150 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. statement and in his mental integrity, no judge of the Supreme Court is entitled to a higher rank. In these respects he may be compared to the late Justice Story, of the Supreme Court of the United States. DANIEL R. TILDEN, Cleveland. Daniel Rose Tilden, late judge of the Probate Court, of Cuyahoga county, was a noteworthy character. He was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, in November 1807, and died in Cleveland March 4, 1890. All of his adult life was spent in Ohio. He came to this State at the age of twenty, and settled first in Portage county. Having studied law with Judge Rufus P. Spalding at Warren, he was admitted to the Bar and removed with his preceptor to Ravenna, where the firm of Spalding & Tilden was formed, and continued in practice until Portage county was divided and Summit organized. Upon the removal of Judge Spalding to Akron, Mr. Tilden continued in practice at Ravenna in partnership with W. S. C. Otis until his election to Congress in 1844. He was re-elected in 1846, and at the close of his congressional service removed to Cleveland, where his residence was maintained to the end of his life. His law practice was conducted in partnership with Robert F. Payne, and was continued until 1854, when he was elected judge of the Probate Court. For eleven successive terms Judge Tilden was elected to this office, in which he served thirty-three years. He retired in 1888, after he had exceeded the limit of four score years, enjoying the confidence of the public and the respect of all the Bar. He was married three times, has last wife being Cornelia Lossing, who survived him. His life was pure and clean, such as to deserve the high tribute indicated by his repeated elections. Judge Tilden was succeeded in office by Judge Henry C. White, who, on request of the editor, has prepared the subjoined comment and estimate : “The Probate Court as an institution of government in the United States, while being the direct successor of the ancient secular county tribunals in England, known as Memorial Courts, nevertheless now exercise the same functions that the later ecclesiastical courts in England were wont to exercise. Probate and testamentary causes finally became wholly remitted to the care of ecclesiastical officers, and this impressed the service of the probate official with a peculiar character The Probate Court has always been intimately connected with the domestic and family life of the people. The dignity and responsibility of the Probate Court is well stated by Mr. Schouler in his admirable treatise on executors and administrators in the following language: As befits an authority which pervades the threshold and exposes to public view the chamber of mourning, probate jurisdiction in the United States is exercised with great simplicity of form, coupled with dignity and decorum.' The clientage of probate jurisdiction generally comes into the court clad in the habiliments of mourning, and all the tender sympathetic aid that can be rendered to the widow and orphan, while under the shadow of bereavement, is BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 151 expected from the presiding judge. This marks the service of the probate judge at once as being of a peculiar character. He is clothed with judicial dignity, and yet must be ever open to the informal approach of widows, orphans and humble classes of the laity without ceremony. To him are confided the most delicate and profound secrets of the family history. He is required to be learned in the law, and, coupled with this qualification, he is ever called upon the exercise that weight and accuracy of judgment in business affairs with which a good solicitor or business manager is supposed to be endowed. He becomes, therefore, counseller as well as judge, and it is his ordinary experience also to become a consoler and comforter of those in great distress. The successful administration, therefore, of the probate office, demands peculiar personal qualities in the judge. Honorable Daniel R. .Tilden, as has been stated in this sketch, exercised the responsible functions of the probate judgeship in Cuyahoga county for thirty-three successive years, having been elected every third year by the people of the county at large. During this period the county grew in population from about one hundred thousand to four hundred and fifty thousand. A succession of more than one generation transpired during his incumbency. During all those years there was scarcely a family in the whole county whose interests were not in one way or another brought to the knowledge and attention of the probate judge. His court is required by law to be open for the transaction of business every day in the year, except holidays and Sundays, and it became his daily function to give counsel and advice upon every conceivable domestic concern, and to stand as the general counsellor for all the people. These habitual duties not only presupposed but cultivated certain peculiar qualities in the judge. He was required to have an intimate knowledge of the tendencies and impulses of human nature. He must exercise absolute impartiality and hold sacred the confidences confided in him. Over all he must exercise the most constant and unwearied patience. Judge Tilden was profoundly gifted in all these qualities. He was a man of very broad sympathies ; he was intimately acquainted with the struggles and trials of the common people, in their domestic life, and both from experience and taste exercised a very wise and abundant sympathy in everything pertaining to the rights and duties of the domestic relation. He became in fact as well as in theory the ultimate guardian of all orphans in the county. In the exercise of the peculiar functions of the probate office he became, like ancient Job, filled with a spirit of unwearied patience under all circumstances, and it may be said of him, as of Job, that, he was a father to the poor, and the cause which he knew not he searched out.' Patience with him was not a mere negative quality—it became a positive virtue. 'No emergency or surprisal of excitement could cause him to relax self-control or move him to abate in any degree that calm complacency and discriminating patience. The elder Pliny, the great jurisconsult, once wrote his emperor, that patience in the judge played no small part in the administration of justice.' This patience and self-control were not a matter of temperament with Judge Tilden ; they were the result of long years of discipline in an office in which patience is of the 152 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. highest value in the incumbent. Judge Tilden, while endowed by nature with great powers of reasoning and discrimination, was not, under all circumstances, an arduous student. By his professional education and studies he had become thoroughly imbued with the fundamental principles of jurisprudence, and he was perfectly familiar with all the statutory laws affecting his official action. It took an occasion or cause of unusual interest to move him to review or investigate legal learning for immediate application. Ordinarily in all the discharge of his judicial duty, he was sufficiently equipped to deal with the probate business without special effort or preparation, but, when occasion seemed to require it, he aroused himself and applied the learning of the law with such discrimination and vigor, as to manifest to all, profound abilities as a jurist. He left very few reported cases on record during his long judicial career. The reason of this was that there never had been systematic reporting or preservation of the numerous important causes tried in the probate courts of the State but some of his decisions in important cases were published in the public press and in pamphlet form, and rank with the work of our ablest judges. In another respect he was a remarkable judge. He had a most retentive memory and a masterful gray of complicated facts when presented in the trial of a case. He would listen for days to a volume of oral testimony, keeping but few notes, and attend at the same time to the constant interruptions to which the probate judge is always subjected by the current business of the office, and at the end of the trial, and after argument, analyze the evidence and marshal the facts upon the lines of soundest reason, and render a judgment in such moderate terms and kindly spirit, and with such profound good sense, as to satisfy both parties of the wisdom, justice and soundness of his decision. This was one of his peculiar and high qualifications as a jurist. The explanation of this masterful ability to open a direct way to the truth through a mass of conflicting evidence lay in his possession of profound common sense. He had an almost intuitive knowledge of the operations of the ordinary laws which govern our common human nature. As usual in men of broad sympathies, there was ever a fountain of sweet and wholesome humor in him, which bubbled over on all proper occasions, and often mellowed the asperities of the Contention before him. The two dominant characteristics of Judge Tilden as a probate magistrate were his broad and active sympathies with the struggles of the common people in their daily domestic life, and his profound and never failing common sense. In a public career of unusual length, extending over a period of more than thirty years, no man in our country ever discharged the responsible and delicate functions of a judicial office in a station immediately connected with the concerns of all classes of people with greater acceptance and favor than Honorable Daniel R. Tilden." BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 153 EDWIN T. HAMILTON, Cleveland. Honorable E. T. Hamilton, for twenty years judge of the Court of Common Pleas, was born in Newburg (now a part of the City of Cleveland) on the 13th day of July, 1830. His father, Justus Hamilton, a farmer, was one of the first settlers of Cuyahoga county, coming to Ohio in 1801 from Massachusetts. His family had been among the first settlers of New England. He is of Scotch-Irish ancestry and his lineage is traced to the sturdy race from the North of Ireland. His mother, Salinda Brainard, was born in Connecticut. Her parents were among the early settlers of Northern Ohio. Miss Brainerd was a direct descendant of Daniel Brainard, who, when a lad of eight years, was brought to the United States from England, and who, in the year 1662, became the largest landholder in Haddam, Connecticut. The early days of young Hamilton, the subject of this sketch, were spent upon the farm and his first education was received in the public schools of the district. About 1848, when in his eighteenth year, he was sent to Allegheny College at Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he remained for two years, and left before graduating. Shortly afterwards he took up the study of law under the direction and in the office of Kelly, Bolton & Griswold, at that time one of the leading law firms of Cleveland. In 1854 he was admitted to the Bar. The same year he went West, locating at Ottumwa, Iowa, and was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Iowa. In less than a year he returned to Cleveland and took up the practice of law. His first partnership was with Mr. Wyman, and the firm of Wyman & Hamilton continued until the summer of 1862, when he enlisted as a private in Company D, Eighty-fourth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was stationed in Maryland, doing guard duty on the south branch of the Potomac river for a period of four months, when it was disbanded. He returned to Cleveland and resumed the practice of law, under the firm name of Hamilton & Dennison. This firm continued until the summer of 1875, when he was elected judge of the Common Pleas Court for a term of five years. The nomination came to him unsought. In fact he knew nothing of the movement until the afternoon before the nominating convention met, when some of the leaders came and informed him that he was to be nominated. He was elected for four successive terms, having a continuous service of twenty years, and would now be serving his fifth. term had he allowed himself to be again nominated. Judge Hamilton is admitted to be among the ablest of the nisi pries judges that ever sat on the Bench in Cuyahoga county. He is of even temperament, possessing a fine legal mind ; is al ways cool, deliberate, considerate and firm, and a close student. In the clear interpretation of the statutes he is unexcelled. His decisions are precedents and are frequently quoted by the present judges .of Cleveland. Judge Hamilton is a most lovable man. Kind, gentle and considerate, he has a host of admirers. In him the younger members of the Bar have a true and valuable friend, who is always willing and ready to assist and aid them in their work. A lawyer can possess no greater quality than this, and no virtue that could make him more respected and loved by the profession. Judge Hamilton is now associated with his son, Walter J., 154 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. and Halbert D. Smith, under the firm name of Hamilton, Hamilton & Smith. It is not his purpose to again engage in the active practice. His work now is more in the way of directing and counselling the younger ones, and occasionally engaging in the trial of important causes, when the finer questions of law are involved. He is the lecturer of the Franklin T. Backus Law School of the Western Reserve University, on the law of res adjudicata and collateral attack. In 1863 he married Miss Mary E. Jones, of Cleveland, and by this union two children were born; a son and a daughter. Mrs. Hamilton and both children are living. JOHN F. HERRICK, Cleveland. Colonel John Frank Herrick was born at Wellington, Ohio, on the 23rd of February, 1836. His father, Ephriam Herrick, was a farmer and a native of Massachusetts, who came to Ohio in 1830 and settled in Wellington, Lorain county. He was of English extraction. One of the family was a colonel in the American Revolution and commanded a regiment under General Stark. his mother, Chloe Wilcox, was also a native of Massachusetts. Young Herrick, when old enough, was sent to the common schools of his native village, later entering the academy. In 1856 he went to Oberlin College, and spent two years in the preparatory department. In 1858 he entered upon his collegiate course and was graduated in 1862. Some three months before the college conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Arts he had recruited a company of volunters for service in the Union army. This company became a part of the Eighty-seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteers, and he was in the field at the time of receiving his degree. He was captured at Harper's Ferry by General Stonewall Jackson and was at once paroled. Coming to Cleveland he commenced the study of law at the Ohio State and Union Law College, from which institution he was graduated in June, 1863. About this time he was exchanged. He at once organized another company, and in July of the same year was elected major of the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry. He served with his regiment in the western army under Generals Burbridge and Stoneman was promoted in regular order to lieutenant-colonel and was mustered out of the service in 1865. In the fall of that year he commenced the practice of law at Cleveland in partnership with his brother, G. E. Herrick. The firm then formed continued until 1890. Colonel Herrick has since that time engaged in a geral practice alone. He is a man of high character and a lawyer of abilty, and has had much to do in the management of large estates. He is interested in educational affairs and is now a member of the board of education for East Cleveland. In politics he was a Republican until 1896, when he left the party and supported the Democratic ticket for President, believing that independent bimetalism was the only remedy for the wrongs the people of this country are now enduring. He was nominated in 1897 as candidate on the Democratic ticket for State senator for Cuyahoga county. He has never held or sought office. This nomination came to him without the asking. In 1866 Colonel Herrick married Mary B. Clay, BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 155 a daughter of Cassius M. Clay, of Kentucky, and by the union three children were born, the eldest of whom, Clay Herrick, is now the principal of Western Reserve Academy at Hudson. He married in 1877, Flora E. Waring, of Cleveland. By this marriage there were five children, one son and four daughters, all of whom, with their mother, are living. CHARLES C. BALDWIN, LL. D., deceased. Honorable Charles Candee Baldwin, late of Cleveland, was for ten years judge of the Eighth Circuit of the Circuit Court of Ohio. In his premature death, on February 2, 1895, not only his family and the wide circle of personal friends, but the higher interests of the City of Cleveland, of the State of Ohio, and indeed the whole country, suffered an irreparable loss. Charles Candee Baldwin was born December 2, 1834, at Middletown, Connecticut. His parents were Seymour Wesley and Mary Candee Baldwin. Early in the seventeenth century the Baldwins were a prominent family in Aylesbury, England, from which place most of them emigrated to Connecticut in 1637. Sylvester, the direct ancestor of Judge Baldwin, died, however, on shipboard before reaching his destination. Mrs. Baldwin was a bright, attractive and intelligent young woman, of a French Hugenot family early in Connecticut and descended, through her mother, from such worthies as William Pynchon, the first treasurer of the Massachusetts colony and the founder of Springfield ; Captain Wadsworth, who hid the Connecticut charter, and the famous secretary, John Allyn, of that colony. In every line the lineage of John Baldwin is purely Connecticut for two hundred years. When Charles was five months old his parents removed to Elyria, Ohio. A considerable pat of the journey was made by boat on the Erie canal, at that time the most luxurious mode of travel. Judge Baldwin's father was a most energetic, successful and highly respected merchant in Elyria from 1835 to 1847. A little more than a year after reaching Elyria, Charles's mother died, leaving his brother David an infant five days old. After a time the father married a second wife, Miss Fidelia Hall, who thus came into the care of these small children. Of her Judge Baldwin wrote, that she was as gentle and conscientious as any mother could be. In 1847 the family returned to Connecticut and resided for nine years in Meriden. During this period, when fourteen years of age, Charles entered a boarding school in Middletown to prepare for college. Among his companions at that time, and one with whom he maintained pleasant associations in later life, was the distinguished historian, John Fiske. At the age of sixteen Charles entered Wesleyan University, Middletown, graduating with honor in 1855, at the age of twenty. Among his classmates was Justice Brewer, now of the Supreme Court of the United States. Immediately upon graduating from college young Baldwin entered Harvard Law School, taking the degree of LL. B. in 1857. Coming to Cleveland in March of the same year he entered the law office of S. B. & F. J. Prentiss, and was admitted to practice in October, 1857. The advantage and training 156 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. of this partnership were very great, since no one has ever occupied the Bench of Cuyahoga county who had the reputation of possessing a more accurate and logical legal mind and more learning than the senior member of this firm, who ten years later was elected to the Bench in Cleveland, and continued there until he retired some years afterwards. On being admitted to the Bar young Baldwin located first in the office where he studied, and in 1861 was admitted to equal partnership by the senior of the firm, under the name of S. B. Prentiss & Baldwin. In 1867 the firm was dissolved by the election of S. B. Prentiss to the Bench of the Common Pleas Court, and the successive partnerships became C. W. Prentiss & Baldwin, Prentiss, Baldwin & Ford, afterwards Bald win & Ford, which latter was the style when, in 1884, Mr. Baldwin was nominated to the Circuit Bench, a position which he held at the time of his death, having been re-elected a third time shortly before that lamented event. On the 8th of September, 1862, Judge Baldwin was Married to Miss Caroline S. Prentiss, a daughter of Charles W. Prentiss, who was later one of his partners. All of the Prentisses here mentioned with whom Judge Baldwin was associated were sons of Judge Samuel Prentiss, of Vermont, who was United States Senator from 1830 to 1842. Judge Baldwin's devotion to his family and his attachment to home life were marked features in his character. Outside of his family circle he spent little time in social recreation. Of his four children, two died in early years. Of the two surviving children, Mary Candee is the wife of Dr. John P. Sawyer, Professor of Medicine and Clinical Surgery in the Western Reserve Medical College, while the son, Samuel Prentiss Baldwin, is continuing the traditions of the family : Having been admitted to the Bar, he is now actively engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1892 Judge Baldwin received the degree of Doctor of Laws from his Alma Mater. Among the many who united in nominating him for this honor was David J. Brewer, of the United States Supreme Court, who in his letter to the faculty of the university says : "He is a gentleman of high character and especially loved and honored in the State in which he has made his home during his active life. He has won a name, too, outside of the law, by his researches into the early history of the State, both before and since its settlement by the whites. He is eminently worthy of any honor the university can confer upon him, and certainly a host of friends will be gratified by hearing that he has received an LL. D. from his Alma Mater." Judge Baldwin's many decisions found in the Circuit Court reports attest his ability as judge and lawyer. His career was marked by rapid and signal success. His mind was such as to enable him to solve important questions relating to business and finance. Corporation and banking law was his special study. He was always popular with the people. In the convention of 1884 that nominated him, out of 160 votes he received 142. Though eminent as a lawyer and judge he found time for activity in various business and educational pursuits; and was a director in several banks. At one time he was trustee in two colleges and was actively connected with several other educational organizations. Among the latter the most important was. BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 157 the Western Reserve Historical Society, of which he was one of the founders, and at the time of his death president. He was favorably known by historical, scientific and antiquarian societies, both in this country and Europe. He gave much time and original research to the work of the historical society. He wrote and translated a number of works, and the library and museum owe much to his judicious selections. Through his efforts a building was purchased, which is now owned by the society. The suggestion which led to the organization of the society is said to have come from him. This institution will always stand as a lasting monument to his memory. In his examination of cases he was thorough and exhaustive. His conclusion was reached upon the facts and law involved in the case without the slightest reference to the parties affected by the judgment, the personality of counsel, or any outside influence whatever. He deserved and commanded the respect of the entire Bar. His business judgment was much sought and relied upon, whether as bank director, trustee, lawyer or in the management of estates, in all of which he had much to do. His work was faithfully done. He never betrayed a trust or shirked a duty. Every associate who served with him on the Bench gladly gives testimony to his faithful, conscientious and efficient work. The judge was a member of the Presbyterian Church and in politics always a Republican. The Honorable Hugh J. Caldwell, now associate judge of the circuit, says of him : "He had a wealth of mind and heart that pre-eminently fitted him for his place on the Bench and endeared him greatly to all who knew him. His life was an open book. All the world could read him—nothing covered or secret. He had nothing to hide from his fellow men. No false pretense in him. His strong sense of right and justice was never overcome by passion. No friendship or influence was ever strong enough to swerve him from an honest and impartial judgment. He was self-reliant, industrious and thorough in his investigation of cases submitted to the court. His judgment was always based on honest purpose, a purpose so well grounded in his nature that he could not be induced to give judgment until his mind was convinced. As a man he was genial and much beloved, and honored by all who knew him. He was especially considerate of the opinions of his associates and at all times kept his mind open to conviction. He ignored self in all his work, sought criticism and always profited by it. His associates on the Bench loved him exceedingly well. They greatly mourn his loss. They will ever remember him as a true, honest and able judge and an exceedingly affable, agreeable and dear friend." JAMES D. CLEVELAND, Cleveland. Judge Cleveland was born in Madison, Madison county, New York, on the 15th day of September, 1822. His father was Daniel Cleveland, a merchant, and his mother, Julia R. Gold, both of English ancestry. On his paternal side the Clevelands came from Ipswich, on the east coast of England, and settled in Woburn, Massachusetts, about 1635. The family later moved into Connecticut, and James's branch of the family 158 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. went to New York State. There have always been men in the family who held high rank, both in the civil and military history of our country. The judge's grandfather, Erastus Cleveland, in his diary says : " When I was in Whiteston, situated on the great highway between Albany and Buffalo, General Moses Cleveland (a cousin of my father, Moses Cleveland) of Canterbury, Connecticut, went out and surveyed the land in Ohio belonging to the Connecticut Land Company, known as the Western Reserve, and the city of Cleve- land was named in honor of him." The grandfather of James was a general in the War of 1812, stationed at Oswego, New York. He later represented his county for several terms in the New York legislature. Judge James D. Cleveland, the subject of this sketch, came to Cleveland in 1835 and was prepared for college in private schools, but was prevented from entering college by the great financial disasters of 1838. His father's failure at that time compelled him to turn his attention to something by which he could earn a sup-. port for himself. So at the early age of seventeen he commenced teaching in the district schools. In 1839 he commenced the study of law and was admitted to practice in 1843. In the same year he went to New Orleans, Louisiana, and there entered the law office of Clark & Slidell, and continued the study of law with this noted firm for two years. He then returned to Cleveland and commenced the practice of law with F. W. Bingham, but got into politics in a short time and was elected clerk of all the courts, filling this office from 1852 to 1855. About this time he was also elected justice of the peace. It was much more of an honor at that time to fill the office of justice than it is now. All the great lawyers in those days, such as Foote, Andrews and Backus, tried cases before him. He was the youngest man that ever filled the office of justice of the peace in Cleveland. He was managing editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer from 1855 to 1858, and deputy Clerk of the United States Court for nine years, from 1858 to 1867. From 1869 to 1871 he was judge of the Municipal Court. Since that time he has been in practice, always alone, never having formed any partnerships. His practice has been almost entirely confined to the administration of estates and the execution of trusts involving large landed interests. He has never been a trial lawyer. Having been a schoolmate of Leonard Case, and always a friend of the family, he was made one of the trustees for " The Case School of Applied Science," a school founded by Leonard Case, Jr., by deeds of trust to real estate worth $1,500,000. Judge Cleveland is now president of the board. He is also one of the trustees of the Society of Savings. No man in Cleveland stands higher than Judge Cleveland, having the respect and confidence of all who know him. He is to-day more active and energetic in his work than many who are his juniors by a score of years. In politics he has always been an uncompromising Democrat, following in the footsteps of his grandfathers on both sides, whosepolitical faith and belief had its birth with the Jeffersonian teachings and with the party of 1796. Judge Cleveland married Charlotte J. Bingham in 1851 and by this union has three children, two sons and one daughter. The older son, a promising young lawyer, is now associated with his father in the practice. Mrs Cleveland and all the children are living. BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 159 CHARLES D. EVERETT, Cleveland. Charles D. Everett was born in Liberty township, Trumbull county, Ohio, on the 17th day of November, 1836. His father, Samuel Everett, was for a number of years engaged in the manufacture of linseed oil. He was born in Pennsylvania and came to Ohio with his parents in 1802. Mr. Everett is of English descent. His ancestors came to America in 1636, settled in Massachusetts and early in the eighteenth century moved to Pennsylvania. his grandfather, although too young to enlist during the Revolution, was employed as courier and bearer of dispatches, and was attached to Washington's army. his mother, Sarah Pheil, born in. Pennsylvania, was of Prussian extraction. Her father came to the United States in 1795, settling in Pennsylvania at Little York, and in 1808 the family removed to Columbiana county, Ohio. For several hundred years the Pheils have been prominent in Prussia. During the Franco-Prussian war one of that name was chief quartermaster general of the Prussian army. Young Everett's education was obtained in the public schools of his native county until he was fourteen years of age. In 1850 his parents moved to Cleveland, where he continued and completed his education in the public schools. In 1856, having determined upon law as his profession, he entered the office of Mason & Estep, and commenced his studies. Later he entered the Cincinnati Law School and was graduated in 1858. Returning to Cleveland he continued in the office of his preceptors for two years, in the meantime having been admitted to practice by the district court in Hamilton county. In 1860 he opened an office and commenced the practice of his profession alone. In 1866 he went to Montana, where he engaged in gold mining some years. Returning to Cleveland in 1871 he at once resumed the practice of law, and shortly afterwards formed his first partnership with ex-Judge McMath, under the firm name of McMath & Everett. This association continued but a short time, when he withdrew and formed a partnership with M. B. Gary. Later his nephew, Frank E. Dellenbaugh, became a member of the firm, the name and style becoming Everett, Gary & Dellenbaugh. Shortly afterwards Mr. Gary retired and the firm became Everett & Dellenbaugh and later Everett, Dellenbaugh & Weed, and so continued until 1895, when Governor McKinley appointed F. E. Dellenbaugh to the Common Pleas Bench of Cuyahoga county. In January, 1897, Mr. W. D. Meals and Mr. E. E. Sluss were taken into partnership and the style of the firm became Everett, Weed, Meals & Sluss, since which time no changes have been made. Mr. Everett has for years enjoyed a large and profitable practice of a general character. lie is of a studious turn, devotes great care and thought to the preparation of his cases, and conducts the trial of a case with great skill and ability. He is a man of high moral character and his standing in the community is of the highest order. He always has been a Republican, consistent in the support of party principles and taking at all times as active interest in party matters as his professional work would allow. With the exception of six years in the Cleveland city council he has never held office. In 1874 he was elected a member of the council for a term of two years and thereafter was re-elected for two successive terms, 160 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. being president of that body during the last term. He is an active Mason, having attained the Knight Templar degrees. In 1868 he married Fannie S. Johns, a native of Devonshire, England, who came to this country and to the State of Ohio as a child with her parents, settling in Cleveland. There are no children living by this union. Mrs. Everett is living. LEONARD CASE, Cleveland. The late Leonard Case, Senior, was born July 29, 1786, in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, near the Monongahela river. His father, Meshach Case, was of Holland stock. The grandfather was one of four brothers who came to this country from Holland early in the last century. We know little of these brothers as individuals, only that they came from a nation that had fought the longest and bloodiest wars for religious and civil liberty against the Spanish inquisition, and had become the rival of Great Britain for the supremacy of the seas, and in planting colonies in America, Africa and the East Indies. These four Case brothers settled on Long Island and in Morris county, New Jersey, and one of them, Butler, moved into Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1778, where Meshach, a farmer, the father of the subject of this sketch, met and married Magdalene Eckstein in 1780. On the maternal side there is more knowledge of the family history. Leonard Eckstein, the grandfather, was a native of Bavaria, and was born near the ancient city of Nuremberg, the old walled and castellated city founded in medieval times, about ninety miles from Munich. Some of the brothers of Leonard Eckstein were sculptors and carvers. One worked for Frederick the Great in Berlin and Potsdam, and others at The Hague in the Netherlands. In 1750 Leonard Eckstein landed in Philadelphia, pushed on to Virginia, married in Winchester and moved again into western Pennsylvania, where his daughter Magdalene and Meshach Case were married. As the fruit of this union of the Holland and German stock eight children were born, Leonard being the oldest. In 1799 his father and mother went on an exploring expedition into Ohio, and on horseback came into the Connecticut Western Reserve, buying two hundred acres of land in the township of Warren, Trumbull county. Before returning they had raised a log cabin and cut away an acre of timber around it. The next spring, April 26, 1800, the family arrived on the spot, and with them came several of their Pennsylvania neighbors. There were not fifty people on the whole domain of the Connecticut Land Company. It was here they celebrated their first Fourth of July. Mr. Case in his narrative gives an account of the celebration, when even the musical instruments were made on the spot, the drum from the trunk of a hollow pepperidge tree with a fawn's skin stretched across the ends, and the fife from a large, strong stem of elder. Every settler, man and boy, had a gun. From April, 1800, to October, 1801, the lad (Leonard), upon whom the whole family leaned for the heaviest work on the farm and for hunting game (deer and bear), was in robust health and untiring strength. Suddenly he was prostrated with fever, BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 161 in consequence of crossing Mahoning river when overheated in pursuit of the cattle, resulting in ulcers, which made him a cripple for life, and he was never free from pain during the long years of his life. This sickness was prolonged, and it was not until the end of two years that he was able to get up and about. He determined that he would not be dependent upon charity or the labor of others. He schooled himself in reading and writing, made instruments for drafting, and in order to get books and clothes bottomed all the chairs in the neighborhood, made riddles and sieves for the grain of the farmers, and finally found himself necessary to those around him. Then his handwriting attracted the attention of the clerk of the court at Warren, and in 1806 he was absorbing all that there was to know in the laws and land titles of the county. He was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court for Trumbull county in 1806, and had an opportunity to study and copy the records of the Connecticut Land Company in the recorder's office, and when he was employed by General Simon Perkins, who was the land agent of the company in 1807, he was made his confidential clerk. From that time until 1844, when General Perkins died, they were bound together in strong and true friendship. He studied law under the direction of John D. Edwards, who at that time held the office of recorder of Trumbull county, then comprising all of the Western Reserve. While studying law he made an abstract of the drafts of the Connecticut Land Company, showing from the records of that company all the original proprietors of the Reserve and the lands purchased by them, an abstract which was so correct that it became the standard beginning of all searches of land titles, and is still copied and used by all the abstractors and examiners of titles in all of the twelve counties of the Reserve. The war of 1812 found Mr. Case at Warren, having among his other duties that of the collection of non-resident taxes on the Western Reserve. Having to go to Chillicothe to make his settlements, he prepared for his journey to the State capital by making a careful disposition of all official matters, so that in case of misfortune to him there would be no difficulty in settling his affairs and no loss to his bail. The money belonging to the several townships was parceled out, enveloped and marked, in readiness to hand over to the several trustees. The parcels were then deposited with his friend, Mr. Edwards, with directions to pay over to the proper parties should he not return in time. The journey was made without mishap, but on his return he found that his friend had set out to join the army on the Maumee, and had died suddenly on the way. To the gratification of Mr. Case, however, the money was found untouched where he had left it. In 1816 Mr. Case received the appointment of cashier of the Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, just organized in Cleveland. He immediately removed to Cleveland and entered on the discharge of his duties. These did not occupy all of his time, so he practiced law and conducted the business of land agent. The bank was compelled to suspend operations, but later was revived with Mr. Case as president. He earnestly devoted himself to the practice of law. He had a natural taste for the investigations of titles and the history of the earlier land transactions. He had ample scope to gratify his taste, and his 162 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. agency for the Connecticut Land Company from 1827 to 1855 enabled him still further to prosecute his researches. His strong memory retained the. facts acquired until he became complete master of the whole history of titles derived from the Connecticut Land Company. From his earliest connections with Cleveland Mr. Case took a lively interest in the affairs of the village, the improvement of the streets, the maintenance and enlargement of the schools and the extension of religious influences. To him Cleveland is indebted for the name of " Forest City " more than to any one man. It was his thoughtfulness and public spirit that the work of planting shade trees was commenced. From 1821 to 1825 he was president of the village. When Cuyahoga county was created he was the first auditor. From 1824 to 1827 he was a member of the State legislature, where' he was distinguished by his persistent labors in behalf of the canals. He organized and drafted the first bill providing for raising taxes on lands according to the value. They had been before that time taxed so much per acre without regard to their value. This change in the method of raising taxes has been continued. Out of his experience and practical sense he was enabled to furnish a syysstemf checks for the systematic estimates and auditing of accounts on the great public works then set on foot, which was adopted, and proved a safeguard against frauds, jobbery and defalcation. He headed the subscription to the stock of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad Company with the sum of $5,000, and was largely influential in the organization of this first railroad project for Cleveland. One of his rules from which he never deviated was not to contract a debt beyond his ability to pay within two years, without depending upon a sale of property. His opportunities of buying in the earlier days were, of course, unlimited, but he never refused to sell lands, and never placed any obstacle to their settlement and improvement by keeping large tracts out of the market. He married at Stow, Portage county, September 28, 1817, Elizabeth Gaylord, a native of Middletown, Connecticut. His son, William, was born August 10, 1818, afterwards mayor of Cleveland, and Leonard, June 27, 1820. There were other great men in Cleveland in those days, but Leonard Case, although feeble physically, was a tower of strength ; broad, square and lofty in wisdom, character and financial stability. He was looked upon as the source of all wisdom on all Ohio land laws, most of which he had helped to make. There was not a man, woman or child that did not feel at liberty to approach and shake his friendly hand. A sufferer of physical pain from his boyhood days, he was never known to complain. Both of his sons were quick and diligent in their studies. William devoted himself to looking after the interests of his father. Leonard entered Yale and graduated with honors in the class of 1842. He afterwards read law, but literature was more to his liking. It was the second son that by deeds of trust to valuable real estate founded the " School of Applied Science" in Cleveland, which will ever stand as a worthy monument to both father and son. Leonard Case, Senior, died December 7, 1864, in his seventy-ninth year. NOTE —Were indebted to Judge J. D. Cleveland, now President of the board of trustees for the School of Applied Science, for the valuable data from which this sketch is prepared. BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 163 FRANKLIN ADAMS, Bucyrus. The name of Adams is one of the most honored as well as eminent of all names in the history of the American Colonies and the Republic of the United States. The subject of this biography is descended from a collateral branch of the same family that inspired the Continental Congress and furnished two Presidents of the United States. He was also a native of New England, born at Alsted, New Hampshire, on the 16th of November, 1813. His father was John Adams, a farmer, and his mother bore the name of another historic New England family—Morse. His ancestors, of course, were English, and they were also among the early emigrants to Massachusetts. Frank Adams attended the common schools in early boyhood and acquired such knowledge of the common branches of learning as these schools were able to impart. Later he attended, as a student, academies located at Middlebury, Wyoming county, and Henrietta, Monroe county, in the State of New York. At the threshold of manhood he came West, located in Ohio, and took up the preliminary reading and study of the law, first under the instruction of Silas Robbins, of Ashland, and later under that of James Purdy, of Mansfield. He was admitted to the Bar of the State by the Supreme Court of Ohio at the July term held at Bucyrus in 1836, and by the District Court of the United States held at Columbus in 1839. He settled permanently at Bucyrus before entering upon independent practice, and has remained there. While his practice has been general, covering the usual variety of litigated cases that make up the docket of nisi Arius courts in a country town, he has given special attention to chancery cases and business appertaining to the administration of estates. However sedulous his application to the books may have been, however careful and exact his pleadings were prepared, however alert, shrewd and persistent at the trial table, and however able, logical and convincing his arguments before a court or jury may have been in the conduct of litigation, it may confidently be asserted that his greatest victories as a lawyer have been achieved out of court. When clients have come to him in a spirit of contention he has advised them to compromise the differences with their neighbors rather than take their complaints into court. Even in the early years of his practice it was not unusual for disputants to bring before him their respective grievances for arbitration and for him to become, in the best sense, counsel for both parties. The integrity of his mind, the amiability of his disposition, his unfailing tact, his insight into human nature, and his regard for equity as well as law, enabled him to solve hundreds of difficulties and restore the relations of friendship and confidence between men who came to him out of temper, ready to destroy each other's substance by litigation. The wisdom of his counsel so often and deeply impressed disputants that it is claimed the private records of Mr. Adams' law office, if brought to light, would disclose the amicable settlement of more cases out of court than have been tried in the courts of Crawford county during the last fifty years. However this may be, there is little doubt that scores of thrifty, upright citizens of the county have found in their own experiences ahundant reason for adopting the beatitude, "Blessed is the peacemaker "— 164 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO especially if he is at the same time a lawyer. Franklin Adams is in no sense a timid or a weak man ; for such a man is never skillful in diplomacy. He is courageous, strong and honest. Moreover he is a great chancery lawyer= probably the greatest in his section of the State. His profound knowledge of the law and his keen discernment of the principles of equity united make this pre-eminence possible. His character and his reputation for honesty, so thoroughly established as to be unquestionable, have gained for him the highest standing at the Bar and the fullest confidence of the community. Naturally reserved in manner, as students usually are, and strong in himself, he does not seek to form the confidential relations with a multitude. His acquaintances are many ; his intimates are few. He is kind and benevolent and his 'charities are dispensed without ostentation. Mr. Adams is a Democrat in political affiliation, but has never held office except that of prosecuting attorney of Crawford county, which he filled for seven years. His residence at Bucyrus has been continuous since 1837. He has never married. WILLIAM S. WAGNER, Tiffin. The subject of this biography is a native of Seneca county, and has never resided elsewhere. His mother's father settled in the county in 1829. Her name was Catherine Berkey. Tier grandmother's father, named Carpenter, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His extraction through paternal ancestry is Dutch. His father came to Seneca county in 1846 and purchased a farm, on which his home was established, and which he cultivated successfully. William was born June 27, 1860, and his early education was received in the public schools. Later on he attended the normal school at Ada to qualify himself for teaching, which became his gateway to the profession of law. For the five years next ensuing he taught in the public schools of Seneca county, and employed all his leisure in reading the standard text books of the law. He spent 1885 and a portion of 1886 in Kansas, and upon returning home applied himself sedulously to the study of law in the office of George E. Schroth, of Tiffin. Upon passing the required examination he was admitted to the Bar in 1889, and immediately thereafter engaged in a general practice alone. At the opening of his practice he was fortunate in representing the Union Central Life Insurance Company in their investments in several counties. While the work was heavy and the duties exacting, the opportunity was of vital importance in the experience and knowledge of real estate law required. The study of titles and conveyances, essential to the successful management of the insurance company's business, made him a sound title lawyer, and afforded a material part of his substantial qualifications for the office which he now holds. While at all times interested in political questions, and active in support of his party in campaigns, Mr. Wagner has not been a candidate for any office until his nomination for judge of the Probate Court in 1896. He was elected to that office in November, and entered upon the four-year term of judicial service in January following. The unusual BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 165 advantages enjoyed during the six or seven years of practice were in the nature of a special training for probate business, and he is therefore able to dispatch it with unusual facility and accuracy. His majority, the largest ever given in the county for a candidate on the Democratic ticket, may be accepted as the popular estimate of his fitness for the office as well as the measure of his personal popularity. For the number of years spent in professional reading and practice he is a capable, strong and well-informed lawyer. He is active, diligent and intensely earnest in the prosecution of his practice in the management of judicial business. As a man he is honest and fair-minded ; as a citizen he is progressive and public-spirited. He is not a churchman, but bears a good reputation. As evidence of his cautious investigation into the merits of a controversy, and his carefulness in the preparation of complaints and pleadings, it is proper to state that in all his experience at the Bar he has lost only two cases in which he represented the plaintiff and brought the action. He supports the Democratic party actively in all city, county, district, State and National campaigns. JOHN H. RIDGELY, Tiffin. honorable John H. Ridgely, late judge of the Court of Common Pleas, is one of the prominent and successful lawyers of Seneca county. He is a native of Allegheny county, Maryland, where he was born on the 16th day of August, 1847. His parents, William Ridgely and Catherine Hoye, were also natives of Maryland. In fact, the Eastern Shore of that State was the cradle of the family in America. Five brothers settled there in the seventeenth century, coming from England, and from them all of the Ridgelys in the United States are supposed to have descended. The family records in possession of the judge are not complete as to the achievements of the several members, but historical information of a trustworthy character proves that many of them have occupied prominent positions in Maryland and some have distinguished themselves in the civil and military service of the country. Judge Ridgely's father was a merchant at Grantsville, Maryland, and the owner of a fine farm in the neighborhood, which he operated for many years, rather as a diversion, while the main drift of his pursuit was commercial. The judge was only one year old at the time of his father's death. His education was begun in the schools of Grantsville, where he remained until fifteen years of age. In 1862 he came to Tiffin, Ohio, for the purpose of completing his classical education in Heidelberg University. He entered the university and pursued his studies until June, 1863, when he was impelled by patriotic fervor and the general war excitement throughout the country to offer his services to the Nation. He enlisted in Company I, Eighty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and went into active service under General Burnside in southern Kentucky and thence into eastern Tennessee, near Knoxville, where he remained with the regiment until March, 1864. The command then being mustered out by reason of expiration of time of enlistment, he returned to Tiffin and re-entered the university. In February next following he enlisted 166 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. again and was mustered in the 197th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving with the command around Washington and in his native State until the close of the war. Mustered out finally in August, 1865, he returned to his classes and pursued his studies until June, 1867, when he was graduated as a Bachelor of Arts. Going back to Maryland immediately afterwards he took up the study of law at Cumberland, in the office of George A. Pearce, then one of the prominent lawyers of the State. He passed the required examination and was admitted to the Bar in 1869. During his term in college he had formed attachments at Tiffin which led to his location there as soon as he was prepared for practice. He settled in that city in January, 1870, and continued in active practice until 1887, when he was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas for a full term, which expired in February, 1893. He was accustomed to take all kinds of cases offered to a general practitioner in a country town, and by his assiduity and fidelity succeeded in building up a large client-age and a profitable business. Judge Ridgely has had his full share of the important litigation in the courts of Seneca county, and his successes have been commensurate with the number of his clients, and the magnitude of interests involved. At the Bar his knowledge of the law, his industry in learning all that can be known of a case, his faithfulness to clients, and courtesy to brethren commend him. For the Bench he was peculiarly well fitted. Naturally of a reserved and somewhat conservative nature he could not be led away from justice by any momentary impulses. In his decisions he recognized no friendships, no enmities. Never was litigation known to suffer at his hands by considerations of a personal nature, but on the contrary his decisions were reached and judgments rendered only after the most careful and impartial examination of the facts and the law applicable. his integrity was never questioned, and through the reputation made by him during his six years on the Bench he found awaiting him on his return to the practice a large and remunerative clientage. No member of the Bar in the State is held in higher esteem than is Judge Ridgely throughout the judicial district in which he presided. In private and social intercourse he stands well among men and naturally takes his place with the best of the community. He is a Mason, a Knight Templar, and member of De Molay Commandery of Tiffin ; a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and commander of William H. Gibson Post No. 31. He is a director of the Tiffin National Bank, and a member of the board of trustees of Heidelberg University. His wife, formerly Miss Ella E. Bacher, of Tiffin, to whom he was married in 1870, was a fellow student and a graduate of the same college as her husband, and 'twas within these classic walls that the acquaintance began, which ended in a life long union. BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 167 DAVID J. NYE, Elyria. Few men at the Ohio Bar and on the Bench deserve greater credit for the position attained than the Honorable David J. Nye, who is now one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas for the district embracing Lorain, Medina and Summit counties. David J. Nye was born in the town of Ellicott, Chautauqua county, New York, on the 8th day of December, 1843. His father, Curtis F. Nye, was a native of Vermont, and as a young man removed to New York, settling in the central part of. the State with his parents. When of age he removed to Chautauqua county, where his son David was born. Shortly after David's birth he went to Otto, Cattaraugus county, where the son received his early training. His mother, Jerusha Walkup, was also a native of Vermont, settling with her parents in New or: while in her girlhood. Young Nye attended the district schools until he was eighteen years of age, devoting much time during this period to work on his father's farm. He then entered Randolph Academy for the spring and fall terms of 1862, and in the winter taught district school, returning in the spring of 1863 to Randolph for one term, and the following winter taught near the academy. In 1864, upon the invitation of a friend, he came to Cuyahoga county, and taught school for four months in Bedford township. The following spring he returned to New York, remaining until fall. He then settled in Ohio, teaching school in Boston, Summit county, for the winters of 1865 and 1866. In the spring of 1866 he entered Oberlin College in the preparatory department. Up to this period he had taught school during the winters and worked on the farm in the summer. In 1867 he entered the Freshman class, and thus his collegiate course commenced. He continued to teach school during the winters, but, however, applied himself with such diligence as to take an honorable position in the class, passing all the examinations required of him with credit, just the same as if his attendance had been regular, completing his college education in the prescribed term of four years, and received *his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1871. In July, 1883, Oberlin College conferred upon Mr. Nye the degree of Master of Arts. Not only was he able to maintain his literary standing as a student in college, after giving one-third of his time to the work of teaching, but during the Senior year he filled the position of superintendent of schools at Milan, Erie county, to the entire satisfaction of the board of Education. More than this, he found time to keep up the study of law. The bent of his mind from early boyhood had been toward the law, and his determination to qualify himself for the profession was firmly fixed even before he began to teach. Upon entering Oberlin College he bought a copy of Blackstone, which he studied assiduously during his leisure hours. There seemed to be no limit to his capacity to read and study, or to his versatility. He could manage a large public school, teach some of its classes and hold steadily to his course in classical, psychological and literary studies, at the same time mastering the fundamental principles of law as laid down by Blackstone. After he received his degree, and at the solicitation of the board of education of the Milan schools, he accepted the superintendency for another year, in the meantime pursuing the study of law. 168 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. He was admitted to the Bar at Elyria in August, 1872. From the time he entered Randolph Academy until he was admitted to the Bar he paid all his expenses by his own labor, receiving no financial aid from any other source. In October following his admission to the bar he went West, locating at Emporia, Kansas, where he engaged in the practice of his profession. Finding that a residence there would not be congenial to his taste, five months later, in March, 1873, he returned to Ohio, and entered the office of John C. Hale at Elyria (now the presiding judge of the eighth Circuit). Here he pursued the study of law under the direction of Judge Hale for one year. In 1874, being qualified and self-reliant, he opened an office at Elyria and proceeded to build up a practice. He continued in active practice for seventeen years, and during this period established himself in the confidence not only of the profession but of the public in general. He served as prosecuting attorney of Lorain county from 1882 to 1885, and was also county school examiner for a time, and a member of the board of education and member of the city council at Elyria. In 1891, when it became necessary to elect a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, several aspirants for the honor presented themselves. The attorneys of Lorain county agreed among themselves that the Republican members of the Bar should choose the candidate of the party to be supported by the attorneys of Lorain county, and that their choice should receive their unanimous support. In pursuance of this agreement Mr. Nye was chosen. He received the nomination of his party at Medina in July, 1891, and was elected in November following, and entered upon the discharge of his official duties on the 9th day of February, 1892. His record as a judge has tended to confirm the public estimate of his character and to advance his reputation in the profession. It could be truly said of him that he is an excellent lawyer and an able jurist. Always successful as a practitioner, his work upon the Bench gives promise of being equally successful, and after nearly six years it can be said that as a judge.he has done what but few jurists have ever accomplished—made himself not only satisfactory to lawyers but to litigants. Being a man of good business attainments, possessed of an accurate knowledge of the law, his advice to clients, and services in their behalf, have won for him an excellent position at the Bar. As a lawyer and a judge he has achieved success and occupies an honorable position. As a judge he has taken great pains to examine the authorities submitted by counsel, and to obtain a correct and clear understanding of the law as well as the evidence in the case, being careful and conscientious because he is actuated less by pride of opinion than by a desire to reach a correct conclusion. His judicial opinions are not only plain and easily followed, but they are usually strong enough to bear review by a higher court. In one important case involving the right to have debts deducted from national bank stock for taxation, Judge Nye held that such deductions could not be made under the laws of Ohio. This decision was afterwards affirmed by the Supreme Court of the State. During his service on the Bench, but one criminal case has been reversed that he has tried. Judge Nye is now serving his second term, having been re-elected in 1896. He possesses that kind of BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 169 civic virtue which is allied to enterprise and public spirit. He is a stockholder in the Garford Manufacturing Company, the largest manufacturers of bicycle saddles in the United States, and a director and stockholder in the Savings Deposit Banking Company of Elyria. In politics Judge Nye is a Republican and thoroughly grounded in the principles of his party. Socially he is a member of the Masonic Order, being a Knight Templar and Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Mason. In 1880 Judge Nye married, Luna, daughter of Alfred Fisher, Esq., of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, a highly respected citizen, being one of the early pioneers who settled at Independence. Mrs. Nye is a true and faithful wife, an affectionate and devoted mother. By this union there are two sons, David Fisher Nye, born October 27, 1882, and Horace Hastings Nye, born August 4, 1884. ROLIN W. SADLER, Akron. The late Rolin W. Sadler was born at Centerville, Michigan, July 7, 1855. He removed to Ohio in 1867 with his parents, who located at Bryan. His father, James G. Sadler, was born of English parents in Ireland. His mother was Loretta J. Sutton, of Scotch parentage. In 1871 young Sadler entered Baldwin University, where he remained one year. He then entered Mount Union College, Ohio, and was graduated in 1874. The two years following he was principal of the public schools of Reading, Michigan, and Bedford, Ohio. In 1876 he entered the law office of Edgerton & Kohler, at Akron; was admitted to the Bar in 1878, commencing practice at once in Akron. In 1879 he formed his first partnership with the Honorable J. A. Kohler, now on the Common Pleas Bench and once attorney-general of Ohio. This partnership was dissolved in 1884 upon Mr. Kohler's election to the attorney-generalship. Mr. Sadler then formed a partnership with Harvey Musser, which lasted eighteen months. He then practiced alone until 1892, when he became a member of the firm of Marvin, Sadler & Atterholt. In 1895, upon the appointment of Judge Marvin to the Circuit Bench, the style of the firm was Sadler, Atterholt & Marvin, D. L. Marvin being the junior member. This was the style of the firm at the time Mr. Sadler received the injuries caused by the running away of his horse, which resulted in his death three days later, February 22, 1897. In September, 1880, he was married to Carrie M. Comstock, of Bedford, Ohio, and by this union two children were born, a son and a daughter. Mr. Sadler was a devout member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Akron. He was a Republican who always took great interest in party affairs and made many speeches in Ohio and other States. He never sought or held political office. The following estimate of Mr. Sadler as man and lawyer is taken from the proceedings of the Akron Bar, at the meeting held after his death : " Unlike most young lawyers, who are compelled to sit and wait for a clientage, and to endure what some. one has called ‘dignified starvation,' Mr. Sadler was offered, and accepted, an advantageous partnership with one 170 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. of his preceptors, Mr. J. A. Kohler, now one of our Common Pleas judges of this district. This partnership, together with his extensive acquaintance, formed largely as we have above indicated, gave him plenty of business from the start, and at once afforded him an opportunity to bring into play those splendid faculties with which he was by nature endowed, and which, even then, were finely developed. From the date of Mr. Sadler's admission to the Bar he was identified, not in a formal or nominal way, but actively, with much of the important litigation, civil and criminal, in this county. His life became a part of the judicial history of this part of the State. His practice was as general as his abilities were varied. He was not a specialist ; be was an all around lawyer. His specialty as a lawyer was the law, and he mastered every branch of it. The lawyer of the past has been essentially the student and advocate; the lawyer of to-day is the man of business, of tact—tbe counsellor. Mr. Sadler combined all these qualities. He was as ready with figures as is the trained accountant or the skilled book-keeper. He seldom erred in giving advice, for he never advised except as he was thoroughly informed, and he was usually informed. He was skillful in examination, and a master in the art of cross-examination. As an advocate he had few superiors at the Bar of Ohio. The compliment he once paid an associate in the defense of a client who was technically guilty of a crime, justly applies to him. As he listened to the eloquence of his colleague he whispered to one of your committee who was seated at the Bar table beside him, That is art—consummate He was master of the art of advocacy. He was devoted to his cause ; he was always true to his client ; he never betrayed him. No one could truthfully say that Mr. Sadler did not do all in his power, exert himself to the utmost, honorably to win his cause. Lord Brougham, in his celebrated defense of Queen Caroline, in speaking of the duty of the advocate to his client, said : To save that client by all means and expedients, and at all hazards and costs to other persons, and, among them, to himself, is his first and only duty ; and in performing this duty he must not regard the alarm, the torment, the destruction which he may bring upon others." With the qualification " honorable" before the word " means," Mr. Sadler filled the requirements of Lord Brougham. In the trial of a cause he knew but one man, and that man was his client. He had tact. He was full of resources. If one resource proved unavailing; he resorted to another and another until the victory was his. These qualities, so essential in an advocate, and which Mr. Sadler possessed so abundantly, may be best shown by an illustration. He was trying a cause to a jury. He singled out one juror and directed his argument to him. His opponent at once objected, and the Court suggested that he should not single out any one juror, but address the entire panel. Quick as a flash he turned and said : " Well, gentlemen of the jury, if I were permitted to address Mr. Smith, I should say," and he proceeded to state what he had been addressing to the single juror. He was honorable not only to his client, but to his associates and to his opponent. He never settled a case with an opposing client without the approval and consent of opposing counsel. He was always watchful, not only of his own, but of the fees of his associates and of opposing counsel. He believed that the lawyer, like the layman, should be paid for his services, and he discounted and condemned every effort upon the part of the client to defraud his counsel. He believed that lawyers should not underestimate their own services, knowing that such esti- BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 171 mate would be adopted by their clients. Socially, Mr. Sadler was kind, genial and companionable. He appreciated enjoyment, and had a keen perception of the humorous. His varied literary tastes led him to read history, fiction, biography and poetry. His addresses and arguments were marvels of rhetoric, and were always adorned with the choicest of classic and historic gems. His efforts were always brilliant, never commonplace. Had he been spared to still further develop his splendid abilities, we believe he would have become not only one of the great lawyers of the State, but that he would have attained National fame. His tragic end 'illustrates the truth of the saying, " Death loves a shining mark.". CHARLES BAIRD, Akron. Charles Baird was born at Akron on the 25th of March, 1853, of Scotch parents. His father, Robert Baird, a blacksmith by trade, was born in the parish of Kineff, Kincardineshire, Scotland, and came to this country in 1843, settling at Akron. His mother, Helen Knox Moir, was born in Brechin, Forfarshire, Scotland. She came to A in 1846, where she was afterwards married to Robert Baird. Charles Baird's education was in the public schools of his native town. Passing through all the grades he was graduated from the high school in 1872. He afterwards took a course in Latin and Greek at Buchtel College. On June 20, 1888, the board of trustees of Buchtel conferred upon Mr. Baird the honorary degree of Master of Arts. In August, 1873, he entered the office of Upson & Ford and began the study of law, and on the 2nd of November, 1875, was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Ohio, at Columbus. Returning to Akron he next day formed a partnership with Honorable W. H. Upson, one of his preceptors, the firm of Upson & Ford having been dissolved and Mr. Ford having left for an eighteen months' trip through Mexico. The partnership of Upson & Baird continued until Mr. Ford's return, when the firm became Upson, Ford & Baird. In March, 1883, this partnership was dissolved upon the appointment of Judge Upson to the office of justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Mr. Baird continued in practice alone, Mr. Ford retiring from practice. He was at this time prosecuting attorney for Summit county, having been elected first in 1880 and re-elected in 1882 for a three years' term, serving five years. In 1891 he formed a partnership with E. F. Voris under the firm name and style of Baird & Voris. This firm was dissolved in 1895, since which time he has practiced alone. Mr. Baird has from the time of his admission to the bar been most active in the profession, enjoying a large practice of a general character. He is a lawyer of exceptional ability. Possessing a fine legal mind, with acute perceptive faculties, he is quick to grasp the principles of the law and to discern the finer distinctions, so as readily to apply the authorities to a cause. He has always been a student and his close application has enabled him to secure an enviable position in the profession. Clear in his conceptions, strong in the power of reasoning and forcible in expression, he prepares his cases so as to protect all vulnerable points and conducts the litigation with much tact. 172 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. His arguments of law before the court and of the facts before a jury are most effective. His diction and style are perfect. He is recognized by the Bar of Akron to be the leader at the present time. In recent years his practice has developed into an extensive corporation business. He assisted in the organization of the Diamond Match Company, and has since been one of the attorneys of this great corporation. In connection with Mr. O. C. Barber, of the Diamond Match Company, he organized the Portage Straw Board Company, which has its mills at New Portage and Circleville, Ohio. Subsequently he assisted in the organization of the American Straw Board Company, and was its first secretary. He was one of the incorporators of the Goodrich Hard Rubber Company, and has since been one of its directors. In 1890, with Mr. O. C. Barber, J. K. Robinson and A. T. Page, he purchased the present site of the town of Barberton, the title to the property resting in him as trustee. He assisted in the organization of the National Sewer Pipe Company (the largest company of its kind in the United States), the Sterling Company, the Creed-more Cartridge Company and the Barberton Belt Line Railroad Company. In the management of all these corporations Mr. Baird takes an active part. In 1891 he assisted in the organization of the Neracher Sprinkler Company, with its works located at Warren, Ohio. This company was afterwards merged into the Neracher & Hill Sprinkler Company, of Columbus, Georgia. In November, 1892, the Neracher & Hill Company and the Providence Steam and Gas Pipe Company, of Providence, Rhode Island, were consolidated in the General Fire Extinguisher Company, of New York, with a capital stock of $3,000,000. Mr. Baird looked after the legal part of this work, and has since been a director of the company and its general counsel. He is the administrator of the Cummins estate and one of the executors of the will of Thomas W. Cornell, which is the largest estate ever administered upon in Summit county. In politics Mr. Baird has always been a Republican, and in the early years of his practice took an active and lively interest in party affairs; but in recent years he has been compelled to devote all his time to the practice of his profession and the management of his extensive business interests. On the 10th of February, 1882, he married Lucy Allyn Voris, a daughter of General A. C. Voris, and by this union there are five children: Alvin V., born December 3, 1882; Helen Elizabeth, born August 30, 1884; Betsey Coe, born June 11, 1886 Charles, born October 15, 1888 and Katharine, born November 19, 1890. Mrs. Baird and all the children are living. DAVID L. MARVIN, Akron. D. L. Marvin was born at Kent, Portage county, Ohio, November 17, 1862. His father, Honorable U. L. Marvin, now on the Circuit Bench, is a native of Ohio, of English ancestry. His mother, Dorena A. Rockwell, is also a native of Ohio and of English descent. In 1866 his parents removed to Akron, where he attended the public schools until seventeen years of age, when he entered Kenyon College as a member of the BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 173 class of 1885. He left college in 1882 to accept an appointment as examiner in the United States Pension Office at Washington. He was at that time the youngest man ever appointed in the pension bureau. Two years later he resigned to take up newspaper work and was correspondent at New Orleans during the Cotton Centennial Exposition. While at Washington he attended lectures at the Law School of the Columbian University. In 1886 he was elected assistant civil engineer of the Ohio Public Works, with headquarters at Columbus and re-elected in 1888 and 1890. During his stay at Columbus he read law under the direction of Honorable J. A. Kohler, then attorney-general, and was admitted to practice in 1889. In 1891 he resigned his office, came to Akron and became the junior partner of the firm of Marvin, Atterholt, Slabaugh & Marvin. One year later the firm became Marvin, Sadler & Atterholt. Upon Judge Marvin's appointment to the Circuit Bench the firm became Sadler, Atterholt & Marvin. Since the death of Rohn W. Sadler in February, 1897, the firm has been Atterholt & Marvin. While Mr. Marvin has only been in practice a few years he has demonstrated that he possesses those qualifications which go to make a lawyer. He is naturally a bright and attentive student, quick to see the weak as well as the strong points of a case. He is exceedingly careful never to advise a client until he has first satisfied himself as to the law involved. In pleading he is especially strong. Possessing a genial disposition he makes friends readily. He is a man of high moral character. In 1888 he married Frances Saxe Fish, and they have one child, a daughter, five years old. Mr. Marvin is a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He is a Republican in politics and for many years has been a member of the executive committee. Mr. and Mrs. Marvin are communicants of St. Paul's Protestant Church at Akron. JOHN C. WELTY, Canton. John Cullen Welty was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, September 10, 1852, but has lived in Stark county nearly all of his life. Upon his father's side the family has for three generations been identified with the State of Maryland, and upon his mother's side for the same time with the State of New York. In each of these States his ancestors were prominent in public life, and unusually energetic in the promotion of whatever cause they espoused. His grandfather on the mother's side rendered notable service during the war for independence. The father of our subject was a farmer, and his own early days were spent upon the farm. He attended the public schools for some time, and afterwards entered Betheny College, West Virginia. Upon leaving there he went to Mt. Union College, in Stark county, and there completed his course. He read law with Judge Seraphin Meyer, of Canton; was admitted to the Bar in 1877, and immediately commenced the practice. About one year afterwards he was elected city solicitor, and was re-elected for three successive terms. This is a distinction never accorded to the incumbent of that office, either before or since, and the honor was the more 174 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. pronounced from the fact that it was conferred upon so young a man. It was appreciated as a token of confidence and respect, and undoubtedly stimulated its recipient to the achievement of still higher purposes ; it also gave him a taste of the well earned approbation and applause of his fellow men. In 1884 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Stark county, and was re-elected' in 1887. From that time to the present, although devoting himself assiduously to the practice of his profession, he has constantly grown, step by step and year by year, in the public eye and in public favor until to-day he is one of the most popular political leaders in his State. He is a man who not only makes friends, but he holds them. his evident earnestness and sincerity of character and purpose warm people to him, and compel honesty and sincerity from others. A friend of his once remarked that associating with him always recalled the lines— " Be noble and the nobleness that lies in other men, Sleeping but never dead, shall rise in majesty to meet thine own." Mr. Welty, with his numerous occupations and engagements, is a lawyer all the time. He is devoted to his profession and loves its practice. An ardent student, he is indefatigable in his researches, and indomitable in his energy. No labor is too great, no pains too tedious for him to get at the bottom of every detail and every point of a case. At the same time, probably his greatest power is shown in conducting an important case in court ; he is then in his element. With his case well prepared, his brain charged with every point involved, and with the authorities bearing upon them, he is ready for the intellectual contest. Cool, calm and deliberate, in action and speech, he is never off his guard. His never-failing courtesy to his opponent, his consummate tact in meeting every point and every emergency, not only display his ability and accomplishments, but indicate clearly and emphatically his strength and great reserve power. He is an eloquent and impressive speaker, either in court or on public occasions. his matter is always well considered, his argument clean and concise, his conclusions distinctly drawn and positively stated. He is a powerful political speaker, never wearies his audience, but holds them from beginning to end. The strong points of his subject are emphasized, and stated within the comprehension of his hearers ; he never descends to subterfuge or the petty tricks of the stump orator. His impressive appearance and earnestness, and his great personal magnetism, bring his hearers very near to him, and inspire them with a confidence bordering on affection. In 1896 the Democratic district convention was divided upon the issue of the single gold standard, and the split in that convention was referred to the State convention at Columbus. Mr. Welty had charge of the interests of the silver contingent, and after a bitter struggle achieved a signal victory. The opposing element appealed to the National convention at Chicago, and notwithstanding the fact that the National committee was in full sympathy with the single standard gold element, Mr. Welty won his case and seated his delegates. His straightforward, frank and manly contention disarmed animus and rendered trickery abortive. The real points at issue involved legal questions and methods of