Annals of Platte County, Missouri - Paxton
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1891, OCT. 9-51 JUDGE G. V. DUNN. The Doves was the name given to a social club nfyo1n1;" ladies, who for several months entertained Platte (ity and enlivened society. lhe boys got up their ow11 club. calling: it the l. A. K. There was sparring" and ."p2lIl{lll4g between them. Oct. 3/;~)I. E. quarterly meeting at Platte (~ity. JUDGE Ur. V. l,)UNN Died at his 11o-me at I{.ich~1nond, Mo. The following is part of a tribute I paid him at the time: J11(lgL Dunn is no more Born i11 .Ie1cer (o-iiiity, Ky., Octo- ber 15, 1815; his pure spirit ascended to its nal home the :.4th of October, 1891. borne down by the weight of seventy-six years. and by the ext-riiciatiiig pangs of astlniizl, he gladl y eXLll2lll;;((l a bed of pain for a. throne of glory. At the age of twenty he entered on the study of law. at Nicholasville, and taught school for a sup- port. In 1836-7 he attended the law department of Transylvania lniversity, and in 1839 came West, and settled at Richmond. 310. In 1841 he returned to Kentucky. and married Miss Susan M. Hen- derson. who survives. Reared iii the Presbyterian faith. he was an honored and beloved brother tl1rou;:l1Jout life. I shall not trace his career as a lawyer and jurist. That is part of the history of the State. He held the scales of Justice in equi.p~oi.se. and no bribe ever tarnished his spotless ermine. And yet his sympathetic heart n1odrerat~ed this c-ondemnation, and Mercys tears bedewed the beam" of the balance of Justice. I formed acqllaintanvee with Judge Dunn in 1838. when he was studying); law in Kentucky, and until his death we were friends. Others may ooinmend l1i1n for his u~prig~l1tness. but I desire now to express my admiration of him as a. poet. In 1882 he published a small volume. So-me-of the pieces are ad1nira;ble. I can point out imperfections in nearly every piece written bv an~other that I have crit;icallv examined. but a half-dozen Olf -Iudgze l)unns poems are above criticism. He is the only poet that has ever conrniended in verse the administration of justice. The bar of lfissouri owe him a. sacred debt. His Temple of Justice and his Ermine and Harp should be framed in gold. and hung in every court-room. The diction o-f J11d,ge Dunns poems is always correct. the senti- me11t is pure and s~tril;i11g. the measure and accent are faultless. and there is melody in every line. Judge Dunns poetic talent was of the highest order. I have never met his equal in pure and lofty sentimeint. 11or his superior i11 critical acumen. I have seen him. under the inspiration of a sublime conception. spring from his seat and clap his hands with entliusiastie emotion. He possessed the are talent of polishing and improving his verses. He had the power to criticise his own writings. Each change was an in11irovemelit. and after years of correcting. his lines were bevond criticism. I will conclude by a stanza of a poem I wrote i11 his honor. and which my gra11d(laugl1- ter handed to him while on the bench. with a. bouquet of owers. September 29. 1879: (See)