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174 cine, Mr. Birch abandoned it for the law. Evidently his tastes were for a public life, for he was of an affable disposition, a ready writer, and an orator of no mean ability. On his removal to Missouri in 1826, he was first employed on the editorial staff of the St. Louis "Enquirer," Senator Benton's "organ." The following year he established the "Western Monitor " at Fayette. In 1828 he was clerk of

the lower branch of the General Assembly, and at the next session secretary of the upper branch of that body. In 1834 he became a State Senator, took a prominent part in its proceedings, and was chairman of the committee to revise the statutes of the State. He resigned before his term expired, but in 1843 accepted the appointment from President Tyler as register of the newly established land office at Plattsburg. He received the appointment as Judge of the Supreme Court in 1849, but felt himself

ELIJAH H. NORTON

out of his element on the bench, and was not desirous of a re-election in 1851. He afterward accepted a second appointment as Register of the Plattsburg Land Office, which had become an important post by reason of the large influx of immigration to that garden spot known as the Platte Purchase. Judge Birch's ambitions were for congressional honors. He felt that his abilities would be in their appropriate sphere in Congress, but was not successful in his candidacies for the seat. In 1861 he became a member of the Gamble Convention, in which he was a prominent figure by reason of his eloquence and his firm stand in favor of the Union. He was tall, broad-shouldered, had a strong face, and to his last days was partial to the ante-bellum "swallow-tail" coat with brass buttons. He died in March, 1878, a gentle man of the old school, whose presence was a constant example to the rising generation of what constituted the embodiment of courtesy, good breeding, and manly bearing.

John Ferguson Ryland.

He whose life and deeds are now to be noticed embodied in his character all the graces and elements which go to make a Christian gentleman. Pure in every thought and deed of his long life, with a heart responsive to the sufferings of others, a mind richly stored with learning, and a nature most pacifically disposed, Judge Ryland was peculiarly adapted to judicial functions. He was born in Essex County, Virginia, Nov. 2, 1797. In 1811 his father moved to Jessamine County, Kentucky, where he died in the following year, leaving a widow and eight children, of whom John F. was the eldest. He manifested a deep interest, approaching a passion, for the classics, and at an early day was an adept in Greek and Latin. He taught school for a number of years, and read law in his leisure hours. In 1819 he came to Missouri, and like many others settled at Old Franklin. As the Missouri River continued its encroachments on this historic site, Mr. Ryland removed to Fayette. In 1830 the Legislature created a new judicial circuit,