for his love of truth, stern honesty, and great energy.  He was the father of Colonel John B. Lamar, who fell in the service of the South, in the recent conflict.  He was one of Georgia’s noblest sons, and his memory is cherished by all who knew him.  Henry G. Lamar, a former member of Congress, and Judge of the Superior Court of the State, was a cousin of both John B. and M.B.  Lamar; and the eminent and eloquent Lucius Lamar, of Mississippi, who was considered, when young, the best orator of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, is the son of Judge L.Q.C.  Lamar.

The name of Lamar has long been a synonym for talent and chivalrous honor in Georgia.  They have been distinguished in every pursuit, and no stain has ever rested upon the name—­in whatever avocation employed, conspicuous for capacity, honesty, and energy.  They are of French extraction, and to their latest posterity they continue to exhibit those traits peculiar to the French—­chivalry, intense sensibility, love of truth, refinement of manner, lofty bearing, and a devotion to honor which courts death rather than dishonor.

The name of M.B.  Lamar is identified with the history of Texas, as a leader among that band of remarkable men who achieved her independence of Mexican rule—­Houston, Sidney Johnson, Bowie, Travis, Crockett, and Fannin.  He was twice married; his first wife, Miss Jordan, died young, leaving him a daughter.  This was a bitter blow, and it was long ere he recovered it.  His second wife was the daughter of the distinguished Methodist preacher John Newland Moffitt, and sister of Captain Moffitt, late of the service of the Confederacy.  He died at Richmond, Fort Bend County, Texas, beloved and regretted as few have been.

Perhaps among the most remarkable men of the State, contemporaneous with the Lamars, was Walter T. Colquitt, Joseph H. Lumpkin, Charles J. Jenkins, William C. Dawson, and Charles J. McDonald:  all of these were natives of the State—­Colquitt, Eugenius A. Nesbit, and McDonald, of Hancock County; Lumpkins, Oglethorpe, Dawson, Green, and Jenkins, of Richmond; Nesbit, of Greene.  At the period of time when these men were young, education was deemed essential, at least to professional men.  They all enjoyed the benefits of a classical education.  Lumpkin and Colquitt received theirs at Princeton, New Jersey, and I believe were classmates, at least they were college-mates.  Colquitt returned home before graduating; Lumpkin received the second honor in his class.  Returning to Georgia, Lumpkin read law in the town of Lexington, the court-house town of his native county; and commenced, as soon as admitted, its practice in the northern circuit of the State.  At the time he came to the Bar, it was ornamented with such men as Thomas W. Cobb, Stephen Upson, George R. Gilmer, John A. Herd, and Duncan G. Campbell.  He rose rapidly to eminence in the midst of this galaxy of talent and learning.  The great John M. Dooly was upon the bench of this circuit, and was the intimate friend of Wilson Lumpkin, an elder brother of Joseph H. Lumpkin.