Through his sister Susan Binney Wallace, he was the uncle of Horace Binney Wallace (1817–1852), a legal critic and through his sister, Mary Sarah Binney Sargent (d. 1824), wife of Lucius Manlius Sargent (1786–1867), an author and temperance advocate, he was the uncle of well-known author and Horace Binney Sargent (1821–1908), a Civil war veteran.[1]
Career
Photograph of Binney in his late years
He then studied law in the office of Jared Ingersoll (1749–1822), who had been a member of the Constitutional convention of 1787, and who, from 1791 to 1800 and again from 1811 to 1816, was the attorney-general of Pennsylvania. In 1800, Binney was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia and practiced there with great success for half a century, and was recognized as one of the leaders of the bar in Pennsylvania and the United States.[3][4]
After leaving office, he returned to the practice of law. Binney's most famous cases were Lyle v. Richards (1823), and Vidal et al v. Philadelphia et al (1844). In the latter case, which involved the disposition of the fortune of Stephen Girard, he was unsuccessfully opposed by Daniel Webster. Binney's argument in this case greatly influenced the interpretation of the law of charities.[3]
Public addresses and writings
Binney made many public addresses, the most noteworthy of which, entitled Life and Character of Chief Justice Marshall, was published in 1835. He also published Leaders of the Old Bar of Philadelphia, in 1858, and an Inquiry into the Formation of Washingtons Farewell Address, in 1859.[3]
During the American Civil War he issued three pamphlets (1861, 1862 and 1865), discussing the right of habeas corpus under the American Constitution, and justifying President Lincoln in his suspension of the writ.[3]
He was elected an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1867.[7]
Personal life
Binney was married to Elizabeth Cox (1783–1865), one of six daughters of John Cox, Esq. of Bloomsbury, New Jersey,[8] and descendants of the Langeveldts who originally settled New Brunswick, New Jersey.[9] Her sister, Mary Cox, was married to the inventor John Stevens III (1749–1838).[8] Together, Horace and Elizabeth were the parents of:[10]
Mary (1805-1831), first wife of Judge/Congressman John Cadwalader
Esther Coxe Binney (1817–1902), who married John Innes Clark Hare (1816–1905), also an attorney.[12][13]
Elizabeth Binney (1820–1910), who married Richard Roger Montgomery (1818–1888), the son of William M. Montgomery and Marie d'Elincourt, on April 30, 1844.[14] Elizabeth and Richard Montgomery were the grandparents of Helen Hope Montgomery Scott.
Binney died on August 12, 1875, at the age of 95 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the city of his birth. He was buried in the churchyard of Church of St. James the Less in Philadelphia.[1]
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