BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 175 parliamentary procedure, and the dispute, conducted in a masterly way, was held within these limits. This was not the first time Mr. Welty had identified himself with the friends of silver. When a delegate to the National convention of 1892, he opposed the nomination of Mr. Cleveland for the Presidency solely on account of the latter's pronounced hostility to silver. In 1897 he was a strong candidate for the nomination for governor in the State convention at Columbus, and many of his friends entertained no doubt that he would have been the choice of a large majority of the delegates had he not withdrawn. He, however, declined to permit his name to be placed before the convention, as in his judgment the perfect harmony of the party was pre-eminently desirable this year, when an unusually stubborn fight was anticipated all along the line, with the almost assured success of the Democracy. He made his personal ambition subservient always to the interests of his party. Faithful to his friends upon all occasions, he can never be diverted from what he deems to be the greatest good of the greatest number. His active affiliation with the Democratic party dates back to his boyhood days. At nineteen he was stumping his home counties for the party's cause, and right along he has worked strenuously and effectively for the sound principles of Democracy. Never having sought office or reward, he has maintained a dignified and influential position. His high standard of political morals, combined with his unquestioned personal integrity and strength of character, promise eventually to place him among the Nation's leaders, as they have already made him a popular chieftain in his State. Mr. Welty is a man of substantial means ; he enjoys a lovely home in Canton, where he is surrounded by all the refinements that a cultured mind could suggest or desire, and where he entertains his friends with genuine hospitality. He is broad and liberal in his views on the most important questions in life : he is big hearted and generous, deeply interested in all that tends for the welfare of his city and county. Among the local enterprises to which he has contributed his support are the Peoples' Savings Bank, of which he is the president ; the Diebold Safe and Lock Company ; the Crucible Steel Company, and many others. In public improvements he is always active ; in matters of church and morals he has been vestryman and treasurer of the Episcopal Church for ten years, besides being an earnest and generous supporter of all educational and philanthropic work. He was married October 11, 1878, to Miss Anna T. Graham, the daughter of Charles H. Graham, a prominent capitalist of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An eminent jurist, who recently retired from the Bench in Ohio, contributes the following : " My personal acquaintance with Mr. Welty has extended over many years. He is peculiarly and essentially a trial rawyer ; he possesses greater tact and exercises more skill in the trial of a case than any other man I have known. He is known throughout the entire State, and is recognized by the members of the Bar as a great trial lawyer. His characteristics are kindliness, affability and courtesy. No matter what attitude the opposing counsel may assume, it is met by him with a courtesy and attention that throws his opponent completly off his guard from its unobtrusive and unexpected character. He is an excellent judge of human nature, and exercises this faculty 176 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. keenly in the selection of a jury. In examination of witnesses, and in addressing a jury, he is exceptionally strong, and is invariably on good terms with the court. He is a great worker in his office, constantly searching the authorities, and apparently possesses inexhaustible energy and resources. As a man he is honest and sincere ; in his friendships, true as steel. He was never known to speak an ill word of anyone. Kindly in disposition, firm in convictions, strong of soul, a man of splendid individuality, he is a born leader of men." ULYSSES L. MARVIN, Akron. Judge Marvin was born at Stow, Summit county, Ohio, on the 14th of March, 1839. His father, Ulysses Marvin, was a native of Connecticut and of English ancestry. The Marvins settled in Connecticut in the early part of the seventeenth century. He is a lineal descendant of that captain and deacon on whose monument, still extant, is the inscription, " This Deacon, aged sixty-eight, is freed on earth from serving (sarvin) ; May for a crown no longer wait Lyme's Captain, Reynold Marvin." His mother was Elizabeth Bradley, whose ancestors were also among the early English settlers of Connecticut. Young Marvin's early education was obtained in the public schools in the neighborhood of his home until at the age of thirteen he was sent to the Twinsburg Academy, where he remained for some time pursuing academic studies. He then entered the Franklin Institute, in which his scholastic education was finished. At the age of sixteen he commenced teaching in a country school, and in 1861 and 1862 was superintendent of the union schools at Kent, Portage county, Ohio. While teaching he took up the preliminary study of law under Mr. H. B. Foster, whose influence and instructions were most helpful. He was a scholarly gentleman and a thorough lawyer. According to the family traditions the Marvin men have either been clergymen or lawyers for many generations. In compliance with the wish of his father, Judge Marvin determined to enter upon the study of law in earnest and equip himself for practice with as little delay as possible. With that object in view he entered the office of Edgerton & Sanders, the former of whom was afterwards appointed governor of the Territory of Montana, and the latter elected the first United States Senator from the State of Montana. On the 2nd of May, 1860, Mr. Marvin was admitted to the Bar at Canton, Ohio, and at once commenced practice in partnership with Mr. Sanders. Shortly afterwards, upon the breaking out of the Civil War, his law preceptor went into the army, and he commenced teaching school at Kent. In August, 1862, Mr. Marvin enlisted as a private in the 115th Regiment Ohio Volunteers, and in the following year was commissioned first lieutenant in the Fifth United States Volunteers. In 1864 he was promoted to the rank of captain, and in the spring of 1865 brevetted major, his commission reading " For gallant and meritorious service." He was severely wounded before Richmond on the 29th of September, 1864. He participated in all the engagements of his division during the sieges of Richmond and Petersburg. At the close of the war in 1865 he was appointed judge advocate of the district of Newbern, BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 177 North Carolina, and remained in that service until the 4th of October, 1865, by which time civil government had been established. Upon being mustered out of service he at once returned to his native State and commenced the practice of law in Portage county. In the fall of 1867 he removed to Akron, where he formed a partnership with J. J. Hall, which continued until 1869, when he was elected probate judge, serving six years. He then formed a partnership with Mr. Foster and Charles R. Grant, the firm being Foster, Marvin & Grant. In 1883 he withdrew from the firm, having been appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Upon retiring from the Common Pleas Bench he formed a partnership with Mr. F. M. Atterholt, which continued for nine years. They then associated with them Rolin W. Sadler and D. L. Marvin, under the name of Marvin, Sadler & Atterholt. Judge Marvin retired when he was elected to his present position as judge of the Circuit Court of Ohio for the Eighth Circuit. Judge Marvin when in practice enjoyed a large and lucrative business, having been engaged in many important cases. He is a lawyer of ability and an orator of note ; has delivered a number of addresses and made many political speeches. In politics he has always been a Republican and manifested commendable interest in political affairs, taking such active part as his law practice and judicial positions would permit. Judge Marvin is the senior warden of the vestry of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church at Akron. He is an active member of the Loyal Legion and the Grand Army of the Republic. On the 24th day of November, 1861, Judge Marvin married Dorena, daughter of Honorable David L. Rockwell, of Kent. Mrs. Marvin is living and there are four sons by this union : David L., a lawyer at Akron; George U., a journalist at Columbus ; Charles A., a journalist at Akron ; and Frank R., now a student in Williams College. JAIRUS KENNAN, Norwalk. Jairus Kennan, who was honorably engaged In the practice of law at Norfolk for a period of thirty-seven years, died on the 16th of June, 1872. He was born at Moira, Franklin county, New York, on the 22nd of April, 1813. His father, Thomas Kennan, was a Presbyterian minister, a native of Vermont, where his family settled at a very early period. They were of Scotch-Irish descent. When the Rev. Thomas Kennan began his ministerial work he removed to New York State, where he resided until 1833, in which year he settled at Norwalk, Ohio. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was a colonel in the American Revolution. Mr. Kennan came first to Ohio when he was fifteen years of age, joining an elder brother who resided at Norwalk. He remained two years, and during this period taught school a part of the time. At an early age he began the study of law. In 1831 he returned to New York and was for two years a student at Potsdam Academy. In 1833 his father removed to Ohio and he came with him. He then entered the office of Judge E. Lane and began regularly the study of his profession, and in 1835 was admitted to practice. At different times he was 178 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. in partnership with Gideon T. Stewart, G. R. Walker, B. F. Bryant, and at the time of his death his son, Colonel C. L. Kennan, was his partner. Mr. Kennan was one of the oldest members of the Bar at the time of his death. He commanded the confidence and respect of all who knew him or who had business with him. Every trust confided to him was always faithfully discharged. He never carried a case in court until he had first exhausted every means of settlement. For a number of years he was interested in the old Norwalk Seminary. All his life he was prominent in church work. He helped build the First Presbyterian church; also the Second, which was completed about a year before his death. No man was ever more useful in church work. He was leader of the choir for a full generation. He had been connected with Sunday school work longer than any other member of the church, and as an elder he was second to no man in usefulness and fidelity. In his family his gentle, quiet, unconscious influence and character were most marked, and at his death the heart of an intelligent, cultivated, Christian husband and father had ceased to beat. In 1837 Mr. Kennan married Charlotte E. Gardiner, a sister of John Gardiner, president of the Norwalk National Bank. She was a native of New London, Connecticut, and of English ancestry. Of the nine children born of this union eight are living, two daughters and six sons. C. WOODRUFF OSBORNE, Painesville. C. W. Osborne was born at Mesopotamia, Trumbull county, Ohio, on the 31st day of December, 1845. His father, Rev. Hezekiah W. Osborne, was a Presbyterian minister ; came to Ohio in 1836 from New York State, where he was born, and was for sixteen years pastor of the church at Mesopotamia. In 1852 he removed to Hambden, Geauga county, where he died in 1854. He was of English descent. His mother was Evelina L. Smith of New Haven county, Connect- icut, and was of the Smiths of North Haven, Connecticut. Mr. Osborne's early education was obtained in the common and select schools of Hambden. Later he entered the Kingsville Academy, Ashtabula county, and was graduated therefrom in 1866. He then became a teacher in the district and high schools of Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga counties for five years. During this time he commenced the study of law. He then entered the office of Canfield & Canfield, at Chardon, where he remained one year preparing himself for the practice of the profession he had chosen for his life work, and on the 2nd of September, 1872, he was admitted to practice. He at once opened an office at Chardon, but shortly afterwards he formed a partnership with T. W. Porter, under the firm name of Porter & Osborne. This continued about three years, when he became the partner of Honorable I. N. Hathaway, the firm name being Hathaway & Osborne. In the spring of 1889, Mr. Osborne withdrew from this firm, removed to Painesville and soon thereafter formed a partnership with W. A. Breed, the firm being Osborne & Breed. In the spring of 1897 this firm was dissolved, and the firm of BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 179 Osborne & Reynolds was formed, Judge Reynolds having retired from the Probate Bench of Lake county. Mr. Osborne has for a number of years been recognized as one of the leading lawyers in northeastern Ohio, with a good practice in the State and Federal courts. He was prosecuting-attorney for Geauga county from 1882 to 1887. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar Association, a prominent Mason, having attained the 32nd degree, and has been chief officer in all the branches of the masonic order, including the Commandery. Politically he is a Republican and has always taken an active interest in county, State and National politics. He is an effective and ready speaker and from time to time has delivered many speeches. In the campaign of 1896 he displayed great energy, enthusiasm and determination in his efforts on the stump. His speeches were both argumentative and eloquent. Mr. Osborne in 1872 married Flora A. Maynard, of Hambden. There are five children—Merton S., Allyn L., Carlotta M., Bessie E., and Carrie E. GEORGE E. SCHROTH, Tiffin. Mr. Schroth, prosecuting attorney for Seneca county, is a native of Ohio, of German parentage. His mother, Cathrina Biehler Schroth, was a native of the province of Alsace and his father of Wurtemberg, Germany. The senior Mr. Schroth came to the United States and settled in Cincinnati about the year 1848, after the revolution in Germany, in which General Carl Schurz and General Ashboth participated, and on account of which they became citizens of this country. George Schroth was born April 7, 1863, at Cincinnati. His education was obtained principally in the public schools of that city. After passing through the primary and grammar schools, he entered the high school, where he studied for several years, but left the city just before his class was graduated. Ile located at Tiffin, and soon afterwards began teaching a-district school, at the age of sixteen. This was his avocation for six years, teaching during the school year and attending the short term of normal school during the summer vacations at Ada. While teaching he was also a student of law text books. In 1885 he entered the office of John K. Rohn, of Tiffin, for the purpose of completing his law course. He remained with Mr. Rohn for one year when he was examined by the Supreme Court and admitted to practice. He opened an office at Tiffin, and in the time intervening between that date and the present, has established himself firmly, and secured a lucrative practice. In 1887 he was appointed school examiner for Seneca county, holding the position for three years. In 1890 he was elected prosecuting attorney for the county, and re-elected in 1893. During his term of office as prosecutor, he has tried two capital cases and secured the first conviction in Seneca county for murder in the first degree with a death penalty. The first of these cases was that of the State vs. Marvin Kuhns, an Indiana desperado, who had murdered a fellow horse-thief named Campeau.. The evidence was wholly circumstantial and resulted in a verdict of murder in the second degree, and the accused received 180 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. a life sentence. The second case was one that attracted the attention of the entire country, and Mr. Schroth, as the representative of the State, has been eulogized by the press and people in the strongest manner for the able and impartial discharge of his official duties in the premises. The title of the case was the State vs. Leon J. Martin, indicted for murder in the first degree. The capital crime of Martin was the murder of the city marshal who had a warrant for his arrest on complaint charging the minor offense of assault with intent to kill. The feeling against the prisoner was so strong that an attempt was made to lynch him, and the official guards who were defending the jail shot and killed two members of the assaulting mob. What followed has passed into history. State troops took possession of the jail and protected the prisoner. Tiffin fortunately escaped the odium attaching to the execution of vengeance by an inflamed mob, and the slower but defensible processes of the law were faithfully executed. The prisoner was tried in an orderly manner, found guilty by the verdict of a jury, and was sentenced by the court to suffer the death penalty. The case was duly taken to the Circuit and Supreme Courts on error, and the judgment of the Common Pleas was affirmed. The case is fully reported by Judge Price in Vol. 13 on page 67 of the Circuit Court Reports of Ohio. The leaders of the mob were indicted on the charge of inciting a riot, and the cases against some of them are still pending. Mr. Schroth has been a fearless and zealous upholder of the law as he finds it. He is a Republican in politics and an active supporter of the party in every campaign. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and is a member of the order of American Mechanics. He was married in August, 1889, to Miss Rose Wolfe, daughter of Solomon and Mahala Wolfe, prominent citizens ofSeneca county, whose ancestors were among the earliest settlers of northwestern Ohio. They have one daughter. EDWIN F. VORIS, Akron. Edwin Francis Voris was born at Akron, July 31, 1855. His father, General Alvin C. Voris, is an eminent lawyer who was at one time judge of the Court of Common Pleas of his district, and at the close of the late war was, in December, 1865, mustered out of the service as a brevet major general of volunteers, having served through the entire war with great distinction and gallantry. The Vorises (originally Van Voorhees) are of Holland stock. The first of the name came to this country in 1660 and settled in New Amsterdam. Mr. Voris's branch of the family removed thence to New Jersey, where his great-grandfather was born the latter removed to Pennsylvania where his grandfather was born, who, in 1815, came to Ohio. The Vorises were prominent during the American Revolution. From first, to last about one hundred of that name took part in the great struggle for independence. His mother was Lydia Allyn, born in Ohio of Connecticut parents, who came to the State in 1817, settling in Summit county. The Allyns are of English ancestry. The first of the family, Robert Allyn, came to America BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 181 about 1640 and settled in Massachusetts, and later removed to Groton near New London, Connecticut. Here they became prominent in the early history Of the State and were most active during the American Revolution. Collaterally he is related on his mother's side to Governor Eaton, the first governor of Connecticut, and the author of the Blue Laws. E. F. Voris's early education was obtained in the public schools of Akron. He passed through the city high school and in 1872 entered Buchtell College, from which he was graduated in 1875. He at once took up the study of law, entered the Law School at Harvard, and received his degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1877. Returning to Akron he was, on the 7th day of October, 1877, admitted to practice. Entering his father's office he remained there until the following May, when he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he engaged in practice. After remaining there one year he returned to Akron and formed a partnership with his father, the firm being Voris & Voris. The firm continued until General Voris took his seat on the Common Pleas Bench, in January, 1891, to which he had been elected in the fall of 1890. He then formed a partnership with Charles Baird, under the firm name of Baird & Voris. This lasted until June, 1895. Since that time he has practiced alone. His practice has always been of a general character. Mr. Voris has been identified with much of the important litigation in this and the neighboring counties. He has won for himself an enviable position as an able and conscientious lawyer, always diligent and painstaking in matters entrusted to him. He possesses a fine memory and has the faculty of being able to recall authorities that are applicable to the principles of law involved in a cause with great promptness and at the proper time. He has always been a student. His arguments to the court are strong and logical, and in the presentation of facts to the jury he is forcible and convincing. Mr. Voris is a man of high moral character, and with his genial and sociable nature he has a large circle of friends, both in and out of the profession. A Republican, politically, he has always taken an active general interest in political questions. In 1886 he was appointed prosecuting attorney for Summit county to fill the unexpired term of John C. Means, who died while in office. From 1888 to 1892, he served two terms as a member of the school board of Akron. In 1879 he married Miss Lizzie U. Slade, daughter of W. H. Slade, of Columbus, and has five children, all of whom are living : Lydia, born July 17, 1880 ; William S., born August 28, 1882 ; Lizzie, born August 12, 1884 ; Ed win F. and Marion, born October 15, 1892. EZRA. B. TAYLOR, Warren. Honorable Ezra B. Taylor was born in Nelson township, Portage county, Ohio, July 9, 1823. His parents were Elisha and Theresa (Couch) Taylor, who came from Berkshire, Massachusetts, to Ohio in 1814. Like the average pioneers they were not blessed with a superabundance of this world's goods, and the family endured all the hardships and privations suffered by the early settlers. After Ezra had attended the district 182 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. school until seventeen years of age, he was thrown very much upon his own resources. He had from youth manifested a love for books and firmly resolved upon fitting himself for a professional career. With this end in view he devoted himself closely to study and by earnest application acquired an intimate knowledge of a wide range of literature. He studied law under Honorable Robert F. Paine, then of Garrettsville, and in 1845, when twenty-two years of age, he was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court at Chardon. In 1847 he settled at Ravenna, where he engaged in the practice. After a year alone he entered into partnership with General Lucius V. Bierce, who was in the zenith of his career. This was a great opportunity for a young man and at once introduced him into a profitable practice and placed him in intimate relations with the foremost members of the Bar. These advantages were improved, and the characteristic ability displayed by Mr: Taylor was soon appreciated in a wider field than he had theretofore occupied. At a subsequent period he entered into partnership with John L. Ranney and still later with Judge Luther Day. He continued the practice of his profession at Ravenna until 1861, when he moved to Warren, which has since been his home. He had in 1849 been elected prosecuting attorney of Portage county. From the outbreak of the civil war Mr. Taylor had been a strong supporter of the Union, active in all movements tending to the success of that cause. In 1864 he enlisted as a private in the 171st Ohio National Guards, serving three months in the field, and upon his return home was elected colonel of his regiment. On settling at Warren, in 1862, he formed a partnership with L. C. Jones, for the practice of law, which was dissolved in 1876. In 1877, upon the death of Judge Servis, of the Court of Common Pleas, Mr. Taylor was tendered the position, but declined the offer. He was subsequently greatly surprised to learn that nearly every lawyer, both Republican and Democrat, in the sub-district composed of Mahoning, Trumbull and Portage counties, had signed a petition for his appointment, which the governor made and he accepted. He was elected in the fall of the same year to succeed himself, and subsequently re-elected, being continuously on the Bench until 1880. In this year General Garfield was elected to the United States Senate, creating a vacancy in the representation in Congress for the Nineteenth congressional district, and Judge Taylor was at once selected as the most suitable candidate. He did not participate in the preliminary canvass personally, but confined himself entirely to his duties as judge. He received the nomination over a large number of influential aspirants, and resigned his position on the Bench so that he might take an active part in the canvass. He was elected, and for thirteen years thereafter served in Congress. In 1892 he was strongly urged to again accept the nomination of his party, but for personal and family reasons he declared his purpose to withdraw from public life. In the Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Congresses he served on the committee of claims ; in the Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses he was on the committee of manufactures; in the Fifty-second Congress he was a member of the committee to investigate the Homestead riots, of Pennsylvania, and of the sweating system BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 183 of making clothing, cigars, etc. In the Forty-seventh Congress he was one of the regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and also a member of the judiciary committee, on which he served during the remainder of his public life, acting in the Fifty-first Congress as chairman of that committee. His work on that committee consisted largely in examining and settling questions of law constantly arising, for the purpose of avoiding bad and unconstitutional legislation. He was regarded by his fellow members as one of the ablest and most efficient of committeemen. Since his retirement from Congress Judge Taylor has given his entire attention to his law practice, having associated with him his son-in-law, George W. Upton, a lawyer of high standing and a citizen of excellent reputation. In 1849, Judge Taylor was married, in Ravenna, to Harriet M. Frazier and they had two children, a daughter and a son. The former is now the wife of Mr. Upton. She is highly educated and has gained quite a reputation in literature. Some of her productions have met with great success. Perhaps the best known of her writings is that devoted to the lives of the Presidents of the United States and their families, which was published by D. Lathrope, of Boston. She has throughout her life been devoted to her father, and while he was in Congress she was continuously in Washington with him, where she became a pronounced favorite in society, on account of her literary tastes and ability, as well as for her amiability of character. H. Taylor, the only son of the judge, is a representative lawyer of Youngstown, and bids fair to emulate his father, if not in political honors, at ]east in ability. In 1876 Judge Taylor was called to mourn the loss of his wife, the devoted mother of his children and the mistress of his home for so many years. Since that time he has found his greatest comfort and consolation in the society of his children. As a lawyer Judge Taylor takes a prominent place among the great trial lawyers of Ohio. Although his preference for civil business is very positive, like all lawyers practicing outside of the large cities, he has participated in many criminal trials. He has been employed in some of the most notable cases tried in northeastern Ohio. As counsel for the defense his fame extended far beyond the practice of the Bar of his section, and he has been frequently called to distant courts in important cases. He has at various times met as opponents in the forum many of the ablest and most famous lawyers of the State and has always been distinguished for his intimate acquaintance with every detail of his case, for his profound knowledge of the law and his courtesy to opposing counsel. The judge entertains a decided preference for the preparation of his own cases. He is possessed of a keen perceptive faculty that enables him to clear away all the immaterial matters and see the strong points of a case, upon which he concentrates his strength. Since the founding of the Republican party he has been one of its earnest and efficient members. He has rendered valuable services in many hard fought campaigns. He is cool and sagacious in council, a forcible and eloquent speaker. The strength and purity of his diction, his skill and force in the presentation of facts and arguments render him a most powerful advocate and lend dignity and strength, so that his addresses are alike effective upon a jury or the public. 184 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. HARVEY MUSSER, Akron. Mr. Musser was born at Millheim, Pennsylvania, August 30, 1858. His father, Phillip T. Musser, was an eminent physician, and was greatly respected by his large circle of acquaintances in the section of his native State where he resided and practiced his profession for so many years. The father was of Swiss-French ancestry. His mother, Mary J. Mumbauer, was a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, of German ancestors, who were among the earliest settlers of the State. Mr. Musser's early education was obtained in the public schools of his native State, and he Was prepared for college at the Aaronsburg Academy and Missionary Institute. In 1875 he entered Franklin and Marshall College at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was graduated in June, 1879. He then taught school at Aaronsburg for one year, and it was during this time he commenced the study of law under the direction of the Honorable A. O. Furst, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Mr. Furst afterwards became judge of the Court of Common Pleas. In the fall of 1880 Mr. Musser entered the law department of the University of Michigan, and received his degree of Bachelor of Laws in April, 1882. He was admitted to the Bar of Michigan, and at once went to Akron, Ohio, where he was admitted to practice. He was alone for the first two years. His first partnership was with the late R. W. Sadler, under the firm name of Sadler & Musser. They continued in business together for about one and a half years, until the expiration of the Honorable J. A. Kohler's term as attorney-general of Ohio, when the firm of Kohler & Musser was formed. This firm continued until January, 1895, when Mr. G. C. Kohler was taken into partnership. The firm then became Kohler, Musser & Kohler. In the fall of that year Mr. J. A. Kohler, having been elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for a term of five years, beginning in May, 1896, retired, and the firm has since continued as Musser & Kohler. Mr. Musser occupies an enviable position at the Akron Bar. He is decidedly bright, and possesses a clear, logical mind. He is persuasive in his arguments, strong in his convictions, determined and unyielding when he feels that he is right. Courage is his strong characteristic. His life has been most exemplary. Mr. Musser enjoys a large and profitable practice of a general character. He has been connected with many important cases. The case that has probably attracted the most attention was that of the State of Ohio vs. Romulus Cotel. With Mr. E. F. Voris he defended Cotel, charged with the murder of the Stone family and Ira Stillson at Tallrnage, Ohio, in 1896. A conviction was secured, and the Supreme Court set aside the verdict on error. Cotel afterwards pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree. The defense was upon the ground that he was a degenerate, and the saving of this man's life was due to the skillful work of the attorneys in the case. Mr. Musser is a Republican. While he takes a general interest in all political questions, he allows nothing to interfere with his law practice. He was for several years a member of the Republican executive committee of the county. He has never held political office. He is a director and stockholder in the Citizens' National Bank of Akron. In 1886 he. married BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 185 Elizabeth Hammond Huston, of Nitany, Pennsylvania, and has had by this union four children. Three sons are living : Harvey Huston, James Coburn and Philip Sumner. THOMAS M. SLOANE, Sandusky. Thomas Morrison Sloane, son of Judge Rush R. Sloane, was born at Sandusky, Ohio, July 28, 1854. He was prepared for college at Exeter, New Hampshire, in that ideal preparatory school—Phillips Exeter Academy—whose admirable curriculum has been at once the inspiration and the foundation of the broad and thorough scholarship of so many eminent men. Having completed the academic course he passed the examinations for admission to Harvard University in June, 1873, and entered upon the literary course there in September of the same year. He was graduated from Harvard in 1877, receiving his baccalaureate degree in course. He then studied law for one year in the office of H. & L. H. Goodwin, of Sandusky, beginning in September, 1877. With this preliminary reading lie entered the Law School of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, in the fall of 1878, and was graduated as a Bachelor of Laws in March, 1880. Upon receiving this degree he was admitted to practice in the courts of Michigan, and at once returned to his home in Sandusky. In May, 1880, he passed the required examination before the Supreme Court and was admitted to the Bar of the State. Ile began the practice or the law in partnership with E. B. King. He has continued in the practice and won a good position at the Bar. His success has been facilitated by the broad scholarship and clear understanding of the principles of the law which served as the preparation for practice in the courts. Mr. Sloane was married June 22, 1881, to Sarah Maria Carswell Cooke daughter of Pitt Cooke, a member of the Sandusky Bar. The union has been blessed with two children, Rush R. Sloane, Jr., born October 25, 1884, and Thomas Morrison Sloane, Jr., born January 14, 1893. JESSE VICKERY, Bellevue. The subject of this biography is a native of the State and city in which he resides. He was born January 30, 1860. His parents, William and Sarah Vickery, natives of Devonshire, England, came to the United States in 1856 and settled directly in Bellevue, which was then a mere country village. He attended the district schools at first, until he Was prepared to take up the academic studies. - He then entered the high school at Clyde, whose course of study he pursued to completion. He was graduated from the school in 1880, after which he spent two years as a student in the Western Reserve University at Hudson. On leaving the university he engaged in teaching for a year, studying the text books and principles of law meanwhile with Mr. Thomas P. Dewey, of Clyde. In 1883 he entered the Law School of the University of Michigan. The credit which he had earned by previous reading, and the habit of close application to study which he had formed, 186 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. enabled him to complete the two years' course in one year. He passed the examination creditably, and was graduated with the class of 1884. In that great law school he enjoyed the benefit of the instruction and lectures of a very able faculty : Charles a Kent, of Detroit, the sound lawyer and ready instructor whose points and explanations were always clear to the class—who is descended from the same stock as the renowned chancellor ; the noble and venerable Alpheus Felch, who died in 1896, judge, governor and senator of the United States, who had honored himself in all these positions ; the enthusiastic, popular and clear-headed Henry Wade Rogers, now president of the Northwestern University of Chicago ; and last and greatest of all, that profound jurist, keen analytical and constitutional lawyer, Thomas M. Cooley. With his natural tastes and aptitudes for the law, supplemented by close and critical study, illustrated and impressed by instruction of the highest character, Mr. Vickery was well qualified for practice when he was admitted to the Bar in 1884. On April 1, 1885, he opened his law office in Bellevue, in partnership with his brother, Willis Vickery, under the style of Vickery Brothers, which continued until 1897, when his brother removed to Cleveland. The character of his practice is general, and the little city of Belleview is admirably situated for reaching a number of larger cities with equal facility. On the very border of Huron county, it is scarcely more than a stone's throw from corners of the counties of Erie, Sandusky and Seneca. As a matter of record Mr. Vickery has practice of almost equal proportions in each of the four counties. One of the important cases with which he has been successfully connected was that of the depositing creditors of the suspended Bellevue Bank a case in which, as counsel for the creditors, his firm collected one hundred cents on the dollar, of all claims, with five or six per cent. additional. Cases growing out of this one against the bank are now in the courts of New York on appeal. Politically Mr. Vickery is a Republican, exhibiting the activity and interest in local politics which are among the best evidences of good citizenship. He married Bettie F. Haas, of Bellevue. The issue of this marriage is two boys. He is a believer in Christianity, a member of the Congregational Church and the superintendent of the Sunday school. He has a beautiful and comfortable residence, completed in 1895, and a pleasant home. He is active, enterprising and public-spirited, esteemed for moral worth and integrity, no less than genial manners and social traits. He is a careful, conscientious, painstaking lawyer. While earnest and zealous in behalf of a client, he employs such methods only as are approved by the most reputable practitioners. With him a case which can only be won by a trick is lost. JOHN M. KILLITS, Bryan. Mr. Killits, prosecuting attorney of Williams county, is a native of the State, born of parents whose descent was German. He was born at Lithopolis, Fairfield county, October 7, 1858. His paternal grandfather, John Killets, came to America from Hamburg in 1805 and died BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 187 in 1847. The father of our subject was born in Pennsylvania in 1836 and spent the early years of his life in that State and in Fairfield county, Ohio, later removing to Williams county, and was engaged in the dry goods trade from 1867 to 1881, at Bryan, and at farming until 1890. He then retired from active business and removed to Chicago where he now lives. The maternal ancestors of our subject emigrated from Germany the latter part of the last century and settled in Pennsylvania, where Daniel Crumley, his grandfather, was born. The latter married and settled in Fairfield county about 1825. He was by occupation a farmer and was for many years a justice of the peace and a highly respected citizen. He died in 1887 at the advanced age of eighty-five years. John M. Killits received the rudiments of his education in the public schools of Bryan. At the age of seventeen he entered the preparatory department of Oberlin College, where he remained one year, and then entered Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, from which he was graduated in 1880, with the degree of A. B. Seven years later his Alma Mater conferred on him the degree of Master of Arts. After leaving college he entered the field of journalism, publishing a daily and weekly paper at Red Oak, Iowa, which he conducted for three years, when he retired from the business with a valuable and costly experience. In March, 1884, he accepted a clerical position in the war department at Washington, but was soon after offered the position of private secretary to General Hazen, chief of signal corps and weather bureau. He held the position until 1887, when he resigned in order to enter on the practice of law, for which he had prepared himself during his residence in Washington. He was graduated from the Columbian Law School in 1885 and the following year took the post-graduate course, and was admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia in the same year. Returning to Bryan he entered upon the practice of his profession February 1, 1888. He was thoroughly equipped so far as preparatory study could fit him, and he soon built up a good practice. In 1892 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Williams county and was re-elected in 1895. In the discharge of the duties of this office he has demonstrated his fitness for the profession. The two cases that brought him most prominently before the public and established his reputation, both as a lawyer and as an advocate, were those of the State of Ohio vs. William B. Elkins and Walter Plummer, charged with the murder of Arthur Brown. Despite the fact that there had already been two convictions for this murder, Mr. Killits was not satisfied that the guilty had all been punished, and, taking up the thread of the case where his predecessor had dropped them, developed from new testimony so strong a case that the two men, heretofore unsuspected, were indicted for murder in the first degree, thirteen months after the commission of the crime. They were separately tried and convicted on evidence largely circumstantial, and both are now in the penitentiary under life sentences. These trials lasted for almost three months and Mr. Killits had as opposing counsel a strong array of legal talent, but both parties were convicted after the hardest legal contests in the history of the county. The defendants carried the cases to the Circuit Court, but the ver- 188 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. dicts of the lower court were sustained. Subsequently the Plummer case was taken to the Supreme Court of Ohio, where, again, the trial court was affirmed. In the Court of Common Pleas Mr. Killits was assisted by C. H. Masters, but in the Circuit and Supreme Courts he argued the cases alone. In political convictions Mr. Killits is a Republican and is active in local politics. He was married in Washington, D. C., June 21, 1887, to Miss Alice Nourse Steuart, a member of an old Maryland family whose ancestors came from England and Scotland in early Colonial times and whose representatives took part in both wars with England. They have two children, daughters. CHARLES E. SCOTT, Bryan. Mr. Scott was born in Williams county, near Bryan, July 19, 1858. He is of Irish-German descent. His parents were William C. and Elizabeth (Millhouse) Scott, his father a native of Ohio and his mother of Pennsylvania. His paternal grandfather was a native of the North of Ireland and came to America in the latter part of the last century, locating first in New York State, afterwards coming to Ohio at the the beginning of the present century, and before the admission of the territory as a State into the Union. He located in Wayne county, where he passed the remainder of his days. The father of our subject came to Williams county in 1850 and engaged in the manufacture of woolens, building one of the first woolen mills in northwestern Ohio. Later he exchanged the mill for a farm near Bryan, on which he lived until his death, in 1887. Mr. Scott's maternal ancestors came to the United States in the latter part of the last century and settled at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where his mother was born. She came, in early life, to live with an aunt in Wayne county, where she met and married his father. Charles E. was educated in the public schools of Bryan, graduating from the high school in 1876, at the age of eighteen. Having chosen the law as a profession for his life work, he at once took up its study. He entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan and pursued his legal studies there for about two years. He passed the required examination before the Supreme Court of Ohio, in October, 1880, and was admitted to practice in all of the State courts. He began the practice at Defiance in connection with a Mr. Knapp, under the firm name of Knapp & Scott, a relation which continued for three years, when it was dissolved. Mr. Scott returned to Bryan and entered into partnership with his brother, Robert A. Scott, then prosecuting attorney for Williams county. This partnership was dissolved in 1886, by the death of his brother. He then formed a partnership with Philetus Smith, and practiced in this connection until 1890, when Mr. Smith removed to Chicago. In 1891 the present firm of Scott & Schrider was formed by associating with himself John H. Schrider. Mr. Scott's political creed is Democracy, but he is in no sense a politician. His ambition is to be known as a lawyer, and he devotes his time to the interests of his clients. He was BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 189 married December 25, 1888, to Miss Daisy Plank, daughter of Samuel and Mary Fasig Plank, of Wauseon, Ohio. A well-known member of the Toledo Bar says : "I have known Mr. Scott for several years, He is honorable, reputable, active and industrious. He possesses intellectual attainments of a high order. He is a close student, a clear and logical reasoner, an eloquent advocate and a first-class all-round lawyer. Well read in all branches of the law, it is in the defense in criminal causes that he excels. He carries an old man's head on a young man's shoulders. Young in years, strong and healthy in frame, with a strong, striking face, the manner of a tragedian, the voice, style and finish of an orator, I predict for him a brilliant future." A very capable lawyer and prominent citizen of Columbus adds the following : " Charles E. Scott, of Bryan, Ohio, possesses the rare but sometimes dangerous quality of starting out upon the investigation and preparation of his case with the conviction (which strengthens as he proceeds) that his client is all right ; that his cause is just ; that if he does not win it is by reason of some default in the administration of justice and not because his facts, are deficient or his law mischosen ; that everyone who stands between him and his client, whether witness, counsel, juror or judge, is his enemy. He comes near illustrating the lawyer who, when he enters upon the trial of his cause, raises the black flag. In spite of all this Charles E. Scott is a prime favorite with the Bench and Bar. It was once said of him in the writer's presence that his mere presence before a court or jury was a fortune to any lawyer. Always superbly attired, he is still most popular with the plainest people, many times seen in the street walking arm in arm with a shabbily dressed client, apparently unconscious of all observers and with an air which impresses all beholders that he is saying to his client, We'll swipe 'em off the face of the earth.' He is not only a tireless general student of the law, but in the preparation of his cases he is an omniverous reader, discarding everything that he finds in the books which seems against him as stuff not applicable to such a case as his. In a forensic sense he possessess many of the graces and accomplishments of an orator. When he is to make a plea, as plain people call it, he may depend upon a good audience outside of the jury box, and an attentive and interested hearing within it. Blunt., brave, rugged and faithful, he will clothe a scathing attack upon witness or counsel in words so smooth and sentences so well formed that the victim will half imagine himself the recipient of an exquisite compliment. It is not unusual to see him in pleasant converse with some one whom, within the previous half hour, he was fairly cauterizing with hiS slick but blistering words, explaining to him how disagreeable were, many times, a lawyer's duties. One thing Mr. Scott is in a pre-eminent degree. He is always himself. He is no imitation. He is original and unique, whenever and wherever you find him. Handsome, attractive and prepossessing in his personal appearance, with a graceful and impressive presence, singly devoted to his client and his cause, he is well advanced upon a career which is destined soon to assign him to a conspicuous and commanding place in his chosen profession." 190 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. JACOB CLOYD RIDENOUR, Lima. J. C. Ridenour is a member of the firm of Ridenour & Halfhill. He is an American of Scotch-German descent. his ancestors were among the early settlers of the country and located in the State of Maryland. His great-grandfather, John Ridenour, was a soldier in the American army in the war of 1812. His grandfather emigrated from Maryland in 1820 and settled in Perry county, Ohio, removing from there ten years later and settling in Allen county. He was one of the pioneer settlers of that now populous region. His father, John Ridenour, was born and raised there ; married to Dorcas Dixson, daughter of Jacob Dixson, deceased, who was a prominent farmer of Licking county and settled in Allen county, where Jacob Cloyd was born, March 9, 1860. When Jacob was two years old his father entered the army as a private soldier. He was a member of the 118th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served in the Eastern Department, participating in many of the hard fought battles of the Army of the Potomac, under Hooker, Burnside, Mead and Grant. When success was about to crown the Union arms he sickened and died in camp, at Washington, D. C., February 5, 1865. Our subject was raised on the farm and his early education was obtained in the district school, doing farm work in the intervals between terms, until he was eighteen. He then entered the Ada University, and passed the larger part of four years there, but did not take the regular course. A portion of the time was spent in teaching in the nearby districts, both common and graded schools. In 1883 he entered the Law Department of the Iowa State University and was graduated in June, 1885 ; was examined at Iowa City and admitted to the Bar, June 23, 1885, to practice in both State and Federal courts of Iowa. Returning to Ohio, he was made principal of the high school at La Rue, a position which he retained for one year. In 1886 he applied for admission to the Ohio Bar ; was examined and admitted at Columbus, June 2. He located at Lima in his native county, and began practice June 21 of the same year. He formed a partnership with Gideon Ditto which was terminated by the latter's death, August 1887. September 1, of the same year, the present firm was organized by a partnership agreement with J. W. Halfhill under the firm name of Ridenour & Halfhill. Their practice includes all classes of legal business, and they have built up a large clientage both in the city and surrounding country. In late years they have undertaken some intricate and important cases, and the successful manner in which they handled them has greatly added to their reputation for legal acumen and forensic ability. In political affiliation Mr. Ridenour is a Democrat, while his partner is just as strongly Republican ; though neither of them allows politics to affect business or social relations. Mr. Ridenour is now serving a three-year term as prosecuting attorney for Allen county, having been elected in 1893. He was married, November 6, 1887, to Miss Maggie H. Browsher, daughter of the late Anthony Browsher, a farmer of Allen county. Two children, Walter Emily and Chester Eugene, are the fruits of this wedlock. The family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and occupies a high social position in the community. BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 191 DANIEL E. THOMAS, Toledo. Mr. Thomas came from revolutionary stock. His ancestors earned their title to citizenship by active participation in the battles of the war for independence. They came to this country from Wales, three brothers, prior to the Declaration of Independence and settled in Connecticut. All of them entered the American army, and all passed through the war unscathed except one, who lost an eye in battle. James Thomas, the grandfather of our subject, was the son of one of these brothers. He left the family homestead and settled in Pennsylvania, where his son, Daniel M., the father of Daniel E., was born. When a young man, Daniel went to New York State, where he married Mary E. Tuttle and soon afterwards removed to Michigan, not long after that State was admitted to the Union. He followed both farming and merchandising and opened the first store in Quincy township, Branch county. It was there that Daniel E. was born, March 16, 1846. Later the family removed to Dowagiac, where he received his early education. He was graduated from the high school of that town in 1865. Shortly after this he entered Kalamazoo College, where he spent several years. Returning to Dowagiac he became superintendent of the public schools of that city. He followed teaching in Michigan for about seven years, and was reckoned one of the leading instructors in the State. He was professor of mathematics in Milwaukee Academy one year. He took up the study of law in 1869, in the office of D. Darwin Hughes, at Marshall, Michigan, and pursued legal studies in connection with his other duties until 1873, when he was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court of the State and immediately entered on the practice of law at Sturgis. He remained at Sturgis in practice until 1885, when he removed to Toledo, Ohio. During that interval he held the office of circuit court commissioner and prosecuting attorney of St. Joseph county, serving in each office for four years. Upon locating at Toledo he devoted his time and attention exclusively to his law practice with well merited success. He was vice president of the People's Savings, Loan and Building Company. His fraternity spirit and belief in Christianity were evidenced by membership in the Masonic order and the Episcopal Church. He was vestryman of St. Mark's from the organization of the society to the time of his death. In his political affiliations lie was always a Republican, but after his removal to Ohio, he was not active in party work. He was married July 14, 1868, to Miss Agnes Van Horne, daughter of John A. Van Horne, of Marshall, Michigan, for many years county clerk of Calhoun county. To them were born three sons, all of whom have reached man's estate. One of the ablest and best known lawyers of Toledo thus briefly characterizes him: " Mr. Thomas has been a member of our Bar for a number of years; is a lawyer of high standing and a man of excellent character and reputation." Daniel E. Thomas died May 6, 1896. He was stricken with paralysis February 28. After a few weeks, brain trouble developed and he grew rapidly worse, dying after an illness of nine weeks, in the prime of life. The following is quoted from a memorial prepared and adopted by the Toledo Bar Association: 192 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. " His high ideals and unswerving integrity together with his feeling of loyalty and patriotism made him one of the very best of citizens. He was liberal to a fault, both with his time and his not over-abundant means. The needs of his unfortunate fellows and the affairs of his community, his city and his church appealed to him with a force that the majority of men know nothing of. It has been noted and commented upon that the present extraordinary good criminal record of St. Joseph county, Michigan, began with the conscientious and skillful official work of Daniel. E. Thomas as its prosecuting attorney. In time his practice became one of the most desirable in his county. His Michigan Supreme Court cases form two full bound volumes, and several of his cases have made the law of the State of Michigan as to the points involved. Though in his later years he had giyen some special attention to patent law, yet in variety of information and all-around ability as a lawyer he had few equals. As counsel he was safe, for in addition to his legal ability he was possessed of unusual good judgment and he was conscientious at all times and rn all things. To the good influences of his beautiful home-life he yielded most willingly and this made him and kept him the pure Christian gentleman that he was. WILLIAM H. TUCKER, Toledo. The subject of this sketch was the son of Dr. John A. Tucker and Elizabeth Brush. He was born at La Porte, Lorain county, Ohio, October 6, 1849. On his father's side he is descended from English and Scotch ancestors, who were Quakers by profession and practice. Their religion caused them to favor peace, and prevented their taking up arms in war. On the other hand, his maternal ancestors were Connecticut patriots, who participated in the war of the Revolution and the later war with Great Britain. His grandfather's family, on his father's side, came to Ohio in 1816, while his mother's father settled in this State in 1832, corning to Lorain county when it was a forest, dense and almost unbroken. The boy grew up in Lorain county and learned to work, as all well bred farmers' boys are required to do. His early education was received in the public schools of Huron county, and I enlarged in the Normal School at Milan ; some of the accomplishments were added by a year's study in Yale College and at Cornell University ; finally, his college education was completed by a four years' course in Baldwin University at Berea. All of these years afforded the preliminary mental training and the scholarship which formed the broad foundation on which to build his professional studies and his success in the law. He began reading law in the office of Haynes & Potter, in Toledo, and was admitted to the Bar in April, 1876. His first partnership association was with John T. Greer, and continued for a period of ten years. After its dissolution he continued the practice alone, and has won enviable success. Two branches of the law have claimed his attention and commanded his abilities. First, all of the laws relating to real estate; and second, all matters relating to probate business. In these he has become very proficient. His time has been given wholly to his profession. He has never held a political office, and never been a candidate for such office, and yet he has at all times taken lively interest in political affairs. He has sup- BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 193 ported and been identified with the Republican party from his earliest recollections; has participated actively in its campaigns, and whenever matters of importance are under consideration has given to the managers the benefit of his counsel. Indeed, it may not be amiss to say that he has been prominent in planning the work of campaigns; and in executing the plans. He has for some years been a member of the Republican county committee, and is now chairman of 'thy; congressional committee. He has frequently been a delegate to State conventions, and in 1892 was a delegate to represent his congressional district in the National convention at Minneapolis. In 1884, April 10, he was married to Miss Harriet Van Gorder, 'a native of Warren, and a daughter of George W. Van Gorder and Martha Ewing Murdock. They haye two sons and two daughters. Mr. Tucker was a friend of the late John Poag, and was pecu liarly fortunate in having the friendship and confidence of that gentleman. For several .years he attended to the personal concerns and the law business of Mr. Poag, who had been his room-mate for some time prior to his marriage. Their friendship was intimate and confidential to a degree seldom enjoyed between man and man, and yet Mr. Tucker was unaware of the eminently practical turn Mr: Poag's friendship for himself. had taken until the latter's will was opened. On November 2, 1894, while at Fostoria engaged in litigation growing out of a contested will, he was advised by telegraph that his friend Mr. Poag had been thrown from his buggy and dangerously injured. Procuring a postponement of the case, he went immediately with kindly ministrations to the bedside of his friend, whom he found unconscious, and who died the same evening without recovering consciousness. When the will was probated it was first discovered that Mr. Poag had remembered him most generously, bequeathing to him a private library containing forty-five hundred volumes, well selected, and many letters of .historic value—autograph letters of General Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Robert. Morris and La Fayette—all conspicuous in the Revolution and the formation of the government ; and of Generals Grant, Butler and others, distinguished in the late civil war ; and of the historians Lamartine, Jared Sparks and George Bancroft. The library and the manuscripts are indeed one of the most valuable collections owned by any private citizen in the State. In addition to this princely gift, he received by the terms, of the same will a cash bequest of twenty thousand dollars. Some of the books are rare and costly, requiring a lifetime for their procurement. In the collection are also found valuable paintings, bronzes and bric-a-brac. With the exception of membership in the board of education of the city of Toledo, of which he is president, Mr. Tucker has never held public office. He has been devoted solely to his profession, and by giving undivided attention to the law has earned reputation and achieved success of which all who know him bear willing testimony. One of the prominent members of the Bar says: " He has made a deep study of laws pertaining to real estate, and is a recognized authority upon that branch of the law. He is a general student as well as a law student, and possesses what is probably the finest and most complete general library in Toledo. He is a hard-working, industrious, care- 194 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. ful and thorough lawyer." Another attorney who has been most, intimately associated with him for twenty years, and had every opportunity to acquire accurate information concerning him, says : "His opinions on titles and real estate law are regarded very highly. He commands the esteem and confidence of all. He has been executor of many important estates, and is at present acting in that capacity in estates comprising unusually large and valuable properties. He is honest, public-spirited and exceedingly careful. Taken all in as a man, a citizen and a lawyer, Mr. Tucker has integrity of character, uprightness in conduct, qualities which are esteemed in a friend and abilities which command attention in the profession." BARTON SMITH, Toledo. Mr. Smith was born on his father's farm, near Joliet, Illinois, June 2, 1852. He was the son of a liberal and public-spirited farmer and stock dealer who had settled on the farm in 1835, having left his native State of Tennessee in boyhood and lived some years in Indiana. His mother was a native of the State of Indiana. He attended the University of Michigan, and upon completion of the full literary course was graduated in 1872. After spending a year in the stock business with his father he returned to Ann Arbor and took the. course in the law school of the University of Michigan, receiving his degree from that department in 1875. Immediately afterwards he settled in Toledo for practice, where he first formed a partnership with Mr. Geddes, which was continued six years and dissolved in July, 1881. He then formed a partnership with William and Rufus H. Baker, under name and style of Baker, Smith & Baker. This relation was maintained until the death of William Baker, the senior partner, in the fall of 1894. Since that time the business has been continued by the remaining members of the firm. Mr. Smith has made a particular and profound study of real estate law. For several years his practice, was confined to that branch of the law exclusively. In the course of time, however, it was naturally enlarged so as to include a corporation practice. He has for a long time been the attorney of street railroad companies, electric light companies and other large corporations. Perhaps the most important of these engagements, in its relations to the public, is the attorneyship of the street railroad interests. Fifteen years ago (1881) the street railroads of Toledo were controlled by four or five separate and independent companies. Mr. Smith was the attorney and counsellor of the original owners of one of the several roads. After much litigation and diplomacy a consolidation of all the small companies was effected, and a single, powerful organization incorporated as the Toledo Traction Company. The advantage of this to the municipality and the people is unquestionable, and the counsellor is entitled to his full share of the credit for bringing it about. Mr. Smith was a member of the board of education for one term, a position which his interest in popular education compelled him to accept. He has never held a political office or been a candidate for one, 195 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. although he has not manifested want of interest in politics. On the contrary,. he has been active in support of the Democratic party and its cardinal prin- ciples. His yiews on economic questions had the effect of placing him with the minority in the National convention of his party held in Chicago in July,. 1896. He was a sound money delegate to that convention. A former judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio contributes the following: " The old firm of Baker, Smith & Baker handled immense interests for corporations, including the business of the Connecticut Mutual Insurance Company. When the street railroad litigation of this city commenced Barton Smith was acting for the company. This was a kind of red letter litigation for the whole State, and the best legal talent was employed in it. Barton Smith was eminently qualified to handle these large, important and inyolved interests. He possesses the clearest and most analytical mind of any man of his age that I have met. He is great in the solution of intricate legal questions inyolving philosophical study. He has a peculiarly logical mind, and is a great student of the authorities. He is very popular and successful. He is an intense man, earnest, self-sacrificing in his duties ; thorough, working out eyery detail and examining every authority, eyen at the sacrifice of his health. He is very strong before a jury, .a fascinating speaker—logical, clear, pointed and impressive ; always courteous toward opposing counsel. He is a man of spotless character. I know no man who is his superior in -personal integrity,. and none who has a higher sense of professional honor. He is of sweet dis-. position and admirable temper." Mr. Smith was married on Christmas day, 1877, to Miss May Searles, of Kendall county, Illinois. He has two children, ay seventeen and it daughter seven years old. THOMAS H. TRACY, Toledo. Mr. Tracy is a native of Ohio, having been born near Bowling Green, Wood county, July 13, 1859. His father, Joseph R. Tracy, was a farmer who came from Chenango county, New York, in 1836, and was one of the early settlers of Wood county. Both his father and mother were descendants of old Connecticut families and brought to their Western home those substantial virtues of industry, diligence and frugality which so extensively prevailed among the early families of New England. Their son, Thomas H., spent his early days upon the farm, commencing his education in the public schools and afterwards entering college at Mansfield, Ohio. He read law in the office of the old firm of Bissell & Gorrill, of Toledo, and was admitted to practice in June, 1883. In the following year he became a partner of the firm, which association was continued until April 1, 1892, when he withdrew for the purpose of forming the present existing law partnership, King & Tracy. Besides their extended general law practice these gentlemen are general attorneys for a number of corporations of great commercial importance, including financial organizations, railroad corporations. and many others. In politics Mr. Tracy has thoroughly identified himself with the Republican party, and were the demands upon his time by his professional duties less exacting he would gladly give to that organization more 196 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. active assistance. He is in complete harmony with its creed, traditions and history, and feels that its success is essential to the best interests of the entire country. In 1889 he was appointed by Governor Foraker one of the trustees of the natural gas department of the city of Toledo, whose duty it became to formulate plans, make all necessary arrangements and to construct the natural gas plant for that city. He takes a deep and earnest interest in church and educational matters, being a member and trustee of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church. Until recently he was a member of the city board of education. In all the duties of a citizen he is active and energetic. Any movement for the advancement of the interests of Toledo, either of a commercial, political or educational character, is certain to receiye his cordial 'support and hearty co-operation. As a lawyer and counsellor he is well yersed in the authorities, diligent and faithful in acquiring a complete knowledge of the facts, and cautious and sagacious in his opinions and suggestions. In court his language is simple, his manner earnest, while his bearing displays unbounded confidence in the justice of the cause lie represents. He is of distinguished presence, a good talker—logical, earnest and impressiye. On January 1, 1885, he was married to Miss Laura E. Pratt, of Weston, Ohio. They have five children, three boys and two girls—Pratt, Newton, Thomas, Ethel and Laura. An old and prominent member of the Toledo Bar in speaking of him says : " He presents his cases thoroughly and supports them amply by authorities. He is bright and ready in almost any emergency, prompt and quick to meet an adversary's point, unusually resourceful, possessing a great deal of reserye power. He is a hard worker, a-careful and thorough student, besides being an honorable, whole-souled gentleman." WILLIS VICKERY, Cleveland. Willis Vickery was born at Bellevue, Huron county, Ohio, on the 26th day of November, 1857. His father, William Vickery, a farmer, was born in Devonshire, England, and in 1857 came to this country with his wife, Sarah (Perkins) Vickery, settling in Sandusky county near the town of Bellevue. Young Vickery received his early education in the country schools. Later he entered the high school at Clyde, where he was graduated in 1880, being the valedictorian of his class. He then entered the office of Everett & Fowler at Fremont, Ohio, and began the study of law. A. year later he accepted. a position as teacher in the grammar school at Clyde. He remained in the position one year and then taught for a year in the high school at Castalia. In the fall of 1882 he became a student in the Law School of the Boston University and receiyed his degree of Bachelor of Laws in June, 1884. Returning to Ohio he was admitted to the Bar and in the spring of 1885 .commenced the practice of law in partnership with his brother, Jesse Vickery, at Bellevue, under the firm name of Vickery Brothers. This firm continued in general practice until the spring of 1896, when it was dissolved, and Mr. Willis Vickery removed to Cleveland, where he has since prac- BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 197 ticed alone. While in practice at Bellevue he was prominently identified with much of the important litigation in Huron and the neighboring counties. He was practically engaged during this period in all the important cases in Bellevue. He was the local counsel for the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad and the Sandusky and Columbus Short Line. He was the counsel in the Bellevue Bank cases, representing all the creditors. In these cases he was opposed by nearly all the leading lawyers of the Huron, Erie and Sandusky county Bars. The litigation continued over a period of ten years, from June, 1887, to 1897. In every particular he was successful, collecting all claims in full for some three hundred creditors. Mr. Vickery is a lawyer of recognized ability. He is not only a student of the law, but giyes much time to general reading. He is fayorably known through the country as' a Shakespearean scholar and is the owner of one of the best private libraries in the State of Ohio. Be is a member of the Shakespeare Society of New York, and he wrote the Introduction for Caliban, a continuation of " The Tempest," by Ernest Henan, and translated from the French by Mrs. Vickery. This work was published by the New York Shakespearean Society. He is now writing the Introduction for "A Winter's Tale," a part of the Bankside edition published by the society. In politics he is a Republican and was for some years a member of the central committee for Sandusky county. For four years he was the city solicitor for Bellevue. He was urged to accept but declined the nomination for prosecuting attorney, his practice at that time being so large he could not accept the office without great sacrifice. He is now secretary and Professor of Law in the Baldwin University Law School. He has for some time been quite prominent in the order of Knights of Pythias ; is a member of the Grand Lodge of Ohio ; has for five years been a member of the judiciary committee and by virtue of such membership aided in preparing the code of statutes of the order for this State. He is also a Mason. In 1884 Mr. Vickery married Anna L. Snyder of Clyde, Ohio, and of the union three children were born, a daughter and two sons. Mrs. Vickery died in March, 1894. In 1895 Mr. Vickery married Eleanor R. Grant, of Boston, a lady of intellectual ability and high literary attainments who was for some time a correspondent of the Boston Herald. She is very popular personally and is an actiye member of the leading literary societies of Cleveland. CHARLES EDWARD SUMNER, Toledo. Sumner is a great American name in letters and statesmanship. The subject of this sketch sprang from a union of the Sumner and Janney families. The ancestors of his mother came to America with the Quaker, William Penn. He was born February 9, 1860, at Lambertville, Michigan. In boyhood he attended the commonschools, and the knowledge therein acquired was supplemented by a complete course in the Agricultural College of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1879. Following this he took a post graduate course in the Literary Department of the 198 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, in 1881-2. During the last named year he was appointed to a clerical position in the war -department at Washington, in which he continued four years. While performing his clerical duties he found time for the study of law and improved i t. The opportunity here offered of taking a course in the Law Department of Columbian College was heartily embraced. It could be done without neglecting the duties for which he received a salary, and the salary was convenient for the purpose of defraying expenses while securing an education in the law. He was graduated from the law school in 1886, and thereupon resigned from the war department. He located in Toledo; but before engaging in practice on his own account, spent a few months in the office of Swayne & Swayne, in order to 'become familiar with forms of pleading under the Ohio code. He was admitted to the Bar in 1887, and formed a partnership. with Judge Collins, under the name and style of Collins .& Sumner. After practicing four years, in the courts generally, he was chosen assistant prosecuting attorney, in 1891, which position he held until January 4, 1897, when he was elected to the office of proecuting attorney of Lucas county. This is an office of large responsibility in -so populous a county, and one requiring abilities of a high order to enable that official to meet on equal terms the able lawyers who are frequently employed by defendants in criminal cases. Clear and accurate knowledge of the criminal statutes and much technical knowledge are requisite even to enable a prosecuting attorney to draw an indictment that will stand against the fierce attacks of critrcal lawyers, who search for microscopic defects. Equal skill is demanded throughout the trial to keep within the rules and so mass the evidence as to make out the State's case. The prosecutor must be alert, keen, self-contained and strong, standing as the protector of society, the representative of the State, without show of vindictiveness toward- the prisoner, and without display of temper toward the -prisoner's counsel. Justice 'rather than conviction is the end and aim. Fairness to Mr. Sumner impels the assertion that he has 'conducted himself as a high-minded, honorable official, having a comprehensive understanding of his responsibilities and a disposition to perform his duty. Politically he is a very active, earnest Republican. For two years he was chairman .of the executive committee of Lucas county. He was married December 17, 1884, to Miss Matie H. Ryan, of Huron, Ohio. The union has been favored by the birth ,6f three daughters—Frances Helen and Katherine. HORACE G. RICHIE, Van Wert. Mr. Richie occupies an honored position as a member of the Bar of northwestern Ohio. His father, Mirabeau F. Richie, of French and Irish extraction, was born in Pennsylvania, and in his early youth became a resident of New Lisbon, Ohio. His mother, Sarah Eaton, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio. In 1839 Mr. Richie's parents removed to Van Wert county, then one of the undeveloped, forest-covered counties of the State, and proceeded to open up for, themselves a home in the BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 199 almost unbroken wilderness. Horace was born August 18, 1844, on the farm upon which his parents had settled in 1839 and his early life was devoted to the hardest of bard labor, clearing the timber from the land, planting and harvesting the crops, and such other labor as was incident to his life as a farmer's son in a " new" country. His opportunities for education were only such as the common schools of that day afforded. During all his life he has been a close and earnest student of affairs, and of human nature, and an extensive reader of the leading works of history and fiction. When about thirty years of age he took up the law as his life work, and by a most diligent and systematic course of study he built the foundation for his subsequent success as a lawyer. In March, 1877, he was admitted to the Bar, and in May of the same year he entered upon the practice of his chosen profession at Van Wert, since which time he has diligently and with success practiced in all the courts of northwestern Ohio. JOEL W. TYLER, Cleveland. Joel Walter Tyler Was born in Portage county, Ohio, of parents who were among the pioneers of the State. During his boyhood opportunities for education were limited, but with Tyler's fondness for study no opportunity for learning could escape, and early in life he sought the companionship and intimacy of the best educated people within his reach. He was most fortunate in coming early under the influence and instruction of a gentleman of scholarly attainments, who possessed an unusual ability as an instructor. This was the local school teacher and, as he took a great interest in young Tyler, he shaped and guided his work not only while in attendance at his own school, but later when he entered an, academy in the neighborhood. So great was the boy's application to study and so unusual his ability that at the age of ten years he was far in advance of his fellows in all the elementary branches of education. Ile was especially proficient in arithmetic and could .easily solve problems ordinarily considered too intricate for one of his years. The friend referred to, besides being the local school teacher, was also a doctor of medicine and kept young Tyler in the office as much as possible when he was hardly more than ten years old. Then, as leisure would permit, the doctor taught him phyisology, anatomy, natural philosophy and chemistry in promoting his mother's desire that he should become a physician. His mind being essentially of a logical bent he did not care for the practice of medicine, although showing ability as a student. About this time he began the study of Latin, under the instruction of a minister who took an interest in the lad. At about the age of fourteen he came into intimate association with a surveyor by profession and devoted to the study of the natural sciences. This gentleman was a " free thinker." He took the Boston Investigator, and his library contained such works as Voltaire's writings, Tom Paine's " Age of Reason " and Volney's " Ruins." Such an appreciation did this friend have for the boy's ability and learning that he engaged him when he was but fifteen to take charge of the district school, and gaye him a home meanwhile. Here young