350 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO and was, in fact, a Vermonter by family and training. Coming West, he was associated in the practice of the law with his wife's father, Thomas J. Strait, then one of the most successful lawyers in Ohio. George B. Hollister became a prominent member of the Bar of Hamilton county, Ohio, and served in the Senate of the State of Ohio. Howard Hollister was by inheritance, then, a lawyer. He was educated at the public schools, but left before he finished his course at Wood ward High School to complete his preparation for college by two terms at Greylock Institution, South Williamstown, Massachusetts. In September, 1874, he entered the academical department of Yale University and was graduated in June, 1878. He has always had a magnetic social quality and a power of attracting and retaining friends, which made him one of the most popular and best beloved members of his large class of one hundred and twenty-five men. Although he did not make any particular effort to secure honors in scholarship, he derived a benefit from his college life in mental discipline and a knowledge of men which has stood him in good stead ever since. After graduation he returned to Cincinnati and studied law with his father and attended the Cincinnati Law School. He was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Ohio in May, 1880, and within a few weeks after received the degree of Bachelor of Laws from the Cincinnati Law School. In the year 1882 he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney of Hamilton county and acquired a valuable experience while still young at the Bar in the trial of jury cases and the examination of witnesses. When he left the prosecuting attorney's office he became a member of the firm of Hollister, Roberts & Hollister. He developed an interest in his professional work and a power of application that soon attracted clients. After a practice of some ten years he was elected a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton county, in the fall of 1893, by a handsome majority. He has brought to the discharge of his duties on the Bench the same industry and power of application which were shown in his practice, and in the administration of his office he exhibits a high appreciation of dignity and responsibilities which is too often wanting in the members of the judiciary. He is making a valuable reputation as judge. Judge Hollister, on the 2nd of June, 1887, was married to Miss Alice Keys, a daughter of Samuel B. and Julia (Baker) Keys. They have four children, three boys and one girl. The judge's home is on Madison Road, East Walnut Hills. COLUMBUS DELANO, Mount Vernon. Any history of the Bar of Ohio during the last fifty years, or, in fact, any history of prominent men of Ohio in any department during the period would be incomplete if it omitted any reference to Columbus Delano, who for more than half a century was one of the most brilliant lawyers, and one of the most cultivated of the prominent public men of the State. Through a long and busy career he was recognized as a leader in public affairs, and reached a high position among his contemporaries as a man of brilliant attainments, strict integrity and far-reaching BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 351 influence. Columbus Delano was born at Shoreham, Vermont, June 15, 1809, and died at his residence, Lake Home, near Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, October 23, 1896, in the eighty•eighth year of his age. At the age of eight years he was removed to Ohio, in the care of relatives, who settled in the county of Knox. his boyhood was passed on a farm, where he engaged in the usual farm work of that time, but he was devoted to study and made good use of all his spare time in the pursuit of knowledge. His elementary education was acquired at such schools as were then available, by means of which he gained a good common school education and a fair knowledge of the classics. He had an absorbing love of history, and at the age of eighteen he had read such standard historical works as were then available in a rural neighborhood. He was ever of a serious and thoughtful disposition and early looked upon life as a matter of the utmost importance, and after long deliberation he chose the legal profession as the vocation best adapted to make his way to a useful position in the community. In 1829 he entered the law office of Hosmer Curtis, at that time the leading attorney at the Knox county Bar. After three years' study he was admitted to the Bar, in 1832, and at once entered upon the practice of law at Mount Vernon. His success as a practitioner was immediate and phenomenal. Soon after his admission he had the good fortune to be retained as junior counsel in a very important case involving intricate legal questions and a large estate. By an accident he was left in sole management of the case when it came to trial, in which he achieved a signal victory, and at once gained such a reputation that he was elected prosecuting attorney in a county largely opposed to him in politics. He served one full term, and was re-elected, but resigned because of his rapidly growing practice, with which his official duties seriously interfered. His close application to business, his constant attendance upon the courts of his own and adjacent counties, his unusual skill and success as an advocate, his industry and prominence in his profession and his strict integrity met with their deserved reward, and at a comparatively early age he went to the front rank of his profession in Ohio, among the Ewings, Stanberrys and others, whose legal reputation was national. Mr. Delano was an anti-slavery Whig in politics, and while seeking no office and holding none, he was looked upon as the leading exponent of the principles of his party in all State and local contests, and his reputation as a stump orator extended beyond the bounds of his State. His congressional district was strongly Democratic, and a Whig stood little chance for official honors. In 1814, however, he was unanimously nominated as the Whig candidate for Congress, and although the Democratic candidate for governor for that year carried the district by a majority of over six hundred, Mr. Delano was elected over his Democratic oponent by a majority of twelve votes, after one of the most hotly contested campaigns in the previous history of the State. Mr. Delano took his seat in the Twenty-ninth Congress, in 1845, where he soon took high rank as a leader and debater in that eventful time. The Twenty-ninth Congress contained many men of great experience and ability. Mr. Delano was a member of the committee on invalid pensions, where he ren- 352 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. dered excellent service, but his influence was by no means confined to the duties of that committee. He bore an active part in the heated and often acrimonious debates of the session, and his career was brilliant. His district having been changed in the meantime, he was not a candidate for re-election, but returned home and closed up his business preparatory to a removal to the city of New York. At the Whig State Convention of 1848 he came within two votes of receiving the nomination for governor. Retiring from the practice of law he removed to New York as principal of the banking firm of Delano, Dunlevy & Co., with a branch at Cincinnati, Ohio, in which business he was very successful. In 1856 he returned to Ohio to engage in agricultural pursuits, for which he always had a very strong predilection. He was a delegate to the Chicago convention of 1860, and was an ardent friend and supporter of Mr. Lincoln. In 1861, at the outbreak of the war, he was appointed by Governor Dennison as commissary general of Ohio, and administered the affairs of that department with his usual thoroughness and marked ability. In 1862 he was a candidate before the Republican legislative caucus for United States Senator and again lacked two votes of the nomination. In 1863, he was a member of the Ohio legislature, where his legal talent and his thorough familiarity with public affairs enabled him to render most valuable service. In 1864, he was a delegate to the Baltimore Republican National Convention and was chairman of the Ohio delegation. He was elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress, in which he was chairman of the committee on claims, a position involving a vast amount of labor. It is a remarkable fact that during that session every bill that Mr. Delano introduced became a law. He was re-elected to the Fortieth Congress, in which he was a member of the committee on foreign affairs. March 5, 1869, he was appointed by President Grant commissioner of internal revenue. Here his careful business methods came into play and his administration of the affairs of that important bureau was marked by the most signal success. Under his administration the bureau was thoroughly re-organized and so effective was his management that, in a single year, lie increased the revenues from distilled spirits more than 300 per cent. and on tobacco more than 400 per cent. It was during Mr. Delano's administration of the internal revenue department that the first colored man was appointed to a clerkship under the United States government. November 7, 1870, Mr. Delano was appointed secretary of the interior, a position he held until October 1, 1875, when he resigned and returned to his farm in Ohio. He discharged the duties of secretary with characteristic ability and painstaking method. From the time of his retirement from the interior department he spent his time at his beautiful country place near Mount Vernon, Ohio, where he enjoyed the well earned repose from life's labors, though he was far from being an idle man. He engaged in the active management of his large estate and in sheep raising, his flocks being among the finest in the country. He was the founder and for many years president of the National Wool Growers' Association, and he was the recognized champion of the wool industry during several tariff revisions of BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 353 the past two decades. In that behalf he was of great service to the flock masters of the country. In educational and religious affairs he took great interest. He was for many years trustee of Kenyon College and its anciliary institutions, and at the time of his death was chairman of the executive committee of its board of trustees. "Delano Hall," built by him, is a fitting memorial of his substantial interest in the institution. He was a life-long member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In his religious life he was earnest, constant and straightforward. His zeal and devotion to his church and its interests were recognized by his associates in that he was a senior warden of St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Mount Vernon and was repeatedly elected a delegate to diocesan and national assemblies. For many years, and, at the time of his death, he was president of the First National Bank of Mount Vernon. He was one of the oldest Free Masons in Ohio at the time of his death. His domestic life was peculiarly happy and beautiful. In 1834, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Bateman Leavenworth, a native of Connecticut, who survives him. The fruit of this marriage was three children, one of whom died in infancy—Elizabeth, wife of Rev. John G. Ames, of Washington, D. C., and John Sherman Delano, who died a few months before the death of his father. Mr. Delano was not an ambitious man in the ordinary sense of that word, in that he was not self-assertive. What he gained in the way of public recognition he deserved by his recognized talent, his great industry, his careful and conscientious discharge of duty and his power as a public speaker. He was especially valuable as a cautious, conservative counsellor, not liable to be stampeded by excitement, and calm in the midst of alarms which were apt to sweep the average statesman from his moorings. So thoroughly grounded was he in the elementary principles that a longer experience at the Bar must have raised him to the very highest rank in the profession, if he did not really attain that position in his comparatively short career as a lawyer. SHELDON H. TOLLES, Cleveland. S. H. Tolles was born at Burton, Geauga county, Ohio, October 1, 1858. His father, Henry S. Tolles, a merchant and a native of Connecticut, located in Ohio about 1850. His mother was Cynthia Hitchcock, a daughter of the late Judge Peter Hitchcock, who for twenty years was judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio and one of the most useful members of the constitutional convention of 1850. The early education of Mr. Tolles was in the district schools of his native town. Afterwards he entered the Western Reserve College, from which he was graduated in 1878. He at once entered the office of Judge J. B. Burrows, at Painsville, where he studied law and was admitted to practice in 1880. He then went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and practiced there for one year. Returning to Ohio in the winter of 1881-2 he located in Cleveland and formed a partnership with Judge J. E. Ingersoll, the firm being Ingersoll & Tolles. This partnership was shortly afterwards dissolved, in consequence of Mr. Ingersoll's appointment as 354 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Mr. Tolles then became the junior in the firm of Henderson, Kline & Tolles. In January, 1895, Mr. Henderson retired and the firm of Kline & Tolles was continued for one year, when it was augmented by the addition of two new members—W. F. Carr and F. H. Goff—and the firm of Kline, Carr, Tolles & Goff was formed. The practice of Mr. Tolles has been general, but he has always had a large amount of corporation and manufacturing business. He is a man of ability and high moral character, and his standing at the Bar and in the community is excellent.. In politics he is a Republican but has never held an office or been an applicant for office. In 1887 he married Jessie R. King, of Painesville, and has two sons. DANIEL A. RUSSELL, Pomeroy. Honorable D. A. Russell, one of the judges of the Fourth Circuit, is an excellent scholar, an eminent jurist, an esteemed citizen. He was born on a farm in Athens county, Ohio, September 2, 1840, and at the age of three years removed with his parents, who settled on a farm in Meigs county. His early educational advantages were such as the district schools of that county afforded. When he arrived at the age of sixteen he entered the Ohio University at Athens, where he studied two years, and then went to the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, where he also remained for two years. He left college with the class of 1860 to continue his studies a little later, and in the meantime accepted a position in the county treasurer's office at Pomeroy. He remained but a short time in this office. The blood of the heroes of 1776 was in his veins, and when his country called for defenders he promptly laid aside his own hopes and aspirations and offered himself for his native land. He enlisted July 16, 1861, in Company E, Fourth Virginia Infantry, as a private soldier, and served with marked bravery in the first West Virginia campaign, participating in the battles of Hurricane Ridge, Charleston and Poliko, West Virginia. August 22, 1861, he was promoted for bravery on the field to the position of second lieutenant of his company. In September, 1862, he was again promoted to first lieutenant, and January 5, 1863, he was made captain of his company. His regiment was transferred to the West, and he took part in the important action at Haines Bluff, Mississippi, and served with Grant during the siege of Vicksburg, where he was twice hit by confederate bullets. He was with Grant's army at the battle of Cherokee Station, and the siege and capture of Jackson, Mississippi, and the famous battle of Missionary Ridge, where the entering wedge that split the confederacy in two was driven. From there his regiment was sent East and attached to Sheridan's army, operating in the Piedmont region of Virginia. He was an actor in the battles of Piedmont, Lexington, Lynchburg, Snickers Ferry, Winchester, Cumberland and other engagements that followed in rapid succession the movements of that dashing commander. His term of enlistment having expired, he was honorably discharged September 11, 1864. February 3, 1865, he was appointed major of the 187th Regiment Ohio Vol- BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 355 unteer Infantry, and served in that capacity until January 27, 1866, when he received his final discharge. After closing his army career, he took up the thread where he had dropped it in 1861. He entered the law school at Cincinnati, and was graduated in April, 1866, and admitted to the Bar at the same time. Having finished his preparation he returned to Pomeroy and took up the active practice of his profession in partnership with Louis Paine. This connection lasted for one year, when the partnership was dissolved. He next associated himself with John Cartwright, an arrangement that continued until 1874. He was city solicitor for six years, from 1873 to 1879. In 1874 he associated his brother, Charles Francis, in partnership with himself under the firm name of Russell & Russell. This firm continued in this connection until our subject, in 1889, went out of the firm to take a seat on the Bench of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, to which he had been elected the previous year for a term of six years, and to which he was re-elected at the close of the term in 1894. He is said to possess one of the ripest legal minds in the State. He was chosen as one of the delegates which met at Columbus, Ohio, in 1873 to revise the State constitution. Of his attainments and the esteem in which he is held by those who have known him longest, we reproduce quotations from a few men prominent in the profession from all parts of the fourteen counties which his circuit embraces, and from his colleagues on the Bench: " ' Judge D. A. Russell stands high in his profession, and as a judge administers justice fairly and impartially. He is one of our foremost citizens, and is a liberal and public spirited man in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the community. In his practice he was a good all round attorney and as a trial lawyer was hard to surpass. Judge Russell is a lawyer of ability and an able practitioner, and as a judge is sustaining himself on the Bench. His decisions stand the tests of the higher courts.' At the time he was called to the Bench he was considered the best lawyer at the county Bar and had the largest practice. As a citizen he is held in very high esteem," I have tried cases with Judge Russell and I know that he deserves his high reputation as a lawyer. He is conscientious and will not swerve in the discharge of his duty, unpleasant though it may be. As a soldier he had no superior, and as a citizen ranks high.' I have the very highest opinion of Judge Russell. Have known him for many years and have been associated with him in many very important cases, and he has the best ideas of the ethics of the profession of any man I ever knew. As a lawyer he has no superior in this district, and as judge is popular with the Bar and with the public. Socially, he stands high, and as a companion and friend no one can be more.' " Judge Russell was married September 23, 1873, to Miss Florence R. Ralston, daughter of James Ralston, of Meigs county. They have three children : Ralston, Albert D. and Florence E. He is a member of Pomeroy Lodge Free and Accepted Masons, also of Bosworth Council and of the Grand Army of the Republic. 356 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. FREDERICK H. GOFF, Cleveland. F. H. Goff, the junior member of the firm of Kline, Carr, Tolles & Goff, was born at Blackberry, Kane county, Illinois, on the loth day of December, 1S58. His father, Frederick C. Goff, who is largely interested in coal mining, is a native of Connecticut. In 1854 he removed to Columbia, South Carolina, where he remained but a short time. He removed to Chicago in 1856, and from there went to Kane county, Illinois, where the subject of this sketch was born. In 1862 he removed to Chicago, where he resided until 1866. From Chicago he came to Cleveland, where he has since resided. The mother of Frederick H. Goff, Catherine J. Brown, was born in New York City in 1835. He attended the public schools of Cleveland until eighteen years of age. In 1876 he entered the high school at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was prepared for the university. In 1878 he entered the University of Michigan, and was graduated in 1881. Returning to Cleveland, he was appointed librarian of the law library, and at once began the study of law under the direction of Judge C. E. Pennewell. In 1883 he was admitted to the Bar. In October of the same year he began practice in the office of W. F. Carr. In the following year the firm of Carr & Goff was formed, and continued until January 1st, 1890, when the firm of Estep, Dickey, Carr & Goff was organized. January 1st, 1896, Messrs. Carr & Goff withdrew and assisted in forming the firm of Kline, Carr, Tolles & Goff. He continues in the practice as a member of this firm. Mr. Goff is the general counsel of the Cleveland Terminal and Valley Railroad, and the local counsel of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He is a lawyer of ability, a close student, and occupies an enviable position at the Bar and in the community. Politically he is a Republican, but has never held or sought office. He is a member of the Rowfant Club, the leading literary organization of Cleveland. In October, 1894, Mr. Goff married Frances, daughter of W. P. South worth, of Cleveland. By this union there is one daughter. HENRY G. BAKER, Defiance. The subject of this sketch is a native of Ohio, born at Cleveland, September 22, 1857. His mother was a native of the State of New York, of Dutch lineage, and his father emigrated from Holland. His paternal ancestors, originally English, removed from England to Holland in the days of Peter the Hermit, at the time when the followers of that great preacher were making their first pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They possessed much of the self-abnegation and the consecration to duty that characterized the pilgrims of the Crusades and those of a later century who left Holland for America to secure freedom of conscience in worship. The family removed from Cleveland and settled in Defiance when Henry was only eight years old, so that his early education was acquired in the common schools of the latter city. It was begun and ended in the public schools, so far as textbooks and class recitations are concerned. In 1879, at the age of twenty-two, he commenced the study of law in the office of Hill & Myers, and was BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 357 admitted to the Bar in 1881. Taking up the practice alone he continued in that way until January 1, 1897, when he formed a partnership with Honorable W. D. Hill, who, was head of the firm in whose office he pursued his preparatory studies. Mr. Baker has always manifested lively interest in politics and affairs generally, supporting the Democratic party loyally by the full measure of his influence. In 1879 he was elected justice of the peace and enjoyed the distinction of being the youngest incumbent of that office in the State of Ohio. After discharging the duties of the justice's office two years he resigned. In 1890 he was elected probate judge and held the office one term. As candidate for re-election in 1894 he was caught in the avalanche which swept his party off its feet throughout the country, and was permitted to return to the practice of law. In 1892 he was appointed commissioner of the World's Columbian Exposition. This graceful compliment was bestowed by Governor Campbell, and was the last official act of that governor. He was one of the very active Ohio commissioners transacting business relating to the exposition, was chairman of the committee on education and a member of several other important committees. He is not actively connected with church or society affairs. September 12, 1881, he was married to Miss Lilian M. Steele, of Henry county, a cousin of Chief Justice Waite. Their only child is Myrtle, born September 11, 1882. Mr. Baker spent two or three years of his time, after being admitted to the, Bar, in travel and observation through all the Western States and Territories, including the Republic of Mexico, which give him an opportunity of observing and studying the various conditions in the laws, manners and customs of the people upon our Western frontier and of its Mexican neighbors. He is a man of pleasing address, exceedingly urbane and courteous to all with whom he comes in contact, and though not possessing a classical education, he impresses himself upon strangers as a thoroughly educated man. He is an advocate of more than ordinary power, and is a natural orator. Though young in the practice, he has already attained a reputation as one of the best lawyers and advocates in northwestern Ohio. On the first of January last he formed a partnership with W. D. Hill, his former preceptor, and the firm of Hill & Baker now enjoys a lucrative practice at Defiance. It is conceded by everyone, both friends and political opponents, that in every public position he has filled he has done it with great credit to himself and to the service in which he was employed. His old-time popularity in Defiance county and northwestern Ohio has more than returned to him, and wiped out the sting of his defeat in 1894, which was brought about by financial failures in Ohio, with which he was supposed to be connected, but in which he was really not interested to the extent of a single dollar. In 1896 his friends urged him to be a candidate for his old position, probate judge, but he declined. His subsequent experience has shown that he would have been elected by an immense majority, but his law practice is more lucrative than the salary of that office. He is a man of untiring energy, and of sleepless vigilance in the prosecution of his business, never neglecting a 358 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. single detail which he thinks might be of service to his clients. If he continues to grow in reputation and usefulness as he has in the last two or three years he is destined to become one of the most eminent lawyers of the State. WILLIAM L. PARMENTER, Lima. William Lewis Parmenter, born at Lima, Ohio, May 12, 1867, is of English descent. His father was Cornelius Parmenter, a native of Greene county, New York, who removed to Ohio in 1855, was for twenty years editor of the Allen County Gazette, the leading Republican paper of this section, and was post master of Lima by appointment of Presidents Lincoln and Grant. His mother was Mary E. Boyer, of Lima. He attended the public schools and was graduated from the Lima high school in 1884. After that he worked for one year at the printer's trade in his father's office, but not taking kindly to the business decided to study law. He pursued a course of reading in the office of Davis J. Cable. He entered the University of Michigan and took the law and literary course, graduating in 1888 from the Law Department, and forming a partnership with his former preceptor, which still continues under the firm name of Cable & Parmenter. The firm is energetic in the prosecution of business, progressive in its methods and has a general practice, taking cases in all the courts. One of the important cases conducted by them was that of Frank B. Craig vs. The L. E. and W. R. R. Co. This was an action brought for damages on account of personal injuries received by plaintiff while in the employ of defendant company. The case was tried in the United States Circuit Court in June, 1895, before Judge Hammond, and a verdict and judgment of $12,000 for the plaintiff secured. This is one of the largest judgments ever entered in the United States Court at Toledo in a personal injury case. Mr. Parmenter is an ardent Republican ; has always taken an active interest in the success of his party. He was unanimously elected chairman of the Republican executive committee of the Third Judicial Circuit (comprising sixteen counties), organized for the purpose of promoting the election of Judge James L. Price, and it is claimed that the result was largely due to Mr. Parmenter's personal efforts, as Judge Price was the first Republican ever elected judge in the circuit. He was married June 2, 1891, to Miss Hattie A. Crippen, daughter of Milton A. Crippen, of Lima. Of two sons born of this union, one, Warren Crippen, is now living. The family attends the Baptist Church. One of the oldest and most prominent members of the Bar contributes this testimonial : " William L. Parmenter shows great ability as a lawyer ; is a persuasive speaker, and a man of considerable force, good sense and excellent judgment. He ranks as one of the leading members of the Bar of Allen county, and I predict for him a brilliant future." BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 359 EVAN H. HOPKINS, Cleveland. Evan Henry Hopkins was born on the 4th day of November, 1864, at Johnstown Pennsylvania. His father, David J. Hopkins, was of Welsh parentage, having been brought to this country when three years of age. His mother was Mary Jeffreys Hopkins, also of Welsh parentage, and also brought to this country, in her fourth year. Her father was the Rev. John L. Jeffreys, one of the foremost ministers of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church in America. The parents of Evan H. Hopkins raised a family of nine sons and one daughter. Eight of the sons are still living. In his younger days E. II. Hopkins was connected with the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company of Cleveland, but at the age of nineteen years entered the Western Reserve Academy at Hudson, Ohio, whence he graduated in 1885 at the head ohis class; he then entered Adelbert College in Cleveland, whence' he graduates in 1889 with philosophical honors. He then entered Harvard, whence he graduated in 1892 with the honor degree, and while connected with the law school was one of the board of editors of the Harvard Law Review. Prior to his graduation at the law school, that is, in the fall of 1891, he was admitted to the Bar of Ohio. In the fall of 1892 he was chosen registrar of the Law Department of the Western Reserve University, and to him fell a considerable portion of the work of organizing that department. In the year of 1895 he was made dean of the Law Department, and holds that position now. In connection with his duties as dean he has also taught several of the subjects of the school course, having made a specialty of the subjects of torts, contracts and equity jurisdiction. The school was begun with a class of twenty-two in the fall of 1892, and now has an enrollment of ninety men, and offers one of the most extensive courses of study that can be obtained anywhere in the country. Since 1892 Mr. Hopkins has also been a member of the Cleveland public library board, and for the three years last past he has acted in the capacity of secretary of the board. He has also been a member of the board of directors of the Ye M. C. A. of Cleveland for the past two years. In 1892 he formed a partnership with Mr. Frank R. Herrick, and since that time this firm has practiced law under the firm name of Herrick cC Hopkins. Mr. Hopkins married Miss Frances P. Shane, of Cleveland, in 1892, and by the union there is one daughter. MOSES B. EARNHART, Columbus. Moses B. Earnhart was born on a farm near the village of Fletcher, Miami county, August 7, 1849. His grandfather Earnhart was a native of Germany, and emigrated to Pennsylvania in the early part of the present century, locating near Harrisburg, and subsequently moving to Ohio about 1820. The father of Moses was Jacob Earn-hart, a minister, first of the Christian Church and afterwards of the Baptist denomination, serving in all some forty years in the pulpit. His mother was Philene Branson, a native of Miami county, Ohio, of German-English ancestry. Moses obtained his early education in the common school of his native village, and in the high school, from which he graduated in 1870, 360 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. entering the same year Miami University, from which he graduated in 1812. He then entered the Law School of the University of Michigan, and received his degree of LL.D. in 1874. Returning to Ohio, he was admitted to practice in 1875, and opened an office in Troy, with W. S. Thomas. In the fall of the same year he was elected mayor of Troy, serving in the office for two years, when he was elected city solicitor for the term of two years. During this time he formed a partnership with Judge Theodore Sullivan, which partnership continued for ten years. In 1879 he was elected prosecuting attorney, serving until 1883. At the Republican State Convention of that year lie received the nomination for attorney general upon the ticket headed by Joseph B. Foraker. In the campaign, however, the Democrats were successful, electing Governor badly and their entire ticket. In 1886 Mr. Earnhart removed to Columbus, where he has since resided. His first partnership in the latter city was with C. 0. Hunter and C. P. L. Butler, the firm being Earnhart, Hunter & Butler. Four years later, upon the appointment of Mr. Hunter as general counsel for the Hocking Valley Railway Company, this firm was dissolved and Mr. Earnhart practiced alone until 1893, when he formed a partnership with Samuel Swartz. This partnership was dissolved in 1896 when Mr. Swartz was elected judge of the Police Court. Mr. Earnhart then formed a partnership with Franklin Rubrecht, which firm still continues. In 1893 Mr. Earnhart was elected State Senator from Franklin county, upon the re-election of Governor McKinley. Mr. Earnhart served one term. His practice is of a general character. He has been identified with many important cases, among which may be mentioned the testing of the constitutionality of the Dow Law ; the Hocking Valley Company vs. Burke et al., involving many millions of dollars; the Bond-Rennick case, in which Mr. Earnhart represented the Wooster University. Mr. Earnhart has been especially successful as a criminal lawyer, having appeared in over twenty murder cases. Mr. Earnhart is an orator of the popular type, a forceful and ready pleader before a jury and fluent debater upon the stump. He is a close student of the social and economical questions of the day ; a bold and independent thinker, and especially interested in the amelioration of the laboring classes. He is a frequent contributor to the press, not only on political questions, but also on those of a literary and philosophical character. He has a poetic imagination and analytic mind and had he so chosen might have been a successful writer in the fields of history, criticism and metaphysics, His style of expression is clear, simple and entertaining,. In 1893 he was married to Miss Ida Morrison, of Columbus. They have two daughters, Helen and Philene. STEVENSON BURKE, Cleveland. Whenever a complete roll of the really great lawyers of the present generation in the United States is called, the name of the subject of this biography must always be near the top. Stevenson Burke was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, November 26, 1824. At BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 361 the age of eight years he came to Ohio with his parents, who settled on a small farm in Lorain county. On this farm he worked as a boy at clearing the forest and cultivating the fields, contributing his share to the common support of the family, and at the same time developing a sturdy physical organization with powers of close, severe application. In boyhood he enjoyed only the educational advantages of the district schools of the country but he was ambitious, aspiring always to larger opportunities and better things. His acquirements in the common schools served to broaden his horizon and stimulate his ambition. He qualified himself for teaching before reaching the age of seventeen years, and taught school successfully for several terms. During all this time he was an earnest student., unsatisfied with a superficial knowledge of any subject presented to his mind for investigation. This disposition to dig and to fathom and to sift, first manifested in the common schools, has characterized all the undertakings of Judge Burke's maturer life, whether of a professional or business nature. With indomitable will and dauntless courage he pursued his studies, supporting himself meanwhile with the wages earned at teaching, and benefited by the mental discipline and self-assertion which that occupation imposes. From all the fields traversed in youth he was gathering and sifting and assimilating treasures of knowledge and wisdom, as a contribution to the immeasurable resources of his professional and business career. He was a student in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware in 1846, but did not remain long enough to graduate. Resolute in his purpose to connect himself with the lawyer's profession, and eager to begin the specific work of preparation, he entered upon the study of the law while at Delaware, under the instruction of Powell & Buck. Perhaps no young student was ever more deeply impressed with the dignity and majesty of the law than Stevenson Burke, and none ever had a deeper sense of the responsibilities and duties of a lawyer. Upon returning home he continued his preparatory studies under the capable direction of H. D. Clark, of Elyria was admitted to the Bar August 11, 1848, and within a few months thereafter was received into partnership by his preceptor, Mr. Clark. His taste for the law was so keen, his preparation so thorough and his energy so persistent that his success was immediate and unmistakable. At the age of twenty-seven he enjoyed the largest clientage and controlled the most profitable business of any lawyer in Lorain county. At thirty he had fairly won his spurs in the front rank of lawyers in the district. The records of the Supreme Court note his appearance in nearly all the cases taken by appeal to that tribunal from the courts of Lorain county in the decade from 1851 to 1861. During the same period he was also retained in important cases brought in the United States District Court. It is proper to refer in this connection to his superior tact and shrewdness in securing the release of clients indicted for violation of the fugitive slave law, known in history as the " Oberlin Rescue Case." The United States judge was in political sympathy with the party that passed the law, and the power of the national administration was exerted through the attorney general's office to secure its vigorous enforcement. The United States district attorney was expected to 362 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. secure the conviction of all persons accused of aiding a fugitive slave on his perilous flight for freedom. To quote another's report: “In the case in question the alleged slave had escaped from Kentucky and had settled in Oberlin, Ohio, where he had sought to enjoy the fruits of his labor and escape from the lash of the taskmaster. The owner, ascertaining his whereabouts, employed four stalwart Kentuckians, armed with the requisite documents, to go to Oberlin and arrest the slave and return him to bondage. For the purpose of getting him safely in their possession a decoy was employed to entice him to the country under the pretense of giving him labor. As he was riding along in the wagon with the decoy, and passing through a ravine, the four men sprang from the clump of bushes in which they had been hiding, seized the negro, handcuffed him and hurried him off toward the railway station at Wellington. The news of his capture spread through the country, and soon a vast crowd of people congregated at Wellington, the result being the liberation of the slave. Several of the citizens of Oberlin who were concerned in the rescue were indicted and tried under the fugitive slave law. They were ably defended by such men as Franklin T. Backus, Rufus P. Spalding and other eminent advocates, but in every instance the parties accused were convicted and sentenced to fine or to both fine and imprisonment. The cases caused a great sensation in the State and were watched from all parts of the nation. Salmon P. Chase was governor of Ohio and was in hearty sympathy with the accused. The Supreme Court of the State, upon hearing one of the cases divided in opinion, three against two, as to the validity of the law. Judge Burke had been retained by several of the accused. The time was approaching when they must stand trial. He saw the utter hopelessness of making defense in the United States Court as it was then organized, and the thought came to him that he could defend his own clients better by convicting the men from Kentucky of kidnapping, than any other way. It was a shrewd, strategic move, with a long reach into the future. Accordingly he had the cases brought before the grand jury of Lorain county and bills of indictment were promptly returned against the men from the South. They were arrested, taken to Lorain county arid arrangements made for their trial. This prompt and decided flank movement on the part of Judge Burke opened the eyes of all concerned and caused the other side to do just what he had intended—as the Kentuckians were about as certain of conviction in abolition Lorain, as were the men from Lorain in Cleveland. A discontinuance of all cases was proposed by the attorneys of the kidnappers, and this was agreed to by the other side. The Kentuckians went free at Elyria and the Lorain men were taken out of jeopardy in Cleveland." In 1861 Mr. Burke was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas by a vote that was practically unanimous. Before the close of his first term he was re-elected, in October, 1863, without opposition. After serving two years of his second term he resigned, in order to re-enter the practice in a wider field. He was prompted to this step solely because of the inadequacy of the compensation as measured by the salary fixed by law. He was worth much more than that and could earn vastly more, either in litigated cases or as a counsellor. The judicial office was entirely in harmony with his taste, his temperament and his capabilities. He loved the Bench and the administration of justice. He regarded with affection members of the Bar that practiced in his court. He was in turn esteemed and beloved by the Bar. His intuitive per- BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 363 ception, powers of keen analysis and logical argumentation ; his exact knowledge of the law ; his capacity for thorough exposition and lucid statement ; his clear, sound judgment, unbiased to a degree rarely excelled in a human judge; his absolute and incorruptible integrity ; his powers of original thought, and his intellectual independence—all these, with his perfect health and remarkable powers of endurance, combined to make him a model judge. It is cause for deep regret that the rewards of office are not sufficient to hold a man of such ability and character in the judicial office. He removed to Cleveland in January, 1869, and formed a partnership with two great lawyers, F. T. Backus and E. J. Estep, which was terminated by the death of Mr. Backus the following year. The surviving partners remained together until 1875, and subsequently Judge Burke was associated at different times with Judge William B. Sanders and Judge J. E. Ingersoll. The scope of his practice naturally widened and its importance increased. Almost immediately after locating in Cleveland Judge Burke was retained in very important railroad litigation. The foreclosure of mortgages on the Atlantic and Great Western Railway and the reorganization of the company occupied much of his time from 1869 to 1872. He was thus brought into personal contact with prominent business men and railway managers of Ohio and New York, and with leading lawyers of both States. Morrison R. Waite, soon to become Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, represented the Atlantic and Great Western, while the client of Judge Burke in the same litigation was the Erie Railroad Company. All parties to the controversy at length submitted the whole matter to Mr. Waite and Judge Burke as arbitrators, by whom the complications were adjusted and disposed in a manner satisfactory to all parties interested. In 1878 Judge Burke was retained by L. E. Holden, Cleveland, to defend his title to valuable mining properties in Utah against adverse claimants. The interests involved in the series of cases concerning the Nez Perces and Old Telegraph Companies were large, and the judge, as principal counsel, was required to make two journeys to Utah in conducting the litigation, and was completely successful, with the aid of counsel resident at Salt Lake, in establishing his. client's title. Cases of great magnitude required his presence in the higher courts, and no lawyer appeared more frequently in the Supreme Court of the State in the argument of such cases for twenty years, and until other interests than the strictly professional divided his time. Among the railroad cases with which Judge Burke has been connected as counsel are some of the most important ever carried to the Supreme Court of the United States. A few only can be mentioned. He represented the Pennsylvania Company in its complicated litigation with the St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute Railroad, in the United States Circuit Court for the District of Indiana. The nature of the action was a bill in equity to enforce specific performance of a contract of lease of a railway, and contracts of guarantee. There were cross appeals from the Circuit to the Supreme Court of the United States, where the cases were argued exhaustively January 14 and 15, 1886, by Judge Burke, representing the Pennsylvania, and by the late Senator Joseph E. McDonald and his partner, John M. Butler, rep- 364 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. resenting the St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute. Mr. Justice Miller, who was then probably the ablest jurist on the Supreme Bench, sustained the contention of Judge Burke in a very elaborate opinion, which was concurred in by seven members of the court, only two dissenting (U. S. Reports 118, pp. 290 et seq.). Another branch of the case was argued by the same counsel in March, 1888, and decided in April following, Mr. Justice Matthews delivering the opinion for the court. (U. S. Reports 125, pp. 658 et seq.) These cases involved close and intricate questions which had not been before adjudicated, and material interests of a million and a quarter dollars. McGourkey vs. Toledo and Central Ohio Railroad Company (U. S. Reports 146, pp. 536 et seq.), was another case involving equally nice distinctions of law and vast material interests. Judge Burke represented the appellee in the Supreme Court, as he had been counsel of the plaintiff in the Circuit, and was successful. The opposing counsel representing the defendant corporation were ex-Governor George Hoadly and Fisher A. Baker. The case was argued in the Supreme Court in November, 1892, and decided the following month. The opinion of the court, seven justices concurring, was delivered by Mr. Justice Brown and filled twenty-five printed pages of the reports. Another celebrated case was one growing out of the consolidation of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway with the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton. It was argued on one side by Honorable Benjamin H. Bristow, of New York, Aaron F. Perry, of Cincinnati, and George K. Nash, of Columbus, then attorney general of Ohio ; on the other side by Judge Harrison, of Columbus, Judge Glidden, of Cincinnati, Judges Ranney and Burke, of Cleveland. Judge Burke had little time for preparation, but his argument in the case was great. It was concise, severely logical and directed to the questions at issue. The consensus of opinion, of the lawyers who listened to him is that for clear, close, legal reasoning, and effective delivery, the argument is entitled to rank with any ever delivered before the Supreme Court of Ohio. A case which attracted attention, at least throughout the State of Ohio, was that brought to determine the constitutionality of the Scott liquor law, and argued in the Supreme Court by McDougall, of Cincinnati ; Judge Ranney, of Cleveland, and Judge West, of Bellefontaine, supporting the law ; and by. Judge Burke, of Cleveland, E. W. Kittredge and J. W. Warrington, of Cincinnati, in opposition. The Law Bulletin, of Cincinnati and Columbus, in its issue of June, 1884, says : " The argument of Judge Burke, of Cleveland, who represented Butzman and Mueller in the Cleveland Scott law case, was undoubtedly one of the finest efforts ever heard in the hall of the Supreme Court, where have been heard so many of the great arguments of eminent lawyers who ornamented the Bar of Ohio in the last half century. He speaks rapidly, but with great distinctness being easily heard throughout the hall of the Supreme Court, so distinguished for its bad acoustics. There is little merely oratorical and ornamental in his speech, but his language is to the point and is noted for its clearness, compactness and plain English. His repartee is remarkably quick and sharp. Whenever interrupted by questions and remarks from the court or counsel, he was not only found immediately ready, but never failed to turn the point so BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 365 as to make it a strong one in his favor. It seems certainly bad policy for his adversaries to interrupt him with questions or remarks. From what we heard. we would think it much safer for opposing counsel to keep quiet and let him have his say. Listening to his argument on the constitutionality of the clause of the Scott law requiring the written consent of the lessor to the carrying on of the traffic on the premises by the lessee, as being within the constitutional inhibition of license under the definition given to the word license by the Supreme Court in the Hipp and Frame cases, we considered it almost unanswerable, and were not surprised when the court decided that question in his favor. It would be a great treat for the Bar of Cincinnati to hear Judge Burke argue a great case in one of their courts. He would remind them of Senator Pugh, whom he, in many respects, resembles." The penetration and intellectual power of Judge Burke, in discerning the niceties of the law and in the elucidation of obscure questions raised for the first time, are great ; his resources in the trial of a case are marvellous. He is cool, self-possessed, quick to see the relevancy and the importance of testimony, keen and persistent in the cross-examination of witnesses. A reluctant witness gives up the truth almost unconsciously in response to the searching questions of the lawyer. No evasion is effective ; no effort at concealment escapes detection. Judge Burke is possessed of the power of assimilation which apropriates to his own growth and advantage all his reading and knowledge, however acquired. It becomes a part of himself, available on demand. This rare capacity augments his power as a trial lawyer and must be considered in estimating the sources of his strength. He knows the principles of the law and the rules of construction ; and possesses in a conspicuous degree the logical faculty of applying the rules to a given case. His genius takes hold of known principles and applies them to new questions. In a legal argument he imparts to the court full and accurate knowledge of his case with courage and force. The qualities which most deeply impress a jury in his advocacy are clearness of statement, forceful presentation of the facts and readiness in questions suddenly raised. He is always quick with a responsive answer, and his repartee attests his thorough mastery of the subject. Although this biography is intended especially to represent the professional side of Judge Burke, it would be manifestly incomplete without a brief reference to his executive ability and organizing faculty, as exhibited in his grasp of the involved problems of business and the management of railroad properties. He is one of the few men who can be great in commercial affairs without detracting from his greatness as a lawyer. For many years he was general counsel for the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway Company; was a member of its directory, and for several years vice-president and afterwards president ; chairman of its finance and executive committees. He was the general counsel of the Cleveland and Mahoning Valley Railroad Company fifteen years; has been its president since 1880, and for twenty-five years, as attorney, has represented the owners of all the stock. He has filled the offices of vice-president and president of the Indianapolis and St. Louis Railroad Company. In June, 1881, he entered into negotiations with the president and others inter- 366 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. ested in the Columbus and Hocking Valley, the Ohio and West Virginia and the Columbus and Toledo railroads, which terminated on the 16th of that month in his agreement to purchase the entire capital stock of the three roads for himself and associates, at a cost of $7,000,000. This gave him control of the railroads carrying coal from the Hocking Valley fields, in which he already had large holdings and in which his possessions were immensely increased soon afterwards. In 1885 he acquired control of the new line of the Ohio Central running from Toledo to Corning, the center of the coal field, with a branch to Columbus, giving in exchange a small percentage of the stock of the Columbus, Hocking Valley and Toledo Company. To consumate this exchange he was obliged to make contracts with nearly all of the eight hundred stockholders of the Toledo and Ohio Central Company. He purchased for William H. Vanderbilt the New York, Chicago and St. Louis road, commonly knows as the " Nickel Plate." The negotiations, lasting nearly three months, were conducted with perfect secrecy by Judge Burke, only three men besides himself—Mr. Vanderbilt, General Devereux and Augustus Schell—having a hint of it before its final consummation, October 26, 1882. The contracts were executed in Judge Burke's name, and, so far as the venders knew, the property was purchased for his associates and himself. The amount of money entrusted to him and paid out in that transaction was somewhat over seven million dollars. In speaking of this subject, a leading railroad man of Cleveland said : " There have been, up to this time, built in this country three parallel and competing lines of railroad. The New York Central has been paralleled by the New York, West Shore and Buffalo ; the Lake Shore was paralleled by the New York, Chicago and St. Louis ; the Columbus, Hocking Valley and Toledo was paralleled by the Ohio Central ; and it has been Judge Burke's fortune to purchase and absorb two of these new lines, the Nickel Plate' and the Ohio Central. For many years he represented, as attorney, three-fourths of the stock of the Shenango and Allegheny Railroad Company and the Mercer Mining and Manufacturing Company, two large and important corporations in Pennsylvania. He was also a director in each and was offered a choice of all their offices. For two years or more he was a director of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton, of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Indianapolis Railroad Company, which position he resigned in 1885. He has been for a number of years a member of the directorate of the Central Ontario Railway Company and is now its president. He holds a similar position in numerous mining and manufacturing companies." Judge Burke is great in constructive ability ; great in his versatility. He is remarkable alike for his vitality and the elasticity of his nature. He is generous in disposition, always ready to assist a worthy man or a worthy cause. He is always approachable and thoroughly democratic. His convictions are strong. He supports the Republican party, but has always been too busy to desire public office. He is both a scholar and a thinker, familiar with a wide range of literature and thoroughly informed on subjects with which he is concerned. He was married April 26, 1849, to Miss Parthenia Poppleton, of Richland county, who died in 1878. June 22, 1882, he was married to Mrs. Ella M. Southworth, of Clinton, New York. He believes in the sanctity of home and finds in the family relation the truest happiness. BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 367 JAMES H. DEMPSEY, Cleveland. J. H. Dempsey was born at Shelby, Ohio, on March 29, 1859. His father, who was a native of Ireland, and brought to America and to Ohio when a boy, for a number of years engaged in the wholesale grocery business. His mother was Martha C. Davis, a native of this State, whose father came here from Howard county, Maryland, shortly after the close of the war of 1812, in which he had taken an active part. When a mere boy young Dempsey's father selected the profession of law for him. His early education was in the district schools and the academy of his native town. At nineteen he entered Kenyon College, graduating in the class of 1882. He then entered the Law Department of Columbia College, New -York, where he remained one year. Coming to Cleveland he entered the law office of Estep, Dickey & Squire, where he. completed his law education and in 1886 became a member of the firm. He continued his membership of the firm until 1890, when he withdrew and the present partnership of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey was formed. Few men at the Bar of Cleveland have attained distinction so young. He is a man of force and ability. In politics he is a Republican ; has never held office. In September, 1885, he married Emma N. Bourne, daughter of Mr. E. H. Bourne, cashier of the Union National Bank, and by this union there were three children, a daughter, deceased, and two sons. Mrs. Dempsey died on March 14, 1893. MORTIMER D. LEGGETT, Cleveland. It would be difficult to find a better example of what an earnest, honest, intelligent American boy can make of himself, working upon his own merits and grasping every opportunity, than the life and work of General Mortimer Leggett. Starting with practically nothing but a good physical constitution, a high moral sense, and a brain active and clear, lie reached as high a place in the hearts of his fellow men in the communities in which he lived as one can attain outside of public office. Mortimer D. Leggett came directly from Quaker ancestry, both on the part of his father and his mother. He was the son of Isaac and Mary Strong Leggett, born April 19, 1821, at Ithaca, New York. His rather was a farmer and young Mortimer led the life of the ordinary farmer's boy. In 1836 the family removed to Montville, Geauga county, Ohio, where he resided with his parents until eighteen years of age. Up to this time he had worked hard on the farm, developing a physique which enabled him to endure great trials in the army and many years of hard mental labor. He was naturally fond of study and most of his leisure time was devoted to his books. In these early efforts to get an education he was directed and assisted by his parents. In his boyhood days young Leggett was greatly helped by his elder sister, a woman of marked intelligence, high purposes and most unusual self-education. He never forgot his obligation to this older sister, whose advice and active loving help furnished for him the foundation for success in after years. At eighteen he entered the Teachers' Academy at Kirtland, where he completed the course of 368 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. study and was graduated at the head of his class. He at once devoted himself to teaching, although he had for some time determined upon the law as his profession. By teaching he acquired the means to support himself while studying for his profession. He was often heard to say later in life that no work was so helpful to a lawyer as that of teaching ; it requires the greatest care in studying to express one's ideas clearly ; it develops quickness in estimating the mental caliber of the person to whom one is speaking ; it marvelously cultivates one' s patience, which is invaluable to the lawyer, and he would add with a merry twinkle of the eye, "you quite often have to teach the court." General Leggett's work in the class room was most successful from the very beginning. He at once manifested his pre-eminent ability as an instructor. He assiduously studied law as he could get time between school hours and from school work, and was duly admitted to practice in 1844. He did not actively enter upon his profession until some six years after. He devoted himself meanwhile to raising a popular feeling among the people of the State in favor of free schools, stumping the State with Dr. A. D. Lord, Loren Andrews and M. F. Cowdry, for the establishing of common schools, paying his own expenses. General Leggett found time to study medicine, taking the regular course of study at the Willoughby Medical College, from which he took the degree of M. D. in 1846. His work with those who were interested in the school question resulted in what is known as the Akron school law, and in the fall of 1846 General Leggett went to Akron to live and organized the first system of graded schools west of the Allegheny mountains. He remained there two years until the graded system had been thoroughly tested and proven a success, when he removed to Warren and there arranged a similar system. His success at the Bar was rapid. His reputation as a man at once brought him a clientage, and the trial of a few cases manifested his capacity and shrewdness as a lawyer. For the times and the condition of Ohio he became prominent in his profession. Whatever might be General Leggett's work or especial trend of thought at any time, he at once became an instructor in that work. He had a gift for teaching, developed by a love of it, and in 1856 he was made professor of equity jurisprudence and of pleading and practice at the Ohio Law College. In 1857 he removed to Zanesville where his reputation had preceded him, and where his practice became more extended. Here he also had general supervision of the public schools, which his experience and advanced thought greatly improved in discipline and instruction. He was a personal friend of General George B. McClellan, who at the opening of the war was commissioned Major-General of Ohio volunteers, and was placed in command of the Department of the Ohio, which comprised the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and the western portions of Pennsylvania and Virginia. He attached himself as a volunteer aid without pay to General McClellan, and accompanied him in his campaign in Western Virginia, where he was in several engagements. He was soon convinced the war could not be " a ninety-day affair," and returning to Zanesville was soon commissioned by Governor Dennison to raise and organize the BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 369 Seventy-Eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. "Mortimer D. Leggett" was the first name on the roll, volunteering as a private soldier. His patriotism and his enthusiastic devotion to the cause were contagious. Men rushed to place their names upon the roll of the regiment. His unceasing energy and tireless effort bore immediate fruit, for in the short period of forty days he had raised a regiment of 1,040 men. Meantime he had risen from a private to the rank of colonel, passing successively through the grades of second-lieutenant, first-lieutenant, captain, major and lieutenant-colonel. Colonel Leggett at once reported for duty with his regiment to General Grant at Fort Donelson, arriving in time to take an active part in the siege and capture of that stronghold. The discipline and conduct of himself and regiment attracted the attention and commendation of General Grant, which was the beginning of a personal intimacy between the two, lasting through life. Colonel Leggett was the youngest colonel in command of a regiment at Donelson, and in due appreciation of his services General Grant attached him to his personal staff. On the field of Shiloh he discharged his responsible duties with great courage; was wounded, but did not leave the field. He led the command at Corinth and had a horse killed under him. His bravery here was recognized by a brigadier general's commission. At Middlebury, Tennessee, with five hundred soldiers he defeated General Van Dorn with four thousand, through consummate strategic skill. For this he received honorable mention by General Grant, and a letter of thanks from Secretary Stanton. In all subsequent battles he was brave and deliberate. He took part in the siege of Vicksburg, was wounded at Iuka ; commanded the expedition against Monroeville, Louisiana was with Sherman in his raid to Meridian, and entered the Atlanta campaign as commander of the Seventeenth Corps, in the absence of General Blair. July 21, 1864, in pursuance of an order of General McPherson, General Leggett took a strongly fortified hill, after a desperate struggle, and captured a number of prisoners almost equal to the number of soldiers in his command. All through the following day, the memorable 22nd of July, he held this position against fearful odds and repeated terrific assaults. For this he was commissioned major general, on the recommendation of General Sherman. He marched with General Sherman to the sea ; was in the final review. Throughout the war he secured the love and respectful obedience of subordinates, the confidence and esteem of superiors. After the final surrender he was mustered out of the service and returned to Zanesville, where he resumed the practice of law. He invariably declined to enter actively into politics and allow himself to be nominated for office, although never failing to take an earnest and active interest in political affairs. He accepted, at the hands of President Grant, the office of commissioner of patents, early in 1871. If his previous training had not prepared him for the office the versatility of intellect and quick adaptability to his surroundings enabled him to fill the position with great credit to himself and with equal credit to the patent office. He instituted the binding for general distribution of certified copies of the specifications and drawings of letters patent issued, the first volume of which 370 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. containing ills certificate, bears date May 30, 1871. These volumes may now be found from that date to the present time in every public library in the United States. He practically founded the " Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office," a publication issued every week containing a list of patents issued with drawings and descriptions. In 1875 General Leggett resigned and removed to Cleveland, when he again entered upon the practice of law, making patent law a specialty and becoming one of the most prominent patent attorneys in the country. Later General Leggett became personally interested in many commercial enterprises of local interest and importance, the most prominent of which was the Brush Electric Company. In 1880, he became a member of the board of education of Cleveland, and later he was chosen a member of the board of managers of the Cleveland Public Library, in both of which he rendered valuable service. In 1888, he was appointed a member of the Cuyahoga Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Association by Governor Foraker. The monument now standing in the public square of Cleveland speaks for those who worked for its production. The form and features of General Leggett are immortalized there in bronze. General Leggett died January 6, 1896, and this sketch is fittingly closed in a few words from the memorial address by his intimate friend and pastor: "His great heart reached out and took in the whole world. He loved his friends. Without demonstration and without pretense, there was in his manner a transparent affection for those with whom he was intimate. There was nothing narrow or limited about his religion. He was broad and progressive in that as in everything else." SCOTT BONHAM, Cincinnati. One of the most capable of the younger members of the Bar and most energetic members of the Board of Legislation of the city is Mr. Scott Bonham. Mr. Bonham is a native Buckeye. His birthplace was Midway, Madison county, and his initial birthday January 25, 1858. His parents, William J. and Letitia Hays Bonham, were born in Ohio, the former in Highland and the latter in Fayette county. His mother is still living ; his father died in 1895. They were descended from old Scotch-Irish stock. Mr. Bonham was educated in the village schools of Midway, in Bloomingburg Institute, and in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware. He was graduated from the university in the class of 1882, comprising fifty-four members, receiving the degree of A. B. When but fifteen years of age young Bonham began to help himself to an education by teaching school. At intervals in the four years, while engaged in fitting himself for college, and while in college, he taught the young idea how to shoot the way he was shooting. For one year after graduation he was principal of the schools at West Unity, Ohio. Then he entered upon a law course in the University of Virginia, and took his degree of LL.B. in the class of 1885 at the Cincinnati Law School, taking the full course. In college Mr. Bonham was the freshman class orator on Washington's birthday in 1878, and in the junior discussion in 1881 BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 371 debated with S. M. Taylor, ex-secretary of the State of Ohio, the merits and demerits of Greek letter fraternities. He was a member of the editorial staff of the college paper, and was selected by the Cincinnati Law School in 1885 to represent his class in forensic debate. Admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court May 26, 1885, he at once opened an office in the Esplanade Building, and later moved into a suite of rooms in Lincoln Inn Court, 519 Main street. In 1893 he was admitted to, practice in the United States Court. He is a general practitioner in civil and commercial law, both in the State and Federal courts, and is the attorney for numerous building associations and other corporations. Mr. Bonham is a staunch Republican. He was a delegate to' the Ohio Republican State Convention, from Williams county, in 1883, delegate to the Hamilton county Republican Convention in 1889, again to the Ohio State Convention in 1890, and again to the State Conventions in 1894, 1896 and 1897, besides taking an active part as' a delegate in nearly all local Republican conventions, both city and county, that have been held in the last few years. As a Republican candidate he was elected a member of the Board of Legislation of Cincinnati for the short term under the new charter, April 6, 1891, was reelected by an increased majority in 1892, and again in 1894, when his last increased majority was nearly doubled, and in 1897 was re-elected for another term of three years. His first majority was forty ; second, one hundred and eighty-two ; third, three hundred and fifty-four, and last one-hundred and eighteen. Thus it will be seen Mr. Bonham has been able to reverse the usual custom of cutting down the majorities of members of legislative bodies as they come up for approval. He is now serving as president of the Board of Legislation to which he was elected in April, 1897. He is a member of the Young Men's Blaine Club, of the Lincoln Club and the Butterworth Club. He was elected president of the Lincoln Club in 1897. From 1889 to 1891 he was president, of the Glee Club of the Young Men's Blaine Club. He is somewhat fond of the military, and is sergeant of Troop B Cavalry, Ohio National Guard. He is also president of the Cincinnati Cavalry Club, organized in November, 1893, in the interests of Troop B, and for social purposes. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity in college, and became a Mason in 1879. He has been master of La Fayette Lodge one term. He is a member of the Cincinnati Commandery, Knights Templar, and is a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason. He is also a member of the Second Presbyterian Church. Mr. Bonham is a bachelor, and occupies bachelor's quarters at 1039 Wesley Avenue. A Cincinnati judge furnished the following estimate: ‘‘ Scott Bonham's honesty is well recognized and his professional word is taken and accepted by his brethren at the Bar. He is known as being painstaking, earnest and faithful on behalf of his clients. He enjoys a large clientage and a lucrative practice. He has been a useful public citizen ; not even his adversaries question his integrity." A prominent member of the Bar says : " Scott Bonham is a good lawyer and a capable man in every way, and above all-he is a modest, honest and conscientious man.. As a lawyer he has been successful and has a great deal of business and a large clientage. He takes an 372 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. active interest in public affairs, and is now president of the Board of Legislation. In the matter of granting franchises he made quite a reputation for himself for the bold stand he took against the monopolies. In the Board of Legislation he was recognized as the champion of the people as against the effort of the corporations which were attempting to secure the monopoly of franchises—for electric lighting and other purposes. In his private relations he is very popular and well liked, and is blessed with one of the brightest and happiest dispositions of any man I ever knew." NELSON B. LUTES, Tiffin. Nelson B. Lutes was born March 1, 1848, in Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, the son of Stephen and Hannah Jayne Lutes. On his mother's side he is of Puritan descent, and traces his lineage back to William Jayne I, a Puritan 1 preacher, who was born in Bristol, England, January 25, 1618; emigrated to New England, died March 24, 1714, and was buried in the old Puritan graveyard at Suffold, Long Island. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, of Welsh and German extraction. His parents are both dead. Mr. Lutes was reared on the old homestead farm and received in boyhood such limited educational advantages as were afforded in the county district schools. At the age of sixteen, March 21, 1864, he enlisted in the army as a member of Company D, 188th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served in the army of the James through the memorable campaign of 1864-5. He was honorably discharged June 21, 1865, on surgeon's certificate of disability, and was, indeed, almost a complete physical wreck. After returning from the Army he attended school about two years, and then spent one year in teaching ; but his education, which is liberal and comprehensive, has been very largely self-acquired under private tutelage since he entered the profession of law. Mr. Lutes pursued his professional studies in the law office of W. P. & H. Noble, at Tiffin. It was there he first met his wife, who as Miss Nettie Cronise, was a fellow student in the same office. Mr. Lutes and Miss Cronise were admitted to the Bar in the same class in April, 1873, and were united in marriage at Tiffin, August 24, 1874. Upon his admission to the Bar Mr. Lutes was taken into partnership by his preceptors, and the firm name was changed to Noble Brothers & Lutes. He was thus enabled immediately to acquire one of the largest practices in the county. After an existence of one year this firm was dissolved by the withdrawal of Honorable W. P. Noble, and a partnership was formed by and between Judge Harrison Noble and Mr. Lutes, under the firm name of Noble & Lutes. This firm continued with a large and increasing practice until 1880, when by reason of his infirmity of hearing it became necessary for Mr. Lutes to have the assistance of his wife in the trial of his cases. The partnership with Judge Noble was thereupon dissolved, and since that time the practice has been continued by the husband and wife under the firm name of Lutes & Lutes. In consequence of sickness and exposure in the army, resulting in chronic catarrhal BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO - 373 inflammation of the eustachian tube and middle ear, Mr. Lutes has entirely lost the sense of hearing. The progress of the disease was slow and the loss of hearing gradual. As early as 1870 it was first noticed by him, but the deaf; ness did not become total until 1881. Owing to the peculiar qualifications of his wife and the wonderful facility with which she keeps him informed during the progress of a trial, the infirmity does not materially interfere with the success of his law practice. All of his remaining senses are more acute in con, sequence of the loss of one. His ability as a lawyer is unquestioned by any lawyer who has opposed him in the trial of a cause. He is a profound student, careful in the preparation of pleadings, strong in argument before court or jury, and altogether very successful in practice. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the G. A. R , and the Junior O. U. A. M., and of no other society whatever. He has never held public office. Mr. and Mrs. Lutes have three children: Elinor Seney, born June 4, 1875, Evelyn Latta, born June 27, 1877; Lillian Cronise, born August 8, 1882. Honorable Warren P. Noble adds a brief characterization : " I have known Nelson B. Lutes from the time he commenced the study of his profession as intimately as any member of the Bar. I can say of him that as a man he is possessed of a good mind and a solendid physical make-up in almost every particular. He is above the ordinary size, straight, tall and erect, with an easy and dignified carriage,. and finely chiseled features. He is a man to attract attention in any company. As a lawyer he is one of the most able, careful, painstaking and zealous of the profession in this part of the State. Whilst it seems as though he came to his conclusions naturally, without effort, and correctly, yet he never fails to know from a most thorough examination 'of the-books just what has been held and decided by the higher courts upon the questions he has under consideration, nor does he fail to find out the teachings of the elementary writers upon the same subjects, and in these researches his industry and energy are untiring. In his intercourse with his fellow members of the Bar he is always kind, courteous • and generous. No person ever calls in question his integrity. If in the heat of debate he is ever led to say or do anything that even seems to be unkind toward a fellow lawyer, no one can be more ready and willing to at once ungrudgingly ask pardon and make the best possible amends. I say, in short, that Mr. Lutes may, be set down as one of the best lawyers to be found in this part of the State." NETTIE C. LUTES, Tiffin. Mrs. Nettie (Cronise) Lutes is " to the manner born." She is a daughter of one of the first families of Tiffin. Her grandfather; Honorable Henry Cronise, was a Virginian, a gentleman of the old school, and a man of grear prominence and influence, who fills a large and honorable place in the history of the city and county. He was one of the leading merchants of the city for many years, and by his influence and public-spiritedness did much toward the building up and advancement of the city. He was a Democrat in politics, and very influential in his party councils, and served one term in the Ohio Senate, being elected to that body in 1846. Mrs. Lutes is one of the most thoroughly educated women of the State, and was. the 374 - BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO. first woman admitted to the Ohio Bar. She was educated in the public schools of the city, and at Heidelberg College ; and also took a special course in the State Normal School at Bloomington, Illinois, where she received that special training in phonics which has been of such incalculable value to her in communicating with her husband by means of visible speech. She read law in the office of W. P. & H. Noble, at Tiffin, and was admitted to the Bar in April, 1873, on the recommendation of a committee composed of George E. Seney, John McCauley, R. G. Pennington, W. H. Gibson and Nelson L. Brewer, who, with her preceptors, were the leaders of the Bar at that time. This was before the law was passed by the State Legislature authoriz ing the admission of women to the Bar, and after Mrs. Bradwell had been refused admission in Illinois, and the question was naturally raised as to her right to be admitted, with the majority of the court inclined to the opinion that women were not eligible for admission to the Bar in the State. Judge Seney and other eminent lawyers offered their services to present her case to the court, which she declined, and taking charge of her own case, by the force of her own character and learning, she succeeded in convincing the court of her right to be admitted, thus opening the door for admission of women to the Bar of this State. Her admission to the Bar was taken favorably. Her sister, Miss Florence Cronise, was admitted in the following year, and both of them were admitted to practice in the United States Courts, in the Sixth Circuit, at Toledo, in 1879. As the pioneer woman lawyer of this State, Mrs. Lutes, then Miss Nettie Cronise, opened her office at Tiffin, and entered upon the practice of her chosen profession immediately upon her admission to the Bar, and has ever since been actively engaged in the practice in her native city, with remarkable success. For the last seventeen years she has practiced with her husband, Nelson B. Lutes, under the firm name of Lutes & Lutes. Mrs. Lutes possesses the qualifications necessary for the success in the profession of the law in a marked degree. Her knowledge of the law is profound and her judgment good. She is broadminded and liberal in her views, clear, analytical, exact and logical in her mental make-up ; she has the faculty of examining a question in all of its bearings, the power lacking in so many ; of looking on both sides of a question, with a perception so quick that nothing seems to escape her notice during the progress of a trial. She is a great student and an indefatigable worker ; has undaunted courage and great staying powers, with an abiding faith that the right must prevail, and she never advocates a proposition that she does not believe is right. She has good business tact and extraordinary executive ability, with the power to lead others to her way of thinking, and is so good a reader of human nature that she seems intuitively to read a person's thoughts and divine his motive of action. Mrs. Lutes also possesses the most perfect self-control, and never loses her head or becomes. confused during the most exciting contest, and with her perfect mastery of language, her knowledge of the power of words, her repartee and sarcasm, though always refined and often classical, is as cutting as a two-edged sword ; and with it she possesses