice, may occasionally win a case, but the true grounds of legal success were rightly measured and honorably and professionally followed by him. There was too much of the man in his composition even to allow himself to "stoop to conquer" in a case. I do not think he could. Sufficient for me, is that I believe he never did. Like an upright man, and an honorable lawyer, he used the law lawfully.
In matters of business Mr. Carrigan's course was marked with the strictest integrity in every transaction. Socially he had few equals. It was in the private walks of life, in the social and sacred domestic circle where his true worth was known and appreciated. And it is in these relations where large-hearted manhood, true nobility of character developed and asserted itself. It was in these spheres of life where our dead brother shone conspicuously and stood out preeminently, marked as one of God's noblemen. I had rather have this rich fragrance of his memory in this regard than the blood-stained glory of heroes, the coronets of emperors, the diadems of kings, or the insignia of presidents. But no flattering words of mine, no warm and eloquent eulogies, can bring back our loved brother to us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
obituaries and eulogies courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library of Blair, Nebraska. Kind assistance of FindaGrave volunteer Silver Wings 48634449
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"John Carrigan settled at De Soto late in the '60s. He was a returned Civil war soldier and died in 1880. He was a great criminal lawyer."
From article in the Thursday, April 22, 1880 Fremont Weekly Herald, p. 2
Tribute to the Late John Carrigan
The resident attorneys of Fremont, and others in attendance at the present term of the District Court, participated in a tribute to the memory of John Corrigan, of Blair, whose death on Wednesday is so sadly lamented, not only by the members of the profession, but by thousands of friends all over the State. During the session of the Court last night, Judge Post announced that a committee be appointed to submit resolutions appropriate to the occasion, and he requested Chief Justice Maxwell, who was present, to preside on the bench as a special mark of respect to the memory of the deceased. N.H. Bell then presented the resolutions, introducing them with some well-chosen words expressive of his regard for the many good qualities which had endeared John Corrigan to the members of the bar and all who knew him. The resolutions submitted were as follows:
The members of the Fremont bar learn with regret of the death of Hon. John Carrigan, of Blair, and desire to bear their testimony of his eminent ability as a lawyer, his unswerving integrity, and the generous, manly qualities of his character. In his intercourse with the bench and bar, he was ever courteous, gentlemanly and dignified, always reliable—his word was as sacred as the most binding obligation; and while working with unrelaxing zeal in the interests of his clients, he descended to no artifice to secure success. In his death the bar of the State has lost one of its ablest members, and society a genial, true-hearted man.
That the foregoing resolution be spread upon the Journal of this Court, a copy of the same be sent to the widow of the deceased, and a copy furnished to each of the Fremont and Blair papers for publication.
Judge Post first spoke in support of the memorial, and his eulogistic remarks justify producing them in full, not only from the fact that the tribute derives peculiar force, coming from the judicial bench, but also for its eloquent presentation of the ability and the gentlemanly qualities of the deceased as a practitioner before the courts. Judge Post said:
If the Court please: I have but little to add to the resolutions; we are all too liable to fall into the idea, and those who are not closely connected with such scenes as these, get the idea that they are cold and formal. It may be a duty which we owe instead of a very sad and an only pleasure, but however sad it may be it is all that is left.
In thinking today of this matter—in thinking while Mr. Carrigan was not a member of the bar of this judicial district, the close proximity of his home to this bar, the frequency of his visits and the amount of legal business which he transacted, was such as to make him almost a member of our legal house, and when we see the curtains drawn, see the crape upon the door of our neighbor we feel, and in this case, almost as sad as if the destroyer had been here and taken one of ourselves.
True, death has not visited the bar of this district for the last four and a half years, and this comes to me almost the same as if I had been associated with the deceased for a lifetime, I have known him but a few years. We never met in the relationship of attorneys; we were never associated together in a case, nor were we ever adversely connected. I became acquainted with him as a lawyer after I began to discharge those duties in which I am now engaged, and from the first he impressed me as a peculiar man, and I venture to say that the only thing which has impressed with peculiar force upon the bar of this State, the death of john Carrigan, is the fact that he was a peculiar man. I think there is no other John Carrigan living in the State of Nebraska.
In thinking of him today and trying to analyze the elements of his success, I am not certain I have been able to do so. That which gave him his strong hold upon the people, that which commended him with such force to the Courts of the State, I think was the element or quality which is expressed in the resolutions, "he never resorted to artifice or tricks for success." He impressed me not as a great advocate in the ordinary sense of the word, if we understand by the word "advocate" the power to show and portray the weak side of a case and make it seem the stronger; if we understand by "advocacy" the power to dwarf the right and magnify the wrong, I certainly think Mr. Carrigan was not entitled to be regarded as a great advocate. I never heard him speak upon any question, whether of law of fact, that he did not shed light upon it, and he never presumed to speak without having first a complete understanding of his subject. No difference whether the Courts agreed with him in his position, I think no Court in doubt upon any legal proposition could hear Mr. Carrigan discuss it without feeling they had been assisted in the research and conclusion although a conclusion was reached adverse to the one he argued for. He never argued from false premises. The law when laid down by him, although laid down without consideration, was a clear and concise statement of the law. I was always glad to hear John Carrigan discuss any proposition and have often and often felt it was an assistance and an aid to the truth, and what little I can do to bearing testimony to his worth and to help forget his faults—for faults I presume he had—we all have faults.
"He who hopes a faultless piece to see,
Hopes what ne'er was, nor is nor yet shall be."
So with John Carrigan. The sum of his virtues, the sum of his good deeds, far outweigh all else.
Messrs. Marlow, Munger, Ghost, Marshall, Sterett, Loomis, Gray, and Col. Smythe of Omaha (who was present) next followed with fitting remarks relative to their association with the deceased as a lawyer and in the humbler walks of life, and they all bore uniform testimony to his character and ability. No man who ever took genial John Garrigan by the hand could ever forget that hearty grasp which betokened sincerity and a warm soul. Let it be said, John Carrigan never betrayed a friend—he was open, frank, and generous to a fault.
Many of the tributes from the gentlemen last evening were really eloquent and deserve a place in our columns, but the space is not at our disposal. Altogether, the occasion was a worthy tribute to a man who numbered his friends by the thousands and whose abilities were recognized all over the State.
The following is from Hon. Chas. H. Brown's beautiful tribute to John Carrigan, before the Omaha Bar Association:
I shall briefly allude to Mr. Carrigan as a professional man. He was by nature a lawyer. His mind was so organized it brushed away the technicalities so often surrounding litigation and reached the true merits of the case as if by intuition, rapidly working down through a mass of conflicting statements and seemingly conflicting legal opinions, it struck the bed rock upon which every case should rest: justice and right; laying hold with a firm grasp upon these anchors, is it strange that he was eminently a successful lawyer? Trick, artifice, and what is sometimes called sharp practice, may occasionally win a case, but the true grounds of legal success were rightly measured and honorably and professionally followed by him. There was too much of the man in his composition even to allow himself to "stoop to conquer" in a case. I do not think he could. Sufficient for me, is that I believe he never did. Like an upright man, and an honorable lawyer, he used the law lawfully.
In matters of business Mr. Carrigan's course was marked with the strictest integrity in every transaction. Socially he had few equals. It was in the private walks of life, in the social and sacred domestic circle where his true worth was known and appreciated. And it is in these relations where large-hearted manhood, true nobility of character developed and asserted itself. It was in these spheres of life where our dead brother shone conspicuously and stood out preeminently, marked as one of God's noblemen. I had rather have this rich fragrance of his memory in this regard than the blood-stained glory of heroes, the coronets of emperors, the diadems of kings, or the insignia of presidents. But no flattering words of mine, no warm and eloquent eulogies, can bring back our loved brother to us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
obituaries and eulogies courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library of Blair, Nebraska. Kind assistance of FindaGrave volunteer Silver Wings 48634449
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Married Carrie L. Palmer in Illinois in 1867. Children: Judge Edmund Burke Carrigan and Nora Carrigan. From the book, History of Dodge and Washington Counties, p. 339:
"John Carrigan settled at De Soto late in the '60s. He was a returned Civil war soldier and died in 1880. He was a great criminal lawyer."
From article in the Thursday, April 22, 1880 Fremont Weekly Herald, p. 2
Tribute to the Late John Carrigan
The resident attorneys of Fremont, and others in attendance at the present term of the District Court, participated in a tribute to the memory of John Corrigan, of Blair, whose death on Wednesday is so sadly lamented, not only by the members of the profession, but by thousands of friends all over the State. During the session of the Court last night, Judge Post announced that a committee be appointed to submit resolutions appropriate to the occasion, and he requested Chief Justice Maxwell, who was present, to preside on the bench as a special mark of respect to the memory of the deceased. N.H. Bell then presented the resolutions, introducing them with some well-chosen words expressive of his regard for the many good qualities which had endeared John Corrigan to the members of the bar and all who knew him. The resolutions submitted were as follows:
The members of the Fremont bar learn with regret of the death of Hon. John Carrigan, of Blair, and desire to bear their testimony of his eminent ability as a lawyer, his unswerving integrity, and the generous, manly qualities of his character. In his intercourse with the bench and bar, he was ever courteous, gentlemanly and dignified, always reliable—his word was as sacred as the most binding obligation; and while working with unrelaxing zeal in the interests of his clients, he descended to no artifice to secure success. In his death the bar of the State has lost one of its ablest members, and society a genial, true-hearted man.
That the foregoing resolution be spread upon the Journal of this Court, a copy of the same be sent to the widow of the deceased, and a copy furnished to each of the Fremont and Blair papers for publication.
Judge Post first spoke in support of the memorial, and his eulogistic remarks justify producing them in full, not only from the fact that the tribute derives peculiar force, coming from the judicial bench, but also for its eloquent presentation of the ability and the gentlemanly qualities of the deceased as a practitioner before the courts. Judge Post said:
If the Court please: I have but little to add to the resolutions; we are all too liable to fall into the idea, and those who are not closely connected with such scenes as these, get the idea that they are cold and formal. It may be a duty which we owe instead of a very sad and an only pleasure, but however sad it may be it is all that is left.
In thinking today of this matter—in thinking while Mr. Carrigan was not a member of the bar of this judicial district, the close proximity of his home to this bar, the frequency of his visits and the amount of legal business which he transacted, was such as to make him almost a member of our legal house, and when we see the curtains drawn, see the crape upon the door of our neighbor we feel, and in this case, almost as sad as if the destroyer had been here and taken one of ourselves.
True, death has not visited the bar of this district for the last four and a half years, and this comes to me almost the same as if I had been associated with the deceased for a lifetime, I have known him but a few years. We never met in the relationship of attorneys; we were never associated together in a case, nor were we ever adversely connected. I became acquainted with him as a lawyer after I began to discharge those duties in which I am now engaged, and from the first he impressed me as a peculiar man, and I venture to say that the only thing which has impressed with peculiar force upon the bar of this State, the death of john Carrigan, is the fact that he was a peculiar man. I think there is no other John Carrigan living in the State of Nebraska.
In thinking of him today and trying to analyze the elements of his success, I am not certain I have been able to do so. That which gave him his strong hold upon the people, that which commended him with such force to the Courts of the State, I think was the element or quality which is expressed in the resolutions, "he never resorted to artifice or tricks for success." He impressed me not as a great advocate in the ordinary sense of the word, if we understand by the word "advocate" the power to show and portray the weak side of a case and make it seem the stronger; if we understand by "advocacy" the power to dwarf the right and magnify the wrong, I certainly think Mr. Carrigan was not entitled to be regarded as a great advocate. I never heard him speak upon any question, whether of law of fact, that he did not shed light upon it, and he never presumed to speak without having first a complete understanding of his subject. No difference whether the Courts agreed with him in his position, I think no Court in doubt upon any legal proposition could hear Mr. Carrigan discuss it without feeling they had been assisted in the research and conclusion although a conclusion was reached adverse to the one he argued for. He never argued from false premises. The law when laid down by him, although laid down without consideration, was a clear and concise statement of the law. I was always glad to hear John Carrigan discuss any proposition and have often and often felt it was an assistance and an aid to the truth, and what little I can do to bearing testimony to his worth and to help forget his faults—for faults I presume he had—we all have faults.
"He who hopes a faultless piece to see,
Hopes what ne'er was, nor is nor yet shall be."
So with John Carrigan. The sum of his virtues, the sum of his good deeds, far outweigh all else.
Messrs. Marlow, Munger, Ghost, Marshall, Sterett, Loomis, Gray, and Col. Smythe of Omaha (who was present) next followed with fitting remarks relative to their association with the deceased as a lawyer and in the humbler walks of life, and they all bore uniform testimony to his character and ability. No man who ever took genial John Garrigan by the hand could ever forget that hearty grasp which betokened sincerity and a warm soul. Let it be said, John Carrigan never betrayed a friend—he was open, frank, and generous to a fault.
Many of the tributes from the gentlemen last evening were really eloquent and deserve a place in our columns, but the space is not at our disposal. Altogether, the occasion was a worthy tribute to a man who numbered his friends by the thousands and whose abilities were recognized all over the State.
The following is from Hon. Chas. H. Brown's beautiful tribute to John Carrigan, before the Omaha Bar Association:
I shall briefly allude to Mr. Carrigan as a professional man. He was by nature a lawyer. His mind was so organized it brushed away the technicalities so often surrounding litigation and reached the true merits of the case as if by intuition, rapidly working down through a mass of conflicting statements and seemingly conflicting legal opinions, it struck the bed rock upon which every case should rest: justice and right; laying hold with a firm grasp upon these anchors, is it strange that he was eminently a successful lawyer? Trick, artifice, and what is sometimes called sharp practice, may occasionally win a case, but the true grounds of legal success were rightly measured and honorably and professionally followed by him. There was too much of the man in his composition even to allow himself to "stoop to conquer" in a case. I do not think he could. Sufficient for me, is that I believe he never did. Like an upright man, and an honorable lawyer, he used the law lawfully.
In matters of business Mr. Carrigan's course was marked with the strictest integrity in every transaction. Socially he had few equals. It was in the private walks of life, in the social and sacred domestic circle where his true worth was known and appreciated. And it is in these relations where large-hearted manhood, true nobility of character developed and asserted itself. It was in these spheres of life where our dead brother shone conspicuously and stood out preeminently, marked as one of God's noblemen. I had rather have this rich fragrance of his memory in this regard than the blood-stained glory of heroes, the coronets of emperors, the diadems of kings, or the insignia of presidents. But no flattering words of mine, no warm and eloquent eulogies, can bring back our loved brother to us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
obituaries and eulogies courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library of Blair, Nebraska. Kind assistance of FindaGrave volunteer Silver Wings 48634449
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"John Carrigan settled at De Soto late in the '60s. He was a returned Civil war soldier and died in 1880. He was a great criminal lawyer."
From article in the Thursday, April 22, 1880 Fremont Weekly Herald, p. 2
Tribute to the Late John Carrigan
The resident attorneys of Fremont, and others in attendance at the present term of the District Court, participated in a tribute to the memory of John Corrigan, of Blair, whose death on Wednesday is so sadly lamented, not only by the members of the profession, but by thousands of friends all over the State. During the session of the Court last night, Judge Post announced that a committee be appointed to submit resolutions appropriate to the occasion, and he requested Chief Justice Maxwell, who was present, to preside on the bench as a special mark of respect to the memory of the deceased. N.H. Bell then presented the resolutions, introducing them with some well-chosen words expressive of his regard for the many good qualities which had endeared John Corrigan to the members of the bar and all who knew him. The resolutions submitted were as follows:
The members of the Fremont bar learn with regret of the death of Hon. John Carrigan, of Blair, and desire to bear their testimony of his eminent ability as a lawyer, his unswerving integrity, and the generous, manly qualities of his character. In his intercourse with the bench and bar, he was ever courteous, gentlemanly and dignified, always reliable—his word was as sacred as the most binding obligation; and while working with unrelaxing zeal in the interests of his clients, he descended to no artifice to secure success. In his death the bar of the State has lost one of its ablest members, and society a genial, true-hearted man.
That the foregoing resolution be spread upon the Journal of this Court, a copy of the same be sent to the widow of the deceased, and a copy furnished to each of the Fremont and Blair papers for publication.
Judge Post first spoke in support of the memorial, and his eulogistic remarks justify producing them in full, not only from the fact that the tribute derives peculiar force, coming from the judicial bench, but also for its eloquent presentation of the ability and the gentlemanly qualities of the deceased as a practitioner before the courts. Judge Post said:
If the Court please: I have but little to add to the resolutions; we are all too liable to fall into the idea, and those who are not closely connected with such scenes as these, get the idea that they are cold and formal. It may be a duty which we owe instead of a very sad and an only pleasure, but however sad it may be it is all that is left.
In thinking today of this matter—in thinking while Mr. Carrigan was not a member of the bar of this judicial district, the close proximity of his home to this bar, the frequency of his visits and the amount of legal business which he transacted, was such as to make him almost a member of our legal house, and when we see the curtains drawn, see the crape upon the door of our neighbor we feel, and in this case, almost as sad as if the destroyer had been here and taken one of ourselves.
True, death has not visited the bar of this district for the last four and a half years, and this comes to me almost the same as if I had been associated with the deceased for a lifetime, I have known him but a few years. We never met in the relationship of attorneys; we were never associated together in a case, nor were we ever adversely connected. I became acquainted with him as a lawyer after I began to discharge those duties in which I am now engaged, and from the first he impressed me as a peculiar man, and I venture to say that the only thing which has impressed with peculiar force upon the bar of this State, the death of john Carrigan, is the fact that he was a peculiar man. I think there is no other John Carrigan living in the State of Nebraska.
In thinking of him today and trying to analyze the elements of his success, I am not certain I have been able to do so. That which gave him his strong hold upon the people, that which commended him with such force to the Courts of the State, I think was the element or quality which is expressed in the resolutions, "he never resorted to artifice or tricks for success." He impressed me not as a great advocate in the ordinary sense of the word, if we understand by the word "advocate" the power to show and portray the weak side of a case and make it seem the stronger; if we understand by "advocacy" the power to dwarf the right and magnify the wrong, I certainly think Mr. Carrigan was not entitled to be regarded as a great advocate. I never heard him speak upon any question, whether of law of fact, that he did not shed light upon it, and he never presumed to speak without having first a complete understanding of his subject. No difference whether the Courts agreed with him in his position, I think no Court in doubt upon any legal proposition could hear Mr. Carrigan discuss it without feeling they had been assisted in the research and conclusion although a conclusion was reached adverse to the one he argued for. He never argued from false premises. The law when laid down by him, although laid down without consideration, was a clear and concise statement of the law. I was always glad to hear John Carrigan discuss any proposition and have often and often felt it was an assistance and an aid to the truth, and what little I can do to bearing testimony to his worth and to help forget his faults—for faults I presume he had—we all have faults.
"He who hopes a faultless piece to see,
Hopes what ne'er was, nor is nor yet shall be."
So with John Carrigan. The sum of his virtues, the sum of his good deeds, far outweigh all else.
Messrs. Marlow, Munger, Ghost, Marshall, Sterett, Loomis, Gray, and Col. Smythe of Omaha (who was present) next followed with fitting remarks relative to their association with the deceased as a lawyer and in the humbler walks of life, and they all bore uniform testimony to his character and ability. No man who ever took genial John Garrigan by the hand could ever forget that hearty grasp which betokened sincerity and a warm soul. Let it be said, John Carrigan never betrayed a friend—he was open, frank, and generous to a fault.
Many of the tributes from the gentlemen last evening were really eloquent and deserve a place in our columns, but the space is not at our disposal. Altogether, the occasion was a worthy tribute to a man who numbered his friends by the thousands and whose abilities were recognized all over the State.
The following is from Hon. Chas. H. Brown's beautiful tribute to John Carrigan, before the Omaha Bar Association:
I shall briefly allude to Mr. Carrigan as a professional man. He was by nature a lawyer. His mind was so organized it brushed away the technicalities so often surrounding litigation and reached the true merits of the case as if by intuition, rapidly working down through a mass of conflicting statements and seemingly conflicting legal opinions, it struck the bed rock upon which every case should rest: justice and right; laying hold with a firm grasp upon these anchors, is it strange that he was eminently a successful lawyer? Trick, artifice, and what is sometimes called sharp practice, may occasionally win a case, but the true grounds of legal success were rightly measured and honorably and professionally followed by him. There was too much of the man in his composition even to allow himself to "stoop to conquer" in a case. I do not think he could. Sufficient for me, is that I believe he never did. Like an upright man, and an honorable lawyer, he used the law lawfully.
In matters of business Mr. Carrigan's course was marked with the strictest integrity in every transaction. Socially he had few equals. It was in the private walks of life, in the social and sacred domestic circle where his true worth was known and appreciated. And it is in these relations where large-hearted manhood, true nobility of character developed and asserted itself. It was in these spheres of life where our dead brother shone conspicuously and stood out preeminently, marked as one of God's noblemen. I had rather have this rich fragrance of his memory in this regard than the blood-stained glory of heroes, the coronets of emperors, the diadems of kings, or the insignia of presidents. But no flattering words of mine, no warm and eloquent eulogies, can bring back our loved brother to us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
obituaries and eulogies courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library of Blair, Nebraska. Kind assistance of FindaGrave volunteer Silver Wings 48634449
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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