BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 325 on the Bench of the Court of Common Pleas scattered his practice to some extent, but he probably now has all to which he cares to attend. Judge Geiger is a capable man, but altogether too sturdy and independent in his characteristics to become a popular political leader, a position to which he never aspired. Like most men of thoughtful mien he has a preoccupied manner that might, and often does, leave the impression of indifference to friends and acquaintances ; but nothing is farther from the truth. He is a very companionable man, but not so free in his manner as are some. He hates duplicity and shams. He is a good neighbor, a useful citizen, and a charitable giver for benevolent purposes. The world would be happier and better if all men fulfilled their duties of citizenship as faithfully and as well as has Judge Geiger." SILAS H. WRIGHT, Lancaster. The subject of this biography was born near Logan, Ohio, June 21, 1830, and died at Lancaster November 18, 1887. At the time of his death Judge Wright had the distinction of being the senior Common Pleas judge of the State in years of service on the Bench. *He was in his fifth term when he died, and so great was his popularity with the people of his district that he would undoubtedly have held the office for many years longer had he been spared to accept the hcnors his fellow citizens were so ready to confer, upon him. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Tannehill) Wright, both natives of Ohio, the former of Irish descent and the latter -Scotch origin. His paternal ancestors came to America about the middle of the eighteenth century and settled in Pennsylvania. They took an active part in the Revolutionary War and the family here now have in their possession a belt buckle—a relic of the struggle—captured with its owner in one of the battles of the war. The stamp indicates that it belonged to a member of the Tenth Battalion of the British Army, fighting for King George III. Hugh Wright, the great-grandfather of Judge Wright, came to Ohio about the beginning of the present century and settled in Lake county, but soon after purchased a tract of land in the Hocking Valley, near the present site of Logan. His maternal grandfather, Samuel Tannehill: came direct from Scot land and settled in the Hocking Valley; was among the early settlers of that section, and became a prominent citizen. Judge Wright was reared on a farm and his early education was obtained in the common school. Later he entered Greenfield Academy, then a celebrated school, and made famous for all time by the fame of the men whO studied there ; among whom were James G. Blaine, the Ewings, and John and Tecumseh Sherman. Later he entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, from which he was graduated after taking the full classical course. He began the study of law in the early fifties in the office of Judge P. Van Trump, a prominent member of the Hocking Valley Bar. At the age of twenty-six he was admitted to the Bar, but did not at once begin the practice. He made a tour through the settled portions of the west ern States, on horseback, remaining one year at Muscatine, Iowa. At the solicitation of his friends he returned to Ohio and located at Logan and entered on the practice in partnership with Henry R. Sanders, a capable law- 326 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. yer. In 1856 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Hocking county and was twice re-elected, serving for six years. The four years following his official term he devoted exclusively to private practice, which had grown to large dimensions. In 1866 he was elected Common Pleas judge for the Fifth Subdivision of the Seventh Judicial District. He was re-elected four times in succession and was in the second year of his fifth term when he received the final summons from which there is no appeal. Referring to the characteristics of Judge Wright, one of the oldest attorneys of the Lancaster Bar, said : "Judge Wright was better known as a jurist than as an attorney. Before he went on the Bench I only knew him. by reputation, but came to know him well after his eleyation to the judgeship, when he made Lancaster his home. Personally he was one of the most companionable of men ; always genial, an entertaining conversationalist, he created friends wherever he went. The fact that he was elected five times in succession to the Common Pleas Bench in this district was as much an evidence of his personal popularity as it was of his fitness for the place. He made a just judge ; equity as well as law was apparent in his decisions. He was well versed in the fundamental principles of the law and this, in connection with his scholarly attainments, fitted him well for the position. His administration of justice gave very general satisfaction to the legal profession and his decisions stood well the test of the higher courts. He was always fair and impartial in his instructions to the jury. His charges were plain, concise and free from error. He was not an orator, but was a pleasant and forceful speaker. He neyer left the Bench after his first election, and died in the harness shortly after his election for the fifth term. 11 is life was pure and he was held in high esteem both by the Bar and the public." In politics Judge Wright was a Democrat and before his elevation to the Bench was active in partisan affairs. He was a man of scholarly attainments and general knowledge, gleaned from a wide field of literary reading. Socially he was a charming companion, his conversation was both instructive and entertaining. While he had a strong love for his profession, his happiest hours were spent in the family circle and in his well selected library. He was a brilliant writer, a deep thinker and a frequent contributor to the local papers of his district. His writings were generally in the nature of communings with himself, and but few of them found their way into public print. Enough of them, however, were published to show the genius of the man. He enjoyed writing poetry as well as prose. His parody on that beautiful poem, " Woodman Spare That Tree," which was published in the flocking Sentinel, and his original poem, " Querelae Curele, or Troubles of a Court," published in the Lancaster Saturday Journal, are fair specimens of his writings. Much of his manuscript never published is in the possession of his family. He was an ardent lover of nature and ofttimes spent hours alone in roaming over the hills of Fairfield and Hocking counties in communion with nature and nature's God. The kindness of his disposition was shown in his intercourse with his fellow men. He was invariably courteous and particularly kind to the unfortunate. He was a public-spirited citizen and took an actiye interest in every movement for the public weal. He was widely known, and his death was mourned by a wide circle of friends. The press paid high tribute to his char- BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 327 acter and ability. A prominent citizen in comment says : " When Judge Wright died humanity lost a friend and helper. He was one of the most kindhearted men it has been my privilege to meet. He had a heart as well as brains, and the cares of his position never caused him to lose sight of the unfortunate or the needy. He was not one of those who leave their charities to their executor, he scattered his garlands by 'his own hand. He was one of the most popular judges that ever sat on the Bench of this district. When he tempered justice with mercy it was in cases where the offense was more apparent than real. His judgment of human nature was as accurate as his judgment on questions of law and he was not often wrong rn either." Judge Wright was married in 1858, to Miss Katherine Moore, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Brice) Moore, of Newark, Ohio. They had four daughters and one son, John M., who is a practicing lawyer. The family home was at Logan until the election of Judge Wright to the Common Pleas Bench, after which it was removed to Lancaster. OBED W. IRVIN, Dayton. Though a young man, the subject of this sketch has attained a position in life that would be creditable to a man of greater age. Education to a young man entering a profession is what capital is to the beginner in a business career. The absence of these does not in either case bar a man from making a success of his life work, but the possession of these necessary adjuncts to final success at the threshold of his business or professional life, is to advance their possessor when he would only otherwise be, after years of toil and study, under disadvantageous circumstances. Judge Irvin had the advantage of a well rounded education. His parents, James B. and Ellen S. Iryin, both deceased, were natives of Ohio, and for many years residents of Dayton. Obed W. was born January 12, 1866. In his early training he had the advantage of the excellent school system of his native city. He was destined by his patents for a profession and, after graduating from the Dayton High School, he entered Yale College and was graduated from that institution in 1887. Returning to Dayton, he accepted a position as instructor in the Dayton High School, teaching for four years and reading law at the same time. In 1891 he entered the Cincinnati Law School, from which he was graduated the next year. He was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court at Columbus, and immediately entered on the practice of his profession in Dayton. With the exception of the time spent at college, his years had all been passed in that city. He was well known and had many influential friends. He was known as a young man of marked ability with a highly trained mind and sterling integrity. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that he soon drew around himself a clientage that was respectable in quantity as well as quality. In his political principles he is a Republican, and was elected by his party in 1893 to his present position of judge of Probate of Montgomery county. In this position he has maintained himself well, fully meeting the expectations of his friends and discharging the complicated duties 328 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. of the office to the entire satisfaction of the many with whom the duties bring him in contact. In his manners Judge Irvin is unassuming, easy of approach, courteous and affable in his intercourse with his fellow men. He possesses in an eminent degree that tact which in politicians is termed magnetism, but which when analyzed and defined means good manners and respect for others. He is a bachelor and is as highly esteemed in the social circles of the city for his capacity to entertain as he is in his profession for his ability. The estimate that is placed on his character and ability and his future prospects by his seniors at the Dayton Bar, is summed up in this statement by one of the ablest members of the Dayton Bar : "Judge Iryin comes of a good family, and for his own achievements deserves the honors that have been placed upon him. He has always been studious in his habits and thorough in his studies. lie is of the metal of which safe lawyers are made. He thinks before he acts. Judging from the past, I should say that Judge Iryin will be one of the solid attorneys of the future." CHARLES W. DUSTIN, Dayton, is judge of the Common Pleas Court, Second Judicial District. The Dustins were Scotch. They came to America and settled in New Hampshire, while Plymouth Rock was yet young in history. They were agriculturists, and the first historical mention of the family recounts the signal act of bravery of Mrs. Hannah Dustin and Mary Neff, who had been captured by a band of hostile Indians. These two courageous women killed or put to flight a dozen savages with their own weapons, and escaped by rowing down the Merrimac river in the same canoe which had carried them up as prisoners doomed to death by torture. After undergoing perils from capture and wild beasts, from hunger, weariness and ill health, they reached their friends at Haverhill. The incident is fully described in the standard histories, both of the State and the United States. It was an act of individual heroism, and finds few parallels in all the bloody feuds that existed for two hundred years between the pioneer settlers and the aborigines of the country. A study of the family history from colonial times down to the present day shows that they were an industrious, strong-minded, self-reliant race of people, with a liberal tendency toward intellectual pursuits. Charles W. is the son of Doctor M. Dustin a prominent minister of the Cincinnati Conference of the M. E. Church. He was born at Zanesville, Ohio, in 1849. His educational advantages were of a superior nature. Home training and good school facilities fitted him for college at an early age. He entered the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware in 1864, and was graduated in 1868. After leaving school he took a position in Quincy College, at Quincy, Illinois, as professor of mathematics, later holding the same position at Brookville College, Brookyille, Indiana. Selecting the law as a life vocation, he .entered the office of Boltin & Shauck, at Dayton, in 1871. He was admitted to the Bar in 1873 and immediately entered on the practice of his profession. Being a strong Republican in sentiment he soon became quite active in party politics. In 1877 he BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 329 was the nominee of his party for State representative against Charles N. Vallandigham, and, despite the fact that the county was strongly opposite in its voting strength, he came within one hundred votes of being elected. Although he took a great interest in politics, he did not make that his business. His personal popularity drew around him a strong clientage, and he has been numbered among the successful practitioners since he began practice as a member of the Dayton Bar. He organized the Gem City Building and Loan Association, now a large and successful financial institution ; was its first attorney, and retained that position until his accession to the Bench. Mr. Dustin is studious in his habits and a close observer of events as well as of men. Believing that the principles of his party represent the best interests of the country, he has always taken an active part in political campaigns. He became the candidate of his party for judge of the Court of Common Pleas in the Second Judicial District in 1884, in an overwhelming Democratic subdivision, and received the largest vote cast for any one on the ticket in his county. Following this campaign, Mr. Dustin was active in getting a bill through the legislature to restore the sub-judicial Common Pleas District to its original limits, as prescribed by the State constitution. The bill passed both branches, but failed in the Supreme Court, because it had not received a two-thirds vote of the legislature. A similar bill subsequently passed by the required two thirds vote, and as the district so comprised was strongly Republican, it was conceded that in recognition of the splendid work Mr. Dustin had done for his party and his willingness to lend his name for a party advantage, when nothing personal could be gained by it, and his excellent fitness for the position, he should be the candidate to fill the first vacancy that occurred on the Bench in the district. He was, therefore, nominated, and at the November election in 1895 was elected to succeed Judge Dennis Dwyer, whose term expired July, 1896. The judicial subdivision, as now composed, embraces the counties of Montgomery, Green, Warren and Clinton. When the Garfield Club was organized at Dayton Mr. Dustin was chairman of the meeting and the first to sign its constitution. He also took an active part in the formation of the Republican State League; was a member of the committee for drafting its constitution, and was also a delegate from Ohio to the first meeting of the National Republican League at New York. Judge Dustin has a decided literary taste, and has been a frequent contributor to the press of the city. When he was studying law he edited the law department of the Daily Dayton Journal, and later was editor in chief during the frequent absences of Major Bickman. He has traveled extensively both in this country and in Europe, and is an admirer of the beautiful in both nature and art. He was married June 9, 1874, to Alfie M. Hull, in Connersville, Ind. Mrs. Dustin died in 1878. In referring to his capabilities for the Bench a prominent practitioner remarks : " Judge-elect Dustin will, I think, make a good judge. He is scholarly, studious in his habits, and well grounded in the principles of law. He has considerable literary ability, and his writings are characterized by graceful style and correct composition. If his opinions are as correct in principle as they are likely to be well written, no one will find 330 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. fault with them. He has a good practice, but is probably better adapted for the Bench than for general practice at the Bar. Mr. Dustin is correct in his habits, and as a citizen he is thoroughly well respected." ROBERT M. NEVIN, Dayton. Mr. Nevin, a leading practitioner at the Dayton Bar, is of Anglo-Celtic extraction. His father, Robert Nevin, was a native of Ross county, Ohio, whose ancestors came from near Giant's Causway, Ireland, and settled in Ross county about the beginning of the present century. He removed to Highland county and became a prominent citizen, and from him Nevin postoffice, Highland county derived its name. His mother, Frances E. Eakins, born and reared in Highland county, was of English descent, her ancestors coming to this country from near Manchester, England. They were among the pioneer settlers of Ohio. Robert M. Nevin, the subject of this sketch, was born May 5, 1850, at the Nevin homestead and about two months after the death of his father, in Highland county. His rudimentary education was obtained in the district common school and he was prepared for college in the high school of Hillsborough. As a boy his marked character istics were habits of industry and quick perceptions. Observing his appreciation of learning, his mother gave him every possible adyantage. At the age of fourteen he had finished the high school course and entered the Ohio Wesleyan Uniyersity, at Delaware. In 1868 he was graduated from that institution, at the age of eighteen, the youngest in his class, and with few exceptions the youngest alumnus of the university. He took up his legal studies in the office of Conover & Craighead, Dayton, immediately after leaving college, and was admitted to the Bar May 10, 1871, a few days after reaching his majority. The first five years of his practice were alone. In 1876 he entered into partnership with Alvin W. Kumler, under the firm name of Nevin & Kumler, which has continued unbroken to the present time, a period of twenty years, and constitutes the oldest law firm in Dayton. When Mr. Nevin began his professional career there were several men in practice at the Dayton Bar who had attained a national reputation as lawyers and the general standard was very high. Thus the young man, who had barely crossed the demarkation line that separated him from his boyhood days, found himself in the company of giants in his calling, against whom he would haye to compete if he maintained himself in his profession.. The comparison did not discourage him ; it only stimulated his ambition and his efforts. The' perseverance and qualities of mind that enabled him to quickly assimilate the contents of his textbooks soon made him a well informed lawyer, and possessing large natural ability and much acquired talent as a speaker, he did not long remain in obscurity. He is purely a lawyer. His profession is his ambition, and his energies have been devoted to the interests of his clients. During the twenty-five years of practice at the Montgomery county Bar he has risen steadily, until he now stands in the front rank, not only at the Dayton Bar, but in that BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 331 section of the State. He has never permitted his name to be used as a nominee for any elective office but once, and that was in the line of his profession and at the earnest solicitation of his party. He was nominated for prosecuting attorney on the Republican ticket in 1887 against the Honorable John M. Sprigg, an able lawyer who had held the office for successive terms, and in the judgment of his party, was invincible. Mr. Nevin was elected by a majority of eight hundred votes, in a strong Democratic county, and the first Republican had been elected to the office since the memorable days of the war. Being a strong believer in the principles of the Republican party, and a good public speaker, he has naturally become prominent in the councils of his party. In 1892 he was one of the alternates at large of. the Republican national convention at Minneapolis, and upon Governor McKinley becoming permanent chairman of that convention, Mr. Nevin took his place in the Ohio delegation. In practice he is prominent as a trial lawyer. He has not confined his reading to his text books ; his mind has been enriched by much knowledge gained in many fields of literature and science, which gives him a breadth and scope and, power which the narrower pleader whose knowledge is confined to legal studies, never acquires. In the preparation of his cases he is thorough, and in summing up before a jury is logical, argumentative and forceful, rather than persuasive. As a public speaker he is clear and concise and presents his ideas in well chosen language. There is a social side to his nature and as an after-dinner speaker he is much in demand. Mr. Nevin is somewhat reserved in his manners—as deep thinkers usually are—but is by no means unsociable. He has been a close student both of nature and books. He possesses a mind of great natural vigor and strength, which is trained to its highest capacity by study, reading and thought. He has the useful faculty of focusing his mind on the subject before him and the ability to express his conclusions in a clear and convincing manner. In his twenty-five years of practice he has built up a business that is large and remunerative. Mr. Nevin is a useful citizen as well as an able lawyer. In movements that affect public weal he always takes an active interest and is one of the public spirited citizens of the city. He was married November 7, 1871, to Miss Emma Reasoner of Dresden, Muskingum county, Ohio. Four children have been born to them ; two sons and two daughters, all of whom are living. DAVID W. TODD, Urbana. David W. Todd, for thirteen years probate judge of Champaign county, is a native of Pennsylvania. His parents, David Todd and Sarah McCormick, were also natives of that State. His paternal ancestors were English and his maternal Irish. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was born on a farm in Dauphin county, December 31, 1835, and came to Ohio with the family in 1846. In 1847 his father settled on a farm at Pretty Prairie in Campaign county and resided there continuously until his death in 1868. David attended the district school and worked on the 332 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. farm until 1855, when he entered Miami University at Oxford. He remained in the University five years and was graduated in 1860 as a Bachelor of Arts. In the fall of that year he began the study of law in the office of Shellebarger & Goode at Springfield, and continued his studies until the opening of the Rebellion. Responding to the first call of the President for volunteers he enlisted for three months in the Second Ohio Infantry, and participated in the first battle of Bull Run. Re-enlisting at the close of his first term he was commissioned first lieutenant of Company B, Eighty-Sixth Regiment and assigned to duty as regimental quartermaster. His service during the second term of enlistment (four months) was principally in guarding the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in West Virginia. At the end of four months, his second term of enlistment, he was mustered out and resumed his law studies with Shellebarger & Goode. He was admitted to the Bar in February, 1863, and opened an office for practice in Urbana. In the fall of the same year he was elected prosecuting attorney of Champaign county and in 1865 was re-elected. He joined the National Guards in 1863 and was appointed Captain of Company A. Soon afterwards he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the regiment and in 1864 went with his command into the service of the United States, when it was mustered as the 134th Ohio, participating in the demonstrations against Petersburg. This enlistment was for a term of four months, at the close of which Mr. Todd returned home and resumed his law practice. He continued in practice until his election as probate judge in 1878, an office which he held continuously by successiye elections until 1891. After retiring from the judicial office he resumed his law practice, which is general. He is a Mason and a Knight Templar ; has held the position of Eminent Commander of Raper Commandery at Urbana. Ile belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and has served as Post Commander. He is a Presbyterian and has filled the office of deacon and elder in the church. Politically he is a working Republican. He was married January 1, 1863, with Miss Virginia Hamilton, of Pretty Prairie, who died in 1868. Two children by this marriage, Lee H. and Robert M. Todd, are living. In 1870 he was married with Miss Ella Harvey, of Urbana, and by this marriage has a daughter, Mary H., and a son, Frank W. A member of the Champaign county Bar thus characterizes him : "Judge Todd has been a prominent figure in Champaign county for over thirty years. He has the esteem of the profession and the good will of the public. He is a good lawyer, though he is not conspicuous in the trial of causes in court. He is regarded as being a safe, conservative and reliable counsellor, and has a very large office practice. As a citizen he is progressive and takes an active interest in measures that have for their object the promotion of public weal." BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 333 THOMAS H. DOLSON, Lancaster. Mr. Dolson was born at McConnellsville, Morgan county, Ohio, November 22, 1851. His parents were Ebenezer B. and Huldah (Stevenson) Dolson, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Virginia. His paternal ancestors were among the early settlers of New York State. His grandfather, Thomas Dolson, came to Ohio when a young man, about the beginning of the present century and settled in Muskingum county. He purchased large tracts of land in that and what later became Perry county, and took a prominent part in developing the industries of that section. His father was a farmer and stock dealer of Morgan county for many years, and is now living in Kansas. The Dolson family are purely American and gained their right to citizenship both by their ciyil and military services. Some members of the family have taken an active part in every war in which the United States has been engaged. The great-great-grandfather of Mr. Dolson served with Washington in the days of 1776-83. His grandfather was a soldier in the Mexican War and his father served in the First Ohio Heavy Artillery, as quartermaster of the regiment, from 1862 to 1865, during the civil war. Thomas H. Dolson was reared on a farm, and his early education was obtained in the public schools of Morgan county. Later he took the high school course at Logan, Ohio, and was graduated with the class of 1868. He then went to Missouri, and for two years engaged in bookkeeping in the mercantile establishment of his brother-in-law, H. S. Berry, at Cameron. He returned to Ohio in 1870 and the same year entered the law office of Judge Martin at Lancaster, where he engaged in the study of law for two years. He was admitted to the Bar in December, 1873, by the Supreme Court, and at once entered on the practice of his profession at Lancaster. In 1875 he formed a partnership with Levi Hite, a prominent attorney of Fairfield. county Bar, a relation that continued until Mr. Hite removed to Columbus, in 1887. Since that time Mr. Dolson has been in the practice alone. He seryed for four years as prosecuting attorney of Fairfield county from 1876 to 1880 by election and two years by appointment of the court. His successor to the office in 1880 died 'shortly after being elected and Mr. Dolson was appointed to fill out the unexpired term. This was the only political office he ever held and this was strictly in the line of his profession. He has held various municipal offices, such as member of the council and of the board of education, but nothing that would in any way interfere with his practice. Mr. Dolson, during the twenty-three years' practice at the Bar in this and other States, has built up a very fine law business that covers a wide scope of territory. In the local courts his practice is general, but in the surrounding counties and other States it is exclusively criminal, mostly for the defense. Among the notable cases that have attracted general attention in which Mr. Dolson appeared for the defense as the leading advocate, mention is made of the state of Montana vs. —, charged with murder in the first degree. He was acquitted by the jury. Another was the State of Illinois vs. David Miller, charged with the murder of A. B. Diamon, mayor of Arcola, whom he shot and killed because of some family trouble. This case was prosecuted with vigor by the State, 334 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. and Mr. Dolson had to combat the ablest lawyers in central Illinois, among whom was Honorable Horace S. Clark, a man of high reputation as a criminal lawyer. After a trial of several days' duration Miller was acquitted. He has also appeared in defense of men charged with high crimes in the States of Indiana and California, and always with success. Mr. Dolson has appeared on one side or the other of every important criminal case tried in Fairfield 'county during the past fifteen years, and in many of those in adjoining counties. In the case of the State of Ohio vs. Napier, charged with murder, Mr. Dolson was appointed by the late Judge Hoffman, of Perry county, to assist in the prosecution. The defendant was convicted. In his political affiliations Mr. Dolson is Democratic. He was nominated by his party for State Senator to represent the Ninth and Fourteenth Senatorial Districts, but was defeated with the rest of the ticket. He is a member of the English Lutheran Church. He was married in 1876 to Miss Alida Reinmund, daughter of B. F. and Isabella (Arnold) Reinmund, of Fairfield county, and sister of Henry J. Reinmund, insurance commissioner under Governor Hoadly. They have four children, two sons and two daughters. Referring to Mr. Dolson's standing in the profession and his leading characteristics, an old and prominent member of the Lancaster Bar observed : " While Mr. Dolson does a general law business in the local courts, his practice runs largely to criminal cases, and in this peculiar line he has quite a wide reputation. He is adapted by nature for this kind of practice. He is shrewd, quick to see the weak points of his opponents and aggressive in availing himself of every advantage presented in the trial of a case. He has a good voice, an extensive vocabulary, and on his feet before a jury he makes an effective address. He is the best talker, perhaps, at this Bar, but not the best read lawyer. If his early education had been commensurate with his natural abilities as a lawyer his advancement would have been more rapid. He came to the Bar here early in the seventies, and has improved his opportunities so well that he now ranks with the leading attorneys of the district. His reputation as a criminal lawyer is well established in this section of the State, and he has been called to widely diyerging points to defend Ohio citizens charged with the violation of the criminal code of different States. He has been remarkably successful, and has crossed swords with some able men in this line of practice. Another feature that has contributed to his success is that he has confined himself entirely to his profession and is a worker. He has not neglected his law practice for politics or any other business. He gives his clients his best efforts and is a trustworthy and reliable lawyer. He is held in high esteem both by the legal profession and in the community, and by the public where he is known." WILLIAM M. ROCKEL, Springfield. Judge Rockel is of German descent. His paternal ancestors came to America and settled in Pennsylvania about the middle of the last century. The founder of the American family was a German school master who devoted his life to educational work in his adopted country. It is not known what part Judge Rockel's great grandfathers took BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 335 in the Revolutionary War, but the records show that his grandfather served with the Pennsylvania troops during the War of 1812-14, under the command of General Henry Shearing, and that at the time of his death he was in receipt of a pension from the United States government, issued in consideration of services in that war, together with his father, Peter Rockel (the judge's great-grandfather, then well Advanced in age.) He came to Ohio in 1822 and settled on a farm near Tremont City, in Clark county, on which he resided for sixty-two years, and there died in 1884, at the age of ninety years. The father of Judge Rockel was born on the Clark county homestead, and has engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life, and now resides on a farm near the original homestead. The maternal ancestors of Judge Rockel originally came from Germany and settled in Virginia. His grandfather came to Ohio in his early manhood, settling in Carroll county, where his mother Margaret (Shick) Rockel, was born in 1834. In this year he moved to Logan county, Ohio, and resided near. Bellefontaine until his death in 1895. William M. Rockel was born on his father's farm in Clark county, July 18, 1855. His early education was obtained in the district schools of Moorefield township. At the age of seventeen he entered the Bellefontaine high school, from which he was graduated in June, 1876, at the age of twenty-one. He immediately entered the commercial department of the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, receiving his diploma in December of the same year. He then began the classical course at the same institution, but before he was far advanced in his studies an ailment of his eyes, caused by overwork, compelled him to abandon his text books temporarily. During his school days Judge Rockel taught one term of district school of seven months. For a time after leaving school he studied law privately, as his health would permit. In 1877 he entered on the regular course of study in the office of Keifer & White, a prominent law firm of Springfield. General Keifer was at that time in Congress, and speaker, and later Judge Charles R. White was elected to the Bench of the Court of Common Pleas of Clark county. He was with this firm for two years when he was admitted to the Bar by the District Court in 1879. He at once began practice at Springfield, which he continued until he was elected to the office of probate judge in 1890, and was re-elected in 1893. At the close of this term (February, 1897), he expects to re-enter the practice of his profession in Springfield. Judge Rockel took a prominent and active part in the organization of the Springfield Building and Loan Association, and was its first president, and later its attorney, until he accepted the office of probate judge. He is now one of the directors, and usually represents this association at the meetings of the State League. It was also largely through his instrumentality that Clark county has such an excellent law library. He induced the surviving subscribers of a fund for a Bar association to donate a fund of some three hundred dollars in their possession as a nucleus for a library fund. This was done and receiving the hearty support of the Clark county Bar, the result is the present fine collection of law books and legal literature. While Judge Rockel has always, since his entrance into the pro- 336 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. fession, been a student of law books, he also been an author and contributor to law ,publications. The papers he has most favored are the Central Law Journal, of .St. Louis, Missouri, and the Weekly Law Bulletin, of Columbus, Ohio. He was one of the contributors to the first twelve volumes of the " American and English Encyclopedia of Law," but the duties of his office compelled him to desist. The first product of his pen to appear in separate book form was a pamphlet entitled, " Questions Selected from the Decisions of the Supreme Court of Ohio." The next was, " Ohio.Mechanic's Lien Law." The next and last, also the most widely known, was entitled " Complete Guide for Township officers." The first edition of this work was put upon the market in 1890, and the book is now in its fourth edition. These legal publications have made Judge Rockel's name well known to the profession throughout the State. During the fiye years he has occupied the position of probate judge, he has had the satisfaction of knowing that his work was at least fairly done, as he has not been reversed in a single case in the higher courts. He was appointed by the Supreme Court of the State in 1890 as one of a committee of attorneys to examine applications for admission to the Bar, and remained on this committee until he assumed the duties of probate judge. Politically, nearly all of Judge Rockel's ancestors were of Democratic faith, and his first ballots were cast for the candidates of that party. But this continued but a very short time, when he allied himself to the Republican party, in which he has been a faithful member. He believes in granting to every one in the exercise of his political or religious convictions the fullest possible rights consistent with good goyernment. He is a member of the First Lutheran Church of the city in which he resides, and a director of the Y. M. C. A. Judge Rockel is a member of Clark Lodge No. 101, F. and A. M., and of Red Star Lodge No. 205, K. P., and of Uniformed Rank, Division No. 44, K. P. He is now serving as colonel and assistant judge advocate general on the staff of Brigadier-General Howe, of the Ohio brigade, U. R. K. P. On April 22, 1896, he was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Grace Curley, an accomplished young lady of Beatrice, Nebraska. Judge Rockel has been the architect and builder of his own fortune. He began his career with no other resources than thos.e with which nature endowed him, and he has had but little financial assistance from -friends or others since. His standing in the profession and in the community may be gathered from the following- statement made by a prominent and leading member of the Bar : " Judge Rockel is highly respected both as a citizen and as a lawyer. He is more of a lawyer than he is an advocate. He has been a hard student, and his text books have been read understandingly. His practice, his writings and his decisions, all show that he has assimilated the correct principles of law. His judicial turn of mind fits him in an eminent degree for the Bench. In his present position he has given excellent satisfaction." BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 337 THOMAS B. WILLIAMS, New Lexington. Mr. Williams, prosecuting attorney of Perry county, is a native of Ohio. lie was born at Pomeroy, January 5, 1870. His parents were Benjamin and Elizabeth (Johnson) Williams, both natives of Wales, who came to the United States in 1863 and settled-at Niles, Ohio, later removing to Pomeroy and finally locating at New Straitsville, in Perry county, where they reside at present. Thomas B. received his education in the public schools of New Straitsville, graduating from the high school with the class of 1889. He had decided on the profession of law as a vocation, and immediately after leaving school took up his legal studies, one year privately, then for a period of two years at the Cincinnati Law School from which he was graduated in 1892. He at once began the practice of his profession at New Straitsville alone, being the only attorney in the town. In the fall of 1893 he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney of Perry county, which office he still fills. Mr. Williams has the confidence and respect of the people of Perry county, and as an indication of the esteem in which he is held by the profession of which he is a member, we quote from the remarks of one of the leading attorneys of the Perry county Bar : " T. B. Williams is a young man and no one can tell what an attorney of thirty will be when a quarter of a century has been added to his cycle of time. Mr. Williams has, however, already accomplished enough to entitle him to the respect of the community. His father was a miner and as such only earned. sufficient wages to supply his family with the necessities of life. To give his children much in the way of educational advantages was impossible. Young Williams went to work in the mine before he was ten years old, and kept it up whenever there was work to do, until after he graduated from the public school of New Straitsville. When at work he attended school at night and kept up with his classes. After his graduation he kept at work until he earned sufficient money to carry him through the Law Department of the Cincinnati College. He determined in early life to better his condition and went about it in the only practical way—by his own individual efforts. That he earned his daily bread from childhood, procured for himself a fair literary education, had a degree conferred upon him by one of the leading law schools of the country and established himself in a learned profession before he was twenty-five years of age, forms a pretty fair prognosis of what the future of the man will be. If he shows the same degree of industry, integrity and ability in the future that he has in the past, then he will get somewhere near the top in his profession." Mr. Williams has, since he came into the office of prosecuting attorney, tried some notable cases. In the two cases of the State vs. Underwood and Napier, which he conducted without assistance, both were conyicted of manslaughter, a very good verdict considering the state of public opinion. Mr. Williams is a member of the Republican party and takes an active interest in party politics. He was married November 30, 1893, to Miss Sarah A. Griffith, daughter of David G. Griffith, now of Whiting, Indiana, one of the prosperous suburbs of Chicago. 338 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. MOSES M. SAYRE, Urbana. Mr. Sayre is a lineal descendant of revolutionary stock. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the army of General Washington, and participated in most of the important movements of his army. Relics captured by this grand sire at the battle field of Monmouth are still in possession of the family. His grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812-14, serving on the frontier against the British and their Indian allies. The family are of English and Scotch descent and were among the early settlers of the colonies. The grandfather of our subject came to Ohio in 1808, from Virginia, and settled on a farm near Urbana in Champaign county, where the remainder of his life was passed. Martin Sayre, the father of Moses M., was born on this farm, and after marrying settled on another within eight miles or Urbana, on which he spent all his mature life and died in 1892, at the age of seventy-five. This farm is now owned by Mr. Sayre, and on it he was born on the 21st day of November, 1849. His mother, Jane C. Sayre, was a native of Champaign county, daughter of Moses McIlvain, of Salem township. Moses M. was brought up on the farm and spent his boyhood days in attending the district school and working on his father's farm. At the age of nineteen he entered the preparatory department of Oberlin College and remained at that institution four years, reaching the junior class, when he applied for dismissal in order to finish the course at Yale University. He applied for admission to that institution and after a rigid examination was admitted to the senior class and was graduated with the class of 1874, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After teaching for one year he took up the study of law in the office of Judge William Lawrence, at Bellefontaine, Ohio, where he devoted two years to legal studies. He was admitted to the Bar in May, 1877. In January, 1878, he opened an office in Urbana for the practice of law, alone, and has so continued to the present time. During the eighteen years that Mr. Sayre has devoted to the practice of law he has given his time entirely to his profession. He has not engaged in politics or in any outside business ventures. While his practice is a general one he caters more especially to commercial business and makes it a rule never to take a case into court that can be settled outside. He leaves criminal practice to those who have a taste for that class of business. In his party affiliations Mr. Sayre is a Republican, though he takes no active interest in politics. He represented the senatorial district in the State senate for the years 1882 and 1883, but was not re-elected, as there is an unwritten law that the office shall pass around to the different counties in the district consecutively. He has never accepted a nomination for any other office. He was married in 1881, to Miss Ella Morris, daughter of Thomas and Maria (Keller) Morris, of Champaign county. They have three children, one son and two daughters. Mrs. Sayre's ancestors were among the pioneer settlers of the county. Mr. Sayre's standing in the community is high both as a business man and as a citizen. His standing in the profession may be gathered from the expression of one of the leading members of the Bar of the county : " Mr. Sayre is not a conspicuous figure in court practice, though he is a well educated man and a well equipped lawyer. He has a good office practice and BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 339 does a large business for outside firms and corporations. He is well adapted for that special line of practice. He is well posted in law and is conservative and reliable. I believe he finds his time pretty well occupied with his special line of practice and makes no effort to get court cases other than what arise in the course of his business. He is honest, trustworthy and a good citizen:* FRANK H. SOUTHARD, Zanesville. Honorable Frank H. Southard is a native of Ohio, born at Hanover, Licking county, October 31, 1842. His ancestors on both sides were of the early settlers of America. His father's people first settled in New Jersey, about 1630, his grandfather later removing to Pennsylvania. His grandfather came thence to Ohio, and settled in Licking county, in 1804. His father, Isaiah Southard, in early life engaged in the iron business, but abandoned it later and engaged in agricultural pursuits, in which he continued until his death, in 1885. The Parnell family, Mr. South ard's maternal ancestors, were of Irish nativity. They settled in Baltimore, Maryland, in the early part of the seventeenth century. In his boyhood days, Southard attended the public schools. At the age of eighteen he entered Dennison University at Granville, Ohio, remaining there for a period of three years. In 1863 he entered the senior class of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, and was graduated with the class of 1864, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He studied law for one year under the tutorship of Follett & Follett, of Newark, Ohio. In the fall of 1865 he entered the Law, Department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, completing the course in one year. He was admitted to the Bar in the fall of 1866, at Mt. Vernon, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Zanesville, in partnership with his brother, Milton I., now of New York City. This connection continued until his brother was elected to represent the Fifteenth District in Congress, in the fall of 1872. Since that time he has continued the practice alone. During the thirty years he has been in practice at the Zanesville Bar Mr. Southard has built up a large and lucratiye practice, and ranks with the leaders of the Muskingum Valley Bar. He began his career as a lawyer and has never been anything else. His time has been devoted entirely to his profession and he has won his position by conscientious labor. Speaking of his standing in the profession and his ability as a lawyer, one of the best known members of the Zanesville Bar, said: " Frank H. Southard must be classed with the ablest attorneys at this Bar. He belongs to that class who have eschewed everything else for their profession and whose rise is the result of honest, conscientious labor. No man is smart enough to be a good lawyer without work, and Mr. Southard has never shown any inclination to slight the drudgery of the profession. He is faithful in the discharge of his duty to his clients and at the same time a fair antagonist in the litigation of a case." In politics Mr. Southard is a Democrat, but has never taken an active part in partisan affairs and never accepted a nomination for any elective office. He 340 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. was nominated for Congress in his district in the summer of 1896, during a temporary absence from home, but on his return declined the nomination. He is a member of the Masonic Order. In 1872 he was married to Miss Laura L. Laughry, daughter of John Laughry, of Portsmouth, Ohio. They have one son, Carlisle M. Southard, now reading law in his father's office. GEORGE K. BROWNING, Zanesville, prosecuting attorney of Muskingum county. Mr. Browning is a native of Muskingum county, born on his father's farm in Hopewell township, March 26, 1860. His parents were James and Elizabeth (Shepard) Browning, both natives of Virginia. Both of his parents were of Anglo-Saxon descent, and their ancestors were among the pioneer settlers of Virginia. His father brought his family from Virginia to Ohio in 1856, and settled on a farm in Muskingum county. George K. received his elementary education in the public school of his district, and practical lessons on his father's farm between school terms. In 1884 he entered the Muskingum College at New Concord, remaining there three years. In 1887 he commenced the study of law in the office of John W. King, at Zanesville, pursuing his studies for three years. He then entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1891 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He returned to. Zanesville and read law for another year, when he was admitted to the Bar and to practice in all the courts of the State. He at once began practice alone at Zanesyille. In the fall of 1893 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Muskingum county for a term of three years and has discharged the duties of the office in a manner that has been very satisfactory to the court and to the public. During his term of office he has tried about fifty felony cases and secured convictions of about eighty-five per cent. of them. One notable case was that of the State vs. Jacob Cherry, indicted for murder in the first degree. The defendant was represented by able counsel, and the defense was insanity. Among the one hundred and twenty witnesses examined there were many expert specialists, involving a vast amount of technical research. The trial lasted for twelve days and the State secured a conviction of murder in the second degree. Mr. Browning had no assistance in this or any other matter that came under his jurisdiction since he occupied the office. He is a man of exemplary habits, of strict integrity and moral worth. Of his professional standing one of the leading members of the Zanesville Bar said : " George K. Browning is one of our promising young attorneys. What his future will be I cannot say, but he has made a good start. As prosecuting attorney he has made a record that would be a credit to an older practitioner. He is a hard worker, attends to his business, and will undoubtedly succeed." He was married March 12, 1896, to Miss Helen M. Lewis, daughter of Henry and Harriett Lewis, of Lansing, Michigan. Mrs. Browning is a niece of Charles BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 341 D. Lewis, of Brooklyn, New York, the well known humorous writer under the nom, de plume of M. Quad. Mr. and Mrs. Browning attend the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which they are honored members. SIMEON M. WINN, Zanesville. Mr. Winn is a native of Muskingum county, born on his father's farm near Adamsville, January 27, 1862. His parents were Dolphin and Catherine Jordan Winn, the former a native of Loudon county, Virginia, and the latter of Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Winn's paternal grandfather, William Winn, carne to Ohio in 1823, and settled on a farm in Perry township, and was the first to break ground for cultivation in that part of the county. The family has been among the most prominent in Perry township, from its settlement down to the present time. Dolphin Winn died on the farm where he had spent the mature years of his life, in 1885, his widow still surviving him. Simeon received his rudimentary education in the district school in Salem township, which was supplemented by a course in the Adamsville high school. He put in the time between school terms in assisting with the work on his father's farm. In 1882, at the age of twenty, ho began teaching and followed that avocation for the three years following, studying law privately as his duties would permit. In the latter part of 1884 he came to Zanesville and took up a systematic course of legal studies in the office of Frank H. Southard, which he continued for one year. In 1885 he entered Zanesville College, where he took a commercial course, keeping up his law studies in the meantime. In October, 1886, he was admitted to the Bar and at once began the practice of his profession at Zanesville. In November, 1887, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Muskingum county and three years later was re-elected, serving the county most acceptably tor six years in that capacity. In politics Mr. Winn is a Democrat. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, and is a Past Exalted Ruler of Zanesville Lodge No. 114 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Said one of the leading members of the Zanesville Bar:; in referring to his standing in the profession and in the community : " Mr. Winn is recognized as one of the hard working and rising young members of the Zanesville Bar. He began his career as a teacher in the public schools of the county and has always been a hard student. Shortly after his admission to the Bar he was elected prosecuting attorney of Muskingum county and in that position his ability gained general recognition. He held the office for six years and during that time the business was the greatest for many years and he was a prominent figure at every session of the court. His defense of Elizabeth Honnold in 1890, on trial in the Common Pleas Court of Licking county, charged with murder, in which he secured her acquittal, gained for him quite a reputation as a criminal lawyer. Another case that attracted wide attention, which was brought about at his instigation, was the defeat of the amendment to the River and Harbor bill in 1890. He claimed the act to be unconstitutional and advised the county commissioners to ignore the notice of the Secretary of War. In the suit that followed, registered on the 342 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. docket as United States vs. the Commissioners of Muskingum county, his contentions were maintained by the Federal Circuit Court. For a young man his practice is both large and lucrative." ALFRED ASHWELL FRAZIER, Zanesyille. The Frazier family, as the name implies, is of Scotch origin. The progenitor of the American branch of the family, David Frazier, came to America in the early part of the last century and settled in Virginia. His descendants took part in the struggle for independence and have taken an honorable part in the history and development of the country. Samuel Frazier, the grandfather of our subject, removed from Ohio county, Virginia, to Belmont county, Ohio, about 1825, and ten nears later removed to Muskingum county, and settled on a large tract of land in Licking township. Stocton Frazier, the father of Alfred Ash well, was reared on the farm, and still resides on his farm in Muskingum township. Alfred A. was born October 19, 1854, and was reared on his father's farm. His mother was Elizabeth A. McCann Frazier, of Scotch-Irish descent. Her people also came to America in colonial times and settled in Pennsylyania, removing to Ohio early in the present century. Mr. Frazier's early education was obtained in the public schools of Muskingum township, which was supplemented by a course at the Dresden high school. In 1872 he entered Dennison University, where he spent three years. He finished his college course at the Wooster University, entering the sophomore class in 1876 and was graduated with the class of 1879, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He also received the second honors of his class. In the fall of the same year he entered the Law Department of the Cincinnati College, from which he was graduated in 1881, again standing second in his class and receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In 1882 his Alma Mater conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. He began the practice of law in 1881, at Zanesville, in partnership with H. C. Van Voorhis, now representing the Fifteenth District in the National Congress. This association remained in effect until 1885, when Mr. Van Voorhis went out of the firm to accept the presidency of the Citizens National Bank. Since that time Mr. Frazier has been alone in practice. During the fifteen years he has been in the actiye practice of law he has confined himself strictly to the profession and built up a large and important clientage. Referring to his standing and ability as a lawyer, said one of the well-known members of the Muskingum county Bar: " A. A. Frazier must be classed with the successful practitioners of this Bar. He entered the profession thoroughly well equipped for the practice of law and has ever since been a conscientious worker and consequently is well grounded in the principles of law. He has always attended strictly to business, has no ambition for political preferment, has not dabbled in outside speculation, but has in short been purely a lawyer and is meeting with deserved success. His standing as a member of the Bar is irreproachable. He is of strict integrity, fair in his practice, and BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 343 upright in his dealings with all men. He is respected by the community and esteemed by the profession." In his political affiliations Mr. Frazier is a Republican and takes an active part in the advancement of the interests of his party. He was chairman of the executive committee for the years between 1885 and 1890. He was married in 1881 to Miss Emma L. Clark, daughter of James and Anna Wilson Clark, of Van Wert, Ohio, and of Revolutionary stock. They have one son and one daughter, named respectively, Florien and Florence. They attend the Putnam Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Frazier is a member. During the year 1889 Mr. Frazier was one of the members of the board of examiners for admission of applicants for membership in the Bar, by appointment of the Supreme Court. ALVIN W. KUMLER, Dayton. Judge Kumler is a native of Ohio. His ancestors were among the earliest settlers of the State. He was born on his father's farm near Trenton, in Butler county, January 30, 1851. He is a member of the well-known Kumler family of eight sons and three daughters. Six of the eight sons of the family became attorneys (one of whom has since deceased), and two of them have been judges, and all prominent in their profession. Judge Kumler obtained his elementary education in the common schools of his district, putting in the time between school sessions in assisting his father and brothers on the farm. His father appreciated the worth of an education and furnished each of his sons and daughters with that which proved of more value than wealth. Judge Kumler attended Antioch College for two years, after which he spent one year at the Ohio Wesleyan Uniyersity at Delaware. He early chose the profession of law for his life work, and immediately after leaving school he took up the study of law in the office of the well-known law firm of Boltin & Shauck, of Dayton. Completing his ordinary reading, he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated in 1875. He shortly after began the practice of his profession at Dayton, for the first two years alone, after which he formed a partnership with the Honorable R. M. Nevin under the firm name of Nevin & Kumler, an association that continued in effect until his election to the Bench of the Common Pleas Court in 1896. In 1879 he was elected city solicitor, and again in 1881, both times in the face of a large adverse majority. By an act of the legislature in the session of 1895-1896 one (additional) judgeship was added to the Third Subdivision of the Second Judicial District, which Judge Kumler now fills for five years. Judge Kumler has always been held high in the councils of the Republican party in the State, and his judgment has been frequently sought by his brothers, both at the Bar and in politics. In addition to his legal acquirements, he has good judgment, and his manners are very affable. Referring to his legal abilities and his standing in the profession, said one of the most conspicuous members of the Dayton Bar : 344 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. " Personally, Judge Kumler is a very popular man, and he is well liked' both on and off the Bench — in the profession and out of it. The Judge has served but one year on the Bench, and his work has proven eminently satisfactory to the people and the lawyers. He has been in practice over twenty years and has taken part in much important litigation. He has a good mind and is well grounded in the principles of law. He is a pleasing and effective speaker, and states his law points logically and accurately. He has maintained himself well in every position in which he has been placed, and as a judge continues to do so. He has given his time entirely to his profession and is a good all round lawyer. His duties as judge remove him entirely from active work in the political arena, but what his party loses in active politics, will no doubt prove of gain to the whole people." JUDGE MILTON CLARK, Lebanon. Honorable Milton Clark, who is now judge of the Common Pleas Court, third subdivision Second Judicial District, was born at Foster's, Warren county, Ohio, October 27, 1848. His more remote paternal ancestors hailed from Ireland, but his grandfather emigrated from Maryland to the Northwest Territory before Ohio became a State. His mother was Ruth Crawford, of English descent. Both of his parents were natives of the State of Ohio. Both families settled near the town which was afterwards named Cincinnati. Judge Clark's boyhood was passed on the farm at eyery kind of work known to husbandry, and his primary education was obtained in the common schools. At the age of twenty he was qualified for admission to college, and matriculated at Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware. He completed the full classical course, and received the degree of A. B. upon his graduation in 1873. He had already. chosen the profession of law, and without delay entered upon the study of it in the office of Josiah Morrow, who was then one of the leading lawyers of Warren county. After studying one year under the instruction of Mr. Morrow he entered the Cincinnati Law School, from which he was graduated in 1875 as a Bachelor of Law. He first entered into the practice at Cincinnati, where he remained four years. Well equipped by learning and practical experience he removed thence to Lebanon, where he continued the practice without interruption until his election to the judicial office. He soon made for himself a name and a place at the Bar. His natural abilities, inclination and aptitudes, re-enforced by acumen, industry and fidelity to clients, were the potential influences which attracted a large clientage and built up a profitable business. Responding to the various demands, he went into all the State and Federal courts with all classes of cases, and proved himself a successful lawyer by either winning his cases or so conducting his controversy in a bad cause as to win the admiration of the Bench and command the respect of his adversary. He was in practice at the Bar about twenty years, and formed several partnerships during the time--first with I. N. Walker, second with A. M. Lewis, third with W. L. Dichant, and finally with F. N. Cunningham. At Lebanon, his home, no man stands higher as a citizen or more respected as an attorney. Referring to his career, one of the BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 345 leading members of the Warren county Bar writes substantially as follows : Judge Clark is perhaps the best fitted man by nature and education to fill the position of judge of any man who has occupied the Bench of the Common Pleas Court of Warren county for many years. He has good judgment, an equitable mind, and is thoroughly well posted in the principles of the law. As a practicing lawyer he ranked with the best at this Bar, and when he was elected to lift fill the unexpired tern of Judge Walter Dilatush, deceased, he received the endorsement of ever ember of the Lebanon Bar, thus evidencing their confidence in him. In t e two years he has sat on the Bench he has demonstrated that this confidence was not in any respect misplaced. It is the universal sentiment with the members of the Bar here that when they go into court with a case they will get equal and exact justice for their clients in so far as his rulings and instructions will affect the result. He is absolutely impartial, interpreting and applying the law, as he understands it, without fear or favor ; and he is in a position to do this. His elevation to the Bench was due solely to his recognized fitness for the place, and it came to him unsought. He was a member of the Lebanon Bar for about fifteen years before going on the Bench. He established his reputation as a strong lawyer in the case of the State vs. Graham and Coleman, the defaulting auditor and treasurer of Warren county, which took place in Lebanon some ten years ago. Because of the large sum involved, and peculiar methods used in effecting the embezzlement, the case attracted wide attention. He was retained by the commissioners to assist Albert Anderson, the public prosecutor, and despite the fact that the culprits were defended by the ablest lawyers in the State, the prosecution was successful. His practice was large, and for several years he participated in most of the important litigation that arose in this county. One of his leading attributes is his ability to state his points clearly and concisely. He is unassuming in his manners, always courteous and affable in his intercourse with his fellow men, whatever may be their position in life. He is high-minded and honorable. In all the years of his practice at this Bar he was never known to stoop to a mean act to secure an unfair advantage of an opponent. As a citizen he has the respect and esteem of the entire community, not only at home but wherever he is known. He is a man of strong convictions. Politically he is a staunch Republican, but aside from regularly assuming his prerogative as an American citizen to cast his ballot he has not been active in politics. Judge Clark has never sought or accepted political office. His abilities, activities and energies have been employed in his profession. He was endorsed generally by the Bar for election to the vacant judgeship in 1895, and was again nominated by the Republicans for a full term in the spring of 1896 without opposition. He was married in 1878 to Miss Isabella Gordon, of Lebanon, and has two children living. One of his brothers, Lucien Clark, was for many years a prominent minister of the Gospel in the M. E. Church. The family occupies a high position intellectually, socially and morally. The judge is not a member of any social club or benevolent society. His family and home take the place of a club for enjoyment and recreation, and the opportunities for benevolence are open on every hand. He is strong, self-poised and upright. 346 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. OREN BRITT BROWN, Dayton. Judge Brown was born at Juddo, Orleans county, New York, June 27, 1853. His parents were Colonel E. F. Brown and Elizabeth Britt Brown, both natives of New York. Colonel Brown entered the United States service as commander of the Twenty-eighth New York Regiment in 1861 and lost his left arm at the battle of Cedar Mountain. Recovering from his wound he remained in the service until the close of the war, as post department commander. On the completion of the National Military Home at Dayton he was, in 1868, made governor, retaining the position until 1880, when he was made inspector general of the entire system of national military homes. Oren Brown's early education was obtained in the public schools of Medina, New York, which he attended until he came to Dayton with his father's family, in 1869. For two years thereafter he attended the Dayton high school, when he entered the Dennison University at Granville, Ohio, continuing his studies there for three years. In January, 1874, he entered the sophomore class at Princeton College, from which institution he was graduated in 1876. He began his legal studies the same year in the office of Gunckle & Rowe, prominent practitioners at the Dayton Bar. He was admitted to the Bar in 1878 and began practice at once. He was nominated for prosecuting attorney in 1879 and defeated by a small majority, the entire ticket being defeated. In 1881 he was the nominee of the Republican party for clerk of the courts of Montgomery county, and was the only one elected on his party ticket. He served in this position three years, declining another nomination in order to resume his law practice, which was done by forming a co-partnership with Oscar M. Gottschall, under the firm name of Gottschall & Brown, a relation that remained in effect until he was appointed to the Common Pleas Bench, in July 1896. Possessing both tact and ability he built up a valuable clientage early in his professional career. The firm of Gottschall & Brown has for several years been one of the most prominent in southwestern Ohio. Being in hearty sympathy with the principles of the Republican party and possessing qualifications of a leader, he very naturally became quite prominent in local and State politics, although he never accepted an office for himself that was not in the line of his profession. He represented the Third Congressional District as a delegate in the National Republican Convention at Chicago in 1888. During several campaigns he served as chairman of the county central committee and has represented the party frequently in State conventions. He was chairman of the Montgomery county delegation in the convention held at Zanesville in 1895, which nominated Bushnel for governor, Foraker for United States senator and McKinley for President. He was for many years president of the Ward of elections of the city of Dayton, and until he went upon the Bench. In June, 1896, upon the unanimous recommendation of the Dayton Bar, Mr. Brown was appointed by Governor Bushnell to the judgeship of the Common Pleas Court, third subdivision of the Second District, made vacant by the death of Judge Elliott. At the November election of the same year he was chosen judge for a full term of five years. Referring to his career as a lawyer and a citizen, one of the practitioners of the Dayton Bar, remarked : BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 347 " So far Judge Brown's work on the Bench has been very satisfactory and I have no doubt that he will maintain himself well in the position under all circumstances. He is well versed in the principles of law and has good judgment; is fair and impartial, firm in his conyictions, dignified in bearing and commands the respect both of the Bar and of the public. As a lawyer he has been a success nd as a public-spirited citizen he is universally respected. Like all men of capacity and force he has created some animosity, but he has never stooped to take an unfair advantage of an opponent, either in the political arena or in the practice of law." Judge Brown was married June 12, 1883, to Miss Jeanette Gebhart, daughter of Simeon Gebhart, an old and prominent resident of Dayton. In social circles Judge and Mrs. Brown are highly esteemed. GEORGE B. HOLLISTER, Cincinnati. George B. Hollister was born at Plattsburg, Clinton county, New York, April 29, 1820. His father, Alva Hollister who was a farmer, and his mother, Polly Munson Hollister, were natives of Manchester, Bennington county, Vermont, and resided at that place during most of their lives, each living to be considerably over seventy years of age. Mr. Hollister's paternal grandfather and his maternal great-grandfather were soldiers in General Ethan Allen's army of Green Mountain boys, and his ancestors, direct and collateral, took an actiye part in the American Revolution. When a youth Mr. Hollister attended the Burr & Burton Seminary, founded in part by his great-uncle, Josiah Burton, and was there prepared for Middlebury College, which he entered in the class of 1847. After two years of study at college his health failed, and in hope of regaining it he went to New Bedford, Massachusetts, and shipped on a whaling vessel then about to start on a long voyage. For two years and a half the vessel cruised in the Pacific Ocean, Behring Sea, and Sea of Okhotsk, and was the first whaler to enter the Japan Sea. After a successful voyage the ship returned by way of Cape Horn, bringing back the young sailor then in most vigorous health. In 1848 Mr. Hollister came to Cincinnati and entered the law office of Thomas J. Strait, then in active practice, with whom was S. S. Cox. Two years later he was admitted to the Bar, and has been in continuous practice for more than forty-seven years. In 1851 he was married to Laura B. Strait, the only daughter of his law preceptor. The children were Ella S., Emma B., Howard C., Thomas, Laura S., and Burton P. Hollister, and the family reside on Southern avenue, Mt. Auburn, where Mrs. Hollister has lived for fifty-six years. Mr. Hollister continues in the active practice of his profession in partnership with his second son, Thomas. In politics Mr. Hollister was a Whig, and became identified with the Republican party at its formation, and has since been an earnest supporter of it. While a member of the city council, as chairman of the law committee, it became his duty to take charge of the organization of the McMicken, or Cincinnati, University. He subsequently entered the board of trustees of that institution and remained a member for sixteen consecutive 348 - BENCH AND BAR OP OHIO. years. In 1866 and 1867 he was a member of the Ohio Senate. For many years Mr. Hollister has been a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is now an elder in the Mt. Auburn Church. GEORGE W. RISSER, Ottawa. On his father's farm in Putnam county, near Pandora, George W. Risser was born October 30, 1868. His father, David Risser, was a native of Bavaria, Germany, and his mother, Margaret Krohn, of German descent, was a native of Butler county, Ohio. David Risser left the Fatherland in 1856 for the United States—the land offering larger liberty and better rewards for labor. After being a short time in New York State he came on to Cleveland, where in June, 1861, imbued with patriotism for his adopted country, he enlisted in the Union army. He served throughout the war and was mustered out in November, 1865. Returning to Ohio he settled on a farm in Putnam county, where he has continued to live and prosper with the thrift characteristic of the industrious citizens of his nationality. On the 24th day of May, 1866, he married the daughter of Samuel and Sarah Weaver Krohn, and George W. Risser is the first born of this union. He worked on his father's farm and attended the country school in boyhood, cultivating the habits of industry, economy and thrift while he acquired the rudiments of a substantial education, broadened later by attending a business college at Ada, Cleveland and Delaware, and rendered more practical by three years of teaching during the time he was a student. He was graduated from the business course of Delaware College. In October, 1891, he entered the Cincinnati Law School, where he remained to complete its course of study and from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws on the last day of May, 1893. The next day he was admitted to the Bar of Ohio, with permission to practice in all of the State courts. He settled in Ottawa at once and entered the office of A. V. Watts, where he remained two years. On the first day of January, 1895, he opened a law office on his own account and has carried on a general practice alone to the present time. Although a young practitioner he has managed a considerable amount of important litigation, and so successfully as to prove his adaptability to the law. Politically Mr. Risser is a Democrat, zealous for his party's success and active in behalf of it. During the campaign of 1896 he loyally supported the ticket nominated by the convention held in Chicago. He is a pleasing, argumentative speaker. In 1897 he was nominated by his party for prosecuting attorney of Putnam county, and was elected in November by a plurality of more than eighteen hundred, the largest plurality ever given to a candidate for that office in the county. Mr. Risser is a member of the order of Free and Accepted Masons and of the Knights of Pythias. He is manager of the Ohio Telephone Company, operating in Putnam county, and has already made a reputation as a business man equal to his reputation at the Bar. The elements that combine to make him a strong character are well compacted in him, and his personal worth is duly attested. BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 349 HARRY D. CRITCHFIELD, Mount Vernon. Harry D. Critchfield is a native of the State and of Knox county. He was born on a farm within six miles of Mount Vernon. His boyhood until the age of sixteen was spent in work on the farm and in attendance at the district school. For the next two years he was a student in the high school at Urbana, after which he worked for several years as a clerk in mercantile houses at Mount Vernon. The confinement indoors had a deleterious effect upon his health and he went to the mountainous regions of the West to recuperate. After spending four years in Montana and regaining his health he returned to Mount Vernon and took up the study of law. He studied in the office of Critchfield & Graham from December, 1887, to March, 1889, when he was admitted to the Bar. For the first five years he practiced alone, And then, in January. 1894, he received H. C. Devin into partnership, and the firm of Critchfield & Devin, then formed, continues in business. In April, 1892, Mr. Critchfield was elected city solicitor, and in 1894 was re-elected, holding the office four years and performing the duties appertaining thereto in a very efficient manner. During his continuance in the office he was called upon to defend the municipality in several important suits brought against it for damages. With zeal and ability he guarded the corporation from all attempts to loot the public treasury. At the same time he advocated a liberal policy in the matter of street improvements and kindred enterprises undertaken to promote the beauty, the material prosperity of the city and the comfort of her citizens. The paving of streets was an incident of great importance whilst he was the official adviser. In private practice he has secured a valuable clientage, whose business he manages successfully both in and out of the courts. He is the adyiser and active attorney of some large companies whose business is not only extensive but involved. Among his clients are C. and G. Cooper & Co., of Mount Vernon, proprietors of the water works. The duty of winding up the affairs of the Mount Vernon Bridge Company was intrusted to him. Mr. Critchfield is an active, earnest, zealous Republican. He was appointed the first State organizer of the Republican League, and has served as chairman of the county executive committee. In politics, in his profession and in personal matters he is active, vigorous and successful. He is well read and generally informed on matters of public importance or concern. He is keen, shrewd, aggressive and a good speaker. His social status is indicated by membership in the Royal Arcanum, the National Union and all the Masonic bodies of the city. He was married January 20, 1890, to Miss Elizabeth Curtis, granddaughter of Hosmer Curtis. They have one daughter, Catherine C., five years old. HOWARD CLARK HOLLISTER, Cincinnati. Judge Hollister was born September 11, 1856, on Southern avenue, Mt. Auburn, Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the eldest son of Honorable George B. Hollister and Laura B. (Strait) Hollister. George B. Hollister was born in Plattsburg, New York, of Vermont parents