JUDGE BIRDSEYE DEAD. ONE OF BROOKLYN'S BEST-KNOWN LAWYERS AND FORMERLY A JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT.

Ex-Judge Lucien Birdseye, one of Brooklyn's best known lawyers, in his seventy-fifth year, died suddenly at his home, No. 238 Warren St., Brooklyn, yesterday morning. He had been ill ten days. His conduct of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad litigation, which was brought to a successful close after a fight which lasted fourteen years, brought him much credit. Such well-known men as Samuel J. Tilden, Smith M. Weed and George Ticknor Curtis were employed in the defence.

He was born at Pompey, Onondaga County, N.Y., October 10, 1821. His father, Victory Birdseye, was a lawyer of considerable prominence and also held several responsible political, offices, being twice elected to Congress. The young man received his preparatory education at the Pompey Academy, and entered Yale University in October, 1837. He was graduated on August 16, 1841 with a class which singularly enough has furnished four judges of the Supreme Court of the State—Gilbert Dean, Lucien Birdseye and Joseph. F. Barnard, of the Second District, and William Law Learned, of the Third District.

Having decided to follow the profession of his father, he entered his office as a student at law, where he remained for two years. He completed his legal education in the office of the law firm of Kirkland & Bacon, of Utica, N.Y. On July 11, 1844, he was called to the bar at a General Term of the Supreme Court, held in Utica. Samuel Nelson was at that time Chief Justice and Greene C. Bronson and Samuel Beardsley were Associate Justices. The Chief Justice, in admitting Mr. Birdseye to practice, congratulated him upon his accession to the bar, of which his father was so long a conspicuous member. "Not only personally known to me," said the Chief Justice, "but he was my highly esteemed friend, and I have no doubt, but you will follow in his honored footsteps."

Although he had during his student days decided to make Memphis, St. Louis or Chicago his future home, after receiving his license he changed his plans, and in October 1844, removed to Albany and began his practice. In 1846 he married Miss Catherine M. Baker, of Pompey, N.Y. In the meantime, his former preceptor, Mr. Kirkland, removed to New York City and resumed his practice there. He invited Mr. Birdseye to become his law partner. The invitation was accepted, and on May 1, 1850, the firm of Kirkland & Birdseye opened an office at No. 39 Wall St. The reputation of the head of the firm secured for it from the start a large and remunerative practice. The fact that a brother of Mrs. Birdseye was then a resident of Brooklyn induced Mr. Birdseye, in the spring of 1850, to become a resident of this city.

Early In June, 1836, William Rockwell, a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Second District, died suddenly, and Governor Clark immediately offered the place to Mr. Birdseye, who accepted it. When he took his place on the bench, the legal business of Brooklyn had fallen largely in arrears. Mr. Birdseye devoted himself to clearing off these arrears, and at the close of his term, on December 31, 1857, the calendars of the Circuit and Equity Terms of Kings County had been cleared. At the fall election in 1857 Judge Birdseye was the Republican candidate for the remaining four years of the unexpired term of Judge Rockwell, but was defeated by the Democratic candidate, Judge John A. Lott.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, the firm had become Kirkland, Birdseye & Sommers by the admission thereto of John B. Yates Sommers. On leaving the bench the firm became Birdseye, Sommers & Johnson, which was dissolved in October, 1861. Mr. Birdseye remained In practice without any associate until January, 1865, when he took into partnership Charles P. Crosby, formerly of Detroit, Mich. That association continued until August, 1872, when it gave place to the firm of Birdseye, Cloyd & Bayliss. Not long ago Clarence L. Birdseye, the son of the senior partner, was admitted to the firm, but there was no change of name.

During his long and busy career as a lawyer Judge Birdseye conducted many famous cases. One of the most interesting series of litigations with which he was connected was for the foreclosure; in the courts of New Mexico and Colorado, of the mortgage on the Maxwell tract—a tract of land over 1,700,000 acres in extent, granted by the Republic of Mexico to Beaubien and Miranda, in 1841. After a hard struggle and journeys which took Judge Birdseye from Amsterdam to New Mexico, the litigation was finally successful.

The firm of Birdseye, Cloyd and Bayliss was dissolved about a year and a half ago after the death of Mr. Cloyd. Judge Birdseye, however, continued in active practice until January 16, when he was taken ill on his way home. Although he was confined to the house, his illness was not considered dangerous until about fifteen minutes before his death, when he began to fall rapidly. The family physician said that death was caused directly by a clot of blood in the heart. The Judge himself thought the illness so light that he had made arrangements to go to court next week. The deceased was one of the older members of the Hamilton Club of Brooklyn. He was for many years a member of Dr. Storrs's church.

Judge Birdseye leaves a widow and five children, two sons; Henry E., an engineer and Clarence F. Birdseye, the oldest son who was in partnership with his father at No. 170 Broadway, New York City, three daughters; Mrs. Benjamin F. Bayliss and Miss Alice Birdseye of Brooklyn and Mrs. E. P. Merritt of Boston. The funeral will be at Judge Birdseye's home, No. 238 Warren St., late on Wednesday afternoon. The burial will be in Greenwood on Thursday.

NEW YORK DAILY TRIBUNE, TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 1896, PG 14