THE BENCH AND BAR - 187 (RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) CHAPTER XV. BENCH AND BAR. IT was many years after the organization of Ohio before the northern portion of the State had either bench or bar, and for a long time after the territorial government had ceased, the only courts known were the Indian coun- 188 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. cil and the court martial, while the bar consisted of the feathered chief and the uniformed commander. The jurisprudence of the State, as of all the northern territory embraced in the Virginia cession, was founded on the common law of England, modified and construed by the several charters of King James I to the early settlers of Virginia, and by the ordinance of 1787. In 1793, by the Territorial Legislature, a statute was adopted from Virginia declaring " that the common law of England and all statutes made in aid of the common law prior to the fourth year of James I, which were of a general nature, should be a rule of decision until repealed." By the second section of the act of February 22, 1805, this act was repealed, but by the first section of the act was re-enacted ; it was again repealed January 2, 1806. So it may safely be said that the British statutes never had any effect in Ohio save as adopted by the Legislature. [I Chase, 190, 512, 528.] The English common law, however, so far as reasonable in itself, suitable to the condition and business of our people, and consistent with the letter and spirit of the Federal and State constitutions and statutes, ever has been and is followed by our courts and may be said to constitute a part of the common law of Ohio. [2 O. S. 387.] After the organization of the State by the adoption of the constitution of 1802, the written law of Ohio may be said to have commenced, but the practice was far from uniform, and it was not until 1845, when the able work of Joseph R. Swan, whose name needs no title to the bar of Ohio, Practice and Precedents, was published, that uniformity began to prevail with either bench or bar. Previous to that time, paraphrasing from the preface of that able work, most of the members of the bar and bench, whose opinions moulded our judicial system, had pursued their legal studies in other States of the Union, and brought with them a high respect for the practice and decisions of the courts where they were educated. Almost all the States of the Union had been thus represented at our bar and upon our bench, and had produced a very great diversity of law in different parts of the State. In truth, a local common law existed to some extent in each judicial circuit. In one the English common law was looked to as the only pure fountain ; in another the common law of England was modified by the laws of New York ; in another the common law of Massachusetts ; in another of Connecticut ; in another of Pennsylvania. The statutes of the State indicated the same heterogeneousness. The practice act came from New Jersey ; the attachment law from Pennsylvania ; the administration law from Massachusetts, and the non-imprisonment act from New York. This state of things sometimes gave rise to divisions of opinion in the court, in bank, and often subjected the adjudications to severe and unjust criticism. It is certainly no disparagement to the many able jurists who aided in giving to Ohio a uniform and perfect system of jurisprudence, to say that to Judge Swan. is the bench and bar of Ohio most indebted for the desirable consum- THE BENCH AND BAR - 189 mation ; and his work at once became the law of practice to bench and bar throughout the State, and remained so until the enactment of the code of civil procedure in 1853, after the adoption of the Constitution of 1851. The common law as to crimes, and the mode of procedure in criminal cases, was never in force in Ohio—all this was the matter of legislative enactments. [1 O. 132,2 O. S. 387. WO. S. 287.] The history of the various revisions and codifications of the statutory law and modes of procedure within Ohio is interesting, and is so concisely and accurately stated in the preface to the first addition of the revised statutes made by the codifying comMission, appointed under the act of March 27, 1875, and published in 1880, that we copy literally : " The first revision was made during the session of the Legislature held at Chillicothe, in 1804-5, at which all the laws, with few exceptions, adopted by the governor and judges, or enacted by the Legislature under the territorial government were repealed. That revision embraced statutes for the administration of justice, the conveyance of property, the collection of the revenue, the organization of the militia and the punishment of crime, and other statutes previously adopted or enacted were amended and re-enacted. " With these statutes for a basis other legislatures followed the example, and accordingly, the laws were revised at the session of 1809-1810, the session of 1815-1816, the session 1823-1824 and the session of 1830--1831, each revision being an improvement on that which preceded it, the practice and other remedial statutes gradually becoming more liberal and the penal enactments more humane, " In 1835 the statute relating to felonies was again revised and further provision was made to simplify the practice, and in 1840 an act relating to the settlement of the eStates of deceased persons, based on the statute of Massachusetts, was prepared by Joseph R. Swan and enacted by the General Assembly. The principal part of it has remained without change to the present day. At the same session the statutes in relation to wills, elections and other subjects, were revised. " Meanwhile the statutes had become so numerous and had fallen into such confusion that a systematic republication of the laws in force had become a necessity. Fortunately the work was undertaken by one competent for the task, and it is only just to say that with the material before him, and in the absence of all power to change it, perhaps no other man would have been able to produce a collection of our statutes so admirable in all that pertains to the work of an editor, as Swan's Statutes of 1841. In 1854-5, in 1860 and in 1868, Judge Swan performed the same task of collecting and arranging the statutes in force, the notes to the edition of 1860 having been prepared by Leander J. Critchfield, and the notes to the edition of 1868 by Milton Sayler. While these editions of the statutes have now become comparatively useless, they are none 190 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. the less monuments to the industry and ability of the gentlemen who were engaged in their preparation. " In this connection it will not be out of place to notice a collection of the statutes of a more permanent character. In 1833-1835 (subsequently Chief Justice) Chase prepared an edition of the statutes. It included the territorial laws, whether adopted by the governor and judges, or enacted by the Territorial Legislatures and the statutes down to and including those of 1833. This embraced seven volumes of territorial laws and thirty volumes of the statutes of the State, and the whole was republished in chronological order in three volumes. The work was continued on substantially the same plan by Maskell E. Curwen, who republished in four volumes, the general laws from 1834 to 1860, inclusive. Since the death of Mr. Curwen, the work has been continued by J. R. Sayler, who has republished, in four volumes, the general laws from 1861 to 1875, inclusive. " It will thus be seen that the statutes of Chase, Curwen and Sayler — all admirably edited— are a republication of all the general laws adopted or enacted under the territorial and State governments from 1788 to 1875, inclusive, in the order of the original publication. While only a very small number of the statutes which these volumes contain remains in force, the remarks of Judge Chase with respect to them, in his first volume are entirely just. ' Many questions of right and remedy,' said he, 'depend upon the provisions of repealed statutes. In reference to such questions the examination of the whole series of laws affecting them is a matter of absolute necessity. In addition to this, a knowledge of the acts repealed is often essential to a correct understanding of the law in force. No lawyer, nor intelligent legislator ought to be satisfied with knowing what the law is, unless he also knows what the law has been." " Recurring to the subject of codification, it is evident that it had engaged the attention of the people to some extent, previous to the adoption of the present constitution. Provision was made in that instrument for a comMission; and it was ordained that said comMissioners shall revise, reform, simplify, and abridge the practice, pleadings, forms, and proceedings of the courts of record of this State ; and as far as practicable and expedient shall provide for the abolition of the distinct forms of actions at law now in use, and for the administration of justice by a uniform mode of proceeding, without reference to any distinction between law and equity.' " In obedience to that provision an act was passed and William Kennon, William S. Groesbeck, and Daniel 0. Morton were appointed comMissioners. They confined their labors to the subject of practice in civil cases, and reported what was known as the code of civil procedure, to the fiftieth General Assembly, and that body on March 11, 1853, adopted it Though somewhat changed in language and arrangement, the principal part of it remains substantially as it was reported by those commissioners. THE BENCH AND BAR - 191 " With the growth of the State in population and wealth, the annual volumes of the general laws increased in size until the statutes of a general nature, in force, exceed two thousand in number. The subject of codification then began to attract attention here as in other places. In 1869 a bill prepared by Senators Charles H. Scribner, Daniel B. Linn, and Homer Everett, codifying the statutes in relation to municipal corporations, became a law, as did also a bill embodying a code of criminal procedure, which had been prepared by Senator Frank H. Hurd. The subject was further agitated and finally, in 1874, Representative George W. Boyce, of Hamilton county, introduced a bill providing for such codification. Subsequently, Senator Lucian C. Jones, of Trumbull, Trumbull county, introduced a bill on tbe same subject, which, on March 27, 1875, became a law. [72 v. 87]. The following are its leading features : " The governor was required, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint three competent commissioners to revise and consolidate the general statutes of the State, and he was authorized to fill any vacancy in the commission. " In performing the duty the commissioners were required to bring together all the statutes and parts of Statutes relating to the same matter, omitting redundant and obsolete enactments, and such as had no influence on existing rights or remedies, and making alterations to reconcile contradictions, supply omissions, and amend imperfections in the original acts, so as to reduce the general statutes into as concise and comprehensive a form as might be consistent with clear expression of the will of the General Assembly, rejecting all equivocal and ambiguous words and circuitous and tautological phraseology. " They were required to arrange the statutes under suitable titles, divisions, subdivisions, chapters, and sections, with head notes briefly expressive of the matter contained therein, with marginal notes of the contents of each section, with reference to the original act from which it was compiled, and foot notes of the decisions of the Supreme Court upon the same ; and they were required to report the whole, in print, to the general assembly for its adoption. " On the day of the passage of the bill Governor Allen appointed, and the Senate unanimously confirmed, Michael A. Daugherty, Luther Day, and John W. Okey as the commissioners. Commissions were issued to them on that day, and immediately thereafter they entered upon their duties. Judge Day continued to be a member of the commission until February 1, 1876, when he resigned, having been appointed a member of the Supreme Court commission, and John S. Brasee was appointed by Governor Hayes to fill the vacancy, and Judge Okey continued to be a member of the commission until November 9, 1877, when he resigned, having been elected a judge of the Supreme Court, and George B. Okey was appointed by Governor Young to fill the vacancy. No other changes were made in the commission." The codified or revised statutes consist of four parts. The first part (Polit- 192 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY ical) contains the enactments which are organic, being the frame-work and machinery of our government ; the second part (Civil) relates to person and property ; the third part (Remedial) includes everything connected with civil procedure in all the courts ; and the fourth part (Penal) embraces the provisions relating to crimes, criminal procedure, and jails and the penitentiary. Constitution of 1802.—Under the Constitution of 1802 the judicial power of the State, both as to matters of law and equity, was vested in a Supreme Court, in Court of Common Pleas for each county, in justices of the peace, and in such other courts as the Legislature might establish. Under this latter provision the Circuit Courts were established. The Supreme Court consisted of three judges—two of whom formed a quorum. It had original and appellate jurisdiction, both in law and in chancery, in such cases as the Legislature might direct, and which would be beyond the province of this chapter to enumerate. The Legislature was empowered to add another judge to the number after five years, and in that event the judges were authorized to divide the State into ,two circuits within which any two could hold court. The Courts of Common Pleas consisted of a president and two associate judges. The State was required by law to be divided into three circuits with a president judge for each circuit, and not "more than three nor less than two" associate judges for each county. Any three of these judges constituted a quorum and composed the Court of Common Pleas, and had common law and chancery jurisdiction, and also jurisdiction of all probate and testamentary mat ters and of guardians and minors, and of criminal cases. Clerks were appointed by the court for a term of seven years. Power was conferred on the Legislature to increase the number of circuits and of the president judges after the expiration of five years. The Supreme Court was required to be held once a year in each county. All judges were appointed by a joint ballot of both houses of the General Assembly, and held office for the term of seven years, "if so long they behaved well." Justices of the peace were elected in each township and held office for three years. Their " powers and duties" were " regulated and defined by law." THE BENCH OF THE COUNTY. By the act that completed the civil organization of Erie county it was provided that the first Court of Common Pleas should be held on the second Monday in December, 1838, yet there is a record of the holding of a court in April prior to that time. There appears not to have been present any president judge, and the proceedings were conducted by Moses Farwell, Nathan Strong, and Harvey Fowler, the associate justices. These proceedings, however, were brief, no cases being tried. THE BENCH AND BAR - 193 During the time that Erie county was attached to Huron it appears that Judge David Higgins was upon the bench of the Common Pleas Court. He was succeeded by Judge Ozias Bowen, of Marion county, who presided for a number of years, and until he was replaced by Judge Myron H. Tilden, of Toledo, but formerly of Norwalk. Next in the succession came Judge Ebenezer B. Sadler, of Sandusky City, who went upon the bench in 1847, and so continued until the adoption of the new constitution by which he was legislated out of office. The above named comprise all the common pleas judges that presided over that court in this county prior to the constitution of 1852. Judge Sadler was the first president upon the bench that was a resident of Erie county, and the only such prior to the new constitution, but in after years this county was as well represented upon the bench of the courts as any in the district, excepting, perhaps, Lucas county. After the adoption of the new constitution Erie county was placed in the first subdivision of the fourth common pleas district, the other counties being Huron, Sandusky, Ottawa, and Lucas. The first president judge in this subdivision was Lucius Otis, then of Fremont but now of the city of Chicago. Judge Otis served one term of five years, and was succeeded by Judge Sebastian F. Taylor, a prominent lawyer of Erie county. He served two terms of five years each, and was himself succeeded by Walter F. Stone, of Sandusky. The constitution provided for the selection of an additional law judge to be chosen whenever the business of the sub-division should warrant it. It was during Judge Otis's term of office that this provision was carried into effect by the selection of Judge John Fitch, of Toledo, in 1854. Other additional law judges were from time to time appointed, among them Samuel T. Wooster, of Norwalk, and John L. Green, of Fremont. The latter is still judge in the district. Judge Stone continued on the bench as president judge for some years, when he was advanced to the Supreme Court bench. He was succeeded by William G. Lane, of Sandusky, but, on account of failing health the latter was compelled to retire, whereupon Cooper K. Watson, of Sandusky, followed him. Judge Watson died in office, and John Mackey was appointed his successor. By appointment and two subsequent elections, Judge Mackey held this office for nearly seven years. Next in the line of succession came the present incumbent, Judge J. L. De Witt, of Sandusky, who assumed the office in February, 1887. The first sub-division of the Fourth District remains now as originally formed, and the courts therein are presided over by five common pleas judges, three in Toledo and two in the other counties comprising the subdivision. These judges are as follows : Louis H. Pike, David H. Commager, and Reuben C. Lemmon, of Toledo ; John L. Green, of Fremont, and J. L. De Witt, of Sandusky. 194 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. THE OLD ERIE COUNTY BAR. Elsewhere in this work will be found a detail of the events that made perfect the organization of this county, and it is only the province of this particular portion of this chapter to refer to and mention, in some manner, those persons who were identified with the practice at the bar of the courts, and who were residents of the county. To be sure there were the inevitable " circuit riders," lawyers who lived in other counties, but who were always in attendance upon every court, and who controlled a fair share of the business thereof. This was not through any weakness of the resident attorneys, but rather in verification of the old proverb, " a prophet is not without honor save in his own country." These circuit riders were for many years in attendance upon every court and in every locality. They managed to get a certain amount of the "catch practice," most generally in the criminal branch, and were sometimes called into a case by the attorney of record, and served in the capacity of associate counsel. In this manner they could pick up enough business to pay expenses, and sometimes a little more. But the circuit rider was almost a necessity ; not, however, in the light of the adage that "necessity knows no law," as they numbered among them some of the brightest trial lawyers of the times. At this period of which we write, the early days of the county, there were but few, if any, resident practicing attorneys of much prominence except the firms of Parish & Sadler (Francis D. Parish and Ebenezer B. Sadler), and Beecher & Campbell (Lucas S. Beecher and John F. Campbell), all of Sandusky City ; also Ebenezer Andrews and Philip R. Hopkins of Milan. Elentheros Cooke had been a prominent attorney of Sandusky, and a pioneer of the profession; but at the time of which we write was practically retired from active practice to engage in other pursuits. Be was an able man and lawyer, and possessed of unusual oratorical power. He drifted into the sea of politics, and represented the. Fourteenth District in the Twenty-second Congress. He was, moreover, one of the most prominent men, in every step looking to the advancement and welfare of the county, and contributed generously of his means and advice to every worthy enterprise. Hence his popularity. William H. Hunter, more commonly known as "Colonel" Hunter, was nominally a lawyer, but more of a politician. In 1835 he was collector of customs at this port, and in 1836 was elected to Congress. John Wheeler is also remembered as a lawyer, though he was content to rest his professional career on the office of justice of the peace, which he held for a number of years. Of these old pioneers of the profession but two are now living, Hon. E. B. Sadler and John Campbell, the latter, however, is not a resident of the county. He took a somewhat unusual course for a lawyer, in that he afterward became a minister of the gospel, and is now understood to fill the most honorable office of bishop of the Lutheran Church in Virginia. THE BENCH AND BAR - 195 Francis Drake Parish was a man of Puritanical stripe. He was honest, conscientious, faithful, and zealous in his profession and in every good work. He possessed a moral firmness that could not be excelled ; a man of good acquirements and legal abilities; a man who hated iniquity and despised meanness; a strong religionist, a temperance tetotaler, and a strong abolitionist when that outspoken sentiment meant personal and professional unpopularity. Mr. Parish had the courage to avow his sentiments in this regard even in the face of an excited and howling mob. This man was a native of New York State, born in the year 1796. When twenty-four years old he came to Columbus, O., where he read law, and where, in 1822, he was admitted to the bar. In the same year he came to Sandusky City and commenced practice, which he continued until the year 1852 when he retired from the hard work of the profession on account of a bronchial affection. In 1875 he left Erie county and removed to Lorain county, where he died a short time ago. Lucas Selkirk Beecher was born in New Haven county, Conn., on the 31st of March, 1798. At the age of about thirteen years he was maimed by the loss of a leg. When about eighteen years old, with his parents he became a resident of Genesee county, N. Y. The early education of Mr. Beecher was received at the common schools and at the village academy. After coming to reside in Genesee county he taught the village school. Later he entered the office of Hopkins and Beecher at Canaseraga, where he studied the law until the year 1824, when he was admitted to the bar, after which he began the practice at Williamsport, Pa. Two years later in the year 1828, Mr. Beecher came to Sandusky, where he formed a law partnership with Hon. Elentheros Cooke. No sooner had our subject become fairly established in professional business at this place than a terrible misfortune befel him ; he became totally blind. After a time under the invitation of kind friends he went to the City of New York for treatment, hoping that his eyesight might be restored, which, in a measure, was accomplished—sufficiently to allow him to resume his practice and read and write a little. Returning after some months to Sandusky Mr. Beecher formed a copartnership with John F. Campbell, who also subsequently became totally blind, and was obliged to retire from the profession. Mr. Beecher then associated himself with Pitt Cooke, and subsequently Cuyler Leonard, and finally in 1853 with his son, John T. Beecher, which latter firm continued until the death of its senior member in the year 1882. Disabled as he was, when just entering upon the threshold of successful practice, nevertheless, he rose to a height which enabled him to easily maintain his position as a leader in this most difficult of all professions. We take pride in rendering this tribute of regard to the memory of a man so deservedly honored by the profession as an example of the success which can be achieved by 196 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. an earnest man, full of a great purpose, striving against a fate which usually benumbs the faculties and palsies the energies of its victims. John F. Campbell the law partner of Lucas S. Beecher, is remembered as being a man of light complexion, young, smart, active, facetious, witty and possessed of a keen sense of the ludicrous. About the year 1840 he had an attack of sore eyes that unfitted him for professional work, and in fact rendered him partially blind for a time at least. He quit the practice of law and went to Pennsylvania. After a time his eyesight was restored, and he studied for and entered the ministry of the Lutheran Church, and subsequently became a resident of the State of Virginia. Still later he became a bishop of the church. He seems to have met with decided success in his new calling ; but those that, knew him well as a lawyer say that he was the last man they ever dreamed would finally become a clergyman. He evidently followed the command to "multiply and replenish the earth," for when last heard from his family comprised a wife and nine children. Ebenezer Andrews of Milan, was a plain, sensible, unassuming man, and a fair and honest lawyer. He was probate judge of the county from 1852 to 1855. He died many years ago. John N. Sloane entered upon the practice of law in 1840. His regular occupation, however, was that of merchant. He died September 24, 1881. Hon. Ebenezer Lane, unquestionably the most distinguished and most honored of the many gentlemen of the legal profession that have practiced at the bar of the courts of this county, became a resident of Sandusky in the year 1842, two years after the civil organization of the county was made complete. Judge Lane was born in Connecticut, in the year 1793. He was educated at the University of Cambridge, and afterward read law with his uncle Judge Matthew Griswold, of Lyme, Conn. He commenced the practice of law in the year 1814, at Norwich, Conn., but in 1817 came to the Western Reserve during the same year. In 1819 he moved to Norwalk, the county seat of Huron county, having previously been appointed prosecuting attorney for that county. At Columbia in 1822 he was admitted to practice in the United States Circuit Court. Soon after he was appointed Common Pleas Judge of the Second Circuit, and continued in office six years, when he was appointed judge of the Supreme Court of the State, sitting first in that capacity in 1830. He was reappointed in 1837, but resigned his commission eight years later. It was during his life upon the bench that Judge Lane became a resident of Sandusky City. After thirteen years of residence here he moved to Chicago, having accepted the appointment as counsel and resident director of the Central Railroad of Illinois, an office that was ably filled by him for nearly fourteen years. After having severed his connection with the railroad company Judge Lane made an extended tour of Europe, returning to this country in April, 1860. He lived but six years longer, and died on the 12th of June, 1866. THE BENCH AND BAR - 197 In 1850 Judge Lane received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Harvard University. In 1856 he was elected a member of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, also he was a member of the New York Historical Society, the Ohio Historical Society and the Chicago Historical Society. Another of the pioneers of the legal profession in Erie county was Philip B. Hopkins, of Milan. He was, at the time of the county's organization, fully up to, if not past the middle age of life. His practice was by no means confined to Milan, as he was frequently at Huron, and also in the counties adjoining. Counselor Hopkins was a clear-minded, shrewd and practical lawyer, and possessed, moreover, an almost inexhaustible fund of natural humor. His witticisms were never forced, but seemed to spring from his lips involuntarily, and none seemed more surprised at their sound and effect than he. An amusing anecdote will clearly show what manner of man he was. One day at the dinner-table in the Mansion House at Sandusky, were gathered a number of legal lights, and among them the irrepressible Hopkins' Some allusion was made to a certain lawyer from a distant county not at all remarkable for his legal learning, and Joseph M. Root, another prominent lawyer of this county, asked Major Hopkins if he knew how this man came to be a lawyer ? " No," said Hopkins, "I don't." "Well," says Root, "he was a sort of peddler in a one-horse wagon, and carried around with him Swan's Treatise, and so caught the law just as a person would catch the itch or measles." "Well," answered the Major, "it never broke out on him much, and they say it is worse when it strikes in." One day Hopkins and Mr. Andrews were trying a case before Judge Sadler, Hopkins for the plaintiff, and Andrews on the defense. In presenting the testimony Hopkins constantly asked leading questions, which Andrews objected to ; but as the former did not seem to get along very well without, he was allowed to proceed ; but when Andrews called his first witness he very properly asked him a leading question, directing his attention to the subject matter in controversy, to which Hopkins objected. What is your objection ? It is leading. The court remarked to him pleasantly, that he thought he was the last man to object to leading questions. He replied, "I am the last man, I just did it." Joseph M. Root is also remembered as one of the early lawyers of Erie county. He came from New York State and read with William H. Hunter, and then opened an office for practice. Afterward he located at Norwalk, and from there was elected to Congress, first in 1845, and was twice thereafter reelected, the last time while residing in this county, to which he had returned. This was in 1849. He practiced here a number of years after his term of office expired but is now dead. 198 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. William H. Hunter was a somewhat prominent figure in the profession and he too represented the district in Congress during the year 1837— 1839. Justin H. Tyler will also be remembered by the old residents of Huron township especially. He was a Massachusetts Yankee, but came to this State from New York. He was located at Huron early in the forties but left in a few years and became a resident of Henry county where he now lives. Rush R. Sloane was born in Sandusky. He read law with F. D. Parish, and was admitted at Mansfield, Ohio, in 1849, He retired from practice to assume the duties of the office of probate judge, to which he was elected in 1857. He was re-elected in 1860, but resigned in April, 1861, to accept the appointment from President Lincoln, as general agent of the post-office department and located with headquarters at Chicago. Beside these who have been mentioned in the above sketches, there are a few others who were members of the old bar and who are members of the present bar of the county, in which latter connection notice of them will be found. And it is possible that in the recollection of these pioneers of the profession, the names of some may, through inadvertence, have been omitted, and it may be true too, that some of the itinerant characters may have been entirely overlooked. There is, in every profession, and the legal is not exempt from it, some evanescent characters, some who have branched off into other pursuits, some who perhaps may have fallen by the wayside, and to the profession have bec0me l0st. But as the years came and went, the county grew more populous and of course the ranks became swelled in numbers, and among them may be found the names of men well known throughout the entire county. In the year 1855, seventeen years after the organization of the county, it is found that the profession, in the city of Sandusky, was represented in the legal profession about as follows : Samuel Minor, who afterward went to Los Angeles, Cal.; O. C. McLouth, who was clerk of the courts from 1870 to 1875, and prior to that was prosecuting attorney from 1836 to 1860; John Mackey, a mention of whom will be found among the members of the present bar ; Counselors McLouth and Mackey were law partners in 18855. Lane, Stone and Lane were partners, the firm being composed of Hon. Ebenezer Lane, Walter F. Stone and William G. Lane. Concerning Judge Ebenezer Lane mention has already been made. Walter F. Stone, like the senior partner of the firm, became judge of the Common Pleas and also judge of the Supreme Court. He died in California. William G. Lane was the son of Ebenezer Lane. In 1843 he was graduated from Yale College, after which he attended the Harvard Law School. He further prosecuted his legal study under the instruction of the best German professors, at Berlin, after which he returned to this country and became professionally associated with his father, who, during the son's absence, had been a resident of Sandusky. In 1873 Mr: Lane became judge of the Com- THE BENCH AND BAR - 199 mon Pleas for the fourth judicial district. Judge Lane died at Sandusky on the 28th day of October, 1878. Alonzo W. Hendry, better known as Judge Hendry, from the fact of his having been, from 1863 to 1870, the probate judge of the county, was born in Erie county, N. Y., and came to Lorain county in 1834. He was admitted to the bar in 1842 and came to Sandusky in 1843. He is now virtually retired from practice. At a period earlier than that mentioned Mr. Hendry was prominently before the people of the county, as he was from 1848 until 1852, the prosecuting attorney of the county. Besides his political holdings Judge Hendry has been for many years a prominent figure in the affairs of the city. George Reber is remembered as a good trial lawyer, and although he seems not to have been conspicuous as an office holder, he nevertheless enjoyed a fair share of the legal practice and was connected with many of the leading cases. He is now dead. John J. Finch has been a member of the legal profession for many years but the greater part of his time has been devoted to other pursuits. At the present time he holds the responsible position of collector of customs for the port of Sandusky. William Tilden had, at the time of which we speak, an office at the corner of Market street and Columbus avenue, where he practiced for some time. He afterward moved to Cincinnati and is now deceased. Lawrence Wier was another of the old bar, and had an office at No. 66 Railroad street. Another of the old firms of the city was that of Converse, Giddings & Bigelow. Only one of these partners, J. G. Bigelow, is now known to the profession in the county, and he is retired from its active, arduous work. John G. Miller had an office on the same floor as is now occupied by the city fathers. He is not now living. The firm of Camp & Leonard was composed of John G. Camp, jr., a son of Major Camp, one of the proprietors of the town, and Cuyler Leonard. Their office was located at No. 128 Water street. Neither partner of this firm is now living in the county. There were others, of course, who were in active practice at the time, 1855, and all are mentioned in some manner in this chapter. A majority are joined with "the great majority" while a few are yet in practice. These latter will be found mentioned in the sketches of the members of the present bar. SKETCHES OF MEMBERS OF THE PRESENT BAR. Hon. E. B. Sadler. Judge Sadler certainly stands to day, the senior mem- 1. Since deceased. 200 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. ber of the Erie county bar, his connection therewith having covered a period of more than a half century. Ebenezer Brown Sadler was born in the town of Grafton, State of Massachusetts, on the 16th of November, 1808. When he was five years old his parents moved to New Hampshire, where they remained only two years, and then went to Geneva, N. Y., traveling the entire distance in sleighs. After a year's residence at Geneva the family again moved, this time to a town in Erie county, N. Y., fifteen miles east of Buffalo. Three years later they moved to Lima, Livingston county. At the age of eighteen years young Sadler bought his " time " of his father and started out to make his own way in life. During the summer months he worked as he could find employment and the winter found him at school. This continued until he was qualified for teaching, which occupation he then followed, devoting his leisure time, however, to the study of the law with Hon. John Dickson, of West Bloomfield, N. Y., then member of Congress from Ontario county. In this way he was engaged some three or four years, when, in May, 1835, he started west For some time Mr. Sadler traveled about, visiting various localities, but finally settled down at Sandusky city. He entered the law office of Francis D. Parish, where he further prosecuted his legal study until the month of July, 1836, at which time he was admitted to practice. A partnership was then formed with Mr. Parish, which relation was maintained until the year 1847, when our subject was appointed judge of the Common Pleas Court for the circuit comprising the counties of Huron, Erie, Sandusky, Ottawa, Lucas, Seneca, Wood and Henry. By the adoption of the new constitution of 1852, Judge Sadler was legislated out of office. He then returned to his profession and so continued until his appointment as postmaster at Sandusky city, in which capacity he served about two years, but was then removed on account of the fact that he would not lend himself and his official position to certain political schemes, and A. C. Van Tine was nominated as his successor. In 1867 Judge Sadler was nominated and elected State Senator, serving in the Upper House of the Legislature two years. After his term expired he returned to professional work. In 1875 he formed a law partnership with his son, Charles W. Sadler, which firm relation has ever since been maintained. Homer Goodwin. This well known member of the Erie county bar is a native of Ohio, born on the 15th day of October, 1819. His father was a physician of Burton, Geauga county, but resided during the youth of our subject, on a farm, and here Homer passed the days of boyhood and youth. He received an academic education, and in 1840 entered the Western Reserve College, then in Summit county, where he pursued a regular classical course of study and was graduated in July, 1844., receiving the. the degrees of A. B. THE BENCH AND BAR - 201 and A. M. He then read the law under the instruction of Judge Peter Hitchcock, a well known and able lawyer of Geauga county, but during his legal studies Mr. Goodwin was, for a time, engaged in teaching school. After two years at Columbus, O., he was admitted to the bar. This was in 1846. He at once commenced practice at Burton, but in June of the following year, 1847, came to Sandusky and became a member of the Erie county bar. During his forty-two years 0f practice in this county Mr. Goodwin has been connected with many of the most important cases tried therein. Hon. John Mackey. Judge Mackey was born in Warren county, New Jersey, on the 7th of January, 1818, and became a resident of Milan township, to which place his parents and family moved in the year 1837. Our subject was educated in the c0mmon schools and the academy at Milan, and commenced, in 1843, the study of law with Lucas S. Beecher, of, Sandusky, still devoting, however, a portion of his time to the school-room and to farm work. At Fremont, in the year 1846, he was admitted to practice law by the Supreme Court on circuit. After his adMission to the bar and before he commenced practice, Mr. Mackey engaged in an enterprise wholly outside the profession. He, with others, established a daily and weekly newspaper, known as the Sandusky Mirror. This was the first daily paper published in Erie county. Mr. Mackey's connection with the Mirror was continued up to the latter part of the year 1849, at which time he opened an office for' the general practice of the law. His first partner was O. C. McLouth, but later years found him professionally associated with Hon. Joseph M. Root, and afterwards with Homer Goodwin, esq. From the year 1852 to 1856 Mr. Mackey held the office of prosecuting attorney of the county. In the spring of 1880 he was appointed judge of the Common Pleas Court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Cooper K. Watson, and at the next general election he was elected to fill Judge Watson's unexpired term. He was, upon the expiration of that term, re-elected for a full term of five years. After his last term upon the bench had expired Judge Mackey resumed his practice, to which his time has since been devoted. Horatio Wildman was a grandson of Zalmon Wildman, who is well remembered as having been one of the proprietors of the town of Portland, afterward Sandusky, and of those proprietors he was the largest owner. Horatio Wildman was a native of Connecticut, and was born at Danbury on the l0th of April, 1828. His parents were Frederick S. and Julia Wildman, and of their five children, Horatio was the oldest. At the age of twenty years young Wildman came to Sandusky, at which place his father had an extensive land interest, and here the young man believed was a good opening for business and professional engagements. Prior to his coming here he had graduated from Yale College, and had also read law with. Charles Hawley, of Stamford, 202 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. Conn. On locating at the county seat of Erie county Mr. Wildman read law with Francis D. Parish for about one year, and was admitted to the bar at Mansfield September 17, 1849. During the thirty-nine years of Mr. Wildman's professional life in Sandusky city he has not been without some political ambition. In 1851 he was elected mayor of the city ; from 1856 to 1859 he was a member of the board of education, and from 1870 to 1879 he filled the position of city solicitor. It was during the latter period that the most important local improvements were made, and the duties of his office were indeed onerous. Jacob A. Camp. Mr. Camp was born at Buffalo, Erie county, N. Y., on the l0th of July, 1823, and came to Sandusky at the age of eleven years. His father was Major John G. Camp, than whom, in connection with the early land transactions of the vicinity, no man bore a more active part. Jacob A. Camp was graduated from Kenyon College, at Gambier, after a regular classical course, in the year 1847. In 1848 he entered Harvard Law School and remained there two terms, after which he read law in the office of Reber & Camp, at Sandusky, and was admitted to the bar in 1850 or 1851. He practiced until the breaking out of the war of 1861-65, when he was made paymaster and so continued in the service of the government until November, 1865, when he returned to his professional work at Sandusky. About four years ago Mr. Camp retired from active practice, still retaining, however, an office in the city. Jabez G. Bigelow has been a member of the Erie county bar since the year 1852. He was a student in the office of L. S. Beecher for two years prior to his adMission to practice. Mr. Bigelow was born in New Lebanon, N. Y., on the 7th of March, 1822. His father was a farmer by occupation, and the family, during the childhood of our subject, emigrated from the Empire State to Michigan, but died after a residence in the latter State of a few years. Young Bigelow then started out to make his own way in life. He worked on a farm and attended school when an opportunity offered. In 1844 he entered Oberlin College and remained through his junior year, after which he came to Sandusky city and commenced a course of law study in the office of L. S. Beecher. In 1852 he was admitted to practice and at once opened an office in the city, where he has since made a residence. Mr. Bigelow was appointed the first revenue assessor of this district, about, or soon after the breaking out of the war, and served in that capacity until the war closed. He has been no aspirant for political preferment although at one time he was a member of the city council. Of late years he has retired from the active work of the profession. Arthur Phinney was born in the Pine Tree State, Maine, at Gorham, on the 28th of March, 1837. At the age of twenty-one he took a preparatory course at Andover, Mass., for one year, after which he entered Dartmouth College THE BENCH AND BAR - 203 and remained there one year. He then left and entered Yale College for a regular collegiate course, being received, on account of his advanced standing, into the sophomore class. From Yale Mr. Phinney was graduated with the class of '64, after which he entered the scientific department of the sanitary commission, under Prof. B. A. Gould, and was engaged in the recruiting department for the navy in New York city, but one year later was transferred to Washington and Alexandria, where he remained until late in the summer of 1865. In August of the last named year he assumed charge of the Chester Academy, Orange county, N. Y., succeeding Prof. Edward Orton, the geologist, now of Ohio, but who was former principal of the academy. In the fall of 1867 Mr. Phinney came to Sandusky to take charge as principal of the High School, which position he held until the spring of 1870, when he resigned. He then became a student at law in the office of Homer Goodwin, esq., where he remained one year, after which he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, but was not graduated from that institution. At Columbus, on the 3d of December, 1872, he was admitted to practice. The next year he formed a law partnership with Judge S. F. Taylor, of Sandusky, and so remained associated until the death of Mr. Taylor in 0382. In 1884 the present law firm of Phinney & Curran was formed. Samuel C. Wheeler was born in Fairfield county, this State, on the 16th of September, 1828. At the age of fifteen he commenced alone to fight the battle of life, and being dependent for a livelihood upon what he could earn, his early education was necessarily limited. He learned the trade of a saddler and worked at it for some years. In 1853 he came to Sandusky and, following the advice of A. W. Hendry, became a law student in the office of that gentleman. After a course of study of three years duration he was, in the year 1860, admitted to practice. On the 3d of June, 1861, Mr. Wheeler enlisted in Company E, of the Seventh Ohio Infantry, and served with that regiment until at the battle at Port Republic, Va., on the 9th of June, 1862, he was wounded. He then returned to Sandusky, but was not discharged from the service until March 26, 1863. Some years later he again resumed practice and has so continued to the present time. Lewis H. Goodwin. Major Goodwin was born in Burton, Geauga county, 0., on the 9th of December, 1833. He was educated in the schools of the county, and at the age of sixteen entered the Western Reserve College at Hudson, but at the end of his sophomore year the college was broken up on account of a difficulty between the president and faculty. He then taught school in Geauga county for some months, after which he entered the junior class of Marietta College, from which institution he was graduated in 1854, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. 204 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. After graduation Mr. Goodwin came to Sandusky and became a law student in the office of his brother, Homer Goodwin, esq., where he remained until April, 1856, when he was admitted to practice. He then went to Wabash, Ind., where he practiced law for something like sixteen years, and until the outbreak of the war. In September, 1861, Mr. Goodwin enlisted as a private in Company B of the Forty-seventh Indiana Infantry, but while in camp and before going to the front he was elected to the captaincy of the company. He served in this capacity until October following, when he was advanced to the rank of major. At the battle of Champion's Hill, May 16, 1863, Major Goodwin was wounded, but did not retire from the service. In the winter of 1863, his ranking officers being temporarily absent, Major Goodwin veteranized the regiment, and this was among the very first of the regiments engaged in the service that were made veterans. In the month of December, 1864, our subject was mustered out of service, after which he returned to Wabash and resumed the practice of law, which he continued until 1874, at which time, on account of the fact that' the climate disagreed with his family's health, he removed to Sandusky and formed a law partnership with his brother, Homer Goodwin, esq., of that city. In 1886 Linn W. Hull came into the firm, which is now styled Goodwin, Goodwin & Hull. Frederick W. Cogswell. The subject of this brief sketch was a native of the " Nutmeg" State of Connecticut, and was born at Woodbury, Litchfield county. His early education was received in the common schools and the academy, after which, in 1843, he entered Yale College for the full course, and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1847, and this notwithstanding the fact that during this term he was prevented by sickness from prosecuting his studies one full year. In 1848 Mr. Cogswell became a law student in the office of Hon. Gideon Hall, of Winsted, Conn., and so remained about one year, when he was compelled by ill-health to retire. He then came to Cleveland, 0., for medical treatment at the water-cure in that city. After about two years, his health being restored, Mr. Cogswell came to Sandusky and became a student in the office of Beecher & Leonard, and afterward with Homer Goodwin, esq. At Norwalk, in the fall 0f 1852, he was admitted to the bar. He soon opened an office in Sandusky and practiced continuously, until the year 1864, when he enlisted in Company B of the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Ohio Infantry. This was a hundred-day regiment, and with it our subject served until the term of enlistment expired, holding during the term a commission as second lieutenant. During his years of practice in Erie county Mr. Cogswell has not been without some political holdings. For several years he held the office of city clerk ; in 1860 he was elected prosecuting attorney for the county and held THE BENCH AND BAR - 205 that office until 1873, and it was during his incumbency of this office that he entered the United States army service, leaving the work of his office to be performed by a pro tern. appointee. For a number of years Mr. Cogswell has held the position of United States commissioner ; also, for many years he was one of the cemetery trustees. Aside from his professional work he has dealt somewhat in real estate, and is otherwise interested in the Kelley's Island Wine Company, and in the ice business at Sandusky. Hon. E. M. Colver. Judge Colver was born in the Empire State, but while yet young his parents moved to Ohio and took up their residence at Norwalk, the county seat of Huron county. Here our subject received his early educationat the common schools and academy. In the year 1858 he entered the law department of the Cincinnati College and was graduated in 1859. He had read law under the instruction of Hon. Caleb B. Smith, a member of Mr. Lincoln's cabinet during his first administration. In April, 1859, Mr. Colver became a member of the legal fraternity, and soon thereafter located for practice at Perrysburg, Wood county. On the 2d of September, 1861, he was mustered into the service as first lieutenant of Company B of the Third Ohio Cavalry. From the rank of lieutenant he was, in October, 1862, promoted to captain of Company K, and as such was in command of the Third Battalion. In December, 1863, he veteranized with the regiment while at Pulaski, Tenn. He resigned in November, 1864, and came to Sandusky city for the purpose of recruiting a cavalry regiment under orders from the war department. Others were engaged with Captain Colver in this work, and it was but a short time before they had enlisted a regiment of cavalry thirteen hundred strong. Captain Colver did not again enter the service, 'but opened a law office in Sandusky city, where he has ever since resided. In 1868 he was elected city solicitor and held that position two years. In 1869 he was elected to the office of probate judge of the county, taking his seat in February, 1870. He was twice re-elected and served in all three terms of three years each. Upon the expiration of his last term Judge Colver formed a law partnership with J. L. De Witt, which was continued until the last named person was elected mayor of the city. A new partnership was then formed with Philip C. Schenkel, under the name of Colver & Schenkel, but subsequently Edmund B. King became one of the firm and the style was then changed to Colver, Schenkel & King. Mr. Schenkel died in 1886, since which time the remaining partners have been associated professionally, and are now recognized as one of the leading law firms of the city and county. Omar Bailey was born in Vermont, the Green Mountain State, on the 18th day of December, 1834. When less than a year old his parents moved to Ohio, and became residents of Lorain county. Omar attended the common 206 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. schools of the locality in which his parents lived, and when of sufficient age he entered Oberlin College, lwhere he remained two years, but did not graduate from that mstitution. His early law studies were prosecuted in the office of Messrs. Plum & Plum, where he read for more than two years. He was admitted to the bar at Columbus on the 14th of December, 1863. Mr. Bailey practiced law for a few years in Lorain county, and in the fall of 1868 went to Iowa, where he remained three years. On returning to Ohio he opened an office at Norwalk, Huron county, and lived and practiced at that place until the month of September, 1863, at which time he came to Sandusky. His practice is general, but if there is any class of cases for which he has a preference, it is in that branch of the profession usually called criminal practice. John T. Beecher, son of Lucas S. Beecher, was born in Sandusky on the 23d of July, 1831. His early education was obtained in the schools of his native town, after which he attended the academy at Mt. Vernon, 0., and still later, for a time, Kenyon College, at Gambier, Knox county. His study of the law commenced almost at the same time with his education, but it was not until he left Kenyon College that he became a regular law student in the office of his father. He was admitted to the bar on the 11 th of October, 1853, and immediately became interested in his father's practice, an association that continued until the death of the latter, some few years ago. In 1883 Mr. Beecher formed a law partnership with Hon. Thomas P. Finnefrock, of Fremont, 0., which relation has ever since been maintained. During the years 1879 and 1880 Mr. Beecher filled the office of city solicitor of Sandusky. Ulysses T. Curran. By far the greater of the years of this man, since the days of youth, have been devoted to the school-room, either in the capacity of student or teacher, and it was not until the year 1884 that he became an active member of the legal profession, although he was admitted to practice in 1872. Mr. Curran was born at Harrisburg, the capital of the Keystone State, on the 7th day March, 1834. His education was obtained at the Miami University, at Oxford in this State, his parents and family having become residents of Brown county in 1840. He was graduated from this institution in 1856, and then received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. For the three years next succeeding his graduation Mr. Curran was engaged as assistant superintendent of public schools at Ripley, in Brown county, and at the same time engaged in teaching. He then became principal of the academy at Harford, Ohio county, Ky., and remained there until the 0utbreak of the war, when, from the fact that he was not in sympathy with the great mass of the people of that State, he was compelled to leave, and leave quickly too. From there he moved to La Fayette, Ind., where he opened a select school, but this was not a successful enterprise. During his residence there Mr. Cur- THE BENCH AND BAR - 207 ran was constantly watched, as he was known to have come from Kentucky. False reports were circulated concerning him, and he was, for a long time, believed to be an emissary of the secessionists, but before leaving the place people became fully satisfied of his loyalty and integrity. After residing at La Fayette for about a year Mr. Curran returned to Ohio and became superintendent of the public schools of Middletown, where he remained for three years, but then went to Glendale and became principal of the academy at that place. Again after another three years had elapsed he established what proved to be a very successful school at Cincinnati, for the preparation of young men for Harvard and Yale Colleges. It was during his residence at Cincinnati that Mr. Curran read law under the direction of Major L. M. Hosea, a leading attorney of that city. This study was supplemented by a course in the law department of the Cincinnati University, after which, in 1872, he was admitted to practice in the courts of the State. Soon after this he came to Sandusky and accepted the position of superintendent of the public schools, which he held for eight years, but on account of the adoption of certain books to be used in the schools, a heated and bitter controversy was created, during which our subject resigned his position. In 1844 the law partnership of Plinney & Curran was formed. Horatio N. Shipman was born in the town of Essex, Chittenden county, Vt., on the 3d of June, 1829, When he was less than four years of age his parents left Vermont and came to Trumbull county, O, The early education of young Shipman was obtained at the district schools of the vicinity in which his parents lived, and on account of the need of his servioe on the farm, his study was limited to a small part of the year. At the age of twenty-five he commenced reading law with Charles A. Harring, of Trumbull county, but he was soon obliged to withdraw from the office as he had not sufficient means to maintain himself. He then returned to farm work and devoted his leisure time to the study of Blackstone, Kent and Greenley, having purchased the books for the purpose of qualifying himself for the legal profession. In August, 1854, he came to Berlinville, Erie county, and engaged in teaching school for a number of terms, but in the fall of 1857 he went to Norwalk, where he became a student in the office of T. R. Strong. In June, 1857, he was admitted to the bar and located for practice at Milan, in this county. In the fall of 1861 Mr. Shipman recruited Company C, of the Fifty-fifth Ohio Infantry, and was made its captain. He served for about two years. With the exception of this time he has been in constant practice at Milan. Hon. James L. De Witt, one of the present judges of the Common Pleas Court of this subdivision, was born in Perkins township, in this county, on the 20th of September, 1848. He was educated at the district schools of Perkins, and at the age of nineteen became a student at the Buckeye Commercial College, at Sandusky, where he remained one winter. At twenty he attended 208 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. " Job Fish's School" at Berlin Heights, in this county, where he remained some time. He then taught school in the county for five or six years, but between terms attended Oberlin College. While teaching he devoted his leisure to reading elementary law works. He read law regularly with Hon. John Mackey and with Homer Goodwin, esq., and was admitted to the bar at Sandusky, in March, 1873, but devoted more time to teaching school than to the practice until the year 1875. The next year Mr. De Witt moved to Sandusky, and thenceforth continued his practice until the spring of 1883, at which time he was elected mayor of the city. In this office he served two terms. During his second candidacy no nomination was made against him. In the fall of 1886 our subject became the candidate of his party ( Democratic ) for the office of judge of the Common Pleas. He was elected and assumed his duties as such in February, 1887. Charles Webb Sadler was born in Sandusky, August 27, 1848. After an early education at the Sandusky High School, he, in 1865, entered Kenyon College, and after a four years' course was graduated there form in 1869. He then read law in the office of his father, Hon. E. B. Sadler, of Sandusky, but supplemented his legal study with a year's attendance at the Columbia Law School of New York city. In 1875 he was admitted to the bar and immediately commenced practice at Sandusky city, in partnership with his father. Cyrus B. Winters, the present prosecuting attorney for Erie county, became a resident lawyer of Sandusky in 1881, and in the fall of that same year was elected to the office he now holds. His first vote in the county was cast at the polls of the election, by which he was chosen to that office. His successor will be elected in November, 1888. Mr. Winters was born in Sandusky county on the 5th of July, 1849. Aside from a common school education he was for some time at the Western Reserve Normal School, at Milan, but was not graduated. He then read law with A. B. Putman, commencing in 1873, and was admitted to the bar in 1876. From this tine until about 1880, he was deputy clerk of the courts and deputy sheriff of Sandusky county, but at the time named he went to Eaton Rapids, Mich., where he practioed about one year. In 1881 Mr. Winters came to Sandusky city, and in the fall of the same year was elected public prosecutor. Edmund B. King became a resident lawyer of Sandusky in the year 1875, but his adMission to practice dates two years earlier. He is now prominently connected with the local military organization of the city, being the commandant of the Sandusky Guards. Mr. King was born at Montzelle, Medina county, 0., on the 4th of July, 1850. He was brought up on a farm, at work and attending school in season, until he reached the age of twenty. He attended Oberlin College one year and also Baldwin University, at Berea, for two years. From 1871 to 1873 Mr. King read law with George Knapp, also Messrs. THE BENCH AND BAR - 209 Wickham & Wildman, of Norwalk, but during these years his time was in part occupied in teaching school. In August, 1873, at Elyria, Lorain county, he was admitted to the bar, and in the fall of the same year was elected prosecuting attorney of the county of Medina, but before the expiration of his term of office he resigned and came to Sandusky City. Here he formed a law partnership with W. W. Bowen, esq., with whom he was associated about two years, after which he became the junior partner of the firm of Taylor, Phinney & King. Three years later the firm of King & Sloane was formed, and continued five years. After practicing alone for one year, Mr. King became one of the firm of Colver, Schenkel & King. Mr. Schenkel died in 1886, and the firm then became Colver & King. Charles H. Cramer was born in Seneca county, O. He attended school at Whitehall, in that county, and afterwards entered the college at Tiffin for one year, but did not graduate. He was admitted to practice at Mansfield, O., and became a resident of Sandusky in 1881, in which city he has since resided and practiced the law. Walter W. Bowen was born at Akron, in this State, in September, 1849. He was educated at Oberlin College and the Baldwin University ; read law in the office of Messrs Walker & Bailey, of Norwalk, and was admitted to the bar at Elyria, Lorain county, in 1873. The next year, 1874, he came to practice in Sandusky. In 1876 Mr. Bowen was elected as prosecuting attorney of Erie county, and filled that office two years ; and again, from July, 1880, to January, 1881, he held the same position. In the last named year he was elected to the office of city solicitor, and re-elected at the expiration of his first term. Grayson Mills was born in the city of Sandusky. He was educated at Kenyon College, at Gambier, and graduated from the Columbia Law College, of New York City, in the year 1876. For about two years he practiced at Cincinnati, but came to Sandusky in 1878. From 1881 to .1883 Mr. Mills filled the office of prosecuting attorney of this county, and since that time has been engaged in the general practice. John P. Stein. Mr. Stein was born in Milan township of this county, in the year 1858, He was educated at the Milan Normal School, and came to Sandusky and entered the office of J. W. Tilly, as a student at law. This course was supplemented by further study in the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, after which, in 1881, he was admitted to the bar. Two years later he was elected justice of the peace, the duties of which office were performed in connection with his professional work. George C. Beis, the present city solicitor, of Sandusky, was born in Lucas county on the 12th of September, 1861. His early education was received in the common and high schools of his native county, after which he became a law student in the office of Scribner, Hurd & Scribner, of Toledo.. He after- 210 - HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY. ward attended the University of Michigan, and was graduated with the clans of 1883. In the same year he came to Sandusky and opened an office for practice. In the spring of 1885 Mr, Beis was elected city solicitor, and reelected in 1887. Linn W. Hull, the junior partner of the law firm of Goodwin, Goodwin & Hull, is a native of this county, born in Perkins township April 9, 1856. He was educated at Oberlin and Union Colleges and at Cornell University, but was not graduated from either of these institutions. He took a course at the law school at Cincinnati, and was graduated in 1883 and admitted to practice. Prior to that time he had read law with Taylor & Finney, also Homer and Lewis H. Goodwin, of Sandusky City. In 1886 Mr. Hull became a partner in the present firm. Fred Reinheimer was born in Sandusky in 1843. During the war he enlisted in the Eighth Infantry and still later in the Third Cavalry. He read law in the office of J. G. Bigelow, and was admitted to practice in 1873, since which time he has practiced in Sandusky. Hewson L. Peeke was born at South Bend, Ind., April 9, 1861. He graduated from the Chicago High School in 1878, after which he entered Williams College, and was graduated therefrom in 1882. He then read law with Tagert & Cutting, of Chicago, for one year, after which he went to Dakota and practiced law for "a time. In 1883 he returned east and read law with Homer Goodwin, esq., of Sandusky, and was admitted to practice in January, 1885. He located at Sandusky. Mr. Peeke is a strong Prohibitionist. He was the candidate of the Prohibitionists for common pleas judge in 1886, and again the candidate of the same party for circuit judge in the fall of 1887. William A. Childs was born in this State November 2, 1857 ; read law in the office of Hon. Allen M. Knox, of Conneaut,.after which he entered the Albany •Law School, at Albany, N. Y., and was graduated in February, 1880. During the same month he was admitted to practice in Ohio. For a time he practiced at Conneaut and came to Erie county, locating at Vermillion, in 1882. He has twice been elected justice of the peace, and also served two years as mayor of Vermillion, W. B. Starbird, the present associate editor of the Milan Advertiser, was born in New York State. He commenced the study of the law at the age of nineteen years, and was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-four. He commenced practice in 1882, but in connection with it, has for the last three years held the position of associate editor of the Advertiser. Among the members of the Erie county bar, there may be mentioned the names of others who have been in active practice during the few years last past, but whose efforts are now directed in other channels of trade or profession : Thomas M. Sloane, Gottlieb Stroebel, Benjamin F. Lee, Charles L. Hub- THE MEDICAL PROFESSION - 211 bard, Rush R. Sloane, Lester Hubbard, C. C. Bittner, H. S. Kellogg, Herman Ohly, now in an insane asylum ; and possibly a few others whose names cannot now be recalled.