C 452,711 REED BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN F 565 R33 ARTES 1817) SCIENTIA VERITAS LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN EXPLURIBUS UNUM TUEBOR : ´´SI QUÆRIS-PENINSULAM·AMŒNAM. CIRCUMSPICE : ! 1 KINJAJAJAJAJAJ FROM THE ESTATE OF PRESIDENT HARRY B. HUTCHINS : = 565 .R33 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN A VOLUME OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY Ellustrated with Steel-Plate and Half-Tone Engravings GEORGE IRVING REED, A.M. EDITOR CHICAGO THE CENTURY PUBLISHING AND ENGRAVING COMPANY :.. 1897 COPYRIGHT, 1897 THE CENTURY PUBLISHING AND ENGRAVING COMPANY CHICAGO The Lakeside Press R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS CO., CHICAGO PREFACE. The publishers have essayed in this volume to represent the courts. and lawyers of Michigan, historically and biographically. From its inception the undertaking has been recognized as praiseworthy by the profession, whose courtesy has materially aided in its completion. The generous assistance of distinguished members of the Bar in the preparation of historical articles is duly appreciated and gratefully acknowledged. Much care has been taken to make the articles in this department superlatively valuable by verifying statements of fact, wherever possible, and securing accuracy, which is the chief merit of history. The term "biography" is indeed modern, but the kind of literature described in the etymology of the word has the sanction of remote antiquity. Almost two thousand years ago Cæsar wrote his autobio- graphy in his Commentaries. A thousand years before that Homer gave to the world the biographies of Achilles and Ulysses in the Iliad and the Odyssey.. At a period still more remote by several centuries Moses sketched the lives of Adam and Noah and Abraham and Tubal-Cain. Ever since the book of Genesis was composed by the great Hebrew leader and law-giver, biography has constituted an essential part of history. Car- lyle justifies it in a single sentence: "For, as I take it, universal history, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the history of great men who have worked here." Macaulay asserts that it is properly a department of history, and that it should not be a history of the kings solely, but of the people also. This enlarged view has been adopted by the publishers in determining the scope of the "Bench and Bar of Michigan." While due homage is paid to the "kings" in the profession it has been assumed that, under the comprehensive title, the youngest and least conspicuous lawyer in the State is equally entitled to representation and his modicum of space, provided his standing at the Bar is good. The editor has been actuated by a sincere purpose to estimate each subject fairly and honestly. His undervaluation or overestimate of any lawyer is attributable either to want of information or a great deal of misinformation, and is not due to malice or partiality. A few of the prominent and deserving lawyers have chosen to abbreviate their sketches, omitting much that would have been interesting to readers. On the whole, however, it is believed the publication will prove acceptable to the members of that honorable profession which has contributed so much to the fame of a flourishing commonwealth. GEORGE IRVING REED. INDEX. THE SUPREME COURT-A HISTORICAL SKETCH,- THE DEPARTMENT OF LAW UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN'S COURT OF CHANCERY, THE BENCH AND BAR OF SAGINAW COUNTY, THE BENCH AND BAR OF THE GRAND RIVER VALLEY, I IS 35 43 THE STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, 56 69 ROLL OF ATTORNEYS IN CLERK'S OFFICE, SUPREME COURT. Appendix ADSIT, ALLEN C.. 168 COBB, GEORge P. 459 ANNEKE, EDWARD E.. 533 COBB, WILLIAM S.. 356 ATKINSON, JOHN, 149 COLGROVE, PHILIP T. 291 ATKINSON, O'Brien J. 124 COLLIER, GEORGE X. M... 214 AVERY, ALEXANDER R. 566 CONELY, EDWIN F. 510 BACON, ELBRIDGE F. 512 COOLEY, EDGar A. 269 BADGLEY, FORREST C. 581 COOLEY, THOMAS M.. 227 BAKER, FRED A. 378 COOLIDGE, ORVILLE W. BALDWIN, AUGUSTUS C. 299 I56 COOMER, GEORGE W. BALL, DAN H.. 504 175 CORBIN, JOHN M.. 375 BARRY, EDMUND D. 580 CROCKER, MARTIN BEAKES, HIRAM J 539 J.- 396 CROCKER, THOMAS M. 126 BELL, ALEXANDER F. 351 CULVER, RUSH, 457 BENNETT, WILLIAM P. 534 DART, ROLLIN C. BLAIR, AUSTIN, 537 135 DAVIS, FRANK D. M. 371 BLAIR, CHARLES A. 358 DAVITT, JAMES H.. BRENNAN, MICHAEL, 469 506 DEUEL, ANDREW L. 435 BRIGGS, NATHAN H. 356 BROOKS, GEORGE B. 483 BROOKS, JOHN M... 202 DICKINSON, DON M. DICKINSON, JULIAN G. DIEKEMA, GERRIT J. 138 212 521 BROWN, BENJAMIN J. • 430 DODDS, PETER F. BROWN, MICHAEL. 446 330 DONNELLY, JOHN C. BURKE, LAWRENCE N 508 516 Douglass, SAMUEL T. 244 Butterfield, ROGER W. 318 Duffield, D. BETHUNE, CAHILL, EDWARD, 309 373 DUFFIELD, HENRY M. 205 CALKINS, CHARLES P. 552 DURAND, GEORGE H. 145 CALKINS, CHARLES W. 553 DURAND, LORENZO T. 266 CAMP, CHARLES H.. 128 EDGET, JOHN A. 99 CAMPBELL, JAMES V. 236 ELDREDGE, JAMES B. 250 CARR, JOHN R. 523 ELDREDGE, ROBERT F. 251 CARPENTER, TALCOTT C.... 289 ELDREDGE, ROBERT P.. CARPENTER, WILLIAM L. 249 488 ELLIS, ADOLPHUS A. CARROLL, THOMAS J. 277 551 EMERICK, FRANK E. 467 CASGRAIN, CHARLES W. 420 FARR, GEORGE A. 333 CHADDOCK, JOHN B. 353 FARRAND, BETHUEL C. 121 CHAMPLIN, JOHN W. 166 FELCH, ALPHEUS, 161 CHANEY, HENRY A. 211 FENTON, WILLIAM M. 95 CHIPMAN, J. LOGAN, 398 FITZ GERALD, JOHN C. 568 CHRISTIANCY, ISAAC P. III FLOWERS, CHARLES. CLAPP, GEORGE S.. 4.99 305 FLYNN, STEPHEN P. CLARK, FRANCIS O.. 464 455 FOOTE, DAN P. 129 vi INDEX. FOOTE, EDWARD A.. 281 LATHAM, CHARLES K. 210 Fox, GARRY C..... 285 LAWRENCE, EDWIN, 547 FRASER, ELISHA A. 491 LAWRENCE, JOHN F. 547 FROST, GEORGE E. 443 LEAVITT, ROSWELL, 453 FULLER, CEYLON C. 325 LEE, JAY P.. 520 FULLER, WILLIAM D.. 322 LILLIBRIDGE, WILLARD M. 401 GAGE, CHAUNCY H.. 475 LILLIE, WALTER I. 336 GAGE, DE WITT C.. 258 LONG, CHARLES D. 381 GAGE, WILLIAM G.. 261 LONGYEAR, JOHN W. 81 GALLOWAY, JAMES S. 485 LOTHROP, GEORGE V. N 241 GATES, JASPER C. 494 LOVELL, LOUis S. 182 GAYLORD, AUGUSTINE S. 253 LYON, ALFRED P. 271 GEISLER, HUGO P. 536 LYON, FRANK A. 564 GORE, VICTOR M.. 530 MAYNARD, FRED A. 561 GRANT, CLAUDIUS B. 383 MERRIAM, SEWARD L. 542 GRANT, GEORGE, 264 MILLER, GEORGE E. 304 GRAVES, BENJAMIN F. 238 MILLER, SIDNEY D. 246 GRAY, WILLIAM, 103 MILLER, WILLIAM M. 479 GREEN, EDWARD H. 441 MONTAGUE, LUKE S.. 154 GREEN, SANFORD M. $8 MONTGOMERY, ROBERT M. 386 GROSVENOR, IRA R. 582 MOORE, JOHN, 97 GROVE, WILLIAM E. 223 MOORE, JOSEPH B. 391 HALL, DE VERE, 274 MOORE, WILLIAM A. 108 HALL, EDMUND, 112 MORSE, ALLEN B. 369 HALSTEAD, BENJAMIN T.. 440 MURPHY, ALFRED J……. 507 HANCHETT, Benton, 102 MCDONELL, ARCHIBALD, 272 HANCHETT, Leslie B. 466 MCGARRY, THOMAS F. 580 HATCH, HERSCHEL H. 144 MCGRATH, JOHN W. 376 HATCH, REUBEN, HECKERT, BENJAMIN F. 224 MCINTYRE, DONALD E. 449 221 MCKNIGHT, ROBERT B. 192 HICKS, WILLIAM C. 532 NAEGELY, HENRY E. 472 HOGLE, GEORGE, 546 NICHOLS, GEORGE E. 346 HOLT, HENRY H. 448 NIMS, FREDERICK A. 338 HOOKER, FRANK A. 388 NORRIS, LYMAN D. 361 HOPKINS, CHARLES C. 392 NORRIS, MARK, 365 HOPKINS, GEORGE II. 207 O'BRIEN, THOMAS J. 345 HOPKINS, JOEL C. 359 O'HARA, JAMES, 526 HORRIGAN, HENRY J.. 517 O'HARA, THOMAS, 524 HOWELL, ANDREW, 411 O'KEEFE, JOHN F. 471 HOYT, HIRAM J. 339 OREN, HORACE M. 434 HUGGETT, George, 296 PADGHAM, PHILIP, - 294 HUGHES, D. DARWIN, 142 PAILTHORPE, CHARLES J. 437 HUMPHREY, Watts S.. WATTS 262 PALMER, JOHN H. 335 HUTCHINS, HARRY B.. 487 PARKINSON, JAMES A. 354 JACOKES, JAMES A. 313 PATTON, JOHN, JR. 178 JENKS, WILLIAM L. 573 PEALER, RUSSELL R. 300 JOSLYN, LEE E. 462 PENDLETON, EDWARD W. 414 JOY, JAMES F. 72 PERSON, ROLLIN H. 569 KEENEY, WILLARD F. 577 PHELPS, RALPH, JR.. 416 KELLEY, SAMUEL H. 529 PHILLIPS, PATRICK 1... 572 KENDRICK, WILLIAM R. 477 POND, ASHLEY, 226 KENT, CHARLES A.. 399 POPE, HORACE H. 179 KILPATRICK, WILLIAM M. 276 POWER, JOHN, 439 KINNE, EDWARD D. 394 POWERS, JAMES M. 518 KIRBY, JULIUS B.. 455 PRENTIS, GEORGE H. 500 KNAPPEN, LOYAL E.. 367 PRINGLE, EUGENE,- 311 KNIGHT, SETH W.. 541 PURCELL, MILES J. 465 LARNED, SYLVESTER, 405 RANDALL, SETH C. 396 INDEX. vii RATHBONE, ALFRED D. 164 TARSNEY, TIMOTHY E. 501 ROOD, ARTHUR R.. 347 TOMS, ROBERT P. 106 ROOD, CHARLES C. 341 TOWNSEND, CHARLES E. 360 RUSSELL, Alfred, 408 TRYON, Spafford, 279 RUSSELL, FRANCIS G. 417 TURNER, ISAAC M. 548 SAWYER, ALVAH L..... 424 UHL, EDWIN F. 1 557 ·SAWYER, ANDREW J. 544 VANCE, SAMUEL W. 252 SEARL, KELLY S. 454 VAN KLEECK, James, 458 SEVERENS, HENRY F. 348 VAN RIPER, JACOB J... 527 SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM, 219 VAN ZILE, PHILIP T. 496 SHEPARD, THEODORE F. • 461 WAITE, BYRON S. 423 SHIELDS, DENNIS, 563 WAITE, WILLIAM F. 1 428 SHRINER, ROBERT W. 283 WALBRIDGE, EDWARD L. 574 SIBLEY, SOLOMON, 86 WALBRIDGE, HENRY, 571 SMILEY, MITCHELL J. 554 WALBRIDGE, HENRY E. 578 SMITH, CHARLES H. 187 WALCOTT, LAURENS W. 324 SMITH, CLEMENT M. 287 WANTY, GEOrge P. 343 SMITH, HARSON D. 368 WARD, JOHN,- 514 SMITH, VERNON H. 350 WARNER, CARLOS E. 150 SMITH, WM. Alden, 171 WEADOCK, George W.. 199 SOULE, CHARLES E. 328 WEADOCK, JOHN C.... 201 SPAULDING, OLIVER L. 151 WEADOCK, THOS. A. E.. 195 SPRAGUE, VICTOR D. -445 WEBBER, WILLIAM L.. 114 STEERE, JOSEeph H.. 427 WEBSTER, WILLIAM O. 317 STEVENS, HERMAN W. 120, WHIPPLE, FRANK, 542 STEVENSON, ELLIOTT G..... STEWART, NATHANIEL H. 489 WILBER, Eugene, 215 WILKINS, Ross.. 256 160 STOCKDALE, DAVID,. 298 WILKINSON, ALBERT H. 419 STONE, JOHN W.. STUART, WILLIAM J. SULLIVAN, FRANK P. SUTTON, E. S. B.. SWAN, HENRY H. SWARTHOUT, ARTHUR H. SWEEZEY, JAMES A. TAGGART, MOSES, - 173 WILLIAMS, ALBERT, 184 366 WILLIAMS, FITCH R. 584 538 WILLIAMS, WILLIAM B. 292 429 WILSON, CHArles M.. 559 403 1 WILSON, THOMAS A... 473 WITHEY, CHARLES A. 308 WITHEY, SOLOMON L. 315 450 91 320 WOLCOTT, FRANK T..... 543 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. THE SUPREME COURT. A HISTORICAL SKETCH. EDITED BY JUDGES SAMUEL T. DOUGLASS AND BENJAMIN F. GRAVES. The first political and judicial control of Michigan by the United States was under and by virtue of the Immortal Ordinance of 1787, which was the Bill of Rights for the people of the territory northwest of the Ohio river. It was scarcely less important than the Constitution of the United States adopted the same year by the same body. It was a compact between the original states and the people of the territory and the states to be afterwards erected therein. It was tolerant in spirit, guaranteeing to all persons freedom of religious belief and security in form of worship. It was humane, extending to persons held in custody the benefit of habeas corpus and the right of trial by jury. It was just in that it guaranteed full compensation for property taken or services exacted of the individual for the public benefit, and proportionate representation in the legislature. On the other hand, it inhibited forever the infliction of cruel or unusual punishments; the depriving a man of his liberty or property, except by the law of the land or the judgment of his peers; the enactment of any law impairing private contracts or engagements, bona fide, without fraud. Finally it proclaimed that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in the territory, other than for the punishment of crimes of which the accused shall have been convicted." Geographically, Michigan was included in the Northwest Territory; but actually it was not affected by the Ordinance until nine years after its adoption. The Jay Treaty was signed June 17, 1796, and on the eleventh day of July, the same year, the flag of the United States floated over the village and garrison of Detroit for the first time, although fifteen years had elapsed since the close of the Revolution. The first American settlement within the borders of Michigan was in 1793. More than a century and a half earlier the brave and gentle Jesuit priests had established missions at Michilimackinac and elsewhere. Even the settlement of Detroit was begun in 1701, under the leadership of Cadillac and a Jesuit missionary, with one hundred Frenchmen. Sixty years later the garrison and the town surrendered to the English, who held possession thirty-five years, 2 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. and evacuated only in pursuance of the treaty of 1796. The British again took possession when Hull surrendered to General Brock, August 16, 1812. This occupation, however, was little more than a year, as General Harrison won the battle of Detroit September 29, 1813, and after that the authority of the United States continued absolute. The records of the courts estab- lished by the French during the long period of their occupation are not available, if indeed any were preserved. Information as to the kind of courts and the judicial methods is dependent on tradition, and probably the imagination or conjecture of a capable historian has sometimes sup- plied the facts. The descendants of the early French settlers for a century and a half had in their veins a very considerable proportion of Indian blood. The races fraternized and the half-breed population retained many of the primitive ideas of justice. It is related that Robert Navarre, a royal notary and under-delegate of the Intendant, exercised the functions of a magistrate in 1730. The authority of the local commander was supreme and the exercise of it despòtic. Voluntary associations of merchants and traders settled all matters of dispute between themselves by arbitration. There were no lawyers, and judges who were appointed never came to the terri- tory. It was the rule to send criminals to the home government for trial. There was one official, however, who was willing to assume all kinds of responsibility. He was Philip de Jean, nominally a justice of the peace, but in reality a veritable "Poo-Bah." He not only pronounced the death sentence upon prisoners found guilty of larceny, but in two or three instances, was the Lord High Executioner," to carry out the sentence. One of these unfortunate culprits was a woman accused of stealing fifty dollars from her employer. This notorious magistrate had been a notary under the French régime, and was a legacy to the English succession much esteemed by Lieutenant Governor Hamilton, the arbitrary local ruler, who came after the treaty of 1763. Philip de Jean may be counted as the first Supreme Court with all of the paraphernalia and instruments for the conduct of a trial and the execution of its own decrees. In a very interesting article on the early "Judicial System," published in the “Maga- zine of Western History," the late Judge Campbell says: 6 "The celebrated Quebec Act of 1774 provided that the civil law of Paris and the criminal law of England should prevail in this region. In 1778 the region was formally included in the district of Hesse, and Detroit was made the seat of justice. William Dummer Powell was the first judge who presided over the court, and afterwards was Chief Justice of Upper Canada. From this time on the courts sat regularly. Besides the first court, there were courts of common pleas and quarter sessions. The com- mon pleas judges were all reputable laymen, and the courts were held in high esteem. Louis Beaufait was the first Chief Judge and James May, Patrick McNiff, Charles Girardin and Nathaniel Williams were associates. All were old citizens, familiar with the French and English, and allied by marriage or blood with the French inhabitants. Things continued in this shape until Jay's Treaty went into operation in 1796, when the British courts were removed to the other side of the river." BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 3 The authority of the United States was then extended over the region and the Ordinance for the government of the Northwest Territory became operative therein. The officers were a governor, a secretary and three judges, who composed the Supreme Court. The government had already existed for eight years, with headquarters first at Marietta, and afterwards at Cincinnati. It was subsequently (in 1800) removed to Chillicothe. The judges, with the governor, constituted a legislature, empowered to compile laws selected from the statutes of the original states, but not to enact original laws. All of the legislation was subject to the approval of Con- gress. The new territory acquired by the Jay Treaty, which included a strip of Northern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and all of Michigan and Wis- consin, which contained settlements, was attached to the Northwest Terri- tory as the county of Wayne. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that the first appropriation for a court in Detroit after it came under control of the United States was in this year, and the sum appropriated was eighty-five dollars. Winthrop Sergeant, Secretary of the Territory, was then acting governor. The judges were John Cleves Symmes (one of the three origin- ally appointed in 1787), General Rufus Putnam, and George Turner. One session of the Supreme Court was held in Detroit annually, and Judge Symmes, who lived near Cincinnati, never missed a session, until the terri- tory was divided by setting off Ohio in 1800; although it was necessary to make the entire journey on horseback. At the same time (1800) the Territory of Indiana was erected with jurisdiction over the remaining por- tion of the Northwest Territory. In his introduction to "Michigan," of the American Commonwealth Series, Judge Cooley says what is pertinent. here: "The changes of sovereign as well as of subordinate jurisdiction have been greater in Michigan than in any other part of the American Union. France, Great Britain and the United States have successively had domin- ion over it, and under the United States it was part of the Northwest Territory and of the Territory of Indiana before it became the Territory of Michigan. As Michigan Territory it passed though all the grades of subordinate jurisdiction, and the circumstances attending its admission to the Union made its history at that period quite unique. General William Henry Harrison was appointed Governor of Indiana. Territory, and his efforts to introduce negro slavery may be mentioned as one of the curious facts of history. Several petitions were sent to Con- gress praying to have the Ordinance of '87 suspended for a term of years so that slave labor might be employed. The first petition was ignored, the second received a favorable committee report, but failed in the house; a third was under consideration when the subject was brought into the courts for an opinion. The Chief Justice of the Territory settled the question by a decision from which there was no appeal. He declared it could not exist in the Territory either by the law of nations, the common law, or domestic legislation. He held that the ordinance was absolutely inhibitive and concluded as follows: "I am therefore bound to say, and do say, that 4 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. a right of property in the human species cannot exist in this territory, except as to persons in the actual possession of the British settlers on the sixteenth day of June, 1796, and that every man coming into the territory is by the law of the land a free man, unless he be a fugitive from lawful labor and service in some other American state or territory; and then he must be restored." By an Act of Congress January 11, 1805, Indiana Territory was divided. Its north boundary was fixed by a line extending east from the most southerly bend of Lake Michigan until it intersected Lake Erie. The Territory of Michigan, set off during the same year, was bounded on the south by the line mentioned; on the west by another line drawn north from the first through the middle of Lake Michigan to its northern extrem- ity, and thence north to the boundary of the United States. The British possessions were on the north and east. A separate territorial govern- ment, modeled after that of the Northwest Territory, was erected for Michigan June 30, 1805. The principal settlement was of course at Detroit, whose population was about four thousand. It had been incor- porated as a town three years before, and was incorporated as a city a year after. The history of jurisprudence in Michigan, so far as it relates to the Supreme Court, is properly divided into four epochs: First, from 1805 to 1823; second, from 1824 to 1835; third, 1836 to 1850; fourth, after 1850. Within the fourth period several modifications have taken place. During the first epoch the Supreme Court consisted of three judges, appointed by the President of the United States, with the consent of the Senate. These judges sat as a court with common law jurisdiction, and sat as a legislative body with the governor ex-officio as chairman. The court had exclusive jurisdiction of land cases and capital offenses; concurrent juris- diction in all other civil cases where the amount in controversy was of the value of two hundred dollars. The territory was divided into three dis- tricts and it was provided that one of the Supreme Judges should preside in each district, with two associates who were laymen. These districts were designated as Detroit, Erie and Huron; and Mackinaw district was added soon afterwards. Inferior courts were organized for the transaction of small civil business. The titles to lands were practically indefinable, or at least questionable, and the confusion was intensified by the burning of Detroit and destruction of the records during the first year of territorial existence. Far the most complicated business of the court was found in the ascertainment and determination of titles to realty. Congress came to the rescue in 1807, with an act providing that title to lots and lands should be vested in the persons who had been in possession since 1796. President Jefferson appointed for the first governor General William Hull, of Massachusetts, a man of large ability and excellent reputation, who had been prominent in civil office and military command; a man of refined manners and little adaptability to conditions on the frontier. For BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 5 judges the President appointed Augustus Brevoort Woodward, Samuel Huntington and Frederick Bates. Judge Huntington, who was one of the judges of the first Supreme Court of Ohio, and afterwards governor of that state, declined to serve, and John Griffin was appointed in his place. Woodward was in many respects a remarkable character-original, cer- tainly. He was possessed of considerable ability and a great deal of intel- lectual force. He had a liberal knowledge of the law, considerable learning and more pedantry. He was a strange compound, frequently stubborn and wrong-headed-generally audacious and capricious. He was responsi- ble for the plat of Detroit, which was laid out on a scale of magnificence quite out of harmony with the times and the surroundings. Broad avenues, starting from a common center which he styled the Circus Maximus, were projected far into the woods, and located by the aid of astronomical instru- ments. Although his scheme as a whole was impracticable, the visitor to Detroit as it stands to-day will find a city more beautiful for the nightly vigils and consultations of the heavenly bodies by the first Chief Justice, when he planned and platted the "City of the Straits.'' Another marvel- ous creation of his mind was the Catholepistemiad, incorporated in 1817, with an array of professorships bearing unpronounceable Greek and Latin titles; governed by a president, vice president and other officials. While you smile at the conceit and vagaries of the man whose peculiar genius is shadowed forth by this dream, do not fail to remember that the Catholepis- temiad of the eccentric Chief Justice has become the University of Michi- gan, to which so many lawyers of the state are debtors. Judge Woodward quarrelled with every member of the court whom he could not control. His henchman was Judge Griffin, and it was not unusual to witness a dead-` lock in matters of legislation between Woodward and Griffin on one side, and Governor Hull and Judge Bates on the other. The quarrels were fre- quent and unseemly; so that Judge Bates, a man of high character and honorable purpose, resigned after two years of service and removed to St. Louis, where he won distinction at the bar. James Witherell was appointed to succeed Bates. He was a good lawyer, an upright judge. Firm in his own convictions he could not be influenced by another to favor legislation or a judicial decision which his conscience did not approve. He remained a member of the court to the end of the first epoch and was reappointed under the second. In March, 1823, Congress enacted a law transferring the legislation to the governor and a council of nine citizens, appointed by the President and selected from eighteen elected by the people of the territory. Sessions of sixty days were authorized for legislation and all laws were subject to the approval of Congress. By the same law the term of judges of the Supreme Court was reduced to four years, and their powers were enlarged by extending them to equity cases. It was further provided that all offices should be vacated February 1, 1824, in order that the new system might be inaugurated in an orderly manner. The first court under the second 6 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. epoch was composed of James Witherell Chief Justice, Solomon Sibley and John Hunt. In 1827 Henry Chipman was appointed to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge Hunt. Judge Witherell resigned in 1828 to accept the secretaryship of the territory and was succeeded by William Woodbridge, of Connecticut, who was secretary of the territory at the time of his appointment to the bench. The two simply exchanged offices, by the aid of the President and consent of the Senate. In 1827 Judge Sibley was reappointed and made Chief Justice. His associates appointed at the same time were George Morell, of New York, and Ross Wilkins, of Pennsylvania. All three of these were reappointed in 1832 and served until the admission of Michigan as a state in the Union. During the first epoch the judges, with their respective terms of service were: Augustus B. Woodward and John Wilkins, from 1805 to 1823; Frederick Bates, from 1805 to 1807; James Witherell, from 1808 to 1823 — only four during the period of eighteen years. In the second epoch of thirteen years, seven judges were appointed, one of whom died in office: James Witherell, 1824 to 1828; Solomon Sibley, 1824 to 1837; John Hunt, 1824 to 1827; Henry Chipman, 1827 to 1832; William Wood- bridge, 1828 to 1832; George Morell, 1832 to 1837; Ross Wilkins, 1832 to 1837. Solomon Sibley is described in history as "one of the wisest and best men that ever lived in Michigan." The judges who sat with him were lawyers of respectable talents and most of them men of high character. Henry Chipman was a native of Vermont, practiced law some years in South Carolina, and removed to Detroit prior to his appointment. His record on the bench is clean, and long after his retirement he was a respected citizen of the state. WOODBRIDGE. William Woodbridge was a native of Connecticut, was principally educated there, though soon after the Revolutionary War his father emigrated with his family to Marietta, on the Ohio river, where he spent some years of his youth, and several of his active professional life. He came to Detroit in 1814, having been appointed secretary of the ter- ritory by President Madison. He was a man of marked ability, of courte- ous manners, of liberal learning in the law, of considerable general culture, and a commanding figure in the history of the territory and of the early years of the state. He was a member of the convention which framed the 1835, became governor in 1840, and was United 1841 to 1847. All of which positions he filled with ability and fidelity. He died in 1861. state constitution of States senator from WILKINS was a native of Pittsburg and resident of that city at the time of his appointment to the territorial judgeship. Before the admission of the state into the Union he was appointed Judge of the United States District Court, and discharged the duties of that office until 1871, when he availed himself of the option of retiring on full pay, having passed the mark of seventy years. He was a member of the regular constitutional BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 7 convention of 1836, and also of the irregular convention held in December of the same year, to accept the proposition of Congress giving the Upper Peninsula in exchange for the strip claimed and taken by the state of Ohio. He was a man of fine legal acquirements and made a very respectable judge. He had some brilliant qualities useful to the advocate, but his mind was not eminently judicial or well balanced. The state having attained a population of sixty thousand, a conven- tion was held in 1835. The constitution framed by this convention was ratified by popular vote and the enabling act for the admission of the state was approved June 15, 1836, after much wrangling over a strip of disputed territory embracing four hundred and seventy square miles, over which Ohio had extended her jurisdiction despite the fact that it was outside of the original boundary line setting off her territory. Although the subsequent irregular proceedings by which the convention accepted a compromise occa- sioned much dissatisfaction and discontent, the sober second thought com- mended the solution because it was peaceful. A deliberate judicial opinion today would doubtless affirm that the state of Michigan profited by the bargain. The constitution, which became operative upon the admission of the state, provided for a division of the state into three circuits and the appointment of three Judges of the Supreme Court, each to hold court in the several counties of his circuit, and all of whom should sit together, as a court in banc, to consider and determine appeals. The powers of these judges in circuit were restricted and their labors correspondingly reduced by a provision in the constitution for a separate court of chancery. To this court was granted exclusive primary jurisdiction of all chancery cases, with the right of appeal from the chancellor to the Supreme Court. The judges were appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, for a term of seven years. The first Supreme Court was composed of William A. Fletcher, Chief Justice, George Morell and Epaphroditus Ransom, Associate Justices. The circuit assigned to the Chief Justice comprised the counties of Monroe, Lenawee, Hillsdale, Jackson, Washtenaw, Oak- land and Saginaw; that assigned to Judge Morell comprised Wayne, St. Clair, Lapeer, Michilimackinac (which has since been abbreviated) and Chippewa; that assigned to Judge Ransom comprised Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Allegan, Kent. As under the territorial system two associates were chosen for each county, who were not neces- sarily lawyers and whose presence on the bench was not essential to the validity of a proceeding; they were elected for a term of four years. The Supreme Court was a peripatetic body under this constitution, holding one term each year in Wayne, Washtenaw and Kalamazoo counties. Judge Fletcher resigned in 1842, and Alpheus Felch was appointed in 1843 to succeed him as a member of the court, while Judge Morell succeeded him as Chief Justice. Daniel Goodwin succeeded Judge Morell. Warner Wing succeeded Judge Felch, when the latter was elected governor in 1845. 8 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Other Judges of the Supreme Court under the first constitution were San- ford M. Green, appointed in 1847 to succeed Judge Ransom, Daniel Good- win, George Miles, Abner Pratt, Edward Munday, George Martin and Charles Wiley Whipple (who was appointed in 1838 to preside over an additional circuit created by statute). The whole number appointed and in service from 1837 to 1850 was twelve. Such of the Judges of the Supreme Court as are not represented in this volume by portrait and bio- graphy are briefly sketched in this article. FLETCHER. Chief Justice Fletcher came to Michigan several years. before the organization of the State government, as one of the commis- sioners for that purpose. He rendered valuable service in preparing the compilation of Territorial Laws, known as the Code of 1827, and the first Revision of the Statutes of the State known as Revised Statutes 1838, was prepared by him and under his supervision. He was a man of command- ing presence, a good lawyer and an able judge. MORELL. George Morell, who was appointed a member of the first Supreme Court under the State Constitution, had been one of the Judges of the Territorial Court for five years prior to that time. He was a Massa- chusetts man by birth and education, but came to the territory of Michigan from New York State, where he had gained considerable reputation as a practising lawyer. He had learned in the old school and his training as a lawyer was not excelled by that of any other Judge on the bench; but he was not always temperate, and sometimes incapacitated for severe appli- cation. RANSOM. Epaphroditus Ransom was a native of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, born in 1797. He read law under the instruction of Judge Taft, at Townsend, Vermont, with the Judge's son, Alphonso Taft, the eminent jurist and statesman, late of Cincinnati, and father of Judge Wil- liam H. Taft, of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. He was graduated from the Northampton Law School in 1823, and achieved con- siderable prominence both in the law and politics in the state of Vermont. He settled in Michigan in 1834. His residence was in the beautiful village (now city) of Kalamazoo, which is the commercial center of one of the best agricultural regions of the state. At one time he was a proprietor of con- siderable real estate in and adjacent to the village, much of which was devoted to agriculture. He took a deep interest in agriculture and was mainly instrumental in organizing the State Agricultural Society. He was a man of large stature, dignified and commanding presence, genial manners, of strict integrity, and of good sense and fair legal attainments. These qualities made him a very popular Circuit Judge. Without being in any sense a great jurist, he was a very respectable one, and a safe, con- servative and valuable member of the Supreme Court. It may be doubted whether a judicial career was entirely congenial to his taste or satisfied his ambition. January 1, 1848, and before the end of his second term as a member of the Supreme Court, he became governor of the state, the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 9 duties of which he discharged with fidelity and ability. From that vantage ground he aspired, but unsuccessfully, to the office of United States sen- ator. The expiration of his term as governor was the end of his public career in Michigan. In politics he was a staunch democrat and strongly opposed to the extension of slavery. In private life he was a very enter- prising and public-spirited citizen. GOODWIN. Daniel Goodwin was born at Geneva, New York, in January, 1799, and died in Detroit at the age of eighty-seven. He was graduated from Union College, having for associates and classmates some of the most eminent men of his native state. He settled in Detroit in 1825, where his father was a prominent physician. He was appointed United States District Attorney by President Jackson, and was a member of the "snap convention" which accepted the terms imposed by Congress as a condition of the admission of Michigan into the Union. He was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court and Judge of the First Circuit (which included Wayne county) for the term commencing July 18, 1843. He remained upon the bench until October, 1846, and then returned for a time to private practice. He was a member of the Constitutional Conven- tion of 1850, and the next year was elected Judge of the Upper Peninsula, and was continued in that office by re-elections until failing health com- pelled his retirement. His service on the bench extended over a period of about thirty years. He was a man of small stature, dark complexion, reserved, quiet and unassuming manners, and unquestioned integrity. He was a cautious, painstaking and studious lawyer, of a clear and vigor- ous intellect, distinguished perhaps more for acuteness than grasp, and a learned, safe and conservative judge. He filled every public position he occupied with honor to himself and credit to the state. WING. Judge Warner Wing was born in Marietta, Ohio, in Septem- ber, 1805. He was of New England stock, his father having been a native of Conway, Massachusetts. He was a graduate of Litchfield Law School. He came to Michigan while it was yet a territory and settled at Monroe, where he always continued to reside. He was a member of the Supreme Court, first by appointment, and afterwards by election, and Presiding Judge of the First and temporarily of the Second Circuit, from the autumn of 1846 to the organization of a separate Supreme Court in 1858. After that he returned to the practice of his profession, acting for many of the later years of his life as counsel for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad Company. He was a man of medium stature, of a florid complex- ion, of an ardent and impulsive temperament, modest and unassuming manners, and a very genial and companionable disposition. He had a great flow of wit and humor which added zest to his companionship. He was thoroughly upright and conscientious, of good judgment and clear insight as to the credibility of witnesses and the force of evidence. His legal acquirements were respectable, and he was industrious and painstaking in the discharge of his judicial duties. His judgments were almost always IO BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. correct and commanded the respect and confidence of the bar and the pub- lic. He seemed to be greatly aided in forming his conclusions by his sound and delicate moral sense, and a sort of feminine and unanalyzable intuition. His exposition of the reasons for his judgment, especially when delivered orally-from want of logical order and method - sometimes failed to do justice to the judgments themselves. He was very conserva- tive in matters of jurisprudence as well as in other things, and but little disposed to question established precedents. He was always a sincere democrat in politics, but never an extreme or active partisan. MILES. George Miles was born of New England parents, at Amster- dam, New York, in 1789. He educated himself and took sufficient time to be thorough in his preparation for the practice of law; was admitted to the bar in 1822, and afterwards served as attorney for Allegheny county, New York. He was a well trained lawyer of respectable talents. The opinions which he prepared were concise and direct in reaching the points involved in any controversy. He died suddenly in 1849 while holding court at Marshall. He was a gentleman of fine address and good character, presiding on the bench with great dignity. PRATT. Abner Pratt was a native of Otsego county, New York, and was born in 1801. He was reared upon a farm and had very limited edu- cational advantages, and but little early education. He went through some pretty rough experiences in early manhood, some of them on a Mis- sissippi river flatboat, after which, rather late in life, he studied law and was admitted to the bar. After a brief professional experience in Rochester, New York, he came to Michigan, locating in Marshall. This was in 1839. There he soon became quite prominent as a lawyer and acquired a good practice. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court and Presiding Judge of a Circuit Court from 1851 until his resignation in 1857, soon after which he was appointed consul at Honolulu. He was a man of medium height, of muscular frame and strongly marked features; of frank and genial, but not very polished manners. He had considerable fund of humor and was a good story teller. His comic delineation of western life as he saw it, and of his own experiences on the Mississippi, were inimit- able. He was a man of vigorous but undisciplined intellect, of much knowledge of human nature, and a goodly share of common sense. He was very decided in his opinions and in his likes and dislikes, and those usually found expression in very strong language, the emphasis of which he often endeavored to increase by the use of expletives. On the whole he was a unique and striking personality, and notwithstanding deficiencies which better early opportunities might have supplied, he was a very respect- able judge. MUNDY. Edward Mundy was born in New Jersey in 1794; was graduated at Rutgers and settled in the state of Illinois in 1819. He was a merchant in early life, both in his native state and in the west; removed to Michigan in 1831 and was admitted to the bar of the state in 1834. He BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 1 I was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1835, served as lieu- tenant governor with Governor Mason, and was elected attorney general in 1847. Five of the judges who had served by appointment under the Consti- tution of 1835 were elected members of the first court chosen under the Constitution of 1850, thus forming a connecting link between the old and the new. Some modifications of the judicial system were made by the framers of the second constitution. The Court of Chancery, with the office of Chancellor was abolished, and the Circuit Courts were granted. chancery powers. The state was divided into eight judicial circuits, with a judge elected for each circuit by the state at large, for a term of six years. The eight judges presiding in these circuits constituted the Supreme Court of the state when sitting in banc. The appeals from any of the circuits were heard and determined by the Supreme Court. The legislature was authorized, after six years, to provide for an independent Supreme Court composed of four judges who should not be required to preside in a trial court. It was further provided that the judges should be elected by popular vote. The eight judges first chosen under this con- stitution were Warner Wing, Sanford M. Green, Charles Wiley Whipple, Abner Pratt and George Martin, who had served under the first consti- tution; and Samuel Townsend Douglass, John Skinner Goodrich and David Johnson, then elected for the first time. Judge Goodrich died before qualifying, and Joseph Tarr Copeland was appointed to fill the vacancy. Judge Whipple died in 1855, and Nathaniel Bacon was appointed in his place. Judge Wing resigned in 1856 and was succeeded by Edward Hancock Custis Wilson. Before the end of the term for which the first judges were elected there was something of a revolution in the political sentiment of Michigan. The republican party had been organized and was strong enough to carry the election in that state in 1857. The legislature whose session was held in January of that year, took action under the authority granted by the constitution and made provision for a separate Supreme Court. The four judges elected to consti- tute that court were George Martin, Randolph Manning, Isaac P. Chris- tiancy and James V. Campbell. As Judge Martin had served under the first constitution and also as one of the eight judges under the second constitution, he was designated as the Chief Justice, and the other three were Associate Justices. (The original act for the constitution of an inde- pendent Supreme Court required that the Chief Justice should be desig- nated by the voters, but in 1867 this was changed by devolving the chief justiceship upon that one of the judges whose terms of office should soon- est expire.) Immediately after the election Judges Douglass, Pratt, Green and Johnson, who had been defeated as candidates of their party, resigned in order to re-enter the practice without waiting for the term of the newly elected judges to begin, and the Governor forthwith appointed Benjamin F. H. Witherell, Benjamin F. Graves, Josiah Turner and Edward Lawrence to 12 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. fill the vacancies. The independent Supreme Court was organized January 1, 1858. The term provided by the legislature was eight years, and so arranged that one judge should retire at the end of each period of two years, and the one longest in service should act as Chief Justice for the last two years of his term. Since 1857 the Supreme Court judges have not been required to sit in the circuits. In 1887 the number of judges was increased to five and the term fixed at ten years. The provision for the retirement of a judge at the end of each period of two years, and that of 1867 with reference to the Chief Justice were retained. MARTIN. George Martin, who was carried over by election to the first Supreme Court under the second constitution, was the son of an inn- keeper in Middlebury, Vermont, born in 1815. He was educated at Middlebury College, came to Michigan in 1836 and settled at Grand Rapids. He held the office of prosecuting attorney, but no other office until his election as one of the judges of the Supreme Court under the circuit system. He was re-elected twice, was Chief Justice for a few years and died in office December 15, 1867. His long term of judicial service indicates qualities which secured considerable personal popularity. He was a man below medium stature, of pleasing address, agreeable manners and amiable disposition. He had quick perception, was a fluent though not strong speaker, and a graceful and facile writer. He was not in the least opinionated or dogmatic. On the contrary, his great defect was the want of strong and earnest convictions. He was never profound, but always plausible and too easily satisfied with plausibility. He was consti- tutionally indolent and, like other indolent judges, too much inclined to dis- pose of cases on some technical ground which would avoid the labor of disposing of them upon their merits. On the whole, it cannot be said that the jurisprudence is largely indebted to him. On the other hand, it is not seriously marred by his defects. For his associates on the Bench of the independent Supreme Court were all men of decided character and of marked ability. Truth compels us to add that in the later years of his life he became very intemperate. MANNING. Randolph Manning was born at Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1804, read law in New York, where he practised for a short time, and settled at Pontiac, Michigan, in 1832. He was a member of the Consti- tutional Convention of 1835, a senator in 1837, secretary of the State in 1840, and chancellor in 1842, which latter office he continued to hold until the office was abolished in 1847. Soon afterward he was appointed Reporter of the Supreme Court, which office he held until the close of the year 1850. He was elected a Justice of that Court in 1858, and was a member of it until his decease in 1864. He was a man of very simple and natural tastes, of unostentatious and genial, though sometimes reserved manners, of unquestioned integrity and sincerity, of strong and earnest convictions, thorough independence and a love of right and justice which was almost a passion. He was a learned lawyer. His opinions were BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 13 always carefully and conscientiously prepared and clearly and concisely expressed. They are highly creditable contributions to the jurisprudence of the state. Within the range of his intellectual vision, he saw everything very clearly and distinctly, but he was sometimes wanting in breadth of view and in that sort of intuition which makes some men almost unerring judges of the value of human testimony. WHIPPLE. Charles Wiley Whipple was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1805. He was the son of Major John Whipple, an officer of the War of 1812, who won some notoriety in being fined for contempt by Judge Woodward, of the First Territorial Court of Michigan. The offense con- sisted in uncomplimentary remarks made on the street concerning that jurist. It was about the time when the factional quarrel in this court as a legislature was most bitter. Governor Hull remitted the fine, and at the instance of Judge Woodward was indicted by the grand jury for the exer- cise of such clemency. Judge Whipple was a graduate of West Point and afterwards studied law. He was secretary of the Constitutional Conven- tion of 1835, and President Judge of a circuit in 1850, succeeding Judge Ransom as Chief Justice. He died in 1855, and was succeeded by Nathaniel Bacon. His service on the Bench was long and creditable. JOHNSON. David Johnson was born in Sangerfield, New York, in 1809. He was admitted to the bar in that state and practised for a brief period in Genesee county. He came to Michigan and settled in Jackson in 1837. In politics he was a sincere and earnest democrat. He was hon- orable, high-minded and conscientious; of an ardent temperament and of a genial and social disposition, of quick, active and subtle intelligence. He soon took rank as a good lawyer and able advocate. He served one term in the legislature with considerable distinction, and was afterwards elected Circuit Judge and Justice of the Supreme Court for a term of six years, commencing January 1, 1857. He resigned shortly before the term expired and was nominated as one of the Justices of the new Supreme Court which came into existence January 1, 1858, but his party then and long afterwards remained in a hopeless minority, and he was defeated. He was very popular as a Circuit Judge, and an able and useful member of the Supreme Court. He was endowed with masculine sense and very well schooled in the principles of the law. Moreover, he was high-toned, inde- pendent, impartial and abundantly proof against the acts and influences which so often beset a judicial career. BACON. Nathaniel Bacon was born in Ballston, New York, in 1802, was graduated from Union College, studied law at Ballston Springs, and practised five years in Rochester before settling in Niles, Michigan, in 1833. He was prosecuting attorney in 1847, but held no other office except that of judge, and filled the judicial office only for the remainder of Judge Whipple's term. Politically he was a whig of the anti-slavery school, and a charter member of the republican party; a strong advocate of temperance, and a Presbyterian elder. 14 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. WILSON. Edward H. C. Wilson, appointed in November, 1856, to succeed Judge Wing, was a native of the eastern shore of Maryland, born August 6, 1820. He was graduated from Washington and Jefferson Col- lege, Pennsylvania, at the age of eighteen, studied law in his native state, and came to Michigan in 1845. He was prosecuting attorney of Hillsdale county for a term, and Circuit Judge for two terms. His service on the Supreme Bench extended over a period of little more than a year. Witherell. Benjamin F. H. Witherell had the distinction of serv- ing as the successor of Judge Douglass, by appointment, from May, 1857, to December 31st of the same year. He was a son of Judge James Witherell, of territorial fame; born in Fairhaven, Vermont, in August 1797, and came to the territory of Michigan with his father in boyhood. He was a member of the legislature in the forties, and of the Constitutional Con- vention of 1850. He inherited a predilection for the law and was to some extent devoted to literature. He was chosen President of the State His- torical Society, and gave to its affairs considerable attention. As a presiding judge he pronounced the only death sentence upon a convict in the state of Michigan, and in that case the prisoner was fortunate enough to escape. TURNER. Josiah Turner served as Judge of the Supreme Court by appointment of the Governor from May to December 31, 1857, vice John- son resigned. He was born at New Haven, educated at St. Albans and Middlebury College, Vermont, and came to Michigan in 1838. He had held the office of county judge, was probate judge at the time of his appointment to the Supreme Bench, and afterwards held the office of Circuit Judge until 1881. In early life he was a democrat, but became a republican upon the organization of that party. He was appointed United States Consul to Amherstburgh, Ontario, by President Garfield, and served through that and the two succeeding administrations. LAWRENCE. Edward Lawrence was a native of Middlebury, Ver- mont, and came to Michigan upon the completion of his education in 1836. He was a journalist for some time, publishing the "Michigan State Journal; was a member of the legislature, was nominated three times as the unsuc- cessful whig candidate for Congress, and generally active in politics. His service on the Supreme Bench was from May to December, 1857, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Judge Johnson. He was a good lawyer and a man of marked ability. Under the Constitution of 1850, as modified and made operative by the law of 1857, the changes and succession of Judges in the Supreme Court have been as follows: Judge Manning died in 1864, and was suc- ceeded by Thomas M. Cooley, who was first appointed to fill the vacancy and then elected in 1865 for the remainder of the term, and re-elected twice; serving continuously until May, 1885, when he resigned to accept the chairmanship of the Inter-state Commerce Commission. Judge Camp- bell was re-elected three times, served twenty-two years and died in office March, 1890. Edward Cahill, of Lansing, was appointed to fill the vacancy BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 15 occasioned by Judge Campbell's death, and served from March to Decem- ber 31, 1890. Judge Christiancy was re-elected twice and resigned in Febru- ary, 1875, to accept the office of senator of the United States. Isaac Marston was appointed to fill the vacancy and elected for the residue of that term. He was then re-elected as his own successor for a full term, which expired December 31, 1889. He resigned in February, 1883, and Thomas R. Sherwood was appointed and then elected to fill the unex- pired portion of the term. John W. Champlin, of Grand Rapids, was elected in 1883 and served one term of eight years, which expired Decem- ber 31, 1891. Allen B. Morse, of Ionia, was appointed for the residue of Judge Cooley's term. He had already been elected for the term begin- ning January 1, 1886. His service on the Bench continued until August 30, 1892 when he resigned. Charles D. Long was elected in 1887 for a term of ten years beginning January 1, 1888. John W. McGrath of Detroit, was elected in 1890 for the residue of Judge Campbell's term, and served from January 1, 1891, to December 31, 1895. Claudius B. Grant, of Marquette, was elected in 1890 for a full term of ten years. Robert M. Montgomery was elected in 1892 for a full term. George H. Durand, of Flint, was appointed in 1892 to fill a vacancy for a few months, occasioned by the resignation of Judge Morse. Frank A. Hooker was elected first in November, 1892, for the residue of the term of Judge Morse, and was elected in 1894 for a full term, beginning January 1, 1895. Joseph B. Moore was elected in 1895 for the term beginning January 1, 1896. The personnel of the court at present is Charles D. Long, Claudius. B. Grant, Robert M. Montgomery, Frank A. Hooker, and Joseph B. Moore. Charles H. Hopkins is Clerk and William D. Fuller, of Grand Rapids, Reporter. RECAPITULATION. The whole number of Judges of the Supreme Court who served during the territorial period was eleven, and the time covered was thirty-two years. The number of different Judges who served under the first constitution was twelve, and the period was. four- teen years. The number who served during the seven years of the circuit system under the second constitution was fourteen. The number of Judges who have served since 1857 is eighteen. The Supreme Court Judges of the territory were appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the senate. Under the first constitution of the state the Judges were appointed by the Governor, or nominated by him and con- firmed by the senate during the sessions of the legislature. The second constitution provided for their election by popular vote, empowering the Governor only to fill vacancies, by appointment, until the election next succeeding. The term under the first grade of territorial government was limited only by the good behavior of the incumbent; under the second grade it was fixed at four years. Under the first constitution the term was seven years, both for Judge of the Supreme Court and the Chancellor. The second constitution fixed the term of the judges of the first court 16 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. at six years, and authorized the legislature to provide by law for an inde- pendent Supreme Court at the end of that period, whose term should be eight years. This term obtained until 1887, when it was fixed at ten years. The constitutional jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is original as to writs of error-habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto and procedendo -and other remedial writs. In all other cases its jurisdiction is appellate only. Prior to 1851 no session of the Supreme Court was held at Lansing. The revised laws of 1846 required a term annually at Detroit, Kalamazoo Jackson and Pontiac. The first statutory provision under the Constitution of 1850 was for a term annually at Detroit, Kalamazoo, Adrian and Pon- tiac; but a little later provision was made for a fifth term annually, to be held in Lansing. The statute regulating the independent Supreme Court provided for two annual terms at Detroit in January and July, with two intercalary terms at Lansing in May and October. Two years later the May term was changed to April, and since 1873 all of the terms have been held in Lansing. The only subsequent change made in the calendar was made in 1875, substituting June for July. A system of Circuit Courts created in 1833 and perpetuated in the first constitution required the Circuit Judge to be a lawyer, and provided for two associates who were usually laymen. The old Circuit Courts in which one of the Judges of the Supreme Court was required to preside was not supplanted by this innovation. The territorial laws were first collected and codified in 1806, in a volume printed at Washington and called "Woodward's Code." There was no further revision and scarcely a pretense of publishing the laws until 1821, when a second codification was completed by the territorial officers under the leadership and direction of William Woodbridge, then secretary. Much confusion resulted in the meantime, and even this collec- tion was found to be very imperfect. A commission of able lawyers, con- sisting of William Woodbridge, Abraham Edwards, John Stockton, Wol- cott Lawrence, and William A. Fletcher, was appointed to make a thorough revision of all the laws, with appropriate digest, placing in a single act all that related to the same subject. The commission was empowered to omit such acts as were in a state of innocuous desuetude, and to alter or amend any others at their discretion. The work was done in a very able and satisfactory manner without any change in the personnel of the commission, except that Asa M. Robinson, was substituted for Mr. Woodbridge, who resigned. The legislature of 1837 provided for a care- ful revision of the laws and appointed Judge William A. Fletcher commis- sioner for the work. It was carelessly or at least quite imperfectly done. A very systematic and complete revision was made by Judge Sanford M. Green under appointment in 1846. Among other things accomplished by this revision was the abolishment of capital punishment in Michigan. Another complete and methodical compilation of the laws was made by Judge Cooley, as special commissioner appointed for the purpose in 1857, BENCH + 17 AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. and his excellent work was the basis of a compilation in 1871 by Judge Dewey. The work of these several commissions has materially aided the Supreme Court by rendering their researches less laborious, and therefore have been deemed worthy of mention in this connection. The Supreme Court of Michigan has always been respectable and sometimes eminent. Its original decisions declaring the law as to import- ant questions not theretofore adjudicated take high rank. They are quoted as frequently, and accepted as generally, as the most noteworthy opinions of the highest courts of any other state. Its opinions usually indicate painstaking and carefulness in research, thoughtfulness, precision and exactness in expression. The Bench has given to the state several governors, to the United States several senators, and to the world some of the most distinguished jurists and publicists of the age. The individual judges have almost uniformly been men of probity and uprightness. In their judicial work they have been actuated less by pride of opinion than by a desire to ascertain and construe the law. No judge has ever been impeached or guilty of conduct unbecoming the dignity of his exalted office. The history of this court is the recognition of a high order of jurisprudence. It is a perpetual illustration of the truth that the con- science and integrity of its judiciary are at once the glory and the safety of a free state. i- THE DEPARTMENT OF LAW IN THE UNIVER- SITY OF MICHIGAN. FROM TO-WIT," 1894. When the Law Department of Michigan University was organized in 1859, the Department of Literature, Science and the Arts had been open for eighteen years. It began in a small way; the Northwest was still for the most part a wilderness, and Ann Arbor, to which it was proposed to invite students, was but a small pioneer village, having accommodations neither for students nor for those who should instruct them. These accommodations must therefore be provided. Forty acres in the village had been given for a university campus, and on the north and south sides of this respectively, two houses were erected for the occupation of profes- sors, and the buildings which now constitute the wings of the main struct- ure on the grounds were put up. One of these was given up to the use of students as a dormitory. The Department grew in numbers and strength slowly but steadily, and after nine years had elapsed the Depart- ment of Medicine and Surgery was opened, and a building erected for its accommodation. The Faculty of that Department was one of marked abili- ty, and the school they taught was soon favorably known throughout the country. With the exception of the buildings already noticed the campus in 1859 was an open field, made use of by the students for athletic pur- poses. The need of dormitories on the grounds had by that time ceased, and the rooms the students had occupied were appropriated to the pur- poses of instruction. The room then used for a chapel was in the north college building, the university houses were still occupied by the profes- sors, though it was not expected this would much longer be the case, and with the exception of the house altered over for the use of the President, and in which he now resides, they have at the time of this writing for several years been appropriated to other purposes. A Law Department in the Uni- versity had been in contemplation from early territorial days, and was required by a mandatory provision in the act of 1837, by which the University scheme was very carefully and fully outlined. It would per- haps have been earlier organized, but the means at command were extremely limited, and as the Literary Department was obviously the first necessity it received the first attention. The Law Department was the second named in the act, but when it became possible to go further, the medical men were first on the ground, and without opposition from the 18 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 19 legal profession, they secured favorable action from the Regents for the opening of a Medical School. The call for such a school was made evi- dent by the attendance the first year, which was ninety-one. The ques- tion of organizing the Law Department was not taken up until 1858. The Board of Regents had then been reorganized on a new basis: it had before consisted of a body of twelve men appointed by the Governor, with the Governor himself, the Lieutenant Governor, the Judges of the Supreme Court, and the Chancellor as ex-officio members. It was now composed of ten members chosen by popular vote, one being elected in each of the judicial districts into which the state was divided. A majority of these were lawyers. A law committee was appointed, consisting of J. Eastman Johnson, Benjamin L. Baxter and Donald McIntyre, all of whom were lawyers, though the last named was no longer in practice, but had become a banker. At the meeting of the board in December, 1858, this commit- tee was instructed to "consider and report a plan for the establishment of a Law Department in the University," and it immediately proceeded to do so. The report was made at the March meeting, 1859, and was taken up, approved, and adopted. The general features of the plan were that instruction in the law should be given by three professors to be chosen by the board, and that it should begin on the first of October following, and continue six months in each year. As there was at the time no building that could be devoted exclusively to the purposes of this instruction, it was proposed that the room then used for a chapel should be made use of for law lectures and other department exercises, and that a library should be purchased for the department, which for the time being must find accommodations in the general library room. The annual salary pro- posed for each professor was $1,000. Such was the scheme. Before adjournment the board proceeded to the election of the professors, and James Valentine Campbell and Charles Irish Walker, of Detroit, and Thomas McIntyre Cooley, of Adrian, were unanimously agreed upon. The choice was made without, so far as is known, any previous consul- tation with the persons selected. Henry P. Tappan was at that time President of the University and presiding officer of the Board of Regents. He was a man of large ability, commanding presence and good speaking talent, who had been recommended to the place by the historian, George Bancroft, to whom it had been first offered, and he had fully proved his fitness not only by instruction given in philosophy and other lines, but also by his skill in administration, and the general good will he had secured from professors and students. Difficulty between himself and the Regents sprung up afterwards which led to his leaving the University, but at this time the relations between him and the Board were altogether har- monious and agreeable. In the matter of planning for a Law Department there is nothing in the records indicating that he took active part, but what was done is known to have had his cordial approval, and he contri- buted, in so far as his office gave occasion for his doing so, to make the 20 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. success of the plan complete. And it may properly be added here that so long as he remained President of the University his relations to the Law Department were altogether pleasant and satisfactory. It may well be called a piece of good fortune that the regents were able to secure the services of Professors Campbell and Walker for the new school. The salary offered was not attractive, and if either of them accepted, it would be from a sense of duty or from love of the work. They would not be expected to change their residences from Detroit to Ann Arbor, but to go out for the delivery of lectures would be attended with no slight inconvenience. Professor Campbell was then in the prime of life. He was born at Buffalo, N. Y., in 1823, but his father removed with him to Detroit in 1826 while Michigan, outside of Detroit, was almost an unbroken wilderness, and the small town in which his father took up his abode was still little more than a French village. He had grown up with the town, and as boy and man had always beeen a favorite with the people. He was admitted to the bar in 1844, and it was not long before he had made for himself a place among its leaders. His legal acquirements were broad and thorough, his mind was acute and clear, he was remarkably quick as well as accurate in his perceptions of legal principles, he was a forcible though not an eloquent speaker, never attempt- ing to be ornate, but keeping closely to the point in hand, and from the obvious sincerity and candor with which he urged his views upon court or jury, he had demonstrated his worth as an advocate, and had no difficulty in securing and keeping his full share of professional success. The Supreme Court of the State had just been reorganized on a popular basis, the Justices to be elected in the State at large, and by common consent he seemed to be indicated as eminently fitted for a place in it, and was chosen. Professor Campbell had a taste for historical pursuits, especially as related to his own country, and though he had not, up to this time, appeared as an author, except of minor articles, he did so subsequently, publishing in 1876 the “Outlines of the Political History in Michigan," an octavo of 600 pages, which has standard value. Papers and addresses pub- lished or made by him at different times, and now recalled to mind, are the following: "The Dangers of Church Centralization," 1856; “Mora- vians in Michigan," 1858; "Some Remarks on the Polity of the Protest- ant Episcopal Church in the United States," 1865; “Our City Schools," Address delivered in Toledo, 1869; "Does the Law deal Unfairly with Questions of Insanity," 1870; "Of the Taking of Private Property for Purposes of Utility," 1871; "Some Hints on Defects in the Jury Sys- tem," 1876; "Law Abridgement," 1879; "Materials of Jurisprudence,' 1880; "Judicial History of Michigan," semi-centennial address delivered at Lansing, 1886. He was a modest man, but steadfast in his opinions, and as a judge had all those qualities we like to see in one who may be called on to determine the legal claims we make, and the right we under- take to defend as against invasion by others. Professor Walker was the ! BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 21 ' senior of Professor Campbell by some nine years, having been born in Otse- go county, New York, in 1814. He came to Michigan in 1836 when the rage for speculation in wild lands and town sites was fast becoming a mania, and in 1839 he entered upon the study of law. In 1840 his studies were interrupted by an election to the State Legislature, but after service in that body for one term he decided to go to New England to complete his preparation for the bar. This he did, in part at Springfield, Mass., and in part at Brattleboro, Vt., and after admission to the bar he prac- ticed law in Vermont until 1851, he then returned to Michigan and opened a law office in Detroit. That he might look for distinguished success will be apparent when it is stated that he was thoroughly grounded in legal principles, and his candor and purity of purpose were always unquestioned, that he was noted rather for patient labor and accuracy than for quick- ness, but that in the give and take of trials and legal contests of all sorts, his antagonist seldom found him unprepared or unequipped. He was a gentleman always, and his courtesy was unfailing. He could hardly be called an easy or a graceful speaker, but he always stated his points with clearness and precision, and by close adherence to them commanded the attention of his audience whenever and wherever he spoke. He interested himself greatly in matters pertaining to the early history of the Northwest, and in 1858 he delivered an elaborate and carefully prepared address on "De la Motte Cadillac and the First Ten Years of Detroit," which was followed later by papers on "The Early Jesuits in Michigan,” “Mich- igan From 1796 to 1805," "The Civil Administration of General Hull,' and in 1871 he delivered an address before the Historical Society of Wis- consin on "The Northwest During the Revolution." These all have permanent value. No one doubted that Professor Walker would prove an excellent teacher in his new position if he accepted it. Professor Cooley was the youngest of the three appointees, having been born at Attica, N. Y., in 1824. He removed to Adrian, in this State, in 1843, and there completed law studies which he had been following in New York for one year, and was admitted to the bar in 1846. He was best known to the people of the State at the time of his appointment by the Regents through a compilation he had made and published in 1857 of the General Statutes of the State. Two general revisions of the statutes which had before that time been made had proved unsatisfactory, and the people in amending their constitution had forbidden the making of any more, and had required the legislature to elect a compiler to bring together and publish all general statutes whenever it should be thought needful. The legislature chose Mr. Cooley to do this work in 1857. The task was one of some nicety and difficulty, and it went back to the earliest days of territorial govern- ment, but it was completed within the year, and the result in two large volumes has been received with satisfaction by the legislature and the public. The plan of arrangement then made use of has been followed ever since. The reorganized Supreme Court had made the compiler its 22 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. official reporter, and he had published one volume of reports, and in 1859 had another nearly ready. It may be added here that his subsequent labors as an author were mainly, but not altogether, in the line of the law. The professorships in the Law Department were named, respectively the Marshall, Kent and Jay professorships, after the great American jurists who bore those names, and Professor Campbell was assigned to the first professorship, Professor Walker to the second, and Professor Cooley to the third. The new appointees met shortly after the action of the Regents had been taken, and proceeded to consider the situation. A great labor had been thrown upon them, and it became necessary that they should determine the manner in which it should be performed, and assign to each of their number the part he was to take in it. The first necessity obvi- ously was to provide for a resident professor, for none of their number then resided at Ann Arbor. Circumstances seemed to indicate clearly that the resident professor must be the third named on the list, for his residence was at a point that would preclude his retaining it and discharging, with any convenience to himself, the labors expected of him. No objection was, therefore, made on his part to the desire expressed by the others that he should at once remove to Ann Arbor. The subjects upon which they should respectively give instruction were then brought under discus- sion. The Regents had not undertaken to apportion these, and the pro- fessors, after full consideration, reached an agreement that Professor Camp- bell must take whatever pertained to Equity Jurisprudence and its adminis- tration, to Criminal Law, the Law of Evidence, and Shipping and Admiralty. That to Professor Walker should be assigned Contracts, including Bills and Notes, and Commercial Law generally, together with Common Law Pleading and Practice. This left to Professor Cooley the law of Real Estate, of the Domestic Relations and whatever pertained to the Estates of Deceased Per- sons, Uses and Trusts, and Commercial Law. The mere statement of these general subjects is sufficient to indicate how great each professor must have felt was the burden that had been put upon him. In making the assign- ments the professors had, to some extent, consulted personal wishes and taken into consideration what had been the lines of their practice at the bar, and the subject with which they had most often been called upon to deal, but this could not be altogether controlling, and some subjects, as was to be expected, were accepted rather unwillingly. Nevertheless, the assignments as made were accepted without serious objection, each yielding something to the wishes of his associates. The inadequacy of the time at their command for a satisfactory presentation of the several branches of the law by means of lectures was obvious, the professors felt it very forcibly, and it was agreed between them that, so far as should be found practicable, they must arrange to be always accessible to students, that the instruction given by lectures might be supplemented by that which could be given in their consultation rooms when personal calls were made for assistance or explanation. The purpose expressed to this BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 23 effect was always acted upon afterwards, and the general fact was that the professor lecturing for the day was really not giving instruction for two lecture hours merely, but for all the time that he remained upon the University grounds. It is the history of all educational institutions that they are at times greatly pressed for means; and this was emphatically true of the University of Michigan at the time the Regents proceeded to establish the Law School. It was then exceedingly difficult for them to meet the current expenses of the University, and they had only acted, in enlarging the field of instruction, upon what they felt to be an impera- tive obligation, but the salaries paid must be the very smallest that would secure competent performance of the duties, and they were at first fixed at the very inadequate sum already named, because to pay a larger would be impossible. The place designated for the delivery of lectures, it was agreed on all hands, was an exceedingly unsuitable one. It was not only inadequate for the needs of the department, but its use for that purpose to some extent interfered with uses to which it had been appropriated before. It was only taken for the purpose because no other room was then available, and the Regents recognized the necessity of taking immedi- For that pur- ate steps looking to provision for better accommodations. pose the law committee of the Regents and the Law Faculty were empow- ered and requested to devise, if possible, ways and means whereby a suitable building might be erected for the exclusive use of the Law Depart- ment. They were also authorized to examine as to the best locality for the building, and to present a general plan therefor to the Regents. The committee at once entered upon the performance of this duty, persevered until success had crowned their labors. The general course of instruc- tion in the department was to embrace two lectures of an hour each for five days in each week. Upon these lectures the professors who delivered them examined the class afterwards. The plan adopted for the examina- tion was such as to make the exercise quite as much one of instruction for the student as one calculated to draw from him what he had learned from the lecture upon which he was examined, for it was accompanied continu- ously by explanations, by remarks additional to what had been said before, by the citation of illustrative cases, and by responses to such questions as the student felt inclined to ask, either upon what the professor had said in the lecture or upon the general subject. The Law Department was formally opened at the beginning of October, 1859, and Professor Camp- bell, who had been made Dean of the Faculty, delivered an able and thoughtful address on "The Study of Law." A short extemporaneous address was also made by the President of the University. The number of students entering the department the first year was ninety. Several of these had been admitted to the bar before coming, and a still larger num- ber were fully prepared for admission under the rules then prevailing for the purpose in the circuit courts of Michigan, but had delayed applying therefor that they might first take a law course he went in school. The 24 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. first law lecture was delivered by Professor Walker. The students who had entered were all very naturally in exuberant spirits, for they partook of the general feeling of exultation that the new department was now to be added to the University. The most of them had personal acquaintance with the new professors, and were gratified by the choice of the Regents, and when Professor Walker took the lecture stand he was received with a demonstration of noisy exuberance that testified in a very emphatic man- ner, not only to their good feeling, but also to their satisfaction in com- ing under his instruction. Professor Walker was in many respects a model lecturer. He was never in the habit of writing his lectures out, but he spoke from very full notes, presenting the leading principles upon which he proposed to address the class very clearly, though concisely, enlarging upon them as he proceeded, and giving citations to many cases the bearing of which he explained. He had a strong voice. He spoke deliberately, and no one had any difficulty in catching exactly what he said, or in taking copious notes as the lecture proceeded. His general course continued the same so long as he remained in the department. It is almost needless to say that from the very first he was always a favorite with the students, for what he undertook to teach them was clearly and forcibly put, and they could not well fail to understand and retain it. Pro- fessor Campbell followed Professor Walker on another lecture day. His course was somewhat different; his notes were more fully written out, and he spoke with great ease and fluency. He covered more ground in a lecture than did his associate who preceded him, and what he said if written out precisely as delivered, might almost without correction or change have been accepted as a chapter in a standard work upon the sub- ject treated. The writer has often thought that if his lectures upon equity jurisprudence had been taken down exactly as he delivered them, and reproduced in book form, they would have constituted a not inade- quate substitute for any work on that subject then in existence. He was not less acceptable to the class than was Professor Walker, though they followed him with somewhat more difficulty, and took less copious notes of what he said. Instruction in the Law School was now fairly begun. It was said by one who some years afterwards wrote upon the history of the University, emphasizing in doing so some unpleasant controversies, that the Law Department had no history. By this was meant only that it had no internal dissensions to attract public notice, and no quarrels with other departments, or with their professors, or with the governing authori- ties of the University. Understood in this sense the statement is entirely correct. The department had no history of this unpleasant sort. Its business went on peacefully and regularly, with unbroken success, without demonstration of any sort having for its object the annoyance of others, or to give to its own affairs factitious importance or prominence. It should in fairness be admitted, however, that the manner in which the stu- pents received their first professor in the lecture room was so enjoyable at BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 25 the time that it was repeated from day to day, and was soon found to have perpetuated itself; the habit of receiving their preceptors with good natured but noisy demonstration whenever they took the lecture stand, and of indulging sportively in similar demonstrations during any little recess between exercises was never abandoned. But it should also be said that the practice never became discourteous to professors, and no instance is recalled in which it failed to yield when a call to order was made by the lecturer for the day. The demonstration never had for its purpose to insult or annoy; there was simply boisterous good nature, which resulted in no harm to any one, and was tolerated because it caused no vexation. It was agreed by the professors at their first meeting that moot courts must be made a special feature of the course, quite beyond what had been customary in law schools, and that the professors must give freely of their time in assisting the students assigned to take part in them in their preparation for the hearings. This understanding was carried out with liberal expen- diture of labor, and the moot courts became an attractive feature in the instruction. The students very generally attended them; they were pre- sided over by the lecturer for the day, who made such suggestions as seemed called for as the argument proceeded. At the conclusion he com- mented upon and criticised the briefs and discussion, if it seemed wise to do so, and then applied the law. By this course he did not simply decide the case that had been discussed, but he gave instruction upon the points involved as well as upon the manner in which the counsel had prepared for and presented them, and made the exercise one of practical value. The first law commencement took place at the end of March, 1860. Twenty-four of the class were by their attainments deemed worthy to receive the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and it was awarded to them. The day was a gala day, not only to the students themselves, but to the peo- ple of Ann Arbor, who flocked to the hall to witness the ceremonies. A new department of the University was now launched, and had been success- fully opened. The work for the year had been satisfactory to the Regents, and to every one concerned. It seemed certain that the new department was a success. Justice Isaac P. Christiancy, of the State Supreme Court, a strong man and a profound lawyer, was invited to deliver the commence- ment address. The address delivered was able, consisting mainly of advice to the young men who were now to enter upon the practical duties of their chosen profession. It was received with enthusiasm by those to whom it was addressed, and was a fitting close to a busy year. The attendance upon the department for the second year was one hundred and fifty-nine, but in the third year there was a drop to one hundred and twenty-nine. The great civil war was then upon the country, and the young men were rushing to the scene of war instead of to the institutions of learning, where otherwise they might have been looked for. Many who were in the depart- ment the year before had now gone to the front, and a number never returned. From this time on, however, attendance in the Law School 26 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. increased constantly, but the details will not be given here. Students came from all parts of the country, and they scattered after commencement, finding locations in every state and territory of the Union. The committee who had been appointed by the Regents to select a site for the law buildings, and to take steps for securing its construction, had been engaged in the per- formance of their duty from the time of their appointment. In less than three years they were prepared to advise that construction be immediately proceeded with. They selected for the location the spot which was after- wards occupied; they secured a plan for the building which was acceptable to the Regents, and in 1862-3 the building was erected and made ready for occupation at the beginning of the law term in October of the last named year. It was thought proper to make the dedication of the build- ing a somewhat notable occasion, and Professor Cooley was designated to deliver an address, and D. Bethune Duffield, the lawyer-poet of Detroit, was invited and consented to enliven the occasion with a poem. The address was largely devoted to pointing out and emphasizing the duties of the lawyer to society, to his profession and to the institutions of his country, and the poem, though much on the same lines, had a special and strong appeal to the patriotic sentiments of those whose professions imposed upon them, more particularly than upon others, the duty, under all cir- cumstances, of abiding by and assisting in the enforcement of the laws of their country, and of supporting by brain, and by life in the last resort, their constitutional government. As the school continued to grow it was seen by the Regents that its faculty should be enlarged also, and in 1866 provision was made for a new professorship, to be called the Fletcher professorship, this name being conferred in honor of Judge Richard Fletcher, of Massachusetts, who had made to the department a valuable donation of books. Mr. Ashley Pond, of Detroit, was appointed to fill it. He was a very able lawyer, and an acceptable lecturer aftr a manner pecu- liarly his own. He consented to take the place somewhat unwillingly. His professional business was very large; he was counsel for some very heavy business enterprises, including one of our principal railroads, and after two years service he felt under the necessity of asking to be relieved. Charles A. Kent, of Detroit, was appointed to succeed him. He also was an able and sound lawyer. His manner, both in the preparation and delivery of his lectures, was not unlike that of Professor Walker; he made his points clearly; he had full notes; he was ready and clear in his explana- tions, and he secured at once the respect and esteem of his classes, and always retained them. The Tappan professorship, named for the late President of the University, was created in 1879, and Alpheus Felch was chosen to fill it. Professor Felch was one of the best known citizens of the Northwest. He had filled with honor many important positions; he had been bank commissioner of Michigan when the State was first organ- ized; he had been Justice of the State Supreme Court, Governor of the State and Senator in Congress, and in every one of these positions he had í BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 27 won honor for himself and commanded the respect of the people. He was now called from his retirement at Ann Arbor to do further service as a teacher of the young men who were to follow him in the profession. He was an excellent lawyer, an easy and graceful speaker, and, though speak- ing somewhat more rapidly than most of his associates, he made his points so clear that he was followed by his hearers without difficulty, and they were able to take notes sufficiently full for all practical purposes. He resigned his position in 1883, much to the regret of his associates. But Professor Henry Wade Rogers, now President of the Northwestern Uni- versity at Evanston, Illinois, who was chosen to succeed him, and made Dean of the Faculty, proved, as was expected, a worthy successor. His preparation was always full; his delivery was clear, deliberate and pointed. He soon became popular with his classes, and when he retired to accept the position offered him at Evanston, which he still fills with success, he did so greatly to the regret of those who had been associated with him in instruction or otherwise while he remained at this University. Jerome C. Knowlton, the present able and popular Dean, who had before been giving instruction as assistant professor, was now very properly advanced to the vacant place. Brief statement will be made here of the further connection of the members of the first faculty with the school they organized. Pro- fessor Walker, who had for sometime felt himself overworked, resigned in 1876, and William P. Wells, of Detroit, was appointed to succeed him. Mr. Wells was a good lawyer, and a strong, clear and forcible speaker. Mr. Walker gave lectures in 1879-81 and 1886-87, and then left the school finally. He had well earned his rest. Professor Campbell died in 1890— a great loss to the University and to the State, both of which he had served long, faithfully and ably. Mr. Walker and himself had given valuable instruction in the law to an army of young men, but in no way had their connection with the University and with the department been more import- ant or more useful than in their every-day life' and deportment. They were always accessible to proper calls; they met everyone courteously, and with no assumption of superiority, and they maintained at all times the dignity of deportment of upright and honorable gentlemen. It hardly need be said that the lesson of such lives is of the very highest value to young men, and that it seldom fails to have great weight in molding the character and elevating the motives of those who in youth are fortunate enough to be associated with and impressed by them. Professor Cooley from the weight of other duties, in 1884 felt obliged to resign, and his resignation was accepted. From time to time thereafter, however, he found oppor- tunity to deliver lectures upon special subjects, mostly of a constitutional nature, but sometimes upon other topics that for the time had immediate importance. He gave one course upon the Inter-State Commerce Law. This was intended to be a very full and complete course. He also lectured upon Rights, discussing the subject in all its aspects so far as it could be supposed interesting or specially important to a class of law students; also 28 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. upon legal and constitutional questions involved in municipal government. In the year 1870 women were received in the classes, and thereafter were always present. The first woman was graduated in 1871. In 1884 the law term was extended to nine months in a year, and in 1886 the classes were separated for the purposes of instruction. In 1889 a post-graduate course was established, upon which the attendance has been good. In 1892 a large addition was made to the law building. But the history of the department after the writer left it should be written by some one to whom its interior workings are more familiar. The historical notice he proposed was of the early period only, and is now completed. The writer will not do full justice to his feelings in regard to the treatment of the department by others connected with the University if he fails to speak of the successive presidents and their cordial relations to the law work. President Tappan has already been spoken of; his successor, Erastus Otis Haven, was equally cordial; so was Henry Simmons Frieze, who for a time was acting President. No one of these took special part in the action of the Law Faculty, or went beyond lending countenance to what had been decided upon, and their aid in giving it practical effect. President James Burrill Angell has sometimes gone somewhat further; he has many times been the judicious adviser as well as the executive officer, and his aid has been cordially welcomed whenever changes in the personnel of instructors, or in the course of instruction, were under consideration. Long may the faculty have the assistance of his wise counsel. The Law Department of Michigan University has always been in a high sense what its founders meant it should be a truly national school. We cannot enlarge upon this topic here. One or two facts will sufficiently show the national character of the school. The graduating class of 1890 collected statistics recently which showed members of the class located for business in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington, the provinces of New Brunswick and Ontario, and in Japan. If further evidence were desired, it would be furnished by the statistics for the current college year; for the students in attendance represent thirty- three states and territories of the American Union, and five foreign coun- tries. So they come and go, and as they go each of them, it is hoped and believed, carries with him respect for law and order, and gives important aid in distributing the blessings of good government throughout the globe. THOMAS M. COOLEY. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 29 FIRST FACULTY OF THE LAW SCHOOL. Attention has often been called to the singular good fortune of our Law School in securing for its first Faculty three so eminent and successful teachers as Professors Campbell, Walker and Cooley. It was equally for- tunate in retaining them so many years. Judge Cooley, in his article in this publication, has dwelt somewhat on the services of his colleagues. This paper is intended to furnish some facts concerning his life and services which for obvious reasons he could not be expected to present. Thomas M. Cooley was by a year the junior of James V. Campbell. He was born in Attica, N. Y., in 1824. While struggling against many adversities, he obtained his education at school and his professional preparation. He came to Michigan in 1843, and was admitted to the bar in Adrian in 1846. In 1857 he was selected to compile the General Statutes of Michigan, and in 1858 was appointed reporter of the Supreme Court. On his appointment to the professorship in the Law School he removed to Ann Arbor. In 1864 he took his seat on the Supreme Bench, and retained it until 1885. When the Inter-State Commerce Commission was organized he accepted, at the urgent solicitation of President Cleveland, the chairmanship of the com- mission, which he retained until ill health compelled him to resign the post in 1891. He resigned the Jay Professorship of Law in 1884, but has almost every year given a few special lectures in the department. He also took the chair of History and Constitutional Law in the Literary Department in 1885, and gave most valuable courses of lectures. He remained in this post until January 1, 1887. He has consented, at the urgent request of the Regents, to allow his name to stand on the faculty list of the Univer- sity Calendar, with the understanding that he should give an occasional lecture when the state of his health would permit. The lecture room is always crowded when it is known that he is to speak on any legal or his- torical topic. As a lecturer on law, he was noted for the sharpness of his analysis, for the clearness with which he stated principles, for the legal learning with which he illustrated and expounded his statements, and for the breadth and soundness of his generalizations. He did not write his lectures. He spoke from brief notes slowly, and with such lucidity and precision of language that the students easily grasped and held his thoughts. The fame which during the years of his connection with the Law School he was winning as a judge and as an author of law treatises, was constantly bringing great honor to the school, and inspiring his students with the deepest respect for him and with pride in his achievements. As Dean and the only resident professor, he was brought into close personal contact with the students. He was ever accessible to them, his relations to them were most informal and friendly, they consulted him with the utmost freedom, and they always left the school with a mingled feeling 30 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. toward him of gratitude and reverence. His untiring industry furnished a most stimulating example to them. His simple, but pure and noble char- acter left its impress on every student who was capable of being inspired by purity and nobility. The elevating influence which he exerted upon the personal and professional life of thousands of students who were under his care cannot be measured. The records of the Law Department show that Judge Cooley's first lecture was given October 6, 1859. It was on the Origin of Title to Real Estate in America. His first lecture on Constitu- tional Law was delivered on October 4, 1860. It was entitled Consti- tutional Government. His subjects during his connection with the depart- ment were as follows: 1. Real Estate and Title Thereto, from 1859 to 1886, excepting the two years 1881-83; 2. Uses and Trusts, for the same time; 3. Constitutional Law, from 1860 to 1885; 4. Taxation, for the same period; 5. Domestic Relations, until 1883; 6. Wills and the Administration of Estates of Deceased Persons, until 1882; 7. Partner- ship, for fifteen years. After ceasing to lecture regularly in the depart- ment, he gave a course on Rights, Moral and Legal, and a course on the Inter-State Commerce Law. The records show that he frequently deliv- ered to the students special lectures on subjects not called for in the regular course. It seems proper to give here a list of the works which he has produced, most of them in connection with his work as law professor. Perhaps his Constitutional Limitations, which first appeared in 1868, is the work by which he is and will be most widely known. It has given him the reputation of one of the highest authorities on constitutional law where- ever that subject is studied. In 1870 appeared his edition of Blackstone, in 1874 his edition of Story's Commentaries, in 1876 his Taxation, in 1879 his work on Torts, and in 1880 his manual of Constitutional Law. In 1885 his History of Michigan was published in the American Common- wealth Series. Judge Cooley has been a frequent contributor to reviews upon important legal and governmental questions. He has also been called upon often to give addresses upon questions of law and history on important public occasions. The following is a fuller list of titles of such articles and addresses than has before been published, though it is not complete: Some Checks and Balances in Government. "International Review,” May and June, 1876. Limits to State Control of Private Business. March, 1878. "Princeton Review," Address to the Changes in the Balance of Governmental Powers. law students of the University of Michigan, 1878. The Surrender of Fugitives From Justice. January, 1879. "Princeton Review," The Recording Laws of the United States, their Inadequacy and Their Danger. Address before the American Bar Association, 1881. Presidential Inability. "North American Review," November, 1881. State Regulation of Corporate Profits. "North American Review,'' September, 1883. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 31 The Abnegation of Self Government. ber, 1883. "Princeton Review," Novem- Law as an Educating Force. Address at the Law Commencement University of Michigan, 1884. Codification. "American Law Review," May and June, 1886. Arbitration in Labor Disputes. "The Forum," June, 1886. The Influence of Habits of Thought upon our Institutions. Address before the South Carolina Bar Association, 1886. (Rewritten and read in Ann Arbor, November 13, 1893.) The Acquisition of Louisiana. Address before the Indiana Historical Society, 1887. The Uncertainty of the Law. Address before the Georgia Bar Associa- tion, 1887. On the Promulgation of the Constitution of Japan. Address at Johns Hopkins University, 1889. Comparative Merits of Written and Prescriptive Constitutions. Address before the New York Bar Association, 1889. Also in "Harvard Law Review,'' March, 1889. The Place of the Federal Supreme Court in the American Constitu- tional System. Address before the Political Science Association of the University of Michigan, 1889. Federal Taxation of Lotteries. "Atlantic Monthly," April, 1892. Methods of Appointing Presidental Electors. "Michigan Law Jour- nal," February, 1892. Sovereignty in the United States. "Michigan Law Journal," April, 1892. State Bank Issues in Michigan. Publications of the Michigan Political Science Association. No. 1, May, 1893. Federal Taxation of State Bank Issues. Idem. The Power to Amend the Federal Constitution. Journal," April, 1893. 1893. "Michigan Law Grave Obstacles to Hawaiian Annexation. "The Forum," June, The Administration of Justice in the United States in Civil Cases. Address before the World's Fair Auxiliary; also in "Michigan Law Jour- nal," September, 1893. Independence of the Legislative Department of Government. ment before the Supreme Court of Michigan, 1893. Argu- *Liability of Public Officers to Private Actions for Neglect of Duty. "Southern Law Review," 1877. The Semi-Centennial of Michigan. Address delivered at the celebra- tion of the State Semi-Centennial, 1886. What the Law can do for the Health of the People. Address at a State Sanitary Convention. The Cases in Which the Master is Liable for Injuries. "Southern Law Review," 1876. The Judicial Functions of Surveyors, 1852. What Shall be done With our Ex-presidents? Contribution to a symposium, "The Century," December, 1885. Judge Cooley's work on the Inter-State Commerce Commission was *This paper opens with a sentence which has now become somewhat famous, "A public office is a public trust." Several persons have been credited with the first utterance of it. There seems no reason to doubt that Judge Cooley is the original author of the expression. 32 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. , performed after he left his chair in the Law Department. He brought to it the best powers of his ripest years. I have heard one of his colleagues on the commission say that Judge Cooley did for the body of the Inter-State Commerce Law what Marshall did for the Constitution in determining its scope and meaning. In the conscientious discharge of his duties he prob- ably overtasked his constitution, to whose powers of endurance, for thirty years, there seemed to be no limit. But in these late years of tedious illness, which have set a limit to his physical activity, though not to his mental, his interest in the fortunes of the Law School and the University, to whose service he has devoted so much of his life, has remained unabated. Long may he be spared to rejoice in its prosperity, and to delight its stu- dents and its professors, as he is pleased to do from time to time, by appearing upon the rostrum where he lectured to twenty-five successive classes. JAMES B. ANGELL. LAW FACULTY. 1879-80-James V. Campbell (Marshall), Thos. M. Cooley, Dean, (Jay), Chas. A. Kent, (Fletcher), Wm. H. Wells (Kent), Alpheus Felch (Tappan), Chas. I. Walker (in absence of Wells). Same as above for the next three years. 1883-84-Thos. M. Cooley, Dean, James V. Campbell, 1886-87-Henry W. Rogers, Dean, Harry B. Hutchins, Chas. I. Walker, Levi T. Griffin, Jerome C. Knowlton. SPECIAL LECTURERS. Edward S. Dunster, Victor C. Vaughan, Chas. H. Stowell, Thos. C. Trueblood. 1887-88--Henry W. Rogers, Dean, Levi T. Griffin, Wm. H. Wells, Jerome C. Knowlton. Chas. A. Kent, Wm. H. Wells, Henry W. Rogers, Secretary. 1884-85-James V. Campbell, Chas. A. Kent, Dean, SPECIAL LECTURERS. Henry B. Brown, Melville M. Bigelow, Wm. G. Hammond, Bradley M. Thompson, Edward S. Dunster, Victor C. Vaughan, Chas. H. Stowell, Thos. C. Trueblood. 1888-89-Henry W. Rogers, Dean, Levi T. Griffin, Wm. H. Wells, Bradley M. Thompson, Jerome C. Knowlton. Wm. H. Wells, Henry W. Rogers, Secretary, Harry B. Hutchins. 1885-86-Chas. A Kent, Dean, Henry W. Rogers, Secretary, Harry B. Hutchins, Otto Kirchner, Jerome C. Knowlton. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 33 SPECIAL LECTURERS. Henry B. Brown, Melville M. Bigelow, Wm. G. Hammond, Victor C. Vaughan, Chas. H. Stowell, Thos. C. Trueblood. 1889-90-Henry W. Rogers, Dean, Levi T. Griffin, Wm. H Wells, Bradley M. Thompson, Jerome C. Knowlton, Thos. C. Trueblood. SPECIAL LECTURERS. Henry B. Brown, Wm. G. Hammond, Victor C. Vaughan. ASSISTANTS. John H. Winans, Wm. V. Rinehart. 1890–91—Levi T. Griffin, Wm. H. Wells, Bradley M. Thompson, Jerome C. Knowlton, Acting Dean, Thos. C. Trueblood, Henry W. Rogers, Melville M. Bigelow. SPECIAL LECTURERS. Henry B. Brown, Victor C. Vaughan, Marshall D. Ewell, Samuel Maxwell, James L. High, John B. Clayberg, Wm. H. Howell, Richard Hudson. ASSISTANTS. Elias F. Johnson, Rodolphus W. Joslyn, Samuel H. Goodall, Rufus H. Bennett, Guy B. Thompson. 1891-92-Levi T. Griffin, Bradley M. Thompson, Jerome C. Knowlton, Nathan Abbott, John W. Champlin, Edwin F. Conely, Andrew C. McLaughlin, Thos. C. Trueblood, Elias Finley Johnson. SPECIAL LECTURERS. Henry B. Brown, Marshall D. Ewell, Samuel Maxwell, James L. High, John B. Clayberg, Victor C. Vaughan, Melville M. Bigelow, George H. Lothrop, Wm. G. Hammond, Wm. H. Howell, Richard Hudson, Henry C. Adams. 1892-93-Levi T. Griffin, Bradley M. Thompson, Jerome C. Knowlton, John W. Champlin, Edwin F. Conely, Dean, Andrew C. McLaughlin, Floyd R. Mechem, Thos. C. Trueblood, Elias Finley Johnson. SPECIAL LECTURERS. Henry B. Brown, Marshall D. Ewell, Samuel Maxwell, James L. High, John B. Clayberg, Victor C. Vaughan, Melville M. Bigelow, Geo. H. Lothrop, Wm. G. Hammond, Henry C. Adams. 1893-94-Levi T. Griffin, Bradley M. Thompson, Jerome C. Knowlton, John W. Champlin, Floyd R. Mechem, Thos. C. Trueblood, Alexis C. Angell, Otto Kirchner, Dean, Elias Finley Johnson, Dean, Secretary. 34 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. SPECIAL LECTURERS. Marshall D. Ewell, Samuel Maxwell, James L. High, John B. Clayberg, Victor C. Vaughan, Melville M. Bigelow, Geo. H. Lothrop, Wm. G. Hammond, Henry C. Adams, Richard Hudson, Henry H. Swan. 1894-95-Levi T. Griffin, Bradley M. Thompson, Jerome C. Knowlton, Dean, John W. Champlin, Floyd R. Mechem, Alexis C. Angell, Otto Kirchner, Thos. A. Bogle, Elias F. Johnson, Secretary, John W. Dwyer, Thomas W. Hughes, Walter D. Smith. SPECIAL LECTURERS. Andrew C. McLaughlin, Thos. C. Trueblood, Thos. M. Cooley, Henry H. Swan, Victor C. Vaughan, Marshall D. Ewell, James L. High, Melville M. Bigelow, John B. Clayberg, Richard Hudson, Geo. H. Lothrop, Henry C. Adams, Clarence L. Meader, Frank F. Reed. 1895-96-Same as 1894-95, with the following additions; Harry B. Hutchins, Dean, Horace L. Wilgus, Professor, Albert H. Walker, Special Lecturer, 1896-97-Same as 1895-96, except the following: Marshall D. Ewell, Walter D. Smith, John W. Champlin. MICHIGAN'S COURT OF CHANCERY. BY EX-GOVERNOR ALPHEUS FELCH. READ BEFORE THE MICHIGAN PIONEER AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY JUNE 2, 1892. The Michigan Court of Chancery was established and the office of chancellor created by act of the legislature approved March 26, 1836. This act was amended in July of the same year, and the year following both statutes were repealed and a new law continuing the independent Court of Chancery, with more specific provisions as to its powers and juris- diction, was enacted. By this statute the powers and jurisdiction were made co-existive with the powers and jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery in England with the exceptions, additions and limitations created and imposed by the constitution and laws of the State. The act also refers specifically to some of the subjects to which its jurisdiction extends and which are within its proper cognizance. It expressly recognizes the authority to compel the discovery of the property of the fraudulent debtor, to enforce trusts, to issue injunctions, to discover and relieve against frauds, to foreclose mortgages, to appoint receivers. It in fact establishes a Court of Chancery, with the principal equity powers of the English Court of Chancery with the requisite subordinate officers and with full authority to enforce its decrees. Its presiding officer, although denominated a Chancellor, unlike the Chancellor of England, was to hold no political station. His office was simply judicial in its character and was limited to adjudications upon the rights of parties litigant as recognized in a court of equity. He was to be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and was to hold the office for seven years. The State was divided into three circuits (afterwards increased to five), in each of which two terms were to be held annually, and an appeal was given from the decrees of the Chancellor to the Supreme Court of the State. In July, 1836, Elon Farnsworth received the appointment of Chan- cellor, and soon after the Court of Chancery was organized and the exer- cise of its functions commenced. Chancellor Farnsworth was a native of Vermont, being born at Wood- stock in that state on the second day of February, 1799. He graduated from Middlebury college and immediately after graduation commenced the study of the law. In 1822 he came to Michigan, and for some time was in the office of Messrs. Sibley & Whitney, the most prominent law firm of Detroit at that early day. In 1824 we find him in the practice of 35 36 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. { his profession at that place, and there his residence was continued until his death, which occurred March 24, 1877. He was a successful, able and honorable member of the legal profession, always surrounded by warm and devoted friends and always regarded by all as a man of strict integrity and unquestioned honor. He was a member of the last legislative council of the territory of Michigan in 1834 and 1835, and in 1843 he was Attor- ney General of the State. When the new Court of Chancery was estab- lished in 1836 public attention was at once directed to him as the man most eminently qualified for the duties of the presiding officer of a court of equity. Always calm, deliberate and cautious, every solicitor who appeared before him was made at his ease, and both counsel and litigants had perfect confidence in his ability and his integrity. He was an ardent lover of justice, and always astute in his scrutiny of both the testimony and the arguments of counsel that he might be certain to seize the real truth of the case and well understand the rights of all the parties. None but they who were in the wrong ever feared the result of his deliberation or the announcement of his decision. C Chancellor Farnsworth continued to hold the office from the organiza- tion of the court in 1836 until 1842, when on account of ill health, he resigned. The vacancy was filled by the appointment of Hon. Randolph Manning, who entered at once on the duties of the office and during the next four years continued faithfully and ably to perform them. Chancellor Manning was born at Plainfield, in New Jersey, May 19, 1804, and studied for the legal profession in the city of New York. He came to Michigan in 1832 and at once entered on the practice of his pro- fession at Pontiac. He soon attracted the attention and secured the con- fidence and respect of his fellow citizens who early bestowed upon him testimonials of their high regard. He was elected a member of the con- vention which held its sessions in May and June, 1835, at Detroit, and drafted the first constitution of the State of Michigan. In 1836 he was a member of the State Senate, and in 1838 was Secre- tary of State. In 1846 he resigned the office of Chancellor and returned to the practice of his profession, but so acceptable had his services as a judicial officer been to the public that subsequently, in 1858, he was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, and in that office he continued until his death which occurred in 1864. The resignation of Chancellor Manning anticipated by a few months only the time when the Court of Chancery itself ceased to exist. By the revised statutes of 1846 most important changes were made in the judiciary of the State. Under the statutory enactments of 1844 Judge Sanford M. Green was appointed a commissioner to prepare and report a revision and consolidation of the general laws of the State. This work was performed by him and was reported to the legislature of 1846. By the revision so reported the Court of Chancery was retained and sub- stantially, but with a few necessary modifications, the main features of BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 37 the then existing judiciary system. All this was, however, repudiated by the legislature and radical changes were made in the courts. The Court of Chancery was abolished altogether by the revised statutes, and subse- quently, but before these statutes went into operation, the office of Chan- cellor was also specifically abolished by legislative act. The revised statutes were approved May 18, 1846, but by a special provision they did not go into effect until the first day of March, 1847. Immediately after the passage of this law Chancellor Manning signified to me, as Governor of the State, his intention of resigning the office of Chancellor. I received this intimation with great regret and reluctance, and I urged him to with- hold his resignation and to continue in the position during the short time which remained before the statute would go into effect and put the unfin- ished business of the Court in the best possible condition for transfer to another tribunal. I was unsuccessful in my effort. His resignation was presented and I was compelled to select a successor. Terms of the Court were soon to be held, cases ready for the hearing were on the calen- dar, and much current business necessarily required attention. The speedy termination of the Court rendered it altogether improbable that anyone with fitting qualifications for the high office would consent to accept it. In this emergency I sought an interview with Chancellor Farnsworth, knowing not only his eminent qualifications for the position, but that his former experience as Chancellor would render the task of closing up the business less irksome than it would be to any other person. He was at first unwilling even to consider the proposition of returning to the Chan- cellorship, but on my urging the embarrassment of the position and the importance of the public interests involved, he finally acceded to my wishes, and on June 1, 1846, was again commissioned as Chancellor, and he continued to hold the Courts of Chancery and to officiate as Chancellor until March 1, 1847, when the end came. Thus ended, after an existence of some ten years, Michigan's Court of Chancery; and the same individual who officiated at its first organiza- tion, and under whose direction the first entry in its record was made, was present at the closing scene and gave the last order ever made by Michigan's Chancellor. As to the causes and matters pending in the Court of Chancery at the time of its dissolution, the revised statute provided that they should. be transferred to the Supreme Court, but by subsequent provision of law they were committed to the charge and jurisdiction of a single judge of that court, and so continued until by statute of June 27, 1851, they were transferred, with all books, papers and records, on the first day of January, 1852, to the circuit courts of the respective counties where the sessions of the Chancery Courts had previously been held. For the future original chancery jurisdiction was committed to the circuit courts where it has ever since continued. The decisions of the Michigan Court of Chancery are found in two 38 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. volumes of printed reports, entitled respectively, Harrington's Chancery Reports and Walker's Chancery Reports. They are rich in the lore per- taining to adjudications in courts of equity and embrace decisions on almost every subject cognizable by tribunals of that character. Indeed, the ordinary equity jurisdiction was enlarged by statute not long after the organization of the Court to meet a public necessity growing out of the financial embarrassment of the country and the numerous fraudulent insti- tutions organized under the general banking law of 1837, which had flooded the State with the irredeemable currency known as "wild cat" bills. The cases growing out of this matter are both numerous and interesting. But when not controlled by special statutory provisions the Chancellors were always careful to keep within the rules of equity jurisdiction, and cases were repeatedly dismissed by the Court on the ground that the Court of Chancery had no jurisdiction, in cases where a plain, adequate and com- plete remedy could be had in the courts of common law, thus clearly recognizing the fact that each of the two jurisdictions had a large and important class of cases of its own which had no place and could not be heard in the tribunals of the other, and that the court of common law and the Court of Chancery, when existing together were, by no means antago- nistic, but rather supplementary to each other in their judicial labors, and both necessary for the full administration of justice. But the question naturally arises why, if the Court of Chancery filled so important a place in the judicial system of the State, was it abolished by the legislature? The citizens of Michigan whose memory will carry them back so far will remember the popular agitation in regard to the courts and the admin- istration of justice which prevailed in 1845 and a few years subsequently. It was a cry for so-called reform. It was urged that the expense of the courts was too large; that a more simple system should be adopted; that justice should be brought to every man's door, and that the higher tribu- nals should be abolished or curtailed. It was insisted that the Supreme Court and Court of Chancery were aristocratic in their character and should give place to the more humble and simple institutions which belong to a republican government. This agitation, I am sorry to say, was to a considerable extent carried into the political contests of the day, and it was not without its effect on the public mind. Its influence is apparent in the radical changes in the judiciary system of this State made by the revised statutes of 1846. The Court of Chancery, as we have already seen, was abolished by that revision. A county court was established in every organized county, and for it a judge and a second judge were to be elected by the people every four years, and they were to be paid by fees taxed to the parties litigant; but this was afterwards changed to an annual compen- sation to be paid from the county treasury. The county court was to be a court of record and its terms were to be held once in every month, and as much oftener as the judge should direct. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 39 : The jurisdiction of the court was confined to civil causes. But this limited jurisdiction was subsequently enlarged until under the statutes of 1848 and 1849, it was made to embrace all causes at law, both civil and criminal, which were not within the cognizance of a justice of the peace, with the proviso, however, that a party might elect, in certain specified cases to be tried before the circuit judge, but in such cases the pleadings, proceedings and trial were required to be the same as in the county court. At the time of the passage of the revised statutes of 1846 the Supreme Court was protected from legislative interference by the then existing con- stitution of 1835; but four years afterwards by the constitution of 1850, its organization was entirely changed, and it was provided that the offices of the judges, both of the Supreme and county courts, should expire on the first day of January, 1852. Eight circuit courts were established, each with a circuit judge elected by the people of the circuit, and these circuit judges were made the judges of the Supreme Court. New circuits might be created by the legislature and each additional circuit would give one additional judge to the Supreme Court. With the increase of circuits and circuit judges and with this provision still continued in force, the Supreme Court would this day (1892) consist of thirty-two judges instead of the five who now constitute the members of that tribunal, and so ably and accept- ably perform the duties pertaining to it. And if, in addition, the county court system, provided for by the revised statutes of 1846, continued intact to the present day, we should now have in the State eighty-four county judges, and eighty-four second county judges where none now exist; and each county would have fourteen terms of a court of record (two of the circuit and twelve of the county court) in each year, instead of the two terms now held by a single circuit judge charged with the duty of disposing of all civil, criminal and equity causes within the territorial jurisdiction of the court. A few years' experience with these important changes in the courts proved the new order of things to be unsatisfactory. The county courts were the first to be dispensed with. They went out of existence by virtue of the provisions of the constitution of 1850, and in 1857 the legis- lature, under constitutional authority, reorganized the Supreme Court. The circuit judges, although many of them were able men and did good service to the State, were retired from the Supreme Bench, and in their place were put a Chief Justice and three Associate Justices elected by the people of the State for a term of eight years. Thus was restored substan- tially and with the few additional provisions which were required by the increase of population and business, the judicial system and the courts as they existed prior to the revised statutes of 1846, with the exception of the Court of Chancery. This tribunal has not only never been restored but under the provisions of the present constitution the legislature is deprived of the power of renewing it. It is not without interest to note what may be called the solitary con- 40 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. dition of our Court of Chancery. Nine only of the forty-four States of the Union have ever had a tribunal of exclusive equity jurisdiction presided over by a Chancellor. Of all the states into which is divided the almost limitless region of the old Northwest Territory, and that stretching from the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico on the east to the Pacific on the west, Michigan alone has ever had a Court of Chancery. It is also worthy of note that Michigan is not alone in the discontinu- ance of a Court of Chancery once established. Five of the nine States of the Union where they once existed have abolished them. In New York, by the provisions of the constitution of 1846, the Court of Chancery of that State, distinguished for the learning, ability and worth of its most eminent. presiding officers, Chancellors Kent and Walworth, was doomed to extinc- tion. Even in England a change of the same character has taken place. The Court of Chancery as it existed in days of yore is gone, and the Lord High Chancellor, released from the arduous labors of its presiding officer, is busied, instead, in hearing and deciding such appealed cases as formerly went to the House of Lords. Thus we see that this ancient and venerable judicial tribunal, long known on both sides of the Atlantic, appears to have passed its palmy days and to approach its exit. It is useless to speculate upon the causes. In this country it has doubtless been very generally regarded as an exotic belonging rather to England's aristocracy than to America's democracy. Its very name has been thought to indicate as much. In the century and a half of colonial existence in America no such tribunal was ever estab- lished, although some of the powers of a court of equity were occasionally given to local authorities. Perhaps the powers given to the Chancellor were thought to be too extensive and too liable to abuse. He alone of all the judicial officials could compel a defendant to make specific answer, under solemn oath and against his interest, to the searching interrogatives put to him by his opponent in a bill of complaint. He alone could by the writ of ne exeat prevent a party from withdrawing from the jurisdiction of the court and thus pre- venting the enforcement of the decree. He alone could, by the writ of injunction, restrain a party from a threatened injury to another person while the courts of law were powerless to act until the injury was actually committed and the power of enforcing his orders and decrees by imprison- ment or fine was always at his command. Perhaps the surroundings of the Court of Chancery and its method of proceeding may have created a preju- dice against it. The Chancellor had no associate sitting by his side on the bench and no jurors were called from among the citizens to attend his court, although doubtful questions of facts were sometimes sent to a court of law to be there submitted to a jury. No witness appeared in this court to give oral testimony, but the proofs were taken before a master in chancery or a special commissioner and were reported and read on the hearing of the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 41 cause. There were no criminal trials to excite the popular interest or to draw a crowd of listeners, for the Court of Chancery had no jurisdiction of criminal causes. All its proceedings were deliberate, quiet and orderly. Solid argument, close reasoning and a skillful citation of apt authorities usually characterized the discussions before the Court, and it was an arena worthy the highest efforts of the giants of the legal profession, but it was no place for idle declamation or noisy harangue, and it rarely presented anything to arouse or secure popular applause. Even in England the Chancery Court seems not to have been a favorite with the common people. Complaints were continually made of delay in the dispatch of business and of expenses of litigation ruinous to the parties. Although no such charges were or could have been made against the Court of Chancery in Michigan during its ten years of existence and of useful labor, it is certain that public sentiment was not ardent in its favor, and little regret was felt at its discontinuance. But if we speak of the discontinuance of these tribunals and nothing more we leave half the tale untold. What became of the subject matters which parties were accustomed for years and centuries to submit to the adjudications of these courts of equity? What of that large class of cases involving millions in amount which the Court of Chancery was ever ready to hear but which the courts of common law, unaided by statutory enlarge- ment of power, could not entertain? Has the world become better and all occasion for an equity tribunal ceased, or have iniquity and injustice become triumphant and able to walk abroad unchecked and unpunished by public authority? Neither of these contigencies has happened. In Michi- gan the same statute by which the Court of Chancery was abolished recog- nizes the necessity of such a jurisdiction and transfers the full power of administering it to the courts of law. Such courts with us are made tribu- nals of double jurisdiction and the two jurisdictions are kept separate and distinct. Each court has its law side and its equity or chancery side. As a court of law it knows nothing but the strict rules of the common law and the modifications of it made by statute. As a Court of Chancery not only are the broad subjects of chancery jurisdiction open before it, but it follows generally the forms and is armed with the powers usually pertaining to a separate court of equity. I know of no case where a Court of Chan- cery has been abolished that the jurisdiction has not been preserved and committed to some other tribunal. In all the states of the Union this equity jurisdiction exists, in some in a greater, in others in a less degree of perfection. In a few states it is still held by a separate Court of Chancery; in some, as in Michigan, it is confided to the courts of law and is exercised as a special and separate jurisdiction; in others it is portioned out to the courts of law by statute to be exercised to the extent and in the manner therein specified. Indeed no country where the English common law prevails has ever dared to abolish absolutely and altogether the juris- diction which hears and decides that great body of causes which are known 42 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. as equity cases. They are too numerous and too important to be ignored in any civilized country. In some tribunal they must be heard. The pres- ent judiciary system of Michigan, recognizing the importance of the two jurisdictions and committing both, under proper regulations, to the same judicial tribunal, is found eminently well to subserve the great purposes of justice, and we can but regard our courts and the judges who officiate in them as entitled to our highest commendation and praise. 3 THE BENCH AND BAR OF SAGINAW VALLEY. The earlier history of the Bench and Bar of Saginaw, which hardly falls within the scope and object of this work, would be a valuable record and an interesting history of a period that will probably have no future parallel in our own or any other country. The existing records of the pioneer days have hardly been opened by one of the present generation, and the traditionary threads of that history are rapidly being dropped, never again to be recovered. Prior to 1859 Saginaw county, now alone composing the 10th Judi- cial Circuit with two Circuit Judges, was attached for judicial purposes first to the 4th district, and later to the 7th. The local history of the Bench and Bar of Saginaw properly commences with the act of 1859, though some of the ablest members of the Saginaw Bar were here long before that date, when the Court was held by the grave, dignified and conscientious Judge Josiah Turner, of Owosso, and the learned, scholarly, pioneer, now venerable Judge and author, Sanford M. Green, whose legal, literary and judicial work commenced away back in the early forties. From the first, with a single exception to which further reference is unnecessary, the Circuit Court for the county of Saginaw has always been presided over by Judges of learning, ability, agreeable manners, thorough independence, and unquestionable integrity; while the Bar has been dis- tinguished, generally, for the courtesy, diligence and integrity of its mem- bers as well as for their learning and ability; and these qualities have naturally brought the Bar, as a whole, professional success and considera- tion as well as financial prosperity. Soon after the act of 1859 became a law, James Birney, son of the great leader of the Liberty party, and subsequently United States Minister to Holland, became Judge of the 10th Circuit, then composed of the coun- ties of Saginaw, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland, Iosco, Bay and Alpena, and continued to discharge the duties of the office until January, 1864, when he was succeeded by the Hon. Jabez G. Sutherland. Judge Birney then was, and still is, a resident of Bay County. He was the last judge of the 10th Circuit not a resident of Saginaw County and, as stated, was followed by Judge Sutherland. With some it is held ill taste to speak favorably of the living, unless they happen to be candidates for office, but whoever speaks of Sutherland must speak favorably or be contradicted by the record of his life. Lawyer, scholar, Judge, representative in Congress, and legal author of more than National fame, he is one of those members of our Bar 43 44 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. to whom every citizen of Saginaw turns with just pride. Judge Suther- land was one of the earliest lawyers who established themselves in the county, and was an active member of the convention that framed the State constitution of 1850. His practical knowledge of the law was acquired in sharp competition with Hon. John Moore and William L. Webber, who came to Saginaw about the same time that Sutherland located here, and whose legal abilities and reputations, like Sutherland's, from that time on were a constant growth, equalled only by the development of the frontier village and settlement they had fortunately selected for their future homes; and these pioneers of our Bar surrounded with the comforts that wait upon thrift and intelligence, possessed of the respect and confidence always com- manded by correct conduct, and in the fullest possession of their faculties, are yet in active sympathy with current events, and have lived to see the straggling frontier village around the old stockade to which the settlers had but recently looked for protection from the prowling Indian, changed to the prosperous, growing and wealthy city of Saginaw, with its 65,000 population, and the dark, damp, unbroken wilderness extending westerly to Lake Michigan, and northerly and easterly to Mackinaw and Lake Huron, developed in its southern extension into a cultivated territory of vast extent and fertility. And to these results they each contributed their full share not simply as lawyers, but as business men and leaders in the great march of improvement. Before going upon the Bench Sutherland was universally recognized as a ready and able lawyer, extremely zealous in the service of his clients, and was thought, by some, to be too much of a lawyer and partisan to make a good Judge-an opinion entirely refuted by the result. He felt honored by the position and took pride in discharging its duties with judicial fair- ness. Sharp as had been his contentions at the bar the recollection of them was never carried upon the bench; patient, serene in disposition, honest in purpose, courteous in demeanor, and just and sound in judg- ment, he gained the respect of all and stored up the learning that found expression in his learned work "Sutherland on Damages,” and now in the maturity of his fame in his present far away Salt Lake home, he is still claimed as a member of the Saginaw Bar. The Hon. John Moore followed Sutherland upon the bench, and so far as can now be determined from the sentiment of the Bar and from public opinion, it is not settled which was the better judge. Judge Moore was of English birth, but is American in education and sentiment; his American- ism is unquestionable; he may respect the land of his birth for its past and present, but America is the land and home of his love and his achieve- ments. To the sturdy characteristics of his fatherland he adds the genius and thrift and tact of the born Yankee; he was, and is, a lawyer by nature with a knowledge of the principles of the law, and a skill and judgment in their application equalled by few. It may fairly be said he ranks among the first lawyers of the State. When he went upon the bench, as in the case BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 45 of Sutherland, it was thought that he also was too much of a partisan to become an unbiased judge. But the result proved the opinion to be wholly unfounded. It is true that he always had a pretty clear idea where the right lay, and the jury rarely differed with him in conclusion; yet it was not easy to point out any error in his charges, and if he ever did exercise an influence over the jury it was a wholesome one, that might be followed with propriety. Moore and Sutherland placed the judicial standard in this county so high as to apparently make it somewhat embarrassing for their immediate successors. This, however, on the resignation of Judge Moore did not deter William S. Tennant from taking his seat upon the bench in April, 1874. Mr. Tennant was a young man who had not enjoyed the advantage of any considerable general practice at the Bar, but he was a man of good general and more than ordinary legal education, of an honest purpose on the bench, good understanding, and a ready faculty of appro- priating any good idea that came in his way. During the six years he was upon the bench much important business came before the court, and while as a lawyer he was not equal in legal learning and talent to his immediate predecessors it is nevertheless true that he held the scales of justice with an even hand and enjoyed the full confidence and respect of the Bar. He resigned in March, 1880, and was succeeded by Col. D. W C. Gage, who for a long time before his appointment had enjoyed a large and profitable practice. Col. Gage was a hard-working, painstaking lawyer, and a most diligent student, who relied upon his books for his law, and felt most confi- dent when backed by adjudicated cases. When unable to find a precedent he was little inclined to make one- always preferring to follow the well- beaten track. He was an upright, conscientious judge, and if not much inclined to improve and expand the law by taking an advanced position, he was not at all inclined to disregard any of its well known and established landmarks. Col. Gage was in every respect a conservative. The next judge was Chauncey H. Gage, who assumed the office January 1, 1882. He had been prosecuting attorney and recorder of the city of East Saginaw (a judicial position) and at the time of his election had a good practice and, though quite a young man, was regarded as a good lawyer, an opinion fully justified by his course upon the bench. Universally polite and agreeable to all having business before the court, he soon became a very popular judge, and his urbanity greatly tended to lessen the pain of defeat. Completely independent and honest upon the bench, no one ever questioned the motive of his rulings. To a truly judicial mind there was added a strong sense of equity and a lively sympathy with misfortune, so if he sometimes erred in his judgments it was upon the side of charity. Under the amendment of the constitution approved by the people at the November election in 1888, the Legislature at the next session pro- vided for an additional judge for Saginaw county, and John A. Edget was appointed to the newly created judgship. From that time until December 31, 1893, Judge Gage and he, holding separate courts, contin- 46 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ued as judges, and were succeeded by the present judge, Eugene Wilber, and the late Judge Robert B. McKnight who, after a brief service was compelled by ill health to resign, and was succeeded by the present Judge William R. Kendrick. Judge McKnight died in 1895, on the homeward voyage from Europe, whither he had traveled in search of health. Partic- ular mention of these judges will be found elsewhere in this work, and we turn to recall the names of the members of the Bar who made, and who now make it what it is. Among the earlier lawyers who were in active practice here with Sutherland, Moore and Webber, and who have finished their work at our Bar, the names of William M. Miller, Augustine S. Gay- lord, Irving P. Smith, and John J. Wheeler, are recalled with melancholy satisfaction. It will be impossible to fully and properly speak of these gentlemen within the limits of this paper, and the briefest reference to them must suffice. Mr. Miller was the law partner of Sutherland from the time he came to Saginaw until Sutherland went upon the bench. He was an educated gentleman, cultivated, polite, affable and of pleasing and refined manners, with a well balanced mind stored with the learning that made him a lawyer in the truest sense of the word. With all the advantages of learning and wealth there was in his nature nothing of arrogance or self-assumption. He once said to the writer, "After all it is astonishing how little the best of us know of the law." Honesty was no merit in Mr. Miller, it was a part of his nature; he could no more help it than the color of his hair. Cool, self-possessed, and deliberate, he won by candor where his opponent lost by zeal. He had a peculiar faculty of so identifying himself with the jury that they half mistook him for one of the panel when his arguments took the form of a confidential discussion, having no object but a correct determination of the question they were considering, which, somehow, was generally found to be on the side of his client. He and the jury, like Conger and his jury, generally "stuck together. ,, Mr. Gaylord, partner of Judge Moore until the judge withdrew from active practice, and later of the widely known firm of Gaylord & Han- chett, died while filling the office of Solicitor for the Department of the Interior. Gaylord was essentially a Saginaw man who "grew up with the country." His first public appearance here was as a teacher of the village school long before Saginaw aspired to the dignity of a city. Then County Clerk, and then, his ambition rising with the development about him, a student with, and soon a partner of, Judge Moore. The firm commanded universal confidence and had a full measure of success. Mr. Gaylord was a large man every way, intellectually and physically, of a social turn with a hearty western good nature that secured him friends whose good will was manifested in ways more substantial than mere words. He was distin- guished rather as a lawyer than as an advocate, yet he possessed in a very considerable degree those qualities that gave Mr. Miller his influence with the jury. As a lawyer in the strictest sense of the word he had few BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 47 equals. It was said of him by a friend of eminent judgment who knew him well from youth to the grave that, "While his off-hand opinions were sometimes subject to revision, I would have more confidence in his con- clusions after he had examined a question than in the judgment of any other lawyer in the State." Irving P. Smith in many respects in personal appearance, deport- ment, character and mental characteristics much resembled Mr. Miller, and had he lived the usually allotted time would have ranked among the best. He was the law partner of Hon. Wm. L. Webber, and during all the time he was associated with Mr. Webber they had an extensive, important, and profitable practice, and with them, as with most Saginaw lawyers, business thrift closely followed professional success, and the one with the Saginaw Bar has generally been the measure of the other. Mr. John J. Wheeler was a gentleman of a retiring nature, yet his modest demeanor did not prevent his being recognized as a worthy opponent of the gentlemen with whom he came in contact at the Bar, or impair his own self confidence. As an advocate he was not conspicuous, possessing in no great degree those qualities that excite sympathy or captivate the unthoughtful. He relied alone, and with a fair degree of success, upon the cold logic of his argument, appreciated in proportion to the intelli- gence of those he sought to convince, and delivered in the same tone and manner with which he would have advised a client in his office. Wheeleṛ was a kind hearted man, but not demonstrative, and usually quite absorbed in his own reflections. It is said a friend of Mr. Wheeler, of a jovial, bluff nature, met him one morning on the way to the court house. Wheeler appeared to be lost in his own thoughts, and as they approached each other the friend said, “Why John, what are you mad about?" Mr. Wheeler simply glanced at him in an inquiring way, and without further recognition passed on. About a year afterwards the two again met at the same point—it was one of Wheeler's off days; he heartily extended his hand, saying, "Don't you remember we met near here one morning a while ago, and you asked me 'what I was mad about,' well, I was not mad, I was just thinking about a little matter up in court." Few members of the Saginaw Bar ever commanded more real respect and esteem than John J. Wheeler. William A. Clark, John Dillingham, Col. Geo. A. Flanders, Oscar F. Wisner, and C. Stewart Draper, came to our Bar later, and they too have appeared before the tribunal from whose decrees there is no appeal. Mr. Clark was a lawyer of considerable reputation before he came to Saginaw, and at once took a prominent position here. In fertility of genius and facility of resources he had few superiors, as readily appears from an examination of our State reports during his practice here. Mr. Clark was an expert upon questions of evidence and well understood its tendency and effect, and never made a mistake that tended to his client's injury. He once defended a man charged with stealing wheat from a 48 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. neighbor's barn. A witness of creditable character testified to seeing the defendant leaving the barn with a bag filled with something upon his back; that the ground was covered with snow, the moon full, nearly overhead, and shining brightly, and that he fully recognized the defendant. Mr. Clark, producing an almanac, completely confounded the witness and established the innocence of his client by showing from it that the moon was in its last stage and not visible on the night in question. It was sub- sequently found to be a last year's almanac picked up by mistake (?) — but that was before he came to Saginaw. He was a Col. George A. Flanders had a good record as a soldier. graduate of an eastern college. With a cultivated mind he was not a dili- gent law student, though he discharged the duties of prosecuting attorney in an able and efficient manner. He was properly regarded by all who knew him as a man of fine abilities, but he had little tact in securing clients. To descend from the military rank of colonel and the pride and circum- stance of war, to the petty legal business that usually comes to an inex- perienced lawyer in a strange place is a rude shock to a proud and sensi- tive mind. As a jury advocate he ranked high, and as a political speaker was excelled by few. His fine appearance, agreeable manner, and ready, unlabored eloquence made him a popular man on the stump. in Oscar F. Wisner and Charles Stewart Draper came to Saginaw together and remained together until death closed the partnership — both dying at about the same time. Few partners resembled each other less or were more attached to each other. Mr. Wisner was an eminently fair and just-minded man, who despised fraud and humbug in every form law, business, politics and religion. He was a natural lawyer as well as a diligent student of the law, and from his first appearance at the Saginaw Bar, took a high position, commanding alike the respect of the court, the Bar, and the community, and continued growing in general estimation to the day of his death. He was not wanting in the qualities that make the mere advocate, but he was most at home in discussing legal questions before the court, where his knowledge of principles, his familiarity with the cases, and his power of distinction made it necessary for those who opposed him to come prepared. Personally he was a modest man, never seeking office or public notice, and yet self-assertive and aggressive when the rights of his client called for action. Not much inclined to idle civil- ities, but a generous and faithful friend, and an agreeable companion with those who knew and appreciated his real character. His pleasures were simple-a sail boat stored with necessaries, with a single companion or alone, and a trip around the shore of lake Huron, camping at night in some sheltered cove where the shore and the water invited a long swim in the morning before resuming his voyage, was his ideal of a summer's outing; and as he navigated his frail craft around the rocky reefs of Port Austin and Point Aux Barques he felt a pleasure unknown to the vacant minds that crowd the resorts of fashion. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 49 To speak of Wisner is to think of Draper. No man was better known more thoroughly appreciated in Saginaw County and the Saginaw Valley than C. Stewart Draper. He came to Saginaw a young man and a stranger, but his affable manners, modest self-possessed demeanor, his talents neither paraded nor concealed, and the plain, honest directness of his speech promptly secured him friends and clients. A gentleman by instinct and education, his sympathies were all with the masses whose respect and sup- port he naturally commanded, without losing the confidence of those whose larger business and greater means made them desirable clients. His natural eloquence, and the great store of accumulated facts from which his wide reading and retentive memory enabled him to draw apt illustrations at will, his knowledge of human nature, and his logical reasoning placed. him as a jury lawyer among the very first in the State. Nor was the law- yer in his case sunk in the mere advocate; he was a most diligent student, and his active legal mind enabled him to quickly grasp and apply legal propositions. He never sought to mislead the court by knowingly uphold- ing an unsound principle or the misapplication of a sound one, and there- fore, always commanded the respect and confidence of both the court and his opponents. To say that he was always right would be to say more than can be truthfully affirmed of any one, but when professional zeal led him to uphold a doubtful principle no one thought of imputing it to a ques- tionable motive. The foregoing list includes only the names of the more prominent members of the Saginaw Bar whose labors here were terminated by death, while in the full performance of their duties, or who went elsewhere to continue them-and to die. Others labored here with equal diligence and honor and are well entitled to a notice not possible here. After all it can make but little difference, since in a few passing years all will be equally forgotten. Active and prominent for a brief space, and usefully important as lawyers are in every civilized community, the memory of their labors as a rule, hardly survives their lives. The names of the learned legal writers who have helped to formulate the law and to make it the grand science it is, are remembered only by the profession; and the names of the great advocates and lawyers who charmed and aston- ished their contemporaries with their eloquence and wisdom, if remem- bered either in or out of the profession, are remembered because they were connected with great political events, rather than because they were great advocates and lawyers. Erskine and Curran are remembered only by the few, because their great efforts were made and their abilities displayed in exciting State trials, involving important politicai consequences, while the eloquent Charles Philips and the learned and eloquent Dr. Sampson are not remembered at all, except by the legal antiquary. Webster is not generally remembered for his argument in the Dartmouth College case, or in the Girard will case, but for his political reply to Hayne. It is the same with the bad as the good; few indeed would now recall the name of 50 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Jeffreys had not Macaulay, for political reasons, dragged it from oblivion to blazon it upon the tower of perpetual infamy. There have been few Jeffreys in the world; and while the virtues and merits of the great leaders. of the profession are soon forgotten, it can be truthfully said they seldom figure upon the darker side of the historical page; and all who know the members of our Bar here, named or unnamed, will agree that upon the record of their lives the recording angel will find little to blot with a tear, though they may have contributed but little to the glory of their country. Mankind remembers and honors its butchers and forgets its benefactors. The name of Napoleon is upon the tongue of every one while Maynard, the great English lawyer who, in the convention of 1689, so efficiently helped to lay the foundation of real British constitutional liberty, upon which our own structure is reared, is not remembered by one in a thousand. To speak of all the members of the present Bar would be impossible here, and, where all have a claim to notice, to speak of any to the exclu- sion of others would be invidious. We may, on proper occasion, speak freely if we speak truly of the departed, but we can not give a correct abstract of one's record until that record is completed; we may however, refer to William H. Sweet, Benton Hanchett, Dan P. Foote, Charles H. Camp and James L. T. Fox, since they form the connecting link between the earlier and the present Bar, all of whom are in practice more or less active; yet they too, are being, or soon will be, crowded to the rear by the younger members of the Bar who seem, by a sort of professional descent, to have inherited in no small degree the qualities that distin- guished our earlier Bar; and for that reason a brief reference to them will not, perhaps, be ill-timed. Mr. Sweet came to the Bar at about the same time Sutherland, Moore and Webber became its recognized leaders, and he is still in active practice, and universally regarded as an able trial lawyer, and a most skillful cross- examiner of a balky witness. Though equal in years to his retired earlier associates at the Bar he is yet vigorous and as confident as ever that his clients are absolutely in the right. Mr. Hanchett is too well known as an able lawyer as well as a strong advocate, to require detailed mention, and would now be United States Circuit Judge had the Senate been in sympathy with the political views of ex-president Harrison at the time of his nomination to that office. • Mr. Camp's qualifications and reputation as a lawyer may be inferred from the fact that he would now be a Judge of the Supreme Court, mak- ing instead of guessing the law, had the judgment of the electors equalled the wisdom of the convention that nominated him. (The truth is Mr. Camp was on the right side of politics and that, as is too often the case, caused his defeat.) Mr. Foote entered upon the study and practice of law, or rather the practice and study of the law, at the age of 31, after graduating as a sailor, miner, traveler, school teacher, and farmer, and BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 51 now enjoys the. distinction of being a member of the Saginaw Bar, a place he has held since 1864. James L. T. Fox, if not financially the most successful, is the oldest member of the Saginaw Bar still in actual practice. He came here at an early date when Saginaw was exulting in its first weekly paper, in which his professional card announced that he would give “particular attention to the defence of innocent persons wrongfully accused of crime. None others need apply." His practice for a time proved that most of those who fell under the displeasure of the criminal law were "wrongfully accused," but his familiar enemy, rheumatism, with its attendant ills, though not able to overcome his genial temper, sadly interfered with his professional labors, and the result is but another illustration of the truth of the Scotch saying, "Success depends as much upon good luck than good guiding." Chauncey W. Wisner was one of the notable members of the bar. He came to Saginaw with Judge Gage, and for a time was an active and conspicuous member. He possessed all the natural elements of a lawyer, except the power of continued application. Well read in general litera- ture, with an active imagination, bright fancy, keen wit, and of ready speech, he gave early promise of becoming a good advocate; but the dull routine of the court, with its small unimpressible audience, was less attractive to him than the surging, applauding crowd gathered at the street corner to hear political truths, as he explained them from the top of a dry goods box. This, however, did not prevent his becoming an active and successful business man, but both combined did prevent the continued practice of the law, and he gradually gave his whole attention to business. speculations—and politics-and the Bar, some years before his death, lost one who might have become a good lawyer. As State Senator he will long be remembered by the people of the city of Saginaw. Personally he was a kind hearted and most agreeable man. For some years preceding his death he resided in considerable state upon his large and valuable farm, and took pride in being called the Bridgeport farmer. That Saginaw County had, and still has, an able Bar resulted from natural causes. Abilities and study may make a learned man, but not an able lawyer; opportunities and practice are essential to the latter, and here the conditions were all favorable. Saginaw county, now one of the finest agricultural counties of the State, never had any great quantity of pine, but its happy position laid the great pine producing regions of Mich- igan under contribution. Just above the present city of Saginaw the Cass river, rising in Huron county, and traversing Tuscola and the eastern part of Saginaw county joins its waters with the Saginaw river; at a short dis- tance above its mouth the Flint, rising in Lapeer flows through Genesee county and empties into the Saginaw; the Shiawassee river rising in the county of that name, receiving Bad river near the southern line of Saginaw 52 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. • county and Swan creek below, is properly the upper waters of the Saginaw; forty rods below the mouth of the Cass the Tittabawassee formerly afford- ing steamboat navigation to Midland, swelled by the waters of the Pine river from Gratiot county, the Chippeway from Mecosta and Isabella, the Sault and its own proper branches from Clare and Gladwin counties, unites with the Saginaw, more than doubling its capacity. These rivers had nu- merous tributaries down which logs could be floated at certain seasons of the year, many of which, with the improvement of the country, have shrunk to a small farm ditch or wholly disappeared. These rivers and their tribu- tary streams penetrated the best part of the great pine district of central Michigan. They afforded a natural and an easy way of transporting logs to Saginaw. The logs were banked upon the nearest stream that would float them, even in single file and by means of dams. The great lumbering opera- tions invited settlement and the shores of the streams became farms of more or less value. The large business of securing this timber which it was thought would last forever, involved the making and breaking of many contracts, and a conflict of interest, as well among the lumbermen as between them and the farmers located on the streams; and much litigation often raising. new and important questions necessarily resulted. The old rules of law defining navigable streams had no application to the new situation, and many of the rules regulating riparian rights needed to be applied with qualifications, adapting them to conditions not elsewhere existing. The importance of the interests involved demanded the most careful considera- tion, and the most diligent study of the authorities to support a new appli- cation of conceded principles. Trials involving many thousands of dollars, and principles more important still to those interested, and occupying many days, were of frequent occurrence. The large logging and lumber business, and the energetic way in which it was pushed, necessarily furn- ished much legal business, and that gave valuable legal experience. That the more active and diligent and ambitious members of Saginaw Bar should become lawyers was inevitable. The reports of the Supreme Court of the States how the diligence and ability of the Bar of Saginaw in the settlement of these questions, and many incidental ones growing out of them, and in the settlement of which present members of the Bar took no unimportant part. The earlier history of the Bar is not without humorous incident. Judge Birney was officially a member of the Bar of Saginaw, and A. C., then a prematurely old young lawyer, now a grave, learned and esteemed Judge, though not a resident of the county, was an important figure at its Bar before the county was disfigured by roads, or the smaller ports of the lake vexed by steamboats. Iosco county was then in the Saginaw district, and Tawas its county seat. The only way of reaching Tawas was by Old Capt. Marsack's fishboat, not a bad craft for those days. The court was to be held at Tawas, and the judge, with a proper attendance of lawyers from Saginaw and Bay (among whom was A. C. Birney), left Lower BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 53 Saginaw for Tawas in Marsack's fish boat. When well down the Saginaw Bay where it expands into the lake, and the northeast wind, on slight provocation, `comes roaring and screeching around Point Aux Barques, the bay suddenly got onto one of its tantrums with those cross-seas so characteristic of that unreliable sheet of water. It was near night; the sea was terrific—to a landsman—and Tawas, as the wind with increased vigor came out from the north, yet a long distance to windward. Birney who was a conscientious dignified gentleman as well as a sedate judge, feeling that the situation called for the reconciliation of ill friends, said to A. C. in his gravest manner, intensified by the situation, "Mr. A. C. there have been some passages between us I much regret; and now, seemingly upon the verge of eternity, I hope we may as christian gentlemen shake hands. and forget and forgive." Here a huge wave nearly capsized the boat, and as soon as it was found that it had not gone over, A. C., bracing himself against the weather gunnel, extended his hand, and in his usual hearty tone said, "By the eternal, Judge, I'll do it — I'll do it Judge, with this understanding, that if we ever do get ashore this shall all be held for naught." The judge's answer to the proposition thus modified was never given, for at that moment, Marsack, suddenly determined to work under the lee of Gravelly Point, now known as the famous summer resort, Point Lookout. The captain usually navigated his craft in French, but, in times of peril, like a true sailor as he was, dropped into English, and he now sang out "Ho dare, Pete, you black nigger, haul down zee ank, and trow oberboard dat man-sal." The captain's order, though a little con- fused was correctly understood by Pete, who comprised the crew; he let go the main halliards and quickly cast the anchor over the weather bow. As the fore-sail had been left standing her bow fell off as the anchor caught, and Pete skillfully paying out her line, the boat drifted along the edge of the reef and grounded on the sandy beach just under the lee of the long, narrow, low point, at the time submerged by the waves that broke on its weather side and washed across the low ground a foot or more deep. The judge and his friends safely waded ashore and found shelter further inland, under one of the great sand drifts the northeasters have piled up on that romantic point. The supperless night on the beach was. far better than a berth at the bottom of the bay, and the sea and the weather in the morning, as calm and serene as A. C.'s conscience, enabled them to take an eight o'clock breakfast at Tawas, and put an end to all peace negotiations. While our judges and lawyers have been conservative and have always paid a proper respect to precedents, as must always be done if we would not deprive the law of all certainty, they have also recognized the fact that the law is not an exact, fully completed science, and have not hesitated on proper occasion to make a new precedent if demanded by justice and war- ranted by sound principles. To speak of particular cases would be to tres- pass upon the rule of this article, but they will readily be found by those 54 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. who examine our State reports. The judges have all been men of strong convictions of right, yet no important case is remembered where they have unduly sought to influence the jury. And yet jurors do sometimes dis- cover the bias of the judge however discreet he may be. One of the later judges of the court, a man of unquestionable fairness and integrity, but of rather strong notions of the right, charged the jury in an unimportant case in the manner he judged proper and sent them out at 6 P. M. to consider of their verdict, and directed them, when they agreed, to sign and seal their verdict and deliver it to the clerk, supposing, of course they would agree in a short time. On coming into court the next morning the judge was surprised and displeased to find the jury had not agreed, and directed the officer to bring them before the court. It would seem the judge had received some intimation as to how they stood that did not tend to please him. In the course of his remarks to them he said in effect: "I am sur- prised that you have not agreed, gentlemen; the amount involved in the case is small, its trial has taken an unusual time, and the evidence is such there ought to be little difficulty in agrreing upon a verdict. It has been intimated to me that you stand eleven to one, if I knew the name of that one, I think I would excuse him from further attendance upon the Court." Thereupon a little old man from the country, wedged in on the back seat between two city men of aldermanic proportions, hastily squeezed himself out and stepping forward a bit said, "No, no, shudge, don't do that, I'm the only man on your side." It is much the fashion of a certain class to speak of the "uncertainties" of the law, but after all that same class furnishes the jurors to whom the uncertainties of the law are largely due, as shown by the following well remembered incident. In 1860 one Mr. Stolze lost a two-year-old black bull, that was soon found in the field of a famer across the line in Midland county. On the trial of a replevin suit. before a Midland county farmer justice, the proof showed that the animal had a dark red stripe on his back and a few white hairs at the end of his tail. The justice, after consulting with his neighbors, decided that the bull had been misdescribed and rendered a verdict against Stolze. Stolze, too poor to appeal to the circuit, appealed to a justice in Saginaw county and had the farmer arrested for stealing the bull. The case had become important, for the defendant, and he employed Judge Sutherland, then in full practice at the bar. A jury was demanded and drawn, and the court was held in the village ball-room, closely packed with Stolze's neighbors and the peo- ple about. A Mr. B. appeared on the panel. The judge thought it proper to examine the jury as to their bias and commenced with B. by asking him if he had formed or expressed any opinion upon the case. "No," said B. his face as innocent of expression as a pumpkin. “But I mean, Mr. B,” continued the judge, “have you formed or expressed to any one an opinion upon the merits of the case?" "No," said B., his face blanker than ever. The judge knew him; leaning forward and speaking in his quick, pleasant, persuasive manner said, "Fred, whose bull is it?" BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 55 The answer came promptly, "He Stolze bull, by dam, Jabe; I know him. dis tree year." After all Fred's real mistake was in supposing he was there as a witness, and not as a juror. But so long as important rights are referred to the determination of a jury, from whose errors there is little relief, and the jurors are drawn from a class quite apt to make such mis- takes, there can be little surprise that the law has some "uncertainties,' and they should be placed where they belong. This reminiscense of the Bar of Saginaw has already exceeded its proper limits without entering upon the real merits of the subject. The long trials, civil and criminal, involving thousands and thousands of dol- lars, or rights and interests still more important, the sharp contentions, the diligent and able labors of counsel, the eloquent appeals of the advo- cates, have received no mention, while the histories of many of them would have filled a volume, and been a valuable contribution to the legal history of the State. The failures of the Bar have not been many, and few who located here have failed to remain. Strangers have always been warmly welcomed and have received prompt and generous recognition, and all have been fairly successful, professionally and financially. Few enmities and jeal- ousies have existed, and the members of the Bar have almost universally been courteous and obliging to each other both in and out of court, and especially towards the younger and less experienced members. All have not succeeded alike any more than men in other occupations attain equal success. Success, in every department of life, is as often the result of accident or opportunity as of merit, and if all were equally great and rich all would be equally small and poor; and if all have not succeeded, and may not hereafter succeed alike, they may safely congratulate themselves that their fortunate situation in the great and prosperous Saginaw Valley has left them little reason to envy those of other localities. We all know our own merits, and when they are not recognized we can console ourselves. with the reflection that this is equally true in every department of life, and that— "Full many a gem of purest ray serene The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear; Full many a flower is born to blush unseen And waste its sweetness on the desert air," and if history shall fail to record each one's name, those who follow will not see us "damned to everlasting fame." DAN P. FOOTE. 4 THE BENCH AND BAR OF THE GRAND RIVER VALLEY. PREPARED BY ALVIN E. EWING, Of the Grand Rapids Bar. EDITED BY HON. JNO. W. CHAMPLIN, Ex-Judge of the Supreme Court. The Grand River Valley is, geographically, the most important section in Western Michigan. While Grand river reaches far into the interior of the State, the section known generally as Grand River Valley, comprises the counties of Ottawa, Kent, and Ionia, extending eastward in the order named from the shore of Lake Michigan for a distance of seventy miles, flanked on the south by a belt of unexcelled farm and fruit lands, on the north by a region once famous for its timber lands but now for its fertile fields and thriving towns, and the valley itself a garden of industry con- taining the cities of Ionia, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven. The Grand river runs through them all like a cord through a string of beads, and, besides furnishing the geographical combination an euphonious name, ties them together historically, commercially, politically, and, to some extent, judicially. The history of the organization of the Circuit Courts of the Grand River Valley can best be written by taking each county separately in the order of its organization as a county. THE CIRCUIT COURT. KENT COUNTY. The boundaries of Kent county were first fixed by law by the Legis- lative Council of the Territory of Michigan and the Governor thereof March 2, 1831. The Act was entitle "An Act to provide for laying off into separate. counties the district of country adjacent to Grand river, and for other purposes." Section 3 of that act established the boundaries of Kent county the same as they now are, except that the northern boundary line was a con- tinuation of the northern line of Ottawa and Ionia counties and the county contained only what are now the lower sixteen townships. The upper eight townships were taken from Oceana county and attached to Kent county about 1840. 56 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 57 Kalamazoo county was organized July 30, 1830. Section 7 of the act provided that the counties of Calhoun, Barry and Eaton, and all the country lying north of the north line of Barry and Eaton counties, as far east as the east line of Clinton county, as far west as the west line of Kent county, and as far north as the Straits of Mackinac, "shall be attached to and compose a part of the county of Kalamazoo for judicial purposes. This law was enacted seven months before Kent county was even laid out; but it included the territory of Kent county, which remained a part of Kalamazoo county for judicial purposes until March 24, 1836, when, under Section 2 of "An Act for the organization of cer- tain counties," Kent county was organized. The next Section provided that "All suits, prosecutions and other matters now pending before any court of record, or before any Justice of the Peace of the county to which the county of Kent is now attached for judicial purposes shall be prose- cuted to final judgment and execution in the same manner as though this act had not been passed." It also provided that the unorganized coun- ties of Ottawa, Clinton, and Ionia should be attached to Kent county for judicial purposes, and that the act should take effect on the first Monday of April, 1836. March 26th, 1836, in an act providing for a Supreme Court of three judges, a Circuit Court to be held twice a year in each organized county and to be presided over by one of the judges of the Supreme Court, was established. Two associate judges were to be elected in each county for the term of four years. The act also created three judicial circuits to correspond with the number of judges of the Supreme Court, and Kent county was assigned to the Third Circuit along with the counties of Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, Berrien, Kalamazoo, Allegan, Calhoun, and all the coun- try attached thereto for judicial purposes. This act was approved two days after the approval of the Act organizing Kent county, and attaching thereto Ionia, and Ottawa for judicial purposes, and is the first assign- ment of the Grand River Valley territory to a judicial circuit. July 26th following, it was enacted that "The Circuit Court for the Third Circuit shall be holden in the county of Kent on the fourth Mon- days after the fourth Mondays in April and October in each year." This arrangement, however, did not last long. In the latter part of 1837, another judge was added to the Supreme Court, and four judicial circuits were created, to be presided over by judges of the Supreme Court who were to be appointed by the Governor for a term of seven years. By this act Kent county was assigned to the Fourth Judicial Circuit with the counties of Lapeer, Oakland, Shiawassee, Genesee, Saganaw, Ionia, and the counties attached thereto for judicial purposes, including the still unorganized county of Ottawa. The Fourth Circuit was to be held in the eounty of Kent on the third Tuesdays of May and October in each year. Several years later another change was made which placed the coun- ties of Kent and Ottawa in the Third Circuit with the counties of Kala- 58 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. mazoo, Van Buren, St. Joseph, Cass, Berrien, Allegan, and Barry, and left Ionia county in the Fourth. Two years later, in 1848, the Legislature made the Supreme Court to consist of five members, one Chief Justice and four associate justices, and they were authorized to meet within thirty days and divide the state into five judicial circuits in such a manner "That the Fifth Circuit shall be made up of counties in the Grand River section of the state." It was also enacted that each of the Judges of the Supreme Court should preside over one of the five circuits, and in the performance of such duties be denominated "Circuit Judge. By this change Kent county was placed in the Fifth Circuit, which was the last change under the constitution of 1835. During the life of the constitution of 1835, Kent county was a part of the third, fourth, third, and fifth circuits successively; and the Circuit Court for the county of Kent was presided over by the following Judges of the Supreme Court in the order named: Epaphroditus Ransom, Charles W. Whipple, Edward Mundy, and George Martin. The associate judges elected within the county as nearly as can be learned were: 1837-41, John Almy and Arnot Davis; 1841-44, Ezekial W. Davis and Philander Tracy; 1844-47, Rix Robinson and Lewis Reed. UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1850. Section 6, Article VI, Constitution of 1850, declared that the State shall be divided into eight judicial circuits, one Circuit Judge to be elected in each for a term of six years. The next section gave the Legislature authority to increase the number of districts. Section 29, of the "Schedule" following Article XX, of the Consti- tution, declared the state, exclusive of the Upper Peninsula, to be divided into eight judicial circuits, and the Eighth Circuit to consist of the coun- ties of Kent, Ottawa, and Ionia, together with the counties of Barry,' Clinton, and Montcalm. Later this was covered by an enactment which provided that the law should go into effect January 1, 1852. George Martin was the first Circuit Judge of the new Eighth Circuit, and he held his position for a full term of six years. In April, 1857, before the circuit was changed, Louis S. Lovell, of Ionia, was elected Circuit Judge of the Eighth Circuit, and took his seat. January 1, 1858. Within a month after his term of office began, the Legislature re-districted the state in such a manner as to leave Kent and Ionia in the Eighth Circuit, but placed Ottawa county in the Ninth. Judge Lovell held his office for two full terms, until January 1, 1870. During that time no changes were made in the circuits. In the spring of 1869, Judge Lovell was re-elected judge of the Eighth Circuit, to begin his third term January 1, 1870. But in March, 1871, his circuit was re-organized and made to consist of the counties of Ionia, Clinton, and Montcalm, over which he continued to preside until BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 59 the end of his term. By the same Act, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit was created to consist of the counties of Kent and Barry and an election ordered to be held in April, 1871, the judge elected to take his seat May 1, I, 1871, and his term to expire January 1, 1876. Birney Hoyt, of Grand Rapids, was elected at this special election, and at the expiration of his term was re-elected for another full term, retiring December 31, 1881. During his second term, March, 1877, the Seventeenth Circuit was modified, Barry county being detached, and leav- ing Kent county alone to constitute the Seventeenth Circuit. No change in the territory of the Seventeenth Circuit has since been made. Robert M. Montgomery succeeded Judge Hoyt January 1, 1882. He succeeded himself January 1, 1888, but served only until September 15th, following, when he resigned and resumed the practice of law at Grand Rapids until January 1, 1892, when he took his seat upon the Supreme Bench to which he was elected in the spring of 1891. William E. Grove was appointed by Governor Luce to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Montgomery, and took his seat September 15, 1888. He was elected in November following to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term ending December 31, 1893. At the regular spring election of 1893 he was elected to succeed himself, taking his seat January 1, 1894,. for the full term to end December 31, 1899. Since June 1, 1889, the Seventeenth Circuit has had two judges. The Legislature of 1889 proposed an amendment to Article VI, Section 6 of the Constitution, to be voted upon in April, 1889, authorizing the Legislature to provide for the election of more than one Circuit Judge in the judicial circuit in which the county of Kent is, or may be situated. The Amendment was carried in April, 1889, and in May following the Legislature made provisions for carrying the same into effect. The act was to take effect immediately, and the judge's term of office was to com- mence June 1, 1889. The law declared a vacancy to exist from the time the law went into effect, and authorized the Governor to fill the vacancy by appointment until the general election of 1893, when a successor was to be elected to take his seat January 1, 1894, and such additional judge was to be elected every six years thereafter. The law gave the two judges equal and co-ordinate powers and duties, one judge to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the two to alternate as presiding judge. Marsden C. Burch was appointed by Governor Cyrus G. Luce to fill the vacancy created by this Act, to take his seat June 1, 1889. By the express terms of the statute, Judge Burch's term would expire December 31, 1893, his successor's election to take place in the April preceding. But the idea was conceived by some that the Legislature had overstepped itself in authorizing the judge appointed to continue in office beyond the next general election, holding the express condition of the statute to the contrary, unconstitutional and void; and on September 60 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 4, 1890, the Democratic county convention of Kent county declared a vacancy to exist and nominated Allen C. Adsit for the office of Circuit Judge, to be voted for at the general fall election to be held in November 4, 1890; and, disregarding the refusal of the sheriff to give notice of an election to fill such vacancy, Mr. Adsit's name was placed upon the Demo- cratic county ticket and voted upon at the November election. The Republicans, relying upon the express provision of the statute, did not put a ticket in the field, and as a result, Mr. Adsit received all the votes cast for the office of Circuit Judge. The Supreme Court was then applied to for a writ of mandamus to compel the Board of State Canvassers to declare Mr. Adsit duly elected for the unexpired term to end December 31, 1893. The writ was issued and Mr. Adsit was declared to be elected, taking his seat February 5, 1891, and again elected to succeed himself at the spring election of 1893, taking his seat January 1, 1894, for the full term to expire December 31, 1899. The terms of the Circuit Court in the Seventeenth Circuit begin on the first Mondays in March, May and December, and fourth Monday in September in each year. IONIA COUNTY. The boundaries of Ionia county were fixed by an Act of the Legisla- tive Council of the Territory of Michigan, March 2, 1831, and remain unchanged to this day. The territory of Ionia county until the organiza- tion of Kent county was included within the territory attached to Kalama- zoo county for judicial purposes. When Kent county was organized March 24, 1836, Ionia county was attached thereto for judicial purposes, and so remained until March 18, 1837, when an act was passed organizing Ionia county. This act provided that "The Circuit Court for the county of Ionia shall be held until public buildings shall be erected, at such place as the supervisors of such county shall provide, at the seat of justice in said county on the last Monday in May and in November in each year." Also, that “All that part of the State lying north of the county of Ionia, and not included in any organized county, be and the same is hereby attached to the county of Ionia for judicial purposes. The act was to take effect upon the first Monday of April in 1837. During the time that Ionia county was attached to the county of Kalama- zoo, and subsequently to the county of Kent, for judicial purposes, up to the latter part of 1837, it was a part of the Third Judicial Circuit. Some- time in the latter part of 1837, the Legislature provided for four judicial circuits and Ionia county and territory attached thereto was assigned to the Fourth Judicial Circuit. It was also provided that the Circuit Court for the county of Ionia should be held on the second Tuesdays of May and October in each year. This was the first assignment of Ionia county to a judicial circuit after it became an organized county. With it were the counties of Kent, Oak- land, Lapeer, Shiawassee, Genesee and Saginaw. A few years later the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, 61 Fourth Circuit was modified by the detachment of Kent and Lapeer, and the addition of Livingston, Ingham and Clinton. The same act provided that it should not be necessary to hold the second term of the Circuit Court in any year in Ionia county unless the sheriff and county clerk should determine the same to be necessary. In 1848 the state was ordered to be divided into five circuits, the Grand River section of the state constituting the Fifth Circuit. This doubtless included Ionia county. No more changes were made under the constitution of 1835. Ionia county will be seen to have been attached to the Third, Fourth, and Fifth circuits successively. The Circuit Court for Ionia county was first presided over by Epaphroditus Ransom, as it appears that he was assigned to the Third Circuit. Charles W. Whipple presided over the Fourth until March, 1848, when he was transferred to the Third, and Sanford M. Green was assigned to the Fourth. Under Section 29, Schedule, Constitution of 1850, and by legislative enactment of 1851, Ionia county was assigned to the Eighth Judicial Circuit. The judges were elective instead of appointive as under the old con- stitution, and the law was to take effect January 1, 1852. Ionia county has never been out of the Eighth Circuit since that time, although the circuit has many times been modified. George Martin was the first Circuit Judge, and Louis S. Lovell was the next. Judge Lovell served four full terms as Judge of the Eighth Circuit, from January 1, 1858, to January 1, 1882, when he was succeeded by Vernon H. Smith, of Ionia. Judge Smith served two terms, retiring January 1, 1894, being succeeded by Frank D. M. Davis, of Ionia, whose term will expire December 31, 1899. From January 1, 1852, to Janu- ary 1, 1859, the Eighth Circuit consisted of the counties of Kent, Ionia, Ottawa, Barry, Clinton and Montcalm. From January 1, 1859, to 1871, the Eighth Circuit consisted of the counties of Ionia, Kent, Clinton, Bar- ry and Montcalm. In 1871 the Eighth Circuit was made to consist of the counties of Ionia, Clinton and Montcalm. It so remained until 1889, when Clinton county was detached, leav- ing the counties of Ionia and Montcalm alone to constitute the Eighth. Circuit Court for the Eighth Circuit is now held in Ionia county the first Mondays in February, May and November, and the third Monday in Sep- tember; in Montcalm county, the first Mondays in March, June, October and December. OTTAWA COUNTY. The territorial limits of Ottawa county were fixed by the same act that laid off the counties of Kent and Ionia, approved March 2, 1831, and have never since been changed. When Cass county was organized November 4, 1829, the counties of Berrien and Van Buren, and all the 62 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. country lying north of the same to Lake Michigan, were attached to it for judicial purposes. This included the territory now composing the county of Ottawa. When Kent county was organized March 24, 1836, the unorganized coun- ty of Ottawa was attached thereto for judicial purposes. It so remained until December 29, 1837, when by Legislative Act number 8, adjourned session of that year, Ottawa county was organized, and it was ordered that "The Circuit Court for the county of Ottawa shall be held until suitable buildings are erected at the county seat, at such place as the county commissioners shall provide, on Thursday of the same week in which said court is held in the county of Kent." Meantime three judicial circuits were established, and Ottawa county being still attached to Kent county for judicial purposes, was assigned to the Third Circuit. This was the first assignment of Ottawa county to a judicial circuit under the constitution of 1835, and it was the circuit over which Judge Ransom presided. When, however, the State was divided into four cir- cuits, Ottawa county was assigned with Kent and other counties to the Fourth Circuit. Subse- Judge Whipple seems to have been assigned to this circuit. quently another division was made and Ottawa county was assigned to the Third Circuit with Kent and other counties. Judge Ransom presided over this circuit. This act of 1846 seems to be the first one in which the county of Ottawa is expressly assigned to a judicial circuit, it heretofore being included as territory attached to Kent county. In April, 1848, the Legislature authorized the establishment of five judicial circuits, the Grand River section to constitute the Fifth Circuit. This of course included Ottawa county. Edward Mundy was appointed under this act as the Fifth Justice of the Supreme Court and was assigned to the Fifth Circuit, taking up his residence at Grand Rapids, where he died in 1851. This arrangement remained until the constitution of 1850 went into operation. Eight judicial circuits were ordered by the new constitution and the Grand River counties of Ottawa, Kent, and Ionia were again united within the same circuit. For the first time the Circuit Judges were made elective, and the new order of things was to go into effect January 1, 1852. The next act affecting Ottawa county was approved January 29, 1858, and created the Ninth Circuit consisting of the counties of Ottawa, Allegan, Newaygo, Oceana, Mason, Manistee, Manitou, Grand Traverse, and the attached counties of Emmet, Charlevoix, Antrim, Kalkaska, Wexford, Missaukee, Lake, Mecosta and Osceola. An election of a Circuit Judge was ordered in the Ninth Circuit, to be held in April, 1858, the judge to take his seat January 1, 1859, for the term to expire December 31, 1863. By this act, Ottawa and Kent parted company for the first time since they were joined in the Third Circuit in 1836. The immense territory of the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 63 Ninth Circuit created in 1858 was subsequently broken up, and new cir- cuits created, but Ottawa county remained in the Ninth until by Act 15, of 1867, to take effect in April of that year, the Fourteenth Judicial Cir- cuit was created, to consist of the counties of Ottawa, Newaygo, Oceana, Muskegon and Mecosta. An election was ordered to be held in April, the judge elected to take his seat May 1, 1867, for the term to end Jan- uary 1, 1870. No further changes were made affecting Ottawa county until 1873, when the Twentieth Judicial Circuit was created from the counties of Ottawa and Allegan, and an election of a Circuit Judge thereof to be held in April, 1873, for a term to begin May 1, 1873, and to end January 1, 1876. Ottawa and Allegan still constitute the Twentieth Circuit. Ottawa county has been a part of the Third, Fourth, Third, Fifth, Eighth, Ninth, Fourteenth and Twentieth Circuits successively, following Kent until 1859. George Martin presided over the Ottawa Circuit until January 1, 1858, when he was succeeded by Louis S. Lovell, of Ionia, who performed the duties of judge until Ottawa county was assigned to the new Ninth. At the first judicial election in the Ninth Circuit, held in the spring of 1858, Flavius J. Littlejohn, of Allegan, was elected Circuit Judge. He presided over the Ottawa Circuit as long as Ottawa county remained in his circuit. At the election held in the new Fourteenth Circuit in the spring of 1867, Moses B Hopkins was elected. Judge Hopkins died after a short admin- istration, and was succeeded in 1869 by Augustine H. Giddings, who presided over the Ottawa Circuit until the creation of the Twentieth Cir- cuit in 1873. At the first judicial election in the new Twentieth, ordered to be held in April, 1873, John W. Stone was chosen, taking his seat May 1, 1873. Judge Stone presided only until November 5, 1874, when he resigned to take a seat in Congress, and Dan J. Arnold, of Allegan, suc- ceeded him by appointment. Judge Arnold succeeded himself by elec- tion in the spring of 1873 for the unexpired term ending December 31 1875, after which he was re-elected for three full terms, two of which he served, but died during the third in the spring of 1892. Hannibal Hart, of Allegan, was appointed to fill the vacancy by Governor Winans, and served until January 1, 1893, when he was succeeded by Philip Padgham, of Allegan, who was elected for the unexpired term to end December 31, 1893. He was re-elected in the spring of 1893 for the full term to end. December 31, 1899. The Circuit Court for the county of Ottawa is now held four times a year at Grand Haven, beginning on the second Mondays in January and March, and the first Mondays in August and November. شگاه BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. MUNICIPAL COURTS. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF GRAND RAPIDS. Section I, of Article VI of the constitution provides that "Municipal Courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction may be established by the Legisla- ture in cities. In 1875 the Legislature exercised its power for the relief of Grand Rapids and passed "An Act to provide for a Municipal Court in the City of Grand Rapids, to be called the Superior Court of Grand Rapids." This law was approved March 24, 1875, on the 39th anniversary of the organization of Kent county. The first term was to commence on the first 'Tuesday of June, 1875, and the election of a judge of said court was ordered to be held on the first Monday of April, 1875, for a term of six years, with the title of "Judge of the Superior Court of Grand Rapids." Generally speaking the Superior Court has the same jurisdiction as the Circuit Court, as to the person and amount; a concurrent, a limited, and an exclusive jurisdiction as to the subject matter; and a limited jurisdic- tion as to territory. The practice and proceedings are substantially the same as those of the Circuit Courts. John T. Holmes was the first judge of this court and served one full term, being succeeded June 7, 1881, by Isaac H. Parrish. Judge Par- rish served a full term and was succeeded by Edwin A. Burlingame the first Monday in May, 1887. Judge Burlingame was re-elected in the spring of 1893, and is now serving his second term to end in May, 1899. During a temporary absence of the Judge of the Superior Court, the Judge of the Circuit Court is authorized to preside for him. Until the spring of 1878, the county clerk was ex-officio clerk of the Superior Court; but in the spring of 1878, the office of clerk became elective for a term of two years. After a trial of four years the Legisla- ture in 1881, authorized the Judge of the Superior Court to appoint a clerk thereof for a term of two years, beginning with the first Monday in May, 1882. This rule obtained until the Legislature of 1895 abolished it, and again made the office of clerk elective, beginning in the spring of 1896. Four regular terms are held each year, beginning on the second Mondays in September, December, March and May. Some of the most important cases in the city are tried in this court, and its usefulness is well estab- lished. It has an appellate jurisdiction over the city cases in police court, and an appeal lies to the Supreme Court, the same as from the Circuit Court. POLICE COURT. "An Act to establish and organize a police court in the city of Grand Rapids" was approved April 30, 1873. It provided for the election. of a Police Justice at the charter election of 1874, the said Justice to take his seat the first Monday in May, 1874, for a term of four years. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 65 The court was given exclusive jurisdiction over offences against the laws of the city, concurrent jurisdiction with the other justices over criminal cases within the city limits, but no civil jurisdiction except when specially conferred. By an Act approved May 13, 1879, the Legislature repealed the fore- going act and passed a law "To establish and organize a Municipal Court in the City of Grand Rapids, to be known and called 'The Police Court of Grand Rapids. The police justice elected under the law of 1873 was to serve out his full term, but was to bear the title of "Police Judge." Be- ginning with the spring election of 1882, a Police Judge was to be elected every four years, the term to begin the first Monday in May, 1882. The Prosecuting Attorney of Kent county looks after the State cases in his court, and the City Attorney prosecutes the city cases. The court is not a court of record, and the practice follows that of the practice in Justice Court in criminal cases. Appeal lies to the Superior Court in city cases, and to the Circuit Court in State cases. James E. McBride was the first police justice, taking his seat in May, 1874. Four years later he was succeeded by John M. Harris, who served all but a few months of a full term. Assistant police justice, John W. Holcomb, filled out the term. At the spring election of 1882, John T. Holmes, formerly Judge of the Superior Court, was elected Police Judge under the new law of 1879, taking his seat in May, 1882. Judge Holmes was re-elected in April, 1886, and again in 1890; he served less than a year of his third term when illness retired him from actual service, and his death which soon followed, caused a vacancy. From April, 1891, until the November election following, William O. Westfall acted as Police Judge. He was succeeded by William H. Haggerty, who was sworn in November 7, 1891, having been elected for the residue of the term to end in May, 1894. Judge Haggerty was re-elected in the spring of 1894 for the full term to end in May 1898. This court is in continuous session all the year. It has a clerk, elect- ive, and a bailiff, appointive, besides the regular police officers and a mat- The court is one of the busiest in Grand River Valley. ron. JUSTICE COURT. The constitution of 1835 authorized the election of four justices of the peace in each organized township for a term of four years. The Leg- islature, by Act of March 14, 1836, ordered an election of justices at the April election of that year for the term to begin July 4, following. This act preceded the organization of Kent county by ten days. The town- ships of Ionia and Maple were the first to be organized in Ionia county by Act of March 11, 1837, one week before the organization of that county. The township of Walker was the first to be organized in Kent county by Act of December 30, 1837, and the same act organized two townships, Otta- wa and Maskego, in Ottawa county, following the organization of that 66 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. i county by one day. The Grand River Valley therefore, under the State organization, began with eight justices of the peace in Ionia county in 1837, four in Kent county, and eight in Ottawa county in 1838. There are now fifty-five townships in the three counties, containing altogether over two hundred justices of the peace. In the city of Grand Rapids, the Justice Court has become munici- palized. When the city was incorporated in 1850, it was authorized to elect four justices. In 1857, the number was increased to five-one for each ward. In 1871, the number was again increased with the number of wards to eight. By an Act approved March 11, 1881, the number of justices was reduced to four, one of them to be elected in 1881 and one in 1882, and two in 1883. The justices elected under the old law were to serve out their full terms. In 1889, another act reduced the number to two who were to be paid a salary by the city, provided with court rooms at city expense; and the act also gave the court a clerk to be appointed by the city council. But because the act abolished an existing office, the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional July 11, 1889, within a week after it was to go into operation. In 1893, however, a more effect- ive law was enacted to reduce the number of justices. Those already in office were to serve out the terms for which they were elected, and no other justices were to be elected in 1893 and 1894. The offices then expir- ing were abolished and discontinued, but successors were elected to the remaining justices as their terms expired in 1895 and 1896 respectively. Under this law the city now has two justices each at a fixed salary. They hold court regularly in court rooms furnished by the city. A Justice Court Clerk is appointed by the mayor for a term of one year, and the general efficiency and dignity of the court are greatly enhanced. Justice. John W. Holcomb, for many years in office, was the last of the justices to retire under the old law, being succeeded July 4, 1896, by Harry D. Cowan, a young attorney. Charles A. Watt, another young attorney, is the senior justice, having succeeded Justice William O. Westfall in 1895. MAYOR'S COURT. The "Mayor's Court of Grand Rapids" was established by the city charter of 1850. It was to be composed of the mayor, recorder, and alder- men, and to be a court of record. It had jurisdiction over certain offences committed within the city limits and had the use of the county jail for the imprisonment of offenders. Court was held on the second Monday of every month, and an appeal lay to the Circuit Court. This court was abolished in 1857. RECORDER'S COURT. The revised charter of 1857 established "The Recorder's Court of the City of Grand Rapids." It was a court of record, the city recorder was judge thereof, and the city clerk was clerk thereof. It had jurisdic- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 67 tion over such city cases as involved either the city or a city official as a party; also over offences against the city laws and regulations, and an appellate jurisdiction over certain cases brought in Justice Court. The court also exercised a limited criminal jurisdiction and an appeal lay to the Supreme Court. A term of court began on the second Monday in each month. The Recorder's Court existed until 1875, when it was super- ceded by the Superior Court. THE BAR. The Bar of Grand River Valley can justly claim many distinguished members. Ionia county has given the state a Justice of the Supreme Court, and the nation a Consul to Glascow, in Judge Allen B. Morse. It has given the state two Attorney-Generals-Albert Williams, 1865, and Adolphus A. Ellis, 1891. It has furnished three Circuit Judges in Judge Lovell, Judge Smith, and Judge Davis, and it gave the city of Ionia a popular mayor in John B. Chaddock, who takes his seat as Prosecuting Attorney of his county January 1, 1897. Kent county gave Judge George Martin, Judge John W. Champlin, and Judge Robert M. Montgomery to the Supreme Bench of the State, and Judges Hoyt, Montgomery, Grove, Burch, and Adsit to the Circuit Court Bench. J. Byron Judkins and Reuben Hatch had been circuit judges when they joined the Kent County Bar. Moses Taggart and Fred A. Maynard have each served the state as Attorney General. Edwin F. Uhl now represents the United States as Embassador to Germany, after having ably served his country as Assistant Secretary of State under Presi- dent Cleveland. General Byron M. Cutcheon served eight years in Con- gress before he enrolled with the Kent County Bar. John Patton stepped from the profession to the United States Senate, while M. H. Ford has served, and William Alden Smith is now serving in the National House of Representatives. Hon. R. W. Butterfield serves his State as Regent of the University, Thomas F. Carroll is Post Master of Grand Rapids, W. D. Fuller is Reporter of the Supreme Court, and William J. Stewart has honorably served his city as Mayor. T. J. O'Brien has been urged as Judge of the United States Circuit Court, and John C. Fitzgerald has declined the support of his friends for Governor of Michigan. Many others could be added to this list of successful practitioners. Such lawyers as Fletcher & Wanty, Kingsley & Kleinhans, Taggart, Knappen & Denison; Taggart, Wolcott & Ganson; Wylie & Clapperton; Sweet, Perkins & Judkins; McGarry & Nichols; Wolcott & Ward; Bundy & Travis; More & Wil- son; Mark Norris, F. W. Stevens, H. W. Fallass, and many others, would grace any Bar in the country. A Bar Library of 5,000 volumes is sup- ported by the profession. The Bar is well supplied with young men of ability and promise, and the high professional standard of the Kent County Bar is in no danger of being lowered. The Ottawa county Bar is ably connected with the profession. George 68 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. A. Farr is one of the leaders and serves his state as Regent of the Univer- sity. George W. McBride has been collector of customs at Grand Haven, and candidate for Congress. G. J. Diekema, of Holland, has served the State as Speaker of the House of Representatives. W. I. Lillie and P. J. Danhof are among the younger successful practitioners. Taken alto- gether, the Bar of Grand River Valley ranks second to none in the state. + THE STATE BAR ASSOCIATION. A HISTORICAL SKETCH. The original call for a meeting to organize a State Bar association in Michigan was issued in February, 1890. It was signed by fifty-four law- yers of Detroit, fourteen of Marquette, fourteen of Kalamazoo, and one of Big Rapids. On February 22, 1890, a meeting was held in the United States Court room in the city of Detroit, at which it was decided to organ- ize an association. Articles of Association were adopted and a committee appointed to draft a Constitution. At a meeting held at Detroit on June 2, 1890, the Constitution was adopted and the association regularly organ- ized by the election of officers, Henry M. Duffield, of Detroit, being chosen the first President. The membership during the first year was 234, covering 23 cities and towns in the State. The Articles of Associa- tion were drafted in accordance with the provisions of an Act of the Legis- lature of Michigan entitled "An Act to authorize the formation of incor- porations of associations of members of the Bar," which was approved April 25, 1881 (Howell's Statutes, Sec. 4502, et seq.) The second annual meeting of the Association convened at the Hotel Cadillac, Detroit, on June 16, 1891, in the evening. The committee on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, through its chairman, Levi T. Griffin, of Detroit, presented a report giving the substance of a bill regulating admission to the bar which it had prepared and caused to be introduced into the Legislature of 1891. The bill provided for a commit- tee of nine to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court with the concurrence of the Associate Justices, whose duty was to examine applicants for admission to the Bar. The bill, however, never became a law. At this meeting a banquet was held and Thomas J. O'Brien, of Grand Rapids, was chosen President for the following year. The mem- bership during the second year was 230, a decease of three, and twenty- three cities and towns were represented. The third annual meeting was held in the rooms of the Circuit Court for the county of Kent at Grand Rapids on July 2, 1892, in the afternoon. The principal business before the meeting was the discussion of that por- tion of the address of Mr. O'Brien, the retiring President, relating to the congestion of business before the Supreme Court of the State and a proper method of relief. A committee was appointed to investigate the ques- tion and to report a plan for relief to an adjourned meeting of the Associ- ation to be held on the 3rd Tuesday in the following January at Lansing. 69 0 70 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Edward Cahill, of Lansing, was chosen President for the succeeding year. The association increased during that year from 230 to 331 members, and the number of cities and towns represented increased from 23 to 60, so that during the following year the Association covered practically every section of the State. On January 17, 1893, the Association held an adjourned meeting in the rooms of the Supreme Court at Lansing, and the committee on relief of the Supreme Court, being the standing com- mittee on Jurisprudence and Law Reform, in its report recommended the establishment of an intermediate appellate court. The report of the com- mittee, however, did not meet the views of a majority of the members of the Association and it was decided at the meeting to recommend to the Governor and the Legislature that the number of Justices of the Supreme Court be increased by the addition of five new members. The committee, consisting of Edward Cahill, of Lansing, George P. Wanty, of Grand Rap- ids, and Levi L. Barbour, of Detroit, was appointed to draft a bill carrying out the suggestion of the Association, and was instructed to cause it to be introduced in the Legislature. A bill was prepared by the committee and introduced in the Legislature but failed to become a law. The fourth annual session of the association convened at Lansing in the Senate Chamber of the Capitol on June 6, 1893. At this meeting the agi- tation for a State Board of Law Examiners was continued by the Com- mittee on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, recommending that a Board of Examiners of five members be appointed which should hold regular public examinations in the different parts of the State; that candi- dates for admission must have pursued the study of law for the period of at least two years preceding the examination; and that graduates of the Law Department of the University of Michigan be entitled to admission upon their diplomas. Nothing of importance was actually accomplished at this meeting. George H. Durand, of Flint, was chosen President for the following year. The fifth annual meeting of the association was held in the Senate Chamber of the Capitol at Lansing on June 26, 1894. At this meeting the first steps were taken looking towards a revision of the practice of the Circuit Courts of the State and a special committee was appointed to pre- pare a report which should embrace proposed amendments and additions to the court rules, both in law and in chancery. The Committee on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar was instructed to secure the passage of a law by the Legislature of 1895, providing for the appointment of a State Board of Examiners in Law consisting of five members. Martin G. Montgomery of Lansing, was selected as President for the succeeding year. The sixth annual meeting of the association was held at Lansing on June 25, 1895. The Committee on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar reported that it had secured the passage of a bill providing for the appointment of a State Board of Examiners in Law. This legislation 0 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 71 is the most important that has been accomplished through the efforts of the State Bar Association. The law provides that graduates from the Law Department of the University of Michigan shall be admitted on motion and that other applicants must be of full age, residents and citizens of the United States, and of good moral character, and must produce a certificate from the Board of Examiners appointed by the Governor upon the recom- mendation of the Supreme Court. The Board is composed of five lawyers whose terms of office are five years, the term of one of these examiners expiring each year. An affidavit of residence is required from the appli- cant and satisfactory evidence must also be produced of good moral char- acter and of having pursued the study of law in the office of some attorney or in some recognized law school or university for at least two years prior to the examination. The examination is both oral and written, and the applicant must answer at least seventy per cent. of the questions to entitle him to a certificate. If the applicant fails to pass the examination he may again apply after six months. At this sixth annual meeting the usual banquet was held and George P. Wanty, of Grand Rapids, was elected President for the succeeding year. The Association now has 364 members representing 69 cities making it cover every section of the State. The standing committees met in Detroit on August 30, 1895, every member being present, and laid out the year's work, which besides the legal education and admission to the Bar involved the complex revision of the court rules of the State look- ing to the simplification and uniformity in the several circuits. The next meeting of the Association was held May 13 and 14, 1896, at Grand Rapids, when the annual address was delivered by Judge J. Newton Fiero, of New York. The fact that it required two days instead of one to do the business shows the increase of interest in the work of the Association. GEO. P. WANTY. 1 • BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JAMES FREDERICK JOY, Detroit. A learned German author and doctor of philosophy has said: "Biography is by nature the most univers- ally profitable, universally pleasant of all things; especially biography of distinguished individuals.'' He might have enlarged upon this thought, and particularized as well, by adding that the biographer finds his inspira- tion in a really worthy subject; and the reader is entertained as well as profited by studying the personal history of a distinguishd individual. A fruitful and lofty theme is suggested in the name with which this article opens. James F. Joy is the descendant of Puritans and Calvinists. For several generations his ancestors were conspicuous in New England for hon- esty, patriotism and all of the recognized virtues, compacted into character as firm as the granite hills of New Hampshire upon which they lived and wrought; in which they found sepulture. History accords prominence to Samuel and Ebenezer and David, Senior and Junior, good Bible names all, adopted by the Puritans to perpetuate valor and honor, fidelity and fortitude. Loyal to their sovereign, the King of England, when New Hampshire was a province of the Crown, the Joys fought in his service against France and the native Indians, in the bloody wars from 1740 to 1763. Samuel and David Sr. served in the same New England regiment. The former was a member of the famous Captain John Smith's company in 1740. The next generation, moved by the spirit of liberty and inde- pendence, was equally courageous and equally patriotic in taking arms against the king when he became the oppressor of the colonies. Ebene- zer Joy was a volunteer under the brave General Stark during the Revolu- tion, in 1780, and served until peace was established in 1783. Samuel Joy was one of the founders of Durham in the Parish of Dover, province of New Hampshire, county of Stratford, in 1732, where members of the family lived for more than a century. James Frederick Joy was born in the town of Durham, December 2, 1810. He was the son of James Joy and Sarah Pickering. His father was a manufacturer of the common imple- ments used on the farm at that period-especially the scythe. His mother was a member of one of the historic families of New Hampshire. His birth was at the very dawn of the grandest epoch in the world's history-— an epoch characterized by larger individual liberty and national security than the world had known before; by advancement in civilization; by improved social and political conditions; by enterprise, invention and ma- 72 · The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago. James Joy UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 73 terial prosperity; by the physical development of an empire under a republican form of government, in a manner bordering on the miraculous. The United States, as a nation, was young; much of the territory now comprised within its boundaries had not yet been acquired; only one state had been erected in the Northwest Territory. No passenger railroad had been constructed; the telegraph and telephone were not even a dream; the mind of man had not conceived the possibility of spanning great rivers with bridges of steel; no steamboat had yet traversed the great lakes and no steamship had crossed the ocean; the great inventors whose genius has made them benefactors were either unborn or infants in arms. If James F. Joy had been a passive spectator of this wonderful march of events, this miracle of progress during his lifetime, it would be idle to refer to it in his biography. The reference is justified because he has for seventy years been an active, regnant factor in this progress and achieve- ment. He could in truth exclaim, with the old Trojan, Aeneas: “All of which I saw and part of which I was. But let his relation to the mater- ial and intellectual advancement be developed in the story of his life. He attended the public school of his native village until fourteen and spent two years at an academy preparing for college; entered Dartmouth at eighteen, and was graduated at twenty-three with class honors. He had formed the purpose to become a lawyer, and for a Joy to purpose was to do. Having decided to adopt the profession of law, he entered the Har- vard Law School immediately after his graduation. Judge Story and Mr. Greenleaf were then in charge of it as professors. It was a school sec- ond to none in the country. There Mr. Joy began the study of law with all the advantages which attend the instruction of men of such eminent ability and profound learning. Judge Story was the most learned lawyer of his time, and Professor Greenleaf was also an eminent lawyer, distin- guished as well, also, for his beautiful character and life all through his professional career. Mr. Joy devoted himself to the study of the law with earnest and steady care while he remained at the school. Except the time devoted to exercise he was wholly engaged in his studies, as indeed he was for a quarter of a century afterwards until circumstances gradually drew him out of the profession. He was at the school only one year at that time. "The paucity of his pecuniary resources," as an old Governor of Michigan used to say, induced him for a time to accept the place of principal of the acad- emy at Pittsfield, New Hampshire, where his father lived, and, after a few months, the position of tutor of the Latin language at Dartmouth College, where he remained for a year, and was the only instructor in that language in the college during this time. At the end of the year he resigned his place in the college and went back to the Law School at Cambridge, where he remained for another year. He was then admitted to the Bar in the courts of Boston, but immediately came west and settled in Detroit, which was well on the western frontier, and larger than any city west of it. This was in September, 1836. He entered the office of Hon. Augustus S. 7+ BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Porter, who was soon afterwards elected to the United States Senate. It is a tradition partially supported by records that some of his ancestors. obtained from the Crown, on account of military service, a grant of land six miles square, in northern New Hampshire, near the White Mountains, for the purposes of cultivation and settlement. This tract of land must have become very valuable by the time he came west; but whether or not it was in possession of the Joy family made no difference with his fortune. No part of it ever came to him by descent or otherwise. His inheritance was not in lands or money, but rather in robust manhood and puritanic integrity; in a strong assemblage of fortunately blended intellectual facul- ties, trained and dominated by a masterful will. The quality of greatness in man is scarcely susceptible of an exact definition in words, but is read- ily inferable from actions and achievements. When James F. Joy settled in Detroit, at the age of twenty-six, he was rich in moral courage, physi- cal strength, mental resource, scholastic and professional acquirements. In May, 1837, being then in his twenty-seventh year, he opened an office for the practice of the law, and in the course of one year formed a co-partner- ship with George E. Porter, under the name and style of Joy & Porter. His character gave him standing in the community, and his industry and attention to business soon won him clients. Every case intrusted to him received the most careful and studious attention. He never carried one into court which he had not thoroughly investigated both as to facts and the law applicable to them. The Bar of Detroit was an excellent one. Several of the old lawyers were both able and learned, and there were young ones ambitious, earnest and industrious. Several of them were the equals of any in the western states. No young man could make his way against them except by the most thorough and careful study of every case in which he was engaged. This was the habit of Mr. Joy, and with his industry and determination, as well as his ability, it was not long before he became one of the very prominent among the lawyers of the Bar of Michigan, and gradually became the peer of the ablest. He was an able advocate, with the facts of every case carefully studied, with the law appli- cable thoroughly investigated, and with his well trained mind, he stood for many years in the front rank of the Bar, and with a very large and profitable business, won only by duty in every case; duty carefully and resolutely done. He never left anything to chance which could be made certain by industry. He was firm and resolute in his purpose in every contest at the Bar, to make every particle of strength in the facts and law available for his client. Though well versed in criminal law, he was engaged in the trial of criminal cases only in the earliest part of his career; but some of them were important. Only one will be mentioned here, and that chiefly as an illustration of the condition of the morals of some frontier communities in the early history of the State. A man then living in Detroit, and only lately deceased, was on trial in the United States Court for passing counterfeit money early in his life. Mr. Joy was BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 75 employed to defend him. There were among others two principal wit- nesses against him. One testified that he had seen him have a box of counterfeit Mexican silver dollars in his possession, that they were set up edgewise in the box, and, on question by Mr. Joy, he stated that he knew they were counterfeit dollars by seeing only the rims or edges of them. Mr. Joy dispensed with the cross-examination at the time but stated to the court that he would cross examine him farther the next morning. In the evening he found two well looking counterfeit Mexican dollars, and took them, with three good ones, to a jeweler and asked him to test them so that he could testify in court, which were good and which were coun- terfeit. He did so, and was present in the court the next morning. Mr. Joy called the witness upon the stand and handed him the five dollars, and asked him to examine them and state if any one of them were coun- terfeit. He said some of them were, and was asked to pick out and hand to Mr. Joy a counterfeit one. He picked out one which he said was coun- terfeit. Being asked if he was sure of it, he said yes. As sure as he was that those he saw in the defendant's box were counterfeit? He said yes. The jeweler being afterwards put on the stand, testified that among the five there were two counterfeit dollars, and that he had tested them all so that he could state certainly, and that the one which the witness said was counterfeit was a genuine, true silver dollar. This disposed of the testimony of one prosecuting witness. The other chief witness testified that he had actually seen the defendant pass counterfeit dollars, which he and the witness both knew to be counterfeit. This witness lived at Leoni, about eight miles from Jackson, then a small village. Mr. Joy examined him, as he thought sufficiently, and in rebuttal impeached his character for truth and veracity successfully. The Government brought several witnesses from Jackson to sustain his character. The testimony of one of them was decisive in the matter. Upon taking the stand the attorney for the Government asked him if he knew the reputation of the witness in the neighborhood where he lived, to which he answered yes. Then came the question, what was the character of the witness in the neighborhood in which he lived? to which the witness answered, it was considered good there. The question was not put as to his reputation for truth and veracity, but only as to his general character. On cross examination Mr. Joy asked the witness to state what the general reputa- tion of the witness was among his neighbors. The witness refused to ans- After discussion the court told the witness he must answer the question. To this the witness replied: "If I must, I must. He had and has the reputation of being a horse-thief, gambler and blackleg. "But," said Mr. Joy, "you have testified that his reputation was consid- ered a good one in that neighborhood. Do you mean to say that a man with the reputation of being a thief and a blackleg has a good reputation in that community?" "Yes sir," said the witness, "that is the reputa- tion of the whole neighborhood, and is there considered a good reputa- wer. 76 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. tion." The case had already been tried once with a divided jury. On the second trial these things occurred and disposed of the two chief wit- nesses, and the client of Mr. Joy was acquitted. He afterwards lived very many years at Detroit, was a respectable man and became quite wealthy. The partnership of Joy & Porter continued for more than a quarter of a century, during which a large and profitable business was conducted. Both partners were men of high standing in the community in every point of character. The litigation in the courts was wholly conducted by Mr. Joy, though Mr. Porter was for him an invaluable partner in the office. From 1836 to 1846 the State of Michigan had undertaken the construc- tion of railroads and a canal across the State, but had failed disastrously and become utterly bankrupt. Its condition had become hopeless so far as any further prosecution of its public works were concerned. Among others, Mr. Joy discussed, through the public prints, the questions con- nected with them, and advised the sale of its railroads to companies who would complete them. This was the important question of that day. When the Legislature of 1845-46 came together, Mr. Joy, in connection with John W. Brooks, afterwards chief engineeer and president of the Michigan Central Railroad Company, prepared the charter of that company, which also provided for the sale of the road to the company, and submitted it to the Legislature. After a whole winter's discussion, it finally passed the Legislature in the way in which it now stands upon the statute books. By the efforts of Mr. Brooks and of Joy & Porter, a company was formed to take the property and pay the price agreed upon, two million dol- lars, and the Michigan Central Railroad Company came into existence. This was the turning point in the history of the State. It was It was now ena- bled to emerge from bankruptcy, gradually call in all its liabilities, and from that time commence the upward career of prosperity and greatness to which it has since arrived. Joy & Porter were retained as counsel and attorneys for the company. The progress of the road west to Chicago occu- pied several years, and was attended with much litigation in Indiana and Illinois, and especially at Chicago, where its interests were united with those of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, which also employed Mr. Joy as its counsel. One of his great tasks was to secure its entrance to Chicago, and the litigation to this end was both extensive and important. It largely controlled Mr. Joy's time, and gradually took him away from his profession in Michigan. Finally it absorbed all his attention and commanded all his ability for several years. While there was a great deal of litigation in Illinois, and especially at Chicago and Galena, there were two suits of unusual importance while he was the counsel of the two companies, which may be named. One involved the question of the right of counties to tax the lands which had been granted by the Government to aid in the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad. Judge David Davis, afterwards Judge of the United States Supreme Court, had advised the officers of McLean county that the lands were subject to local taxation. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 77 Mr. Joy advised the company that they could not legally be so taxed. The case came before the Supreme Court of Illinois at Springfield, and was twice argued by Mr. Joy and his associate counsel, Mr. Lincoln, afterwards President. On the second argument the decision of the court sustained the position they took, that the land was not subject to local taxation. The suit was of very great importance, as the taxation of two and a half million acres of land was involved. Passing over all other inter- vening and difficult litigation, his connection with the two companies as their counsel closed with the termination of the great suit of George C. Bates vs. the two companies—a suit in ejectment which involved the title to their terminal station grounds in Chicago, then valued at about two million dollars. There were several circumstances which made this case one of extreme interest. Among the counsel employed by Mr. Bates were Mr. Stanton, afterwards the great Secretary of War in Mr. Lincoln's administration, and Nathaniel McLean, of Cincinnati, son of the presiding judge. The principles involved were also of much interest. It was tried twice before juries at Chicago in the United States Court, in each of which trials Mr. Joy secured a verdict for his clients, and ultimately in the Supreme Court, where it was carried. The legal questions on which Mr. Joy relied were fully sustained and the case finally won by him. This was the last great case in which he was employed. In the meantime, while employed as counsel for these companies, he had been made a direc- tor in the Illinois Central Company, and had also procured the requisite. charters in Illinois for the organization of what has since become the Chi- cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company. He was chiefly instru- mental in organizing it and raising the money with which the construction of roads in Illinois afterwards consolidated and now comprising that line in Illinois, was undertaken. He became president of the company and was for several years at its head after the construction of the road in Illi- nois was undertaken, and while progress was made westward to Omaha. He also became president of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, organized the branch from Cameron to Kansas City, and built the bridge across the Missouri at that point, which gave the impulse to Kansas City and made it the leading city in the valley of the Missouri. He had been drawn wholly out of the law into the construction and management of railroads. Having reached Kansas City, and having been made acquainted with the fact that the Cherokee Indians owned 800,000 acres of land in the south- east corner of Kansas, which they wished to sell, he made a treaty with them for the lands, which was approved by the Senate of the United States. This land was bought by him in his own name, but for the Kan- sas City, Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad Company, which was organized by him to build a railroad from Kansas City to the present Indian territory, through the land so purchased, and he built the railroad as planned. At the close of the civil war many men invaded the lands which he had bought and “squatted" upon them. They were hostile to the construction of 78 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. the railroad unless Mr. Joy would give them the land which they occupied. They drove off the engineers and men, and burned the ties which he had accumulated for the road. The State of Kansas at that time would not protect him, and he placed his case before Mr. Rawlins, General Grant's Secretary of War, who explained it to the President. The President stated that if the railroad company would build barracks for a couple of companies of cavalry, he would order them to be stationed upon these lands where they would do the most good. To this Mr. Joy agreed, and soon the troops were there, and remained there until the road was built through the land—a singular case of construction under the protection of a detachment of United States cavalry. In 1867 Mr. Joy resigned the presidency of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and retired from its management, and that of all its numerous connections, and accepted the presidency of the Michigan Central Railroad Company, which he retained until 1876, when he finally retired from it and from all railway manage- ment, though for a time he was nominally at the head of the Wabash, then in the hands of receivers. This was only to aid, if possible, in its reorganization, which was ultimately accomplished with great difficulty. While he was in the management of the Michigan Central that railroad was renewed with steel rail and enlarged equipment, and he was able to aid very largely in promoting the construction of other railroads in the State, developing its prosperity and contributing very materially to its rapid progress in both population and wealth. He may fairly be styled the father of railroads in the State. Among the gigantic enterprises which he inaugurated or carried to success were the Chicago Stock Yards and the canal at Sault Ste. Marie. The vice-president of the Stockyards Com- pany in a letter to the editor says: "Jas. F. Joy may properly be considered the father of the Union Stock Yards & Transit Co., as his name appears among those applying for the charter organizing the company, Feruary 15, 1865. From that time on to the time the yards were opened in December, 1865, he was most active in the laying out and building of the yards. He was one of the first members of the board of directors, and was also chairman of the first executive committee of the company. He remained on the board as an active member up to May, 1876, when, he having removed to De- troit, his resignation was accepted, much to the regret of the balance of the board and the officials. Mr. Joy was also largely instrumental in bringing to success the stock yards at Kansas City, Missouri. It was owing to his indefatigable efforts that the St. Charles Air Line Railway was built, as it was largely through him that the money was raised. This was one of the first, if not the first railroad to cross Chicago. He helped lay out the road, sometimes dragging the chain in the survey of the same. He was for many years a director of this company. To him the people of Chicago are under lasting obligations for the energy he displayed in estab- lishing these roads and the stock yards and the success that has attended them. They ought to erect a monument to his memory. His energy and foresight have been marvelous, and although nearly eighty-six years of age, he retains all his faculties and is very much interested in the success BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 79 of these western enterprises, especially the stock yards. He is always glad to hear of anything which adds to the success of these yards, and scans the annual reports as eagerly as ever. The Government had granted seven hundred and fifty thousand acres of land to the State of Michigan to constitute a fund for the construction of the Sault Ste. Marie ship canal, to be selected by the State from any lands owned by the Government. Efforts had been made by various parties to organize a company for the construction of the canal and accept the lands in payment; but all had failed. Several years had elapsed since the Government had granted the land. The canal was not only a very important matter but had become an absolute necessity. Mr. Joy, in con- nection with John W. Brooks, after much consideration, resolved to under- take the work. The necessary legislation authorizing the organization of a company and construction of the canal was prepared and secured by Mr. Joy. He also prepared the contracts with the State, organized the com- pany, and in two years after the contract was closed had the canal con- structed ready for navigation. It has become almost the most important public work on the continent, carrying through it a commerce larger and far more valuable than goes through the Suez Canal. The Government. has been compelled to double its capacity, although at the time of its construction it was thought to be adequate for all the demands of com- merce in the future. The company accepted the land in payment for the work and the canal became the property of the State. It was afterwards. transferred to the United States. The land selected by the company consisted of five hundred thousand acres of pine land in the Southern Peninsula of Michigan, and two hundred and fifty thousand acres in the Upper Peninsula, supposed to contain minerals. The pine lands were sold at from three to five dollars per acre, and the other lands for a little more. The work cost about one million one hundred thousand dollars, leaving to the company a fair profit; but if their lands had been sold a few years later the profit would have been fifty millions. His last public works are the union depots at Detroit, undertaken to furnish accommodation for railroads terminating at and seeking terminals in the city. The older one was almost entirely the result of his efforts, and the later was the result mainly of the joint efforts of himself and Hon. R. W. Crapo, president of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad Company. They contribute much to the convenience of the State and the city of Detroit. Both the State and the city have good reason to appreciate highly the almost life work of Mr. Joy to promote their progress and prosperity. Limited space forbids a further enumeration of his public enterprises and achieve- ments. They are monumental and beyond computation. SI MONUMENTUM QUAERIS CIRCUMSPICE! While Mr. Joy's life has been a very busy one, and filled with respon- sibility and work, it has still been one of a student and a reader in all hist leisure moments. He learned French in his college life and its vacations, 80 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. so as to read it easily, and the literature of that language has been one of the pleasures and recreations of his life. He has always kept up his acquaintance with the Latin, which he has been in the habit of reading. All the Latin and French classics are found in his library, as well as those of the English. He has always had the happy faculty of throwing off the cares of business when he has left his office, and his large well stocked library has been the diversion and the pleasure of all his leisure time, when not occupied with the enjoyments of his family and social life. His habits have been regular and temperate. He has never used wine or spirits of any kind, either at his table or elsewhere. With good health and good appetite, he has always been a moderate eater. His table and his life and habits have been plain and without display or ostentation. He has hardly been sick a day in his life, and now (1896) in his eighty-sixth year, is daily in his office and in good health, standing at his desk while at work, and sometimes steadily during all the working hours of the day, which has been his habit for more than forty years. With all that he has accomplished, however, Mr. Joy has always felt that it was the mistake of his life to allow himself to be drawn away from his profession by his railway connections and employments. His position in the profession was an honorable one. Mr. Joy has never been a politician, in the sense of being an office seeker. He has never but once been a candidate for any office, except in 1860. When it had become evident that the difficulties growing out of slavery would result in a civil war, he allowed himself to be elected to the Legislature to prepare the State for all the exigencies of the coming war. The duties then incumbent upon him in that capacity were well performed; the Michigan troops called for by the Government were organized and equipped and were at the first battle of Bull Run. All the duties resting upon the State in the emergency were promptly and well done, and all the calls of the Government fully met. In another case, but where there was no possibility of his being elected, he allowed a party to use his name for office. He had always been a Whig, but opposed to the extension of slavery into the territories, and when a party was formed to resist it, he allowed his name to be placed on the electoral ticket as a candidate for presidential elector. Mr. Van Buren had allowed himself to be nominated for the Presidency. Mr. Joy could see that such a party-the Free Soil Party—was a necessity. He was willing, and considered it a duty to help it along. Afterward the fusion of this party with the Free Soil portion of the Whig party, became the Republican party, which was successful in the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency, and was responsible and entitled also to the credit for all the results of that election. He was a delegate at large for Michigan in the Republican National Convention in 1880, and was chosen to present the name of Blaine as a candidate. His speech on that occasion was a classic, fit companion-piece of the orations of Conkling and Garfield, placing their favorites in nomination. Mr. Joy has twice been married. His first wife was Martha Reid, daughter of UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago. Brottsongan MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 81 Hon. John Reid, for many years a member of congress from Massachu- setts, and his second wife, Mary Bourne, of Hartford, Connecticut. ADDENDUM: Mr. Joy died suddenly of heart disease at his home in Detroit, September 24, 1896. JOHN WESLEY LONGYEAR, deceased. Judge John W. Long- year was born in Shandaken, Ulster county, New York, October 22, 1820, and died at Detroit, March 11, 1875. In the short period of his life he became one of the most eminent lawyers and honored citizens of the State of his adoption. His education was only academic, but he was graduated from the seminary at Lima, New York. Very early in life he had formed the purpose to become a lawyer, and at the age of twenty- four he came west, settled at Mason, Ingham county, Michigan, where he took up the study of law and where he was admitted to the Bar in 1846. The following year he removed to Lansing, which had about that time become the capital of the State. He was among the earliest of the members of the Bar to locate in the capital city. His brother Ephraim was first a student in his office and afterwards became his partner in the practice. It was in Lansing that Judge Longyear became prominent and distinguished as a member of the profession. His practice extended into all of the State and Federal Courts and into nearly all of the circuits of the State. For three years he was in partnership with S. F. Seager, and the firm thus constituted was in all respects one of the ablest, best known and most successful in the State. Judge Longyear, during the last ten years of his practice, won a reputation which was National. All of his abilities, the power of his mind and his physical strength, were given to the law, and it may be said in all candor that he honored the profession. In 1862 he was elected to Congress on the Republican ticket, and in 1864. was re-elected, serving in the House of Representatives four years from March 4, 1863. It was during the darkest period of the war, when the country had greatest need of patriots and statesmen in her halls of legis- lation. In the performance of the duties of a Representative in Congress he was actuated by a high purpose, and his fidelity to the cause of good government and the restoration of the Union was unmistakable. He studied the subject of secession and the relations of the States to the Nation from the standpoint of a lawyer. He was influential in debate, because he never claimed the attention of the House unless the subject under consideration was important and he had studied it sufficiently to bring out something new. He was therefore listened to with marked attention by the members of that body. Perhaps the most important argument which he made in the House was one on the bill which sought to make preliminary provision for reconstruction of the National Union. A brief extract from that speech is sufficient to indicate the profound study 82 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. which he had given to the matter under consideration, and at the same time show his statesmanlike views presented with lawyerly ability. It was delivered April 30, 1864: "To become and to be a State of the Union requires the express action of Congress, admitting it as such, and its submission to the Consti- tution and laws of the Union. Each State, therefore, owes its existence originally to the mandate and express consent of the Supreme State, the General Government; and all of the people of each State and the States themselves, owe primary allegiance to that superior sovereignty. The Government is the State; its soul and essence is the sovereignty with which the people have invested it for certain specified ends; among which ends is obedience to the National Constitution and laws. When such gov- ernment becomes subversive to those ends, or seeks, by virtue of that sov- ereignty with which it has been invested, to bring the people in conflict with that superior sovereignty to which they owe allegiance, or when such government becomes abrogated or destroyed by any means, the sover- eignty with which it was invested returns to the people, to be exercised by them de novo. When a State has thus, by its own act, become divested of its sovereignty, its soul and essence is gone, and it ceases to exist as a State of the Union. It does not go out of the Union; that is impossible. The idea involves the absurdity that a State of this Union can exist when it ceases to be a State of the Union. If in such case it continues to main- tain the forms of an existence, by force or otherwise, it is an excrescence upon the body politic of the Nation, to be removed and dissolved to make room for the exercise of National sovereignty and for legitimate State organization by the people. The superior sovereignty and jurisdiction cannot be destroyed or impaired by the destruction, subversion, or abro- gation of the inferior. And hence when the inferior ceases to exist the National authority remains as complete as before over the entire territory and people. Territory is not the State. It is the habitation of the State. It prescribes the boundaries of its local jurisdiction. In a governmental sense territory is National, and remains national, the same after a State organization as before. To illustrate: the people of any portion of the National territory may go through the forms of organizing a state govern- ment by adopting a Constitution and electing officers under it, but it can- not occupy a single foot of territory as a state anywhere within the National boundaries, and has no standing whatever, without the previous consent of Congress. When Congress yields its assent and prescribes the boundaries of the new organization, then, and not until then, it has a foot- ing to stand upon; but National jurisdiction over such territory is not thereby supplanted or impaired. The new organization comes in under and subject to National jurisdiction and sovereignty. And what folly would it be to contend that the National government could not afterwards assert its jurisdiction and sovereignty over such territory to the entire exclusion of a foreign power usurping such State government, and even of such state government itself, if subverted and sought to be maintained in defiant opposition to the national authority.' In 1866 Judge Longyear was a delegate to the Loyalist convention at Philadelphia. In 1867 he was a member of the constitutional convention of Michigan and prominent in its proceedings, because of his familiarity with the imperfections found in the existing constitution and his large BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. S3 capacity to suggest something better. In 1870 he was appointed Judge of the United States Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and removed to Detroit for the greater convenience in attending to his judicial duties. Up to that time he was without experience upon the Bench. His practice had been general in character and most of it in the smaller towns of the interior. While his remarkable aptness for the law had long been understood by the most prominent attorneys in the State, and his mind, under perfect control, had been trained to think deeply on all important subjects considered by him, yet there was some misgiving on the part of practitioners whose chief interests were in admiralty practice and bankruptcy cases, that Judge Longyear would scarcely be equal to the demands of the high position to which he was appointed. It is affirmed, however, that before the close of his first term of court his admirable fitness for the judicial office was clearly demonstrated. During all the years of his connection with the Bar he had been a profound student. His perception was keen, his application remarkable. His power of con- centration was such that he was able to penetrate through the husk and shell to the very kernel of a subject; to detect sophistry and distinguish sound reasoning almost intuitively. The magnitude of his work may be imagined when it is stated that his court was third in the United States in the number of admiralty cases, and fifth in the number of bankruptcy cases. In the amount of judgment it was second. The vast amount of business in his court and his conscientious devotion to duty in the disposal of it doubtless shortened his life. Few judges prepared their opinions with such laborious care, and few have been able to present their opinions with such clearness and demonstration. His decisions in bankruptcy have been quoted and copied throughout the land, as the truest expression of the law on that subject. He was holding court at the time of his death, and had occupied the Bench the last day of his life. The estimation in which he was held by the profession in the State is fittingly expressed in this resolution, containing the gist of a report adopted by the Detroit Bar: "Resolved, That we who have been witnesses of his labors, and practitioners before him during the past five years, as well as friends thor- oughly conversant with all his congenial qualities and native courtesy, can bear the amplest testimony to his learning, his diligence, his carefulness. and skill in the treatment of all legal questions coming before him for investigation, his strict honesty and severe integrity in connection with his high office and his uniform impartiality and courtesy of bearing toward the entire Bar from its most distinguished senior to the humblest of its jun- ior members; and we therefore regard his death as carrying with it much of the afflictive character of a personal bereavement. Resolved, That in the varied sphere of his judicial duties, whether in admiralty, bankruptcy,. equity or common law, this distinguished judge showed himself thoroughly conversant with the rules and principles peculiar to all departments of the law, and to such an extent as marked him as one rapidly taking rank among the eminent district and circuit judges of the country, and we regard it as one of the highest evidences of his judicial ability that by his 84 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. opinions, generally carefully and ofttimes laboriously prepared, he suc- ceeded not only in demonstrating their correctness to his own satisfaction, but was enabled almost invariably, to reconcile the views of opposing coun- sel with his own. Resolved, That a citizen who, like the deceased, has filled the various stations of Representative in Congress, member of the State constitutional convention, and the responsible office of a Federal Judge, when this removal from his duties in the prime of life may well be lamented, and we therefore here accord our sincere regret over his untimely death as a public loss, one which, as a community and State, we shall feel for a long time to come.' The substance of points made on the occasion by some of the most prominent members of the profession in attendance at the meeting may serve to give a better insight into the character of the great jurist. One of them said, “the facility with which he mastered maritime law was aston- ishing. It illustrates the fact that he was well grounded in a general knowledge of the principles of the law and hence had a good foundation upon which to build his subsequent acquirements. He did not have to acquire a knowledge of general law after going upon the Bench, but he developed the knowledge previously gained and added wonderfully to it." Another who had known Judge Longyear from boyhood and who had been his schoolmate and playmate, and later had seen much of him in legal practice, expressed his peculiar satisfaction with the manner in which he had discharged the duties of judge and the manner in which he had treated both advocates and parties. Judge C. I. Walker, who had known him for twenty years, and met him professionally as opposing counsel in numerous cases, and was well acquainted with his success as a commercial lawyer, and his distinguished service in Congress, said: "There was a suspicion in the minds of those who did not know him at the time of his appointment to the judgeship that he was not just the man for the place. But in this there was a general surprise. Even those who believed he would do well upon the Bench were not prepared to believe he would do so well. I never saw a man who seemed to be so exactly fitted for the position he occupied as did Judge Longyear upon the Bench. There was in him an innate love of justice, conscientious faithfulness and a desire to do all that one in his position might do." Alfred Russell said: "Judge Longyear was beloved as a friend. He united in himself every distinguishing char- acteristic of a faithful judge. He was patient to hear, listening to every argument that was presented to his attention, no matter from whom it came. The youngest and least experienced member of the Bar received no less attention than the oldest. He was a laborious investigator. He worked hard on his opinions, too hard for the good of his health, hav- ing a laudable ambition to make himself known through his opinions. He had the peculiar ability so necessary to a judge to elaborate and weigh and then decide; and when he did decide he was rarely wrong. George V. N. Lothrop, who had known Judge Longyear in the practice, had met him in the constitutional convention, of which he himself was a mem- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 85 ber, regarded him almost as a model judge; one who was filled with the measure of usefulness and had won ripe honors upon the Bench; who as a judge was patient, temperate, free from partisanship, laborious in his investigation and careful to do justice; a dear friend, an eminent judge, a useful citizen and a good man. Judge Longyear occupied the Bench only five years and yet established a reputation for learning in the law and ability to determine its proper construction, and the rights of parties to a contest, second to that of no judge in the United States. He was affable and companionable under all circumstances; firm in his convictions, unyielding in his disposition to do right and render equal and exact justice to all. He was a man of fine presence, as well as nobility of character. There was that in his personality which commanded attention, respect, admira- tion and love. He was absolutely honest. The kindness of his heart was as noteworthy as the strength of his intellect. He may fitly be mentioned as one of the ablest and one of the best jurists that ever occupied the Bench of a United States Court in Michigan. His mind was pre-eminently judicial. It was easy for him to be impartial; natural for him to be just. He could not be unkind or ungenerous without violence to his nature. His opinions are regarded by the profession not simply as an expression of the law, but as the highest authority most felicitiously expressed. In their composition his judgments declared the essence of the law. Their clear- ness was equaled by their strength. It was well said by members of the profession at the time that his death was an irreparable loss to the State. Judge Henry B. Brown, now a Justice of the United States Supreme Court, who was appointed to succeed him on the District Bench, paid a delicate and deserved compliment to the memory of Judge Longyear in his address to the Bar at the opening of his first term of court. In con- cluding he said: "Gentlemen, I ask your encouragement and assistance in maintaining the practice of the law in this court at the high standard it reached under my lamented predecessor. If I can succeed in bringing to this Bench the learning, industry, patience and impartiality which characterized his administration of justice here, I shall have filled the measure of my ambition." Judge Longyear was married soon after his location in Lansing to Miss Harriet Munro, who still lives in the place where her husband won renown at the Bar. One son, John Munro Long- year, is a wealthy citizen of Marquette, well known throughout the Northern Peninsula; a second son, Howard W. Longyear, M.D., is a practising dental surgeon in Detroit. Their only daughter, Miss Ida, lives at Lansing with her mother. Judge Longyear's home life was as pure and beautiful as his professional and political life was distinguished and honorable. His memory is revered by the surviving members of his family with deeper and more lasting affection than can pervade the hearts of his professional brethren, who recall his lofty aims and exalted achieve- ments as lawyer and jurist. 86 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. SOLOMON SIBLEY, deceased. Judge Sibley has been styled the "father of the Detroit Bar." He was descended from distinguished ances- tors of the same name, whose genealogy is traced to the period of the Norman Conquest. Down through the centuries succeeding that time his- tory has preserved the name Sibley, through a record of the deeds of its distinguished representatives. They were prominent in the civil wars of Great Britain and her wars with foreign nations. They were no less distin- guished in religion and the arts of peace. John Sibley I, was the founder of the family in America. He came to the Colony of Massachusetts from England inspired by the same love of liberty that actuated the Pilgrim Fathers who planted the Plymouth Colony only nine years before. He was of sturdy Puritan stock, preferring freedom of conscience in matters of religion to formal worship prescribed by the Established Church; willing to endure the privations and discomforts of life in the wilderness of a strange continent for the privilege of worshipping God in Nature's temples, guided by the dictates of conscience rather than the dictum of a temporal ruler. From him the family lineage extended in the New World, and the number of its members who achieved fame, honor and renown largely increased. They have been conspicuous in the wars-to establish a new and independent nation, to defend it against invasion, to protect it from internal enemies who sought to disrupt it. They have been prominent in statesmanship, in jurisprudence, in all of the learned professions, and hon- orable in the inconspicuous duties of private citizenship. Solomon Sibley's life history began in New England before the Revolution and closed in Detroit, April 4, 1846. He was born at Sutton, Massachusetts, October 7, 1769, in the "old Henry Sibley Stockwell place. His father, Reuben Sibley, was born in the same place February 20, 1743, and his grandfather, Jonathan Sibley, was also born there, September 11, 1718. He was reared and educated in the New England home and studied law in the office of William Hastings, of Boston, an eminent member of the Massa- chusetts Bar. Possessing great natural abilities and special aptitude for the law he rose rapidly in the profession, even in Boston where natural gifts were supplemented by scholarship and culture, and many advantages unknown to a young community. He decided very early to locate in the Northwest Territory and in 1795 came to Marietta, Ohio, only seven years after the first settlement. Halting there only a few months he pushed on to Cincinnati where he formed a partnership with Judge Jacob Burnet, then a prominent lawyer about his own age, subsequently a member of the first Legislative Council, a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and Sen- ator of the United States, a man of rich scholarship, sound learning in the law, author of many statutes and a historian of high repute. This partnership was dissolved in August, 1796, when Judge Sibley settled in Detroit. It is asserted that he was the first American settler after the evacuation of the town by the British. He was chosen a delegate to the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 87 first Territorial Legislature of the Northwest Territory held in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1798, and continued to be a member of the body until Ohio was set off, preparatory to assuming the obligations of statehood. It may rea- sonably be claimed that he was the founder of the Detroit city govern- ment, as he was author of the act of incorporation and his influence carried it through the Legislature. In grateful recognition of his services in this behalf he was tendered "the freedom of the city' by unanimous vote of the council. In 1806 he was appointed mayor of the city by Governor Hull and discharged the duties of chief executive with ability, courage and fidelity. The law invested the mayor with autocratic power—at least for obstructing legislation. It provided that "Every act or bill passed by both chambers shall before it becomes a law be presented to the mayor for his approval, and if not approved shall be returned to the chamber where it originated, there to remain in statu quo until the Judgment Day, with- out further consideration." It is not recorded in the local annals that Mayor Sibley ever exercised this absolute power to the detriment of the young and prosperous city. He commanded a company of Rifles at the siege and surrender of Detroit in August, 1812. In 1814 he was appointed auditor of public accounts and held the office three years. In 1815, under the wise administration of General Lewis Cass, as Governor, the city obtained practical control of its own affairs and he was appointed one of the five trustees to manage the business of the municipal corporation. At the same time he was selected by the Governor as aide-de-camp on his official staff. In 1817 he was appointed by the President of the United States as a special commissioner to serve in connection with Governor Cass in negotiating a treaty with the Indians for the possession of certain territory, within the borders of Michigan, to which the Indian title had. not been extinguished. The mission was successful and the State acquired peaceable possession of the lands. In 1818 Mr. Sibley was elected a director of the Bank of Michigan, and in 1820 he was elected a delegate to represent Michigan Territory in the Congress of the United States a terri- tory which then embraced the whole of Wisconsin and a strip on the Maumee including Toledo. In 1821 he was appointed trustee of the University of Michigan, which was first opened in Detroit. In 1824 he was appointed Judge of the Territorial Court and occupied the Bench until 1837, serving as Chief Justice during the last ten years. After his retirement from the Bench at the age of sixty-eight his time was devoted chiefly to the cultiva- tion of his fruit farm. He found this a pleasing diversion, as he was extremely fond of horticulture, and it afforded recreation during the last years of a busy life, engrossed for nearly half a century with the cares and responsibilities of public office. His death, though coming peacefully in the fulness of time, when he had almost reached the four-score limit, was lamented universally by the people of his adopted State. His life had been full of honors, but it had also abounded in usefulness. For more than fifty years he was one of the most valued, influential, philanthropic 1 88 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. $ so and highly esteemed citizens of Detroit. His whole life stood as the representative of all that is pure in citizenship, all that is worthy, honor- able and progressive in a public official. He was beloved because all who met him in social contact, at the Bar, or in the transaction of public busi- ness, recognized in him a man of most generous disposition and purest integrity. Members of the Bar, officials of the various courts and the most prominent citizens of Detroit assembled in a public meeting to express their appreciation of his character. A fitting testimonial was adopted, and as a token of their respect for the dead jurist and their sor- row for his death, members of the Bar wore a badge of mourning for thirty days. Judge Burnet, already referred to in this article, refers to Judge Sibley in one of his works as follows: "He was one of the most talented men in the House of Representatives: Possessed of a sound mind, improved by a liberal education, and a stability of character that com- manded general respect, he seemed to have the confidence and esteem of his fellow members." Hon. George C. Bates said of him: "He was a most honorable judge, careful and patient, deciding only after the most mature deliberation. His long gray hair, protruding eyebrows and heavy- set jaw, gave him very much the appearance of Chief Justice Shaw, of Massachusetts, whom Choate compared to the natives' view of their Indian God." Judge Sibley was married at Marietta, Ohio, in October, 1802, to Sarah Whipple Sproat, who was born in Providence, R. I., in 1782. She was the only daughter of Col. Ebenezer Sproat, an officer in the Revolu- tionary army, and a member of the first colony of settlers at Marietta in the spring of 1788. He was the high sheriff that led the parade with drawn sword at the ceremonious opening of the first court in the Northwest Territory, held September 2, 1788, of which General Rufus Putnam was the presiding judge. The family of Sproat was distinguished both in New England and the west, both in war and peace. All of them were patriotic and sensitive to the cause of human liberty. Four sons were born to Judge and Mrs. Sibley: Col. Ebenezer Sproat Sibley, of the regular army; Henry Hastings, Alexander Hamilton and Frederick B. Of the five daughters born of the same marriage Miss Sarah A. Sibley, of Detroit, alone is liv- ing. Frederic B. Sibley, the only surviving son, is a worthy citizen of Detroit, where he has lived continuously. SANFORD M. GREEN, Bay City. Judge Sanford M. Green was born May 30, 1807, in Grafton, Rensselaer county, New York. His father was a farmer in limited circumstances and he was employed in that occupation until nineteen years of age. At the age of sixteen, having had no opportunity to acquire more than the rudiments of an education, and being ambitious to secure the advantages which education might afford, he made an agreement with his father by which he was to be free to act for BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN 89 himself upon the payment of a stipulated sum, and went to reside with a half brother who carried on a farm at DeRuyten, Madison county, and taught a school in winter. By the assistance of this brother he became qualified to teach a country school and commenced teaching at the age of nineteen, in a log school house. After pursuing his studies for two years more, he commenced the study of law in Watertown, New York, at the age of twenty-one, and continued the same until admitted to the Bar in 1833. The last three years prior to his admission were spent in the office of Stocking & Bronson, who were among the most distinguished lawyers of Northern New York. After practising his profession in that State for about four years he became one of the proprietors of the new town of Owosso, Shiawassee county, Michigan, removed his family to that place in the fall of 1837, and continued to reside there until the spring of 1843. During this period he held the office of prosecuting attorney for that county, and some minor offices. In the fall of 1842 he was elected a Senator in the State Legislature from the Eighth Senatorial District, for two years, and during the session of 1843, he was a member of the judi- ciary committee, and during the session of 1844 was chairman of that com- mittee. During that session a bill was passed in the Senate authorizing the Governor to appoint a commission to prepare a revision of the statutes and report the same to the Legislature at its session in 1846. After the bill had been sent to the House the question as to who should be appointed to prepare this important work was discussed and it was found to be the general wish of the members of both houses that Senator Green should receive the appointment. But by a provision of the Constitution he was disqualified to receive the appointment from the Governor during the time for which he had been elected. To obviate this objection the bill was amended so as to confer the power of appointment upon the Chancellor and Judges of the Supreme Court; the amendment was con- curred in by the Senate and Mr. Green received the appointment upon the nearly unanimous recommendation of the members of the Legislature. In 1845 he was re-elected to the Senate and served during the sessions of 1846 and 1847. During the session of 1846 his report as commissioner was acted upon, amended and adopted, and published as "The Revised Statutes of 1846." In March, 1848, he was appointed by Governor Ran- som as Judge of the Supreme Court, and assigned to the Fourth Judicial Circuit, the State being then divided into four circuits, and the Judges of the Supreme Court performing the duties of Circuit Judges. He contin- ued in office by virtue of that appointment until 1858, when a new Supreme Court was organized. He was elected a Circuit Judge in 1857 and held the office until the spring of 1867, when, being sixty years of age, he resigned. He then removed to Bay City, and entered upon the practice of his profession, which he pursued until the 6th day of June, 1872, at which time he was appointed to fill the vacancy in the office of Circuit Judge of the Eighteenth Circuit, occasioned by the death of Judge 90 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Grier. Before the end of the term for which he was appointed he was elected for the succeeding full term, and was again elected for another full term, and served until the 1st of January, 1888, when his successor took his seat upon the Bench. With what ability and fidelity he performed the duties of these several important offices for a period of nearly thirty- five years the record is in evidence and the testimony of the Bar is avail- able. This much should be said: The business of his courts was never allowed to accumulate, and as a rule, all business ready to be acted upon was disposed of at each term. He performed all judicial duties with ability recognized by the Bar and with impartiality which commended his judg- ments. In 1860 Judge Green published a treatise on the Practice of the Circuit Courts, which was adopted and used as a standard work on the practice in Michigan, of which over twelve hundred copies were sold. In 1876 and '77 he published a large work on the Practice of the Courts of Common Law of the State of Michigan, in two volumes. The first edition of one thousand copies of this work having been exhausted, the author prepared a second edition, which was published by Callaghan & Co., of Chicago, in 1884, they having purchased the copyright from him. In 1879 he published a treatise on Townships, and the Powers and Duties. of Township Officers, with an appendix of Forms. This book had an extensive sale and was so highly esteemed that the Legislature of 1881 passed an act providing for the purchase by the State of a sufficient num- ber of copies of a new edition of the work to supply eight of the township officers in each of the townships of the State. This second edition was published in 1882 and ten thousand copies of it purchased by the State for distribution under the act aforesaid. Since his retirement from the Bench Judge Green has finished the preparation of a new work entitled "Crime-Its Nature, Causes, Treatment and Prevention," which was pub- lished by J. B. Lippincott & Co., with a portrait of the author, in 1889. This book has elicited many high commendations from the leading public journals of the country, and is regarded by the author as the most important work of his life. Since the publication of this work, in conse- quence of impaired vision, he has refrained from literary pursuits and is now devoting his attention to the manufacturing business, in which he has become largely interested. For more than half a century Judge Green has been estimated one of the leading lawyers and jurists of Michigan. All who know him speak his praise-as lawyer, judge, author, legislator and citizen. His life has been filled with usefulness and crowned with honor. No man in the State has deserved or received the confidence of the profession to a greater degree. Having been active so long it seems impossible for him to rest in idleness. He finds recreation in changes of employment. That he was able, when almost ninety years of age, to turn from authorship and the practice of the law to engage in a manufacturing business successfully evidences remarkable versatility as well as vigor. OF SWithey Eny by Hall &Sons 15 Barclay St.NY MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN.. 91 SOLOMON L. WITHEY, late of Grand Rapids. Solomon L. Withey, late Judge of the United States District Court of the Western District of Michigan, was born at St. Albans, Vermont, April 21, 1820, and died in San Diego, California, April 25 1886. He was of Scotch descent through several generations of patriotic American ancestry. The family settled in Vermont during the colonial period. His grandfather, Silas Withey, was a soldier of the Revolution, and his father, Gen. Solo- mon Withey, a commander of the State militia and one of the early sher- iffs of Kent county. He received the rudiments of his education in St. Albans, but came west in early boyhood with his father's family and located at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Here he worked and attended school home and took employment in From the age of sixteen he not until sixteen years of age, when he left Canada as merchant's clerk for a year. only supported himself, but assisted materially in the management of his father's affairs. In 1837 General Withey's family removed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and soon afterwards Solomon paid a visit to the new home. He was then seventeen, and after earnest consultation with his parents it was decided that he should complete his education and enter the profession of law. With that end in view he returned to Cuyahoga Falls, where he attended the academy for one year. The condition of his father's business at that time required his return to Grand Rapids, and his literary education was ended, at least so far as attendance at school was concerned. He was not disposed, however, to rest with the accomplish- ments already acquired, but devoted every leisure hour to the reading and study of books. In this way he gained a valuable and extensive knowl- edge of the sciences, of history and literature. When about nineteen years of age he began the study of law in the office of Rathbone & Martin, the former of whom was the first lawyer to settle in Grand Rapids. He read faithfully under the instruction of this firm until he was prepared for admission to the Bar, which took place May 17, 1843. For the next year he remained in the office with Mr. George Martin, who subsequently became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan, and then opened an office for practice on his own account. During the course of his study he had become thoroughly familiar with the principles of jurisprudence and gener- ously equipped by reading on subjects not directly connected with the law. His professional partnerships at different times were with George Martin, John Ball, George Gray and E. S. Eggleston, all of them men who have left evidences of large-mindedness and successful practice. Judge Withey soon established himself as a lawyer, not only in the esti- mation of the Bar, but with a large clientage. He served as Judge of Pro- bate from 1848 to 1852. The first year of the war he was elected State Senator, and served one term. This is the only political office he ever held. When the State of Michigan was divided into two judicial districts for United States courts he was appointed and commissioned by President 92 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Lincoln as Judge of the Western District. This commission bore date of March 11, 1863, and he continued in service on the Bench with very marked ability and perfect satisfaction to the Bar, until the day of his death. He was chosen a member of the constitutional convention of the State, held in 1867, and was appointed chairman of the judiciary commit- tee. The Governor selected and appointed him one of the eighteen. members of the constitutional commission of 1873, and he was made chair- man of the judiciary committee of that body. All of these important trusts were accepted with a due sense of the responsibility the acceptance imposed and every duty was discharged with conscientious fidelity. He was a director of the First National Bank and exhibited unusual capacity in financial matters. This capacity appears to have been transmitted to his son, L. H. Withey, president of the Michigan Trust Company. The opportunity to decline high office does not come to many men, and few of those who are thus complimented have the disposition to decline the proffered honor. Judge Withey was the exception. General Grant appointed him Judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Sixth Circuit, comprising the states of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tenessee, and even executed his commission. The offer was tempting; the office is one of great dignity and honor; and Judge Withey appreciated the compliment paid to him in being thus chosen. He was not ungrateful, and had no desire to shirk a duty. It appeared to him that his higher duty lay in his own State and in the performance of the duties of District Judge. Furthermore his love of home and devotion to the interests of his family were considerations which influenced him to decline the commis- sion. He was not ambitious in the generally accepted meaning of that term; but his chief ambition was to discharge honestly the obligations of citizenship and the personal and professional duties as they came to him daily. He appeared to have an intuitive perception of equity and justice. While in the Senate he stood against the indiscriminate donation of lands of the State to railroad companies. His position that the donations should first be earned by the completion of railroads was afterwards signally vindi- cated by the wrongs and oppression which grew out of a disregard of his advice. The business of the court over which he presided was so great as to overtax his strength and death came to him while sojourning in the southwest, in the vain endeavor to recover health. The records of the courts, both in Grand Rapids and the whole State contain the highest testimonials to his character. At a meeting of the United States District. Court held May 8, 1886, and presided over by Judge Sage, of Cincinnati, Ohio, these testimonials were adopted as a memorial, to which members of the Bar added appropriate expressions. In part the memorial is copied here: "The departed Judge was in private life an exemplar of the qualities of kindness, courtesy and charity to all, and bound by the strongest ties of love to his home, his wife and children. With the city of Grand BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 93 Rapids, the county of Kent, and the State of Michigan he had sustained important civic relations and in them had earned a high repute. He took a strong interest in municipal matters, in the establishment of educational, religious and financial institutions and other public enterprises. He filled high offices of the county and the State with excellent judgment, unques- tioned integrity and unusual devotion thereto of time and labor, thus com- manding the confidence and gratitude of business associates, of his imme- diate constituents and of the people of the State. Upon the creation of the Western District of Michigan, he was appointed the first District Judge and thenceforth presided over the tribunal; considered and adjudged many questions of complexity arising 'on land and from the sea;' adjudi- cated cases presented under the laws of the State Legislature and of the Federal Congress, and under the State and Federal constitutions, exhibit- ing the moral and mental powers which had previously marked his public career and crowned his merits as a man, citizen and representative of the people with the honor of a pure, learned, impartial and dignified magis- tracy under a national commission. Judge Stone said, substantially: "In speaking of the life of Judge Withey the plainest truth is highest eulogy, and we need not resort to any studied phraseology from the fear that a freedom of expression might unwittingly uncover characteristic faults, for he was a man of unusual moral excellence and purity. He was a man of convictions, entertaining clear views on all social and moral questions and ever ready to give expres- sion to his views. He was a man of affairs and became early identified with the growth and prosperity of his adopted city and State; and with their financial, educational, social and commercial interests. A half century of such ceaseless activity in business and in good doing and living could not fail to endear him to the people of the Grand River Valley and of the whole State. In each position that he occupied before the public he showed himself a man of integrity, of a sound and discriminating judg- ment, and possessed of a capacity that enabled him to fill it with honor to himself and advantage to the State. As the first judge of this court the labor of his mature years was performed and we bear united testimony to his learning and ability as a lawyer and a jurist, and we have all been wit- nesses of his ability and fidelity. The administration of justice in this district and State will long bear the impress of his enlightened, vigorous and active mind. The combination of integrity and efficiency, of pru- dence and courage, of kindness and firmness, of love of justice and chris- tian virtue, which formed his character, is not often found. As a man of extensive business connections his opinions were sought after and respected, and his punctuality in the performance of every obligation was an example. Judge Withey's life work was well done." Hon. L. D. Norris said, among other things: "He was my friend. I knew his worth and so did all. During these closing scenes of his life- work the turning kaleidescope has moved to many startling changes. It turned backward nineteen years and showed me the always pale, dignified and kindly face of our departed friend coming up the steps of the old hall of the House of Representatives at Lansing, at the era of the Third Con- stitutional Convention in company with Gov. McClelland and our much esteemed Minister to Russia, Mr. Lothrop. This was our first meeting. I recall the topic there discussed-some wise constitutional plan whereby municipalities should be limited in power to create bonded debt. Yet all wise plans failed and by another turn of the kaleidescope I see, ten years 94 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. later, that just Judge upon the Bench and myself and others at the Bar asking and obtaining judgments upon bonded municipal debts, far up in the hundreds of thousands and the end not yet. And so in life's fitful fever does it often happen that he who fails to heed wise counsel is fated to be corrected at the hands of the counsellor. But I may not linger longer than to lay one loving tribute upon his tomb. Since that pleasant summer of our first acquaintance, fifteen years of which was as constant and intimate as the relation of Bench and Bar can make it, during many excit- ing and earnest trials involving large interests and close questions-looking back over it all, I recall not one word that ever fell from the lips of our learned and courteous ruler, personal to myself or others, that he ought not to have spoken." Judge Sage delivered an appropriate address from which the follow- ing sentences are quoted: "I have learned here much to my gratification in what high esteem he was held, among those intimately acquainted with him, both at the Bar and generally among citizens. I can also say that his reputation with members of the Bar from abroad was that not only of a just and upright judge, but a judge of very marked ability and thor- oughly devoted to the duties of his office. He was neither a bigot nor a Pharisee; but he had that high and lofty conception of christianity which made him a true christian gentleman. His kindness manifested itself to all who came before him and especially to the younger members of the Bar. His evenness of temper and soundness of judgment were owing to his christian character as much as to his legal mind.' Judge Withey was married in 1845 to Marian L. Hinsdill, a member of a Vermont family and a lady of culture and intelligence, who was gener- ous and philanthropic. His home life was indeed beautiful, exhibiting the fruits of love, devotion and domestic confidence. When the judge was nearing the sunset of life he sought rest and recreation on the Pacific coast in the balmy atmosphere of Southern California. Death came to him on the evening of a beautiful Easter day, when his faithful wife and daughter were at his side as ministering angels. It came quietly and peacefully to one who was well ready. In 1848 Judge Withey united with the Congregational Church, in which his membership was retained and which he assisted greatly by the purity of his life, the wisdom of his coun- sel and the generosity of his gifts. He was tolerant, charitable, practical and conservative; loving that which was right because it was right, and maintaining at all times an irreproachable christian character. "Peace to the just man's memory. It will grow greener in the lapse of time And blossom through the flight of ages.” Some precious things do perish Out of life. The melody trembling On the chords after the song is sung Sinks slowly into silence everlasting. The light, lingering in the clouds After the brightest day is done, At last dies out in shadowy darkness. But the life attuned to justice and good deeds Goes on forever through their silent influence. UNIV OF MM. Fenton Bng by BHall & Sons 13 Barclay St NY MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 95 WILLIAM M. FENTON, late of Flint. Col. William M. Fenton was one of the foremost citizens of Michigan for a period of more than thirty years. He was born in Norwich, Chenango county, New York, December 19, 1808. His preparatory education received careful supervi- sion and he was graduated from Hamilton College in 1826, with the honors of his class. Within a year thereafter he shipped from Charleston, South Carolina, as a common sailor. Four years later he became first mate of a merchantman and declined to accept the offer of a captaincy on a similar vessel. After eight years of seafaring life he returned to his native State. and was married to a daughter of Judge Birdsall, of Norwich, New York, in 1835. In July of that year he settled with his young wife in Pontiac, Michigan. In 1837 he removed to Genesee county, where he engaged in mercantile milling business and in real estate transactions. He founded the village of Fenton, which was the place of his residence and the seat of his real estate operations for some time. In 1842 he was admitted to the Bar after passing the requisite examination. Two years later he was nom- inated by the Democrats for representative in the State Legislature, but was defeated with his party. In 1846 he was elected to the State Senate to represent a district comprising the counties of Genesee, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston. His abilities and experience in affairs enabled him to take a leading position in the Senate. While a member of that body he was instrumental in securing the passage of an act establishing the State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and the location of the institu- tion at Flint. In 1848 and again in 1850 he was elected Lieutenant Gov- ernor of the State. In 1852 he was appointed register of the land office at Flint by President Pierce and held the position until the office was removed to Saginaw. He was chosen mayor of Flint and exercised the duties of that office for a term of one year. He was progressive and pub- lic-spirited in the chief executive office of the city, as he was in the man- agement of his own private business. When the war to disrupt the Union was inaugurated all of his energies and influence were exerted in behalf of the Government of the United States. He offered his services and his fortune freely to assist in maintaining the National authority. Foreseeing the difficulties and possible financial embarrassment at the opening of the civil war he telegraphed Governor Blair, tendering five thousand dollars of his own private means for use by the State in the equipment of Michigan troops. Soon after the first call for volunteers he was appointed Major of the Seventh Regiment Michigan Infantry, but before muster he was appointed Colonel of and raised the Eighth Michigan Infantry, and devoted himself with hearty enthusiasm to the work of drilling and equip- ping the soldiers. He possessed extraordinary capacity for organizing and remarkable executive force. The regiment was made ready for service. with wonderful celerity and left the State for the front September 27, 1861. Colonel Fenton's energy and zeal inspired every member of the 96 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. regiment with a spirit of aggressive activity, soldierly valor and military pride. Perfect discipline was therefore soon obtained in his command. The regiment embarked at Annapolis, Maryland, and quickly arrived at the front as part of the expedition to Hilton Head, under command of General G. W. Sherman. The first battle in which it participated was at Port Royal, November 7, 1861. Subsequently it took part in numerous engagements. One of the most noteworthy occurred April 16, 1862. In a reconnoissance commanded by Colonel Fenton after his command had debarked from the steamer Honduras at Wilmington Island, Georgia, the Thirteenth Georgia regiment was encountered, eight hundred strong, armed with Enfield rifles. The Union soldiers under Colonel Fenton drove the enemy from the field in confusion. June 16, 1862, Colonel Fenton led a brigade composed of the Eighth Michigan, Seventh Connecticut, and Twenty-eighth Massachusetts regiments in one of the most audacious assaults of the war. It was an attack on the enemy's works at Secession- ville, James Island, South Carolina. In this assault the Eighth Michigan lost 185 men out of 535 engaged. The regiment was afterwards in active service at Bull Run, Chantilly, Jackson, Mississippi, Campbell Sta- tion, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Weldon Road, and at other places. Its journeyings and marches were almost as numerous as the army of Xerxes; so that it was known as the "Itiner- ant Regiment. After two years of unremitting service and exposure in the field, Colonel Fenton was obliged to resign his commission on account of impaired health. His record as a soldier was both honorable and bril- liant. On his return home he was nominated as the Democratic candidate for Governor, but the party failed of receiving a majority of the votes. He devoted his time and energies to his profession, to the details of his private business and the improvement of his real estate. He erected the fine block of stores with the public hall that bears his name, in Flint. In 1868 the wife of his young manhood, who for more than thirty years had shared his trials and triumphs, was called from earth, only three years in advance of his own departure. His death was the result of a peculiar acci- dent. He was chief engineer of the fire department, a position which he had held from the organization of the present city government. Called out in the night by an alarm of fire, he ran against a post with such force as to cause internal injuries from which he died within twenty-four hours. Thus it may be said that his zeal in the discharge of a public duty resulted in the loss of his life, November 12, 1871. The event cast a shadow of gloom over the entire city. At a public meeting of citizens resolutions were adopted expressive of the sense of loss sustained by the community. Similar resolutions testifying to his high qualities were adopted by mem- bers of the Bar; by the common council of the city; by the fire depart- ment; and by the Commandery of Knights Templar, of which he was a member. Most of the business houses and offices in Flint were closed on the day of his funeral, and draped as an indication of the general sorrow. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 97 Colonel Fenton was a ripe scholar, an able lawyer in the management of cases, and a wise counsellor of clients. There was in his nature combined such a due admixture of the elements which go to make up a true and exalted manhood that he filled with equal perfection the relations of neigh- bor and friend, husband and father, citizen and gentleman. The best adornment of his life was his christian character. The entire confidence of his fellow citizens was extended to him in every relation, whether of public office or private citizenship. He left four children: Ada B., wife of Hon. William B. McCreery, who died ten years ago; Henry, a real estate dealer in Bay City; J. Brush, a resident of Flint; and Sarah B., who died in 1878. JOHN MOORE, Saginaw. Hon. John Moore, formerly Circuit Judge, was born in London, England, February 7, 1826. The family belonged to that middle class of English society which is the bulwark of the British Empire, and is becoming more and more potential as the years go by. When Judge Moore was four years of age his family emigrated to America and for the next four years his life was passed in Cooperstown, New York. One of the pleasing memories of his boyhood is a Presby- terian Sunday-school of which he was a member, conducted in the dining room of the house of J. Fenimore Cooper. When he was eight years of age the family home was established in the wilds of Michigan, at Milford, Oakland county. He became familiar with the hardships and privations incident to frontier life and the work of clearing a farm. He was accus- tomed to all of the labor which tends to develop a good physical constitution, in the absence of luxuries and some of the common comforts of life. It is a kind of existence which, if properly appreciated, becomes a means of mental discipline that adds to the qualifications of a man for large and important duties. When twenty years of age young Moore began the study of law at Milford, under the instruction and in the office of Hon. Augustus C. Baldwin, a lawyer and jurist of high standing in the State. After two years in that office he went to Detroit and continued his reading in the office of Lothrop & Duffield, then eminent lawyers who afterwards gained distinction second to no members of the profession in the State. It was a privilege for a young man to enjoy the association and the instruction of such capable men and lawyers. His progress was rapid and his acquirements substantial. He was admitted to practice as an attorney of the Supreme Court of the State in October, 1848, when twenty-two years of age. He first located for practice in the village of Fentonville, but three years later, in 1851, settled in Saginaw for a permanent resi- dence. In 1855 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Saginaw county, and served the commonwealth with his best ability and unswerving fidelity for a period of four years. The lawyer-like qualities which were devel- oped during his incumbency of that office, and the high character which 7 98 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. he established for integrity, contributed to surround him with a large num- ber of clients who brought him a lucrative practice. He was aided in the investigation of cases in which he was retained by the habits of a student and the application of a lawyer with a will to penetrate the core of every question submitted to him. He therefore became interested in nearly all of the important litigation of his circuit. The relations of a lawyer to the community in which he lives, and the public character of his professional business, naturally connect him with politics and all of the important inter- ests of his community. Mr. Moore was elected mayor of Saginaw three successive years and declined election for the fourth term. For nearly twenty years he was a member of the Board of Education most of the time its president. In 1871 he was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, upon a unanimous petition of the Bar sup- plemented by the request of leading citizens of all parties. The circum- stances attending this appointment were peculiar and exceptionally complimentary to Judge Moore. He had been the candidate of the Democratic party for Governor of the State in 1868, and although a larger vote was cast for him than had ever been given to a candidate of his party in the State, he was defeated by Governor Baldwin, to whom this petition for the Judgeship was addressed. From a political standpoint the position of the Governor was rather embarrassing. He was urged by partisan friends to select the Judge from among the lawyers of his own party, but recognizing the legal ability and the estimable character of Judge Moore, and entertaining for him a high personal regard, which was increased by his bearing as a competitor during the gubernatorial campaign, he made the appointment asked for by the Bar and the citizens of Saginaw. It was the graceful compliment of a political adversary well bestowed. At the election next following Judge Moore was chosen to be his own suc- cessor, without opposition. All parties united in his election. The able and impartial manner in which he discharged the duties of the judicial office justified the unanimity with which he was chosen. The Judge has always affirmed that he regarded more highly the compliment of his appointment and the unanimity of his election than all the honors and emoluments of the office multiplied a hundred fold. The business of the circuit embracing eight counties was large, the interests involved of great magnitude, and the duties of a conscientious Judge were so exacting that his health gave way under the strain and he was obliged to resign before the close of his term, in 1874. In 1882 he was appointed by Governor Jerome a member of the Tax Commission to revise the complicated tax laws of the State, and although the only Democrat appointed was unani- mously confirmed by a Republican Senate, and made chairman of the commission by a vote of its members. After his retirement from the Bench he did not return to the active practice in the management of liti- gated cases, but engaged in the more agreeable as well as profitable busi- ness of counsellor. In this branch of legal practice he has won a reputa- UNIV OF The Century Fublishing & Engraving Go Chicago Jolen. A Tagth WICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 99 tion surpassed by that of few lawyers in the State. His extensive per- sonal business occupies considerable of his time and he is a farmer and stock breeder by way of recreation as much as for the profit there is in it. He is a gentleman whom the people of Saginaw county and the State of Michigan are pleased to honor. JOHN A. EDGET, late of Saginaw. Judge John Allison Edget was born in Saginaw township, Saginaw county, Michigan, August 8, 1849, and died at Flint, February 10, 1894. All the years of his life were spent in the neigh- borhood of his birth. He was of English, French and Dutch extraction. His father, Henry S. Edget, born in Green county, New York, 1810, was descended from a union of English and French. His mother, Eliza A. VanSickle, was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, in 1818, was descended from the thrifty Dutch people who formed the early settlements of that State. On her mother's side, however, her extraction was English and German. The father and mother of Judge Edget were married in western New York and settled in Michigan in 1843. The part of the State in which they settled was new and he was born in the inspiring atmosphere which surrounds pioneer life. He was not permitted to enjoy the advan- tages in boyhood which belong to the wealthy and highly favored in more populous districts; but he inherited integrity, manliness, ambition for better things and a will to acquire them. He was an earnest boy, enter- ing heartily into the work of the hour, whether it was indeed work or play. No lad enjoyed sports more than he and none entered into them with more zest. None improved the time allotted to study more earnestly and to better purpose. His physical organism was less rugged than that of most of his associates and his parents wisely kept him out of school to give him the benefit of exercise in the pure open air, until he was ten years of age. His training was by no means neglected until that time, for his father was formerly a school teacher, and when the boy entered school, at the age of ten, his advancement was fully equal to that of other boys with whom he would naturally be classed. He was studious and persevering, ambitious to excel in his studies and to make the best prepar- ation possible in the school room for the duties that waited him in the larger arena of public affairs. He possessed an intense nature and a strength of character which enabled him to pursue, without flagging, any end at which he aimed. He made friends because he was sincere, honest and unselfish; and the friends whom he bound to himself in boyhood were his friends throughout life. He was naturally a leader, not by force of assumption of superiority, but rather by virtue of his ability and that indefinable quality in man which always commands the respect and confi- dence of equals. He readily made use of all the means provided for his intellectual advancement, whether it was instruction in the schools, the Y 100 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. reading of books or discussions in the lyceum. All contributed to the sub- stantial attainments which made up or entered into his qualifications for professional work. His father had intended him for a career in the law and he entered upon the work of preparation first as an act of obedience. Soon, however, he found in the study all that his taste required and all that could gratify his ambition. During his attendance at school he was also employed much at work, sometimes tallying lumber, at other times writing in a county office. He completed a course in the high school and attended business college for a year. All of this was preparatory to the more important work which was to command his abilities and engage his time during life. He read law and performed clerical duties for a year in the office of Peck & Clark; afterwards he continued his reading in the office and under the instruction of Chauncey H. Gage, who was subse- quently Circuit Judge. Fortified with this preliminary reading he went to the Law School of the University of Michigan and completed its course, receiving his diploma in April, 1872. For a year thereafter he occupied. an office alone and endeavored to build up a practice. This was difficult and slow, owing to the sharp competition among older lawyers. And so after an experience of one year he formed a partnership with D. W. Per- kins, who had been in the practice for several years. This was continued for more than five years, in which he made steady advancement and gained a good standing at the Bar. During this time, in the year 1876, he married Miss Mary E. Woodruff, of Saginaw, a member of one of the pioneer fam- ilies of that section of the State and a descendant of the first English colonists in America. Two daughters were born of this marriage, Lucy A. and Grace M. The home life of Judge Edget was beautiful and happy. He enjoyed the rest which home is designed to afford. He enjoyed the companionship of wife and children. He was there renewed by the inspir- ing influences which are ever felt around a happy hearthstone. It was there that his best recreation was obtained and there he loved to spend his hours of leisure which some men prefer to pass in the club room. In 1879 he formed a partnership with John M. Brooks, a man whose qualities of mind supplemented his own in such completeness as to make a strong firm for the practice of law. They were friends always and their business. ever increased during their association together. Their practice embraced every class of civil business, but it was their custom to refuse criminal For three successive terms Mr. Edget held the office of city attor- ney for East Saginaw, by appointment of the common council, and declined a fourth term which was offered. He served the city with large ability and unswerving fidelity. His private business was always subor- dinate to that of the public. He took a keen interest in the discussions leading to the consolidation of Saginaw and East Saginaw, and was one of the most influential citizens in consummating that most desirable union. He was entrusted with the preparation of the charter of the consolidated cities. He served as Judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, comprising the cases. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ΙΟΙ county of Saginaw, first by appointment of the Governor and afterwards by election. He filled the position admirably. His service on the Bench was distinguished by ability, industry and thoroughness; by the prompt- ness and honesty of his decisions. While on the Bench he acquired a reputation broader than the State. He could have had the nomination of his party for judge of the Supreme Court, but failing health prompted him to forbid the use of his name. He was a Republican in politics, but not a narrow partisan. His patriotism was always above his partisanship. During the whole course of his professional life there was professional growth as observed by his friends and members of the Bar. This growth was the result of his devotion to the work of his profession and his ambi- tion to perform well whatever he undertook. He possessed in his mental characteristics all the essentials of a good lawyer and jurist. He was con- fident of himself, without conceit; ready and prompt, without ostentation. The valuable clientage which he acquired during the years of his practice was the result of application, earnest and sincere, to all the duties of an attorney and fidelity unwavering to the interests of his clients. While building a business that was prosperous he also established a home in which love and confidence reigned. He was cut down in the very prime and blossom of life, when many years of growth and prosperity might reason- ably have been hoped for. The Bar of Saginaw gave expression to senti- ments which were not simply eulogistic of the man, but the earnest, hearty and sympathetic utterances of friendship. These expressions were brought out at a meeting called to take action upon the occasion of his death. Addresses were made by all of the leading members of the Bar and several who had occupied the Bench. With great unanimity they testified to the strength of character, rectitude of conduct and professional ability of Judge Edget; to his strict integrity, high attainments and great industry. They say that his advancement was steady and uniform, that he never retrograded and never shone by a reflected light; he possessed honesty, integrity, sincerity and candor, politeness and industry. His mind was clear, his habits methodical, his capacity for work immense. He always executed well whatever he undertook. He ranked high as an orator and demonstrated the possession of a financial faculty which caused him to be sought as a trustee and financial agent. He was always possessed of a high standard of duty. This standard was not personal. He never thought to inquire what anyone else would do under like circumstances. He had principles which were his constant and never-failing guide. He was one whose patience and industry seemed untiring and always well directed. His success in every position in which he was placed is a measure of that industry. Always courteous, always kind, always polite to everyone with whom he was brought into contact, his life seemed to be beyond criticism. He was a fair and noble model for each to follow and to emulate. Among his excellent qualities and characteristics were the clearness and precision with which he thought and acted. His 102 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. thoughts were always clearly and tersely expressed. His charges to the jury were models of perspicuity, precision and accuracy. His character was evenly and strongly knit. What he did he did as thoroughly as possible. Though somewhat reserved and apparently cool in exterior deportment, he had a warm heart for his friends. He enjoyed conversa- tion and was a delightful companion. He was always a growing man, intensely ambitious, but it was a commendable ambition. He left an example worthy of emulation. In the consideration of cases as a Judge he had no thought of the parties in the case. He considered himself as the exponent of the law and his first question always was, what is the law? A condensed estimate of the lawyer and the man is given substan- tially in the resolution adopted by the Bar: "He was a thoughtful, earnest, studious man, faithful to every trust reposed in him. His career as a lawyer was marked by a steady progress in his profession to the time when he was called to serve as Judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit. He had then attained the reputation of a learned, skillful lawyer and advocate. His reputation had extended to the entire State and beyond its borders. As a Judge of the Circuit he was honest, fearless, painstaking and incorruptible. He brought to the Bench that same high standard of duty which ever controlled him at the Bar. While a profound student of the learning of the profession, he was also possessed of a knowledge of business methods and financial affairs which led to his employment in positions of trust for the handling of large properties, and this business was always so conducted that no complaint on the part of those interested could exist. An honest man, an earnest and eloquent lawyer, a learned and upright judge." The "Winter Club," of which Judge Edget was a member, thus spoke of him: "Genial and true as a friend, he developed a purity of character, an integrity of purpose that no act of his life ever sullied. Modest and unassuming always, we yet instinc- tively looked to him as an instructor, adviser and friend." BENTON HANCHETT, Saginaw. Benton Hanchett was born April 6, 1835, at Marshall, Oneida county, New York. His father was Silas H. Hanchett, who was a manufacturer of iron. His mother was Eliza Dyer. When Benton was five years of age his parents removed to a farm in Pal- ermo, Oswego county, New York. He was raised on the farm until eighteen years of age, having during that time the opportunities furnished to farmers' boys by the common school. After that period his education was continued in Falley Seminary, at Fulton, New York, and in Cazenovia Seminary, at Cazenovia, New York. He graduated from the State and National Law School as Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1858. In the fall of that year he entered the law office of A. & E. Gould, at Owosso, Michigan, and in July, 1860, became a partner with them under the firm name of Goulds & Hanchett. In 1863, he formed a partnership with Gilbert R. Lyon, at Owosso, under the name of Hanchett & Lyon. In 1865, he BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 103 removed to Saginaw and became a partner with Augustine S. Gaylord under the firm name of Gaylord & Hanchett. This partnership continued until Mr. Gaylord's death, in 1877. In 1880 the firm of Hanchett & Stark was formed, Mr. Gilbert M. Stark becoming a partner. On the 1st of January, 1888, the firm became Hanchett, Stark & Han- chett, by Leslie B. Hanchett, a son of Benton Hanchett, becoming a member of the firm. On the 1st of January, 1894, Mr. Stark retired, and the firm then became Hanchett & Hanchett, as at present. In 1862 Mr. Hanchett was elected prosecuting attorney of Shiawassee county, and held the office for the term of two years. In 1873 he was elected. mayor of Saginaw, and was re-elected in 1874. During the administra- tion of Governor Cyrus G. Luce, Mr. Hanchett was tendered by the Governor the appointment to the office of Justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan, which appointment he declined. In February, 1893, he was appointed by President Harrison Justice of the Circuit Court of the United States for the Sixth Circuit; the appointment was favorably reported to the Senate by the Senate judiciary committee. This occurred in the last days of the session, and the Congress closed without action being taken upon the appointment. Mr. Hanchett is General Attorney for the F. & P. M. R.R. Co., and trustee of the Hoyt Library. He married Ann Broadwell, of Oswego Falls, New York, in 1861. In June, 1879, Mrs. Hanchett died. By this marriage he had a son, Leslie B. Hanchett, who is now associated with him in business. In June, 1881, he was married to Mrs. Susan E. Kimberly. By this marriage he has a daughter, Elise Benton Hanchett. Mr. Hanchett is a Republican in politics. He has never sought or desired political office; he has preferred to devote himself to the practice of the law. WILLIAM GRAY, deceased, one of the eminent lawyers of Detroit. William Gray was born July 6, 1819, in Claremorris, county of Mayo, Ire- land. He was the fourth son of John Gray and Eliza Wilson. His father was a prominent and estimable citizen of the North of Ireland, who held a position in the civil government and resided at Claremorris in his official capacity. His mother was a beautiful woman, daughter of a merchant, wealthy and accomplished. John Gray lived as a gentleman of leisure for some time and afterwards becoming tired of an aimless life, engaged in business with success. The subject of our sketch was educated in Claremorris and Dublin University. He came to Michigan in 1840 at the age of twenty-one, and for some time thereafter pursued a classical course in a branch of the University of Michigan, at Tecumseh, which was presi- ded over by his elder brother. In 1842 he located in Detroit and took up the study of law in the office of Van Dyke & Harrington. He was bright and popular, assiduous in his studies and ambitious to gain distinc- 104 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Г 3 tion in the profession which he had chosen. He was a member of the Kent Club, organized some years prior to that by law students and perpet- uated by them as an important adjunct of their preparation for the practice of law. Young Gray very soon took high rank as a member of this club by reason of his engaging personality, his eloquence and power in debate. He was admitted to the Bar in 1844. After three years in practice alone he formed a partnership with E. N. Wilcox, which was maintained for eleven years with mutual advantage. During this time he had acquired business in all of the State and Federal Courts and won a place, both hon- orable and influential, in the profession and in the community. After the dissolution of this partnership he practiced alone until his death, June 29, 1869. The simple mention of his connection with a single case is suffi- cient to attest his recognized ability. In 1851, when he had been a prac- titioner at the Bar only seven years, he was employed as counsel in the celebrated railroad conspiracy trial in which the chief of the opposing counsel was William H. Seward, of New York, ex-Governor and after- wards Secretary of State in Lincoln's cabinet. The great ability which he exhibited in this case won the hearty compliments of both associate and opposing counsel. In 1855 he was appointed counsel of the Great Western Railway Company, of Canada. In 1863 he was appointed city counsellor of Detroit and subsequently reappointed twice, holding the position until death. He belongs to a family whose members achieved. distinction, not simply by accident, but by reason of marked ability. One of his brothers was Sir John Gray, Lord Mayor of Dublin, member of Parliament for Kilkenny, editor of the Dublin Nation, and the intimate friend of Daniel O'Connell. Another brother was Wilson Gray, Attorney General of Australia, and one of the Judges of New Zealand. A sister married William McCullough Torrens, member of Parliament for Finsbury. He was married in 1850 to Mary Stewart, daughter of Charles H. Stewart, of Detroit, who, with three sons-Charles W., William J. and Robert F., survived him. Of these sons William J. and Robert F. constitute the well known law firm of Gray & Gray, Detroit. William Gray was a patriot. He loved Ireland and exerted his large influence towards securing her political liberty and the improvement of the condition of her people. He loved his adopted country with a fervor excelled by none. In politics he was a Democrat, but he wore no party shackles and his conscience was not trammelled. He exercised the inalienable right of independent judg- ment and independent action when his party took a position which he did not approve, or nominated a candidate who appeared to him unworthy of support. He was devoted with singular affection to the profession of law and was content to gain his distinction and fame at the forum rather than in the political arena. His natural gifts were supported and supplemented by culture and learning, and few men in the State of. Michigan ever attained a higher position or larger popularity. His brilliant qualities were BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 105 exhibited in the trial of causes in nisi prius courts. In this connection a eulogist refers to him as follows: "His tact, his readiness, his address, his knowledge of human nature, his wit, his admirable temper, and a most winning charm of manner, would of themselves have made him successful and brilliant in the courts, if he had not possessed another and the chiefest gift of the advocate, that of eloquence. This he had and always displayed when the occasion demanded his best efforts. Unlike many of the famous advocates of his race, he was never exuberant or florid, but always direct and simple; yet he arose at times into the true fervor and chastened passions of the orator. He had those great qualities of a successful advocate-quickness to per- ceive the exact exigencies of the case, and willingness to refrain from doing more than the case required. His brilliant wit, his adroit management, and his fervent utterance, were the weapons which he wielded for his client and his cause, and when one was needed, only one was used.” A very full meeting of the members of the Bar of Detroit, of which the late Jacob M. Howard was chairman, and J. Logan Chipman, secre- tary, adopted memorial resolutions which may well serve as a monument to the man whose life and character they commemorate. These resolu- tions were reported by a committee, consisting of D. Bethune Duffield, Theodore Romeyn, George V. N. Lothrop, George Jerome and Robert P. Toms. The tribute unanimously adopted is quoted here as expressing the best estimate of the lawyer and the man by his associates most capable of estimating him: "As a lawyer Mr. Gray studiously and successfully maintained an honorable and high standing in the profession of his choice- his acquire- ments as a student and his native talents combining to adorn and dignify even the drudgery of professional labors. As a counsellor he was careful in preparation, candid and cautious in advice, liberal in practice, justly tenacious of his client's rights, but always fair in his treatment of oppo- nents. And we here to-day bear testimony that in all his professional life he never forgot the vow that he took at the threshold to be faithful to justice, to honor and to truth. As a man he was uniformly courteous, generous and genial; a gentle- man of spotless faith and honor; attracting all who knew him by refined and brilliant wit, fascinating social gifts, and above all, by that great over- flowing kindness of heart which made every acquaintance at once an admirer and a friend, so that in all truthfulness we may say, None knew him but to love him- None named him but to praise. As a citizen, while he ever loved his native land with the love of child- hood, his affections took firm root in the land of his adoption; he loved its flag and its institutions with manly loyalty and pride; he became indeed countryman to us all; accepted cheerfully the various duties, public and private, to which he was called, and discharged them all with fidelity, ability and distinction. In his death his brethren of the Bar all feel that they have lost, not only an honored and distinguished brother, but a beloved friend, whose name and memory will long be kept green and fresh in the professional circle of which he was so bright an ornament. With full 106 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. i hearts we tender our sincerest sympathy to his friends at home and to his relatives beyond the sea; assuring them that we, his brethren of the Detroit Bar, lament in his early death with all the sincerity of his own kindred, and shall long and affectionately cherish the memory of his bril- liant adornments of mind, and his still nobler qualities of heart. His grave will ever be sacred to us, for we know that it holds the dust of an upright man, an honorable counsellor and a well beloved brother. Individual members of the Bar spoke in the same vein to the effect that he was never known to say an unkind word of any member; and his generosity was so great that he would empty his purse for a friend and if that was not sufficient, would pledge his credit for the remainder; that he possessed a high and chivalric spirit; that his tact amounted to genius; that he was a good man in the broad sense that he never slandered his neighbor and never delighted in the pain of others or sought to advance himself by pulling others down. Rich and poor, everybody alike loved and trusted him. He was so unselfish as to prefer the interests of others to his own pleasure, and the dictates of justice and humanity to his own interests. His ambition was rather to deserve than to acquire the admira- tion of his fellow men, and while he enjoyed the inward satisfaction he was little anxious about the external rewards of virtue. He was quick of apprehension, merciful in judgment. The memory of his life, his benevo- lence, his virtues and all of the rare qualities of intellect and heart will be cherished ever by his professional brethren and the community in which he lived so long. ROBERT P. TOMS, late of Detroit. Robert P. Toms was born in Ontario county, New York, in 1821; obtained the rudiments of his educa- tion in the district school and took an academic course in the academy at Lima, Genesee county, from which he was graduated. He studied law in his native State and began the practice there; but removed to Michigan in 1849 locating first at Troy, Oakland county. He opened the practice of law in Troy and was successful for the locality and the times. He set- tled in Detroit when his cash capital accumulated at Troy reached the amount of four hundred dollars, and from that time until his death, March 10, 1884, the city of Detroit was his home and the practice of law his vocation. He entered the office of William A. Howard and Oscar F. Cargill, a well known law firm of the city at the time. Mr. Howard held the office of city treasurer and one of the duties of Mr. Toms was to keep the books and accounts of the treasurer. It was his first step toward the banking business, in which he afterwards engaged, and which proved so disastrous. The firm of Howard, Cargill & Toms united with the house of Dewitt, Smith & Co., of Cincinnati, and established two banking houses, under the style of Howard, Smith & Co., one in Detroit, the other in Cincinnati. In order to be free to manage these financial institu- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 107 tions Mr. Howard retired from the practice of law. Mr. Toms preferred his profession and the firm was reorganized with himself at the head, and Mr. Cargill and Marcus A. Chase associated with him. He was successful in the practice of the law and soon acquired excellent standing at the Bar. For a time also his investments in banking were profitable. In 1855, however, the houses of Howard, Smith & Co., failed and involved the stockholders or members of the firm in financial ruin. Mr. Toms had, in the fall of the previous year, married, at Ballston Spa, near Saratoga, New York, Miss Carrie Huddleston, daughter of a distinguished physician of the place, Doctor D. H. Huddleston. He was now left penniless with a young wife and a large measure of hope, energy, courage and ambition. Thus equipped he renewed the battle of life in the field where he had already won successes which proved his ability and adaptation to the law, and eventually enabled him to discharge all of the debts incurred by him in the banking business. He associated with him, Mr. Chase, in 1855, and the firm of Toms & Chase continued for two years. After that, for the remainder of his life, he practiced alone. His business was very largely of a commercial character, especially in the line of collections and the settlement of estates. As a lawyer, trust money in large quantities was collected and administered by him and in every instance the trust was managed with the utmost fidelity. Not a dollar was lost or misappropri- ated. Mr. Toms was liberal and charitably disposed. He gave to indi- viduals who were needy and worthy, and contributed to all deserving char- ities. His filial affection was an admirable trait of his disposition. His mother, a widow, living for many years at Pontiac, was visited by him annually on her birthday, and remembered by a present of one hundred dollars in gold on each visit. It was in this and similar unostentatious ways that he contributed to her support while her home was with his sister. The cause of his death was so peculiar that the biographer will be excused for presenting the particulars in this connection. In April, 1879, at his residence on Jefferson Avenue, in Detroit, his arm was cut by a piece of glass which severed an artery and a nerve. The flow of blood was staunched and the wound was dressed. Within a few days severe pain in the form of neuralgia set up in the wounded arm, and surgery was resorted to for the removal of a portion of the nerve. The pain continued with short intervals of relief for about four years. Then the sufferer went to Europe and consulted the noted specialists of England, France and Germany. None of them was able to give him relief. He returned to New York and placed himself in the charge of Dr. William J. Morton, who operated upon him with electric needles. This treatment was appar- ently successful, and at length gave him entire relief from pain in the arm. Not long after returning home, however, he was seized with a severe pain in the loins, which extended downward into the leg. This new phase of the case was treated with indifferent and varying success by an eminent physician of Detroit. By the middle of December the suffering was so 108 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. great as to confine him to his residence constantly, and a month later he was confined to his bed. The treatment was continued without affording relief and early in March the seat of the suffering was shifted to the brain. For several days thereafter he remained in a comatose state until death relieved him. During all the years of suffering, which was generally extreme, almost beyond human endurance, he was patient and cheerful. The sweetness of his temper was not marred and the sympathy which he manifested for those around him was evidence of a heroism as uncommon as it is sublime. Mr. Toms was a man of strong character, generous dis- position and sturdy integrity. He had been chastened by adversity, but his courage was equal to any demands upon it and the elasticity of his nature enabled him to regain in a few years all that was lost and much more. He never aspired to public office, but always preferred the quiet lines of business or the duties that naturally come to a lawyer in active practice. His reputation as an attorney, a man, and a citizen, is unstained by any ignoble deed and his memory is cherished by the old residents who knew him intimately and loved him for the excellent quali- ties and traits exhibited during his life. 1 WILLIAM A. MOORE, Detroit. Mr. Moore is of Scotch extraction and a native of Ontario county, New York. He was born April 17, 1823, near Clifton Springs. He is the fifth generation in lineal descent from John Moore, a native of Argyleshire, Scotland, born in the neighborhood of Glencoe on the night following the fearful massacre in that pass, when thirty-eight Macdonalds were slain by the clan of Campbell, February 13, 1691. This ancestor came to America and settled at Londonderry, New Hampshire, in 1718, and became the progenitor of the American branch of the family. His descendants have uniformly been patriotic and brave to perform the duty before them whether in peace or war. One son, William Moore, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and fought in the battle of Bennington. Both the father and grandfather of William A. Moore were named William. His father was born in New Hampshire and emigrated to the State of New York in early manhood. Thence he removed to Michigan and settled on a farm in Washtenaw county in 1831. He was a man of ability and high character, who enjoyed the unstinted confidence of his fellow citizens, by whose favor he was called to positions of honor and responsibility. He served as a member of the convention which framed the first constitution for the State of Michigan; was elected a member of the first Senate and afterwards served as a member of the House of Representatives in the State Legislature. William A. Moore began work on the backwoods farm of his father. His boyhood was sub- ject to all the privations and limitations incident to life on the frontier with sufficient means to procure only the necessities. He had the will and the + Mastell & 09 Mn A. Moore WT Bather So UNIV OF WICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 109 an courage, the energy and the persistence characteristic of the race from which he sprang. Although the work was hard and the opportunities meager, this pioneer life for a boy is not without its compensations. It hardens the muscles and toughens the sinews, cultivates a distinctive air of manliness in the assertion of independence and self-control. If the boy has aspirations for a broader arena, the humble beginning on a frontier farm does not bar the way to their attainment. This young man cher- ished such aspirations all through the period of his minority, while giving his time and strength dutifully to the work of assisting his father in the common support of the family. On reaching his majority he followed natural leadings and devoted himself assiduously to the acquirement of a higher education. He prepared himself for college by a two-year course of study at Ypsilanti and in 1846 entered the University of Michigan. He was graduated with the class of 1850 and the degree of A. B. Imme- diately after leaving the University he engaged in teaching as a temporary expedient for the promotion of his ambition to become a lawyer expedient possessing other advantages besides affording the means for pur- suing other studies. He went south and taught in Mississippi about two years, after which he prosecuted his study of law at Detroit. He was admitted to the Bar in 1853, after passing the examination required and settled down to practice in Detroit where he has remained for more than forty years. He is wedded to the law by bonds that have thus far proved indissoluble. The glamour of public office has not tempted him to exchange the forum for the political platform and the stump. For some years his practice was general in character, but at length he made a specialty of admiralty law and won a distinct success in that department. For many years he was retained in most of the important cases growing out of the violation of the laws of navigation by all manner of craft on the river and lakes, resulting in damage to property, delay of commerce or loss of life. His practice soon extended to all of the important cities touched. by the lakes between Buffalo and Chicago. Gradually, and as a sequence to the high reputation established in the management of admiralty cases, Mr. Moore became an adviser, giving up the contentions of a trial lawyer in the courts for the more lucrative business of counsellor in his own office. His profound knowledge of the law, his insight into human nature, his judicial temperament and skill in diplomacy qualify him admirably for advisory cases. Because Mr. Moore has neither sought nor held polit- ical office it must not be assumed that he is indifferent to the public welfare or the personal obligations of good citizenship. His political con- victions are clear and deep and strong. Throughout life he has been a Democrat and never indifferent to the success of his party through honor- able means. He promoted its interests by serving as Chairman of the State Committee from 1864 to 1868, and as a member of the National Executive Committee for eight years following his retirement from such chairmanship. His influence has been exerted for the betterment of gov- I IO BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ernment national, State and municipal. Without ostentation or self- assertion he has modestly labored to promote the interests of his home. city. In a quiet way he is one of the best conservators of the municipal- ity, asking nothing for himself but what he demands for the community. It is creditable alike to his judgment and his patriotism that he was the unfaltering friend and supporter of the national government during the period of the rebellion, that he was liberal in the giving of his means for the prosecution of the war to preserve the Union and recruiting the ranks of the army. He sustained the administration, not because he approved of its policy in detail, but because it represented the only national execu- tive power recognized in the constitution for the enforcement of the laws. He has been a director and attorney for the Detroit Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Wayne County Savings Bank from the time of their organization, and president of the former corporation for two years past. He is also vice president and a director of the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company and a director of the American Exchange National Bank. For several years these large corporate interests have demanded so much of his time and attention that he has been drawn away from his general law practice. December 5, 1854, he married Miss Laura J., daughter of Hon. Caleb Van Husan, a pioneer merchant of Saline, Michigan, who afterwards removed to Detroit. Their only son, William V., born December 3, 1856, was graduated from the University of Michi- gan, class of 1878. He is a member of the law firm, Moores & Goff, of which his father is the senior partner. Mr. Moore has at all times identi- fied himself with the best elements in the community and employed his influence and energies for the conservation of the common good. While exhibiting commendable public spirit in the advocacy of such measures as promote material prosperity he has also been progressive in providing the means for the cultivation of the intellectual and moral faculties; taste for art and literature. The patron of popular education he assisted in estab- lishing the museum of art and served as an officer of the association. is careful in his investigations and conscientious in his conclusions. opinions, deliberately formed, are maintained with the firmness and tenac- ity of a true Scotchman. He is a believer in the Christian religion and has held membership in the Baptist church for about twenty years. He has ordered his life upon a high plane, exhaling influences which foster moral purity and social refinement. He is a gentleman of commanding presence and fine physique, whose dignified reserve may impress a stranger as austerity of demeanor, though he is in reality kind and gentle, as well as charitable. He stands for what is genuine in manhood and the upbuild- ing of character. He His 1 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. III ISAAC P. CHRISTIANCY, deceased. One of the ablest jurists and profoundest statesmen in the later history of Michigan was Isaac P. Chris- tiancy. He was born in Johnstown, New York, March 12, 1812. His parents were poor and he was early cast upon his own resources. His edu- cation was self-acquired and limited to such as he was able to procure in youth at the common country schools, during the time that could be spared from hard work, and a few months in the Academy at Dow, New York. At the age of thirteen he was burdened with the responsibilities that belong to a man, in being obliged to assume the chief support of his father's family. He was not very strong physically but had the will, the patience and the fortitude to work uncomplainingly and find his re- ward in the consciousness of duty performed. He engaged in whatever offered substantial remuneration for his labor. For some years he taught school for a portion of the time. All the time he was weaving the fibre of a character that should be strong, and all the time he was thinking that by and by he would do something better. His devotion to present duty was not incompatible with aspirations for the future. He was not building castles in the air, but deliberately maturing his plans and with strenuous application working them out. He began the study of the law soon after attaining his majority and was qualified to engage in practice at twenty-four. In 1836 he became a member of that historic pioneer colony of strong men who settled at Monroe, Michigan, and sought to establish there the metropolis of a new commonwealth. Here were witnessed the opening scenes of Judge Christiancy's career at the Bar, which at length won for him. the highest distinction and the greatest success. After a few years he removed to Detroit, the most important theatre of forensic combat in the New West. Farsighted business men, engaged in trade and commerce, were here; great lawyers, whose advice was sought in the conduct of inter- nal improvements and the development of the young State's resources; in laying the foundations of a vast commerce and settling admiralty disputes without much assistance from established laws. In this metropolis and in this grand company the modest young man from Central New York, who had tarried a while at Monroe, cast his lot. His law studies were com- pleted, so far as the preparation for practice is concerned, in the office of Robert McClelland, then a distinguished lawyer, afterwards Governor of the State, and Secretary of the Interior in Pierce's Cabinet. He entered the practice with his preceptor and afterwards continued it alone with the success that follows natural aptitude and unintermitting application. For four years he served as prosecuting attorney. In 1849 he was elected State Senator in a district embracing nearly all of the southeastern portion of the State. The dawn of his political fame was in 1848, when he was chosen a delegate to the Free Soil Convention at Buffalo. He could not tolerate oppression, or be indifferent to the existence of human slavery under a government whose foundation principle was the assertion of human I12 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. .2 liberty and equality of rights for all men. He never assumed a doubtful position or allowed himself to be misunderstood on the main question. He was the Free Soil candidate for Governor in 1852, and became one of the organizers of the Republican party five years later. He was one of the fathers of the liberal political movement in Michigan and a delegate to the first National convention of the party, held at Pittsburg, February, 1856. In 1857 Judge Christiancy was elected Justice of the Supreme Court, and by successive elections was continued a member of the court until 1875, when he resigned to accept the office of United States Senator. The honor of being one of the four judges of the greatest court in the history of the State, and contributing to its greatness by his own learning, his judicial wisdom, his clear-sighted discrimination in declaring the law and his unimpeachable integrity belonged to Judge Christiancy living, and is a part of his enduring fame. He was great in the qualities that mark the upright, clear-headed, noble-minded judge; he was a jurist in tempera- ment, in patience, in profundity of knowledge, in perspicuity of thought and diction; in the honesty and impartiality of his mind. He served in the Senate of the United States four years and resigned to accept the position of Minister to Peru. It was during the period of war between that country and Chile, in which the Chilians were victorious. After the victors had taken possession of the capital of Peru and placed their banner on its citadel Judge Christiancy resigned and returned to Lansing, which had become his home while he occupied a seat on the Supreme Bench. From that time until his death, September 8, 1890, he remained in retire- ment. He possessed remarkable gentleness of spirit and a lovable dispo- sition. He was always modest and unassuming. He was fond of litera- ture and his intellectual relish was keen. His life, though unpretentious, was noble in its aims and achievements. EDMUND HALL, attorney and business man, Detroit. Mr. Hall is a native of Cayuga county, New York, and was born May 28, 1819. In Connecticut the Hall family was well known before the Revolution. In that great struggle one of its members, then residing in one of the south- ern states, was conspicuous as a signer of the Declaration of Independence; another was hardly less prominent in the Royalist cause. Through his mother's ancestry, the lineage of our subject runs back to the Worths and Folgers, strong families in colonial days, among whose members occurred the first wedding of a white couple on the Island of Nantucket. In 1833 a branch of the Hall family came west, seeking a new home in the territory of Michigan. Mrs. Hall, the mother of our subject, brought her two sons and three daughters into the west, making a journey from Buffalo to Detroit by schooner, and made her home for many years in the pleasant Munsell & Co WT Bather Sc Edmund Hall UNIV OF ICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 113 little village of Flat Rock. From that home the young man went to the Academy at Elyria, Ohio, to prepare for college; subsequently entered Oberlin College and graduated in 1843. In the atmosphere of that seat of learning he became deeply conscious of the iniquities of the slave sys- tem; so we find him speaking publicly against slavery as early as 1841, and very prominent on the stump for Birney in 1844. Outside of his interest in the liberation of the slaves, he has never taken a very active part in political affairs. He has only held one official position in the course of his long and active life, that of school inspector in Detroit from 1859 to 1863. Mr. Hall prepared for the profession of law, under the auspices of Hon. George E. Hand, of Detroit. He was admitted to the Bar in 1847, and his friend and patron, Judge Hand, at once took him into partnership, and the young lawyer soon won recognition as an active and reliable practitioner. After a time, Mr. Hall retired from the partner- ship, and practiced law alone for many years, until at last the ripening of many business enterprises and judicious real estate investments made it impossible for him to longer give it his exclusive attention. Although he intended to make the practice of law his life work, that intention has been much modified by the cares of his increasing business interests. While Mr. Hall was in the board of education an opportunity came to him to secure for the people of Detroit a great and lasting benefit, and having perceived the opportunity, he was indefatigable in its realization. It was found that the proceeds from fines and penalties accruing in the courts of criminal prosecutions, and which by the constitution were devoted to edu- cational purposes, had been diverted to other uses or squandered. committee of the board of education of which Mr. Hall was a member, was set in motion. A suit to correct the abuse and recover the money was brought in the Wayne Circuit Court, and then carried by appeal to the Supreme Court, on a brief prepared by Mr. Hall. A final decree was rendered which resulted in restoring the funds and immediately placing in the hands of the board several thousand dollars, which became the nucleus of the public library of Detroit. For many years our subject has been actively interested in pine and lumber, investing heavily in Michigan, and also in Canada. He has made a business of bringing logs across the lake to his large mills at Bay City, where he also has extensive interests in the manufacture of salt. His permanent residence has been in Detroit for over fifty years, but he has a valuable farm at Gibraltar, at the mouth of the Detroit River, where his summer residence is located. Mr. Hall was first married in 1846 to Miss Emeline Cochran, of Frederick, Ohio, who died in 1879, leaving one daughter who became the wife of Henry A. Chaney, several years the Reporter of the Supreme Court. In 1881 he was married a second time to Mrs. Mary Stoflet Vreeland. They have one son, Frederick Stoflet, who was born September 19, 1882. Mr. Hall was a close and faithful student when engaged in active practice, but for 8 114 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. many years his wide business interests have drawn him much away from the profession, and he prefers to be known as a business man rather than a lawyer. Yet his rise in fame and fortune is no doubt largely the result of his ability and character as a member of the legal profession. WILLIAM L. WEBBER, Saginaw. In Hon. William L. Webber, Michigan possesses a man whose strong individuality and important achievements have been a large factor in developing her resources and shaping her destinies. The prominent position that he has so long occu- pied, the importance of the men with whom he has been associated and the magnitude of their projects, are such that his name will ever be prominent among those great leaders in her industrial progress and the development of her natural wealth. He was born at Ogden, Monroe County, New York, July 19, 1825, the son of James S. and Phoebe Webber. His father, James S. Webber, was born in 1800 at Belfast, Maine, and married Phoebe Smith, of Lansing, Tompkins County, New York. The family removed to Ogden in 1824, remaining until 1836, when they removed to Michigan, at that momentous period when the territory was throwing off its territorial habilaments, and emerging into statehood. On the first Monday in October, 1835, the people of Michigan ratified the constitution and elected a full set of State officers, and on January 26, 1837, Michigan was admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the other States. The Webber family settled here on land purchased from the Govern- ment and proceeded to carve out a farm in Hartland township, Living- ston County, in the southeastern part of the State. Here in a beautiful rolling country, well watered by streams, William Lewis, now a sturdy lad of eleven, assisted in clearing up their land and cultivating its fertile, loamy soil, giving his days to hard labor and his evenings to study. When circumstances permitted he attended the district school in winter and eagerly stored his mind with knowledge, supplementing the meager rudi- mentary studies of the pioneer schools by close application at home. Here he received the assistance of an elder brother and also a friend named Charles Ross, whose fine education enabled him to be of valuable. assistance in young Webber's home studies, which included algebra, geo- metry, mensuration, natural philosophy and chemistry. In 1844-5, Mr. Webber taught a neighboring school. In this latter year his mother died and the members of the family became separated. His brother, James Z. Webber, died in 1847. Later his father married Delia M. Harroun, of Ogden, New York, and in 1853 removed to East Saginaw, where he died in 1882. When William L. left the parental roof he entered the office of Foote & Mowry at Milford, Michigan, with the intention of taking up the practice of medicine, but after two years spent there he decided to study law. In 1848 he opened a select school at Milford, which he continued BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 115 In for two years, giving all his leisure moments to the study of the law. 1849 he married Miss Nancy M. Withington, the only daughter of Edward and Nancy (Monk) Withington, of Springwater, Livingston county, New York. In 1851 he was admitted to the Bar and began practice at Milford, remaining there for two years. He then, with keen foresight, removed to East Saginaw, then a small village giving little promise of its subsequent wonderful growth, where he began a general practice March 15, 1853. He combined with it for some time the business of handling fire insurance. The litigation of that period naturally occurred to a large degree over tim- ber and timber lands and contracts relating thereto, the running of logs in streams, riparian rights, navigability of streams, and disputes arising from contracts connected with these subjects. Large interests were involved and new and important points arose for adjudication of the courts. There was plenty of business for the lawyers and to get through it, long hours were observed in the courts. Court opened at 8 A. M., and one hour was allowed for dinner and one for supper. After supper business was resumed and midnight was often reached before adjournment was had. Mr. Web- ber formed a law partnership with John J. Wheeler in June, 1857. The firm was styled Webber & Wheeler, and continued until December 31, 1860. The firm of Webber, Thompson & Gage, with Mr. Webber as senior partner, was formed in 1861. The junior member of the firm, Chauncey H. Gage, was later for twelve years Circuit Judge and is now in active practice. Bradley M. Thompson, the third member of the firm, was also a distinguished man, who was at one time mayor of East Saginaw, and subsequently Professor of Law at the University of Michigan. A cousin of Mr. Webber, Irving M. Smith, had removed from Romeo, Michigan, to East Saginaw, in 1862, and entered Mr. Webber's office as his assist- ant. They formed a partnership on July 1, 1863, under the name of Webber & Smith, which existed for six years, when Mr. Webber retired from general practice. We have heretofore intimated that Mr. Webber was prominent in the development of the State and will now leave his strictly professional life, to follow his efforts in their broader and more. permanent fields of usefulness. These lie in the exploration and develop- ment of the immense salt interests of the Saginaw Valley, the upbuilding of large railroad interests and settlement of lands. From the time when the great timber interests of Michigan became known, the idea of saline deposits and sait basins deep in the bowels of the earth became prevalent, extending back, if tradition may be trusted, to the coming of the early French missionaries. About 1835 indications seemed to point to the exist- ence of salt in the Saginaw Valley, and from then an interest in the matter continued to grow. In 1842, Dr. Houghton, State Geologist, put down some experimental wells near the mouth of Salt River, on the Tittabawassee, but they did not go deep enough to reach the brine and the work gave no definite results. In 1849, Dr. M. O. T. Plessner, a distinguished resident physician, made experiments with surface brine and produced a little good 116 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. salt. For ten years following but little attention was given to the matter, but in January, 1859, Grand Rapids parties had introduced a bill in the State Legislature providing for the appropriation of $10,000.00 for the development of the salt industry on the Grand River. There was at that time but little money in the State treasury, and the citizens of the Saginaw Valley believed that if this aid were extended to the applicants, no further expenditure for a like purpose at Saginaw would be granted. They deter- mined to defeat the bill, and under the lead of Mr. Webber, Norman. Little, Dr. Geo. A. Lothrop and Chas. B. Mott, a substitute was intro- duced providing that the State should pay a bounty of ten cents a barrel on all salt that should be made from brine found in Michigan, and also exempting from taxation all property used in the manufacture of salt. Mr. Webber drew up this substitute and Hon. James Birney, then State Senator for Saginaw County, and later Minister at the Hague, introduced it. The members of the Legislature had little belief in available salt deposits in the State and regarded the bill as a joke. To such an extent was it viewed in this light, that an amendment made the bounty ten cents a bushel instead of ten cents a barrel, and it was adopted as amended February 15, 1859. On the same day the East Saginaw Salt Company was organized with a capital stock of $50,000.00 divided into 2,000 shares of $25.00 each. On March 30th, the subscription books were opened and within two days the stock was taken. Ten acres of land was secured from Jesse Hoyt who was to receive for it $100.00 an acre if the well was successful, and if no salt was found to retain it making no charge. Work on the shaft began in August, 1859, and at a depth of 670 feet a fine quality of brine was struck in May, 1860. The result that followed was a saline excitement similar to that in the oil regions when a great new flow is struck, and land values at once felt the stimulus and rose in price. In June, 1860, was turned out the first salt from their block, which, on July 4th, of that year, was the principal attraction of the day. It was then thrown open for inspection of the public and people gathered from all parts. of the country to inspect it. The opening of the salt industry seemed most auspicious, but the kettle process as used at Syracuse, New York, did not prove successful here, and much money was spent in experiment- ing before the use of exhaust steam from the sawmills was used for the evaporation of the brine. When that method was learned salt blocks were attached to all of the Saginaw mills and the output of Saginaw Valley salt rapidly pushed into the commercial prominence that it has ever since held. The act providing for the payment of a bounty on salt made in the State had the effect of inducing capital to attempt the experiments that had such momentous results, but it had been passed without the intent of actually giving the promised bounty. When the brine deposits were discovered the Legislature hastily repealed the law and the only money received from the State by the East Saginaw Salt Company was $3,000.00 secured under a mandamus issued by the Supreme Court. For several years prior to BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 117 1857 various railroads had been projected to connect Saginaw with the outer world but none had assumed tangible form. In that year the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad Company was organized and its charter per- fected, and in the following year work on the line was begun. Shortly after its organization Mr. Webber was employed as its attorney and coun- sel and continued in that capacity until March 1, 1870. To promote the building of the railway the company received a grant of over five hundred thousand acres of land lying along the line across the State of Michigan. Mr. Webber was now appointed by the railway company its land commis- sioner and general solicitor and entrusted with the care and management of its great land interests. He held this office until June 1, 1885, and during this period administered the trust with rare fidelity, judgment and success. A glance at the figures showing the volume of business transacted by the land department for that period of fifteen years shows the financial ability and administrative talents that Mr. Webber possesses. There were By his sold three hundred and twenty-nine thousand three hundred and eight acres of land at an average price of $11.53 per acre. Sales of timber from these lands brought the receipts up to $4,041,839.24 and with interest charges added made a total of $4,440,045.60. This enormous business was trans- acted at an expense of only four and one half per cent. of the collections. On June 1, 1885, Mr. Webber retired from his office, as the greater por- tion of the railroad lands had been disposed of. In 1850 Jesse Hoyt came from New York State, made large investments in Michigan lands including the original plat of the village of East Saginaw. energy that village was built up and soon took on a prominence among the cities of the State. Mr. Webber was his attorney until 1870, when he took charge of the land interests of the F. & P. M. R. R. Co. In 1875 Mr. Hoyt became president of this company and on its reorgan- ization in 1880 he took the same position in the reorganized company in which he was a heavy stockholder. In the reorganization Mr. Webber, as attorney for the bondholders of the road, foreclosed the securities, bid in the property and drew up the articles of association for its successor. Jesse Hoyt, who had acquired a large fortune by successful investments in lands, railway stocks, etc., died in 1882, leaving an estate in Michigan valued at about $4,000,000.00. For many years Mr. Webber had been Mr. Hoyt's confidential friend and adviser. His splendid ability as a financier, his honorable character and his success in administering large interests pointed him out as a fit guardian for the trust, and Mr. Hoyt, at his death, left his vast and varied interests to his friend's care without bond. Since the death of Mr. Hoyt the various great enterprises that he inaugurated have been conducted with strict fidelity and unvarying success, and the portion of the estate not yet closed is yet in Mr. Webber's charge. Included in the property of the estate were large interests in the Saginaw, Tuscola & Huron Railroad. During Mr. Hoyt's life it was built from 118 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Saginaw as far as Sebewaing, thirty-seven miles. From its inception the superintendence of construction, purchase of materials, letting of contracts and other details were intrusted to Mr. Webber. In 1884 Mr. Webber extended the line from Sebewaing to Bay Port, and thence easterly three miles to reach valuable undeveloped stone quarries, which are now opera- ted by the railway company. The remaining eighteen miles from the Bay Port quarries to Bad Axe were made in 1886. Mr. Webber has been president of the road since the death of Mr. Hoyt in 1882. It is an important feeder to Saginaw, making tributary to it a fertile, rich, and productive section. When the railroad reached Bay Port, it threw open to easy access one of the finest natural summer resorts on the Great Lakes. It is on Wild Fowl Bay, a beautiful little arm of Saginaw Bay. Its waters swarm with lake fish and wild fowl haunt its feeding grounds. Here, in 1886, Mr. Webber opened a handsome summer hotel in connection with the railroad. Mr. Hoyt was also interested in the construction of the Saginaw & Mt. Pleasant Railroad, a short line of fifteen miles, connect- ing Coleman and Mt. Pleasant, now owned by the F. & P. M. R. R. Co. Mr. Webber was for some time president of the company before construc- tion of the road. Mr. Webber has always been a Democrat and stands high in the councils of his party. From 1854 to 1856 he was Circuit Court Commisssioner. Later he was prosecuting attorney for Saginaw county, and in 1874 was elected mayor of East Saginaw. While mayor, the board of police commissioners was created, and his office made him a member of it. The lumbering industry had drawn to Saginaw a rough element and crime was rampant. The conditions called for intelligent action, and an efficient police force was organized and the lawless element subdued, while a warfare was waged against the haunts of sin, by which most of them were closed and hundreds of disreputable characters forced to leave the city. The records of that year show that from this city twelve convicts were sent to the State prison, over one hundred and twenty to the house of correction, and many lesser offenders to the county jail. Mr. Webber was elected State Senator in 1874. For twenty years. the prohibitory liquor law had encumbered the statute books of Michigan, a dead letter, and Mr. Webber was active in its repeal and in the passage of a high tax law. Zach. Chandler was a candidate before the general assembly for re-election to the U. S. Senate and received Republican cau- cus nomination. Six Republicans refused to be governed by the caucus. Sixty-seven votes were necessary to elect, and the Democrats had only sixty. Mr. Webber was prominent in the negotiation which secured a coalition of the sixty with the six Republican bolters and one Independent, in favor of Judge Christiancy, and thus elected him over Chandler. At the National Convention at St. Louis in 1876 Mr. Webber was chair- man of the Michigan delegation. He introduced the resolution recom- mending future National conventions to abolish the "two-thirds" rule and it was adopted. In that year also he received the unanimous nom- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 119 ination as the Democratic candidate for Governor of Michigan. A vig- orous canvass might have overcome the large Republican majority of the State, but his nature revolted from the undignified and questionable methods so often used to court popular favor and he made no effort to gain votes for himself. Although failing of an election, nearly two thou- sand more votes were cast for him than were given in the State for Samuel J. Tilden for President, thus showing the general appreciation of his worth. In other lines Mr. Webber's life has been one of usefulness by the good example he has set for others. He has been prominent in the develop- ment of the agricultural interests of the State and taken a deep interest in practical farm work, especially as related to the soils of Michigan. His own fine farms, of which he has several, receive his careful attention, and are models of what can be accomplished by intelligent study applied to prac- tical husbandry. His writings on agricultural subjects have been favorably received by the press and widely read by progressive farmers. When preparations were being made in 1886 to celebrate the semi-centennial of Michigan, he was invited to prepare the paper on "Agriculture" and his paper was one of the best that were read on that occasion. For a number of years he was connected with the executive board of the State Pomolog- ical Society, and was elected president of the State Agricultural Society in 1878. Mr. Webber is a member of several fraternal orders. In 1855, Saginaw Lodge F. & A. M. was organized, and Mr. Webber was the third member to undergo the rites of initiation. He has survived the two brothers who preceded him, of whom Mr. Norman Little was first and W. L. P. Little second, and is thus the oldest member of the lodge in point of priority. He was Master of the lodge three years. At Flint he was made a Royal Arch Mason in Washington Chapter, and in 1864 was one of the organizers of Saginaw Valley Chapter No. 31. For three years he served as High Priest, and was raised in 1869 to the position of Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Michigan. Still higher Masonic honors were accorded him when, in 1874, he was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Michigan. He also belongs to St. Bernard Commandery No. 16, K. T., of which he was for one year Eminent Commander. He became a member of the Independent order of Odd Fellows in 1847. He has two daughters-Florence Ann, born at Milford, Michigan, in 1850, who became the wife of James B. Peter, of East Saginaw in 1873, and Frances E. Viewing Mr. Webber in whatever light we may, the result is a satisfactory one. As a business man, he has shown a broad mind that has enabled him to look beyond the present and see the results in the future. He was quick to discern the natural riches of the State, wise in their development, and careful of the details of his undertakings, thereby insuring their success. To Saginaw, the city of his adoption, especially, will his name ever be a bright and honored one, as his enterprises have laid at her feet a fertile tributary country, bound to it by arteries of steel through which pulsates a volume of traffic that is a I 20 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. large factor in its commercial prominence. As a citizen, he has been hon- ored and his individuality has stamped itself on his home in an enduring manner. HERMAN WALTER STEVENS, ex-Circuit Judge, Port Huron. Judge Stevens is a direct descendant of New England ancestry. He is of English extraction, through the blood of Puritans who sought in the Western Continent that freedom to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, which England, the land of their nativity, did not guarantee. Until recently the first home of the Stevens family in this country stood where it was erected about 1660, near Kilingsworth, Con- necticut. The descendants of the family scattered during the two cen- turies following. Harmon L. Stevens, the father of our subject, was a native of New York, where he married a daughter of Judge Mitchell, and sister of Judge William T. Mitchell, now of Port Huron. He came to Michigan in 1840, and first settled at Romeo, in Macomb county, where Herman Walter Stevens was born, November 4, 1843. Shortly afterwards his father removed to Port Huron where he engaged in the mercantile and lumbering business. That he held the confidence of the people of all shades of political preference is evinced by the fact that he was elected to the office of justice of the peace of Port Huron for thirty-five years con- secutively. The elementary part of the education of Herman W. was obtained in the public schools of Port Huron, which was followed by a course at the Ypsilanti Seminary, then under the management of Profes- sor Estabrook. Later he entered the University of Michigan and was grad- uated with the class of 1866, receiving the baccalaureate degree of B. A. Two years later he was graduated from the Law Department of the same University with the degree of LL.B. He was admitted to the Bar during the same year and at once engaged in the practice of law at Port Huron. He was associated with George W. Wilson for one year under the firm name of Wilson & Stevens. In 1870 he entered into partnership with N. E. Thomas under the firm name of Stevens & Thomas. This arrange- ment was continued until 1882, when Mr. Stevens was elected Judge of the Circuit Court for a term of six years. After retiring from the Bench he formed a partnership with Mr. S. L. Merriam, which was maintained from 1888 to 1894; since then he has practised alone. In politics Judge. Stevens is a Republican, but he has held himself aloof from all contests for political preferment, refusing to accept any office outside of the line of his profession. He was city attorney for Port Huron for the years 1878 and 1879, and Circuit court commissioner for six years; but these offices merely afforded enlarged opportunities for the continuation of his practice, which he has persistently followed in its main drift. While yet a very young man he entered the profession of law, for which he possessed a taste and abilities, and the allurements of political office have not tempted him to Herman W. Stevens Century Pabbehing & Engraving Co Chicago. Il UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 121 turn aside. On the Bench he has preserved without a stain the clean reputation which he had already established. Since his retirement from the Bench to engage in the sharp contentions incident to general practice, he has evinced larger breadth and growth. His character for learning, integrity and knowledge of the law is supplemented by intellectual force and nervous energy. His personality impresses his logic. He is respected as a man and recognized as a lawyer of ability by members of the profes- sion who have opposed him in the trial courts or analyzed his arguments before appellate courts. The records of the courts bear testimony to his large clientage. A term of the Supreme Court is rarely held in which he does not appear in one or several cases. In the Circuit Court of his own district he has for years been a conspicuous figure, on one side or the other, of almost every case of importance. Judge Stevens was married in June 1869, to Miss Sarah E. Bishop, daughter of Russell Bishop, presi- dent of Genesee County Savings Bank, of Flint, Michigan. They have two daughters and two sons. The Judge and his family attend Grace Episcopal Church, of which his father was for many years Senior Warden. Judge Stevens has so ordered his life as to retain his own self-respect, the respect of his colleagues in the profession, and the respect of his neighbors and friends wherever they are found. BETHUEL CLINTON FARRAND, Port Huron. Mr. Farrand has long been a prominent lawyer. His life history is interesting, not only from its successes, but for the lessons it inculcates. He is descended from Nathaniel Farrand who emigrated from England and settled in Mil- ford, Connecticut, as one of the planters in 1645. For several generations the descendants of this emigrant remained in New England. The subject of this sketch was born in Cayuga county, New York, December 13, 1820. He was the third son of Hon. Bethuel Farrand, a native of Hanon, New Jersey, born June 12, 1783, and Fanny Marilla Shaw, of Auburn, New York. He was named for his father and the intimate friend of his father, the astute politician and renowned statesman, Governor Clinton, of New York. The family removed to Michigan at the beginning of the year 1825, when he was under five years of age, and located first in Detroit. father obtained from the city council in February, 1825, an exclusive fran- chise for supplying the city of Detroit with water. As the ordinance which was adopted for this purpose granted the right "to Bethuel Farrand and his legal representatives" he transferred the franchise in the autumn of the same year and removed to Ann Arbor. Purchasing a farm near that town he engaged in the usual routine of planting and harvesting grain, and a few years later introduced silk culture into the Territory of Michigan. He was successful in prosecuting this enterprise to the extent of producing in 1837 about thirty pounds of sewing silk. The State, by His 122 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. an act of the Legislature endeavored to encourage this new industry by authorizing a loan of $800 to Mr. Farrand, without interest, to enable him to enlarge his experiments. In spite of his efforts and enterprise, how- ever, silk culture proved to be unprofitable, owing to the inhospitable climate, and this pioneer planter abandoned his pet scheme after losing all of the capital invested. With severe hardship and great difficulty he The repaid the loan advanced by the State, for he was an honest man. amount appears insignificant compared to the sums recently devoted to the establishment of experimental stations by the General Government, but it was large when the resources of the borrower and the facilities for making money at that time and place are considered. Agriculture was greatly depressed and good money was difficult to obtain for the products of the farm. Mr. Farrand, senior, was the first judge of probate in Washtenaw county. He was instrumental in organizing the Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor and for twenty-one years was one of its elders. The son, Bethuel Clinton Farrand, received his early education at Griffin Academy, Ann Arbor. On arriving at his majority in 1839 he went to Detroit to carry out a purpose which he had long cherished, to begin the study of law. He had no capital other than his energy, integrity, charac- ter, and good health. In order to pay a portion of his expenses he engaged with one of the merchants of the city to act as janitor, sweeping out the store after the day's trade was over in payment for his lodging. For a short time he read with the firm of Morey & Taylor, and afterwards with Joy & Porter, a firm of which James F. Joy was long the head. He entered into a contract with Mr. Joy to do clerical work in the office and such messenger service as the firm might have for him at the price or salary of one dollar per week. This sum, meagre though it seems to be at the present time, was relied upon for his support for a period of three years. It is not surprising, therefore, that bread constituted his chief article of food and water his only drink. He managed to eke out the salary occasionally by saving the amount of fare which the firm allowed when sending him to Lansing on business trips, by making the jour- ney on foot. At the conclusion of his life as a student an accounting or settlement was had with the firm and he received a check for thirteen dol- lars, being the balance due on salary at the rate agreed upon for a period of one hundred and forty-nine weeks. After this settlement was con- cluded to his entire satisfaction Mr. Joy voluntarily presented him a second check for one hundred and forty-nine dollars, thus doubling the salary and affording him means to start in his profession. His associates in the office of Mr. Joy during his student life were Hon. George V. N. Lothrop and E. C. Walker, Esq., who subsequently became eminent in the profession of law. He was a charter member of “The Kent Club," and wrote the constitution for the government of the club. It was a society of students in Detroit and among its members were many who afterwards became famous. The roster contained the names of Honorable G. V. N. Lothrop, BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 123 He passed an Anson Burlingame, F. T. Sibley and D. Bethune Duffield. examination before the Supreme Court and was admitted to the Bar in 1843, locating first at Palmer (now St. Clair) at that time the county seat of St. Clair county, and remaining there one year. He then removed to Port Huron where he has resided continuously more than fifty years. During this long period he has actively participated in the progress and business of the community, maintaining all the while an honorable position at the Bar. His first partner was Lorenzo M. Mason, in the firm of Mason & Farrand, a partnership which continued about six years. For a period subsequent to that until 1857 he engaged in the manufacture and sale of lumber with satisfactory profit, and then resumed the practice of law in partnership with Hon. Omar D. Conger, who was later a member of Con- gress and United States senator, and Hon. E. W. Harris, under the style of Conger, Harris & Farrand. Subsequently he became associated in partnership with Hon. W. T. Mitchell, who was afterwards elected judge of the Circuit Court. He invited William L. Jenks, who had been a stu- dent in his office, to a partnership in his practice, and the firm of Farrand & Jenks continued until 1892, when Mr. Farrand retired from active prac- tice on account of failing health. He has never been a narrow partisan, politically, and never sought political office. Three times with long inter- vals between he was elected prosecuting attorney for St. Clair County, first in 1844, second in 1860 and again in 1889. This is the only official position he has ever held except that of city clerk and secretary of the vil- lage of Port Huron, to which he was appointed. He has been for many years and is now actively identified with the Pioneers' Society of St. Clair county. During the last years of his active connection with the legal pro- fession his practice was chiefly in the probate court and in the settlement of estates. Mr. Farrand was married November 14, 1845, to Miss Laura W. Whitman, daughter of David Whitman, an early settler of St. Clair county, who came from Haverill, New Hampshire. This union was broken June 22, 1852, by the death of Mrs. Farrand. October 16, 1854 he married Miss Helen M. Wheaton, daughter of John Wheaton of New Haven, Connecticut, who was, at the time of her marriage, principal of a young ladies' school in Detroit. She had previously been connected with the high school of Hartford, Connecticut, and was known as a very capable teacher. She originated the Ladies Library Association of Port Huron and has been for several years vice president for St. Clair county of the "State Historical and Pioneer Society." She has ability, culture and refinement, and deserved prominence in literary circles. Their child- ren are Laura Caroline, wife of Silas L. Valentine, a prominent merchant of Port Huron; Bethuel Clinton, Jr., wholesale and retail dealer in boots and shoes, Port Huron; Helen M., wife of George H. T. Naumann, of Berlin, Germany; Fannie C., wife of John T. Boynton, banker of East Saginaw; Mary Emma, wife of J. C. Tyler, lumberman, of Knoxville, Tennessee. For more than seventy years, boy and man, Mr. Farrand has been a resi- 124. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. dent of the territory and State of Michigan. He has known adversity and enjoyed prosperity. His early life was almost a struggle for existence, in which all of the luxuries and most of the comforts of living were denied him. His courage and self-denial were severely tested in the privations which he endured to acquire an honorable profession. His ambition was noble and his energy unflagging. Throughout the long period, greater than is allotted to the average man, he has maintained a reputation above reproach and a character without blemish. His name is accepted among all who know him as the synonym for commercial integrity and profes- sional honor. The purity of his private life exemplifies the high standard of christianity in which he believes. O'BRIEN J. ATKINSON, Port Huron. The subject of our sketch was born at Toronto, Canada, but at an early age came with his family to the United States, locating at Port Huron, Michigan. He was one of eleven children born to James Atkinson and Elizabeth Shinners, both of whom were natives of Ireland. His father was a surveyor and followed the vocation in Ireland and America. His mother was the daughter of Lucy O'Brien, a relative of William Smith O'Brien, the distinguished leader of the Irish rebellion of 1848. The family being in easy circumstances our subject had the advantage of good education. He first passed through the public schools of Port Huron, after which he entered the academy at Sarina, Canada, where he took the full classical course. Returning to Michigan he entered the Law Department of the State University, gradu- ating in 1860, receiving the first diploma issued by the Law Department of that now famous institution, and a degree of LL. B. He applied for admission to the Bar and was admitted at Detroit in the Wayne county Circuit Court, in June 1860. He began the practice of his profession at Port Huron, but before his business had assumed tangible form the civil war burst on the astonished people and he offered his services first to his country. He enlisted for a term of three years, or during the war, but so patriotic were the gallant sons of Michigan that the quota was full before the company to which he belonged was mustered in and it was thereupon disbanded. While he himself narrowly missed the opportunity of carrying arms for his country, the country has no reason to complain of the family, as he had four brothers in the field. Continuing in his profession he was for two successive terms elected prosecuting attorney for St. Clair county. Early in his career he came to be recognized as a strong man and has been an active figure in most of the hard fought legal contests originating in his section of the State. Several men who are now prominent at the Bar or on the Bench began their first active work with him. Among the number we mention Elliot G. Stevenson, of Detroit, and Judge Samuel W. Vance, of the Thirty-first Judicial District. Other prominent attor- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 125 neys with whom he has been associated as partners are his brother, Col. John Atkinson, and John S. Crellin. Mr. Frank T. Walcott is with him at the present time. He has for a period of twenty years been the legal representative of the Grand Trunk Railroad for the State of Michigan, and is also attorney for the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad. His prac- tice extends through all the courts of the State and the United States District and Circuit Courts. He recently obtained a verdict in the State Supreme Court that establishes a precedent of interest to every property owner inside of corporation limits. The case was McMoran et al vs. Fitz- gerald et al. The plaintiff obtained an injunction in the district court preventing defendant from erecting a factory in a subdivision that had originally been sold for residence purposes only. The defendant pur- chased one of these lots from a second party and claimed the right to use his property for a factory site if he saw fit. The case was carried to the Supreme Court where the injunction was made perpetual. Term of '95 O'Brien J. Atkinson for plaintiff. Though nominally a Democrat Mr. Atkinson is in no sense a politician. He has on several occasions been nominated, once for Congress and more than once for Circuit Court Judge, and other offices, but invariably declined to accept the nomination for any office that would interfere with his professional work. Though having no taste for politics, he has not declined to assume his full share of responsi- bility as a citizen. He was nominated and elected as the first mayor of Fort Gratiot, now a part of Port Huron, which he acepted from a sense of duty. He at one time accepted a nomination on the Democratic ticket for Judge of the Supreme Court, at the earnest solicitation of his friends, but was defeated at the polls with the entire ticket. Mr. Atkinson is a lover of books and of literary pursuits. During his leisure hours he has written most acceptably on different topics for magazines and State papers, some of his contributions such as "Thomas Moore," "Campbell, Burns and Moore," "Relation of Church to School," "Capital Punishment," etc., have attracted much attention for scholarly composition. While not a professional lecturer, his ability in this direction is marked. His address before the State Bar Association in 1894, on "Grand Juries, was a mas- terful presentation of the weak and salient points in the system. During the season of 1895-6 he delivered a course of lectures at the P. E. Church at Port Huron on the subject of "Citizenship;" first in its relation to the State; second in its relations to the United States; third, in its relations of citizen to citizen. He was married in November, 1861, at Port Huron, to Miss Mary M. Jones. They have no children. Mr. Atkinson has gained a competency in his business and distinction as an advocate at the Bar and reputation as an upright citizen. As a lawyer he ranks among the first in the State. In his manners he is affable, courteous to his friends, kind and liberal, and in independent circumstances. In faith he is a Catholic, but in his charities he is a brother to all mankind. 126 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. THOMAS MARTIN CROCKER, ex-judge, Port Huron. The most instructive part of the history of a State is found in the biographies of the men who make it. The man who begins life with nothing but what he was endowed with by nature and who by his own, unaided efforts rises to affluence and a position of trust and honor, becomes an unconscious object lesson to the generations that follow him. A man may become a hero by some signal act of bravery or display of genius; but to gain and retain the highest confidence and respect of the people of an entire State for a life- time implies more than physical courage and skill; it also indicates strength of character, morality and industry. To the latter class belongs the subject of our sketch, Mr. Thomas Martin Crocker, of Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Following the stem of his genealogical tree carries us far back into the seventeenth century. His ancestors on both sides came from Devonshire, England, immigrating to this country in 1634. Deacon William Crocker, who was the parent of the American branch of the family, located with Parson Lothrop at Barnstable and was one of the notable men of the country. His mother was a descendant of the Rev. Thomas Hooker, first pastor of the church at Newtown (now Cambridge), Massachusetts, who with a portion of his flock crossed through the wilderness and founded a new colony at Hartford, Connecticut. Thomas Martin was the son of Thomas and Mary Crocker (nee Hooker), and was born November 23, 1825, in the family home at Pawlet, Rutland County, Vermont. His father was a farmer, and his early days were as uneventful as is usual with farmers' sons. His educational advantages were not of the highest order but above the average of his class. He went through the public and select schools of Rutland county, afterwards taking a course of private instruc- tion under Lyman Chandler, a man of comprehensive learning, at Gran- ville, New York. Leaving the paternal roof in 1844 at the age of eighteen, he came west to take up the duties of life on his own responsibil- ity. He spent the first two years working with his uncle on a farm in Macomb county, Michigan, teaching school in the winter. In May, 1849, he was married to Miss Fandira Emory, daughter of Andrew Emory, of Lamoile county, Vermont, an old citizen of the State. In 1851 Mr. Crocker removed to New Baltimore, Michigan, with his uncle, the Hon. Cortez P. Hooker, and the following year was elected a justice of the peace. He no sooner assumed the duties of this office than he realized that to properly discharge them he must know something about the ele- ments of law. This was the first public manifestation of one of the lead- ing characteristics of the man to assume no public duty without a conscientious regard for its faithful performance. With this idea in view he procured such elementary works as Blackstone, Kent, Greenleaf's Evidence, Story's Equity, Jurisprudence and Pleadings, with Chitty and Addison on Contracts. The study of these volumes fully matured his preference for 2. M. Croaker The Century Fublishing & Engraving Co. Chicago UNIV OF CH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 127 the law as his life work and these books formed the nucleus of what in later years became one of the finest law libraries in the State. From time to time he added to his library and read and studied as his other duties would permit until January, 1859, when he applied for admission to the Bar and passed a successful examination before the Circuit Court at Mt. Clemens, Judge Green presiding. In November, 1862, he took up his residence at Mt. Clemens, forming a co-partnership with Giles Hubbard, an old practitioner, ranking among the ablest trial attorneys of the State. Just prior to the formation of this partnership Mr. Crocker was elected prosecuting attorney of Macomb county for a period of two years. At the expiration of this term he was chosen probate judge, serving in this position four years. He was a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1867, and took an active part in drafting a new State Constitution. In 1874 he was called by his fellow townsmen to the chair of village president, which he filled four consecutive terms by unanimous vote of the people. Peace and quiet are not the undisturbed condition of humanity or the unfailing heritage of mortals. Sorrow and storm will come. The year 1876 seemed to be a fateful one in Judge Crocker's life. During that year death claimed both his business partner and the partner of his life and home. There were two sons and two daughters as the fruit of his mar- riage, who survive. The eldest of these is Samuel, a civil engineer, who resides at Algonac, Michigan. Martin, a lawyer, who has been a member of both the Houses of Representatives and State Senate, resides at Mt. Clemens. Mary is the wife of Harry B. Hutchins, at present Dean of the Law Department in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. Fannie, the youngest, is at home. She is a graduate of Cornell University, New York, of the class of 1891, and is now a teacher in the high school of Mt. Clemens. After the death of Mr. Hubbard, Judge Crocker associated Harry B. Hutchins, his son-in-law, in the business with him. This arrangement continued until 1884, when Mr. Hutchins was appointed a professor in the Law Department of the University of Michigan. He con- ducted the business from that time alone until 1889, when he took his son Martin into co-partnership. This relation was continued until 1893, when he was tendered the appointment of collector of the Port Huron district, which he accepted. In 1889 he was elected mayor of Mt. Clemens, and re-elected in 1891 without opposition, declining a nomination for a third term in 1893. He was married to Mrs. Cordelia Sabin in 1892, and after taking the office of collector removed for convenience to Port Huron, where he at present resides. During his thirty-five years of active work at the Bar, Judge Crocker has tried many important cases and his name and face are familiar in the Supreme Court and in almost every Circuit Court of the State, as well as in the United States Circuit and District. Courts. His sterling integrity, his good judgment, his comprehensive grasp of legal principles, together with his thorough knowledge of men and 128 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. affairs, have made him a safe adviser and in litigated cases a formidable antagonist. As an example of what man can accomplish for himself by perseverance, industry and a conscientious regard for duty, Judge Crocker's life is worthy of study by the rising generation. CHARLES H. CAMP, Saginaw. The subject of this sketch, head of the firm of Camp & Brooks, was born September 23, 1835, at Hanover, New Hampshire. His parents, David Camp and Elvira E. Smith, were both natives of the same State, and English by descent. His boyhood represented the type of New England farmer's boys, divided between work in all the departments of farming and attendance at the public schools. His higher education was obtained in Kimball Union Academy, at Meri- den, where he remained until 1854, and in Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated in 1860. After leaving college he studied law with O. W. Lull, of Milford, New Hampshire. Before the completion of his course of reading, moved by the spirit of patriotism, which pervaded the northern States, he enlisted in the Union army in the fall of 1861; was appointed first lieutenant of the Eighth New Hampshire volunteer infantry, a regiment assigned to the New England division, which went to Ship Island under the command of General Benjamin F. Butler. All of his military service was in the Department of the Gulf. In the winter of 1862-63 he was the prosecuting officer of a military court established by Gen. Butler, with headquarters at Thibodeaux, Louisiana, given jurisdic- tion of all that part of the State west of the Mississippi river, Col. O. W. Lull as judge of the court. He was with the reserve at the taking of New Orleans, was in numerous engagements until he was disabled at the battle of Port Hudson. He continued in the service until the latter part of 1863, when he was honorably discharged, and returned to New Hamp- shire. Soon after returning to his native State he resumed the study of law at the Albany Law School, where he remained about six months, when, upon examination, he was admitted to the Bar of New York. In the fall of 1864 he came to East Saginaw, Michigan, where he opened an office and at once entered upon the practice of his profession. He formed a co-partnership with George B. Brooks, which has remained unbroken for more than thirty years. Mr. Camp is pre-eminently an office lawyer and has devoted most of his time to what may be termed the office practice of the firm. Careful and methodical in his work; possessed of superior capacity for details, he excels in the preparation of cases for trial. In the division of labor between members of the firm, according to their aptitudes. and preferences, this branch of the work naturally falls to him. After first establishing a good foundation of law he constructs his case thereon in the most substantial manner. He has the abilities; the perception of law and its applicability; the assiduity and perseverance required for the prepara- • BB Grate UNIT OF The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago MIC BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 129 tion of the pleadings, of every form and variety. It may rightfully be assumed that he enjoys this branch of the practice because of his aptness for it. The two members of the firm supplement each other fully, as is evidenced by the continuation of a partnership during the life of a genera- tion. In politics Mr. Camp is a Democrat. He has never been a candi- date for political office, preferring the business of a private practice to the cares and responsibilities of public office. The methods of an office-seeker have no charms for him and the rewards of political service are too uncer- tain to be relied upon for bread. In 1887 he was nominated as the Dem- ocratic candidate for justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan, but went down to defeat with his party. His successful competitor was Charles D. Long, present Chief Justice of the Court. Latterly the firm of Camp & Brooks have been engaged much in real estate matters. They are now interested in reclaiming and bringing under cultivation over nine thousand acres of land which was once a swamp. They have about two thou- sand acres of this tract already under cultivation and the reclamation goes on with the assurance of final success and profit. Mr. Camp was married September, 1865, to Irene Wellington, of Walpole, New Hampshire. Though they have no children the union has been fortunate and happy, as the subject of our sketch has a genial disposition and wears a sunny coun- tenance, which always tends to brighten and cheer the home. He enjoys the confidence of the profession and the esteem of his neighbors. DAN P. FOOTE, Saginaw. Mr. Foote was born August 18, 1831, in Deerfield, Oneida county, New York. His father was Henry Foote, a man of intelligence and some means; his mother was Harriet Northrup, of the Northrups of Deerfield, wealthy and prominent people. In 1837 Mr. Foote's family removed to Freedom, Cattaraugus county, New York, then a new section noted for its high hills, rapid streams and heavy timber. Some earlier settlements had been made in Cattaraugus and Allegany counties, but the country was nearly a wilderness. The means of educa- tion were those usually existing on our ever receding frontier, and Mr. Foote enjoyed such advantages as were afforded by the ordinary district school. One advantage was a well selected library which the State pro- vided for every district. Of this Mr. Foote availed himself to the utmost. His father who had owned and operated a carding mill and a small woolen factory in Oneida, was a thoroughly well informed man, much inclined to books and study. On removing to Cattaraugus he located upon a farm, the greater part of which was covered by the original forest. In three or four years the timbered land was converted into productive meadow land and pasture, carrying a large dairy. Dan P., while too young to take any considerable part in the work, saw it done, which proved a subsequent advantage. The long winter evenings were devoted to reading and study, 9 130 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. occasionally varied by a contested law suit lasting all night sometimes, before his father, who for many years was a justice of the peace. Martin Grover, afterwards Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals, and A. P. Lan- ning, of Buffalo, then of Rushford, were often before Mr. Justice Foote's court. Amid such surroundings the boy grew up until he was nearly sixteen years of age, when he enlisted in the regular army for the war with Mexico. He received his discharge at Fort Columbus, June 27, 1848. As we find no particular mention of Mr. Foote in the histories of that war, which added such magnificent territories to the Union, we con- clude his service averaged with that of the fifty thousand young men who were mustered out at Buena Vista and Monterey, or buried between Vera Cruz and Chapultepec. The books of the school library Mr. Foote had read with peculiar zest related to voyages and adventures in strange lands, and his brief experience as a soldier stimulated a latent desire for seeing the world. On the 12th of September, 1848, he sailed from New Bedford in the bark Persia, a whaler carrying three boats, and bound upon a long cruise around Cape Horn. As the object of the voyage was to cruise for sperm whales, found only in the low latitudes, the ship was kept about east-southeast, heading for the Cape Verde islands—passing the Azores, where she called at the port of Horta (Villa Orta) the capital of Fayal, and where after discharging a considerable quantity of oil taken on the passage, the ship lost an anchor and came very near going ashore on the point where Capt. Charley Reid beached the privateer brig, General Arm- strong. From there to the beautiful and dreamy island of Madeira, where the people peacefully doze life away. Mr. Foote says it is worth a voy- age across the Atlantic to look upon this quaint, compact city with its tile- roofed houses that carry one back to the days antedating the landing at Plymouth Rock, and upon the Bay of Fanchal with the great amphithe- atre of vine-clad, terraced hills that sweep nearly around it, crowned at the top with the towering old structure known as "Mount Church." At the Cape Verde islands the ship remained a week for the purpose of taking on water. There are no docks at Porto Praya; boats land on the beach through the surf. The casks for water were rafted on a line, as a string of logs are rafted from the boom at Saginaw, and towed ashore until they grounded, when the men jumped overboard and rolled them through the surf to the beach and then rolled them overland about sixty rods to the city well, affording rather brackish water. The filled casks were rolled back to the beach and through the surf until they would float, and again rafted up and towed alongside. Some fine sea turtle that would make an alderman hungry were taken at Porto Praya. From Cape Verde the ship proceeded around the "Horn" to Society Islands and thence to New Holland, taking whales as they were found, never making a passage, but cruising under easy sail, sending a boat ashore at the islands when moved. by curiosity; back to Juan Fernandez, where Mr. Foote was ashore with the Captain and a boat's crew nearly an entire day, and thence to Callao BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 131 where he went ashore with the ship's carpenter to visit the city of Lima, six miles from the port. Here they became so interested in that historic old city that they quite forgot to return to the ship. Mr. Foote remained here a year working at the carpenter's trade and other employment, mak- ing occasional short coasting voyages in the crazy Peruvian craft and rambling in the mountains, picking up information and Spanish all the time. The latter was not difficult, since, by the aid of "Ollendorf's Spanish in Six Easy Lessons," he already had some notion of the lan- guage. The climate on the coast-latitude 12 south-did not agree with one reared on the Cattaraugus hills, and he reluctantly bade adieu to the land of Pizarro and the Incas, and returned to New York in the John G. Coster, a large ship for those days, loaded almost to her scuppers with guano. The passage was long and the vessel badly broken up and nearly wrecked soon after she rounded the "Horn" and hauled up to the north- ward, but she weathered it, and with make-shift spars and sails, fine weather and fair winds, "drifted" into New York quite a respectable wreck, but bearing full proof of the lively time she had down at the "Horn.' Mr. Foote next tried the navy was schoolmaster on the receiving ship North Carolina for a few months and then on the coast of Africa in the sloop of war Jamestown, on the lookout for slavers. This he regarded as a picnic, compared with a whaler or merchant ship; work light, food good, exercise at quarters not too often, and frequent visits to the island ports. He touched at Madeira and Cape Verde again, St. Helena, the Windward island and then to Rio de Janeiro, and down to Montevideo, where he was transferred to the store ship Relief, and discharged on arriving at New York. He next tried shorter voyages and in 1851 was at the port of San Juan de los Remedios with a clipper brig for forty days waiting for a cargo at the very time Lopez made his last landing at Bahia Honda (Deep Bay) in August, only a month before he (Lopez) was executed at Havanna; thence around the "Horn" again in the full clipper Gov. Morton, with fifty cabin passengers, who found that an easier way to California than across the plains or the isthmus. He arrived at San Francisco in July 1858, after a voyage of one hundred and thirty days. Here he sailed a coasting schooner, La Buena Dia, drove stage, prospected, mined, carried a hod, acted as clerk of a warehouse and then at the Alamedo Hotel at El Embarcadero, of San Jose; in fact did anything that paid, and most work paid there at that time. He remained in California until February 1854, then sailed on his last voyage in the Sweepstakes for Hong Kong, Wam- poa and New York, by way of Cape Good Hope, arriving in New York in July, 1854-his wanderings over at the early age of twenty-three. He had seen much of the world and had carefully noted and applied what he had seen. In October, 1854, he was married at Fox Lake, Wisconsin, to Miss Elizabeth C. Graham, whose father was a native Scotchman of the Grahams of Claverhouse. During the winter of 1854-5 he taught school in the township of Mundy, Genesee county, and was regarded an excellent 132 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. That teacher, though some thought the government of the school savored of the discipline of a man-of-war. In the spring of 1855 he moved upon a wild eighty acre tract of land three-quarters of a mile from any clearing, road or house, and commenced turning his forest land into a farm. same spring he planted corn and potatoes enough to carry him to the next crop; and during the summer cut the logs and built a snug house in which his three sons, George Graham, Charles Edwin, and Langley Sutherland were born-himself doing all the work, even to making the shingles for the house. In three years he had cleared as much of his land as he desired, working alone or exchanging work with some neighbor when he needed a hand to help log or thresh- and made his farm pay from the start. After that he taught school winters, served as school inspector, justice of the peace, read law with Judge Sutherland, and later with Hon. Wm. H. Sweet, and was admitted to the Bar September 19, 1863. In May, 1866, he removed to the city of Saginaw, where he established him- self as an attorney, and from that time on by diligent study and close application sought to become a lawyer. In a pecuniary sense he was fairly successful from the day he hung out his shingle at Saginaw, and as he seems to have observed the maxim "to keep what you get and get all you can," he is well provided for. He served for a long time on the board of supervisors — especially when the city of Saginaw had one of its contests with its troublesome rival, East Saginaw, across the river. He served for many years as city attorney and one term as prosecuting attorney, being elected by the saving majority of three, though it may be stated that the county was then strongly Republican, while Mr. Foote by nature and practice was, is, and probably always will be, a Democrat. The question involved in that contest between him and his opponent, Mr. Daniel W. Perkins, was one of hay fork rather than politics. Mr. Perkins was attor- ney for an enterprising man who had sold a patent hay fork to the farmers of Saginaw county. In 1876 Mr. Foote was elected to the State Senate by his customary majority of three, over his friend, the capable and genial C. Stuart Draper. The late Hon. George F. Lewis, the able founder and editor of the Saganawian, speaking of Mr. Foote said: "Few who have known him in late years as a studious, hard working lawyer, would suppose that he once led a life of wild adventure; and doubtless few who knew him then would have dreamed of finding him in middle life a successful and honored member of the Bar. His strongly marked individuality, shrewd judgment, and thorough knowledge of men, account for the confidence reposed in him by his friends. Socially he is an agreeable companion and his ready wit and store of accumulated facts have brought him in demand to respond to toasts at social gatherings, as well as to speak at anniversary celebrations, and especially at festivals held for the benefit of charitable institutions under the direction of the Catholic church, where he has always spoken upon some Irish subject, his addresses generally being published in full. He has done much editorial work, and is a strong and ready writer upon political questions, and a forcible public speaker. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 133 He Since his year in Peru he has been a continual student of the Spanish language and has made many translations from the Spanish for publication, of articles and speeches worthy of preservation in an English dress. now has a complete translation, in manuscript, from the Spanish of the "New Robinson Crusoe," origially written in German by Joachim Hein- rich Campe with the German title "Robinson der Jungere," a '57 edition of which was published in German in 1856. Ill health induced by over- work caused him to spend the winter of 1888 at the Bermudas, where he wrote a series of letters upon the government, people and characteristics of the islands, for publication in the Courier-Herald, which were read with much interest, and the next winter he spent in Florida, writing frequent letters to the Courier-Herald from that land of sunshine and oranges and rattlesnakes, in which he detailed his observations impartially in very interesting style. While he has never been engaged in any case of great public interest, his practice has been general and he has aided to settle the law on some important points. The case of "Drennan vs. Herzog," (56 Mich.) raised the question of the right of the Legislature to impose inter- est at twenty-five per cent per annum on taxes returned delinquent. In a former case the Court had intimated that such rate was a penalty that would void a sale of the land for the tax. The case was ejectment; Herzog held under a tax title and the only point alleged against his title was the rate of interest. The plaintiff relied upon the former dictum of the Court. Mr. Foote insisted that the question was not before the Court in Silsbee vs. Stockle, and that the remarks of the Court could not be regarded as an adjudication, or if so, the conclusion was wrong; the Legis- lature had the power to fix the interest upon unpaid taxes, and the power to prescribe the rate was limited only by the judgment of the Legislature, and the Court had no constitutional right to set aside the law because the judges thought this rate unreasonable. The Court so held, and Her- zog retained his farm-the tax for which the land was sold, including charges, was $1.94. "Jerome vs. Ortman and Rothschild," (66 Mich.) raised the question as to what constituted a sealed instrument. Ortman and Rothschild sold Jerome land on a contract for $10,000, which Jerome paid at the rate of $1,000 a month until the purchase price was paid. The contract was the usual blank land contract in common use, but bore no actual seal and no scroll or device in place thereof. A deed was not demanded by Jerome for more than six years after he was entitled to it. He then discovered that the vendors had no title and brought an action of covenant to recover the money he had paid on the contract. The defendants pleaded the statute of limitations as applicable because the contract was not under seal, averring that no action could thereupon be maintained. Mr. Foote con- tended that it was a sealed instrument upon which an action could be brought within ten years from the time right of action accrued; that the question whether it was a sealed or unsealed contract did not depend upon the presence of an actual seal, but upon the intention of the parties thereto, their intention was to be determined from the contract itself and 134 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. • the subject matter. ing this view said: and it is a deed." Judge Campbell in the opinion of the Court sustain- "The parties intended this instrument to be a deed, Jerome recovered his money paid and interest. "McGregor vs. Supervisors of Gladwin county," (37th Mich.) related to the powers of the board to remove the county treasurer for failure to give an additional bond when required by the board. McGregor was removed, but the record failed to show that he had notice of the proceed- ings. The case was heard on certiorari to the board. The board returned that McGregor was present at the time action was taken. But Mr. Foote objected to the return and insisted that the case must stand on the record. The court so held, and that the removal was void. "Williams vs. City of Saginaw," (51st Mich.) was an action brought against the city to recover taxes paid under protest, that were assessed upon personal property. The comptroller by mistake assessed Williams on lumber valued at $25,000, which in fact was not within the city. Williams appeared before the board of review, but the assessment was maintained. The testimony taken on the trial showed that Williams had personal property within the city subject to assessment. Mr. Foote con- tended that the value thereof was to be determined by the assessing officer, subject to the final determination of the board of review, and such determination was in the nature of a judgment so long as not vacated or set aside, and the court could not in this way be compelled to act as a board of review, which contention was sustained by the court. "Burt vs. McBain," (29 Mich. 260) held that the settlement of an infant's right of action by a guardian ad litem did not bar the infant from bringing another action for the same wrong. "Fletcher vs. Lee" (71 Mich. 493) involved the question of exempt property seized upon attach- ment, released upon a defective bond in replevin, and the non-liability of the officer therefor. "Seligman vs. Gray, et al." (66 Mich.) involved important questions as to the liability of joint endorsers. "Pearson vs. Hardin," (95 Mich.) raised the question of the liability of an endorser upon paper raised by forgery, and of an estoppel. The foregoing only indicates the character of the business done by Mr. Foote, the record of which will be found scattered through the reports from the 20th volume to the 100th. He has one of the best law libraries in the State and a fine miscellaneous library, but has substantially with- drawn from practice, doing little except his own private business. Mr. Foote's editorial articles against protective tariff, and in favor of sound money and against a debasement of the currency and repudiation by the free coinage of silver, giving it a legal debt-paying value beyond its true commercial value, which have all been carefully preserved, would make a large volume. He has always avoided being known as a public writer, preferring his articles should be anonymous. · UNIV OF Jauns Gruby Austin Plein WICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, 135 AUSTIN BLAIR, deceased. Gov. Austin Blair was one of the foremost citizens of Michigan for nearly half a century. He was born in a log house on his father's farm in the town of Caroline, county of Tompkins, New York, February 8, 1818. This unpretentious beginning of his career was characteristic of the man from the day of his birth to the day of his death - at Jackson, August 6, 1894. The seventy-six years of his life were busy years, full of cares and full of honors. His was a life of labor, begin- ning in the early years of childhood and ending when the icy fingers of death clutched him in his old age. It is possible only to present here the briefest outline of such a life. His education was seasoned with hard work. One third of each year in boyhood was spent in the district school and two thirds on the farm. He was ambitious to win some of the prizes of life and conscious that education would aid him. His father, as a wise and practical man, humored his aspiration. He was prepared for college in Cazenovia Seminary. His classical education was obtained in Hamilton College, where he spent one year, and in Union College, then presided over by the eminent Dr. Nott, from which he was graduated in 1839, after completing the studies of the junior and senior classes. The same year he began the study of law in the office of Sweet & Davis, at Owego. He was admitted to practice in the common pleas court of Tioga county in 1841, and in June of that year removed to Jackson, Michigan. In 1842 he located in Eaton Rapids, where he was elected county clerk; but in 1844 he resigned the office and returned to Jackson. The latter city continued to be his home during the remainder of his life. At an early period he displayed unusual talent for politics and was a popular campaign orator during the canvass of 1844, in the support of Henry Clay. In 1845 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives in the Legislature of Michigan, and rendered valuable service in the work of revising the statutes, as a member of the judiciary committee. He was opposed to cap- ital punisment and was largely instrumental in having it abolished in Mich- igan. During that session of the Legislature he exhibited a breadth of charity and a freedom from prejudice unusual in a politician of that time. Indeed it may be said that he occupied a plane above that of a politician. He made a report as a member of the judiciary committee in favor of striking from the constitution the word "white," so that there might not be any distinction of race or color in the franchise. He was in advance of the times in the advocacy of such a measure and it was resented by his party, resulting in his defeat at the next election. In 1848 he was a member of the Free Soil convention at Buffalo, and was chosen one of the committee of conference that nominated Van Buren and Adams. In 1854 he was an active participant in the organization of the Republican party at Jackson. He was a member of the committee on platform, which drafted the first declaration of principles for the guidance of that party. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Jackson county in 1852, and a State Senator in 136 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 1854. As a Senator he assisted in drafting the "Personal Liberty Bill," designed to protect fugitive slaves in the State of Michigan. In 1856 he supported General Fremont for President, actively and earnestly, on the stump. His interest in public affairs and activity in politics occupied much of his time which otherwise would have been devoted to the practice of law. He was unselfish, however, and quite willing to give liberally of his time in support of measures for the public good, even to the detri- ment of his personal business. He freely acknowledged that such a course resulted in financial loss to him but declared "my interest in the anti-slav- ery cause was so great that I did not hesitate in the least at any sacrifice it was possible for me to make." He was chosen a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1860 and elected chairman of the Michigan delega- tion, which, in obedience to the public sentiment of the State, voted for William H. Seward for President. After the nomination of Lincoln, however, the action of the convention was heartily endorsed by him in one of the best speeches which the occasion brought forth. During the cam- paign which followed, and throughout his administration as President, Lincoln had no supporter more loyal than Austin Blair. He was elected Governor of Michigan at the same time Lincoln was elected president, and re-elected in 1862. His patriotism, energy and breadth of view in the support of war measures and the organization of Michigan troops entitled him to be classed as one of the great "War Governors," whose influence made the success of the Union armies possible. The salary of Governor was only one thousand dollars and the extraordinary expenses attaching to the office during that period compelled him to draw upon his personal resources until they were exhausted. He left the office poor indeed in material property, but rich in the enjoyment of the public confidence and the elements of statesmanship. He was elected a member of Congress in 1866, re-elected in 1868, and again in 1870. His most conspicuous service in the House of Representatives was as a member of the committee on Foreign Affairs and the committee on Ways and Means. He supported vigorously the principle of protection, as embraced in the bill for the revi- sion of the tariff in the Forty-first Congress. He was also a member of the committee of revision of the laws. His integrity under great tempta- tions was recognized by Speaker Blaine in his appointment to the chair- manship of the Committee on Claims in the Forty-second Congress, a com- mittee whose firmness and honesty are often subjected to the severest test by the methods of men having large claims of questionable character. Governor Blair was a man who could be trusted under any circumstances. Whatever interest enlisted his support must first secure the approval of his conscience; after that he was earnest and persistent in its advocacy. A great question involving principle aroused him and occasioned the display of rare powers of oratory. His emotions were sincere and deep, and while he exhibited none of the graces or arts of the trained orator, he spoke from the heart and moved the hearts of those who heard. It is not BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 137 doubted that if he had been somewhat more pliant and yielding as a poli- tician, the ambition of his life would have been gratified. He was ambi- tious to be elected a Senator of the United States; he was the popular choice of the Republican party in the State when at least two Legisla- tures were chosen. The combinations secured by others who had given more attention to practical politics, in both cases resulted in his defeat. Apropos of this, Mr. Blaine in his "Twenty Years of Congress" says: 'Austin Blair, who had won great praise as Governor of Michigan during the war, now entered as representative of the Jackson district. He exhib- ited talent in debate, was distinguished for industry in the work of the House and for inflexible integrity in all his duties. He was not a party man in the ordinary sense of the word, but was inclined rather to inde- pendence in thought and action. This habit separated him from his friends who had wished to promote his political ambition, and estranged him for a time from the Republican party. But it never lost him the confidence of his neighbors and friends and did not impair the good repu- tation he had earned in his public career. Governor Blair was a good lawyer. He was admitted to practice in the Circuit Court of the U. S., for the Eastern District of Michigan, June 4, 1867. On February 7, 1868, he was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, on motion of Senator Lyman Trumbull. The degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him by Hillsdale College June 18, 1864. The same degree was conferred by the University of Michigan June 28, 1890. He was elected a Regent of this University in 1881. He acceded to the request of prominent citizens without distinction of party to accept the office of prosecuting attorney for Jackson county in 1885. His elec- tion followed by an overwhelming majority. He was nominated as a candidate for Justice of the Supreme Court by the Republican State Con- vention in 1887, but was defeated with the ticket. The practice of his profession was continued practically to the end of his life. The Legisla- ture of 1895 appropriated ten thousand dollars for a memorial statue of Governor Blair, to be erected upon the capital grounds at Lansing. This may be regarded as a tardy recognition of his great services to the State; but it is scarcely essential to the perpetuation of his fame. The record of his public services will not perish from the earth because it is perpetu- ated in the memory of a grateful and loyal people. Austin Blair was mar- ried February 16, 1849, to Sarah L. Ford, nee Horton, who is still living. 138 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. DON M. DICKINSON, Detroit. Hon. Don M. Dickinson is a native of New York, the son of New England parents. He was born at Port Ontario, January 17, 1846. His father, Col. Asa C. Dickinson, a native of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was a man of sterling character and large intellectual capacity. His mother, a woman richly endowed with refinement and the christian graces, was the daughter of Rev. Jesseniah Holmes, of Pomphret, Connecticut, a clergyman of excellent reputation. The first American ancestor of the family settled in Massachusetts in 1650, and to this day many of his descendants are living at the foot of the Berkshire Hills. They were brave and patriotic. One of them fought with Wolfe at the storming of Quebec; another with Washington at Valley Forge. Colonel Dickinson came west and settled in St. Clair county, Michigan, with his family in 1848. Four years later he removed to Detroit. From that time to the present, or since he was six years of age, Don M. Dickinson has been a resident of Detroit. As a boy he attended the common schools of the city; after which he was prepared for college under the instruction of a private tutor. He entered the Law School of the University of Michigan at the age of nineteen, where he made serious business of the work of preparation and finished the course by the time he arrived at his majority. He was graduated with the class of 1867, admitted to the Bar and at once entered upon the practice which has been continuous, with ever increasing success. A great lawyer lives among his books; the objects of his devotion are his cases; his field is the Bar and the forum. His greatest triumphs are little known to the public. The pro- fession alone recognizes them and the records of the courts perpetuate them. Mr. Dickinson's practice has been as diversified as the law itself and extended through all the courts of record to the highest in the United States. Important cases have called him frequently into the courts of other States, and for more than a decade much of his time has been occu- pied in the argument or trial of cases in the United States Supreme, Cir- cuit and District Courts. At an early period in his career he became a thoughtful student of constitutional questions and acquired a familiarity with the spirit of the National Constitution as well as its articles and its limitations. He considers it the guarantee of personal and individual rights and the solemn covenant of political and religious liberty; but not to an extent which infringes the autonomy of the State or the rights reserved to the people and the States. He was therefore opposed to the practice which grew up in the Federal Courts, under the last bankruptcy law, of entertaining suits in equity by assignees. All manner of controversies relative to prop- erty seized as assets of a bankrupt, by the United States Marshal, were drawn into the bankruptcy court, and these courts enjoined parties from bringing or prosecuting in State Courts and suits in tort against the marshal or others, involving the title to property seized. Mr. Dickinson associ- ated with the late Matt H. Carpenter, of Wisconsin, sought by mandamus BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 139 1 in the United States Supreme Court to set aside an injunction of a bank- ruptcy court in the case of ex-parte Schaub (98 U. S. 240,) and argued the question of jurisdiction exhaustively. The petition was denied for want of power, but the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court was asserted in a dictum. Seven years later, however, in Leroux vs. Hudson, (109 U. S. 468,) Mr. Dickinson again argued the question, assailing the dictum of the Court in the former case, and on this occasion his view of the law was accepted. Justice Blatchford, speaking for the Court in delivering the opinion, took back in express terms what the Court had said in ex-parte Schaub, completely reversing its exposition of the law. This last decision was of great importance as settling an ever-recurring jurisdictional controversy between the Federal and State Courts. Some of the interesting cases argued by Mr. Dickinson in the U. S. Supreme Court are cited as follows: In 126 U. S., the great Telephone Appeals, his argument for Draubaugh is printed in full from the stenographic report. It was sufficiently elabor- ate and profound to cause Senator Edmunds to yield a portion of the time allotted to himself for argument in the same case, in order that Mr. Dick- inson might have full scope. In Hammond vs. Hastings, 134 U. S. 401, the Supreme Court sustained his view and reversed Judge Gresham of the Seventh Circuit, that the innocent holder of stock pledged for a loan took the stock subject to the equity of a corporation erected by statute. A lien had been given by the court below under a general law of Michigan to a Michigan corporation upon the stock of any stockholder for indebted- ness owing by him to the corporation, the stockholder being a resident of the State of Illinois. Falk vs. Meebs, 127 U. S. 597, was a leading case involving the question of the individual responsibility of an officer endors- ing a corporation's paper, and the admissibility of oral evidence to show the intention was to make the endorser personally liable. In Mason vs. Pewabic Mining Company, 155 U. S. 50, as to the rights of minority stock- holders of a corporation on dissolution, the opinion of Mr. Justice Matthews at Circuit, on Mr. Dickinson's cross appeal, was reversed and the original appeal affirmed in Mr. Dickinson's favor. People's Bank vs. Bates, 120 U. S. 556; Corbin vs. Gould, 133 U. S. 308 (Tycoon Tea trade-mark case); Mining Company vs. Mason, 145 U. S. 349; Railway Company vs. Mason, 144 U. S. 408; Shaw vs. Quincy Mining Company, 15 U. S. 444; Garfield vs. Paris, 96 U. S. 559. The Homestead cases, Lake Superior, etc. vs. Cunningham and Donahue, 155 U. S. pp. 356-386, touching the rights of homesteaders upon lands covered by unearned public grants to railroads, have long commanded the services of Mr. Dickinson in behalf of the homesteaders. He has been successful in defending their rights, and by obtaining the decision of the United States Supreme Court in test cases he has secured to many poor farmers their homes and lands. These constitute an entire community. The limited space forbids a fuller report of his cases in the court of last resort. In the Michigan reports are numerous cases in which he alone, or associated with 140 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. other prominent attorneys, has carried the contentions to final success. At an early age Don M. Dickinson imbibed the principles of the Demo- cratic party and became active in support of its political policy. His activities have always been enlisted as a private citizen for the promotion of what he conceived to be the public welfare. He has been actuated by public spirit rather than by private interest. It is a singular fact that, while his natural inclination and especial training were for the law, and his devotion to the profession has achieved the highest success, yet he is more widely and favorably known to the country as a politician. The explana- tion is found in the conspicuous character of his political services and the transcendant ability displayed as a public official; and the further fact that all the people are interested in politics and statecraft and public administration, whereas, the parties to a suit at law alone are affected by the issue. Greatness in the popular administration of law overshadows equal greatness in the trial of private causes under the law. He was promi- nent in his party from the first. His capacity, efficiency and tact were recognized in 1876 by his appointment to the chairmanship of the Demo- cratic State Central Committee. In 1884 he was chosen a member of the Democratic National Committee, and in 1892 he was elected chairman of the National Campaign Committee. From the committee headquarters in New York he managed with consummate skill the campaign which elected Mr. Cleveland to the presidency a second time. For more than a year prior to that election he devoted all of his time to the diplomatic work of harmonizing differences and removing obstacles to the third nomination and second election of his friend and favorite. He was impelled to this by his admiration of Mr. Cleveland and his recognition in him of the high- est executive ability and the most exalted traits of character, furnishing an equipment for the office of President unequalled in the present genera- tion at least. His devotion is therefore above that of personal friendship, inspired largely by his knowledge of the superb qualities of statesmanship in the President. Mr. Dickinson is free to say that Mr. Cleveland, more than any other man he ever knew, fills the measure of Macaulay's ideal ruler expressed negatively in his antithesis of Charles II: "No man is fit to govern who hesitates about disobliging the few who have access to him for the sake of the many whom he will never see." Mr. Cleveland does not hesitate and hence his unpopularity with certain politicians. The cir- cumstances attending and following the presidential election of 1892 afford ample presumptive proof that public office has no attractions for Don M. Dickinson. His magnificent generalship in the campaign, enforcing the claim for any position to which superior ability and unchallenged integ- rity may always honorably aspire, brought to him from the President the unconditional and unsolicited offer of a cabinet portfolio, which was declined only because of his devotion to the profession of law and his pref- erence for private life. With unquestioned genius for politics he has no taste for political office. Once, only, has he consented to accept the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 141 trust of public office, and then only from a sense of duty. It was in December, 1887, that President Cleveland sent to the Senate his nomina- tion for Postmaster General, which was promptly confirmed. He was con- vinced that the President needed his services and the very cordial relations of friendship and confidence existing between them prompted him to acknowledge the obligations of friendship by accepting the service. The post-office department is not only the most complex and important of any under the Government, but is nearest the people. His quick perception, breadth of grasp and large executive ability enabled Mr. Dickinson to become familiar with the details of the postal system speedily. During the fifteen months of his administration he introduced reforms and improvements which the public was not slow to appreciate. He moved with precision and promptness in the selection of his agents and the execu- tion of the laws, until his own restless energy pervaded the department and was transmitted to the dispatch and delivery of the mails. The bene- fits of his wise administration of the department are permanent. He was married June 15, 1869, to Miss Frances Platt, daughter of Dr. Alonzo Platt, of Grand Rapids. Their family consists of two bright and interest- ing children, the daughter, Frances, was born in 1884, and the son, Don M., Jr., 1890. By special request of the editor, Judge Lambert Tree, of Chicago, has contributed the following estimate as to character and ser- vices: "A keen, well trained mind, broad views of men and things, exalted character, tireless energy, unswerving loyalty to any cause which he once espouses, immense fertility of resources, most generous impulses, hatred of wrong and readiness to fight for what he deems to be the right — these are qualities which have made Don M. Dickinson a foremost citizen of Michigan and won for him a conspicuous place at the Bar, as well as in State and national politics. While devoted to his profession, in which he has made a brilliant success, he has always set an example of what should be considered the highest duty of American citizenship, by giving a share of his time and thought to public affairs. His incumbency of the office of Postmaster General constitutes one of the most notable periods in the his- tory of that important department of the Federal Government in point of improvement in the public service. As a specimen of political manage- ment Mr. Dickinson's conduct as chairman of the committee of the Presi- dential campaign of 1892, which resulted in the election of the Demo- cratic national ticket, gained him a high place as a leader in the ranks of his party and stamped him as possessing unusual powers of organization, and marvelous skill in the control and direction of political forces. Those who are familiar with his labors in that campaign were amazed at the powers of endurance which enabled him to undergo all of the fatigues and nervous strain incident to it without breaking down in health. No man appreciated the ability and energy displayed more than Mr. Cleveland himself; and it is said amongst Mr. Dickinson's friends, though with characteristic modesty he never could be induced to admit it himself, that Mr. Cleveland placed any one of three cabinet positions at his disposi- tion. Certain it is, however, that he proclaimed immediately after Mr. Cleveland's election that it was his intention to return at once to the prac- } 142 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. tice of his profession, and that he would accept no position under the administration. To this determination he has adhered. Mr. Dickinson's unselfish and devoted loyalty to Mr. Cleveland and the cause of his party, equally characterize his actions with regard to his friends, and no trouble or inconvenience will deter him if it is in his power to serve them. His home life is as beautiful as his public and professional life are useful, and his friends, who are bound to him by hooks of steel, hope and expect that before his career is terminated higher honors await him in the political field, for which he is so especially well fitted." • DAVID DARWIN HUGHES, late of Grand Rapids. Mr. Hughes was born at Camillus Onondaga county, New York, February 1, 1823. His father was Henry Hughes, a farmer, who in the war of 1812 participated in the battle of Oswego as captain of a militia company from his town. The ancestors of this branch of the Hughes family came to this country from Wales and intermarried with the Tuttle family of which the first American ancestor was William Tuttle, one of the founders of the Colony of New Haven, Connecticut. D. Darwin Hughes secured his academic education at Syracuse and Canandaigua. The family came to Michigan in 1840, and settled on a farm in Eaton County, where his mother died within a year. Mr. Hughes was thrown upon his own resources at the age of seventeen and in 1842 went to Charlotte, Mich., where he remained a year, and while there held the positions of deputy county clerk, deputy county surveyor and under sheriff. During his spare moments he began the study of law, having decided to make that profes- sion his life work. In 1843 he entered the law office of M. S. Brackett, of Bellevue, Michigan, as a student, where he remained about one year, maintaining himself in the meantime by teaching a select school for young ladies. In 1844 he went to Marshall, where he entered the office of Gibbs. & Bradley a leading law firm of southern Michigan. Here he remained until his admission to the Calhoun County Bar on examination in August, 1846. Before his admission he argued motions in court and managed much of the business of the firm. Beginning in 1846 and continuing for several years Mr. Hughes was the editor of the Democratic Expounder, a weekly newspaper published in Marshall. In 1850 a broad field for prac- tice opened before him. Isaac E. Crary, the first member of Congress from Michigan, and Abner Pratt, as partners under the firm name of Pratt & Crary, had built up a large business in Marshall, and by the election of Mr. Pratt as Justice of the Supreme Court in 1850, the firm was dissolved and Mr. Hughes became Mr. Crary's partner. In 1854 Mr. Crary died and in 1855 Mr. Hughes formed a partnership with Justin D. Woolley, and from that time his business as a trial lawyer continued to increase until he was compelled to abandon his local practice and devote his time exclusively to the trial of important cases throughout the State, and D Damm Hughes UNIV OF ICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 143 thenceforth until the close of his life work he was perhaps the leading trial lawyer in Michigan, both in civil and criminal practice. In 1871 he was appointed General Counsel of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Company, and the Continental Improvement Company. This placed in his hands the law business of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and of the Pennsylvania Company in Michigan, and to facilitate his work he moved to Grand Rapids, where the general offices of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad Co. were situated. Shortly before this he had formed a partnership with. Hon. T. J. O'Brien, under the firm name of Hughes & O'Brien. Their business grew until it was necessary to add another member to the firm and Mr. M. J. Smiley was admitted to partnership, the firm becoming Hughes, O'Brien & Smiley, which was dissolved by the death of Mr. Hughes June 12, 1883. In politics he was a Democrat, but never figured as a politician, although he served as mayor of Marshall for two terms and was for years a member of the board of education. While his party was in the minority in the State he decided to run for office and became a candidate for Congress and afterwards for Justice of the Supreme Court, but was defeated with his party. Mr. Hughes was a student of science as well as law and was especially fond of the study of ornithology and an authority on the birds of Michigan, on which subjects he wrote several valuable articles which were published. He made a large collection of nests and eggs of Michigan birds which he presented to the Kent Scientific Institute of Grand Rapids. During the later years of his active practice, Mr. Hughes was almost uniformly successful in winning the great cases of which he had charge. Among the many notable cases he had, may be mentioned the Vanderpool murder case, in which the defendant, Geo. Vanderpool, of Manistee, was acquitted on the third trial. Mr. Hughes's argument on the second trial of the case at Kalamazoo, was considered the finest he ever made and in the opinion of the Bar it was a masterpiece. Although he excelled as a criminal lawyer, he pre- ferred civil cases. Among the notable cases of this kind in which he was chief counsel may be mentioned the Duncan will case at Marshall, and the Ward will case at Detroit, in both of which he was confronted by counsel as able as the State afforded, but in both cases he was successful and none gave him higher praise than those who were his opponents. In summing up we may quote from one of the most eminent jurists of Michigan, who in speaking of Mr. Hughes said: "I consider him the best all around law- yer Michigan has ever had." He had a wonderful legal mind, which embraced a thorough knowledge not only of the reported cases, but the elements and principles upon which the science of law is based as well. In speaking he was easy, graceful and dignified. His language was incisive, his sentences complete and his conclusions logical. Mr. Hughes was married in October, 1846, to Miss Cynthia C. Jones, of Akron, Ohio, who is still living. They had five children, three sons and two daughters, all living. 144 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. HERSCHEL H. HATCH, Detroit. In ability, lawyer-like qualities and rank at the Bar, Hon. Herschel H. Hatch is one of the foremost members of the profession in Michigan. His nativity was the State of New York, Morrisville, Madison county, where he was born February 17, 1837. He was reared in the village of his birth, and part of his early education was obtained in the village public schools, but much more under the tuition of his father. His higher education was professional rather than classical. Before attaining his majority he had formed the decision to enter the pro- fession of law and all of his subsequent studies were chosen and pursued with the definite purpose of enlarging and perfecting his preparation for the principal work of life. He entered the Law Department of Hamilton College when about twenty years of age, and was graduated upon comple- tion of the course, in 1859. After admission to the Bar he practised law in his native village for the four years next ensuing. Actuated by a desire and a purpose to take advantage of the better opportunities in the West, for advancement, prominence and usefulness, he settled in Bay City, Mich- igan, in March, 1863. Without delay he became associated in partnership with Isaac Marsten, then a practising lawyer of the city, and the associa- tion remained unbroken for ten years. The firm of Marsten & Hatch was generally regarded as one of the strongest in the State, and the popular estimate was supported by his success achieved in the courts. In 1873 Mr. E. A. Cooley was admitted to the firm and its style changed to Mars- ten, Hatch & Cooley. Two years later Judge Marsten was elected to the Bench of the Supreme Court and the firm of Hatch & Cooley existed with ever-increasing prominence and influence for twenty years. In March, 1895, Mr. Hatch removed to Detroit. There was a place for him in the Bar of the metropolis, secured by the reputation which had preceded him, and his ability to sustain himself in forensic contest with the best of its representatives. For the past twelve years at least all of his abilities and energies have been concentrated and employed in the practice of law. The records of the Circuit and Appellate Courts bear the undisputed evi- dences of his labors and successes. A few only of the many important cases that have enlisted his services can be cited here: Dennison vs. Gib- son (Twenty-fourth Michigan, page 187), in which he appeared for the plaintiff, was an action brought to set aside a mortgage on account of fraud. The amount involved was large and he won the contention for his client in the Supreme Court. Weatherbee vs. Green (122d Michigan, page 211), involved the question of replevin. It is cited as the leading case in Michigan on that subject and established the law. The Citizens' Railway Company of Detroit vs. The Detroit Railway and the City of Detroit is a case that has excited much interest in Michigan and several other States. It involves the right of the plaintiff company to lay tracks. and occupy streets of the city not already occupied by the defendant company, for the purposes of a street railway. The contention has been OF Gottdurend The Century Tchasing & the UNIV BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 145 spirited on both sides, because the amount involved in the controversy aggregates at least one and three-quarter million dollars. Judge Hatch is of counsel for the defendant corporations and has for associates Messrs. Hanchett, Flowers and Corliss. The title of Judge belongs to Mr. Hatch by virtue of his services as judge of probate from 1868 to 1872. He has held other official positions, some of them political, others strictly in the line of his profession. He was a member of the first board of aldermen of Bay City, after its incorporation as a city. In 1874 he was appointed by Governor Bagley one of the eighteen members of a commission provided for by statute to revise and amend the constitution of the State. His work on the commission was of great value. In 1881 he was appointed by the Governor one of five commissioners selected to revise the tax laws of the State, and discharged the duties appertaining to the position with due regard to the interests of the commonwealth. In 1882 he was nominated by the Republicans and elected to represent the Tenth district in the Forty-eighth Congress of the United States. The district comprises sev- enteen counties and he received a majority of the votes in every county a compliment as unexpected as it was gratifying. After serving a single term in Congress he declined re-election, preferring to devote himself absolutely to the law. He finds enough in this field for the gratification of every laudable ambition and is unwilling to exchange the distinction of professional success for the glamour of political eminence. Among his noteworthy characteristics as a lawyer may be mentioned a capacity for hard work and a disposition to test it; keenness of perception and clearness of speech; promptness of decision and directness of method. He acts with courage and precision for the accomplishment of a purpose. Judge Hatch was married in June, 1864, to Miss Eliza E. Haughton, of Morrisville, New York, and the union has been blessed with four children. GEORGE H. DURAND, Flint. Cobleskill, Schoharie county, New York. His parents, George H. and Margaret McMillan Durand, were also natives of the State of New York. His education was begun in the district schools and continued in the Gen- esee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, New York. After that it was enlarged and extended by regular and continuous study of the classics and by con- tact with men in business and professional life. He came to Michigan while a boy and during the first winter he taught the district school at Oxford, Oakland county. At the close of the term he took up the study of law under the instruction of Col. William M. Fenton, of Flint, who was at the time considered the most capable lawyer in that section of the State. He was admitted to the Bar in 1858 and at once opened an office in Flint. Since that time he has continued there except when called upon to serve in a public capacity elsewhere. He rose rapidly in his profession Hon. George H. Durand was born at 1 10 146 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. and was soon classed among the leading attorneys of Michigan. His growth in reputation, knowledge of the law and ability as a practitioner has been continuous. The first public office held by Mr. Durand was that of director of the Flint public schools. He served in that capacity for over nine years. The aptitude he displayed in business and political affairs gave him prominence in his party, and after filling the office of alderman several terms he was, in April, 1873, elected mayor of Flint, and re-elected the next year. Before the expiration of his second term as Mayor, he was nominated and elected (on the Democratic ticket) to repre- sent the Sixth Congressional District in the XLIV Congress. The nom- ination was unsolicited and he was elected by a majority of 1636 votes in a district that had chosen a Republican at the previous election by more than 6,000 votes. He took an active part in the deliberations of Congress, being a member, and for the most of the time acting chairman of the Com- mittee on Commerce. In October, 1892, Chief Justice Morse having resigned his position on the Bench of the Supreme Court of Michigan, Mr. Durand was appointed by Gov. E. B. Winans to fill the vacancy, which position he accepted and held until his successor was chosen. In Novem- ber, 1892, he was chosen a Presidential Elector at Large for the Eastern District of Michigan, and in January, 1893, met with the Electoral Col- lege and cast his vote for Cleveland and Stevenson, the Democratic candi- dates for President and Vice President. In the spring of 1893 he was the candidate of his party for Justice of the Supreme Court, and although defeated, in common with his party, yet he received a very flattering vote from his friends in Genesee county and the State at large. Judge Durand acquired a national reputation as a lawyer, not by his appointment to rep- resent the United States Government in the prosecution of conspirators on the Pacific Coast for the violation of the Customs Laws and the Chinese Exclusion Act, but for the very able manner in which he conducted these great cases. The following account of the conspiracy on the Pacific Coast, obtained from official sources, can hardly fail to interest all readers of "Bench and Bar of Michigan." The Merchants' Steamship Company, of Portland, Oregon, owned two steamships, the Wilmington and Haytian Republic, plying between Columbia River, Puget Sound, and the ports in British Columbia. While ostensibly engaged in a legitimate trade, the real business of these vessels was smuggling opium and Chinese laborers into the United States in violation of its laws, hidden compartments and double decks being artfully contrived for such purposes. The business grew to such proportions that it became necessary for the company to have the co-operation of many persons and also the friendship and assistance of Government officials in that locality. Accordingly, in 1892, a combination was formed by the managers of the company, which included several law- yers, notaries-public, U. S. Government officials and other persons, both white and yellow, among whom were included James Lotan, then collector of customs at Portland; C. J. Mulkey, then special agent of the treasury BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 147 ་ in that district; and other minor officials. This combination carried on their illegal business without serious interruption, having succeeded in debauching or deceiving various agents sent out to investigate, until May, 1893, when special agent Edwin O. Wood, of Michigan, acting under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, discovered the great frauds which were being perpetrated and the Treasury Department took steps to bring the offenders to punishment. The Government officials were at once deposed and, with a large number of their associates indicted for con- spiracy to violate the laws of the United States. So widespread was the influence which this great conspiracy had been able to exert that great care and diligence were required to procure evidence and secure justice. The operations of the smuggling ring extended from Victoria and Van- couver, B. C., to the Washington ports on Puget Sound, Astoria and Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco. The illegal traffic was conducted. on so large a scale and the gains were so great that large numbers of peo- ple became directly or indirectly connected therewith through their busi- ness relations or otherwise. The leaders of the conspiracy were men of wealth and occupied such high positions in business as well as politically and socially, that they had much influence with the people among whom they lived. Under the circumstances and at the request of the Treasury Department it was deemed necessary to send special counsel from some other locality who would represent the Government and prosecute the cases without fear or favor and without being influenced by local preju- dices. President Cleveland, Attorney-General Olney and Secretary Car- lisle, in view of the magnitude of the offenses, decided that the Govern- ment would prosecute the cases vigorously, and in August, 1893, Judge Durand was appointed special counsel of the United States Government for that purpose. He accepted the position, and at once started for the Pacific Coast and entered upon the discharge of his duties. The managers of the Merchants' Steamship Company were first tried for smuggling opium and were convicted. It appearing that within a period of six months immediately preceding their arrest they had smuggled into the United States upwards of 30,000 pounds of opium, upon which the duty was twelve dollars a pound, thus defrauding the Government in that time of $360,000.00. The next trial was upon an indictment for conspiracy to unlawfully land Chinese laborers within the United States and it was shown upon the trial that within a period of about six months to which time the evidence was limited, the combination had landed upwards of 500 Chinese laborers in the United States in violation of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Upon this trial the owners of the Merchants' Steamship Company, ex-Special Treasury Agent Mulkey and eleven others were convicted. Owing to local influences the jury disagreed as to the guilt of ex-Collector Lotan and Seid Back a leading Chinese merchant and importer. After consultation at Washington the Government decided to continue the trials until all the conspirators were either convicted or acquitted, and that 148 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Judge Durand should continue in charge of the prosecution and look after its interests. The next trial took place in 1894 and resulted in another disagreement. At this trial it became evident that some of the jurors had been tampered with as it was found that some of the documentary evidence introduced by the Government had been taken to the jury room, torn up and hidden away. In pursuance of the determination of the Government Judge Durand again returned to the Pacific Coast in the spring of 1895 and proceeded to another trial of the accused parties. This trial resulted in the conviction of every leader in the conspiracy. The steamship Haytian Republic was condemned and forfeited to the Government and sold by the United States Marshal. The Wilmington escaped a like fate only by its destruction by fire. Both the forfeiture case against the vessel and the criminal case against the convicted persons were carried to the United States Supreme Court and the judgment of the lower court affirmed in every case. In addition to the proceeds from the sale of the steamship, over thirty thousand dollars in fines was paid into the U. S. Treasury as a result of the convictions. The moral effect of these remarkable trials, resulting as they did in the conviction and punishment of the guilty parties and the confiscation of their steamship, has proved highly beneficial to the public service and put an end to the best organized and most exten- sively operated conspiracy ever formed against the Customs and Immigra- tion laws of the United States. Judge Durand received from the Treasury Department and from the Department of Justice the highest compliments for the manner in which he had conducted these great cases, in which were employed for the accused parties many of the ablest lawyers on the Coast. Judge Durand was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States on August 8, 1875. Almost the whole of his adult life has been devoted without reserve to the practice of law or work as a jurist. His intercourse with members of the Bar has always been courteous and kindly. He has a keen relish for literature and art. His library and works of art afford the means of cultivating and gratifying a literary and artistic All of his social intercourse is marked by genialty which attracts friends and cements friendship. In 1893 he was elected president of the State Bar Association at the annual meeting of that body and held the office one year. He was the first president of the State Board of Law Examiners, having been appointed to that position by Governor Rich on the recommendation of the Judges of the Supreme Court, soon after the passage of the law creating the board, and he is now a mem- ber of that board. He was made a Mason in Genesee Lodge No. 174, at Flint, and was elected Worshipful Master of the Lodge several terms in succession. He always supported the order with enthusiasm. He is a member of Washington Chapter R. A. M., and of Michigan Sovereign Consistory Scottish Rite, and is also a Knight Templar. In 1875 he was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of F. and A. M. of Michigan, and performed the duties of that office during his constitutional term. taste. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 149 He was married in 1858 to Sarah A. Benson, daughter of Rev. Jonathan Benson, of Monroe county, New York. Two children have been born to them, Charles A. Durand, who is also a lawyer by profession, and Eliza- beth A. Durand, who resides at the homestead of her parents. JOHN ATKINSON, Detroit. John Atkinson was born at Warwick, Lambton county, Canada, May 24, 1841. His father was James Atkinson, of Claremorris, and his mother Elizabeth Shinners of Dunas, Ireland. His parents came to America in 1832, and lived in Canada until 1854. He commenced the study of law at Port Huron in 1857. He graduated from the Law Department of the University of Michigan in March, 1862, and was admitted to the Bar on his 21st birthday by the Supreme Court of the State. He became a partner of the Hon. Wm. T. Mitchell, under the firm name of Mitchell & Atkinson. Just two months later he enlisted as a soldier under Lincoln's call for three hundred thousand men. He served from July 25, 1862, until February 26, 1866, as second lieutenant, captain and major of the 22nd Michigan Infantry, and as lieutenant colonel of the 3rd Michigan Infantry. His services were mostly with the Army of the Cumberland, and included the campaigns of General Rose- crans and General Thomas from the fall of 1862 until the close of the war. After Lee surrendered, his regiment was sent to Texas and remained there until it was mustered out. After the war closed he was appointed col- lector of customs at Port Huron by President Johnson. He was not con- firmed by the Senate for political reasons. He practiced law at Port Huron from the spring of 1866 until the fall of 1870 in the firms of Crellin & Atkinson, Atkinson Brothers, and Chadwick & Atkinson. Since that time he has practised law in Detroit in the firms of Trowbridge & Atkin- son, Atkinson & Hawley, Atkinson & Atkinson, Marston & Atkinson, Atkinson, Carpenter, Brooke & Haigh, and Atkinson & Haigh. He was a member of the board of estimate for one term, and as such voted for the purchase of Belle Isle. He is now a member of the public lighting com- mission. With these exceptions he has never held public office. He is a Roman Catholic and a Republican. He was married February 1, 1866, to Lyda Lyons, of San Antonio, Texas. They have had ten children, of whom seven are still living. He is still in the active practice of his pro- fession. His present partners are Henry A. Haigh, and his son O'Brien Atkinson. He is not a specialist, but has a general practice. 150 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. CARLOS E. WARNER, Detroit. Carlos Edgar Warner was born at Orleans, New York, October 5, 1847. He was the third son in a family of seven sons and four daughters born to Ulysses Warner and Eliza A. Jones. His father was a farmer, a justice of the peace for nearly thirty years, a member of the Legislature several terms, a man of substantial integrity and broad usefulness in central and western New York. He lived until January, 1896, and died at the old homestead which had so long been his residence. Carlos was educated in Canandaigua Academy and afterwards spent one year in teaching. He was fortunate in discover- ing early that nature designed him for a lawyer and therefore wasted no time in pursuits for which he had no inclination or special aptitude. Many a young man fails to achieve his highest destiny by allowing himself to drift in the easy current of circumstances instead of choosing a course for himself in harmony with his natural leadings. It is sad for one to dis- cover late in life that he has mistaken his calling and exhausted his ener- gies in a profession which is uncongenial, and worn himself out in the impossible endeavor to succeed. Young Warner was under twenty years of age when he began the study of law in the office of Hon. J. P. Faurot, of Canandaigua. After diligent, wisely directed reading and study for two years he passed a very creditable examination before the Supreme Court of the State, in general term at Rochester, and was admitted to practice in December, 1869. Immediately thereafter he became associ- ated with Mr. Faurot, his preceptor, in a partnership relation which existed somewhat more than two years with entire harmony and satisfac- tory results. In February, 1872, Mr. Warner removed to Michigan and settled in Detroit. Here he entered the office of Moore & Griffin, a law firm of great prominence and high reputation throughout the west. In a short time Messrs Moore & Griffin indicated their appreciation of his abili- ties by admitting him to a partnership. Three years later the firm was dissolved by the withdrawal of Mr. Griffin and reorganized as Moore, Can- field & Warner, the individual members being W. A. Moore, F. H. Can- field and C. E. Warner. As thus constituted the copartnership existed until 1883, when Mr. Warner withdrew and associated himself with Hon. Levi T. Griffin, under the style of Griffin & Warner, in a partnership which continued five years. January 1, 1888, it was enlarged by the admission of Messrs. Hunt and Berry, constituting the firm Griffin, War- ner, Hunt & Berry, which existed until March 1, 1890, when Mr. Berry retired. Subsequently Mr. Hunt was elected assistant prosecuting attor- ney at Detroit and withdrew, leaving the firm Griffin & Warner, as origin- ally formed. January 1, 1896, this partnership was dissolved and the firm of Warner, Codd & Warner was organized, with Mr. Warner as the senior member. For many years the practice of Mr. Warner's firm has been very large and lucrative, equalling both in extent and value that of any firm in Detroit. His practice has not been confined to any single UNIV OF Engby & Ritchie NA 0.7 Spaulding MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 151 division of the law or class of cases. He has at all times conducted a gen- eral practice, taking both law and equity cases indiscriminately in the State and Federal Courts. He has no specialty and therefore is a lawyer in the broad, unlimited sense. He is attorney for the Detroit Chamber of Commerce and has given careful attention to municipal law and the laws affecting private corporations. He has been connected as adviser with some important business enterprises. He was one of the projectors and incorporators of the Sandwich, Windsor and Amherstburg Street Railway, at Windsor, Ont., contributing not only his advice and influence, but also bring- ing to its construction large financial aid. In politics Mr. Warner is a Demo- crat, accepting generally the principles and policies of that party in preference to those advocated by any other. He is by no means a strict, hidebound partisan and does not accept always and without question the platform adopted by his party. Neither does he blindly support the candidates and follow the leaders of the party. In 1880 he was elected a member of the board of education of Detroit on the Democratic ticket, and was re-elected two years later, serving four years in all. He also served as president of the board during his last term. It was during his connection with the board of education that the bitter fight was waged against the high school system. The contest for its abolishment was strong and ably conducted. Mr. Warner heartily favored the high school as a part of the public school He is system and proved a very successful champion and defender of it. a member of Woodward Avenue Baptist Church and several benevolent societies. He also has membership in the Detroit Club and the Detroit Athletic Club. A simple mention of his connection with these associa- tions is sufficient to evidence his social traits and charitable instincts. He was married June 5 1873 to Miss Alice Burr daughter of Mrs. Caleb Van Heusan of Detroit. Four children were born of this union three of whom are living, namely, Kathleen E., Emily C., and Carl E. Jr. John Sill died in 1892. At the present writing Mr. Warner is a member of the Democratic State Central Committee and chairman of the Congressional Committee of his district. He is active and influential in the councils of his party, earnest and aggressive in support of any measures which he favors, and is regarded both a good lawyer and a good citizen. OLIVER LYMAN SPAULDING, St. Johns. Estimated by his prom- inence in the law and the extent and importance of his public services, Gen. O. L. Spaulding is among the first citizens of Michigan at the present time. His father was Lyman Spaulding, a New Hampshire farmer, of English descent. His mother, Susan Manhall, was also of English extrac- tion. The family came West and settled in Medina, Lenawee county, Michigan, where the parents resided until death. The same year in which they settled in Michigan the son, O. L. Spaulding, entered Oberlin College, 152 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. from which he was graduated in 1855. For three years thereafter he was employed as teacher in different high schools and at the same time was pursuing the study of law, which had already been selected as the profes- sion best suited to his taste. After the required examination he was admitted to practice at St. Johns, in 1858. From that time to the pres- ent his legal residence has been in St. Johns. Upon his admission to the Bar he formed a partnership with Mr. Ransom, which remained in force until 1862. The firm of Spaulding & Cranston was organized in 1866, and continued until 1872. The firm of Spaulding & Barker was formed in 1882 and dissolved in 1886. Spaulding & Walbridge were in partnership from 1888 to 1890. The firm of which General Spaulding is now the head has the name and style of Spalding, Norton & Weimer. General Spaulding had just settled down to the practice of law, in 1858, when he was elected Regent of the University of Michigan. He had become well established in the profession and was beginning to reap the success for which the years of preparation had qualified him when the war of the Rebellion opened. Moved by the impulse of patriotism and a high sense of duty he responded to the call for volunteers and offered his services to the country. In July, 1862, he recruited a company which was assigned to the twenty-third regiment, Michigan volunteer infantry, as Company A, and of which he was appointed captain. The regiment was mustered in September, 1862, and mustered out June 28, 1865, at Salsbury, North Carolina. The intervening period was occupied with fighting and march- ing, which extended over a wide range of territory and included some of the severest engagements of the war. Captain Spaulding was with the regiment during the entire time and received successive promotions and commissions as major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, and brevet brigadier general. He was frequently called upon to command a brigade. He par- ticipated in many engagements; was at the siege of the siege of Knoxville, at Resaca, Georgia; at Lost Mountain; at Kenesaw and Atlanta; at the siege of Nashville; at the taking of Fort Anderson, and the closing battles of the war in North Carolina. He was a brave soldier and a discreet com- mander, winning his brevet title of brigadier general for gallant conduct and meritorious services in the field. When the war closed he returned to his home and his practice at St. Johns. The following year (1866) he was elected Secretary of State, and re-elected in 1868. In 1875 he was appointed by President Grant special agent of the treasury and held the position five years, resigning to accept an election to Congress in 1880. He was chosen to represent the Sixth Congressional District and served with distinction on two important committees, namely, military affairs and Indian affairs. In 1883 he was chairman of a commission appointed by the President to investigate alleged violations of the reciprocity treaty on the part of the Hawaian Islands, and visited Honolulu with the commis- sion in the discharge of his official duties. In January, 1885, he was again appointed special agent of the Treasury, but resigned in December BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 153 of the same year. In July, 1890, he was appointed assistant Secretary of the Treasury and held the position throughout the Harrison administra- tion. Concerning this appointment the St. Johns Republican said: “President Harrison appointed Gen. O. L. Spaulding of this village assist- ant Secretary of the Treasury last Thursday. It has been known for some time that the appointment was probable and when the news came it was received by our citizens generally with much satisfaction. Gen. Spaulding has been a citizen of St. Johns for many years and it is entirely within bounds to say that no man possesses the respect and esteem of the com- munity to a greater degree. He has always been an untiring worker and has attained high distinction in his profession; he has been the soul of honor and integrity, and his eminent ability has won for him the high place he now holds." Gen. Spaulding is a good lawyer and a strong advocate before a jury. In presenting his case for the consideration of a jury his method is direct, forceful and practical. He is careful of his words, never wasting them in irrelevant speech or employing more than are necessary to convey his meaning with the utmost clearness and force. The jury comprehend his statements of fact and are impressed by his skill- ful application of the evidence to sustain his contention. He therefore has great power with a jury. In presenting an argument before an appel- late court his style is both felicitous and logical. His conclusions are the inevitable sequence of his premises. If the latter are admitted the former must be accepted as the law of the case. There is no bombast, or fury, or undue vehemence in the manner of his argument. His utterance is rather confined to a line of cogent reasoning applicable to the case sub judice. His practice has been interrupted much by the duties of political office and yet he has won distinction at the Bar. He has given much attention to financial affairs, not only in private life, but in the discharge of important duties involving the financial operations of the Government. His social traits are marked and his spirit of fraternity strong. His prom- inence in the Masonic fraternity is equal to his prominence in the law, or politics, or military life. In 1869 he was elected Grand Master of the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters, of Michigan. In 1872 he was Grand Commander of Knights Templar. In 1877 he was Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Michigan. In 1881 he was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge. For several years he has been chairman of commit- tee of appeals of the Grand Lodge. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Loyal Legion. Since 1866 he has been a member of the Episcopal church. In 1856 Gen. Spaulding was married to Miss Jennie Mead, who died within a few months thereafter. In 1859 he married Miss Minerva Mead, a sister of his first wife, who died in 1861, leaving a son, Frank M., who is a merchant. In 1862 he married Miss M. Cecelia Swegles, daughter of Hon. John Swegles, who was Auditor General of the State from 1851 to 1855. Mrs. Spaulding is a lady of cul- ture and talent as an artist. She is well known through her artistic illus- 154 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. trations of gift books, among which is the popular story of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps-"A Lost Winter." The children of this marriage are Edna C., a graduate of Wellesley College and teacher in an Episcopal school in New York City; O. L. junior, a graduate of the Literary and Law Department of the University of Michigan; John C., who is in the Literary Department of the University; and Thomas M., in the high school of St. Johns. LUKE S. MONTAGUE, late of Howell. Among the members of the legal profession of Michigan none has a more honorable record and none a fairer fame than Hon. Luke S. Montague, late Judge of the Thirty-fifth Judicial Circuit. He was a native of the State and his residence was at no time removed from the county in which he had birth. His father, Alexander S. Montague, settled in the wilds of Unadilla township, Liv- ingston county, in 1836, before the admission of the territory to the Union as a State, cleared and cultivated a farm, and passed the remainder of his life there. His mother, whose maiden name was Sarah F. Chipman, is still a resident of the township, beloved by a large circle of friends who know and appreciate her virtues. Judge Montague was born in Unadilla, November 2, 1847, and died September 29, 1895. His life was but a span, yet it was filled with usefulness and crowned with honor. He was liberally educated, beginning in the district schools, passing through the high school at Ann Arbor, and the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, from which he was graduated in 1869. He was well qualified for teaching and imme- diately engaged in that profession as principal of the union school at Howell. During the short time he was employed in educational work he was successful; but it did not entirely satisfy his aspiration or com- pletely fill the measure of his ambition. He aspired to success in the profession of law and as soon as the resolution to become a lawyer was formed he began to employ the means for its execution. He entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan and was graduated in 1872, upon completion of its course. From that time all of his energies and abilities were devoted to the law, with a singleness of purpose and a desire for the highest excellence. About the time of his admission to the Bar, in May, 1872, he formed a partnership for practice with A. D. Waddell, which continued in force nine years, until the death of Mr. Waddell. The firm of Waddell & Montague was very successful financially and profes- sionally in securing a clientage and in the conduct of legal business. After the death of his partner Mr. Montague held and increased the clientage and continued the practice alone until appointed to the judicial office. His practice called him into other counties of the circuit and into the Supreme Court. His cases in the highest tribunal of the State were numerous and important, and his record in the conduct of cases there has BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 155 scarcely a parallel, and certainly has never been surpassed by that of any other lawyer. Of his last twenty-five cases he won twenty-four. In other words the ratio of his gains to his losses was as 96 to 4. This was not the result of accident or favoritism; but rather because of his carefulness in the preparation and trial of his cases in the Circuit Court and the strength and clearness of his argument in the Supreme Court. His activities and mental resources were concentrated on his profession and outside of it were no temptations. He was elected prosecuting attorney for Livingston county in 1879 and re-elected for a second term by a very large majority. After that the increasing duties of a private practice claimed his attention absolutely, until he was appointed Circuit Judge by Governor Rich, May 10, 1895. The position came to him without self-seeking, but not with- out a due appreciation of the honor implied and a clear apprehension of the duties imposed. A new circuit comprising the counties of Livingston and Shiawassee had been formed by act of the Legislature, and the Howell Bar with perfect unanimity presented his name to the Governor and urged his appointment to the judgeship, as the one most fit to be made. Some of the members of the Shiawassee Bar also joined in the petition, although two candidates from their county were presented for the office. Judge Montague heard the news of his appointment without visible elation, seri- ously weighing the duties and estimating his physical strength to meet them. He expressed his deep and abiding love of the profession and felt some hesitancy in abandoning the practice. "Perhaps it is well," said he, "I'll try it anyhow, and do my best." He was mentally strong, but his health had been somewhat impaired for two years, and that considera- tion had much weight. He entered upon the judicial functions with the confidence and esteem of all the members of the Bar and retired from it, little more than four months later, with their love. No judge ever justified the wisdom of his appointment more completely and none in so short a time ever established himself more firmly in the affections of the lawyers who practised in his court. His natural fitness for the law was manifest from the moment he engaged in its practice; his fitness for the judicial office, clearly foreshadowed by his honorable course at the Bar, was very soon demonstrated after his elevation to the Bench. There was no halting, no evasion of responsibility, and yet he was ever kind and courteous. His decision was marked by firmness; its expression by gentleness. As a man he was dominated by the gentler attributes and these were not with- out influence in enabling him to avoid the asperities that sometimes mar the dignity of the judge. He was always, in every relation of life, the gentleman. He was qualified for the enjoyment of a cultured home and the refinements of the best society. He was married December 15, 1886, to Miss Ella Briggs, a young lady of excellent character and superior culture, capable not only of building a home, but also of appreciating the honors that came to her husband. A daughter, Marjorie, and a son, Alexander, are the surviving children of this marriage. 156 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. AUGUSTUS C. BALDWIN, Pontiac. The name Baldwin has been conspicuous in English and American history for several centuries. Augus- tus Carpenter Baldwin is the seventh generation in lineal descent from Henry Baldwin, of Woburn, Massachusetts, who emigrated from Devon- shire, England, prior to 1650. Jonathan Baldwin, the father of the sub- ject of this biography, was born in Canterbury, Connecticut, and married Mary Carpenter, of Lancaster, N. Y., whose family name is perpetuated in the christening of her son. Augustus was the only son of this mar- riage, although he had two sisters. He was born at Salina, now Syracuse, New York, December 24, 1817. His father died in 1822, but he remem- bers the event distinctly. His memory of his father, living, is very indis- tinct. He remembers also another event which transpired just previous. to the time of his father's death, and which was of great commercial importance, namely, letting the water into the Oswego Canal at Salina for the first time. The family was in limited circumstances and the children had to be separated. Augustus was committed to the care of his uncle, a former partner of his father in the mercantile business, with whom he lived two years. After that he spent eight months with a farmer in Cicero township, near Salina, and then worked for some time on a large farm. Afterwards he lived with an aunt, the wife of Dr. J. W. Daniels, of Salina. He attended school during the winters and studied with unu- sual diligence. In the fall of 1828 he lived with his mother at Lancaster, New York, for a short time. The stirring events of the period for the ten years following 1828 made a deep impression upon his youthful mind. Andrew Jackson became his hero. He shouted for "Old Hickory' in 1828, although only eleven years old, and learned to admire the qualities and the great executive force of that distinguished soldier and President. In the fall of 1836 he went to Canterbury, Connecticut, to visit relatives, and taught his first district school the following winter. He had previ- ously served an apprenticeship of six months in the office of the Buffalo Bulletin, a weekly newspaper, no daily having been established at that time in Buffalo. He appreciated in very early life the importance of acquiring knowledge and labored incessantly to secure a good English education. In 1837 he attended the academy at Plainfield, Connecticut. One of the sources of his power in subsequent life was the debating club of which he was a member before arriving at manhood. It was to him the forum and the platform, as it has been to many a young man; giving him self-confidence, the power to think on his feet, the capacity to answer argument. At the same time it was a stimulus to investigation and study. In 1837 he turned his face westward and settled in Oakland county, Mich- igan; a new field which offered larger opportunities than could be found in New England by the young man without capital. He taught school the first winter, but all the time had in view the law as a profession. He began reading under the tuition of John P. Richardson at Pontiac, in Yours truly Ang ( Baldwin n UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN 157 1839, teaching school in the winter months, studying history and litera- ture, utilizing all of his leisure hours and laying the foundation for profes- sional success. He entered the branch of the University of Michigan at Pontiac and pursued a literary course of study while engaged in reading law in the office of Hon. O. D. Richardson. He was admitted to the Bar of Oakland county May 14, 1842. During the same year he married Miss Isabella Churchill, of Pontiac, with whom he lived happily more than fifty years. He located for practice in Milford, then a thriving vil- lage, remaining there seven years, reading Blackstone regularly once a year. He had the discernment to see that the sure way to success lay in close application, strict economy, temperate habits and persistent energy. He applied the lessons learned from the great lights of the profession and accepted their view that the best place for a young lawyer during business hours, when not in court, is in his office éngaged in study. He was reso- lute and fixed in his purpose to succeed, overcoming all obstacles and shaping his own environment. Before he was thirty years old he had acquired and saved a sufficient sum to make himself comfortable, and risen above obscurity. His law practice grew steadily. In 1849 he removed He to Pontiac, where he has been a well known figure for nearly half a cen- tury. He at once began to make for himself and family an attractive home, which during all the intervening years he has continued to furnish and adorn with books and paintings and statues. While possessing con- siderable artistic taste, his especial delight has always been books. has collected many volumes that are rare and valuable, paying for some of them prices that would seem exorbitant even to the connoisseur-forty dollars, fifty dollars, seventy-five dollars, and even a hundred dollars for a single copy. He had carefully collected all of the reports of the different State Supreme Courts and the reports of the United States Supreme Court, comprising over five thousand volumes, most of which were dis- posed of to the Kansas City Law Library in 1871. Since that time he has transferred a magnificent private library of about seven thousand vol- umes for the use of the Orchard Lake Military Academy, which is known as the Baldwin Library. His office is still supplied with all of the books that seem to be essential to the complete equipment of a lawyer, and he also still retains many of the rare volumes selected with so much care. He has gained much of his inspiration and found most of his recreation in his library. He prefers the companionship of good books to the ordinary society and may be pardoned for preferring the company of such silent friends to that of others more garrulous. The early political sentiments which were instilled by the life and character of Andrew Jackson have always been cherished by him. Although not at any time an office-seeker he has held public office. He is therefore able to speak from experience and is free to advise young men who have taken up the law to devote all of their time, their abilities and energies to professional work, and on no condition to abandon it for public office until they have a competence. He 158 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. was a school inspector in 1840; served in the State Legislature during the sessions of 1844 and 1846; was a brigadier general of the State militia from 1846 to 1862; was prosecuting attorney for two years-1853-4. In this office he was indeed a terror to evil doers, a sort of vigilance commit- tee complete in his own person. He was earnest and able in upholding the law and prosecuting the cases of the State against criminals. In 1862 he was elected a member of the Thirty-eighth Congress, from the Fifth District of Michigan, and during his term of service supported heartily the measures for paying and equipping the soldiers of the Union. He was a war Democrat of the Douglas type. He voted for the Thirteenth Amend- ment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. In 1864 he was re-elected by the home vote, but in a contest with Mr. Trowbridge, his competitor, he was not seated, on the representation that a majority of the soldiers in the field authorized by statute to vote had been sufficient to overcome the home majority. This action of the House of Representatives was in the face of the fact that the Supreme Court of Michigan had already declared unconstitutional the statute authorizing the soldiers out of the State to vote. In 1874 Judge Baldwin was mayor of Pontiac. From 1868 to 1886 he was a member of the board of education, and no school board ever had a more valuable member. His mind was clear as to the functions of a public school and the modes of education; and his influence was strong in securing improvement in the schools. In 1875 he was elected judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Michigan, and upon taking his seat he found an accumulation of nearly one hundred cases on the docket in Lapeer county alone. During four years of the term to which he had been elected he presided with eminent ability, dignity and satisfaction. His adminis- trative ability enabled him to dispatch the business of the court with remarkable celerity. He felt that the salary attached to the office was inadequate to the labor required and therefore tendered his resignation and returned to his private practice. In this he has been successful by reason of the legal mind and the remarkable capacity for application and sustained effort which he possesses. He has performed all civic duties with scrupu- lous care and so ordered his life that it has been of great usefulness to his city. He was instrumental in securing the location of the Eastern Asy- lum for the insane at Pontiac. For many years he has been a member of its board of trustees. He has been president and still is one of the trustees of the Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake. For many years he was president of the Oakland County Agricultural Society, and also president of the County Pioneer Association. Both of these societies have recognized his strong guiding hand in their successful management. He is a member of the National Bar Association. He has the qualities of a politician in the highest sense of that word; he is not a wire puller or manipulator, but a man who understands the science of government thor- oughly. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Conventions at Charleston and Baltimore in 1860, the convention at Chicago in 1864, BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 159 and the National Peace Congress at Philadelphia in 1866. He has sup- ported the Democratic ticket in fourteen presidential campaigns and taken active part in public discussions on the stump in every campaign since 1840. He possesses the characteristics which are always found in a man described as a born leader of men, and he would have been a leader in any age among any people. After the war he opposed the congressional plan of reconstruction, taking the position that the acts of secession by the States were nugatory and did not effect their relations to the Union; that when the insurrection or rebellion had been suppressed the normal rela- tions should be resumed without other conditions than the Constitution imposed. He opposed the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments because he believed the Freedmen were incapable of self-government, owing to their long period of servitude, and that adventurers would con- trol them in such a manner as inevitably would lead to antagonisms and conflicts between themselves and the more intelligent people of the South. It was his belief that the amendment of a Constitution should be the sub- ject of discussion and deliberation, and that no amendment should be has- tily passed, or without due consideration. Judge Baldwin has been a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity since early manhood, passing through the degrees to that of Knight Templar. He is past commander of the com- mandery at Pontiac. He has been prominently identified with every movement inaugurated to promote the moral and material welfare of his city. In his religious views he is inclined to agnosticism. In the ele- mental qualities of his mind and heart perhaps the most conspicuous are industry, continuity, decision of character or moral courage. In business affairs he is methodical, judicious and far seeing. He is an economist, whether regarded from a personal or political standpoint. He makes every moment effective in accomplishing something. His mind is clear in con- ception, logical in the process of reasoning, quick and accurate in forming conclusions. He makes no pretense of brilliancy, but has firm convictions and is prepared to maintain them at any cost of time or labor. He thinks deeply, but employs no superfluous words in defining his position. His style of argument is forcible; fortified well with facts and figures; and he sometimes employs invective with terrific effect. Hypocrisy is hateful to him. He is a very earnest advocate of what he believes to be right; is steadfast in his attachments and regards true friendship very highly. As a young lawyer his intellect was whetted by contact with some of the brightest legal minds of the country, so that he was well prepared for the forensic contests of later life. His fidelity in public office is proverbial. He combines in his character most adequately and admirably the qualities of the lawyer and the law-maker. He combines the character of a jurist with broad statesmanship. Under all circumstances his physical courage is equal to his moral courage, and the two combine to make him a chival- rous representative of a type that is generally called an old school gentle- His daughter, Miss Augusta Baldwin, was educated with the man. 160 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. greatest possible care. She was united in marriage to Dr. E. A. Chris- tian, who is superintendent of the Eastern Michigan Asylum. His pleas- ant home on Clark Street is presided over gracefully by his wife, Mrs. Flora B. Baldwin, whose presence contributes much to its happiness. With that calmness and dignity which belongs to the great mind, Judge Baldwin is approaching the sunset. His four score years have been honor- ably and usefully employed. They have been crowned with the success that ever attends earnest endeavor, guided by a sound judgment and a strong will. ROSS WILKINS, formerly Judge of the United States Court of Michi- gan. Judge Ross Wilkins came down from the eighteenth century and was descended from good revolutionary stock. He was born at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1799, almost a year before the death of Wash- ington. He was educated at Carlisle College, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and was graduated from that institution at the age of eighteen. Boys appeared to reach maturity at an earlier age during that period, so prolific of events which shaped the subsequent history of the country. He studied law in Pittsburg, was admitted to the Bar there, and held the office of prosecut- ing attorney for two years immediately succeeding his arrival at the age of twenty-one. He was married May 13, 1823, to Maria Duncan, and con- tinued his residence in Pittsburg and practiced law there until 1832. In that year he was appointed by President Andrew Jackson one of the Ter- ritorial Judges of Michigan, and located in the territory in pursuance of such appointment. He held the office until the territory was admitted as a State in the Union, in January, 1837. His colleagues on the Bench were among the most distinguished lawyers and best citizens of the Terri- tory and State of Michigan, namely, Solomon Sibley, George Morell and David Irvin. During the year 1837 he held the judicial office of recorder of the city of Detroit, and discharged the duties of that office in addition to those appertaining to the Federal Court. Upon the admission of Michigan into the Union he was appointed United States District Judge for the district then comprising the whole State, and held the office until the State was divided into two districts, when he became the judge for the Eastern District of Michigan. This office he held until his voluntary retirement in 1870, at the age of seventy-one years. For thirty-eight years consecutively he held a judicial office in the territory and State, and during all that period his official record was without a stain and his per- sonal character above reproach. He died May 17, 1872, leaving one son and two daughters, namely, Col. William D. Wilkins, Mrs. Brent and Mrs. George Douglas Tracy. Two of his descendants have been con- nected with the court over which Judge Wilkins presided so long and so honorably. William D. Wilkins, his son, was for many years clerk of the 1 Alphens Felch MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 161 United States Courts, and Charles T. Wilkins, a grandson, served two terms in the office of assistant district attorney of the United States for the Eastern District of Michigan. Exalted as were the judicial offices held by Judge Wilkins, and distinguished as were his services to the coun- try in the discharge of his official duties, his prominence was not due alone to the exercise of judicial functions. He was for many years prom- inent in the political history of the Territory and State. He was a dele- gate to the convention of 1836, whose deliberations resulted in the admis- sion of Michigan into the Union. Few men are permitted to live so long in conspicuous positions charged with affairs so materially affecting the interests and history of a State. The services of Judge Wilkins covered the most critical period which marked the transition of a territory to state- hood, and the passing of the State to a career of boundless prosperity through a season of danger and doubt. Through it all he maintained the demeanor of an impartial judge, while inspired by the interest of a pro- gressive citizen. He was a lawyer of learning, clear-headed in his deci- sions; a man of generous impulses, warm-hearted and true in his friend- ships. He was a jurist rather than a casuist, but all of his decisions had the approval of his conscience. He is worthy to stand in history with the great lawyers and jurists of a State which is rich in the possession of great men. ALPHEUS FELCH, deceased. The impartial and faithful historian of Michigan must always accord a high place to the late Alpheus Felch, who died at his home in Ann Arbor June 13, 1896. He was descended from patriotic and Revolutionary stock. His grandfather was a soldier in the war for the independence of the colonies, and in consideration of such service participated in the soldier's land grant down in the wilderness of Maine. His father was reared there as a farmer's boy, and on reaching man's estate became a merchant at Limerick, York county, Maine. It was there that the subject of this biography was born September 28, 1804. He was the only son in a family of six children. The death of his father when he was an infant of two years, and of his mother one year later, left him an orphan indeed, to be reared by his grandfather, and he never knew the deeper love and tenderer sympathy of a mother. He was carefully educated, beginning in the district schools and preparing for college in Philips Exeter Academy. At nineteen he entered Baldwin College from which he was graduated in 1827. He studied law and was admitted to the Bar at Bangor in the autumn of 1830. His physical organism was delicate and his health was never robust. The rigors of the Maine climate were too severe for him and he sought the milder climate of Mississippi. In 1833 he left his native State intending to form a partnership with the brilliant Sergeant S. Prentiss, at Vicksburg. On arriving at Cincinnati I I 162 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. however, he fell a victim to the scourge of Asiatic cholera, then prevailing as an epidemic. The incident occasioned a change in his plans and fixed his residence in Michigan. He first settled in Monroe, remaining there about ten years, and in 1843 removed to Ann Arbor, which continued to be his home for the remainder of life-more than half a century. His public service began one year after his settlement in the State, as village attorney of Monroe. It was continued as a member of the Legislature in 1835 and 1836; as State bank commissioner in 1838; as Auditor General in 1842; Justice of the Supreme Court in 1843; as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, 1843 to 1847, and president of the Board during the last two years; as Governor of Michigan 1845 to 1847; as Senator of the United States for Michigan, from 1847 to 1853; as Commissioner to adjust and settle Spanish and Mexican Land Claims under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, from 1853 to 1856; as Tappan Professor of Law in the University of Michigan from 1879 to 1883; as President of the State Historical Society of Michigan from 1888 to 1894. This is indeed a noteworthy record, unsurpassed by the service of any citi- zen or official in the life of the State. As a legislator he opposed very earnestly the wild-cat scheme of banking, inaugurated during that period, which proved as he foretold, so disastrous to the State. As bank commis- sioner he was enabled to contribute as much as any man to the closing of the rotten banks and the retrieving of the credit of the State, by placing its finances on a substantial basis. He was methodical and painstaking in the performance of whatever he undertook to do, and there appeared to be no thought of himself in the acceptance of public office or the discharge of official duties. The opportunities of acquiring a fortune while in the service of the State or Nation were unnoticed. Apparently it never occurred to him to make personal use of them. The advantages offered by a residence of three years in California, as president of a commission that adjusted claims aggregating many millions were never improved for himself, but his honest work satisfied all the demands of justice. He was appointed commissioner at the close of the Senatorial term by President Pierce and was elected President of the commission. The work was of vast importance, requiring wise discretion and delicate diplomacy. There was clashing of foreign and domestic interests. Among the questions involved were the validity of titles granted by rulers of Mexico to large tracts of land; the right of the Roman Catholic church to the mis- sions established, under authority of Spain or Mexico; the right of the Pueblos to their lands in common, and in many cases adverse claimants, individual or corporate, of the same lands. The testimony in all cases was heard with the same carefulness as in the court of justice and when completed in March, 1854, filled forty volumes. Governor Felch settled down to the practice of law in Ann Arbor again after the business of that commission was closed and continued in practice for many years. On the ninetieth anniversary of his birth the Bar of Washtenaw county tendered BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 163 him a complimentary banquet which was attended by many distinguished guests as well as members of the association. It is appropriate here to quote a few sentences from his own lips and a few of the many fair words spoken by some of the guests on that occasion, in order to gain a better insight into the character and true nobility of the man. He acknowledged gracefully the honor at the hands of his professional brethren, paid a tribute to the Judiciary and the Bar of Michigan and referred to himself and his age with characteristic modesty: "You have been so kind as to remember, which I of course could not forget, that ninety years of my life have already passed, and I enter to-day the last decade of the century. It is a longer period of life than is allotted to most men long enough for the visionary anticipations of youth and the active, energetic, ambitious and useful years of middle live to have passed. At that age all that the man was to do is done. The little remnant of life is very brief, but I cannot look upon it as devoid of enjoy- ment or that there is any place for regret that others must do the work which it was his ambition to do. Every true man bids God-speed to all workers in the good cause of truth and the prosperity of his fellow man. Old age is usually regarded as a gloomy period of life, when decrepitude has taken the place of physical energy and every source of pleasure is dried up. And this is not a mere modern speculation. A little more than eighteen hundred years ago, just before the beginning of the christian era, Cicero wrote his beautiful treatise on Old Age, in which he enumerated the supposed evils of that period of human life and discourses eloquently upon the many solaces that mitigate its evils and the unnumbered enjoy- ments that wait upon it. If Cicero had lived to the present day he could truthfully have enlarged the list of these solaces and enjoyments. Judge Cooley remembered Alpheus Felch as the first judge he had ever seen upon the Bench, and was "charmed with his presence, with his ease of deport- ment, with his mastery of the English language, never excessively ornate, but always clear, always to the point, always expressing exactly what the occasion called for. His charges to the jury seemed to me perfect. There was not a word too many or too few; not a word the simplest man on the jury could not perfectly comprehend." President Angell referred to the lesson of age: "We have all read essays upon old age and encomiums on old age. This one of Cicero's to which Governor Felch alluded is perhaps the most noble of all. I venture to say that not all the poems and essays which have been written upon the subject carry with them the weight and cheer which the spectacle of such an old age as that which it is our privilege to behold gives every one of us who is a neighbor of Gov- ernor Felch; this cheerful, beautiful, serene old age of his which combines the joy and spirits of boyhood with the wisdom and dignity of advanced years. Judge Samuel T. Douglas said: "Governor Felch endeared himself to the Bar and to the public, during his judicial career, by that suavity and simplicity of manner, or in other words, acted kindness, that good sense, independence and utter conscientiousness for which he has always been distinguished, qualities which are in a great measure the secret of his subsequent long and honorable public career. Col. Ira Grosvenor, of Monroe, said Governor Felch was author of the compromise by which the Upper Peninsula was given to Michigan in exchange for the Maumee strip taken by Ohio, and further spoke in his 164 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. - praise for the faithful discharge of his official duties, his purity and strength of character; his kindness to the poor and unfortunate, his cour- tesy to all, particularly to young men and children. Among other speak- ers at the banquet were the venerable ex-Senator George W. Jones, late of Iowa, the last Territorial Representative of Michigan in Congress and the senatorial colleague of Governor Felch; Governor Jerome, Judge Kinne, who presided, and Hon. J. B. Sawyer. Letters of regret were received from a score of others all teeming with merited eulogium. Governor Felch always rose grandly to the requirements of every occasion and yet never got above the ordinary duties of every day life. He was ever a man of the people, honest, sincere and true. Governor Felch was married in Monroe, September 14, 1837, to Lucretia Williams Lawrence, a daughter of Judge Wolcott Lawrence. Five children survive: Mrs. C. B. Grant, of Lansing; Mrs. E. H. Cole, of Ann Arbor; Theodore A. Felch, a physician of Ishpeming; Frank S. Felch, a banker of Sandusky, Ohio; Mrs. Dr. C. G. Jennings, of Detroit. ALFRED D. RATHBONE, deceased. Alfred Day Rathbone was born at Aurora, New York, January 18, 1806, and died at Grand Rapids, Michi- gan, April 5, 1856. During the fifty years of life he accomplished much for himself and the community in which his manhood was passed. He was the seventh generation in the direct line of descent from the English Puritan, John Rathbone, who landed in America in 1620. The American lineage down to the present time is: First, John, the English emigrant; second, John; third, John; fourth, Joshua; fifth, Joshua; sixth, Amos; seventh, Alfred D., the subject of this sketch; eighth, his son, Alfred D., born 1842; ninth, his grandson, Alfred D., born 1868. He was educated, read law, and was admitted to the Bar in his native State. He came to Grand Rapids in 1836, when it was a mere frontier camp, and Kent county contained less than two thousand people. He was the first regular lawyer to settle in the county. Railroads were unknown, and the highways were scarcely more than Indian trails. But with an abiding faith in the future, based on a clear discernment of existing conditions, and a calculating fore- sight, coupled with indomitable energy and enterprise, he made his home in Grand Rapids, and at once became a power, both as to material prop- erty and society, in building up an important City. From its earliest stages, he was a most valuable contributor to its growth; he built its first stone block; he was an active promoter of its educational interests and a strong supporter of its moral development. The first habitation of his family on the frontier was constructed by driving pointed slabs into the ground, their smooth sides forming its interior walls, and the bare earth its floor. In less than a year he was able to provide something better, and thus he progressed — always working to improve the condition of his family Yours truly A.D.Rathbou The Centery Chemuning Ca Cheran UNIV OF NICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 165 and the town of his choice. The young community in which he had cast his lot, was law-abiding, industrious and honest. There was little business. for a lawyer in the trial of causes, or the collection of debts; but, with his broad mind and knowledge of the law, he found a large field in the organiza- tion of the local government, the establishment of schools and churches, and the laying of solid foundations for the coming city. He was an earnest Democrat, and took an active interest in politics. He served as school inspector during the township era, and after the establishment of the municipal system, acted as a member of the board of education. He was postmaster of Kent-the old name of the village-under President Van Buren. In 1839 he was elected the first regular prosecuting attorney, and served four years. In 1850 he was appointed a member of the committee. to draft a city charter, and in this position his practical views of business affairs and his wide knowledge of the law made him of especial value. In 1854 he was, unwillingly, the nominee of his party for State Senator. In his law practice he associated himself with strong and able lawyers. In 1839, with Hon. George Martin, afterwards Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, later with John Ball, Thomas B. Church and James Miller, succes- sively. He was the ready friend of young men starting in their life work, and helped many a one on the threshold of his profession. The dis- tinguished Solomon L. Withey, late Judge of the United States Court of the Western District of Michigan, was a student in the office of Rath- bone & Martin, where his enthusiasm was inspired to gain that clear insight into the principles of the law, and the accurate knowledge of interpreta- tion, so noteworthy in his subsequent career. Mr. Rathbone was con- scientious in his devotion to the interests of a client whose cause he espoused, and none was encouraged by him to engage in litigation unless justice or equity favored his suit, or until the efforts for redress without litigation failed. He occupied more time with office practice than the trial of cases, and was also engaged largely in real estate transactions. He gave much attention to real estate law, in which he became proficient. The records of the county are replete with evidences of his relation to valuable and important interests, either as principal, or as the trustee of others. The property or business of another entrusted to him received the same pro- tection and fostering care as his own. In all business transactions he was alert, shrewd, exact and methodical; his cases were always carefully studied; he came into court thoroughly prepared for trial, with books and papers properly arranged. Politically, he supported the Democratic party, and earnestly advocated the principles of Democracy in the public press. As a writer he was clear, concise and argumentative. He was a Free and Accepted Mason, and sought to illustrate the principles of the order by generous fraternal greeting and abounding charity. He was a member of the congregation of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and a liberal contributor to its support. The neatness of his attire was always exquisite, and his observance of correct style in dress was punctilious. He always appeared 166 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. in a dress coat of blue cloth, with gilt buttons, a puffed shirt front and high stock. In his home were exemplified the unwritten laws of hospital- ity. Liberal provision was made for the entertainment of guests, and good cheer spiced every feast. His manner was courteous and refined; his conversation animated, vivacious and witty. He was able to infuse spirit and life into any company, whether its members were old or young. He possessed always the buoyant enthusiasm of a young man tempered by mature judgment and the wisdom which comes from large experience in affairs. Mr. Rathbone was a typical gentleman of the old school-a man who believed that honesty in the everyday affairs of life and promptness in meeting obligations are among the cardinal virtues. The integrity of his own character was such that he could not but regard as immoral the disposition to evade an obligation voluntarily assumed. Superlatively exact in his own business methods, he insisted with a degree of strenuousness that there should be no unreasonable delay on the part of others in meeting obliga- tions due him. He was so constituted mentally as to regard the moral duty in relation to a financial transaction more constraining than the lia- bility. His business was, therefore, always conducted upon a high ethical plane. At the same time, he was fond of money, and the accumulation of it afforded him keen enjoyment. He understood the power of wealth and his remarkable financial success at a period when large fortunes were rare in the locality evinced his ability as a financier. His peculiar faculties and capacity for action found their best adaptation in the business of money getting. He organized and planned well. His depth and breadth qualified him for the management of large properties and enterprises. He was interested in some of the most important manufactories and private cor- porations, and was one of the original promoters of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad. His counsel was valuable. He was an exemplar in the spirit, energy and determination manifested in all undertakings. Perhaps no private citizen had so large an acquaintance, and certainly none was more highly esteemed in the region of northern Indiana and western Mich- igan, than Alfred Day Rathbone, forty years ago. JOHN W. CHAMPLIN, Grand Rapids. Judge Champlin is of English extraction, having descended from the family of Champlins that emigated from England and settled in Rhode Island as early as 1638. His father was Jeffrey C. Champlin and his mother, Ellis Champlin, both of whom were of New England origin. He was born in Kingston, Ulster county, New York, February 17, 1831. He lived at home and worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-one years of age, a period in life which meant much more to a boy half a century ago than it does at present. It meant the beginning of independent action and self-reliance, and in most cases a severance of home ties. Judge Champlin's early education Magazine of Western History John WChamplin UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 167 was received in the common schools and academy of Harpersfield, and the academies at Stamford and Rheinbeck. After attaining his majority he pursued a course of civil engineering at Delaware Institute as a preparation for what he then conceived would be his life work. For about two years he engaged in the practical work of civil engineering in New York state. In 1854, he decided the profession of law would be more con- genial and at once set about the business of qualifying himself for entering it. He came to Michigan and took up the study in the office of his elder brother, Stephen G., who had settled there as a practising lawyer during the previous year. His mind was mature and his purpose deliberately formed so that his progress in the study of the text books was rapid as well as thorough. He grasped the principles readily and was easily able to comprehend the learned commentaries. In 1855 he was admitted to the Bar after an examination before Judge George Martin, who was after- wards Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Without delay he entered into the practice at Grand Rapids, which has been continuous and con- stantly expanding for more than forty years, interrupted only by judicial ser- vice. Impressed with a consciousness of the truth that success in a pro- fession depends upon application and industry, he lost no time. In 1856 he prepared a revision of the charter of Grand Rapids, which evidenced his ability and understanding of the law to an extent remarkable for one who had engaged in the practice less than one year. Having arrived at the determination to become a lawyer, he has cherished no ulterior ambition. His loftiest aspiration finds full scope in the profession in the desire to be a thorough lawyer and a good judge. He has never held office that is not intimately related to the law, either in its construction or administration, and far the larger portion of his time has been occupied exclusively with private practice. He served a term as city recorder of Grand Rapids and a term as mayor of the city. In 1883 he was nominated by the Demo- cratic party and elected Justice of the Supreme Court, entering upon his judi- cial functions January 1, 1884. For eight years he was one of the hard- working, painstaking and clear-headed judges of the court. He never shirked a responsibility or slighted a judicial duty. The cases assigned to him for examination received his patient investigation of the points involved in the appeal and the authorities cited in briefs of counsel for appellant and appellee. He listened to oral arguments patiently and courteously, with a conscientious purpose to know all that might be learned of any case as the basis of an opinion which he was to prepare. He was not disposed to lighten his judicial labors by reliance upon his intuitions nor did he seek by a hasty review of the proceedings in the trial court to find some technical error on which the case might be remanded so as to spare himself the more laborious duty of deciding the legal questions. upon their merits. The integrity of his intellect rendered easy the singleness of purpose to arrive at the facts and the law which actuated him in the examination of every case, and the preparation of every opinion. 168 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. His sole aim was to find the exact answer to the question, "what is the law of the case?" and having ascertained the answer to give it terse and per- spicuous expression in his written opinion. It is fortunate for the State that he was called to service as a member of the highest court in the full meridian of a healthful, active life, when his mental vigor was sustained by a robust physical constitution. At the end of his term, Judge Champlin resumed private practice with the added prestige which always attends honorable and praiseworthy service on the appellate bench. He has been just as devoted to the interests of his clients since his retirement as he was devoted to the ends of justice as a member of the highest court. His practice is and always has been general, embracing every variety of cases, and especially cases involving large pecuniary and commercial interests. He has discharged many important trusts, particularly in the settlement of estates. It has been his custom to prepare cases thoroughly before going into court, and then he is ready for any question that may be raised during the trial, or any phase the battle may present. He readily summons all of his resouces for an important legal contest and fights with the zeal of a gladiator until the victory is won or lost. He is generous in victory and magnanimous in defeat. With such abilities and such characteristic qual- ities of mind, it is scarcely necessary to say that his standing at the Bar is high and that he is esteemed with affectionate regard by the members who have the honor of his personal acquaintance and intimate association. He was one of the lecturers in the Law Department of the University of Mich- igan, holding the place until October 1, 1896, when he resigned after a service of five years. In 1887, four years before his retirement from the Supreme Bench, the board of regents conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, a distinction well merited and a courtesy worthily bestowed. Judge Champlin in his intercourse with his fellow men and the performance of his daily duties, personal and professional, personifies the Justinian maxims to "Live honestly, Hurt nobody, Render to every one his just due.” He stands for morality, purity and christianity, and is a member of St. Marks's Episcopal Church. He was married in 1856 to Miss Ellen More, of Polo, Illinois, and has three children. He is a wise counsellor, a keen trial lawyer, a strong and successful advocate. ALLEN CLARK ADSIT, Grand Rapids. Judge Allen C. Adsit was born at Rutland, Jefferson county, New York, February 20, 1837. His father, Stephen Adsit, was of English descent and a native of New York; his mother, Polly Smiley, was of Scotch-Irish descent and a native of New York. His early education was received at the district school near his father's farm, at Fairfield Seminary and Jefferson County Institute at Watertown, New York. He passed through an academic course in school and during the winters of 1857-8-9 was employed at teaching in the district schools. Allen Cx Adail L GI 5 MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 169 The remaining portion of the year was spent in studying law at Watertown. He was admitted to the Bar at a general term of the Supreme Court, held at Syracuse, October 3, 1859, and settled at Adams, in his native state, to engage in practice in 1860. century's history was not an himself in professional life. monitory signs of civil war. Under The eve of the most exciting period of the auspicious time for a young man to establish Already the country was stirred by the pre- The sectional feeling was intense. The dis- ruption of the Democratic party in its National convention at Charleston, which had already been accomplished, was only the prelude to open hostili- ties for the dismemberment of the Union, upon the election of a President on what the South regarded as sectional issues. It was indeed a year freighted with alarming incidents and momentous consequences. such circumstances and conditions a young man who had barely attained his majority might reasonably be pardoned for failing to make a permanent impression upon jurisprudence and a permanent place for himself in the profession within a few months. Mr. Adsit had scarcely time to nail up his shingle and form the acquaintance of half a dozen clients before the.. overt act of rebellion thrilled the country. The first call of the President for volunteers appealed to his patriotism. He laid aside his law books and shouldered a musket. Personal comfort, professional ambition, and self interest could not be weighed against the duty of the hour. Without stopping to consider the hardship, the danger, or the influence upon his own future, he offered his humble services as a private soldier and was mustered into the military forces of the United States as a member of Company G, Forty-fourth New York Infantry. From that time until the civil war closed the duties of a soldier were paramount to the business or the professional engagements of a citizen. He served honorably and faith- fully with the Army of the Potomac, participating in all of the principal engagements of that army, as well as the minor battles and skirmishes. He was at the Siege of Yorktown, in the seven days fighting before Rich- mond, at second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and all of the intervening minor engagements. By successive. promotions on merit he attained the rank of first lieutenant and was mus- tered out as such with the same company in which he entered the service as a private. The five years of war had served to efface the impression which he had made upon the law, and to obscure the impres- sion which the law had made upon himself. On returning home it was difficult for him to find his place and engage in practice. The broken threads which an old practitioner would have gathered up were wanting in his case. He had no time to spin these threads or weave any fabric before entering the service of his country. To return to his profession was to begin de novo. In the early part of 1866 he removed to Michigan, and settled at Spring Lake, Ottawa county, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. Soon afterwards he became interested in politics. For six years he was supervisor of the township. In 1871 he was president of the # 170 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. village. In 1871 and '72 he represented his district in the State Legisla- ture. In the mean time he had renewed his interest in the law and re- sumed practice. In 1874 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Ottawa county and two years later was an unsuccessful candidate for the office of Probate Judge. During all this period he was growing in knowledge of the law and increasing his practice. In 1877 he removed to Grand Rapids for the purpose of devoting all of his time and energies to the profession. He soon established himself and won success at the Bar. In 1886 he was ap- pointed assistant United States attorney for the Western District of Michi- gan and in 1887 was the unsuccessful candidate of his party for Circuit Judge. By appointment of the mayor in 1890 he served a term as mem- ber of the board of public works. Later in the same year he was elected for the residue of the judicial term of Marsden C. Burch, Judge of the Seventeenth Circuit. This election, however, was contested upon legal points, in the Supreme Court, and forms a leading case, which is reported in 84 Mich. 420. This case was conducted and argued in the Supreme Court by him in person. His contention of the law was sustained and he assumed the duties of the office February 5, 1891. His judicial record was approved by re-election in 1893 for the full term of six years. Judge Adsit's individuality is marked. His life has been full of experiences as varied as any man could wish. The trials of a soldier in the field, the life of a successful merchant, the experience of a law maker, the administra- tion of the office of public prosecutor and the judicial duties of a court of record have combined to make a strong man. His mental powers are per- mitted to work through a physical organism that is well nigh perfect and his life is guided by the strictest principles of morality. In the judicial office as in private life, he is always the courteous gentleman, regardful of the rights of others. He has the intuitions of a lawyer; is quick to dis- cover the marrow of a subject and quick to rule on a motion or decide on the admissibility of evidence. When a decision is once reached it is not altered except upon the most convincing proof that it was erroneous. Pride of opinion is not permitted to stand in the way of a change when his judg- ment is convinced of error. His mental discipline is not inferior to the physical discipline incident to military training, so that his judicial opinion is pronounced with precision and terseness. He is not arbitrary, but alto- gether reasonable in his decisions, and their correctness is attested by the approval of the Supreme Court in nearly all cases appealed to that tribunal from his circuit. Two of the most celebrated of these cases are Haines vs. Hayden, 95 Mich. 332, and in re Leonard, 95 Mich. 295. He is honest. patient, sincere, and his record on the Bench commends him to the Bar. He is an active member of Custer Post No. 5, G. A. R., department of Michigan; a member of Grand River Lodge No. 34, F. & A. M., of De. Molai Commandery No. 5, Knights Templar, and of Saladin Temple, Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and enjoys the esteem, as well as the confidence of the community. In religion he is of the liberal t OF The Century Publishing Engraving Chu dom seden C WICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 171 faith. He attends and aids liberally in the support of the society of All Soul's Church. He was married in 1871, at Spring Lake, to Mary Hub- bell, who died the following year. February 24, 1886, he was married to Sarah Kilpatrick, of Grand Rapids. A prominent member of the Grand Rapids Bar contributes the following: "It is said that in this land of liberty, where the greatest latitude is allowed for the exercise of individual endeavor, every one is the architect of his own future—and with great truth it may be said that everyone is the architect of his own character. Character is the edifice in which dwells the moral entity called self. It is made up of individual traits and is modeled and fashioned by the will of its possessor. As whatever of prominence as a citizen, as a soldier, as a legislator, as a jurist, Judge Adsit has attained was from the individual exertion and application of his own efforts, so by his integrity, his ability, his industry he has established a character in the community where he is known which adds lustre to his renown and com- mands the respect of everyone. He is genial in his disposition and social in his tastes. His greatest pleasure is derived from his home surroundings. His impartiality on the Bench has merited the confidence of the Bar and the respect of litigants. Not hasty to reach conclusions, he gives due con- sideration to all arguments advanced and arrives at results by the aid of strong common sense, of which he possesses a full measure. In the ad- ministration of justice he is firm, but not arrogant; decisive without being opinionated, and conscientious in the discharge of every duty. His re- nomination and re-election at the close of his first term voices the confidence of the people in his integrity and judicial ability. Such endorsement is the most flattering meed of praise a judge can be the recipient of. A high, a happy and ennobling future opens up before him, inviting him to a career of usefulness and honor, which his friends sincerely wish he may long live to enjoy." WILLIAM ALDEN SMITH, Grand Rapids. Hon. William Alden Smith was born in Dowagiac, Cass County, Michigan, May 12, 1859. His scholastic education was limited to his attendance at the village school of that place prior to the age of twelve, and to attendance at the public schools of Grand Rapids for a few years after the removal of his family to Grand Rapids. The financial circumstances of his father and his own independence of character prompted him to rely upon himself early. His ability, hope- fulness and enterprise were displayed in different lines of trade. He was a vender of newspapers and popcorn, and subsequently became a messenger of the Western Union Telegraph Company. In this position he moved with a celerity that prophesied success later in life in any field which might com- mand his services. During a session of the Legislature he performed the duties of page in the house of representatives by appointment of Gov. John T. Rich, who was then speaker. In all of his varied experiences he was moved by one high aspiration, and cherished one worthy ambition above all others, keeping in view one object as the pole-star of his youth. He was ambitious to become a lawyer. His purpose to gratify this ambi- 172 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. tion was formed early, and to that end he worked and studied. There was no vacillation or wavering. When his resolution caused him to face toward the profession of law he began and continued to appropriate and employ all the means to get there. He cultivated strict principles and fostered a high spirit. His enthusiasm was blended with unusual self-control, and he worked on patiently, hopefully, until his preliminary studies were com- pleted and his triumph was recorded in the certificate admitting him to the Bar of Kent county as a competent attorney. He began the practice in 1882 and soon became established, making for himself a position among members of a Bar long noted for ability. If he may be said to have a specialty in the practice it is railroad law; as he is the general attorney of the Chicago and West Michigan, the Detroit, Lansing and Northern and the Saginaw Valley and St. Louis railroads. For the past seven years his duties in connection with these companies have occupied much of his time, and yet he has been able to take care of a general practice in connection with his associates, M. J. Smiley and Frederick W. Stevens. The firm is Smiley, Smith & Stevens. As a lawyer Mr. Smith is diligent and inde- fatigable, and his loyalty to a client is unquestioned. He is shrewd to discover an advantage and quick to avail himself of it. He is a close student of books and favored with a retentive memory, which serves him admirably on all occasions. He enters upon a case thoroughly prepared. Not content with a general understanding of the controversy and its salient features, he seeks to familiarize himself with every interest and principle involved; to gain all possible knowledge of the points of his own side and that of his adversary. This thoroughness of preparation and carefulness in the management of cases have enabled him to build up a profitable general practice in the courts, which is constantly growing. Politically he is a Republican, active and earnest in support of the party principles and policy. For six years he has served as a member of the State Central Committee. In 1894 he was the nominee of his party as candidate for Congress and was elected by a majority unprecedented in the district, defeating his competitor, Gen. L. G. Rutherford, by a plurality of 9,767. Renominated in 1896, he was re-elected by a majority of five thousand. Both contests were vigorous and active in which great public interest cen- tered. Mr. Smith visited every portion of the district during the cam- paigns, and spoke to meetings by day and by night. He possesses rare qualities as a campaigner and successful politician, being gifted with great natural eloquence and power in debate. Not the least of his accomplish- ments is his ability to remember the names of men whom he meets. This faculty, or gift, in him is remarkable, and is one of the most valuable. instrumentalities for extending and perpetuating his great popularity. His personal acquaintance is probably larger than that of any other man in the State, and his ability to call by name the men whom he has met but a single time has been successfully tested upon many public occasions. Besides, his information on political topics is full and his ability to present • BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 173 His arguments He is indeed a the issues from the stump has been satisfactorily proved. command attention, no less than his personal magnetism. very entertaining public speaker, having frequently been invited to speak before the leading political organizations of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland and other points. He is a delightful companion, exhibiting the rare pow- ers of a charming conversationalist. He accepted the honor of an election to Congress at some sacrifice of personal interest; but the success attending his first term was very unusual and complimentary. He was appointed by Speaker Reed a member of the committee upon foreign affairs, and his championship of the cause of the Cuban patriots attracted national attention. The country may safely trust in a legislative office the young man who has made his own position in the community and established himself in a most honorable profession, by the worth of his character and his own energies. Appreciating the difficulties which must be encountered, and the trials which are endured, by a boy who becomes self-dependent through his own exertions, Mr. Smith is disposed to lend assistance to all worthy young men who are struggling to make their way and ask his advice or aid. His own varied experience has qualified him to be a counsellor of youth. The same spirit of enterprise which actuated him in early boyhood is now exhibited in the advocacy of public enterprises, useful to the city or State. He is resourceful, earnest and energetic. He is a member of the congre- gation of the Universalist Church. He was married October 21, 1885, to Miss Nana Osterhout, of Grand Rapids, and one son blesses their union. His father, mother, two sisters and a brother all live near his own home at Grand Rapids, and they are the daily objects of his solicitude and attention. He is deeply attached to his parents and family, and they take their greatest delight in contemplating his progress and advancement in life. JOHN W. STONE, Marquette, is Judge of the Twenty-fifth Judicial Circuit. The annals of the country show many instances where men have succeeded in amassing wealth, who possessed no strong characteristics except it be an instinct to hold fast to all they have. In the world of commerce or field of speculation, it is possible to get rich by accident, but lasting honors and permanent success never come to the professional man by accident. Merit alone is the keystone to success in these callings. In politics men sometimes, by intrigue and stealth, succeed in getting a certain degree of notoriety, but it is an evanescent fame. The subject of our sketch began at the bottom. There was nothing sudden or meteoric about his rise; it came by the slow growth of public appreciation of a strong man. He was born in Medina county, Ohio, July 18, 1838. He received an academic education at his home in the Western Reserve and in 1856 came to Michigan. In the fall of the same year his father and other members of the family came to Michigan and located on a farm in 174 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Dorr township, Allegan county. In the summer John helped his father at clearing the farm and in the winter taught school. This continued until 1859, when he commenced reading law with Silas Stafford, an attorney of high standing in Allegan county, remaining with him until 1860, when he was elected to the office of county clerk on the same ticket with Abraham Lincoln. He gave such satisfaction to his constituents that he was re- elected in 1862. In January of that year he was admitted to the Bar and at the close of his second term as county clerk, in 1864, was elected prosecuting attorney of Allegan county, being twice re-elected to the position and serving the county in that capacity for six years. When he first began active practice he entered into partnership with Judge Dan. J. Arnold. During these years of public practice he had demonstrated that he could be relied upon both for ability and integrity and he was called by the people to a higher grade of official service. In the spring of 1873 he was elected Judge of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, composed of the counties of Allegan and Ottawa. He resigned the judgeship the next year to accept a place in the firm of Norris and Blair, Grand Rapids, which was changed to Norris, Blair & Stone. During the life of this partnership the firm was said to be one of the strongest in western Michi- gan. In the fall of 1875 Mr. Norris retired from the firm and Willard Kingsley became a member, under the style of Blair, Stone & Kingsley, In 1876 he was elected to represent the Grand Rapids district, composed of the counties of Allegan, Kent, Ottawa, Ionia and Muskegon, in the Forty-fifth Congress and re-elected in 1878. While in Congress in 1878, having retired from the firm of Blair, Stone & Kingsley on account of his absence from the city, he formed a copartnership with Edward Taggart and N. A. Earle under the firm name of Taggart, Stone & Earle which partnership continued until 1882. Two years after coming out of Con- gress he was, in 1882, appointed by President Arthur, United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan. He discharged the duties of this office for four years, retaining in the mean time his business in Grand Rapids, in connection with W. W. Hyde, under the firm name of Stone & Hyde. In the performance of his duties as district attorney he was called frequently to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which formed a part of his district, and during these business visits he became thoroughly acquainted with the vast resources of that section of the State. So impressed was he with its possibilities, and the promise of development in the future, that he determined to locate and establish his home in the Upper Peninsula. In May, 1887, he removed to Houghton and entered into partnership with A. R. Gray, under the firm name of Stone & Gray. The junior member had a fine local reputation aud as Judge Stone's reputation as a lawyer was state-wide, it is not surprising that the new firm immediately came into prominence and a large practice. In the spring of 1889, Judge Grant, of the Twenty-fifth Judicial Circuit, was elected to the Bench of the Supreme Court, which left a vacancy on the OF Дам H. Ball UNIV BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 175 Circuit Bench of that circuit. The property interests of the circuit are immense and as many of the property owners are non-residents scattered over the entire country, many intricate questions come before the court for adjudication, and a successor was wanted who could entirely meet the requirements. In casting about over the Upper Peninsula, Judge Stone seemed to measure up to the desired standard. He was a resident of another circuit, but at the earnest solicitation of the Bar, and men engaged in commerce and manufacturing, in the different counties of the circuit he consented to be a candidate, and in 1890 was elected to fill the vacancy. He removed to Marquette in 1891. His course on the Bench completely satisfied the popular expectation and justified the extraordinary action requisite to his eligibility. When the Republican and Democratic conventions, composed of delegates from the several counties, assembled in Escanaba, in the spring of 1893, Judge Stone was re-nominated by acclamation and re-elected unanimously. He was married in 1861 to Delia M., daughter of A. P. Grover, Sheriff of Allegan county. They have five children, two sons and three daughters. One son is engaged in the practice of law at Grand Rapids, in partnership with ex-judge John W. Champlin, under the firm name of Champlin & Stone. In politics Judge Stone is a Republican and has always proved himself a strong defender of the principles of his party, though he is too broad-minded to allow partisan prejudice to influence his judgment in any degree. In every official station to which he has been called by the popular suffrage, he has filled in the fullest measure the confidence reposed in him. As a county officer he was active and faithful in the discharge of his duties; as a Congressman he was alert, discreet and capable, a judicious representa- tive of the people, an honor to his State; as a judge he is quick in discern- ment of controverted questions, clear in the expression of opinion, impartial in judgment; so that his decisions are rarely reversed or over- ruled. In private business affairs he has gained the confidence of all. His honor and integrity are unquestioned. Though the Judge has a strong predilection for business, he is no mean amateur sportsman. He handles his rod and gun with almost as much familiarity as he does the revised statutes of Michigan. His fondness for fishing may have influenced his location at the anglers' paradise. DAN H. BALL, Marquette. Mr. Ball, one of the most prominent mem- bers of the Bar in the Northern Peninsula, escaped nativity in Michigan by the narrow margin of four months. He was born at Sempronius, Cayuga county, New York, January 15, 1836, and was brought to Michi- gan by his parents four months later. His father, James Ball, was of English descent, a native of Vermont and a farmer by occupation, who settled on a farm in Webster township, Washtenaw county, where he died 176. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. in 1852. His mother was Lucy Chandler, a native of New York. The family was in very moderate financial circumstances, and all of its members contributed to the general support by their work. Dan H. was disciplined in boyhood by the hard work incident to farming in a new country and by attendance at the country schools during the winter of each year. The time thus passed until he reached the age of sixteen, the year of his father's death. He then attended the Wesleyan Seminary at Albion for one year, by which he was qualified to teach in the district schools. At the age of seventeen he began teaching, and for the next two years he had charge of district schools in the winter and engaged in farming the remainder of the year. While his poverty was not oppressive, his resources were limited to the earnings of his own hands and brain. He attended the University of Michigan and prosecuted studies in the Literary Department for a single year. He would have been delighted to pursue the course to the end and receive a degree, but was admonished by the limitations of his exchequer to engage in remunerative pursuits without further delay. In 1858 he went to Iowa for the summer, but in the fall of the same year came back as far as Illinois and engaged himself as a teacher in Kankakee county. After remaining there less than two years, he entered the Law School of the Uni- versity of Michigan and pursued the studies of the course for one year. He had previously taken up the study of law and made considerable progress while teaching; so that he was well qualified for admission to the Bar in 1861, when his admission took place after due examination. About that time circumstances called him to Marquette to look after the estate of a brother who died in the spring of that year while engaged in business there. Having completed the matter which called him to Marquette, and disposed of the business of his deceased brother, he decided to remain and engage in business on his own account. An opening was presented in journalism, which he accepted by purchasing the Lake Superior News (now the Mining Journal). This was consolidated with the Lake Superior Journal, and in partnership with Alexander Campbell, he conducted the paper for two years. From 1862 to '65 he held the office of register of the United States land office at Marquette. Four years had now elapsed since his admission to the Bar, and the time had been entirely employed with private business and official duties, so that he was only nominally a lawyer. In the mean- time, however, he had formed the most important partnership of his life by marriage to Miss Emma E. Everett, of Marquette. He opened his law office for general practice, and remained in Marquette until September, 1866, when he removed to Houghton and formed a partnership with James B. Ross, a prominent lawyer with an established business and practice large enough to divide. This partnership was maintained two years, when Mr. Ball became associated with J. H. Chandler. In September, 1870, he returned to Marquette for a residence and formed a partnership there with M. H. Maynard, under the style of Maynard & Ball, while at the same time he continued his relations with Mr. Chandler at Houghton. After BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 177 dissolution of his partnership with Maynard, in 1873, it became necessary to give his undivided attention to the large and growing practice at Mar- quette, and the relations with Mr. Chandler were discontinued. In 1874 he united with C. P. Black, and soon afterwards Ernest Dale Owen was admitted to the firm, whose name and style became Ball, Black & Owen. This partnership was dissolved in 1881, and two years later Mr. Ball became associated with I. D. Hanscom in a partnership which was maintained for ten years. By that time his son, James E. Ball, had completed his literary education in the University of Michigan and also graduated from the Department of Law and been admitted to the Bar. It was therefore entirely fitting that he should be admitted to a partnership with his father. The firm of Ball & Ball, as then constituted, has continued in practice and acquired a large business. Their clientage extends all over the Northern Peninsula of Michigan, and their cases take them in all the courts. In the number and variety of cases and the value of the business, no other law firm surpasses it. They have numerous cases in the State Supreme Court and several in the Supreme Court of the United States. The district and circuit courts of the United States in Michigan also bear evidence of their attendance as counsel. The official reports of the appellate courts of Michigan for the last twenty-five years contain abundant testimony of Mr. D. H. Ball's connection with important cases. Ever since he entered upon the practice in Marquette the law has been first in his affection. He has not held political office at any time, though he manifests becoming interest in political affairs and is a Republican. In early life he was for a term prosecuting attorney, and he has been a member of the board of education and a city alderman. He was nominated for the State Senate in 1870, but the majority was against him. In 1895 he was the unanimous choice of the convention for Circuit Judge, but declined the nomination. He was also the unanimous choice of the Republicans of the Upper Peninsula as candidate for Judge of the Supreme Court, in the spring of 1895, but the nomination was given to the Lower Peninsula. He is very largely a com- mercial and corporation lawyer; is the attorney for the Michigan Land and Iron Company, Limited, and Keenewaw Association, Limited. He is an Episcopalian, and has for many years been a vestryman and warden of the church. The domestic partnership entered into in 1863 resulted in the rearing of a most estimable family of two sons and three daughters. The eldest son, hereinbefore mentioned, is his partner; Emily M. is the wife of Clarence M. Smith, a lawyer, of New York; Mabel E. is the wife of Wal- ter B. Hill, a lawyer, of East Liverpool, Ohio; George E. is a student in the Law School of the University of Michigan. Helen Grace is a senior in Wellesley College. Mr. Ball has been the instrumentality of contributing more to the membership of the profession, by his own eminent success at the Bar, by the education of his sons in the law and the marriage of his daughters to lawyers than any other member of the profession in the State of Michigan. Mr. Ball is naturally and under all circumstances a gentle- 12 178 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. man. He has risen to prominence by means of his own ability and appli- cation. His education was rather desultory and fragmentary; but it was obtained by his own exertions and made practical by teaching. He had the faculty of acquiring, remembering and applying information; so that whatever he undertook to learn was understood thoroughly before the investigation was abandoned. Mr. Ball wisely settled in the Northern Peninsula when its resources were largely a matter of faith. He has wisely remained to reap the harvest scarcely dreamed of forty years ago. The circumstances surrounding him and the conditions encountered have been contributory to his growth as a lawyer. The wonderful development under his own observation and in some degree through his influence has largely increased his capacity as a man of business, and his breadth and depth as a lawyer. JOHN PATTON, Jr., Grand Rapids. Hon. John Patton, Jr., was born at Curwinsville, Pennsylvania, October 30, 1850. He comes of excellent stock, justly famed for sterling qualities and distinguished patriotism. From the Col. John Patton of the revolutionary period down to Gen. John Patton of the present time (father of the subject of this sketch) they have. been men of more than ordinary ability and prominence, the last named having twice been a member of Congress and one of the most influential and respected citizens of Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, where he still resides. John Patton, Jr., prepared for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts and was graduated with the class of 1875 at Yale. After completing the regular course at the Columbia Law School he took a short trip to Europe and then went to Grand Rapids and spent a year in the law office of Hughes, O'Brien & Smiley, who had an extensive practice in Western Michigan. In 1879 he opened an office in Grand Rapids on his own account and has since continued to practice his profession. He was one of the founders and is first vice president of the Peoples Savings Bank of Grand Rapids, a popular and prosperous institution. He has a rare fac- ulty for making and maintaining strong friendships. He remembers and cherishes the friends of his boyhood and college days and by his warm- hearted interest and genial manner has made numberless new ones in his western home. A rich fund of humor, good natured raillery and repartee and ready command of language, a great store of historical information and pleasing voice, presence and delivery, have combined to make him a superb after dinner speaker. Without personal vanity or undue ambition his most absorbing interest has been in the broad fields of politics which is properly called statesmanship. He has been a thorough student of the history of his country and of those public men who have shaped its course and moulded its institutions. He has carefully studied the most impor- tant congressional debates and is unstinted in his admiration for the able Konseke Pope -> The Cattury Tubhshing & Hograving On Chicago. MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 179 and patriotic founders and preservers of our government. Too young to take part in the civil war he is thoroughly familiar with all of its phases from beginning to end, both on the battle field and in the halls of Con- gress. He is by inheritence a Republican. Profound study and reflection have confirmed him in the Republican faith. In 1884 he was a member of the Republican State Central Committee of Michigan and served for two years with marked executive ability as president of the Michigan League of Republican Clubs. He has many acquaintances among the public men. of the present time and especially the leaders of his own party who recog- nize in him a young man of sound judgment and rare political foresight. His ability as a campaign organizer and speaker has made him prominent although he has constantly declined to be a candidate for office. On May 5, 1894, he was appointed one of the U. S. Senators from the state of Michigan to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Stockbridge, and held the position until the meeting of the Michigan Legislature in Janu- ary of the following year, when his successor was elected. His appointment was generally recognized as highly creditable to the good sense of the Governor who made it and as a just recognition not only of Mr. Patton's services to the party but of his extraordinary fitness for performing the duties of the position with credit to himself and the state he represented. The limits of this article forbid a detailed description of his senatorial career. With becoming modesty he took an active part in the delibera- tions and discussions of that body and impressed his colleagues as well as his constituents with the soundness of his judgment, the correctness of his information, his high standard of public and private honor, his thorongh knowledge of the manufacturing and commercial interests of the country and his ability to make an eloquent, logical and effective presentation of his views. He is in the prime of life, is blessed with robust health and an unblemished reputation, rare social qualities, great personal popularity and a magnificent equipmant for public life, and it is the hope and expec- tation of his friends that a career of public usefulness is still before him. HORACE H. POPE, Allegan. Mr. Pope was born at Hamilton, Madi- son county, New York, January 15th, 1838. His father, Jedediah Pope was a native of the same town. His mother, Sophia Gardiner, was a native of Vermont, of New England parentage. His lineage is traced directly to the Pilgrim Fathers. His first American ancestor of the name was Thomas Pope, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, whose name appears in the historical records of Plymouth colony as early as 1632. Members of the family were distinguished for courage, patriotism and integrity of char- acter from that early period through the generations down to the present time. They took up arms in the Revolutionary struggle for independence, and have been conspicuous for military service in all of the wars for the I So BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. defense or preservation of the nation since it was formed. Horace H. Pope's great-grand-father, Gresham Pope, born August 22, 1743, served as captain in the American army, under Arnold and Gates, during the Revo- lution. After the war he resided at Burlington, New York, until his death. His son, Arnold Pope, grandfather of our subject, was born March 5, 1777, and served in the war of 1812 as sergeant major. His residence during life was Hamilton, Madison county, New York. Horace H. came to Allegan county, Michigan, at the age of sixteen with his parents, who settled in the wilderness, cleared and cultivated a farm, which is now the County Farm. He worked in the clearing and in the fields, planting and reaping and doing whatever was necessary in the life of a farmer. His primary education had been received in the state of New York where he had studied more advanced branches in the select school at Earlville in the same state. He was a student of Pine Grove Seminary at Allegan when it first opened. By application and industry he secured a liberal academic education before entering upon his professional study, and the preliminary education was rendered more practical by teaching, in which he engaged three years, from 1856 to 1859. In 1860 he entered the Law School of the University of Michigan and the following year entered the office of Gilbert Moyers, at Allegan. Soon afterwards both his preceptor and himself decided to enlist in the volunteer army and together they recruited a com- pany, which was mustered as Company A, Third Michigan Cavalry. In August, 1861, the regiment rendezvoused at Grand Rapids and soon after- wards went to the front with Mr. Pope as second lieutenant. For meritor- ious service on the field of battle at Pittsburg Landing he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and placed in command of Company I, of the same regiment. During the second battle of Corinth, October 3 and 4, 1862, while serving on the staff of General Rosecrans, his horse was shot under him and he was taken prisoner. On his being returned to his regi- ment he was promoted to the captaincy of Company I for gallant conduct on this battle field. The impairment of his health in rebel prisons, where he was confined for some time after being taken prisoner, unfitted him for field service; so that much of the time after his exchange until the close of the war he was on duty as judge advocate of court martial and military commission. In this capacity he prosecuted military and civil offenders on behalf of the United States. As Judge Advocate he really began the practice of law and the experience was not without its value later on in the conduct of criminal as well as civil cases. For a short time after returning from the army he was employed in managing a farm which he In had purchased during the war, but it was only for a part of one year. the autumn of 1865 he re-entered the Law School of the University of Michigan and was graduated with the class of 1866. About the same time he was admitted to the Bar at Ann Arbor and immediately thereafter set- tled in Allegan, where he has remained continuously. The character of his law practice has been general, extending into all the courts of record, BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 181 State and Federal. Among the important cases in which he was success- ful in the higher courts are the following: Vosburgh vs. Lay, 45 Mich., 455; Isaac J. Bear Et al. vs. Aaron Heasley Et al, 98 Mich., 279. Dur- ing more than half the period of his professional practice Mr. Pope has been associated in partnership with other lawyers. He was with James. Stuck four years and with Judge H. Hart twelve years, until the latter was elected to the Circuit Bench. Since that time he has been alone. Although the law has been his chief vocation and he has constantly taken care of a large practice, he has found time to engage in business enter- prises of various kinds and been successful in all of them. The financial instinct is keen in him and he has been guided by it to investments that have proved profitable. He is universally regarded as one of the soundest financiers and most substantial men in Allegan county. He is at this time a stockholder and director of the Waverly Stone Company and the Chi- cago and Holland Transportation Company. He is also a stockholder in numerous other private corporations. He was one of the founders of Wequetonsing, the famous summer resort association, and was its secretary and treasurer for twelve years. This place was the summer home of his family for fifteen years. He is the owner of three farms and necessarily pays some attention to agriculture. He is enterprising as a promoter or supporter of all legitimate efforts put forth to improve the local conditions, physical, moral and intellectual. He has never held political office except that of president of the Village of Allegan, which he accepted in the spring of 1896 at the earnest solicitation of a majority of his fellow-citi- zens. He has always preferred the practice of law and private life to the hurly-burly of politics and contests for public office. He has political convictions, which are best represented in the principles and policies of the Republican party. For six years he was a director of the public schools of Allegan and last fall was re-elected and is now the moderator of the board of education. He is a progressive man in action and aspira- tion-always found among the leaders in matters appertaining to educa- tion or social advancement. No other evidence of his foresight and sagacity is required than that of his personal success. He has been the architect and builder of his own fortune-acting upon his own motion without assistance from others. He has been equally successful in his pro- fession and in business. His character and deportment command the respect of the community. Mr. Pope was married first October 15, 1862, to Miss Harriet Crosby, of Richland, Kalamazoo county. She was a lady of more than average intelligence and culture, taking a lively interest in higher education and temperance. She was a prominent member of the Independent Order of Good Templars and attended three international conventions of the order as one of the two delegates representing the State of Michigan. Two children were born of this marriage, namely, Florence H., who was graduated from the University of Michigan with the class of '93, and is now the wife of Irving M. Wolverton, chief engineer of the 182 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. • Columbus Bridge Company of Columbus, Ohio; and Carlotta E., a graduate of the University of Michigan, class of '95. His first wife died July 25th, 1889. He was subsequently married to Miss Lola LaForce, daughter of Joseph R. LaForce, his present wife. LOUIS S. LOVELL, deceased. Judge Louis S. Lovell was born in Grafton, Windham county, Vermont, November 15, 1816, and died in Ionia, Michigan, March 30, 1894. The years of his life were crowded with labor and crowned with honor. His origin was humble but respect- able. His father, Don Lovell, began life as a carder and cloth dresser, but was able by industry and frugality to advance himself to the dignity of a manufacturer. His mother was Mary Shafter, a woman whose strength of character was equaled by its refinement. Both parents were natives of Vermont and his father spent his entire life there. In 1817 the family removed to Springfield, in that State, where the father died in 1839. The eldest son, George G., had come west ten years prior to that time and located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The subject of this memoir was one of a family of six children. In early boyhood he attended the district school and assisted his father in the factory. He was fitted for college in the academies at Chester and Bellows Falls. At the age of twenty he was graduated from Middlebury College, Vermont, and immedi- ately afterwards went south, where he engaged in teaching for two years. The natural bent of his mind was toward the law and he entered upon a course of reading upon his return from the south, first in the office of Judge Closson, of Springfield, and afterwards with Judge Wheeler, of New York. He was about ready to begin the practice when his father died, and the duty of settling the estate devolved upon him. In 1841 his mother, with the remaining children, came west and located in Ionia, Michigan, and during the same year he also settled there. He was admit- ted to the Bar and ready for practice. He had no fortune but his character and education. Clients were few and poor. His early experiences in the practice were scarcely more than a struggle for bread. The first fee which he earned was paid by his client in a hive of bees, and the product of this industrious colony doubtless sweetened his later toil. His experience for the first few years, bad and discouraging as it was, has been repeated many times in the experiences of capable men who seek to establish themselves and gain a livelihood from a profession on the frontier. The strong con- stitution which he inherited, the correct habits which he had formed, the principles by which his life was ordered, his aspirations and perseverence,– enabled him to hold on and move steadily forward. His equipment was ample and thorough. He attended to such business as came to him with promptness and fidelity. In the fullness of time other clients came with more money, until he was blessed with the largest measure of success, Engby ECWilhams & BroNY. Vergtudlyſte mily Lonnie Livell UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 183 He which always comes to the man who "learns to labor and to wait.” was faithful in sowing and ready to gather in the harvest when it matured. In 1849 he was appointed register of the U. S. Land Office at Ionia, by President Taylor. In 1856-7 he served as probate judge. In 1857 he was elected Judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit; was re-elected in 1863, 1869 and 1875. His judicial service, extending over a period of twenty- four years, was alike able and honorable. It was characterized by wisdom, prudence and sound judgment; by painstaking research to ascertain the intent and meaning of the law and a conscientious endeavor to render equal and exact justice to all who sought to have their rights determined in a controversy brought before him. The undoubted rectitude of his purpose, the dignity of his character, and the impartiality of his mind, as exhibited in his decisions, challenged the respect of the Bar and won the admiration of the public. Having assumed the obligations, he proceeded to master the details of his judicial duty and the principles involved in every contention. He entertained exalted views of the judicial functions. and no jurist of the State ever preserved the ermine more spotless. On retiring from the bench in 1881 he was elected vice president of the First National Bank of Ionia. From that time until his death his banking and lumber interests and the business of loaning money practically absorbed his time. He gave no attention to the practice of law, aside from the care of his own private business. He was always alert to the demands of good citizenship and earnestly devoted to the promotion of municipal interests, the welfare of the commonwealth and the honor of the Nation. Politically he was a Whig and a Republican. It was his pleasure to vote for the two Harrisons who were elected President of the United States - General William Henry, in 1840, and his grandson, Benjamin, forty-eight years later. July 14, 1842, he was married at Hoosack Falls, New York, to Miss Mary Thayer, a native of Vermont, a woman possessed of the virtues and qualities which adorn and ennoble her sex. She was charitable and gentle, endowed in a high degree with the social traits which made her a valuable member of society and the Presbyterian Church, in which the Judge and his family had membership. Four children were born of this marriage, three of whom are living: Homer T., of Chicago, Henry H., of Grand Rapids, and Mary S., who occupies the family homestead in Ionia. The following tribute is from the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Ionia: When one of the leading men of the city dies we are all forced to a consideration of our mortality. When a good man dies the whole com- munity mourns. Such thoughts were brought afresh to mind by the death of Hon. Louis S. Lovell, on the 30th of March, 1894. The evening pre- ceding he sat just before me, at our preparatory service, apparently as well as usual, but the next afternoon he was stricken with apoplexy, and died in a few minutes with a prayer on his lips. In 1841 Judge Lovell came to Ionia, then a hamlet, where he has been a leading spirit for over fifty-two years, seeing that hamlet grow into an enterprising city. As a 184 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. lawyer he was of marked ability, and as a judge of the district for twenty- four years, he exhibited traits and qualifications which honor the Bench and dignify the profession, being absolutely without reproach, a lover of justice and equity. Of marked intelligence, he kept abreast of the issues. of his time. As a Christian he was noted for loyalty to his church; only ill health kept him from the house of God. On his last Sabbath on earth he was in his pew as usual, and so on his last evening in the body he was found in the prayer circle. Full of years, over seventy-seven, wearing the honors of church and state, he was himself an honor to the community, to the church and to his family. Unassuming, without guile, yet a rare talker; a lover of children, of the Bible, of good books and of good people; a friend of the poor, liberal to every good cause; a faithful yet humble Christian, his life is another witness that good character wins honor among men, as well as fitness for heaven.” ALBERT WILLIAMS, Ionia. The subject of this sketch was born in Halifax, Windham county, Vermont, February 8, 1817. His great-grand- father, William Williams, was a native of Wales, and settled at Stonington, Connecticut, where his three children, William, Henry and Elizabeth, were born. He became a sea captain, and, with his son William, was lost at sea. Henry, the other son and grandfather of Albert, was born in 1746, graduated at Yale College, became a Congregational minister, pastor of that church in Leverett, Massachusetts, where he died, November 20, 1811. Dr. Henry Williams, the father of Albert, was born in Leverett, 1786, became a physician and surgeon, and was an assistant surgeon in a Vermont regiment in the war of 1812. June 14, 1808, he married Miss Judith Corkins, of which marriage eight children were born, viz: Henry, Avery, Nathan, Eliza, Albert, Henry, Sally, and Bertrand, of whom only Albert is now living. Nathan became a physician and surgeon, Avery a farmer, Eliza the wife of a mechanic; the others died in early life, and all were of pure character. Dr. Williams was living at Halifax when Albert was born; removed from Halifax to New Berlin, Chenango county, New York, in the fall of 1827, thence to Solon, Cortland county, in the spring of 1831, and in March, 1834, to West Monroe, Oswego county, New York, where he died April 16, 1843, aged fifty-seven years. He was always a strong Whig and in 1840 a zealous Tippecanoe man, as was Albert, also. Dr. Nathan Williams finally settled in Ionia, Michigan, May, 1855, where he died April 25, 1858, leaving no children, but a widow now deceased. He was much of a writer and public speaker, and a Republican withal. Albert's home was always at his father's house while the latter lived, but much of his life, after early childhood, was spent in working out, attending school, teaching and reading law, receiving a good education at the academies in Homer and Mexicoville, New York. In April, 1844, he came to Michigan, spent the first year in the city of Monroe reading law, where he was admitted to the Bar of all the courts of the State, April 11, 1845, and Albert Williams TONIA, MICE. Fng by HBHall & Sons 13 Barclay St NY UNIV OF WICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 185 since then to those of the United States. He at once removed to Ionia county, where he has ever since practiced in his profession, except one year, from May, 1851, to May, 1852, which he spent at Grand Rapids. He lived six years in Otisco before going to Grand Rapids, and on returning at once settled in the city of Ionia, where his home has ever since been. From early in 1847 to 1851 he was prosecuting attorney of Ionia county. Although Mr. Williams was ever a strong anti-slavery man he acted with the Democratic party after coming to Michigan till the spring of 1854, although prominently opposing the so-called compromise measures of 1850. During the years of 1853-4 he was deputy county clerk, alone discharging all the duties of that office. He was the only man who went from Ionia county to attend the mass convention at Jackson, Michigan, July 6, 1854, when and where the Republican party as a State organization was first formed, adopting its platform of principles and christening itself Republi- can, thus clothing and naming itself for the great work before it. He was a member of the committee of sixteen on resolutions and name for the party, and also of the committee of ninety-two which presented to the convention the first Republican State ticket ever voted for in Michigan, which was that fall elected by an average majority of about four thousand votes. He was the author of the first elaborate Republican address printed and circulated that year in the State, it being largely used by speakers and newspapers as a text document of authority. He led in the organization of the party in the counties of Ionia and Montcalm, drafting all necessary papers and notices for their meetings and conventions, and providing them with speakers, and also aiding them much in Kent county. In the spring of 1855 he was the leader in establishing the first Republican newspaper in Ionia county, being for several months its sole editor. His services (except in a few campaigns herein mentioned) always, through his pen and on the stump, have been of great value to that party and have so been acknowledged by his co-workers. In the fall of 1854 he was elected treas- urer of Ionia county, and re-elected in 1856 thus holding that office four years. In 1860 he was elected prosecuting attorney, holding that office in the years 1861-2, and in 1862 he was elected Attorney General of the State, and re-elected in 1864, thus holding that office through the years 1863 to 1866. In 1870 Mr. Williams, thinking the Republican party too lax in its temperance legislation, joined the National Prohibition party, was its candidate that year for prosecuting attorney, stumped the county and spread wide an address he wrote, the county giving the largest vote for the Prohibition ticket of any in the State. In the spring of 1871 he was their candidate for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court; in the fall of 1874 for Attorney General and widely stumped the State, and in 1876 was their candidate for Governor, also doing some public speaking. Mr. Will- iams has always stood well as an able and safe lawyer, and as a tax-title lawyer has had few equals. His arguments before the Supreme Court of the State have given him marked credit for ability. As Attorney General 186 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. he was prompt and faithful, not often needing law assistance, and never complained of for neglect of duty, as he was not in any other office he ever held. As a speaker he is dignified, earnest, fluent, logical, clear and scholarly, never boisterous, often thrilling those addressed and holding in closest attention all within hearing. He has a warm and generous heart, is a kind husband, tender parent, and true friend. He is not without his antipathies, which he cares little to conceal. He is a man of strong con- victions, in which he puts great faith and hope, but which he seldom pushes forward unless he sees it his duty. He moves in matters with much deliberation, having little respect for adverse consequences if any there be. This was forcibly illustrated in his breaking from the Democratic party in 1854, and then again from the Republican party in 1870, and still again in 1896. After 1876 he again became identified with the Republican party, and in 1888 took the stump for the Republican ticket, also supporting it with his pen. He was supervisor of Otisco in 1848, justice of the peace in Ionia from 1853 to 1856, and is now, and the last thirty years has been, United States commissioner in and for Ionia county. January 6, 1844, Mr. Williams married Miss Eliza Ann Patterson, a daughter of Capt. James Patterson, now deceased, of West Monroe. Mrs. Williams was born in West Monroe, October 16, 1822, and died at Ionia, Michigan, July 24, 1879. Mrs. Williams was a lady of brilliant intellect, varied and solid attainments, highly sociable, many friends, much influence, and an active temperance and Christian worker. Of this marriage four children were born, two of whom, a daughter and a son, died in early infancy, one in 1844 and the other in 1859. Their daughter Fannie, born May 13, 1852, and died March 31, 1873, was an uncommonly sweet, vivacious and popu- lar young lady. Mrs. Ellen W. Babcock, born at Otisco, December 1, 1846, is the only child now living, and is a lady of rare intelligence and sterling character. Mr. Burton Babcock and Mrs. Babcock have had but two children, both bright daughters-Miss Frances W. Babcock, born July 25, 1875, and Miss Lucy Babcock, born September 30, 1876. They live near the city of Ionia. March 5, 1886, Mr. Williams was again married to Miss Mary Elizabeth Leonard, a bright woman, still living. As to habits, Mr. Williams has ever been highly exemplary, and his char- acter is above reproach. He has been a life-long temperance worker, and ever a regular attendant and supporter of Christian worship. Though seventy-nine years old the 8th day of February, 1896, he is apparently as hale and active, and as well attuned to all the duties and joys of life, as when his sun was really at high noon. He says he is receiving the dividend of his investment made in good habits all along in life. Hence, he still practises his profession, takes a deep and wide interest in all public ques- tions, writes much upon them for publication, as has been his fixed habit through life, and seems as earnest and resolute as ever to aid, as best he can, in making the world truer and better, and especially his State and county the greatest, happiest, noblest and grandest parts of it all. In the UNIV M OF Whas H. Smith The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 187 campaign of 1896, as before hinted, Mr. Williams again took an active part in politics. Ever having been, since it became a question, in favor of the free coinage of silver, at the ratio of sixteen to one, and of its use as money, in all respects the same as gold, without reference to other countries, he very naturally and consistently became a supporter of the so-called Chicago platform and of Mr. Bryan for the Presidency, and made more than forty speeches accordingiy, speaking in most of the large cities and towns of Southern Michigan. His services in the campaign were in great demand, and those speeches were as able, thorough and eloquent as any he had ever before made, he often receiving marked ovations at their close and the Michigan press, very generally and kindly giving him credit accordingly. At Bay City, in August last, so elated was the Silver State convention with his speech on taking the chair, when called to preside, that, to show their high appreciation of it, the membership of the convention, formally and publicly, before final adjournment, presented him with a nice silver-headed cane, appropriately engraved, which in a speech he most gracefully and touchingly accepted. The Bay City Tribune, an opposition newspaper, in speaking of these two speeches, said: “Mr. Williams's likeness to the late Gov. Blair is remarkable, and he seems to be the same style of a man. He brought the enthusiasm every time his aged lips uttered a sentence, and he was the hero worshipped of the silver-lined convention." The Kalamazoo News in speaking later of his speech there, said: "The club rooms were more than packed to hear Mr. Williams. And then after giving the topics of his speech, said: "It was one of the cleanest addresses yet heard in this campaign, and was full of sound facts from beginning to end. Though he is in his eightieth year, he spoke two and one-quarter hours apparently without effort." The Albion Mirror, in speaking of Mr. Williams soon after, said: "He is now in his eightieth year, but he has all the vigor of youth, with a voice musical and rich, and at the State con- vention, at Bay City, he electrified the vast audience by his intense earn- estness and the sublimity of his language." Very much more to the same effect might be copied from the generous press of Michigan, but the fore- going indicates it all, and will suffice. Therefore, thus able, healthy and vigorous as Mr. Williams still is, his friends may reasonably expect, with his excellent habits, he will yet be spared a goodly number of years to labor, as he has ever aimed to, for the best interests of mankind. CHARLES H. SMITH, Jackson. Hon. Charles H. Smith is a native of Jackson county. He was born on a farm in the town of Leoni, February 7, 1857. The fortunes of war made him an orphan at the age of seven years, when his father, a soldier in the army of Grant, was killed in the terrible battle of the Wilderness. Left thus early to depend upon him- self, he acquired a common school education in the public schools of his 188 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. town and the village high school of Grass Lake. Like Like many another self- supporting young man, he first pursued the vocation of teaching and made it the gateway to the profession of law. By making this practical use of his scholastic acquirements, he gained a mental discipline and self-reliance, whose advantages were manifest both in the study and the practice of law. He entered upon a course of reading in the law office of Gibson & Parkin- son, of Jackson. After passing the prescribed examination, he was ad- mitted to the Bar in 1880 and settled down to the practice in the city of Jackson. Having spent the thirty-nine years of his life in the county, he has formed a general acquaintance and many strong personal attachments among the best people. These are not only conducive to social pleasure; they furnish an incentive to the best possible effort and afford the means of powerful influence for advancement. Although he has not reached the meridian of life, Mr. Smith is a successful practitioner, in the amount of business transacted and the ability displayed in the management of cases. His persistent energy wins. He has managed some cases in the courts which are precedent-makers. Among these may be mentioned the follow- ing: Proceedings by habeas corpus, 1887, for the release of Thomas McClain, a life convict confined in the Michigan State Prison at Jackson, whose sentence had been commuted by the Governor to a term of five years. The commutation papers were forwarded to the warden of the prison and for the reason that they were, in two respects, at variance with the original record in the case, they were returned to the Governor for cor- rection. Upon receipt of them by the Governor he changed his mind, had the papers cancelled, and revoked the commutation. Mr. Smith's conten- tion was that the commutation papers, once received by the warden, were in law delivered to the convict for whom they were intended, and that, although they may in some respects have been at variance with the orig- inal record, if they were sufficient to identify the subject for whom they were intended, upon their delivery to the warden as aforesaid, they were forever irrevocable. Upon this theory of the case, it was argued and sub- mitted to the Court, and the prisoner discharged immediately upon con- clusion of the hearing. It was the first and only case of the kind which has arisen in this State. In fact, it is believed that the only parallel case is one which arose some years ago in the State of Alabama. He repre- sented the application for pardon of David McKay, a life convict in the Michigan State Prison, and for nearly two years prosecuted the case with diligence and tenacity, upon the theory that the jury were not justified, from the evidence, in finding the accused guilty. Mr. McKay's father and his whole family persisted in the theory that he was unquestionably inno- cent of the charge. An effort was begun to accomplish what had never been undertaken in the State, to-wit: obtain in support of application for pardon the endorsement of a majority of the legal voters of the entire county in which the accused was tried and convicted, besides the recom- mendation of the trial judge, prosecuting attorney and a large majority of BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 189 the jurors, as well as about six hundred representative women of the county. In view of the extreme poverty of the family, this seemed to be an insurmountable task, but in two years it was done. This petition, with a transcript of the evidence and the exhaustive brief of Mr. Smith, attorney for petitioner, was submitted to the advisory board in the matter of pardons, who recommended to the Governor that the application be granted; and it was granted. Mr. McKay was released from prison and since that time, so far as known, has been an industrious, faithful citizen, and a credit to the community in which he lives. Another important case grew out of the great railroad wreck at Jackson, in October, 1893, in which some twelve or thirteen passengers, largely from the States of Pennsylvania and New York, were instantly killed or died soon after from the injuries received therein. Mr. Smith was employed by Mr. John N. Anderson and wife, who were horribly mangled and injured in this wreck, but who survived by receiving superior care and attention. Mr. Ander- son hailed from Morris Run, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in busi- ness, and as soon as he and his wife were able to be moved to their homes, a suit was begun against the Michigan Central Rail Road Company for damages on account of injuries sustained in the wreck. After a protracted diplomatic indifference on the part of the company, characteristic of the management of railroad companies, a settlement was effected by the pay- ment of the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars. Since 1889, Mr. Smith has been attorney for the very noted estate of Daniel B. Hibbard, de- ceased, which has presented more grave and numerous complications than any other estate in Jackson county. Mr. Smith has also been em- ployed in the last year by Doctor Hyndman of Jackson county to repre- sent him in the matter of the estate of Samuel Westren, deceased. Mr. Westren died in 1877, leaving a last will and testament, in which his son was nominated as executor. He qualified as such and proceeded to ad- minister the estate, and by an order of the probate court has been found to be charged with something like twelve hundred dollars of personal assets still remaining in his hands, uncollectible. The heirs soon after the death of Mr. Westren divided the property, both real and personal, be- tween themselves, and it was subdivided so that it passed into the hands. of about twenty-five or thirty different purchasers. The will contained a cash bequest for a certain amount to be paid to testator's granddaughter, upon her arrival at the age of twenty-one years, who was about three years of age at the time of testator's death. This bequest was the first con- tained in the will, and the rest, residue and remainder of testator's prop- erty was divided between the heirs. The granddaughter has lately taken steps to realize upon her legacy out of this estate, but a serious question has arisen as to the jurisdiction of the probate court to hear her petition for this purpose and order sale of lands belonging to testator. In such a case as this, Mr. Smith contends that an accounting must be had between parties not officers of the court to determine the order of sale of lands for 190 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. the satisfaction of this legacy, that it may ascertain whose lands should be sold first. Although the Michigan statute is broad in conferring equitable jurisdiction upon probate courts, still a matter of this kind should be heard and determined by a court of equity in which all of the interested persons can be brought to an accounting, and the equitable rights of each estab- lished and protected. He has made a careful study of economic questions and is well prepared to discuss them from the standpoint of an American citizen. By invitation, he addressed the State Millers' Association at Lansing, January 14, 1896, on a theme of great interest to them, as well as the farmers of the United States, viz., "Our Unused Surplus.' He began his address by a reference to the obstacles in the way of stimu- lating the demand of our home produced flour: (1) The incomplete trade relations with other American countries and colonies, which are our natu- ral patrons; (2) The unjustifiably high rates of transportation from points of production in this country to our seaports; and (3) The increasing com- petition with some of the South American countries actively enlarging the production of wheat there. His discussion of the subject was practically limited to the first of these causes: "This country is producing, on the average, about 400,000,000 bu. wheat per year, 41 per cent of which, or more, is exported to foreign nations. It is the aim of the industrial world here to develop the products of our labor and capital into the most advanced conditions for the export trade. For instance, our crude iron is converted into machinery, cutlery and agricultural implements of the very highest order for that particular trade. It is the same with our timber and many other products of our great and still growing country. As I view it, the same rule should be pursued with and apply to our export of wheat, which should be converted into flour, and rendered a finished product before it is shipped abroad for consumption by the people of other nations. If this should be accom- plished, more capital would be invested in flour milling in this country, more of our idle labor employed, substantially a larger amount of business transacted here and a new thrill given to the great enterprise of milling, now lagging in our midst and seeking business in a land of plenty. Be- sides this, these gentlemen of push and courage now engaged in the man- ufacture of mill machinery in our country would be provided with a larger and better market in which to sell the products of their would-be busy factories. Under the advanced system of production and classification of labor now prevailing throughout the civilized world, the individual pro- duces but a small part of what he consumes. Likewise, the Nation, with but few exceptions, is obliged to rely in part, at least, upon its exchange of products with its sister Nations for the perfect subsistence of its citizens. However, I am very happy to suggest that the United States of America has acquired comparatively the highest degree of independence in this regard. Up to the present time, this country has not produced any sub- stantial part of the sugars, coffees and a few other articles commonly con- sumed here, but they are imported largely from other American countries, which ought, from geographical and political reasons, to be mutually inter- ested with us in the development of this great American hemisphere, and, if I mistake not, recent events indicate that the natural sympathies and friendly relations between the countries of this continent will soon be crys- ་ BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, 191 tallized into a strong international league of a character, power and result- ing benefit never before witnessed in the world's history. The natural relations and sympathies between these countries and ours are indisputably stronger than with European Nations, from the tyrannical power of which their citizens and forefathers have commendably escaped. If there are tropical barriers in the way of domestic production of these necessary arti- cles of food, imported from a climate favorable to their growth upon the American continent, then it occurs to me that it would be good business sagacity to arrange, if possible, to pay for such necessary imported articles of food out of or with the unused surplus of this country, which is made. up, in part, from the very product of the great farms and flour mills main- tained and operated here. He followed this with an official statement of the export of flour by millers of the United States under the reciprocal treaties made in pursu- ance of the tariff act of 1890-showing an increase of thirty per cent in the amount exported to Brazil, forty-two per cent to Cuba, sixty per cent to Puerto Rico, and more than three thousand per cent of the shipments to Germany during the four years of the life of the treaties; and also showing a remarkable percentage of loss of trade with those countries immediately after the enactment of the Wilson Tariff Law of 1894. It is strikingly put in this paragraph of the address: "The beneficial results accruing to us from these reciprocal treaties. could be elaborated upon indefinitely. It is sufficient for me to suggest that the loss to the merchant miller of this country, occasioned by the ab- rogation of our late reciprocal commercial relations with the other Ameri- can countries, islands and the German Empire, is authentically estimated at the large sum of $16,000,000 per year, or 4,000,000 barrels of flour, to produce which, in one year, would require 133 mills with a capacity of 100 barrels each per day." "The establishment of a new industry in any locality is hailed with joy by all the citizens of that community. Improvement companies are organized in nearly every modern western city to induce the investment of foreign capital therein, because of the benefits which accrue therefrom to the great aggregate of the people. If new industries are sought and con- sidered for the best interests of all the people, then established industries should be encouraged and maintained to serve the same purpose and ac- complish the same end. Prospective industries brighten hope; established industries lighten burdens. The one stimulates confidence in the future; the other provides bread for the present. It is the enlightened duty of this great Nation to expand the market for our domestic flour to the ex- tent, if possible, of a perfect utilization of every mill in this country. This great battle should not, and can not, be fought alone by you mer- chant millers and mill manufacturers. It is a question of patriotism which deeply concerns every loyal citizen of our land, who should exert his full power, intelligence and influence for the restoration and enlargement of that policy under which our great industry was promoted and prospered. Fellow citizens, rising above the prejudice of partisanship, let us all be true Americans and wage a noble, conscientious fight to promote a dis- tinctively American policy, and thereby assist in working out the highest destiny of a great people. During the last four years Mr. Smith has delivered in his State many 192 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. . scholarly addresses upon such topics as "State Legislation, Trusts and Transportation," and kindred subjects. Mr. Smith is a Republican, intensely earnest and superlatively active in support of the political prin- ciples represented by that party. In 1890 he declined the nomination for prosecuting attorney tendered by the Republican party of Jackson county. He has been a recognized power in the public discussion of campaign issues in the State for ten years. His eloquence, his thorough information as to the issues, his readiness in debate, and his enthusi- asm born of love for the cause which he champions have contributed to give him wide popularity in a political canvass. He is also an astute party manager. In 1894 he was chairman of the Republican committee for Jackson county and director of the most successful partisan campaign ever conducted in the county. As a fitting sequence of that canvass, he was nominated as the Republican candidate for State Senator and elected in April, 1895, by a majority of 2,161 votes in a district which, prior to that, had been strongly Democratic. His majority over the opposing candidate was 1,680 in Jackson and 481 in Washtenaw county. During the campaign of 1896 he gave his time and influence to the canvass with more patriotic devotion than if he had been actuated by personal interest. He was married in 1882 to Miss Nettie E. Wing. He is a stockholder, director and general attorney of the Jackson State Savings Bank. Mr. Smith has recently formed a law partnership with Charles A. Blair and Charles E. Townsend, and the new firm will do business under the name of Blair, Smith & Townsend, commencing January 1, 1897. Mr. Smith is a zealous Mason, a Knight Templar, being a member of Jackson Commandery, No. 9, and delivered the annual memorial address before that order in June, 1896. He is active in the different fraternities of which he is a member, and is an enthusiastic advocate of their useful- ness and power for the promotion of those grand virtues-Charity, Justice and Brotherly Love. لو ROBERT B. MCKNIGHT, late of Saginaw. Judge McKnight's brief life was an apt illustration of the happy social and political conditions under which the people of this country live, and which do not exist else- where. He was born September 23, 1850, in the town of Perry, Wyom- ing county, in the center of the rolling, high hill country of southwestern New York, whose lofty but fertile hills, deep valleys and rapid streams, give the country much the appearance of a mountainous region. His father, Joseph R. McKnight, was a farmer of moderate means and his mother, Elizabeth (Bishop) McKnight, a woman of more than ordinary character and acquirements. In 1860, when the future judge was ten years of age, his parents removed to Michigan and after a short residence in Jackson permanently located on a farm in the township of Ingham, T Robert B. McKnight Semestay Font & Extravine Comenc UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 193 Ingham county. For the next six or eight years his life was that of the ordinary farmers' boys around him: he shared the labors of the farm ac- cording to his years, attended the country school as he could and grew up much like the other farmers' boys the country over, with this material dif- ference he had no idle moments, the time that could be snatched from the labors of the farm and the long winter evenings was diligently de- voted to study, and he thus laid the foundation of that knowledge which enabled him at an early time in life to become a successful business man, an able lawyer and an honored judge. His mind, improved and expanded by study, soon reached beyond the limits of the farm. At first he tried clerking but quickly realized that clerking in a country store was not a road leading very directly and rapidly to the success and distinction his ambition aimed at. To teach school, not as an end, but as a means to an end, is at some time in early life the natural resort of many right-minded American men and women; therefore, obeying this law of evolution, it was entirely natural that the future judge should, as he did, try his hand at school teaching. Here he entered upon the way that led to his future success. His skill as a teacher and the knowledge he daily added to his store gave him a reputation that reached beyond the country school dis- tricts of Ingham county. After taking a course of two years at the State Normal School at Ypsilanti he accepted the position of superintendent of the schools of East Tawas. He remained there two years, as usual devot- ing his spare time to study and the acquisition of general knowledge. While at East Tawas he formed the acquaintance of the late Hon. John J. Wheeler of East Saginaw, one of the ablest and most respected lawyers of Northern Michigan, and at Mr. Wheeler's request he resigned his posi- tion at East Tawas, and early in 1877 entered the latter's office as a student and general manager of his large and important collection business. This employment naturally drew his attention to commercial law with the principles of which he soon became familiar, thus becoming a business lawyer rather than a professional advocate. He had now found his vocation and the better to prepare himself for it he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan in 1878, and after a full year's attendance graduated in 1879 and was duly admitted to the Bar the same He immediately entered into partnership with Mr. Wheeler, tak- ing upon himself the collecting and business department of the office, in- volving the settlement of many large estates, where his knowledge of statutory law and proceedings and his experience and knowledge as a business lawyer gave to the firm of Wheeler & McKnight a well deserved popularity and a large and profitable practice, continually increasing up to the time of Mr. Wheeler's death. In the mean time Mr. George Grant had become a member of the firm and upon the death of Mr. Wheeler the Hon. Watts S. Humphrey joined the firm thereafter known as McKnight, Humphrey & Grant. He was a Republican in politics but took little active interest in political affairs, office having no attraction for him, though he year. 13 194 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. filled the office of recorder of Saginaw county as well as that of city attor- ney, member of the board of education and other official positions. In April, 1893, Mr. McKnight upon the nomination of the Bar, was elected one of the Circuit Judges of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, consisting of Sagi- naw county alone, and having two judges. The term for which he was elected commenced January 1, 1894, but ill health having compelled Judge Edget to resign in October, 1893, Mr. McKnight the judge elect, on the unanimous request of the Bar, was appointed by Governor Rich to serve out the remainder of Judge Edget's term, whereby he became his own successor. Judge McKnight was a man of pleasing address, affable deportment and kindly manners, inclined to conciliate rather than repel all with whom he came in contact; but as a judge he was intolerant of mis- conduct in every form; with ignorance and inexperience he was patient and helpful, but any attempt at sharp practice brought upon the offender his prompt condemnation. As a judge he was courteous and obliging, honest and impartial; no attorney's reputation was in evidence in any case before him to embarrass his rulings and judgments. Much important business came before him during the short time he was upon the bench, which was promptly disposed of in a manner that inspired confidence and gave assur- ance that with the usual experience he would make an able and useful judge. Very few of his decisions were reversed by the Supreme Court. The diligent and conscientious manner in which he performed the exacting duties of his office and the labor he bestowed upon the examination of the cases and questions coming before the court over-taxed his nervous system, and early in the summer of 1894 he found a change and rest demanded. Hoping to restore his failing health he visited Europe and drank the waters of its famous health resorts, and seemed to improve. In London he made the acquaintance of the leading lawyers and judges. His agree- able manners and the fact that he was an American judge caused him to be received with distinction. The honors shown him, however, in no degree impaired his Americanism-he returned more an American than ever. He saw much in the English practice to interest and improve, but on the whole considered the American practice and system far better. The judge's practice as a lawyer had lain along the lines of opportunities, and his instinct as a business man led him to profit by them. By direct ventures in legitimate_ speculations and profiting by the suggestions of some of his clients he had already acquired a liberal competency. On the eighth of July, 1895, he was married to Miss Gussie Nienstedt, daughter of Mr. Henry Nienstedt, of Saginaw, a lady of sterling family and unusual personal grace. They immediately started upon a trip abroad, intending to extend their travels indefinitely. They visited Scotland, which is pre- eminently the home of Masonry. Here the judge was upon his native heath; for he was himself a Mason of the 33rd degree. At the time of his death he was Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Commandery of Michigan, and a member of St. Bernard Commandery, No. 16, K. T. of Thomasa & Meadock BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 195 Saginaw. He filled various official positions in the order, including that of Eminent Commander for two years. Being an American judge and a Mason of high rank, he naturally received in Scotland marked attention, as he did the year before in England. He was elected an honorary mem- ber of Lodge No. 1 of Edinburgh, Mary's Chapel, the oldest Blue Lodge in Scotland. From Edinburgh they proceeded by the beautiful and classical lake region of England to London. While at London he was taken ill, but recovered in a few weeks, and the physician advising, he went down to Eastbourne, near the sea, where it was thought he would regain his full strenth and vigor. While here it was discovered that he was suffering from anæmia; and later it was pronounced pernicious anæmia. When the physician said there was but one hope-that the sea voyage might be beneficial-he sailed for home on the twenty-third day of November, with Captain C. H. Grant, of the steam-ship New York. Recognizing in the ship's captain a Brother Mason the judge reposed in his promised care and in the watchful love of his wife and her brother. it was that he passed away amid the sea, on the twenty-seventh of Novem- ber, 1895. The funeral in Saginaw, under the direction of St. Bernard Commandery, K. T., was a memorable one. Services were commenced at the home, conducted by the Rev. Wm. Knight, from whence the body was born by the Sir Knights of St. Bernard to the Masonic Temple, where, in the hall so dear to him, the funeral oration was pronounced by the Rev. Wm. Knight in a manner worthy of the subject and of the occasion. He but formulated the common sentiment when he said: So "A brother lies cold in our midst; about his lifeless form how our hearts grow warm! Those who loved him most in life love him with a warmer glow now that he has felt death's chill; and those who knew only his public qualities, his genial friendship, his sterling professional integrity, his romantic attention to children, his benign regard for the aged and helpless, his profound reverence for the cherished history and ancient mysteries of Masonry, together with those who only knew him as the young teacher, the lawyer, the judge, will bow most tenderly about his bier. He was positive in his convictions and firm when a decision had been reached. He was always reliable, quick to consider and act; as a jurist, a citizen and a man, he was above reproach. THOMAS A. E. WEADOCK, Detroit. Hon. Thomas A. E. Wea- dock, third son of Lewis and Mary (Cullen) Weadock, was born in Bally- garret, County Wexford, Ireland, on January 1st, 1850. The family is of Flemish origin, although for many generations it has been prominent in county Wexford. The grandfather of our subject took part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, in which his grandfather, a non-combatant, aged eighty-five years, was murdered by a troop of the infamous Gowan's Cavalry. His mother's family is also an old one in the above county, the 196 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. name Cullen being a contraction of the old Irish name "Cuchulin." The parents of Thomas came to America in 1850, and located on a farm near the town of St. Mary's, Ohio, where he passed the early years of his life. He attended the district school and also the union school at St. Mary's. After his father's death, which occurred in December, 1863, young Weadock had to leave school and attend the management of the farm, as he was the eldest son at home, his elder brother having enlisted in the Union army in 1862. During the time that he was actively engaged in farming he continued a course of home study and reading. His taste for reading being very pronounced, he devoted all his spare time to it. His favorite studies were biography and history, which opened the world to the country boy, and served to make a lonesome life delightful. Young Weadock managed the farm until his brother returned from the army in 1865, and then went to Cincinnati in search of employment. He had determined not to be a farmer and entered a printing office; he soon tired of it and engaged for some months as a clerk, after which he returned to St. Mary's and taught school in the counties of Auglaize, Shelby and Miami, for five years, carrying on his own studies while teaching others. Taking the money he so saved he entered the Law Department of the Uni- versity of Michigan in 1871, and during his vacation read law in Detroit. He graduated as Bachelor of Laws on the 26th of March, 1873, and was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court at Detroit, April 8th, 1873. He was also admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Ohio in June of that year, Hon. Geo. Hoadly being chairman of the examining committee. When he next met Governor Hoadly he was a member of the Committee on Pacific Railroads and Judge Hoadly was special counsel for the United States in the Pacific railway matters. He intended to practise in Ohio, but it so happened that he returned to Michigan, and finally located at Bay City, Sept. 12, 1873, and where he has since made his home. In 1883, he was elected mayor of the city and served until 1885, acting as ex-officio chairman of the police commission, the library trustees and several other boards. At the expiration of the term he declined a re- nomination. Continuing his practice he associated with him his youngest brother, John C., and their partnership has continued ever since. Their practice has extended into many counties of Michigan, and they have conducted important cases in other states. Among the latter may be mentioned the cases of the Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York ads. Menner in Pennsylvania, the Mundy will case in Wisconsin, and Jenkins vs. Pennsylvania Railroad Co. in Ohio. Mr. Weadock was assistant prosecuting attorney for Bay county for nearly two years, his partner Graeme M. Wilson being prosecutor. He was appointed to succeed Mr. Wilson, who died in office in July 1877, and served until Dec. 31, 1878. During the time he was in that office, Bay county was freed from many of the lawless pests that had infested it. The liquor law, enacted in 1875, was vigorously enforced, more liquor tax being collected in Bay BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 197 cases. than any county in the State except Wayne, and more than was collected in any county in proportion to the number of dealers. Waiter girl saloons and kindred resorts were suppressed and their keepers sent to prison. A handsome gold-headed cane was presented to Mr. Weadock at the close of his term. After this time he was engaged in many of the important criminal cases in Bay and other counties, sometimes for the defense, often as counsel for the prosecution, His cases in the Supreme Court begin in the 36 Michigan and may be found in almost every volume issued since. Among these may be mentioned Cathcart vs. Merrit township, holding ditch orders can only be paid out of the fund on which they are drawn; Bay Co. vs. Bradley, ejectment, 39 Mich. S. C; Smith vs. Barrie, in which conditions in restraint of sales of liquor was sustained; Altman vs. Ritteshofer, where it was held that "atty. fees" in promissory notes de- stroyed their negotiability; Hess vs. Culver; Spore vs. Green; Circuit Judge, McCoy vs. Brennan; Murphy vs. McGraw; Merchant's Bank vs. Smith (railroad aid note); Otsego Lake vs. Kersten, on power of township boards; Maltby vs. Plummer, lumbering contracts, are considered leading Taylor vs. Bay City Street Railway, a case arising under the charter of Bay City, though decided against him in the Circuit, was re- versed in the Supreme Court of Michigan, and sustained in the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Weadock was brought up a Democrat and his growth and studies developed and strengthened his conviction. Having to win his own way, without money or prestige or the assistance afforded by influential friends, he appreciated the opportunities which our institutions afford. He has always opposed class legislation, and all policies intended to give wealth undue advantages under the law. In every campaign since 1874, he has been on the stump for Democracy. In that year he made his first political speech at Clare, Michigan, in support of Hon. Geo. Fred. Lewis for Congress. He served as chairman of the county and city committees. He was chairman of the Democratic Congressional Convention of 1884 and of the joint Congressional conven- tion when the Greenback party united with the Democrats. This conven- tion was a notable one lasting from two in the afternoon until half past three the following morning, when Hon. S. O. Fisher, Democrat, was nominated. The ability and fairness of the chairman was generally praised and was a potent factor in the successful result of the work of the convention. In 1885 he was permanent chairman of the Democratic State convention which nominated Judge Allen B. Morse, who was elected by a large majority. In 1890 Mr. Weadock was unanimously nominated, at Alpena, for Representative in Congress, and was called away from a trial in court at Bay City to accept the nomination. The canvass that ensued was a notable one in Michigan. No sort of personalities or partisan abuse was resorted to by either the Republican candidate or his Demo- cratic opponent. The discussion was confined to the legitimate issues of the campaign. Mr. Weadock made fifty-seven speeches during the cam- 198 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. paign, speaking three times, in different places, the night before election. He was elected by a plurality of 1,666. His Republican opponent was Hon. Watts S. Humphrey, then of Cheboygan, but now a prominent and successful attorney at Saginaw. In Congress he supported Hon. Charles F. Crisp for Speaker in his memorable contest, served on the Committee on Rivers and Harbors, and secured large appropriations for Michigan projects, notably Saginaw River and the Petoskey breakwater, as well as Weather Bureau stations at Middle and Thunder Bay islands in Lake Huron. He was the author of a bill increasing the pay of the keepers and surfmen of the life saving service, which became a law. In 1892 he was unanimously re-nominated and after a contest in which the secret political organization known as the A. P. A. bitterly opposed him by their most nefarious methods, he was re-elected, receiving a larger vote than at his first election, but the plurality being smaller on account of the fuller vote developed by a presidential campaign. In 1893 he made an extensive tour in Europe, sailing from New York to Genoa, via Gibraltar and the famous Riviera. He visited Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Florence and Venice. Having always been an admirer of Napoleon as warrior, ruler and law-maker, he visited Campo Formio, Treviso, Leoben, Vienna and Paris, with peculiar interest. From Vienna he went to Carlsbad, thence to Mayence, down the Rhine to Cologne, thence to Brussels, Paris, Lon- don, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Wexford, Cork, Blarney Castle, Killarney, Holyhead, North Wales and Liverpool. From there he sailed via Queens- town for New York, arriving in time for the special session of Congress held that year. He visited many of the law courts and the parliaments of England, France and Italy. In the 53rd Congress he was chairman of the Committee on Mines and Mining, and the only Michigan member who had a chairmanship. He was also a member of the Committee on Pacific Railroads. He supported the Wilson tariff bill, although favoring higher duties than it imposed, voted for the income tax, the repeal of the Sher- man law, the repeal of the election laws and the increase of the navy. His most notable speech was delivered on June 8th, 1894, in support of the Indian Appropriation Bill, in which he exposed and denounced the American Protective Association. The speech was circulated by the hun- dred thousand and was widely read and favorably commented on. The bill was carried in the House by a vote of 154 to 23 and became a law. At this session he secured the passage of a law dividing the eastern district of Michigan into northern and southern divisions, establishing the seat of the northern division at Bay City. In 1894 he declined a re-nomination for Congress in a letter from which we quote, "I desire to return to my profession, and having found the only office I ever wished to hold, to be in a large measure a disappointing, thankless task, I relinquish it without regret. Mr. Weadock was never popular in the ordinary sense. He stood unflinchingly by his opinions, and while he made strong friends, he also made enemies. He expressed his views strongly but fairly. He UNIV OF Gistolleaed of Wanton Fablishing g MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 199 loved his friends and fought his enemies. His deep convictions, dauntless courage and unyielding persistence are among the sources of his power. He always attributed his political success, in a great degree, to his brother John C. Weadock, who managed both his campaigns with exceptional ability. In 1896 he was chosen one of the delegates from the State at large to the National Democratic Convention. In 1895 he opened a law office in Detroit, where he is now engaged in the general practice of his profession. He has been married twice. His first wife, Mary E. Tarsney, died March 11th, 1889, leaving him three daughters and three sons. The eldest son, Thomas J., is a law student in the University of Michigan. His second wife was Miss Nannie E. Curtis, by whom he has one son. If he has a hobby it is his private library, which, though not large, is very well selected and exceptionally complete in Irish and American history and legal biography. His favorite author is Shakespeare, his hero Napo- leon, his ideal lawyer Daniel O'Connell. GEORGE W. WEADOCK, Saginaw. George William Weadock, was born in St. Mary's Auglaize county, Ohio, November 6, 1853. His parents emigrated from Ireland three years prior to that time and settled in Auglaize county. He was an ambitious energetic, industrious boy. He aspired to a profession early and had the pluck and perseverance to qualify himself by reading and study for an honorable position. His scholastic education was obtained in the public schools of his native town and finished in the high school. He began a course of reading in law under the instruction of Col. S. R. Mott, of St. Mary's and continued it under the direction of one of the great lawyers of Ohio, Hon. Isaiah Pillars, Attorney General of the State. He pursued his legal studies in the Law Department of the University of Michigan, defraying his expenses with money earned by himself at teaching. He went from the University into the law office of Wilson & Weadock, of Bay City, the junior member of the firm being his brother, Thomas A. E.Weadock. He was admitted to the Bar September 11, 1876, after an examination by a committee appointed by the Judge of the Circuit Court. Immediately thereafter he settled in Saginaw and engaged in practice. The following year he became associated in partnership with Hon Timothy E. Tarsney who some time afterwards rep- resented the district in Congress four years, Mr. Weadock conducting the business in his absence. This co-partnership was maintained fourteen years —until 1891. Mr. Weadock continued the practice alone until January 1893, when he admitted to partnership Miles J. Purcell, who had for several years been a student in his office. The firm as then constituted was Weadock & Purcell and the same style has been preserved to the present time. Mr. Weadock has not at any time limited his study or practice to one branch or division of the law, or to a single line of cases, He has engaged in 200 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. general practice; he has participated in much of the most important liti- gation in which residents of Saginaw have been interested since 1877, in both State and Federal Courts. The only official position ever held by him was the office of Mayor of Saginaw. He was elected the first mayor of the consolidated city made up of East Saginaw and Saginaw City. It became his duty as the chief executive officer to adjust the affairs of the two corporations to the operations and control of the one central government; to extend and establish the single government and make one city grow where two had grown before. It was a delicate undertaking; requiring tact and large executive ability; but the busi- ness of consolidation was carried successfully forward. He served two terins, of one year each from the spring of 1890 to 92. The chief cause of contention in the organization of the consolidated City was the carrying out of the terms of consolidation in the location of public buildings and other conditions. Mr. Weadock insisting that they should be carried out to the letter in all things, both written and unwritten, that was the pur- pose for which they were made, and not to be evaded. During his last term as mayor he insisted upon an investigation into the official conduct of the city clerk, police judge and police court clerk. Such investigation resulted in the removal of the city clerk by the common council, the police judge was removed by the Governor, and his clerk resigned, all of said officers having been found guilty of malfeasance in office. Mr. Weadock did not hesitate to remove them for corrupt practices, notwithstanding they were all members of his own party, but with him "public office is a public trust," is a principle to be enforced and not ignored. He has never sought political office or consented to be a candidate although repeatedly solicited by his party friends and associates to run for Congress, and other elective offices, but the law has completely satisfied his aspirations. order to obtain the highest position in the profession and be qualified as a counsellor, close application to the books is absolutely essential and he believes such application is incompatible with office-seeking or office hold- ing. Fidelity to clients whose interests are involved in the tedious and uncertain processes of litigation is not satisfied with a divided service. The lawyer must devote to such interests the full measure of his talents and his energies. He can do this only by regarding the duties and obligations of his profession paramount to his personal ambition in politics. Mr. Weadock is not liable to the charge of want of fealty to his party or zeal in promoting its success. His convictions are strong and he is alert in the assertion and exercise of his political rights. He always assists his party in its campaigns; he is faithful to the duties of good citizenship. But, he is a lawyer and not a politician. He is careful in the preparation of his cases and the sifting of evidence; methodical and orderly in marshalling the evidence in the case at Bar, guarding every point with alertness to see that no weak places are left. He is quick to detect the animus of a wit- ness, persistent and ingenious in his efforts to extract from an unwilling In Thouertended UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago. MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 201 witness what he may attempt to conceal. In argument he is lucid, strong and convincing. He is one of the keenest, brightest trial lawyers at the Bar of Saginaw county. As an advocate, he is usually on excellent terms with the jury. Out of court he is a genial companionable gentleman, combining in his character, the attributes which are sought in friendship. In religion he is a Roman Catholic; in politics a Democrat of unquestioned loyalty. He was married September 16, 1878 to Miss Anna E. Tarsney. The union was blessed with nine children, seven of whom survive; Louis T., George Leo, John Vincent, Bernard Francis, Mary Louise, Joseph Jerome and Phillip Sheridan. Mrs. Weadock died March 16, 1893, at the age of thirty-seven years. Catherine Elizabeth and Raymond J. died immediately after their mother's death. The most laudable aspiration of Mr. Weadock now is to rear and educate his six sons, so that they will become worthy citizens, and his young daughter be a noble woman. JOHN C. WEADOCK, Bay City. John Cullen Weadock was born on a farm near St. Mary's, Ohio, February 18, 1860. He was the youngest of seven sons of Lewis and Mary Cullen Weadock, who removed from Ireland in 1850, and settled upon a farm near St. Mary's. Young Weadock obtained his early mental training in the district schools, and after his removal to Bay City in November, 1876, in the Bay City high school. After a short time spent in teaching school he determined to take up the study and practice of law as a profession, and to that end entered the law office of his brother, Thomas A. E. Weadock, whose extensive practice offered an opportunity for a thorough and general study of the science. Early in the course of his study, young Weadock gave evidence of those characteristics which later were to contribute to his success in his chosen profession. He was admitted to the Bar in 1881 and in 1886 was married to Miss Helena F. Bertch of Lansing, Michigan. Shortly after his admis- sion to the Bar, he formed a law partnership with his brother under the firm name of T. A. E. & J. C. Weadock, which has continued in Bay City to the present time, gaining in the legal and business world an enviable reputation for ability and integrity. The election to Congress in 1890 of Hon. Thomas A. E. Weadock, the senior member of the firm, who devoted the greater portion of his time to the discharge of congressional duties, and whose term of office covered the sessions of the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses, threw upon the younger member of the firm the burdens of a constantly increasing business. With characteristic energy and an opportunity to develop powers until now latent, he assumed the additional burden devolving upon him and in the conduct of the affairs of the firm evidenced those distinctive qualities which have placed him with few peers and no superiors at the Bar to which but a decade before he had been admitted. Personally Mr. Weadock is a man of strong physique and 202 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, robust health. A study of his face suggests at once energy and a deter- mination bordering on severity, the latter, however, being apparent rather than real. Socially, while unassuming and retiring in manner, he is an affable and companionable gentleman, whose personality invites the con- fidence and respect of those with whom he comes in contact. In his home life, he is a good entertainer, is one of the best whist players in the city, and enjoys the society of a large circle of friends which he has deservedly acquired. Politically Mr. Weadock has ever been a Democrat and has always taken an active interest in the political life of Bay City. He is a skillful organizer and possesses in a large degree those elements which go so far to constitute leadership, namely, a practical knowledge of men and affairs. He never stoops to the base in politics and while in contests for party supremacy never asks or gives quarter, the campaigns in the Tenth district which he has conducted have been noted alike for their political purity and energy. Though he has never been a candidate for office, nor favored the many requests of his friends to allow his name to be used for party preference, he was appointed to the office of city attorney in 1887, a position which he filled with credit to himself and party during the period from 1887 to 1893. Mr. Weadock is a member of the B.P.O.E., is presi- dent of the Bay City Club, the principal social institution of the city, and is National vice president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Michigan State branch of which possesses one of the best insurance systems of the order, in perfecting which Mr. Weadock has taken an active part. He has also served as State president of the latter organization. Professionally Mr. Weadock possesses a calm, judicial temperament, a keen perception and an analytical mind. He is a ready, skillful debater, tactful and resourceful in the management of his cases, and is considered one of the best trial lawyers at the bar. JOHN M. BROOKS, Saginaw. John Melville Brooks was born February 12, 1850, at Townsend, Massachusetts, and is a descendant of the Brookses of New England, a leading family in the colonies, who came to New England prior to the American Revolution. Members of this family were very prominent in public and business life. The American officer and statesman, John Brooks, LL.D., at one time Governor of Massachusetts, particularly acquired fame during the birth of our republic. Early in life, even while a medical student he gave evidence of an aptitude for military affairs. When he became a medical practitioner he settled at Reading, and in the intervals of his duties drilled a company of minute men. When the news reached him of the outrage at Lexington, he summoned his men and marched there, reaching it as the British were retreating. His sturdy qualities found favor in the eyes of Washington, and we soon find him major in the Continental army in the fortification of Breed's Hill. His BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 203 services were valuable and in 1777 he was made lieutenant colonel. In the battle of Saratoga he stormed the breastworks of the Hessians and by his gallant conduct and faithful service won the unmeasured confidence of the great commander. He participated in the war of 1812 as adjutant-general of Massachusetts. In 1816 he was, by a nearly unanimous vote, elected Governor of Massachusetts, and was each year re-elected until 1823 when he declined to accept the honor longer. Another sturdy Brooks of this period was Peter Chardon Brooks, who died at Boston in January, 1849. He engaged in the business of marine underwriting and was a remarkably successful business man. He was a member of the first municipal council of Boston after its incorporation as a city and was several times a member of the House of Representatives and Senate of Massachusetts. In his capacity as a legislator he was active in carrying to a successful issue measures for the suppression of lotteries which, at that time, were counte- nanced by many prominent people of unquestioned respectability. Many others of the Brookses of New England are not unknown to fame. The grandfather of our subject owned the farm in Townsend where his son John C. was born. It lay on the line between New Hampshire and Massa- chusetts, partly in one State and partly in the other. This son, John C. married Lefy Hart, also of Townsend, and to them was born John Melville at the date above stated. He prepared for college at Lawrence Academy, Groton, and Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Mass. In these academic institutions, with the thoroughness that characterizes the schools of New England, he began the acquirement of an education that would fit him for future professional honors and success. Later his father moved west to St. Louis, Mo., and our student entered McKendree College at Lebanon, Illinois, from which he graduated in 1871. On the completion of his col- lege course he taught school for one year and then entered the Law De- partment of the University of Michigan where he attended a course of lectures. After his graduation from McKendree College he began reading law with the intent of making the practice of law his life work. On leav- ing the University of Michigan, he entered the law office of Huckins & Sutherland at Saginaw, where he studied the details of his chosen profes- sion. In 1874, after an examination by the Circuit Court, he was admitted to the Bar of Saginaw county. In 1875 he was elected justice of the peace and in 1877 he was made police justice. In 1879 he became associated with Hon. John A. Edget in a general law practice. His association with Mr. Edget continued until the latter was appointed Judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit in 1889. Since that time he has been for the most of the time alone in his practice. Although having an extensive practice and large legal interests confided to him he is a public spirited citizen and greatly interested in the well being and progress of Saginaw, his chosen home. He was a member of the Board of Public Works of Saginaw from 1891 to 1895. His practice is general, except criminal matters, but he gives his attention mainly to probate, real estate, commercial and corporation law. 204 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. He has given these branches of the law especially deep and painstaking study and is one of the ablest exponents of law relating thereto, of the Saginaw county Bar. He is the attorney of two banks and of a large number of corporations and merchants and also is the representative of a number of large estates. In politics Mr. Brooks is a Democrat, but while active to further the best interests of his party he has never held office ex- cept as stated, and has steadily declined to be a candidate for political office. He is a member of the Masonic order. Mr. Brooks chose as his help-mate in life Luella J. Dadmun of Boston, the esteemed and accom- plished daughter of Rev. J. W. Dadmun for twenty-five years chaplain and superintendent of Deer Island Reformatory in Boston Harbor, a man known, loved, and respected throughout New England, and one who stands high in the Masonic fraternity. Two sons have blessed their union and in them the intelligence of their parents is mirrored, giving promises of lives. of honor and usefulness; William C. is in the senior class of the Saginaw, East Side, high school and Melville D., a youth of eleven years, also shows marked aptitude in his studies. It is not, however, as an able attorney only, that Mr. Brooks is known. In addition to his extensive legal prac- tice he has engaged in building operations on a large scale and has been the means of enabling over one hundred families to obtain comfortable homes. These he has erected and sold to people of humble means on easy pay- ments, thus providing homes for hundreds of poor but industrious people who did not have even a building lot or the means with which to purchase one in the ordinary way. He was the pioneer in this work in Saginaw and has aided materially in the development of the city and also the happiness of his fellow men. It is a well known fact that those persons are the best citizens who own their homes. By the ownership of a home people come more closely into touch with their surroundings and have more at stake in the community. The possession of a home also tends to inculcate habits of industry and thrift. Measured by his labors in this direction Mr. Brooks may truly be said to be a valued citizen. As an attorney he is essentially an office lawyer, preferring the adjustment rather than the litigating of disputes. His efforts have been directed to keeping people out of the courts and his success in his business attests the confidence reposed in his judgment and management as manifested in the magnitude of the interests confided to his charge. They are tangible and eloquent evidence of his success and of the appreciation of his effort, on the part of a large and in- fluential clientage. He is a careful, shrewd and conscientious advisor, a good business manager, a well read lawyer and a courteous and affable gen- tleman. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 205 HENRY M. DUFFIELD, Detroit. Colonel Duffield bears an honored name, which has come down to him from illustrious ancestors, and which has suffered no stain at his hands. His father was the Reverend Doctor George Duffield, who was so intimately identified with the religious life of Detroit for nearly thirty years as the beloved pastor of the First Presby- terian Church, from 1838 until the day of his death in 1868. He was a native of Strasburg, Pennsylvania, born July 4, 1794. Rev. George Duf- field, great-grandfather of our subject, in association with Bishop White, served as Chaplain of the first United States Congress, and at a later date. officiated in the same capacity in the Continental Army. His son, the grandfather of Colonel Duffield, was prominent in the commercial circles of Philadelphia, and his financial reputation was enhanced by his occupancy for nine years of the office of Comptroller-General of Pennsylvania. The mother of our subject was Isabella Graham (Bethune) Duffield. She was born October 22, 1799, and died in Detroit November 3, 1871. She also belonged to a family of affairs, her father, D. Bethune, Esq., standing high in the mercantile circles of New York. Our subject was graduated from the Detroit city schools, in the class of 1858. He spent a year in the University of Michigan and in 1859 he entered the junior class of Williams College in Massachusetts and was graduated in 1861. By this time the Civil War had burst upon the country, and our young collegiate was quick to respond to the call of his country. He enlisted in the Ninth Regiment, Michigan Infantry, and against his name at Williams stands the honorable distinction of being the first student to enlist from that venerable college. Our subject made an excellent record as a soldier. Enlisting as a private, he was soon made adjutant of his regiment. He participated in some of the most serious battles of the war, and everywhere bore himself with the utmost courage. At Murfreesboro he was under the eye of his brother, General W. W. Duffield, where that distinguished officer was twice wounded, and was taken prisoner. He was not long detained in Southern prisons, being exchanged in less than three months. On his return to service, he was detailed to act as assistant adjutant-general of all the forces in the Department of Kentucky, and rose rapidly to be assistant adjutant-general of the Twenty-Third Brigade in the Army of the Cum- berland. In 1863 he was on the personal staff of Gen. George H. Thomas, and was with him in all the fierce and terrible engagements of that year. He was serving as post adjutant at Chattanooga, when it was invested by General Bragg. Under the direction of Gen. John G. Parkhurst, he issued the orders for the establishing of the Chattanooga National Cemetery. The plans were sanctioned by General Thomas, and out of them has grown that comprehensive scheme by which the sites of nearly all the greater battles of the war are now occupied by national cemeteries, and the ashes of the illustrious dead sleep on the fields that their bravery made conspicuous. Colonel Duffield was wounded at Chickamauga and bore a 206 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, hand in nearly all the hard-fought battles of the central west - Nashville, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, and Atlanta. His period of service expired October 14, 1864, and feeling that there was no question about the utter collapse of the great rebellion as soon as weather should permit the resumption of operations in the spring, he did not re-enlist. He returned to Detroit, and at once began the reading of law under the direction of his brother D. Bethune Duffield, with whom he formed a partnership as soon as he passed the necessary examination, and was admitted to practice. This was in April, 1865. The short time occupied in preliminary study is a good illustration of the earnestness and applica- tion with which Colonel Duffield addresses himself to any matter before him. In the legal profession he has achieved marked success, not only in the city courts, but in the State, Federal and Supreme courts as well. He was official attorney for the board of education from 1866 to 1871, and for two terms he was corporation counsel of the City of Detroit. He has been connected with some of the most noted cases that have gone through the courts of the State, as well as the United States Circuit and Supreme courts, and has always acquitted himself as a master spirit in his profes- sion. He was one of the counsel in the celebrated Detroit Street Railway litigation. In him seem to have been mingled about all the elements that make the successful lawyer. He is a Republican and has much to do with the management of party affairs. He was a candidate for Congress in 1876, but was defeated by Gen. A. S. Williams, though he received thirteen hundred votes in excess of those cast for President on the Repub- lican ticket that year. His friends have sought to put him in nomination for other positions since that time, but he has uniformly declined. His wide familiarity with all that concerns the life of a soldier was recognized by his appointment on the military board of Michigan, where he served until 1889. He was appointed in 1874, and during the last seven years of service on the board was its president. He is a trustee of the Michigan Military Academy. As a man of business he is remarkably successful. He is a stockholder in the Bell Telephone Company, interested in the American Exchange National Bank, and has money invested in other important enterprises. Colonel Duffield is popular with his comrades in the Army of the Cumberland, belongs to the society of that name, and was their orator at the anniversary meeting of 1889 at Washington. He was selected by the Governor of Michigan to deliver the address on the occasion of the dedication of the monument to Michigan's soldiers, erected by the State on the battlefield of Chickamauga. This address contains much that would not be inappropriate to quote in a biographical sketch, but the limited space and the professional character of this work precludes its use. While Colonel Duffield was still a soldier he was married to Miss Frances Pitts, daughter of Samuel Pitts and Sarah Merrill, the wedding occurring December 29, 1863. They are the parents of seven children. One of them, Divie B. Duffield, has been admitted to the Bar and is associated with his father in business. Coff Mansell & Co Yours Fot. Hoplins UNIV BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 207 GEORGE H. HOPKINS, Detroit. Hon. George H. Hopkins is of English descent through ancestors prominent in the colonial history of Connecticut, nearly three hundred years ago. He is a descendant of John Hopkins, who emigrated from Coventry, Warwick county, England, about 1632, settled in Massachusetts near Boston and soon after moved to Con- necticut. The colonial records perpetuate the historical fact that he was the original owner of the land on which the Hartford colony was established, in 1632. He was the founder of the family in America and his descendants are scattered through many States. Some of them are probably still resi- dents of the original settlement in Connecticut named Hopkins in honor of the first emigrant. One of them, Erastus Hopkins, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Oneida county, New York, in 1804. Subsequently he lived in Steuben county, in the same State. He married in January, 1828, in Steuben county, Lydia Ann Parker, who died at their new home in Michigan, January, 1838. In May, 1839, he married Climene Clark, also of Steuben county. She died November 1, 1864. The children of the first marriage were William Wadsworth, Lyman Cutting, Ralph Willis, Mark Lyman and Dan Gilbert. Lyman and Mark died in childhood. William was a member of the Fifth Michigan cavalry during the War of the Rebellion. He died in 1871. Ralph is living at Wyandotte, Michigan. Dan was a member of the Seventeenth Michigan Infantry and was mortally wounded at the battle of South Mountain, September 14, 1862. The children of the second marriage were George Hiram, Lydia Climene and Charles Clark. Lydia is living with her brother George. Charles is a clerk of the Supreme Court of Michigan. Erastus Hopkins removed with his young family in a wagon to Michigan in 1834, more than two centuries after his ancestors first settled in Ameriea. The territory of Michigan was then sparsely populated; comforts were few and luxuries unknown in the forests of the interior. He bought land in the township of White Lake, in Oakland county, on which he cleared a farm and resided until his death, in 1876. On this farm George H. Hopkins was born, November 7, 1842, and there he passed the first eighteen years of his life. He enjoyed only the limited advantages of the country district schools and made the best possible use of them. In every such district, however primitive and isolated, may be found at least one boy who aspires; who is not content to rest upon the possible acquirements of the neighborhood; whose aspiration is only the forehand courier of a purpose to seek larger opportunities and whose will finds the means of executing his purpose. Young Hopkins was such a boy. He realized early that he must depend upon himself for the promotion of his ambition, and had recourse to the bridge which has carried so many capable boys from the hard work of the farm and narrow boun- daries of rural school district into the illimitable boundaries of the profession of law. In short he qualified himself for a school teacher and found employment when eighteen years old in the common schools of Oakland 208 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. county, where he taught two winters. With the wages thus earned he paid his way in the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, whither he went in the spring of 1862, after one term at Pontiac union school. It was at the time when the second stage of the war fever was raging and the martial spirit of college boys was aroused. In August of that year this spirit was so strong as to almost depopulate the University of Michigan and the State Normal School. Young Hopkins, with a number of companions, enlisted, and the number of students was sufficient to nearly fill a company of the Seven- teenth Michigan Infantry. From that time until the close of the war he was at the front. His regiment was as brave as any in the service and the student company was not wanting in valor. The Seventeenth was assigned to the Ninth Army Corps and fought in the Maryland battles of 1862, the Fredericksburg Campaign in the winter of 1862-3, in Kentucky in April and May, 1863, at the Siege of Vicksburg in June, the Jackson, Mississippi Campaign in July, 1863, and at Knoxville and the East Tennessee Cam- paign in the fall and winter of 1863-4; was in the campaigns and battles of the Army of the Potomac in 1864-5, which culminated at Appomatox. During all this time, and until the close of the war, George H. Hopkins was a soldier, carrying his gun and knapsack through all the campaigns. He performed every duty faithfully and when the war was ended was mus- tered out honorably. He had not ceased to cherish the purpose to com- plete his education and enter the profession of law. On his return from the field he re-entered the Normal School and pursued his studies to graduation with the class of 1867. From there he went to the University of Michigan and took up some studies in the Literary Department for the first year and then entered the Law Department. He was graduated as a Bachelor of Laws in 1871, having in the meantime served as deputy United States marshal and taken the enumeration of a district for the United States census in 1870. Upon his admission to the Bar he wisely chose Detroit as offering the best inducements in the character of business and the associations of men for a young man to engage in the practice of law. He made favorable acquaintances, secured business and won friends. He held the position of assistant attorney for the Detroit and Milwaukee Rail- road Company for eight years. His agreeable manners and talent for politics attracted the attention of political leaders. He was chosen as private secretary of Governor Bagley upon the latter's accession to the gubernatorial office served with marked ability during that Governor's two terms, 1873-76, and then, by special request, as a personal favor to Gov- ernor Crosswell, served in the same capacity during the first session of the Legislature, after Crosswell's inauguration. The following year Mr. Hop- kins was elected to represent Detroit in the Legislature, having sufficient popularity to win when nearly all other candidates on the Republican ticket were defeated. In the House he rendered valuable service as chair- man of the committee on military affairs, and member of the committee on railroads. He was re-elected in 1880, and during the session which fol- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 209 lowed served as chairman of the committee on the University of Michigan. His acquaintance throughout the State gave him an advantage which he He secured the passage was sufficiently diplomatic to utilize to its utmost. of a bill introduced by himself providing for the erection of a new library building for the University. In 1882 he was elected for a third term and went to Lansing with the confidence of his party and ability, largely aug- mented by experience, for effective work as a legislator. He was honored with election as speaker pro tem and appointed to the most important committee chairmanship in the body — chairman of the committee on the judiciary. He also rendered effective service as a member of the com- mittee on the State Public School and committee on State Library. A valuable service which he rendered to the State and the city of Detroit was in securing the passage of the bill providing for maintainance of the State militia, and another bill empowering the city of Detroit to purchase and improve Belle Isle as a city park. In pursuance of the provisions of the measure last mentioned Detroit has provided for her citizens, and one of the attractions for visitors, one of the most beautiful parks in the country. Mr. Hopkins is also accredited with the authorship and passage of a bill creating a jury commission in Wayne county, which is of trans- cendant importance as a means of promoting the ends of justice. He served on the military staff of Governor Alger as lieutenant colonel and assistant inspector general. Latterly most of his time has been occupied with business and commercial affairs. He was appointed one of the trus- tees and executors of the will of Governor Bagley, and as the estate was large and the property scattered, and most of the management of the estate under the will devolved upon him, he was gradually drawn away from his practice until his time has become entirely absorbed in other affairs. He is a member of the Board of Directors of many of the import- ant manufactories and private corporations of Detroit. In his investments and management of business enterprises he displays rare tact and judgment. His activity in politics began soon after attaining his majority. In 1878, and again in 1888, he was chairman of the Republican State Central Com- mittee. Executive ability of the highest order was exhibited in his man- agement of the campaigns. His knowledge of men and capacity for affairs make him strong in leadership. In 1890 he was appointed collector of cus- toms for the port of Detroit by President Harrison, and served four years. His social traits are strongly evidenced by membership in the Detroit Club, the Yondotega Club, the Fellowcraft Club, the Michigan Club, Lake St. Clair Fishing and Shooting Club, Audubon Club, the Detroit Boat Club. He is also an active member in the Grand Army of the Republic, having held the position of commander of Detroit Post No. 384. He was adjutant general of the Grand Army of the Republic during the time that General Alger was commander in chief. For three years he has been a member of the executive committee of the National Council of Administration G.A.R. He is also a Mason, a member of the Scottish Rite and Mystic Shrine. 14 210 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Few citizens of Detroit have larger influence than Mr. Hopkins and the activities of few have been directed more usefully and advantageously to the city of Detroit and the State of Michigan. He is one of the strong, capable and successful men whose public record in the character of its achievements is equalled by the stainless reputation of his private life. CHARLES K. LATHAM, Detroit. Charles Kellogg Latham was born May 2, 1847, near Canandaigua, in the State of New York. The family of Latham settled at Bridgewater, Massachusetts, with the first English settlers after the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. Members of the family, both in England and America, have ranked high as scholars, authors and statesmen. The name is so uncommon that those bearing it generally have little difficulty in tracing their lineage to a common ancestry. The subject of our sketch was prepared for college at Canandaigua Acad- emy. He taught school in one of the country districts at the age of seventeen; was principal of one of the Canandaigua village schools at nineteen and was employed as one of the teachers of the Academy at twenty. He entered the University of Michigan in the sophomore class in September, 1868, and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in 1871. The University has since conferred upon him the degrees of Bachelor of Laws and Master of Arts, the former in 1872 and the latter in 1876. He was superintendent of schools for the city of Charlotte, Eaton county, for two years, from September, 1872, to July, 1874. He began the practice of law in Charlotte in July, 1874, and continued it until September, 1876, when he was chosen principal of the high school of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he remained until July, 1879. He then located in Detroit and since that time has been engaged continuously in the practice of law. While attending to a remunerative law practice he has been inter- ested in several successful business enterprises, among which are lumbering, manufacturing and banking. He is at this time (1896) vice president and attorney of the Central Savings Bank of Detroit and president of the board of commissioners of parks and boulevards of the city. Having been appointed a commissioner in 1893 by Mayor Pingree, for the term of four years, his appointment was immediately confirmed by the common council. Politically Mr. Latham has always been associated with the Democratic party. He holds it to be the duty of every citizen to exercise the elective franchise, but has always steadily refused to become interested in politics as a candidate for office. In 1869, while away from home at college, the people of his native town of Gorham, Ontario county, New York, elected him its collector of taxes, and neighboring farmers furnished the required bond of $32,000. This is the only political office to which he was ever elected. In his whole career he has maintained the reputation of being conscientious, painstaking, and unflinchingly honest and upright in all of UNIV OF MICH Neary A. Chaney The Century Pub and Eng. De Eming-1 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 211 his dealings. He has won an honorable position at the Bar, where he is the recipient of the esteem and good will of his brother lawyers. His clientage represents large moneyed interests and his practice has taken him into many circuits outside of Detroit, as well as into other States and the Federal Courts. He is strongly averse to anything that partakes of adver- tisement of himself or display in his professional work. In the prime of life, sound and strong of body, there is for him the assurance of many years of continued prosperity. He has been married twice: First, in 1873, to Mary E. Bodine, who died in 1877, and second, in 1886, to Frances A. Wormer, his present wife. He has one son, born of his first wife, Everett Bodine Latham. HENRY A. CHANEY, late of Detroit. Henry Allen Chaney was born in Burlington, Vermont, July 14, 1848, and died in Detroit, June 14, 1894. His father, the late Henry Chaney, was widely known as an educa- tor, both in New England and Michigan; was for many years a member of the faculty of the University of Vermont; moved to Detroit in 1858 and organized the Detroit High School, of which he became first principal. He was also the first librarian of the Detroit Public Library. His son's youth was highly favored with the companionship of good books and the refinement and accomplishments of the schools. By association and instruc- tion Henry became familiar in early boyhood with many of the important and interesting problems of practical education. By inherited tendencies no less than by early training the bent of his mind was essentially literary. His application as a student was none the less severe because of his facility in the acquirement of knowledge. He was graduated from the Detroit high school at seventeen, from the University of Michigan at twenty-one, upon completion of the full classical course, and from the Law Department of the University two years later. He was at once admitted to the Bar, well qualified for practice. By the felicitous expression of his thoughts in written composition he had already gained reputation as a writer, and two years next succeeding his graduation in law were passed as a member of the editorial staff of the Detroit Tribune. In 1875 he published a record of the Law Department of the University of Michigan, a year later a Digest of the Reports of the Supreme Court of Michigan, and in 1877 a Notary's Manual. The same year he accepted the office of reporter of the Supreme Court, which position he filled with credit to himself and accept- ability to the profession until 1886. He resigned the reporter's office in order to devote himself to private practice. His literary trend and talent for authorship, however, again drew him into the literature of the law. In 1889, associated with Albert P. Jacobs, he prepared and published in two volumes a digest of decisions of the Michigan Supreme Court, which was followed by a third volume in 1893. Mr. Chaney, although a ready writer, 212 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. was not a superficial one. He possessed originality of thought and his learning was profound on many subjects. His frequent newspaper contri- butions and numerous magazine articles, in addition to publications on legal topics, bear witness to his versatility and industry. He was a prime factor in the organization of the Alumni Society of the Detroit high school and participated actively in it during the remainder of his life, serving as president of the society and as orator. His friendliness to the cause of education was also manifested in other ways. From 1889 to 1891 he was a member of the Detroit board of education and devoted his energies with the enthusiasm of youth to promote the usefulness of common schools and secure honesty in their management. For several years he was professor of medical jurisprudence in the Michigan College of Medicine. He was also a valued member of the board of council of the Protestant Orphan Asylum. In 1877 he was married to Miss Frances M. Hall of Detroit. Five children were born of the union: Edmund Hall, Isabella Caryl, Emeline Cochran, Henry Francis, and George Hall. Mr. Chaney's life was frank and manly. He was not a man of pretense, but of action. His performance always more than sustained his promise. His chief concern was with the intellectual and moral forces, as applicable to existing condi- tions. His sensibilities were fine; his mental conceptions of honor high, and all recognized the nobility of his private and professional life. There was nothing artful or studied in his demeanor. On the contrary his social intercourse was marked by a spontaneity which made him a charming companion. His conversation sparkled with humor, but there was never a sting to his witticism. A delicate consideration for the sensitiveness and the opinions of others afforded a guarantee that the former should not be wounded, or the latter needlessly assailed. It was never in his heart or purpose to infringe upon the rights of others. He was therefore sincerely loved and his early death was deeply deplored. JULIAN G. DICKINSON, Detroit. Mr. Dickinson was born at Ham- burg, New York, November 20, 1843. His parents removed to Michigan, settling at Jonesville where they remained until 1857, when they removed to Jackson, Michigan. Julian attended the Union schools at Jonesville and Jackson, and received in them an education upon which his industry and determination builded a broad and liberal intelligence. When in July, 1862, an additional call was made for volunteers for the war, he en- listed in the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, then organizing at Detroit, and in September, 1862, joined the Army of the Cumberland. pointed one of the secretaries in the adjutant's office, promoted to sergeant, and subsequently to sergeant major of the regiment, and after the battle at Kingston, Georgia, where he distinguished himself in battle, he was com- missioned first lieutenant and adjutant of the regiment. He took part in He was ap- ་ BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 213 eighty battles and marched over ten thousand miles during his term of service, a record of which, covering the period from July, '62, to August, '65, would include the most important engagements and movements of the army in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. To him belongs the honor of closing the War of the Rebellion by personally arresting Jefferson Davis, Chief of the Confederacy, at Ironville, Georgia, on the 10th day of May, 1865. The fugitive President of the Confederacy was seeking to escape, disguised in the dress and shawl of a woman, when, halted by Lieut. Dickinson and ordered into the tent from which he had but a minute before emerged and over which the young lieutenant, realizing the impor- tance of his capture, at once stationed a guard. For this service he was mentioned in special reports to the Secretary of War by Lieutenant Col- onel B. D. Pritchard and General J. H. Wilson, and was commissioned brevet captain of U. S. Volunteers and captain of cavalry by Governor Crapo. He was mustered out of service August 15, 1865. His experi- ence in the field had served to strengthen his frame and mature his mind, so that entering the army a mere boy just passed eighteen years of age a private in the ranks, he returned from the war wearing the uniform of a captain and thoroughly imbued with the importance of life's duties, the obligation of man to man, the utility of promptness and accuracy, and of implicit obedience to constituted authority. He had improved his time in the army to read assiduously everything he could procure, and having de- termined to enter the profession of law as his lifework he lost no time in completing his education. In October, 1865, he entered the Law Depart- ment of the University of Michigan. In 1866 he became a student in the law office of Moore & Griffin at Detroit, where he remained until 1868, having been admitted to the Bar meanwhile, in October, 1867, on exam- ination before the Judges of the Supreme Court of Michigan. In 1868 he formed a partnership with Horace E. Burt and 1869 with Don M. Dick- inson, which latter firm was dissolved in 1873. He has since continued in the practice of law at Detroit without partners. In 1882, on motion of Hon. Nathaniel Wilson, he was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, and conducted the case of Densmore vs. Mat- thews, 109 U. S. R., which was the first case in the United States Su- preme Court appealed from the Supreme Court of Michigan. Mr. Dick- inson's practice has been of a general character, and has embraced many important cases involving large interests. The records of the Supreme Court afford abundant evidence of his honorable and successful career. Mr. Dickinson is a hard and painstaking student, preparing his cases with great thoroughness; conscientious in the discharge of duty to his clients He is of and at the same time fully alive to honor, justice and truth, kindly nature, sympathetic and courteous in his bearing. Mr. Dickinson was married June 25, 1878, to Clara M., daughter of H. R. Johnson, of Detroit. They have an interesting family of six children-Alfred, Thorn- ton, Julian, Philip, Stanley and Clara. The home circle reflects the loving 214 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. character of his wife, while Christian influence through the Central Meth- odist Episcopal Church, of which both parents are members, is molding the character of the future citizens of the republic in this home of the patriot soldier lawyer. GEORGE X. M. COLLIER, Detroit. Mr. Collier was born in Clare- mont, New Hampshire, September 27, 1838. His father, Charles S. Col- lier, was a native of Charleston, New Hampshire, and a carriage manufac- turer. The Colliers were of English origin and settled in New England at an early day. His mother, Eliza Currier, born in the same county and State, was of Scotch descent, and her maternal ancestors were connected with the Clan Campbell. With such sturdy, resolute ancestry a man is well started in life at his birth. George X. M. Collier passed his boyhood until fifteen years of age in his native State, where he attended the public schools and became proficient in academic studies. The family removed to Michigan in 1853 and settled in Pontiac, where his father died the fol- lowing year. He attended the University of Michigan for a while and was fortunate in being permitted to study law in the office and under the instruction, at Marshall, of the late D. Darwin Hughes, one of the ablest and most distinguished lawyers of Michigan. Early contact with such a man and such a lawyer was of inestimable value to the law student. The advantage did not consist alone in the preceptor's capacity to teach the principles of the law, but was enhanced by his personality, which, as an example, inspired high ideals. Later Mr. Collier studied in the office with Governor Wisner, of Pontiac. He was admitted to the Bar in 1866 and entered upon the practice at once. For thirty years he has been devoted to his profession without reserve. The phosphorescent halo which surrounds the public official has not turned his head, nor have the Pinchbeck rewards of public office enticed him from the straight path in which he had chosen to walk. He held firmly to the law and through the succeeding years has gained a reputation and made for himself a place high among the capable lawyers of the State. It may be remarked as a fact somewhat peculiar that Mr. Collier is most widely known, and has acquired his greatest reputation, as a criminal lawyer, when his cases in the Criminal Courts do not aggregate more than one-tenth the number of his civil cases. The explanation of this is probably found in the excep- tional notoriety that attends the trial of criminals and the distinctive im- portance of many cases of that character with which he has been connected. He was counsel for Mrs. Pope, defendant, charged with the murder of her husband, and convicted. He was counsel for William Considine in the Perrien abduction case, and secured the acquittal of his client. The dockets of the Recorder's Court show a large number of murder cases in which he appeared for the defendant; but the dockets of the Civil Courts A. HM, Collier Se Demiury Publishing & Engraving Co Chicagu OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 215 contain his name as attorney for the plaintiff or defendant in a hundred cases at the present time. One of the most noteworthy cases with which he has been connected took him to Europe some years ago, and he im- proved the occasion to make an extended tour of the Continent. His client was Madame von Brenen, an Italian lady, who had secured a divorce from her husband in a Michigan court. She was a member of the titled family, Salvini, in Italy, and had inherited, prior to her marriage, large estates in that country. As she belonged to the Catholic church, and the estates were situated in a Catholic country, she was unable to control the property unless the decree of divorce obtained in Michigan should be affirmed by the courts of Italy. Up to that time neither the Roman Catholic Church nor the Italian Government had ever recognized the law of divorce in the States. Mr. Collier succeeded in securing an affirmation by the courts of Italy of the decree obtained in Michigan for his client, securing to her all property rights, real and personal. This case estab- lished a precedent, and affirmed the supremacy of Civil Law over Ecclesi- astic authority in Catholic countries. Mr. Collier has, during the years. that have been mainly absorbed in labor connected with his profession, given much attention to literature. He has kept abreast of the times in historical, literary and scientific research, and has found recreation in such reading. As to his methods in the law, one of the oldest practitioners of Detroit, who is familiar with his career, speaks of him as careful and discriminating in the collection of the facts in a case and powerful and con- vincing in the presentation of them. He possesses the art of so arranging the facts in their relation to each other as to flash upon the minds of his listeners the result he wishes; consequently he is much sought after by clients and achieves many successes. In 1873 he married Miss Jennie M. Brown, of Troy, New York, who is a graduate of Emma Willard's Semi- nary of that city, and a daughter of William Turpin Brown, who, in early life, was a merchant of New York City. He was connected with the Tur- pins, one of the oldest New York families, who possessed quite a large estate in land and slaves, and from whom Wm. Turpin Brown inherited quite an amount in real estate. There is one child of this marriage, F. Ione B. Collier. NATHANIEL H. STEWART, Kalamazoo. Mr. Stewart belongs to an ancient and time-honored race. He traces his pedigree back to the time. of Henry VIII, when the original name Steward was changed to that of Stewart. Through camp and court his ancestors have passed, distinguished for bravery and courage, with scarcely a generation but has been marked as giving one illustrious name, at least, to the annals of Scottish history. Akin to the royal family, according to tradition, Sir Charles Stewart utterly refused to Frenchify his name by dropping the "E" and inserting 216 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. U, as did Mary and many of his more humble cousins. This line of Stewart needs not the claim of royal kinship to embellish its record. That was made and maintained by sturdy courage, independence and love of native land. When Prince Charley landed on Scottish soil in 1745, and rallied his followers about him, one branch of this family, Charles Nelson, espoused his cause, at the sacrifice of his own life and loss of estates. A son named Charles sought the shores of America in 1780 and settled in the Mohawk Valley. A son of this branch of the family called “Captain Charley' married Leah Hutchinson, granddaughter of Major John R. Little, a hero of the Revolutionary War, who served through that entire war and was placed in command of the fort at Johnstown, New York. Their eldest son was named Charles Nelson. He developed all the strong traits of both branches of his family, and was a man of great intellectual power and force. His early training was for the Presbyterian ministry, under the tutorage of Doctor Hoosic, then one of the most celebrated Scotch preachers in the Presbyterian pulpit; but after reaching his majority his talents were devoted to business. He manufactured wagons, con- structed large manufacturing plants and machinery for their operation. He was an original designer and practical master of this art. Charles Nelson Stewart married for his first wife Jane Andrus, of the old New England Andrus family, by whom he had four children: Mary, Emily, Caroline and Charles. After her death he married her sister, Pauline Westgate Andrus, by whom he had four children: George Andrus, Nathan- iel H., our subject, Lyman S. and Kate. Nathaniel H. Stewart may be pardoned the pride with which he points to his ancestry; but, from his birth, he seems to have drunk in the pure American spirit and sentiment of the constitution of his country; that the people are the real sovereigns. He believes in the sentiment expressed by Robert Burns, his favorite poet, that "the honest man, though e'er sae poor, is king o' men for a' that.' He was born at Johnstown, Fulton county, New York, July 20, 1847, and until May 4, 1868, spent his time at school and in his father's shops and mills. He became familiar with the use of all kinds of tools and machinery in wood or iron; could operate the old style flour and grist mill, as well as work at the bench. His great physical strength and courage made him the ideal of his companions; and, although possessing rather a violent temper, he was controlled by the right. His sympathies were easily moved; the sight of suffering or a kind word would melt him to tears. Early in life he determined to study law. Endowed with a spirit of inde- pendence and self-respect to such an extent as to seem at times abrupt and harsh, he was well calculated to face the world alone. With $30 in his pocket he left his native town on the morning of May 4, 1868, and arrived in the then village of Kalamazoo, Michigan, on the following day, with about $7. It was sufficient for his immediate wants and, by his own push and energy, he sustained himself without assistance. About June I of that year he entered the law office of ex-U. S. Senator Charles E. Stuart, N.Me Stewart. The Century Rublishing &Engraving Co. Chicago. UNIV OF K BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 217 Edwards & May. For some time young Stewart slept on the bare floor of what is now his private office, until, by copying, and odd jobs he was able to pay for a better lodging. He preferred the floor for a bed to being any man's debtor. His clothes had become pretty well worn out by March 1, 1869, and he was unable to pay for a new wardrobe. In the emergency he went to Plainwell, a small town twelve miles north of Kalamazoo, and took charge of an elevator and produce house that had just been established there, kept the books, bought grain, took a hand with employees in hand- ling trucks, sacks of grain, barrels of lime, salt, etc. Here he won the esteem and admiration of all the men about him by his kind treatment of them and the exhibition of his remarkable strength. He remained just one year at seventy-five dollars per month and so husbanded his resources that he was able to return to the old law office and pursue his studies, until the new firm of Edwards & Sherwood was formed in the fall of 1870. Mr. May had been elected attorney general of the State and Senator Stuart had retired on account of ill health. Appreciating his native ability, capacity and aptitude for the profession, Edwards & Sherwood made a contract with him at a salary of three hundred and twenty-five dollars a year for three years. In March, 1872, he was admitted to the Bar on his first examination and long before his three years had expired. Judge Sherwood, the trial lawyer of the firm, had Mr. Stewart with him to assist in every case tried, either in state or federal courts. Messrs. Edwards & Sherwood were the attorneys of the Michigan Central Railroad Company, and as that branch of litigation was heavy, Mr. Stewart gave especial at- tention to it. He became proficient in all the details of railroad litigation, and when he left the old firm of Edwards & Sherwood was retained by that company as one of its attorneys at Kalamazoo. About a year after the expiration of his contract and his withdrawal from the firm to engage in practice on his own account the firm of Edwards & Sherwood was dis- solved, and at once Mr. Stewart was invited by Mr. Edwards to join him in a partnership which succeeded to the old business. Mr. Stewart was retained as the local attorney of the Chicago and Grand Trunk Railroad, and the Michigan Central, and he continues to hold both positions. His practice in the line of corporations and patents is large and lucrative, and he is very successful. Through his entire career he has kept the reso- lution formed in boyhood to pay as he goes. Without a single exception, thus far, he has never been the debtor of any one, but always paid cash for everything, even the household expenses. He attributes his success in life, financially, very largely to strict adherence to this rule. From the time he slept on the floor in the office to the present time he has never ex- perienced the sensation of owing any man for anything. When he received little he spent less. He is convinced that many young men make failures because they will not observe the rules of self-dependence, industry and economy. December 14, 1875, he married Ella Frances Gates, a daugh- ter of Chauncey and Jane Gates, who came to Kalamazoo from Water- 218 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. town, New York, in the summer of 1868. Mr. Gates was a large manu- facturer of morocco. As a result of this marriage two sons were born; Donald Argyle, August 3, 1882, and Gordon L., July 12, 1885. His children from birth have been his idols. All who have observed his fam- ily life are impressed with the sympathy and confidence and mutual love between parent and child. The home life is ideal. His children are his companions. No human tie could be dearer, no bond closer. It is an illustration of the strength of manly character and devotion to an object worthy of love. Though it would scarcely be fair to call Mr. Stewart a politician, yet he has during all of his adult life been identified with the Democratic party and usually been active in the management of its con- ventions and support of its candidates. On different occasions he has, at the call of the State Central Committee, canvassed the State and spoken in every section. He is a public speaker of more than usual force and capacity. He was chairman and manager of the Congressional campaign of 1882, which resulted in the election of George L. Yaple to congress over J. C. Burrows, and it is the more noteworthy from the fact that it is the isolated instance of the election of a democratic congressman in the district since the war. It was due to his shrewdness and successful manip- ulation that Burrows was beaten by a majority of two hundred and fifty- eight, when the normal republican majority was five thousand in the dis- trict. All of the Democratic candidates for Supreme Judge and two regents of the State University were elected at the spring state election in 1883. He managed the campaign in place of chairman of the State Central Committee, by request of the candidates, and while it was at first considered a forlorn hope, the whole aspect of the canvass was changed within a week after Mr. Stewart took charge. His energy, enthusiasm and talent for details inspired hope and courage in every one that came into his presence. His plans were inaugurated under his own supervision by day and night, and he did not permit himself to sleep at all for three successive nights until the entire scheme was in working order. The whole state ticket was elected the first clean sweep the democrats had after the war. This great victory following closely his management of the election of George L. Yaple to congress the fall before placed him at the head of the competent party leaders in the state. In 1894 he was nominated as the democratic candidate for congress and made the can- vass against Mr. Burrows, running ahead of his ticket, but not enough to carry the district. If his success as a lawyer is measured by the accumu- lation of property as the result of practice, then indeed has he been suc- cessful. Independence and self-reliance are well defined among his char- acteristics. They were evidenced first by his leaving home during his minority, and have been marked ever since. Although his education in school was limited, his self-culture has been quite extended. He has traveled through every State and Territory of the Union, including Alaska. As a reader of literature he likes authors who appeal to the heart UNIV OF William Shakespear The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago. MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 219 and the sympathies, and reads and commits poetry for the soul there is in it rather than for its mechanical perfection. He therefore prefers 'Bobby'' Burns to Pope. Omar Khayyam's Rubăiyăt, as translated by Fitzgerald, is one of his favorites, and has been committed in its entirety by him. This great production he recites in extenso with a charm and a relish that always captivates his hearers. He has devoted time enough to the study of rhetoric to be able to state smoothly what he says with force. He speaks with clearness and positiveness. There are no neutral tints in his character, neither is there temporizing in his speech. He for- mulates his own opinions without waiting for a cue, and maintains them with a courage of conviction and tenacity of a Scotchman. His vocabu- lary abounds in robust Anglo-Saxon words employed to express positive views without equivocation or ambiguity. He does not hesitate to call a spade by its familiar name. He believes that words are the instruments to expressing thoughts, not concealing them; therefore he would succeed better as a commander than a diplomatist, better as a Napoleon than a Talleyrand. And yet he is very smooth in diplomacy. With all of his positiveness and force in leadership he has a vein of gentleness and refine- ment such as is not infrequently associated with stalwart virility. He is an admirer of the beautiful in art and nature, loves paintings and poetry and flowers. Withal he is a strong, active, energetic man, pressing a legal contention with shrewdness and persistence, or manipulating the elements in a political contest with masterful skill and keen insight into the motives. which are the mainspring of human action. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Kalamazoo. Mr. Shakespeare has lived all of his life, except the first year, in Michigan. He was born at Paris, Ohio, April 7, 1844, and came to Kalamazoo county with his parents May 5, 1845. As soon as he had reached the common school age he studied in the public schools at Kalamazoo until twelve years old. He then en- tered the Telegraph printing office for the purpose of learning the printer's trade, and remained there six months. Immediately afterwards he became an apprentice in the office of the Kalamazoo Gazette. This affords one of the best opportunities of acquiring general information, and any boy who spends a few years in the office of a newspaper, with eyes and ears open, can scarcely fail of acquiring a liberal education. In connection with the printer's art the boy took up the study of bookkeeping, and when he was able to take care of a set of books in a satisfactory manner went to Me- dina, Ohio, where he attended Barnard's Academy, paying his expenses meanwhile by keeping books. He was graduated in 1860 at the age of sixteen; clerked in a store for about one year, and at the age of seventeen enlisted in the Second Michigan Infantry, April 12, 1861, and was mus- tered into the United States service on the 25th of the following month. 220 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. He served over three years and was mustered out June 6, 1864, on account of disability occasioned by gunshot wounds. As an indication of his will power and endurance it may be stated that he was shot seven times during the charge in front of Jackson, Mississippi, both of his thighs were broken and shattered, and he waited thirty-three days until he had reached the hospital at Cincinnati before his wounds received attention. During this long period of suffering and the still longer period of slow recuperation in the hospital, his fortitude equaled his courage in battle. His good con- stitution, inherited from worthy ancestors and refusal to die to oblige the surgeons are responsible for his subsequent history quite as much as the skillful treatment and care received from Doctor Norton in the hospi- tal. On arriving at his home he served as clerk in the office of provost marshal until the close of the war. At the age of twenty-one he became editor and proprietor of the Kalamazoo Gazette, with which he had been connected as a lad, retaining control of the same for a period of two years. The commercial instinct, strong in his nature, led him into the mercantile business in 1867, which was continued eleven years. From early boy- hood, however, he had cherished an ambition to become a lawyer and qualified himself to enter the profession in 1878, having studied the text Almost immedi- books while carrying on his business as a merchant. ately after his admission to the Bar he formed a partnership with N. A. Balch, Esq., who was one of the most learned and successful lawyers at the Kalamazoo Bar, with whom he remained until the latter retired from practice. Among the important cases with which Mr. Shakespeare has been connected and which he won in the higher courts are the "Rice Will Case" in the Supreme Court of Michigan. The "Markham Will Case" in the Court of Appeals in New York. The "Brown Ejectment Suit," the decision fixing "when the right of tenant by courtesy termi- nated" in Michigan. Mr. Shakespeare has always taken an active inter- He has est in politics and given his adhesion to the Democratic party. received several nominations at the hands of his party, including two for Secretary of State. He was appointed Brigadier General and Quarter- master of State Troops in 1881. He is a good lawyer, a successful busi- ness man, and has acquired valuable property. He has been a factor in building up the material interests of the community. He was married in August, 1867, to Miss Lydia A. Duel-Markham. His social disposition and good fellowship are attested by membership in the Grand Army of the Republic and the Michigan Society of Political Science. During the State Encampment of the G. A. R. at Owosso in 1894 he delivered an eloquent address in which he took occasion to criticise the administration for its record on the subject of pensions. The criticism was evidently felt in Washington, as his own pension was reduced soon afterwards, but sub- sequently restored after a very earnest contest in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. He is still in the active practice of his profession at Kalamazoo with a very large and growing business. UNIV OF MAS Bony F. Heckert The Century Fublishing & Engraving. Co Chicage BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 221 BENJAMIN F. HECKERT. Mr. Heckert has been judge of Probate for Van Buren county since 1888. He was born on a farm in Wayne county, Ohio, March 29, 1840. His father died when he was only four years of age, which rendered it necessary for him to rely upon his own judgment and resources at a time when the occupation and future course of a boy are usually planned and directed for him. Living on a farm he was employed at planting and gathering crops, and attending the district school between seasons, until he arrived at the age of eighteen. He then entered the academy at Canaan where he remained two years, maintaining himself meanwhile by manual labor. Ambitious to acquire a liberal education, he had no false pride and was not ashamed to engage in any honorable work, provided it commanded sufficient compensation to pay the expenses of tuition and board. From the academy he went into the school room as a teacher well qualified by knowledge and self discipline to take charge of the district in the neighborhood of his birth-place and continued in this em- ployment about two years, until the rebellion opened. He responded to the first call of the president for volunteers and was mustered into the ser- vice of the United States with the Sixteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, April 20, 1861. For three years and six months thereafter his life and services were dedicated to his country. Enlisting as a private he was soon promoted to orderly sergeant, and February 3, 1862, to second lieutenant; and was again promoted May 9, 1864, to the rank of first lieutenant. He was captured by the enemy at Chickasaw Bayou, Decem- ber 29, 1862, confined in the military prisons at Vicksburg and Jackson, Mississippi, and finally at Libby in Richmond where he remained until exchanged May 8, 1863. An incident of peculiar interest and importance, of which sergeant Heckert was the hero, occurred while he was serving in Virginia. Having been sent out in charge of a scouting expedition he captured an uncle, the brother of his father, and marched him into the Union camp a prisoner. Here he presented the cause of the national gov- ernment with such eloquence and convincing argument as induced his rela- tive to renounce the Confederacy and take the oath of allegiance to the United States. Virginia was the native State of the family and a portion of the members of it who remained there became thoroughly imbued with the pernicious doctrine which makes the State paramount to the national authority, while the other portion took the national view and were as loyal to the government as any northern men. At the close of the war Mr. Heckert returned to his home and for two years afterwards attended college at Hayesville, Ohio. He then entered the law department of the Univer- sity of Michigan from which he was graduated in 1868. Immediately afterwards he was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court of Michigan. The decision to enter the profession of law was not without due considera- tion. He had cherished from boyhood an ambition to become a lawyer and even the vicissitudes of war had not removed from his mind the desire 222 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. or interfered with the determination finally acted upon at the earliest oppor- tunity. He commenced the practice of law at South Haven where he located May 25, 1869. Although the scope of his practice was general, embracing all kinds of civil business as well as criminal cases, he had a decided preference for the latter. He has been very successful in the management of such cases and has been counsel for defendants charged with all grades of offenses. Among the numerous, important criminal cases with which he has been connected that of Henry Howland may be mentioned. The defendant was charged with killing his father and owed his acquittal to the shrewd management of his counsel when the public sentiment of the community was strongly against him. In 1872 Judge Heckert was elected Circuit Court Commissioner, holding the position two years. In 1874 he was appointed Prosecuting Attorney for the unexpired portion of a term; was then elected to the same office three consecutive terms. In 1888 he was elected Judge of Probate. Politically Judge Heckert is a member of the Republican party whose interests he has been active in promoting. At various times he has acted as chairman of central and campaign committees and served as delegate in State, congressional and other conventions. He is a member of the Masonic order; has received the 32nd degree of Scottish rite masonry and been initiated in the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Michigan State Bar Association. As a lawyer he has been successful, not only in the management of cases, but also in maintaining an irreproachable personal character and a high standard of professional ethics. married in 1868 to Miss Emily M. Barr and has a daughter, Bessie, age seven years. Judge Heckert is intensely American in all his traits and impulses. His ancestors emigrated from Baden, Germany, in 1731, and settled in Maryland, where they remained until the family became quite numerous. Some of them fought in the war for independence. Maryland some of the family went into Virginia and Pennsylvania. Judge Heckert's father belonged to the Virginia branch of the family and early in life, became so incensed at the injustice of slavery that he moved into the new State of Ohio, where he purchased a section of land, and established a home for himself and family. He took part in laying the foundations on which the free institutions of that great commonwealth now rest. Strongly imbued by nature with sentiments of religion and reverence for God in the midst of the free air of his new home, embowered within primeval forests, he reared his family, impressing upon their young minds a realization of the blessings of religious liberty. The enduring benefits springing from State institutions divorced from the church, firmly imbedded in the mortar of liberty-in religious thought, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to make the race of life unshackled and the most ample oppor- tunity to develop the mind and acquire a liberal education. The character and manliness of such a father could not fail to mould the character of the Anything that savors of injustice stirs Judge Heckert to the depths. son. He was From BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 223 He despises duplicity and fawning. He hates treachery and hypocrisy. On the other hand he holds in the highest estimation true manliness, strict integrity, frankness, faithfulness in friendships, truthfulness and all that goes to make up true nobility of manhood. His word with his brother lawyers is considered as good as his written stipulation. His zeal for his clients' interests knows no bounds. He brings all of his energy to the trial of his causes; works from the beginning to the closing of his case with enthusiasm and great earnestness and no one ever doubts his own belief in the justice of his client's cause. His name has frequently been canvassed for judicial positions and congressional honors, but he is indifferent to such preferment. He is proud of his army service, is a staunch friend of the old soldier and an uncompromising enemy to those who are inimical to the soldier's interest. He is always in great demand at soldiers' gatherings, and is a popular and interesting camp fire talker. He rejoices at the grad- ual but sure obliteration of sectional lines in our country. WILLIAM EVANS GROVE, Grand Rapids. William E. Grove is judge of the Circuit Court at Grand Rapids. He was born near Geneva, Ontario county, New York, November 27, 1833. He is descended from Pennsylvania families, who were among the very early settlers of that State. His ancestors were plain, honest, unpretentious people. His early life was passed quietly on the farm, brightened with aspirations of attaining something better in the future. He was animated by a de- sire to gain the largest possible education and persisted in accomplishing his desire. He was an omniverous reader, appropriating the contents of all the books he could secure, and during boyhood attended the winter schools in the country. From sixteen to twenty-one his attendance at school during half of each year was rendered possible by teaching a part of the time. Upon reaching his majority he began a course of study at Swift's Academy and the Union high school at Geneva, New York, which was a preparation for college. Afterwards he entered Hobart College, Geneva, from which he was graduated, While there he became a mem- ber of the College Greek Fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi. Having completed his literary education he came to Michigan and located in Grand Rapids, April 1, 1857. He became a student of law in the office of J. T. Holmes, who was afterwards judge of the Superior Court, and was admitted to the Bar in March, 1859. He engaged in practice without delay, and in 1860 was elected justice of the peace. In 1867 he removed to Kansas and located at Neosho Falls. where he was elected prosecuting attorney for Woodson County. During the same period he held the office of city attorney of Neosho Falls. After a residence of five years in Kansas he returned to Grand Rapids in March, 1872, and resumed the practice. For sixteen years thereafter he remained at the Bar and controlled a fair 224 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. + practice, which was general in character. His partnerships were with Geo. W. Thompson, two years; J. M. Harris, four years; J. S. Lawrence, two years. He was industrious, plucky and persistent, giving to every branch of his practice close personal attention aud careful supervision. His good judgment, indomitable energy, perseverance in investigation and honesty of purpose, made him a safe counsellor. His fluency and ability to ex- His press his convictions in terse language made him a strong advocate. evenness of temper under all circumstances, his clearness of perception and unbiased mind qualified him admirably for service on the Bench. In August, 1888, he was appointed judge of the seventeenth judicial circuit, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Montgomery, and in the November following was elected to serve the remainder of the term. In 1893 he was again nominated by the Republican party and elected for a full term, which will expire December 31, 1900. The last election was won without a contest, as he was the choice of all parties, having first been nominated by the Republican convention he afterwards received the en- dorsement of the Democratic and Populist conventions. Judge Grove's record on the Bench has furnished additional proof of his fitness for such service. His decisions, carefully considered, have generally been sus- tained by the consensus of intelligent opinion in the Bar and by the de- cisions of the Supreme Court. He is a gentleman of urbane disposition and engaging manners, one who has fairly earned the universal esteem of his fellow-citizens. He was married in 1884 to Miss Jennie Caswell, of Grand Rapids. REUBEN HATCH, Grand Rapids. Judge Hatch was born October 11, 1847, at Alstead, New Hampshire. His early instruction was in the com- mon schools of Ohio and Michigan, where his family lived during his boy- hood. His father was a Congregational minister, whose duties as pastor of His early different congregations caused a frequent change of residence. tuition was received very largely from his father, who was a gentleman of high scholarship himself, and believed in giving to his son the largest possi- While yet ble qualifications and the best opportunities in the race of life. a boy our subject was attracted to the profession of law and his studies. were directed wisely to a preparation for the practice. He was admitted to the Bar at Traverse City, May 12, 1870, after an examination which was unusually strict and rigid. Immediately thereafter he entered upon the practice and won success almost from the beginning. He was fortu- nate in the possession of a kindly, genial disposition, was fond of compan- ionship, and drew to himself friends rapidly and without apparent effort. He was studious in his habits, careful and painstaking in the preparation of his cases, frank and affable in his intercourse with members of the Bar, and therefore soon became known as a good lawyer, a just and capable man. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 225 In 1875 members of the Bar united in favor of his election to the Bench as Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. Although only twenty-eight years of age at the time of his election, his knowledge of the principles of law and his ability to construe and apply statutes were not surpassed by judges who were older and more experienced on the Bench. He dis- charged the duties of judge with ability rarely surpassed. His habit of investigation, his aspiration to be right, and his keen discrimination enabled him usually to ascertain the meaning and intent of the law, and his opinion was seldom reversed by the reviewing courts. During his term of office his decisions were sustained by the Supreme Court in all cases appealed to that tribunal except two. One of these was again appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, which reversed the decision of the Supreme Court of Michigan and sustained that of Judge Hatch. This was the case of Lee vs. Johnson, involving the right of homestead under the laws of the United States and questioning the authority of the State Courts to inter- fere with the rulings of the United States general land office. It is reported in 116 U. S. reports, page 48. After retiring from the Bench Judge Hatch resumed the practice of law at Traverse City in partnership association with E. S. Pratt. He was for some years treasurer of the building committee of the Northern Asylum of Michigan, for the Insane, receiving and disbursing more than half a million dollars. In 1888 he removed to Grand Rapids, where he has since resided and pursued the practice of his profession. His growth in the law has been continuous from the time of his admission to the Bar. The Bench was not a sinecure for him, but a means of enlarging his knowledge of the law and in every way deepening and broadening his capacity for the general work of a practitioner. In the argument of legal propositions his style is concise, forcible and argumentative. His enunciation is clear, his words well chosen and his manner convincing. He goes to the very core of every question demanding investigation, leaving no point obscure and no laby- rinth unexplored. His reputation for probity is equaled by his executive ability and the two qualifications united have occasioned his designation as the executor of several valuable estates, which have been placed in his charge. He is general counsel of the People's Savings Bank of Grand Rapids. Mr. Hatch is rather quiet, not inclined to be demonstrative, but his agreeable manner and fidelity result in forming friendships and retain- ing friends in a close and confidential relation. His tastes are domestic and he is devoted to his wife and family. 15 226 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ASHLEY POND, Detroit. Mr. Pond was born in Wilmington, Essex county, New York, November 23, 1827. For several generations his ancestors lived in Vermont, where they were distinguished for valor and patriotism, intelligence and strong character. His maternal great-grand- father, Thomas Ashley, was the second man to enter Ticonderoga with Col. Ethan Allen. His grandfather, Benjamin Pond, who was born, reared, educated and married in Vermont, removed to New York with his young family early in the present century and was elected a member of Congress in 1812. His father, Jared Pond, and his mother, Statira Bart- lett, were natives of Vermont. In 1832 his father's family left the State of New York and after sojourning for three years in Knox county, Ohio, settled in Branch county, Michigan, in the fall of 1835. His boyhood was passed there on the farm and in the district school. He entered Wesleyan Seminary at Albion, now grown into Albion College, and sub- sequently entered the Literary Department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1854. Soon after he went to Detroit and read law in the office of E. C. & C. I. Walker. He was admitted to the Bar in 1856, and entered into a partnership with Jedidiah Emmons. Later he was associated with John S. Newberry in the firm of Newberry & Pond; to which afterwards was added Henry B. Brown, who is now one of the Justices of the United States Supreme Court. After the with- drawal of Mr. Newberry from the practice the firm of Brown & Pond con- tinued in existence until the former was appointed to the Supreme Bench. Since that time Mr. Pond has not been connected with any firm. For the last fifteen years his practice has been confined almost exclusively to the business of railroad companies and cases directly relating thereto. He was general solicitor or counsel for both the Lake Shore and the Michigan Central for several years, but the double duty was too much for one lawyer, so he withdrew as counsellor for the Lake Shore about ten years ago and has since devoted himself to the interests of the Michigan Central. He has in the meantime acted as advisory counsel in many of the most. important civil cases tried in the State and Federal courts at Detroit, and participated in arguments before the State Supreme Court. He is nat- urally endowed with remarkable gifts for the practice of the law, and these are reinforced by equally remarkable industry in the preparation of His knowledge of legal principles is wide and accurate. His per- ception is unusually quick and his mind moves with wonderful celerity through the process of reasoning to a correct conclusion. This action is so nearly instantaneous as to remind a brother practitioner of “a trout taking a fly." In the early years of his practice Mr. Pond tried all sorts of cases, which gave him an experience of great value in his special prac- tice. He has none of the natural gifts of the popular orator, and would not be regarded a "finished speaker." His oratory is noted for absolute clearness of statement. He has never sought political office and the only cases. A The Century Publishing & Engraving @ Chicago. UNW OF Homens M. Cooley. MIC BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 227 official position he ever held was membership in the constitutional conven- tion of 1867. He is regarded by members of the Detroit Bar as one of the clearest-headed and most learned lawyers in the State. Mr. Pond married Harriet L. Pearl and has a son and a daughter. THOMAS M. COOLEY, Ann Arbor. Thomas McIntyre Cooley, the foremost authority on American Constitutional Law, was born January 6, 1824, in Attica, New York. He, like John Marshall, was one of a family of fifteen children. His father, Thomas Cooley, had been a Massachusetts farmer, and had emigrated from that state to western New York, twenty years before. The father was poor, his fifteen children lived to mature years, and were early cast upon their own resources. If there be any wisdom in Lord Mansfield's remark: "That the best thing he knew to make a great lawyer, was great poverty," then was Thomas McIntire Cooley fortunate, for he was born into poverty and destined to contend with adversity. The story of his early life, as he once told the writer, was "really too hard to make it pleasant to dwell upon." He struggled with poverty, acquired the means for attaining his education only by hard manual labor, which extended through the period of professional study. Such education as he obtained, he acquired in the common schools until the age of fourteen, then for four terms he attended private schools taught by classical scholars. The last was taught by Lewis Parsons, who, after the civil war, was Provisional Governor of Alabama. In 1840-1-2 Mr. Cooley taught school three or four months in each year, and undoubtedly derived as much benefit from the schools he taught as from any that he attended. We may say of him, as Story said of Marshall: "That his attainments in learning have been nourished for the most part by the solitary vigils of his own genius." Nature evidently intended him for the law, and gave to him a legal mind and judicial temperament. He seems to have appreciated the fact that he was best fitted for that profession. All his tastes were in that direction. Before he was nineteen years of age he had commenced the study of law at Palmyra, New York, reading in the office of Theron K. Strong, who afterward became one of the Judges of the Supreme Court. Judge Strong was thorough and systematic and the young student was quick to perceive the fact, and the study of his methods was of great service to him. Reading in law offices he had no help from others, but was enabled to see how important questions arose and were disposed of. While he pursued systematic reading of the law, he was observant also of what was going on about him, and endeavored to master such questions as the office business presented. He himself has said that he worked all the harder for having no assistance from those around him. In 1843 he removed to Michigan, and took up his abode in the village of Adrian. He settled in Michigan because he lacked the means to carry him to Chicago, which was 228 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, his point of destination. At Adrain he finished his preliminary study of the law in the office of Tiffany & Beaman, holding, meanwhile the posi- tion of deputy county clerk, and was admitted to the Bar in January, 1846. He was married December 30, 1846, to Miss Elizabeth Horton, daughter of Mr. Davis Horton. The newspaper report that this was a runaway match has not the slightest foundation in fact. The story is that when "Tom" Cooley made his timid request to the father for the hand of his daughter in marriage, he was met with a flat refusal, accompa- nied by a very positive declaration that no daughter of his should ever marry, with his consent, a man who could not earn his own living; that the young lady then consented, in defiance of her parent's wishes, to run away and marry him. If an elopement had been necessary the young couple would not have married, for they could not have raised the neces- sary funds. The match was not opposed by either Mr. or Mrs. Horton. It was in all respects a happy and fortunate marriage. Bacon says, "He that hath a wife and children hath given hostages to fortune.” Thomas M. Cooley had no need to give hostages to fortune, for he was ambitious and industrious by nature; but now that he was married he felt all the more keenly the necessity that was upon him to carve his way through all difficulties to an established position. As children were soon born to him, he no doubt felt, as Lord Erskine felt, who had entered upon practice in straightened circumstances, and when he arose to make his maiden speech said it seemed to him as though his little children were plucking at his robe and saying to him: "Now, father, it is time to get bread." Young Cooley was determined to win success, but it was slow in coming. The first few years at the Bar were not easy, and his way was not along primrose paths. He shifted restlessly from place to place, and is said to have done many things at once. He left Adrian for Tecumseh, and there formed a partnership with Mr. C. A. Tracy; but in 1848 he re- turned to Adrian. Here he divided his time between the law and editing a newspaper. He became editor of the Adrian Watchover, and in his law business was successively the junior member of the firm of Beaman, Bucher & Cooley, and the senior in that of Cooley & Croswell. Charles M. Croswell, the junior member, afterward became governor of Michigan, and Fernando C. Beaman, the senior member of the former firm, was a member of Congress from 1861 to 1863, and was appointed by the Gover- nor to fill the unexpired term of Zachariah Chandler, in the United States Senate, on the latter's death. In 1850 Mr. Cooley was elected court com- missioner and recorder of Adrian. At this time he was not only editing a newspaper, practicing law and acting recorder for Adrian, but in conjunc- tion with his father-in-law, he also bought and cultivated a hundred-acre farm near Adrian, and was secretary of the Lenawee County Agricultural Society. Still restless he went to Ohio in 1852 and established himself at Toledo, forming a partnership in the real estate business with W. J. Scott. Toledo was in the midst of a real estate "boom," caused by the recent BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 229 • completion of the Michigan Southern and Wabash Railways. For a time the business was profitable, and Mr. Cooley showed great facility in the energetic and systematic transaction of it. He had not loosened his hold on the law, and while here he accepted a nomination for Circuit Judge, at the hands of some dissatisfied Republicans and Democrats, but was not elected. After a time the real estate business became less promising and he returned to Adrian, and to the law. One who knew him at that period says, "He was noticeable for the unusual beauty of his head and face, his delicate physique and his feminine voice. His head though large, was of a marked intellectual type. He talked little, but always clearly; his manner without being diffident was modest and gentle, yet brightly alive to everything going on, and alive to the funny side of things. He was recognized as a man of more than common literary culture, and even charged with being a poet. Among lawyers he was known to be ready and skillful in legal office work, with no characteristics that would have in- duced the belief that the law practice would lead him to fame or fortune. His whole make-up seemed literary rather than lawyerly." It thus ap- pears that in one respect, at least, the young Mr. Cooley was not unlike the distinguished Commentator on English Law; for Blackstone sometimes wrote poetry. Both renounced the tendency young. (Judge Cooley's relations to the University are so fully covered in the article by President Angell that they are omitted here. The same is true as to his published works. Ed.) Great inducements have been held out by other universities to secure his services, but all to no purpose. He declined invitations to organize and have supervision of a Department of Jurisprudence in Johns Hopkins University; to take a position at the head of the Hastings Col- lege of Law, San Francisco; to accept a professorship of law in the richly endowed University of Texas; to lecture in the Boston Law School, the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania, the Cornell Law School and that of the Columbian University at Washington, D. C. But dur- ing the years of 1877-8-9 he found time to deliver a course of lectures at the Johns Hopkins University, lecturing on Torts, for the first year; on the new Amendments to the Federal Constitution, the second year; on the Municipal Government, the third year. The University of Michigan honored him in 1859, when it conferred on him at the age of thirty-one his appointment as Jay Professor of Law, and in 1873 it honored itself by conferring on him, whose name had become a tower of strength to the institution, the Degree of Doctor of Laws. At its memorable celebration in 1886, of its two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, Harvard College con- ferred on him the same Degree. In January, 1857, he was chosen by the State Senate to compile the general statutes, and within a year he had completed the compilation that bears his name. In 1858 he was appointed the official reporter of the Supreme Court of the State, and held the position until 1864. During this time he had attracted the attention of the Bar of the State, by the very able manner in which he discharged the 230 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. duties of the office, which proved a stepping stone to the Bench itself; for in 1864 he was elected one of the judges for the Supreme Court of the State, as nominee of the Republican party. His Democratic competitor was the late Alpheus Felch. Judge Cooley took his seat on the Supreme Bench as the successor of Chancellor Manning, who had died in office. His associates on the Bench welcomed him to the position as a most worthy successor to the lamented Manning; and yet, as one of them said: 'We were and continued to be more and more surprised and gratified by the ability he continued to exhibit as a judge, the longer he remained on the Bench." From 1864 to October 1, 1885, Judge Cooley was a mem- ber of the Supreme Court, by successive elections, and from time to time presided over the Court as its Chief Justice. Cooley, Christiancy and Campbell, and those associated with them, have made the legal decisions of the Michigan Court admired and respected wherever American Jurispru- dence is known. They elevated the Court to a position second to no one of the State Courts, causing it to rank with the highest courts in Massa- chusetts and New York. They were all great judges and reflected the highest honor upon the State. As judge, Cooley was certainly not inferior to any of the others; his intellect always penetrated "the husks of dis- cussion to the kernel of controversy," and his opinions show that he is not only possessed of a keen and analytic mind, but that the depth of his learning in the law is great. His first opinion was pronounced in Laing vs. McKee, 13 Mich., 124; his last was in the case of Selleck vs. Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company, 58 Mich., 195, which involved the question of proximate cause in a railroad injury. During the twenty years he sat upon the Bench it devolved upon him to pronounce opinions in many cases of the first importance. Such a case is that of the People vs. Salem, 20 Mich. 452, in which a legislative act which authorized townships to vote aid to railways was held unconstitutional, the right to use a taxing power for such a purpose being denied. The State cannot use the taxing power to encourage private parties in the construction of railway lines, and what the State cannot do as a political community, the inferior municipalities cannot do. The principle is stated in a single sen- tence: "But it is not in the power of the State, in my opinion, under the name of bounty, or any other cover or subterfuge, to furnish the capi- tal to set private parties up in any kind of business or to subsidize their business after they have entered upon it." In the case of Ryerson vs. Brown, 35 Mich. 333, he denies the protection of the doctrine of Eminent Domain to the flooding of lands for the use of water power mills, and the conclusion reached by him will commend itself to very many minds. He held that a taking of land for such a purpose is the taking for a private use, and as such cannot be upheld. In the case of the People vs. Hurl- but, 24 Mich. 44-92, he pronounced a powerful opinion, stating that the task he was called upon to perform was to give reasons why a blow aimed at the foundation of our structure of liberty should be warded off. He BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 231 announced that the State Constitution could not be so construed as to confer upon the Legislature the power to appoint for the municipalities the officer who was to manage the property, interests and rights in which the people of municipalities alone were concerned. He held unconstitu- tional a legislative act which appointed the members of the board of pub- lic works of the City of Detroit. This was followed by the case of Park Commissioner vs. the Common Council of Detroit, 28 Mich. 228, in which he asserts the right of local self-government against a legislative attempt to compel a municipal appropriation for the purchase of a public park: "Whoever insists," he says, "upon the right of the state to interfere and control by compulsory legislation, the action of the local constituency, in matters exclusively of local concern, should be prepared to defend a like interference in the action of private corporations and of National persons. It is as easy to justify on principle, a law which permits the use of the community to dictate to an individual what he shall eat, what he shall drink and what he shall wear, as to show any constitutional basis for one under which the people of other parts of the State through their representatives, dictate to the city of Detroit what fountains shall be erected at its expense for the use of its citizens, or at what cost it shall purchase, and how it shall improve and embellish a park or boulevard for the recreation and enjoyment of its citizens.' In Youngblood vs. Sexton, 32 Mich. 406, he sustained the constitutionality of a statute taxing the liquor traffic, the Constitution of the State having prohibited the Legislature from author- izing "the grant of license for the sale of ardent spirits or other intoxicat- ing liquors." He distinguishes a tax from a license. In the opinion he says: “The idea that the State lends its countenance to any particular traffic by taxing it, seems to us to rest upon a very, transparent fallacy. X * * It would be a remarkable proposition, that a thing is counten- anced and sanctioned by the Government when this burden, which may prove disastrous is imposed upon it, while on the other hand, it is frowned upon and condemned when the burden is withheld. It is safe to predict, that if such were the legal doctrine, any citizen would prefer to be visited with the untaxed frowns of Government, rather than those testimonials of approval which are represented by the demands of the tax-gatherer." And again: "This state has never shown any disinclination to make things morally and legally wrong contribute to the public revenue, when justice and good morals seemed to require it. If it were to act upon the idea of refusing to derive a revenue from such sources, it ought to decline to receive fines for criminal offenses with the same emphasis that it would refuse to collect a tax from an obnoxious business.' His judicial opinions are distinguished by vigor of thought and clearness of expression, as well as for common sense; they show a clear comprehen- sion of all the law and facts connected with the case. He had a very good judicial style when he first came to the Bench, and continued improving it as long as he remained there. While it is high praise, it is not unmerited, to say, that perhaps this generation has not seen his superior on the 232 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Neither American Bench as a writer of judicial opinions. A gentleman who has been a distinguished ornament to the Bench once said to the writer, that his opinion of Judge Cooley's work as a member of the judiciary was so high that he hardly dare say anything lest it should be thought too en- thusiastic or extravagant. The name of Judge Cooley has frequently been mentioned in connection with an appointment to the Bench of the Su- preme Court of the United States, with marked favor both by the press and the Bar. Judge Cooley did not begin his career as a legal author until he had been for some years on been for some years on the Bench. To him may properly be assigned the honor of having written the most important legal treatise which has been produced in this country. Chancellor Kent, Story, Greenleaf nor any subsequent writer has produced a work superior to the Constitutional Limitations. Writing of this book Judge Seymour D. Thompson, of St. Louis, says; "If I were called upon to name the most important American legal treatise which has been written, I suppose I should say, 'Kent's Commentaries;' if I were put on oath I am afraid I should have to say, 'Cooley's Constitutional Limitations.' I believe that it has done more to educate the legal profession in this country in a knowledge of the principles of the Government under which we live than all other works used by them." The treatise on the "Con- stitutional Limitations upon Legislative Power," was his first original con- tribution to legal science, and was published in 1868. Since that time it has gone through five editions. Professor Bryce, a member of the British Parliament, recognizing the authority of Judge Cooley on all questions pertaining to the Constitutional Law of this country, sent to him from London, manuscript chapters of his work on the American Commonwealth, inviting his criticism of the same. Professor Bryce, acknowledging the assistance which he derived from Judge Cooley's critical judgment, wrote: "I have again to thank him more heartily for his criticisms on further chapters of my book, which I have just found on my return to England from the Alps. They are of the utmost value to me, not merely as cor- recting points in this, which either my thought or my expression has erred, but also suggesting points of view which I had not duly under- stood." Judge Cooley has always been a modest man, and he entered on legal authorship with characteristic modesty and diffidence. His friend, Judge Christiancy, writing in reference to it said: "Before he had published any of his original works upon the laws, he felt diffident about making the experiment, and before I had ever heard an intimation that he had any thought of entering that field, he called at my room one evening, when holding court at Detroit, and said he would like to get my views upon an experiment he thought of making. He explained that he had commenced writing a work on Constitutional Law, which he thought of publishing, and would like my opinion upon the pro- priety of the attempt, and for that reason he had brought with him the manuscript, as far as complete. He read to me several chapters and explained the plan of what was to follow. I was at once struck with the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 233 ability displayed, and the clearness of his expositions, and strongly advised him to complete and publish the work, telling him that I thought it would practically supersede all the works we then had upon that subject. The result showed that I was not mistaken. It is a book more frequently cited upon Constitutional questions, not only in courts, but in Congress and State Legislatures, than any other. And in this connection I may be excused for the following anecdote. In 1878, while sitting in the room of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate, Judge David Davis, also a mem- ber of the Committee, in some way incidentally mentioned Judge Cooley, and spoke in very high terms of his works, especially his work on Consti- tutional Limitations, which he greatly admired, and told us when that work first came out, Judge Curtis got hold of it and read it with enthusi- asm, saying when he got through, it was the best law book published in this country for a quarter of a century. After the reception this work met from the profession, I think Judge Cooley felt no timidity in publish- ing any of his other legal works, all of which are valuable." The following anecdote, told on the authority of ex-Postmaster Gene- ral Dickinson, may prove of interest: "When Mr. Justice Lamar was Secretary of the Interior, he had occasion to consult a work on Constitu- tional Law, and took down what he thought was 'Story's Treatise.' 'Now,' said he to Mr. Dickinson, 'I always detested Story's writings for their involved and cumbrous style, but in this case I found myself reading page after page, charmed by the clearness of expression, and as I read I prayed to be forgiven for the injustice I had been doing Story; but as I closed the book I noticed that it was Cooley's Constitutional Limita- tions.' Judge Cooley's literary work has not been confined to the writing of law books and law articles. In 1885 he contributed a history of Michigan to the popular series of volumes on "American Commonwealths." In this work no attempt was made to give the annals of the State as a sub- stitute for other histories, and indeed the author expressly disclaimed any such purpose. He has rather sketched the history of Michigan as a history of government, giving an account of its relations to the several govern- ments under which it has passed, and he never wrote a more fascinating and popular book than "Michigan, A History of Government.” In 1885 the editor of the Century invited him, in conjunction with Senator Edmunds, Francis Wharton, and others, to express his views in that publi- cation, on the question of what should be done with our ex-Presidents? Judge Cooley's answer to the question appeared in the December number of the Century for that year. He opposed the suggestion that the ex- Presidents should be made life Senators with a life salary. The answer to the question, he says, is this: "Allow them gracefully and with dignity, if they will, to enjoy the proud position of 'First Citizen of the Republic.' Their lives in retirement, if they be such as belong to an illustrious career, will be a continuous and priceless benefaction. If they bore themselves worthily in office, party asperities will begin immediately to wear off; their virtues will be exalted in public estimation, and their homes will become the pilgrim shrines of patriotism. If they have been incompetent, or otherwise unworthy, the shortest dismission to oblivion is the best for 234 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. them, and best for the country." He has delivered many public addresses, especially before Bar Associations and Historical Societies. In 1886 he delivered the annual address before the State Bar Association of South Carolina, on the Influence of Habits of Thought on Institutions, which was referred to as a “grand and patriotic appeal to the common sense and thoughtful patriotism of a free and enlightened people." In 1887 he delivered the annual address before the Georgia Bar Association, on the Uncertainty of the Law." He maintained that the law has more of the elements of certainty about it than anything else, even in physical nature or in the realm of mind or of morals, that concerns the everyday life of mankind. He called attention to the fact that no contemporaneous book on the natural history of plants or animals, or on physics, has so well stood the test of time as Littleton's Tenures and Coke's Institutes, which the lawyers still quote as authority. In 1889 he delivered the annual address before the New York State Bar Association, taking for his theme the "Comparative Merits of Written and Proscriptive Constitution." In 1887 he delivered an address before the Indiana Historical Society, on the Acquisition of Louisiana. In 1882 he addressed the Michigan State Convention of Surveyors and Engineers, and in 1886 he delivered the historical address at the Semi-Centennial of the State of Michigan. One may not understand how he found time to do so much writing and so many public addresses; but Tolstoi says: "It is only those who have nothing to do, who have no time to do it in.” In January, 1882, the trunk line railways of the United States, that is to say, the Baltimore and Ohio, the Pennsylvania, the Erie and New York Central Railroad Com- panies, selected Allen G. Thurman of Ohio, E. B. Washburn of Illinois, and Judge Cooley, as an Advisory Commission to investigate the intricate and complicated question of differential rates, and advise them in relation to the same. None of these gentlemen had any previous connection with railway matters. They were selected because their ability, position and character gave the assurance that they would carefully investigate and wisely advise, and it was thought that the country would accept their con- clusions as the honest judgment of able and impartial men. They visited Toledo, Louisville and St. Louis, and had public sittings in each of the cities, hearing complaints and taking testimony. In the following July the Commission submitted an elaborate report, which is said to have been written by Judge Cooley, and the work was done in what to him was the busiest portion of the year. In December, 1886, Judge Gresham, in the United States Circuit Court, appointed Judge Cooley receiver of the Wabash Railway, or so much of the property of that road as was east of the Mississippi river. The property had been for some time in the hands of receivers, but for some reason their management had not been satis- factory. The old receivers were removed and Judge Cooley was appointed in their place. In announcing to counsel the change, Judge Gresham said: "I have had several names presented to me, but cannot appoint any of BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 235 those whose names have been suggested. I shall name one to have charge so far as this court is concerned, who cannot fail to be received by all with satisfaction, Judge Cooley, of Michigan." The appointment was made without first ascertaining whether the appointee would accept. In his let- ter tendering the appointment, Judge Gresham wrote that Judge Cooley should be absolutely free to select his own subordinates, and that his com- pensation should be upon the basis of his responsibility and the value of his time. He adds: "The manner in which the announcement of your apppointment was received must be very gratifying to you." The public accepted the appointment as a guarantee that the road was to be managed in the interest of the stockholders and of the public, and not to be used. in the interest of railroad wreckers and stock speculators. Judge Cooley accepted the appointment and continued in the office until his selection as Interstate Commerce Commissioner compelled him to relinquish it in March, 1887. Very soon after "An Act to Regulate Commerce" was passed, it became rumored that Judge Cooley would be appointed one of the Commissioners. The rumor called forth from Senator Thurman this. letter: "The newspapers say that the President wants to appoint you. I sincerely hope that this is true, and that if he tenders you the appoint- ment you will accept it, for without flattery, I say that in my judgment, there is no man in the United States so well qualified to be on the Com- mission as you are. On March 22, 1887, the President made public his appointments, naming Thomas M. Cooley to serve for the long term, six years; associated with him were William R. Morrison, of Illinois; August Schoonmaker, of New York; A. F. Walker, of Vermont, and Walter F. Bragg, of Alabama. Judge Cooley's passion for work has been simply extraordinary, and the untiring devotion with which he steadily applied himself filled his friends with astonishment that more than once led them to remonstrate; but they were met with the remark that no man was ever killed by work alone. And so he worked on, from early morn until late at night, apparently feeling no need of a vacation, and taking none. The writer remembers Judge Cooley's telling him in the fall of 1883, that he had had no vacation for some years, and had made up his mind to take one, and that he should leave Ann Arbor for Chicago the next morning. The next morning's train took him to Chicago, getting him there about eight o'clock in the evening. That night he attended the banquet given to the Lord Chief Justice of England; the banquet ended, he took the first train for Ann Arbor, and was back at his desk again next day, hard at work once more, his vacation being over. The same devotion to duty and the long hours of uninterrupted labor, for the love of it, characterized his course at Washington as a member of the Interstate Commerce Commis- sion. It was marvelous that he did not break under the severe strain. The explanation appears to be that his abstemious and regular habits, his life of the utmost simplicity, had preserved at their best all of his mental and physical powers, until he had filled the measure of three score and ten 236 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. season of years. There was a limit even to his endurance and it became necessary to renounce the activities of half a century, and enter upon a absolute rest. Since 1894 he has not engaged in professional pursuits, and as a consequence his family has enjoyed more of his companionship than for many years before. He lives much in his library. He is ever gentle, bright and interesting in conversation. He is mild-tempered, never manifesting a sign of anger or irritability and never entertaining an evil thought. Justice is properly considered to be the greatest interest of men on earth, and it has been said that whoever ministers at her altar, or contributes anything to make the foundation of her temple more firm, or to raise its dome nearer to the skies, joins his name and fame to that which must be as enduring as the fabric of human society. That the sub- ject of this sketch has wrought with zeal and fidelity in his work, is evi- dent, and his name will shine in, the gladsome light of our jurisprudence through all the years to come. In 1890 Judge Cooley was sorely bereaved by the death of his wife, the cheerful companion of his youth when skies were sometimes dark, the mother of his children, the loyal and devoted mistress of his heart and home in sunny middle life, the solace of his post- meridian years. The children are Eugene F., merchant, Lansing, married, six children; Edgar A., lawyer, Bay City, married, four children; Charles H., instructor in biology, University of Michigan, married, one child; Thomas B., physician, Boston City Hospital; Fannie, wife of Alexis C. Angell, a lawyer of Detroit, and son of President James B. Angell, three children; Mary, at home, unmarried. [The foregoing is condensed from the biographical sketch in "Distinguished American Lawyers," by Dr. Henry Wade Rogers.] JAMES VALENTINE CAMPBELL, deceased. In considering such a life and character as Judge Campbell presents, the biographer is in per- plexity to determine what shall be left unsaid. The material is so abun- dant and the space so limited that the question is one of selection and condensation. All details are perforce omitted. Judge Campbell was born in Buffalo, New York, February 25, 1823, and came to Detroit with his father in 1826. From that time until his death, March 26, 1890, he continued to be a resident of the city and State of his adoption. It is necessary in this work to refer to him only as a lawyer and a jurist. His literary and legal education were carefully supervised and as complete as could be obtained. He practised law in Detroit until thirty-four years of age, when he was elected one of the judges of the independent Supreme Court of the State. For thirty-three years he was a member of that tribunal continuously, and during all of that period was an indefatigable worker. Winter and summer, day in and day out, found him either absorbed in his judicial duties or occupied with literary pursuits which BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 237 claimed his time during vacations. The record which he made on the Bench is as well known to the profession as that of any judge who ever sat upon the Bench in a Western State. It has been preserved officially in the reports of cases adjudicated and solemnly attested by the greatest members of the profession in the State. When the memorial resolutions were offered in the Supreme Court of which he had so long been a mem- ber the most prominent members of the Bar from different parts of the State were present to speak of the greatness and goodness of the man whose life had been more to the jurisprudence of the State than that of any other individual. From these expressions the greatness and the purity of his life are abundantly established. Among the tributes recorded are those of Judges Graves, Brown, Christiancy, Champlin, Morse, Grant, Long, Moore, Webber and Governor Blair. From them we learn that "his natural talents were high and commanding, and happily set off by an affluence of varied and elegant learning. He was devoted to his profession, but only prized it as the handmaid of justice. He had early bathed his mind in the wellspring of the civil law, and absorbed no little measure of its wisdom, but the essential doctrines of the common law were to him as the milk from a mother's breast." He had a masterful knowledge of the law, an amiable temper, unblemished integrity and that delicate apprecia- tion of what justice demands which we call "the judicial temperament." He was conservative in his nature and a champion of whatever the exper- ience of the ages had shown to be safe and wise. His manner upon the Bench was the perfection of judicial courtesy. He was a patient and attentive listener, deferential even to the youngest members of the Bar, deliberate in his judgments, but inflexible in his opinion. He was both a student and a teacher. He was versed in the law of continental Europe, particularly that of France. He wrote with extraordinary ease, whether it was upon historical subjects or preparing the opinions of his court. an instructor of young men in the law at the University he has left an imprint upon the Bar of the State which cannot be obliterated during the present generation. He was a model judge in every way and at all times. He recognized to its fullest degree. the solemn obligation that rests upon every public man to perform faithfully every duty that belongs to his posi- tion. His noble work as a judge stands in more than seventy volumes of the Michigan reports. The strength of his personality was so wrought into his teaching that he was a builder of character, as the thousands of young men who learned of him in the Law Department of the University and have become useful citizens as well as sound lawyers sufficiently prove. His views have been clearly, strongly and concisely stated upon all the great themes of law and equity and are now interwoven into the whole fabric of the State's jurisprudence. His face was refined and benevolent, so that it was an inspiration to a young lawyer to look into it. He was a writer of marked ability and conciseness. His brief history of the judicial system from the earliest colonial period to the present time is one of the As 238 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. most interesting and valuable sketches on that subject ever published in the State. He attached others to him by his amiable disposition and his con- tinual helpfulness. He was high-minded, intellectual and pure-minded. Above all his life was modeled after that of the Great Teacher and he was constantly exhibiting in his unpretentious daily conduct the principles of christianity. Certainly no man who has lived and wrought in the State. secured and maintained to the end more fully the confidence of the whole people. "To live with Fame The gods allow to many; but to die With equal lustre is a blessing Heaven Selects from all the choicest boons of Fate And with a sparing hand on few bestows." This name Judge BENJAMIN F. GRAVES, ex-Judge of the Supreme Court. stands near the top of the roll of the great jurists in Michigan. Graves was born in the neighborhood of Rochester, New York, October 18, 1817. His parents, Samuel Graves and Lois Richardson, were natives of New England and he inherited the genuine characteristic vir- tues of the best New England people, or the best people of any locality for that matter. In youth he was not strong physically and therefore not well adapted to the hard work of the farm which he was expected to prosecute. He was exceedingly fond of reading and was generally a student. The volumes to which he had access in boyhood were not numerous, but such as he could obtain he read eagerly and with marked thoroughness. He studied and investigated with a relish unusual in boys, and it was therefore easy for him to form the habit of applying himself sedulously to any intellectual pursuit. His school education did not extend beyond academic studies, but he mastered them. Before reaching He the age of twenty it was demonstrated to the satisfaction of his family that he was ill suited to farm work and he discontinued it upon medical advice. It can hardly be claimed that the advice was accepted ungrate- fully, because the boy had other aspirations than the agricultural. decided at twenty to enter upon a study of the law with a clear appre- hension of the steep and rugged path that must be climbed before the heights were reached, and a just appreciation of his own want of prepa- ration to begin the ascent. His estimate of himself at the time was really below his merit, for he had considerable knowledge, if little culture; but the severe judgment at the threshold of so important an undertaking was not without value. He was willing to begin at the bottom. worth something also to realize that he must rely upon himself; no pecu- niary assistance could be expected from his father. For six months, beginning in the spring of 1837, he studied in the office of Curtis & Thomas, learned lawyers of Albion, and then removed to the office of Mortimer F. Delano at Rochester, where he was enabled to pay a part It was The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago B. 7 Graves UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 239 of his expenses by clerical work. Mr. Delano was surrogate, and Judge Addison Gardiner, who at that time was Circuit Judge and Vice Chancellor of the Great Western Circuit, occupied the same room. A little later the Judge resigned, and together with Mr. Delano established the eminent law firm of Gardiner & Delano. Judge Graves was a student in the office of this firm until 1841, and during a part of the time enjoyed the advan- tages afforded by a residence in the family of Judge Gardiner. The oppor- tunity of association with the most promising and prominent lawyers of the State was most fortunate as a means of culture and education. He was the associate of Judge Noah Davis in the lyceum or debating club, and was admitted to the Bar with him. He enjoyed the friendship of Chief As journal clerk of the Senate, Justice Church and other men of note. to which he was appointed the winter following his admission to the Bar, he was brought into contact with some of the greatest men of New York State, who were then Senators, among whom were Horatio Seymour, Sanford E. Church and Erastus Corning. In 1843 Judge Graves came west and located at Battle Creek, Michigan, where he engaged in practice. at once and continued until 1857, when he was elected Judge of the Fifth Circuit. In the mean time he had served as master in chancery and three terms as a civil magistrate. He had little taste for a general practice of the law and a decided preference for judicial duties. In June, 1857, he was appointed by the Governor to serve the residue of Judge Pratt's term as a member of the Old Supreme Court, which expired December 31 of the same year. The next day his first term as Circuit Judge opened. The circuit was large and the judicial service laborious, at least for a judge so conscientious and painstaking as Judge Graves. He kept very full notes of every case on trial, without the assistance of a stenographer, and wrote his charges to the jury. His duties were performed with such general accep- tability that he was unanimously re-elected. He was obliged to hold night sessions in order to clear the docket, and the overwork at length occasioned severe illness, followed by his resignation in 1866. After a trip east with his family for recreation he settled on a farm which he had bought near Battle Creek, and resumed with limitations the work of a practitioner. He was not permitted to remain long in private life, but was elected in 1867 one of the four judges of the Supreme Court. was re-elected in 1875, retiring December 31, 1883, after a continuous. service of sixteen years, four of which were in the capacity of Chief Jus- tice. It is admissible to state here, after a disclaimer of any intention or suggestion of invidiousness, that the Supreme Court of Michigan reached the zenith of its fame during the period from 1868 to 1876. Cooley, Campbell, Christiancy and Graves were the judges composing the "His- toric Court." The explanation for placing the name "Graves" last in the galaxy is that its initial letter comes lower down in the alphabet. Each of these jurists possessed his own peculiar elements of greatness. In the language of an eminent practitioner in Michigan: He 240 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. "Judge Graves never stopped at the surface, nor the next layer of subsoil; he always went down to bedrock. His opinions bear evidence of the thoroughness of treatment of the subject in hand and are lessons to the Bar. He was neither a trial lawyer nor an advocate. His reputation was made on the Bench and in that position he has had few peers. He was Circuit Judge at a time when it was necessary to dig everything out for himself. The books were few and money to buy them less. It may be stated as entirely creditable to him that his retirement from the Supreme Court was voluntary. He could have been re-elected if he had desired it. He did not re-enter the field of general practice, but found all the employ- ment desired in the capacity of counsellor and the preparation of briefs in important cases. He possessed a large and valuable library, and his books not only covered most of the floor but filled the space from floor to ceil- ing. To an outsider his table looked as if it were the depository of all manner of papers borne in by a cyclone and left promiscuously among piles of books. But there was no chaos in this wreckage for the Judge. It was orderly. He knew the location of every paper necessary to the case under consideration and could put his finger on the book and page desired at any moment. His habits formed by many years of service on the Bench were such that he could not be hurried. He would not be hurried; but the pace was a matter of little consequence when the client could rest his cause on the wisdom of his counsel and the soundness of his opinion on a controverted legal question. His penmanship was like the old fashioned 'copy' plate, which the average school boy was never able to imitate. When lawyers in the course of practice, or other person requested his opinion in an important matter he always wrote it beautifully on brown wrapping paper. His diction was faultless, his logic convincing and his conclusion unassailable. For years after his retirement from the Bench the younger lawyers and active practitioners in his locality were instructed by him. He taught the use of books, the value of authorities and methods of logic in a way to impress the memory. The lessons were invaluable as a mental training and to them is attributable a large measure of the success some practitioners have achieved." Judge Graves is a man of fine sensibilities, gentle disposition and accommodating spirit. His sternness on the Circuit Bench was only judi- cial. It was essential to the systematic and orderly dispatch of business, but was foreign to his nature. He was married in 1847 to Lydia S. Mer- rit, who died three years afterwards. In 1851 he was married to Anna E. Lapham, of Erie county, New York, who was the confidential sharer of his joys and successes, as well as the few sorrows that may have come into his life until 1894, when she too passed over. The Judge left Battle Creek a few months later and took up his residence with a married son in Detroit. He rests from his labors, with a fame untarnished and his intellect unclouded, in the enjoyment of his library and his grandchildren, calmly waiting for the sunset. UNIV M OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Ethiop BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 241 easy. GEORGE V. N. LOTHROP.—Hon. George Van Ness Lothrop, a distin- guished lawyer of Detroit, was born at Easton, Mass., August 8, 1817. His early education began in the common schools, extended later to a care- ful preparation for college and a classical course in Brown University, from which he was graduated with honors at the age of twenty-one. During the same year he entered the Law Department of Harvard University, where he enjoyed the advantage of instruction under Joseph Story and Simon Greenleaf, who held professorships in the school at that time. It was a rare opportunity, which the young student improved to the fullest possible extent, until impaired health compelled him to abandon study and live in the open air for a time. He came West and stopped with his brother, living on a farm in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Here he employed his time at various kinds of farm work, giving incidental attention to reading until health was restored, In 1843 he located in Detroit and resumed the study of the law with Joy & Porter. His fondness for the law amounted to a passion, and his aptitude for it made the mastery of its principles While pursuing his legal studies, and before his admission to the Bar, he argued a case in the Supreme Court, by special permission of the judges obtained on the prayer of James F. Joy, his preceptor. It was a casus celebre, entitled the "Michigan State Bank vs. Hastings et al." His argument was able, clear and forcible. The judges not only complimented the argument, but perceived in it the promise of a brilliant career for Mr. Lothrop in the profession. His qualification for practice was never doubt- ful after that. He formed a partnership with D. Bethune Duffield, which continued for twelve years, and at the same time (1844) was appointed master in chancery for Wayne County. In 1848 he became Attorney Gen- eral of the State and held the office until 1851. His opinions, frequently sought as to construction of statutes, were crisp and perspicuous, evincing a keen analytical mind and a comprehensive grasp of the subject. Although devoted to the law, he turned aside occasionally to accept political office at the hands of his admiring fellow-citizens. He has at all times been in fel- lowship with the Democratic party on national issues, but has never been known as a bigoted partisan. Exercising the right to think for himself, he has on occasion justified himself and secured endorsement by the people, in independent action. For example, in 1853 the proposition to divide the common school revenue in Detroit, giving a portion of it to the parochial schools of the Roman Catholic Church, was seriously discussed. The nom- inees of the Democratic party for municipal offices appeared to regard it with favor. Mr. Lothrop, earnest and conscientious in opposition to the scheme, was announced as an independent candidate for recorder and tri- umphantly elected. He held that the funds created for popular education in the common schools must be held inviolate for that purpose, and could not be diverted to the sectarian purpose of teaching the dogmas of any church or religious creed. In 1860 he was a delegate in the Democratic 1 16 242 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. national convention at Charleston, and exerted his influence to secure the nomination of Stephen A. Douglas. He was a friend and supporter of the Union and had no sympathy with secession, so ominously foreshad- owed in the action of a minority of that memorable convention. Though eminently qualified for the highest offices, Mr. Lothrop has not held him- self above participation in the political concerns of his own community. For nine years, beginning with 1863, he served as one of the inspectors of the Detroit House of Correction, and for six years, beginning in 1880, as commissioner of the Public Library. In 1867 he was a member of the convention to revise the State Constitution, where his profound under- standing of the limitations and defects of that instrument, his broad, prac- tical views and accurate knowledge of existing conditions, enabled him to render valuable service to the State. Having discharged every duty with characteristic fidelity in these humbler stations, his ability was fitly recog- nized by President Cleveland, May, 1885, in a nomination as Minister of the United States to the Government of Russia, which was promptly con- firmed by the Senate. The country accepted this appointment with satis- faction, and the hearty approval of his friends and neighbors in Michigan was qualified only by expressions of regret because acceptance of the high office would separate him from the community for a term of years. In going abroad he carried with him the personal esteem, confidence and good will of all the people of his State, unaffected by partisan bias or prejudice. He filled the mission in a manner creditable to himself and satisfactory to both Nations for three years and a half, when he tendered his resignation and returned home. The greeting extended him by friends and neighbors was cordial and sincere. He was formally welcomed home in a public recep- tion, though for personal reasons declining to be made the guest of honor at a banquet which was tendered him. All of the proceedings evidenced the attachment of the community to its distinguished citizen and the pleas- ure afforded by his safe return. Since that time he has not engaged actively in professional or business pursuits, but lived quietly in his com- fortable home. He is not only a man whose irreproachable life is an object lesson of morality and virtue, but one whose active energies have been enlisted for more than forty years in such a manner as to elevate the moral and literary tone of the community and improve the hard condition of the unfortunate objects of charity. He was long president of the Young Men's Society, and also president of the Associated Charities. While his practice has not been confined to one department of law, or a single class of cases, he has been employed much of the time as a counsellor of rail- road companies. For twenty-five years he was solicitor of the Michigan Central and at various times has been counsel respectively of the Detroit & Milwaukee and the Lansing & Northern. Mr. Lothrop's ability as a law- yer is recognized by the profession in general. . His reputation is not con- fined within the boundaries of a State, but is National in scope. Pos- sessed by nature of a strong intellect, with faculties so combined as to BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 243 utilize all of the mental resources, and further qualified by classic and lit- erary scholarship; having unusual powers of discernment and penetration, analysis and construction, he was prepared to apprehend a legal principle or adapt a judicial opinion. From such conditions professional success is a natural sequence, especially when they are fortified by a character unim- peachable in its integrity, a will persistent in the prosecution of its purposes, and social traits responsive to the impulses of friendship and susceptible of the most enduring attachments. Mr. Lothrop's ability as an orator has rarely been surpassed, his addresses being couched in diction pure and ele- gant, his logic powerful, his style free from objectionable mannerisms or redundancy. Above all, his unfailing courtesy, kindness of heart and geniality, his fine presence and beneficent expression, combine to make his forensic efforts before a jury or on the platform most enjoyable and edify- ing to those privileged to hear him. Imperturbability of temper, no matter what the provocation, has always marked his intercourse with his fellow-lawyers, and has been an element of strength in an almost faultless character. To enumerate the celebrated cases at the Bar in which Mr. Lothrop has been counsel would be to review the court proceedings of the past half century, for there are but few cases of absorbing import involving questions of Constitutional law or large monetary interests in which he has not been either actively engaged or of counsel. When he began the prac- tice, railroad law in the United States was in a formative stage, and Mr. Lothrop has probably done more than any other lawyer to bring about the existing conditions in the form of judicial decisions on many points of vital interest to railroads, the State and the people. It is a question of con- gratulation with Mr. Lothrop that through his long and active career he can look back without regret upon his relations with his fellow-man and fail to find an enemy, while the universal respect and consideration shown him are proof of the many strong attachments and the friendly relations he has uniformly maintained with his neighbors, his brother lawyers and his fellow- citizens. He was married at Detroit May 13, 1847, to Almira Strong, daughter of Gen. Oliver Strong, of Rochester, New York, who died April 18, 1894. He has two sons and two daughters, the fruit of this union, now living—Henry B., Cyrus E., Anne and Helen. Another son, George Howard, died in November, 1896. His eldest daughter, Anne, is the wife of Baron Barthold Hoyningen Huene, of the Chevalier Garde of Her Majesty, the Empress of all the Russias. Two sons, George H. and Cyrus E., are members of the Detroit Bar. Mr. Lothrop was elected president of the Detroit Bar Association in 1879 and served until June, 1896, when he peremptorily declined a renomination. 244 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. SAMUEL TOWNSEND DOUGLASS, Detroit. Samuel T. Douglass, ex-Judge of the Supreme Court of Michigan, was born in Rutland county, Vermont, in 1814. He is of New England ancestry for seven generations. His parents removed to Fredonia, Chautauqua county, New York, in his early infancy. Here he grew to manhood, received an academic education and in part studied the profession which has been the occupation of his life. In 1837 he emigrated to Detroit and was admitted to the Bar of Michigan near the close of that year. He engaged in practice the first year at Ann Arbor and then returned to Detroit, where, from that time till his retire- ment in 1888, except for the few years he was upon the Bench, he has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1845 he was appointed reporter of the Supreme Court and published the two first vol- umes of its decisions, covering the period from 1843 to 1847 inclusive. He resigned this office in 1848. The late Judge James V. Campbell studied law in the office of the firm of which Judge Douglass was a mem- ber, and from the time of his admission to the Bar until 1851 was associated with him in business. In 1851, at the first judicial election in the Wayne Circuit, which includes the city of Detroit, by a sudden non-partisan movement, he was elected Judge of the Circuit, largely by Republican votes, over the regular candidate of the Democratic party, although he himself was a pronounced Democrat. The judicial office was suited to his tastes and abilities, and he won an enviable reputation on the Bench; but its labors, which included service as a member of the Supreme Court, were so excessive as to tell upon his health. When a separate Supreme Court was organized in 1857 he was nominated by his party for one of its mem- bers. It was an empty compliment, however, for the party was in a hope- less minority in the State. His successful competitor was his former partner, Judge James V. Campbell, of whose long and honorable career upon the Bench this was the beginning. In the spring of 1857 Judge Douglass resigned the Circuit Judgeship and returned to the practice. Since then he has been occupied principally with protracted and com- plicated litigations of sufficient importance to compensate for the great amount of labor he bestowed upon them. In this field he has been eminently successful. The chief elements of character contributing to his success at the Bar and upon the Bench are his sound common sense, his knowledge of human nature and clear intuition of the credibility and force of evidence, his intellectual integrity and rectitude, his force of will and steady, untiring persistency, and the conscientious thoroughness of his investigation. He is not in the popular sense an orator. He has neither the temperament nor the intellectual qualities essential to the great advo- cate; nevertheless his earnestness, candor and sincerity, his power of analysis applied to the testimony, and his careful preparation always secured to him a good measure of success before a jury. The court, how- ever, is his element; his statement of the facts is condensed and lucid; his The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Sam T. Douglass OF FICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 245 reasoning upon the questions of law or fact is terse, logical and forcible — expressed in language of simplicity, directness and force, and entirely free from ambiguity. In the preparation of his cases, his examination of the reported decisions is usually very exhaustive but never uncritical. He is in no sense a case lawyer. Indeed he has often been accused, and perhaps not without reason, both as a judge and a lawyer, of a want of deference to authority. He has a great aversion to mere technicalities and to all devices employed to avoid the substantial merits of a controversy, and was sometimes charged when upon the Bench with treating them despotically. In a biographical sketch published some years ago in the Magazine of Western History the writer says of him: "With all of his other qualities Judge Douglass is a very hard fighter. Like most men who are careful and deliberate in forming judgments he is most determined and tenacious in sustaining them. He goes into a legal battle with strong convictions. and the equipment of a perfect preparation. The position which his judg- ment has led him to take is exceedingly apt to be the correct one and this he defends by the skillful use of every weapon of legal warfare to the utmost extremity." One of the great jurists of Michigan said: “ Judge Douglass's greatest professional sin is against himself. He undertakes tasks of such magnitude that they seem almost beyond human accomplish- ment, and he not only undertakes but well performs them. This, however, is done at the cost of a strain upon himself which he is scarcely justified in enduring." He has never accustomed himself to rely upon a ready wit or fluent speech, but makes up for the want of these by a deep and thorough investigation of the law touching any case and the merits of any contro- versy. He depends more upon industrious, painstaking research and methodical arrangement of his facts and his testimony than upon mere learning, or anything akin to inspiration. Outside of his profession his reading and studies are varied and extensive, but far more in the field of science than the realm of general literature. He accepts with deep con- viction the generalization of Darwin and other evolutionists, and their far- reaching consequences, and has paid much attention to rational ethics and political economy. He has always been a Democrat, sincerely attached to the fundamental principles of his party, but an independent, outspoken critic of what he regarded its aberrations. He was deeply interested, from the outset, in the movement of 1896, whose inception was a protest against the action of the Chicago convention, and whose culmination was the Indianapolis convention of "National Democrats," which gave the protest form and potency. It is rather more difficult to define his religious views, although he is frank in the expression of them. They appear to lean towards scientific agnosticism. He never was con- nected with any religious organization. The writer of the article herein- before mentioned says: "In every association Judge Douglass maintains a distinct and unmistakable independence of character. Most amiable and loyal in all relations there is a piquant dash of caviare in his character which • 246 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. makes him an especially charming companion. Quite consistent with entire dignity of thought and speech is his ready appreciation of the humorous. Without any lack of symmetry he entirely lacks neutrality. He is not a person of conventional views or opinions. Outspoken and frank to a high degree, holding his right to independence of opinion as sacred, he has no hesitation in declaring his views whenever they are demanded, and they are always so declared as not to leave the least chance for misapprehension." In spite of this he has made no enemies whose friendship is worth having, for his honesty of motive and fair dealing are conceded by those whose interests he has most seriously opposed. In 1856 he married Miss Elizabeth Campbell, a very intelligent, accomplished lady, and the sister of Judge Campbell. In 1860, impelled by impaired health and enticed by his love of nature and the beautiful scenery of the location, he built a residence on Grosse Isle, on the bank of the Detroit river, and the following spring removed there with his family. He has resided there ever since. Before long he became possessed of two hundred and fifty acres, on which he carried on farming simultaneously with his law practice. The ornamentation of the grounds about his home and the care of his farming operations afforded the needed relief; his health was restored and has been preserved. His family of three children grew up on the island, two of whom with their numerous progeny are now located on either side of him. Here under the broad shadow of trees planted by his own hand or under his personal supervision, over thirty-five years ago, he and the "partner of his joys and sorrows are now resting from life's more strenuous labors. Their family life has always been simple, uncon- ventional and unostentatious, not wanting in genuine hospitality and exceptionally free from great afflictions. In his wider social life Judge Douglass has always been a warm and hearty friend and a public-spirited citizen. He has at all times taken an active interest in education and has long served on the board of education, both in Detroit and on Grosse Isle. He has been the friend and advocate of every rational scheme of improve- ment in the community. He is now eighty-three, unusually active and vigorous for his years, and since the death of Hon. James F. Joy is the oldest member of the Detroit Bar. He has survived all who were his professional contemporaries prior to 1840. SIDNEY D. MILLER, Detroit. Sidney Davy Miller was born at Monroe, Michigan, May 12, 1830. On the side of his father he is of French, Huguenot and Dutch descent; on the side of his mother his descent is English. His parents were Dan Bramble Miller and Elizabeth Davy. His father was a merchant and public spirited citizen, familiarly called "Honest Dan" by contemporary politicians. He was one of the foremost in that colony of New England and New York men who settled at Monroe in the The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago D. Metho UNIV M OF /CH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 247 twenties and early formed the purpose to make that city a rival of Detroit, or in fact, eclipse it as the western terminus for eastern commerce. It is noteworthy that Mr. Miller in 1827 made a shipment of two hundred barrels of flour which was the first export of flour from the territory of Michigan, then extending west to the Mississippi River. Among the illustrious list of these pioneers one finds Conant, Wing, Noble, McClel- land, Christiancy, and others imbued with the progressive spirit and well qualified to be the founders of a new colony. Dan Bramble Miller was selected by his associates and neighbors for mayor of the city of Monroe and served in that office during the railroad war which prevailed at the time of building the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern and the Michigan Central Railroads. It is a matter of record that mayor Miller, as the chief executive officer of the ambitious little city, then known as the "Inde- pendent State of Monroe," felt it to be his duty to defend at all hazards her rights, protect her interests and preserve the foundations of her future greatness already so carefully laid. In the course of his duty he courage- ously defied the allied powers of the State of Michigan and the Michigan Central Railroad Company for some time, believing them to be acting without authority of law; and the sequel proved his judgment correct. He was a man of unquestioned probity and remarkable force of character, courageous in the exercise of his official prerogative when acting from deep convictions. Mayor Miller was also receiver of public moneys (at that time an office of importance) at Monroe under President Andrew Jackson. Sidney D. Miller was reared in the town of his birth and received the rudiments of his education in its common schools. He was also prepared for college in the preparatory branch of the University of Michigan at Monroe. He was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts at the University of Michigan in June, 1848, when he was eighteen years of age. He studied law with the firm of McClelland & Christiancy,— composed of Robert McClelland, who was afterwards Governor of the State and Secre- tary of the Interior under President Pierce, and Isaac P. Christiancy, afterwards a Judge of the Supreme Court of Michigan and a Senator of the United States. His legal studies were pursued further with Alexander D. Fraser of Detroit. He attended the Dane Law School of Harvard University, Cambridge, and was graduated in 1850. He was admitted to the Bar at Detroit in January, 1852, where he has ever since resided. He never formed a partnership for the practice of law. Among the numerous cases of more than local importance in which Mr. Miller has been counsel only a few are mentioned here: Kercheval vs. Wood, (3 Mich. 509). People vs. Rix, (6 Mich. 144). Hopson vs. Payne, (7 Mich. 334). Crane vs. Partland, (9 Mich. 496). Mich. Insurance Co. vs. Brown, (11 Mich. 265). Brady vs. Northwestern Ins. Co., (11 Mich. 428). Regents of University vs. Young Men's Society, (12 Mich. 138). Mich. Insurance Co. vs Whittemore, (12 Mich. 428). Van Rensselaer vs. Whiting, (12 Mich. 450). Estate of Benajah Ticknor, (13 Mich. 45). Moran vs. Pal- 248 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. mer, (13 Mich. 469). Smith vs. Lawrence, (15 Mich. 499). Case vs. Erwin, (18 Mich. 434). Crane vs. Reeder, (21 Mich. 32). Miller vs. Thompson, (34 Mich. 10), and Frue vs. Loring and the Mudsil Mining case, recently in the higher Federal Courts. His practice has always been more as a consulting lawyer, however, than in the trial of causes in court, and as such he is regarded as one of the ablest in the Northwest. As counsellor he is distinguished for his farsightedness and diplomacy, and he has successfully guided many large institutions in their legal affairs, and directed the settlement of many valuable estates. Among the corporations with whose affairs he has been actively connected are the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway, the Detroit City Railway Company, the Eureka Iron Company, and The Detroit Savings Bank. For many years he has been and still is president of the Detroit Savings Bank, the oldest existing bank in the State and latterly has given more attention to that institution than to the practice of law. In politics he is a Democrat. He has been presi- dent of the Detroit College of Medicine ever since its incorporation; was a police commissioner for twenty-three years and president of the board much of the time; was a member of the board of school inspectors at one time, and while in that position assisted in establishing the public library system of Detroit. As a public-spirited citizen he was one of the leaders. in the negotiations for the purchase of Belle Isle Park, which gave to the city of Detroit one of the most attractive and beautiful parks in the coun- try and he was also conspicuous in originating and consummating the plans which culminated in the donation to the city of the present site of the public Art Museum. Sidney D. Miller is a gentleman of large abilities and irreproachable character. He is possessed of that intimate knowledge of the world which comes of a shrewd observation of life in its varied con- ditions. He has the keen penetration which gains a clear insight into human nature and enables one to estimate motives with marvelous accuracy. He is not given to dress parade or any sort of ostentation. He has never courted éclat by pluming his imagination for fanciful flights of oratory, or sought distinction in the brilliant forensic contests which his profession invites. He is rather a plain, matter-of-fact man, a cultured gentleman in every respect, who weighs his words and calculates the effect of his actions. He ponders deeply and acts deliberately, protecting his influence by that calm reserve which is the fortress of a really strong man. He is self-con- tained and capable of maturing original plans independently. Withal he is neither selfish nor exclusive, but exhibits lively interest in the public welfare and likes companionship. His friendship is reliable; his integrity invulnerable. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 249 ROBERT P. ELDREDGE, deceased, was born on the Hudson river near the town of Greenwich, Washington county, New York, in 1808, and died at Mt. Clemens, Michigan, November 25, 1884. During his infancy the family removed to Madison county, New York, where his father, who was a lawyer, became prominent in the profession. He attended school in Madison county until about fifteen years of age, when he entered Hamilton Academy to prepare for college. The death of his mother, one year later, resulted in the breaking up of their home and the separation of the family, consisting of eight children. He was thrown largely upon his own re- sources and by teaching school during the winter months was enabled to attend several terms at college during the spring months. From early boy- hood he had intended to pursue the vocation of his father for a life work and acting on the advice of the latter, at the age of seventeen he entered upon the study of law in the office of Stowe & Gridly, the leading law firm of the county of Madison, New York. He remained with this firm only a few months, however, when he decided to make the west his abiding place and started for what was then the almost unknown wilderness-the Territory of Michigan. He reached Detroit in the spring of 1826 and secured employment as a teacher. While teaching there and at Pontiac he was also engaged in studying law until July 4, 1827, when he settled at Mt. Clemens, teaching there until his admission to the Bar, which was in the fall of 1828, after an examination before the Supreme Court sitting in Detroit. He returned to Mt. Clemens invested with authority to practice law and opened the first lawyer's office in Macomb county. In the sparsely settled country it was difficult to make a living at his profession; but with the increase of population there was a corresponding increase of business in the county, and the professional engagements of Mr. Eldredge became more numerous and profitable. He prospered in his profession, having the confidence of the entire community in which he lived. He appeared on one side or the other of nearly all important litigated cases for nearly fifty years. He interested himself in all measures looking to the advancement of education and the betterment of the social condition; was moderate in his opinions and temperate in all things. His political sympathies and affiliations were with the Democratic party. He was appointed Secretary of State by Governor John S. Barry, serving as such from 1842 to 1846, and was elected State Senator for the term 1847-8. He loved the practice of law, looking upon it as a noble science in which there is always some- thing new to learn. Honest in his dealings with other men, unselfish in his devotion to public interests, strictly moral in character and upright in the discharge of duties as he met them, the record of Mr. Eldredge was entirely honorable and his life singularly pure. He was married to Louise Crittenden, of New York State, member of a Connecticut family and related to the Crittendens who have been prominent in the annals of the country as lawyers and statesmen. Of this marriage Hon. James B. 250 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Eldredge of Mt. Clemens, now (1896) judge of the Circuit Court of the 16th Judicial Circuit, and two daughters, Catherine and Mrs. Carrie E. Farrar, were the issue. His wife Louise died in 1843 and he married on January 20, 1849, Miss Jane A. Leonard who survives and occupies the homestead on South Gratton street, with her daughter Emma, the sole issue of this union. JAMES B. ELDREDGE, Mt. Clemens. Judge Eldredge has been a resident of Mt. Clemens continuously since his birth, November 25, 1836. He is the only son of the late Robert P. Eldredge and his wife Louisa Crittenden. He was literally born into the profession and inherited the talents and predilections of a lawyer. His paternal grandfather was promi- nent in the profession for many years in Madison county, New York. His father was the first lawyer to open an office for practice in Macomb county, Michigan, in 1828. His mother was a member of the Crittenden family whose sons have been distinguished in the profession of law and statesman- ship in the United States for several generations. A personal resemblance is thought to exist between the Judge and the Crittendens. Springing from such a lineage it would have been a cause of wonder had he not been found in the ranks of the legal profession. His early education was obtained in the district schools at Mt. Clemens, in the branch of the State University at Romeo and at the University of Michigan, where he was gradu- ated with the class of 1855, receiving the classical degrees. In the office. of his father and under his instruction he studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1858 after examination before Hon. Sanford M. Green, Asso- ciate Justice of the Supreme Court, holding Circuit Court at Mt. Clemens. He entered the law firm of which his father was the head, "Eldredge & Hubbard," and on the dissolution of that firm and the retirement of Mr. Hubbard he continued with his father as partner, the style of the firm being R. P. & J. B. Eldredge. His father withdrew from active practice in 1878 and he continued alone until he became associated with S. B. Spier his son-in-law. This partnership was dissolved only by his accept- ance of the office of Circuit Judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit, the duty of which he entered upon January 1st, 1894. Judge Eldredge has always been a consistent adherent to the Democratic party and was elected to the judicial office he now holds as the candidate of that party. He has also served the county in other public offices — in 1863 and 64 as Representa- tive in the House of the State Legislature; and as prosecuting attorney by election in 1864, again in 1870, 1872 and 1876. He was then elected judge of probate in 1876 and again in 1880, serving two terms of four years each. In every position he has given entire satisfaction to the people in the discharge of his official duties. Whether as law-maker in the Legis- lature, as the prosecutor of law-breakers in the county, or as judge of The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago F.B. Eldridg of MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 251 probate determining the rights of the people, his public duty has been discharged with absolute fairness and fidelity. He was called to the Circuit Bench by the election of November, 1893, and taking his seat January, 1894, for a term of six years. Judge Eldredge is quiet and courteous in manner, dignified but not austere, easy of approach and gentle in his speech. He is loved and respected by the Bar and by the community in which he has lived all his days. He has served for many years as school inspector and trustee of the union or high school and has taken a lively interest in educational matters so as to secure the best possible results to the people. He has encouraged and fostered the public library which is now kept open every day with free access thereto by the public. His family attends the Protestant Episcopal Church, to which, as well as to other institutions and charities, he has always been a contributor. His practice has been a general one in the State and United States Courts, where he has met with success. He was married January, 1859, to Helen D. Fitch, of Albion, New York. His daughter, Julia, is the wife of S. B. Spier, lawyer, of Mt. Clemens, and his son, Robert F., is also an attorney in practice at Mt. Clemens, being the third generation of the family in the profession at the same place. ROBERT F., son of the subject of the preceding sketch, was born in Mt. Clemens, September 19, 1864; was educated in the schools of Mt. Clemens and graduated from the high school there. He entered the Scientific Department of the University of Michigan whence he was graduated in 1885 with degree of B. S. He remained at Ann Arbor for one year as assistant librarian, improving his time in reading and study. On returning home he read law in the office of Eldredge & Spier and was admitted to practice in 1888 after an examination before the Circuit Court. He entered into the practice in association with his father and Mr. Spier and continued until 1894, since which date he has been register of probate for Macomb county and associated with Hon. James G. Tucker, judge of pro- bate court in the general practice. He was appointed city attorney for Mt. Clemens in 1893-4-5 by the Mayor and Council. Mr. Robert F. Eldredge is endowed by nature with a fine physique - tall and robust. With his natural and acquired abilities and habits of industry he has before him a career at the Bar of vast opportunity. There is little doubt but he will make a mark in his profession worthy of the ancestry which blood flows in his veins and whose names have been so intimately connected with the legal profession of this and other States. 252 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. SAMUEL W. VANCE, Port Huron. Judge Vance, of the Thirty-first Judicial Circuit, is one of Michigan's adopted sons that has honored the State and himself. He was born in Durham county, Canada, December 9, 1852. His father and mother were natives of Ireland; the former hailing from County Antrim and the latter from County Caven. His mother was brought to America by her parents when she was eleven years of age. His father came over in 1815 with his parents, who located in Durham county, Canada; married, settled on a farm and raised a family of twelve children of whom Samuel W. was the youngest. The father of Judge Vance removed in 1857 to Lambton county, where he continued to follow agri- cultural pursuits until his death in 1860. The mother of our subject died in 1892, at the old homestead, at the age of eighty-four years. Samuel W., like sons of other farmers, attended school in his youth for six months in the year and put in the interval at work on his father's farm. The habits of industry formed in his early life he never abandoned. He decided to use the small patrimony left him in providing himself with a good education and began his course at Albert College, Belleville, Canada. He matriculated at the University of that place and in the fall of 1876 entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and was graduated in 1878, with the degree of LL. B. He was admitted to the Bar at Ann Arbor, March 25, 1878. He now found himself the possessor of a degree, but no money in his pocket. In his own expressive language, he had "put his capital all into his head." Subsequent events proved that this was a much better investment than putting it in even the very best Canadian soil. He settled at Port Huron, January 2, 1879, and took a position in the office of Atkinson & Stevenson, where he remained for some time as a clerk; later entering into partnership with William F. Atkinson, which continued from 1879 to 1881. For the next year he was with P. H. Phillips. He then formed a partnership with Judge E. W. Harris, upon the latter's retirement from the Bench of the Circuit Court which was continued until 1885. From that time on he was associated with O'Brien J. Atkinson until he was nominated for Circuit Judge in April, 1892. He was elected to fill a vacancy, and at the expiration of the term was re-elected for a full six-year term, which will not expire until 1900. While not in any sense a politician, Judge Vance has espoused the principles of the Republicans, believing they will best promote the interests of the Commonwealth and the Nation. He never sought office except in the line of his profession. He was for two years city attorney for Port Huron. He was married September, 1887, to Miss Carrie E. Sines, of Wayne county, Michigan. They have one child. Mr. Vance had no specialty in his profession but commenced at once trying important cases in all the courts, arguing his first case in the Michigan Supreme Court before Cooley, Campbell, Marston and Graves, of the Old Bench so much renowned in Michigan. He frequently appeared in the United States The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago сес OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 253 Circuit and District Courts before Hon. Henry B. Brown, now Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. When the Congress of Judges was about to convene at the "Columbian Centennial'' in Chicago in 1893, Judge Vance was designated by Chief Justice Hooker to represent Mich- igan in that assembly. He always had great confidence in legal principles and but little respect for opinions or decisions which conflicted with his settled convictions of what those principles were, and the lawyers of his circuit often refer to this trait in his character. He is warm hearted and trustful in disposition; kindly in his treatment of all and courteous to an unusual degree. On the Bench he exhibits the same amiability of temper found in his daily life. He is an extremely good listener, weighs all thoughts presented with the utmost care, is patient under contention and quite as considerate and courteous toward the youngest as the oldest mem- ber of the Bar. No lawyer has yet so smarted under defeat as to intimate the slightest doubt of his entire fairness and even defeated clients go away from the court room full of his praise. The members of his Bar say that all in all he is one of the truest of men and best of judges. AUGUSTINE S. GAYLORD, late of Saginaw. Hon. Augustine Smith Gaylord was born February 7, 1831, at Jefferson, Ashtabula county, Ohio, and died June 21, 1877, at his home in Saginaw. He was the son of Harvey Russell Gaylord and Stella M. Atkins. The former was a man of ability, honored and esteemed by his neighbors and respected by all who knew him. The latter was a woman endued with all the traits that dis- tinguish the pure, the good and the noble. She was a mother to be revered by her children and whose memory is always precious. His grand- father was Maj. Levi Gaylord, a soldier of the Revolution, the descendant of a noble Huguenot family that fought for liberty of conscience in France three hundred years ago and was among the refugees who fled from France to England on account of the religious persecution. It will thus be observed that Augustine S. Gaylord was descended from a noble ancestry and born of a mother capable of teaching by example and precept. His boyhood was passed on the farm near Jefferson with such limited advantages for education as the neighborhood could furnish. He was active, bright, hopeful, and moved by a restless energy. His genial disposition won the love and respect of his playmates and associates. As indicating the liberal views entertained by his family, the fact may be mentioned that he was sent to Oberlin College for his education. By his application to study and his remarkable aptness in acquiring knowledge, he made rapid progress in the school. His frankness and heartiness, courtesy and kindness, won the hearts of professors and students alike. Being the eldest of a large family of children he was deeply impressed with the feeling that he ought to become self-supporting and not further tax his father with the expenses of 254 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. attendance at college. Moved by these unselfish impulses which were honor- able and praiseworthy, he left college before graduation. In 1851 he became principal of the school in Saginaw, Michigan. Up to that time there is no evidence of his intention to engage in any other profession than that of teaching. He was well adapted for that work by his natural traits. of character and his scholastic acquirements. He was popular, not only in the school room, but among citizens with whom he came in contact. At the age of twenty no young man in the community enjoyed or deserved larger popularity. About this time an incident occurred which changed his purpose and determined the course of his future life. A vacancy occurred in the office of clerk of the court, which he was appointed to fill upon a petition signed by every member of the Bar. The appointment was made by the now venerable Judge Sanford M. Green, and the event proved its wisdom. The fact that young Gaylord was ineligible at the time, because he had not attained his majority, was known to a few law- yers, but did not prevent their asking his appointment. He was described by the judge and known to all members of the Bar as a model clerk. At the succeeding election, in 1852, he was elected to the office as the Whig candidate, although the county at the time polled a large Democratic majority. The result was an evidence of his fitness for the office and the personal esteem in which he was held by men of opposing political views. It was while in the office of county clerk that he acquired the taste and formed the resolution to enter the profession of law. He was fortunate in having among his most intimate acquaintances the Hon. John Moore, then a member of the Saginaw Bar. The acquaintance, first formed in 1851, ripened into a friendship whose intimacy was unbroken until the death of Mr. Gaylord. His preceptor in the study of law was Judge Moore, who admitted him to a partnership on equal terms upon his admission to the Bar, in 1856—a generous and unusual act. This partnership which at the beginning and at all times covered a large business, continued until 1861. It was only natural that a young man endowed with the traits which gave him such wide popularity should have the opportunity to enter the field of politics. Mr. Gaylord was a Repúblican from the time the party was organized. He had been a Whig, as his father had been, before. He served as a member of the common council of the city as a patriotic duty, at a time when the office commanded no compensation in money. He held the office of Circuit Court Commissioner and performed its duties with ability and usefulness for a period of four years. He would have been appointed Circuit Judge if Governor Blair had acceded to the unanimous request of the Bar of that circuit in 1861, when a vacancy occurred. In 1862 he was elected Representative in the State Legislature on the Union ticket, and devoted himself to the duties of a legislator with the same earnestness and fidelity which characterized his work in private life and his discharge of the duties of other offices. It was at the session of 1863 that he voted against the re-election of his old friend Zachariah Chandler A. S. Gayund UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 255 as United States Senator. The subsequent relations between the two seemed to negative the generally received opinion that "Chandler never forgave one who opposed his wishes." Twelve years later Mr. Gaylord was appointed Solicitor of the Interior Department, upon the earnest recommendation of Mr. Chandler, when the latter accepted the Secretary- ship of the Interior in the Cabinet of President Grant. The personal relations between the two were always most cordial. Mr. Gaylord, more than any other man, received the confidence and affection of Secretary Chandler. It is asserted that his acceptance of the office of solicitor was made a condition of the acceptance of the portfolio by the Secretary. The large opportunity afforded in this office proved his ability as a lawyer and his integrity as a man. He was appointed by President Grant as a com- missioner to act in connection with Bishop Whipple in negotiating a treaty with the Indians of the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies in Dakota and Montana. The exposure incurred during that trip to the northwest was a contributary factor in hastening his death. For twelve years prior to his death he was the partner of Benton Hanchett in the practice of law. The business of the firm was both large and profitable. The character of it and the successful manner in which it was conducted proved the ability and capacity of the lawyer to manage large undertakings. He counselled wisely and conducted his cases with method and painstaking care. He was an impressive advocate, a close student of legal principles and extremely careful in the preparation of cases. His knowledge was practical and always adaptable to the case in hand. It is said that during the period of his service as solicitor only one of his decisions was reversed, and the Secretary always maintained that he was right in that instance and the overruling power was in error. He gave such unremitting and absolute attention to the duties of the office that his health was impaired and his life shortened. His domestic relations deserve especial mention. He was married in October, 1856, to Miss Emeline E. Warren, of Ripon, Wiscon- sin, a cultivated and estimable woman who survived him and who is now the wife of N. B. Bradley, of Bay City. Two sons and two daughters were born of this union, namely, Mrs. J. M. Morley, of Saginaw; Mrs. Elizabeth Parsons, of Hayward, California; Augustine S. Gaylord, who has a fruit ranch in southern California; and Harry Gaylord, a graduate of the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, who is now studying pathology in Goettingen, Germany, preparatory to making this profession his life work. The mental fiber of Augustine S. Gaylord was fine. His uniform urbanity in social and professional intercourse sprang from the unaffected kindness of his heart. His helpfulness of young men, whether in the profession or in trade, was the natural manifestation of a wholesome, generous disposition which leads one to improve the daily opportunities for doing good. He would go out of his way to lend assistance and encouragement, by giving his patronage to a worthy young man who was starting in business. At the memorial meeting of the Bar, held on 256 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. the occasion of his death all the young members referred to his kindness to them when they were starting in life. The gentleness and refinement of his nature are evidenced by his love of art and music. He had a talent and a passion for music and was a skillful performer on several instruments. For more than twenty years he was leader of the choir in the Episcopal Church of Saginaw, of which he was a communicant and a vestryman. He possessed a versatile mind which was constantly nurtured by the best read- ing. He also read for entertainment, amusement and recreation-carrying on systematically several different kinds or courses of reading at the same time. He enjoyed the confidence and friendship of President Grant. After his death his widow received many letters of condolence from asso- ciates in the Department of the Interior, all testifying to his lovable dispo- sition, his unimpeachable integrity and the resoluteness with which he maintained his integrity against the corrupting influences ever present in that department. He was always a true man, whose reputation was never smirched in public or private life. (In the preparation of this sketch the writer has followed closely the excellent biography written by John Moore, Esq., friend and partner of the subject, and published in the Cyclopedia of Michigan.) EUGENE WILBER, Saginaw. Judge Eugene Wilber was born at Law- renceville, St. Lawrence county, New York, July 24, 1839. His father, George B. Wilber, was born in Vermont, but settled in Lawrenceville when a young man and resided there during the remainder of life, which ended in 1893. His mother, Orpha Hodges, was also a native of Ver- mont, whose death at Lawrenceville preceded that of her husband several years. Judge Wilber's boyhood was employed at work on the farm and at study in the district school, until he reached the age of sixteen. He then entered the academy at Malone, New York, where he prepared for college. In 1860 he entered Middlebury College, Vermont; but in the fall of 1862, like thousands of other patriotic young men, he left the college for the army. He enlisted as first lieutenant of Company H., 106th Regiment, New York Volunteers. In 1863 he was commissioned as captain of his company. His regiment was attached to the Sixth Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He fought under Grant in the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg; with Sheri- dan, in his brilliant campaign through the Shenandoah Valley, at Winches- ter, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. He received a wound in the side at Cedar Creek which resulted in disability, terminating in his discharge from the army in January, 1865. On returning home he went to Malone, New York, where he entered the law office of Taylor & Hobbs as a student. He was admitted to the Bar in the fall of 1865 at Malone, and remained there engaged in the practice until 1869. He then came west and set- The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Eugene Wilber UNIV OF * 257 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. tled in Saginaw, which has since been his home, and where he has be- come as thoroughly established in the profession as in honorable citizen- ship. A period of thirty years has been devoted to the profession. The only official position outside of the law which he ever held was that of commissioner of schools for Franklin county, New York, which he held one term of two years. In 1872 he formed a partnership with Colonel George A. Flanders, which was maintained about ten years. After its dissolution he continued in practice some time alone, and in 1883 formed a copartnership with Mr. F. Brucker, the present judge of probate, which was continued without interruption until Judge Wilber was elected to the Bench of the Circuit Court in 1893. He entered upon the discharge of his judicial duties January 1, 1894, for a term of six years. He was chosen to this position on account of his recognized fitness and superior qualifications. Members of the Bar, irrespective of partisan preferences, united in recommending him. It was a compliment to his impartiality and a recognition of the distinction between a politician and a plain, hon- est member of a political party. Judge Wilber is a Democrat politically, but not offensively or judicially. As a lawyer he was especially strong before a jury. In practice he always grasped the salient points of a case and kept them in mind throughout the trial. He holds tenaciously to the points which he believes to be important and reaches conclusions directly, without allowing side issues or unimportant considerations to have influ- ence. As a judge he is very methodical in conducting the business of his court and keeps well up with the work. He goes straight to the core of a question or matter presented, and is not disturbed by the plausible argu- ment of counsel in support of a fallacy. He has the happy faculty of de- ciding against a man without offending him. His manner is gracious, but firm when satisfied that he is right. There is never a doubt of his integrity of purpose in reaching a conclusion or publishing it. Members of the profession all have confidence in his honesty and in his capacity. He is a kind man and a just judge, not so influenced by sympathy for a criminal as to lose sight of the law and his duty in the interpretation of it. While at the Bar he had a large business. He is an excellent judge of the nature and motives of men accused of crime. He can readily perceive the dif- ference between a confirmed criminal and one who commits a criminal act inadvertently or under a sudden impulse. He is inclined to regard one of the latter class as unfortunate, and sometimes, when there appears a dis- position to reform, he suspends the sentence upon one found guilty of a first offense. He is especially careful to give a young person a chance to reform if he has any desire for reformation and a life of honesty. If one is entirely depraved so that he prefers crime and there is no good in him, a just judge does not waste sympathy. If one who is found guilty has lost all self-respect the verdict of the jury convicting him will possess an indefinable terror, and the clemency of the judge, holding in suspense the judgment which the law pronounces against him, will exercise a sal- 17 258 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. utary influence upon his conduct. It may restrain him from the commis- sion of crime and strengthen the weak purpose to employ his activities honestly and usefully. In dealing with law-breakers he is the best judge who regards equally the interests of society and the rights of individuals; who understands human frailties and is touched by human sympathy; who sees the motive which is the impulse of an act and tempers judgment according to its character; who recognizes manhood under the jacket of a convict and gives it a chance; who is merciful as well as just, extending conditional liberty to one whom he might restrain, when convinced it will not be a menace to society, while it may be helpful to the individual. As a citizen, a soldier, a lawyer and a jurist, Judge Wilber has acquitted himself well. His education, begun fairly in the academy and the col- lege, has been broadened by study and reading for thirty years after leav- ing those early haunts. He has an accurate understanding of the law and large information on all important questions, whether they concern histor- ical subjects or current events. Judge Wilber was married October 26, 1865, to Miss Jane Williamson, of Malone, New York. They have no children living. DEWITT C. GAGE, late of Saginaw. The subject of this sketch, was a sturdy character, the story of whose life possesses interest to all who admire manly independence, resolute will, sound judgment and a broad fellow feeling for humanity. In him these qualities were nicely blended, producing a man who was a valued member of the community where he cast his lot, and in whose interests he ever faithfully and intelligently labored. His ancestry leads back to England, but for many generations his forefathers had resided in America. He was born at Bellona, Yates county, New York, August 28, 1820, and was the son of Martin and Abigail Gage. His father was born in Massachusetts, while his mother was the daughter of Nathan Rockwell of Catskill. His father, in addition to cultivating a farm, conducted a general store and the spare time of DeWitt was spent in farm work and in making himself useful at his father's store. His winters he devoted to acquiring an education in the district. school and supplemented the instruction there received by a year's study in the academy at Lima. He was now nineteen years of age and the oldest child among seven brothers and one sister. His father died a year later and the responsibility of caring for and closing up the decedent's estate fell largely on his shoulders. His father had been quite prosperous in business, and aside from his store had made considerable investments in farming lands. The duties thus unexpectedly thrown upon him were carefully and successfully attended to and after handling his trust for about four years the estate was settled and divided among the heirs. The por- tion of the property received by DeWitt embraced a farm at Italy Hill, The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago puchon UNIV OF BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 259 Yates county, New York. He married in 1844, Catharine A., a daughter of Judge James Glover of Auburn, New York, and settled on his farm at Italy Hill where he remained for two years, leaving it then and removing to Gorham, Ontario county. Here he associated himself with his brother- in-law Stephen M. Whittaker in a general merchandise business, bringing to it the experience that he had acquired in his father's store. Although success rewarded his efforts in his business pursuits, neither the life of a farmer nor that of a merchant was congenial to his nature and after remaining with Mr. Whittaker for three years, he withdrew from the firm and determined to make the practice of law his life work. The late Judge Folger, a lawyer of eminence and keen judgment, received him into his office as a student and directed his studies, discerning in him those quali- ties that were destined to bring him honor and substantial success in after life. At the age of thirty-one he was admitted to the Bar and for the next three years was associated with Judge Folger in the general practice of law. He had for some time displayed military tastes and it was while with Mr. Folger that these came to the attention of Governor William H. Seward and he appointed Mr. Gage colonel of a militia regiment, giving him a title that clung to him through life. Although enjoying a marked success in his profession at Geneva, and among the most successful of its legal fraternity, a feeling of unrest or a desire to enter larger fields of use- fulness presenting opportunities for greater advancement, seized him at this period and his eyes were turned to the west, where enterprising spirits were winning success in business and professional pursuits in many rapidly developing sections. Leaving Geneva he traveled to the west visiting many points in the western States, among them Iowa, Illinois and Michi- gan. In this State he visited Saginaw Valley, and that keen insight which with him was a second nature, caused him to note its natural and undeveloped wealth, and he clearly foresaw the rapid development of those resources that were destined to make it one of the rich and important sec- tions of our country. Returning to New York State he closed up his affairs there, removed to East Saginaw in 1855 and renewed the practice of his profession. His abilities at once brought him into prominence at the Saginaw County bar and he quickly built up a practice that enabled him to invest his surplus earnings in such ways as to lay the foundations for an ample fortune. He combined good business ability with habits of thrift. It fell to Colonel Gage to fill many offices of trust and distinction after he came to Michigan. On the election of Kinsley S. Bingham, first republican Governor of the State, he was appointed the Governor's private secretary, and held the office during the incumbency of the latter from 1857 to 1859. By President Lincoln he was appointed postmaster of East Saginaw, and when Charles M. Crosswell was elected Governor of Michi- gan he, in 1880, appointed Colonel Gage Judge of the Saginaw Circuit Court to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge William S. Tenant. He was loth to accept the office but did so with many misgivings, in com- 260 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. pliance with the earnest pressure of his warmest friends. For the reasons impelling him to decline the proffered honor we must glance more carefully at his habits, traits of character and the manner in which the court had theretofore been conducted. He was by nature bold, impetuous and lacked in great degree the tact and suavity that materially assist many weaker minds to substantial success. His habits of thrift also forcibly brought to his attention methods by which the business of the court could be more readily dispatched, thus materially reducing the expense of it. Knowing that innovations tending to accomplish such object would not be kindly received by the entire Bar and that in the short time that he would be on the Bench he might be unable to win it to his views, he hesitated to assume such responsibilities. Results justified his views though he was not chosen to fill the long term, on the expiration of his office, but the effects of his ideas have lived beyond him and time has justified his course and seen his views put in practice. His wife died in 1882 and the event had a strong influence on Colonel Gage. He failed gradually but, though ill health steadily made heavy inroads on his physical strength, continued to give active attention to his practice and business interests. He died on Sunday, July 31, 1887, as the result of a serious bilious attack that came on two days before. In his death, Saginaw lost a valued citizen, who for more than thirty years had been one of its leading citizens and who had been ever an active factor in its business, social and professional life. The marked traits of his character were a sterling honesty that brooked no compromise with wrong, strong convictions fearlessly expressed and defended with ardor, thorough attention to work undertaken, genial hospitality, and a kindly interest in the rise and advancement of struggling young practi- tioners. To these he always gave generous assistance and valuable advice that encouraged them to advance in this profession. He possessed a strong personality that always made itself felt on his associates. In his quick movements were expressed energy and ability. In his practice there was always evident thorough preparation that left little loop-hole for unex- pected attack. His speech was not ornate and polished but his strong ideas were clothed in clear and vigorous language that came crashing down like thunderbolts in the ranks of his adversaries, carrying him on to fre- quent victory. In politics Colonel Gage was a Republican and a prominent and powerful leader of his party. He was noted as an organizer and campaigner of unusual ability and to him many of the successes of that party in Saginaw county were due. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 261 WILLIAM G. GAGE, Saginaw. William Glover Gage, a leading lawyer of the Saginaw county Bar, was born on a farm at Italy Hill, Yates county, New York, April 11, 1847, the son of Col. DeWitt C. Gage, who was born in the same county, and Abigail (Rockwell) Gage. His father, in early life was a farmer and merchant who left New York State in 1855 and settled at Saginaw, Michigan. William G. began his education in the common schools of Seneca county, New York, and continued his studies in the public schools of Saginaw on the location of his parents there. He remained there a quiet studious lad until 1862 when the call for volunteers to suppress the rebellion rang over the land and fired his youthful patriot- ism. At that time Colonel Gage the younger, as he is now called, though not sixteen years of age, began to display those military tastes and in- stincts that we will see later on have had such a strong and valuable influ- ence on the militia system of our State. At this date he enlisted in Company C, 7th Michigan cavalry and served in the Army of the Potomac as a member of General Custer's brigade and participated in the campaign of 1863. He was a brave young soldier, fought in a number of hot en- gagements and at the historic battle of Gettysburg had his horse shot under him. Here he fell into the hands of the rebels and was taken to Richmond, Virginia, where he enjoyed Southern hospitality until he was exchanged in August, 1863. Little vicissitudes of this kind could not cool the military ardor in his blood, and again with his comrades in blue he participated in the fall and winter operations on the Rapidan. In 1864 he was honorably discharged from the service, returning to his home where he re-entered the high school and with private instruction graduated therefrom and entered the Literary Department of the University of Michigan where he attended one year. His ambition had centered itself on the profession of law and on leaving the University he entered the office of his father, Judge DeWitt Clinton Gage. When Col. Joseph Lockley was made postmaster of East Saginaw he appointed William Glover Gage his assistant. While so employed for a period of four years he continued his law studies and was examined before Judge John Moore of Saginaw, in 1873, and admitted to the Bar. He then began active practice in partnership with his father, the firm begin Gage & Gage; this partnership continuing until 1880, at which time Colonel Gage was elected Circuit Court Judge for the 10th Judicial District. Since that time he has been alone in his practice, which is large and remunerative. Whether Mr. Gage had a natural inclination for military affairs or imbibed a taste for them as a youthful soldier in the service of his country, we do not know, but he has always taken a keen interest in military affairs and was for eight years identified with the State troops. In 1880 he was appointed on the staff of Gov. David H. Jerome with the rank of briga- dier general and made inspector general of the State troops. this office he originated a system of "company inspections," visiting in While filling 262 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ་ person every portion of the state in the discharge of his duty. His influ- ence on the militia system of the State, in moulding it into a more nearly perfect and more efficient organization, was of great and far reaching in- fluence. The system then established has continued and the efficiency, high organization and fine equipment of our state troops today may be traced to the zealous and intelligent effort and military zeal that he exercised while filling that office. In 1883 he was appointed by President Arthur postmaster of East Saginaw and served until 1884 when he was superseded by the appointee of President Cleveland. In 1894 he was appointed city attorney of Saginaw and now (1896) fills that office with credit and success. He has always been an active Republican but is in no sense a rabid partisan. He is an attendant of the First Congregational Church and prominent in social and fraternal affairs. He is a member of Saginaw Lodge No. 10 K. of P., Brigadier General of Uniformed Rank, K. of P. of Michigan, Gordon Granger Post, No. 38, G. A. R., in which he takes an active inter- est, and of Ancient Landmarks Lodge No. 303, F. & A. M. Mr. Gage married Alice B. Sanborn of Madison county, New York, in 1873 and to the esteemed couple have been born five children: Kate A., DeWitt, George S., Walter H., Alice A. and Louise R. He is an able lawyer, a very painstaking and careful examiner of the law, tireless in his work and conscientious in the furtherance of the best interests of his clients. As a counseller he is safe and conservative and in the court room makes a clear, forcible and telling argument in a straightforward convincing manner and in apt language, without attempt at oratorical effect. In addition to his extensive practice in the courts Mr. Gage has large real estate interests which still further identifiy him with the city that he makes his home. He is pleasing, courteous and affable in his manners and has a host of friends who esteem him for his manly qualities of heart and mind. WATTS S. HUMPHREY, Saginaw. Watts Sherman Humphrey is of English descent through both of his parents. His father, Thomas Humph- rey, was a native of England who came to America in 1824 at the age of nineteen and settled first in Canandaigua, New York; became a merchant and a man of affairs, capable of handling a large business. His business interests fixed his residence for a time in Newark, New Jersey, and Rich- mond, Virginia. It was not until 1844 that he settled permanently in Michigan. He came to the State as financial and business agent of Henry Cleveland, a wealthy citizen of Batavia, New York, who had large landed interests in Ingham county, and settled on those lands before the native forests had been invaded by the ax-man or the virgin soil had been dis- turbed by the plow. His location was on Pine Lake, only nine miles from Lansing, which was then a village of little consequence, not having yet attained the distinction of being chosen as the site of the State capital. The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Hattenphy UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 263 No railroads had then penetrated that portion of the wilderness and few highways traversed it. The routes of travel were the Indian trails. It was under such conditions that Thomas Humphrey began the work of improving a farm for his principal. In the execution of his agency he sustained very intimate business relations for seventeen years with the late Judge John M. Longyear, who was the attorney of Mr. Cleveland, living, and of his estate after death. He pursued the vocation of a farmer during the remainder of his life and died on his own farm at Okemos in 1873. Sarah Sherman, the wife of Thomas Humphrey and mother of Watts S., was a descendant of the distinguished Puritan family of Sher- mans whose English ancestor settled in Connecticut in 1634, and whose members in succeeding generations have been noted for ability and learn- ing in the law, for influence and eminence in statesmanship, for success in commercial pursuits and renown in war. She was born in Connecticut and was a sister of Watts Sherman, member of the late firm of Duncan Sher- man & Co., leading New York brokers, second only to Wells, Fargo & Co. in the immense shipments of gold from California during the years immediately following the great discoveries of 1849. Watts Sherman Humphrey was born in Perry, Wyoming county, New York, January 3, 1844-the year which witnessed the removal of the family to the frontier in Michigan. His boyhood was passed on the Ingham county farm and in the district school until he reached the age of fourteen. At that time he entered the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, where he remained a single term, going thence to the Agricultural College at Lansing, where he remained for three years. In 1863 he enlisted in the First Michigan cav- alry, which became famous as part of the brigade of General Custer. He performed all the duties of a soldier in the field until disabled by a wound. The circumstances attending his injury were peculiar, but the disability was no less complete than if it had resulted directly from a gunshot wound. In the Gordonsville raid his regiment, assigned to the duty of protecting the retreat of the command, was attacked by Mosby's Guerillas and his horse shot down at the crossing of the South Ann river. The horse fell upon his right leg and crushed it. In defiance of this injury he swam the river and lay in the woods all night alone, where he was found in the morning by comrades, strapped on a horse and carried with the army. From that time until the close of the war he was confined in hospitals at Washington and Detroit, and at the close of the war received an honora- ble discharge. Having decided upon the law as a profession, he entered upon the study of it in the office of S. L. Kilbourne, of Lansing, in the spring of 1867. In the fall of the same year he became a student in the Law School of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in April, 1869, a month after his admission to the Bar by the Circuit Court at Ann Arbor. In the autumn of that year he located in Cheboygan, where he remained for about twenty-one years in the active practice of his pro- fession. In 1891, Mr. Humphrey removed to Saginaw and became a 264 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. member of the firm of McKnight, Humphrey & Grant, forming a partner- ship with the late Judge McKnight and George Grant, who had been associated together for some time. This co-partnership was maintained until the appointment of Judge McKnight to the Circuit Bench, and since. that time the style of the firm has been Humphrey & Grant. While at Cheboygan, Mr. Humphrey gave considerable attention and time to poli- tics. He held the office of county treasurer five years, served as prosecut- ing attorney of Cheboygan county and member of the common council of the city. In 1890, he was nominated by the Republican convention as candidate to represent the Tenth Congressional District in Congress, but was defeated by Hon. Thomas A. E. Weadock, then a resident of Bay City. Mr. Humphrey has practised in all the State and Federal courts of Michigan, and the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. His char- acter as a citizen and as a lawyer is equally high. He has the intellectual capacity required to understand the intricacies of the law, the habits of industry and investigation essential to master them. In the harmonious union of the attributes and faculties which qualify a man for professional success he is extremely fortunate. His methods are practical and busi- ness-like. The financial instinct is not wanting in his character and it has enabled him to accumulate property of considerable value, which is an evi- dence of substantial citizenship. While genial in disposition and possessing the qualities of comradeship to a degree, there is nothing light or trivial in his conversation or treatment of society. He is fond of field sports, and never allows business to interfere with his duck shooting or trout fishing when in season. GEORGE GRANT, of Humphrey & Grant, Saginaw. As the name sug- gests, Mr. Grant is of Scotch descent, and so close to the native heath that both of his parents, James Grant and Isabelle Spence, were born, reared and married in Scotland. Several of the older children of the family were born before the emigration to the United States. His father was born in 1813, came to America in 1851, settled in Ada township, Kent county, Michigan, which has been his home to the present time. He lives on his own farm, where the younger children were bred. The voyage of the family across the Atlantic was attended with dangers and delays difficult to appreciate in these modern days of "Ocean Greyhounds." Scotland in April, 1851, and took passage on a sailing vessel. weeks out the ship encountered a terrific storm, which stripped it of mast and rigging. The heavy sea carried the captain overboard and he was lost. The vessel was obliged to put back to port for repairs. When these had been completed so that she was regarded as seaworthy the voyage was resumed, and the ship encountered adverse winds which drove her far north of the usual course. They finally landed, however, from New York har- They left When two The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago GeoGranh UNIV OF BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 265 bor, and traveled thence by rail to Buffalo. There they took passage in a lake boat, and after a tedious voyage landed at Grand Haven, going around by way of the Straits. This was rendered necessary by the want of any road across the country from Detroit to Kent county. George Grant was the seventh in a family of nine children. He was born in the township of Ada, Kent county, Michigan, January 9, 1852. In boyhood he worked on his father's farm and attended the district schools in winter. When six- teen years of age he spent some time in the high school at Grand Rapids, in which he made sufficient advancement to be qualified for teaching. He taught two winter terms in the country schools and entered the State Nor- mal at Ypsilanti in 1871, where he remained two years. He was principal of the Union Schools at Dansville in 1873 and '74. Returning to the State Normal school, he pursued the classical course to its completion and was graduated in June, 1876. In the fall of that year he became principal of the schools at Almont, Michigan, and remained in charge six years. Having decided to give up the profession of teaching for that of law, he tendered his resignation, removed to Saginaw, East Side, and entered the law office of Wheeler & McKnight as a student. This was in September, 1882, and in August, 1883, he was admitted to the Bar by the Circuit Court in Saginaw. He remained with this firm in a subordinate relation until January 1, 1887, when he was admitted to a partnership and the firm name was changed to Wheeler, McKnight & Grant. As thus consti- tuted, the firm continued in practice until the death of Mr. Wheeler, in January, 1890, after which it became McKnight & Grant. The admission of Watts S. Humphrey to the partnership in January, 1891, made the firm McKnight, Humphrey & Grant. This was continued until October 23, 1893, when Judge McKnight retired to accept the office of circuit judge, and since that time Humphrey & Grant have constituted the firm. His natural abilities and his strong predilection for the law contribute to make Mr. Grant a reputable and successful lawyer. He is a Republican, but his preference for the profession of law is so marked that he has had no inclination to engage actively in politics or become a candidate for political office. The only public office he has held at any time is membership of the Saginaw school board. He is a member of the Congregational Church and has long been a Mason. For two successive years he was High Priest of Saginaw Valley Chapter No. 31, and during that time, owing to his skillful management and executive tact, the Chapter was more prosperous than in any other period of its history. He is also a member of St. Ber- nard Commandery, K. T., of Saginaw. His sympathy and activities were enlisted in work for the erection of the beautiful Masonic Temple in Sag- inaw, and he has been a member of the executive board of the Temple since it was organized. He was married July 9, 1878, to Miss Mary S.. Fowler, who was, at the time, a teacher associated with him in the Almont schools. Mrs. Grant is American born, and was before marriage a resident of Ingham county, Michigan. Three children were born of this marriage, 266 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. one daughter and two sons. The daughter, Lettie Belle, a bright and promising girl of sixteen, died January 9, 1896. The sons, George Grant, Jr., and Robert Fowler Grant, are in school. Mr. Grant has been admit- ted to practice in all the State Courts of Michigan and in the Federal Courts sitting in the State. In his character are united some of the quali- ties and forces which have for many generations been recognized as charac- teristics of the Scotch. He has the perseverance, the inflexible purpose, the indomitable will and the granitic firmness which history accords to that hardy and sturdy people. At the age of fifteen he was thrown upon his own resources, obliged to pay his own way through school and to rely upon his own head to plan and his own hand to work. That he succeeded in making broad and liberal preparation and so ordered his life as to attain honorable distinction in his profession, are evidence of good natural abili- ties, discriminating judgment and close application. Beginning without money or influential friends, he has made for himself a position at the Bar and in society which in itself is the best evidence of personal worthiness. LORENZO THURSTON DURAND. The subject of this sketch was born at Morehouseville, Hamilton county, New York, December 9, 1849, the son of George H. and Margaret (McMillan) Durand. The family came to Michigan in 1858 and settled first on a farm in Genesee county, remov- ing later into the city of Flint and shortly after to Saginaw, where the father died in November, 1895, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife died in November, 1880. The families of both of Lorenzo's parents were of English and Scotch ancestry, and their settling in New York State antedates the Revolution. The living issue of George H. and Margaret Durand are Mrs. John P. Williams, of Chicago, Hon. George H. Durand, of Flint, and Hon. Lorenzo T. Durand. Young Lorenzo began his educa- tion in the common schools of Hamilton county, New York and the Gen- esee Valley of Livingston county, where the elder Durand had a large dairy farm, and on the removal of the family to Saginaw, here continued his studies in the city schools. At Saginaw he spent the spare time of his youth clerking in stores and tallying lumber along the Saginaw River. During this time he had in view the profession of law and at the age of seventeen years entered the office of J. Brousseau, of Saginaw, as a law student. After remaining there about a year he entered the office of Webber & Smith, where he studied law for about three years. He then entered the law department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1870 with the degree of LL.B. He was admitted to the Bar at Lansing after an examination before the Supreme Court and, through the influence of his strong personal friend, Hon. Thomas M. Cooley, became the assistant of the Hon. Dwight May, Attorney Gen- eral of the State. After filling this position for about a year he removed BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 267 to East Saginaw and began the practice. He had been a diligent student of the law and his preliminary training was of great benefit. In 1871 he commenced practice in Saginaw and was associated after a time with DeForest Paine, Esq., now of Detroit, the firm then being Durand & Paine. This connection was dissolved in 1878 when Mr. Durand was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Saginaw county by a very large majority. He was but twenty-eight years of age, but notwithstanding his youth, his incumbency proved so satisfactory to the public that he was re-elected by a handsome majority in 1880 in a county that usually at that time elected republican candidates. From 1880 to 1883 he was associated with Frank E. Emerick under the firm name of Durand & Emerick and subsequently with John M. Brewer, now of Detroit, under the firm name of Durand & Brewer, until 1887, since which time he has been alone. At the period. when Mr. Durand was prosecuting attorney, a strong wave of criminality seemed to sweep over Saginaw county and nearly all civil business was thrust aside in the court. Among other and many very important cases which were conducted by him in behalf of the people and of the county, a few which aroused the public attention may be mentioned. People vs. Horace Becker. Becker was charged with the larceny of $300.00 from the post-master of Deercreek, Livingston county, who was in Saginaw at the time engaged in buying cider barrels. Becker piloted him around the city. in the night and finally robbed him. The trial lasted several days. Becker was defended by William H. Sweet and Judge A. C. Maxwell of Bay City, and after a bitter fight was convicted and sentenced to Jackson for fifteen years. People vs. John Palmer, Arson. Defendant was charged with burning a farm house belonging to Fred Wallin, situated upon the Genesee Plank Road just beyond the city limits, with intent to defraud the insur- ance company which had issued a policy on the building. He was con- victed and sentenced to State's prison. People vs. William Murray and others, Murder. Murray was the leader of a gang of circus men who, when the circus was over for the night at Chesaning went with the rest to a bowery hall and there commenced beating the people right and left, and finally killed a man by the name of Emery, a special policeman appointed to keep order. He was found guilty of murder in the second degree and sent to Jackson for fifteen years. People vs. Griggs. Assault with intent to commit murder. Griggs was charged with shooting Joe Blumfield of Indiantown. The trial lasted ten days and was bitterly contested. There were over sixty witnesses sworn in the case and the defendant was con- victed. People vs. William B. Clark. Clark was a noted horse thief and murderer, and had practiced his nefarious work throughout the country without having been caught, until finally he was arrested for horse stealing, was convicted and sentenced to Jackson. People vs. John Driscoll, better known as "Silver Jack," robbery. Jack was a notorious character. He had worked in the lumber woods, and when around town was accustomed to frequent saloons, and when in liquor was a vicious, bad man. He 268 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. robbed a chum while they were out together one evening, was tried, con- victed and sentenced to Jackson for fifteen years. In his general practice Mr. Durand has been engaged in many important suits as attorney and general counsel of the Saginaw Union Street Railway, Union Street Railway Company, Saginaw Consolidated Street Railway Co., River- side Park Railway and The Inter-Urban Railway Company. In this State he has been the pioneer in cases establishing the legal rights of "Overhead Trolley Wire" railways. Saginaw was one of the pioneers in Michigan and the northwest in which such railways were constructed (in 1889). The question of the right to operate street cars by electricity was raised and tried in the circuit court in chancery. The right to use such motive power was affirmed by our Supreme Court in Barber vs. The Saginaw Union Street Railway Co., reported in 83d Michigan, page 299. His con- tention affirming the right of electric roads to string wires across the right of way of steam railroads was sustained in the Circuit Court and also in the Supreme court. In this case he was opposed by leading counsel of the Michigan Central and other steam railroads but in the end achieved a com- plete victory over his able opponents (91st Michigan, page 657). The principle established was that neither company had exclusive rights, but that the rights and duties of both were reciprocal. Both of these decisions have since been widely quoted as they were the pioneer decisions on the respective questions involved. Mr. Durand is not only a talented lawyer but a good business man. He is attorney for the Central Bridge Company and the Saginaw County Savings Bank in which he is a large stockholder, and vice-president. He was for six years a member of the Board of Public Works of Saginaw. He has been president of the Bar Association of Saginaw since 1894. In politics Mr. Durand is a strong Democrat and has been solicited to be the candidate of his party for representative in Congress, but has steadily refused. He has also been urged to allow his name to be used as a candidate for the position of attorney general of Michigan but has declined, preferring to give the party the benefit of his counsel and let others reap the rewards of party strife. He is a regular attendant of St. John's Episcopal Church and prominent in the business affairs of the church. In 1872 he married Miss Florence C. Moore, daughter of Hon. John Moore, of Saginaw, a former judge of the Circuit Court and one of the few living pioneers of the Saginaw Bar. They now live in Saginaw, on Michigan Avenue, in a handsome home beside that of Judge Moore. Mr. and Mrs. Durand have one child, Carrie M. who graduated from the Saginaw High School, in the class of 1891. In man- ner Mr. Durand is affable and frank with a pleasing personality that readily makes friends. In his manifold affairs he is uncompromisingly honest and despises duplicity. He has always been a diligent student of the law and exhaustive in his researches for points to maintain his controversy in court. He is prominent in the masonic fraternity and has served three terms as Eminent Commander of St. Bernard Commandery. UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago. 6. A. Corby MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 269 EDGAR A. COOLEY, Bay City. Edgar Arthur Cooley was born at Adrian, Michigan, May 30, 1852. The family had its origin in New Eng- land, but his immediate ancestors were residents of the State of New York. His father is Hon. Thomas M. Cooley, of Ann Arbor, formerly Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan and the highest authority on constitutional law in the United States. His mother was Mary E. Hor- ton, also a native of New York. His childhood was passed in Adrian, but when he was seven years of age the family removed to Ann Arbor, on account of the acceptance by Judge Cooley of the resident professorship in the Law School of the University of Michigan. Here Edgar A. was edu- cated, passing through the public schools and the high school, from which he was graduated in 1868, at the age of sixteen. The same year he entered the Literary Department of the University of Michigan where he remained until he completed the classical course and received his Bachelor's degree. This was in 1872, when he was twenty years old. While pur- suing the regular studies of the senior class he also attended the lectures of the first year's course in the Law School. He was thus enabled to com- plete the course in law within one year after his completion of the classical course. In February, 1873, he was qualified for admission to the Bar in every respect except age. He had not yet attained his majority. He was received into the law office of Winsor Scofield as a clerk, and in June of the same year was admitted to practice in the courts. In September, 1873, the law firm of Marston, Hatch & Cooley was formed at Bay City with Mr. Cooley as the junior member. The firm was broken in April, 1875, by the appointment of Judge Marston to the Supreme Bench as the successor of Judge Isaac P. Christiancy, who resigned to accept the office of Senator of the United States. After that the firm of Hatch & Cooley existed and conducted a general practice in the State and Federal courts for twenty years. In March, 1895, Mr. Hatch and his son, who for some time had been associated with the firm, removed to Detroit, leaving Mr. Cooley the sole surviving member of the original co-partnership and inher- itor of the firm's large business. He has continued the practice alone; but instead of carrying on a general business, comprising all kinds of cases, he has given special attention to the duties of counsellor and the affairs of corporations. His preference is counsel business rather than appearance in court as a trial lawyer. He is, however, local attorney of the Michigan Central Railroad Company; attorney for the First National Bank of Bay City, and various manufacturing companies. For some time he was local attorney for the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad Company. Only a few of the many important cases managed by the firm of which Mr. Cooley was so long a member can be referred to in this brief sketch. The Tawas and Bay County Railroad Company vs. the Circuit Judge of Iosco county (44th Michigan, page 479), is one which established a precedent. It involved the question of vacating an illegal injunction by mandamus, when 270 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. } • the party restrained would otherwise suffer serious injury or assume the risk of being in contempt for disregarding the order. As counsel for the railroad company, whose operation the Circuit Judge endeavored to stop by injunction, Mr. Cooley applied to the Supreme Court for mandamus, alleging that the delay incident to an appeal from the Circuit Court would occasion great loss to his client. His prayer was granted and thus was the principle established that mandamus may issue to vacate an injunction— a speedy and efficacious remedy for a wrong which might otherwise work irreparable damage. Another important case was McMaster vs. Merrick (41st Michigan, page 505), raising a novel question under the lien laws. The principle involved was that liens created by implication may be waived by implication; and if lien and non lien claims are commingled the lien is waived. The Supreme Court sustained this view of the controversy after exhaustive argument by attorney for plaintiff and defendant. Mr. Cooley has given considerable attention to business and commercial affairs. He is interested as a stockholder and director in many corporations, bank- ing and manufacturing. He was one of the principal stockholders of the Bay City Street Railway for some years. He is not a member of any For secret order except the College Greek Fraternity Alpha Delta Phi. several years he was captain of the Peninsulars, a military company organ- ized and maintained at Bay City. He was married December 18, 1876, to Miss Addie L. Seymour, of Flint, who died in March, 1888, leaving four children, viz.; Walter, who is now sixteen years of age; Mary, aged four- teen; Anna, twelve; and Vaughan, nine. He was subsequently married to Louisa Fitzhugh, daughter of Frank Fitzhugh, Bay City, who lived but six months after marriage. Mr. Cooley is a very unassuming man and avoids publicity or any sort of notoriety. He is a remarkable lawyer, in that he seems to have been born with an intuitive sense of what the law is. He arrives at correct legal conclusions apparently by intuition and without the laborious effort that other men are compelled to put forth. He pos- sesses original capacity and is able to express his views tersely in pleadings upon questions which have not been adjudicated. His integrity of char- acter is absolute. He entertains an abhorrence of shams and pretenses. As a lawyer he is a counsellor rather than an advocate. His ability mani- fests itself more in questions relating to the title and transfer of real estate, or matters involving corporate rights. His conveyances and contracts are clear, concise and strong. He has been very successful and won the con- He has the most desira- fidence of the people in his section of the State. ni ble business of any lawyer in Bay City. He is loyal to his many friends. and has made few enemies. His chief recreation is found in the milder sports, such as fishing, and his annual trips to the northern resorts, with the rod and boon companions, enable him to throw off care and recuperate his energies for the hard work of another year. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 271 ALFRED P. LYON, Bay City. Hon. Alfred P. Lyon, United States dis- trict attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, is a native of the State. He was born July 27, 1847, at Milford, Oakland county. He is descended from New England ancestry. His father, Phineas Lyon, who is still liv- ing at Milford, was born in Connecticut, lived for some time in the State of New York, and came to Michigan in 1837, when he settled at Milford. He has always been a farmer. His mother, Adeline Phelps, was a native of New York, a woman of refinement and strong character. She died in 1872. Precisely what are the agencies and influences that enter into the life of a boy on a farm and lay the substantial foundation for professional success may be difficult to enumerate or explain. Whether it is the ozone of the coun- try air, the communion with nature in her varying moods, the vigorous exercise with the plow, the spade and the ax, or the restful, wholesome sleep that follows labor in a pure atmosphere, the writer does not presume to affirm. It may be that all of these conditions and elements contribute to the result. The absence of evil associations is also a factor of the situa- tion. Whatever the contributory influences may be the fact is indisputa- ble that many of the ablest and most prominent lawyers of the country got their inspiration in the corn field and their preparation in the district school. Alfred P. Lyon is a fine example of the evolution of a first-class lawyer from an obscure farmer's boy. His early years were divided between work on the farm and attendance at the district school. This was continued until he reached the age of eighteen. At that time he entered the Milford high school and afterwards attended the seminary at Fenton. He taught one winter term of school in the country. With this prelimi- nary preparation he entered the Law School of the University of Michigan in the fall of 1870, and was graduated upon the completion of the course with the class of 1872. He settled at Bay City immediately afterwards, where he entered the office of Hon. T. F. Shepard as a clerk. admitted to the Bar in November, 1872, and remained with Mr. Shepard in the capacity of lawyer's clerk for two years. During this period his aptness for the law was discovered by his preceptor, who invited him to a partnership and with him constituted the firm of Shepard & Lyon. This relation continued for a period of twenty-one years, until February, 1895. The practice of the firm was general in all of the courts, State and Federal. It was second to none in the city in the aggregate volume of business and the importance of cases conducted. Mr. Lyon rapidly de- veloped by reading and practice into a careful, painstaking lawyer. has always been his habit to study a case very closely and critically before going to trial, and he is ready always on all the points involved when the case is called. He knows his witnesses and understands what will be their testimony. He has a fine legal mind which makes the work of prepar- ing cases easier than it otherwise would be. In social intercourse, as well as professional work, he is one of the most modest and unassum- He was It 272 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ing of men. He does not seek notoriety or publicity. His style of argument is candid, strong and convincing. He has the faculty of in- spiring a jury with confidence that what he says is the truth. Though not much given to society he is a kind and reliable neighbor, and enjoys the confidence of the community in which he has lived so long. Polit- ically he is a Democrat, and one whose counsel is highly regarded by his party. He takes an interest in political affairs, and is usually found on the membership of the county or district committee. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Bay county in 1878, and subsequently re-elected for a second term. His conduct in office was eminently satisfactory. In April, 1885, he was appointed city attorney, and served two years. February 10, 1894, he received appointment to the honorable and respon- sible office of United States district attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan from President Cleveland. Mr. Lyon is a member of Bay City Commandery Knights Templar. He was married February 25, 1875, to Miss Lillian J. Arms, of Milford, Michigan. They have one son, Avery A., eighteen years of age, who is in school. A proper discharge of the duties of district attorney does not employ all his time, therefore after the dissolution of partnership existing between Messrs. Shepard & Lyon the latter became associated with Mr. C. E. Pierce, under the firm name of Lyon & Pierce in 1895. He is more than an advisory member of the firm, as he participates actively in the trial of cases in the State courts. ARCHIBALD MCDONELL, Bay City. Archibald McDonell was born at St. Andrews, Nova Scotia, January 1, 1833. His ancestors for many generations lived in Scotland. They were men of high moral courage, unwavering faith and unconquerable will. Some of them came to America before the middle of the last century and settled in Canada.. One member of the family was a distinguished Roman Catholic Bishop of Canada a hundred years ago; another was a member of the Legislature and the Legislative Council of Upper Canada for many years; a third was a Cana- dian explorer, a soldier and lawyer, who practised in partnership with Sir Allen McNab, and who, under a royal license, explored the Lake Superior region for minerals and organized the Quebec Mining Company. He was a public-spirited, far-sighted man, the first to propose a railroad from the shore of Lake Superior to the Pacific coast, and also a ship canal around the falls of Sault Ste. Marie, but who was turned down as to both propo- sitions because they were regarded as premature. A fourth member of the family was Governor of Assiniboia and planted a colony of High- landers in the Red river country, of which he was the controlling or lead- ing spirit for ten years. The family came from Inverness, Scotland, and Archibald's father was born on the ocean during the voyage. The subject of this sketch was educated in the grammar school and afterwards taught } BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 273 in his native province for three years. Having decided at the age of twenty-six to locate in the United States and prepare himself for the prac- tice of law, he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, in 1859, and was graduated in 1861. The year of his graduation he began the practice at Bay City, and soon after that event was in partnership for a short time with A. C. Maxwell. Subsequently he was associated for eleven years with Judge Greer, and for three years with George P. Cobb. He is now in partnership with De Vere Hall, under the firm name of Mc- Donell & Hall. At the time of his location in Bay City it had a popula- tion of only seven hundred, so that during the thirty-four years of his residence there as a lawyer, he has been able to contribute largely to the growth and business of the city. From boyhood he had an unusual amount of business enterprise, and capacity to accumulate money and property. Before he was twenty-five years old he had saved ten thousand dollars. This was invested in a cargo of wheat, and the vessel was sunk in Lake Huron, losing all of his fortune. This occurrence did not discourage him or disqualify him for future gains. He has, during his entire life, been rather fond of business, and for many years his surplus cash capital has been invested in banking, real estate, and employed in a mercantile house in Bay City. He is a large owner of real estate, all of which has been accumulated since he located there as a lawyer. Among the important cases which have been conducted by him in the higher courts may be mentioned Dennison vs. Gibson et al., which was begun in 1868, when he had been in the practice only seven years. It was a suit in equity involving title to the assets of the First National Bank of Bay City, valued at four hundred thousand dollars. Judge Moore, of Saginaw, and Messrs. Hatch & Cooley conducted the case for the complainants, while Mr. McDonell, then a member of the firm of McDonell & Cobb, and Hon. G. V. N. Lothrop managed the defendant's side. It is unusual to entrust such vast interests to so young a lawyer. Another interesting case which he managed was Speechly vs. Thunder Bay River Boom Company (31 Mich., 236). The question involved in this case was the right of a mill owner on the stream to the flow of water to the detriment of the use of the stream by the boom company. Another case was Feary vs. Cummings, involving a construction of certain provisions of the garnishee laws and the filing of chattel mort- gages. These were new questions to the courts of Michigan and were construed by the court in this case, and that construction has been the law of the State on these subjects to the present time. Mr. McDonell was for two terms mayor of the Bay City, and his incumbency of the office covered the Centennial year. He has also at different times served as Circuit Court commissioner and Supreme Court commissioner. He has not been active in partisan politics or sought political office, being rather inclined to secure whatever prominence may be reached by the practice of his profession and the conduct of business affairs. He was one of the first trustees of the Bay City public library, and still holds that position. He is a stockholder, 18 274 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. director and attorney of the Bay City Bank. He was one of the founders of the McDonell Hardware Company of Bay City. Mr. McDonell was twice married. His first wife, a native of Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, died in 1862, leaving two children, one of whom is S. P. McDonell, manager of the McDonell Hardware Company. His second wife was a native of St. Lawrence county, New York, and died in February, 1896, leaving a family of one son, F. D. McDonell, who is also a member of the same hardware company, and five daughters, the yougest of whom is only twelve years of age, and all of whom reside at home, except during their absence in obtaining their education. DE VERE HALL, Bay City. DeVere Hall was born August 22, 1854, at Bedford, Monroe county, Michigan. His father died in the year 1856 and his mother in the year 1874, and he has very little authentic informa- tion concerning his ancestry. He came into being in the country and his boyhood made him familiar with hard work on a farm. His attendance at school was there limited to the winter terms, but his aspirations lifted him above the meager opportunities of the district school. His ideals were transmuted into character and conduct by his own will and his own ener- gies. They were real enough to redeem his obscure life from some of its drudgery. When sufficiently advanced he entered the union school at Holly and paid the expenses of his tuition with the wages earned at teach- ing. In 1874 he became principal of the union schools at Goodrich, and later at Gaines, in Genesee county, then at Byron, Shiawassee county, and subsequently at Caseville, in Huron county. In the Caseville schools he taught five years. The last two years of this time he was a member of the board of school examiners for Huron county, and for two years was secretary thereof. He cherished aspirations for the future, outside of the school room. While teaching he employed hours which might have been enjoyed in recreation to the study of law. His preceptor and guide in the course of reading was Hon. Thomas B. Woodworth, of Caseville, who loaned him the books and filled the place of lecturer and expounder. Mr. Hall was admitted to the Bar of Huron county in the spring of 1883, and removed to West Branch, Ogemaw county, for practice. In October of that year he entered into a partnership with Hon. D. P. Markey, ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives of Michigan and a lawyer of experience, under the firm name of Markey & Hall. This association was continued until 1891, when the senior member of the firm removed to Port Huron and the junior member to Bay City. The latter formed a partnership with Hon. Archibald McDonell, which has continued to the present time. McDonell & Hall have a large and valuable clientage. They are counsel- lors for many of the leading business firms of Bay City and are the attor- neys in charge of their litigation. Mr. Hall has been actively and The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago. Dee Beretall UNIV OF BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 275 ན continuously engaged in the practice of his profession from the time of his admission to the Bar. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Ogemaw county in 1884, and was re-elected in '86 and '88, but resigned in Novem- ber, 1890, to accept a nomination as the candidate of the Republican party for representative in the State Legislature. He served one term as representative with ability, but has held no other political office and has never been a candidate for office except as noted in the foregoing. He is wedded to the law and has a high regard for his mistress. His connection. with all important litigation in the courts of Ogemaw county since 1883 is part of the record of the county. He has acted as general counsel of the Supreme Tent, Supreme Hive, Great Camp, and Great Hive of the Maccabees and has had charge of nearly all the litigation in which these various orders have been involved in Michigan for some years. Some of the cases with which he has been connected have become standard as the authoritative interpretation of the law governing fraternal benefit associa- tions. In the case of Alice B. Canfield vs. the Great Camp of the Knights of Maccabees of the State of Michigan (87 Michigan, page 26), it was held by the Supreme Court that the decision of the executive committee of a fraternal society having authority to determine the validity of a claim was a bar to an action at law to enforce the claim. This princi- ple was reaffirmed in Fillmore vs. the Great Camp of the Knights of Maccabees of the State of Michigan, reported in 103 Michigan, page 437, and on rehearing in 66 N. W. R., page 675. He has a wide reputation in matters growing out of municipal taxation and his counsel is much sought after in such cases. He has prepared for his personal use a valuable digest of each case reported by the Supreme Court of the State, involving the many and varied questions arising out of the relation of master and servant, and the result of his labor is seen in the cases of Beesley vs. Wheeler, 103 Michigan, page 196, in which he was active counsel for the defendant and in Anderson vs. M. C. R. R., Balhoff vs. M. C. R. R. and McDonald vs. M. C. R. R. reported in 65 N. W. R. pages 585, 592 and 597, respec- tively, in all of which he was counsel for the plaintiff. Mr. Hall holds the office of Great Lieutenant Commander of the Knights of the Maccabees for Michigan; he is a Methodist and a member of the board of trustees of Madison Avenue M. E. Church of Bay City. He was married May 19, 1877, to Augusta O. Brown of Byron and has five children; Sydney D., now attending Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts; Vera M., Ray A., Irving J., and Cecile M. Mr. Hall has a strong legal mind and his understanding of a principle in law is comprehensive. His perception of a legal proposition is keen. He is quick in apprehension and prompt in decision. When his resolution was formed to face in the direction of the law his energy and will afforded the means of executing it. His intel- lect is as clear and sharp as his profile. He is studious and careful in his investigations, firm in his convictions, candid, and concise in the expression of his views. He is a good speaker and an honored citizen. 276 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. WILLIAM M. KILPATRICK, Owosso. Hon. William Marvin Kilpat- rick is of Scotch-Irish extraction on the side of his father, and of New England descent through his mother. His father, Jesse Kilpatrick, was born in Seneca county, New York, May 4, 1805. His mother, Catherine Semans, although of Vermont ancestry, was born in Maryland, January 4, 1805. In early life his father was a blacksmith, but subsequently engaged in farming and maintained his residence in New York until 1865, when he came west with his family and settled at Grass Lake in Jackson county, Michigan. Both parents are still living at this place, at the ripe age of ninety-two. William Marvin Kilpatrick was born in Middlesex, Yates county, New York, December 25, 1840. He was brought up to work on his father's farm and had the advantage of district schools during the winter months until he was twenty. After that he attended the academy at Rushville, New York, for a single term and, after attaining his majority, attended the Genesee Academy, at Lima, for one year. This was the scope of his attendance at school and the extent of his opportunity for literary education. He belongs to that large class of lawyers who spend some time in the profession of teaching before entering the profession of law, and make the former the vestibule to the latter, for financial con- siderations. He taught in New York State two years and then, coming west in advance of his father's family, taught school for a single term in Illinois. During this time he had not been drifting, for that usually leads to a lower level. His leadings had always been toward the law. His decision had been formed to take up the study of it, and he was now ready. The time spent in teaching was only to complete the final outside prepara- tion and pay the expenses of further technical preparation. In 1864 he entered the Law School of the University of Michigan, completed the course and was graduated in the spring of 1866 with the coveted degree, Bachelor of Laws. Thus equipped he was admitted to the Bar at Ann Arbor by Judge Lawrence and at once settled in Owosso, spending a part of the first year in the law office of G. R. Lyon. In the spring of 1867 he opened an office on his own account and engaged in general practice. Ever since his location at Owosso he has been a member of the Shiawassee Bar and his practice has been interrupted only when it would interfere with a proper discharge of the duties of the several public offices which he has held, and by the banking business in which he engaged for two years. His practice has taken him into all the State and Federal Courts of Michi- gan. His only partnership in the practice of law was formed with G. R. Lyon and continued from 1877 to 1881. For the two years next ensuing he was engaged in the business of banking with M. L. Stewart, and during that time the firm erected the building in which the banking house of M. L. Stewart & Co. is now located. In 1883 he sold his banking interests to his partner and re-entered the practice of his profession. In 1868 Mr. Kil- patrick was appointed city attorney and held the office until 1875. For BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 277 two years of this period he was supervisor at large. He was elected mayor of the city in 1875 and declined a re-election the following year, because he was the candidate of his party for prosecuting attorney. He held the latter office until 1880. Just before the election of that year he resigned in order that he might be eligible for the office of State Senator, for which he had been nominated by the Republican convention of the county. He was elected Senator and served for a single term at that time, with ability. His interest and activity in politics are further evidenced by his chairmanship of the Republican county committee for twenty-one years from 1873 to 1894 (with a single interval of two years); by his membership in the State committee for six years; by his election as an alternate to the Republican National Convention of 1888 in Chicago, and as a delegate to the National Convention in 1892, in Minneapolis. In the latter convention he, together with his colleagues on the Michigan dele- gation, supported General Alger until his name was withdrawn and then voted for Major McKinley. In 1894 he was again elected State Senator for a term which has not yet expired. Mr. Kilpatrick is a man of large personal influence and much force of character. He has been closely identified with the material prosperity, the society and popular education of Owosso for thirty years. He stands in the front rank of lawyers and citizens of the place. In the exercise of activities for usefulness, the abil- ity manifested and the influence exerted, and the high reputation sustained both in public office and private life, no man stands before him. He is regarded as one of the astute political advisers and managers of his con- gressional district, and is fitted for leadership both by natural traits and experience. He was married in 1869 to Miss Mary Williams, a daughter of B. O. Williams, one of the founders of Owosso; but his wife died in October of the same year. In 1873 he was married to Miss Emma Wil- liams, a daughter of A. L. Williams, who died in 1880, leaving three children. The eldest of these, William D., after passing through the common schools, spent three years in Olivet College; he is now a stu- dent in the Law School of the University of Michigan. The two daugh- ters, Mary I. and Florence May, are students in Olivet College. ADOLPHUS A. ELLIS, Ionia. Mr. Ellis is a native of Michigan, and has been a resident of the State continuously. He was born in 1848 in Vermontville, Eaton county, attended the district schools there until six- teen years of age, and then the public high school in Charlotte. In 1869 he entered Olivet College, where he remained as a student three years. For a period of four years, after leaving college, he engaged in teaching in Union schools-two years at Muir and two years at Grand Ledge-sim- ply as a vocation and as a means of temporary self-support, while devot- ing his extra time to a study of the text books and rudimentary princi- 278 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ples of the law. He might have succeeded admirably as a teacher, but preferred success as a lawyer. His preference for it as the business of life was very pronounced, and his preliminary preparation for it as thor- ough as circumstances and environment permitted. His intellectual pow- ers were sufficiently matured when he entered upon the study to compre- hend the commentaries and lay a broad, substantial foundation. The mental discipline acquired in teaching was helpful in many ways—in perception, in the processes of reasoning, and in the formation of method- ical habits, in gaining an insight into human nature, and a conception of motive as the basis of human action. It is a fact that a very large pro- portion of the most eminent lawyers of the country, including such men as Lyman Trumbull and Thomas M. Cooley, were teachers before they became lawyers. And all are willing to admit or free to claim that the work was beneficial as a part of their preparation. Mr. Ellis, in his per- son and ancestry, is the representative of two nationalities. His father, Elmer E., though a native of the State of New York, is of English descent; his mother, Jane Halstead, also a native of New York, descended from Holland ancestry-staunch and sturdy, as personated by the stern old Governor Stuyvesant. His parents were married in New York and came to Michigan in 1846. They settled at Vermontville, Eaton county, where they established a home and improved their farm. Their son, the subject of this biography, was admitted to the Bar of the State in January, 1876, and opened an office for practice in the village of Muir. He remained there five years engaged in such general practice as the locality afforded, and in 1881 removed to Ionia. His first partnership was formed with H. C. Sessions, and continued one year. For the eight years next ensuing he practised alone, taking both civil and criminal cases. In 1888 he was nominated as candidate of the Democratic party for attorney general of the State, and defeated with the balance of the ticket. He was renomi- nated in 1890 and elected, served with honor, was renominated and re- elected in 1892. Prior to that time the only office he held was prosecuting attorney of Ionia county, which he filled from 1885 to 1889. As attorney general he protected the interests of the State with marked ability and unchallenged fidelity. Some contested cases of unusual importance were disposed of during his incumbency, among which may be mentioned the celebrated Molitor murder cases, tried in Alpena where they were brought from Presque Isle county. Another was the case of the notori- ous Daniel Heffron, of Manistique. These criminal cases were important and attracted much attention, the former by reason of the high social standing of the parties accused, and the fact that seventeen years had elapsed from the time of the murder till the prosecution was commenced; and the latter because of the notoriously bad character of the defendant which made him a perpetual menace to society when at liberty. These cases were won for the State. After his retirement from the office of attorney general he was retained by the commonwealth as special counsel - CH The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Jeff & Bo BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 279 in "The State of Michigan vs. Bay County," a case in which the defend- ant county resisted the payment of taxes claimed by the State. He won the case, and the State's treasury was enriched to the amount of one hun- dred and fifteen thousand dollars as a result. Mr. Ellis has served the city as mayor two terms. He has been engaged without reserve in the practice of his profession since the expiration of his last official term. His reputa- tion as a criminal lawyer brings him a large number of that class of cases. He also gives much time to chancery practice, for which no lawyer in his section of the State has superior qualifications. Although just in the prime of life he is rated by professional associates as "one of the bright- est, keenest lawyers in the State, honorable in his methods, honest in his dealings with his fellow men, popular with his neighbors, fortified by the esteem and good will of all." Mr. Ellis is favored by nature with social traits that invite friendships. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Free Masons and the Order of Elks. He was married in 1874 to Miss Mattie Nichols, of Grand Ledge, Michigan. The family comprises two sons-Howard, aged fourteen, and George, twelve. SPAFFORD TRYON, late of Dowagiac. Spafford Tryon, for many years one of the leading lawyers of southwestern Michigan, was born on a farm in Jefferson county, New York. His father, Luther Tryon, was a farmer, a native of Deerfield, Massachusetts, and a man of sterling worth. His mother, Ann Bradley, was a native of Maine. Both parents were of English descent and the ancestors of both were early settlers of New Eng- land. His paternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, serving with the rank of captain under Arnold at Quebec and Valley Forge, and under Sullivan against the Indians. As a boy, Spafford attended the country schools until he was qualified to teach. He then prepared himself for college at Middlebury Academy and paid his expen- ses with the wages of teaching. He matriculated in Madison University at Hamilton, New York, in 1859 and pursued the course for more than three years, but was obliged to leave before graduation on account of ill health. He began the study of law with Wakeman & Bryan, in Batavia, New York, in the fall of 1861, where he remained one year. His legal studies were continued at Albion in the office of Bezac & Bullard, promi- nent lawyers of the place, with whom he remained uutil the spring of 1864, although he was admitted to the Bar after an examination in Buf- falo in 1863. The class of law students examined at the same time num- bered thirty, only half of them passed the examination successfully. In 1864, Mr. Tryon, with Lorenzo Lapham, a college classmate and well- tried friend, came west and located for a time in Marshalltown, Iowa. Not finding business what they had expected, they went to Council Bluffs 280 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. where they engaged in the practice of law for a year or more. From there Mr. Tryon went to Sioux City, where he remained until 1869. He then returned east as far as Michigan, settled in Dowagiac and formed a part- nership with F. J. Atwell, which was maintained for two years. Mr. Tryon devoted all of his activities and energies as well as the best powers of his mind to the study and practic of law. He was never tempted to leave the profession for public office. Well fitted by nature to compre- hend the intricacies of law and having a taste for the investigation and study essential to such understanding, he became one of the most suc- cessful and learned lawyers in the State. His specialty in the practice was chancery cases, and in the Chancery Courts of the State he had few equals. He could have received political honors and the emoluments of political office if he had loved his profession less. Solicited frequently by leaders of his party to accept a nomination, he steadfastly and persistently declined, preferring the eminence that comes to one who is faithfully devoted to his profession. The only office which he ever filled was that of prosecuting attorney of Cass county for a single term. This was in 1872. Politically he accepted the principles and policies of the Repub- lican party, but contented himself with a discharge of the duties of private citizenship under all circumstances. For twenty-six years he was employed in most of the important cases tried in his county. He was married Sep- tember 29, 1869, to Miss Tain Tryon, daughter of Lemuel and Lydia Forbes Tryon, of York, Livingston county, New York. A son, Edward, and a daughter, Helen A., were born of this marriage. The former studied law and was associated in practice with his father some time before the latter's death. Mr. Tryon died suddenly on the morning of June 10, 1896. His funeral was attended by the Bar associations of Cass, Berrien and Van Buren counties, and some members of the profession from Kala- The Eulogies were pronounced by Judges Coolidge and Smith. estimate of his character by Rev. P. W. Perry, who conducted the funeral service, is reproduced here: mazoo. "A poor boy, he spent his early years working on a farm, but having an irrepressible thirst for learning he soon commenced a course of study, first in a high school, then in an academy and finally in Madison Univer- sity, New York, where he was fully prepared for the study of his profes- sion. He was a painstaking student-was well read in literature and in law was scholarly in taste as well as attainments. He was probably one of the best equipped lawyers in Michigan, and was one of the most suc- cessful in the southern part of the State. He had a logical mind and quick perception-could instantly discover the weak points of an oppo- nent's argument. He was absolutely free from those debilitating habits indulged by so many attorneys; he neither smoked nor chewed tobacco nor indulged in the use of intoxicants; it was owing to this fact that he was enabled to accomplish such an enormous amount of work and attain such an eminent place in his profession; in this he was an example that young men would do well to imitate. He was large hearted, genial and companionable and had a kind word and smile for everyone. There was BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 281 ► He was no tinge of malice in his nature. He was a reliable and trustworthy friend—one that you could lean upon with implicit confidence. faithful to his clients; though he was too busy a man to have many inti- mate associates, yet he was friendly to all. He no doubt had some ene- mies, for no live man following his profession could live and succeed in this selfish, wicked world without antagonizing some people and getting their ill will. It is only the cipher in society that escapes the tongue of the slanderer. The sacred writer recognized this fact when he said, 'Woe unto you when all men speak well of you.' And our departed friend no doubt had his faults, as that is the lot of humanity, for 'To err is human.' So the sun has some spots on his disk yet he shines most brightly in spite of them. In reference to his religious views and sentiments I would say that he was a firm believer in christianity, in the ethical rather than the dog- matic-in deeds rather than creeds-in works more than in words—in anthropology rather than technical theology—he laid the main stress in the practical rather than the theoretical. He was a great admirer of Christ and his teachings; the life of Jesus was his ideal inspiration, but on account of the divergency of some of his views from orthodoxy, he never con- nected himself with any church. He was very kind hearted and generous to the poor and afflicted-never turning one away hungry. Perhaps more people were looking to him for aid than upon any other one in the city; but most of all he will be sadly missed and deeply mourned in the home. circle, for he was a most devoted husband and a kind father." EDWARD A. FOOTE, Charlotte. Edward A. Foote is a pioneer resident of Eaton county. He was born at Burlington, Vermont, August 5, 1825. His father, Luman Foote, was of English descent, a native of New Hampshire, an attorney at law and then a minister of the Episcopal church; a gentleman of liberal and classical scholarship and a tutor of Latin. Edward A. received his early instruction from his father and was therefore well advanced in a literary course when the family settled at Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1840. In Kalamazoo he pursued his studies in a branch of the University of Michigan, building broadly upon the excel- lent foundation laid by his father. He possessed a taste for art and dis- played considerable skill as a portrait painter about the time of reaching his majority. For the period of eight years, beginning in 1840, there was an allottment of a portion of his time to the work of painting, another portion was allotted to study and a third to teaching, which afforded the means to enable him to prosecute his studies and his art work. In July, 1848, he settled in Charlotte, where, for three years, he pursued his art work. In 1851 he accepted a clerkship in the Chicago distributing post office, where he remained three years. His antagonism to slavery naturally fixed his political status with the elements which united to form a new party based upon opposition to the extension of that institution in the United States. The distinctive issues which had divided the Democratic and Whig parties no longer existed. Both of these parties were tolerant 282 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. of slavery. Young Foote returned from Chicago to Charlotte in 1854 and assisted in organizing the Republican party in Eaton county. He was active, earnest and conscientious, in full sympathy with the avowed purposes of the party and continued his association with it until 1872, when he became a supporter of Horace Greeley on a platform of Liberal Republicanism. In 1855 he became associated with a practical printer, Mr. Mark H. Marsh, in the publication of a newspaper, for which he had both taste and talent. As editor he issued the first number of the Eaton county Republican, January 6, 1855. Soon afterwards he became sole proprietor of the paper, which he conducted with marked ability. He was fearless in the advocacy of principles which were approved by his con- science and judgment. Temperance found in him a strong advocate. The Republican doctrine of opposition to the admission of slavery into the territories of the United States found in him a willing champion. To this the Republican was devoted. For the time and the political con- ditions existing, his newspaper exhibited unusual independence in the sup- port of men as well as measures. After four years he sold his printing office and his retirement from newspaper work was a distinct loss to the higher type of journalism in the State. He was elected Clerk of Eaton county and served four years. While in this office he acquired much practical knowledge of the law and the trial of causes, but as yet had no intention of entering the profession. In 1861 Governor Blair appointed him a member of the board of prison inspectors, a position which he held for two years. He was able to work some valuable reforms in prison management. Up to that time life convicts had been doomed to solitary confinement, which, in many cases, occasioned insanity. The large sym- pathy and humanity in his nature moved him to secure for such unfortu- In nates the freedom of the prison yard, as enjoyed by other convicts. 1862 he was a candidate on the Union ticket for register of deeds, but was defeated by Hon. E. S. Lacey. About that time he began to utilize his knowledge of the law, and in 1863 was admitted to the Bar at the age of thirty-eight. His maturity, business experience and large acquaintance with men and affairs aided materially in building up his practice, which in a short time was second to none in the county. One of the most promi- nent judges in the State says that Mr. Foote had the leading practice in Eaton county for years, until a stroke' of paralysis compelled his retire- ment from active participation in the trial of causes. From the same source it is learned that he was exceptionally careful in the preparation of He was his cases and unusually successful in the management of them. well liked by the Bar and has always been considered upright in his deal- ings. He has therefore enjoyed the respect and esteem of the people. Among the noted cases which he conducted was that of the People vs. Hawkins, for murder, in which the defendant had been convicted in the first trial; but Mr. Foote, believing him not guilty, secured a new trial. After four successive trials in which he was pitted in the first against OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Rushriner UNIV BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 283 J. W. Nichols and the last three against Hon. Frank A. Hooker, now one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, he secured the acquittal of his client. There was so strong a determination on the part of the people to lynch Hawkins on his first arrest that the officers had to keep him in the jails. of the counties of Calhoun and Jackson until his first trial. He has taken a deep interest in the county agricultural society, was the second secretary and served in that capacity over four years. He has held the office of mayor of Charlotte and served as a member of the board of education for nine years. He was one of the founders of the public library of the city. Mr. Foote is termed the historian of Eaton county. He has taken lively interest in the affairs of the pioneer society. An excellent article prepared by him and read at the Centennial celebration, held in Charlotte, July 5, 1876, is published in the Michigan Pioneer Collections, volume 3, page 379. His description of the aboriginal settlers, the early settlements by the whites, the first election held in the county and the proceedings of the earliest courts are all full of interest to the reader of the present day. In that first election, held at Bellevue, in 1835, there were only four qualified voters in the county. Mr. Foote also contributed an article on the Bar of Eaton county, which was published in the history of Ingham and Eaton counties. This article contains much information that is interesting, especially regarding the early members of the Bar. It contains some excellent pen sketches of the pioneer lawyers and judges. Mr. Foote has been lately identified politically with the prohibition party. He has been married three times: First to Eliza Baldwin, who died in 1860; second, to Jane M. Green, who died in 1872; and third, to Mrs. Frances E. Har- mon, who survives. He has five children living: Luman and Eliza, Julia and James; and Lena, who is the daughter of his present wife; Mary V. Jeffers was buried December 14, 1891. Robert Ward Shriner was ROBERT W. SHRINER, late of Charlotte. born in Woodland township, Barry county, Michigan, April 14, 1843. His father was a native of New York, of German descent. His great- grandfather emigrated from Germany to America. His mother was Mary Ward, a native of New York and a cousin of the late Eber B. Ward, of Detroit. The family was among the earliest settlers of Barry county. Only three other white settlers located in the county as early as the fam- ily of Mr. Shriner. The opening years of the boyhood of Robert W. were passed in the wilderness, with Indian boys for his playmates. His cradle was a “sugar trough," and the first face that impressed itself on his memory was the face of a squaw, the wife of Indian Chief Sawby. There were no schools, either public or private, in the county, and he had no opportunity to attend school until he was twelve years of age. His edu- cation consisted in what he was able to pick up by his own efforts, with 284 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. no help from teachers and a very meager supply of books. He read whatever he could get, and probably took many lessons from nature and the aborigines. He grew up a brave, self-reliant boy and man. He was scarcely eighteen years of age at the time of enlistment in the Union army in response to the call of President Lincoln for volunteers for three months' service. He was the first in his township to volunteer. He participated in the first battle of Bull Run and was struck by splinters from a tree shivered by a cannon ball, rendered unconscious and carried back toward Washington in an ambulance when the Union army re- treated. From January, 1862, to June, 1863, he served as a member of Berdan's famous sharpshooters and was discharged therefrom on account of rheumatism contracted in the service. From a perch in a tree on the shore of the bay, too far away to be a participant, he witnessed the mem- orable engagement between the Monitor and the Merrimac. He was wont to describe this battle to his friends in the most graphic manner. He was gifted in description and could paint a most realistic word picture. Upon recovering sufficiently he re-enlisted and was assigned to the Sixth Mich- igan Cavalry, serving until the war closed and receiving an honorable dis- charge, June 20, 1865. While in the army he contracted the disease which caused his death thirty years later. After the war he returned to Woodland, his native place, where he remained until 1872. He then resolved to prepare himself for the Bar, and removed to Charlotte in order to secure the desired facilities. He had no income but what he received as the wages of labor. of labor. It was therefore necessary for him to earn contin- ually while prosecuting his studies. With this end in view he engaged himself as clerk, successively, in the law offices of J. W. Nichols, P. T. Van Zile and E. A. Foote. By this employment he was enabled not only to obtain the means of support, but also to become familiar with legal forms while acquiring a knowledge of the law. In the office of Judge Van Zile, especially, he improved the excellent opportunily afforded to inform himself fully and accurately in the laws relating to probate matters. Upon his admission to the Bar he became associated with E. A. Foote as a partner in the firm of Foote & Shriner. Afterwards he was a member of the firm of Huggett & Shriner, and for the last five years of his life he was associated in partnership with Garry C. Fox, under the style of Shriner & Fox. Mr. Shriner was married November 26, 1868, to Miss Martha A. Fry, of Leslie, who, with her adopted daughter, Miss Mae Shriner, survives him. In politics he was a Republican, and during his life was called to fill several offices of importance and responsibility. He was city recorder of Charlotte for two terms, alderman of the third ward two years, supervisor of Charlotte one year, prosecuting attorney of the county four years, and United States Commissioner for the Western District of Michigan eight He was industrious, honest and thrifty, accumulating property years. sufficient in value to afford a means of support. He had the capacity for enjoyment in life. He was a cheerful companion, leading the conversa- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 285 In tion with occasional sallies of wit, and always exhibiting good humor. He was what the world calls a self-made man. By his energy, ambition and persistence he was able to make his mark, lifting himself out of the hard conditions of his early boyhood, and overcoming difficulties before which a weak man would quail. He built for himself a sterling character, and was actuated by a high sense of honor. He was a man of large humanity and firm integrity, who never stooped to a dishonorable action. He possessed a large fund of saving common sense, and cultivated the fac- ulty which enabled him always to see the cheerful side of life. He was faithful to his friends, loyal to his clients, courteous in his intercourse. with the court or members of the Bar, urbane in his treatment of wit- nesses. He combined in practice the traits and qualities which make a lawyer strong in his profession. Best of all he was a noble man, a kind, devoted husband, true in all the relations of life. He died in his summer cottage at Bay View, August 15, 1892. A memorial meeting of the Eaton county Bar was held to take appropriate action on his death. this meeting eloquent tributes to his memory, full of tenderness and abounding in expressions of endearment, were spoken by E. A. Foote, I. H. Corbin, H. P. Pennington, George Huggett, Judge Frank Hooker, Judge Clement Smith and others. Judge Smith, who was with him in his last illness, referred to the courage he displayed in the presence of death. His cheerfulness and good humor never forsook him. He died as a brave, true man. His patriotism and love of the flag as the symbol of his country's glory were almost pathetic. He requested that the flag be hoisted above his cottage, and loved to watch its moving shadow on the ground. Following is the substance of the resolutions adopted: "Robert Ward Shriner was a man of marked individuality, wide popularity and un- swerving honesty. He was neither a technical nor a tricky lawyer, but was always robust and open-handed. Hence he always enjoyed the confi- dence of the public and the respect of the Bar. To be a man to whom honesty is a pleasure, to whom kind words and deeds were everyday affairs; a man whose word was as good as his bond; whose daily life was without blot or stain; one who was foremost in right-a man to be loved by his friends and respected by everyone who knew him! To be such a man was the creed of Robert W. Shriner, and such a man he was." GARRY C. FOX, Charlotte. Garry C. Fox was born in Brookfield township, Eaton county, Michigan, May 6, 1854. He is of English and Puritan extraction. His father, Martin Fox, a native of New York, was English by descent and a farmer by occupation. His mother, Phoebe Purdy, was a native of Connecticut, of staunch and sturdy Puritan ances- try. The several brothers of his father were ministers of the gospel, as were all the brothers of his grandfather, while both his father and grand- 286 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Mr. Fox father were farmers. The boyhood of Garry C. Fox was that of the aver- age farmer's boy, in its occupation and amusements; though he excelled the average boy in application to books and ambition to improve his con- dition. He worked on the farm during the larger portion of each year and attended the district school during the remaining portion, until he was eighteen years of age. By that time he was qualified to teach. engaged in the work of schoolmaster and pedagogue for about six years, beginning at the age of eighteen. He was a successful teacher and his personal popularity made him an eligible candidate for political office. In 1878 he was nominated by the Republicans and elected Clerk of Eaton county. He was only twenty-four-the youngest official ever elected in the county. In 1880 he was re-elected. The salary of the office was not so much to him as its opportunity. The facilities afforded in such an office for an observant young man to obtain a practical knowledge of pro- cedure in a court of record, as to forms of pleading and the trial of causes, are unequaled, and he improved them to the utmost. He did more than employ his faculties of observation: All of his spare time was devoted to a study of the text books, so that by the close of his second term he was a lawyer, qualified for admission to the Bar. He was admitted October 16, 1882. In February following he opened an office in Charlotte, where his large and favorable acquaintance brought to him without delay a valuable clientage. The long and anxious waiting for business, so dis- couraging to many young lawyers, formed no part of his experience. The cheerful sunlight of prosperity illumined his office from the time of its opening. In the summer of 1884 he became associated in partnership with Philip T. VanZile, now of Detroit, which continued for two years. In January, 1886, he formed a partnership with the late Robert W. Shriner, which was terminated only by the death of Mr. Shriner, August 15, 1892. Since that time he has not formed any business partnership. In 1891 he was city attorney of the city of Charlotte. In 1889 Governor Luce appointed him Circuit Court Commissioner. In the autumn next following he was elected to the same office and subsequently re-elected. He has from the beginning engaged in a general practice, accepting em- ployment in all kinds of cases-civil and criminal. Mr. Fox has con- ducted some very important cases in the Supreme Court. Among them may be mentioned that of Hutchinson vs. Pinch-91 Michigan, p. 156. The case involved the question of speculative profits. It was carried to the Supreme Court twice and both times decided in his favor, overruling the case of Allis vs. McLean-48 Michigan, p. 428; also Shepherd vs. Shepherd Estate, involving the question of construing the statute of limitations-65 N. W. Reports, p. 580; and Garn vs. Lockard, slander- 65 N. W. Reports, p. 764. Mr. Fox is one of those who believe that growth in knowledge of the law is limited only by man's capacity. New questions inviting investigation and study are continually arising, so that the realm of law is boundless as the universe. He is therefore a student, UNIL OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Examens fuister MIC BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 287 His He whose love of the profession makes application to books a pleasure. office is equipped with one of the best law libraries in Eaton county. is a Knight of Pythias, enthusiastic in the support of the order; has been Chancellor Commander of his lodge. As a member of the Grand Lodge he was on the committee to prepare a criminal code and revise the statute laws of the order in Michigan. He is also a member of the Grand Tribunal K. of P. for the domain of Michigan. He was married Febru- ary 24, 1875, to Emma C. Whittum, of Eaton Rapids. They have but one child, a daughter. In politics Mr. Fox is an active Republican, taking an interest in partisan affairs. As a lawyer he looks well to the rights and interests of his clients, is careful and cautious in advising, and painstaking in the preparation of cases for trial. The confidence of the community in his ability is evidenced by the large clientage which he holds. CLEMENT M. SMITH, Hastings. Clement McDonald Smith is Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Michigan. He is the son of David W. Smith and Leonora McDonald. His father was of English descent and a native of Orleans county, New York. His mother, also a native of New York, was of Scotch descent. Judge Smith was born December 4, 1844, near Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and brought to Michigan in infancy by his parents, who settled near Nashville, Barry county, on the farm on which they now live. His early years were spent at work on the farm and in attendance upon the district school. At the age of sixteen he entered the Academy at Vermontville, where he spent one year in qualifying himself for teaching. From that time until he reached the age of twenty-one he spent the winters in teaching and the summers in farm work. In 1865-66 he attended the Law Department of the University of Michigan and was admitted to the Bar In the spring of 1868. In early boyhood he had not expected to be a lawyer. An incident which transpired when he was eighteen years of age determined the choice of a profession as his life work. He was then a teacher in the country schools and happened to be the wit- ness of a collision between two vehicles, in one of which he was riding with the owner upon the highway. The accident led to litigation. During the trial of the case he was fascinated with the application of law to the rights of the parties, and especially by the arguments of the counsel before the jury. From that moment his decision to become a lawyer was fixed and irrevocable. His course of study was chosen with that end in view. After his admission to the Bar, he opened an office for practice at Nashville in the spring of 1868. The following winter he was principal of the first union school organized in Nashville after its incorporation. In the spring of 1869 he went to Minnesota and engaged for six months in the business of soliciting for a fire insurance company. Upon returning to Barry county, in the fall, he settled at Middleville and formed a law part- 288 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. C nership with Harvey Wright, which was continued for about six months. He then returned to Nashville, where he resumed practice, which was con- tinued alone until 1876. In that year he was elected probate judge of Barry county, and removed to Hastings January 1, 1877. This office he held for eight years, and performed its duties in a manner entirely satis- factory to the public. During his term of office he continued his law prac- tice, devoting such time as he could spare from official duties to his private legal business. In the fall of 1880 he formed a partnership with Hon. Phillip T. Colgrove, which was continued until Judge Smith was called to the Bench. The firm of Smith & Colgrove had the largest practice in the county, and was connected as counsel with many of the most important cases. The practice was both civil and criminal. Among the cases of greatest local interest and importance may be mentioned The People vs. Carpenter, charged with murder; People vs. Carreth, charged with wife poisoning, in both of which Mr. Smith was attorney for the defendant; also People vs. McKay, in which he assisted the prosecuting attorney. He was counsel for defendant in the celebrated case of People vs. Strong, and secured the acquittal of his client. Among the most notable civil cases were Baldwin vs. City of Hastings, in which the right of a city to tax the farmers for a system of water works in the corporation was involved. Another case was Mudge vs. Board of Education, to determine the right of women to vote at school elections in the city, in which he was employed as counsel for plaintiff. This case was carried to the Supreme Court, and led to legislation securing to women the right to vote at school elections. In 1890 he was appointed prosecuting attorney to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of C. H. Van Arman. January 3, 1893, he was appointed by Governor Rich Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit. This was the first appointment made by the Governor. At the election following he was elected for the unexpired portion of the term and also for the full term, which expires December 31, 1899. Among the important cases tried before him as judge are the Butcher murder case, from Eaton county; the Teft murder case, from Barry county; the conspiracy case of People vs. Rosen et al., Eaton county; People vs. Scott, manslaughter, a case grow- ing out of the wreck on the Grand Trunk railroad at Battle Creek in 1893. The following estimate is from a prominent member of the Bar of Eaton county: "Judge Smith has much ability as a jurist and is speedily distinguish- ing himself for readiness in grasping and mastering principles. He is extremely courteous and kind to members of the Bar. No attorney has ever been heard to complain of not being allowed to state his case fully and fairly and try it upon his own theory. His great strength is seen in his quick decisions, when once satisfied of the right. Many a harsh rule of law is set aside in behalf of justice and conscience in his Chancery Court. He is apparently the most interested person in the cases tried before him. His circuit is the largest in the State, consuming his entire time on the Bench; but the facility with which he tries cases enables him to keep BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 289 well up with the business of the docket, although the amount of litigation brought before him is very large. He has already taken front rank as a jurist in the State. Some of the most noted criminal cases tried in recent years have been in his court. A part of his circuit is under local option law, which has been fruitful of much litigation. He is a firm adherent of the theory that all laws should be impartially enforced as enacted, and he never allows his personal opinion or feeling to manifest itself in the dis- position of cases, except that his rulings are all tempered with humanity and sympathy for unfortunate people. The good advice and words of encouragement given to such as are convicted would, if followed, lead to reformation and good citizenship. Judge Smith is held in high esteem by the members of the Bar, and is well spoken of throughout the State. Being yet a comparatively young man, his future must be as bright as his course on the Bench is upright and just.' He has for many years been a Mason, member of the Blue Lodge and Chapter at Hastings, and the Commandery at Charlotte. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Uniformed Rank of that Order. He was married May 17, 1871, to Miss Frances M. Wheeler, daughter of Milo T. Wheeler, who was treasurer of Barry county. Their family con- sists of two sons and a daughter. The elder son, Shirley W., is a student in the Literary Department of the University of Michigan, class of '97; the daughter, Gertrude J., is a student at the University of Michigan, and the younger son, Donald D., is in school at home. TALCOTT C. CARPENTER, Sturgis. Mr. Carpenter is one of the oldest members of the St. Joseph county Bar. His connection with it dates from the first year of the Civil War. He was born on his father's farm in the township of Meredith, Delaware county, New York, February 19, 1835. His parents were Younglove C. and Rhoda (Sabin) Carpenter, both children of New England. His father came from Connecticut and his mother from Massachusetts. Mr. Carpenter is of English descent by both lines of ancestry, his father's great-grandfather having come over to America in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and locating in the northern part of Connecticut. His grandfather, Elijah Carpenter, was a Revolutionary soldier of approved skill and daring. His father, who was born in 1792, served for a short time in the American army in the closing year of the War of 1812. His mother received in after years a land war- rant for one hundred and sixty acres in recognition of this military service. Her family were of English origin, and made their appearance in New England in early colonial times. She was born in 1801, and died in Sturgis, Michigan, December 29, 1863. Younglove C. Carpenter came to Michigan with his family in 1837, and established himself in the township of Mendon, St. Joseph county, on a farm where he lived until the day of his death in 1851. Talcott Carpenter's early education was obtained in the district. schools of Mendon, and in Centerville, the county seat. He attended the 19 290 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Normal School at Ypsilanti for one year. He was a student in the Uni- versity of Michigan during the years 1854 and 1856. He was a close student and made the most of his opportunities for school because he knew what it cost. Even while he was in the district school, he managed to pay his own way by working on the farm during the summer. While he was in the University he joined a surveying party, engaged in the survey and construction of the Mississippi and Wabash Railroad. When that work was temporarily suspended on account of unfriendly litigation, he wrote to Dr. Tappan, who was at that time president of the University of Michigan, who sent him a full endorsement of his fitness for teaching. On the strength of this, he was given a school in Cuba, Illinois, which he taught with much credit to himself and satisfaction to the community for three years. He then came back to Ann Arbor, and entered the Law Department of the University in 1860, and remained until the summer of 1861. His next move was to enter the law office of Henry F. Severens, of Three Rivers, now United States District Judge for the Western District of Michigan. The same year he came to Sturgis, and entered the office of the late Gen. William L. Stoughton, then a prominent lawyer of St. Joseph county, and United States District Attorney for the State of Michigan. Mr. Carpenter had already been admitted to the St. Joseph Bar, and when General Stoughton entered the Union army, was able to take charge of his extensive practice and business. This he did, and continued to attend to its man- agement, until General Stoughton returned from the front in 1864. He continued in partnership with the General until 1866, when that distin- guished veteran of the Union service was elected Attorney General of the State. The partnership, so complimentary to the young man, was then dissolved, and Mr. Carpenter has since practised alone, preferring to do his own business and carry on his work in his own way. He was elected prosecuting attorney of St. Joseph county in 1868, and re-elected in 1870. He was elected Circuit Court Commissioner in 1862, and held that office up to 1868. For several years he has occupied a position on the city school board. Mr. Carpenter has devoted himself almost entirely to the practice of law, and strictly adheres to the idea that the law offers a field large enough for all the energies that any man can possibly command. His practice has been extensive and has included some very important cases in county and State Courts, as well as in the United States Court, to which he was admitted soon after he began practice in the lower courts. He is a Mason of high degree, having gone as far as the Knight Templar. He is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, and is much regarded in these fraternal societies. He is a Republican, but has never taken an active part in politics. He is a member of the Baptist Church. He was married at Cuba, Illinois, in 1863, to Miss Helen M. Whitney, daughter of Nathan B. and Esther M. Whitney, both natives of the old Bay State, but at the time and for some years previously, residents of that city. Mr. Carpenter's acquaintance with his wife began under somewhat romantic circumstances, UNI OF The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago Philips. J. Colgrosz MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 291 she being a pupil in his school while he was serving as a teacher in that city. They are the parents of three children. The oldest of these, John H., is now agent for the Michigan Southern Railroad Co., at LaPorte, Indiana. A daughter, Ella L., is the wife of W. F. Downs, Editor of the Times, at Connersville, Indiana, and another daughter, Carrie L., is the wife of L. E. Weatherwax, Sturgis, Michigan. PHILIP T. COLGROVE, Hastings. The subject of this sketch is a living illustration of what may be accomplished by improving the idle moments of early life. At an age when most boys are only beginning to think of their future career, Philip T. Colgrove had completed his prepar- atory work and was ready to begin the active work of carrying out his pur- pose. He accomplished this by improving the passing moments and throwing his whole energy into the work before him, whether it was solv- ing a mathematical proposition or studying Blackstone. The man who is prepared to take up the active work of life at twenty-one gains nine years on the man who is only ready at thirty. The start in life, where other things are evenly balanced, often determines the winner. Mr. Colgrove was born at Winchester, Indiana, April 17, 1857. He had the advantage of good schools from the start and he improved every opportunity. He read law at the same time he was studying his school books, and on his twenty- first birthday was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court of Michi- gan. Shortly afterwards he began the practice of law at Reed City, Michigan, but did not remain there long. In 1880 he removed to Hast- ings and entered into partnership with Clement M. Smith, now Circuit Judge. Three years later he was elected prosecuting attorney of Barry county and was re-elected in 1885 and 1887. The next year he was chosen to represent the district in the State Senate and served one term. He was a wide-awake member of the Senate, took an active part in the proceedings and looked closely after the interests of his constituents. During the ses- sion of 1889, he was a member of the judiciary committee and chairman of the committee on insurance. He was re-nominated for the Senate in 1890, but refused to run. He served as city attorney of Hastings several In politics he is a Republican and takes a lively interest in promot- ing party success where he can without sacrificing the interests of his clients. He has filled the office of president of the State League of Repub- lican Clubs. In fraternity circles he has attained a high degree of influence. He is a Royal Arch Mason and has been a member of the local lodge of Knights of Pythias since 1882. In 1883 he served as Chancellor Commander. His first appearance in the Grand Lodge was in 1886, at which time he was elected Grand Master-at-arms and the following year he was elected Grand Chancellor. In 1889 he was elected Supreme Representative and re-elected in 1893. In 1894 he was elected Supreme Vice Chancellor and has terms. 292 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, served on most of the important committees of the order since his connec- tion with it. At the session of the Supreme Lodge, K. of P., held at Cleveland, August 26, 1896, he was elected Supreme Chancellor of the Supreme Lodge of Knights of Pythias of the World, an honor that can come to but few men in the United States. Mr. Colgrove has a large practice, which commands his earnest attention; he is held in high esteem by his colleagues in the profession as well as the general public. WILLIAM BREWSTER WILLIAMS has practised law in Allegan more than forty years. He is descended from the Puritans on his father's side and through his mother is of Welsh extraction. His ancestors, who were early settlers in Connecticut, removed thence to Stockbridge, Massachu- setts, in 1775, about the time of the opening of the Revolution, and lived there until 1822. Erastus Williams then removed to Monroe county, New York, where he engaged in farming until his death in 1854. William Brewster is the son of Erastus Williams and Elizabeth Lumley. He was born July 28, 1826, at Pittsford, Monroe county, New York, and passed his boyhood on the farm and in the common schools, until his advance- ment was sufficient to enable him to teach. His education included an academic course, upon the completion of which he spent a few years in teaching. The work and the promise of that profession neither satisfied his taste nor gratified his ambition. His inclination was toward the law, for which he had the genius and the talent. Leaving the school room he took up a course of reading in the office of Truman Hastings at Rochester, New York, and soon afterwards entered the law school at Ballston Spa, from which he was graduated in 1851. He was admitted to the Bar in Rochester the same year and to a partnership in the firm with which he had been a student at law, remaining a member of the firm about three years. In 1855 he removed to Allegan, Michigan, established his home and began the work of building up a law practice. His first partnership was with Gilbert Moyers, lasting from 1855 to 1861. Subsequently he was associated with Gen. B. D. Prichard, Judges Arnold and Padgham, having branch offices at Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo during a portion of the time. Possessing a legal mind of remarkable grasp and vigor and entertaining exalted views of the law as a profession, Mr. Williams was not long in establishing a reputation as broad as the State. The practice has always been congenial to him and in it the full measure of his ambition would have been reached. And yet few men in Michigan have devoted more years to the public service and none has filled a wider range of posi- tions or served with more honorable distinction. It is alike complimentary to his ability and his professional worth that he has rarely been defeated as a candidate for judicial or political office. Almost as soon as he had acquired a residence in the State he was (in 1856) elected judge of pro- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 295 earn in addition to his board. He then attended the district school at Farmington for eight months and afterwards the academy at Macedon for two terms of three months each. This was the extent of his attendance at school and the limit of his opportunity for instruction under a teacher, during his minority; but his education is measured by a different standard. The larger part of it was obtained after he left the school room as a pupil -in the self-culture of reading and study; in the practical application as teacher of the knowledge already acquired. He came to Michigan in the fall of 1858, located at Blissfield and taught a winter term of school which continued four months. In the spring of 1859 he went to St. Joseph county, where he attended the public high school at Centreville for six months. By this time he was amply qualified for teaching and during the next two years he taught in the district school at Burr Oak. September 1, 1861, he was employed in the Centreville union school, where he remained eight years, the last four of which in the relation of principal. All this was preliminary and preparatory to his life work. His purpose to enter the profession of law had been formed long before and he spent the hours out of school in reading and study of the text books of law. He was in this way enabled to qualify himself for admission to the Bar, while earning a salary as teacher. He was admitted to practice at the June term of St. Joseph county Circuit Court, 1868. In 1869 he located at Plainwell, Allegan county, and formed a partnership with Silas Stafford, which lasted four years. In the spring of 1873 he settled in Allegan, where he became the partner of the late Judge Arnold, succeeding to the place in the firm of Arnold & Stone made vacant by the retirement of John W. Stone. This relation continued until the appointment of Judge Arnold to the Cir- cuit Bench, in the fall of 1875. For the next year he practised alone and then formed a partnership with his nephew, John H. Padgham, which was maintained thirteen years, or until the fall of 1889. Subsequently he was associated for some time with C. M. Humphrey, now a resident of Ironwood. In 1893 he was elected Judge of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge Arnold, his former partner. In the spring of 1894 Judge Padgham was elected for the full term of six years. He presides over a large circuit, in part of which the liquor traffic is restrained by the operation of the local option law. Out of this condi- tion much litigation has grown. In all the cases brought before him under the local option law, and subsequently carried to the Supreme Court, his rulings have been sustained. He is fair-minded, diligent in research, thoroughly informed and actuated by honest motives under all circum- stances. Hence his decisions are uniformly reached by intelligent, logical reasoning, and are usually right. A leading member of the Bar of the circuit says: "Judge Padgham is considered one of the best lawyers in Michigan. During his practice, from the time he formed a partnership with Judge Arnold, he was engaged in most of the important cases of the county. He 296 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. is a good all round lawyer, equally in criminal, civil and chancery suits. As a judge it is said of him he has no superior in the State in the manage- ment and trial of cases. He is cool, calm and decided; dignified on the Bench and very courteous to the Bar. He is a friend to the young attorney, helping him over the rough places. He is quick in his rulings and decisions, and ever ready with the application of the law to the case in hand. citizen he is esteemed by all. He always maintains his equilibrium, has a genial, happy disposition and is never angry.' As a Judge Padgham is a Republican, accustomed to take an active part in political campaigns until his election to the Bench. He has held several positions and performed the duties appertaining to them with ability and integrity. He was elected prosecuting attorney in 1876 and re-elected twice, serving altogether six years. He also served as president of the village, and as delegate to State conventions on several occasions. He is a charter member of the Knights of Honor and a member of Hermione Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He was married June 9, 1861, to Miss Eliza C. Landon, of Sturgis. They have no children. While in the practice of law he was connected with some noteworthy cases. Among the number may be mentioned the Sessions murder case, in which he appeared for the defendant, whose acquittal he secured. The case as determined by the Supreme Court, is cited in 58 Michigan, 594. Among the important civil cases were Huntley vs. G. R. & I. Railway Company, reported in 38 Michigan. In this case he was attorney for the plaintiff in an action for damages on account of injury, and won a verdict for his client in the second trial. In the case of Peterson vs. the Chicago & West Michigan Railway, reported in 69 Michigan, page 621, he was attorney for the plaintiff and secured a favorable decision of the Supreme Court, sustaining his view of the law. It involved the rights of citizens at railway crossings and the question of damages. He was usually very successful in his practice before the Supreme Court of the State. Judge Padgham is a communicant of the Episcopal Church and for many years has been a member of the vestry of the Church of the Good Shepherd at Allegan. GEORGE HUGGETT, Charlotte. George Huggett is the senior mem- ber of the firm of Huggett & Smith. He is of English descent and both parents were natives of England. His father was Thomas Huggett and his mother, Mary Wickam. The ancestry of both as far as the genealogy has been traced was English. He was born at Pittsford, New York, June 27, 1842, and came to Michigan with his parents in 1854. They settled in Calhoun county and engaged in farming, which had been his father's occupation in the east. His early education was obtained in the district schools, which he attended in winter. The remaining portion of the time was spent at work on the farm. He prepared himself to teach and took charge of the school before he was eighteen years of age. It t The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago Philip Poelghamn UNIV M OF CH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 295 earn in addition to his board. He then attended the district school at Farmington for eight months and afterwards the academy at Macedon for two terms of three months each. This was the extent of his attendance at school and the limit of his opportunity for instruction under a teacher, during his minority; but his education is measured by a different standard. The larger part of it was obtained after he left the school room as a pupil -in the self-culture of reading and study; in the practical application as teacher of the knowledge already acquired. He came to Michigan in the fall of 1858, located at Blissfield and taught a winter term of school which continued four months. In the spring of 1859 he went to St. Joseph county, where he attended the public high school at Centreville for six months. By this time he was amply qualified for teaching and during the next two years he taught in the district school at Burr Oak. September 1, 1861, he was employed in the Centreville union school, where he remained eight years, the last four of which in the relation of principal. All this was preliminary and preparatory to his life work. His purpose to enter the profession of law had been formed long before and he spent the hours out of school in reading and study of the text books of law. He was in this way enabled to qualify himself for admission to the Bar, while earning a salary as teacher. He was admitted to practice at the June term of St. Joseph county Circuit Court, 1868. In 1869 he located at Plainwell, Allegan county, and formed a partnership with Silas Stafford, which lasted four years. In the spring of 1873 he settled in Allegan, where he became the partner of the late Judge Arnold, succeeding to the place in the firm of Arnold & Stone made vacant by the retirement of John W. Stone. This relation continued until the appointment of Judge Arnold to the Cir- cuit Bench, in the fall of 1875. For the next year he practised alone and then formed a partnership with his nephew, John H. Padgham, which was maintained thirteen years, or until the fall of 1889. Subsequently he was associated for some time with C. M. Humphrey, now a resident of Ironwood. In 1893 he was elected Judge of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge Arnold, his former partner. In the spring of 1894 Judge Padgham was elected for the full term of six years. He presides over a large circuit, in part of which the liquor traffic is restrained by the operation of the local option law. Out of this condi- tion much litigation has grown. In all the cases brought before him under the local option law, and subsequently carried to the Supreme Court, his rulings have been sustained. He is fair-minded, diligent in research, thoroughly informed and actuated by honest motives under all circum- stances. Hence his decisions are uniformly reached by intelligent, logical reasoning, and are usually right. A leading member of the Bar of the circuit says: "Judge Padgham is considered one of the best lawyers in Michigan. During his practice, from the time he formed a partnership with Judge Arnold, he was engaged in most of the important cases of the county. He 296 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. is a good all round lawyer, equally in criminal, civil and chancery suits. As a judge it is said of him he has no superior in the State in the manage- ment and trial of cases. He is cool, calm and decided; dignified on the Bench and very courteous to the Bar. He is a friend to the young attorney, helping him over the rough places. He is quick in his rulings and decisions, and ever ready with the application of the law to the case in hand. citizen he is esteemed by all. He always maintains his equilibrium, has a genial, happy disposition and is never angry. As a Judge Padgham is a Republican, accustomed to take an active part in political campaigns until his election to the Bench. He has held several positions and performed the duties appertaining to them with ability and integrity. He was elected prosecuting attorney in 1876 and re-elected twice, serving altogether six years. He also served as president of the village, and as delegate to State conventions on several occasions. He is a charter member of the Knights of Honor and a member of Hermione Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He was married June 9, 1861, to Miss Eliza C. Landon, of Sturgis. They have no children. While in the practice of law he was connected with some noteworthy cases. Among the number may be mentioned the Sessions murder case, in which he appeared for the defendant, whose acquittal he secured. The case as determined by the Supreme Court, is cited in 58 Michigan, 594. Among the important civil cases were Huntley vs. G. R. & I. Railway Company, reported in 38 Michigan. In this case he was attorney for the plaintiff in an action for damages on account of injury, and won a verdict for his client in the second trial. In the case of Peterson vs. the Chicago & West Michigan Railway, reported in 69 Michigan, page 621, he was attorney for the plaintiff and secured a favorable decision of the Supreme Court, sustaining his view of the law. It involved the rights of citizens at railway crossings and the question of damages. He was usually very successful in his practice before the Supreme Court of the State. Judge Padgham is a communicant of the Episcopal Church and for many years has been a member of the vestry of the Church of the Good Shepherd at Allegan. George Huggett is the senior mem- GEORGE HUGGETT, Charlotte. ber of the firm of Huggett & Smith. He is of English descent and both parents were natives of England. His father was Thomas Huggett and his mother, Mary Wickam. The ancestry of both as far as the genealogy has been traced was English. He was born at Pittsford, New York, June 27, 1842, and came to Michigan with his parents in 1854. They settled in Calhoun county and engaged in farming, which had been his father's occupation in the east. His early education was obtained in the district schools, which he attended in winter. The remaining portion of the time was spent at work on the farm. He prepared himself to teach and took charge of the school before he was eighteen years of age. It BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 297 may truly be said that he was self-educated, as the practical knowledge of the common school branches acquired in teaching was more valuable than the knowledge gained by attendance as a pupil in the schools. He taught before and after the war. During the last year of the Civil War he enlisted as a recruit in the first Michigan Cavalry and went to the front; but the only active service in which he was engaged was on the Western frontier in the campaign against the Indians. Having formed the purpose to study law he entered the office of Martin S. Brackett, at Bellevue, in the fall of 1867. After spending three years in reading and study he passed the examination and was admitted to the Bar in 1870. He located at Bellevue for practice and formed a partnership with his preceptor, Martin S. Brackett. This association continued for seven years, when Mr. Huggett removed from Bellevue to Charlotte, where he has lived con- tinuously to the present time. He has engaged in general practice, taking both civil and criminal business. He is, politically, a Republican and has held several offices of considerable responsibility. In 1876 he was presi- dent of the board of trustees of Bellevue. In 1875 he was a member of the State Legislature. In 1876 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Eaton county and re-elected in 1878, serving four years. It was during his incumbency of this office that he removed his family to Charlotte. In 1879 he formed a law partnership with Robert W. Shriner, which was maintained for three years. At the end of that time he became associated with his present partner, Mr. Smith. He was elected Mayor of Charlotte in 1886 and discharged the duties of the office with the utmost fidelity. He has for some time been a member of the school board of the city of Charlotte. Although his own opportunities of acquiring classical knowl- edge were exceedingly limited he has always been the friend of education. He is a member of the Order of Free and Accepted Masons and a Knight Templar. Mr. Huggett was married November 22, 1870, to Mary L. Brackett, daughter of his first law partner. They have two children, a son and a daughter. The son was graduated from the Charlotte high school in 1895 and soon afterwards entered the Literary Department of the University of Michigan, where he is now pursuing his studies. An eminent man and a jurist before whom Mr. Huggett has tried many cases, and who has known him many years as a lawyer and a neighbor, contrib- utes this information: "He is a great student. In summer he usually rises at daylight and works in his garden, in which he takes great pride. He has the finest grounds in Charlotte. When his office hour comes he spends the day among his books when not engaged in court. He has the absolute confidence of the people, and is strictly upright in his dealings. He never leads a man into litigation, but advises him to keep out of it, if possible. He is candid in his statements and stands as high as any man in the county, both as a lawyer and a citizen. He is a safe man to know and a great help in the educational affairs of the town. 298 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. DAVID STOCKDALE, Allegan. Judge Stockdale was born at Wain- fleet, Lincolnshire county, England, July 26, 1838. His parents, William Stockdale and Jane Pridgeon, were both natives of the same shire and county. The family emigrated from England to America in 1854 and settled on a farm in Branch county, Michigan, which continued to be the home of his parents until they were removed by death. Judge Stockdale is a typical self-taught and self-reliant man. His only attendance at school was in England before reaching the age of twelve years. At that tender age he was obliged to begin work as a blacksmith's apprentice in order to learn the useful handicraft. By the time he was sixteen his arm was strong, his muscles hardened and its sinews toughened. He had acquired a prac- tical knowledge of the trade and was prepared for the battle of life as a bread-winner. After coming to the United States and locating in Michi- gan, he worked as a blacksmith in Wayland, Allegan county, until 1864. In that year he bought a farm adjoining Wayland and devoted himself to the pursuits of agriculture for the next three years. His inclination to the law led him to improve all his leisure time in its study while engaged in farming. In 1864 he was elected justice of the peace and held the office by successive re-elections for twenty years. During this period he had oppor- tunity for professional study, and the office which he held was a practical school. While thus laying the foundation lor the practice of the law, he gave much time to agriculture, in which he was so successful as to amass a comfortable fortune. For ten years he was also supervisor of Wayland township, Allegan county. The esteem in which he was held by his neigh- bors and fellow-citizens is evidenced by their partiality in electing him to the office of president of the village four consecutive terms. In the fall of 1884 he was elected judge of probate, an office which he has now held for twelve successive years. Upon the accession to the probate judgeship, in 1884, he removed to Allegan, where he continues to reside. His law practice since his admission to the Bar has been largely in justices' courts, although he has had cases in the Circuit Court. Most of his time, how- ever, has been occupied with the business of the probate court. He has never at any time formed a partnership for the practice of law, or any other business partnership. He began life handicapped by want of an education, having had in boyhood only the most meagre advantages in the way of instruction and the most limited opportunities to attend school. And yet, by application and perseverance, by much reading and study on his own account, he has become liberally informed. His views have breadth as to knowledge and clearness as to expression. He has ever been the friend and patron of education, serving twenty-five years on the school board of the village of Wayland. During that time he was pleased to see the little red school house transformed into a modern public school building of eight rooms, and the little district school to a fine modern graded school, in which all of his older children were permitted to take the course of study. The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Daind Estuckdato UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 299 In politics Judge Stockdale is a Republican. He not only takes an active interest in partisan affairs, but is one of the counsellors upon all questions. of local politics and one of the speakers during political campaigns. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and loyal to the order. He was married in 1859 to Miss Susan A. Young, who died May 4, 1872, leaving three children-William H., David A. and John B. All of them are living. He was married the second time in 1874 at Grand Rapids to Mary E. Doxey, of Shelbyville, Michigan. They have one daughter, Leila M., who is now in school. A member of the Bar says of him; "Although his duties as probate judge have kept him out of active practice, he has a natural talent for the law and a strong legal mind. He sees a legal point. quickly, and has tried more cases in the justices' courts than any other man in the county. That he is as good a judge of probate as the county ever had, is evidenced by his long continuance in the office. He is very methodical, and at the end of each court day his work is complete. He never allows the business of the court to accumulate, but keeps strictly up to date all the time. He has been a leader in the Republican party for twelve years. He is a pleasant public speaker and is much in demand in that capacity. As a citizen he is sociable and agreeable, and has the regard of the entire community. He is a man of strong convictions and the soul of honor. Being a good business manager, he has accumulated a com- fortable fortune.' ORVILLE W. COOLIDGE, Niles. Judge Coolidge is a native of Michigan and was born at Edwardsburg, Cass county, October 9, 1839. He was a son of Henry H. and Sarah M. (Meade) Coolidge. He came of good old Puritan stock, and through both father and mother inherits the best blood of New England. The Coolidge family came to America about the year 1634, and settled in Roxbury, near Boston. The family was worthily represented in the colony, and bore an important share of the patriotic labors that culminated in the Revolutionary struggle. There were Cool- idges who followed the old Continental flag, and the sentiment of patriot- ism has never been lacking in the blood. Judge Henry H. Coolidge came to Michigan in 1837 and was one of the pioneer settlers in the southwestern part of the state. He studied law, was admitted to the Bar, and became one of the prominent attorneys in that region. He was for six years Judge of the Circuit over which his son so worthily presides. The family of Judge Coolidge's mother were also among the pioneers of New England and New York. They had representatives in the patriotic army that served the cause of liberty in the Revolutionary War. She came into Michigan with her parents in 1837. Both Judge Henry H. Coolidge and his wife died in Niles in the same year, 1884. Judge Coolidge, the subject of this sketch, received his early education in the public schools of Cass 300 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Later on he county, and at the age of seventeen was a student in the preparatory col- lege at Beloit, Wisconsin. Here he remained for two years. attended the college in that city for two years. He left that institution in 1861, and became a member of the sophomore class of that year at the University of Michigan. In 1863 he completed the full classical course in that institution and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then entered the Law School at Cambridge, and after two years of earnest study was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. With this thorough preparation for his life work he returned to this State and opened a law office at Niles, where he practised his profession until his election to the Bench. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Berrien county in 1871 and served in that capacity for one term. He was elected mayor of Niles in 1890 and served two years. He is a close student and an ardent lover of his profession. He has devoted himself during all these years very closely to the practice of law and the Bench but affords a larger field for the exercise of his finely trained legal mind. He was elected Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, January 1, 1894, and is highly esteemed, not only by the members of the Bar with whom he comes in contact most frequently but by the public generally. As a judge he has ever exhibited a spirit of fairness towards members of the Bar, strict impartiality in the consideration of cases submitted to him and a just appreciation of the dignity, as well as the responsibilities of his office. He inherited a judicial temper and tendency, and his occupation of the Bench furnishes the opportunity for the cultivation of a natural talent, and the gratification of a natural taste. His high sense of personal and professional honor will preserve the purity of the ermine. He was united in marriage in 1867 to Miss Katie A. Pettengill, daughter of Moses and Mary (Ramsey) Pettengill. They have one son and two daughters, Clarence, Claudine and Orrill. RUSSELL R. PEALER, Three Rivers. Hon. Russell R. Pealer is a prominent citizen of St. Joseph county and ex-judge of the Circuit Court. He was born in Greenwood township, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, January 1, 1842. On his father's side his lineage is German through the union of the families of Pealer and Kooder by the marriage of his grand- father and grandmother. On his mother's side his descent is English, coming from the Hampton and Hopkins families, early and well-known. settlers of Columbia county. His father, George Pealer, was born August 13, 1818, and is yet living in his native county, on the farm which has been his home more than forty years; he has been a farmer and lumber- man all of his life; a strong Republican in his political views, and a wor- thy member of the Methodist Episcopal Church; esteemed as an upright man and a good citizen. Russell R. Pealer is the eldest of eight children The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago R. R. Fealer UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 301 J born to George and Rebecca Hampton Pealer, only two of whom besides the subject of this sketch are living, viz.: William O., who is engaged in the practice of law at Duluth, Minnesota, and Matilda, the wife of Clar- ence Price, of Danville, Pennsylvania. He was brought up on his father's farm, employed as farmers' boys usually are, and attending the country schools until he was seventeen years of age. In February, 1859, he became a student in the New Columbus Normal School in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, where he remained until the following winter, and then returned home to teach the district school. The wages received as teacher were expended in continuing his course in the normal school for two terms, and the succeeding winter was spent in teaching as before. In the spring of 1861 he was chosen principal of the high school, at Light Street, in his native county. His health had become somewhat impaired by close application to study, and the following autumn was spent in New Jersey, New York City and other places for the purposes of recuperation. On his return he entered the Orangeville Academy and commenced mak- ing preparation to enter the Law School at Albany, New York, as he had already decided upon the profession of law as his life work, He inherited from his mother a literary taste and love of books, and was encouraged by her to prosecute his studies to the fullest extent possible. The scholar- ship which he acquired was due to her influence. Before completing his preparation for the law he was moved by a patriotic impulse to offer his services to the Government. September 9, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company E, Sixteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, known as Gregg's Cav- alry, and served until August 11, 1865. During this time he was repeat- edly promoted for meritorious conduct, passing through all the grades to that of first lieutenant. Finally he was recommended for promotion to a captaincy, but the close of the war prevented the issuance of a commission or action upon the recommendation. While in the service he participated in more than thirty-five battles and cavalry engagements, which included all the great battles fought by the gallant Army of the Potomac from Chancellorsville to Five Forks, Virginia. February 6, 1865, at Hatcher's Run, Virginia, near Petersburg, while in command of a squadron and lead- ing a charge on Pegram's division of infantry, Lieutenant Pealer was wounded in the left thigh by a rifle ball, which was afterwards extracted in the hospital at Baltimore. Before his wound healed he rejoined the regiment, and remained until it was mustered out. He improved his time in the hospital, when wounded, studying surveying and civil engi- neering, of which he afterwards made practical use in order to secure the means required to prosecute his law studies. On his return home he commenced the study of law in the office of Robert F. Clark, of Blooms- burg, Pennsylvania, where he spent two years. He was admitted to the Bar of that place September 3, 1867, and soon afterwards came to Three Rivers, Michigan, which, after due consideration, he decided to make his home. Returning to Pennsylvania he brought his wife west with him, 302 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. and settled permanently in Three Rivers, November 12, 1867. In Janu- ary following he was admitted to the Bar of Michigan, and at once engaged in the practice of law. He was successful in establishing himself in the profession and in the confidence of the people by whom he was sur- rounded. A few years later he was elected Circuit Court Commissioner, and at the close of his first term was re-elected. Before the expiration of his second term he was appointed prosecuting attorney of the county, and afterwards elected to the same position. Having declined a renomination he continued in the general practice until January 1, 1882, when he assumed the duties of Circuit Judge for the Fifteenth District, to which he had been elected the previous April. Having a judicial temperament and the requisite legal qualifications he discharged the duties of judge for the full term of six years with great credit to himself, satisfaction to the Bar and the approval of his constituents. His judicial decisions have always been regarded as sound by the legal profession of the district, and have generally been sustained, on review, by the higher courts. There was never a question of his integrity in the expression of an opinion, or a cause. His charge of partiality in his rulings during the trial of a sense of justice and honesty of purpose usually led to correct conclu- sions, and established his reputation as judge upon a high plane. On retiring from the Bench in 1888 Judge Pealer resumed the practice of his profession in partnership with his brother, under the style of Pealer Brothers. His clientage was largely increased by the favorable acquaint- ance made throughout the district while holding court, and his standing at the Bar has never been doubtful. He was not permitted to continue undisturbed in the prosecution of his private business, but was again. chosen to serve the public during the same year in which his term as judge expired. As the nominee of the Republican party he was elected to represent St. Joseph county in the State Legislature, and served dur- ing the session of 1889. The result of that election was a fair test of his personal popularity, and the estimate of his services by his neigh- bors. Prior to that time the county had been Democratic, and for sev- eral years had been represented in the Legislature by a Democrat. Be- lieving that his ability, reputation and personal worth would attract to him support outside of the party, his friends insisted upon his accepting the nomination. The result justified their estimate in securing for him an election by more than 200 votes. Judge Pealer met the public expec- tation in the ability with which he discharged the duties of a representa- tive. Possessed of sound judgment, clear perception and general knowl- edge of legislation which would be advantageous to the people, he guarded the popular interests of his State in the committees, and gave strong support on the floor of such bills as he believed would be incorporated in the statutes of the State. His service was no less valuable for its opposi- tion to pernicious measures. He has been liberally supported for the Republican nomination for Justice of the Supreme Court of his State BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 303 three times; and on the first occasion received the entire support of his judicial district, and also of his congressional district, but being located in the southwest corner of the State, without general city support, he has not been nominated. In 1890 there were five candidates for that high office, and Judge Pealer was the second in the race, securing about 230 votes out of a total of about 700, and he had almost the entire support of the Republican members of the Legislature at that time. On two occa- sions since he received substantially the same support. He has been entrusted with the management of large estates, and no one has ever suf- fered loss at his hands. He is a director of the First National Bank of Three Rivers. He has held minor offices of a local character, including service on the school board for many years. Under all circumstances he has exhibited a deep interest in popular education. For the last few years he has also been giving considerable attention to agriculture, and owns and manages two farms. He has been married three times. First, December 25, 1865, to Miss Sally A. Stevens, a native of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, who died in Three Rivers, November 6, 1871. By this marriage four children were born, two of whom, Nora Josephine and George Stevens, died in childhood; the other two, Anna Geraldine and Mary A., are living and married. August 28, 1872, he was married to Miss Amanda Stevens, sister of his first wife, who died March 28 1874, without issue. April 15, 1875, he was married to Miss Sue F. Santee, who still presides over his home. There have been no children by this marriage. Although busy with the duties of his profession and the cares of public office, Judge Pealer has not neglected the amenities of life and the everyday duties of a social and religious character. He is a member and Past Commander of Ed M. Prutzman Post No. 72 G. A. R., and has been Judge Advocate of the Department of Michigan G. A. R. repeatedly. He is also a Mason, being a member of Three Rivers Lodge No. 52, Salathiel Chapter No. 28, R. A. M., and Three Rivers Commandery No. 29, K. T. From his boyhood he has been an exemplary member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and active in its work. He has held every official position from superintendent of the Sunday-school to delegate to the General Conference. Politically he is a strong Republican. His first vote was cast while in the army, in an open field in Virginia, for Abraham Lincoln, President. He is an example of what may be accomplished without social advantages or the prestige of wealth, by well-directed indi- vidual effort and persistence in the right direction. He is still in the prime of life enjoying the confidence of the people and a lucrative practice. 304 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. GEORGE E. MILLER, Three Rivers. The subject of this biography was born in the Township of Mendon, County of St. Joseph and State of Michigan, February 16, 1865. His father, born December 3, 1837, though of Puritanic extraction, was a native of the same county, in which he has always lived and carried on the business of a small farmer. His mother, who is of German descent, was born in Union county, Pennsylva- nia, March 9, 1845. The little farm on which George Edward was born and passed his childhood was cleared by his father, whose means were very limited. When he was four years of age the family removed to another little farm between two and three miles north of Three Rivers, where his boyhood and youth were passed. His primary education was received in the old country school house. This was situated one and a half miles from his home, and the road was lonely. The neighborhood was sparsely settled and the children of school age were few. As he was the eldest of three children in his father's family and obliged to attend school alone, his attendance did not begin until after he reached the age of seven. From the time he was eleven he was obliged to remain at home and work on the farm, except during the winter months. The financial circumstances of his parents made it impossible for them to aid him with money in procuring an education. On the other hand he was obliged to contribute his labor to the common support of the family. He was compelled to rely upon himself-his own industry and energy for any education obtained beyond his very limited acquirements in the country school. He aspired to something more than that, and accordingly, at the age of thirteen, entered the union school at Three Rivers for the fall and winter term of 1878-9. He paid for his board by working mornings and evenings and walked two miles to the school. During the spring and summer months he continued to work on his father's farm. As evidence of his pluck and perseverance it is only necessary to say that he kept up his studies at home the same as if he had remained in school and was pre- pared to graduate with his class. It is entirely creditable to his industry and aspirations that he was graduated June 20, 1884, with the same class of which he first became a member, although in attendance at school little. more than half the time. He still desired a broader education and at once began to earn money for expenses at college. His first position on pay was in a drug store, but soon afterwards he secured more profitable employment as clerk and bookkeeper in a large factory. By the most careful attention to business and the closest economy he was able to save money enough in the course of the year to pay his expenses at school the following year. About the middle of October, 1885, he entered the Ann Arbor high school and by unremitting application to which he was already accustomed, he completed the year's work with his class, although enter- ing six weeks late. The next year he was appointed by the faculty an assistant in the physical laboratory, by which, with his self-denial, exer- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 305 He was grad- the Bar, as an He returned cise of economy and hard work, he was enabled to continue his studies to graduation. He was graduated June 24, 1887, and accepted employment in Ann Arbor during the following school year, the earnings of which added to what he was able to accumulate during the vacation were suffi- cient to pay his expenses for a year in the Literary Department of the University of Michigan. He entered this department in September, 1887, and took one year's special work as preparation for the study of law. In the fall of 1888, he entered the Law Department of the Uni- versity of Michigan and pursued the course to completion. uated June 30, 1890, two weeks after his admission to attorney authorized to practise in all of the State Courts. to Three Rivers at once, and, on the fourth day of August, 1890, became associated with Judge R. R. Pealer for the practice of his profession. And on the 12th day of August of the following year formed a co-part- nership with Mr. Pealer. This association, advantageous to both mem- bers of the firm, has been continued without interruption. Mr. Miller, as indicated by his struggle to acquire an education, is ambitious, studious, energetic. No labor required for the proper understanding of a case is too severe for him. His application is equal to all demands. He is loyal under all circumstances to the interests of a client whose cause he has undertaken. Although a young practitioner, he has already been identi- fied with several important cases in the Circuit and Supreme Courts. He is a Republican politically and takes an interest in politics. He has rep- resented his ward as a member of the city council and served as a member of the school board of Three Rivers. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and has membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Miller was married September 23, 1887, to Mrs. Emma Frances Arnold. The marriage has been blest by the birth of a son and a daughter: Mark Matthew, born June 13, 1890, and Roxana, born September 9, 1891. GEORGE SILAS CLAPP, late of Niles. George Silas Clapp was a native of Columbia, Ohio, where he was born June 16, 1834. His parents were Silas and Esther Risley Clapp, both natives of Connecticut. His ancestry by both father and mother was of English origin. His first Ameri- can ancestor was Roger Clapp, who crossed the ocean in the "Mary and John" in 1630. He played an important part in the affairs of the infant colony, and was a man of note. The great-grandfather of our subject Apollos Clapp, was a soldier in the patriot army during the Revolutionary War. The family of Esther Risley was also good old colony stock, and left a record for character and ability in early New England. His parents removed from Connecticut, and settled at Columbia, Lorain county, Ohio, where he was born. His early education was had in the Columbia public schools. His parents removed to Berea when he was twelve years old, and 20 306 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. He was this change afforded him the opportunity of attending Baldwin University at that place. He entered the Classical Department and continued under its instruction until within one year of graduation. He taught school during the long vacation and thus earned money to pay his expenses at the Uni- versity, and make a beginning of that library of legal and general literature, which afterward became very extensive. He began to study law in 1855 under the preceptorship of Judge Loren Prentiss, then a prominent attorney at Cleveland. He continued teaching and at the same time prosecuting his law studies, for the next two years. Part of this time he spent in the law office of Judge Stevenson Burke, of Elyria, now of Cleveland. admitted to the Bar in the fall of 1856 by the District Court of Cleveland, but for some time previous to this he had been practising in the justice's courts, and had already won reputation as a pleader. He practised at Berea until 1862, when he removed with his family into Michigan, settling at St. Joseph. There he remained for the next twenty years, winning a large clientage and rising to the first rank among the lawyers of western Michigan. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney of the county three times, and won high reputation as a prosecutor, but was considered even more successful as an equity lawyer. In 1882 Mr. Clapp removed to Niles, that he might have readier access to the county seat, then at Berrien Springs. At Niles he spent the remainder of his life in active practice. He died October 9, 1895, leaving the rich legacy of a good name both as a lawyer and as a man. He was a prominent Mason, had taken the degree of Knight Templar, and was associated with the Niles Commandery. Originally a Democrat, he joined the Republican party at the time of the Kansas- Nebraska troubles and kept with it as long as he lived. Although a young man, he took an active part in the campaigns of Salmon P. Chase for Governor of Ohio in 1855 and 1857, and worked just as hard for General Fremont in 1856. He used to relate with no little satisfaction, the story of an experience that he had in 1857, when he somewhat unexpectedly found himself addressing an audience that contained only two members of his own party. One veteran Democrat undertook to down the "youngster" by interruptions. But the speaker succeeded in working the opposition around to the right ground; and then, using unquestioned Democratic authority, made his argument so complete and crushing that all opposition was silenced and he had the floor until he concluded. In 1872 he was a delegate to the national Republican convention at Philadelphia, and assisted in making the renomination of General Grant unanimous. He was a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church; from his early youth a singer in the choir; and, in his maturer years, teacher of a Bible class in the Sunday school. He was long known and loved as a devout Christian. Mr. Clapp was married September 18, 1856, to Miss Helen S. Perry, a daughter of S. W. and Helen E. (Church) Perry, both natives of Vermont. Her father was of English and her mother of Scotch descent, but both families had been for many years residents of New England. They came into Ohio while : BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 307 Helen was still an infant. To Mr. and Mrs. Clapp were born five children. Three daughters are still living.. Carrie L. is the wife of Dr. S. C. Van Antwerp, of Vicksburg. Esther R. married Harvey C. Beeson, of Chicago, and Eleanor B. is Mrs. David D. Waltz, of Goshen, Indiana. The Bar of Berrien county passed resolutions highly commendatory of Mr. Clapp both as a lawyer and a man, at a memorial meeting. Judge Thomas O'Hara delivered an eloquent eulogy, saying that in many respects Mr. Clapp never had a superior at the Berrien county Bar. As an advocate he was remarkably strong. He had capacity and inclination for close work and hard study. He was an original thinker, and his mind was so constituted as to be incapable of entertaining narrow views. His diversified knowledge and liberal views bore fruit in many cases, in which the attainments of a lawyer, wedded to the law alone, would have found barren soil. His abilities have been known and universally acknowledged in the county for the past twenty years. He was fond of social life, but had little time to devote to it. And while he was a man of the people, his life was so busy that many people thought him cold. This was a false judgment. He was an amiable companion and a charming host. One leaving his presence felt that he had been in the company of a man who was charitable, honest and pure- minded. George S. Clapp's heart was not cold. It was warm, and it never failed to go out in tender sympathy to the poor, the weak and the unfortunate. The resolutions declare that Mr. Clapp was one of the brightest members of our profession. As an all round, able, fearless and ready trial lawyer he was easily the leader of this judicial circuit. His ready wit, his genial disposition, his professional courtesy never forsook him. In the heat of trial or of discussion, notwithstanding his intense earnestness, his intense devotion to the interest of his clients, he never forgot his manliness. Honored in his profession, and his ability as a law- yer of high standing so generally recognized, yet he never forgot the amenities of that profession. He never allowed the spleen of his client to affect his conduct of the cause in hand. He was a worthy foeman who fought without acrimony. He gave to his client the highest ability and the best of his intellect; but no retainer was large enough to cause him to forget the respect due the court, the decorum of the court room, or the dignity of his calling. Searching in his examinations, he never forgot that a witness had rights which a lawyer is bound to respect. Often witty, then sarcastic, or invoking invective, but his wit, sarcasm and invective were without poison, and left no heartaches. Good nature, always the sign of a large and generous soul, pervaded his every act. Upon the anniversary of Mr. Clapp's death, October 9th, 1896, from faraway Nicaraugua came a beautiful floral tribute to be placed upon the last rest- ing place of his friend. This remembrance came from United States Consul Thomas O'Hara and the flowers had lost none of their southern beauty during their long journey. 308 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, JAMES ALBERT SWEEZEY, Hastings. James A. Sweezey was born at Patchouge, Long Island, New York, September 19, 1828. He is of English-Scotch extraction, although both of his parents were natives of the State of New York. His father, William Sweezey, was born on Long Island, Township of Brookhaven, Suffolk county, in March, 1803. His mother, Hettie Weeks, was born at West Farms, Westchester county. The parents of his father were both English by descent and their ances- tors were among the earliest settlers of Long Island. The ancestors of his mother were English on her father's side and Scotch on the side of her mother. He came to Michigan with his parents in June, 1834, and settled at Napoleon, Jackson county. His primary education was obtained in the common schools and for several years he pursued an academic course under Professor Hiram Elmer, at Grass Lake Academy, in Jack- son county. Having finished his course of study there he returned to New York in 1845 and shipped as a sailor. For more than a year after- wards he was upon the ocean, but soon became tired of the life and returned to Michigan. He took up the study of law at once in the office of Bradley F. Granger, at Manchester, with whom he remained for three years. Like many others who afterwards succeeded in the law, his first professional work was in the school room as teacher. He spent several terms in teaching at Napoleon, Manchester and Otiso. He passed the examination for admission to the Bar at Grand Rapids before Judge Martin in the spring of 1851, and shortly afterwards settled in Hastings where he formed a partnership with Isaac A. Holbrook. This association was continued for three years and subsequently, for short terms, he was associated in partnership with Frank Allen, Charles B. Wood, P. W. Niskern and Loyal E. Knappen. Since the admission of his son, William Boltwood Sweezey, to the Bar as a practitioner, the father and son have been associated in the practice. The business of Mr. Sweezey in court has principally been confined to Barry and the counties adjoining; but he has been called to Cincinnati, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York, in important He has had numerous cases in the Supreme Court of the State, among which may be cited the following: Robertson vs. Corset, et al, 39 Michigan, 777, settles the law of fixtures and is the leading case on the subject. It was decided in favor of his client; Gregory vs. Bush, a lead- ing case on the subject of drainage, is reported in 64 Michigan, 37. In this the Supreme Court also sustained his contention; People vs. Eaton, involving the right of corporations to construct telegraph and telephone lines on highways of the State, reported in 100 Michigan, 208. All of the foregoing are leading cases. Another very important civil action was that of Match vs. Hunt, involving a question of fraud, reported in 38 Michi- gan, page 1. This decision established the law as to fraudulent represen- tation. Mr. Sweezey has given much attention to public affairs. Politi- cally he is a Republican. He has at various times been called to fill cases. The Centary Publishing & Engraving to. Chicago Has. Cr. Scorzery UNIV OF BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 309 important offices, both political and educational. The aggregate of his public service covers a period of forty years. In 1863 and in 1867 he was elected to the Legislature. During his first term he was chairman of the committee on banks and corporations. During the last term he was a member of the judiciary committee. In 1863 he was elected a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan and served eight years. He was a member of the Board of Education of the city of Hast- ings for ten years. He served as city attorney of Hastings four terms, and as prosecuting attorney for Barry county five terms. At the present time (1896) he fills the office of prosecuting attorney. duty to conduct the prosecution on behalf of the people in several import- ant trials for murder and he has managed the defence of four persons charged with murder. A well known member of the Bar contributes this estimate: It has been his "James A. Sweezey has always been considered an able lawyer. He is above reproach or suspicion in the profession. He came to Hastings as a pioneer lawyer and has stood in the front rank ever since. He is the oldest living member of the Barry county Bar. He is public-spirited and has done much for the growth of Hastings and the advancement of the county. He is honest in his convictions and never takes positions which he cannot fortify. As a prosecutor he is absolutely loyal to the people and the court. Mr. Sweezey is a member of the Presbyterian Church, a Mason and a Knight of Pythias. He has served two terms as Grand Chancellor of the Grand Lodge, K. of P., and four years as the Supreme Representa- tive to the Supreme Lodge. He was married in 1853 to Miss Emily M. Boltwood, who died in 1874. The only surviving issue of this marriage is the son who is now his partner in the practice of law. In November, 1893, he was married to Mrs. Binnie M. Brown with whom he is now living. As a lawyer and a citizen, a man and a Christian, James Albert Sweezey occupies an important position in public affairs, the society and the church at Hastings. DIVIE BETHUNE DUFFIELD, deceased. Of all the prominent figures that have ornamented the Wayne county Bar in recent years few have been more charming and attractive than the able lawyer and courteous christian gentleman whose name introduces this article. D. Bethune Duffield was a lawyer whose conscience never juggled with the right for the sake of the retainer, and a man whose heart was always young. He excelled in his profession though he never sank the man in the attorney. He had mastered the wisdom of the schools, and knew men. His success at the Bar was immediate and pronounced, and a long and useful life over- flowed with generous and humane deeds. And now that he has emigrated to a better land his name is still a sweet memory in many hearts. Mr. 310 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Duffield was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, August 29, 1821, and was the son of Rev. George Duffield, D.D., a prominent clergyman of the Presby- terian church. His mother was Isabella Graham Bethune, a woman of remarkable attainments and high christian character. He was a promising student while yet a child, a promise amply fulfilled in the luxriant riches of his maturer years. He was ready to enter the Freshman class of Dick- inson College when only twelve years of age. In 1835 he went with his parents to Philadelphia, where Dr. Duffield had taken an important charge, and there prepared for Yale College. He would have graduated from that school in 1840 had he not suffered from a serious accident that at one time portended permanent disability. He had, however, so thoroughly estab- lished himself in the high esteem of his teachers that Yale College after- wards bestowed upon him the degree of A.B. As a student he showed remarkable linguistic abilities and ranked high in the classics. He was no less familiar with French and German, and found delight all his life in reading the great literature of the world in its original tongue. He handled his own language like an artist, and while he was a close student and a hard worker at his chosen profession, he made many a delightful excursion into the fields of pure literature. He had a rare artistic nature, and many of his versified compositions were permeated with the true poetic spirit. In 1839 Mr. Duffield came to Detroit, his father having already become the pastor of the First Presbyterian church of that city. In Detroit he resided more than half a century, and his beautiful life was a help to many who needed cheer and love. He began the study of law under the instruction. of Bates & Talbot, took the course in the Law Department of Yale Col- lege, and was graduated in 1843. The same year he was admitted to the Wayne county Bar and in the following year began the practice of his pro- fession with George V. N. Lothrop. This partnership was continued for twelve years and was broken off by the entrance of Mr. Lothrop into the arena of politics. For ten years Mr. Duffield was alone in his practice when he received his brother, Henry M. Duffield, into partnership. This continued until 1875, and was succeeded by a business association with his son Bethune, under the firm name of Duffield & Duffield. In 1847 he was elected city attorney of Detroit, and for more than twenty years held the position of secretary of the Wayne county Bar. In 1847 he became a member of the Detroit Board of Education and his services to the public schools of the city were so numerous and effective that he was styled the "father of the Detroit high school." He was on the Board for thirteen years and took a leading part in the successful effort to compel the city to pay over the proceeds of the fines collected in the municipal courts to the Library Commission. The Duffield Union School on Clinton street bears his name, an honor richly deserved. Mr. Duffield was much interested in the cause of temperance, and was an honored and beloved member of the First Presbyterian church. In all its varied activities his influence was felt, and he was ready for work anywhere he was needed. Harper Hospital so UNIK OF The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago. Engene tringle MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 311 and Elmwood Cemetery had in him a generous supporter. In early life he was a Whig, but when the Republican party became national, he enlisted under its banner, and kept step to its triumphant march as long as he lived. He sought no office and would accept none, but his voice was freely rendered in every campaign for the party which he honored. What he did during the years of the Great Rebellion to sustain and strengthen the Union sentiment throughout the west can never be told. His poetic gift was far beyond the ordinary range. His "Battle of Lake Erie" was a historical poem of much movement and life. His De Arte Medendi," read at the Detroit Medical College, was a happy blending of wit, feeling and reverence. About a year before his death he sent out a little volume of verse under the title of "Stray Songs of Life.” Stray Songs of Life." This article concludes with a poem found pencilled in his pocket-book after his death.* He was an honorable useful man of kindly impulses, pure spirit and lofty character. He kept his early faith and his heart was ever young. He died in Detroit, March 12, 1891, and was mourned by the entire city. His ashes rest in Elmwood Cemetery, and his name is green in many hearts. *"Alas! for him who never sees The stars shine through the cypress trees, Who hopeless lays his dead away, Nor looks to see the breaking day Across the mournful marbles play: Who has not learned in hours of faith The truth to time and sense unknown, That Life is ever Lord of Death, And Love can never lose his own." EUGENE PRINGLE, Jackson. The subject of this sketch is descended from a Scotch ancestor who came to America in 1689 and settled at New London, Connecticut. The grandson of this ancestor settled in Duchess county, New York, and two generations later Esbon Pringle lived in Rich- field, Otsego county, New York. The latter was the grandfather of Eugene Pringle, who was born at Richfield December 1, 1826, the oldest child of Homer and Harriet Hatch Pringle. His father purposed in early life to enter the ministry of the Episcopal church, and was shaping his education to that end when, at the age of twenty, he became sick and was obliged to leave college and spend two years in the South in the recovery of his health. Upon the advice of physicians that it would be necessary for him to lead an open air life, he relinquished his purpose to become a minister and engaged in farming. He removed to Chautauqua county in 1828 and remained there to the time of his death, in 1878, at the age of eighty years. His library contained his college text books, from some of which home instruction in the Latin language was given to Eugene long before he reached the usual age of pursuing that study. Under the tuition of a cul- tured father at home, and in the public schools, Eugene's early education 312 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. was obtained until he reached the age of fifteen. For three years there- after he was a student in the academy at Mayville, New York, except during the winters, when he was engaged in teaching district schools. In the spring after he was eighteen he commenced the study of the law at Batavia, New York, in the office of Redfield & Pringle, with whom he remained until admitted to the Bar in 1849. While reading law he pur- sued the study of Greek and Latin, reciting in a classical school at Batavia, and also took lessons in the modern languages. After continuing in prac- tice nearly two years at Batavia, he came to Jackson, Michigan, in Decem- ber, 1850, where he has since remained. His first law partner was Samuel H. Kimball, and the partnership continued until Kimball left the city, in the summer of 1852. His next partnership was with John C. Fitzgerald, for one year (1858-59), and that was succeeded by one with Edward Pom- eroy which lasted until Pomeroy went to the war, in April, 1861. He was then alone in business till September, 1894, when A. E. Hewett became and still continues to be his partner. In 1852 Mr. Pringle was elected Cir- cuit Court Commissioner. In 1853 he was elected village recorder, and afterwards re-elected. In 1856 he was elected prosecuting attorney, and two years later was re-elected. He was city attorney of Jackson in 1859 and 1860. In 1860 he was elected to the State Legislature and served a term as member of the House of Representatives. In 1862 he was appointed Military Secretary to Governor Blair, and held the office until the end of 1864 and the close of the gubernatorial term. In 1866 he was elected State Senator, and in 1867 was chosen a member of the constitu- tional convention. In that year he was appointed Register in Bankruptcy, on the nomination of Chief Justice Chase of the U. S. Supreme Court, and continued to hold the position until the bankruptcy law was repealed, in 1878. He was a member of the Board of Public Works for five years, beginning in 1871; was appointed Commissioner of Insurance in 1883 and held the office two years. He was elected Mayor of Jackson in 1885; in 1886 was elected prosecuting attorney of Jackson county as a candidate on the Democratic ticket, and was the only Democrat elected in the county that year. In 1880, and again in 1888, he was the nominee of his party for representative in Congress in a district having so large an adverse majority as to make the race hopeless. In 1881 he was the candidate of the Bar for Circuit Judge and received the endorsement of the Democratic party, and although running many hundred votes ahead of his ticket, was defeated because his party was then hopelessly in the minority in the two counties composing the district. He was also the Democratic nominee and unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1882. In boyhood Mr. Pringle was inclined to be a Democrat, but did not act with that party on account of its attitude on the question of slavery until 1872, since which time he has called himself a Democrat. In July, 1896, he severed his connection with the faction of the party which nominated Bryan, and subsequently had some part in the movement which culminated in the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 313 Indianapolis convention and the defeat of the Chicago candidate. In 1856-57 he was active in the steps taken to secure the Toledo Branch of the Lake Shore Railroad, and from 1865 to 1871 most of his time was spent in the preliminary and attorney work for the Grand River Valley, and Jackson and Ft. Wayne, and Michigan Air Line Railroads, with some work for other projects and occasional employment as counsel by the Michigan Central and other railroad corporations. Mr. Pringle has a high professional standing, both as a lawyer and a man. He has been for sev- eral years President of the Jackson Bar Association. He is a solid, matter- of-fact man, strong in what may be termed saving common sense. He would not be regarded as a brilliant speaker, but is logical and forcible. He is esteemed by the people of his community generally as a profound thinker and is entitled to the estimate. JAMES A. JACOKES, Pontiac. Judge Jacokes was born in Geneva, New York, November 21, 1834, and came of a long line of American ancestry. His father, Rev. Dr. D. C. Jacokes, was beloved by all in Oak- land county, as everywhere else in Michigan. He was a pioneer in the Methodist Church. He played as active a part as any man in his day in building up that great denomination in this State. He was chaplain of the Fifth Michigan Infantry and accompanied his regiment to the seat of war. He was afterwards appointed chaplain of the Eastern Asylum for the Insane at Pontiac and filled that responsible position for twelve years, exhibiting such rare devotion to the unfortunate and afflicted as to bring upon him showers of blessings. He moved among his friends a perpetual benediction. He was a Socrates among his people and taught his pupils out of pure love for them. He was county agent for juvenile offenders for many years, until he became so feeble physically that he was unable to perform his labors. It would be useless to try to recount the names of young boys who were accused of crime and saved by his efforts from a life in prison. He was never too busy to aid an unfortunate youth who had no friends. If he failed to reform him with one trial, another was given. He kept a microscope at his house up to the last days of his life for the edification and diversion of his friends. Judge Jacokes' mother was Mary A. Slarrow, who was also born in New York, though her ancestors were of English extraction. The home of young Jacokes, the subject of this sketch, was a model home, a great school. Here under his father's eye, he received the foundation of what in after years became a wellspring of knowledge. At an early age he entered a private academy at Grass Lake, Mich., and then Albion College in 1853, remaining in that school for three years. He taught school for three years in Macomb county, part of the time in the village of Mount Clemens. He studied law in the office of his life-long friend and admirer, Judge Augustus C. Baldwin, and 314 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. was admitted to the Bar in 1861. His father having gone to the war it became necessary for him to earn money, and although he was attracted to the battle fields of the South he was invited by Judge Baldwin to enter his office. There he began a remunerative practice with a long series of successful business ventures, cementing bonds of friendship which can never be broken until one of them is called to cross the Great Divide. Mr. Jacokes was elected Circuit Court Commissioner in 1862, was re-elected in 1864, and again in 1870. He was attorney of the city of Pontiac eight years. In 1876 he was elected Judge of Probate, in which office he won many friends by his sterling integrity, strict devotion to duty, and his impartial and just decisions. He richly merits the title of Judge, which will cling to him through life. In 1880 Judge Jacokes returned to his law partnership with Judge Baldwin. In that year he was elected mem- ber of the school board and has been successively re-elected up to 1896. As an active member and president of the board of education, he has played no small part in holding up the high standard of the public schools of the city. He keeps diligent watch of all the different school systems, He and will ever see to it that the Pontiac schools are in the forefront. takes much pride in the high school which opens its doors to every boy and girl of suitable age and acquirements within its precincts. Judge Jacokes possesses a very dignified and pleasing address. He is a courteous gentleman, with fine social qualities, having a kindly smile and an honest hand for all his fellows. His residence is in a very pleasant part of the city, whither he led as bride Miss Camilla Manning, October 15, 1867. She was a daughter of Judge Randolph Manning, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State. Mrs. Jacokes was a devoted and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her death, November 21, 1890, and that of the Judge's father, January II, 1894, and mother November 11, 1895, following in quick succession, brought a great shadow of loneliness to his happy household. Judge Jacokes has moved among his companions since his great bereavement, as one who has a mis- sion of love to perform, and who passing through life but once has so ordered his course that his fellow men are the better for his walks and talks among them. He is a Methodist, firm in the faith and convictions of his father, and liberal and warm-hearted toward all those who differ from him. He is a Democrat in his political views and discharges his duties as a citizen with the same regard for the high moral principles which has controlled his private life. It is not often in our American life that the son retains and quietly permits an added lustre to gather around so many traits of character which made beautiful for more than half a century the lives of his father and himself, two of Pontiac's much respected citizens. When talked to about his own successful career in the law, Judge Jacokes He has simply says, "All the work has been done by Judge Baldwin. wrought, with heroism and infinite patience, a mighty work throughout his busy, useful life. I have simply kept guard while he was doing it.” UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Thomas A Wilson. MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 315 THOMAS A. WILSON, Jackson. The subject of this biography is of Scotch-Welsh extraction. His father, Thomas Wilson, was a Scotchman, born in Rutherglen, a suburb of Glasgow, who learned the trade of weaver and followed that occupation until 1836; then settled in Michigan and engaged in farming for the remainder of his life. His mother was a native of Albany, New York, her family name was Wing and her ancestors were Welsh. Thomas A. Wilson was born in a small town called Log City, in Madison county, state of New York, April 22, 1836, and was brought to the state of Michigan by his parents, who arrived in Jackson county and settled there June 18th of the same year, All of his life, therefore, except the first eight weeks, has been spent in Michigan. He was trained in boy- hood to the occupation of farming, and followed that employment until he was twenty-eight years of age. His only education of a literary char- acter was that obtained in the common country schools. Mr. Wilson is not clear in his mind as to all of the influences that led to his abandoning the business of farming and taking up the legal profession. The sugges- tion that he do this came from some of his friends, and he consulted John D. Conely, now of Detroit, then a prominent lawyer of Jackson, and acted upon his advice. Mr. Conely was his friend, and he relied. upon his judgment and interested friendship. His preliminary reading was largely in the office of Mr. Conely, where he spent about fifteen months. Mr. Wilson freely accords to Mr. Conely very considerable credit for whatever success he may have attained in the law, and considers himself a debtor to his first adviser and instructor in the profession. After leaving the office he attended the Chicago Law School, under Professors Hurd and Booth, for six months, and was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Illinois in the spring of 1866. Later in the same year he was admitted to the Bar of the State of Michigan at Jackson. He located for practice first at East Saginaw, where he remained one year, and then returned to Jackson, where he has since resided. In his early practice he was in part- nership for about six months with a lawyer by the name of Beardsley. With this exception he conducted his legal business alone until August, 1891, when a copartnership was formed with William S. Cobb, his present associ- ate business. His practice has been largely local in character, although he has had from time to time considerable business in surrounding counties. The class of cases which he has conducted are such as usually occupy the time of nisi prius courts, involving almost all matters of legal controversy in a county seat or an agricultural district. He has taken all kinds of civil business, and been retained in important criminal cases. He was counsel for defendant in the Crouch Murder Case, which probably occa- sioned more notoriety and awakened more interest in the locality than any other case tried at Jackson in recent years. Before taking up the study of law Mr. Wilson was treasurer of Liberty township for two terms, and justice of the peace for two years. After engaging in the practice at 316 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Jackson he was recorder of the city for two terms, from the spring of 1869 to that of 1871. He filled the office of prosecuting attorney one term, from January 1, 1871, to January 1, 1873. He was appointed city attorney in 1874, and held the office for two terms. He has manifested deep interest in educational affairs, and been a member of the school board in District No. 1 for about sixteen years. For the past five years - he has been a member of the hospital board of the city. He is not a member of any club, fraternity or society. Politically he has always been a Democrat, During the campaign of 1896 he supported actively the movement in his party in favor of sound money, and in opposition to the platform of the Chicago Convention. He was a member of the com- mittee that met at Indianapolis and issued a call for the National Demo- cratic Convention. He was also a delegate to that convention, and was chosen to represent his state on the National Committee. Mr. Wilson has a good legal mind, and has so applied himself to the law as to become well versed in the fundamental principles and well informed in the reports of decisions, and in all of the standard commentaries or works on various kinds of pleading. He has established a reputation for honesty, industry and promptness not excelled by that of any man in the State. As a lawyer he studies his cases thoroughly, bringing to their consideration a large measure of common sense and excellent judgment. He applies to them the law with discrimination, and always knows what he desires to establish by proof before going into court. In the trial of a case he is careful and watchful, guarding the interest of his client, but never employing methods which are not recognized as proper and honorable. He is a candid lawyer who never seeks to gain advantage by an unfair or partial statement of his He is firm in his convictions and persistent in his efforts to accom- plish whatever he undertakes. He is a man of fine physique and attract- ive presence; is genial and companionable, always impressing favorably the stranger who meets him. His character, based upon a naturally strong mind, with excellent heredity, has been a growth developed by the exercise of good impulses, an honest purpose and the practice of the car- dinal virtues. The probity of his life is unquestioned and unquestionable. Mr. Wilson has been married twice. His first wife was Harriet Hutchins, by whom he had one child, a daughter, who is still living. He was mar- ried the second time in 1866 to Matilda Hutchins, by whom he has had three children, one son and two daughters. One of the latter is still liv- ing and the other dead. His son, Walter S., is a member of the Bar of Jackson. case. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 317 WILLIAM O. WEBSTER, Ionia. The subject of this sketch was born. in Sennett, Cayuga county, New York, February 20, 1842. He was the son of William and Flora Long Webster, who had removed from Connecti- cut, his father coming in 1821 and his mother in 1841. His father was a man of prominence in the country, a man of the strictest integrity and uprightness, and one whose advice and counsel were sought for and valued by his friends and towns-people. He died in August, 1872, upon his farm in Sennett, where his widow still lives. William O. lived upon the home farm until he was sixteen years of age, when he entered Monroe Collegi- ate Institute, where he was prepared for College, entering as freshman at Hamilton College in 1861 where he was graduated from the classical course in 1865, leaving behind him a fine reputation as an orator. The year after graduation was spent in teaching, as principal of the Academy at Unadilla, New York, and in the fall of 1866 he entered the Law School of the University of Michigan. Here he remained one year and then took up a course of reading and study in the law office of W. W. Mitchell in Ionia. In January, 1869, after passing the required examination he was admitted to the Bar by Judge Lovell of the Circuit Court. In De- cember of the same year, moved by the glowing reports from the land of the setting sun, he went to California, intending to make that state his home, but finding these reports greatly overdrawn and the prospects of business not so flattering as had been represented, he returned to Ionia the following year, where he has continued to reside. He has created for himself in the mean time a most enviable reputation both as a citizen and a lawyer. In 1873 he formed a co-partnership with Edgar M. Marble, now of Washington, D. C. After Mr. Marble had been appointed Assist- ant Solicitor in the Department of the Interior under President Hayes, Mr. Webster continued the practice alone for six years when he admitted to partnership a former student, now Judge Davis of the Circuit Court; this was followed later by a partnership with Spencer G. Millard which was dissolved in 1888, when Mr. Millard removed to Los Angeles, California, where he became a prominent member of the Bar and in 1894 was elected Lieutenant Governor, but died soon after his election. Since 1888 Mr. Webster has been alone in the conduct of his law business. He is engaged in practice of a general character which takes him into all the Courts of the State, as well as the District and Circuit Courts of the United States. He has argued many important cases before the Supreme Court and has met with a success most satisfactory to himself and to those who have en- trusted their matters to his care. In 1882 he received the nomination of his party for Congress, but that was the year of the notable Democratic landslide, and, although receiving a very complimentary vote, he went down with the other nominees of his party in the State, only two republi- cans being elected to Congress in that year from Michigan. In 1896 he was nominated and elected on the Republican ticket as one of the Presi- 1 318 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. In dential Electors for Michigan in the memorable election of that year. 1874 Mr. Webster was married to Miss Susan P. Montgomery, in Chicago, and to them have been born four children. The eldest son died in 1890 at the age of fifteen years. The remaining son is at this time (1896) a Sophomore in the Literary Department of the University of Michigan, in- tending at the close of his literary course to take that of the law. The two daughters are students in the Ionia High School. One of the oldest and most reputable members of the profession in Western Michigan, com- menting upon Mr. Webster's high standing as a lawyer and public speaker “He never lacks for words to express himself clearly and forcibly says: and is direct and able in the presentation of his subject. There is not a man in the county in whom the people have more confidence as a citizen. His integrity is beyond question and he may be fitly characterized as a model christian gentleman. As a husband and father his life is exemplary in a superlative degree. A citizen of Ionia gives this estimate of the subject: "Mr. Web- ster is a fine instance of what talent and perseverance can accomplish, without being boisterous or unnecessarily pugilistic. Well read in the law, a man of affairs, "Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re," gentle, yet per- sistent; affable, yet clear cut in his views on moral and civic questions; firm for the right, yet not insulting to those who differ he has gone on his way these many years in our community, a power for good as well as one standing at the top of his calling, only waiting we think to adorn the Supreme Bench of his State. A leader in church and State, there has been no reform in which he has not had a share, no good work that has not instinctively turned towards him as a friend, no worthy cause that he has not befriended. Exemplary in his life as well as successful in his law practice, a friend and helper of good men and of good causes, he has not been simply a successful lawyer, but a successful man as well, and is in his history a proof that it is not the calling that adorns the man but the man that adorns the calling." His father was ROGER WILLIAMS BUTTERFIELD, Grand Rapids. the Rev. Isaac Butterfield, who for more than half a century was an active and efficient minister of the Baptist Church. Isaac Butterfield was a scholarly divine, a sound reasoner and polished orator, earnest and faithful in his calling. Although the itinerary does not belong to the polity of the Bap- tist Church, its ministers are not installed in permanent pastorates. Rev. Mr. Butterfield was accustomed to work in the vineyard wherever the Master called. During his many pastorates he was beloved by his con- gregations and attached to his home, but he did not hesitate to remove from village to city and from east to west along the paths where his duty seemed to lie and the opportunities for doing good seemed largest. He went with his family from Elbridge to Oswego in 1846 where he remained nine years; thence to Watertown where he remained two years and thence La Clear Prude Auger W. Butterfield NUNBELL & CO NY UNIL OF HO BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 319 1844, lived in the village of at the several at to Davenport, Iowa. Roger was born April 23, Elbridge, Onondaga County, New York, and places mentioned in his childhood and youth. He was thirteen years of age when he left his native state for the west. His boyhood had been favored by excellent paternal training and the rudiments of an education had been acquired. in the public schools of the State of New York. At fifteen he entered Griswold College at Davenport, a school under the pat- ronage of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In this school and the col- lege at Adrian, Michigan, he pursued his literary studies until February 1, 1865, when he entered Princeton College, New Jersey, in the middle of the junior year. He completed the course of study with his class and was graduated with honors in June, 1866. He took the degrees A. B. and A.M. It had been his father's intention that Roger should enter the ministry; but upon graduating from college he reached the determination to enter the profession of the law. Following his inclination in that regard, and with a desire to make as thorough preparation as possible, he entered the law school of the University of Michigan, and during the vacations. pursued a course of reading in the law office of Moore & Griffin, of Detroit. He was graduated from the law school in 1868. He then entered the office of the Hon. John W. Champlin at Grand Rapids. Judge Champlin recognized Mr. Butterfield's fitness for the profession of the law and within a few months extended to him an offer of partnership. On January 1, 1869, the firm of Champlin & Butterfield was formed. Four years later Hon J. C. Fitz Gerald came to Grand Rapids from Mar- shall and was admitted to the firm. Mr. Butterfield continued as a mem- ber of this firm until March, 1876, when he retired, and for two years fol- lowing carried on practice alone. In June, 1878, he became associated with Edward W. Withey, now deceased, under the firm name of Butter- field & Withey. This partnership relation continued for about two and a half years. For several years thereafter Mr. Butterfield practised alone. On January 1, 1887, he formed a partnership with Willard F. Keeney, under the firm name of Butterfield & Keeney, and that firm has been main- tained without change until the present time. Mr. Butterfield is a thorough lawyer, giving to the investigation of every question the careful thought and sedulous application essential to its understanding. His con- victions on any isubject of mportance are deep and he always has the cour- age to express them as occasion may require. Judge Champlin says of him: "He will not permit himself to be deceived by his sympathies or wishes to make the worse appear the better reason, or by the glamour which false logic too often throws over the subject of investigation." Within the pale of his profession he has kept pace with the progress of the times. He is ever alert to the interests of his client, bringing into the trial of a cause all the energy and singleness of purpose essential to secure the best results. He is too ambitious to be satisfied with anything below the best attainments, and too conscientious to be indifferent to the obligations of 320 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. the profession. He is known as an able trial lawyer, and his business sagacity has made him valued as a counsellor. He is engaged in gen- eral practice and various causes argued by him will be found in the reports of the Supreme Court of Michigan, the Federal Courts of the Sixth Cir- cuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is broadly cul- tured, of wide and varied reading, particularly in the fields of English and American history and literature. He has one of the largest and best selected private libraries in the state, said to contain more than 5,000 vol- umes. He was married in May, 1876, to Leonora I. Drake, of Fort Wayne, Indiana. They have four children. His domestic and social attachments are the strongest. While Mr. Butterfield's life has been give to the practice of his profession, he has not been indifferent to mat- ters affecting the public welfare. He has been the firm and consistent friend of both common school and higher education. In 1887, he was elected one of the Regents of the University of Michigan, an office for which his scholarship and talents as a man of affairs fit him most admira- bly. In 1895 at the expiration of his first term of service as regent he was nominated by acclamation by the Republican State Convention for a second term in the same office and was elected thereto at the spring elec- tion of that year. Politically he is a Republican, although the field of politics has never tempted him to turn aside from the professional life. upon which he entered nearly thirty years ago. He is possessed of public spirit. and has been identified with many enterprises which tend to promote the interests of the community. He is connected as director or stockholder with many of the most important industrial and financial institutions of Grand Rapids. MOSES TAGGART, Grand Rapids. Moses Taggart, one of the leading lawyers of Kent county, was born at Wilson, Niagara county, New York, February 27, 1843. His ancestors were men of character, ability, educa- tion and resources. His great-grandfather, James Taggart, emigrated from Ireland to America in boyhood and settled in Londonderry, New Hampshire. His grandfather, Samuel Taggart, a native of Londonderry, was born about the middle of the last century, was graduated from Dart- mouth at twenty, and licensed to preach in the Presbyterian Church during the year that the American colonies declared their independence of British domination. Samuel Taggart was for many years pastor of the Presbyter- ian Church of Colerain, Massachusetts, where he died in 1825. He served fourteen years as a member of Congress from a district in the State of Massachusetts, having been first elected in 1802 as a Federalist. While at Washington he became the intimate friend of the great Chief Justice, John Marshall. He was a man of large abilities and retentive memory; a powerful speaker and a writer of recognized force on religious subjects, as BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 321 ? well as political topics. Moses Taggart is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, by virtue of his maternal grandfather, Ichabod Cone's enlistment and service, both in the State of Connecticut and New York, in the Continental army. He was educated at the Collegiate Institute at Wilson, New York, and afterwards studied law in the office of his uncle, Judge Moses Taggart, ex-judge of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals of New York, who lived at Batavia. In selecting the University of Michigan as the place in which he should complete his preparation for the practice of law, he was doubtless influenced by the inclination to come west for a location before engaging in practice. He might have gone to Columbia Law School, in the City of New York, which was much older and at that time in the zenith of its fame, under the presidency of Dr. Dwight; but he preferred the law school of the University, even though it had been established only eight years. He was graduated from this school in 1867 and admitted to the Bar of New York State at Buffalo the same year. He moved to Michigan in 1868 and located for a short time at Cedar Springs, but finally settled at Grand Rapids. In the practice of law at Grand Rapids, he was first associated with B. A. Harlan and Eugene E. Allen. Since 1875 he has been in partnership with L. W. Wolcott, and the firm is now Taggart, Wolcott and Ganson. Mr. Taggart has been elected Attorney General of Michigan twice and filled the office with exceptional ability and perfect faithfulness. During his exercise of the functions of this office he formed the acquaintance of the Bar generally throughout the State and won the respect of all by his candor, courtesy and impartiality. His conduct was regulated by a high standard of morality and a keen sensibility of the importance and sometimes delicacy of the official duties imposed upon him. He was frequently called upon to explain or construe statutes in advance of any judicial expression upon the same, and he established the reputation of preparing his opinions thereon conscientiously and expressing his views with unusual clearness. The law has engaged his attention absolutely since he first engaged in the practice, and he has uni- formly exhibited ability, industry and skill as a practitioner. He is a man of strong convictions, which have due weight in his management of cases. His arguments are characterized by a directness which reaches and influ- ences the minds of the jury. His perception is quick and he is a tactician of rare diplomacy. He is therefore a successful practitioner, favored with a large clientage. Mr. Taggart's friendship is marked by a sincerity and firmness which always command respect. His christianity is of the practi- cal sort which affects the daily life and conversation. In the relations of society and citizenship he aims to be guided as nearly as possible by the Golden Rule. He was married October 17, 1872, to Miss Lillie Ganson, of Ypsilanti. His children are Ganson, Ralph C., James M., Van Cleve and Anna. 21 322 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. WILLIAM D. FULLER, Grand Rapids. Hon. William D. Fuller is Reporter of the Supreme Court of Michigan. He was born at Chardon, Geauga county, Ohio, September 3, 1840. His primary education was obtained in the common schools of Michigan; his higher education at Hiram College, Ohio, of which James A. Garfield was president. The associations of this school, perhaps lightly regarded at the time, have become a hallowed memory through the election of its president to be president of the United States and his subsequent martyrdom. William D, was the third son of Edson Fuller and Celira Canfield. His father was a native of Cazenovia, New York, born in 1809—the year which produced so many illustrious men, including Lincoln and Gladstone and Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the venerable Richard W. Thompson, of Indiana, late a secretary of the navy. Edson Fuller was progressive and enterpris- ing. On attaining his majority he came west and settled in northern Ohio, where, in 1830, he married Celira Canfield. The latter was descended from a Huguenot family, which settled on the river Cam, in England, in the fourteenth century, on a tract of land granted by the Crown. The first descendant of this Norman family who emigrated to America was Mat- thew Canfield, who settled in Connecticut, and whose name was among the petitioners to the King of England for a royal charter for that colony. He was one of the first judges under the charter. His son, Samuel I, was a member of the Connecticut general assembly in 1669; his grandson, Samuel II, was born at Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1672, and married Abigail Austin, of Stamford, in 1709; their son Samuel III, was born at Marl- borough, Massachusetts, July 10, 1710, and his estate is still in the pos- session of his descendants. Thomas Canfield, son of Samuel III, married Miss Burr, and their son, Oliver Canfield, married Sally Sherman in 1782. From this union Celira, the mother of William D. Fuller, was born at Tyring, Massachusetts, July, 1810. She united intellectual faculties of remarkable strength with the peculiar gentleness and refinement which render the womanly character lovable. She was a teacher, a physician, a writer and a very earnest Christian. Her ability, her intuitions, her nat- ural gifts and acquirements, her affectionate disposition and innate love of goodness qualified her admirably for the training of her four sons and two daughters, whose lives in some degree reflect her noble qualities. The eldest daughter, Mrs. Elma L. Hutchison, who lately died, in California, was a practising physician; the youngest daughter died at Grand Rapids, at the age of sixteen. The sons were and are Corydon E., who, at time of his death, was president of the Iowa Loan & Trust Company; Judge Ceylon C., of the Twenty-seventh Judicial Circuit, Big Rapids; William D., Grand Rapids, Reporter of the Supreme Court; and Orrin T., interest clerk in the Iowa Loan & Trust Company. William D. Fuller was a lad of five years when the family located in Grand Rapids, where he attended the common schools until he was sixteen years of age. He was subject to The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago William Do Fuller. UNIV OF M ICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 323 the vicissitudes of fortune which bankrupted his father at Mishawaka, Indiana, in the crash of 1857, and returned to Michigan to bear his part of the increased burdens incident to the reverses. He was brave enough to work at any employment which promised remuneration, both at Grand Rapids and Big Rapids, to which he removed at the age of eighteen, when the place was yet in the formative stage of a frontier village. He was in the roughest of the lumbering industry and among the pioneers in road- building. Whatever was necessary to improve the country and build a town he engaged in with the enthusiasm of youth and the energy born of necessity. All of this had its use in fostering a robust and stalwart frame and the cultivation of a vigorous mind for the important duties and responsibilities of later years. Mr. Fuller took up the reading and study of law in the office of Col. J. H. Standish, at Newaygo, and after an examination by the Hon. F. J. Littlejohn, judge of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit, was admitted to the Bar on the first day of September, 1864. While a student at law he married Georgiette H. Standish, the daughter of his preceptor, January 1, 1863. After practising law in Newaygo four years he was elected prosecuting attorney for that county and re-elected in 1870, serving two consecutive terms. He then removed to Grand Rapids and was associated in partnership with Col. Standish, his former preceptor, from 1873 to 1880, when he returned to Newaygo. At this time he embarked in the publication of a newspaper, which he conducted without relinquishing his law practice. In 1882 he was again elected prose- cuting attorney of Newaygo county and at the commencement of his official term was appointed State swamp-land road commissioner. In 1887 he was appointed to the office of Reporter of the Supreme Court and has held the office continuously since that time. His name has become familiar to the lawyers of the State through the forty-seven volumes of official reports issued by him. He has introduced a valuable improvement which is of material service to lawyers who cite the reports. This is a system of annotation of Michigan cases which he has employed in the later volumes. In 1889 he settled in Grand Rapids, but has an office at Newaygo in part- nership with Mr. Fred W. Riblet. Mr. Fuller has the valuable faculty of making friends and retaining them, as well as clients. A striking instance illustrating this faculty is found in the relations which existed between himself and Mr. Sextus N. Wilcox, of Chicago, Illinois, through an acquaintance beginning in 1863 and extending over a period of twenty years. Mr. Fuller, who was then pioneering at Big Rapids, sold to Mr. Wilcox 100,000 feet of saw logs which he had helped to cut and had him- self hauled to the bank of the Muskegon river. By this transaction he won the friendship and confidence of his patron and afterwards acquired sole charge of his extensive legal business relating to his own lumber interests and those of the S. N. Wilcox Lumber Company. He continued to be attorney for his friend and client during his life and was the attorney of his estate and of the company until the winding up of their affairs. Mr. 324 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Fuller's strong sense of right impelled him to offer his services free of charge as one of the counsel for the defense of Thomas B. Barry, charged with conspiracy in connection with the great Saginaw strike of 1883, when five thousand lumbermen and sawmill men went out. The case was tried before Judge Gage, of Saginaw, and lasted three weeks. It attracted universal attention throughout the State and was of national interest at the time. The defendant was acquitted. Mr. Fuller made the opening address. He is an agreeable companion and a genial gentleman, who has a large acquaintance with the Bar of the state and the esteem of all. He is care- ful and assiduous in the exacting work of reporter, displaying the same energy, industry and promptness that have always characterized his private practice. He is, furthermore, an entertaining public speaker. His addresses are marked by an easy, graceful delivery, which is largely the result of a thorough understanding of his subject.-FULLER, Earnest S., son of William D., is a lawyer of Grand Rapids. He was born at Newaygo, Michigan, September 20, 1865, and educated in the schools of his native town. He learned the newspaper and printing business and was associated with his father in the conduct of the Newaygo Tribune. Since 1887 he has been connected with the office of Court Reporter and assisted in the com- pilation of the reports of cases decided by the Supreme Court. During this time he was also engaged in the study of law and was admitted to the Bar April 18, 1895, after an examination before the Supreme Court in session at Lansing. He was married to Flora B. Hatch, of Lyons, Michi- gan, January 14, 1891. LAURENS W. WALCOTT, Grand Rapids. Laurens W. Walcott was born February 8, 1843. He is descended from a historic family, distin- guished in Connecticut long before the Colonies revolted against the tyranny of George III. One of his ancestors, Roger Wolcott, was governor of the colony of Connecticut, and Roger's son, Oliver, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Mr. Wolcott's nativity is New York; his early education was received in the schools and academies of that State, while he prepared for college in Batavia, Illinois. In 1861, when President Lincoln called for volunteers to protect the nation's honor and restore the integrity of the Union, he was at Batavia. He responded to the call, enlisting as a private in Company D, Fifty-second Regiment Illinois Volunteers, and served in the Army of the Tennessee until July, 1865. He participated in some of the hardest fought battles of the war, and won the shoulder straps of a first lieutenant before he was mustered out. He attended the Law School of the University of Michigan in 1868 and 1869, was admitted to the Bar in 1869, and immediately entered the office of Byron D. Ball, of Grand Rapids. In 1872 he was elected Circuit Court Commissioner of Kent county and re-elected in 1874. He has been The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago ши UNIV BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 325 engaged continuously in practice of a general character. The firm of Taggart, Walcott & Ganson, of which he is a member, long ago established a reputation for ability, integrity and carefulness in the management of cases scarcely excelled in western Michigan. Mr. Wolcott is a hard stu- dent, and very industrious in the preparation of his cases for trial. He has command of a good vocabulary, is a fluent speaker, and presents a legal argu- ment in terse language with remarkable clearness. He is also a successful advocate, whose aim is rather to instruct and lead the jury than to entertain the visitors at court trials. He has been secretary of the Bar Association at Grand Rapids and president of the Board of Education. He is a gen- tleman of marked personality and classic features, showing the cultivation that comes of a long line of intelligent progenitors. The lineaments of his face exhibit the hereditary traits of ancestors of character and culture, who were honored and trusted by the men of their times. The healthful, life-giving currents that flowed out of the loins of the sturdy, high-minded, pure-hearted, colonial dwellers of New England, and have been trans- mitted through half a dozen generations, have enriched our western civil- ization in learning, in patriotism and all the elements or attributes that make up nobility of character. The man who has such an inheritance is fortunate indeed. If he adds to the lustre to his ancestral name his achieve- ments will be noteworthy. Mr. Wolcott is a gentleman whose companion- ship one may worthily seek. His natural affability and courteousness are gently restrained by a manner that is somewhat reserved; but it is a reserve which disappears upon close acquaintance, when one is entitled to the con- fidence of his friendship. He was married in March, 1873, to Miss Lucy Gallup. of Grand Rapids. His church relationship is with the Congre- gational Church. CEYLON C. FULLER, Big Rapids. Honorable Ceylon Canfield Fuller, ex-Judge of the twenty-seventh judicial circuit, was born at Chardon, Geauga county, Ohio, June 25, 1832. He is descended from fine old Puritan and Huguenot stock. His father, Edson Fuller, was born at Caze- novia, New York, in 1809, and died in Des Moines, Iowa, April 4, 1879. His ancestors were among the earliest emigrants to this country. His mother was of Huguenot extraction. The name had its origin in the events. which succeeded the commingling of English and French history in the fourteenth century. A Huguenot family of Normandy, named Dephilo, for meritorious services, received a grant of land contiguous to the river Cam, in England. The names of the family and the river were joined together and contracted into the name Camphield, an orthography which remained unchanged until the death of Thomas Camphield, in the sixteenth century, when it became Camfield. That orthography obtained until 1720, when it was again changed to Canfield. Matthew Camfield came from England to · 326 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. New Haven, Connecticut, in 1639. He was one of the petitioners for a royal charter for the colony of Connecticut, and the charter received from King Charles by Governor Winthrop bore the name of Matthew Camfield among others that afterwards became famous in history. Under the provisions of the Connecticut charter he was appointed a judge in connec- tion with Gold and Sherman, and empowered to hold court at Fairfield, beginning April 1, 1669. Later he removed to Newark, New Jersey, where he died. Matthew's third son, Samuel, was born at New Marl- borough, Massachusetts, June 4, 1710. Thomas, the son of Samuel, was also born in Marlborough, and Oliver, the son of Thomas, married Sally Sherman in 1782. Oliver Canfield and Sally Sherman were the parents of Celira, the mother of Judge Fuller. She was a woman of rare culture and scholarship. Having studied medicine, she practised that profession both in Indiana and Michigan. In 1850, 51 and 52, she had charge of the primary schools in Grand Rapids. She also gave much time to church work and organized the first Sunday school in Big Rapids. She was a writer of much fluency and force. Not infrequently she gave expression to her thoughts in poetry. She lived until July 12, 1883. The name of Edson Fuller is associated with the earliest history of Big Rapids and Mecosta county. He brought his family into the village when it contained only three houses and one saw-mill. He had removed in early manhood from New York to Ohio. He was married in the latter State and remained there until 1845, going thence to Grand Rapids, Michigan, which was only a small village. The journey was made in characteristic western style, with an ox team, through scattered settlements and a portion of the way through a comparative wilderness. After remaining ten years in Grand Rapids and accumulating a considerable amount of property he removed to Mishawaka, Indiana. The memorable financial crisis and panic of 1857 swept away his fortune and he returned to Michigan, going farther out on the frontier to Big Rapids. There he began anew the struggle of life in a field which seemed to promise reasonable returns for well directed efforts. He opened there the first store in the county and carted his miscellaneous stock for that purpose from Grand Rapids, through roads that were almost impassable. After continuing some years as a merchant with considerable success, Mr. Fuller purchased a farm in Mecosta county on which he lived until 1877, when he returned to Big Rapids. This was his home during the remainder of life, although his death occurred while visiting his eldest son at Des Moines, Iowa. Ceylon Canfield Fuller, having spent the early years of his boyhood on the farm and in the public schools of his native county in Ohio, came to Michigan with the family, at the age of thirteen. He attended the Union school at Grand Rapids until eighteen years old and then went to Hiram College, Ohio. He was a fellow student and room-mate of James A. Garfield, at Hiram. A friendship was there. formed between the two young men which continued unbroken until the assassin's bullet closed the life of Garfield on the threshold of its most BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 327 He illustrious epoch. Judge Fuller wrote a letter of congratulation to him. upon his election to the presidency and received an answer which contained the most friendly sentiments and a hearty allusion to their early association. Upon leaving college Judge Fuller returned to Grand Rapids where he engaged for a short time in mercantile pursuits, under the style of C. C. Fuller & Co. Having disposed of his interest in this partnership he removed to McGregor, Iowa, where he organized a company to engage in the tanning of leather, which was carried on for a time with the Daniels patent process. While in McGregor, he purchased a half interest in the North Iowa Times, of which he was one of the editors for some time. In 1858 he returned to Grand Rapids and resumed mercantile business. The year following, however, having determined to become a lawyer, he sold his interest in the store and began the study of law in the office of Ashley & Miller, Grand Rapids. The maturity of his mind and its training in other active pursuits enabled him to grasp the principles of law readily and he was admitted to the Bar in June, 1860, a month after he had established his residence at Big Rapids. He was among the very early settlers, as the village contained only five residences at the time he first became one. He is the connecting link between the primitive frontier village and the modern, prosperous city. Judge Fuller's public life may be said to have begun in the fall of 1860, when he was elected Circuit Court Commissioner. held the office until 1868, and in connection with it during the larger por- tion of this period served as postmaster of the town. In the fall of 1862 he was elected prosecuting attorney for the county, serving as such for two years. In 1864 he was elected judge of Probate and served for four years. In 1868 he was elected to the House of Representatives in the State Legislature and while a member of that body served on the commit- tees of railroads, Engrossing and Enrolled bills. He was the author of several important bills of a local character and also a bill to provide for registration of electors in new townships. In the early history of the county, before the price of land had become high, Judge Fuller bought 240 acres in the town of Big Rapids, forty acres of which he platted as Fuller's Addition. He is still possessed of a portion of this land on which he has erected a residence a home in contrast with the conditions which he found on locating there. Liberal-minded and public-spirited, he has been among the foremost in identifying himself with whatever tends to build up and advance the material prosperity of a community. In 1873 he built the Opera House Block, in connection with L. H. Green. The panic of that year involved him in financial ruin. His individual loss was $40,000. In 1882 he was elected Judge of the Twenty-seventh Judicial Circuit and served on the Bench for six years. He was the first judge elected to pre- side in that circuit after its formation. Politically he is an earnest Repub- lican. His personal popularity is evidenced by the important elective offices which he has held. His official record has no blot or stain. His honorable public service is in keeping with the purity of his private life. 328 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Independent of his eminence in affairs, his connection with the history of Big Rapids and Mecosta county is of a character to give him pre-eminence among their most esteemed and honored citizens. True to the obligations of manhood, solicitous for the welfare of his community, active in behalf of every enterprise which affects favorably and permanently the public welfare, he has entrenched himself in the affections and good will of the people among whom he established his home. The respect accorded to him by all is commensurate with the high position which he occupies. He was mar- ried at Davenport, Iowa, November 9, 1858, to Frank A., daughter of John Morrison, an early settler of that city. She was a native of Ohio, born August 31, 1838, at Gallipolis. By this marriage six sons and a daughter were born at Big Rapids: Louis M., now chief clerk in general passenger office of the C. & W. M. and the D. L. & N. railroad at Grand Rapids; Herbert C., Percy H., now deceased; John E.; Ben Hebard, first lieutenant in the U. S. Navy; Frank M. and Daisy A. Mrs. Fuller died November 12, 1872, and her baby girl, Daisy, August 4, 1873. He was married again at Ypsilanti, January 5, 1876, to Sarah E. Voorhies, who was born at Trumansburg, New York, August 2, 1849. Two sons were born of this marriage, Charles E. and Leslie L. CHARLES EDWARD SOULE, Grand Haven. Mr. Soule is a lineal descendant of George Soule who came to America with the Puritans in the Mayflower, and some of whose immediate descendants, the ancestors of Judge Soule, removed to Connecticut and became Quakers. His mother was Ruth Paddock, also of New England descent, and his mater- nal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution. His father was a native of Dutchess county, New York, and removed to Geauga county, Ohio, in 1840. Here the subject of our sketch was born on the farm, September 20, 1842. He was a pupil in the public schools of his native county and trained to all the work required of a farmer's boy at a time when work in the fields was not looked upon as degrading by men of high estate, who carried their sovereignty under their own hats. As a boy he scattered the hay laid into a swath by James A. Garfield with his old fashioned mowing scythe. It is probable the stubble was just as sharp to his bare feet, and the perspiration was just as free under his straw hat, and the July afternoons were just as long between the nooning and the supper horn, as if the swath had been cut by any other young man than the future President of the United States. And yet the association is a pleasurable memory, whose pleasure is enhanced by later associations at school. was prepared for college at the "Western Reserve Eclectic Institute," subsequently Hiram College, of which Mr. Garfield was president. While attending this institute he was a boarder in the house and family of "Uncle" Zeb Rudolph, whose daughter Lucretia became the wife of He BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 329 Garfield. His preparation for college in the famous Ohio school also fitted him for a teacher and he taught his first school when only seventeen years of age. His father, a wealthy and successful farmer, removed with his family to Ionia county, Michigan, in 1855. Charles Edward entered Hillsdale College in 1860, and was graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1865, not- withstanding the fact that two years of the intervening time were spent in the army, and in 1871 his Alma Mater conferred the degree of Master of Arts upon him. He enlisted as a private, rendered honorable service, and at the close of the war was mustered out as First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the Tenth Michigan Cavalry. It was an experience worth something in the aggregate of preparation for the self-supporting business of life. He entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan in 1865, and was graduated with the class of 1866. He was admitted to the Bar of Ionia and engaged in practice there for a short time. Whether influenced by the pleasant recollections of his boyhood life on a farm, or an impulse to experiment and speculate is not related; but the fact is recorded that in 1868 he bought a fruit farm at Spring Lake in Ottawa county, and expended considerable money in improvements, giving five years to the work of demonstrating the fact that farming was not his forte. Having made the discovery at appreciable cost he left the farm, located in Grand Haven and resumed the practice of his profession. He has remained there nearly twenty years and established himself thoroughly as a successful practitioner. His first partnership was with William N. Angel, from 1876 to 1883; his second with Hon. George A. Farr in 1893-4. He has held the office of Circuit Court Commissioner three terms and Judge of Probate eight years. Judge Soule has devoted his talents and energies chiefly to chancery cases and with such singleness of purpose as to master the chancery practice in all its forms. He is referred to by the Bar of his circuit as an authority. His standing in the profession is good as evidenced by the high esteem in which he is held by his associates. He is noted not only for his knowledge of the law and his demeanor towards others in the practice, but also for his strong, practical common sense and sterling integ- rity. His personal virtues and the purity of his private life commend him to the public esteem, no less than his professional reputation commends him to his clients. He takes an interest in the proceedings of the G. A. R., has served as commander of his post and delegate to the National encampment. In religion Judge Soule was raised in the Christian church and still holds to the teachings of Alexander Campbell, but is now an attendant and supporter of the Episcopal church of which his family are members. He was married in 1867 to Linnie S. Hall of Shelburne, Ver- mont, and of Puritan extraction. Their family consists of three daughters and two sons. The eldest son is practising law in Chicago. One daughter is a student in the University of Michigan. The second son is taking a course at Hillsdale College. 330 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. MICHAEL BROWN, Big Rapids. Judge Michael Brown was born in Indian Creek township, Pulaski county, Indiana, April 20, 1841. His parents were well-to-do people, who had settled on the farm where he was born, two years in advance of his birth. He learned all the varied duties of a farmer's boy and his recreation was attendance at the district school for three months of each year, after he arrived at school age. When seventeen years old he became a student in the Cass County Seminary at Logansport, a school which, about that time, enjoyed a high reputation in central Indiana and along the upper valley of the Wabash. After a year in the seminary he attended two Indiana colleges-first, Franklin College, at Franklin, where he remained until the beginning of 1860; and second, Wabash College at Crawfordsville, where he remained until he volunteered to go as a soldier. The halls of Wabash College were almost depopulated by the stirring appeals for volunteers. The patriotism of students capable of bearing arms was aflame. They laid aside their books and studies and took up their guns and knapsacks. The second year of the war for the restoration of the Union had opened when young Brown, who had just reached his majority, enlisted. From that time until the last rebel army surrendered he was in the field and at the post of duty. He grew familiar with the fatigue of the march, the privations of the camp, the excitement and danger of the battle field, the horrors of a rebel prison. In the rank of a private he learned the duties of a soldier, and from that view point witnessed all the pomp and circumstance of war. He enlisted as a recruit in Company B, Second Regiment Indiana Cavalry. His first service was in Kentucky, where his regiment with others was halted to resist the raids carried on by Gen. John Morgan. After a march to Nashville, Tennessee, his regiment was assigned to the cavalry corps of the army of the Cumber- land. He participated in all the battles of that corps to Chickamauga and through that terrible field of blood; was with the arm of the cavalry which drove the rebel General Wheeler out of the State of Tennessee; was in many skirmishes and the battles of Mersey Creek, Dandridge and Fair Garden with his regiment, on the march to reinforce Gen. Burnside in eastern Tennessee. When the Second Regiment went from Cleveland, east Tennessee, in May, 1864, to join the advance on Atlanta, he was with it, fighting every day and almost every mile of the hazardous march. On the 9th day of May with all the soldiers and officers of the skirmish line, including the brigadier general commanding, he was captured and on the 14th sent as a prison to Andersonville, where he was confined until October 16th. He was then sent to Florence and paroled. In the middle of December, when he was permitted to return North, he was reduced almost to a skeleton and his weight was only ninety-four pounds, on reaching Annapolis. His spirit was still brave and his loyalty never faltered. He wanted to return to the front at the expiration of his thirty days' furlough—granted to all the survivors of the starvation policy 4 M. Brown ог try Soda by kangranny UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 331 of the prison pens-and reported for duty at Camp Chase, Ohio. The surgeon denied his request because his physical condition was unequal to the exhausting demands of active military duty. He was obliged to remain in camp north of the Ohio until his health and strength were suf- ficiently restored. When he reported for field duty at Nashville he was detailed as a special courier for the Military Division of the Mississippi, and served in that capacity until the war was over and he was mustered out in July, 1865, receiving an honorable discharge. No soldier ever served with a cleaner record. He chose to be a private through the war, refusing several offers of promotion. He knew the chief duty of a private soldier was obedience. In the whole period of his service he never dis- obeyed a command or avoided a duty. He was never punished, repri- manded or threatened. He was simply and all the time a brave, honest, true-hearted, strong-willed soldier, ready for any duty and any service to which he was assigned. The next year after the war closed Mr. Brown became a resident of Michigan. In October, 1866, he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in March, 1868. For a few months after leaving Ann Arbor he stopped in Grand Rapids, but in September of the same year he settled in the new and growing town of Big Rapids, which has ever since been his home. The law business alone was scarcely sufficient for a livelihood for a while, although he opened an office for practice and took care of all that came to him. In the spring of 1869 he eked out his income with the salary of superintendent of schools for Mecosta county, which he accepted and held for two years. Meanwhile he was growing in knowledge of the law and rising in the confidence of the people. Within a little while common report assigned him to a rank among the very best lawyers in all that region of the State. He served a term as mayor of the city of Big Rapids, to which he was elected in 1873. All this time the profession of law held first place in his affections and its practice was most congenial to his taste. In December, 1876, he was appointed Circuit Judge by the Governor, for a Judicial Circuit comprising the counties of Mecosta, Newaygo, Oceana and Muskegon. His judicial service was so entirely satisfactory to the public that he was chosen to succeed himself, without opposition, at the general election in 1878. In January, 1881, he resigned the Judgeship in order to resume the practice of law, which has since been continued without interruption. Among the leading cases with which Judge Brown has been connected the following at least deserve mention: Dowling vs. the National Exchange Bank of Boston, reported in 145th U. S., page 512. The question involved was, what constitutes a non-trading copart- nership and whether the question was one of law or of fact. Judge Brown was attorney for plaintiff in error and the United States Supreme Court held with him that it was a question of fact. The case was appealed from the U. S. Circuit Court for the Western District of Michigan. The leading case regarding authority of a board of managers of a Soldiers' Home to 332 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. say what disposition shall be made of pensions received by inmates of the home, was won by Judge Brown, and established the law. It was the case of "James Loser et al.vs. the board of managers of the Michigan Sol- diers' Home and James A. McKee commandant," (92d Michigan, page 633). The issue involved the power of the board to enforce rules for discipline, police regulations, etc. The Supreme Court decided the case in favor of respondents, for whom Judge Brown was attorney. The defi- nition of a “reasonable doubt" given by Judge Brown in a charge to the jury when he was Circuit Judge, in the case of "People vs. James Fin- ley" has been copied and accepted all over the United States. He said to the jury: "A reasonable doubt is a fair doubt growing out of the testimony in the case. It is not an imaginary, captious or possible doubt, but a fair doubt based upon reason and common sense; it is such a doubt as may leave your minds, after a careful examination of the evidence in the case, in such condition that you cannot say you have an abiding con- viction to a moral certainty of the truth of the charges here made against the respondent" (cited in 38th Michigan, page 482). As a judge he was patient and firm, diligent in his investigations, careful and conscientious in his decisions. It is asserted that no criminal case tried before him was ever reversed by the Supreme Court, and that no mandamus was ever served on him. After he had served on the Bench two years very few cases were taken from his court to the Supreme Court, and he was rarely reversed. He was appointed a member of the first board of managers of the Soldiers' Home, by Governor Alger, when the legislature made pro- vision for such a home in Michigan; was elected secretary of the board and held both positions five years. He has been a member of the G. A. R. since 1867, and held the chief offices of the post; was judge advocate of the department of Michigan in 1887 and department commander in 1889. He was married to Miss Mary Alice Osborn, of Big Rapids, August 3, 1870. Four children born of that marriage are living, one son and three daughters. Judge Brown has given much thought and study to general literature. His mind is cultured by reading the best books. He has a fine private library of miscellaneous volumes and his law library is well selected. Wabash College has conferred upon him the degree of A. M., which is unusual, because he did not remain in the college until graduation. He is a.man of strong principles and keen susceptibilities; opposed to monopolies and a champion of individual liberty of action; loyal and true in his friendships, devoted to his family with inalienable affection; kindly and generous in disposition. As considerate of the rights of others as he is jealous of his own, he holds the esteem of his fellow-citizens and pro- fessional associates. His tastes are modest, his manner unostentatious. In politics he is a Republican; in religion a Presbyterian; in his personality a plain, substantial, reliable everyday christian man, without pretense; a man who loves his home for its pure atmosphere, its elevating, refining and revivifying influences. His life is one of beneficent influence and large usefulness in the community. BENCH AND BAROF MICHIGAN. 333 GEORGE ALEXANDER FARR, Grand Haven. The subject of this biography is descended from patriotic and Puritan ancestry. He was the son of Sylvester A. Farr and Julia Alexander. His paternal ancestors were English Puritans who emigrated to America and settled in Massa- chusetts in 1677. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution- ary War; his grandfather a surgeon in the War of 1812. His mother, as the name suggests, was of Scotch descent. Her family emigrated from Scot- land in 1760 and settled in Massachusetts. His father was a native of New York State, and George Alexander was born in Niagara county, that State, July 27, 1842. The first nine years of his life were spent in the Empire State and he had made some progress with primary studies in the public schools before the family came to Michigan in 1851. His boyhood was passed in work on his father's farm and in the common schools. When little more than eighteen years of age he enlisted in Company K First Regiment Michigan Volunteers-Hardee Cadets—and reached the seat of war in time to participate in the first battle of Bull Run. On the expira- tion of the term of enlistment of the Hardee Cadets he re-enlisted, but instead of continuing in the volunteer service, he joined the regular army and was assigned to Battery M Fourth U. S. Artillery. With this com- mand he served until the end of the war and was mustered out as first ser- geant of the battery, with honorable mention for bravery on the battle- field. This rank in the U. S. regulars is scarcely below that of colonel in the volunteer service, especially when the time required of the average private to obtain it is considered. There is little doubt that Mr. Farr, with the exercise of the same courage, energy and intelligence would have attained high rank before the war closed if he had the second time enlisted. in a Michigan regiment. On returning home he entered the Agricultural College at Lansing and pursued the regular curriculum from which he was graduated in 1870. From boyhood he had a taste and talent for public speaking, a penchant for controversial discussion. Even before beginning the study of law he was equipped with one of the valued qualifications of the successful advocate. He was admitted to the Bar at Monroe, in March, 1873, after a course of study with Hon. Burton Parker. He located for practice first in Coopersville, Ottawa County, and remained there four years. In 1877 he removed to Grand Haven, which has been his home continuously since that time. For the first three years he was associated in partnership with Hon. H. C. Akeley until the retire- ment of the latter from active practice. He has never had business rela- tions in partnership with another lawyer, except for the brief period of his association with Charles E. Soule, in 1893-4. While a successful lawyer he has not been permitted to devote all of his time to the duties of the profession. He is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court and has argued before that tribunal cases involving large interests as well as close questions of law. A recent case of the highest importance was the "City 334 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ter. of Grand Haven vs. the Grand Haven Water Works," in which he appeared as counsel for the city. His view of the law was concurred in by the Court, whose decision was entirely favorable to the city, saving to it one hundred thousand dollars by the annulment of the water company's char- Mr. Farr is a student of history, of science and of politics, as well as law, and his stock of information on the subjects named would fit him. for a professorship in any college, or qualify him generously for the lecture platform. He is fluent in private conversation, ready and eloquent in public address. His entrance into politics to the extent of holding public office was in 1878, when he was elected a Senator in the State Legislature. In 1880 he was re-elected, serving two terms and participating actively in the debates as well as the legislation of that body. For six years closing in 1891, he was a member of the board of trustees for the Northern Asy- lum for the Insane. In January last he was appointed by Governor Rich, Regent of the University of Michigan for a term of eight years. Politically he is a Republican and has had great prominence in the councils of that party in the State for many years. In 1880 he was a delegate to the National Convention and for the past sixteen years he has been chosen a delegate to every State Convention. He was honored with the chairman- ship of the last State Convention that nominated Governor Luce for his second term. His social and benevolent traits find expression to some extent through the organized channels of fraternal and benevolent orders. He has pursued speculative Masonry for thirty years by membership in different branches; has taken a deep interest in the objects and work of the society and served as High Priest of Grand Haven Chapter. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F. and G. A. R. His religious belief is in har- mony with the Unitarians and he is a prominent member of that society in Grand Haven. Mr. Farr was married September 24, 1879, at Stowe, Vermont, to Miss Sue C. Slayton, a niece of Hon. Dwight Cutler, of Grand Haven. His family consists of five daughters and one son. He has the capacity and qualities for leadership in any undertaking and that rank is usually conceded to him by his colleagues. He has participated in every State campaign on the stump for many years and was called to speak in thirty counties during the last campaign. As an indication of the confidence reposed in him by his party at home the fact may be men- tioned that the unanimous vote of the delegates of Ottawa county was cast for him as their choice for Congress in the last nominating convention. He is a director of the Grand Haven National Bank and has held the office of city attorney. UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago DiDal лись MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 335 JOHN H. PALMER, Big Rapids. Hon. John H. Palmer, Judge of the Twenty-seventh Judicial Circuit of Michigan, was born at Goshen, Con- necticut, June 21, 1844. His parents, Morgan L. Palmer and Mary E. Philleo, were both natives of the State of New York. The family came to Michigan early in the fifties, locating for a time in Grand Rapids, re- moving thence to Detroit and finally settling in Big Rapids. Here they made a home as permanent as the mutations of time would permit, and here the parents remained until death. Their family consisted of five children, of whom John H. was the oldest. The rudiments of his educa- tion were obtained in the common schools; his knowledge of literature, acquired by a study of the standard authors, and his practical knowledge of affairs, which comes of contact with men and familiarity with current events, are not surpassed by the acquirements of other men and lawyers in his section of the State, whether classically educated or not. He had the aspiration to rise above his boyhood environment, and the applica- tion, the energy and the will to make his aspiration a reality. After en- gaging in several avocations in his young manhood he decided at length to study law, and the problem of his future was solved. From that time forward he was settled. The work of the profession was congenial to his taste, and its scope equaled the measure of his ambition. The decision once reached, he found the means of accomplishing his purpose. He en- tered the Law School of the University of Michigan, and pursued the course of study one year. His course of reading and legal study was continued in the office of Fuller & Parsons, of Big Rapids. Here he was admitted to the Bar in 1874, and here he has remained continuously in the work of his profession to the present time. In 1876 he formed a part- nership with Michael Brown, which continued until the latter was elected Judge of the Twenty-seventh Judicial Circuit. Some time afterwards he associated with him in partnership his brother, Hon. L. G. Palmer, and this relation continued until he was elected judge. During all this period he was engaged in general practice in the State and United States courts. The practice included all sorts of civil cases, involving small amounts and large amounts; requiring a knowledge of commercial law, corporation law, the law affecting the rights of property, the title to real estate, and in fact every species of litigation growing out of personal controversies. It also included criminal cases. He could not take care of such a practice with- out becoming a good all round lawyer. A general practice tends to the development of such lawyers, while study and practice in a single branch of the law tends only to make an expert in that particular branch. The old lawyers who "rode the circuit” had a broader knowledge of the prin- ciples of the law, and greater facility in applying them to a great variety of cases, than many of the modern lawyers who seek only to become learned in a specialty and become famous. phases; its applications are almost infinite. The law has many faces and He is the most learned in it 336 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. whose practice leads him into the labyrinths and requires investigation of the largest variety of cases, involving the most dissimilar questions. Judge Palmer was accustomed to meet in the modern forum the ablest lawyers of his section of the State. He met them on equal terms. His side of any controversy was sure of an advocate who understood it thoroughly, and maintained it with ability. This should be spoken to his credit: While he accepted every variety of cases he never encouraged litigation or advised an action that was not approved by his conscience or his judgment. He advised first the employment of every resource to secure an honorable settlement, even where the law and equities supported the contention of his client. He recognized the fact that not every man who has a grievance can afford to go into court for its redress, even though the law affords a remedy for every wrong. He served the municipality for a term as mayor, in compliance with the preference of his fellow cit- izens, as expressed through the ballot box. In 1887 he was elected judge of the Circuit Court, and was re-elected in 1893 for a second term of six years. The same qualities which united to make him a good lawyer serve him equally well in discharging the duties of judge. He is honest, pains- taking and trustworthy. In the investigations essential to a correct de- cision he is just as patient and just as thorough as if conducting a case in court for his client. There is perhaps no judge in the State more industrious in the examination of authorities and none more desirous of reaching a right conclusion. He has an excellent law library and spends much time in it, not only for the purpose of being informed upon the law in cases brought before him, but also for his own culture and satis- faction. Affable in manner and courteous in his deportment toward members of the Bar, he enjoys the respect and esteem of all. As a citi- zen no man is found who speaks a word against him. He is liberal in his views, and generous in his contributions to charity and the promotion of what he regards the public good. Judge Palmer was married Septem- ber 19, 1876, to Miss Fennella V. Pelton, of Grand Rapids, a lady of edu- cation, liberal culture and happy disposition. They have an interesting family of four children: John C., aged eighteen, now a student in the Lit- erary Department of the University of Michigan; Bertha M., aged sixteen; Frances, aged thirteen; and Carl P., eleven-at this writing (1896). WALTER I. LILLIE, Grand Haven. Mr. Lillie is the son of Joel B. and Sarah Augur (the sister of Gen. C. C. Augur) Lillie, both of whom were natives of the State of New York. His father's ancestors were Scotch-Danish and he possesses some of the characteristics of both nation- alities. Walter I. is the second in a family of five children. He was born in Ottawa county, Michigan, October 9, 1855, where his father, a success- ful farmer had settled ten years before. By enterprise, thrift and economy BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 337 his parents accumulated some property and after the death of his mother, his father moved to Coopersville. Walter's life in boyhood was a type of the industrious son of the better class of farmers, his time divided between work of all kinds and attendance at the district schools. He like many other boys stayed from school summers and worked on the farm. Thus the time was passed until he attained his majority, when he entered the Agricultural College at Lansing, and by teaching winters and work in summer vacation paid his own way through college. He was graduated three years later and went straightway to Grand Haven and into the law office of Hon. George A. Farr as a student. He read the text books of the profession under the instruction of Mr. Farr and after examination was admitted to the Bar of Grand Haven in November, 1884. After teaching a term of school he returned to the office of Mr. Farr the following spring and remained with him two years, in order to acquire facility in the preparation of legal papers and become familiar with methods of procedure, before relying entirely upon himself. While thus employed he was nominated and elected prosecuting attorney for Ottawa county in 1886. The conduct of this important office was so eminently satisfactory to the public that he was renominated and re-elected for a second term, serving altogether a period of four years. His discharge of the duties of prose- cuting attorney before the grand jury and in court commended him as worthy of other honors in the line of his profession. He was soon appointed city attorney and reappointed for several terms. It was during his adminis- tration of this office that a very important case, "The City of Grand Haven vs. The Grand Haven Water Works Company" was tried and carried to the Supreme Court by appeal. His old preceptor, George A. Farr was called to assist him in the argument on behalf of the city and a complete victory was scored. The charter of the Water Company was annulled by the decision of the Supreme Court and many thousand dollars saved the municipality. During his term as prosecuting attorney the suit of Auditor General vs. Ottawa county was tried and many thousand dollars saved the county. Mr. Lillie is alert, energetic and studious; his precep- tion is quick and clear; his mental quality is analytical and he is favored with the intellectual endowments essential to marked success in the practice. of law. He has the Scotch persistence and honesty; the Danish gentle- ness and open-heartedness which make him a popular comrade and a faithful friend. His professional life opens with a promise whose fulfillment will give him both prestige and prominence. Should he turn aside from a career in the law for one in politics, for which the prospect is alluring to an ambitious young man, position and honors may be achieved. He is a Republican, well informed, active and earnest in support of the party policy and principles. It will require a good deal of firmness and much hard study along professional lines to resist the temptation presented in the more "glittering generalities" of a public career. His mental qualities and social traits are recognized and esteemed by his associates at the Bar and 22 338 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. in the community. In the Supreme Court his record is a success, marred by the loss of but few cases. His per cent of cases won is as high as any in the State. Mr. Lillie was married September 28, 1866, to Miss Ella McGrath, of Denison, Ottawa county. They have a family of four children, all boys. Harold I., Leo C., W. Ivan and Hugh E. FREDERICK A. NIMS, Muskegon. Mr. Nims is of English extraction. The founders of the American branch of the family came from England and settled in Massachusetts in Colonial times. His father, Dr. Dwight B. Nims, was born at Conway, Massachusetts, in 1808. His mother, Anna A. White, was a native of Madison county, New York. Dr. Nims came west and settled in the Territory of Michigan in 1835. The subject of our sketch attended the district schools until he was twelve years of age. His preparation for college was obtained in Wesleyan Seminary at Albion, where he studied several years. In 1853 he entered Hobart College, Geneva, New York, and pursued the classical course for three years, when he was obliged to desist because of weakness of his eyes. The cherished purpose of completing a college course. was relinquished because of apprehension that permanent impairment of sight might result from unre- mitting application to books. He left school and abandoned literary pur- suits for nearly two years. In 1858 he entered upon the study of law in the office of Withey & Gray at Grand Rapids, and remained with them until admitted to the Bar in 1860. Immediately afterwards he became associated with Col. A. T. McReynolds in practice, a relation whose aspect and purpose were changed a year later by the event of war. When Col. McReynolds was placed in command of a regiment in 1861, Mr. Nims received a commission as second lieutenant and afterwards was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. In 1864 he was mustered out on account of disability-illness resulting from exposure. A year was passed at Grand Rapids in the recuperation of his health. In November, 1865, he removed to Muskegon and began the practice of law alone. In 1867 he formed a partnership with Francis Smith and George Gray, from which Mr. Gray retired two years later. In 1870 Mr. D. D. Erwin was admitted to the firm, making it Smith, Nims & Erwin until 1874. Mr. H. J. Hoyt was then admitted to the partnership and for twenty-two years the style of the firm has been Smith, Nims, Hoyt & Erwin. It is recognized by the pro- fession throughout the State and regarded in popular estimation as one of the most capable law firms in Western Michigan. In the variety of talents united, no less than the ability of the individuals, the power of the combination consists. Mr. Nims may be classed as a business lawyer. His intellectual trend is toward business and industrial enterprises. Actu- ated by a liberal public spirit he was one of the foremost citizens in pro- moting the railroad interests of his town. In 1868 he was one of the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 339 incorporators of the Muskegon and Ferrysburg railroad, which he served as secretary and attorney until the line was completed and equipped. This was the pioneer among railways connecting Muskegon with the world of commerce. It compelled the construction of others, with which it was consolidated in 1870, and at length became a link in the Chicago and West Michigan system. For several years Mr. Nims was a director of the First National Bank of Muskegon. He was also one of the incorporators of the Merchants National Bank, of whose directory he was for several years a member. At one time he was president of the City Street Railroad Company. While giving his time and thought primarily to his profession and a considerable portion of both to business and community interests, he has reserved and devoted much to the betterment of his city by enlarging and improving the means and facilities for popular education. For twenty years he has served the city as a member of the Board of Edu- cation and for several years served the board as president. His charitable impulse and fraternal spirit are suggested by membership in the order of Free and Accepted Masons for thirty years, in the Knights of Pythias and the G. A. R. He is a Knight Templar and a member of Muskegon Commandery. He is also a member of the military order of the Loyal Legion of the U. S. He was elected Master of his Masonic Lodge in 1888. He was married February 20, 1862, to Miss Mary, daughter of Col. A. T. McReynolds, who became the mother of two children, both of whom died in infancy. His wife died in 1872 and he was married May 27, 1873, to Ellen S., also a daughter of Col. McReynolds, by whom he has had seven children. Mr. Nims is classed as a Democrat politically, but has never held a political office. The consensus of opinion collected from members of the profession and citizens of Muskegon warrants the estimate that his personal character is irreproachable; that his professional standing is high; that his intimate and influential relations toward enterprises which promote the public welfare afford a substantial basis of popular esteem ; that his ability, scholarship and social traits qualify him for membership in the most cultured society; that his home is the nursery of progress and refinement. HIRAM J. HOYT, Muskegon. Mr. Hoyt is a native of Michigan. He was born in Commerce, Oakland county, March 23, 1843. His father was Dr. James W. Hoyt, a native of the State of New York and for many years one of the most prominent physicians of Oakland county. His mother was Margaret Barritt, a most estimable woman, who was born in Steuben county, New York. Mr. Hoyt has not devoted time to the study of genealogy or digging up the roots of his ancestral tree. Believing that a man's position and success in life are dependent more upon personal character and individual effort than extended lineage, he has employed his 340 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. energies with affairs of the present and preparation for the future. By this statement it must not be assumed that he has neglected to read the history of past ages or study the conditions of government and society. On the contrary he has been a student of history of the nations and the world. He has read the biographies of the men conspicuous in making the history of the different epochs. All of which is essential to great breadth and power in a profession — most of all the profession which Mr. Hoyt espoused early in life. He attended the district schools until eleven years of age, when he was ready for academic studies. He was then sent to Aurora Academy, at East Aurora, New York, in which he took the full curriculum. He was graduated in 1863 and immediately took up the study of law in the office of the late M. E. Crofoot. After spending three years in study under the direction of a capable instructor he passed the required examination before Judge Sanford M. Green, and received a license from that venerable jurist, who was then at the zenith of his fame. This was in 1866, and the following year he located in Muskegon and quietly announced that he was ready for legal business. He was well qualified for a young man and able to take care of the cases which came to him. He was able to stand alone and did manage an independent practice for seven years. In 1874 he became associated as a partner with Francis Smith, Frederick A. Nims and David D. Erwin, completing the firm of Smith, Nims, Hoyt & Erwin. The individual partners are all good lawyers, the firm is the oldest in Muskegon and one of the most reputable, as well as able and successful, in the entire State. It is entirely proper to say that it has long enjoyed the leading position in the courts of Muskegon, both in the magnitude and the character of prac- tice. Its clientage is large and liberal, making a lucrative business. The firm of which Mr. Hoyt is a member has a general practice, and they go into all of the courts of the State, as well as the United States, and, therefore, are always busy and generally successful. He has given his mind primarily to the law and not been tempted by the offer of political advancement through public office. He is a Democrat and always has been, by inheritance and personal choice, He has taken active interest in political affairs and is gratified with the success of his party, because it represents the principles which he believes should triumph in elections and dominate in administration; but this gratification is devoid of any per- sonal interest and not characterized by a self-seeking motive. He has long been affiliated with Masonry and has attained the thirty-second degree. He is a Knight Templar and member of the Muskegon com- mandery. His religious views are liberal, as indicated by membership in the Universalist Church. Mr. Hoyt was married February 26, 1867, to Miss Ada E. Smith, daughter of Benjamin Smith, Esq., of Oakland, Michigan. They have one child, Wilbur S., who is a graduate of Orchard Lake Military Academy, and settled in California, where he is engaged in business. UNIV OF M The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago care 다 ​BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 341 CHARLES C. ROOD, deceased. Charles C. Rood, late of Grand Rapids, was born in Northern Vermont, October 24, 1815. He was the son of Ezra Rood, a farmer, and Betsy Conant, and was one of the large family of children who lost their father after they came to the wilds of the Territory of Michigan, in 1822. The family settled in Pontiac. It is pre-eminently true of a boy so situated, on the extreme verge of civiliza- tion—in the actual western wilds-that there was no royal road to learn- ing or professional distinction. To maintain life was a strenuous struggle with poverty and privation, so severe that few living at the present time have any just conception of it. Up to the time of his father's death this boy knew little of books and nothing of the English grammar. After he was left to buffet with fortune he came into possession of a copy of a text book on grammar, which he fastened to the plow with pages open, so that he might study while he worked. The same energy, devotion, fortitude. and steadfastness were exhibited in pursuing his studies and laying the foundation for his professional career, so that when he came to Grand Rapids early in 1846 he was qualified for the companionship which awaited him at the Bar. He had studied with eminent lawyers in Detroit and Marshall for several years. His hard work and remarkable application had qualified him for the arduous labors of the profession by the side of the able and earnest pioneers who had settled in the frontier village. before him. Among his associates at the Bar in those early days were Judges Martin, Withey and Holmes, John Ball, Thomas B. Church, C. P. Cal- kins, Ralph Cole, Lucius Patterson, A. D. Rathbone, J. S. Chamberlin, and E. E. Sargent. An incident of his experience in Detroit serves to illustrate his resourcefulness. While studying law and teaching there, the new process of photographing invented by Daguerre was first introduced in Detroit. He formed a partnership with a young man whom he sent to Buffalo to learn the business, paying the expenses himself, but his partner was a failure and Mr. Rood operated the gallery himself for some time successfully. The keynote to his character and to his mind, the index from which his career might easily have been prophesied may be dis- covered in the manner in which he selected a permanent residence as a young lawyer. He visited the United States Land Office and discovered that nearly all of the entries of land in the vicinity of Grand Rapids were in small tracts—40's, 80's and 160's,-as farms were then known. They had been taken evidently by men who were securing permanent homes for themselves; there were no speculative features in the growth of the com- munity, and with such a people in such a new country he desired to iden- tify himself. While thoroughly grounded in all the branches of his profession, and a student who could well prepare any case, he early devoted himself almost wholly to commercial practice, and held strongly to the theory that litigation should ever be only the final resort. He soon secured a large circle of clients who found him especially capable, faithful, 342 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. industrious and honorable. Their business prospered in his care, but was so managed that when the large interests and collections of his practice are considered he seldom had occasion to appear in court. He became an authority in his branch of the profession in the young and growing city; his name was a synonym for exact dealing and unvarying performance of his promises; his work was always good; his counsels were safe and wise, Whatsoever his hands found to do he did with his might, with a single- ness of purpose that inevitably achieved success. Although never brilliant or dashing he accomplished practical results for others, and hence for him- self, that in later life compelled him to withdraw from the more active practice and devote himself to the care of his own private interests. His only partnership in the law was with Judge J. W. Champlin. His was a tem- perament that found no pleasure in public plaudits or official stations. He gladly left to others the cares and doubtful rewards of office-holding and kindred activities. His family and his professional duties secured his devo- tion; yet he found time to serve for more than one term as president of the earliest Bar Association, prior to 1860, and gave much consideration and practical labor to his duties. He neglected no duty as a member of his profession, as a citizen, as a tax payer, as the head of a family, or as one of the pioneers in a rapidly growing city which evidently had a brilliant future. He helped earnestly in the old fashioned, solid, desirable way to conserve the proper development of the city, finding his reward in the added comfort and better opportunities thus secured for his own family and his neighbors. No member of the Michigan Bar, with which he was connected for half a century—forty-five years of the time as a leader in the Grand Rapids Bar-had a more profound sense and keen appreciation of the dignities, honors and responsibilities of what should be included in or indicated by such membership. The feeling of obligation; the solemnity of his oath upon admission, as a sworn officer of the courts, deepened and broadened with advancing years; and he was an urgent force, most zealous and faithful in the insistence upon a high standard of professional ethics. He believed that none but the worthy should be allowed to retain mem- bership in the Bar. He held that the Bar should guard its membership as carefully as a church is expected to do and protect itself from unworthy members. His quiet, persistent effort in this direction was a potent influence which continues to live after he is gone, and through its effect upon his surviving contemporaries will mold the opinions and influence the acts of many to whom he will be but a name on the pages of history. When he rested from his labors (which continued to within two days of his death) almost the sole survivor of that earliest Bar Association, and of the brilliant pioneers of Western Michigan, his associates felt that an upright, honest lawyer, a true friend and a useful citizen had left them a precious legacy. They realized that his wise counsels and the quiet, unobtrusive deeds which characterized his life would live as a memory highly prized and cherished by a community ennobled by his simple and BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 343 exemplary life. Charles C. Rood died February 21, 1891. The Bar Association of Grand Rapids, of which he had been an early president, held a meeting to commemorate his life and labors. Judge William E. Grove presided and Mr. Hughes acted as secretary. Resolutions were adopted expressive of the sentiment of the Bar and testifying to the emi- nently practical usefulness of the deceased in the community. Brief addresses were made by E. S. Eggleston, N. A. Fletcher, Edwin F. Uhl, John T. Miller, T. J. O'Brien and others. Among the virtues which all remembered were his integrity as a man and his honesty in all of the affairs of life. They referred to him as a safe counsellor, forceful and determined in the prosecution of his business, stopping at no obstacles that honorable means could overcome; his conversation, rich in reminis- cences; his punctuality, as that of a man who never forgot an obligation or failed to keep his word; and above all the kindliness and sympathy of his nature. Mr. Rood was a Democrat who never held office. He was a Royal Arch Mason. He married Cornelia Foster, daughter of F. D. A. Foster, of Grand Rapids. The three children born of this marriage, who, with the widow survive, are Mrs. Ernest B. Fisher, Charles F. Rood, and Mrs. Charles A. Renwick, all residents of Grand Rapids. GEORGE P. WANTY, Grand Rapids. George Proctor Wanty, late presi- dent of the Michigan State Bar Association, was born March 12, 1856, at Ann Arbor, Michigan. His father, Samuel Wanty, married Elizabeth Proctor at Holbeach, Lincolnshire, England, and came to the United States in 1853, settling first in Brooklyn and moving thence to Detroit, and finally to Ann Arbor, in 1855, where he died in 1859. His primary and academic education was received in the common and high schools of Ann Arbor. At an early age he sought employment and was engaged first as clerk in a bank at Ann Arbor, of which Judge Cooley was a director, and later he was bookkeeper for an iron manufacturing company at Bay City. His propensity and aspirations were for the law, even before he accepted other employment, and the purpose to enter the legal profes- sion was held steadily during all the years of preliminary work. This hopeful looking forward to the realization of a cherished dream relieved the labor necessary to that end from the aspect of drudgery. At length his savings enabled him to take up the desired course of study, and he was graduated in 1878 from the Law Department of the University of Michigan, entering at once upon the practice at Grand Rapids. He has been associated as co-partner with Col. Thaddeus Foote, Hon. Fred. A. Maynard and, since 1883, with Niram A. Fletcher. He has enjoyed the friendship and counsel of Judge Cooley from boyhood, and early promised this venerable jurist that he would make the law and not politics his profes- sion. The promise was regarded at the time as inviolable and has never 344 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. been broken. Mr. Wanty has declined all political offices, although he has always been assiduous in the discharge of his duty as a citizen, in par- ticipating in all elections and doing whatever he could for the general wel- fare of the community and the Government. He is an Episcopalian in religion and a Republican in politics. The average lawyer is too prone to follow in the steps of the ante-diluvian and imagine that dust and litter are indications of thrift and thoroughness. This is not the case with Fletcher & Wanty. They regard the systematic, orderly arrangement of papers relating to all affairs as conducive to the dispatch of business. Per- fection of indexing and annotation of cases is observed in their office, so that the papers and even the letters a dozen years old, in any desired case on their books, can be found and handed to you free from dust, inside of twenty minutes. Such a lawyer's office is so rare that when found it is worthy of commendatory notice. The practice of the firm is general, but mostly confined to civil cases, and as the attorneys of large mercantile houses and corporations they are retained in the State and United States courts in suits of great importance. Mr. Wanty is essentially an advocate and attends almost exclusively to court business in the trial of cases. He is a forcible speaker, clear in his enunciation, and uses no superfluous words. His bearing is affable and dignified, his manner impressive; so that he commands the respectful attention of both judge and jury, and his argu- ment is worthy of their consideration. The secret of his success lies in his being convinced of the absolute honesty of his cause and putting the facts in evidence in their proper order,-and in his argument placing them before the court and jury in clean-cut, well-adjusted periods, strongly fortified with fitting precedents. So earnest is he in the management of a case in court that it may be said of him, as it was of Erskine, —he manages the cases for his clients as they would themselves, having his ability. His standing in the profession is evidenced by his election to the presidency of the State Bar Association in 1894. His executive management of the affairs of the association was able; his duties as presiding officer at its meetings were discharged with ability, dignity and impartiality. Mr. Wanty mar- ried in Chicago, June 22, 1886, Miss Emma Nichols, M. D. Miss Nichols occupied an enviable position as an associate of Dr. William H. Byford, of Chicago, and lecturer in the Women's Medical College, and since her marriage has maintained an office for consultation in the city of Grand Rapids. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Wanty: Helen, aged nine; and Thomas Cooley, aged seven. Mr. Wanty's mother is also a member of his household. UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 345 THOMAS J. O'BRIEN, Grand Rapids. Mr. O'Brien was born in Jack- son, Michigan, July 30, 1842. His father, Timothy O'Brien, was a native of Dunmanway, County Cork, Ireland, who early in life went to London where he married Elizabeth Lander, of Tipperary, Ireland, and they moved to Jackson, Michigan, in 1837. He passed his boyhood on his father's farm, but at seventeen he left home in quest of an education. After a course at the high school in Marshall, and preparation as a student in the law office of J. C. Fitz Gerald, he entered the University Law School at Ann Arbor, where he was admitted to the Bar in 1864. He then returned to Marshall, forming with his former preceptor the firm of Fitz Gerald & O'Brien, which continued until he was invited by D. Darwin Hughes to remove to Grand Rapids. The firm of Hughes & O'Brien was formed in 1871, and this firm, and that of Hughes, O'Brien & Smiley continued until just before the death of Mr. Hughes in 1883. The firm was engaged in nearly every important case in Western Michigan during its existence, as a glance at the cases reported in the reports of the Michigan Supreme Court, the United States Circuit Court, and the United States Supreme Court will show. Mr. Hughes was the general counsel and Mr. O'Brien the assistant general counsel of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company; but in addition to the legal work of this company, their practice covered every department of the law, and the firm was conceded to be one of the strongest in the State. The work of Mr. O'Brien was largely that of counsellor and, although he often took an active part in the trial of causes, his judgment in directing clients out of their difficulties and manag- ing their affairs so that they avoided the entanglements of the law was most valuable. In those causes where he did not appear in court his thoughtful and thorough preparation of both the law and the facts was an apparent and important factor in the firm's success. When Mr. Hughes died Mr. O'Brien succeeded him as general counsel of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company, which position he still holds. The duties of this posi- tion, however, have never taken him out of the general practice, and he tries, especially in the appellate courts, many of the most important cases arising in the Western part of the State. Mr. O'Brien has had many tempting offers to leave the general practice of the law, but no pecuniary emoluments could attract him from his first ambition, to live the life of an active and studious lawyer. He has never sought public office, and although he was nominated for Justice of the Supreme Court in 1883, it was done without solicitation on his part, and the defeat of the Repub- lican ticket that year kept him in the ranks of his profession, where he prefers to be. He was sent to St. Louis in 1896 as a delegate-at-large to the National Republican Convention, and was a member of the Committee to notify Mr. McKinley of his nomination. He is President of the Antrim Iron Company and of the Grand Rapids Law Library, and a director of the National City Bank, the Kent County Savings Bank, the Grand 346 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Rapids Gas Light Company, the Alabastine Company, and the Mackinac Hotel Company, and Receiver of the Grand Rapids Hydraulic Company. All of Mr. O'Brien's acquaintances are his friends and well wishers, as his genial and open manner attracts every one to him. His wife, whom he married after his removal to Grand Rapids, is the daughter of the late William Alanson Howard, a native of Vermont, who was a man of high character and a lawyer of great ability. He served six years in Congress and was one of the noteworthy members of the house. Mr. O'Brien attends the Episcopal Church and is highly esteemed in the community where he has lived for the past twenty-five years. GEORGE E. NICHOLS, Ionia. Mr. Nichols was born in Eaton county, Both Michigan, August 8, 1861, on the farm which has been the family home for more than sixty years. His parents are still living on the farm. of them are of English descent and both were born in the State of New York, his father, George W. Nichols, in 1822, his mother, Sarah Preston, in 1829. His father came to Michigan at the age of eleven and settled in Eaton county, was bred a farmer, has always been a farmer and for half a century has garnered the crops from his own farm. George attended the district schools until he was sixteen; after that a private academy or select school at Grand Ledge, four years. He took up the study of law at twenty with A. A. Ellis, in Ionia; was admitted to the Bar in 1883 after examina- tion, by Judge V. H. Smith. He first opened an office for practice at Grand Ledge, where he remained eighteen months. Receiving an appoint- ment of deputy prosecuting attorney at that time he removed to Ionia, which has remained his home continuously. From 1886 to 1892 he was associated in partnership with Judge F. D. M. Davis until the latter was elected Judge of the Circuit Court. He was associated as a partner with A. A. Ellis during the latter's second term as attorney general of the State. In January 1895 he formed a partnership with T. F. McGarry, of Grand Rapids, under the style of McGarry & Nichols, retaining at the same time his office in Ionia. The firm has offices both in Grand Rapids and Ionia and engages in general practice throughout that section of the State. Mr. Nichols gives special attention to the trial of causes and has had large experience in that line of practice. He is recognized by the profession as a skillful jury lawyer having been very successful in obtaining verdicts for his clients. He has also been engaged in numerous important cases before the Supreme Court, among which is the well known case The against Warden Parsell of the State House of Correction at Ionia. controversy arose over Parsell's right to retain the office of Warden after his party had gone out of power, and although the entire State adminis- tration was against Parsell and had the assistance of the best legal talent in the State, yet, Mr. Nichols, as counsel for Parsell, kept the Warden and BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 347 His his followers in power for months, and his skillful management of the matter received flattering comment even from those who opposed him most bitterly. It is probable that the engaging manners and popular traits in the character of Mr. Nichols have given him a larger acquaintance than most lawyers of his age. This general acquaintance has contributed much to the building up of the large business which his firm now controls. direct and straightforward methods of business commend themselves to clients so that what is secured by other means is held by fidelity and prompt attention. He has made rapid progress in the profession and at the age of thirty-five holds a position which many lawyers are unable to attain in a quarter of a century of hard work. Such a position is not attained and held without industry in the management of business and close application to the study of cases as well as the general study of law. He is a Repub- lican in politics, but has never been an office-holder. ambition, but thus far his aspirations have been toward honor and fame in his profession rather than in the lower plane of modern partisan politics. Mr. Nichols was married in 1888 to Harriet Kennedy, of Ionia. They have one son, five years old. He is not without ARTHUR R. ROOD, Grand Rapids. Arthur Raymond Rood is of English extraction. His mother, Ann Eliza Clark, was born in Michigan, although both of her parents were natives of the north of England. His father, Henry C. Rood, was born in Vermont and descended from ances- tors who emigrated from England and settled in Vermont before the Ameri- can Revolution. Henry C. Rood was brought to Michigan by his parents when only six years of age, and became one of the pioneer farmers of Lapeer county. He is living in Lapeer at the present time. Arthur Ray- mond was born at Lapeer September 27, 1858. He worked on his father's farm in youth and attended the district school in season until thirteen years old. He then entered the high school at Lapeer, finished its course and was graduated in 1876. In the autumn of the same year he matriculated at the University of Michigan and pursued the studies of the Literary Department continuously for three years. He had by this time found it necessary to earn the money for his own personal expenses, and after teach- ing for one year he returned to the University, completed the Latin scien- tific course and was graduated in 1881 with the degree of Ph. B., and at the same time the Master's degree was conferred on him for extra work done during the course. For the first year after his graduation he was superin- tendent of the public schools at Saline. The vacations and all of the hours that could be spared from his duties as teacher were occupied with the study of law, and his proficiency was such that he was admitted to the Bar in the fall of 1882. About the same time he was admitted to the senior class of the Law Department of the University of Michigan, as his pre- 348 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. liminary studies were accepted as the equivalent of the first year's course of study; so that he was able to graduate with his class in the spring of 1883 and receive the degree, Bachelor of Laws. Immediately after gradua- tion he located at Grand Rapids and spent a short time in the law office of Hughes & Smiley. This was followed by a brief period in the office of Fred A. Maynard, and a year with Turner & Carroll. He then opened an office for himself, through the substantial assistance of Mr. Charles C. Rood, and practised alone until January, 1893, when he formed a partner- ship with Mr. Will E. Ryan. The firm of Rood & Ryan continues to do business. His practice is general, although his preference is for commer- cial law. Mr. Rood is a Republican, not only in belief, but in the support of his belief. He was chairman of the Republican City Committee in the campaign of 1896. He has never at any time held political office. He has been a Mason since 1886, and is not only proficient in Ancient Craft Masonry, but has advanced to the Thirty-second degree, and is a member of DeWitt Clinton Consistory of Grand Rapids. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is a man of active temperament and energetic, has traveled somewhat and is unmarried. HENRY F. SEVERENS, Kalamazoo. Hon. Henry F. Severens, U. S. District Judge for the Western District of Michigan, was born in Rocking- ham, Vermont, May 11, 1835. He is descended in direct line from Ser- geant Hinman, the eminent lawyer who defended Charles I of England. He attended the district school three months in a year until he was fifteen, working nine months on the farm of his father, while he prepared himself to enter Middlebury College. His father being unable to assist him at college he economized and taught school. Making good use of his time he was graduated with high honors in 1857. He began the study of law in the office of Henry E. Stoughton, U. S. district attorney for Vermont. Two years afterwards he was admitted to the Bar of Windham county by Judge Isaac Redfield, author of "Redfield on Wills," and other legal works. In 1860 Mr. Severens went to Michigan and settled at Three Rivers. Here he soon built up a good practice and was elected prosecu- ting attorney of St. Joseph county. He removed to Kalamazoo in Febru- ary, 1865, and entered into a law partnership with ex-U. S. Senator Charles E. Stuart and John M. Edwards, which continued for two years. In 1866 he was nominated for Congress by the Democrats of the Fourth Dis- trict, in opposition to Hon. Charles Upson, Republican, but was defeated, although he made a good run in a strong Republican district. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for the State Senate, and in 1877 he was a candidate for the Supreme Court of Michigan against Thomas M. Cooley. As a lawyer Judge Severens ranked among the first at the Supreme Court Bar, where his practice was large and lucrative. There is scarcely a The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago S.&. Severus UNIK OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 349 To volume of the Michigan reports which does not contain important cases argued by him. He is a forcible speaker on the hustings and a close reasoner in the courts. He is personally popular and universally esteemed as a good citizen. The foregoing is copied from Frank Leslie's Newspaper, in which it was published June 26, 1886, upon the nomination of Judge Severens. to his present position. About the same time the Detroit Journal com- mented upon his appointment as follows: "The appointment is unexcep- tionable indeed. Mr. Severens is a lawyer of ripe experience, a jurist of high attainments, a man of mature years and physical vigor, and a citizen who possesses the respect and admiration of those who know him. succeed such a judge as the late Solomon L. Withey, Judge Severens appears to be eminently fitted.” He was appointed to the judgeship by President Cleveland in the spring of 1886, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge Withey. He has since been occupied with the duties of his office. For a considerable portion of the time during the last five years he has been employed as a member of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, for which he has been selected by Judges Taft and Lurton. He makes a valuable associate member of that court and has written many of its published opinions. He has also been frequently called upon to preside in the Circuit and Districts Courts of the United States in the circuit comprising the States of Michigan, Ohio, Ken- tucky and Tennessee. He is regarded as the ideal type of a presiding judge for the Federal courts. Dignified in manner, yet courteous to all attorneys who appear before him, he commands the respect and esteem of the Bar and all others with whom he comes in contact. Off the Bench his manner is affable and deportment agreeable to all. He is a brilliant con- versationalist and fond of whist for recreation. He is a gentleman whom it is a pleasure to know and whose friendship may be esteemed as an honor. He takes great interest during vacations in superintending the reclamation of a large tract of low land in Allegan county, which he is developing and improving. He was married in July, 1858, to Miss Rhoda Ranney, of Westminster, Vermont, who belonged to an old New England family. She died in 1862, leaving no children. December 1, 1863, he was married to Mrs. Sarah Clarissa Ryan, formerly of Union Springs, New York, who is still living. They have two daughters, who have been reared and educated with care. Miss Mabel is a graduate of Smith Col- lege, Northampton, Massachusetts, and Carrie a graduate of Akeley Insti- tute, Grand Haven, Michigan. Judge Severens began life as a child under the stern rule and exacting discipline prevalent in New England; a sort of training to which may be attributed in some degree his character- istic traits of devotion to duty and persistent energy in accomplishing the purposes of his life. He has threaded the mazes of political discussion in campaigns abounding in calumny and borne a stainless shield. He has worn the ermine ten years and preserved its spotless purity. He is for- tunate in the possession of a sound system of morals and nice sense of } 350 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. right and wrong, without which neither the learning of the schools nor successful practice at the Bar will serve to make a great judge, or even a He is gifted with the urbanity which Bacon says is chief among the decorations of life. safe one. VERNON H. SMITH, Ionia. Ex-Judge Smith is the son of Ansel and Phoebe Cross Smith, both natives of New York. His father was of English descent, born in 1792 and served in the War of 1812. His parents were married in 1815. About the year 1830 they removed to Canada where they lived until 1861, and then removed to Ionia county, Michigan, mak- ing their home on a farm where they both died. Vernon H. Smith was born December 29, 1838, in Canada. He came to Michigan at the age of nineteen; three years before his parents settled there. His scholastic education was obtained wholly in the common schools of Canada. After coming to Michigan he was employed as clerk in a store for two years, then as deputy in the office of recorder of deeds for two years, and engaged in farming for three years. In 1866 he was elected register of deeds of Ionia county for a term of two years and re-elected in 1868. In the mean time he was engaged in the study of law, which was continued for two years. before his admission to the Bar, in August, 1872, by Judge Lovell. He formed a partnership immediately after his admission with Lemuel Clute, which was maintained for three years. In 1874 he was elected Circuit Court Commissioner. In 1875 and '76 he served as deputy county clerk. January 1, 1877, he formed a partnership with Henry C. Sessions under the style of Smith & Sessions, which was continued a little more than four years. In 1881 he was elected judge of the Circuit Court for the Eighth Judicial Circuit, comprising the counties of Clinton, Ionia and Montcalm. This office he held continuously for twelve years, his last term ending Jan- uary 1, 1894. On retiring from the bench he resumed the practice of law, in which he has engaged without interruption and to which he is heartily devoted. Politically Judge Smith was a Republican until 1872, when he left the party. Since that time he has been in the ranks of the Democratic party. He was married in 1865 to Miss Lizzie E. Wright of Ionia, who died in April of the following year. In January, 1869, he was married to Miss Rachel Worthington of Ionia and their family consists of three boys and one girl. The oldest son, Hal H., following the footsteps of his father, takes to the law. He was graduated from the Classical Department of the University of Michigan and afterwards spent one year in the Law School of the University. He is now in the law office of his father, reading and studying under his instructions. The second son, Arthur M., is a student in the University of Michigan. Lawrence, who is fourteen years of age, is a member of the Ionia high school. The daughter, Jessie, at the age of twelve, is in the public school. Judge Smith was obliged to make UNIV OF M N The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago Анам BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 351 his own way from boyhood. Having been trained to respect truth and righteousness and to practise whatsoever things make for honesty and integrity he builded a character for himself that is strong and above reproach. He became self-reliant at an early age which aided him in being reliable in his professions and relations to others. In his studies he aimed to master the principles of the law, so that afterwards the construction of statutes and their application to given causes were comparatively easy. He is a fluent speaker, ready because of his thorough understanding of the subject on which he discourses. He is clear in statement, able and for- cible in the presentation of his subject; plain, concise and perspicuous in argument. In all respects he is an able lawyer. His service as judge was entirely successful in the disposition of business and entirely honorable to himself. His integrity, always unimpeachable, was fortified by a judicial temperament. He had the perfect confidence of the Bar. There never was a doubt of the rectitude of his purpose or the shadow of a suspicion that he could be otherwise than just. His intentions were never questioned, his motives never impugned and his rulings will compare favorably with those of any Circuit Judge in Michigan. As a citizen he is public-spirited, generous and popular wherever he is personally known. In his home are the evidences of culture as well as kindness. His virtues as husband and father commend him no less than his uprightness as a judge. ALEXANDER F. BELL, late of Ionia. Mr. Bell was born in Charlton, Saratoga county, New York, August 5, 1812, and inherited from his parents, James and Anna Bell, many of the best traits of Scottish char- acter. He was given the best training that the times afforded, and was graduated from Union College in 1836. As soon as he had finished his college course he came west and settled in Michigan, where a friend of his, Adam L. Roof, was already engaged in practising law at Lyons. Here Mr. Bell read and studied under the direction of his friend, and was admitted to the Bar in 1840. He opened an office in Ionia and at once entered upon a very good practice. His home was in Ionia until the day of his death, though he was absent for brief periods in Detroit and Grand Rapids. It was the time of young men in the State, and Mr. Bell's exceptional ability was quickly perceived and utilized for public purposes. In 1846 he was a member of the General Assembly. and in 1853 he was appointed register of the land office at Ionia. He was a strong man in the General Assembly and left his impress upon the organic law of the State. He was a good surveyor and his services were in much demand in that capacity for some time. In 1850 the firm of Bell & Blanchard was formed and continued for many years. Mr. Bell quickly became one of the lead- ing spirits of central Michigan. He appeared before the courts in many difficult cases and was much esteemed by all who associated with him. • 352 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Judge Whipple, at one time a member of the Supreme Court, said of him : "He has one of the best legal minds in the State. In the discussion of questions, and in the preparation of cases for trial he has few equals. Before a jury he underrates his own powers. But in the discussion of cases before the court he has more confidence and performs his part with remarkable clearness and ability." Such worth and efficiency tempered by a native modesty, attracted the admiration of the community. He became an active and busy man who was much sought after by commer- cial interests. He did criminal business, but gladly turned from it to civil practice, and in certain lines of that great department of jurisprudence was almost without a peer. He shaped railroad legislation very largely to his own liking and was recognized as authority in municipal and corporation law. He illustrates the large success in his professional career that comes to a natural genius for law and has received the training of the schools, reinforced by constant reading and deep study. He was a hard worker, and put his best into every labor of head or hand. He had the genius of patience and persistence. Mr. Bell was public spirited and deeply inter- ested in every movement that looked towards the public good. Churches, schools and reformatory institutions found in him a warm friend, and he was quite as ready to help on the construction of railroads, the erection of better public buildings, and the establishment of factories. He was mainly identified with the Democratic party, but placed patriotic considerations above party loyalty, and was an independent, public-spirited citizen. Personally he was a man of strongly-marked individuality. His friend- ships and antipathies were both pronounced. He spoke what was in his heart and his very frankness and sincerity won friends. His presence was impressive. He was of average height, stoutly built, clear cut features and a most expressive mouth. He had an incisive wit and a judgment that often seemed intuitive. So earnest a personality naturally led, and he became one of the leading spirits of central Michigan. It is difficult to study the early annals of the State without running across his name in the records of many an important interest and undertaking. His career, covering more than half a century of the most critical period of the west, was rich in scenes and incidents that would fitly form a part of a more pretentious history, but can hardly be suggested in the limits of these pages. It would be difficult to find a public career so open to observation, and less deserving of severe censure. He lived open and square with the world and left the reputation of an honest man and an upright citizen, and as such will long be remembered. In September, 1839, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Boyer, of Portland, and found in her a companion in every way worthy. She was a woman of many gifts and graces, and was herself an important member of the community. They were the parents of seven children, of whom two, are now living. Mr. Bell was stricken with paralysis in 1893, and lingered a hopeless invalid until March 12, 1896, when he passed away in his eighty-fourth year. At a meeting of the Ionia BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, 353 county Bar his career was fitly commemorated and resolutions of respect and sympathy adopted. A large portrait of him was secured and hung on the walls of the court room that has so often re-echoed his impassioned pleadings; and the new generation of lawyers stand and look upon it, and say "There were giants in those days." JOHN B. CHADDOCK, Ionia. John Benjamin Chaddock was born in Westphalia, Clinton county, Michigan, October 19, 1863. His father, Dr. William H. Chaddock, was a native of Niagara county, New York, and of Dutch extraction, descended from the Hollanders, who were the earliest settlers of New York. His mother, Eliza Benjamin, was of Eng- lish descent, and also a native of New York. His parents were married in the State of New York in 1855, came to Michigan the following year, and settled in Clinton county. His father studied medicine in Buffalo, New York, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and during all the subsequent years of his life was engaged in practice in Ionia and Clinton counties. John B. attended the village school at Pewamo until he was seventeen years of age and then spent five years in Olivet College, beginning in 1881. From early boyhood he was gifted as a speaker, and in 1884 he won the Drury prize for oratory over ten competitors. After leaving college he spent a year in the law office of Frank A. Dean at Charlotte. Owing to his father's death in 1887 he was obliged to return home and take care of the estate and his mother, until the death of the latter in 1888. He then entered the Law School of the University of Michigan and took the full course from which he was graduated in 1890 with the degree LL.B. This class was the first in the university to select the class orator by a competi- tive test, and Mr. Chaddock won the honor in competition with fourteen others. He was admitted to the Bar in June, 1890, by Judge Kinne. In December of the same year he was appointed a delegate to attend a con- gress of the Greek fraternity, of which he was a member, Alpha Tau Omega, held in Richmond, Virginia. He was chosen the orator of the fraternity on this occasion. In 1891 he spent a few months in the law office of Davis & Nichols, Ionia, after which he formed a partnership with James Scully, which is still continued under the style of Chaddock & Scully. The firm is engaged in general practice, having cases in all of the State Courts. Mr. Chaddock, although young and barely on the threshold of his profession, has made an excellent reputation. He has studied with much care the principles of jurisprudence, and has been able to become familiar with treatises on practice in its various forms, and with the stand- ard commentaries and works on pleading. His remarkable natural gift of oratory gives him a great advantage over the average practitioner of his age in the presentation of a case to the jury. His eloquence does not consist merely in a flow of words, but words aptly chosen to express fresh, bright 23 354 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. and valuable ideas. His discourse is luminous with thought. He is a cultivated rhetorician, and does not depend upon the inspiration of the moment for the words which he is to speak. He knows in advance what he is going to say, selects his words carefully from a large vocabulary, studies his exordiums, his climaxes, his perorations; not with a view to the immediate effect upon an audience alone, but in order that he may have a perfect composition, a methodical, well-rounded, complete address. Although the court has ceased to be a theater of popular entertainment, drawing a crowd far and near to hear every speech made to a jury, yet the eloquent advocate still draws and his arguments are perforce addressed to the public as well as the jury. There is a peculiar, subtle charm in natu- ral oratory which draws and entertains. None realizes the power of gen- uine eloquence in an advocate more than his prosaic opponent in pre- senting an argument to the jury. The persuasive speech delivered in carefully modulated tones, enforced with timely gesture, suiting the action to the word and the word to the action, is sometimes more effective with the average jury than a recapitulation of the evidence dished up in dull monotone. Pure diction as employed by the true orator is not without its uses in presenting an argument to a court, and it happens not infre- quently that the spoken discourse is quite as influential as the written brief. Even logic is improved by eloquence, and purity of diction aids in commending the law to the court. Mr. Chaddock is a Republican who lends his influence and activity to the party in the times of campaign. In 1892 he was elected Circuit Court Commissioner. In 1894 he was elected mayor of the city. Should he consecrate his talents unreservedly to the law as his only mistress and not flirt with the political enchantress he will certainly rise in the profession. It is possible, however, that he may con- clude to enter public life through some political gateway. A lawyer should have the fullest possible knowledge of men and things, and there. is no school on earth in which he can acquire such a knowledge of both He was as the primary school of politics. He is a Royal Arch Mason. married in October, 1895, to Isolene Vosper, of Ionia. JAMES A. PARKINSON, Jackson. Mr. Parkinson was born on a farm in Concord Township, Jackson county, Michigan, September 26, 1846. Life on a farm and attendance at country schools continued until he was seventeen years old, when he went to Albion College to begin preparation for his life work. He remained at Albion for six years, and during all these years he kept steadily in view his principal object in life, for which this college course was a preliminary preparation. At twenty-three he graduated and was at once chosen as principal of the Albion union school. He held this position one year, when he entered the law office of Gibson He & Wolcott, at Jackson, for the purpose of continuing his law studies. The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago A. Parkinson UNIV OF WICH 4 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 355 ק remained with the firm one year, rendering assistance by clerical work, and was admitted to the Bar in February, 1872. He began practice for him- self at once, located at Elk Rapids, where he remained for two years in partnership with F. R. Williams. During the first year of practice he was elected judge of probate of Antrim county, which office he held for two years. In 1874 he returned to Jackson and established himself perma- nently in the profession of that community, where he has since remained. Following are some of the important cases in the higher courts, with which he has been connected: Hitchcock vs. Pratt, 51 Mich. 263, was the first case in Michigan in which a recovery of treble damages from a tenant unlawfully holding over was sustained. Crittenden vs. Phoenix Mutual Life Ins. Co. 41 Mich. 442, was a case involving the question as to whether a gift of the life insurance policy had been consummated by delivery. Burrall vs. Bender, 61 Mich. 608, involving questions of dower. Sweetzer vs. Higby, 63 Mich. 13, involving questions concerning assign- ments for the benefit of creditors and whether securities given before executing the assignment, are preferences. Needham vs. King, 95 Mich. 303, involving a recovery for damages caused by setting fire negligently, are among the cases of importance and raising new questions, in which Mr. Parkinson's contentions were sustained. Several cases in the Supreme Court in behalf of the Michigan Central Railroad Company may be men- tioned. The Michigan Central Railroad Company vs. Hunn, 78 Mich. 513, against Grand, 83 Mich. 564, against Fehnrich, 87 Mich. 606, against Brennan, 93 Mich. 156; against Wilson, 94 Mich. 20. His firm also acted successfully for the defendant townships in the United States Supreme Court, in the case of Young vs. The Township of Clarendon and the Michigan Air Line Railroad, in which an attempt was made to enforce railroad aid bonds, and which cases involved directly and indirectly some millions of dollars. Mr. Parkinson is a Democrat, but has little taste for political discussions, although he takes a more or less active interest in local affairs. He served as prosecuting attorney of Jackson county for two years, from 1877 to 1879, and for four years, from 1888 to 1892, and as city attorney of Jackson for two years thereafter. He is and has been for years the local attorney for the Michigan Central Railroad Company and is attorney for various other corporations whose headquarters are at Jack- son. He is a member of the order of Free and Accepted Masons and Knights of Pythias. He was married in Jackson in 1880 to Miss Isabelle Quinn. They have two children, James A., Jr., aged fifteen, and Helen, aged thirteen. 356 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. WILLIAM S. COBB, Jackson. The subject of this sketch laid the foundation of his career in the public school of a country district in Jack- son County, Michigan, putting in the time between terms at work on his father's farm. He was born August 9, 1859. He had higher ambitions than he saw any means of gratifying while tilling the soil, and believing in his ability to succeed in a profession, he chose the law. In this decision his father concurred and encouraged him to persevere. At eighteen years of age he entered high school at Napoleon, graduating three years later, when he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan. He was graduated from that institution in 1882, and in the spring of the same year was admitted to the Bar. He came to Jackson and entered the office of Erastus Peck, now Circuit Judge, where he remained for one year. He then engaged with Hammond & Barkworth on a salary for one year, when he was taken into the firm, changing the title to Hammond, Barkworth & Cobb. This relation continued until Mr. Hammond was elected judge of probate and retired from the firm, when the business was continued by the two junior partners, under the style of Barkworth & Cobb. This firm was dissolved in 1891, and Mr. Cobb shortly after formed a copartnership with Mr. Thomas A. Wilson, under the style of Wilson & Cobb, as it exists at the present time. The firm has a general practice in the State and Federal Courts. Mr. Cobb came to Jackson without money, influence or friends, and has carved out for himself a place that might be envied by older men. He has built up a good practice and gained the reputation of a good law- yer. He was elected Circuit Court Commissioner for a term of two years. from 1884 to 1886. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat, but has never been an applicant for office. He has served as chairman of political committees at various times. He is a member of the Unitarian Church. NATHAN H. BRIGGS, Battle Creek. Nathan Harrison Briggs was born at Sturgis, Michigan, August 16, 1848. His father, Nathan Har- rison Briggs, was born and reared in the State of New York, came from Livonia to Sturgis, St. Joseph county, Michigan, where he settled in 1837, as a merchant. His mother was Hannah Carpenter, also a native of New York. As a boy he worked on the farm during the summer and attended country schools in winter until fifteen years of age. He then entered the high school at Battle Creek where he studied the higher branches for some years. After leaving the high school he was engaged as clerk in the store of his brother at Grand Rapids, in 1865, and a por- tion of the following year. During this time he had engaged to some extent in reading the text books of law, which had been determined upon as his profession. This preliminary reading enabled him to complete the course in the law school of the University of Michigan in a single year. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 357 He entered the University in 1866 and was graduated from the Law Department in June, 1867. His further reading was taken up in the office of Joseph G. Lodge, who subsequently removed to St. Louis and gained prominence there as a criminal lawyer. His reading was continued in the office and under the instruction of Philip H. Emerson, whose partner he became soon after admission to the Bar at Battle Creek in June, 1871. The partnership between himself and Mr. Emerson was continued until 1874, when Judge Emerson removed to Utah on account of his appoint- ment to the office of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the terri- tory. Mr. Briggs continued in the practice at Battle Creek alone until 1879, when he accepted the position of assistant general superintendent and general counselor of the Sioux City and Dakota railroad. He performed the duties of this dual position for two years and until the road with which he was connected was sold to the C. M. & St. P. railway and consolidated with that system. He then returned to Battle Creek and continued the practice alone until 1883, when he formed a partnership with O. S. Clark, under the firm name of Briggs & Clark. This association was continued until 1890. He was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, January 25, 1887. During all the years that Mr. Briggs has been connected with the Bar he has engaged in a general practice, embracing both civil and criminal cases. He has not confined himself to a specialty or to any particular branch of the law. Among the most note- worthy and important cases with which he has been connected was that of the People vs. Nye. Another was the contest brought to set aside the will of Thomas G. Duncan. In this case he was associated with Ashley Pond, of Detroit, and the late David Darwin Hughes, of Grand Rapids, both of them able and eminent in the profession. Mr. Briggs has made his own position at the Bar, starting without the advantage of a classical education and with no influence but his character, correct habits and close application to study, he has advanced to a position of-honor and influence in his profession. He is a Republican by conviction and practice. The only offices which he has held are strictly in the line of his professional work. He held the office of assistant United States district attorney of Utah, which he resigned to accept a more lucrative position with the Sioux City and Dakota railway. He was appointed city attorney of Battle Creek in 1882 and discharged the duties of the office in a very satisfactory manner, proving his ability to advise properly or protect the interests of the corporation by litigation in the courts. 358 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. CHARLES A. BLAIR, Jackson. Charles A. Blair, practising attorney of the city of Jackson, was born in that town April 10, 1854. He was the second son of Gov. Austin Blair and Sarah L. Blair. The rudiments of his education were obtained in the district schools and his higher education in the University of Michigan. He entered the Literary Department, pursued the regular classical course, from which he was graduated in June, 1876. He was a student and a scholar. His proficiency was recognized by the faculty otherwise than by conferring the usual degree in course. Mr. Blair received in addition to the regular diploma, special diplomas for proficiency in Latin and Greek. He was also chosen by the faculty as one of the orators at commencement, when his class was graduated. Thus thoroughly equipped by a literary and classical education he began the study of law in the office of his father and under the latter's instruction. After a course which embraced the leading text books and extended over a period of two years he was admitted to practice, September 5, 1878. He was associated in the practice with ex-Governor Blair, but very early exhibited the ability essential to stand alone. In 1882 he was appointed city attorney. In 1885 he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney for Jackson County. In 1895 he was appointed prosecuting attorney by Governor Rich. Mr. Blair has given his mind and time exclusively to the study and practice of law. He has not at any time sought political office. Indeed, he has manifested none of the taste for public affairs which was so conspicuous in the character of his illustrious father. His aim has been, and is, to acquire as broad and practical a knowledge of professional work as may be possible under the conditions which surround him. The fame which he courts is that of a successful lawyer. By indus- try, perseverance, careful attention to the interests of clients, he has already succeeded in building up a large practice in Jackson and adjoining counties. He has also had many important cases in the Supreme Court of the State. He is a gentleman of undoubted personal honesty as well as professional integrity. His loyalty to a client will lead him to make any needful sacrifice of time and exhaust the resources employed in honorable practice to protect his interests or secure his rights. He will not go beyond the means recognized by high-minded members of the Bar as hon- orable and praiseworthy, even though such action might secure a tempor- ary advantage. The tricks of the pettifogger are not resorted to on any occasion. He therefore stands well with the courts in which his practice is found and among his professional brethren. Mr. Blair was married in October, 1879, to Miss Effie C. North, a lady of marked musical ability and prominent in the social and musical circles of the city. The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Char. A. Blair UNIV OF ICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 359 JOEL C. HOPKINS, Battle Creek. Joel Chandler Hopkins is one of the He is a native prominent and capable younger lawyers of Battle Creek. In of this State, having been born in Kalamazoo county. His father, Robert Hopkins, was a native of Cayuga county, New York, and was brought to Michigan by his parents when a mere child. They made their home in Kalamazoo county, where they settled on a farm, and where young Robert grew to manhood. He followed farming all his life, and died in the year 1866. Henry Hopkins, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and made his home near Auburn, New York, in the earlier years of his life. The family is of Scotch ancestry, but the lineage cannot be exactly traced. Martha Chandler, the mother of our subject, was a native of Michigan, her father having formerly lived in Vermont. Mr. Hopkins had, as a boy, rather superior educational advantages, having graduated from the Battle Creek high school in 1880. He then spent two years in the University of Michigan, dividing his time between the Law and Literary Departments. His law studies were con- tinued in the office of Brown & Thomas at Battle Creek. Here he passed his examinations, and was admitted to the Bar in December, 1884. August of the next year, he formed a partnership with W. A. Crosby, under the firm name of Hopkins & Crosby, which continued for two years. After the dissolution of this partnership he has not seen fit to form another, preferring rather to carry on an extensive and growing business alone. He engages in a general law practice but has won a high standing as an office attorney, being especially successful in advising and consulta- tion. His business ability and knowledge of commercial law has brought him into intimate relation with several extensive financial and commercial enterprises of the city of Battle Creek. Until very recently he was secre- tary of the Citizens' Electric Company of Battle Creek, an institution established in 1892, which has also commanded his services from the beginning as its attorney. He is attorney for the Home Savings and Loan Company; his services are employed by several large estates as trustee, and for two years he has been a member of the city council. always been a Democrat, but has only taken office reluctantly, when con- vinced that it was a duty for him to serve his community in this or that official capacity. He was recently appointed by Judge Swan, of Detroit, to act as Commissioner of the United States Court for the Eastern Dis- trict of Michigan, and he has been for several years the local representa- tive of the mercantile agency of R. G. Dun & Co. Mr. Hopkins is an affable Those man, of easy address, making friends readily and holding them. who know him best are the most attached to him, and testify both as to the painstaking character of all his work, and the completeness with which he masters all its details. In October, 1887, he was married to Miss Belle A. Crosby, daughter of Peter Crosby, of Battle Creek They have no children. He has 360 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. CHARLES E. TOWNSEND, Jackson. Charles Elroy Townsend is the son of James W. and Eunice S. (Parmeter) Townsend. His father was a native of New York State, although his ancestors first settled in New Jersey. He followed farming during his life, first in the State of New York and then in Michigan, to which State he removed in 1834 and settled in Concord. His mother was also a native of New York, but came to Michigan with her father's family and settled in Jackson county in 1835. The Parmeters were Puritans, who settled early in New England. Charles E. Townsend was born at Concord, Jackson county, Michigan, August 15, 1856. He passed through the public schools of his native town and the high school at Jackson, from which he was graduated in 1877. In the fall of that year he entered the Literary Department of the Uni- versity of Michigan, where he remained one year. The limitations of his purse forbade the further expenditure of time and money on a college education at that time; so he quitted the University and engaged in teaching school. It was his intention to return and finish the literary course in the University, but the death of his elder brother occasioned the abandonment of his intention and a revision of his plans. His father was so deeply in debt that he deemed it his duty to render whatever financial assistance he could, and to that end he continued teaching. After fifteen months in the district school he secured the position of principal of public schools at Parma, which he retained for six years with unvarying success. On the seventh year the school board released him with reluctance, because of his election to the office of register of deeds of Jackson county. This first election was in 1886, and he has been re-elected four times. The term to which he was last elected expired December 31, 1896. While engaged in teaching Mr. Townsend took up the study of law, which he continued as the duties of his office permitted until 1895, when he passed the required examination and was admitted to the Bar. Up to the present time he has had little opportunity to engage in general practice, on account of his official duties. His acquirements in the law and his abilities have been recognized by individuals and corporations. The Jackson, Cincinnati and Mackinaw Railway Company has tendered him the position of attorney at Jackson, to be accepted on his retirement from office. His general reading, literary culture, experience in teaching, and in public business make up a preparation for the active business of a practitioner equivalent to several years of actual practice. His knowledge of men and affairs and the maturity of his mind enable him to grasp at once and appropriate to practical use matters which would require several years for a very young man to master. These conditions and qualifications have been recognized by the offer of a partnership with two of the established and successful attorneys of Jackson. On the first of January, 1897, a partnership, con- sisting of Chas. A. Blair, Chas. H. Smith and Chas. E. Townsend was consummated. Mr. Townsend is a Mason, a Knight Templar and a mem- The Contury Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Chas Chemmend. UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 361 ber of Jackson Commandery No. 9, of which he has been Eminent Com- mander for two years. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine, Moslem Temple, of Detroit, and is affiliated with the various subordinate divisions of the Masonic fraternity. He is connected with the lodges of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Royal Arcanum. He has always been a Republican, active and earnest in the support of his party, interested and well informed in politics. In 1880 he was married to Miss Rena Pad- dock, daughter of Robert Paddock, of Concord, Michigan. They have no children. Mr. Townsend is a gentleman of uncompromising integrity and estimable qualities. His personal popularity is sufficiently evidenced by the years of his principalship of schools and his numerous re-elections to office. All of the elements and qualities that command respect and admiration are found in the personality of Charles E. Townsend, so that he is probably the most popular man in Jackson county-certainly the most popular among the young men. His habits are most exemplary and he has the undoubted confidence of the community. As a public speaker he is both persuasive and forcible. His style is remarkable for the blend- ing of enthusiasm and logic. As a political orator he has few superiors in the State. He is cultured, intelligent and well read—a genial, whole- souled gentleman. Should he not peremptorily decline political office, the Republicans of Jackson county only await the opportunity to promote his ambition. He has already given evidence of possessing the mental qualities which will achieve professional distinction if his highest aspirations lead him only in that way, and his best abilities are consecrated to the practice of law. LYMAN D. NORRIS, deceased. Hon. Lyman Decatur Norris was born in Covington, Genesee county, New York, May 4, 1823, and died at his home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, January 6, 1894. During his three score and ten years he accomplished much for himself and the State in which his adult life was passed. His was a frank, honest, sincere, manly life, known and honored by all persons with whom he came in contact. He was of English and Welsh descent. The ancestors of his father had come from England and settled first at Hampton, New Hampshire in 1663. His mother's grandfather emigrated from Wales and settled on Long Island in 1700. His grandfather Norris was an early resident of Vermont and his father, Mark Norris, left the Vermont home and settled in New York State in 1820, where he married Roccena Vail, a woman of rare intellec- tual and social qualities, and beautiful christian life. Mark Norris emigrated to the territory of Michigan with his young family in 1827 and settled on the present site of the city of Ypsilanti. He had inherited integrity of character, an enterprising spirit and remarkable energy. He erected the first mills in the Territory of Michigan for the manufacture of woolen cloth, 362 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. stocked them with the best modern machinery, which was propelled by water power. His business was successful and of incalculable value in the pioneer settlement which his enterprise built up. His manufactory furnished employment to labor and brought comfort to the homes of many skilled and unskilled laborers. His means were employed in building and pro- moting the material interests of the town which he founded; his patronage of the church and the school gave an impetus to the moral and educational forces of the community. He was a most liberal contributor to the Normal School, to the Presbyterian Church and such other public buildings as were designed to promote the general welfare. He was indeed the most potent instrumentality employed in founding what has become a thrifty and prosperous city. Lyman Decatur Norris was the only son of Mark and Roccena Vail Norris. Coming in to this frontier settlement as a child of four years he grew up under the refining and pure influences of an intelligent christian home in a neighborhood where there was of necessity much that was crude and new; in which the advantages of culture and instruction in the home were strong enough to impress and guide the young life and develop in it the highest and noblest faculties, overcoming the obstacles and influences which tend to retard intellectual development and moral growth. He was trained early in the schools of Ypsilanti and was prepared for college in a Presbyterian institution at Marshall, which had appropriated to itself the name of "Michigan College." Michigan College." He was the first student entered in the first class of the University of Michigan, when that institution was opened in 1841. His time was so well occupied in the University and his studies were pursued there with such diligence that he was chosen by the faculty, after a competitive examination, for the purpose' of comparing the standard of instruction in the University of Michigan with that of the great eastern colleges founded one hundred and fifty years before. The selection was made in the third term of the junior year and he entered the same class at Yale with the same standing he had at the home university, was graduated with the class of 1845 in time to attend the graduating exercises of his old class at Ann Arbor. He received a double degree, which made him an alumnus of Yale and of the University of Michigan. After the conclusion of his literary course he entered upon the study of law in the office of Alexander D. Fraser, of Detroit, and was admitted to the Bar in the spring of 1847, after a close examination by the judges of the Supreme Court. Few young men are so admirably equipped as was Mr. Norris upon entering the profession of law. His scholarship was of the highest order, his mind well trained, his abilities first class and all his powers rendered available by the discipline of study and self-control. In 1848 he removed to St. Louis to engage in the prac- tice of law. Two years later he visited Europe on legal business and remained long enough to attend a course of lectures on civil law at Heidel- berg. When he had been a practitioner at the Bar only five years he was retained as counsel for the Emerson estate, in the case brought against the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 363 estate by Dred Scott, a slave who sued for his freedom. He was success- ful in the management of the case for his client in the Supreme Court of Missouri. The name of Dred Scott was perpetuated in a subsequent proceeding appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States and decided by Chief Justice Taney. Mr. Norris became a journalist in St. Louis as editor and part owner of the St. Louis Times, at that time the leading Democratic newspaper of the Mississippi Valley, which he con- ducted during the Scott-Pierce campaign. He was a strong editorial writer whose information on political subjects was accurate. In 1854 he was recalled to Ypsilanti on account of the failing health of his father, and remained there for seventeen years, engaged in the practice of law and in managing the business of his father's estate. In 1871 he removed to Grand Rapids and formed a partnership with James Blair, under the style of Norris & Blair. Shortly afterwards Mr. Kingsley was admitted to the firm, which became Norris, Blair and Kingsley, and still later, Norris, Blair & Stone. For a period of twelve years beginning in 1875 he was associated in partnership with Hon. Edwin F. Uhl, late assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury and now Ambassador of the United States at the court of Germany. During his whole life he was in the best sense of the term an active politician. In 1869 he was elected State Senator, as the Democratic candidate in a district having a Republican majority. His competitor was Hon. J. Webster Childs, with whom a joint canvass of the district was made, introducing the practice of joint discussion of political issues by opposing candidates. The two men traveled together, each entertaining the other as a guest in the town where he lived and passing through the campaign without the slightest disturbance of their friendly relations. In the Senate he was more patriot than partisan and his influence secured for the nominees of the majority the united support of his few colleagues constituting the minority. Through his instrumentality the geological survey of the Northern Peninsula was resumed, with a liberal appropriation from the State treasury to carry on the work. His influence was exerted against the proposition authorizing towns of the State to vote aid to railroads, although it was powerless to prevent the passage of an act by which bonded debts aggregating six million dollars were incurred and which fortunately was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In 1875 Mr. Norris was the nominee of his party for Justice of the Supreme Court, but was defeated in common with the remainder of his ticket. He was a popular orator and frequently called upon for public addresses. He delivered the commencement address before the Law School of the Univer- sity of Michigan in 1882, when his son Mark was a member of the graduating class. This son became his law partner in 1887 and the firm of Norris & Norris then formed was dissolved only by the death of the senior member. The business of the firm was large and profitable. In 1883 he was appointed by the Governor one of the regents of the University of Michigan and discharged the duties of the trust with unusual intelligence. At the time 364 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. of his death he was a member of the board of visitors of the University. He was alternate commissioner for the State to the World's Columbian Exposition and was able to attend the sessions of the commission the week following the opening. Impaired health and severe illness prevented further attendance, although he lived until the following January. He was married November 22, 1854 to Miss Lucy Alsop, daughter of Gen. Chauncey Whittelsey, of Middletown, Connecticut, and a direct descendant of John Cotton, who came to America in 1632. She was the great-granddaughter of Major General Artemus Ward, who commanded the Revolutionary forces at Boston until General Washington became commander-in-chief. Mr. Norris loved his home and was devoted to his family. He had one son and two daughters. One of the latter is Dr. Maria W. Norris. No more fitting testimonial to the life of a good man, great in his profession and loved in the community, can be added than that of the Bar of his county. The following is quoted from the memorial adopted on the occasion of this death: "His knowledge of the law was based upon a thorough knowledge of its principles, and was embellished by an exceptional scholastic training. He gained, too, a wide knowledge of men through varied experiences, and because of his ardent love of reading, marked powers of perception, quick mental analysis and great intellectual force, was a lawyer fitted to an unusual degree to grasp clearly and deal decisively with questions of the present, while none among us was as familiar with the past both as respects the history of the law and its enduring foundations. In his daily walk among us he was a man of marked dignity and impressive bearing. He was never a seeker for other men's praises, but those with whom his life brought him in frequent contact knew him as a sincere gentleman, generous of heart, and of ever present kindness." When the memorial was presented to the Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Montgomery on behalf of that court said, among other things: "The accomplishments, the strength of character, the sterling worth and manly dignity of Mr. Norris are fittingly portrayed in the memorial of the Kent county Bar, which is, in my judgment, as correct an analysis of his character and life as could be embodied if a volume were written. Mr. Norris was not only a great lawyer and a scholar of unusual attainments, but he was a man of marked character and a most kindly and generous temperament to those who knew him well. He had none of the arts of a demagogue. He seemed to care little for popular favor. His course of life was not marked out with a view of keeping in the current of public approval, but he did value the friendship of his associates at the Bar, and above all, the esteem, respect and devotion of his family. His relations with the members of his family were the closest and most confidential. believe it can be truly said of him that there was nothing in his daily walk or conversation which he ought to conceal from his wife or children, and that there was not the slightest of the incidents of their daily life which did not enlist his care and sympathy. Apart from his professional success which will be an inspiration to many of the younger members of the Bar who have been brought up under the influence of his example, this world will be better that Lyman D. Norris has lived, for the impress that his personal character has made and will leave upon the community where it has been felt." I The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago Lyman D. Norris, The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago Mark Hom's. UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 365 + MARK NORRIS, Grand Rapids. Mark Norris was the son of the late Lyman D. Norris and Lucy Whittelsey. He was born July 28, 1857, at Ypsilanti; educated in the schools of his native town and at De Veaux College, Suspension Bridge, New York, where he was prepared for the university course. At this school he was each year of his attendance awarded the college gold medal for high standing in general scholarship. Upon completing the literary course in the University of Michigan, he was graduated with the class of 1879, after which he took the complete course in the Law Department of the University and was graduated with the class of 1882. Without delay he entered upon the practice of the law at Grand Rapids in the office of his father. After three years of experi- ence he was admitted to a partnership in the firm of Norris & Uhl, in 1885. Two years later, upon the dissolution of the firm and the retirement of Mr. Uhl therefrom, he continued in partnership with his father in the firm of Norris & Norris until it was dissolved by the death of the senior partner in January, 1894. Since that time he has continued the practice alone. Although doing a general law business, his specialty in the practice is liti- gation of insurance cases. He has made a special study of that class of cases, and has tried more of them than any other lawyer of his years now practising at the Michigan Bar. He is not only an expert in the manage- ment of all litigation growing out of fire insurance, but is regarded as authority on the laws pertaining to such matters. He is a close student, working assiduously and going through all of the evidence bearing upon a case, and examining all the authorities with scrupulous care. In argument of the law questions involved in any case he is clear and forcible. In 1895 the Legislature abolished the old system of admitting lawyers to practice by the Circuit Courts and made provision for the examination of applicants by a State board of examiners selected for the purpose by the Supreme Court. Under the present system every candidate for admission must pass the examination of this board or have a diploma from the Law School of the University of Michigan. The first board of examiners under this law commissioned by the governor was George H. Durand, president;. Floyd R. Meacham, two years; Phillip T. Van Zile, three years; Mark Norris, secretary of the board, four years; R. C. Ostrander, five years. Both of the law schools of the State are represented, Floyd R. Meacham for the University of Michigan, and Judge Van Zile for Detroit College of Law. Under the law the nomination of the members of this commission is by the Supreme Court of the State, and Mark Norris was chosen for the term of four years and commissioned by Governor Rich August 30, 1895. Politically Mr. Norris is a Democrat, by inheritance and choice. He is not a politician, preferring to devote his time and energies to his profession. In the campaign of 1896, as an advocate of sound money, he allied him- self with the National Democrats. He is treasurer of the Law Library of Grand Rapids, is literary in his tastes and gives considerable time to gen- 366 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. eral reading. September 3, 1885, he married Cornella Abbott, daughter of Larmon W. Abbott, a clergyman of Ridgefield, Connecticut. Three children born of this marriage are: Margaret, aged nine; Abbott, seven; Cornella, three. William James Stuart, a WILLIAM J. STUART, Grand Rapids. member of the Grand Rapids Bar, was born in Barry county, Michigan, November 1, 1844. His early education was received in the common schools of his native county, which he attended during the winters until he was fifteen years old. In the meantime pursuing the uneventful life of a farmer's son during the remaining portion of the year. At fifteen he entered the public schools of Hastings, and later on the high school at Kalamazoo. He was graduated from the latter in 1863. After teaching school for one year he entered the freshman class of the University of Michigan in the fall of 1864 and upon completion of the literary course was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1868. In respect of having earned the means with which to pay the expenses of a college course he was self-educated. For two years succeeding his graduation from the University he taught school at Hastings and then entered the office of Balch, Smiley & Balch, where he pursued the study of law. He had early formed the purpose to become a lawyer and while prosecuting his literary studies and employed in teaching he had constantly kept in view this acme of his hope and ambition. After his preparatory course of reading under the instruction of the firm mentioned, he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, completed its course, and received the degree of LL. B. upon his graduation in 1872. Returning to Kalamazoo he became a partner in the firm in which he had formerly been a student, but the association was only temporary. In November of the same year he removed to Grand Rapids, and in January, 1873, was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney for Kent county under E. A. Burlingame. At the same time he formed a partnership for general prac- tice under the firm name and style of Burlingame & Stuart, which con- tinued until April 20, 1876. He was appointed city attorney of Grand Rapids in 1880 and held the position for two terms. In May, 1888, he was appointed prosecuting attorney of Kent county to fill the vacancy caused by the removal of the incumbent, and was afterwards elected for a full term. In addition to these offices, which are strictly in the line of his professional work, Mr. Stuart has held other positions, both educational and political. For three years he was a member of the board of education of Grand Rapids. In 1892 he was elected mayor of the city and re-elected in 1894, serving two terms. The University of Michigan conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts, and for 1894-5 he was president of the Society of Alumni of the University. He has devoted his talents and The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Laynes Etrappen. Stu UNIT M OF BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 367 energies almost without reserve to the practice of law. He was associated with Mr. E. F. Sweet, under the firm name of Stuart & Sweet for twelve years, from April, 1876, and for five years, from April, 1888, he was in partnership with Loyal E. Knappen. Since 1893 he has been engaged in the general practice alone. He conducts a large office business and also has a large number of litigated cases in the courts. All of this business receives his personal attention and is conducted in such a manner as to hold a profitable clientage. He is exceedingly methodical in the arrange- ment of his business and painstaking in the preparation of his cases. He is equally careful in the trial of cases in court and is also a successful advo- His command of language is easy and his manner of speech agree- able. In social intercourse he is affable and courteous with everyone. He is not a member of any secret order, but is a communicant and vestry- man of St. Mark's Episcopal church. In April, 1874, he married Miss Calista Hadley, of Hastings. cate. LOYAL EDWIN KNAPPEN, Grand Rapids. Mr. Knappen was born January 27, 1854, at Hastings, Mich. His father, Edwin Knappen, who was a merchant in that city, was born in Sudbury, Vermont. He died when the subject of this sketch was a babe. His grandfather, Mason Knappen, was a Congregational minister, who came into this state from Vermont in 1831, and settled at Richland, Kalamazoo county, where he resided until his death in 1857. The family is of Scotch-Welsh origin. The mother of the subject of this writing was born in Braintree, Vermont, from which place she moved with her parents to Richland, Michigan, in 1844. She still lives in Hastings, where she reared her two sons to manhood. Both became lawyers. Charles M. died in 1885. Loyal E. spent his youthful days in Hastings, attending the Union School in that place until he had reached the age of fifteen. He then entered the Literary Depart- ment of the University of Michigan, from which institution he was gradu- ated with honors in the class of 1873, receiving the degree of A.B. For six months following his graduation he was assistant principal of the Hastings high school. Teaching was not to be his life work, and he settled down to the study of law in the office of the Hon. James A. Sweezey. He read and studied the law for a period of two years, when he was admitted to the Bar in the month of August, 1875, on an examination before Judge Hoyt. His professional career was begun by a partnership with his preceptor, Mr. Sweezey, which continued until 1878. This asso- ciation was dissolved that year to give place to a partnership with his brother, Charles M. Knappen, which extended to 1883. He then entered into a third partnership with Christopher H. Van Arman, under the firm name of Knappen & Van Arman. Mr. Knappen removed to Grand Rapids, April 11, 1888, and formed new business relations with Hon. 368 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. William J. Stuart, the firm name being Stuart, Knappen & Van Arman, with offices at Grand Rapids and Hastings. This arrangement lasted until the death of Mr. Van Arman in January, 1890. Charles M. Weaver was then admitted to the firm, and remained with it a little over a year, when the office at Hastings was closed. The firm of Stuart & Knappen was dissolved in 1893, Mr. Knappen becoming a member of the present firm of Taggart, Knappen & Denison. He has always done a general practice in both State and Federal courts. He is a Republican, but has never sought office, preferring a private law practice to the turmoil of politics. He was induced, however, to accept the nomination for Prosecuting Attorney for Barry county, to which office he was elected in 1878, serving four years. He was appointed United States Commissioner in 1880 and held this office until his removal to Grand Rapids. He has always taken much interest in educational matters, and was a member of the Hastings Board of Education for three years, acting as its President for one year. He was Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Kent county for three years from 1888. He enjoys a large practice in all the courts of the State. He is much engaged in the Supreme Court, frequently acting as counsel with other law firms in their cases before that court. He is an accurate and clean lawyer, thorough in the preparation of his cases, and untiring in their prosecution. He possesses the confidence of his clients, and is equally good in counsel and in pleading. He has been retained to assist in the prosecution of many of the important criminal cases in Barry county for the last ten years. In this work he has been uniformly successful. He has also had considerable land litigation in different counties of the State. Many of the cases with which he has been connected are widely known. Mr. Knappen has been a Mason for years, and is a member of Columbia Chapter of Grand Rapids. He belongs to Eureka Lodge No. 2, K.P., Grand Rapids. While at Hast- ings he was Chancellor Commander of the K.P. Lodge of Hastings. Knappen was married October 23, 1876, to Miss Amelia I. Kenyon, of Hastings, who had for several years been a teacher in the public schools of that city. They have three children. Stuart E., aged nineteen, is now a Junior in the University of Michigan. Fred M., aged seventeen, is a Junior in the Grand Rapids High School. Florence, aged fourteen, is also a student in the same school. As a lawyer, Mr. Knappen has attained high rank, not only in Grand Rapids, but throughout the State of Michigan. Mr. HARSON D. SMITH, Cassopolis. This subject was born March 17, 1845, at Albion, New York. He received an academic education, after which he engaged in teaching school in New York State, and Iowa. He was principal of the union school at Eldora, Iowa, for one year, after which he was elected professor of mathematics in the Iowa Lutheran Col- UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago Allent 8. Mosse MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 369 lege, situated at Albion, where he remained until the fall of 1866, when he went to Rochester, New York, and commenced the study of law with Hon. George F. Danforth, who was afterwards one of the judges of the Court of Appeals. After being admitted to the Bar he went to Jackson, Michigan, where he entered the law office of Hon. William K. Gibson, remaining there about two years. In 1870 he located at Cassopolis for the practice of his profession, and has remained there ever since. In 1873 he married Miss Sate Reed, daughter of S. T. Reed, now president of the First National Bank of Cassopolis. Mr. Smith's home is one of the pleasantest in the village. In 1876 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Cass county, and held the office two terms. In the Blaine campaign. he was the Republican nominee for State Senator, but was defeated in the election by Senator Sherwood of Berrien county, the Democratic nominee. He has a large and lucrative practice, and is regarded as one of the lead- ing lawyers of southwestern Michigan. He is a close student of the funda- mental principles of his profession, has a fine library, and his counsel is largely sought. He excels especially in the careful preparation of his cases, and the management of the same in court, and he has been very suc- cessful in his cases. In politics he has always been a Republican, and is one of the leaders of that party in his part of the State. He has been a member of the Republican State Central Committee for the past six years, being a member of the executive committee for the last four years. is also chairman of the Republican County Committee, which position he has held for the past ten years. At the last State convention at Detroit he was unanimously elected by the delegates from the Fourth District. as the presidential elector for that district. He is also a member of the State Board of Pardons. Mr. Smith is a prominent Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge and Chapter at Cassopolis, Niles Commandery No. 12, K. T., and Saladin Shrine at Grand Rapids. He ALLEN B. MORSE, Ionia. Hon. Allen B. Morse, ex-judge of the Supreme Court of Michigan, and at present United States Consul at Glasgow, is the son of Hon. John L. and Susan Cowles Morse. He was born January 7, 1839, in Otisco, Ionia county, Michigan. His father, who died at Bel- mond, Iowa, August 22, 1894, was a man of affairs, prominent in two States. While in Michigan he held various township offices, was Judge of the Probate Court for twelve years and a member of the State Legislature. In Iowa he was County Judge, auditor of the county, and a member of the Iowa Legislature. Judge Morse was educated principally in the common schools. He took a two year course in the Agricultural College at Lansing, taught in the district schools a few months and, in the spring of 1860, began the study of law. Before the completion of his pre- liminary studies in law he enlisted as a private in the Sixteenth Regiment 24 370 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Michigan infantry, in 1861. In December, 1863, he was transferred to the Twenty-first Regiment, and soon after the battle of Chickamauga assigned to duty as acting adjutant general of the staff of Col. F. T. Sherman, who was then commanding the First Brigade of General Sheridan's Division. While on duty in this position he lost his arm at the storming of Missionary Ridge. He was in the battles of Hanover Court House, Gaines Mill, Manassas Junction, Antietam, Chickamauga, and in numerous skirmishes. On retiring from the staff, rendered necessary by the loss of his arm, he received the following flattering testimonials from his superior officers: Headquarters First Brigade, Second Division, Fourth Infantry Corps, Camp Laibold, East Tennessee, February 9, 1864. To whom it may concern :— The undersigned takes great pleasure in bearing testimony to the ability and bravery of Lieut. A. B. Morse, adjutant of the Twenty-first Michigan infantry. The lieutenant was, by my orders, detailed as assistant adjutant general of my brigade and was selected by me for this responsible position, because of his peculiar fitness and ability to discharge the duties which devolve upon him. Ever at the post of duty, either in the office or on the field, he won the esteem and confidence of his superior officers and the love and respect of his juniors. I respectfully recommend him to the consideration of his Country and Government for any position in the Invalid Corps which he may desire. F. T. Sherman, Colonel 88th Ill. Infantry. Headquarters Second Division, Tenth Army Corps, Loudon, Tennes- see, February 11, 1864. I take great pleasure in approving the wishes and recommenda- tions of Colonel Sherman. Lieutenant Morse, while in my division, proved himself to be an able, efficient and gallant officer, and was wounded while leading his men at the storming of Missionary Ridge. P. H. Sheridan, Major General. On his return from the field Mr. Morse continued his law studies and was admitted to the Bar at Ionia, where he has always engaged in the practice, except when serving in public office. Always taking a lively interest in politics and possessing peculiar elements of personal popularity, he has naturally been selected as the candidate of his party for various offices. In 1866 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Ionia county and reëlected in 1868, as a Republican. Dissatisfied with the administration of General Grant, he supported Horace Greeley in 1872, and has since acted with the Democrats. In 1874 he was nominated for State Senator by the Democrats and elected by a majority of 2,211 in a district strongly Repub- lican. While in the Senate he was chairman of the military committee and a member of the committee on State affairs and constitutional amend- ments. In 1878 Judge Morse was the candidate for Attorney General of Michigan on the Democratic ticket, but was defeated with his party. In 1880 he was a delegate to the National Convention that nominated General Hancock for President. In 1882 he was elected mayor of Ionia and served a term of one year. In 1885 he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court of Michigan for the term of eight years, commencing January 1, 1886. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 371 } Governor Alger appointed him Chief Justice in October, 1885, to succeed Judge Thomas M. Cooley, resigned. Judge Morse served on the Supreme Bench until October 4, 1892, when he resigned, being then Chief Justice, to accept the unanimous nomination for Governor as candidate on the Democratic ticket. He was defeated, but the election evidenced his remarkable popularity. He received 3,000 more votes than Grover Cleve- land and 5,000 more than other candidates on the State ticket. In April, 1893, he was appointed Consul of the United States at Glasgow, Scotland, where he is now located. Judge Morse is a good lawyer and an upright jurist. He has exhibited the same fidelity and devotion to duty in every public office that distinguished his military service, so highly commended by superior officers. His convictions are clear and strong. His opinions are held tenaciously and declared fearlessly on all proper occasions. His moral courage is equal to his physical prowess. He is of active tempera- ment and of medium size. He informed himself as a boy on political sub- jects and his convictions were in favor of humanity and liberty. His sol- dierly qualities were tested and acknowledged on the field of battle. On his return from the war the people were prompt to honor him with respon- sible and lucrative public offices. His most pleasing recreation is found in hunting and fishing among the pleasant resorts of his native State. Judge Morse was married to Frances Marion Van Allen, youngest daughter of George W. Van Allen, Esq., November 25, 1874. She died October 28, 1884. By this union there were four children, Marion A., Van Allen, Lucy C. and Dan Root Morse. The eldest is now twenty and the youngest fourteen years of age. Judge Morse was married December 12, 1888, to Anna M. Babcock, youngest daughter of Lucius Babcock, Esq., of Ionia, Mich. FRANK D. M. DAVIS, Ionia. Judge Davis is the son of the late E. M. and Ellen Williams Davis, both of whom were of Welsh descent and natives of Oneida county, New York. They removed from that state to Ionia county, Michigan, in 1854, and afterwards to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where the mother died in 1856, and the father, returning to Ionia, died there in 1865. Judge Davis, the subject of this biographical sketch, was born in Buffalo, New York, April 9, 1852; his early education was procured in the public schools of Ionia and Greenville, and also in teaching until he attained his majority. In 1873 he entered upon the study of law in the offices of Marble & Webster, of Ionia, under their instruction; he remained with them two years, being admitted to the Bar as the result of his proficiency in 1874 by Judge Lovell. His first office for practice was opened in Saranac, where he remained until the fall of 1880, when, upon his election to the office of prosecuting attorney, he removed to Ionia; he filled the office of prosecuting attorney for two successive terms, and 372 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. . after engaging in private practice for four years he was again nominated for the same office, two years later again renominated and elected, serving altogether for a period of four terms, covering eight years. One of the proudest days of his life was the fortieth anniversary of his birth, upon which he was inaugurated mayor of the city of Ionia. He esteemed it the greatest honor that had come to him, and even the higher position which has been attained since that time has not cast a shadow upon the glory of that day. It was a gratification unspeakable to Judge Davis that he should be preferred for so honorable and responsible an office by the men among whom he had lived all his life and had known him as a poor boy; it was indeed a triumph worthy of the highest self-congratulation. It was an evidence of the popular respect and personal esteem in which he was held in the community where he was best known. He was the first Republican elected to the office of mayor for a period of seven years. Before the close of his term as chief executive of the city he was, in the Spring of 1893, elected Judge of the Eighth Judicial District, comprising the counties of Ionia and Montcalm; he was inducted into the judicial office January 1, 1894, for a term of six years. During the years of his practice at the Bar Judge Davis was associated in partnership with other lawyers at various times. From 1881 to 1885 he was the partner of Will- iam O. Webster, of the firm of Webster & Davis, which was, at the date last named, changed to Webster, Davis & Millard. From 1887 to Janu- ary, 1892, he was associated with George E. Nichols under the style of Davis & Nichols; after that he continued alone until his election to the Circuit Bench. He has been engaged upon one side or the other of nearly all of the important cases arising in this county for several years prior to his election to the Bench, and in many important cases before the Supreme Court of this State. As stated in connection with his election to the may- oralty, he is Republican. While he has not avoided any duty of citizen- ship he has taken an active part in the councils of his party, but has never sought political office. For fifteen years he has had a membership in the order of Masonry, and has for some time been a member of the Ionia Com- mandery. He is also a Knight of Pythias and a member of the I. O. O. F. He was married in the fall of 1874 to Ellen A. Strong, of Ionia; the fruit of that marriage is a son, Elvert M., born in 1875 and now a student at Detroit College of Law, and a daughter, Elva R., ten years younger. The following is an estimate from the highest and most reliable sources, whether considered personally or professionally : · "Judge Davis is purely a self-made man. He has grown up in Ionia from a boy in humble circumstances to be Circuit Judge of the district. As a lawyer he stands in the front rank in his Judicial District, and indeed in western Michigan. He is a fluent public speaker, and strong and suc- cessful before a jury. His cases were always well prepared so that the interests of his client were ably and amply protected. As a judge he is quick in discernment and ready in decision, and stands well among the Circuit Judges of the State. His decisions are generally accurate and sel- UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Emair Caheel FICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 373 dom overruled by the Supreme Court. He is a public-spirited citizen of high standing in the estimation of the people, not only among the people of Ionia county, but the entire Judicial District. He is a man whose ex- emplary habits and upright life adorn a home and make an estimable hus- band and father.' EDWARD CAHILL, Lansing. Edward Cahill, ex-Judge of the Supreme Court, has raised himself to a position of the highest professional emi- nence in the State. He comes from Revolutionary stock on both sides. His paternal great-grandfather served in the American army from Pennsyl- vania, and his maternal great-grandfather from Vermont. His own parents were poor and able to give him only limited advantages. His father, Abraham Cahill, who was a tanner by trade, settled in Kalamazoo as a young man in 1831, where, ten years later, he married Miss Frances Maria Marsh, daughter of John P. Marsh, a pioneer settler, and niece of Epaphroditus Ransom, an early judge of the Supreme Court and Gov- ernor of the State from 1848 to 1850. Edward was the second in a family of six children and was born August 3, 1843. The first two years of his life were passed in Kalamazoo and in 1845 his father sold the tannery, removed three miles into the country and settled on a farm in Grand Prairie. Here he remained until eleven years of age, attending the district school after attaining lawful school age. The next move was to Holland, Michigan, in 1854, where his father located for the purpose of engaging in the lumber business, after having invested the proceeds of the sale of his farm in timber lands. In August of the same year his father died before establishing himself in a profitable business or gaining an acquaintance in the new community, leaving the family with no income or means of sup- port immediately available. The estate consisted principally of unpro- ductive wild lands. The family soon returned to Kalamazoo for the better opportunities aud educational advantages afforded there, and the sympathy and helpfulness of friendship. The children were all too young to contri- bute much to the common support by the earnings of their labor, but an intelligent mother kept them in school. After attending the public schools for a year Edward entered the preparatory department of Kalamazoo Col- lege in the fall of 1856. The following winter when the Legislature assembled in Lansing he obtained employment as a page. This was the beginning of his public career, and he performed the duties of messenger so well as to secure a reappointment in the Legislature of 1858-9. For more than two years after the close of this second Legislative term he was an apprentice in the office of the Kalamazoo Gazette, learning the printer's trade. In August, 1862, he laid aside his stick and rule, strapped a knap- sack on his back as a private volunteer soldier in Company A, Eighty- Ninth Illinois Infantry, and proceeded to the front. After service in the Kentucky campaign in the fall, under General Buell, he was discharged in 374 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, (( December, 1862, on account of disability occasioned by sickness. He recuperated rapidly in the salubrious climate of Michigan, and by the fol- lowing spring his health was sufficiently restored to warrant his undertaking the study of law. This he did in the office of Miller & Burns, Kalamazoo. In the autumn of that year he became impatient to join the army again. With that object in view he recruited a company of colored soldiers for the First Michigan Colored Infantry, afterward known as the One Hundred and Second U. S. Colored Troops, with which he went to the front as first lieutenant. Subsequently he was promoted to the captaincy and served to the close of the war. He was mustered out in October, 1865. Upon returning home he resumed the study of law immediately in St. Johns. In June, 1866, he was admitted to the Bar of Clinton county, and in the Sep- tember following removed to Hubbardston, Ionia county, for practice. There he remained four years until he had established himself in the law and demonstrated his ability. While residing there, in 1870, he was elected to the office of Circuit Court Commissioner and thereupon removed to Ionia. After a residence of six months in the county seat he resigned his office and removed to Chicago, where he engaged in the practice of law until June, 1873. His office at the corner of Clark and Madison was des- troyed by the great fire and the only volume saved from his law library was Chitty on Contracts." On leaving Chicago he returned to his native State and settled permanently in Lansing. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Ingham county in 1876 and re-elected in 1878. His private practice at the same time was continued as a member of different firms. First, he was associated with Albert E. Cowles, from 1875 to 1881. In 1883 he formed a partnership with R. C. Ostrander, which has remained unbroken to the present time and promises a continuance indefinitely. In 1887 Judge Cahill was appointed a member of the Board of Pardons by Governor Luce, and held the office until he was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court. His appointment to the latter office was made in 1890, upon the death of Judge Campbell. He was nominated as a candidate of the Republican party to succeed himself, but the general election which followed demonstrated clearly that it was not a Republican year, the entire State ticket being defeated for the first time since 1854. That he was not chosen is no reflection on the judge and no condemnation of his judicial service. His defeat was simply due to the primary fact that more Demo- crats than Republicans attended the election and voted for Justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan. His fortunate competitor in the race was Hon. John W. McGrath, of Detroit. He was President of the State Bar Association in 1891-2; was first president of the Political Science Associa- tion of Michigan, organized in 1892; was counsel for the State in the pro- ceedings against certain State officers known as the election fraud cases, his associate counsel being R. A. Montgomery, now a Justice of the Supreme Court. Judge Cahill possesses the qualities which make men popular. He is affable, courteous and obliging; generous in his impulses and liberal BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 375 in benefactions; a good conversationalist and raconteur; of keen discern- ment and ready wit. While he is not an orator in the sense that he is able to move men by the sheer force of his eloquence, he is not without power as an advocate. His strength lies rather in the logical arrangement of his thought and in the ability to state his views with candor, clearness and force. The legal business of his firm is extensive and profitable, not excelled by that of any law firm in Lansing. JOHN M. CORBIN, Eaton Rapids. John Milton Corbin is a son of Isaiah H. Corbin, and Almira L. Mills. The family from which his father sprang, was of English origin, and established its first home this side of the ocean in Vermont. His mother was also of English descent, and her progenitors settled in Connecticut when first across the water. Both families moved into Erie county, New York, where the parents of our subject were married, and where he himself was born at Lockport, September 8, 1844. When he was nine years old his father brought him into Michigan and located at Charlotte. He was for three years a student in the select school at Wilson, New York, and from 1853 to 1860 was in the academy at Charlotte. He also attended the graded school at Eaton Rapids. From 1863 to 1867 he clerked during the summer and taught winter school. In June of that year he took up the study of law under the direction of Crane & Montgomery. For some three years he worked his way carefully and thoroughly into an understanding of the text books and literature of the profession and was admitted to the Eaton county Bar June 20, 1870. He immediately opened an office for the transaction of business, and presently formed a partnership with R. A. Montgomery, which continued until the end of 1872. During 1875 and 1876 he was in company with Charles K. Latham, now of Detroit. In 1878 another partnership was formed with Charles C. Cobb which terminated in 1883. In 1888 the firm of Corbin & Hemans came into existence, and continued two years. Lawton T. Hemans is now at Mason. Except as thus indicated, Mr. Corbin has practised law alone, and has been equally successful with or without a partner. He has done a general law business, and gained efficiency both as a counsellor and a pleader. Among the more important cases that he has presented to the Supreme Court may be mentioned these few: Dale vs. Turner (34 Mich. 405); Baldwin vs. Branch Circuit Judge (48 Mich. 525); Gantz vs. Toles (40 Mich. 725); Bull vs. Brockway (48 Mich. 523); People vs. Miller (96 Mich. 119); and Canton Bridge Company vs. City of Eaton Rapids (65 N. W. Reporter, 761). While Mr. Corbin has kept close to the line of his profession, and still has a strong grasp upon its practice, he has also a certain financial genius, which found expression in his almost natural and inevitable connection with the bank- ing interests, which began as far back as 1877, when he assisted in the 376 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. organization of the First National Bank of Eaton Rapids. He was a mem- ber of its board of directors until 1884. That year he took an active inter- est in the inauguration of the Michigan State Bank of Eaton Rapids, and he has been its president since July, 1890. He also helped to organize the Merchants' National Bank at Charlotte, and was one of its directors for many years; and also the State Savings Bank of Gaylord, Mich., and is one its directors. He has been interested in a number of successful business enterprises, among which the Jackson Cracker Company, of Jack- son, was very prominent. He was president of this company, and its largest stockholder until 1890. Then the business was sold to the United States Baking Company. Mr. Corbin is a Democrat, but does not take a very active part in the management of practical politics. He is a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, and has been a Knight Templar for sixteen years. He was twice married, Miss Hettie Scott, of Ovid, Seneca county, New York, becoming his wife in 1872. She was a daughter of Sinclair Scott, and died April 3, 1877, leaving an infant, born at her death, and another child of two years. The baby lived six months, and the other child eight years. Mr. Corbin was again married September, 1878, to Miss Artie Scott, daughter of Daniel Scott, of Ovid, a double cousin of his first wife. One child, Anna, is the offspring of this marriage. She was born July 27, 1880. Mr. Corbin has been characterized by compe- tent authority as a "level-headed, all round man of affairs, both in law and in business. He is a successful financier, a judicious manager, and in both law and business a safe counsellor and a successful man." JOHN W. MCGRATH, Detroit. John W. McGrath, ex-Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan, was born in Philadelphia, January 12, 1842. He is of Scotch-Irish extraction.. His father, Joseph McGrath, was a native of the North of Ireland; his mother, Jane Andrew, was a native of Glasgow, Scotland. They emigrated to America in 1840, remained in Philadelphia three years and in 1843 settled in Detroit. The primary education of John W. was obtained in the public schools of Detroit. In 1853 his father purchased 160 acres of heavily timbered land. in Macomb county, and removed thither. Here the subject of this sketch soon became an expert with the ox team, the axe, the wedge and the beetle, doing a man's service in the work of preparing fifty acres of this land for cultivation, enduring all the privations incident to such a life. He attended district school one winter only during this period; yet in the winter of 1861-2 he was employed as teacher in the district school which he had attended as a pupil. This is one of the severe tests of a boy's ability and diplomacy. He is obliged to maintain his own dignity and self control, and also a proper discipline, in a position of authority over those with whom he has been associated as an equal. He must do this The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago Joan WowGivatle UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 377 At without an assumption of superiority or an exhibition of pedantry. the same time he must be superior in his bearing toward the school and his ability to teach his late play-fellows. Young McGrath was successful. His salary of eighteen dollars a month did not include board, according to the custom of earlier times when the teacher "boarded 'round.” In the spring of 1862 he entered Albion College. For some time thereafter his year was divided into three parts, one of which was spent in teaching dis- trict school, a second in college and a third in the harvest field and other work on the farm. The education thus acquired was certainly more varied and probably more valuable than if he had taken the college course con- tinuously. He was willing to make the sacrifices and able to overcome the difficulties. His invincible determination and unflagging perseverance, which formed no inconsiderable portion of his Scotch inheritance, and the buoyancy of spirits transmitted through his Irish lineage, enabled him to surmount difficulties which would block the progress of a weaker man. In the fall of 1864 he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan and remained for a term. The next spring he was employed in the provost marshal's office at Detroit and spent his evenings in a business. college. In July, 1865, he went to the oil regions of Pennsylvania and engaged in commercial business, which was pursued over two years. He then returned to Ann Arbor and completed his law course in the Uni- versity of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1868. During the same year he was admitted by the Supreme Court to practice in the courts of Michigan. In December, 1868, he opened an office in Detroit and began the practice of law, and succeeded in establishing himself firmly and building up a profitable business in civil cases. He has taken a lively interest in political campaigns as a supporter of the Democratic party; but has not given much time to public office other than such offices as are intimately related to his profession. Aside from these he served as school inspector four years and as labor commissioner of the State for two years. He was appointed to the latter office by Governor Begole immediately after the passage of the law creating the Labor Bureau, in June, 1883. It was therefore his duty to organize the bureau and make it operative under the statute. July 1, 1887, he was appointed city counsellor of Detroit and served as such until December 31, 1890. At the State election of that year he was chosen Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, to fill a vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr. Justice Campbell. After three years of service as an Associate Justice he became Chief Justice of the Court, January 1, 1894, and served in that capacity until the expiration of his term, January 1, 1896. On retiring from the Bench he returned to Detroit, resumed the practice of law, in which he is now actively engaged. Referring to his professional work and judicial record, a prominent Detroit judge says: "As a city counsellor he made a thorough study of the laws relating to municipal corporations. He was a very able and successful representa- 378 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. tive of the city in that important and responsible position, saving the city many thousand dollars by this knowledge. On the Bench he manifested the same habits of exhaustive study; the same force and vigorous ability which had characterized him in the practice of law. As a lawyer and judge he was distinguished for his thorough mastery of the subject and for the vigor and force with which he applied his legal knowledge to the facts of a particular controversy. His opinions on the Bench were characterized by great learning, exhaustive research, clear thought and forceful expres- sion. Many of the important opinions rendered by the Supreme Court during the time he was on the Bench were written by him. As a citizen he is of the highest character; is a genial companion, and an interesting raconteur. He is in frequent request as a public speaker on political occasions and in great demand at Masonic meetings throughout the state. Judge McGrath has been as successful in Masonry as in law. He was made a Master Mason in Union Lodge No. 3, at Detroit, August 2, 1869. In 1876 he was elected Master of Union Lodge and served two years. The position of Worshipful Master gave him membership in the Grand Lodge, where his influence was soon felt. His intense love of Masonry, his quick perception and his intuitive grasp of Masonic jurisprudence almost immediately secured for him prominence and high reputation in that body. In 1878 he was elected Junior Grand Warden, in 1879 Senior Grand Warden and in 1880 Grand Master, of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Michigan. His record as Grand Master is not excelled by that of any other who ever held the position. Since his retirement from the office he has exercised a power in the Grand Lodge that is almost boundless, by reason of his thorough knowledge of the history and ritual of the order, his devotion to it and his personal popularity. In 1889 he prepared a digest on Masonic Law, which was published by the Grand Lodge the following year. He was exalted a Royal Arch Mason in 1870 and elected High Priest of Peninsular Chapter in 1880. He is a member of Damascus Commandery No. 42 K. T., a Thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a member of Michigan Sovereign Consistory, at Detroit. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine, Moslem Temple, Detroit, and a member of several other societies. He was married June 15, 1878, to Miss Lillian Walker, daughter of Hon. E. C. Walker, of Detroit. His family consists of three girls and a boy. FRED A. BAKER, Detroit. Fred Abbott Baker was born on a farm in the township of Holly, Oakland county, Michigan, June 14, 1846, and comes of a long line of New England ancestors. Nicholas Baker was graduated at St. John's College, Cambridge University, England, in 1632 and soon after joined the Puritan exodus from England to America which was going on at that time. Rev. Peter Hobart, the first minister of Hing- ham, Massachusetts, was also a Cambridge graduate. He and twenty-nine others on September 18, 1635, drew for house-lots in Hingham, and Nich- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 379 olas Baker and his brother Nathaniel drew lots at the foot of the large mound or elevation in Hingham, still known as "Baker's Hill." Nathaniel Baker remained in Hingham until his death in 1682. He was one of the rate payers who participated in 1681 in building the Old Meeting House in Hingham, which is still in use, and his name appears in its first list of pew-holders. Nicholas Baker removed in 1644 or 1645 to the adjoining town of Hull, where he lived and was an extensive land holder until he received an invitation to preach at Scituate, a nearby town in Plymouth Colony. He was ordained minister of Scituate in 1660 and he died there in 1678. The granite block placed in the old burying ground in Scituate in memory of the first ministers of that town bears the name of Nicholas Baker, who is described by Cotton Mather in his Magnalia Christi Americana as "so good a logician that he could offer up to God a reason- able service; so good an arithmetician that he could wisely number his days; and so good an orator that he persuaded himself to be a christian." The high character and learning of those who served as ministers at Scituate at that time is shown by the fact that two of Mr. Baker's prede- cessors there, Henry Dunster and Charles Chauncey, were the first and second presidents of Harvard College. Samuel Baker, a son of Nicholas Baker, married Fear Robinson, a daughter of Isaac Robinson, the son of the apostle of the Pilgrims, John Robinson, the Leyden pastor, and Mar- garet Handford, a niece of Timothy Hatherly, the London merchant who founded Scituate, and who served Plymouth Colony for years as one of the assistants to the Governor. Samuel Baker removed to Barnstable on Cape Cod. His son John, after the death of his wife in 1732, moved to Scotland township, Windham county, Connecticut, where he died in 1763. Three generations of the family are buried in the old Scotland burying ground. Adonijah Baker, a great grandson of John, moved from Con- necticut to Berkshire county, Massachusetts, and then to Greene county, New York, living at Catskill, Durham and Caro. His wife, Betsey Abbott, was a daughter of Col. Samuel Abbott, of Norwich, Connecticut, who was colonel of the 20th Connecticut Regiment in the Revolutionary war. In 1838 Adonijah Baker came to Michigan and the following year settled in the township of Holly. His son Francis acquired an adjoining farm, and was a much respected citizen of the township until his death in 1887 in his eighty-fourth year. Francis Baker was a representative in the State Legislature in 1846, and for more than thirty years he was the leading justice of the peace of his township. The trial of causes before him, are among the earliest recollections of his son, Fred A. Baker, the subject of this sketch. Young Baker attended the public schools of Holly and in Flint, and in 1863 he was a member of the freshman class in the Michigan Agricultural College at Lansing. He graduated from Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1864, and was for some time a clerk and bookkeeper in his father's general country store in the village of Holly. He enlisted in the Eleventh Michigan Cavalry, but on his medical examina- } 380 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. tion was rejected, because of a hernia, which subsequently disappeared. In September, 1865, he entered the office of Col. Sylvester Larned, of Detroit, as a student at law, and June 14, 1867, his twenty-first birthday, he was admitted to the Bar before the Oakland Circuit, the examining committee consisting of Michael E. Crofoot, Mark S. Brewer and William B. Jack- son. In October, 1867, he accepted the position of chief clerk in Colonel Larned's office and remained there for three years, when loss of health, due to overwork and excessive study, compelled him to return to Holly. In 1872 he returned to Detroit and forming a co-partnership with Edward Minock, he entered on a successful professional career. Mr. Baker's con- nection with the office of Colonel Larned had given him a larger practical experience at the Bar than is enjoyed by most young lawyers. Colonel Larned had a large civil and criminal business, and always made great use of the young men of industry and capacity connected with him, and within six years after he was admitted Mr. Baker had prepared, argued and submitted to the Supreme Court of the State no less than thirty-five cases, among them such leading ones as Berger v. Jacobs (21 Mich. 215); Don Moran v. People (25 Mich. 356); and Lingham v. Eggleston (27 Mich. 324). His name first became familiar to the general public from his connection with the case of Park Commissioners v. Common Council of Detroit (28 Mich. 228), involving the constitutionality of an act by which the Legislature of the State undertook to compel the City of Detroit to buy a park. Ash- ley Pond, William A. Moore and Henry M. Cheever were retained by the common council to contest the validity of the act, which had received the endorsement of such eminent members of the Detroit Bar as Geo. V. N. Lothrop, Theodore Romeyn, Charles I. Walker and J. Logan Chipman. Mr. Baker had publicly and fearlessly, and in advance of everybody, attacked the act as unconstitutional, and under the supervision of Ashley Pond he prepared the brief which aided in obtaining from the court a decision sustaining his views. The Park case led him into the study of constitutional law, and the law of municipal corporations, and from that time to this he has been engaged in about all of the more important con- stitutional and municipal litigation that has taken place in this city and State. His partnership with Mr. Minock was dissolved at the end of two years. His only other partner was Hon. William G. Thompson, who, on becoming in 1877 one of the executors and trustees of the Brush estate, withdrew from the firm and from practice. Mr. Baker has never sought for political preferment, but while in Holly he served one term as a mem- ber of the village council, and also as village attorney. In 1876 he was elected as one of the representatives of the City of Detroit in the State Legislature, and was one of the most prominent and influential members of that body. In January, 1878, he was appointed city counsellor of the City of Detroit and held the office for three years and a half, during which time he had charge of many important cases for the city. He has also served the city as a member of the Board of Park Commissioners, but UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago le ha Leher B Long MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 381 resigned because the position took too much of his time. Mr. Baker has always voted the Democratic ticket and in 1896 was ardent and enthusi- astic in his advocacy of the free coinage of silver, a subject to which he has given considerable attention and study. August 4, 1896, he was chosen chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee in place of Elliot G. Stevenson, resigned, and August 26, 1896, he was unanimously elected to the position by the Democratic State Convention at Bay City. He was instrumental in bringing about the fusion of the Democratic party with the People's party, and the Union Silver party, under which the cam- paign of 1896 was fought in Michigan. Mr. Baker was married August 8, 1867, to Miss Josephine Mary Bissell. She was a daughter of Edward Bissell, then of Holly, and Lucy Bourgeatdit Provencal, a descendant of one of the old French families of the City of Detroit. Mr. and Mrs. Baker are the parents of four children, Belle, George J., Frank E., and May. CHARLES D. LONG, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Charles Dean Long was born in Michigan, at Grand Blanc, Genesee county, June 14, 1841. His parents, both of them natives of New England, settled in Michigan in 1840. His father Peter Long, a resident of Tewksbury, Mas- sachusetts, before coming west, was descended from a family of Longs whose progenitor emigrated from England and settled in the territory of the Bay State in the seventeenth century. His mother's family for sev- eral generations were Connecticut people, and he has inherited the best elements of character, popularly attributed to the sturdy, honest and thrifty inhabitants of Colonial New England. He was a dutiful son, indus- trious and helpful at home, assiduous in his application to books at school. At thirteen he left his native village and entered the school at Flint, in which he took the course preparatory to admission to the Freshman class of the University of Michigan. While attending this school he supported himself by teaching, which he began before reaching the age of sixteen. This fact evidences the early development of his intellectual powers and also his capacity for self-government, as well as the exercise of authority. He taught four winter schools prior to the war, and at the same time quali- fied himself for college. When the rebellion was inaugurated he sacrificed on the altar of his country his long cherished ambition to acquire a class- ical education. A glowing patriotism led him to offer his services in behalf of the Union. In August, 1861, at the age of twenty, he enlisted as a private in Company A, Eighth Michigan Infantry. He remained in the service only eight months, but that was long enough to seal his devotion to the cause with his blood and with physical pain from which there is no respite while consciousness remains. April 16, 1862, he received two severe wounds in the battle of Wilmington Island, Georgia. One of these 382 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. caused the loss of his left arm, which was amputated above the elbow; the other was even worse in the enduring character of the suffering it occa- sioned. A rifle ball penetrated his body through the hip and lodged in the groin, where it still remains imbedded. The wound thus occasioned has never healed. It requires careful dressing every day. The young man was not only disabled for active military service, but also incapacitated for earning a livelihood by manual labor. Upon returning home he at once began the study of law at Flint. In 1864, by the partiality of his fellow- citizens, he was elected to the office of county clerk, and afterwards was thrice re-elected, holding the office four terms. This afforded the coveted opportunity. It enabled him to devote his leisure to the study of law and at the same time acquire the practical knowledge of court proceedings, the form of pleadings and the method of conducting litigation. He was ready for practice and admitted to the Bar before the expiration of his term as clerk. From the office of clerk he passed to that of prosecuting attorney of Genesee county, to which he was first elected in 1874 and subsequently twice re-elected, holding the office three successive terms, aggregating six years. Next he was appointed one of the supervisors of the National census of 1880 for the State of Michigan, having supervision of a district comprising thirty counties, in which were placed more than four hundred enumerators. Higher honors were yet in store for him in the line of his pro- fession. When the Legislature, in its discretion, increased the number of judges of the Supreme Court to five and extended the term, he was elected Associate Justice in the spring of 1887 for the term of ten years. His plurality over his competitor, Charles H. Camp, of Saginaw, was 36,000. He entered upon his judicial service January 1, 1888. His work on the Bench has been marked by a singular devotion to duty and surprising ability. Taken from the ranks of the Bar without judicial experience, his past afforded no adequate criterion by which to estimate his fitness for the exacting requirements of the highest State Court. His friends believed in him, and the event has rather enlarged their confidence, while it has made the profession throughout the State acquainted with the qualities and characteristics of his mind, which the smaller circle had known before. During the ten years immediately prior to his elevation to the Bench, he was engaged in the practice in partnership with George R. Gold. The business of the firm comprised every variety of civil cases known to inland practice in a western State. It was very large and valuable, not only for its immediate pecuniary rewards, but also as a means of general and special education in the law. In the very nature of things, Judge Long has been distinctly identified with politics. The misfortune of war was not without influence in drawing popular attention to him and making him the child of fortune in politics. From the close of the war until his election to the Supreme Court he was active, earnest, zealous in every cam- paign to promote the success of the Republican party. In addition to the offices already mentioned, he was appointed Judge Advocate by Governor The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago C. B. Grovk UNIV BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 383 Jerome, with the rank of colonel as a member of the Governor's staff. During the gubernatorial administration of Russell A. Alger he was a mem- ber of the State military board and held the rank of colonel on the Gov- ernor's staff. Governor Luce appointed him one of the commissioners for the State of Michigan to attend the Centennial Celebration of the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, held in Philadelphia, September, 1887. He has held the office of president of the Detroit College of Law since its first organization. The college is prosperous, graduating thirty- seven law students this year. Few men in the State are better known and none has wider popularity. He has resided at various times in different parts of the State, and all of his neighbors speak well of him. He is modest, unassuming and unselfish. His judicial temperament tends to the preservation of serenity under all circumstances. His generosity of heart and kindness of sentiment endear him to the people who know him; and these qualities, united with natural talents, liberal knowledge of the law, and large administrative ability, qualify him eminently for the dispatch of business in public office in a manner which commands popular approval. So long as the government of the United States makes provision for pen- sioning her disabled soldiers, Judge Long will receive a liberal pension, with the approval of all his fellow-men who favor justice; and yet a ruling of Commissioner Lochren, in charge of the Bureau of Pensions in 1893, rendered it necessary to appeal to the United States Supreme Court in order to secure what he believed to be his rights. He regarded the ruling unfair and tested it in the courts, not because it was a personal wrong or injury, but because the same ruling worked hardship to comrades who need the justice and generosity of the Government which their valor and sacri- fice preserved. His course in carrying the contest through the courts was heartily approved by his comrades throughout the land. The case, being ruled upon a technicality, will be further prosecuted. It was done for the sake of humanity, and not without some misgiving, because the action was necessarily personal, while the principle involved was general. His own personality received whatever of obloquy attended the transaction. Long was married, December, 1863, to Miss Alma A. Franklin. this wedlock three children were born, one son and two daughters, all of whom are well married and happily settled in life. Judge From CLAUDIUS B. GRANT, Justice of the Supreme Court. Judge Clau- dius B. Grant was born at Lebanon, York county, Maine, October 25, 1835. His parents, Joseph Grant and Mary Merrill, were of Scotch and English descent. They were unable to provide for him more than a com- mon school education, but he aspired to something higher. Having decided early to obtain a college education he was sufficiently resourceful to accomplish his purpose without financial assistance. Ambitious, ener- 384 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. getic, self-reliant, he prepared for college at Lebanon. In 1855 he entered the University of Michigan, and was graduated in 1859 upon completion of the classical course. For the next three years he was employed in the high school at Ann Arbor. The first year he filled the position of assist- ant teacher of classics; the next two years he was principal of the high school. In the summer of 1862 he responded to the call of President Lin- coln for more volunteers, resigned his position, raised a company assigned to the Twentieth Michigan Infantry, and was commissioned captain of Company D, July 29, 1862. Soon afterwards he left for the seat of war with his command. November 21, 1863, he was promoted to the rank of major in the Twentieth Regiment, on December 20, 1864, was promoted to the lieutenant colonelcy, and on the same day was commissioned colo- nel. He participated with his regiment in the numerous engagements in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Virginia, including the battle of Horseshoe Bend, the sieges of Vicksburg and Jackson, the battles of Blue Springs and Campbell Station, the siege of Knoxville, the defense of Fort Sanders, the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, the assault upon Petersburg, June 17 and 18, '64, and all of the operations before that Confederate stronghold. The day following the surrender of General Lee, Colonel Grant resigned his command and returned to Ann Arbor where he entered upon the study of law in the University of Michigan. He was admitted to the Bar in June, 1866, and began the practice in partnership with ex-Governor Alpheus Felch. The same year he was elected recorder of Ann Arbor, and was also a member of the board of education of that city for four years. In April, 1867, he was appointed postmaster of Ann Arbor, and held the office three years. In 1870 he was elected a member of the Legislature and re-elected in 1872, serving two terms. During the session of 1871 he was chairman of the committee on public instruction. In 1873 he was elected speaker pro tem, and was chairman of the committee on ways and means. In 1871 he was elected a Regent of the University of Michigan, and served in that capacity eight years. In 1872 he was appointed by President Grant alter- nate commissioner for the State of Michigan under the law organizing the Centennial Commission, and served until the close of the Exposition, in 1876. In 1873 he removed from Ann Arbor to Houghton, where he formed a partnership for the practice of law with Joseph H. Chandler. In 1876 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Houghton county for a term of two years. In this office he exhibited those high qualities which have been conspicuous in his assumption of responsibilities and the discharge of public trusts. There is probably no official position which demands a higher degree of courage and integrity than the office of prosecuting attorney. A weak man in the position yields to the temptations which beset him on every hand. A dishonest man courts the ever-present occa- sion to grant immunity to such offenders as are willing to pay for it. Col- onel Grant regarded only his duty to the public and the obligations of his BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 385 official oath. He was strong and self-reliant, conscientious and courage- ous. He stood for the enforcement of all laws, and was therefore a terror to evil-doers. In 1882, upon the organization of the Thirty-fifth Judicial Circuit, he was elected Circuit Judge, and in 1887 was re-elected by an overwhelming majority. As evidence of the esteem in which he was held by citizens of the Upper Peninsula it is only necessary to state that he had not, at the time of his first election, become a resident of the judicial cir- cuit in which he was chosen judge. He became a permanent resident of Marquette in 1886. Judge Grant has always taken an interest in politics and been a supporter of the Republican party. In February, 1889, he was nominated for Justice of the Supreme Court by the State convention of that party. The news of his nomination was received with unbounded enthusiasm in the Northern Peninsula, and his personal popularity was attested by the flattering vote he received at the election which followed. Before entering upon the discharge of his duties as a member of the Court complimentary banquets were tendered him both at Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie. His record on the Circuit Bench as Judge of the Thirty- fifth Judicial Circuit had given him a reputation as wide as the State. At the time of entering upon his judicial duties the Circuit had unen- viable notoriety for violation of the laws regulating the liquor traffic, and the existence of the vilest dens of prostitution. He publicly instructed the sheriff and other police officers that it was their duty He to institute prosecutions against these violators of the laws. explained to saloonkeepers the law regulating the liquor traffic, and in public addresses in every city of his circuit demanded the enforcement of the law and that officers should perform their duty in this regard. When he left the Bench no district in the State had a better reputation for the observance of law, and not a single den of prostitution existed in it. His able, fearless and conscientious performance of his duty had wrought a remarkable transformation, so that the district had become one of the It is this rec- most law-abiding and resulted in a great decrease of crime. ord which endeared him to the best people, the law-abiding and law- respecting citizens of that entire section. During the six years of his service upon the Supreme Bench, Judge Grant has exhibited the qualities which make the decisions of a court of last resort respected by the law- yers and the masses. He has been careful and unremitting in his investi- gations in order to be able to interpret and construe statutes correctly. The desire to be right, always uppermost, is strong enough to impel whatever labor is required to ascertain the right. While a strong parti- san he is able to be impartial in his judicial opinions. It is not as a judge alone that he has acquired such a hold upon the affections of the people of the State. His active interest as a citizen in the preservation of law and order strengthens the bond. He is regarded as the head of the Law and Order League, and has delivered almost one hundred addresses in the State on the subject of the proper enforcement of law. His abilities 25 386 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. and energies have uniformly been actively employed in the promotion and conservation of the forces and influences in society which conduce to respect for law and order. It is probable no man in Michigan has accom- plished more in this direction than Judge Grant. He was married June 13, 1863, to Caroline L. Felch, eldest daughter of ex-Governor Alpheus Felch, of Ann Arbor. Their family consists of four daughters, namely, Mary Florence, wife of James Pendill, of Marquette; Helen T., Emma and Virginia C. Grant. The family is connected with the Episcopal Church. one. ROBERT M. MONTGOMERY, Justice of the Supreme Court. Judge Robert M. Montgomery was born in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, May 12, 1849. His father, Johnson Montgomery, was a native of New York and of Irish descent. His mother, Elvira Dudley, was a native of Ver- mont and of New England ancestry. The family settled in Eaton Rapids as pioneers, in 1837. Until eighteen years of age Robert attended the public schools of his native town, although he had begun teaching dur- ing the winter terms, at the early age of sixteen and continued until twenty- He never matriculated in any college or received the benefits of a classical education. He begun the study of law in the office of F. J. Russell when nineteen years of age and remained with him until he attained his majority. He was admitted to the Bar in July, 1870, and immediately entered upon the practice of law in Pentwater, where he remained until 1877. He then removed to Grand Rapids and resided there until the law required his residence in Lansing as a Justice of the Supreme Court. The offices to which he has been chosen have all been in the line of his profession. While a resident of Pentwater he was prosecut- ing attorney of Oceana county for two terms. After his removal to Grand Rapids he was appointed assistant United States district attorney, a position which he held until September, 1881. In the April election of that year he was chosen Judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit and was afterwards re-elected for a second term. In 1888 he resigned the judicial office and resumed private practice in Grand Rapids as a member of the firm of Montgomery & Bundy. The only reason for leaving the Circuit Bench at the time was a financial one. The practice was more lucrative than the office. His duty to make larger provision for his family appeared to be paramount. He therefore continued as a member of the firm mentioned until his assumption of the duties of Judge of the Supreme Court, to which he was elected in the spring of 1891. He was the candi- date of the Republican party and received 163,211 votes to 148,271 for Judge John W. Champlin, Democrat, 14, 144 for A. Dodge, Prohibition, and 9,260 for O'Brien J. Atkinson, Populist. He was married in 1873 to Theodosia Wadsworth of Pentwater. Their family consists of two sons, The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago RUMontgomery UNIV OF M ICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 387 aged respectively, twenty-one and eighteen years (1896). Both of them are still in school. Judge Montgomery was, at a very early age, elected to the Bench of Michigan's highest nisi prius Court, after a brief and successful career as a general practitioner and prosecuting attorney. The characteristics of mind which have been manifested by him in his work, not only as the assistant United States attorney, but also in his civil practice; his candor and fair- ness, his devotion to the right, his unimpeachable integrity and strength of legal judgment, made him a candidate for the Circuit Judgeship, without solicitation on his part. In that position he served the people of the State for seven years. It is not too much to say that he won at once and maintained while on the Bench the universal respect of the Bar and liti- gants who had occasion to appear before him. As a judge, he was exceedingly painstaking. On any doubtful question he invariably sup- plemented the briefs and arguments of counsel by the most rigid exami- nation of the law of the case before him, by a thorough search of the authorities and in the light of his own reason. He was prompt in his rulings and almost uniformly correct; while he was careful to see that the merits and justice of the case should neither be obscured nor defeated by objections or irregularities that were closely technical and technical only. His instructions to the jury were usually prepared in writing and with great care. The old files of his law office today disclose hundreds of such charges, many of which are very valuable and useful briefs in cases involving the questions which called out the instructions. Judge Mont- gomery grew, both as a lawyer and a judicial officer, during his whole experience upon the Bench, so that when he stepped down from the office he had fairly earned the respect of the profession and the public, and his resignation occasioned a genuine regret to the community. If, when he returned to the Bar, any of his associates had apprehensions as to the wis- dom of his course it was not because they doubted his legal ability or learning, but because the prevailing impression that a judicial career tends to unfit one for advocacy and active practice may not have been entirely absent in this instance. If any such impression existed, however, it was very soon dispelled. He returned to the Bar, ripened and broadened by his experience on the Bench. He had been through all his judicial career a student, expending energies as laboriously upon the law and merits of a controversy before him as did the lawyers employed in the case. With the added incentive of personal relations with his clients and a desire to prevail in establishing what he deemed to be their rights, he allowed no interest to interfere with his undivided duty as an advocate. He believed in the justness of a cause which he championed and his habit of looking at all sides of a question or controversy made him unusually safe as an adviser and unusually fair as an advocate. He was stubborn in opinion, without arrogance. He was persistent in the investigation of fact or law, without the fault of “working a case to death.” He was never guilty of over-try- ing a case or uselessly consuming the time of court, jury or litigants. 388 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Endowed with a most remarkable memory of cases, not only as to their titles and the volume and page in which they were reported, but also as to the exact points involved and decided, he was unusually expeditious in preparing his authorities and informing the court thereon. With clients he was frank and firm. His opinions on the merits of their controversies. were never doubtfully expressed to them and at the same time he was always a persistent and a loyal partisan when his mind was made up on the merits of a controversy and the lines to be pursued. He had not the studied or superficial graces of an orator; his mind was not markedly gifted in imagery or sentiment; but his arguments upon questions of fact were strongly stated, and he was accustomed to dwell upon a point which he desired to make clear until he felt assured that the jury was at least fully possessed of his own opinion. His work as a Justice of the Supreme Court must be judged by its expression in the official reports. The readers of this volume are generally students of those reports. Those which he has written are marked by directness and perspicuity. There is in them no extra verbiage—no surplusage. He makes his points so clear that a layman can understand them, and the reasoning by which he reaches a conclusion is easily followed. It is sufficient to say that his promotion to the Supreme Bench was fully merited and the people of the State have not seen cause to regret the elevation to its highest tribunal of so able and so just a judge, as a successor of Cooley and Campbell. FRANK A. HOOKER, Justice of the Supreme Court. Judge Frank A. Hooker was born in Hartford, Connecticut, January 16, 1844. His father, James Sedgewick Hooker, was also a native of Hartford county, which indeed has been the home of the family for two and a half centuries. He is a lineal descendant, in the seventh generation, of Rev. Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford, Connecticut, a man of original power and resources, who is credited in history with the origination of the doctrine that, "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed." This theory was first enunciated in his sermons when a con- stitution for the colony of Connecticut was under consideration, and found expression in that instrument, adopted in 1639, of which he was the responsible author and which was the first written constitution adopted for an American colony. It afforded the sound legal basis for the Declaration of Independence. It has been recognized in all of the existing political institutions of the United States. The next in line of direct descent from this ancestor was Rev. Samuel Hooker, who passed his life in the vicinity of Hartford; whose wife was Mary, daughter of Capt. Thomas Willett, the first mayor of New York. Samuel and Mary Willett Hooker were the progenitors of all the living descendants of Rev. Thomas Hooker, bearing that name. Rev. Samuel Hooker was a graduate of Harvard of The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago brauchentoken UNIV OF BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 389 the class of 1653. Following the line of descent, his son, Daniel, a phy- sician of high repute, graduated from Harvard in 1700. He was the first tutor of Yale College and afterward became surgeon of the expedition against Canada in 1711; his grandson, Daniel, was also a physician, as were his great-grandson Daniel, and his great-great-grandson, Nathaniel. The last named was the grandfather of Judge Hooker, the subject of this biography. Judge Hooker's mother was Camilla Porter, a native of the State of New York, whose ancestors lived in Connecticut; who was related by descent to the Grants, the Fields and the Porters, all well known families prominent in New England. On his father's side he is descended from the historic families of Eggleston, Sedgewick, Stanley and Webster. When he was twelve years of age he came west with his parents, who set- tled first in Maumee, Ohio, and removed thence soon afterward to Defiance. At the latter place he acquired his primary education in the public schools. When fourteen years old he learned the trade of brick mason and enlarged his education, preliminary to that in the law, by the study of the higher mathematics, history and latin under the tutelage of an older sister who had enjoyed superior educational advantages in New England. He worked at his trade during the summer, and later taught country schools in the winter. In 1863 he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, pursued the regular course and was graduated in the spring of 1865. During the same year he was admitted to the Bar in the States of Michigan and Ohio, at Ann Arbor and Bryan, respectively. He first located at Bryan, and began practice in partnership with John A. Simon, but removed to Charlotte, Michigan, the following year, where he con- tinued to reside until the statute was enacted which requires the Judges of the Supreme Court to live at the capital of the State. He was a resident of Charlotte continuously for twenty-seven years, from and after 1866. While engaged in law practice there he associated with him in partnership Mr. J. E. C. Hickock, and prepared abstract records of the county. Subsequently he was head of the firm of Hooker & DeGraff. He was a successful practitioner and regarded with much favor, both as a counsellor and trial lawyer. During the period of his greatest prestige at the Bar of Eaton county he met in the forum some of the ablest lawyers in the State. He was a student from habit, thoroughly versed in the principles of the law and their application or construction by the appellate courts of the country. He was accustomed to read the reports, and current discussions in law publications, so as to keep fully abreast of the progress in the pro- fession. He prepared his cases after careful study and ample research, and tried them with rare tact and ability. He was always deferential to the Judge on the Bench, as the interpreter of the law, and treated him with unfailing courtesy. He was equally regardful of the rights of attorneys practising at the same Bar and never treated with discourtesy a lawyer employed on the opposite side in the trial of a cause. His course at the Bar was such as to command the approval of the court and the respect of his profes- 390 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. sional brethren. His integrity was conceded; his force of character and ability never questioned by one opposed to him in a controversy. Judge Hooker has always been a Republican in politics, but has not at any time been liable to the charge of pernicious activity. The first office which he held was that of superintendent of schools of Eaton county. Afterwards. he was prosecuting attorney two terms, from 1873 to 1877. In 1878 he was appointed Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, by Governor Croswell. He was afterwards elected and re-elected, serving as Circuit Judge until he resigned to accept the higher position of Justice of the Supreme Court. He was elected first to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Chief Justice Morse, receiving 223, 139 votes, to 222,973 cast for his com- petitor, William Newton, the Democratic-Populist candidate. At the same election the Prohibition candidate received 20,820 votes. In April, 1893, he was re-elected for the full term, which expires December 31, 1903. The candidate against him in this last election was Judge George H. Durand, of Flint. During his service of fifteen years on the Circuit Bench, Judge Hooker presided at some trials of great importance, both criminal and civil, and made a reputation for justice, conscientiousness and impartiality. Among them were upwards of twenty cases of homicide. The murder cases of Carveth, Canfield and Barnard, and the notorious. Pugeley case, and the protracted Perrin-Sibley litigation were among the most important in the annals of Michigan jurisprudence. His influence over juries was unusual, and while able to conceal his opinions of the merits of the case he was able to impress them with the nature and importance of their duty to the parties litigant and the public, so that they rarely wandered from the questions at issue, or failed to reach just ver- dicts. The circuit in which he presided is the most populous in the State of any having a single judge, but his industry and executive ability enabled him to dispose of the business with promptness and satisfaction, both to attorneys and litigants. He possesses certain mental traits that are most admirable in a judge-equability of temper, acute perception and a disposition to be perfectly fair; a mind trained to habits of thought; large powers of concentration and penetration, exceptional capacity for hard work. These characteristics, sustained by incorruptible integrity and supplemented by that indefinable qnality which passes current under the name of judicial temper, gave him high reputation as a Circuit Judge. His breadth of view, vigor of intellect, discriminating discernment of the res gesta and the res adjudicata in a case are among his important quali- fications for the duties of a justice of the Supreme Court. His general competency, his power of endurance in the investigation of the abstract questions of law, or reviewing the procedure of a lower court, and his sound judgment, complete the symmetry and give him rank as one of the very able jurists of the State. Judge Hooker was married August 5, 1868, to Miss Emma E. Carter, daughter of Hon. William Carter, of Defiance. Their family consists of two sons, Harry E. Hooker, a lawyer, of Lansing, and Dr. Charles E. Hooker, of Grand Rapids. UNIV = OF CH The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago JB Moorz BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 391 • JOSEPH B. MOORE, Justice of the Supreme Court. Judge Joseph B. Moore was born in Oakland county, Michigan, November 3, 1845. He attended the district schools and aspired to acquire a thorough classical education. After due preparation he was admitted to Hillsdale College and was a member of the class of 1869. Through stress of poverty, how- ever, he was compelled to leave college in 1868, a year before graduation. He had already chosen the profession of law and his entire self-dependence required that he should qualify himself to earn his living at the practice as early as possible. After leaving Hillsdale he attended the Law School at the University of Michigan for one year. In 1869 he removed to Lapeer and, having been admitted to the Bar, entered upon the practice of his chosen profession. The year following he was elected Circuit Court Com- missioner and held the office two years. In 1872 he was elected prosecut- ing attorney of Lapeer county and re-elected in 1874, serving four years. About this time he was also elected mayor of the city of Lapeer by the largest majority ever given to any man for the office. It was his desire and his purpose to devote himself exclusively to the practice of law, but it was not easy to keep his resolution in the face of a demand made by his political party and supported by a majority of the people. He did, how- ever, decline a nomination to the office of State Senator tendered by the Republican party in 1876. A nomination to the same office was pressed upon him in 1878 with such earnestness that he accepted and was elected. He discharged the duties of legislator with entire acceptability to his con- stituents, but firmly declined a renomination. He had decided irrevocably to employ all of his energies and abilities in his profession. His reputa- tion as a lawyer received numerous and high encomiums for his conduct of the defense in the famous Bernard-Curtis murder trial, where he success- fully defended Mrs. Bernard, a wealthy woman of Grand Rapids. He was equally successful in civil cases of importance and established himself as a practitioner of reputation second to none in the county, within ten years after his admission to the Bar. In 1887 he was elected Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit. It is in the capacity of judge that he has gained most renown and made a reputation coextensive with the State. As judge of this important court he exhibited both legal and executive abilities of a high order. His capacity for work and his energies well directed enabled him to dispose of a very large number of cases. His comprehension of the law and his aptness in applying it to the consideration of each case enabled him to decide them correctly. During a service of eight years in that office he heard and disposed of four hundred and seventy criminal cases and fifteen hundred civil actions. All of these were so carefully con- sidered and so justly determined that of the number appealed only two of the criminal and thirteen of the civil cases were reversed by the Supreme Court. This record probably has few parallels, if any, in the history of jurisprudence in the State of Michigan. It proves that Judge Moore is 392 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. possessed of an analytical mind and acute discrimination; that he is thoroughly versed in the law and has a keen sense of justice; that his judi- cial investigations are pursued with the purpose of arriving at truth and justice; that he is guided and dominated by an integrity of mind and character which cannot be swerved from a line of rectitude. His posses- sion of the qualities which are most desired in a judge was recognized generally by the Bar and the public. His worthiness, for promotion, both as to legal qualifications and personal qualities, caused his nomination in the spring of 1895 as the Republican candidate for Justice of the Supreme Court. He was elected by the largest majority ever given a candidate for that office. He resigned the office of Circuit Judge to accept a seat upon the Supreme Bench, January 1, 1896. He is yet comparatively new to the duties of this high and responsible office. His record as judge of the highest nisi prius Court, however, forms a substantial basis for the predic- tion that his career upon the Supreme Bench will be entirely honorable to himself and useful to the State. It remains only to refer briefly to Judge Moore's family history. His father, Jacob J. Moore, born in New Jersey, is still living. His mother, Hapsebeth Gillett Moore, was born in Allegany county, New York, and died in 1893. His ancestry on both sides came to this country very early in its history. He married in December, 1872, Etta L. Bently, the younger of the two daughters of Joseph and Julia Bently. There are no children the issue of the marriage. Judge and Mrs. Moore have traveled extensively in this country and in Europe. They have assisted a number of young people in their studies and college careers. CHARLES C. HOPKINS, Lansing. Charles Clark Hopkins, the son of Erastus and Climene (Clark) Hopkins, was born in the township of White Lake, Oakland county, Michigan, April 4, 1849. His ancestors were among the earliest settlers in Connecticut, coming from Coventry, England. The family, according to Burke, was of established antiquity and eminence, enjoyed for a long series of years Parliamentary rank, served a succession of monarchs, and acquired civil and military distinction. They were prominent in the affairs of Coventry in the latter part of the sixteenth century, one William Hopkins, Jr., having been mayor in 1564. He had two brothers, Richard and Nicholas, both sheriffs of the same town, in 1554 and 1561 respectively. Richard had two sons, Sampson his heir, and William, proprietor of the lordship of Shortley. Sampson was mayor in 1609. He had three sons, Sir Richard, Sir William, and Sampson, the latter being mayor of Coventry in 1640. The eldest became eminent at the Bar, attained the rank of Sergeant at Law, was Steward of Coventry, and represented the city in Parliament at the Restoration. Their estates by intermarriage passed to General Northey in 1799, and he assumed the • The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Cut Clashind UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 393 surname and arms of Hopkins upon inheriting the estate of his maternal ancestor, and was known as Northey-Hopkins of Oving House. The early Hopkinses of Connecticut are of this family. John Hopkins the progenitor of the Connecticut line -- from whom Charles C. Hopkins is descended — came to this country in 1634 and settled first in Cambridge. About that time the increasing number of colonists suggested the formation of new settlements further westward, and as a result Hartford Colony was estab- lished, and in the colonial records John Hopkins is spoken of as the original owner of the lands then settled. The line of genealogical pro- gression from John Hopkins to Erastus, the father of the subject of this sketch, is as follows: John Hopkins who was made a freeman of Cam- bridge, March 4, 1635, removed to Hartford the same year and died in 1654 leaving a widow and two children, one of whom, Stephen, born in 1634, married Dorcas, a daughter of John Bronson. He died in October, 1689, leaving six children. His eldest son John had eight children, one of whom, Samuel, was a graduate of Yale in 1718 and for some time a min- ister of West Springfield, Massachusetts. Another son, Timothy, was the father of Samuel Hopkins, the celebrated divine who founded the Hopkin- sian School, and was the author of several well-known works, and a promi- nent character in Mrs. Stowe's "Minister's Wooing." President Mark Hopkins of Williams College was of the same family. Another son was Consider, who died in 1726 leaving a family of five children. One of the sons, Consider Jr., was born in West Hartford, June, 1723, served in the Continental Army, and died in Saratoga county, New York, in 1795. He was the father of Mark Hopkins, the grandfather of Charles C. Three uncles of Mark Hopkins were in the Continental Army. One was cap- tured by the British and was starved to death on the "Jersey Prison Ship in New York Harbor, and another was killed by Tory "Cow Boys" while home on a furlough. Erastus Hopkins was born in Paris, Oneida county, New York, Aug. 16, 1804, and moved with his family from Steuben county to Oakland county, Michigan, in the fall of 1834, going in an emigrant wagon the whole distance. He cleared a farm in the wilderness and lived to see the entire country around settled, remaining upon the farm until his death in 1876, his wife having died in November, 1864. Three of his sons were in the Union Army in the War of the Rebellion, one Dan G., being mortally wounded at the battle of South Mountain, Maryland. Charles C. remained on the farm until 1867 when he entered the State Normal School, spending a portion of his time on the farm and teaching. He graduated in the class of 1872 and was at once offered and accepted the principalship of the union school at Rockland, Michigan, remaining two years — spending the summer vacation of 1873 in surveying a section of the U. S. Military Road from Fort Howard, Green Bay, to Fort Wilkins, Copper Harbor. In the fall of 1874 Mr. Hopkins entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, graduating therefrom in 1876. During the Legislative Session of 1875 Mr. Hopkins was clerk of the 394 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. House Judiciary committee and in 1877 of the Senate Judiciary committee. In 1879 and 1881 he was assistant secretary of the State Senate. He was admitted to the Bar in 1876 and practised his profession in Detroit until January, 1882, when the Supreme Court having been empowered, by the adoption of a constitutional amendment, to appoint its own clerk, Mr. Hopkins was appointed to the position now occupied by him. During the fourteen years and upwards that he has been clerk the work of the court has greatly increased and Mr. Hopkins has given the business of his office his entire time and attention. The work is laborious and trying. It requires an aptitude for forms, but during all the years the journal of the court shows great care and skill in the preparation and entry of judgments, decrees and orders, so that he has earned and holds the entire confidence of the Court in all the manifold duties of his office. By the Bar of the State he is regarded as a model clerk. He is always prompt to answer inquiries, and always correct in the draft of orders required to be made. He is genial and kind to every person with whom he comes in contact; is generous and loyal in his friendships, and is greatly loved in his home city as well as by his numerous acquaintances throughout the State. In his appointment the Court made no mistake. He has without doubt a more extensive acquaintance among the members of the legal fraternity than any other person in the State. Mr. Hopkins was married in 1880, and has a wife and three children. EDWARD D. KINNE, Ann Arbor. Judge Kinne was born at DeWitt Center, near Syracuse, New York, February 9, 1842, the youngest child in a family of two sons and one daughter. His parents were natives of New York State and of English descent. His mother was Rachel C. Wetherby. His father, Julius C. Kinne, who died in 1855, was a farmer, a strong man and a member of the New York Legislature several times. He attended the district school until fifteen, and was prepared for college in the Academy at Cazenovia. In 1860 he entered the University of Michigan as a student and was graduated in 1864. After that he went to Washington and became a student of law in the Columbia Law School, while he performed clerical duties under appointment in the diplomatic division of the Treasury Department. He held the clerkship three years, was graduated from the law school and was admitted to the Bar in the District of Columbia. Soon afterwards he settled in Ann Arbor for practice and has retained his residence there continuously. His only partnership in the law was formed with Hon. Olney Hawkins, and it was terminated in 1869. The same year he was elected city recorder and held the office two terms. In 1871 he was chosen city attorney and held that position three terms. He was elected mayor of Ann Arbor in 1876, and re-elected. In 1879 he was elected to the Legislature as a Republican. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 395 In 1887 he was nominated by the Republican convention for Circuit Judge, and elected by a majority of more than two thousand, although the counties of Monroe and Washtenaw, comprising the circuit, were both strongly Democratic. His popularity was not impaired by a service of six years on the Bench. He was re-elected in 1893 by a large majority, spite of the fact that a very determined effort was made by the politicians of the opposing party to compass his defeat. His legal and scholastic attain- ments were excellent when he was first elected to the Bench. A general practice of sixteen years had developed his qualities and established his reputation as a lawyer. His complimentary vote, three thousand larger than that cast for his party's ticket, may be accepted as the public esti- mate of his character and abilities by the community in which he had lived and practised law. His record on the Bench has been such as to command the admiration of the Bar, the confidence of litigants and the approval of the public. He has always been a student, not only of the law, but of the sciences and of politics and history. His growth has, therefore, been continuous. He has breadth of vision and depth of thought. On the Bench he has never manifested the slightest taint of partisanship. His treatment of the Bar, his rulings in a case, his jury charges, all attest that he possesses the judicial temperament to a very marked degree. He has not betrayed any narrowness or any disposition to regard mere technicalities as all-important. He is able to comprehend legal principles and apply them in the determination of a question or a He hears patiently the argument of counsel and decides after due deliberation, thus evidencing his regard for the rights of parties, the courtesy due attorneys, and the desire to be correct in his rulings. His demeanor on the bench impresses every one favorably. There is no exhibition of haste or impatience; no appearance of a desire to be auto- cratic, or to exercise judicial authority as a prerogative and to a degree that savors of oppression. He is earnest, thoughtful, conscientious, im- pressed with the gravity of the functions of a court and the powers of a judge. His freedom from bias or prejudice, his sedulous application in order to arrive at correct conclusions, evidence his conviction that justice is the end of courts of law. He had the united and hearty support of the Bar of his Circuit for the nomination for Justice of the Supreme Court in 1895. His qualifications for the position are undoubted, and he is eminently worthy of the honor. Judge Kinne was married in 1867 to Miss Mary C. Hawkins, daughter of Olney Hawkins, who was leader of the Ann Arbor Bar for many years. She died in 1882, leaving a son and a daughter. The son, Samuel D., was graduated from the Literary and Law Departments of the University of Michigan, but, instead of devoting himself to the law, settled in Colorado and engaged in the mining business. The daughter, Mary W., is a student in Packer Institute, New York. He was married a second time in 1884 to Mrs. Florence S. Kelly (nee Jewett), of Ann Arbor. case. 1 396 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. HIRAM J. BEAKES, late of Ann Arbor. Judge Hiram J. Beakes was born in Middletown, New York, September 6, 1827. He studied law with Clark & Rapello, the latter of whom was for many years a Justice of the New York Court of Appeals. In 1851 he was admitted to the Bar. The same year he removed to Ann Arbor and began the practice of law. In 1854 he was elected Circuit Court Commissioner, in 1863 a member of the State Legislature, and in 1864 he was elected judge of probate of Washte- naw county, to which position he was re-elected in 1868. In 1873 he was elected mayor of Ann Arbor, and the next year was re-elected to that position. In 1880 he was nominated for Presidential elector on the Dem- ocratic ticket. For some years he was the acknowledged head of the Washtenaw Bar. In 1875 he opened a law office in Detroit with Hon. Sullivan M. Cutcheon, under the firm name of Beakes & Cutcheon, shortly changed to Beakes, Cutcheon & Stillwagen. He continued, however, to retain a good part of his Ann Arbor clientage, still making his home in that city. The new Detroit firm had built up a large practice at the time of Judge Beakes' death, which occurred May 18, 1882, in the prime of his life and usefulness. Judge Beakes possessed fine legal attainments and in point of ability as a lawyer ranked among the first in the State. He delighted in tracing legal propositions back to their beginning and was a great student of English as well as American law. In their resolutions, the Detroit Bar spoke of him as one of its most eminent members, stating that they were called upon to mourn the loss of one whose high professional attainments, pure character and strenuous industry won for him distinction and success in his profession and eminence and usefulness in the various stations of civil life to which the confidence of his fellow citizens had called him. Judge E. D. Kinne in addressing the Washtenaw Bar said: "There is no commendation or praise but what our departed brother is entitled to. He was a man of broad and liberal culture, of fine literary talents. A more delightful gentleman was never met in the home circle. Judge Beakes never failed to give information to those seeking it from him and I never questioned his opinions. He was an humble man, a gentleman, a true and faithful lawyer and a trusted friend." A large number of the present leading lawyers and jurists of the State studied law in Judge Beakes' office. He was survived by his wife and only daughter. SETH C. RANDALL, Ann Arbor. Mr. Randall, prosecuting attorney of Washtenaw county, is a native of Orleans county, New York, where he was born February 15, 1842. His father, George A. Randall, was born in the same State, Wayne county, July 14, 1819, and died seventy-six years later. His mother is a native of Buffalo, where she was born May 24, 1819, and is now living in this state at Birmingham, Oakland county. The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago H&Beakes. UNIK OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 397 Mr. Randall came into the State with his parents when only seven years of age. His parents located on a farm four miles from Battle Creek, and remained there two years. Much sickness was prevailing in that neighborhood and his parents became discouraged with the outlook. They determined to return to New York, where they felt sure of good health, and started to drive overland. They passed through the villages that are now prosperous cities along the line of the Michigan Central Railroad, until they came to Wayne. Here they stopped to visit an uncle, and after a few days all went north into Oakland county to visit a sister of the elder Randall. She was living at Birmingham, and the appearance of the coun- try around that village so pleased Mr. Randall that he purchased a farm and made it his permanent home. He was a farmer, but did much butcher- ing during the season for the Detroit markets. In this work he was assisted by his son Seth, who remained at home until he was twenty years of age. The Civil War had then been raging about a year and the young man saw his duty at the front. Accordingly he enlisted in Company D, 22d Michi- gan Volunteer Infantry, and served throughout the war. His early educa- tion had been somewhat neglected, and when he came out of the army he made what haste he could to atone for the lack of schooling in youth. He took a course in Bryant & Stratton's Business College at Detroit, and attended the public school at Birmingham for a year, beginning with the fall term of 1865. He attended the high school at Ypsilanti one year and then taught school for a year. While he was teaching he was also doing preparatory work for the University of Michigan. He entered that school in 1868, and spent two years in its literary department. He was employed as principal of the Burr Oak schools in 1870 for two years, and then entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, and in due time was graduated with the class of 1874. He settled at Dundee and practised law for nine years, and is still a member of the firm of Randall & Corbin, in that place. He came to Ann Arbor and opened an office in 1883. He is still engaged there and is a member of the firm of Randall & Jones. He has always been a Republican, and cast his first vote for Lincoln while home on a furlough from the army. He has held several local offices, and stands high in the esteem of those who know him best. He is a public spirited man and ready to co-operate with any movements that look to general improvement. He was treasurer of Bloomfield town- ship, Oakland county, for one term, and for two terms was superintendent of schools for Dundee township, Monroe county. For two terms he was secretary of the board of school examiners for Monroe county. He is in his first term as prosecuting attorney of Washtenaw county. He was mar- ried in May, 1870, to Miss Ellen L. Plank, of Dundee. They have one son, H. M. Randall, who is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and is at the present time in charge of the scientific department of the high school at Saginaw, teaching physics and chemistry. 398 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. JOHN LOGAN CHIPMAN, late of Detroit. The Chipman family was established in this country in 1630, and each generation has had distinguished representatives in public life. John Chipman, the first of the family on American soil, wedded a daughter of John Howland, a Mayflower pilgrim, and their grandson John, was a graduate of Harvard College and a minister of Beverly, where he died at the age of eighty-four. Another of the family, Nathaniel Chipman, was a learned and accomplished judge of the highest court of Vermont in the closing years of the last century. Henry Chipman, his son, was a gentleman of wide culture and great ability. He wedded Martha Logan, whose father was a wealthy planter of South Caro- lina, and came with his beautiful bride to Detroit in 1820. He made a deep impression upon the frontier, and quickly became one of its leading spirits. Here John Logan Chipman was born June 5, 1830, and grew to manhood with the scent of the wildwoods in the air he breathed. He was educated in the city schools and in the University of Michigan, but left school before he had completed his University course to enter the service of the Montreal Mining Company, and was sent by them into the Upper Peninsula to seek desirable locations for mining enterprises. While in their employment he spent his leisure time in reading law, and was admitted to the Bar in that remote region. In these years he became intimately acquainted with the Indian on his native heath, and championed their interests in after years. He inherited a special talent for the law; his personal qualities pushed him to the front, and the northern country soon became too pent-up a Utica for his masterful powers. He returned to Detroit, and in 1856 was elected city attorney, a position which he held for four years, making a creditable record. In 1864 he was elected to the Legislature, and history speaks of him as one of its upright and influential members. In 1866 he made his first venture into National politics as the leader of a forlorn Democratic hope, making a very earnest campaign as a candidate for Congress. He was not elected the odds were too great but he carried the city of Detroit by a handsome majority, and bound the city to himself by ties that were never broken. The following year he was appointed attorney for the city police board, and served in that position until he ascended the Bench in 1879 as Judge of the Detroit Superior Court. He had been engaged in a professional career of a quarter of a century, and had won a wide reputation as an accomplished and eloquent lawyer. He excelled in every function of his profession, and was regarded as one of the greatest trial lawyers of his day. In cross examination and in his address to the jury, he was the beau-ideal of the American trial lawyer. Judge Chipman also won great reputation on the Bench. He was a master of the law, and he followed innate promptings of justice. He served out his first term of six years and was re-elected without opposi- tion. In every controversy he sought the facts and asked what was right, and in repeated instances his decisions have been quoted by the Supreme OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago. 10. A Kent t MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 399 Courts as almost perfect crystallizations of the law governing controverted points. He was a man of the people, and declared that no man should suffer injustice in his court because of poverty. The enlightened libel law of Michigan rests almost entirely upon his affirmed decisions. He resigned the judicial office which he had so successfully administered to become a member of the House of Representatives of the Fiftieth Congress, and once in his place he seemed to have been specially fitted for it. He was naturally a law-maker, as he was naturally a lawyer and a judge. He was the representative of the business interests of Detroit, and had friends among the people regardless of party. He was a member of the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs and his voice was the voice of young America. He had an eye to the future and advocated a policy which he declared would cause “our flag to float where other flags were seen and which would give us a fair share of the commerce of the globe out of which other nations are making so much at our expense. He was a friend of the soldier and stoutly protected his interests. He was active in behalf of every proposed improvement of the Great Lakes and foresaw an ultimate deep water way from the West to the ocean. He favored a vigorous foreign policy, and declared that he never closed a public address without the thought that Canada should be annexed to the Union. His career as a judge and a representative are preserved in the history of the Nation, and there his place is secure. He died January 25, 1894, while yet in the full prime of his splendid powers, and at a period when age had not chilled the generous impulses of his heart. He had witnessed the sublime transfiguration of his country, and for him life had been worth the candle. He filled many positions of trust and left a record without a stain. Fifty thousand people waited upon the funeral train that bore his remains through the streets of his native city to their last resting place in Elmwood cemetery. He was stricken down at home in the midst of preparations for his journey to Washington, but in the face of danger he went to the Capitol. He grew worse and was carried to the hospital. When the fatal character of his disease became apparent and the result could not long be delayed, he took the hand of his faithful companion, and said "Wife, repeat the Lord's Prayer with me, and even as its accents were trembling on his lips he fell asleep, and the Congress and the country lost one of its most faithful and useful Representatives. CHARLES A. KENT, Detroit. The subject of this sketch was born October 11, 1835, in Hopkinton, St. Lawrence county, New York. His parents, Artemas Kent and Sarah Weed, were New England people. The Kents on emigrating to America settled in Suffield county, Connecti- cut, where they lived for several generations. The grandfather of our subject lived in Dorset, Vermont, and his son Artemas, a farmer, left New 400 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. England and located in New York in young manhood. Charles A. Kent was fitted for college in St. Lawrence Academy, at Potsdam, New York, and entered the University of Vermont at Burlington in 1852. On com- pletion of the classical course he was graduated in 1856. For the year next ensuing he was principal of an academy at Montpelier, and for the next two years he was a student in Andover Theological Seminary. In the fall of 1859 he came to Detroit and began the study of law with Messrs. C. I. and E. C. Walker and Alfred Russell. The following year he was admitted to the Bar and in 1861 formed a partnership with E. C. Walker, one of his preceptors, which continued for nineteen years. Since 1880 he has been engaged in practice alone. He was law professor in the University of Michigan from 1868 to 1886, a period of eighteen years. He was married in 1874 to Frances C. King, daughter of R. W. King of Detroit. Mr. Kent has devoted the last thirty-six years unreservedly to the profession of law. He has never sought political office, although he has rendered active support to his party and never neglected the duties of good citizenship. He has served on the board of education for the city of Detroit four years and in 1882 was a member of the commission appointed. to revise the tax laws of the State. of law and successful in practice. would not be classed with great advocates. than ornate. His method is that of the teacher rather than the declaimer. Many hundreds of students in the University Law School bear enthusi- astic testimony to the perspicuity of his expositions before the class. His knowledge of a subject is thorough and his ability to impart knowledge to others is well attested. In the class room he was resourceful, always having something to say which was not only interesting, but also valuable as a preparation for young lawyers. The title "Professor" is worthily bestowed on him. For his long and successful service in that relation he will be remembered and esteemed by members of the Bar of Michigan and other states who have enjoyed the benefit of his lectures. Professor Kent is an He has been a close, critical student Making no pretensions to oratory he His speech is didactic rather modest man, predisposed to undervalue his own abilities. He is a relative of the great Chancellor Kent. The lineage of both is traced to a common ancestor, the Chancellor being the third generation and Charles A. the fifth in descent. There is a marked predilection for the law in the Kent family. Some of the cases of unusual public interest with which Mr. Kent has been connected as counsel are the following: In the Supreme Court of the United States "Township of Pine Grove vs. Talcott (19 Wallace 666"). This case involved the validity of about $1,500,000 of bonds issued by the municipalities of Michigan, which the Supreme Court of the State had held void in 1870. For a period of four years thereafter the legal questions involved attracted the attention of the Bar and the issue was awaited with interest by the public. “Tucker vs. Ferguson (22 Wallace 527"), which involved the right of the State of Michigan to tax a large area of railroad lands. It excited general interest at the time. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 401 A more recent “Lord vs. Steamship Company (102 U. S. Statutes 541"). In this case it was first held that commerce passing on the ocean from one port to another port in the same State was foreign commerce within the meaning of the Constitution of the United States and hence subject to Federal jurisdiction. In the Supreme Court of the State, "Youngblood vs. Sex- ton (32 Michigan 406'). This case involved the question whether under a Constitution which prohibited the granting of a license to sell intoxicat- ing liquors, the business of selling such liquors could be specially taxed. The question was one of remarkable interest at the time. "State Tax Law Cases (54 Michigan 117"). In these were involved the validity of the tax law of 1882, a subject then of great interest to the tax payers. 'Palms vs. Palms (68 Mich. 335''). In this case the validity of a will disposing of property valued at several millions was attacked, and the con- struction of the statutes of the State as to the time in which property can be tied up was also a question to be determined. The Detroit papers devoted a great deal of space to this cause during the trial. case which has attracted universal attention, not only in the State but elsewhere, is "The City of Detroit vs. The Citizens' Street Railway Com- pany et al,'' involving the question whether or not the provisions of the State Constitution and statutes prohibiting the creation of certain corpora- tions for a period of more than thirty years operate to prevent municipali- ties from granting to such corporations the right to occupy the streets for a period extending beyond the limits of their chartered lives. This action was brought in the State Court and transferred to the U. S. Circuit Court, whence some defendants appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States and others to the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It is a safe assertion that no other case in the State of Michigan has ever attracted so much public attention. An old practitioner of Detroit says of Mr. Kent: "He is a well read man, as may be known by the fact of his deliv- ering lectures at Ann Arbor for eighteen years. He forms his opinions slowly and adheres to them with great tenacity when once formed. He was spoken of by the Republican party for membership on the Supreme Bench and possesses qualities which would have added strength to the Bench." A very prominent judge says: "He is a most excellent coun- sellor, but not a jury advocate, which may account for this. He is candid, reliable and safe-as much so as any lawyer in Detroit.' WILLARD MERRICK LILLIBRIDGE, Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit, of Detroit. Judge Lillibridge was born at Blossvale, Oneida county, New York, in 1846, and came of an old New England family. His ancestors settled in Rhode Island about the middle of the seventeenth century, and were connected with the early settlement and development of that Colony. Rev. David Lillibridge, the great-grandfather of the subject 26 402 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. of this sketch, was a Baptist Clergyman, long located at Willington, Con- necticut. He was a man of sturdy patriotism, and a soldier in the French and Indian War. Ira Lillibridge and Sophronia Merrick, the parents of the Detroit jurist, were married, and settled in Blossvale about 1822. They had a numerous family of sons and daughters, of which Willard Merrick was the youngest, with one exception. The father was a farmer and lumberman, and was glad to provide his children with every educa- tional advantage that the times afforded. Willard M. attended the public. schools at Blossvale and Taberg, was a student in the seminaries at Whitestown and Cazenovia, and entered Hamilton College in 1865, took a full classical course, and was graduated with honor in 1869. Soon after graduation, he became superintendent of the public schools at Plattsburgh, New York, where he remained two years, and was very successful as a teacher. He had, while in school, cherished the purpose of adopting the law as his profession, and during his college studies had taken an extra course in that direction; while teaching he had also been a careful student of the elementary works of the law, under the guidance of an eminent lawyer. In 1871 he resolved to devote his entire energies to preparation for the career in that profession. He studied one year in St. Louis, and then returned to Detroit and became a student in the office of Walker & Kent, then one of the leading law firms in that city. He was admitted to the bar in 1873, and soon afterward opened an office in Detroit. Judge Lillibridge says with candor, that his success at the Bar was slow and gradual, and he passed through those years of discouragement and wait- ing, which seem to be the lot of all. He had abundant time to carefully prepare the cases submitted to his charge and to continue further his systematic study of the law. Success came at last, and his professional and business interests became profitable. He had a large clientage, includ- ing some of the leading business firms and corporations in the city. While in practice, he was employed in many cases in Detroit and elsewhere, and his reputation as a learned, careful, and clear-headed counsellor and lawyer, became well known. Among the cases tried by him, may be mentioned the Southworth Will case, in the United States Court at Mil- waukee, and the well known Mandamus case against the Diamond Match Co., in Delaware, which he conducted successfully through all the Courts of that State. Mr. Lillibridge was also retained and conducted the extended litigation of David M. Richardson, involving a large amount of property, and was counsellor for Rodney Mason in his suit against the George T. Smith Middlings Purifier Co., and had charge of the later pro- ceedings against the receivers of that Company. He was attorney for the board of education on several occasions, and in 1891, was nominated by Mayor Pingree for city counsellor. He has always been a lawyer of busi- ness characteristics. He knows the law thoroughly, and makes his client's cause his own. A prominent member of the Detroit bar says of him: "Prior to his elevation to the bench, Judge Willard M. Lillibridge UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago. Henry 26. Swan MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 403 was regarded as a sound business lawyer, and his advice was much sought after in the management of large business interests and in the settlement of estates. As a Judge, he is characterized by a keen sense of right and justice. He has given general satisfaction by his quick perception of the law, and by his promptness of decision; at the same time he has exhibited a suavity of demeanor, too often absent in men of earnest purpose. It is a pleasure to try a meritorious case before him, as you feel, when your cause is just, that even twelve dishonest jurors cannot beat you. Judge Lillibridge is a gentleman of literary culture, and is well posted in the topics of the day. From his early manhood, Mr. Lillibridge has been interested in the cause of public education. He has served two terms in the Detroit board of education, and while on the board, did much hard work in securing the appropriation for the Public Library Building of that city; he was a strong supporter of the night-school system, and labored earnestly for the adop- tion of free-text books, and has made numerous addresses on various occasions connected with the city schools. A local paper bears this testi- mony to his sterling character: "Mr. Lillibridge is a man of liberal culture and wide sympathies. He is a well equipped, able, and profound lawyer, and eminently fitted by ability and temperament to fill the position of Circuit Judge." Since taking his position on the Bench, Judge Lillibridge has tried many important cases, among which may be mentioned: The Libel case of Randall vs. The Evening News, and the well known King Will case. His charge to the jury in the latter case attracted considerable attention throughout the State as a remarkably clear exposition of the law, bearing on such cases. He has also heard and tried many cases of espe- cial interest to the inhabitants of Detroit, among which should be men- tioned his ruling adverse to the Tax Spy System, and his opinion, holding that agreements between transportation companies, inconsistent with the rights and convenience of the public, are against public policy, and there- fore void. Judge Lillibridge affiliates with the Republican party, but is not a politician, in the office-seeking sense of the term. He is consider- ably interested in business affairs, and is a stock-holder in a number of corporations. In December, 1882, he was married to Miss Katherine Hegeman, of New York City, and has two children, a daughter and a son, living. He, with his family, attends the Presbyterian Church. HENRY H. SWAN, Detroit. Henry H. Swan, Judge of the U. S. District Court, is of English-Scotch and German extraction-the son of Joseph G. Swan, a native of New York, whose ancestors were Scotch and English and Mary C. Ling, a native of Germany, whose parents emi- grated from Germany and settled at Detroit in 1832. His father was a machinist who lived at Detroit until his death, in 1873. His grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812. Henry H. was born in Detroit, October 404 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 2, 1840. His earliest education away from the hearthstone was obtained in the public schools. Afterwards he attended the excellent private school in Detroit, conducted by S. L. Campbell and later by Dr. C. F. Soldan. In this school he was prepared for college and in 1858 he entered the Lit- erary Department of the University of Michigan. After passing the exami- nation for admission to the senior class, and before completing the course, he left the university and went to California. Subsequently, however, the regular degree in course was conferred upon him the same as if he had remained and completed his studies. During the five years of his resi- dence in California he acquired by experience considerable knowledge of inland navigation, as he was engaged in steamboating on the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. His spare time was occupied with the study of law and he was admitted to practice in that State early in 1867. He returned to Detroit during the same year and entered the law office of D. B. and H. M. Duffield. In October, 1867, he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Michigan. He began the practice at once and very soon thereafter demonstrated his abilities, and his possession of liberal acquirements in the law. April 15, 1870, he was appointed assistant U. S. District Attorney at Detroit, and held the position seven years, when he became associated in partnership with the late A. B. Maynard, who was the United States attorney for the judicial district. Each had tested the capacity and mettle of the other, in their intimate relations while prose- cuting the pleas of the United States together, and the business partner- ship was therefore not experimental. It was entered into deliberately and continued with most satisfactory results until January 13, 1891, when Mr. Swan was appointed Judge of the United States District Court. While the practice of the firm was general, a preference was given to civil business, and many of the cases conducted by Maynard & Swan were of transcend- ant importance. Judge Swan gave the subject of maritime law especial thought and investigation. Some of the admiralty cases with which he was connected while in practice were most noteworthy. Reference to some of the more important cases may be given as follows: The J. P. Donald- son (21 U. S. 671); Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Co. vs. Boston Marine Insurance Co. (136 U. S. 408); The Manitoba (122 U. S. 97); The North Star (43 U. S. 807). At the Bar he was noted for his remark- able recollection of authorities; his persistence and thoroughness in the preparation of his cases; his sincere and candid presentation of the cause of his client. He was always above petty shifts or the taking of small- advantages. His fullness of knowledge, assisted by the faculty of speech acquired by careful observation, diligent study and perseverant practice gave fluency and directness to his argument. He argued also with the keeness of an analyist and the fervor of one who believes in his cause. As a judge he is distinguisned for his wealth of learning, accurate and reten- tive memory of the decisions of the U. S. Supreme Court and the State Courts. He is a patient and attentive listener, singularly free from mere BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 405 pride of opinion and most painstaking in his efforts to arrive at a cor- rect conclusion. His written opinions display the niceties of discrimina- ting judgment and a high standard of morality. They may be regarded as the exegesis of legal propositions presented for consideration. His trained reason is able to test the arguments of lawyers for truth, and his trained conscience may be relied upon to test the morality of a question presented. He analyses the substance of an argument, unravels its threads. and weaves them into a logical decision whose soundness and integrity can scarcely be assailed. In the Detroit City Railway case, tried in his Court, Judge Taft presiding, wrote the leading opinion. Judge Swan prepared an elaborate opinion dissenting. Upon appeal the United States Circuit Court of Appeals reached his conclusion, overruling the Circuit Judge. Judge Swan has participated in several of the important decisions of the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals of the Sixth Circuit, where his experience and superior knowledge in the admiralty branch of jurisprudence are of great usefulness. He enjoys in an unusual degree the esteem and affection of the Bar. April 30, 1873, he married Miss Jennie E. Clark, daughter of Rev. W. C. Clark, a retired Presbyterian clergyman. They have two children, William M. and Mary C. Swan. SYLVESTER LARNED, late of Detroit. Col. Sylvester Larned was born in that city, September 23, 1820, and died in London, England, November 25, 1893. The three score and thirteen years of his many-sided life were so full of useful activities that their story becomes an important part of the history of the State and Nation. As a public speaker he was called the silver-tongued orator of Michigan. His was the gift of elo- quence by which he could move an audience at will. The charm of his voice, the powers of his mind and the energies of a tireless nature were continuously employed in the service of his community. He came of a family eminent for generations. His father, Gen. Charles Larned, was a graduate of Williams College in 1806, a student of law with Henry Clay, a man of more than ordinary ability and a soldier in the war of 1812. He made his home in Detroit and to the day of his death was the friend and confident of Gen. Lewis Cass. He was United States attorney in 1814, and the next year was trustee of Detroit. He was Probate Judge from 1818 to 1825. He was prosecuting attorney in 1821, and a second time United States attorney for the territory. He died of cholera in 1834 while actively at work for the relief of unfortunate victims of the scourge. Gen. Simon Larned, the grandfather of Sylvester, was also a distinguished citi- zen and soldier. He served in the Revolution as an aid to General Wash- ington. There are other strong characters back of him in the ancestral line, so that Sylvester Larned had a heredity of manly worth and char- acter. It is not too much to say that he lived well up to the pattern left 406 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. by these noted men. As a boy he early manifested the qualities that fore- shadowed his future eminence and was kindly regarded both by his teach- ers and his schoolmates. In manhood he was a good example of the scholar engaged in the activities of business life. He received his first instruction in a private school occupying a building that still stands at the southwest corner of Randolph and Congress streets. When more advanced he was sent to Kenyon College at Gambier, Ohio, then under the charge of that eminent divine and scholar, Bishop McIlvaine. He remained there but a few months and then went to Andover, Massachusetts, where he pre- pared for Yale College. Interesting stories of his career at Andover are still part of the family lore. His career at Yale was brilliant. He was graduated in 1842 in company with some of the most prominent char- acters of the last generation. Among them were Theodore Runyan, after- wards chancellor of New Jersey and lately Minister to Germany; another was James Hadley, the celebrated Greek scholar, whose text books are familiar to all students of the language; a third was David Hennen, who served with much distinction in the Confederate army and afterwards became prominent at the New York Bar. While at Yale Mr. Larned was a member of the Greek letter fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi. On returning to Detroit he entered upon the study of law and in 1845 was admitted to practice. Equipped by a powerful assemblage of intellectual faculties and fortified by a thorough education, the young attorney entered almost at once into a good business, and was soon proclaimed the peer of any law- yer at the Bar of the county. He possessed rare gifts of oratory, was the master of elegant English, and unsurpassed in the power to sway an audi- ence at will. His voice of silver purity and sympathetic intonation was most exquisitely modulated, so as to compass the entire range of human emotions. The effect of his massive, insinuating argument upon a jury was so evident that old lawyers employed on the opposite side could not always conceal their anxiety. Such oratorical gifts, united with strong convictions, early led him into the arena of politics and his voice was heard on the hustings, pleading for the election of General Harrison, before he reached the age of twenty. As a Whig, opposed to slavery, he naturally fell in with the organization of the Republican party in 1854. He was active in its formation in Michigan and his name is fortieth on the roll of signers of its first declaration of principles. Notwithstanding his interest and activity in political movements, he never sought or would accept a nomination for any office. A single limitation of this statement is required by his acceptance of the office of school inspector for the twelfth ward of Detroit, which he held from 1876 to 1879, as a recognized duty of citizenship by one interested in the matter of education. He was not a member of any secret society except the Greek fraternity, although he won a national reputation by his conduct of Industry Lodge of Sons of Malta, of which fun-making institution he was Grand Commander for sev- eral years preceding the Civil War. When that grim-visaged monster BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 407 appeared in the land there was no longer disposition for the comical, and what was designed to be a broad burlesque on all secret orders, died for lack of interest. In his religious convictions Mr. Larned accepted the Calvanistic tenets. He was a strong and unwavering supporter of the Westminster Church, the leading Presbyterian Church of Detroit, in which he had membership. Before the war he became interested in ship- building and commerce. For a time he was the owner of two steamers, the Minnesota and the E. Whitney. The business was not adapted to his nature. He found little room for the play of imagination or the exercise of passion and sympathy, in the transportation of passengers and merchan- dise from one lake port to another. He soon returned to the forum and his voice was again heard in the court room in all its rich variety, stirring the emotions of a jury. When the Civil War broke out the value of his services to the Union was recognized by his appointment as lieutenant colonel of the Second Michigan Infantry. Governor Blair expressed regret at the time that he could not name him for a higher position. Colonel Larned was in the service only a few months when he was stricken by a severe and exhausting brain fever, which compelled him to resign and return home. His vital energies were so impaired that longer continu- ance at the front was impossible. As a lawyer he was indefatigable in preparation, alert and keen in trial, and powerful in appeal to the jury; so that he was engaged on one side or the other in many of the most noted cases in the Michigan and Ohio courts. He was counsel for the notorious Bennett G. Burleigh, tried on the charge of piracy for endeavoring to free Confederate prisoners on Johnson's Island, off Sandusky. He was counsel for plaintiff in the celebrated Mollitor case, in which every consideration of honor and chivalrous devotion to outraged and defenseless womanhood inspired him to almost superhuman heights of impassioned oratory. Hardly was there an important case on the docket of the higher courts in Detroit for nearly forty years in which his influence was not felt in some The record of his long and conspicuous career at the Bar is a most. appropriate monument to his memory, on which may truthfully be inscribed: “An Honest Lawyer, faithful to his clients, just and honorable in his dealings with all men." His personal character was equally charm- ing. Of pronounced literary taste and master of the best literature of French and English publication, he was also interested in music. He took much delight in the management of the spacious grounds of his old River Street homestead. His habits were domestic, and after business hours he could be found at home enjoying its pleasures to the utmost. He had been a confirmed smoker in early life, but after his illness in the army he never could bear tobacco in any form. He was always absteminous, using liquors in the utmost moderation. His hereditary membership in the Order of Cincinnatus has passed to his eldest son, Charles P. Larned. As the years went by Colonel Larned felt their impress, and by the opening of 1893 he had grown quite feeble. A voyage to England, including a way. 408 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. visit to his married daughter, Mrs. Francis Arthur Bowen, residing there, was undertaken with the hope of improving his health. He reached that country and spent some time at his daughter's home in Devonshire; but while in the city of London, in Gloucester Place, Portman Square, he was prostrated with an illness that quickly proved fatal. This illness was the termination of a nervous affection contracted while in the army, which compelled his retirement from active service. He was married twice, his first wife being Ellen Lansing, whose father was the founder of the city of Lansing. His second wife, Ellen S. Lester, who survives him with three children, was the daughter of Charles Edwards Lester, the eminent his- torian, who was Consul General at Genoa, Italy, for eight years. Colonel Larned had two children by his first wife, viz: Mrs. Francis Arthur Bowen, of London, England, and Mrs. Wm. E. Fitch, of Louisville, Kentucky. By his second wife he had three children, viz: Charles Pierpont Larned, born September 30, 1863, who studied law with his father-was admitted to the Bar in 1884, and was associated with his father in business until the death of the latter and since that time has practised alone; has devoted much of his time to dealing in real estate and is now connected with several large corporations; Lester Edwards Larned, born August 3, 1867, who is an elec- trical engineer in Detroit; Mrs. Bertram C. Whitney, of Detroit. ALFRED RUSSELL, Detroit. Mr. Russell was born at Plymouth, Grafton county, New Hampshire, March 18, 1830. The Russell family from whom our subject is descended came to Massachusetts in 1660, from Bedfordshire, England. His father was William Wallace Russell, son of Hon. Moor Russell, an officer in the Revolution, and for many years State Councillor of New Hampshire. The father of Moor, who was the great- grandfather of Alfred Russell, was an officer in the Colonial army and lost his life at the siege of Fort William Henry. Alfred's mother, Susan Carleton Webster, was the daughter of Humphrey Webster, whose great- grandfather came to America from Ipswich, England, and settled in Ips- wich, Massachusetts, in 1648. She was born in Salisbury, New Hamp- shire, in the house next to that in which her kinsman, Hon. Daniel Web- ster, was born. His paternal great-grandfather, William Webster, was colonel of the Twelfth New Hampshire regiment in the battle of Saratoga, the decisive battle of the American Revolution. Alfred Russell, with his hereditary traits of intelligence, accentuated by the union of two such families, early gave evidence of great promise. He was carefully educated in the best schools of New Hampshire, attending Holmes Academy, in Plymouth, Gilmanton Academy, in Gilmanton, Kimball Union Academy, Meriden Village, Plainfield, and Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated second in the class of 1850 (Mr. Justice Brooks, of Canada, being first). He had at an early date decided upon the profession of law In farkthalle Пильни Alfred Nurses. OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 409 * as his life calling and on graduating from Dartmouth he entered the office of William C. Thompson at Plymouth, a son of the preceptor of Daniel Webster. Later Mr. Russell attended the Law Department of Harvard University, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in 1852. He wrote a prize essay on the law of Landlord and Tenant. He was admitted to the Bar at Meredith Bridge (now Laconia), New Hampshire, in October, 1852, when twenty-two years old, and removed to Detroit in November following. James F. Joy was then in active practice and the young man from New Hampshire found his office a safe harbor. He formed a part- nership the following year with Judge C. I. Walker and his brother, which continued until 1861, at which time, at the age of thirty-one, he was appointed by President Lincoln, United States district attorney for Michi- gan, which is the only office he ever held. This office during war time, in a frontier State, was one of great responsibility and labor. Mr. Seward, Secretary of State, sent him on diplomatic missions to Canada, in connec- tion with the St. Albans Raid and the Lake Erie Raid. The suspension of the habeas corpus, the internal revenue laws, and the draft laws, during that period required a vast amount of work and judicious administration. Mr. Russell imbibed the principles of Republicanism with his earliest breath and brought with him from New Hampshire's hills that love of freedom, and that sense of justice and equality of all men before the law, which led to the formation of the Republican party in Michigan. He took an active part in its organization, being associated (although much younger) with Austin Blair, Zachariah Chandler, the two Howards, Bing- ham and others whose names afterward became identified prominently with the party and the State. He was president of the Michigan Repub- lican Club in the Fremont campaign, and also during the Lincoln cam- paigns, and spoke during the canvass at mass meetings with Hon. Salmon P. Chase. He took part in both the political campaigns of General Grant and those of Hayes, Garfield, Harrison, and indeed he has been an active participant in the great battles of the party to which he early gave adher- ence and to which he loyally clung. He has never sought political office of any kind, although he was strongly supported in 1880 and again in 1889 for a vacancy on the U. S. Supreme Court Bench. Under one administration he declined the German mission and under another an offer of membership in the Inter State Commerce Commission. He has uniformly refused judicial as well as political office. When traveling abroad Mr. Russell met Mr. Bryce, author of the "American Commonwealth," and was the first to call that author's attention to the work of Judge Cooley. His aid is acknowledged by Mr. Bryce in the preface of his third edition. He has instructed many students in the law, and some eminent lawyers have graduated from his office, including Judge Henry B. Brown, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. While he has been a very busy and active practitioner in the profession, he has found time for other and congenial occupation as a member of the Michigan Historical 410 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Society, as president of the Detroit Club, vice president of the Young Men's Society, president of the Michigan Political Science Association and a member of the Webster Historical Society. He was also a founder of the Detroit Boat Club, and the Detroit Light Guard which contributed eighty officers to the U. S. armies in the civil war. The study of history and literature has been his pastime and pleasure. Besides addresses at the University of Michigan he delivered the commencement address at Dart- mouth College, in 1878, his subject being "Some Effects of the Growth of Cities on our Political System," and in August, 1891, he delivered the annual address before the American Bar Association at Boston on "Avoid- able Causes of Delay and Uncertainty in our Courts.” His address before so important a body was most favorably noticed and attracted wide atten- tion. He has been a contributor of numerous articles to law journals and other periodicals. Dartmouth conferred upon him in 1891 the degree of LL. D. Mr. Russell's career as a lawyer has been full of activity. In 1858, at the age of twenty-eight, he was admitted to the Bar of the U. S. Supreme Court and argued the case of Allen vs. Newberry (21 Howard, 244), involving a question of constitutional law, and Cordes vs. Steamer Niagara (21 Howard, 7), being the first discussion in the Supreme Court on the act of Congress of 1851 limiting the liability of ship owners. Both of these cases have been frequently cited since that time. Of other cases in which he has appeared in the U. S. Supreme Court we cannot enter into detail; but some of the more important are quoted as follows: Beaubien vs. Beaubien (23 Howard, 190); Moore vs. The American Co. (24 Howard, 1); Leonard vs. Davis (1 Black, 476); Jerome vs. McCarter (21 Wall, 20); same (94 U. S., 734); U. S. vs. Repentigny (5 Wall, 211); Allore vs. Jewell (94 U. S., 506); exparte Wilson (115 U. S., 417); Shaw vs. Quincy Co. (145 U. S., 444); Pewabic Company vs. Mason (133 U. S., 50); exparte Slayton (105 U. S., 451); Richardson vs. Hardwick (106 U. S., 252). Some of these are often cited. His name is found in every volume of the Michigan Reports from volume III. to volume CI., and in the Federal Reporter and other United States reports. He is a laborious student, preparing his cases thoroughly. His retentive memory, wide experience and long practice make his ready familiarity with decisions appear almost miraculous. A scholar who has kept fully abreast of the times, his addresses are replete with information and delivered in a style that attracts and entertains. He has great command of language and is a fluent and easy speaker on almost any subject on short notice. To these traits of mind may be added those of the heart-amiability, courtesy, kindliness, for which he is noted; and since nature has endowed him with a physique that is attractive and pleasing-standing above the medium height, straight and dignified—there is nothing wanting to fill out the per- fect man. His high position at the Bar and the universal esteem in which he is held by his brother lawyers and fellow citizens attest the histor- ical accuracy of our sketch. Mr. Russell has been a close student all his The Century Fub & Eng Co Chicago. UNIV OF Andrew. Howell MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 411 life and very fond of literature, not only that of our own tongue, but also French and German. At the age of ten he wrote a translation of the first half of Cicero de Senectute. He has been identified with the commu- nity interests of Detroit. He was a director of the Chamber of Commerce at the inception of the enterprise, and was instrumental in procuring legis- lation for it and selecting a site for the building. He delivered the dedi- catory address at the opening of the City Hall. He has prepared and secured the passage of some amendments to the Constitution and many of the general statutes. He is general attorney in Michigan for the Wabash railroad. In religion he has been a consistent and active member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He was married October 28, 1857, to Mrs. Ellen P. England (born Wells), of St. Albans, Vermont, whose family was founded in Connecticut by the first Colonial Governor, and who is herself an authoress of repute and a social leader, as well as active in benevolent and patriotic societies. She has been on the Board of every organized charity and president of the " Daughters of 1812." "London Society," "Christmas Stories," etc., are among her works. Mr. and Mrs. Russell have four daughters, all of whom possess distinct talent. The daughters are Mrs. Richard P. Paulison, of Jacksonville, Florida, Mrs. John C. Glenny, of Buffalo, New York, who attained high rank at the "Julien School" of Art in Paris, and whose productions in oil and water colors have been "hung on the line hung on the line" in the New York and Paris exhibi- tions. She is president of the Art League in Buffalo and has given an impetus to art culture there. Mrs. Phoebe Hewitt Roberts, of Detroit, as Phoebe Russell, exhibited dramatic talent of high order in "Daly's Com- pany" in New York, London and Paris, receiving the approbation of the most eminent critics of those cities in Shakespearian characters; Mrs. Louisa Brooks Maugham, of Chicago. The family of Mr. Russell resided some years on the continent, where the daughters acquired their education and special accomplishments. His only surviving brother, Maj. Frank W. Russell, member of the Sixth U. S. Cavalry, was graduated from the Mili- tary Academy at West Point in 1868. At his resignation, he returned to New Hampshire, where he occupies the old homestead. ANDREW HOWELL, Detroit. Andrew Howell, formerly Circuit Judge, was born at Covert, Seneca county, in the State of New York, December 18, 1827. His father, Dr. Joseph Howell, was a native of the same State. His mother, whose maiden name was Lutetia VanDuyn, was born in New Jersey. His ancestors on the father's side were of Welsh extraction and settled in Rhode Island in colonial times, but prior to the Revolution the family removed to New Jersey, where some of its members became distinguished during the latter part of the last and the early part of the present century. Since that time many of them have attained 412 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. prominence in literature and law and in other pursuits, not only in New Jersey, but in other parts of the country. Several of them have occupied places on the Bench. One of them returning to Rhode Island was for a time one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of that State, and after- wards Judge of the United States Court for that District. Another was Governor of New Jersey, from 1794 to 1801. Two have been United States Senators and several of them have been members of the lower house of Congress. One of them while Territorial Judge of Arizona prepared the first code of laws for that territory, known as the "Howell Code," the most of the provisions of which are still in force. Others served in the army during the Revolution, and since then the family has numbered among its members an admiral and other officers in the navy. Judge Howell's grandfather, Joseph Howell, senior, was a native of New Jer- sey, and served in the war of the Revolution, and a part of that time as the special agent of Washington in the military affairs of the army. In 1831 his father removed to Lenawee county, in this State, where for a long time he was one of the leading citizens of southern Michigan. He was also a member of the convention which framed the first Constitution of the State. And here young Howell's boyhood was spent, mostly on the farm and in the district schools of the vicinity, and at the academy in the neighboring village of Tecumseh; but his education was chiefly acquired at the Wesleyan Seminary at Albion, Michigan, now Albion Col- lege. Among his classmates there were Jared Patchen, afterwards Circuit Judge at Detroit; Asley Pond, Edward C. Winans, since Governor of Mich- igan; and J. Sterling Morton, now Secretary of Agriculture in Cleveland's cabinet. He commenced his legal studies in 1850, and was graduated from the Law School of Cincinnati College in 1853, standing first in his class. He was admitted to the Bar at Adrian, Michigan, in 1854, and immediately commenced the practice of the law at that place in partner- ship with the Hon. F. C. Beaman, his former law preceptor. At that time the leading members of the Bar of Lenawee county were Judge Alexander R. Tiffany, Hon. F. C. Beaman, Gov. William L. Greenly, Judge S. C. Stacy, Judge Thomas M. Cooley, Hon. R. R. Beecher, A. L. Millard and Hon. Peter Morey, the first Attorney General of the State. These gentlemen with Hon. Warner Wing, then the presiding Circuit Judge, made a court and Bar of marked ability, learning and vigor. In 1855, Mr. Howell formed a law partnership with Hon. R. R. Beecher, which continuing through many years, was eminently successful. During that time and while he remained at the Bar he was engaged in nearly all of the important litigations at Adrian and in that part of the State. Early in his practice he was elected for three terms to the office of Circuit Court Commissioner and was City Attorney for much of the time. During the years 1865 and 1867 he was a member of the State Senate. In the session of the latter year he was chiefly instrumental in defeating the proposed railroad aid legislation, by which it was then sought to authorize all town- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 413 ships and cities in the State to issue municipal bonds in aid of railroad construction. The Senate of 1867 was composed of a remarkably able body of men, among whom were Charles M. Croswell, David H. Jerome and Cyrus G. Luce, all of whom were afterwards Governors of the State. In 1868 Judge Howell was elected by the Legislature to recompile the general laws of the State, but by reason of some defect in the bill provid- ing for the work it was subsequently abandoned. In 1871, he was appointed by Governor Baldwin to draft and present bills to the Legisla- ture for the enactment of general laws for the incorporation of cities and villages. These bills were prepared and presented by him to the Legisla- ture of 1873, and without examination in either House and without read- ing except by their titles, they were immediately passed and approved by the Governor. These laws, with a few slight modifications to the Village. Act, still remain in force and a large number of the cities and nearly all of the villages of the State are now incorporated and acting under them His friend, Judge Tiffany, the senior of the Lenawee Bar, while in prac- tice, published a couple of small works—“Tiffany's Justices' Guide" and "Tiffany's Criminal Law." After his decease Judge Howell revised and greatly enlarged both of these works, and has since carried each of them through several editions. They are now in general use throughout the State. In 1882-3, he completed and published a compilation of the Gen- eral Statutes of the State with extensive annotations from the Michigan Reports. The work was immediately authenticated and adopted by the Legislature. And in 1889 the State authorized a supplemental volume to these statutes for its use, which he has since compiled, annotated and published. These volumes known as "Howell's Annotated Statutes," are now the authorized compilation of the General Laws of Michigan. 1881 he was elected Judge of the First Judicial Circuit of the State, com- prising the counties of Lenawee and Hillsdale, and filled that office until his resignation in 1887, when he removed to the city of Detroit, where since that time, in connection with legal authorship, he has been engaged in the practice of the law. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, with which he united in early life. In politics he is a Republican and has always been a staunch supporter of that party since its organization. Judge Howell's preferences for the law were early manifested and the work of preparation was begun at the age of twenty-three. During the subse- quent period of nearly half a century he has devoted himself entirely to jurisprudence. As a practising lawyer his cases were thoroughly prepared and presented with clearness, candor and force. As an author and reviser, he is noted for clearness and accuracy. All of his works are characterized by the assiduous application of the student and are the results of extended and careful research, and have been received with marked favor by the profession. On the Bench he filled the requirements set forth by an emi- nent legal authority: "The judge should know nothing of the parties but their names upon the docket; nothing of the cause but from the evidence; In 414 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. nothing of the results and consequences but the judgment which the law pronounces." He had the patience and gravity essential to the adminis- tration of justice. He was never hasty in his conclusions, was always deliberate, but prompt in his decisions, and they were very rarely reversed. Above all integrity was his portion and proper virtue; and his deportment on the Bench was such as to promote the ends of justice and equity. He possesses few of the gifts of the orator, but all the characteristics of a well informed editor; is modest in demeanor and but little given to self asser- tion; and withal is a gentleman of elevated character and unblemished reputation. In 1859 he was married to Miss Mary Adelia Beecher Tower, daughter of Rev. Philo Tower, of Rochester, New York, a young lady of rare abilities and accomplishments, who has always been his coworker in all of his literary labors and pursuits. Both of her parents were of New England origin. Her father was from Massachusetts and her mother, whose maiden name was Cynthia Beecher, was born in Connecticut, and a member of the distinguished Beecher family. They have two sons, Robert Beecher Howell, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, and now State engineer of Nebraska and city engineer of Omaha in that State; and Charles Arthur Howell, a graduate of the Literary and Law Departments of the University of Michigan, and at present engaged in the practice of the law with his father in Detroit. EDWARD W. PENDLETON, Detroit. Mr. Pendleton was born at Camden, Maine, May 22, 1849. His father, George Pendleton, was a native of the same State. He is of English descent, in the seventh gene- ration from Maj. Brian Pendleton, of Pendleton, Lancashire, England. Major Pendleton was born in 1599 and married in 1620. His son James was born in 1622 and his daughter Mary in 1626. The family came to America in 1632 and settled in Westport, Massachusetts, which is now a suburb of Boston. Maj. Brian Pendleton therefore became the founder of the family in America. Edward W. Pendleton is descended from the Johnsons and Huntingtons on his mother's side. His mother was Susan W. Johnson, a descendant of Edward Johnson, one of the founders of Woburn, Massachusetts, a gentleman of literary ability, author of a work well known among the students of Colonial literature, entitled the "Won- der-working Providence of Zion's Saviour in New England." His mother's mother belonged to the family of Huntington, members of which were conspicuous in colonial times for their ability both in civil and mili- tary life. Some of them were officers in the Revolutionary Army. Samuel Huntington was governor of Connecticut, President of the Conti- nental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The early education of Edward W. Pendleton was received at Gorham Academy, Maine, and afterwards he spent two years as a student at Bow- The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago. Edwi M.Pendleton, UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 415 doin College in the same State. In 1870 he entered the junior class of the University of Michigan and was graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1872, He engaged for a time in teaching, as superintendent of schools at Owosso, Michigan, remaining there during the years 1873-4. His deci- sion had been formed to enter the profession of law before his course in the University was begun, and from this time forward all of his energies were concentrated in the furtherance of that purpose. After leaving Owosso he pursued his legal studies in the Law School of the University of Michigan and made his final preparation for practice in the office of Hon. C. I. Walker, of Detroit. He was admitted to the Bar in 1876 and immediately thereafter began the practice of his profession in Detroit where he has remained continuously. During this entire period he has never formed a business partnership, but by his own natural abilities, habits of application and aptness for the law, has attained a high rank among the solid and successful lawyers of the city. The larger part of his practice has been in connection with corporations and in chancery cases, and the management of estates, although he has had some cases of great importance in general practice. One of these was an extradition case some years ago, in the management of which he was obliged to make a trip to England. This case is familiar to the legal profession in the State. He has been singularly devoted to the law as a profession, making it his chief and only business. He was born into the Republican party and confirmed in the principles advocated by that party by inherited con- victions and education. He takes a keen interest in the promotion of the policies promulgated by his party and especially that of a protective tariff. He has given much consideration to economic questions and is firmly con- vinced that the policy of protection to home manufacturers should be ad- hered to in this country. His convictions on this subject have been deepened and strengthened by personal observation and information gained in foreign travel. As an Englishman he might favor the abolition of cus- tom houses in the United States, but as an American citizen he would give the domestic manufacturer an advantage in this greatest of all the markets of the world by laying a protective duty upon imports which may be produced at home. The only office he has ever held is that of a water commissioner of the city of Detroit, to which he was appointed December 4, 1894, for a term which expires May 1, 1899. He was married Novem- ber 26, 1895, to Mary E. Leggett. He has traveled much on the Conti- nent of Europe and visited England several times. Some of Mr. Pendle- ton's characteristics may be briefly summarized: Learned in the law, honorable in the methods of his practice, trustworthy in his statements to the courts, polite and courteous in his bearing toward members of the Bar, he commands the unqualified respect of the profession. Genial, gentle and unpretentious in social intercourse, he gains the confidence and holds the esteem of all with whom he comes in contact. The dignity of his character and the breadth of his acquirements contribute to render him a 416 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. most valuable companion. With a mind capable of original thought and refined by the influences of reading and travel he is prepared at all times to lend a fascinating presence to the most cultured social circle. One of the able and distinguished members of the Bar of Detroit contributes this estimate: "Mr. Pendleton is a scholarly lawyer, of excellent ability and sound judgment, liberalized and cultured by wide reading and much travel. A high-minded gentleman of purest character, he has, in a quiet and unassum- ing way, befriended many a struggling young professional brother. Of a happy and sunny disposition, he is a warm and steadfast friend, and a lenient enemy. Every inch a gentleman, by birth and education, with all the sterling characteristics of his Puritan ancestry, he is like a block of his native New England granite, polished outwardly, and inwardly sound, sturdy and strong." RALPH PHELPS, JR., Detroit. Mr. Phelps is a native of the city in which he has led such an honorable career, and here he has advanced well to the front in his chosen profession, the law. His family reaches back to the era of the Revolution, and he reflects no discredit upon his distin- guished progenitors. Mr. Phelps received his education in the Detroit public schools, whose course of instruction he fully completed. He grad- uated from the Law Department of the University of Michigan in March, 1879, before he had reached his twenty-first birthday, having been born November 14, 1859. He located in Detroit, opened his office, and at once entered upon a very flattering practice. His brilliant qualities soon attracted the public and his services were solicited for the general good of the city in the local legislature. In 1883 he was elected to the upper house of the common council, and two years afterwards was unanimously elected president of that body. Here he bore himself so well and met the requirements of the position so satisfactorily that he won a host of friends, whose warm admiration he has always retained. Owing to sick- ness which prevented Mayor Chamberlain from giving his continuous attention to official duties, Mr. Phelps acted as Mayor pro tem. During this time the question of a new post-office building came up for consid- eration and the people of Detroit were not at all satisfied with the insig- nificant structure proposed in the first plans submitted to their inspection. This dissatisfaction extended not only to the building itself, but to the size of the site on which its erection was proposed. Feeling that the good of the city required public action, acting-Mayor Phelps called a meeting of the citizens to make such expression of public sentiment as they might deem wise. This gathering selected a committee of ten prominent citizens, among whom was Mr. Phelps to proceed to Washington and there secure such modification of Congressional action as might accord with the dignity, beauty and business importance of the city. Their labors were effec- UNIE M OF CH The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Удвишь BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 417 tive, not only in the drawing of new plans and the selection of an enlarged location, but in an increase of the appropriation. This was in a very great degree the result of the earnest appeals and strong presentation of the case made by the committee. This does not exhaust the story of his political services. In 1886 he was elected treasurer of Wayne county by a handsome majority, and two years later secured his re-election by the largest majority of any one of the candidates. He was appointed assis- In the county, tant inspector general on the staff of Governor Winans. as in the city, he is deservedly popular. In 1890 he was employed by brewing companies of Detroit to manage the disposal of their extensive interests to an English syndicate, and in the course of these delicate nego- tiations he was called to London. He is now in the management of the consolidated breweries, known as the Gebel Brewing Company, both as director and attorney. He is also largely interested in the Detroit Elec- tric Light and Power Company, also vice-president of the American Injec- tor Co. and is widely recognized as a keen and capable business man. He is a shrewd financier and his management of his father's extensive busi- ness interests from boyhood has been a good school. He is interested in anything that conserves the public good and enterprises of general utility may rely upon him as a firm and active supporter. Mr. Phelps is a mem- ber of Detroit Commandery No. 1, K. T., Michigan Consistory, A. & A. S. R. 32, and of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Elks. He belongs to the Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce and is an active club member in several of the most prominent organizations of the city. FRANCIS G. RUSSELL, Detroit. Francis Granger Russell was born on the Grand River road, on the Huron river and in the midst of the beau- tiful lakes of Green Oak township, Livingston county, Michigan, April 16, 1837. His father, William S., was born in Massachusetts, and his mother, Jane A. Knox, in Vermont. They were married in Riga, Monroe county, New York, in the spring of 1834, and moved thence by ox-team and cov- ered wagon through Canada, along the Indian trail, from Detroit to their wilderness farm in Green Oak. His father was of English and his mother of Scotch descent, both representing that sturdy pioneer venture, integrity and industry, that have contributed so largely to the clearing up of a great country and the building of a great nation. His mother, from care and overwork, died in 1850, and his father in 1870, leaving five children, to-wit: The subject of this sketch; De Witt Clinton, who was a promising young man and gave his life to his country Dec. 3, 1861, as corporal in Company I, Fifth Michigan Infantry, in the War of the Rebellion; William Henry Harrison, who was a member of Company H, First Michigan Three Months' Volunteers, participating in the first Bull Run battle, a graduate of the Law Department of the University at Ann Arbor, a fine lawyer * 27 418 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. and brilliant orator, who attracted high consideration at St. Louis, Mis- souri, New York City and Detroit, and who passed away in his prime at the country resort of his brother at Island Lake, near the old homestead, July 31, 1895; Mrs. Miriam H. Brooks, of Grand Rapids, and Mrs. Helen Ulrich, of Chicago. F. G. Russell was brought up on the farm, attending the district schools during the winter until seventeen years of age, when he entered the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1858, having taken full courses in Latin, French and Ger- man. In the following November he became principal of the Middletown union school at Lansing, which, under his management, grew from a mem- bership of fifty to three hundred and fifty in the spring of 1861; he then resigned, having accepted appointment to the Census Division of the Inte- rior Department at Washington, arriving there the day before the com- mencement of the bombardment of Fort Sumter. He was soon promoted to the position of examiner of pension claims, but resigned July 1, 1864, satisfied that routine department work was of no further account to him. He then came to Detroit and entered upon the prosecution of military claims. against the Government, soon becoming very successful. In the spring of 1865 he was appointed the first secretary of the metropolitan police depart- ment, and had much to do with launching and organizing that important branch of the city government. He resigned in the spring of 1866 and went to the old homestead to care for his enfeebled father. He returned to Detroit in November, 1867, studied law with Hon. A. W. Buhl, one of the ablest lawyers of the State, was admitted to practice in the fall of 1868, upon rigid examination before the Supreme Court, and shortly afterwards became secretary to Governor Baldwin-so acting during his two terms. In 1872 he was elected city attorney, and re-elected in 1874. He was alderman from 1878 to 1880, and then was again elected city attorney, making in all six years of service in that position. As such officer and as alderman he was very energetic in most municipal affairs, and especially so in securing the purchase of Belle Isle for park purposes and settling the status of Washington, Madison and other wide avenues as to boundary lines and improvements. Upon the enactment of the National Bankruptcy Law, in 1867, he at once and naturally became an active participant in its execution in the capacity of assignee, having handled over one hundred From that time to the present his main professional work has been of a trust nature, as receiver, trustee, executor, administrator, etc., in all the courts. Many cases handled by him have been complicated, of great importance and involving millions of dollars. He has never paid a dollar for the signing of his bond, and no charge has ever been made of negli- He is a member of gence or unfaithfulness in the discharge of his duties. cases. the American and the Detroit Bar Association, but of no other society or club. In politics he is a Republican. He has a fine miscellaneous and law library, is familiar with all portions of his country, is a great reader, a careful observer, and is vigorous and independent in the expression of his BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 419 opinion; and from the foregoing it will be seen that his life has been very busy and useful. Mr. Russell was married September 10, 1863, to Miss Helen Edwards, of Medina, New York, a niece of ex-Congressman Bur- rows. She was a very bright, refined woman and a devoted mother. She died May 3, 1890. The issue of this marriage was three sons and a daugh- ter, to-wit: Clinton W., of Staten Island, New York, a superior designer and mechanical draftsman; Mrs. Lela Harrah, wife of C. W. Harrah, a thrifty real estate dealer of Detroit; Walter Knox, a boy of great promise, who died in 1883, and Frank P., a lawyer and real estate dealer of Detroit. ALBERT H. WILKINSON, Detroit. Albert Hamilton Wilkinson was born at Novi, Michigan, November 19, 1834. He is of German-English extraction. His father, James Wilkinson, a native of Jefferson county, New York, was of English descent. His mother, Elizabeth Yerkes, whose ancestors came to America during the Colonial period, was of Ger- man descent. His parents settled as pioneers in the Territory of Michigan in 1825, on a tract of land in Oakland county, purchased from the Govern- ment. They both lived in the farm home on this land until death. Albert H. was one of the six children of James and Elizabeth Yerkes Wilkinson. He was brought up in the country and trained to work on the farm. His education was rather fragmentary in the method of obtaining it, but finally well rounded and complete. He first attended the district school and from there went to the Cochrane Academy, at Northville. After that he taught a winter in the country before entering the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, at the time of its opening in 1853. Remaining less than two years in the Normal, he left to take charge of the union graded school at Centerville, St. Joseph county, as principal. He had not yet definitely decided upon the profession which should employ his energies during life, but had determined to enlarge the scope of his education. So, after teaching half a year in the union school, he entered Rufus Nutting's private academy at Lodi Plains, where he was prepared for admission to college. In 1855 he entered the freshman class of the University of Michigan and pursued the regular classical course to graduation. Afterwards he spent a year in the Law Department of the University, and then read law in the office and under the instruction of Judge Crofoot, at Pontiac. He was admitted to the Bar in June, 1860. His first partnership, formed immediately after his admission to the Bar, was with Henry M. Look; his second with Oscar F. Wisner, at Pontiac. In 1861 he located in Detroit and formed a part- nership with W. P. Yerkes, which existed five years. In 1866 he formed a partnership with Hoyt Post, under the style of Wilkinson & Post, which continued seven years. On the retirement of Mr. Post from the firm Mr. Wilkinson admitted his brother, C. M. Wilkinson, to a partnership and the brothers continued to practice in this relation for three years. In 1877 420 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. J Mr. Post became associated with them and the three remained together until 1884. His brother then retired and Wilkinson & Post have composed a legal firm from that time until the present. Mr. Wilkinson was a successful lawyer in general practice, building up a large and profitable business, so that he has been able during the later years to exercise his own preference in the class of business taken. During this time he has been employed chiefly in the management and settlement of large estates, a business both congenial and profitable. He has been wedded to the law during the entire period covered by his practice; has had no political ambitions or other aspirations to divert attention from his profession. In politics he is a Republican, but has never sought or held a political office. As one of the recognized duties of citizenship, he served as a member of the board of education of Detroit for some time and was Judge of Probate for a term of four years, beginning in 1873. He has given some time to business affairs; was one of the organizers of the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Michigan Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Michigan Savings Bank; has served as director in all of these corporations except the Bank, and also held the relation of counsel to each of them. Early in life he professed christianity and united with the Baptist Church. His membership is in the first Baptist Church of Detroit, of which he has long been a trustee and deacon. He has been a working member, influential in promoting the cause of christianity. He has served as superintendent of the First Baptist Sunday School and the Clinton Avenue Mission. He was one of the promoters and organizers of the Detroit Baptist Social Union, of which he was the first president. Mr. Wilkinson has established a reputation in the community as a careful, con- scientious lawyer, a progressive citizen, an honorable gentleman and a devoted christian. He enjoys the esteem and regard of his neighbors and the community generally, because of the estimable traits of his character and the faithfulness with which he has discharged the trusts and responsi- bilities which have come to him. July 4, 1859, he was married to Elvira M. Allen, who was educated for a teacher and graduated from the State Normal School in the class of 1858. Their only son, Ralph B., is a practising lawyer in Detroit. CHARLES W. CASGRAIN, Detroit. Mr. Casgrain was born at Sandwich, Ontario, Canada, on May 24, 1859. His father, Dr. Charles E. Casgrain, of Windsor, Ontario, is a Senator of the Dominion of Canada. He was at one time a resident of Detroit, and in practice there as a physician. His mother was Charlotte Chase, daughter of Thomas Chase and Cathe- rine Caroline Adelaide Bailie de Messein, both well known to all old resi- dents of Detroit, so that although Mr. Casgrain was born on Canadian Chaste Cargrain The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago. UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 421 soil and his father is an honored citizen of the Dominion, he is to all intents and purposes a native American in thought, habit and instinct. On the side of his father he is descended from a long line of ancestors dis- tinguished for their services to their native France and their adopted country, Canada, upon the field of battle, in civil station, in legislative service and in professional callings. Jean Baptiste Casgrain, of Poitou, France, distinguished himself at the battle of Fontenoy, and after retiring from the army, covered with the scars of hard-fought victories, he came to the new France in 1756, settled in Quebec, and was the founder of the family in America. The grandfather of our subject, Hon. Charles E. Casgrain, represented his county in the Legislature of Quebec Province in 1830–34, and was also a member of the special council instituted to admin- ister the affairs of the province during a most trying and critical stage, when the constitution was suspended by the British Parliament. Of his sons the eldest, Hon. Charles Eusebe, entered the ranks of the medical profession; another, Henri Raymond, the priesthood, being the author of several works which have given him rank among the most brilliant of French prose writers of his time. His last book, "An Historical Study on the Arcadians," has been crowned by the French Academy. A third son, Phillip Baby, has long represented a constituency in the Dominion Parliament from Quebec Province, and is also a writer of great ability. The paternal grandmother of our subject was descended from Jaques Baby de Rouville, whose descendants settled in Canada and in Detroit in the last years of the French domination. The family is one of much influence and distinction in Canada, Hon. James Baby, of Quebec Province, being a member of Parliament, a Minister of the Crown and Judge of the Court of Appeals. Dr. Charles E. Casgrain, the father of our subject, was gradu- ated at McGill University, Montreal, and settled in Detroit in the practice of his profession. While a resident there he was married in 1851 to Miss Charlotte Chase. He finally decided to settle in Sandwich, on the Cana- dian side, and met with remarkable success in his profession and in his desire to serve the people whom he loved so well. He has been honored with the life appointment of Senator of the Dominion, and does honor to the office in the able discharge of its duties. He was the first French Canadian raised to that important position from the British Province of Ontario. He has also been made a Knight of the Order of the Holy Sep- ulcher by His Holiness Leo XIII. In the maternal branch of Mr. Casgrain's family Thomas Chase was a prominent merchant, settling in Detroit dur- ing the territory. He enjoyed the friendship and confidence of Governor Mason and his successors. His wife was an able coadjutor in the enter- tainment of the noted men of the day who assembled in Detroit. She was a most gifted woman of queenly deportment and great beauty, and contributed largely to the building up of the educational and church inter- ests of the city, giving of her time and money to found charities that 422 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. endure to this day. This lady, Mrs. Caroline Adelaide Bailie de Messein, died at Windsor at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Dr. Charles E. Cas- grain, in 1883, July 30, maintaining even to the last a charm and fas- cination in her relations to those about her. A brother of Mrs. Chase was a noted lawyer. He was Sir Andrew Steuart, Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench at Quebec, Canada. Heredity of intelligence is an heirloom of which any one may be proud, and Mr. Charles W. Casgrain has in the ancestry of both paternal and maternal lines the names of many honored by useful service in the annals of their coun- try. Educated under the careful guidance of his father in Assumption College at Sandwich, from which he was graduated, he entered upon the study of law, which he had determined, at an early day, to make his life work. Coming to Detroit he entered the office of Don M. Dick- inson in 1879, and in 1883 he was examined by the Circuit Court of Wayne county and admitted to practice, but remained with Mr. Dick- inson for some two years. In 1885 he opened an office, and has since been an active practitioner of his profession. Mr. Casgrain has always taken a lively interest in the political affairs of his country. An ardent Democrat, he has given of his time and money to enhance the success of the principles he espoused. Never an office seeker, he was called to serve his party as their candidate for city attorney in 1888-9, and during his term of office had in charge much important litigation involving the validity of city ordinances. Important street opening cases, and in The case of the common council of the City v. Theo. Rentz et al., the ques- tion of the validity of the law passed by a Democratic Legislature taxing mortgages was finally established; the right of the city to regulate the weight of bread offered for sale and to enforce the smoke ordinances were successfully contested and maintained by Mr. Casgrain. He was for four years, from 1888 to 1892, the chairman of the Congressional Demo- cratic Committee for the First Congressional District, and while in this position the district was represented in the Congress by a Democrat. Pursuant to a concurrent resolution passed by the Legislature of 1891, he was appointed by Governor Winans one of the commissioners for the State of Michigan for the promotion of uniformity of legislation in the United States. In 1892 he was a delegate from his district to the Democratic National Convention at Chicago which nominated Mr. Cleve- land. He has been engaged in the general practice since 1885 and, aside from the city attorneyship held in 1888 and 1889, he has given his entire time to his profession in which he has met with enviable success. Mr. Casgrain has been engaged in many important cases, and for a young man his name appears frequently on the records of the Supreme Court. Amongst other cases in which he was of counsel that of Louis George vs. City of Wyandotte and the Western Electric Company involving the right of a municipality to establish electric lighting plants was one of impor- tance, being the first of the kind brought to settle the law in that BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 423 regard. Mr. Casgrain married in February, 1886, Miss Annie Ham- mond, the accomplished daughter of Mr. George H. Hammond, of Detroit. Both Mr. and Mrs. Casgrain are members of the Roman Cath- olic Church. BYRON S. WAITE, Detroit. Byron Sylvester Waite was born at Pen- field, Monroe county, New York, September 27, 1852. His father, Elihu Waite, was also a native of Penfield. His grandfather, Elihu Waite, was born in Wakeley, Franklin county, Massachusetts, and removed to New York in early life. His ancestors farther back in the line are English, whose descendants settled in Massachusetts during the colonial period. His mother, Elizabeth Tarbell, was a native of New York, of New Eng- land ancestry. The name has a Puritan ring. The family came to Michi- gan in the spring of 1856 and settled in Tyrone, Livingston county, where Byron S., who had not yet reached the age of four years, grew to manhood, employed in the industries of the farm and in attendance at the public schools. He attended the high school at Fenton and was graduated from the Baptist Seminary in the same place, when little more than eighteen years of age. For the next two years he held the position of principal of public schools at Rochester, Michigan, appropriating the salary to defray his expenses incident to a course in college. He entered the Literary Department of the University of Michigan in 1876 and was graduated in June, 1880, with the degree, Bachelor of Letters. While pursuing his studies in the college classes he was also attending lectures in the Law He was School and reading the text books prescribed for the law course. in this way qualified for practice, and was admitted to the Bar of the State at Ann Arbor in the fall of 1879. The year immediately following his graduation was occupied with clerical duties in the department of public instruction at Lansing. In September, 1881, he settled down to the practice of law at Ann Arbor, as junior partner in the firm of Cramer, Cor- bin & Waite. This partnership was terminated at the end of one year by the removal of Mr. Waite to Menominee, where he at once became asso- ciated in partnership with A. L. Sawyer, under the style of Sawyer & Waite. This association was continued for thirteen years, until August, 1895, when Mr. Waite settled in Detroit. Soon afterwards he accepted the office of assistant prosecuting attorney for the county of Wayne, which was tendered on his removal to the metropolis of Michigan. In this posi- tion he has served the State and the people with scrupulous fidelity and commendable zeal. His general practice of fifteen years had given him Messrs. a breadth of qualification unusual in one appointed to that office. Sawyer & Waite enjoyed the largest and most lucrative business of any law firm in Menominee. Among the most important cases conducted by them in the nisi prius and Supreme Courts was "The Blodgett & Davis 424 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Lumber Company vs. Peters et al." (87 Michigan, p. 498). It estab- lished the riparian law on the great lakes and affected the rights of many land holders. Politically Mr. Waite is a Republican. He has taken a lively interest and a prominent part in local and State politics. In 1884–5 he was Circuit Court Commissioner and United States Commissioner at Menominee. In 1888 he was elected to the State Legislature as the repre- sentative of Menominee county. His ability, political sagacity and readi- ness in debate gave him prominence in the discussions and influence in the transactions of that body. He was chairman of the committee on elections and a member of the judiciary committee and the committee on the University of Michigan. In 1894 he was re-elected and during his second term was chairman of the University committee and also chairman of the committee on municipal legislation, whose most important work is appar- ent in the revision of the municipal laws of the State. He won genuine popularity and the title of leadership in the Legislature. In recognition of his public services he was the recipient of a beautiful testimonial at the close of his second term. This was in the form of a very valuable silver service, presented by fellow members and citizens. Masonry, with which he is prominently affiliated. He is a patron of Free He has held the office of Eminent Commander of Menominee Commandery, No. 35 K. T., and by virtue of that office has membership in the Grand Commandery of Michigan. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine and of the Order of Elks. He was married January 2, 1881, to Miss Ismene Cramer, daughter of Densmore and Catherine Cramer, of Ann Arbor. The union is bonded by six children, four boys and two girls. A well known judge, whose name is familiar to the profession throughout the state, contributes the following estimate: "Byron S. Waite is considered one of the brightest lawyers that ever practised in the Northern Peninsula. He has a clear mind and is very effective in addressing a jury. The same qualities that made him a leader in the Legislature characterized him in his law practice. As a citizen he is public-spirited, and while at Menominee was constantly endeavoring to advance the interests of that city. Socially he is affable and genial to all.” ALVAH L. SAWYER, Menominee. Among all the men and influences that have contributed to the development of the resources of the west, and the establishment of its people upon a basis of sound morality and liberal education, the most potent is that current composed of brawn and brain, morality, thrift and culture which has flowed out from New England. influence has been powerful in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. The Sawyer family had its nativity in old England. The first American repre- sentative of it came from Birmingham in 1648 and settled in Massachu- setts. Its From that beginning the family branches extended into other New The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Allonger UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 425 { England States and thence to the west. The particular branch of the family to which our subject belongs settled early in Haverhill, New Hamp- shire. Hiram Sawyer, one of the descendants, came with his wife and family to Wisconsin in 1848. He was a farmer and followed that vocation during life. He was a man of more than average ability, prominent in social and political affairs of his neighborhood. He was selected for different local offices of trust, and in 1866 was a member of the Wisconsin Legislature. As a patron of education he was instrumental in raising the standard of the public schools of his community and the State. He died at his farm home in 1888. In early life he had married Barbara A. Wilson, a native of New Hampshire and member of an old and highly esteemed New England family, many of whose members were prominent in the affairs of State. She was the worthy companion of her husband in all of his pioneer labors and successes, and is still living on the old farm in Wis- consin. They had an old-fashioned family of twelve children, nine of whom, five boys and four girls, are still living. The eldest son, H. W. Sawyer, is a prominent lawyer at Hartford, Wisconsin, who has held the office of county judge for sixteen years. Two of the sons are druggists and one is a merchant. Alvah L. Sawyer, of Menominee, was the fourth son of Hiram and Barbara Wilson Sawyer. He attended the district school and worked on the farm until eighteen years of age, then attended Wayland Institute at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, for two terms. This was the extent of his academic education, except that it was broadened and rendered more practical by teaching for a year after leaving the institute. He took up the study of law in the office of his brother in Hartford, and was admitted to the Bar at that place in November, 1877. His examina- tion was by Judge D. J. Pulling, whose record for speed in the trial of causes and in the small number of cases reversed by the Supreme Court excelled that of any judge in the State. Mr. Sawyer remained with his brother, engaged in the practice, for a year after his admission to the Bar and then, in 1878, settled in Menominee, Michigan. For more than eighteen years he has resided and practised law in that place. His business has always been of a general character, and his practice was conducted alone until 1882, when he formed a partnership with Byron S. Waite. For eleven years thereafter the firm was Sawyer & Waite. In 1893 W. F. Waite was admitted to the partnership, and the firm name was changed to Sawyer, Waite & Waite. In 1895 Byron S. Waite removed to Detroit, and since that time the style of the firm has been Sawyer & Waite. Among the important cases managed by this firm was that of Peters & Morrison vs. The Blodgett & Davis Lumber Company, in which they were attorneys for the defendant. In this case they succeeded in establishing a point not theretofore clearly defined by law in regard to riparian rights on the great lakes. The Supreme Court of Michigan adopted their view and declared the law. Another case was that of Beyer vs. Ramsay & Jones. It involved the location and establishment of government lines in case of trespass. # 426 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. This of course was tried in the United States court. Mr. Sawyer has always been a Democrat, but never an office seeker. When the town of Menominee was incorporated as a city he was elected the first city attor- ney, and held the office five years. He has always manifested an interest in the subject of education, and his activities have been exerted for the promotion of popular education. He has been a member of the school board for several years. At different times nominations for county offices have been tendered him, but he has declined them. For many years he has been a Mason and has passed up through the degrees to the highest of ancient craft Masonry, and has also connected himself with modern divisions of the order. He is a member of Menominee Commandery, No. 35, K. T., and of Saladin Temple Mystic Shrine, at Grand Rapids. He was married April 13, 1880, to Miss Josephine S. Ingalls, daughter of the 'fate Judge Ingalls, of Menominee. They have five children, namely, Kenneth, aged twelve; Gladys, aged eight; Meredith, aged six; and Wilda, aged three, and a baby girl. Mr. Sawyer is a man loyal to the community in which he lives, enterprising and active in support of all measures of a character to advance the general interests and welfare. He has the faculty of acquiring money, which he loves not for itself, but for its higher uses. He does not take enjoyment in hoarding, but in expend- ing, and hence he appreciates money for what it purchases. His beautiful home is adorned with works of art and furnished with one of the finest private libraries in Northern Michigan. His naturally refined taste is evidenced by his love of flowers and pictures. He is also a successful hor- ticulturist and finds the cultivation of fruits one of his most enjoyable recreations. His investments have been successful in pine and mineral lands, and among his holdings are gold mines in British Columbia. His home is a center of culture and social pleasure. His wife joins him in the entertainment of friends and the exercise of a liberal hospitality. They With such a are very popular among the society people of that section. home and surrounded by such a family, with the advantages of books and art, and the opportunity to gratify tastes in recreation, as well as in the cultivation of the mind and moral sentiments, it is not surprising that Mr. Sawyer prefers private life to the cares and exactions of public office. a lawyer he ranks high, and it may be said of him that he is equally suc- cessful in the preparation of pleadings and in the trial of cases in court. He is a man whose usefulness to the community is recognized, whose hon- orable position in the profession is established and who needs none of the superficial honors of state to crown a life in every way worthy. As BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 427 JOSEPH H. STEERE, Sault Ste. Marie. Joseph H. Steere, Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, was born May 19, 1852, at Addison, Lenawee county, Michigan. His father, Isaac Steere, was a native of Ohio and a descendant of an old Virginia family. He followed the double occupation of milling and farming, and came into Michigan in 1834. He settled at Adrian, and afterwards removed to Addison where he lived many years. He finally returned to Adrian, where he is still living at a very advanced age. Judge Steere's mother was Elizabeth (Comstock) Steere, a native of New York and of English descent. She also is still living. Four children were born to them, three girls, and the subject of our sketch. His early days were spent in Lenawee county on the farm. He attended the district school and Raisin Valley Seminary, a Quaker school, from which he was graduated in 1871. He then attended the Adrian high school completing its course in six months. In the fall of 1872, the same year, he entered the Literary Department of the University of Michigan and was graduated in 1876 with the degree of A.B. After finishing his school life he entered. the law office of Geddes & Miller at Adrian. He spent two years in study and was admitted to the Lenawee county Bar in 1878. While he was in the University he had taken law lectures but did not matriculate in the Law Department. In the spring of 1878, he came to Sault Ste. Marie and began the practice of law. He was appointed prosecuting attorney in 1878 and was elected to the same office a year later, and held it until the spring of 1881. At that time he was nominated by the Republicans for Circuit Judge and was elected by a very complimentary vote. He has continued to act as judge to this day. It is said by the members of the Bar in his circuit, without respect to party, that he can hold it as long as he will accept the position. He was only twenty-eight years old when he became judge and his judicial record is remarkable for one so young at its beginning. In 1889 he travelled in Europe and has since travelled extensively in America, making a canal voyage one summer of over 1,000 miles in visiting Hudson's Bay. When he became judge the circuit comprised the large area of what is now Chippewa, Schoolcraft, Luce, Alger, Mackinac, and Manitou counties. There were no court houses in the entire circuit except in Chippewa and Mackinac. In Manitou county composed of islands. in Lake Michigan, the entire population was Irish and was governed by Father Gallagher, their priest, and they ironically addressed him as "Your Lord- ship.' In the winter he could reach some of his counties only on snow shoes and in the summer in sailing boats. He has held court in stores, hotel offices and in other convenient places of assembly. The judge is a great lover of hunting and fishing. He is a profound student, and has made a through study of the history of the Lake Superior region. He has accumulated the finest library of books relating to the early history of this region to be found anywhere in private hands. Sault Ste. Marie, where he resides, is the oldest white settlement in Michigan, having a history run- 428 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ning back to 1668. He has received many volumes pertaining to its history and the Superior regions generally, from dealers in Europe, many of the volumes are printed in French. He has never married. He spends his vacations hunting and fishing and his evenings in study. He has been elected to succeed himself without opposition. He knows no friend while on the Bench. A strange attorney is treated with the same courtesy in his court that his best friend would receive. He is often called to Detroit and other places in southern Michigan to preside in the courts, and is known throughout the State as a just and upright judge. He is not a politician and believes that politics should have no part or lot in court work. has done much to elevate the Bench and Bar since he became judge. is kind hearted and charitable and has helped many unfortunate men and women to a larger and better life. He is a genial and companionable character and has a wide circle of admiring friends, who love him not only for his sterling qualities as a judge and public official, but also for his warm heart and sympathetic disposition. He is a Mason of high rank, and has taken the 33d degree. He He WILLIAM F. WAITE, Menominee. William Fuller Waite, the junior member of the firm of Sawyer & Waite, is of English descent, his fore- fathers having settled in New England before the Revolutionary War. Later descendants moved to Western New York where Elihu Waite, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born and grew to manhood; marrying Elizabeth Tarbell, who was also a native of New York State, and coming, in 1855. to Michigan where he soon after settled on a farm in Tyrone, Livingstone county. On this farm William Fuller Waite was born, on the 4th of August, 1860, being the sixth in a family of seven children, five of whom were boys. The name Fuller given him for a mid- dle name was the family name of his paternal grand-mother. He passed his boyhood on the farm, attending the district school winters but the rest of the season learning the science, pleasures and profits of farming, none of which he seemed to care for. When he was seventeen years old, he entered the Fenton high school, and after alternating two years of attendance with two years of teaching, he graduated in 1881. He was desirous of entering the University of Michigan but lack of funds prevent- ing he was unable to do so until the fall of 1883, when he entered the Literary Department with the class of '87. Here by attending the law lectures in addition to his regular literary studies he prepared himself for his life work, the study and practice of the Law. He was admitted to the Bar at Howell, Michigan, by Judge Newton January 13, 1888. After prospecting awhile for a location he settled at Escanaba, forming a part- nership for practice with E. P. Royce, the oldest practitioner of that city. This relationship was continued until April 1, 1893, when he removed to The Century Publishing & Engravina to Chicago. N.7 Naile 가 ​UNIV OF ICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 429, Menominee and became the junior member of the then existing firm of Sawyer & Waite, the firm taking the name of Sawyer, Waite & Waite. This arrangement continued until his older brother removed to Detroit when the firm again took the old name. The firm has a large practice of the better class, mostly civil work, which they prefer, accepting criminal work only when it cannot well be avoided. Politically, Mr. Waite is a Republican and active in the support of his party; but he has never held political office, his ambition being rather to stand high at the Bar and in the esteem of his fellow men than to secure political preferment. He is a Mason and a member of Menominee Chapter R. A. M. He was married January 15, 1891, to Miss Helen Osgood, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a graduate of the University of Michigan with the degree Ph. B., Class of '86 and the poet of her class in the senior year. They have one living child, Leslie Osgood Waite. Mr. Waite is a good lawyer, strongly attached to the profession and launched fairly in the practice. He has the care, the application, the disposition and natural ability essential to success. E. S. B. SUTTON, Sault Ste. Marie. Judge Sutton was born in Orion, Oakland county, March 20, 1854. His father was Jonathan Sutton, a native of New Jersey, and of English descent. The English branch of the family has had representatives high in church and State. The pater- nal Sutton was a merchant and land owner. He came to Michigan in 1839, and died on his farm in Oakland county in 1880. The mother of our subject was Delila Predmore, also a native of New Jersey, and of English descent. She died in 1892. She had ten children, five boys and five girls, of whom two daughters and four sons are yet living, Judge Sutton being the youngest in the family. His earlier life was spent in Orion, and when he was eight years of age his parents moved to Saginaw. Here he spent many years. At eighteen he was graduated from the Saginaw high school, and then took a course in Latin under Rev. Father DeCunick, S. J. After this he went to Detroit and entered the law office of Col. John Atkinson where he remained as a student for three years. He was admitted to the Wayne county Bar in 1878. He immediately established himself at the "Soo" and opened an office, which he has maintained to the present day. At the time of his arrival in the upper country there was but one other lawyer in the place. In politics he has always been a Democrat and had taken a lively interest in his party until 1891, when he retired from active participation in its management. He has never had but one partner. T. J. Martin was associated with him during 1887 and 1888. Soon after coming to the "Soo," he was elected county inspector of schools, and afterwards was county superintendent of schools for one year. He was Circuit Court Commissioner for two terms, his time of service extending 430 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. from 1880 to 1884. He was elected judge of probate for the same years, and was prosecuting attorney for one term from 1886. He was active in suppressing the lawlessness then so prevalent in the Northern Peninsula. In 1880, as a compliment to his good work in securing the conviction of counterfeiters from Canada, he was appointed a Commissioner of the Court of Queen's Bench of the Dominion. He was made United States Com- missioner in 1894, and still holds that position. He always carried on a general practice until 1891, since which time he has made a specialty of admiralty law, and is interested in many marine cases in his part of the State. He is attorney for the M., St. P., and S. Ste. M. Railway, and transacts all their business at this end of the line. He is Director of the "Soo" National Bank, and is its attorney. This relation to the bank he has held since its organization in 1888. He is president of the "Soo" Club, and is a 32d degree Mason. He is a member of the Knights Tem- plar, and of the "Shrine." He was united in marriage in 1881 to Miss Annie Scranton, of Sault Ste. Marie. She was born in that city, and her maternal grandfather, Pierre Barbeau, was Factor for the American Fur Company, and had jurisdiction from Detroit to Hudson's Bay. Mr. Sut- ton has many cases in the Supreme Court, and his extensive practice is not confined to his locality, but frequently calls him to other cities. is a genial man, who is much in society, and is a bright, pleasant ener- getic gentleman. He is a good trial lawyer, an easy talker, and makes a good impression on both judge and jury. His speech is "redolent with the grace of calm simplicity." He BENJAMIN J. BROWN, Menominee. Hon. Benjamin J. Brown was born into the profession of law and inherited the talents and the tenden- cies which combine to make the best lawyers. On his father's side he is a descendant of Benjamin Harrison of Virginia, signer of the Declaration of Independence, while his maternal lineage connects him with Lord Balti- more, the founder of Maryland. His father, Benjamin S. Brown was a native of Bath, Virginia; was educated for the Bar, and on his admission to practice located at Mt. Vernon, Ohio. He ranked with Seargent S. Prentiss of Mississippi as an advocate, and was associated in practice at Toledo with Noah H. Swayne, afterwards one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and at Mt. Vernon with Rollin C. Hurd, father of the late Frank Hurd, who in the maturity of his powers had no superior as a chancery lawyer in the Northwest. His mother Catha- rine C. Thomas was a native of Missouri, and a daughter of Judge Rich- ard S. Thomas, born in Maryland. His grandfather Thomas was a great lawyer. He commenced the practice of his profession in Kentucky, and was there brought into close association with Henry Clay, with whom acquaintance ripened into friendship which was never broken, or inter- The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago. B. J. Provoz A UNIK OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 431 a nisi- rupted. His last days were spent in Missouri, where, from 1821 until the close of his life in 1828, he held the office of Circuit Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. After his death, Mr. Clay said to one of his daughters: "Of all the men I have ever known your father had the best judgment.' Jesse B. Thomas, a brother of Richard S., was judge of the Territory of Illinois, and president of the convention which framed the first constitu- tion of the State. He suggested the name of the State. On its admis- sion into the union he was elected to the Senate of the United States, and was re-elected for the succeeding term. He was the author of the Missouri Compromise, and chairman of the committee of conferenee upon that measure-William Pinkney, of Maryland, then the acknowledged leader of the American Bar, being also a member of the committee. Jesse B. Thomas, son of Richard S., served the state of Illinois as Attorney Gen- eral, Circuit Judge, and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. But his chief claim to distinction rests upon his character and services as prius judge, wherein, in the general judgment of his contempories, he was without a rival. Benjamin J. Brown was born at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, July 8, 1833. His father died when he was five years old; his mother is still living and a resident of Saginaw. He had two brothers and two sisters, of whom one brother and one sister are dead. His surviving brother, Jesse B. Brown, resides at Indianapolis. Mr. Brown was reared at Mt. Vernon and mainly educated at Mr. Sloan's Academy in that place, one of the most notable schools of its time. He read law, and in May 1855 was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Illinois. In May 1856 he removed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and remained a citizen of that state until 1865 when he changed his residence to Michigan, and since 1873 has made his home at Menominee. In 1862 he was married to Miss Eliza Hart of Oconto, Wisconsin. Seven children were born of this marriage, four of whom are living: DeWitt married Margaret Woessner, has five children and lives in Menominee; Franklin H. married Charlotte Ault, has four children and lives in Menominee; Catharine is the wife of Arthur L. Lewis, has one child, and lives in the City of Mexico, where her husband is engaged in the business of silver mining; Bessie lives at home and is unmarried. Mr. Brown and the members of his family belong to the Episcopal Church. Politically he is a Republican, and during his adult life has been both active and prominent in the affairs of his party. One important service which it fell in his way to render to the party and the coun- try may be mentioned: In 1859, during the State Rights Controversy in Wisconsin, growing out of the attempted enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law, an open letter from his pen on the relations of the State to the Nation, addressed to Charles Billinghurst, then a member of Congress, was published in the Evening Wisconsin of Milwaukee, and produced a marked and immediate effect upon public opinion in favor of the supremacy of the Union. At the Washington Banquet in Menominee, February 22, 1896, Mr. Brown responded to the toast "Washington and his Cabinet," 432 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. delivering a thoughful and scholarly address. As a prelude to the subject proper, he said: "We find the counterpart of our revolution in the England of 1688; of the state of the North during the war of the rebellion in the England of 1640. The same clear, practical purpose runs through the revolution which separated us from the mother country, and resulted in our national independence, that drove James the Second from the throne of England and replaced him by William, Prince of Orange. The English revolution of 1688 was the practical consummation of the revolution of 1640. In a larger and more commanding sense the opinions and feelings which domi- nated the North in the war of the rebellion sprang from the loins of Puri- tan England. Not then in the revolution, but in the war of the rebellion do we find the heroic age of America. Never in the history of mankind has there been such spiritual exaltation of the people; and ages may roll around before earth will witness its like again. So we may now and here admit, what none will deny, that Washington, the ideal soldier, citizen and ruler must yield the first place to Lincoln, the sincere believer in the rights of man, and the devoted lover of his race. X * X He then follows with a clear analysis of the characteristics of Hamilton and Jefferson, the two great statesmen of Washington's cabinet, represent- ing opposite theories of government and very dissimilar intellectual traits. A brief excerpt or two from this address will be interesting, not only as indicating the author's views and familiarity with the subject, but also as illustrative of his powers of analysis and felicity of expression. Hamilton is represented as "the most interesting personality in our political history;" appointed Secretary of the Treasury at the age of thirty-three by Wash- ington, "who leaned with absolute confidence upon his judgment, and who said of him that 'no one exceeded him in probity and sterling virtue.' He was a born statesman and jurist and his native genius supplied the defects of his education. He contributed more than any other man of his time to the formation and adoption of the Constitution of the United States. Had his views been carried into the Constitution, the condition of things in our present congress would have been averted. We would not now witness the spectacle of the rotten boroughs of the west controlling the financial policy of the nation. He was absolutely disinterested, free from any trace of vulgar ambition. * X * * Jefferson was erudite beyond any public man of his day, espe- cially in the exact and physical sciences. He was an agreeable companion, insinuating in manners and engaging in private conversation. He expressed constant contempt of the newspaper as a medium of communication with the public, and affected never to read one. At the same time he carried on a large correspondence, by means of which he sought to disseminate * Hamilton rendered great and distinguished services his views. * * * * * * * * as a member of Washington's Cabinet, and basing his political creed on the doctrine that the Constitution created a government, within the sphere of its powers acting directly upon the people, he applied his great faculties to the work of constructive and beneficent legislation. His * * * BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 433 genius won the admiration of the world. * * * He never seemed to think of himself, but only of the honor, the glory and the welfare of his country. On the other hand, Jefferson from the moment that he entered the cabinet, fixed his eye upon the presidency. Assuming as the basis of his political faith that the constitution was a mere compact between the states in their political capacity, he pursued a policy of mere negation. During the whole period of his service in Washington's cabinet his name is not connected with a single public measure of importance. * * * He was insanely jealous of Hamilton on account of his brilliant adminis- tration of the treasury. * * * He who would have turned the consti- `tution into a mere rope of sand assumed for himself and his party the name of Republican, condemning the wholesome and legitimate exercise of authority under the constitution as savoring of monarchy." The con- clusion of the address is as follows: "Hamilton had little faith in human nature, and the range of his sympathies was narrow. He took the obvious average view of society, and was in the main content with things as they are. He believed in a strong government, and in the daily and visible exercise of its authority as essential to the public welfare. On the contrary, Jefferson had unbounded faith in human nature, and his sympathies moved in a wide and all embracing orbit. He held that the world was governed too much; and he was always ready to lay down his most cherished convictions in obedience to the verdict of the people. The line which separates the authority of the State from that of the Nation, has been clearly delimited. Yet it remains true that the question: what, in a given case, is the proper province of legislation, will constantly revolve upon us. More and more, as time advances, will the statesmen of the future seek counsel and inspira- tion from the author of the Declaration of Independence, and he will for- ever hold his place in our political firmament, as a fixed star of the first magnitude." Mr. Brown has been a profound student of economic questions and his discussions of financial topics in the public press have commanded the attention and the encomiums of great financiers. He holds that there is an inherent difference between the government note and the bank note; and that it is impossible to continue the government note, as a part of the cur- rency of the country, and to maintain a reserve for its prompt, certain and repeated redemption. * "The government note made the silver dollar of 1878 possible, and it has obscured the dangers arising from its continued coinage. It has brought about an artificial state of things which has dismayed capital, degraded labor, and cost the country untold millions of money. * * Some day everybody will plainly see that since the beginning of time there has been no expedient like the greenback for manuring the rich man's field with the sweat of the poor man's brow." He therefore favors the cancellation and destruction of the greenback currency as fast as it is redeemed, instead of perpetuating the debt by re-issuing it. He would have our paper money supplied wholly by the national banks and redeemable in gold coin "the money of the world"— ་ 28 434 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. and "relegate silver to its proper function as a subsidiary currency." The currency would be made elastic by the rate of discount and this would be regulated by the banks. "What we need," he says, "as the essential con- dition of genuine prosperity, is an automatic, self-regulating currency, and that is not possible so long as the government note remains a part of our financial system."' HORACE M. OREN, Sault Ste. Marie. Horace Mann Oren, prosecuting attorney of Chippewa county, was born Februrary 3, 1859, near Oak- land, Clinton county, Ohio. His parents were both natives of that county. His father, Charles Oren, enlisted in the Union army, was appointed captain in the Fifth U. S. Colored Infantry, and was killed before Petersburg, Virginia, in July, 1864. His mother was Sarah Allen Oren, who, left with two young children, supported herself and them by teaching in Antioch College, Ohio, and in the high school at Indiana- polis. She had attended Antioch College as a student under the great educator, Horace Mann, who was its first president. In 1873 she was elected State Librarian of Indiana and was the first woman elected to that office. Afterwards she was an instructor and a member of the faculty of Purdue University at LaFayette, Indiana. While thus engaged, she was married a second time and removed to Miami county, Indiana, which is her home at this time. Horace Mann Oren attended the public schools of Indianapolis and was graduated from its high school. He assisted his mother in the State Library and later was an assistant in the Indianapolis Public Library. He entered the University of Michigan in 1877 and was graduated from the classical course in 1881. He then entered the Law Department of the University, from which he was graduated in 1883. The summer of 1882 he spent at Sault Ste. Marie as editor of The News. After his graduation and admission to the Bar he settled at the "Soo" and engaged in practice, continuing alone until 1892. He then entered into a partnership with the late Hon. J. W. McMahon and William M. Snell. In 1894 Mr. Snell retired from the firm and the same year Mr. McMahon died. In 1895 he formed a partnership with William Webster, which is still in existence. The firm is Oren & Web- ster. Mr. Oren has been city attorney of Sault Ste. Marie, justice of the peace, Circuit Court Commissioner, and prosecuting attorney. He was elected to the last named office in 1894 and re-elected in November, 1896, by a majority of eleven hundred. His firm has the leading business in He was married January 1, 1890, to Miss Margaret J. Wal- lace, of Grindstone City, Michigan. They have two children, Robert Allen and Chase Osborn. Mr. Oren's scholastic and professional acquire- ments preparatory to engaging in the practice of law were far above those of the average young lawyer. During his whole life he has been a stu- that county. UNIK OF The Century Publishing & Engraring to Chicago Ah. Devel е MI ICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 435 dent. The opportunity for reading which he enjoyed in early life by con- nection with public libraries was exceptional and well improved. His taste for literature, perhaps born in the libraries, has been cultivated through all the years that have followed. The historical and scientific information there acquired has proved invaluable for professional uses. He began the practice of law a scholarly, thoughtful young man, with aspirations which always tend to lift one higher. His training had been excellent by a mother of fine mind, thorough education and beauti- ful character; he had confidence in mankind and confidence in his own ability to succeed. He had learned the lesson of manly self-dependence and was ready to join the company of older lawyers. He asked no special favors, but desired only an even chance. His views of profes- sional life were not rosy-tinted. He knew it meant work-constant application, unremitting toil; that even the favored of fortune have found no other way to reach honorable distinction and eminence that is perma- nent. With a realization of the essential conditions he settled among strangers and went to work. He has gained the popular confidence and won professional esteem. He has established himself and secured his posi- tion on merit. He is modest in his pretensions and bold in the assertion of his rights. In the discharge of his official duties as public prosecutor he seeks only to apply and enforce the law, without malice or vindictive- ness. The motive to protect society is quite as strong as that to punish the criminal. His character is well and firmly compacted of the elements and principles that fortify a man against assaults, qualify him for profes- sional distinction and the actualities encountered in social or business life. ANDREW L. DEUEL, Harbor Springs. Mr. Deuel is of English descent through the lineage of both his parents, although the nativity of both was the State of New York. His father, Thorn Deuel, a merchant, whose immediate ancestors lived in New England, came from the vicinity of Albany, and his mother, Mary C. Lord, from the neighborhood of Buffalo. They settled at Walled Lake, Oakland county, Michigan, in 1837. Andrew L. was born at Walled Lake, August 22, 1850. The first eighteen years of his life were passed there and in Washtenaw county, near Ypsilanti. The substantial elements of his education were received in the district schools of Oakland and Washtenaw until he reached the age of eighteen. He then entered the State Normal School and paid his expenses therein by teaching in the alternate years. More time was required to complete the course in this manner, but the acquisition was more valuable to him when his certificate of graduation was secured, in 1875. Having received special training in the science and the art of teaching he took charge of the union school at Grand Rapids, Ohio, the next year after his graduation; the year following he taught at Hart, Michigan; and for the next two years— 436 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 1877-8-9- he was superintendent of schools at Mt. Pleasant. He had in the meantime devoted his leisure hours to the study of law and was admitted to the Bar of Isabella county by Judge Hart, at Mount Pleasant, in the spring of 1879. His proficiency, evidenced by examination, was accepted as the equivalent of one year of the course in the Law School of the University of Michigan. Accordingly he was admitted to the senior class of that school at Ann Arbor, in the fall of 1879 and graduated with his class in 1880. In May of that year he settled in Harbor Springs and opened a law office for practice. He made the subject of titles and all laws relating to real estate a specialty and combined the business of real estate with his law practice. He has continued alone and been remarkably successful, not only in the application of his legal knowledge to the man- agement of land cases; but also in the practical use of his knowledge of the value of property in the accumulation of a handsome fortune. He is usually retained on one side of all cases in court involving any controversy over real property. He is regarded by the Bar as authority on this branch of the law. His transactions in real estate occupy much the larger portion of his time and are far more remunerative than the general practice of law. Mr. Deuel has always been a Republican and his activity in support of the party has given him great prominence in campaign management. As a politician he is keen, shrewd and indefatigable; more influential because his work is for the party and not for himself. For thirteen years he has been chairman of the county committee and is now a member of the State Central Committee. In 1881-2 he was prosecuting attorney of Emmet county. He was president of the village and member of the board of trustees for six years, and under the administration of President Harrison was postmaster of Harbor Springs. For about eight years he has been on the county board of school examiners, and for several years has been school commissioner. Ever since he left the Normal School he has taken a lively interest in educational affairs. Having been a successful teacher himself, he is familiar with the wants of the schools and the essential qualifications. of a teacher. His methods are practical, eliciting the enthusiastic support of the progressive teachers of the county. In grading them he gives as much credit for capacity to teach and success in teaching as for correct answers to a set of questions. His institutes are conducted along the same lines with a view of developing teachers rather than making scholars, and his official services have elevated the standard and the efficiency of the public schools. He is Chancellor Commander of Harbor Springs Lodge, K. of P., a member of the A. O. U. W. and a member of the Presbyterian Church. He was married December 27, 1881, to Miss Emma M. Lance of Mt. Pleasant, whose father was a contractor. They have one child by adoption. Mr. Deuel is a leader in all movements for the promotion of the social, material and educational interests in the community in which he lives. Wide awake, energetic and persistent, he moves forward whatever he undertakes. One of the manifest sources of his influence is his large ་ BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 437 personal acquaintance, which is indeed phenomenal. He knows every man and woman in the county. When a desperate fight was waged in the Legislature for the removal of the county seat to Petoskey he went to Lansing and was largely instrumental in retaining it at Harbor Springs. He is quick to decide and resolute in action; true to his friends and fair to his enemies. He is earnest, strong and determined in the prosecution of His any undertaking. There is no dallying or dawdling in his methods. manner is straightforward, without pretense or deception. He is kindly and charitably disposed and his friendship to the young is always helpful. It is frequently exhibited in rendering assistance to a poor country lad struggling to gain a footing. Nature has fashioned Mr. Deuel with a phy- sical perfection rarely equaled. His proportions are athletic and sym- metrical. In college he was easily chief in any athletic contest and his love of the amateur sports has been retained with all the fervor of a college student. He has gained a high reputation for athletics in all the lake region. His friends are ready to back him for a foot race against any man He can in the county, whether the contestant be white man or Indian. outrun or outjump any other lawyer in the state of Michigan. His leader- ship in athletics is no less actual than in politics and public enterprises. CHARLES J. PAILTHORPE, Petoskey. Judge Pailthorpe was born December 25, 1848, at what is now known as Mount Morris, Genesee county, Michigan. His father, William Pailthorpe, was a farmer who came to this country in 1837 from Nottinghamshire, England, where he was born, and died on the home farm in Genesee county in November, 1873. His mother was Frances Sisson, a native of Lincolnshire, England. She died July 1, 1894, at the residence of her daughter, Mary Hackney, near the village of Mount Morris. She was the mother of eleven children, all boys with one exception. The daughter, with six of the sons, lived to maturity. The early days of the subject of this sketch were spent on the farm, attending the district school. When he had grown somewhat older he was a pupil in a business college at Flint, finishing his general schooling there when he was twenty years of age. For the next three years he taught school winters and worked on the farm during the summer. In the fall of 1873 he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan. He was graduated in 1875, and the same year was admitted to the Bar in Washtenaw county. The northern part of the State was then attracting the young and ambitious. Mr. Pailthorpe sought a loca- tion at one of its most promising centers, and established himself at Petoskey. Here he entered upon the practice of his profession, and has made a deep impression upon the community. From the fall of 1878 he was in partnership with J. L. Newberry for three years; and from 1882 to 1885 with M. W. George. For several years after that he carried on his 438 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. practice entirely by himself, but in August, 1894, he entered into business. relations with his present partner, Albert McCabe. He was appointed prosecuting attorney in December, 1876, and was elected to the same position at the general election following. He resigned in 1878 and became a candidate for the Legislature. The district was overwhelmingly Republican on a general vote; but he was successful in his canvass though an avowed Democrat, and was elected by a majority of seventy-six votes. He served his district and the State very creditably as a Representative, being a member of the important committees of judiciary and public lands. He was a candidate for Probate Judge in the fall of 1880 and was defeated by a small vote, although running ahead of the other candidates on the Democratic ticket. In local affairs his personal character and executive ability have often been recognized by his selection for important positions in home offices-honors irrespective of party considerations. He was village attorney for two terms, president of the village one term, and a member of the school board for six years. Governor Winans appointed him Judge of the Thirty-third Judicial Circuit in June, 1891, and he held that office by appointment until the following April. He was then nominated and elected for the residue of the term without opposition. While he was presiding as Circuit Judge for a period of some three years, there were four murder cases tried before him, resulting in three convic- tions and one acquittal. He was United States Commissioner for western Michigan from 1876 to 1878. He ran for Regent of the University of Michigan in the spring election of 1895, but was defeated by Roger W. Butterfield. One of the many notable cases which he has assisted in the trial of was that of the Armstrong Manufacturing Company vs. The Western Manufacturing Mutual Insurance Company (95 Michigan, 137). This case involved the question whether an insurance policy, containing a clause not provided for in the Michigan standard policy, is not to be regarded as void because contrary to public policy, but voidable at the option of the insured for whose protection the law is intended. It was carried from the Kent circuit to the Supreme Court, and there decided in favor of the plaintiff. Judge Pailthorpe is a member the Masonic order, and belongs to Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T., at Petoskey. the office of Captain General, and is now Generalissimo. April 23, 1878, to Miss Jessie Westcott, of Petoskey. He has held He was married Her father was a gallant soldier in the Civil War, did his duty on all occasions, and gave up his life in the battle of Spotsylvania, as an offering on the sacred altars of liberty and the Union. They are the parents of an interesting family of five children: Fannie was born in June, 1879; Charles R., in Novem- ber of the next year; Arthur, April, 1882; Ormund, 1887; and Raymond in 1889. Mr. Pailthorpe is regarded as standing among the very best lawyers in his part of the State, and takes care of a large and lucrative practice. He is a man of imposing presence, genial manners, and has hosts of friends. He is deliberate and somewhat slow in arriving at his conclusions, but very firm in his convictions. UNIV Of The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago She Loves MIC BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 439 JOHN POWER, Escanaba. John Power, United States District Attor- ney, was born in Waterford, Ireland, July 13, 1846. His father, Matthew Power, was a grain merchant. His mother was Bridget Veale Power. Both were natives of the County of Waterford. John Power came to America in May, 1863, and immediately after his arrival in New York joined the Seventeenth New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry. Mr. Power's object in coming to America at that time was to join the celebrated Irish Brigade, commanded by Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher, who was also a native of Waterford. There being no recruiting depot for this brigade then in New York, the subject of this sketch, as above stated, entered the 17th N. Y. V. V. I. commanded by Colonel Grower, and was assigned to Company A, under command of Cap't. Hiram Wilde. The regiment served in the southwest under General Sherman and formed a part of the First Brigade, Second Division of the Fourteenth Army Corps. It was engaged at the siege of Atlanta and marched to the sea with Sherman. It participated in all the engagements at which the fourteenth corps was present. Mr. Power served as a private and was discharged from the service at Troy, New York, June 19, 1865. Shortly after this he entered the regular army, and was discharged therefrom as first sergeant of Company E, First United States Infantry, at Fort Brady, in July, 1869. He settled in Keweenaw county the same summer and there taught school, in which occupation he continued for three years, devoting all his spare time to the study of the law. He was admitted to the Bar at Eagle River, Keweenaw county, during the September term of 1872 and immediately entered upon the practice of his profession at Calumet, Houghton county, where he remained until 1881. August 1, 1881, he removed to Escanaba, Delta county, where he has built up an extensive practice, quite general in its character, and entirely under his immediate control, as he never has had a partner. He has always been a Democrat and has been an earnest advo- cate of his party; but in 1896 he refused to endorse the Chicago platform, being an ardent advocate of sound money. He was prosecuting attorney of Keweenaw county from 1880 to 1882 and city attorney of Escanaba for ten years commencing with 1883. He has been a member of the Esca- naba board of education for the past ten years and was its president for seven years. February 6, 1894 he was appointed by President Cleveland United States District Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, and still holds the position. He was the nominee of his party for repre- sentative in Congress for the Ninth District, in 1878, but was defeated by Jay A. Hubbell, his Republican opponent. He was nominated for the same position in the Eleventh District in 1884, 1886 and again in 1888. He ran ahead of his ticket at each contest, materially reducing the adverse majority in the Upper Peninsula. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Conventions in 1880, 1884 and 1892, and was the candidate of his party for elector at large in the Western District of Michigan in the 440 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. last mentioned year. He has enjoyed a lucrative practice and has had many important cases which are matters of record in the judicial history of the State. Mr. Power was married September 28, 1868, to Miss Eliza- beth Corgan, of Copper Harbor, daughter of Charles and Mary Corgan, both natives of Ireland. Mrs. Power was born in Toronto, Canada. They have eight children; Walter J., Catherine, Patrick S., May Frances, Roscoe B., Matthew Lamar, Victor, and Patricia. Mr. Power has taken an earnest part in politics, has been a hard worker in campaigning and is a fluent speaker. He is much in demand for memorial and other addresses. He is largely interested in real estate in Escanaba and elsewhere and is one of the leading men of the Upper Peninsula. BENJAMIN T. HALSTEAD, Petoskey. Judge Halstead was born March 30, 1850, in Brooklyn, New York. His father was John S. Hal- stead, a native of New York, and a ship carpenter by occupation. His mother was Emily A. Harroway. She was born in New York, but her immediate progenitors came from England. The family removed to Key- port, New Jersey, when Mr. Halstead was a child. His father is yet living in that place, and is crowned with years and the honor of a life of hard work and unflinching integrity. Mr. Halstead's early days were spent in Keyport attending the public school; when he was old enough to learn the trade of ship carpentering he began an apprenticeship at it and worked for four years. He attended the district school for his rudimentary instruc- tion in the wisdom of books; and at the age of twenty he came to Michi- gan, entered the Agricultural College in the spring of 1870, and graduated in the class of 1873. During vacations and after his graduation he taught the public schools at Lake View, Howard City, and other points until 1875. That year he entered the law office of Judge C. F. McNutt, at Bloomington, Indiana, where he prepared for law school. He was in the Law Department of the University of Indiana and received its diploma in June, 1876. He went to Dallas county, Iowa, for the purpose of engag- ing in law practice in the newer northwest and remained there until the spring of 1879. His experiences in that State were not pleasant and he came back to Michigan, entirely convinced that it was good enough for him. He settled in Barry county, where he taught school until 1882. In the month of February of that year he removed to Emmet county and established himself at Harbor Springs where he practised law some years. He then removed to Petoskey in the same county where he has since resided. He was admitted to practice in Indiana in 1876, in Iowa in 1877 and in Michigan in 1880, the last examination being before Judge Hooker, of Eaton county, now Judge of the Supreme Court. He carries on a general law business and has no partner, preferring to practice alone. He was justice of the peace one term and was a member of the school board BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 441 at Harbor Springs four years. He was Circuit Court Commissioner from 1886 to 1888 and prosecuting attorney from 1888 to 1892. He is a Demo- crat and in 1891 was nominated by his party for the office of probate judge. He was elected and still holds the position. He was married May 2, 1875, to Miss Nettie Howard of Lake View. She was a native of New York and came to this State in 1872. She was a capable teacher and is a pleasant and attractive lady. They have had three children, of whom only one is now living, Benjamin Howard Halstead, born September 7, 1876. He is a close and faithful student and has taken two years' instruc- tion at the Michigan Agricultural College, and one year at the Indiana State University. He will be graduated there in the class of 1897. Mr. Halstead has been a Mason since 1887, and is a member of Petoskey Chapter, R. A. M.; was Master of the Blue Lodge one year. He is admitted to practice in all the courts of the State and is considered one of the best and ablest lawyers in northwestern Michigan. He excels as a trial lawyer and when fully aroused can make a powerful plea. He has a legal mind and is analytical in his treatment of a case. He marshals all the facts and principles involved in it in such a way that opposition is overcome and in most cases the jury are inclined towards his side. In 1887 Judge Halstead received the compliment of the degree of A. M., pro merito from his Alma Mater, the Indiana State University. EDWARD H. GREEN, Charlevoix. Maj. Edward H. Green was born October 31, 1834, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. His father, Joseph Green, was a native of Rhode Island, of Puritan descent, and a manufac- turer of boots and shoes. His mother, Susan Sloat, was a native of Lan- caster county, Pennsylvania, where she lived during her whole life. Edward H. attended the public schools at Maytown, Pennsylvania, until twenty years of age, and then attended the first State Normal school at Millersville, Pennsylvania, and taught school until 1861. He responded to the first call of the President for volunteers and enlisted April 19, 1861, in the Maytown Infantry, which was attached to the Tenth Pennsylvania Infantry, as Company A. The regiment became a part of General Pat- terson's column in the Shenandoah Valley. His first enlistment was for three months. At the end of that time he re-enlisted in the One Hun- dred Seventh Pennsylvania Infantry for three years, and subsequently enlisted again for the war. The One Hundred Seventh Regiment be- longed to the first army corps, which subsequently formed the Third Division of the Fifth army corps when General Grant took personal com- mand of the Army of the Potomac. Major Green was wounded through the thigh and in the foot in the second battle of Bull Run, August 30, 1862. After lying six days on the field he was picked up with other dis- abled soldiers and conveyed to Lincoln Hospital, Washington, where he 442 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. remained from September 7, 1862, to January, 1863. When wounded he was first sergeant of Company E, and when he returned to his regiment January 21st, he received a commission as second lieutenant of Company H, and seven days later was promoted and commissioned first lieutenant. Being unable to march with his regiment he was appointed acting adju- tant. November 23, 1863, he was commissioned captain of Company H. At the battle of Spotsylvania, May 21, 1864, he was captured by the enemy and taken to Libby Prison, where he was kept for a month and then taken to Macon, Georgia, and thence to Savannah. After that he was removed to Charleston, South Carolina, and placed in the jail yard with six hundred commissioned officers, where they were kept under fire of the Union guns. After several other removals he was paroled near Wilmington, North Carolina, February 24, 1865, having been held a prisoner for nine months. He was exchanged April 26, and joined his regiment May 14, 1865, and was mustered out July 13, 1865. He was brevetted major by the President March 13, for gallant and meritorious services at the second battle of Bull Run and Spotsylvania. After the war closed he returned home, and in 1866 came to Michigan, entered the Law De- partment of the University of Michigan, and was graduated in the class of 1868. He was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court at Detroit in the spring of that year. While prospecting for a location in the north- ern part of the State he called on Judge Ramsdell, at Traverse City, who advised him to locate at Charlevoix. He acted upon that advice, and has never had occasion to regret his choice of location. The county of Char- levoix was organized in 1869, and Major Green was appointed prosecuting attorney for the county and also Circuit Court Commissioner. He filled the office of prosecuting attorney until 1873. In 1872 he was elected to the Legislature and subsequently re-elected, serving two terms. He was twice elected treasurer of the county, discharging the duties of that office two full terms. He has always been a Republican and a very active mem- ber of the party. In the law his practice has been largely an office prac- He is a Mason and has long been an ardent supporter of the order. He was the first Master of the Masonic Lodge at Charle- voix, serving as such for six years. He is a Knight Templar and a member of the commandery at Petoskey. He has taken active interest in the affairs of the G. A. R., and was the first commander of Baxter Post. By the favor of the people Major Green has devoted more time to public office than to private practice. The aggregate number of years spent in the performance of various official duties is twenty-two. He is a man of great personal popularity as may be inferred from his frequent elec- tions. He is as genial in social life as he was brave in battle. The mem- ories of the war are dear to him. He finds enjoyment with comrades around the camp fires of the Grand Army in perpetuating them by song and story. Major Green is commander of the Grand Traverse Soldiers' and Sailors' Association. He is a generous man in charitable deeds and tice as a counsellor. 1 UNIV M OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicaac le BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 443 He large-hearted liberality, which distinguishes the progressive citizen. was married in 1868 to Luena A. Matthews, of Ann Arbor, who died in March, 1886, leaving two sons and three daughters. He was married a second time, September 27, 1888, to Mrs. Genevra Barnes Guyles, of Man- itowoc, Wisconsin. He is an Episcopalian and warden of Christ Church Mission at Charlevoix. GEORGE E. FROST, Cheboygan. Alonzo P. Frost, the father of our subject, was a native of New York and a harness maker by trade. He emigrated to Michigan in 1836 and a few years later settled in Pontiac, where he lived until 1884. In that year he removed to Cheboygan, which has been his home to the present time. After coming to Michigan he married Miss Nelly Voorheis, a native of New York, who came to Michigan in 1823 and who is still living with her husband in Cheboygan. In 1851 they settled upon eighty acres of wild land near Pontiac, where they cleared a farm and establshed a home, in which the family lived thirty- three years. George E., son of Alonzo P. and Nelly Voorheis Frost, was born March 24, 1851, at Pontiac. His childhood was spent on the farm and as soon as his hands were strong enough to lift a piece of brush or wield an ax he was taught to work and helped transform the native forest into fertile fields. From the time he attained school age until twelve years old he attended the country district schools in winter and rendered such assistance as he could the remainder of the year at all kinds of work in the clearing and in the fields. Between the ages of twelve and twenty he attended the public schools of Pontiac and finished with the course in the high school of that city. For two years after graduation he was engaged in teaching district schools, and while thus employed began the study of law under the direction of Judge Baldwin, of Pontiac. He was a student under the Judge's tuition for a period of two years, at the close of which he entered the office of Alfred Russell, of Detroit, as student and clerk. After one year with Mr. Russell under his excellent instruction he was admitted to the Bar in the Wayne Circuit Court by Judge Reilly. Immedi- ately afterwards he formed a partnership with S. Slesinger and opened an office in Detroit for practice. This partnership was dissolved in 1877 and Mr. Frost continued in the practice alone for the next two years. In the spring of 1879 he removed to Cheboygan, and for the first fifteen years of his residence there practised alone. In January, 1894, he formed a part- nerehip with V. D. Sprague, which is still in force. His law business is general in the scope and character of business taken and in the extent of territory covered. Not only is it the largest and most profitable in the county, but it extends as far south as Louisiana. Mr. Frost belongs to that class of good lawyers, now happily increasing, who prefer to serve their clients by keeping them out of court and who do usually render them much 7 444 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. greater service by such counsel than would be possible by litigating their cases. He examines with scrupulous care the merits of any case placed in his hands and never advises litigation if there be a possibility of securing a settlement on any reasonable terms. In this kind of practice he is remark- ably successful. It is advantageous alike to the lawyer and his client, as the former is enabled to transact a much larger business and the latter saves a large amount in expenses attending a trial and not infrequently in court costs. The trial of cases in court can hardly be afforded by a good lawyer unless the amount involved is very large and the resources of Mr. diplomacy are inadequate to secure an agreement outside of court. Frost has numerous cases in the Supreme Court and the records show that He is he has met with more than average success before that tribunal. attorney for nearly all of the large corporations in Cheboygan and receives from them annual retainers. In politics he is a Republican. Among his earliest recollections are the hurrahs of the Fremont Campaign in 1856. His voice was heard in that campaign and with scarcely less intelligence, though much less noise, than characterizes many of the public speakers on the stump in the present campaign. The first political office he held was that of United States Commissioner for the Eastern District of Michigan, to which he was appointed by Judge Henry B. Brown, now a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He still discharges the duties of that office, held under appointment made in 1880. From 1880 to 1884 he was also Circuit Court Commissioner of Cheboygan County. He was the first Republican ever elected president of the village of Cheboygan. His elec- tion to that office the first time took place in 1883 and he was re-elected twice, serving three terms and declining a fourth nomination, which was tendered. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Cheboygan county twice, first in 1885 and again in 1889, serving two terms. He was chosen an alternate to the Republican National Convention of 1892 for the Tenth District of Michigan. He has for many years been the leader in the poli- tics of his county; but has always been firm in the refusal to permit his name to be used as a candidate for the Legislature. He was married the first time in 1881 to Mary L. Bailey, daughter of Dr. John R. Bailey, of Mackinac Island, who died the following year without issue. In April, 1885, he was married to Mrs. Emma C. Freeman, of Middleport, New Three sons were York, daughter of John H. Waterman, now of Detroit. born of this marriage: George E., Stanley H., and Russell W. Mr. Frost has membership in the Congregational Church, of which he has been a trustee for several years. He was made a Mason in 1885 and takes con- siderable interest in the order. He belongs to the Chapter and the Coun- cil. He is also a Knight of Pythias. As a lawyer Mr. Frost excels in the intuitive sense of what the law is, without being obliged to look it up. He is fine and strong in pleading. His analysis is keen and his application of the law clear and fitting. He is reliable and worthy of the fullest confi- dence of his brethren at the Bar. The methods which he employs commend BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 445 themselves to the most reputable practitioners. Whether in the conduct. of a case in court or the transaction of business outside of court he is uni- His versally regarded one of the keenest lawyers in the State. He is one of the most eloquent, influential and popular public speakers in his section. He is therefore frequently called upon to address public assemblies. speeches are bright, high-toned and witty. He is possessed of remarkable personal magnetism and is esteemed an exemplary citizen. Frost & Sprague have the best law library in the circuit, containing more than three thousand volumes. VICTOR D. SPRAGUE, Cheboygan. Victor D. Sprague, of Frost & Sprague, a leading law firm of Cheboygan, was born November 21, 1869, near Vermontville, Michigan. His father, Pandora A. Sprague, was born in central New York. His ancestors were of Scotch derivation, and were mainly devoted to agricultural pursuits. They came to America in colonial days. His mother was Amanda McNeil, a native of New Jersey, of Scotch descent. The elder Sprague came to Michigan when only six years of age in 1835. His father found a home for his family near Battle Creek, but presently removed to Eaton county, where he still lives. They were the parents of three boys and one girl, Victor D. being the youngest child. Frank A. is manager of the Moline Plow Works at St. Louis. The sister is Dr. Minnie D. Baker, and has her home at Climax. The early life of the subject of this sketch was spent on the farm, and his education began in the adjoining district school. At the age of fourteen he struck out for himself. His father gave him twenty-five dollars, and he went west to Council Bluffs. There he found a situation as an office boy in a wholesale implement house. His salary was board, room and clothing. He studied short-hand, nights, and in six months became so proficient, that the firm gave him a position as stenographer. He remained with them four years, when he resigned and came back to this state and entered the Charlotte high school. This was in September, 1888, and two years later he was graduated from the classical course. He was a brilliant and popular student and his class elected him as its president and orator. Soon after leaving school he entered the office of Judge Van Zile, where he read law until the opening of the fall term of the Law Department of the University of Michigan, when he entered that institution. He took special work in the Literary Department and was a member of the graduating law class of 1892. He went to Cheboygan to begin the practice of law, and formed a partnership with H. W. McArthur. This association continued until September, 1893, when Mr. McArthur retired from the firm on account of failing health, and soon after died. Mr. Sprague purchased his very com- plete library and office outfit and practised alone until January 1, 1894, He is a when the present partnership with George E. Frost was formed. 446 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Republican and was elected prosecuting attorney in 1894 by a majority of two hundred and eighty-five votes in a county normally Democratic by at least two hundred. Among the cases with which he has been associated was that of McKinnon vs. Gates (102 Mich. 618), in which he was attorney for plaintiff. This case was tried in the Circuit Court, and judg- ment given plaintiff. The defense carried the case to the Supreme Court, where judgment was reversed and case remanded for trial. The Court took this action on account of error in admission of testimony, but held the plaintiff's theory correct. It was tried again in Ogemaw county Circuit Court, where judgment was again rendered for plaintiff. It was again carried to the Supreme Court where it still remains undecided. It is the only case in Michigan involving these points of controversy. Another case was that of McKinnon vs. Meston, which involved very interesting ques- tions regarding the right to bring replevin suits for logs cut on tax title before litigating the right to land in a suit for ejectment. He was attorney for plaintiff and lost his suit in the Circuit Court, but carried it to the Supreme Court and won a favorable decision. This case is recorded in 104 Mich. 642. As prosecuting attorney he made a brilliant record in nearly two hundred cases, running from petit larceny to murder, with but two acquittals in the Circuit Court. During his term of office, he tried the celebrated Appleyard murder case, securing a verdict of murder in the second degree. In this case he was ably assisted by his law partner, Mr. Frost, while the defendant was represented by local counsel and a famous criminal lawyer of Minnesota. Mr. Sprague is a member of the Knights. of Pythias, and is P.C. of his home lodge. He is also in the order of Maccabees, and the Woodmen of the World. He was married October 2, 1894, to Miss Gertrude Davis, of Charlotte. She is the daughter of Warren Davis, a farmer residing near that city. They have one child, Don Allen, born April 16, 1896. Mr. Sprague is still a young man, and the world is before him. His position in the legal profession is assured. He has a good mind, thoroughly trained for the subtleties of his profession, and is strong not only in the minutiæ but also in the broad principles of the law. He carefully prepares his cases. He is a fluent and impressive speaker, and makes his argument convincing, both by clearness and force. PETER F. DODDS, Mt. Pleasant, Judge of the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit, was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, January 4, 1849. His parents, John and Catherine (Hoy) Dodds, were natives of Ireland, but emigrated to this country when quite young, and settled in New York. In 1866 they came into Michigan and located in Coe township, Isabella county, where they remained for nine years. They then removed to Mt. Pleasant, where the husband and father died in 1879. Mrs. Dodds, the mother, died in 1889. Judge Dodds was only seventeen when he entered BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 447 the State to make his home with his parents in Isabella county, and when he was nineteen he began teaching country school. In this occupation he had quite a long and varied experience, his term of service covering fifty- seven months and terminating in 1874. He was an earnest, ambitious. young man, and while doing acceptable work in the school room, was also engaged in pursuing those studies that would better fit him for a broad and influential life. He was graduated from the full English course at the State- Normal in Ypsilanti, June, 1874. Not satisfied with his standing as a graduate of that school, he carried on college studies under the supervision of the faculty of Olivet College. He was a member of its graduating class in 1882 and received the degree of A. B., which was followed later on by that of A. M. While doing this work along the lines of higher education, he was also engaged in preparation for the legal profession and in its active duties. While still engaged in teaching he read law; and after his gradua- tion from the State Normal took a term in the Law Department of the University of Michigan, as supplementary to his reading. He was admit- ted to the Bar at Ithaca in 1875, and began his professional career under very favorable circumstances. Hon. Isaac A. Fancher, standing confess- edly at the head of the Isabella county Bar, and a talented lawyer of great reputation, proposed a partnership to the young man. Association with with such a man was of great benefit to Mr. Dodds. It brought him into contact with a most desirable class of clients, and put him in a good light before the public. F. H. Dodds, a brother, was admitted to the firm in 1880, taking the place of Mr. Fancher, who soon after removed to Detroit. In the next two years two other brothers were admitted to the Bar, and entered the firm-William L. Dodds, who died in February, 1894, and George E. Dodds, who went to Colorado in 1885, where he still resides. The brother, F. H. Dodds, continued in partnership until Judge Dodds became a member of the Michigan Judiciary. He was elected on the Republican ticket in 1893 and assumed judicial functions January, 1894. He never has been an "office seeker," but was elected prosecuting attor- ney of Isabella county in 1880 and served for one term, making a good reputation. He has also been a member of the county board of school examiners and has taken a lively interest in educational matters. He is a pleasant and sociable gentleman and is much regarded in Masonic circles. He is a member of Waton Lodge, No. 305, and Mt. Pleasant Chapter, No. III, R. A. M. Soon after his admission to practice he was married in Mt. Pleasant to Minnie E. Bouton, the daughter of Henry S. and Cornelia Bouton, of Homer, Calhoun county. They were married in Mt. Pleasant, April 20, 1876, and are the parents of one son, Fabian Bouton Dodds, who was born in 1884. Judge Dodds has been on the Bench long enough to demonstrate his upright character and his judicial temperament. He is unassuming in his manners, pleasant to all and universally respected. He is a man of unimpeachable integrity, and his friends prophesy a bright career for him. < +48 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. HENRY H. HOLT, Muskegon. This subject, who is the oldest son of Henry Holt and Lorancy Potter Holt, was born in Camden, New York, March 27, 1831. His father, a native of Chaplin, Connecticut, was born in 1803 and died in Kent county, Michigan, in 1894. His grandfather Nehe- miah Holt lived and died in Chaplin, was a soldier of the Revolution, having been a non-commissioned officer in Colonel Durkee's Regiment, 4th Connecticut Infantry. His mother was born in Herkimer county, New York, August 1, 1808; was of the eighth generation in descent from Robert Potter who emigrated from England in 1628, settling in Salem, Massachu- setts, and ten years later became one of the first settlers in Rhode Island. Fisher Potter, a grandson of Robert, married Mary Windsor, daughter of Samuel Windsor and Mercy Williams, whose grandfather was Roger Wil- liams the illustrious Quaker and founder of Rhode Island. Thus the subject of our sketch is a lineal descendant of branches of the Williams, Potter and Holt families through this marriage. His mother died in Herkimer county in 1835. The father of our subject remained in Herkimer county until 1852 and then removed with his family to Kent county, Michigan. Henry H. attended district school in the State of New York and entered Fairfield Academy in 1848; from thence went to Pomfret, Connecticut and pursued his academic studies, teaching occasionally as circumstances would permit. Having decided to take up the study of law, he attended the Law School at Poughkeepsie, New York, for a time and then entered the Union Law College in Cleveland, Ohio, from which he was graduated some two years later and was admitted to practice in the courts of Ohio, of which the Hon. David Tod, afterwards the War Gov- ernor of Ohio, was president. He returned to Michigan and was admitted to practice in the Michigan courts at Grand Rapids by Judge George Mar- tin, who was then on the Circuit Bench, and who afterwards became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State. He settled in Muskegon in May, 1858, and in the fall of the same year was elected prosecuting attor- ney of Ottawa county, which at that time included the territory now com- prised in Muskegon county. When the latter was set off in the following year Mr. Holt was elected its first prosecuting attorney at a special elec- tion and afterwards re-elected, holding the office four years. He was then elected Circuit Court Commissioner and again was re-elected to that office. He had established himself in his profession and in the confidence of the community, so that in 1866 he was nominated and elected to represent a district in the House of Representatives of the State Legislature. In 1868 and again in 1870 he was re-elected to the same position. During the last two terms he was made chairman of the committee of ways and means. In 1872 Mr. Holt was elected Lieutenant Governor of the State and two years later was re-elected, discharging all the duties appertaining to this office, especially as presiding officer of the Senate, in a highly cred- itable manner. In 1878 he was again chosen to represent his district in The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Henny A Holl 30 AINA BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 449 the House and was again appointed chairman of the committee on ways and means. His experience found considerable scope in that position dur- ing the building of the capitol at Lansing. He was again elected to the House in 1886. It should also be stated in enumerating his public services that he was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1867. In the number of terms of service as a legislator, he stands at the head of the list of members in the State, during all of its history, down to the present time. He has also been elected to various offices of the city of Muskegon, among which, is that of mayor in 1878 and re-elected in 1879. In 1873 Mr. Holt made a tour of the Continent of Europe, visiting all the countries quite generally, excepting Spain and Portugal. Two years later he made a second trip in which his travels were extended into Egypt, including Palestine and the country of the Eastern Mediterranean. Mr. Holt has always taken an active interest in the improvements of Muskegon harbor and in doing this has made numerous visits to Washington, to bring the matter to the attention of the War Department and of various Congres- sional harbor committees; often at his own personal expense. Mr. Holt was married in 1867 to Mrs. Mary Winter of Lansing, who died in 1872 leaving no children. He was married a second time in 1877 to Mrs. Cath- erine E. Hackley of Muskegon; there are no children by this marriage. DONALD E. MCINTYRE, Cadillac. Mr. McIntyre was born at Ann Arbor, June 14, 1852. His parents were both natives of the State of New York, and his father, Donald McIntyre, settled at Ann Arbor in the 30's. He lived in that place most of the time until his death in 1891 and was a very prominent, useful citizen. He was engaged in banking most of his life, was for a long time treasurer of the University of Michi- He gan, and for a number of years a member of the board of regents. was reliable, trustworthy and upright. His wife, the mother of our sub- ject, was Jane Eaker, an estimable woman, who died when her only son was yet a child. Three other children were daughters. The early life of Donald E. was passed in Ann Arbor, where he attended the public schools and was graduated from the high school in 1888. He afterwards took a spe- cial course in mathematics in the University of Michigan under the emi- nent astronomer, Professor Watson. He studied law in the office of Judge Beaks, at Ann Arbor, and in the fall of 1870 entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan. He was graduated in the law with the class of 1872, admitted to the Bar in Detroit the following summer and began the practice at Big Rapids. He remained in that place only one year and then removed to Cadillac, which has continued to be the place of his residence. His first partnership was formed with D. A. Rice and con- tinued about eight years. Afterwards he became associated in partnership with Judge Fallass, which was maintained until the latter became judge. • 29 450 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. After that he continued in the practice alone until 1891 when a partner- ship was formed with F. C. Wetmore, then a recent graduate of the Law Department of the University of Michigan. This relation continues at the present time. The practice of Mr. McIntyre has always been general in scope. He has had no specialty, nor has his practice been confined to the circuit in which he lives. It extends throughout western Michigan and is large in the Supreme Court of the State. He is local attorney for the Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad, the Cadillac State Bank, and most of the large corporations in the city of his residence. Although he has been connected with many interesting and important cases as shown by the reports, it is his preference that none of them be mentioned specifi- cally. Politically he has always been a Republican and manifested a keen interest in the success of his party. He has not aspired to political office and never held any by popular election except that of prosecuting attor- ney, to which he was chosen in 1882. In this office he served a single term. For a number of years he was the city attorney of Cadillac. He was married in 1875 to Miss Ella Green, who died in 1882 without issue. He was married again in 1884 to Miss Sophie Mitchell, daughter of George A. Mitchell, founder of the town of Cadillac, a lumberman and man of affairs generally. There are no living children the issue of this marriage. Mr. McIntyre is a fine lawyer, somewhat brusque and abrupt in his man- He is independent in disposition, caring little for public opinion. He is a good pleader and carries a large court practice very successfully. He is scrupulously exact in his legal ethics, keeps an appointment and observes an agreement with a brother lawyer as a matter of sacred honor. It is not necessary that he should be bound in writing. His verbal promise is as good as a written bond. He is in all respects a law-abiding citizen, but not an active one in public affairs. He attends strictly and carefully to his law business and his personal obligations. He has pros- pered in business and been prudent in his investments. His recreation is found in the care of two pet farms, on one of which he maintains a deer park. He is a good sportsman, fond of fishing and hunting for large game, but has no special fondness for society. He is not in the least inclined to be gushing or promiscuous with his friendship. On the con- trary he is careful in extending his confidence, but is a friend indeed to one who enjoys his confidence, and is respected by all. ner. CHARLES A. WITHEY, Reed City. Charles Allen Withey was born in the township of Brighton, Livingston county, Michigan, June 24, 1849. His parents, Elias Withey and Anna Goodspeed, were natives of New York. His paternal grandmother was of Spanish extraction, but other- wise the Withey and Goodspeed families were long established in the colo- nies. His paternal grandfather attended a tea party in Boston which has The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago Chad Whiskey OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 45I 1 been much talked about, and was entertained by the British eight years on a prison ship as an evidence of their appreciation of the part he took in the inauguration of the American Revolution. Elias Withey married in New York and was lock-keeper on the Oswego canal for a time, but removed to Pleasant Valley, Livingston county, where he bought and cleared a farm. He remained on the farm until he reached the age of sixty, when he removed to the village of Brighton, where he died October 10, 1889. His wife died at the same place eight years before. The won- derful discoveries of gold reported in Idaho Territory about 1865 gave him the fever to such a degree that he rented his farm, and, with an emigrant outfit, secured at Omaha, made the trip overland to the gold diggings, returning in the same way the following year with an accumulation of expe- rience. Charles A. did not go west. He had worked on his father's farm until sixteen, and now, when that was rented, he began life for himself, working by the month for neighboring farmers. He had scant opportuni- ties for early schooling, and the first use he made of his independent earn- ings was to take a course of study in the Thomas & Olmstead Commercial College. He was clerk and bookkeeper in several stores, and in his nine- teenth year engaged in the manufacture and sale of carriages and buggies in Detroit. He did both a wholesale and retail business, and reaped large success for one so young. He carried on business in that city for three years and then removed to Brighton, where his father became a partner in the enterprise. A fire destroyed the factory and left Mr. Withey two thousand dollars in debt. He was young and strong and not easily dis- couraged; so he applied himself with vigor to the payment of this heavy indebtedness. He had become an expert carriage painter and finisher, and secured remunerative employment in the village of Caro. He worked hard, saved money and had nearly extinguished all claims against him when his health broke down under this close application and necessitated a change of employment. It was not unwelcome as it opened the door to a legal career which had long been in his dreams. He read law under the direc- tion of Arthur Rose, of Caro, who was attacked with consumption and died in less than a year from the time he admitted Mr. Withey to his office. Much of his business was done by the young law student, who found great help in the professional insight thus afforded. He retains grateful memo- ries of his instructor as a lawyer and a man. Mr. Withey was admitted to the Tuscola county Bar June 7, 1878, and was almost immediately appointed Circuit Court Commissioner to fill a vacancy. This was remunerative office under the conditions then existing, and in the year which he held it he saved enough to put him through the Law Department of the University of Michigan. He was a member of the graduating class of 1879, and located for practice in Evart. He formed a partnership with + a a brother of his first preceptor, Charles H. Rose, and was with him some eighteen months. He then went to Reed City and associated himself with Col. Charles H. Holden, a leading spirit of that place. They established 452 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. He does a general law business, Of his first twenty cases in the good record in all. His first al. (55 Mich. 108), involving a law, loan and real estate business, which for four years was highly pros- perous. For the second and third years the income of the firm exceeded $40,000. Then came on a period of stagnation in real estate which greatly injured that feature of their business, and at the expiration of five years the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Withey thereafter applying himself exclusively to the law. As a lawyer he has a reputation of general efficiency, and has acquired business from all parts of the Lower Peninsula. Lately several important cases have come to him from the famous Gogebic iron range of the Upper Peninsula, and the number of desirable clients seeking his services is steadily increasing. being much sought after in damage suits. Supreme Court he won fifteen, and made a case was that of Freiburg et al. vs. Cody et in a peculiar manner the length of time which the holder of a check may delay its presentation and yet be able to hold its maker liable in the event of failure of the bank during such interval of delay. The People vs. Min- nie Beilfuse (59 Mich. 576), charge burglary, was a bitterly contested case which is often quoted. Willie R. Smith vs. William Dunham (78 Mich. 310), was a damage case fought to the finish. It was tried three times in the Circuit, and once in the Supreme Court. The opposing counsel were numerous and able, and the presiding judge with them in his sympathies. Stevens vs. Pantlind et al. (95 Mich. 145), involved the rights of landlord and tenant, and the law of negligence and pleading. It was three times before the Circuit and three times in the Supreme Court. The opposition was ably conducted by several brilliant and aggressive lawyers who left no stone unturned to protect their clients. Young vs. The Ohio Farmers' Insurance Company (92 Michigan, 68) was an interesting case in insurance litigation. Mr. Withey was married October 28, 1872, to Miss Lucy R. Gilluly, at Brighton. Her parents, John and Alvira Gilluly, were long residents of the place. Her father was from Rhode Island, her mother from New York. Both came to this State when children. The former was a member of the State Legislature in 1857, and was graduated from the Law Department of the University of Michigan in 1861. He practised law for a short time in Brighton, and entered the Union Army as captain of Company I, 5th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He was an officer of ability, and rose to the command of his regiment. He was killed in battle at Fredericksburg. Mr. and Mrs. Withey are the parents of two children J. Howard and Mildred A., twelve and nine years old. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 453 ROSWELL LEAVITT, Bellaire. Hon. Roswell Leavitt was born December 2, 1843, at Turner, Maine. His father, Alvan Leavitt, a farmer, was a native of Maine, and his ancestors were among the early Puritan settlers of Massachusetts. They came from England, and were among the first settlers of Pembroke. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was one of the founders of Turner. His mother was Susanna Dean, a native of Leeds, Maine. Her ancestors were also among the Puritan settlers of Massachusetts, and among the first to locate at what is now Taunton. Mr. Leavitt's early days were spent on the farm, and in attending the district and high schools of his native town. When he was sixteen years old, he removed with his parents to Penobscot county, where he began teaching. He taught ten terms during the winter season and studied in the long summer intermissions, thus fitting himself for col- lege. In the last year of the Civil War he enlisted in a Maine regiment, but did not see much active service and was mustered out at the close of the war. In 1868 he was a member of the Maine Legislature representing the Springfield district. In 1869 he entered Cornell University, and was a student for three years in the scientific course. In 1873 he came to Michigan, entered the Law Department of the University and was gradu- ated with the class of 1875. He was admitted to the Bar of Washtenaw county in the spring of the year of his graduation, and a few months later he located at Elk Rapids. He remained there engaged in the practice of his profession until 1880, when it was decided to remove the county seat from Elk Rapids to the center of the county. He then helped to found. the new town of Bellaire, the present county seat. He has been actively engaged in practice there since that time. In the fall of 1876, he was elected prosecuting attorney and Circuit Court Commissioner, serving eight years as prosecutor and later on served four years more in the same office. He was the principal attorney in behalf of the removal of the county seat, and had pitted against him some of the best legal talent in the State. Among them were Otto Kirchner, Fitch R. Williams, Ashley Pond and others. In the trial of the case in the Supreme Court, Mr. Leavitt had as his associate the late Charles I. Walker, of Detroit. He won the case, and was much complimented on its brilliant management. He was elected to the State Senate in 1888 on the Republican ticket, from the Twenty-ninth District, which included the counties of Grand Traverse, Antrim, Charlevoix, Leelanaw and Manitou, and served one term. Mr. Leavitt has taken a great interest in the building up of the village of Bel- laire. His college training has made him a leader in the educational affairs of the county. He became a member of the village school board very soon after its organization, and has served the community in that capacity nearly all the time since that event. He has done much to further the erection of the excellent high school at Bellaire. He has been an active temperance worker all his life and has suffered in a financial as well as a 454 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. political way for his radical ideas on the subject. He was married May 29, 1877, to Miss Annie C. Lawrence, of Elk Rapids, a native of Canada. She died August 2, 1879, leaving two children, Clyde, born March 1, 1878, and Scott, born June 16, 1879. While Mr. Leavitt was in Cornell he was the first president of the celebrated Cornell University Boat Club, which later won the International Boat Race at Saratoga. He was also one of the editors of the Cornell "Era," and was very active in suppress- ing the habit of hazing in that Institution. He is a public spirited man and has done much towards advancing all the commercial and educational interests of the town of Bellaire, which owes so much to his interest and ability. He is a good lawyer, and a clean, wholesome gentleman. KELLY S. SEARL, Ithaca. Mr. Searl is senior partner in the firm of Searl and Kirby. He was born February 4, 1862, at Fairfield, Shiawas- see county, Michigan. His father is Chauncey D. Searl, a native of Ver- mont, who is still living on his farm in Shiawassee county. His mother was Harriet Kelly, a native of Ohio. Mr. Searl attended the district school until he was seventeen and then attended the village schools in Elsie and Ovid. His literary education was completed with attendance in the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso. After that he taught five years and in 1884 entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1886. In March, 1887, he opened a law office at Ashley, where he engaged in practice for the next three years. In April, 1890, he settled in Ithaca. For the first five years in his new home he continued in practice alone; but April 1, 1895, he formed a partnership with Julius B. Kirby, which is still in existence and promises to be permanent. Among the important cases Mr. Searl has managed may be mentioned the Portsmouth Savings Bank vs. The Village of Ashley (91 Mich. page 670). In this case he was the attorney for defendant. The question involved was whether or not the president and clerk of a village had the legal right to deliver water works bonds without authority of the council, and whether or not the innocent purchaser of such bonds could hold the village for payment of the same. The Supreme Court decided the village was not liable, and declared the bonds void. Searl attends strictly to his law business and has not been a candidate for political office. He is a Republican and manifests the interest of a good citizen in the success of his party, and takes an active part in each cam- paign, but asks no partisan favors. He was married September 30, 1885, to Maggie A. Smith, daughter of William W. Smith, of Mason, Michigan. They have three children: Ethel M., Hazel D., and William Chauncey. He is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias. He was a charter member and the first Chancellor Commander of Ashley Lodge K. of P. His preference is Mr. 1 UNIV OF M 7.0. Clare BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 455 chancery practice, to which he has given much attention. The firm of which he is the head is engaged in litigation in all of the State Courts and does not especially seek a collection business. • JULIUS B. KIRBY, Ithaca. Mr. Kirby is junior member of the law firm of Searl & Kirby. He was born at Eureka, Clinton county, Michigan, June 19, 1873. His father, who was a native of Ohio, came to Michigan in the fifties and settled in Clinton county, where he lived until 1875 and then removed to his native county, where he has resided continuously to the present time, engaged in farming until 1886, since which time he has resided in the village of Ashley. His mother was Henrietta Brown, also a native of Ohio. Julius was educated in the village school at Ashley and graduated from the high school in June, 1892. Almost immediately after- wards he entered the law office of Kelly S. Searl at Ithaca as a student, where he remained about two years. He was examined for admission to the Bar, June 19, 1894 (the twenty-first anniversary of his birth), and admitted to practice by the Judge of the Circuit Court. April 1, 1895, he was admitted to a partnership with his preceptor, and the association is still maintained. He has a taste for the law and is possessed of the characteristics which, under favorable conditions, can scarcely fail to secure for him an honorable career in his chosen profession. He is wide awake, active, industrious and persevering. His firm conducts a business equal to that of any in the town. In politics he is an earnest Republican, desirous of the success of his party, but not inclined to leave his profession for the sake of becoming an office-seeker or an office-holder. He was married June 19, 1895, to Edith E. Clark, daughter of W. J. Clark, a merchant of Ithaca. Mr. Kirby is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias and a worthy young man who enjoys the confidence of the Bar in his county, and of the public so far as his acquaintance extends. The firm of Searl & Kirby is con- stituted for business in the practice of law, and both of its members are on good terms with a clientage that is increasing. FRANCIS O. CLARK, Marquette. Hon. Francis O. Clark, a native of Pennsylvania, a son of New England parents, has been a resident of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a third of a century. He was born December 18, 1843, in Girard, Erie county, where his father, John B. Clark, a native of Vermont, manufactured leather and harness. His grand- father, Major Clark, was a Revolutionary soldier, as indeed were other members of the family. His mother was Charlotte M. Woodruff, a native of Connecticut and a lineal descendant of John Alden, one of the May- flower's pilgrim passengers, whose fame will live in literature as long as the pure and sentimental verses of Longfellow appeal to a lover's heart. 456 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Both parents were of English descent. His mother's father, Rev. Eph- raim T. Woodruff, was a minister of the Congregational church, first in his native State, Connecticut, and subsequently in the Western Reserve, Ohio, where both grandfathers died. The subject of this sketch passed his boyhood at work in his father's tannery, and in school. He applied himself with such diligence as to acquire a liberal academic education. It was his purpose to pursue a classical course and he was carefully prepared to enter the sophomore class in Hamilton College when failing health caused a change in his plans. In 1862, at the age of nineteen, he located in the Lake Superior region. In the capacity of a civil engineer he assisted in locating and constructing the Chicago and Northwestern rail- road in the Upper Peninsula. Having inherited the literary tastes and professional abilities of his mother's people he studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1870. For the first five years he was engaged in the practice of his profession at Escanaba, and during the same time filled important official positions. In 1872 he was elected president of the vil- lage; in 1873 he was prosecuting attorney for the county; in 1874 he was elected a member of the State Legislature and served during the session of the following winter. In 1876 he removed his residence to Marquette, which has since been his home continuously. Mr. Clark has won success in his profession, not only financial success, which enlarges a man's influence and opportunities, but also reputation and standing. He has built up and maintained a very valuable practice and achieved eminence as one of the most reputable lawyers of the Peninsula. Careful and thorough in study he has acquired broad knowledge of the law. Quick in perception and acute in discrimination he sees immediately the salient points in the case. Fertile in resource he is able to meet without embarrassment new questions that may arise during the trial. He is strong and effective in argument, fluent and forcible as an advocate. His devotion to his profession is not permitted to obscure his pride in citizenship or stifle his interest in educa- tion and good government. He has served as school inspector and super- visor, two terms as mayor of the city, and for several years has been a member of the board of education. He has devoted conscientiously all the time required for a proper discharge of his official duties and been faithful to every trust. He is the friend and patron of education, the supporter of all measures designed to promote the general welfare. He is a large stockholder in the Dexter Mining Company, a director in the Hazard Machinery Company and president of the Electric Street Railroad Company. In 1877 Mr. Clark was married to Miss Ellen J. Harlow, only daughter of Amos R. Harlow, the founder of Marquette. A daughter and a son, Martha B. and Harlow A., are living bonds of that conjugal union. Both himself and his wife are active members of the Presbyterian church, in which he is both elder and trustee. He has been very closely identified with the Upper Peninsula in all phases of its marvelous progress and development; has led an honorable life, above reproach in the domes- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 457 tic relation, in citizenship and in public office. His growth has been com- mensurate with that of the country, to the prosperity of which his talents and energy have contributed so much. RUSH CULVER, Marquette. Mr. Culver is the receiver of the United States land office at Marquette. He is a native of Pennsylvania, son of Amos and Jeanetta Culver, born at Elkland, July 17, 1862. He obtained his schooling in the high school of his native town and took up the study of law with B. B. Strong, of Longsborough, Pennsylvania, with whom he spent one year; then entered the office of H. B. Packard of the same town, with whom he spent another year. He was admitted to the Tioga county Bar in 1883. He began practice alone at Westfield, and contin- ued there until 1887, when he removed to Marquette, Michigan. One year later his parents came west and located at L'Anse, Baraga county, Michigan, where they still reside. After one year's practice at Marquette Rush also located at L'Anse and continued his practice there until 1893, when he was appointed receiver of the land office at Marquette. Since then he has resided in that city. In upper Michigan Mr. Culver has made. a specialty of Government land titles and has a large clientage among the homesteaders of the Lake Superior district. He has been instrumental in forcing issues with numerous land companies and land grabbers, and has obtained several decisions favorable to the homesteaders. It was largely his familiarity with these questions relating to titles that influenced his appoint- ment to his present office. In politics he is a Democrat, active and promi- nent in party management ever since he came to the district. At present he is chairman of the Democratic county committee of Marquette county. He has made quite a reputation as a platform speaker, and in the hot campaigns of 1892 and 1894 his party made large demands on his time for campaign purposes. In 1894 he was nominated by his party for Congress- man in the Twelfth Congressional District against Samuel Stevenson, but was defeated with his ticket though he polled more than his party strength. Mr. Culver is the architect and builder of his own fortune. He came to Michigan and began his career without the aid of money, influence of friends, and has by his own efforts placed himself on the highway to suc- cess in a profession where bright, strong men are the rule rather than the exception. The task he laid out for himself was no easy one, and that he has succeeded so well as he has is the best possible evidence of future success. 458 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. JAMES VAN KLEECK, Bay City. James Van Kleeck was born at Exeter, Monroe county, Michigan, September 26, 1846. He is of Hol- land descent, and is able to trace the family genealogy through an unbroken lineage for seven generations. His grandfather, Simeon Van Kleeck, was born on the Hudson river, in New York, but removed to Canada about the opening of the American Revolution, and became the first settler at Van Kleeck's Hill. Robert Van Kleeck married Catherine McMannis, daugh- ter of James McMannis, a merchant of Buffalo, New York, who lost heavily in the fire there and removed to Michigan, where he became a farmer. The family of McMannis came from Ireland to America about the beginning of the present century. Robert Van Kleeck was born at the Hill in Ontario bearing the family name, and, coming to Michigan, set- tled in Exeter, Monroe county, in 1832. Soon afterwards he returned to Canada and took part in the rebellion by McKenzie. After that was over he returned to Monroe county and settled on the farm, where he remained until his death, which took place in 1876. James Van Kleeck, the subject of this sketch, was the son of Robert aforementioned. His early educa- tion was secured in the public and union schools of his native county. In June, 1862, while yet under sixteen years of age, he left school for the pur- pose of enlisting as a soldier in Company B, Seventeenth Michigan infantry. He was immediately sent to the front, joined the Army of the Potomac, then under the command of General McClellan, and participated in the battles of South Mountain September 14, and Antietam September 17, 1862. He received a gunshot wound at Antietam which disabled him. The ball, which lodged in his left side, is still carried by him, and some- times causes great pain. The physical disability occasioned by this wound was such as to justify his honorable discharge from the service in Decem- ber, 1863, and for a year thereafter he was unable to walk; even now he finds it necessary to use a cane when walking. On recovering sufficiently after his return from the war, he resumed his studies in the union schools of Monroe, and afterwards took up the study of law in the office of Bald- win & Rafter, of that city, where he remained for one year. In 1869 he entered the Law School of the University of Michigan, and upon comple- tion of the course, was graduated in 1871. He was admitted to the Bar at Monroe the same year, but continued in practice only six months in that county before removing to Midland City, Midland county. He settled there and hung out his shingle as a lawyer. In the line of his professional work he served two years as city attorney, and then was elected prosecuting attorney for Midland county. He was re-elected to the office of prose- cutor twice, holding the office six years. In 1882 he was elected to repre- sent the county in the State Legislature, and during the session of which he was a member, served on the judiciary committee and the committee for the University of Michigan. He voted for Thomas W. Palmer, who was elected to represent Michigan in the United States senate during that Janus vankienk The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago. UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 459 session. In 1885 he removed to Bay City and entered into partnership with George W. Mann. The same year he was appointed Commissioner of Emigration by Governor Alger, and held the office until it was abolished by law. In 1886 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Bay county, and served one term. His intelligent interest in schools and all matters related to advancement and literature caused his election as a member of the board of education. His interest in politics and activity in support of his party designated him as a suitable candidate for congress. He was therefore nominated by the Republicans in 1890 to represent the Tenth Congres- sional District, but was defeated by Hon. Thomas A. E. Weadock. He has aided his party by service on the local committees and the State Cen- tral Committee. His practice of the law has been general in the various State and Federal courts. He is well informed in the political history of the country and the principles or policies of political parties. He is a fluent speaker, candid and accurate in statement, logical in argument. He carries into his profession the habits of a student, and his application ena- bles him to understand the facts of his cases and the law applicable to them. His industry has always been an appreciable factor in securing the flattering measure of success which has attended his practice and his busi- ness. Mr. Van Kleeck is a Mason and a member of U. S. Grant Post No. 67, G. A. R. He attends the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was married at Midland July 2, 1872, to Miss Juliette C. Carpenter, daughter of Thomas J. Carpenter, a capitalist. Three children born of this mar- riage are Edith A., James C. and Delia. GEORGE P. COBB, Bay City. Hon. George Pomroy Cobb was born April 13, 1841, in York township, Livingston county, New York, where his father, Elijah Vail Cobb, was engaged in teaching. The Cobb family is one of the oldest in New England, its history running back to 1632, when a Cobb landed on the desolate coast of Massachusetts. Judge Cobb's mother bore the maiden name of Lucy H. Pomroy, and also belonged to one of the most venerable families of New England. His parents removed to this State from Rochester, New York, in 1855, and settled in Lenawee county, where his father engaged in farming. He received his early education in the common schools at Rochester, New York, and in Washtenaw county, Michigan. He was a student for a term in the seminary at Ypsilanti. Much of his study was done at home under his father's careful supervision. He was for some time a pupil in the Ann Arbor high school, one of the famous public schools of the west. He began teaching in 1860, and had schools in Macon, Superior and Pitts- field, and was also employed in Ann Arbor. Meanwhile he directed his studies and reading with the ultimate ambition of following the law as a profession. Early in 1865 he enlisted as a private in the Fifth Michigan 460 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Cavalry, and was in General Custer's brigade of the Army of the Potomac during the last few months of the Civil War. After the surrender of Lee and Johnson, the young cavalryman was transferred to the Seventh, and afterwards to the First Michigan Veteran Cavalry, and was sent into the far west, doing duty for a time at Fort Collins and near Salt Lake City. There were then no railroads west of the Missouri, and the command travelled overland from Fort Leavenworth. He was discharged from the Government service in 1866, returned to Ann Arbor, and entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan. He was graduated from that institution in 1868, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the month of September of the same year he went to Bay City, then growing in importance as the center of a vast lumber region. There he opened an office, and two years later became a member of the law firm of Grier, Mc- Donell & Cobb. When Mr. Grier was elected to the Bench, he retired from the firm, which then became McDonell & Cobb. This partnership was dissolved in 1874, and Mr. Cobb continued alone in his professional labors for five years. He then formed a partnership with Hon. J. W. McMath, which lasted until 1888. Mr. Cobb was elected supervisor of the Third Ward of Bay City, 1873. In 1880 he was elected to the State Legislature, and served on the committees on insurance and ways and means. In 1881 he was appointed as one of the Visitors of Albion Col- lege, and in 1887 was elected Judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit. In 1893 he was a candidate for re-election, but was defeated. Since then he has confined himself to the general practice of his profession. Among the more noted cases with which he has been connected as counsel may be mentioned that of Watson vs. Stever (25 Michigan, 386), This was an important case in which was argued the responsibility of trespassers in assumpsit for personal property. It resulted in the passage of an "Act to facilitate the collection of damages for trespass or other injury to land, known as Act 165 of 1875. Another case was that of Clark vs. Raymond (27th Michigan 456), involving important questions under the law of mechanics' liens. Another case, often quoted in legal controversies, was that of Marble vs. Price, which turned on issues of adverse possession. Judge Cobb was a charter member of U. S. Grant Post, No. 67, G. A. R.; and its first Chaplain, and is now a member of H. P. Merrill Post, No. 419. He has been many years in the Royal Arcanum, is one of the Past Grand Regents of Michigan, and belongs to the National Union. He has associated himself with the First Presbyterian Church of Bay City, and was at one time its treasurer and for ten years its secretary. He was mar- ried November 1, 1871, to Miss Laura Munger. She is a daughter of A. They have one child S. Munger, a prominent business man of Bay City. now living, George Arthur. Our subject is Republican in his politics, but seeks no office not directly connected with his profession. UNIK OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago V.Z. Shepard MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 461 THEODORE F. SHEPARD, Bay City. Mr. Shepard, one of the most prominent and successful lawyers of northeastern Michigan, was born in Livingston county, New York, June 14, 1844. His father, Howell Shep- ard, was a native of Yates county, in the same State, an industrious farmer, highly esteemed by his neighbors, and subsequently a merchant in Alle- gany county, where he died in 1860. His mother was Sarah Rathbun, a native of the State of New York. He was educated in the public schools of his native State and in Alford University, Allegany county, from which he was graduated in 1865. Soon after that he began the study of law at Cuba, New York, in the office of Hon. Marshall B. Champlin, who was a distinguished lawyer and for six years Attorney General of the State. After a preliminary course of reading he pursued his studies in the Albany Law School and was admitted to the Bar in 1866. Being then but twenty-two years of age, Mr. Shepard decided to remain in the office of General Champlin another year. At the end of that time he was attracted by the larger opportunities offered to young men in the west and after a prospecting tour he was favorably impressed with Bay City as a location for the practice of law. He settled there and opened an office first in West Bay City for the practice of his profession. He was not long in establishing himself successfully upon his own merits and by forming a fortunate part- nership with Mr. C. P. Black. In 1872 Mr. Shepard was elected prosecut- ing attorney for Bay county and discharged the duties of that office, which, as much as any other, tests a man's integrity, with the utmost fidelity to his oath of office and the welfare of the community. It is said, indeed, that he was a veritable terror to evil doers, and during his term of office law-breaking was reduced to a minimum and many of the low and vile places of resort which nurture crime were effectually closed. The reputa- tion which he acquired in this office brought to him numberless criminal cases, and for years thereafter he had the leading business of the city in that class of cases. His success was very marked, as he never lost a crim- inal case during this period. He inherited his political faith, which was His father was a strengthened and sustained by reading and association. Whig, identified with the organization of the Republican party, and the son has been a Republican continuously. Conscientiously believing in the principles of his party he has been active and earnest in promoting its suc- cess. The offices which he has held have been connected with his profes- sion and educational affairs. He was city attorney of West Bay City for several terms and a member of the board of education for twelve years, serving as its chairman during that period. He is a progressive, public- spirited citizen. From the time of its organization he was president of the West Bay City board of water works for more than ten years. In the line of politics exclusively his activities are indicated sufficiently by a simple statement of the fact that he was a delegate to the National Republican Convention in 1876, which nominated President Hayes. He was also 462 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. chairman of the Congressional District Committee for several years. At present he is a member of the Republican State Central Committee. He never fails to manifest a lively interest in the political affairs of his State and county. As a recognition of legal ability and political services he was appointed United States district attorney for the Eastern District of Michi- gan by President Harrison in 1890, and served a term of four years. It is a coincidence worth mentioning that he succeeded his law partner, who had been appointed to the same office by President Cleveland four years before. His performance of the duties of this responsible office was alike creditable to himself and satisfactory to the public. His large experience in the office of prosecuting attorney added to his qualifications for the higher office. As a lawyer his perceptions are quick and his decisions prompt. He is able to penetrate the verbiage and discover at a glance the kernel of a question. His legal mind enables him to grasp principles readily and apply them accurately to a case. He has been successful as a lawyer and a financier. It may be said of him that he is equally trustworthy as a coun- seller and a trial lawyer. His general information and learning contribute to his ability as a public speaker and to his capacity in conducting a legal argument. In social contact his manner is very cordial and his bearing without ostentation. His character is well compacted of the elements which go to make the best manhood. He is regarded not only as a prom- inent member of the Michigan Bar, but also as one deserving his promi- nence by reason of varied abilities and personal worth. He has improved well the opportunities afforded in the western field chosen when he was young and has no cause to regret his location in this field. Mr. Shepard was married at Cuba, New York, January, 1868, to Mary M. Randolph, a daughter of S. S. Randolph, a native of the Empire State. The children of this marriage are Howell G., a young man of fine promise, aged twenty-six; and Mamie E., a very agreeable and accomplished young lady five years his junior. Mr. and Mrs. Shepard are members of the First M. E. Church of West Bay City, of whose official board Mr. Shepard has been chairman for many years. LEE E. JOSLYN, Bay City. Mr. Joslyn was born July 26, 1864, at Darien, Genesee county, New York, and lived in that state for seven years afterwards. His education was begun in the primary schools of his native country, but was interrupted by the removal of the family to Penn- sylvania when he was only seven years old. The next two years were passed in the mountains of McKean county, where he had almost no oppor- tunity for attendance at school on account of the long distance and the bad condition of the mountain roads. In 1873 the family removed to Michigan and settled in Dryden township, Lapeer county. He was at that time nine years old and his opportunities had been very meager. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 463 he Entering the village school under a good teacher, he soon acquired a taste for study and formed the habit of close application. For eight years attended the public schools almost daily, during the time they were in session, and worked morning and evening and Saturdays with the energy of one who realized he was obliged to earn his own living. Being one of a family of eight, whose parents were poor, he was obliged to rely mainly upon himself for whatever advancement he made. He was graduated from the union school at Dryden in 1881, at the age of seventeen. Friends advised him to engage in the study of law and he acted upon the advice. Entering the law office of Hon. William W. Stickney at Lapeer, March 28, 1881, he pursued a course of reading under instruction and remained there until September, 1883, except for such portions of the time as were spent in teaching school. He was careful and economical, not hesitating to engage in work, however menial, in order to defray his expenses. While a student of law he paid his board by serving as night watchman in a hotel from II P. M. to 4 A. M. He applied himself to study with such assiduity and understanding as to win a distinct compliment from his pre- ceptor, Judge Stickney, who said that he read Blackstone the best and quickest of any student ever in his office. In 1883 he engaged to teach as principal of the graded school in Otisville, where he remained two years with a creditable record satisfactory to the patrons. He then went to West Bay City as principal of the First Ward school, where he remained one year. Meantime he continued reading law with Judge George H. Durand, of Flint and Hon. Thomas A. E. Weadock, now of Detroit. He was admitted to the Bar June, 1886, and began the practice without any other capital than his natural ability and acquirements, being obliged to earn his own living from the start. Newspaper writing at odd times, in addition to his law practice enabled him to do this. In March, 1888, he removed his office from West Bay City to Bay City and took desk room with United States Commissioner McMath. In the fall of that year and again in 1890 he was elected Circuit Court Commissioner. In 1892 he was again nominated as the Democratic candidate for prosecuting attorney of Bay county and elected. He has been faithful to his trust in discharg- ing the duties of this office, which, as much as any other, requires a firmness of integrity in order to resist the temptations which are ever present, appeal- ing to one's cupidity. Mr. Joslyn has been and is an active supporter of the Democratic party. Since 1887 he has been a very enthusiastic Forester. In that year he was made a member of Court Miranda No. 326. During the first five years he was not prominent in the order, but when the High Court met at Bay City in 1892 he was elected High Counsellor by a vote which was almost unanimous. The following year at Saginaw he was elected High Vice Chief Ranger, and upon the death of the Chief he was promoted to the office of High Chief Ranger. He is a Knight of Pythias, a member of the A. O. U. W. and also a Free Mason. He represented his high court as a delegate to the Supreme 464 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Court of the Independent Order of Foresters held in London, England, in 1895. He is a ready and eloquent public speaker, and the future doubtless has in store for him the rewards which may be expected from devotion to a profession and a conscientious discharge of duties public and private. Mr. Joslyn was married June 29, 1893, to Miss Alice L. Wilson, daughter of F. L. Wilson, a manufacturer of Bay City. He is a resident of West Bay City. STEPHEN P. FLYNN, West Bay City. Mr. Flynn was born December 24, 1856, at Thorold, Ontario. His father, Patrick Flynn, was a native of Newfoundland, and a captain of lake craft for many years. His mother, Mary Sutton, was a native of Ireland. The first eight years of his life were passed at Thorold and St. Catherines, Ontario, and then the family removed to Bay City, Michigan, where their permanent home was estab- lished. Here he grew to manhood and here he has resided to the present time. His education was obtained entirely in the district schools and the high school of Bay City. At twenty-one he began the study of law in the office of R. B. Taylor, which was continued in the office and under the instruction of Hatch & Cooley. He was admitted to the Bar in April, 1880, and opened an office in Bay City at once for practice. The follow- ing year he was elected justice of the peace for West Bay City and the acceptance of the position necessitated a removal of his law office to the West Side, where it has since remained. He has conducted a general practice alone in the State and Federal Courts, and many of his cases have been carried to the Supreme Court. Mr. Flynn has frequently appeared before that tribunal, both in oral arguments and printed briefs. The measure of his success in all the courts has been fully up to the average of attorneys of his age. He is a member of the Democratic party and liber- ally informed on political science, as well as the history of political parties. He has been a careful, practical student of the problems of municipal gov- ernment. Through his instrumentality a popular movement was inaugu- rated which culminated in 1890 in the reformation of the system of tax assessments in the city, by an amendment of the charter, so as to create a board of assessors. After deliberate investigation he became impressed with the belief that private corporations were not paying their due propor- tion of taxes, and his purpose was to equalize taxation. In the spring of 1890 he was appointed city attorney and performed the duties of the office two years and a half, when he resigned on account of failing health. With a view to recuperation, he made a trip to the southwest in the fall of 1892, spending several months in California and Mexico with substantial benefit to his health. On returning home much improved he resumed the practice of his profession and went the following year to Seattle, Washington, as the legal adviser, financial agent and general manager of Mosher & М The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago. MJ.Puricel ев UNI BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 465 McDonald, who had a large lumber business and timber possessions in that State. The firm failed in 1895 and Mr. Flynn was appointed receiver for the business and estate situated in Washington. His pecuniary loss on account of the firm's failure was large. Without delay he filed a com- plaint in the courts of Washington, opening a suit against Mosher & McDonald, for services and damages, in the sum of one hundred thousand dollars. He returned to West Bay City in April, 1896. Mr. Flynn has possessions in timber and lands himself in the State of Washington. He has also valuable real estate in West Bay City; so that on the whole he has prospered financially by careful, prudent investments. He was married June 3, 1885, to Caddie E. Pierce, daughter of Benjamin F. and Jeanette R. Pierce, old and estimable residents of West Bay City. The fruit of the marriage is one daughter, Maude Ruth, eight years old. Mr. Flynn is a self-made man. Commencing work at eleven years of age, from that time until he entered upon the study of law he worked at various occupations, eight or nine months in each year, earning thereby his livelihood while at work and in addition sufficient to keep the wolf from the door the remainder of the year while he attended school. He has gained excellent standing in his profession, achieved for his city beneficial results in the improvement of laws, and established a character that gives him good standing among the citizens where his home has been established since boyhood. He has become one of the acknowledged influences in political and local affairs as well as at the Bar, and has always stood for reform in municipal government. He has a bright legal mind and the future has yet in store for him many professional prizes. He is popular with his fellow- townsmen and being still a young man should have many years of useful activity and intellectual growth. 10 MILES J. PURCELL, Saginaw. Miles James Purcell was born at Zilwaukee, Saginaw county, Michigan, August 25th, 1868. His parentage, like that of many of the ablest men of our country, was of sturdy Irish stock. His father was James Purcell, a salt maker and a native of Ireland, who, with his parents, left the Green Isle in 1856. The family settled first at Syracuse, New York, attracted thither no doubt, by the rich saline deposits that would afford remunerative employment to the head of the family. His mother was born in Elmira, New York, of Irish parents. James Purcell came to Saginaw county in 1861, where he was afterwards married and where Miles J. was born as stated above. He began his edu- cation in the district schools of the township of Carrollton, Saginaw county, and later entered the schools of Saginaw. He was an apt scholar and a diligent student, eager to seek out and acquire information that would assist him to advance in life and attain an honored and responsible position in the community. In June, 1887, he graduated from the high school of 30 466 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. East Saginaw, and began his active career. In 1888-9 he taught school in Saginaw county, giving every spare moment to the study of law for which he had a special liking. Leaving the school in June, 1889, he entered the law office of Tarsney & Weadock, the firm being com- posed of Hon. Timothy E. Tarsney and George W. Weadock, and on the dissolution of that firm he remained with Mr. Weadock until 1891. In September, 1891, he was admitted to the Bar after an examin- ation before the Circuit Court at Saginaw. To further fit himself for practice he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan in October, 1891, and graduated in June, 1892, a member of "The Columbian Law Class," with the degree of LL. B. Returning to Sagi- naw he re-entered the office of George W. Weadock, and in January, 1893, became associated with him as a partner, the firm being Weadock & Pur- cell. Mr. Purcell, though young, has made a reputation as a public speaker, being a master of the English language, graceful and fluent and possessing a flow of eloquence that seems characteristic of persons of true Irish lineage wherever their lines may be cast. In political belief he is a Democrat. Although ever ready to sound the slogan in political battles he has never held an office nor has he been a candidate for any, preferring the rewards of professional success at the Bar. Here he is strong in argu- ment before a jury, presenting the facts and marshalling the evidence in a manner carrying conviction to their minds and confusion to his adversaries. To the preparation of his cases he gives a painstaking care and diligence that rarely leaves him open to an unlooked-for assault, and he has a com- prehensive grasp of the law in its bearings upon any matter in hand. In religious belief Mr. Purcell is a Roman Catholic. Although one of the younger members of the Saginaw county Bar, his past success presages a most enviable future in his profession. LESLIE B. HANCHETT, Saginaw. Leslie Benton Hanchett, a worthy son of a most worthy sire, is one of the promising lawyers of the younger generation. He is the son of Hon. Benton and Ann (Broadwell) Han- chett. His ancestors left England in 1650 settling first in Massachusetts and later in Connecticut. Members of this latter branch subsequently removed to Vermont and then to New York State where his father was born at Marshall, Oneida county, April 6, 1835. The father of the sub- ject of this sketch at the age of five years removed with his parents to Oswego county, New York, where he was raised on a farm with all the incidents usual to the life of a farmer boy in that section. He worked on the farm summers and attended the schools winters, later attending more advanced schools at Fulton and Cazenovia, New York. The taste for the law seems to have been hereditary with Leslie Benton as his father early manifested a desire to follow that profession and graduated from the State BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 467 National Law School at Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1858. Soon after his graduation he removed to Owosso, Michigan, and embarked in general practice. Here his son Leslie was born June 20, 1863. Later Benton Hanchett removed to Saginaw, where he has built up a practice that is one of the most important in the State, and a reputation that is not confined to Michigan. Leslie was educated in the public schools of Saginaw. He was a quiet, studious young man, attentive to his books, popular with his teachers and associates, and graduated from the Saginaw high school in 1881. From here he entered the University of Michigan, graduating from that institution in 1884 with the degree of Ph. B. He then entered the office of Hanchett & Stark to study law and later was admitted to the firm, which was styled Hanchett, Stark & Hanchett. He was examined before the Circuit Court and admitted to the Bar at Saginaw in August, 1887. In 1894, Mr. Stark left the firm, which then became Hanchett & Hanchett. This is one of the leading law firms of the State of Michigan and enjoys a large practice of a very lucrative character. It is interested in many of the most important suits that are brought before the courts of the State, especially the Supreme Court, and is often retained as counsel in matters of public concern where important interests are at stake. Mr. Hanchett is quiet in his manner yet genial and approachable to all. As a student he is a tireless worker, carefully weighing in all their bearings. matters entrusted to his care and is interested in making an enduring reputation at the Bar. He is a Republican in politics but has never held office nor is he an aspirant for political honors, preferring rather to con- centrate his energies on his profession. He is attorney for the Saginaw & Bay City Railway Company, a corporation recently formed for the purpose of connecting Bay City and Saginaw by a rapid transit electric railroad. In religious faith he is a Unitarian, a regular attendant at the services of that denomination and popular in social circles. On April 8, 1891, at Fulton, Missouri, he married Miss Alby P. Rickey, a daughter of Hon. Joseph K. Rickey, a prominent citizen of that State, and enjoys a refined and happy home life. Two children, Ann Howard and Joseph Benton, have blessed their union. FRANK E. EMERICK, Saginaw. Mr. Emerick is one of the rising young men of the Saginaw Bar. He was born January 16, 1855, on a farm in Middlesex county, Ontario. His father was one of the prosperous and respected farmers of that section and his mother, born in New York State, was the daughter of a captain of a steamer plying on the waters of the romantic and picturesque St. Lawrence River. The conditions of the early life of the subject of this sketch were such as to implant and nurture in the embryo advocate, a spirit of self-reliance and energetic aspirations that, combined with perfect physical health, have enabled him to carve out 468 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. a substantial success in his chosen profession. Mr. Emerick's career is much like that of other young men in this country where the conditions into which they are born, however humble, may lead to the highest honors Like many and most ample successes in both social and business life. another ambitious young man he began his public life as an educator of youth. At the age of nineteen years he left the farm, where the founda- tions of a liberal education had been carefully laid and engaged in teaching school. He was in every way well fitted for this work and continued at it with marked success for some time. By patient work he was at length enabled to enter college at London, Ontario, where he further perfected Like many the education acquired by diligent and conscientious study. other enterprising young men his thoughts turned to the rapidly develop- ing west and in 1875, leaving his native State, he located in Saginaw, which at that time was probably the liveliest lumber city in the United States, and where the volume of business, induced by the rapidly growing lumber trade, and its kindred industries, was growing to enormous pro- portions. Here he entered the Second National Bank as bookkeeper, but after very acceptably filling the position for some time he decided to adopt the law as his profession. In accordance with this decision he entered the office of Hon. C. H. Gage, as a law student and later read law in the office of Hon. Benton Hanchett. In 1879 he passed a very creditable examina- tion and was admitted to the Bar of Saginaw county. Shortly after his admission he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney under Hon. L. T. Durand. He fulfilled the duties of this position so acceptably that on the expiration of Mr. Durand's term of office he was elected to fill the office of prosecuting attorney for Saginaw county and held this position for six years, leaving an excellent record for faithful and efficient service in that capacity. Subsequently he was for several years city attorney for the city of Saginaw and discharged the duties of this office with the same Poli- marked ability and success that characterized his previous efforts. tically Mr. Emerick is a Democrat and has always been an active and valuable worker for the party and much in demand as a political speaker. As a speaker he possesses a clear, resonant voice, a quick, telling and incisive manner, and a pleasing personality that quickly puts him in touch with his audience. Of late years Mr. Emerick has avoided politics and now devotes his entire time to the details of his extensive practice. He has been engaged in many important cases and is noted as an eloquent speaker and advocate. In his practice he has been eminently successful and he is a diligent and tireless worker, lucid reasoner and stands high as a pleader in the court-room before judge and jury. He has three brothers in Michigan, one of whom George W. is cashier of the American Com- mercial and Savings Bank of Saginaw, and the other two are ministers. Aside from his legal matters Mr. Emerick is interested in electric lighting, having organized the Saginaw Electric Light and Power Company of Sagi- naw, of which corporation he is vice-president and general attorney. This UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Jas H. Davis M1 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 469 company was organized in 1889 and is very successful. Although a hard worker Mr. Emerick enjoys a brief outing occasionally, and is the owner of the "Eight Bells," a handsome little pleasure craft and the only electric yacht on the Saginaw River. In this, accompanied by a few chosen friends, he takes an occasional respite from business cares and enjoys a day of pleasure on the Saginaw River and its tributaries. In 1883 he married Miss Emma Seeney of Saginaw, an estimable young lady, who presides with tact and grace over his domestic establishment where he enjoys a happy home life. Personally Mr. Emerick is genial and possesses social qualities that have won him a host of warm friends and well wishers. He is one of the rising young men of the Saginaw Bar-eloquent, honest, ambitious and capable, and the future bids fair to hold much in store for him in the way of high professional honors and reward. JAMES HUGH DAVITT, Saginaw. Mr. Davitt was born in Lenawee county, Michigan, April 4, 1855. His father, Hugh Davitt, was born in Ireland and by inheritance was a true home ruler — a descendant of a family always loyal to Ireland, and himself possessed of the usual hatred of English domination and tyranny. For him, Ireland held down by a foreign soldiery, presented no future, and with the true Irish instinct for liberty his earliest thoughts were turned to America. In 1846 he bid a long adieu to the land of song and eloquence, tyranny and misery, fertile fields and starving people, where foreign rule had converted a natural garden. to a waste sheep walk, and sought a home for himself and family in America. He at once established himself upon a farm in old Lenawee, upon the historic banks of the bloody Raisin, where the native Indians and white settlers so long contended for possession. Hugh Davitt belonged to the better class of emigrants; he was an educated man, a builder and con- tractor by occupation, as well as a skilled farmer. Mr. Davitt was born and reared on a farm where, as he grew older, he performed his full part of hard work. His education was like that of the youth around him, acquired in the district school, but his studious habits and his facility in acquiring knowledge soon placed him far ahead of his schoolmates, and before he was 20 years old he graduated, with marked honor, from the high school of East Hudson, having before that acquired the trade of builder and worked at it with success. During his leisure hours he had been a great reader of noted public speeches - Webster, Curran, Burke and others and they aroused in the young reader the natural Irish ambition to imitate them, and a study of the law naturally followed. That he should succeed was a matter of course. Hard labor had made him strong and healthy; he had already a good stock of acquired information for one of his years; he was naturally diligent and studious and accustomed to labor and he was ambitious. He read law in an office at Hudson, and was admitted to the 470 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Bar at Adrian in 1880, after passing a very creditable examination. His first efforts at the Bar met with success, which steadily increased, but after two years at Hudson he became satisfied a larger field would be more likely to meet his expectations, and he removed to Saginaw in 1882. Mr. Davitt soon grew into notice and quickly acquired an honorable and profit- able practice. He is an able trial lawyer, and a strong advocate; his cases are always thoroughly prepared, both upon the facts and the law, and he therefore commands alike the confidence of the jury and the judge. He has been engaged in much important litigation that could be finally dis- posed of only in the Supreme Court where his candor, dignity and learning early secured him the respectful consideration of the court, and where he has aided to settle important legal questions. The best efforts of the real lawyer lie buried from general knowledge, and not one in ten of those who make use of the cases that embody the results of his efforts, ever stop to consider what lawyer aided the court to establish the principle, or reasoning, upon which he relies to establish his own position or to contro- vert that of his opponent. The following are a few of the more important cases in which Mr. Davitt has taken a leading part in the court of last resort. Davies vs. City of Saginaw (87 Mich. 439), which settled the validity of the special assessment system formerly in force in East Saginaw and now in force in Saginaw. The pecuniary interest of the city in the questions there involved amounted at the time the case was decided to over $200,000. City of Saginaw vs. McKnight (63 N. W. Rep. 985), which decided that so much of the charter and ordinances of the city of Saginaw as provided for licensing non-resident traders, was unconstitutional. Gamble vs. Gates (92 Mich. 510), which settled the construction of con- tracts for the sale of standing timber in this particular, that, where such contract provide for the removal of the timber from the lands within a fixed period cutting the timber without removing it also within the period fixed does not vest the title in the vendee. A very important question in this State. The cases of Burwitz vs. Jeffers (61 N. W. Rep. 75), Leidlein vs. Meyer (95 Mich. 486), Cogswell vs. Mitts (90 Mich. 353), Shaw vs. Stein (79 Mich. 77) and Marskey vs. Turner (81 Mich. 62), are some of the cases conducted by Mr. Davitt in the Supreme Court which involved important legal questions. Mr. Davitt is a Democrat and has always taken an active part in politics, and has freely done his share in all local, Congressional, State and National campaigns; his liberal views and ready eloquence making him much in demand as a political speaker, but he has never sought office, or held any official position except that of city attorney of East Saginaw for two years, having early determined that a man could not be an office-holder and a good lawyer at the same time. He is a Catholic in religion and has always taken an active part in all entertain- ments, meetings and work designed to raise funds for the charitable institu- tions of the church, and his best and most eloquent speeches have been delivered upon these occasions in behalf of the orphan asylums of the city, BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 471 where they helped to swell the receipts for these worthy charities. He was married to Miss Ella Campbell, of Hudson, Nov. 26, 1879, a young lady able to appreciate his worth and to command his respect; as a natural result the union has been a happy one. They have two children — Harold, born April 8, 1881, and Bartley Campbell, born Feb. 23, 1883. Mr. Davitt is strong in his convictions, and fearless in their defense, ready to uphold what he deems right and to condemn and denounce what he regards as wrong with little regard to how it may affect his popularity. He is not one of those who would buy favor by forbearing to denounce wrong.. He is intensely American and an active opponent of those who, by dark lantern, secret, oath-bound methods, would deny to any class the rights of American citizens. JOHN F. O'KEEFE, Saginaw. Mr. O'Keefe comes of Irish and Scotch stock. His father was born in Ireland, and came from a family distin- guished for its long line of scholars, himself being educated in Dublin College. His mother is of Scotch ancestry. He was born in Wilson, Niagara County, New York, December 28, 1860. He spent his early years on the farm and in the district schools. In 1881 he was graduated from the Wilson Academy of his native town. Mr. O'Keefe was for three years principal of the Somerset high school, at Somerset, New York, and one year superintendent of the public schools at Lewiston, New York. He was graduated from Mount Union College in 1887 and came at once to Saginaw, Michigan, where for three years he was principal of the Teach- ers' Training School. During this time, by appointment of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, he conducted teachers' institutes and lectured on the science and art of education in the leading cities of the State. He studied law in the office of Hanchett, Stark & Hanchett, and was admitted to the Saginaw county Bar in June, 1890, and soon there- after he was licensed to practice in the Supreme Court of Michigan and in the Circuit Courts of the United States. He has an extensive practice in the State and Federal Courts. He is a conscientious worker, a hard fighter and a successful advocate. He has been retained in many of the impor- tant causes tried in the Saginaw Circuit during the past two years. He was one of the attorneys for the defendant in the famous libel suit for $50,000 of Mayor William B. Mershon vs. Rev. William Knight. He was attorney for the plaintiff in the case of Holman vs. The Union Street Railway, one of the most stubbornly contested cases tried in the Saginaw Circuit in a long time, and in which plaintiff secured a judgment of $2,800. The Rapid Transit Railroad Co., an electric line connecting Saginaw with Bay City, has retained him as their general counsel. He is also retained by several local corporations. The number of cases which he has con- ducted in the Supreme Court of Michigan is unusual for one so young in 47? BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. the profession. Out of twelve cases which he has argued in that court only one was lost. It is worth while to mention the case of Swarthout vs. Lucas (102 Michigan, page 492). This involved the question of the authority of a Circuit Judge to punish contempt by imprisonment. A litigant who refused to pay an attorney fee upon a motion was imprisoned for contempt of court. The Supreme Court, upon appeal, was of the opinion that the Circuit Judge did not possess the power which he exercised, and the decision of the Circuit Court was reversed. Mr. O'Keefe was counsel for the appellant. Another important case was the Union Central Life Insurance Company vs. Howell, et al., involving an alleged shortage in the account of Howell, who was agent of the com- pany. The suit was brought against the agent and his bondsmen, upon the bond. In their answer defendants did not deny the execution of the bond. Upon the trial the Circuit Judge permitted them to introduce testimony tending to prove the execution of the bond at a date later than that which appeared on its face. The case was carried to the Supreme Court on a writ of error and the ruling of the Circuit Court was reversed, thus deciding for the first time in Michigan that defendants could not be permitted to introduce evidence to prove the execution of an instrument on a date different from that which it bears, without first serving notice by affidavit denying the execution of such instrument, as provided for by the Circuit Court rule No. 79. The case is reported in 101 Michigan, page 333. Mr. O'Keefe was married November 14, 1894, to Miss Ida K. Cal- lam, daughter of William Callam, Esq., one of the wealthiest men of Saginaw. They have one son, William C. Mr. O'Keefe is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, the East Saginaw Club and the First Presbyterian Church. In politics, he is a Republican, and frequently stumps the county for his party. He has, however, persistently declined to be a candidate for office and says he will never give up his law practice for politics. His office is in the Bearinger Building, and his pleasant home at No. 520 Millard St., is in the prettiest residence part of the city. HENRY E. NAEGELY, Saginaw. The subject of this sketch was born in East Saginaw, which is now a part of the city of Saginaw, March 16, 1869. His father, Capt. Henry Naegely, is a native of Switzerland, born in canton of Zurich, in December, 1838. He received a commercial edu- cation and military training in the schools of Winterthur, remaining in that place until his departure for America in 1860. At the age of twenty Captain Naegely was impressed by the advantages offered to the young and ambitious in the new world, and soon afterwards left the little Swiss republic for America. He settled first in Wisconsin, remaining there until 1861 when he enlisted in the Union army and went to the front. His early military training and experience fitted him at once for command, and BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 473 he was made an officer immediately. Upon his own merit exhibited in his skill and bravery he rose in rank by successive promotions until, at the close of the war, he held a captain's commission and had command of a company. In addition to this he was acting assistant adjutant general on General Morrow's staff. At the close of the war Captain Naegely located in Detroit, where he remained until 1868. He then removed to East Saginaw, where he engaged in the hotel business, which he still continues. The mother of our subject was Maggie Breen, born in Ireland, May, 1845. She possesses many noble qualities of mind, with the generous traits attributed to the people of her nationality. She has strength of intellect and a charitable disposition. The primary and preparatory education of Henry E. Naegely was acquired in the schools of Saginaw, from which he was admitted to the University of Michigan in 1889. Three years were devoted by him to the study of letters in the Literary Department. At the end of that time, moved by a well-defined purpose and increasing desire to begin the study of law, he entered the Law School of the Univer- sity in 1892. During his first year in the Law Department he was selected as class president by the members of his class. This was regarded at the time as a distinct honor for a Michigan student to receive, inasmuch as no student from this State had been elected president of his class for many years. Mr. Naegely was admitted to the Bar May 26, 1894, at Ann Arbor. He was graduated in law in June, 1894, and at once commenced the practice of the profession in Saginaw. He has met with such success as to be already well established as a member of the Bar. In religious belief Mr. Naegely is an adherent of the Roman Catholic faith. Politi- cally he is allied to the Democratic party, and his ability as a public speaker makes him the champion of his party's principles occasionally on the stump. ARTHUR H. SWARTHOUT, Saginaw. Arthur H. Swarthout was born in the township of Saginaw, June 9, 1859. He is descended from good old Holland stock. The ancestors of his father emigrated from Hol- land and settled in New Amsterdam in colonial times. His grandfather, Capt. Anthony R. Swarthout, came west and settled in Saginaw county in 1835, when the entire valley was yet a wilderness. As he was a surveyor the settlement of the country gave him employment at his profession, which he followed profitably for many years. James N. Swarthout, the father of our subject, was a native of Michigan, a farmer, and lived all his life in Saginaw county, where he died in January, 1890. The mother of Arthur H. was Jane M. Hiesordt, a native of the State of New York, and of Holland descent. She is still living and finds a home with her son. Arthur H. Swarthout passed his boyhood on his father's farm, attending the district schools during a portion of each year, until he was fourteen 474 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. years of age. He then entered the Saginaw high school, W. S., and took the full course of instruction, from which he was graduated in 1877. After leaving school he was engaged in teaching for two winter terms, in order to procure the means with which to defray his expenses at the university. In the fall of 1879 he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan and pursued the studies laid down in the course, attending the lectures and making use of all the means at his command to gain the best possible preparation for practice. He was graduated in 1881 and immediately thereafter settled in Grayling, Crawford county, where he opened an office, having been formally admitted to the Bar at Saginaw in May of that year. In 1882 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Crawford county, but resigned before the close of his term and removed to Saginaw in 1884. His first business and professional partnership was F. W. Wellington, and it was terminated at the end of the first year, by the retirement of Mr. Wellington from practice. For the eight years next ensuing he was alone, but in 1893 became associated in partnership with J. F. O'Keefe, under the firm name and style of Swarthout & O'Keefe, an association which was terminated in March, 1896. Mr. Swarthout has made a specialty of patent law during the last twelve years, and he is unquestionably the patent lawyer of Saginaw. He has achieved marked success in that branch of practice. Among the important patent cases with which he has been connected was that of Kinney vs. The Withington & Corley Manufacturing Company (15 C. C. A. 531), involving construc- tive license to manufacture where the patentee made the invention in the shop of his employer, but at his own expense. Among the important cases in which he prepared briefs are Beaver Creek Township vs. Hastings (52 Mich. 258); Swarthout vs. McKnight, Circuit Judge (N. W. Reports, Vol. LX, page 973); and the Union Central Life Insurance Company vs. Howell (59 N. W. R. 599); and Union Central Life vs. Smith (63 N. W. R. 438). Politically Mr. Swarthout is a Republican. During the time of his residence in Grayling he was very active in support of his party. In addition to receiving the nomination and election to the office of pro- secuting attorney, he was appointed a delegate from the Tenth Congres- sional District to the National Republican Convention held at Chicago in 1884, and cast his vote for James G. Blaine as the candidate finally nominated for President. After his location in Saginaw he devoted himself without reserve to his profession. In disposition he is social and charitable. He is a member of the Masonic order; a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which he is warmly attached. His activ- ities are employed in the duties growing out of church membership, and for the improvement of the community in morality and the virtues of christianity. In 1893 he was elected president of the State Sunday School Association, and vice-president of the International S. S. Association. He is a man of strict principles and high spirit; although entertaining serious views of life and its duties, he is free from forbidding reserve and UNIK OF M The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Chauvery H. Gage BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 475 is very cordial in social intercourse. He has a high reputation as a patent lawyer, excellent standing as a citizen and is well described as a christian gentleman. Mr. Swarthout was married December 15, 1881, to Miss Abbie E. Squire, daughter of Josiah Squire, a farmer of Saginaw county. She died in August, 1892, leaving three daughters: Mable, aged fourteen; Florence, twelve; and Ruth, seven. In 1894 he married Annie E. Squire, a sister of his first wife. CHAUNCEY H. GAGE, Saginaw. Hon. Chauncey Hurlbut Gage was born at Detroit, Michigan, June 15, 1840. His parents were Morgan L. and Amy (Coffeen) Gage. His father was prominent in business life, a manufacturer and later superintendent of construction of plank roads in Saginaw and Tuscola counties, Michigan. During the Mexican War he was Captain of an independent company attached to the First Michigan Volunteers and was assigned garrison duty at Forts Mackinaw and Brady. He was also captain of Company A, Fourteenth Michigan Infantry in the war of the Rebellion, serving in Tennessee and Mississippi. He was an excellent soldier, brave, faithful and true, and popular with his men as is shown by the fact that his memory is perpetuated in Morgan L. Gage Post No. 375 G. A. R., of Saginaw, East Side. Captain Gage came to Detroit in 1819 with his father from New York State. The family came originally from New England where the first settlement of the Gages in America was made prior to the Revolution. Judge Gage's mother was Amy Coffeen of Ohio, also descended from New England stock. In 1849 Captain Gage removed with his family to Saginaw City and three years later to East Saginaw. This section was then almost a wilderness, and in such primitive condition the facilities for obtaining an education were very limited. Young Chauncey, however, attended the public schools of Saginaw and later of Sandusky, Ohio, diligently grasping the rudiments of knowledge until he reached the age of sixteen years, when he began his active career of usefulness. At this age he entered the employ of S. W. Yawkey & Co., then one of the leading lumber firms of the Saginaw Valley, and remained with them and their successors, C. Moulthrop & Co. for two years. In 1857 he went to Lansing and was elected to fill the position of enrolling clerk of the State Senate. He discharged the duties of this office at the regular and extra sessions of 1857 and 1858. Follow- ing this he studied law in the office of Webber & Wheeler and remained with them and Mr. Webber until January 1, 1863. In 1861 he was examined before the Circuit Court and was admitted to the Bar. In 1864 he was a member of the East Saginaw school board. In 1866 President of the Young Men's Literary Society. In 1871-2 he was recorder for the city of East Saginaw, a judicial office, by which he was also consti- tuted acting mayor in the absence of the mayor, and in 1878 he was city 476 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. attorney for East Saginaw. In the fall of 1862 he was elected prosecut- ing attorney for Saginaw county, assuming the duties of that office Janu- ary 1, 1863. He discharged the duties devolving upon him with such success that he was re-elected in 1863 and served until 1865. On retiring from office he continued the general practice until 1882. In the fall of 1880 he was a candidate for Circuit Judge of the Tenth Judicial District of Michigan, on a non-partisan ticket and was supported by a majority of the Bar of the county and was also made the candidate of the Democratic and Greenback conventions. He was elected for a term of six years— Jan. 1, 1882 to Jan. 1, 1888. In 1887 he was re-elected for a second term without opposition. Again in 1893 he was nominated by the Demo- cratic party, and although he received a large vote, he shared the fate of his party ticket, being defeated by the small majority of thirty votes, in a total poll of nearly 10,000. Since January 1, 1894, Judge Gage has been engaged in the general practice of his profession. Years of service on the Bench, with the study and research thereby entailed, have but ripened and matured his fine legal attainments and given him a comprehensive grasp of the law in all its bearings. Since again entering the legal arena, practice has flowed in on him and he enjoys a clientage of high character. Judge Gage is a Democrat by inclination but is not a politician, his official life having been confined to legal trusts, independent, in a measure, of all party affiliation. He was married in September, 1864, to Miss Mildred Smith, daughter of Captain Martin Smith, a ship-builder and prominent citizen of Saginaw. By this marriage Judge Gage had one child, Stuart M., who is now an architect and mechanical engineer at Seattle, Washing- ton. Mrs. Gage died in March, 1866, and on July 12, 1875, Mr. Gage married Miss Isabel Peck, daughter of Hon. George W. Peck, who was a prominent lawyer of Lansing, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Michigan, and member of the Congress of the United States, and Sophia E. Peck. Mrs. Gage, their daughter, was born in Livingston county, Michigan, April 20, 1852. By this marriage Judge Gage has had two sons, Harold L., aged eleven years, and Lewis P., deceased. During his long service on the Bench, Judge Gage established a reputation for In the treat- extreme fairness in the treatment of litigants and counsel. ment of hardened criminals he was severe, but with no uncalled for severity. In the cases of first offenders he inclined rather to leniency but never to laxity, or to an extent not warranted by the circumstances. His judgment of the law was clear, which fact is proved by the result on appeal in many intricate cases wherein his judgment has been affirmed by the court of last resort. He commanded the respect and good will of the Bar to an unusual extent and retired with their sincere good wishes for his success in his practice. In manner Judge Gage is one of the most companionable of men, open, honest, easy of approach, affable, free of speech and possessing a sterling character above reproach. He commands the respect and esteem of a community where he has lived from early childhood. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 477 - WILLIAM R. KENDRICK, Saginaw. Judge William Russell Kendrick was highly favored at the beginning by all that is valuable in heredity. He is descended on his father's side from sturdy English ancestry, some of whom emigrated from England and settled in New England before the Revolution. His grandfather, Sanford Kendrick, was for many years associate judge in Lapeer county. His father, Lucius Kendrick, a native of Alden, Erie county, New York, came to Michigan in 1836, as a youth with his parents, who settled among the pioneers of Lapeer county. Lucius Kendrick was a farmer, a teacher, a lawyer, a man of culture and literary taste; a writer of merit, whose contributions to the local newspapers were so popular as to be widely copied and universally read; whose adult life was all spent in Dryden, where he died in 1885. William R. was born at Dryden, Lapeer county, June 21, 1848. His mother, Eliza Look, a native of Dunkirk, New York, of Puritan descent on her father's side, and a member of the Pixley family, of Martha's Vineyard, on the side of her mother, came to Michigan with her parents in 1842 and lived until 1875- His early days were spent on the farm and in the district school. At the age of sixteen he began teaching and taught continuously in the district schools for two years. He then attended the Almont Union school for two terms and spent a year in Olivet College. At the age of nineteen he was elected principal of the Dryden public schools and held the position for two years. Before he had arrived at the age of twenty-one his earnings at school teaching amounted to twenty-four hundred dollars. On arriving at his majority he returned to Olivet College and remained there one year. He then entered the University of Michigan, where he studied three years in the scientific course. He took up the study of law in the University and was graduated from the Law School with the class of 1873. After practising a short time he was admitted to the Supreme Court at Detroit, in the spring of 1874. In the same year he formed a partnership at Grand Rapids with Charles N. Potter, who is now Judge of the Supreme Court of Wyoming. This partnership lasted until the spring of 1875 when Judge Kendrick removed to Otsego county where he was elected prose- cuting attorney. He remained there until 1881 and held the office of prosecuting attorney during the entire time and was also Circuit Court Commissioner. In January, 1881, he removed to Saginaw and formed a partnership with Judge L. C. Holden, which remained in force three years, until Mr. Holden was elected probate judge. For three years thereafter he continued in practice alone. In 1886 he was nominated for prosecuting attorney and received seven hundred votes more than his party ticket, but was defeated. In 1887 he formed a partnership with John M. Harris which existed until September, 1895, when he was appointed Circuit Judge by Governor Rich, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Judge R. B. McKnight. Although this appointment came to him without solicitation on his own part, it came at the unanimous request of members 478 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. of the Bar, expressed in a petition signed by the practising attorneys of the Bar of the county without distinction of party. All of his opinions, without exception, have been sustained by the Supreme Court. Though active in politics, and chairman of the Republican county com- mittee for several years, he was free from partisan bias on the Bench. In 1890 he was elected prosecuting attorney by a majority of nine hundred when candidates on the opposing ticket were elected by a majority reach- ing twenty-two hundred. He was faithful and He was faithful and fearless in prosecuting offenders under the law. He prosecuted violations of the law regulating the sale of intoxicating liquors, with energy and zeal. He was equally active and zealous in enforcing the collection of taxes imposed by that law, and as a result of his well directed activities the sum of seventy thousand dollars was collected before the third day of May. The fines and taxes exceeded by nearly twenty thousand dollars the amount ever paid before from the same sources. He could see no reason for permitting these men and interests to avoid payment of their proportion of taxes imposed by law, and held that their responsibility and duty to pay were no less weighty than that of the owner of real estate. He declined a re-election to the office of prosecuting attorney in 1892 on account of important personal business interests. He has been an active practitioner of the law both in the Circuit and Supreme Courts and has managed successfully through those courts many important cases. In Parkhurst vs. Johnson (50 Michi- gan, page 70) he was one of counsel for defendent. This was a case involving the question of negligence and has been a leading case on that branch of the law very much cited. During his term it became his duty to prosecute several persons indicted for murder who were convicted and sentenced to long terms. While his practice, when not in official position, was general in character, he preferred chancery cases, and this kind of practice may be called his specialty. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Supreme Legal Adviser of United Friends of Michigan. Judge Kendrick was married November 3, 1875, to Adeline Bristol, of Almont, Michigan, daughter of Joseph Bristol, a prominent and successful business man of that town. They have three children-two sons and a daughter: J. Lucius S. is nineteen years of age; Ethel E. seventeen and Russell Ray, twelve. All are in the public school. The Judge has a very interesting family and a delightful home. He has accumulated a handsome property; his wife is an artist of ability and his children are all bright and intelligent, advanced in their studies and amateur musicians. Judge Kendrick is an admirable specimen of what may be termed a self-educated, self-dependent American citizen. UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago шешь. М. млет MIC BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 479 WILLIAM M. MILLER, late of Saginaw. Mr. Miller was born Febru- ary 24, 1826, at Williston, Vermont, where his ancestors had lived and thrived for several generations, honored and esteemed by the entire com- munity. He was a lawyer by inheritance. His father, Solomon S. Miller, a leading lawyer, spent his life in his native town, where he died in 1830. His grandfather, Judge Solomon Miller, who was distinguished among the Green Mountain Boys as an active partisan of American Inde- pendence before he became a learned lawyer and a dignified judge, died in Williston prior to the birth of this subject. William M. Miller's mother, who was Eliza Mitchell, died when he was only one year old. His father dying four years later left him to the care of his uncle, Harry Miller, who adopted him and thereafter stood in the relation of father. He was rather a feeble-bodied child, too young at the time to realize his loss in the death of his parents, and was so tenderly reared by his uncle and surrounded with such comforts in his adopted home as never to have felt the loss save as an indefinite memory. Hon. Harry Miller was a man of affairs who in early life was the owner of a large and valuable farm, and became a wealthy man for that time and place. His abilities made him a leader of thought and he served with credit two terms in the Legislature of Ver- mont, and later as State Senator from Chittenden county. In the mean- time he had become a director in the Bank of Burlington, and also in the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Williston. In 1858, the latter bank having acquired a large lumber interest in Saginaw, Senator Miller came to Saginaw to look after its interest, and in a short time purchased the property, associating with himself Ami W. Wright and Valorius Paine, under the firm name of Miller, Paine & Wright. The investment was profitable, and he soon extended his business at Saginaw by establishing the banking house of Miller, Braley & Co., which developed into the First National Bank of Saginaw. Harry Miller had no children, and, being a man of enlightened views and liberal disposition, he provided generously for the education of his adopted son. After a thorough preparatory edu- cation William M. was graduated from the University of Vermont in 1847 with special honor; he was a member of the Greek Letter Frater- nity, Sigma-Phi. During his college days he laid the foundation of an extensive literary knowledge to which he continually added by judicious and diligent study, and which formed one of the strong elements of his character as a lawyer. He early selected the law for his life work, and began his studies in the office of his maternal uncle, the Hon. Henry Leavenworth, of Burlington, Vermont, immediately after his graduation from college. His studious habits, diligence, modest pride and ambition enabled him to make rapid progress, while the large and varied practice of Mr. Leavenworth gave him an opportunity to combine practical experi- ence with his theoretical acquirements, and to obtain an early admission to the Bar. He married Miss Harriet E. Granger, of Glens Falls, New York, • 480 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. a cultivated and accomplished woman, fitted by nature and acquirements to be his life companion. Their only child, Louise, is the wife of Mr. Charles A. Rust, of Saginaw, who much resembles her father both in features and character. Soon after his admission to the Bar Mr. Miller established himself in legal practice at Burlington, Vermont, where he remained with an increasing business and reputation until the winter of 1854 and 1855, when desire to go west was awakened in him, and he removed to Galveston, Texas. The change from the dull, methodical ways of the Green Mountain State to the excitement and push of the Texas of 1855 was not wholly distasteful to him. The population of Gal- veston was largely made up of intelligent and educated emigrants from the north animated by an ambition proportioned to the opportunities, the broad acres and boundless prospects around them. Mr. Miller liked the people and the country, and always spoke of his residence in Texas with pleasure, but the climate was not adapted to his delicate physical organ- ism, and, after a thorough trial, the state of his health compelled him to return north. He located at Niagara Falls, hoping to find relief in that healthy region where the fresh breezes of Lake Erie meet those of Onta- rio. However, he was permitted to remain at the Falls for only a short time. His uncle, Senator Miller, required the constant services of a skilled lawyer, and naturally looked to his adopted son. Mr. Miller came to Saginaw in 1859, and soon after entered into partnership with Judge Jabez G. Sutherland, then the foremost lawyer of Saginaw, under the firm name of Sutherland & Miller. The partnership continued until Sutherland was elected Judge of the Tenth Judicial Circuit. The firm was a strong one, and their business large and profitable. Both were able lawyers and skillful advocates, each in his own peculiar way. Mr. Miller always urbane, courteous and mildly earnest, was a master of statement, and when he had stated his client's case or position to the jury or the Court in his frank, confidential manner, his case was half won. His posi- tions were largely supported and illustrated by facts and thoughts drawn from his extensive reading, and from the homely experiences of every day life which appealed with force to the conscience and understanding of the jury, and made his legal arguments peculiarly interesting and generally effective. He was never ignorant or unmindful of the legal principles applying to his case, but his real strength lay in reasoning from a stand- point and upon principles deemed by the average jury as upon a higher plane than the black letter law of the books. No two men ever worked better together in the practice of the law-each possessed in a marked degree what the other lacked. No one in Saginaw county regretted Suth- erland's elevation to the Bench but Mr. Miller himself; not that he envied his friend and partner's success-for he felt proud of it--but because that success deprived him of daily association with that friend and partner. This idea was expressed by Mr. Miller at Sutherland's farewell supper to the Bar given soon after his election The attendance was large, includ- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 481 ing lawyers from all the adjoining counties. Fortified by good cheer and good wine (not much water was drank at Saginaw in those days), the guests extended to the host their felicitations and expressed their gratifi- cation at his election in speeches distinguished for mirth, wit, good stories and much hearty good will if not for eloquence. When Mr. Miller arose to speak it was noticed that his face wore an appearance of sadness quite in contrast with his usual cheerful aspect. He said, speaking with an effort: "Gentlemen of the Bar, with you this is an occasion for rejoicing and congratulations; with me for sadness and regret. Your gain is my loss. You gain a Judge whom all honor and respect. I lose a friend and part- ner no one can appreciate so well as myself. Knowing his legal learning, independence and integrity, as you have seen it manifested in his public career, you naturally and properly rejoice at his election; yet knowing him in his private life and character, as you do not, and considering our past relations now to be terminated, I must be excused for repeating that your gain is my loss; and, gentlemen, let me propose the final toast requiring no response-God bless the Judge!" Without a signal the guests silently arose, not a sound was heard as the glasses were filled, and the toast was drank in profound silence. On the election of Sutherland to the judgeship, Mr. Miller associated himself with James R. Cook and Gardner K. Grout. Mr. Cook was a lawyer of real abil- ity and much legal learning, but with a strong predilection for curious land titles, while Mr. Grout was a young man, a recent graduate from the office of Sutherland & Miller, and but recently discharged from the army after four years honorable service. From that time on Mr. Miller grad- ually dropped out of court and gave his time and labor to the growing banking business of Miller, Braley & Co., without, however, losing his interest in public affairs, accepting and serving in the office of mayor of Saginaw for 1866 and 1867. In 1871 he changed the private banking company into the First National Bank of Saginaw, which was the last of his professional labors, his old enemy, rheumatism, finally compelling him to withdraw from all activities, and after much suffering he died on the 24th of April, 1872. No lawyer or citizen of Saginaw county ever com- manded more general respect and consideration than William M. Miller. He was a gentleman by nature and education. In speech, dress, man- ners and character he was really an aristocrat, and yet he carried his gen- tility so naturally and modestly as not to wound the self-love or excite. the envy of those less fortunate than himself, He greeted a poor man of his acquaintance with as much politeness, and seemingly with more con- sideration, than a rich one. His education and abilities fitted him for the highest sphere, while his physical infirmities were a constant drag upon his natural desire to be useful. Cultured, learned and familiar with classical and current literature-history, poetry and romance-he never made any parade of his learning, and if his knowledge of books appeared in his con- versation, arguments or speeches at the Bar, it seemed only a natural inci- 31 482 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. dent of the subject, a necessary and proper part of it. Wealthy, and from youth accustomed to the conveniences of wealth and the gratifications it commands, he was most democratic in his associations, and had a peculiar dislike for the wealthy dull who valued themselves for their possessions. He "Would rather step aside and choose To talk with wits in dirty shoes." Mr. Miller was a firm believer in Christianity and revealed religion, with a conservative tendency that had no great sympathy with creeds and dogmas. He respected the church and its ministers without yielding his private judgment to the claims of those who assume to "point the way." He held that a moral, Christian life was necessary to future happiness, but the particular path to pursue not so important; and these lines of Pope were often in his mind: "The good must merit God's peculiar care, But who but God can tell us who they are." He was instinctively an honest man, not only financially, but in all the relations of life, with a strong aversion for fraud, wrong and deception of every kind, and on occasion could give his disapproval a very direct expression. He had an active sense of the ridiculous, and a quiet way of rebuking it, even on serious occasions, without seeming to intend it, nota- bly illustrated by a nearly forgotten incident. Mr. Miller and another lawyer from Saginaw, still able to tell the story, were associated as coun- sel for the defence in an important criminal case tried at Midland soon after Sutherland became judge. The charge was an aggravated one, the testimony for the people direct, and the circumstances complicated, while the defendant was a man of considerable importance in the community. The testimony for the defendant—some relevant and some not so relevant -occupied four days in its presentation to the Court. Mr. A., a well- remembered lawyer of Saginaw, then in the height of his popularity at the Bar, who had been employed by the county to assist the prosecuting attorney, on Saturday closed the argument for the people at the noon hour. The excitement was great, and the court house literally packed from the time the door was opened in the morning. Mr. A. was a stump speaker as well as a lawyer, and intending to be fair to the people who, as he fancied, had come out expressly to hear him, divided his time impartially between the jury and the audience. Addressing the jury stowed away in the southwest corner of the room, for a few minutes, A would suddenly swing around on his heels towards the audience packed, like sardines, and with his arms spread out, hands slightly turned inwards, as if intending to scoop them all in, continue his argument until some stray idea impelled him to wheel back upon the jury and resume his speech for a few moments, thus alternating for two weary hours, until The Judge, the lawyers attending court, and most of the jury stopped at Ball's Hotel, and all were soon seated at the long table. noon. Mr. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 483 A. sat across the board from Miller, and as soon as all were seated, and before the serious business of the hour commenced, Miller, looking up and speaking so as to be heard by all at the table, said: “A, who is that good-looking man on the jury who wears a black coat?" (there were five men on the jury wearing black coats, and all at the table.) "I don't know," said A. "Why?" "Oh!" said Miller, "I met him at the door as I came out of the Court House, and he asked me if that Mr. A. was running for Congress." The point of the joke was recognized and appre- ciated by long-continued laughter. After dinner the Judge charged the jury in his usual clear, concise and impartial manner, and they soon re- turned into Court with a verdict of "not guilty." A. was afterwards heard to affirm that Miller's little joke knocked the bottom out of his argument. The estimation in which Mr. Miller was held by his associ- ates at the Bar was feelingly and strikingly shown on the occasion of the Bar meeting called to express the general sorrow at his untimely death, and to extend the sympathy of the Bar to his family. Appropriate reso- lutions reciting his worth, and the universal respect in which he was held by his associates, his talents as a lawyer, his distinction as a scholar, expressing the regret of the Bar, and extending sympathy to his family were adopted. Eloquent and feeling speeches were made by Hon. Will- iam L. Webber, John J. Wheeler, Col. D. W. C. Gage, Benton Hanchett, W. A. Clark, William H. Sweet and others. The resolutions were pre- sented to the Court, Hon. John Moore presiding, by D. P. Foote, prose- cuting attorney, and upon being read Judge Moore responded from the Bench in a speech calling attention to the many amiable features of Mr. Miller's character, his legal and general learning, his skill as an advo- cate, the integrity of his practice as an officer of the Court, and dwelling upon his private and public worth, and at the conclusion ordering the resolutions to be spread upon the records of the court. · GEORGE B. BROOKS, Saginaw. The subject of this sketch, a mem- ber of the able and prominent law firm of Camp & Brooks, was born at Acworth, New Hampshire, July 16, 1834, where his father, Dr. Lyman Brooks, practised medicine for more than forty years, and until his death in 1866. The ancestors of the Brooks family were English who emigrated to America during the colonial period. The mother of Mr. Brooks was Mary Graham, a native of Vermont, but most of her life was spent in Acworth, where she died in 1892. Her family was of Scotch origin. The early education of Mr. Brooks was received in the public schools of Ac- worth, and later he became a student in Kimball Union Academy, at Meridan, New Hampshire. He spent three years in the academy where he was prepared for admission to the freshman class in Dartmouth College. Before matriculating, however, he spent one year in teaching at Chester- 484 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. town, Maryland. In 1856 he entered Dartmouth, and was graduated with the class of 1860, taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts. It is a coincidence worthy of mention that he was the classmate of his partner, Mr. Camp, in the academy and the college; so that the lives of the two partners have been most intimately related for a period of more than forty years. After his graduation, he accepted the principalship of the North- field Institute in Vermont for one year, when he was appointed superin- tendent of schools for the city of Gloucester, Massachusetts. After serv- ing in this position for two years he removed to the west and accepted the position of superintendent of city schools at Beloit, Wisconsin. Previous to this he had determined to enter the profession of law, and after remain- ing two years in Beloit he went to Saratoga, New York, where he began the study of law in the office of Leslie & Pond. His studies were pursued under the instruction of these gentlemen until his admission to the Bar at Plattsburg, New York, in the summer of 1866. In the October following he settled in Saginaw, and formed a copartnership with his early friend and classmate, Charles H. Camp, an association that was as congenial socially, as it was advantageous in a business way. The relation has existed without discord to the present time. It is unusual for the lives of two men to be associated so intimately from boyhood to mature age, as have been the lives of Messrs. Camp and Brooks. Their principal differ- ence is in politics, but it is a difference without a disagreement. Mr. Brooks is a Republican and has taken active interest in the affairs of his party. He was a member of the board of education of East Saginaw for several years, a position for which he was well qualified by his experience and success in teaching. In 1867 he was appointed United States Circuit Court Commissioner for the Eastern District of Michigan, and has held the position continuously to the present time. He was elected judge of the recorder's court under the act of 1873, and served six years. For a period of five years he held the office of receiver of the United States Land Office at East Saginaw, to which he was appointed by President Arthur. Soon after attaining his majority he became a member of the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, and has been connected with the Order to the present time. In 1868 he was married to Abby D. Mans- field of Gloucester, Massachusetts, who died in July, 1870, leaving an infant son, Alfred Mansfield Brooks, who graduated from Harvard University in the class of '94, and took a post-graduate course in fine arts in 1895-6. He is now an instructor in the Department of Fine Arts in the University of Indiana. Mr. Brooks was again married in 1882 to Harriet V. Bills, M. D., of Tecumseh, Michigan. Mrs. Brooks was graduated from the University of Michigan, Medical Department, with the class of 1877. Mr. Brooks is very active in the practice of his profession. He is a man full of vigorous energy, one who believes in his profession and is willing to work for the rewards of it. He is a gentleman of excellent morals and habits, of wide information in the law and affairs. He is popular in the t. Jars. Galloway UNIV OF The Century unlishing & Engraving Co. Calengin MIC BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 485 community, where he is universally esteemed as a good citizen. His social qualities are estimated on the same high plane as his legal abilities. He has strength of character and purpose, and generally is a good type of the strong man. JAMES S. GALLOWAY, Hillsdale. James Sutton Galloway was born in Marion, New York, March 5, 1841. His father, Edgar M. Galloway, and his uncle, Samuel Galloway, were both venerated clergymen of the Christian denomination, and left an enviable reputation as consecrated and devoted servants of God. The father of the subject of this sketch died March 18, 1878, and the mother, Deborah B. (Sutton) Galloway, April 14, 1852. They gave their son James every educational advantage which their circumstances permitted. He entered the Marion Collegiate Institute at the age of thirteen, and completed its course in three years. He applied for examination for admission to the Sophomore class of Antioch College, but Horace Mann, the world-famous president of that excellent institution, objected to his extreme youth. President Mann was captivated by the high character of his conditional work, and publicly complimented him at the close of the first year. He left college in his junior year to teach mathematics and the languages in Gull Prairie Seminary, near Kalamazoo. He kept up his studies and graduated with his class, but the overwork per- manently injured his eyes. He was the youngest member of a class of forty, but ranked high, with decided literary tastes. After leaving college he spent two years teaching in the high school of his native village, and at the same time read Blackstone and other legal authorities as helps to a general business education. The deeper he delved the more he became fascinated with the subject, and in 1862 he concluded to take up the study of law in earnest. He went to Hillsdale and entered the office of Stacy & Edwards, and after a little more than a year of hard work was admitted to the Bar in Detroit November 7, 1863. The first day of the following year he entered into a law partnership with W. S. Edwards, and continued with him for some three years. In 1867 he became a partner of R. W. Ricaby, and was associated with him for four years. Since 1871 he has carried on his extensive professional labors without assistance other than his son has rendered, while a student and more recently as a member of the firm. The many extensive estate and trustee interests confided to his care have called forth a wide and deep knowledge of commercial law and equity, and in these important departments of jurisprudence he is regarded as standing among the very first lawyers of the State. He is noted as a safe and judi- cious adviser and counsellor rather than as a brilliant and aggressive advo-. cate. He seeks what is safe and reliable rather than the more showy enterprises in which less trustworthy and capable lawyers delight. His reputation has risen with the advancing years until to-day there is scarcely 486 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. an attorney in the southern part of the State who is listened to with greater deference or whose advice is more often heeded than James S. Galloway. While still a young man he became a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has never lost interest in its prosperity. He belongs to Eureka Com- mandery, No. 3, K. T., and was its Eminent Commander at the time of the Triennial Conclave at Chicago in 1880. The organization attended in a body, and received many compliments for its fine appearance. He is a Democrat, and affiliated with the "sound money" branch of his party in 1896. He has never sought office, but at the earnest solicitation of the peo- ple of Hillsdale, he consented to act as city attorney for two terms, which were required to settle the controversies growing out of the building of the water-works. He is a vestryman of St. Peter's Episcopal church, and he and his family are among its most liberal and earnest supporters. Mr. Gallo- way was married Jan. 25, 1865, to Miss Lizzie Edwards, a daughter of Henry Edwards, of Montgomery county, New York. She is a lady of strong domestic tastes, and gracefully presides over a beautiful home in the heart of the city. At one corner of the elegant grounds in which their home is situated, Mr. Galloway has had his office for many years. They have one son and one daughter. The son, Edgar O., was born December 6, 1870, and was graduated from the literary department of the University of Michigan at the age of twenty-three. He received the degree of Bach- elor of Arts, and was a student of excellent standing. He read law under his father's supervision, was admitted to the Bar the following year, and is now associated with him in practice. The daughter, Ava, is a senior in the Detroit high school and a piano pupil of Professor Hahn of that city. Mr. Galloway has mainly dealt with chancery cases, and is highly esteemed in that line of his profession. As an adviser in any business transaction, he is reliable, and business men delight in the exactness with which he states their contracts. He seems to be able to read complications and to guard against them, so that his legal papers become models of simplicity and painstaking care. He does a large banking business, though owning no bank, and in the community there is no question of his business ability or his integrity. He does not decide hastily, but his conclusions are founded on reason. His life is open to the world and his word is good. He keeps up the habit of study and is familiar with French, German and Italian, as well as with classics. He is a man of public spirit, and is wil- ling and ready to take hold of any enterprise that has in it the promise of public utility. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 487 HARRY B. HUTCHINS, Ann Arbor. Harry Burns Hutchins, Dean of the Law Department of the University of Michigan, was born in Lisbon, New Hampshire, April 8, 1847, and came of a family long established at Haverhill, Massachusetts. His father was a manufacturer and mer- chant, and died in Detroit, November 22, 1894, at the advanced age of eighty-one. His mother who bore the maiden name of Nancy Merrill is still living in the Detroit home. He received his earlier training in the East, and was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1871. While in the University he was a leader in student affairs. He helped to found the Chronicle and acted as its editor during his junior and senior years. He was class orator, and was honored by a University appointment at the Commencement Exercises. Leaving school he betook himself to teaching, and for a year was superintendent of the city schools at Owosso. This position he resigned to return to his Alma Mater on its call to an instructorship in History and English. He remained in the Literary Fac- ulty four years, during the first year as instructor and during the last three as assistant professor. Along with his other labors he carried on the study of law and was admitted to the Bar in 1876, wherupon he resigned his University connection and became a member of the firm of Crocker & Hutchins with offices at Mt. Clemens and Detroit. He speedily rose to prominence in the legal profession and was chosen city attorney at Mt. Clemens in 1877. In 1881 he was made a member of the board of editors appointed by the Supreme Court to revise and annotate the Supreme Court reports. editorial work will be found mainly in volumes xxx to xxxiv inclusive. It exhibits a broad and comprehensive view of the law, and it has won merited recognition. The same year he was a candi- date for Regent of the University, but went down to defeat with his party. The successful candidate was a classmate and a personal friend, whose first official act was to aid in the recall of Professor Hutchins, as successor of Judge Cooley in the "Jay Professorship of Law." This was in 1884, and for the next three years he taught and practised law with equal success. In 1887 he was called to act as secretary of the Law Department of Cor- nell University, and was for eight years its chief resident administrative officer. It is not too much to say that the great success which that department of the University has achieved was very largely due to his wise and active administration. In 1895 he was re-called to the University of Michigan to take the position of Dean of the Law School. During his brief period of service in that position he has uniformly acquitted himself with great credit. As a teacher and a lecturer, Dean Hutchins is a favor- ite with the law students. His perception of a subject is clear, and his language expresses his meaning with precision. There is neither obscurity nor ambiguity in his exposition; neither deficiency nor redundancy in his style. He employs just the words essential to clearness of statement neither too many nor too few-and his topical lectures evidence keenness His } 488 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. of analysis, orderly statement of principles and logical conclusions. He is not a stickler for a particular method, but is free to adopt any method which seems best adapted to the acquisition of a knowledge of the law. Aside from his work on the Supreme Court reports and an edition of Wil- liams on Real Property, he has not published much. The most of his energy has been given to administrative work. A treatise on the law of real property however is promised in the near future. Mr. Hutchins is person- ally much beloved; his high character and liberal views give weight to his public functions. He has a kindly spirit and a genial manner, and meets the students around him in a courteous, wholesome fashion. He was mar- ried December 26, 1872, to Miss Mary L. Crocker, at Mt. Clemens; they have one child, Harry C., aged sixteen. WILLIAM L. CARPENTER, Detroit. Judge William Leland Carpen- ter was born in Orion township, Oakland county, Michigan, November 9, 1854, the son of Charles K. and Jeannette Coryell Carpenter. He is of the eighth generation of the family in America in descent from William Carpenter, who emigrated from Amesbury, Wiltshire, England, in 1636, and settled at Providence, Rhode Island, with Roger Williams, and was one of the original proprietors of Providence Plantations. On his mother's side his great-great-grandfather, Edward Henderson, was a soldier in the Revolution. His father was a native of Steuben county, New York, and a farmer. His mother was a native of Livingston county, New York, although she was of Huguenot descent, and her immediate ancestors were residents of New Jersey. William L. attended district school until he was sixteen years old and then attended the Agricultural College at Lansing, from which he was graduated in 1875. Afterward he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, and upon completion of the course was graduated with the class of 1878. On March 27th of that year he was admitted to the Bar at Ann Arbor. For a year following he was in the office of the late Judge Crofoot at Detroit. In 1879 he opened an office as a member of the firm of Carpenter & McLaughlin in Detroit. Since his admission to the Bar he has always been a resident of that city. After an existence of three years the partnership mentioned was terminated by the withdrawal of Mr. McLaughlin from the firm, and Mr. Carpenter continued in practice alone until January 1, 1885, when he formed a part- nership with Ovid M. Case, under the style of Case & Carpenter. This relation was terminated by the death of the former December 26, 1886. He was alone again until May, 1888, when he became associated with Col. John Atkinson. This partnership continued until January 1st, 1894, when Judge Carpenter assumed judicial duties by virtue of an election to the Circuit Bench the previous April. As a lawyer his practice was general, large and successful. Politically he is a Republican, but never held polit- UNIV Σ M OF CH The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago. Elliars Sthauson BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 489 ical office, or, indeed, any office but that of judge. In 1885 he married Elizabeth Ferguson, daughter of Daniel Ferguson, of Goderich, Ontario. Lela and Rolla, a daughter and a son, are the offspring of this union. Judge Carpenter has social proclivities as suggested by membership in the Detroit Club and the Michigan Club. He is also a Mason and Odd Fellow and a regular attendent of the Congregational Church. A prominent member of the Detroit Bar says, Judge William L. Carpenter is a consci- entious, able and learned lawyer and judge, and has fully justified the high expectations entertained of him at the time of his election to the Bench. He has tried many important cases, among which should be named the suit brought by heirs of the late Captain Eder B. Ward against the trus- tees appointed by his will, charging fraud and involving property of the value of several million dollars. The evidence was very voluminous, and the case was one of the most complicated and difficult ever brought in the Wayne Circuit Court. Several of the leading attorneys of Detroit and Chicago were engaged in the trial, and the arguments extended over six weeks. At the close of the arguments Judge Carpenter announced that he would decide the case on the following morning, at which time he rendered an able and exhaustive opinion, going into the details of many features of the case, and showing a complete mastery of its most intricate parts and of the law applicable thereto. The ability and learning displayed by Judge Carpenter in this case, his quick grasp of complicated facts and the ready application of the law appropriate thereto, have been said to be among the ablest judicial proceedings in the history of Wayne county ELLIOTT G. STEVENSON, Detroit. Elliott Gresette Stevenson is a Canadian by birth, but of Irish descent and parentage. His father, William Stevenson, was born near Belfast, Ireland. His mother was Mary McMurray, member of a family whose nativity was the North of Ireland and whose home was near Belfast for several generations. Elliott G. Stevenson was born in Middlesex county, Canada, May 18, 1856. His parents appreciated the value of a good education as capital for a young man and gave to him in boyhood the best opportunities available for prim- ary instruction and academic studies. The family removed to Port Huron during his childhood and he attended the public schools of that city until twelve years of age. After that he attended the academy at London, Ontario. At the age of eighteen he began the study of law in the office of O'Brien J. Atkinson, of Port Huron, under whose instruction he remained three years. In December, 1877, he was admitted to the Bar and received into partnership by his preceptor, thus constituting the firm of Atkinson & Stevenson. This association was maintained for eight years. and during that time Mr. Stevenson became well established in the practice and well known to the profession. In 1885 he became associated with 490 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. P. H. Phillips, in the firm of Stevenson & Phillips. This partnership was dissolved in consequence of his removal in 1887 to Detroit, where he became the successor of Judge George S. Hosmer, in the firm of which Don M. Dickinson was the head. The name and style was Dickinson, Thurber & Stevenson. Mr. Stevenson has subordinated every other interest and object in life to the attainment of a broad and thorough knowledge of the law and its application to the affairs of life; its conservation of the rights of the individual and the interests of society; its nature as a science and the art of invoking it to secure the ends of equity and justice. He has sought to comprehend its genesis and revelations. He has always been a general practitioner — equally qualified for the defense or prosecution of a person indicted for crime, and the management of a civil action involving the rights of property or any other question of law and fact. He has no specialties and no hobbies. Having served two terms in the office of prose- cuting attorney he became conversant with the criminal laws of the State. He has been retained in a great many libel cases since he became a resident of Detroit and has been the regular legal representative of the News, and the Tribune, and at different times of the Journal, the Free Press and the Times-all Detroit newspapers. His solid and practical attainments in the law are probably not excelled by those of any lawyer of his age in the State. In response to a request of the editor for an estimate of his char- acteristics, a distinguished Detroit judge sends the following: "Elliott G. Stevenson is a careful and discriminating student of the law. His greatest strength is as an advocate. In this department he probably has no superior and few equals in the State. He is strong, not only with the juries, but with courts as well. He attracts and holds the closest attention of both. His wide knowledge of the law and careful preparation of his cases are always instantly available. His candor and honesty and brilliant powers of advocacy make him a most formidable antagonist in any case. He has been engaged in nearly all of the import- ant cases that have been tried at the Bar of Detroit during the past ten years. In the treatment of his brethren at the Bar and his bearing toward opposing counsel, his manner is courteous and affectionate. He is there- fore greatly admired and bound to his associates by the most intimate ties. He rarely says an unkind word of attorneys who may be opposed to him, unless first attacked; but when provoked by opposing counsel he has abundant resources of wit, sarcasm and invective, which he does not hesi- tate to use to the discomfiture of his opponents. In all the relations of life domestic, social, political and professional- Mr. Stevenson is an upright, honorable man. It is not adulation to speak of such a man in terms of praise, but only the commendation which is justified by his char- acter and reputation. The members of his profession who have tried his mettle and the neighbors who know his work are his strongest witnesses and most eloquent panegyrists." Mr. Stevenson was the first Democratic official elected in St. Clair county after the war, and his election as prosecuting attorney took place in 1878. He was re-elected two years later. In 1885 he was elected mayor of Port Huron and served one term. He declined to accept the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 491 nomination for Congress urged by his party in 1882 and again in 1886, although such nomination would have insured his election. He was chair- man of the Democratic State Central Committee in 1894 and served two years. In 1896 he was elected first delegate at large to represent Michigan in the Democratic convention held at Chicago. He was chosen because of his sound money views and made a strong fight in the committee on credentials for the cause he espoused and for the right of himself and his colleagues to sit in the convention. A majority of the committee holding adverse views and the contest being relentless; while he held his seat a suf- ficient number of his associates were ousted in order to seat contesting advocates of the free and unlimited coinage of silver to give the entire vote of Michigan under the unit rule to the opposition. After due delib- eration he decided to support the nominees of that convention and there- upon a dissolution of the copartnership between Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Thurber and himself followed. In 1879 he married Miss Emma A. Mitts, of Port Huron, and three children born of that union are living: George Elliott, Helen and Kenneth. ELISHA A. FRASER, senior member of the law firm of Fraser & Gates, Detroit. Mr. Fraser was born at Bowmanville, Ontario, Dominion of Canada, March 13, 1837. His father, Rev. Niram A. Fraser, was also born in Canada, in 1811. His great-grandfather, Elisha Fraser, was a native of Massachusetts and his grandfather was born in that colony in 1775, and married in New York in 1794, subsequently locating in Canada. The father of our subject was a clergyman, who particularly desired that his children should enjoy the best possible opportunities for education and did all that his limited means permitted to secure that end. The name Fraser is derived from a French word signifying strawberry. The history of the Frasers, who constituted a clan of the Highland Scots, extends far back into the Middle Ages. Several elaborate histories of the clan have been written. They are first recognized in array among those volunteers who accompanied William, the Norman Conqueror, into the borders of Britain. They extended thence northward, where they possessed large estates both in Tweedale and Lothian. The representation of strawberries was a distinguishing mark on the coat-of-arms of the family, whose motto was, "Je suis prest." The Frasers constituted one of the largest of the clans of Highland Scots. To-day branches of the family are found in all parts of the world. Elisha A. Fraser is equally Scotch on the side of his mother, Elizabeth Fletcher, who was the daughter of Alexander Fletcher, a wealthy and influential citizen of Bowmanville, Ontario, where she was born. She was in full sympathy with the views of her husband in regard to the education of their children and her labors and self-denial in that behalf were unceasing. He pursued his studies of a preparatory nature 492 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. } principally at Oberlin, Ohio, and was graduated from the University of Michigan, after completing the classical course in 1863. In 1866 he received the degree of A. M. from the same University. Immediately after graduation he became principal of the public schools at Jonesville, Michigan, and held the position one year. During this year Mr. Fraser was married to Maude J. Lymburner, daughter of Wil- liam Lymburner, of Ancaster, Ontario, Dominion of Canada. For nine years next ensuing he was superintendent of the public schools at Kalamazoo, Michigan, where thousands of pupils passed under his influence and many were prepared for admission to the University of Michigan and other colleges, whence they have gone to the active duties of the Bar and the Bench, and to the halls of legislation in the State and Nation. In 1873 Mr. Fraser resigned the superintendency of the Kala- mazoo schools and was admitted to the Bar in that city, Hon. Charles R. Brown on the Bench. The following year he removed to Battle Creek, where he practised for two years as a member of the firm of May, Buck & Fraser. His partners were Hon. Charles S. May, at one time Lieutenant Governor of the State, and Hon. George Buck, afterwards Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit. This was a branch office in charge of Mr. Fraser, A large and profitable busi- Among the many cases in Nichols (34 Michigan, 21), while the principal office was at Kalamazoo. ness came to the firm during the two years. which he was engaged were, Macomber vs. involving the use of steam locomotives on the highway; Merritt vs. Dickey (38 Michigan, 41), involving administrators liability and rights of surviving partner. During the last year of his residence in Battle Creek he served as city attorney, an office to which he was appointed without solicitation on his own part. In 1876 he located in Detroit in order to have a larger field for practice. The senior member of the firm at Battle Creek accom- panied him and the firm of May, Fraser & Gates was constituted. Within a year Mr. May retired, leaving Fraser and Gates in a partnership which has since remained unchanged. Previous to his removal from Battle Creek Mr. Fraser had been employed by Mrs. Doctor Newcomer in several suits relating to her property rights which had become entangled in consequence of her confinement in an asylum for the insane. These cases having been managed in a satisfactory manner, the firm of Fraser & Gates in Detroit was retained by the same client to bring suit against the superintendent of the asylum at Kalamazoo for damages on account of false imprisonment. This case is reported as Newcomer vs. Van Dusen (40 Michigan 90). It has been influential in modifying the regulations for admission of patients to asylums for the insane in several of the States besides Michigan. Dur- ing the past twenty years Mr. Fraser has been employed in very many important causes, some of which have found their way into the Supreme Court and contributed largely to the case law of the State. Among the latter may be mentioned, Tuxbury vs. French (39 Michigan, 190), same (41 Michigan, 7), Williams vs. Hodges (41 Michigan, 695), Alexander vs. 1 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 493 Hodges (43 Michigan, 564), Westchester Fire Insurance Co. vs. Dodge Administrator (44 Michigan, 420), Burrough vs. Diebold (47 Michigan, 242), Stansell vs. Leavett (48 Michigan, 225), Ford vs. Bushor (48 Michi- gan, 534), Ford vs. Detroit Dry Dock Co. (50 Michigan, 358), Durfee vs. Abbott (50 Michigan, 379 and 479), Blitts vs. Union Steamboat Co. (51 Michigan, 558), Stansell vs. Leavett (51 Michigan, 536), Forncrook Manu- facturing Co. vs. Barnum Wire Works (54 Michigan, 552), Foster vs. Hill (55 Michigan, 540), Reeg vs. Burnham et al. (55 Michigan, 39), Newkirk vs. Newkirk (56 Michigan, 525)), Watson vs. the Lyon Brewing Co. et al. (61 Michigan, 595), Forncrook Manufacturing Co. vs. the E. T. Barnum Wire and Iron Works (63 Michigan, 195), Catherine Stackable vs. the Estate of George Stackable, deceased, (65 Michigan, 515), Rose vs. Rose (67 Michigan, 619); Pulling vs. Durfee, Judge of Probate (88 Michigan, 387), Charles F. Power vs. the Estate of Abram L. Power, deceased (91 Michigan, 587), In re Estate of Pulling (93 Michigan, 274). This settled some nice points in relation to antenuptial contracts which had not been raised previously in the State of Michigan. The case Carmichael vs. Lathrop et al, growing out of the same estate and more recently con- sidered, establishes the law of Michigan on questions of advancements and ademption. In addition to the foregoing many other causes will be found in the Michigan reports and still others will soon be published: Lewis vs. Bell, Plum vs. Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., and the litigation growing He has also out of the large estate of William B. Morley, deceased. been entrusted with the settlement of several large estates in the Probate Court. In 1891 a series of articles appeared in one of the Detroit daily papers, entitled "Pen Pictures of Prominent Detroit Lawyers," written by a well known member of the Detroit Bar, and generally regarded as just characterizations. The writer says of this subject: "Mr. Fraser bears a striking resemblance to the late Gen. U. S. Grant, both in countenance and physique. His facial expression is calm and cold, almost stern. Physically he may be described as stocky, broad-sholdered and deep-chested. He wears his beard in Grant fashion. Although probably fifty-six years have passed over his head, he is a very vigorous, active man. He is one of the few real orators among the members of the Detroit Bar. His presence is dignified and imposing; he possesses a clear, powerful baritone voice of considerable range, which he uses to the best advantage. Evidently he has not neglected the study of elocution, for his gestures are graceful and appropriate, his enunciation distinct and his voice skilfully modulated. It may be said also that his diction is elegant; his power of illustration and comparison far above the average, his imagi- nation lively and far reaching. Although outwardly resembling General Born an Grant, he is emotional and magnetic, quite unlike the General. orator, by assiduous study he has trained his fine intellectual faculties as an athlete trains his muscle, and has stored in his mind a vast fund of infor- mation, which is ever at command. Elisha A. Fraser is a strong man, One natur- mentally and physically, and withal a man of wit and humor. ally expeets bursts of true eloquence from such a man, and is seldom disappointed. His oratorical efforts are always satisfactory, sometimes 494 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. inspiring even to enthusiasm. quiet in manner. เ He is a very modest man, reserved and He is not a hustler.' One can not help thinking that he sticks too closely to his office duties. As a lawyer Mr. Fraser stands high among his brothers of the Bar. He would quickly rise to distinction in the political arena, for in addition to oratorical powers he possesses the broad and comprehensive qualities of the true statesman.' He has always been a Republican in politics and sometimes made. political speeches, but has never been a candidate for office. Since the establishment of the Detroit College of Law, he has been a member of the faculty, filling the chair on contracts. He takes a deep interest in religious matters; is a member of the Presbyterian Church, in which he has been a ruling elder for nearly thirty years. For the last eighteen. years he has been one of the elders of Fort Street Presbyterian Church of Detroit. He was appointed Commissioner of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church which met in New York city in 1889 and was a member of the judicial committee of that body. He was JASPER C. GATES, Detroit. Mr. Gates was born on a farm near Pleasantville, Venango county, Pennsylvania, March 23, 1850. the son of Rev. Aaron Gates, a Baptist minister, and Amanda M. Cross, grand-niece of Samuel Payne and Elisha Payne, the founders of Madison University. His father was educated in that institution and married Miss Cross during his college course. His paternal grandfather, Aaron Gates, was a volunteer soldier in the war of 1812, and commanded a company at Sackett's Harbor. The ancestors of his mother were French and emi- grated from France (where the name was La Crosse) to New England in the early part of the eighteenth century. At the opening of the Revolu- tion, in 1775, his great-grandfather, Uriah Cross, was living near Buck- land, Vermont. He was a patriot, inspired by the love of freedom, and with his six brothers entered the Colonial army and served throughout the war. As an officer under Col. Ethan Allan, he took part in the capture of Ticonderoga, Skenesborough and Crown Point. He was with Allen when that officer was captured, but with a few comrades made his escape by breaking through the British lines. Later he served in a Connecticut regiment. His grandfather, Calvin Cross, was born January 21, 1781, and about twenty years later removed to Payne's Settlement (now Hamilton), New York. At this place he courted and married Polly Hosmer, eldest daughter of Rev. Ashbel Hosmer, who was then pastor of the Baptist church, at Hamilton, and one of the earliest officers of The Hamilton Baptist Missionary Society, which preceded the New York Baptist State Convention. He was one of the founders of the denomination in that region. Calvin Cross was also an officer in the war of 1812. Jasper C. Gates was brought up on his father's farm, and remained on the farm with The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Jasper C. Grater The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Elisha A. Fraser C MICK BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 495 His early his mother after the death of his father, February 17, 1861. education was obtained in the district schools and Pleasantville Academy. In 1869 he entered the school of Civil Engineering in Union College, Schenectady, New York. Soon afterwards he determined to take the literary course in that college, and thenceforward kept up the studies in both courses. He was graduated in engineering in 1872 and from the literary department, with honors, in 1873, receiving the degree of A. B. Three years later he received the degree of Master of Arts. His deter- mination to become a lawyer appears to have been formed as a result of a lecture by the late Judge Ira Harris, in the Albany Law School. Although present by chance he became much interested in the law as expounded by the lecturer. He was influenced by this circumstance and the panic of 1873 to enter the law school at Albany in the fall of that year. He was graduated in June following with the degree LL. B. May 8, 1874, he was admitted to practice in all the courts of that State by the Supreme Court of New York. In July, 1874, he entered the law office of Josiah L. Hawes, at Kalamazoo, Michigan. In November of that year he was admitted to the Bar and privileged to practice in all the courts of Michigan. Subsequently he was admitted to the Federal Courts. He succeeded to the large practice of Judge Hawes in 1875, on the accession of the Judge to the Bench. His singular good fortune in the management of cases in the Circuit Court led to the offer and acceptance of a partnership with Hon. Charles S. May and Elisha A. Fraser. In June, 1876, Messrs. Fraser & Gates removed to Detroit, where they have since been in partner- ship continuously. The preference of Mr. Gates is real estate law, chancery cases and probate practice. A few years after his admission to the Bar he prepared for trial, both as to the law and the facts, the cele- brated case of Newcomer vs. Van Duzen. The legal contests concerning the Pulling Estate, in progress since 1890, have established some important points as to the ante-nuptial agreements and ademption of legacies by gifts of real property. The litigations over the Morgan estate, in both State and Federal Courts, have been scarcely less important. In 1894-95 Mr. Gates conducted successfully the contested election case of Attorney- General vs. May, securing the office of county clerk of Wayne county for his client and establishing the constitutionality of all the provisions of the Australian Election Law of this State. For several years he has been a member of the faculty of the Detroit College of Law, in which he teaches the laws of real estate, evidence and domestic relations. he has been active in the local and state work of the Baptist Church, and is now president of the Baptist Convention of the State. October 9, 1878, to Miss Lulu Foster, of Kalamazoo. Lulu Gates, born August 4, 1879, is the fruit of this marriage. is from a Detroit paper: For many years He was married One child, Miss Following "Mr. Gates is one of the most promising young lawyers at the Bar. He has a legal head' and, as a matter of course, views everything from 496 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. a lawyer's standpoint. He is a small man physically, almost fragile in appearance. So far as presence goes he doesn't cut much of a figure before a jury. He is not oratorical, nor rhetorical. And yet he is success- ful. It is high praise, but it is not going too far to say that Jasper C. Gates is one of the best, if not the best lawyer of his age, at the Detroit Bar. One doesn't mean that he is a great advocate, but the word lawyer is here used according to its strict technical meaning. His knowledge of the law is simply wonderful, and he applies his knowledge to masses of facts with great rapidity and acuteness of understanding. What he knows he knows thoroughly and accurately. One notable feature about him is his inexhaustible patience. He goes about his legal work in a cool, deliberate manner, is never rattled, is vigilant, wide awake and armed at all points. The most microscopic weak spot in the enemy's armor does not escape his notice. His intellectual make-up is of the diamond order, bright and hard. As an advocate he is fairly successful before juries; he talks fluently, reasons logically, brings out facts so as to further his side as much as possible, and is a keen, shrewd cross-examiner. As an attorney he has no superior at the Bar, his knowledge of practice and legal points and details being immense." PHILIP T. VAN ZILE, Detroit. Judge Philip Taylor Van Zile was born at Osceola, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, July 20, 1844. He is descended from old Holland stock, was prepared for college in the com- mon schools of Osceola and in Union Academy, at Knoxville, Pennsyl- vania, and entered Alfred University at Alfred Centre, New York, in the classical course. He was compelled to rely upon his own exertion for his education, earning the money necessary for his tuition and other expenses by his own labor and by teaching in district schools. He was graduated in 1862 and taught as principal of a private school at Rochester, Ohio, for a short time. While there he was unanimously elected captain of Com- pany D, Third Ohio Militia, which was organized to resist the Morgan raids in that State. He urged his company to follow him into the volun- teer service, but being unable to prevail upon them to do so, and feeling that he could no longer desist from taking part in the war, he enlisted as a private in Battery E, First Ohio Artillery, known as the Edgerton Bat- tery. Before enlisting he was recommended by the military committee as an efficient officer and was offered a commission as captain if he would raise a company for the Thirty-second Ohio Infantry, then in the field; but he concluded to enter the artillery branch of the service and chose a battery then in the field, in which a number of his friends had already enlisted. This was no doubt a mistake, for it was impossible for him to receive promotion over men who had been longer in the service, so he remained as a private, serving to the end of the war. While with the battery he engaged in all the campaigns with the Army of the Cumber- land, the most important of which were the battles of the campaign of General Thomas against Hood after the siege of Atlanta and closing with The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Philif. T. Van Zile UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 497 the important and very decisive battle of Nashville, after which the bat- tery was ordered to join Sheridan in West Virginia. Before reaching Sheridan, however, they were ordered to garrison duty at Chattanooga and remained there until ordered north to be discharged. In 1865 he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan and was graduated in 1867. He was admitted to the Bar in April, 1867, and set- tled at Charlotte, Michigan. After practising a year he was elected prose- cuting attorney for Eaton county and held that office four years. By indomitable push and studious habits he soon obtained a lucrative practice and in 1875 was elected Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit. In 1878, after twice declining the office, he was, at the earnest solicitation of U. S. Senator Isaac P. Christiancy, who represented that President Hayes urgently requested it, persuaded to accept the appointment of U. S. Dis- trict Attorney for Utah, and entered upon his duties there in March, 1878, remaining in charge of the office until the spring of 1884, when he resigned and returned to Charlotte, Michigan. In 1884 he was chosen Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee. In 1890 he removed to Detroit. At its semi-centennial anniversary the degree of Ph. D. was conferred upon him by his Alma Mater, Alfred University, and in 1893, LL. D. Soon after settling in Detroit he was engaged as special lecturer at the Detroit College of Law, and in 1893 was elected Dean of the faculty, which position he still occupies. Judge Van Zile was selected for the responsible position of United States District Attorney for Utah because he was believed to possess both ability and determination to cope with the peculiar situation there, and the qualities essential to the success- ful administration of the law in that priest-ridden territory, then under Mormon domination. Every crime in the decalogue was rampant in Utah, and being committed in the name of and under the direction of the Mormon hierarchy and protected by all the power that most stupendous and mysterious of organizations could put forth. At the time Judge Van Zile entered upon the duties of the office of United States District Attorney it was almost impossible to secure a conviction of any of the numerous murder and polygamy cases arising in that territory, because of the protection they received from the Mormon Church; or indeed for a Gentile to secure justice in a civil suit against a Mormon; and he soon discovered that the cause of this state of affairs was two-fold-first, lack of proper laws bearing upon the empaneling of jurors, the production of witnesses and the acceptance of the wife's testimony in polygamy cases; second, the non-enforcement of the laws that were upon the statute books owing to the domination of all offices by the Mormon Church. Heroic measures were necessary to eradicate the existing evil and to place the ter- ritory in a condition where the laws could be enforced. One of the initial steps was taken when in the "Miles case" Judge Van Zile secured a ruling from the District Judge on the ineligibility of polygamists or mem- bers of the Mormon Church as jurors in the trial of polygamy cases. 32 498 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. This was of vital importance, for it was impossible to secure a conviction where the majority of the panel were equally guilty or sympathized with the prisoner at the Bar. The challenge to Mormon jurors, upon the ground that they were biased by their belief that polygamy was a law of God unto that people and therefore right, was sustained by the United States District Judge, and a Gentile jury was obtained and Miles was convicted and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary. The case, because of this ruling of the District Court, was appealed to the Supreme Court of the territory where it was affirmed and then appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, where it was again affirmed. This was the most important case ever tried for the Territory of Utah and did more to break the back of the monstrous oligarchy than anything ever done before. Judge Van Zile mastered the intricacies of the Mormon faith and of their secret rites attending the "Endowment House" mar- riages and succeeded in publishing an entire exposé of them, and by his able presentation of the entire subject to the Congress, secured such legis- lation by Congress as enabled him and his successor in office to eradicate the most objectionable features of Mormonism, to punish offenders against the law, to make Utah Territory a safe home for Mormon or Gentile. And perhaps to his efforts and success is due more than to all else the present Statehood of Utah. During the greater portion of his nearly six years' service in Utah he was in constant danger, often receiving letters threatening his life if he did not desist; but nothing turned him aside. from what he believed to be his duty. The administration of the law in Utah required a strong arm and a stout heart. His experience in the war and his gigantic frame, standing over six feet, and his great determination and well-known personal courage were safeguards; while his amiability of character and gentleness of manner won friends, even among those whom his office compelled him to oppose. As a practitioner Judge Van Zile has met with signal success. His practice has been of general character and in the preparation and management of cases he exercises great care, every detail receiving attention. He is a pleasant speaker and a forcible jury advocate, always having his subject well in hand and thoroughly digested. He speaks with directness and in clear language with distinct enunciation. His advice and counsel is sought by a large and influential clientage. As the Dean of the Detroit Law School, Judge Van Zile is giving much valuable time to the thorough education of those who seek to enter the legal profession and has set the standard high. In 1893 he was appointed by the Wayne county Circuit Judges chairman of a standing committee for examination of applicants for membership to the Bar, and it was perhaps in approval of his action in making strict examinations that the Legislature at its session in 1895 established a State Board of Exam- iners, of which, the Governor, upon nomination of the judges of the Supreme Court, appointed Judge Van Zile a member. He married Miss Lizzie A. Van Zile in 1866, and has an interesting family of children, to UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago. Chas. Flowers. MA BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 499 whose education he and his wife are devoted and for whose sake he resigned the office of United States district attorney at Utah, that they might enjoy the advantages of our eastern schools. He takes great pleas- ure in the work of his chosen profession, has no desire for office or political fame, and though often solicited to enter the field for political positions, has always refused, believing that it would be detrimental to the one great object and aim of his life, viz: to be a good lawyer. Judge Stephen P. Twiss, of Kansas City, who presided in the United States Court for Utah, makes the following reply to the editor's request for information : "I am glad to answer your inquiries concerning Hon. Philip T. Van Zile, of Michigan, who was for several years United States prosecuting attor- ney in the Territory of Utah. He was frequently in court in the trial of cases, civil as well as criminal, which gave me unsurpassed opportunity of observation as to his merits, methods and ability as a lawyer and advocate. His use or utilization of facts in jury cases was always good and sometimes remarkable. His perceptions were quick and generally correct. His good sense, excellent judgment and happy faculty of adapting himself to the vision of the jury, and of forcing his own theory and understanding of his case upon the mind, conscience and comprehension of the jury, together with his industry and care in preparation for trial, made him unusually successful as a trial lawyer. CHARLES FLOWERS, Detroit. Mr. Flowers was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, December 14, 1845. His parents were Joseph and Sarah (Pickering) Flowers. His mother was a descendant of Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State under Washington, and of Revolutionary fame. His parents were both natives of Pennsylvania, and of the Quaker faith. His father was of English and Dutch descent, and his ancestors emigrated to Pennsylvania very early in the history of the colony. His parents, now both deceased, lived on a farm in Bucks county, on which Charles remained until about eighteen years old, helping his father with the farm work and attending the public schools during the winter season. He left home at this period of his life for the first time, and made his way to New York City, where he was given employment as a stenographer in the offices of the Grand Trunk Railway. He then attended the collegiate institute at Fort Edwards for two years. He was employed by the Gov- ernment for a time to report military commissions in Raleigh, North Carolina. Leaving this service he returned to New York, and took up the study of law with Bangs, Sedgwick & North. He was with them a year, and in 1886 came to Detroit. In that city he secured a position as reporter in the Wayne Circuit and United States Courts, which he held for thirteen years. During this time he reported the proceedings of the constitutional conventions of Pennsylvania, Iliinois and Ohio. He also continued the study of law while engaged in reportorial work, and had 500 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ! had Judge Brown as his preceptor. This eminent gentleman was presid- ing over the United States District Court of Detroit, but now is on the Bench of the Supreme Court. He was admitted to the Bar in 1878, but continued reporting until 1880. He was then elected Circuit Court Com- missioner, and served a term of four years. In 1884 he was nominated as a candidate for prosecuting attorney, but was defeated. He then took up the practice of his profession in which he has been engaged to the present time. He was appointed member of the fire commission in April, 1895, which position he still holds. He is now Corporation Counsel for Detroit, having received his appointment in July, 1896, from Mayor Pingree. He has always taken an active part in politics, and is an earnest worker in the Republican party. He made the nominating speech presenting Governor Pingree before the Grand Rapids Convention, and was complimented for its manifest ability and oratorical power. In the practice of the law he has won a place for himself that is both honorable and prominent. Capa- ble men in the profession who know him willingly accord to him the possession of brilliant parts and demonstrated ability. He was married to Miss Mary E. DeNormandie, a native of Pennsylvania, in 1868. They have three children, one of whom, Norman, is engaged in practice with his father, and is a graduate of the Law Department of the University of Michigan. GEORGE H. PRENTIS, Detroit. Mr. Prentis is the son of Eben and Rebecca (Gager) Prentis, natives of Virginia and Connecticut respectively. His father was born in Richmond in 1788, and his mother in New London, Connecticut, in 1800. Both died in Detroit. His father was eighty years old, while his mother had only reached the age of forty-four. At an early day the family came to Michigan, and settled in Monroe, where the sub- ject of this sketch was born April 28, 1838. Soon after this the family removed to Detroit, and the education of George H. was principally secured in the public schools of that city. He graduated from the Detroit High School in 1854, and spent the next two years tutoring. He then began the study of law in the office of Backus & Harbaugh in Detroit. In 1860 he was admitted to the Bar, and at once began practice. He has not confined himself to any particular branch of the law, and has done a general legal business. It will be seen however by this sketch that he has won fame in certain branches of his profession. He has never had a part- ner, preferring to be alone. In politics he has always been a Democrat, but has been much averse to office seeking; so that the only office he has ever had is that of Circuit Court Commissioner, from 1862 to 1866. Among the more noted cases in which his professional labors have been employed we might mention the Ward Will Case that involved five million dollars, in which he was one of three counsel for the contestant. Another UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago B Joroney жу MI BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 501 was the Blackely case, which involved the question of the liability of municipal corporations for injuries received from defective sidewalks and highways. This case resulted in a judgment for plaintiff in the Circuit Court, but it was carried to the Supreme Court of the State, by the city of Detroit, where it was held at the July 1870 term that in Michigan a city was not liable for such injuries. This decision was regarded as so adverse to the public welfare that soon after the Legislature passed a law making municipal corporations liable for such injuries in Michigan. Mr. Prentis is quite generally employed in contested election cases in Detroit, having a practical monopoly of that kind of business. He has also been employed by the defense in several noted murder cases, the most important of which weie People vs. Dr. Hollywood and Joseph S. Hardy (November Term, 1878), and People vs. Hugh S. Peoples and Dr. Hollywood (August Term, 1882. In both cases he cleared the defendant. Mr. Prentis was married in 1866 to Miss Lovina C. Griffin, of Cuba, New York. They have an interesting family of three children. His only son, G. Griffin Prentis, is a graduate of the Literary and Law Departments of the University of Michi- gan, and is now practising law with his father. Of our subject it is a common saying that he is a very impulsive man, and that he loves his friends to extremes. As a lawyer he is strictly honest, and firmly believes in whatever proposition he advances for his client. He enjoys the reputa- tion of being one of the very best posted men in the city of Detroit in common law pleading, his knowledge of it being simply wonderful. He is pronounced especially good in contested election cases, quo warranto pro- ceedings and ejectment cases. As a cross-examiner he is unexcelled. He is very happy in his home relations, having a charming family, and is a good entertainer. TIMOTHY E. TARSNEY, Detroit. Hon. Timothy E. Tarsney, a son of Michigan, is the architect of a unique and interesting personal career. He was born on his father's farm in Hillsdale county, February 4, 1849, and his scholastic education was practically limited to his acquirements in the country district schools prior to the age of twelve. He was a well- bred Irish boy, as to lineage and parentage. His father, Timothy Tars- ney, was a native of County Sligo, and his mother, Mary A. Murray, of County Westmeath. They emigrated to America in 1831, were married in Rochester, New York, and soon afterwards came west, locating in Man- hattan, now Toledo, at the mouth of the Maumee. His father was a farmer-blacksmith and usually plied the mechanical trade in a shop situated on his own farm and on the highway near his house. The family removed to Michigan in 1844, locating first in Medina, Lenawee county, and going thence four years later to Ransom, Hillsdale county, where the permanent family home was established. At the age of twelve young Timothy 502 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. started out for himself to improve the mechanical talent inherited from his father. Entering a machine shop at Hudson he remained there nearly three years, learning the trade of machinist. As may be imagined, he was impatient during this period to participate in the more exciting scenes enacted south of the Ohio river. He belonged to a patriotic family. Before the ink was dry on President Lincoln's first proclamation, calling for volunteers to suppress the rebellion, three of his brothers responded on the same day, offering their services. A fourth brother entered the service a little later, and Timothy followed before he was fifteen years old. He went to Tennessee, a mere stripling, in February, 1864, and was first employed in coupling cars at Nashville; next he served as fireman on a locomotive in the service of the Government. It was an extra-hazardous employment, but none the less attractive to the capable boy. During the siege of Nashville he was in the city awaiting orders. He heard the rumbling of the cannon at Franklin, eighteen miles away, and was fireman on the engine which carried relief ammunition to the beleaguered army. He tells the story of that day's adventure in most captivating style: The fighting, his fright and feverish imagination more wonderful than Falstaff's in its power to multiply the enemy; for he could see a million Confederate cavalry when the sober, unimpassioned roll-call would have revealed about one hundred on both sides engaged in a hand to hand conflict. The engine and seven box cars laden with munitions of war zipped "through the midst of the combatants, bound for Franklin. The locomotive was lost; young Tarsney bought a mule for a dollar, rode back to Nashville and remained in the employ of the Government until the close of the war. His eldest brother was killed in the battle of the Wilderness; another brother was a prisoner of war seventeen and a half months at Anderson- ville, Belle Isle and Milan. His brother John was wounded and captured at Gettysburg; has recently served three terms as a member of Congress from the Kansas City, Missouri, district, and is now United States Judge for the territory of Oklahoma. His brother Tom carried the regimental colors at Gettysburg, where, in a hand to hand struggle for their posses- sion, Col. H. S. Jeffords, of Chelsea, Michigan, was stabbed to the heart by a bayonet-a rare distinction for a field officer. Tom re-enlisted and went to Mexico to aid in expelling Maximilian, and two years ago he was adjutant-general for the State of Colorado. His brother Andrew, a loco- motive engineer, was killed by accident in Mexico. Five brothers in the Union army at the same time is a rare and impressive object lesson in patriotism! After the war closed the subject of our sketch returned to the machine shops at Hudson, where he worked until February, 1866, and then took charge of a steam engine in a saw mill at East Saginaw. A year later he received from the United States board of steamboat inspectors a certificate as marine engineer. For the seven seasons next ensuing he pursued that occupation, and while thus employed cherished other aspira- tions. His impulse to adopt the profession of law became a fixed purpose BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 503 1 and thenceforward the monotony of his mechanical engineering was relieved by a study of the learned Commentaries of Blackstone. During the winter months, between the seasons of navigation, he pursued some academic studies and also attended the Law School of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated with the class of 1872. During the open season following he was chief engineer on the lakes and at the close of navigation he settled down to the practice of law in East Saginaw. The next year he was elected justice of the peace, but resigned in 1874 in order to devote all of his time to the practice. This election afforded a fair test of his personal popularity, as he alone of all the candidates on his party ticket was elected. In 1875, and for three successive years, he served as city attorney of East Saginaw, but resigned because of increasing private business. In 1879 he became the senior member of the firm of Tarsney & Weadock in a partnership which continued twelve years and enjoyed great prosperity. In its extent and profitableness their business was scarcely excelled in the Saginaw Valley. In 1880 Mr. Tarsney was nominated as the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Eighth District, against Ros- well G. Horr, the sitting member. Although defeated he received two thousand votes more than were given to the Hancock electoral ticket in the same election. In 1882 he was nominated by his party for Attorney General, but suffered defeat with the ticket. In 1884 he was chosen unanimously as a delegate at large to represent the Democrats of Michigan in the National Convention and was a member of the committee on reso- lutions. The same year he was again nominated for Congress and defeated Roswell G. Horr. In 1886 he was re-elected over Mr. Horr. During both Congresses he served with distinction on the two important commit- tees of commerce and labor. Although nominated by his party for a third term the campaign of 1888 was won by the Republicans and he resumed his neglected law practice. He has not been a candidate for public posi- tion since that time and freely expresses a preference for the practice of his profession. In 1893 he came to Detroit with Mr. W. W. Wicker, and the firm of Tarsney & Wicker was formed. Since that time he has devoted his time to the law without interruption, except the periodical participa- tion in political campaigns, as a public speaker. A few of his most important cases should be mentioned: Owen et al. vs. Potter, executor et al. in which he was associate counsel. This case involves over eight million dollars, probably the largest sum ever contested for in the State of Michigan. Mr. Tarsney representing the prosecution recently finished a legal argument occupying seven days. Robert Crowley vs. the C. M. Nel- son Lumber Company, representing values of three million dollars in iron mines in the Mesabo range, Minnesota, is now pending in the Minnesota Supreme Court. The case of Roger Kane vs. Mitchell Transportation at Buffalo is now demanding attention. The reports of the Supreme Court of Michigan contain many of his cases. Besides he is conducting a large admiralty business in the United States courts. His experience of seven 504 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. years as a sailor is of great advantage to him in admiralty cases. His practice extends from Detroit to Buffalo and Duluth. Mr. Tarsney's interest in politics is the manifestation of a born talent. He believes in the definition of politics as "the science of government" and thereby evinces his stalwart patriotism. He is one of his party's greatest champions in the discussion of political issues on the stump, winning his way by a per- suasive logic and fervid oratory. Where the fight was hottest in the cam- paign of 1896, there was Tarsney found. He had a "silver tongue" for the campaign of 1896 and gave a reason for his faith on many a stump. Being among the most eloquent of the advocates of the free coinage of silver, he entered the campaign like a cyclone in full rotary motion. His intuitions are strong; his perspicacity remarkable; his sensibilities impres- sionable; his sympathies easily touched, his imagination is lively and his mental pictures are instantaneous as well as brilliant. The keenness of his perception would enable him to reach a conclusion from a premise without ratiocination and yet his judgment is not formed without delibera- tion or expressed without reason. When a conclusion is reached, whether intuitively or logically, he moves with celerity and supports his position with forcible arguments impulsively expressed. He is gifted in colloquial debate, ready with Irish wit, quick in repartee; impetuous in style and yet so courteous in bearing as never to offend an adversary. He makes an appeal or an assault with ardentia verba. Whether he shall again enter the nation's council chamber or continue in the forum, battling with giants, he will be heard from in the future. GEORGE W. COOMER, Wyandotte. George W. Coomer was born November 3, 1843, in Oakland county, Michigan. He is English by descent, through both parents. His father, Zetus Coomer, was a native of the State of New York and a farmer; came to Michigan in 1835, settled in Oakland county, where he cleared and cultivated a farm, and died in 1878. His mother was Clara Rockwell. The first authentic record of the Coomer family in America shows that John Coomer, an English emigrant, was a clergyman at Boston in 1748. To this ancestor has been ascribed the founding of the family on the American continent. The settlement of the Rockwells in New England antedates that of the Coomers by more than a century. They emigrated from England in 1630, making the voy- age on the ship Mary and John, in company with the Grants, ances- tors of the General and President. It is a matter of sufficient importance to be referred to by General Grant in his memoirs, that one of his ances tors by the name of Grant, an emigrant passenger of the Mary and John, married the widow Rockwell, who was also one of the passengers, and set- tled in Windsor, Connecticut. They were of Puritan stock, whose self- denial and courage were equal to the privations of exile and the battle for BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 505 gan. freedom to worship God in harmony with the promptings of individual conscience. The traits and attributes transmitted from such ancestors con- stitute a valuable inheritance. George W. Coomer was educated in the district schools and the Birmingham Academy, situated in his native county. In this academy he was prepared for admission to the University of Michi- He entered the Law School of the University, and after completing the course was graduated in the class of 1871. As a preliminary prepara- tion he had read law in the office of Judge Franklin Johnson, of Monroe, prior to his admission to the law school. He was admitted to the Bar immediately after graduation and settled at Wyandotte, Wayne county, for practice. He has maintained his residence in Wyandotte continuously, and has also kept an office there for the practice of his profession. In 1891 he opened another office in Detroit, as affording greater accessibility to the general public. He served as city attorney of Wyandotte for twelve years, and was for the same time counsellor of the board of education. As a member of the common council of the city, his influence has been wisely exercised to promote its growth and prosperity. He recognizes good citi- zenship as the sum of public duty, and has always been active in the sup- port of measures which conduce to the substantial material interests of the city, promote the culture and subserve the welfare of the people. Politi- cally he has always been a Republican. In 1884 he was elected to the Legislature and served one term. In 1887 he was nominated as the candi- date of his party for Judge of the Circuit Court, but the party was unsuc- cessful and he suffered defeat with it. He was married in 1870 to Miss Laura M. Harris, daughter of Solon Harris, of Oakland county. Their children are, Grace A., J. Elroy and Harry H. Mr. Coomer is unassum- ing and unpretentious. He has built for himself a home among the peo- ple of Wayne county and secured their respect. He has proved himself the strong friend of popular education. While many others have attained great celebrity and more exalted position, there has all the time been substan- tial accord between himself and his work. He has chosen to maintain his residence continuously in one place, because in no other way can attach- ments be formed which are essential to the genuine home feeling. The sense of proprietorship in one who owns his dwelling place tends to give a man confidence and courage. Home is recognized as one of the chief sources of abiding happiness. It is one of the surest defenses against evil fortune. The intelligent owner of a good home is more self-respect- ing and commands the respect of others in a greater degree than is possible for the man who is content to live in another's house. 506 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. MICHAEL BRENNAN, Detroit. Mr. Brennan was born in Queens county, Ireland, October 28, 1851. His father, John Brennan, was a farmer. His mother was Mary Comerford. He came to America at the age of ten and settled at Detroit, where his uncle had located twenty years before. His early education was obtained at St. Anne's School and the public schools of the city. He was graduated from the high school of Detroit in 1868. For two years afterwards he studied under a tutor, making preparation for admission to the Literary Department of the University of Michigan, in which he intended to take a classical course. The death of his father about that time rendered necessary a change of his plans and a relinquishment of his purpose to attend the University. He was obliged to earn his own living and bravely set about it. His first employment was in the general freight department of the D. & M. railway, where he remained one year. When about eighteen years of age he was fortunate in securing a position as student and clerk in the law office of Don M. Dickinson, where he remained under a wise instructor and paid his expenses meanwhile by clerical services. In this way he was enabled not only to acquire a knowledge of the text books, but also to gain a practical knowledge of legal forms and pleadings. After remaining more than three years in this office he passed the required examination, was admitted to the Bar, and began practice at once. In 1873 he formed a partnership with John C. Donnelly, which has never been dissolved. Mr. Stewart O. Van de Mark later became associated with Messrs. Brennan & Donnelly, and the firm of Brennan, Donnelly & Van de Mark is now one of the strongest and busiest in Detroit. For two years Charles S. May was a member of the firm. Mr. Brennan makes a specialty of the trial of jury cases and has gained his best reputation at the Bar as a trial lawyer. He is attorney for the Peninsular Savings Bank and has become familiar with the laws regulating banking, both State and National. He has also had a large number of street railway cases as one of the general attorneys of the Detroit Citizens' Street Railway Company. Messrs. Brennan & Donnelly have frequently appeared in the Supreme Court of the State and in the Courts of the United States. Some of the appealed cases may be cited: Ryan-McPherson breach of promise case; U. S. vs. Ryan, in the United States Circuit and Supreme Courts. Hundreds of inferior cases might be enumerated if their importance warranted any reference to them in a historical work of the character of this publication. The records of the courts preserve them and to these all representatives of the Bar have The cases relating to affairs with the City Street Railway occupy much of Mr. Brennan's time and the conduct of these has added greatly to his popularity as a lawyer. Politically he has always been a Democrat, but is not classed as a bigoted or "hidebound" partisan. His under- standing of political economy and the science of government enables him to place principles above partisanship and to value a political party not for access. The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Meichael Brennan UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 507 itself or its fame in history, but only as an instrument to facilitate the inauguration of a governmental policy. Principles and men are esteemed more highly than a partisan machine. He has never at any time been a candidate for political office. His preference is the practice of law. In religion he is a Roman Catholic. He is a member of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. In 1894 at Philadelphia he was elected Supreme President of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association for a term of three years. He was married in 1878 to Miss Margaret F., daughter of Thomas Healy, of Detroit. Two daughters and two sons have been born. of this marriage: Francis M. and John H., Grace M. and Mary J. Mrs. Brennan is a lady of culture whose interest is manifest and whose activities are enlisted in various organizations for the promotion of education. She is president of the Ladies' Auxiliary Board of the Columbian Summer School. Her assistance and leadership are valued highly by persons interested in the success of the enterprise. From members of the Detroit Bar who are intimately acquainted with the characteristics of Mr. Brennan it is ascer- tained that, as one member expresses it: "He has all the Irish wit and humor that you will find boiled into a fellow; is quick at repartee; has the Irish persuasiveness in his nature that always enables an advocate to win. He tries cases almost constantly. He and Mr. John C. Donnelly are the chief trial counsel for the Detroit Citizens' Street Railway Company.” Another characterization is that in temperament he is impulsive, sensitive, generous and sympathetic. As a lawyer he is positive and tenacious, quick and sagacious, brave and pugnacious. As a friend he is enthusiastic, confiding, sincere and true. Socially he is genial, hospitable and liberal- minded. He is a natural student and the acknowledged wit of the Detroit Bar. ALFRED J. MURPHY, Detroit. Alfred J. Murphy bears the distinc- tion of being the youngest man ever nominated for the office of Attorney General in Michigan. He has always lived in Detroit, the city of his birth, where he was born January 1, 1868. His education was received in the public schools of Detroit and completed in Detroit College a clas- sical school. He spent five years in the latter institution, taking a full classical course and graduating in 1887 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He thereupon took a position on the editorial staff of the Detroit Free Press, where he remained for two years, meanwhile pursuing a post graduate course at Detroit College. In 1889 he received the degree of Master of Arts from this institution. He entered upon politics before attaining his majority, by organizing the Young Men's Club of Detroit in 1888, of which he was made president. In 1890 he became assistant sec- retary of the Democratic State Central Committee of Michigan. The Democrats elected their State ticket in Michigan that year for the first 508 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. time in nearly forty years. in January, 1891, and then began the study of law. he entered the Detroit College of Law, from which June, 1893, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. to the Bar in March, 1893, however, and at once began independent prac- tice. The wide acquaintance he enjoyed in Detroit and Michigan, coupled with his industry and ability, gave him a speedy foothold. Gifted by nature with unusual powers of eloquence, he was fortunately given early chance to display his capacity for forensic oratory in several notable crim- inal cases, particularly those of the People vs. Goodson, and the People vs. Considine. The verdict of acquittal in the former case was attributed largely to his argument. In the latter case, while a conviction resulted, his argument was generally conceded to be of unusual strength and of most forceful delivery. He has been able latterly to direct the lines of his practice and in consequence has been enjoying a growing business in probate and commercial law. He has been confining his entire time to his profession, and his nomination for the office of Attorney General, in August, 1896, at the hands of the joint State conventions of the Demo- cratic, People's and Union Silver parties, came not only without his solicitation, but without his knowledge. Mr. Murphy has advanced solely through his own efforts. He defrayed the expenses of his education and has made his own way independently. His talents are of a high order, his industry unflagging and his earnestness constant. There is ample proof of this in the position he has won at the Bar in the three years he has been practising. He was elected Secretary of the State Senate In December, 1891, he was graduated in He had been admitted JOHN C. DONNELLY, lawyer, Detroit. Captain William Donnelly was a native of County Wicklow, Ireland, who emigrated in childhood with his parents and settled in Warwick, Lambton county, Ontario, where he grew to manhood. He resided for many years in Kertch, Plympton and Sarnia, Ontario, and died at the latter place in 1873. He was a farmer, merchant and timber dealer, and carried on the largest business in square oak timber of any dealer west of London, Ontario. He held a commission as captain in the royal militia for twenty-five years. appointed magistrate by the Crown and held that office also for a quarter of a century. He married Elleanor Boulger, a native of County Kildare, Ireland, who was brought to Canada by her parents when a small child. They reared a family of fourteen children. John C. was the seventh member of this family. He was born at Kertch, Ontario, November 27, 1851. He was educated in the public schools and at home. At the age He was of eighteen he began the study of law in the office of Col. John Atkinson, at Port Huron. A year later, when Colonel Atkinson removed to Detroit, young Donnelly went with him. In 1871 he entered the Law School of The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago. John Donnelly UNIV -OF CH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 509 the University of Michigan, where he spent one year, then returned to Detroit and resumed his duties in the law office of Colonel Atkinson. He held this position until July 1, 1873. Prior to that he had been admitted to practice on examination in the Wayne county Circuit Court. After his admission to the Bar he completed the law course in the University and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. At the very begin- ning of his practice he formed a partnership with Michael Brennan under the firm name of Brennan & Donnelly, which has been maintained con- tinuously for the past twenty-three years. In 1877 Hon. Charles S. May was received into the firm and remained a member of it until his return to Kalamazoo. From 1889, for two years, A. C. Raymond was a member of the firm, but soon retired to accept the position of attorney of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. In 1893 Mr. Van de Mark became associated with Brennan & Donnelly as junior member of the firm, a relation which is still maintained. The legal business of this firm is very large, especially in the line of corporation counsel. They are attorneys for some very large cor- porations. They are engaged in a very great number of negligence cases, having more of this class of litigation perhaps than any other firm in the State. Mr. Donnelly is well known in Lansing at the Supreme Court of the State, where he frequently represents the firm in cases carried to that court by appeal. His practice is not confined to any specialty, or any class of cases, but covers all kinds in all of the courts of record in the State, as well as those of the United States. He was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States at Washington in 1883. He is retained as counsel by such corporations as the Citizens' Street Railway Company of Detroit and the Detroit Gas Company. He is esteemed by members of the professions as an excellent lawyer, worthy to stand in the front rank of those who practise in the courts of Michigan. Politically he is a Democrat and has always exhibited a lively interest in the affairs of his party. In 1878 he was elected to the State Legislature from Detroit and served acceptably during the single term of his membership. He was a member of the committee on municipal corporations, a position which enabled him to work for his city with marked advantage. He was the nominee of his party for Attorney General in 1886, but defeated with the rest of the ticket. For years he displayed an interest in military affairs; was the first captain of the Montgomery Rifles, serving in that rank two years. He was also adjutant of the First Battalion of state troops. He was lieutenant of the National Guard and in company with that organization made the trip to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876. He has given support to various club organizations which have for their object social culture and physical as well as intellectual development. He is a member of the Detroit Club, the Yondatega Club, the Detroit Riding Club and the Catholic Club. He was married September 1, 1875, to Miss Anna Minton, of Alpena, daughter of Martin J. Minton, Esq., a pioneer lumberman of that city, and has four children. Mr. Donnelly is in the 510 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. concern. full flush and prime of life, with apparently thirty years of activity yet to come. He preserves always the bonhomie which gives to the noonday of life its radiance and most agreeable effects; which tends to longevity, and gives a glow to the sunset. He has the kind of esprit de corps which is not exhausted in organizing and disciplining a military company, but makes a man jealous of the honor of his profession. Such a man places a high estimate on professional honor and makes the preservation of it his personal His ambition needs no other spur. It makes him zealous in attack and courageous in defense. It is the mark of a gentleman so to bemean himself in a contention that his adversary will be impressed with his honesty and sense of fairness. He does not employ censorious speech or seek to overbear with the manners of a bully. The temptation to ter- rorize a witness is stronger than some cross examiners can withstand; but the practice does not commend the lawyer who resorts to it, nor is it attended with the best results. A gentle manner is not significant of weakness, but is much more effective than boisterousness in establishing confidential relations with a witness. Mr. Donnelly is keen but honest. His conduct of a case is honorable and manly. His opponents have no dread or fear of petty trickery. They know that he will either win his contention by fair means in the open field, or he will lose. He knows that a resort to questionable tactics is unavailing in a weak case and unneces- sary in a strong one- undignified and disreputable in any case. In society he is a prime favorite, because of his frankness, ready wit, heartiness and unassuming manners. EDWIN F. CONELY, Detroit. Mr. Conely is descended from colonial ancestry. His ancestors were among the original settlers of Maryland and Massachusetts, and therefore he may be said to have sprung from a union of the Puritan and the Cavalier. His grandfather, Jeremiah Conely was born at Snow Hill, Maryland, prior to the Revolution. Various branches of the family were represented in the Revolutionary army. His father, William S. Conely, born in January, 1799, was a native of the city of New York, a man of affairs and a member of the New York Constitutional Convention of 1846. Edwin F. Conely was born September 7, 1847, in the city of New York. At the age of six years he came to Michigan with his parents. His literary education was received in New York, in Brigh- ton and Jackson, Michigan, and in extended private study. He read law with Mr. Sardis Hubbell, of Howell, and Messrs. D. B. & H. M. Duf- field, in Detroit. He also attended the Law School of the University of Michigan. In the spring of 1870 he became a permanent resident of Detroit, and in the autumn of the same year was admitted to the Bar upon examination of the Supreme Court then sitting in the old Odd Fellows Hall on Woodward Avenue. The judges sitting at the time were Chris- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 511 tiancy, Campbell, Cooley and Graves, whose decisions gave a world wide fame to Michigan's highest court. Mr. Conely has practised law in the local and appellate courts of the State and Nation; also in the courts of Ohio and Indiana. His practice has included every branch of the law, but his principal work has been in the field of general common law practice, and the trial and argument of causes. The cases in which he has appeared in the Supreme Court of Michigan are scattered through twenty or more volumes of reports. Among the prominent cases in which he has appeared as senior counsel are the following: The Constable Case, constitutional law; Gott vs. Culp, Probate law; R. R. Co. vs. Gilbert, liability of corporation for employment of agent; Carew vs. Mathews, conflict of jurisdiction; Davis vs. Burgess, breach of the peace; People vs. Wilson, murder: Peo- ple vs. Fonda, jurisdiction of federal courts; Klanowski vs. Grand Trunk Ry. Co., speed as evidence of negligence; Wheaton vs. Beecher, libel; Holcombe vs. Noble, innocent false representations as evidence of fraud; Robinson vs. Miner and Haug, constitutional law; People vs. Montague, habeas corpus and extradition; Weeks vs. Wayne Circuit Judges, lien of attorney on verdict; Estate of Mabel Ward, liability of guardian; Attor- ney General vs. James, quo warranto; Laffrey vs. Grummond, liability of warehouseman; McAllister vs. Free Press, libel; Latimer's case, murder; Clark and Graham's case, murder; People vs. Walsh, manslaughter; Fin- nigan vs. FreePress Co., libel; Strobridge Lith. Co. vs. Randall, effect of settlement; Brown vs. McGraw, logging and lumbering case; Park Com- missioners vs. Common Council, constitutional law; Wellman vs. Police Board, power of police commission; People vs. Fort Wayne and Elmwood Ry. Co., constitutional and municipal law; McRae vs. R. R. Co., con- stitutional law and railroad building; Baron vs. Detroit, liability of city as a proprietor; Coffin vs. Election Commissioners, right of women to vote;~ Down vs. Harper Hospital, liability of trust fund to claims for negligence of trustees; Campbell vs. Wyandotte, law of municipalities; Fort St. Union Depot Co. vs. Peninsula Stove Co., constitutional law; Attorney General vs. Supervisors, constitutional and statutory law; Metcalf vs. Tif- fany, liability of female def't for alienation of husband; Moran vs. Moran, fraud as a basis of ejectment; Merz Capsule Co. vs. McCutchon, monopoly and public policy; Richardson vs. Medbury, accounting. During the years 1891-2-3 he was professor of law in the University of Michigan, having among his subjects that of constitutional law, but resigned on account of the demand of increasing practice. In 1876 he was elected member of the Legislature and received the Democratic nomination for Speaker of the House of Representatives. During the session he was a member of the judiciary committee. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Con- ventions of 1880 and 1892. In 1881 he was unanimously nominated by the Democratic Convention for judge of the Recorder's Court, but was defeated by George A. Swift. He was a member of the board of water commissioners of Detroit in 1885, and from 1890 to 1896 was a member of the board of 512 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. library commissioners. In 1893 he was appointed by Governor Rich a member of the State Commission to frame a general law for the govern- ment of municipalities. He was connected with the Michigan State troops for thirteen years, serving as private, corporal and captain of the Detroit Light Infantry, major of the Fourth Infantry, and as colonel and A. D. C. and president of the State military board. He was instrumen- tal in securing much favorable legislation for the benefit of the State troops. During the campaign of 1896 he supported the National Democ- racy as against the platform and nominees of the Chicago convention. He was one of the orators at the banquet given by the sound money Dem- crats in Chicago on Jackson's Day, 1897. He is a life member of the American Historical Association and a member of the American and Michigan Bar Associations. He has been a contributor to the American Law Review and other law periodicals; has travelled extensively in Europe and is a cultured gentleman. Mr. Conely delivered a public address before the Bar Association some years ago on the Bar of Detroit, which is referred to by members of the profession as a production of much literary excellence and great historic value. He is devoted to the law, for which he entertains the highest respect, and it is entirely within the record to say that he is one of the best lawyers of the State. As a writer his style is smooth, graceful and felicitious in expression. chosen from an extensive vocabulary. He was married December 1, 1873, to Miss Achsa Butterfield, of Green Oak, Michigan, who died in February, 1878. He was married a second time May, 1882, to Miss Fannie Butter- field, a cousin of his first wife. He has no children. His words are fitly ELBRIDGE F. BACON, Detroit. Mr. Bacon was born in the township of Superior, Washtenaw county, May 3, 1850. His father was Henry Bacon and his mother was Caroline Farrand. The Bacon family is of colonial origin, and, on both sides, American for many generations. The great-grandfather of our subject was a Revolutionary soldier. The family also had representatives in the war of 1812. Mr. Bacon's grandfather settled in Superior in 1829, and his mother's people came four years later. At the age of thirteen he was sent to the Model School, then a part of the State Normal at Ypsilanti. His home on the farm was three miles distant from Ypsilanti, but almost every morning he made his appearance at the school before the hour of opening. This circumstance indicated a pre- dominant characteristic of his entire life, promptness and punctuality. It was no easy task to attend school, trudging along on foot for such a dis- tance, through all kinds of weather, always ahead of time, and keeping it up until his senior year. Mr. Bacon was graduated from the classical course in 1872, the next year after Professor Estabrook became president of the State Normal. With other members of his class he felt the inspira- The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Elbridge F. Bacon UNIV OF BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 513 tion of Michigan's greatest teacher. Mr. Bacon became principal of the Petersburg school soon after his graduation, but all his thoughts were of Blackstone. In 1873 he went to Wisconsin, where he remained for a little less than a year engaged in civil engineering. Coming back to Michigan the following year, he located in Huron county, where he began reading law with Richard Winsor, of Port Austin. This gentleman had been a member of the constitutional convention of 1867, and from him Mr. Bacon received his first impressions of constitutional law. He was elected county The next year his services were 1879 he removed to Sand Beach He had an extensive clientage all "City of the Straits." Ten years surveyor of Huron county in 1874, and re-elected two years later. Mr. Bacon was making his way slowly but surely into the profession of law. He spent nearly four years in solving knotty legal problems in jurisprud- ence; especially did he familiarize himself with the large annual tax sale of Huron county-a knowledge that has often stood him well in hand in after years. He is regarded to-day in Detroit and elsewhere as authority on tax titles. He was admitted to the Huron county Bar in 1876, and opened an office in Port Austin. He entered into a partnership with George S. Engle in 1877, which continued one year. retained by Col. Atkinson of Detroit. In and commenced practice for himself. along the coast from that harbor to the later Mr. Bacon found that his extensive business required a more central location, and accordingly removed to Detroit. His practice has steadily grown in all directions, and is constantly becoming more lucrative. To this he has given close and earnest attention, not yielding to the allure- ments of politics or other side issues, believing that a lawyer should stick as closely to his profession as a shoemaker to his last. His calling has become interwoven with the fiber of his life and he is content to rise by means of it alone. In his various experience in the courts Mr. Bacon has met the most distinguished lawyers and jurists of Detroit, who speak of him in eulogistic terms as an able advocate and all-round lawyer. He tries his cases twice and frequently thrice. He studies jurors, takes the measure of witnesses quickly, and is especially skilful in cross-examina- tions. He has a rare self-control, is courteous towards his opponents, keeps his mind upon the subject at issue and is rarely thrown off his guard. He is still a student with remarkable powers of abstraction and concentra- tion. He discriminates between important and trifling issues, and retain- ing such facts as he shall need to draw upon when pressed for time, is always ready for assault or defense. He has built up a lucrative business in the Circuit Court and conducted cases in the other courts of the State, as well as in the Federal Courts. For a number of years he has enjoyed a large practice in the Supreme Court of the State and his name appears in connection with cases reported in several volumes of the official reports of that court. Some of these cases are important, both on account of the issues and the large pecuniary interests involved. He stands well among the members of his profession. In 1881 Mr. Bacon was married to Miss 33 514 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Clarena W. Bailey, of St. Clair, and has three daughters—fourteen, nine and four years old. He is much in society, and is a member of the West Side Social Club, the Michigan Avenue and Grande Pointe Clubs. He has been for twelve years an active Knight Templar, and accompanied the Commandery to Boston in 1895. He is a Congregationalist and belongs to the old First Church on Woodward Avenue. He is progressive, practical and persistent; interested in manufacturing industries, and a strong advocate of protection and reciprocity. His mind, disciplined by study, has a com- prehensive grasp, and he is able to present his cases to the court or jury in the most favorable light. JOHN WARD, Detroit. The subject of this biography traces his lineage to William Ward, who settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts, in 1639. Among the distinguished representatives of the family was Artemus Ward, of Revolutionary fame. John was the son of Jonas and Anna Child Ward; was born at Westminster, Massachusetts, in 1821, removed to Vermont in 1826 and lived in the Green Mountain State until 1859. He was pre- pared for college in the Kimball Union Academy and was graduated from Dartmouth with the class of 1847. He cherishes as precious the memory of his college years. He was a member of the famous literary societies. of Dartmouth and among his treasured souvenirs are manuscript letters received by him from a quartette of America's great men who were then at the zenith of their fame. These letters are responsive to his invitation to the writers on behalf of the literary societies, of which they had been members during their college days. They are reproduced here as samples of the polite correspondence of the times: Marshfield, Oct. 3, '46. Dear sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th of September. It would give me pleasure to be able to comply with the wishes of the two societies in whose behalf you write, but for several years past I have found it absolutely necessary to decline all invitations of that kind. With much respect and the most perfect good wishes, I am your obt. Mr. Ward. DAN'L Webster. NEW YORK, Dec. 25, 1846. I would be glad of the occa- Dear sir: Your favor is duly received. sion to meet your literary society, but my health has been seriously impaired. I am still an invalid and must therefore decline your kind invitation. With best wishes, Yours respectfully, Mr. John Ward. THEO. FRELINGHUYSEN. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, 515 Mr. John Ward. Dear sir: WASHINGTON, June 29, 1847. I reproach myself for not sooner replying to your letter of 12th Dec. last inviting me to be the anniversary orator at your coming college com- mencement. I deferred an answer in the hope that it would soon be favorably solved and in the midst of important engagements lost of sight the matter. It is now recalled by a sight of your note and I hasten to make all the atonement in my power for this inexcusable forgetfulness and neglect. I trust it has not prevented the societies' securing the serv- ices of some one more capable than I am of doing honor to them. With high consideration, your ob't serv't, AMOS KENdall. WASHINGTON, March 9, 1847. Dear sir: I have received your letter inviting me to deliver a lecture before the societies of your college in the month of August next. I freely accept the invitation, willing to return to my native State for such a pur- pose after the absence of half a century and a life marked with much exertion and vicissitudes. You do not state in your letter upon what date the Commencement will take place. I had thought until the com- mencement of this note that August was the month designated by you. But I find that no period is mentioned and I will therefore thank you to write me a letter addressed to me at Detroit telling me at what time I must be with you. Mr. John Ward. I am, dear sir, respectfully yours, LEWIS CASS. Semper Parata." He was Mr. Ward's motto while at college was not only prepared in his studies, but was also an officer of the celebrated Dartmouth phalanx, a military company of students. After his gradua- tion he studied law in the office of Collamer & Barrett, of Woodstock, Vermont, and was admitted to the Windsor county Bar in 1849. He commenced the practice of law at Springfield in the same county, and paid his way from the start, doing some surveying at intervals. He has always paid his way, and, apropos of the late political campaign, says he has never heard of any of his ancestors who wished to scale his debts or expressed a desire to pay with fifty cent dollars at par value. He remained in practice at Springfield ten years, serving as State's Attorney for Wind- sor county during the last two. In 1859 he came west and settled in Detroit. His first partnership was with J. B. Farnsworth and his second with Irving Palmer. He became associated with E. C. Skinner and C. M. Burton in the abstract business, remaining with them seventeen years. Both of these gentlemen unite in testifying to his valuable services. He was married in 1859 and his wife died in 1864. A son, born of this marriage, died in infancy. Mr. Ward's chief business for a score of years has been in connection with the settlement of estates. He has loaned large sums of money and there never has been a stain upon his reputation or a suspicion against his integrity. He has been scrupulously honest in 516 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. all business transactions. Few men who have passed the seventy-fifth mile stone continue to be at their post of duty as regular as clock work. He is methodical in his habits and systematic in the conduct of his busi- ness. He may appropriately be called a gentleman of the old school. In a large and expressive sense, he is a man. Many good things, true and just, might be said of him; but he is modest. One of the very busy men of Detroit says: "John Ward is the best man in the city-the worthiest among the worthy; to know him best is to love him most.” In politics he has always been a stalwart Republican. He has served on the board of education one term and was elected to the board of estimates: but he has no fondness for public office. In his religious views he is a Unitarian. During a long life of usefulness he seems to have merited the addition to his college motto "always ready," of these words" in the service of his fellow men." LAWRENCE N. BURKE, Kalamazoo. Mr. Burke is a native of Ire- land, the son of James and Joanna Burke. He was born near Thurles, November 7, 1850. At the age of three he had the misfortune to lose his mother. When five years of age he came to America with other members of the family and lived for some years at East Scott, Cortland county, New York, was educated in the common schools of the neighborhood and in Cortland Academy, at Homer. As a large family was dependent for sup- port upon the father, whose only means consisted of his daily wages, Law- rence was obliged early to depend upon his own exertions, not only for the means of living, but also for the higher education which he desired. At the age of eighteen he was able to teach a district school. In 1869 he came to Kalamazoo and took a course in Parson's Business College. Hav- ing previously formed the purpose to become a lawyer, he entered upon a course of reading and study in the office of the late Hon. J. W. Breese.. In 1873 he passed the required examination and was admitted to the Bar. Immediately he entered into practice in partnership with William W. Peck, a relationship that existed about three years. At this time his health became impaired, and he spent several months in the South recu- perating. When sufficiently restored he returned to Kalamazoo and resumed practice alone. In 1877 he was elected a justice of the peace and served as such for more than five years. He was then elected judge of the recorder's court and served four years. In 1890 he was elected prosecut- ing attorney of Kalamazoo county, and served a term of two years. The character of his practice has been general and extended into all the courts of the State. He has avoided all cases of a questionable or sensational char- acter, and confined himself to such as are consistent with honorable and reputable practice. He has been successful, although his progress has been retarded to a considerable extent by ill health. As a lawyer he has BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 517 established a reputation for ability, candor as a counselor and earnestness as an advocate. He studies the case of his client until he becomes deeply interested, and then labors with zeal and enthusiasm to win it. His manner of argument to influence a jury is such as to gain their confidence. He is so manifestly sincere in his belief and candid in his statements of facts that the jury are impressed favorably with his arguments. Mr. Burke first entered politics as a liberal Republican and supporter of Greeley for Presi- dent in 1872 at the age of twenty-two. From that time to the present he has been what might be termed a progressive Democrat. His personal popularity is duly attested by the various offices to which he has been elected when a majority of his constituents held opposite political views. The qualities prominent in his character are recognized by political oppo- nents as readily as by partisan friends. He is liberal-minded, and dis- plays that courtesy which naturally springs from genuine kindness of heart. He has long been an active, influential member of the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has won the highest honors that can be bestowed in the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge. At the age of In thirty-four he was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan. 1885 he was the representative of that body to the Sovereign Grand Lodge in session at Baltimore, and the following year was representative to the same body at Boston. He was married in 1877 to Mary J. Web- ster, of Detroit, with whom he lived happily until her death, in Febru- ary, 1893. He has three children, Lawrence N., Jr., James Webster and Leah Maude, all of them attending school. Mr. Burke has always been devoted to the welfare of his family, and found congenial society at home. It may be said that his social traits are here manifested in the most marked degree, and that his highest form of social enjoyment has ever been found around his own hearthstone. HENRY J. HORRIGAN, Ionia. The subject of this sketch is one of the youngest men in successful legal practice in the State. He was born in Onondago county, New York, February 13, 1867. His parentage may suggest a possible practical solution of the question of home rule in Ire- land. His mother, Susan Clements, was an English woman, native of Liverpool; his father, Michael Horrigan, of Irish extraction, though born in Oswego county, New York. The family removed to Michigan in 1869 and settled on a farm in Ionia county, remaining there ten years. They were years of toil and care and saving incident to poverty. Every member of the family was expected to contribute something to the common sup- port, and Henry worked on the farm faithfully from the time he was able to render any service, attending the district schools during a part of each year. In 1879 he removed to Ionia with the family and entered the pub- lic schools of that city in which he pursued the course of study to comple- 518 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. The same He met it tion. He was not permitted to attend school continuously. necessity for work confronted him as existed on the farm. bravely, taking up whatever afforded remuneration, at the wages offered, and by thus helping himself was enabled to complete the high school course, from which he was graduated in 1888. He was then twenty-one and ambitious in the best sense of that word. He aspired to the highest possible attainments intellectually. Immediately after graduating he entered the law office of Davis & Nichols where he remained until Janu- ary, 1889, and then became associated in the law with William O. Web- ster, a scholarly and successful practitioner, where he has remained to the present. He was admitted to the Bar by Judge Smith at Ionia in March, 1890. While prosecuting his studies and assisting his preceptor in the office work, as well as litigation, he has grown in knowledge of the law and public favor. If his "yesterday" is not as long as that of some others he has more of tomorrow" left for advancement. Today he is recognized as an upright young man of business, with a fixed purpose in life and com- mendable energy to achieve it. He has the confidence of his professional associates, his party friends and his townsmen generally. He was elected Circuit Court Commissioner in 1892 and again in 1894. Politically he is a Republican and is not without inclination to engage in politics. Indeed his activities have already been employed in promoting the interests and organization of his party by service as secretary of the county committee during several campaigns. He evinces a fraternity spirit by membership in Lucullus Lodge K. of P., in which he has filled some of the chairs. Mr. Horrigan was married in May, 1893, to Miss Blanche, only child of Benjamin and Lutia Vosper, of Ionia. Mr. Powers is a son of John His father's ancestors were JAMES MCMILLAN POWERS, Charlotte. R. Powers, a farmer, and Hannah Johnson. Irish, and originally settled in Vermont. His mother was of Scotch extraction, and lived in Wyoming county, in the western part of Nẹw York. He was born February 17, 1848, in Attica township, Wyoming county. When three years old his father emigrated to Michigan and settled in Assyria township, Barry county, and here our subject passed his boyhood days. He worked on his father's farm, and attended the common school in the winter until twenty years of age. From 1868 to 1876 he taught school during the winters, with the exception of two which he spent in the pineries. He worked at the carpenter trade in the summer, usually attending normal school in the fall. Many influences were drawing him to the law as a great life labor. His brother was studying law at the Univer- sity of Michigan, and he went to Ann Arbor with him to stay until the brother got started in his studies. While there James M. became inter- ested in the law himself, and determined to take a full course at the BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 519 University. He entered the Law Department, October 1, 1876, and was graduated with the class of 1878. He was admitted to the Bar at Char- lotte during the April term of court, 1878. He practised alone for a time at Bellevue, and then removed to Charlotte. He did a general law busi- ness, and practised by himself until March 1, 1894. He then entered into a partnership with one of the prominent attorneys of the central part of the State, under the firm name of Powers & Stein. Since that time he has been engaged principally in criminal cases. In some of these he has won great reputation as a trial lawyer of uncommon ability and fertile resources. In the arson cases of The People vs. Combs, he secured the acquittal of the defendant. In the celebrated conspiracy case of The People vs. Jacobs et al., in which Isadore Jacobs of Albion, and his brother, Jay M. Jacobs of Battle Creek, were on trial, the parties he defended, were acquitted as were also the wives of Rosen and Asher, who were themselves convicted. In the robbery case of The People vs. Wilcox and Thomson, he was able to clear the defendants. The case of The People vs. McCaf- fery on two counts of poisoning and of assault with attempt to commit murder — was a celebrated one, and by great labor and a wide command of all the resources of the law he succeeded in clearing his clients. These cases were from Calhoun county and won him much favor in that part of the State. He defended Wolcott in the well-poisoning case, and had him adjudged insane, and sent to the Insane Hospital at Ionia. He defended the railroad strikers in the charge brought against them of wrecking a passenger train at Battle Creek in 1894. They were released on their own Three recognizance, and probably never will be brought to a final trial. who were arrested and tried in the Federal Court on the charge of conspir- acy to interfere with the running of the United States mail, were acquitted by the court. In these cases Mr. Powers appeared as counsel for the defendants. He was Democratic candidate for Circuit Judge in 1893, and was defeated by a very few votes. Eaton county has a Republican major- ity of fifteen hundred, but he gave his opponent a very uncomfortable scare. He was a delegate to the Chicago Convention in 1896. He is a He Royal Arch Mason, and is greatly respected by his Masonic fraters. was married December 22, 1877, to Miss Eliza Davis, of Assyria township, Barry county. Her father is one of the solid and substantial farmers of that community. They have three sons, LaVerne, aged eighteen, Harold, thirteen, and Leslie, eight. Our subject is a man of inspiring energy, and prepares his cases with the utmost carefulness, covering every possible line of attack and defense. He is a good cross examiner, a desperate fighter, and a formidable opponent. 520 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. JAY P. LEE, Lansing. The subject of this sketch was born in Wak- eshma township, Kalamazoo county, Michigan, April 11, 1859. His par- ents were John R. Lee, who came to Michigan from the State of New York in 1835, and Sarah M. Foote, who came from the same State with her parents in 1837. He was the youngest of three boys. When eighteen months old the family removed to Branch county and remained there until he was nineteen years old, when they settled in the village of Athens, Cal- houn county. His father died at Athens in 1885, and his mother is still living there. He was the son of a farmer and was trained to work on the farm, and during the winters attended the district school until he was fifteen years old. He then spent two winters in the Athens school, and afterwards attended the business college in Kalamazoo. He then took charge of the farm in Branch county, of which he had the entire man- agement until he was nineteen. He attended the Union City high school, and was graduated from the classical course. For three years afterwards he was in the University of Michigan pursuing selected studies in the Literary Department, and during a portion of the time attended the lectures in the Law Department. He was admitted to the Bar in June, 1884, and in the August following took a clerkship in the office of Secre- tary of State, where he remained until the middle of January, 1887. He was married April 11, 1885, to Miss Millie Ross Graham, the daughter of Harvey M. Graham, of Athens, and immediately located in Lansing, which has since been his home continuously. Upon retiring from the office of the Secretary of State he formed a partnership with Charles F. Hammond for the practice of the law. The legal profession has com- manded his time and talents continuously to the present time. In 1888 and 1889 he was city attorney of Lansing under a Republican administra- tion. In March, 1890, he was appointed assistant attorney general by Mr. Trowbridge, the incumbent of that office, the appointment having been made upon the suggestion of Governor Luce and Judge Edward Cahill of the Supreme Court. Owing to the illness of Mr. Trowbridge Mr. Lee had full charge of the duties appertaining to the attorney gen- eral's office, and upon the death of Mr. Trowbridge and the appointment of Major Huston he continued to discharge the duties of the office until the close of the term, December 31, 1890. During the period that Mr. Lee was acting assistant attorney general he wrote all of the opinions of the department but two, which were written by Major Huston to the Chairman of the Board of State Auditors. The question involved was the right of one Adoniram J. Smith to the payment of a bounty of one hundred dollars under Act number twenty-three of the laws of 1864. The board did not accept the official opinion of Major Huston and so he wrote a second one, covering substantially the same ground as the first. The board of auditors declining to accept the opinion as the law employed Mr. Lee to defend their action, and disallowed the claim. Whereupon a The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Jay PLue Q MICK BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 521 proceeding for mandamus was instituted and the question submitted to the Supreme Court, whose decision sustained the action of the auditors as defended by their special counsel. It resulted in a saving approximately of six million dollars to the State, as the particular claim was only one of a large class dependent upon the same law. The case is reported in 85 Michigan, page 407. Mr. Lee was attorney for the board of State can- vassers removed from office by Governor Rich because of the incorrect and alleged fraudulent canvass of the vote on the constitutional amendment increasing the salaries of State officers. They were removed from office upon quo-warranto proceeding and afterwards indicted by the grand jury for forgery in making a false public record, and for conspiracy in the mat- ter of making a false canvass. The Secretary of State was tried upon the indictment for forgery and defended by Mr. Lee, with Col. John Atkin- son and F. A. Baker, of Detroit, associate counsel. The jury disagreed, and the case was never again brought to trial. He was counsel for the defense in the Allen Whitaker forgery case, associated with R. A. Mont- gomery in a litigation which continued more than two years, and in which three trials were had. On the first the jury disagreed; on the second, at which Mr. Lee was unable to be present, a conviction resulted; upon a motion prepared by Mr. Lee a new trial was granted, and upon the third trial the jury again disagreed and the cases were nolle prossed. In 1894 Mr. Lee acted in defense of Nelson Bradley, cashier of the Central Mich- igan Savings Bank, who was prosecuted for making a false report to the commissioner of banking. He had reported his overdrafts at only half the real amount, and his checks and cash items as less than one-fourth of the actual amount; and had reported no rediscounts when there were about $180,000. The trial of this case lasted a week- and the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. He has been engaged also in a number of impor- tant civil cases, and has made his highest reputation as corporate counsel and business lawyer. Mr. Lee is successful in the profession, and is withal a most estimable gentleman. GERRIT JOHN DIEKEMA, Holland. Mr. Diekema is a native of Michigan and has been a resident of Holland all his life. His parents, W. Diekema and Hattie Stegeman, were born, reared, educated and married in the Netherlands, emigrated to Michigan and settled at Holland in 1847, where they still reside. His education was begun in the public schools of his home and continued in Hope College. He entered the academic department of this institution at the age of fourteen and pursued a regular course through the preparatory and classical departments, occupying a period of eight years, and was graduated in 1881 with the degree of A. B. Nature imparted to him the lawyer instinct and his preference for the pro- fession of law was very marked even in childhood. One of his noteworthy 522 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 1 accomplishments as a boy was the ability to speak with the natural ease and grace of a trained orator. On the completion of his college course he began reading law with William H. Parks, and soon afterwards entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, from which he was gradu- ated in 1883. Having passed the prescribed examination he was admitted to the Bar at Ann Arbor and immediately thereafter returned to Holland, where he settled down to practice. He started with the advantages of a general and favorable acquaintance in the community; aptitude for the pro- fession; the bounding enthusiasm of youth; thorough scholarship, both literary and professional, and the social qualities which attract friends and cement friendships. He was therefore able to stand alone from the begin- ning and has never formed a business partnership. Clients came to him and he counseled with such evident knowledge of the law or managed liti- gation with such energy and tact as to hold them and secure other clients. It was not long before he had acquired a remunerative practice, general in its scope, and established a reputation as a painstaking, thorough-going lawyer. He was successful to a marked degree and success lent wings to his reputation, carrying it beyond the limits of his county and district, and securing a larger clientage. In fact, it may be stated in all candor that Mr. Diekema has made remarkably rapid progress and gained unusual dis- tinction in his profession for a man of thirty-seven years. He has argued many cases in the Supreme Court and his arguments uniformly disclose a broad and comprehensive grasp of the principles involved and intimate knowledge of the law applicable to the case under discussion. He supports his contention by a lucid statement of facts, a logical course of reasoning and a methodical citation of authorities. Every argument evinces thorough preparation, going to the core of the subject, mastering not only the generalities but the specialties and niceties involved. Nature did much towards making him a lawyer by implanting the instinct if the disposition and tendency in a man may be so termed. This instinct for the law has been cultivated by study and practice until he is strong in court, whether as pleader or advocate. The gift of oratory and very popular social traits are responsible for leading Mr. Diekema into a public career. In 1884 he was township superintendent of public schools. In 1885 he was elected Representative in the State Legislature and subsequently re-elected three times, serving in all four terms. In 1889 he was chosen Speaker of the House, when only thirty years of age. He was an active, working mem- ber of the Legislature — a law-maker in fact. Some of the very important statutes of the State were drafted by him and others were enacted chiefly through his influence. Among the former is the State drainage law of 1885. He was chairman of the judiciary committee of the House in 1887 and by the co-operation of Speaker Markey was largely responsible for the passage of the liquor law. The local option law enacted in 1889 was principally due to his intelligent, persistent efforts. As Speaker he was dignified and impartial, exhibiting strong executive qualities in dispatching BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 523 In the business of the House in an orderly manner. In 1893 he was the can- didate for attorney general on the Republican State ticket and received one thousand more votes than the head of the ticket. His successful compet- itor had the advantage of a fusion of the Democrats and Populists. 1894 he was appointed a member of the State municipal committee, with Hon. Mark S. Brewer, of Pontiac, and Edward F. Conely, of Detroit. When this committee organized he was elected president. In 1895 he was elected mayor of Holland. He has for some years been a member of the city board of education and one of the trustees of Hope College. He is also a member of the board of directors of the State Pioneer Society, and a member of the Reformed Church of America. Mr. Diekema was mar- ried in 1885 to Mary E. Olcott, a graduate of Hope College, and the union is blessed with a son born in 1893. He possesses remarkable intellectual strength, vigor and versatility; is both tactful and resourceful, and withal a most companionable gentleman, cordial in manner, sympathetic in dispo- sition. He is ever regardful of the rights and sensibilities of others and abounds in the graces of good humor and temperate good-fellowship. There is no lawyer of his age in the State who has a better standing in the profession, and no man who has secured a firmer place in the popular esteem. JOHN R. CARR, Cassopolis. This well-known member of the Michigan Bar has been practising attorney in the city of Cassopolis for more than a quarter of a century, and during all that time has been associated with Mr. M. L. Howell, under the firm name of Howell & Carr. They early won a prominent position among the law firms of that part of the State, which they have held to the present time. Mr. Carr came originally from North St. Eleanor's, Prince Edward Island, Canada, where he was born May 18, 1841. His parents, Hugh Carr and Sophia Owen Ramsey, were both natives of the island, though of Scotch and Scotch-English origin. His paternal ancestors came directly to the island from Scotland in the latter part of the seventeenth century. But the Owens tarried both in Eng- land and in North Carolina, where they had become quite a powerful and influential family at the outbreak of the American Revolution. In that exciting struggle they were found on the losing side, and loyalty to the King made them so thoroughly unpopular in the new Republic that removal into some part of British America seemed an absolute necessity. Accord- ingly we find the Owens and Ramseys removing to Prince Edward Island immediately after the recognition of the Independence of the United States, and there they are now found active and useful citizens of the Dominion of Canada. There Sophia Owen Ramsey was born, reared, edu- cated and married, and there the subject of this sketch was born and grew to manhood under the parental roof-tree. When he had attained the age 524 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. of twenty-two, he saw quite clearly that the Island did not afford the same opportunity for aspiring and capable young men that was found in the "States." He came into Michigan in search of that opportunity, and began his career in this country by teaching a district school in Van Buren county. He was a country school teacher for some two years, and while doing the work of a pedagogue he enrolled himself as a student in the high school at Decatur, teaching winters and attending school spring and fall. He was thus employed for three years, when he found himself ready to take up the study of law, which to him was not an irksome task. He was taken into the office of Parkhurst & Foster, prominent attorneys at Deca- tur, who recognized the especial fitness of the young teacher for the legal profession, and did their best to encourage him in preparation for it. He continued with them for some two years; then entered the Law Depart- ment of the University of Michigan and was graduated in 1870, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He immediately established himself at Cassopolis and formed a law partnership with M. L. Howell, which has continued unbroken to the present day. Between him and his partner there exists the warmest friendship. They have occupied the same rooms in the same building since 1870, and there is no prospect of any immediate dis- solution of these pleasant relations. Mr. Carr takes much interest in the fortunes of the various local fraternities, and his name and active labors belong to several prominent orders. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the United Workmen. He is in the Foresters, and also in the order of the Golden Cross and is a Maccabee. As a churchman he is identi- fied with the Presbyterian denomination both by membership and by five years spent int e office of superintendent of the Sunday School. A Democrat in his political affiliations, he has not taken a very active part in party affairs, and allows nothing to interfere with his work as a lawyer. That is his business in life, and to it he gives all the energies of heart and soul. And in the law he has done well. He has made a reputation as a careful, painstaking, conscientious lawyer, who not only marshals all the facts and principles of law in defense of his case, but presents them in the most impressive way to the judge and jury. Mr. Carr was married in 1868 to Miss Olive Lyle, daughter of John and Ann (Armstrong) Lyle, of Paw Paw, Michigan. His wife died in the month of October, 1894, leaving three children, Mae, Bessie and Carlisle. THOMAS O'HARA, Benton Harbor. At this writing Ex-Judge Thomas O'Hara represents the United States as Consul at San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua, a post to which he was appointed by the President in 1894. He is a fine specimen of the American boy who aspires and has the talents, industry and will to achieve. His parents, John O'Hara and Catherine McKenna, had their nativity in Ireland; the former was born in 1831 and The Century Publishing & Engravina to Chicago. Thomas & Hora. Жень UNI; OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 525 came over to New York in 1848; the latter was born in 1837 and came to the State of New York with her parents in 1846. John O'Hara and Catherine McKenna were married at Batavia, New York, in 1854 and Thomas, the subject of this biography, was one of their nine children, and their eldest son. He was born at LeRoy, Genesee county, New York, March 9, 1856. When he was six years of age the family removed to Wisconsin and for eight years resided successively in Sheboygan, Waubeka, Boltonville and Newburg. In 1870 his father was elected principal of the third ward school in Manitowoc, and settled in that city where he has con- tinued to reside. Thomas lived at home and attended school as much as possible until fifteen years of age. He was a manly boy, quite capable of independent action and resolute in the execution of a purpose. It was not the spirit of adventure so much as the desire to support himself which prompted him at that early age to ship as cabin boy on the propeller General H. E. Paine in the spring of 1871. Residence in lake ports had afforded him opportunity to be enticed by the excitement at the wharf to test the mysterious charm with which a sailor's life is invested. For eleven years he sailed the upper lakes as cabin boy, porter, steward and clerk, and then he was ready to settle down as a landsman to engage in the practice of law, which he had studied several winters during the season when navi- gation was closed. Soon after reaching his majority-May 3, 1877, he was married to Miss Mary Barrett, a native of Leicester, England, and estab- lished his home at St. Joseph, Michigan. He began the study of law the next autumn after his marriage in the office of N. A. Hamilton and in March, 1880, was admitted to the Bar. He was a candidate the same year, on the Democratic ticket, for Circuit Court Commissioner, but went down to defeat with his party. In November, 1880, he formed a partnership for the practice of law in St. Joseph with Clarence A. Webster, but a dissolu- tion of the firm followed at the end of the first year. In 1882 he was elected county clerk by a majority of four hundred and seventy-five over the Republican candidate, and in 1884 he was re-elected by a majority more than three hundred larger. In each of these elections his vote was eight hundred and fifty larger than that cast for his party ticket—a result indicative of his personal popularity. The next biennial election was favorable to the Republican party and he was defeated. In 1887 Mr. O'Hara was elected Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit, defeating Hon. George S. Clapp by a majority of over eight hundred in the district and receiving a majority of eleven hundred and forty-one in Berrien county. He presided on the Bench one term of six years and discharged the judicial duties with due regard to the enforcement of law, the rights of litigants and the promotion of the public welfare. It is a singular fact that at the time of his election to the office of Circuit Judge he had never tried a case in the Circuit Court; and yet his record very soon demonstrated his peculiar fitness for the work. His mental constitution was such as gave him acute perception and discriminating judgment. He was dignified in bearing, • 526 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. He impartial in his rulings and courteous in demeanor toward the Bar. exhibited remarkable faculty for the dispatch of business, and cases on his docket were not allowed to gather dust and cobwebs, or become notorious by frequent continuances. His industry appeared to be without limit. During his term he disposed of six hundred contested cases, and thirteen hundred cases altogether. Soon after his election to the Bench he wrote a letter advising his friends in Berrien county to vote for local option, which was submitted to the electors at a special election held in February, 1888, and the proposition carried in that county by a majority of seven hundred and twenty-three, whereas at the election one year before the majority in favor of prohibition was only sixty votes. He called a grand jury in 1888 and again in 1890 to inquire into violations of the laws relat- ing to the liquor traffic, a measure that had not been resorted to by any judge in the county for twenty years. He was nominated for re-election in 1893 but defeated by the opposition of narrow bigots because of his membership in the Roman Catholic Church. The secret order of A. P. A. contributed much to the result. Judge O'Hara located in Berrien Springs in 1882 where he lived for several years. After retiring from the Bench he opened an office for practice in Benton Harbor in partnership with Samuel H. Kelley. This was continued until December, 1894, when he was appointed by President Cleveland to the post of U. S. Consul at San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua. Judge O'Hara has a fine, expressive face, a warm He is the life of his social circle and generous heart and affable manners. and deserves the host of friends which his kindly disposition and good nature have bound to him. He has three children, a daughter, Isabel, and two sons, Barratt and Frank. JAMES O'HARA, St. Joseph. The subject of this sketch was born July He is the brother of 26, 1860, at Leroy, Genesee county, New York. Thomas O'Hara of Benton Harbor, the subject of the preceding sketch. He was educated in the public schools of Wisconsin. At the age of eleven he began sailing on the lakes, following this calling during the summer sea- son for fourteen years. During the winters he attended school, and in 1877 commenced to teach district schools in Manitowoc county, Wiscon- sin. He taught there six winter terms. In the winter of 1880, while engaged in teaching, he began the study of law, borrowing books from the law firm of Estabrook & Walker, of Manitowoc. In the fall of 1882 he entered the office of this firm and remained with them until the following spring. In the fall of 1883 he entered the law office of N. A. Hamilton at St. Joseph and remained with him until the spring of 1884. In the fall of the same year he again entered Mr. Hamilton's office and remained with him until Jannary 26, 1885, when he was admitted to the Bar at Berrien Springs. Subse- After admission he opened an office at Manitowoc. The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago James James O'Hara и ех UNIZ OF MIC BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 527 quently he accepted the position of admiralty clerk in the office of Schuy- ler & Kremer, marine lawyers, at Chicago, where he remained until the spring of 1886. In July of that year he entered the office of DeLong & Fellows, at Muskegon, and Mr. Fellows retiring from the firm within a month thereafter, Mr. O'Hara remained with Mr. DeLong, and the next year entered into partnership with him under the firm name of DeLong & O'Hara. The partnership continued until August 3, 1893, and during its continuance was one of the best known law firms in western Michigan. Nelson DeLong, as an advocate at that time, had no superior at the Bar of western Michigan. After the dissolution of the firm Mr. O'Hara con- tinued to practice in Muskegon until December 26, 1894, when he removed to Berrien county to take his brother's place in the firm of O'Hara & Kelley, at Benton Harbor. He remained at Benton Harbor until April 1, 1895, when he dissolved the partnership of O'Hara & Kelley, and removed to St. Joseph where by his energy he has built up a business that is not excelled in southwestern Michigan. Mr. O'Hara has conducted many important cases and has met with success. His most important case at the circuit was defending the cases of the People vs. Mary Hughson, tried in the Muskegon circuit in June, 1895. She was charged with the murder of her husband by arsenical poisoning, and fifty-one witnesses testified on behalf of the people and but one on behalf of the prisoner, that one being herself. The trial lasted seventeen days and resulted in a ver- dict of acquittal. He not only has had an extensive practice at the circuit, but also in the Supreme Court. In nearly every volume of the reports from the 74th Michigan to the last volume of the Northwestern are reports of one or more cases tried by him. Socially he is popular and is a mem- ber of many societies. He is a leading spirit in the Order of Elks, in the Maccabees, Knights of Pythias and in the Odd Fellows. In politics he has always been a Democrat. He was an alternate delegate at large to the Chicago Democratic Convention in 1896. In the campaign of 1894 he was the nominee of the Democratic State Convention for the office of attorney general and was defeated that fall with the rest of the State ticket. On May 22, 1889, he was married to Miss Florenee Palmer, daughter of Abel B. and Martha (Rowe) Palmer, residents of Muskegon. He has two children, Chester, aged six, and Irene, aged two. JACOB J. VAN RIPER, St. Joseph. Judge Van Riper is among the older attorneys of the southwestern part of the State, having been in prac- tice more than a third of a century, principally in Cass and Berrien coun- ties. He is a native of Haverstraw, New York, and reckons his age from the eighth day of March, 1838. His parents were John A. and Leah (Zabriskie) Van Riper, both natives of New Jersey. They were both reared to maturity near Paterson, where they were married. They lived. 528 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. } some years in New York City, came into Michigan in 1856, and at once located in Cass county, where the elder Van Riper engaged in the manu- facture of woolen goods, erecting one of the first factories for that business in that part of the State. He possessed a rich inventive genius, and per- fected, among other machines, one of the first power looms for the weaving of ingrain carpets, a work which had hitherto been done mostly by hand. This invention was perfected in 1851, and immediately wrought a radical revolution in the manufacture of these goods. Mr. Van Riper was of the old Knickerbocker stock of New York, that came originally from Holland. Leah Zabriskie belonged to a Polish family that had settled in New Jer- sey several generations before. Their son, the subject of this writing, was educated in the public schools of the city of New York, until he had reached the age of eighteen. He then attended the Collegiate Institute at Charlottesville, New York. The removal of the family to Michigan brought him with his parents into the State. In 1860 he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, and remained one year, when his course was broken off by the Civil War. He entered the service of the Government in the Internal Revenue Department, and was appointed Deputy Collector of Cass county, holding this position throughout the war. Meanwhile he had completed his law studies in the office of Clark & Spen- cer, of Dowagiac, and was admitted to the Bar in the winter of 1862–3. In connection with the duties of his position in the Revenue service he began the practice of the law, and in 1865 gave up all other work to devote himself entirely to his profession. In 1867 he was elected a member of the State Constitutional Convention, and took an active part in framing a new organic law of the State. He was on the judiciary committee, and also on the committee on bill of rights. With one exception, he was the youngest member of that convention, but he acquitted himself with much credit and exercised an influence in shaping its councils far beyond his years. Judge Van Riper removed to Buchanan in 1870, and six years later was elected prosecuting attorney of the county, and was re-elected in 1878, serving four years in all. He was appointed Regent of the Uni- versity of Michigan by Governor Crosswell, in 1879, and continued to serve the State in this capacity for six popular vote attorney general of the 1882, filling this office for four years. practice law at Buchanan and later at of Probate Judge in 1892, to which he was re-elected in November 1896. This position he still fills with credit to himself and satisfaction to the peo- ple. During all these years Judge Van Riper has been principally and entirely a lawyer, entering into no business enterprises of any kind that would interfere with the practice of his profession. In politics he has taken an earnest and active part in behalf of the Republican party, and has been honored by that party on many occasions. He was married in 1858 to Miss Emma Bronner, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Norton) years. In 1880 he was elected by State of Michigan, and re-elected in During all this time he continued to Niles, until his election to the office UNIV M OF CH The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Samuel H. Kelley BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 529 Bronner, residents of the vicinity of Utica, New York. They are the parents of one son and two daughters, all living. The son, Cassius M., is now engaged in the practice of law at St. Joseph. One daughter, Luella, is the wife of A. A. Worthington, attorney at law, at Buchanan, Michi- gan. The other daughter, Ada, is unmarried, and resides at home with her parents. SAMUEL HARLAN KELLEY, Benton Harbor. Mr. Kelley has been a member of the legal profession since 1884. He is a native of Marion, Indiana, where he was born March 27, 1861. He is a son of Henry S. Kelley and Adelia Harlan. His father was born in the city of Cincinnati, and his mother in Marion. The Kelley family came originally from Scot- land, the great-grandfather of this subject being a native of that country. He emigrated thence to the north of Ireland, where our subject's grand- father was born in the city of Limerick. Mr. Kelley's father was for many years a member of the great law firm of Kelley, Craig & Crosby, known and respected throughout the State of Missouri. Judge Henry S. Kelley was one of the best known lawyers and jurists of that State, and stood among the very first members of his profession. He entered Mis- souri in 1866, and established himself in the city of St. Joseph. Here he was elected to the Circuit Bench in 1870, having previously served one term in the same capacity in Indiana on the Marion Circuit. He was twice re-elected in Missouri, serving as Circuit Judge for eighteen years in the St. Joseph district. As a Republican he was on the unpopular side, and was finally defeated in the Democratic landslide of 1890, on the occa- sion of his fourth candidacy. He has written several works on criminal and civil law that have received high commendation from the profession generally. He is now Lecturer on Criminal Law at the State University, and was employed by the Assembly to revise and edit the statutes of the State relating to criminal procedure. He is one of the contributing editors of the Central Law Journal of St. Louis. The Kelley family is related to the Indiana Wallaces, Governor Wallace, the father of Gen. Lew Wallace, being first cousin to Judge Kelley. The Harlan and Hen- ricks families are intimately related. Justice Harlan, of the United States Supreme Court, and Senator Harlan, of Iowa, are among the immediate relatives of the mother of our subject. Thus it will be readily seen that he comes of a good and vigorous family stock, and it is high praise that he has done it no discredit. Mr. Kelley received his earlier education in the public schools of Savannah and St. Joseph, Missouri, and at the age of seventeen entered the State University at Columbia, where he remained three years. In the last year of his college course he received an appoint- ment to a position in the Treasury at Washington, D. C., and this posi- tion he held for four years. While still a student in the University he had 34 530 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. made extensive researches into the mysteries of the law, under the tutor- ship of his father, whenever the annual vacation gave time and oppor- tunity. These studies he continued while in the Treasury Department, and he entered the Law Department of the Columbian University in 1882. In 1884 he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. The next year he resigned his place in the Treasury to take the chief clerkship in the United States Land Office at Wakeeney, Kansas. In 1886 he left the Government service to engage in the active practice of his profession at Scott City, Kansas. Two years later he returned to St. Joseph, Missouri, and continued in business there nntil 1893. That year he removed to Benton Harbor, and entered almost immediately upon a large and varied practice. He makes a specialty of corporation law, and is regarded as a master of this branch of the profession. He came into Michigan as attorney for the Big Four Railroad, and acts in a similar capacity for several large corporations in the western part of the State, being also the general attorney for the St. Joseph Valley Railway. He has taken a a leading part in the political affairs of the community in which he lives. He is a worker for the party, not only on the stump, but in the con- ventions and councils of the leading men of the organization, and his advice is always heard and often heeded. He was united in marriage to Miss Julia Graham, May 4th, 1887, a daughter of George and Mary (Kim- mel) Graham, of Berrien Springs, Michigan. They are the parents of three daughters, and constitute a charming family. VICTOR M. GORE, Benton Harbor. Mr. Gore is Illinois born and bred, and belongs to a family that holds a high position in the great prai- rie State. There he was born in the pleasant village of Plainview, Macou- pin county, September 29, 1858. His parents were David and Cinderella (Keller) Gore, both natives of Kentucky. The Gores were of English ori- gin, while the Kellers came from Germany. The Gores appear in colonial history as early as the opening years of the eighteenth century, and were intimately identified with the affairs of Massachusetts. At a later period a branch of the family removed to Virginia, and finally located in Ken- tucky, where the father of our subject was born. He did not long remain in the blue grass country. but came into Illinois with his parents when only about eight years old. His early boyhood was passed in Madison county. In 1850 he removed to Macoupin county, where he has since. resided. He was for many years engaged in farming, having acquired an extensive property at the time of the breaking out of the Civil War. His strong character soon made its impression on the community, and he became one of the representative men of his section. He was a member of the State Senate for some years, and was for a long period active and influential in the State board of agriculture. For four years he served as BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 531 the president of this important organization. At the present writing he is the Auditor of the State of Illinois. The family of the mother of our subject came from Germany something over a hundred years ago and made their first home in Virginia. They did not remain there long but came across the mountains and located in Kentucky. And there Cinderella Keller, mother of the subject of this sketch was born. Like her future husband, she did not long continue her residence there, but came while still very young with her parents into Illinois, where she still resides. Victor M. Gore was quite thoroughly trained in the common schools of his native county, and at the age of sixteen was admitted into Blackburn University, a well known institution of learning at Carlinville, Illinois. He was a student for five years in this excellent school, and graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. During the last year of his college course he had already begun the study of law, and as soon as he had graduated at Carlinville, he entered the Law Department of the Univer- sity of Michigan. This was in 1880, and two years later he was graduated from that institution with honors. His class evinced appreciation of his marked ability by electing him as its alumni orator. Mr. Gore entered upon the practice of his profession at Minneapolis, and almost immediately won recognition, not only for his ability as a general practitioner of the law, but for the mastery of legal lore. In 1890 he came to Michigan and located at Benton Harbor, where he has since remained. Here his prac- tice has grown rapidly. He has been connected with many important liti- gated cases. Though always active and busy, he finds much time to devote to the general interests of the community and is a leading spirit in the political activities of his county, district and State. He is recognized as one of the leaders of the Republican party in his part of the State, and his voice is heard on the hustings during every campaign. He is an able and interesting speaker, and is considered one of the rising young men of the day. He has participated influentially as a delegate in recent State conventions of his party and had the honor to preside over the largest and most intensely interesting of such conventions held for many years. This was the Republican State convention of 1896 assembled in Grand Rapids and continuing for two days. The enthusiasm incident to Mr. Gore's election as president was renewed again during the delivery of his admirable political address on taking the chair. The speech was pub- lished in full and widely circulated. Leading newspapers pronounced it "eloquent, brilliant and logical, commanding the closest attention of the thirty-five hundred people present and eliciting rounds of applause." was said the convention "went wild' over some of his happy allusions and eloquent periods. Mr. Gore is happily married, Miss Clara Whitaker, a resident of Carlinville, Illinois, becoming his wife, August 17, 1882. She is a daughter of Isaac and Virginia (Bennet) Whitaker, and herself the mother of two sons and two daughters. It 532 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. WILLIAM C. HICKS, Benton Harbor. Mr. Hicks is a British American by birth, but a thorough-going American in spirit and temper. His earliest childhood, and indeed his entire life to young manhood, was spent in London, Ontario, where he remained until he had reached the age of eigh- teen years. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Campbell) Hicks. His father was a native of County Armagh, in the northern part of Ireland, but his mother was Canadian born and bred. The subject of this writing attended the public schools of Ontario until he had passed his eighteenth year. He was attracted by the legal profession and devoted some time to preparation for it after leaving school. But the christian ministry drew him still more powerfully, and for the ensuing fifteen years he was actively engaged in the ministry of the Advent Church. The most of this time was spent in the work of that denomination in Indiana and Michigan. While in the pastorate at Union City, Indiana, he discovered such a change in his religious views that he felt he could not longer continue min- isterial work. He accordingly resigned from his pastorate and from the ministry of his church, and returned to the study of the law, to which he had partially committed himself fifteen years before. He was enrolled as a student in the office of the Hon. Freeman Church, at LaPorte, Indiana, and after a somewhat brief term of apprenticeship was admitted to the Bar in that city in 1884. There he at once began the practice of his new profession, but after a little over a year located himself anew in Berrien county, Michigan. Since that time he has remained at Benton Harbor, carnestly and successfully engaged in legal business. The fact that he has served as Circuit Court Commissioner for two years, evidences the popular estimation of his knowledge of the law, as well as his capacity and sturdy character as a man. He has also served as city attorney for Benton Har- bor, and has been solicited to be a candidate for other important positions; but he is satisfied with his practice and feels that his profession is a world large enough for all the energies that he can possibly exercise. He there- fore holds himself quite aloof from office-seeking, and devotes his time. entirely to his profession. In it he has developed a very general practice, and has been connected in one way or another with nearly all the important litigation that has taken place in Berrien county during the last twelve years. As a member of the order of Odd Fellows he has been active and influential, and during the twenty-five years in which he has been a worker in that society he has filled in succession all the chairs in the Lodge with which he has been connected. Politically, Mr. Hicks has been identified with the Democratic party, and has aimed to be an exponent of its most sacred and vital Jeffersonian principles. Consequently when the Demo- cratic party deserted those high ideals, and took up other and (as he believed) baser notions, he felt that he could no longer march under its banners, and so transferred his allegiance to the People's party of the United States-a party which he regards as representing to-day both UNIV OF M The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago Eder Aunkε. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 533 Personally our Jeffersonian Democracy and Lincolnian Republicanism. subject has an attractive presence, and is a popular speaker, whose oratory is in demand not only on the stump during political campaigns, but also on the lecture platform. EDWARD E. ANNEKE, Bay City. Mr. Anneke, though of Michigan birth, is of Prussian parentage and ancestry. His ancestors were brave men, imbued with a love of personal liberty and hatred of tyranny; who had respect for lawfully constituted authority, but did not believe that the "divine right of kings" gave them authority to oppress their subjects. They were men of strong convictions and dauntless courage, who did not hesitate to favor revolution as the remedy for despotism in their native land. When that failed they sought asylum in the land dedicated to free- dom in which a revolution had succeeded. Having fought in the Father- land for some political rights of subjects under a monarchy, they were qualified to accept the larger liberties and perform the more responsible duties of citizenship under a republic. Hon. Emil Anneke was born at Dortmund, Prussia, December 13, 1824, and died at Bay City, Michi- gan, Oct. 22, 1888. He entered the gymnasium at Dortmund when he was ten years of age, passed examination to the University of Berlin, where he studied higher mathematics, natural science and law; was grad- uated, travelled through Germany and Austria and over the continent of Europe generally; was practising law in 1848, when the rebellion was inaugurated; was an active participant and an officer in that attempted revolution, undertaken for the purpose of freeing Germany. When the rebellion failed he came to America with Carl Schurz, Alfred Sigel and others whose advanced thought and love of freedom brought them to our shores. He taught school in Pennsylvania nine months in 1849, was then employed on the editorial staff of the New York Zeitung and afterwards as clerk of a large mercantile house until 1855, when he became managing editor of a German paper in Detroit. In 1856 he was clerk in the office of the auditor general of the State; in 1862 and again in 1864 was elected auditor general on the Republican ticket. In 1866, upon retiring from office he was admitted to the Bar and entered upon the practice of law at Grand Rapids. The following year he was appointed by President John- son receiver of public moneys in the Grand Traverse district, a position which he held until his removal to East Saginaw in 1869. Here he engaged in the practice of law until 1874, when he removed with his family to Bay City and engaged in practice there, in connection with the management of his large real estate interests. His elder brother, Gen. Frederick Anneke, was an officer in the Union army during the war of the Rebellion, serving on the staff of General Sigel as colonel of a detachment of artillery. He lost his life in the Chicago fire, October, 1871. Gen. Frederick Anneke 534 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. was also a leader in the German Revolution of 1848 and forced to flee to America when it collapsed. He was Republican in politics. Edward E. Anneke, son of Hon. Emil Anneke, was born at Lansing, September 12, 1863, and educated in Bay City, from whose high school he was graduated in 1881. He spent one year in the Literary Department of the University of Michigan and two years in the Law Department, being graduated from the latter in 1883. He was admitted to the Bar at Ann Arbor the same year and entered upon practice in the office of his father at Bay City. In 1886 he was admitted to a partnership with his father, thus constituting the firm of E. & E. E. Anneke, which continued until the death of the senior partner in 1888. He was elected Circuit Court Commissioner and re-elected twice, serving for six years. He was the candidate of the Democratic party for prosecuting attorney, but was defeated with the ticket. After the death of his father he continued in the practice alone until 1895, when he became associated in partnership with, James Van Kleeck. He has been successful, not only in the management of law cases, but in building up a profitable business and accumulating property. He has always been a student of the principles as well as books of the law and has maintained a good standing at the Bar of Bay county. His reputation for business integrity is high and he has become well established in a career which promises a large measure of professional success. In Septem- ber, 1886, he was married to Helena F. Bertch, of Lansing, daughter of Andrew Bertch, a prominent dealer in real estate, and sister of C. W. Bertch, a lawyer of Grand Rapids. He is a member of the Catholic church and quite liberal in his religious views. Mr. Anneke exhibits some of the characteristics that are popularly attributed to educated Germans: He is disposed to be thorough, continuing his study of a subject until he has learned all that is possible to be learned. Applying this to his law cases he sedulously devotes himself to the work of preparation and is ready at all times to make strenuous contention in behalf of his own views. He sometimes wins by sheer persistency, which enables him to wear out an adversary. He reasons logically, however, from a given hypothesis, or an established premise, to an incontestible conclusion. He is inclined to be reserved and even taciturn, but when the occasion requires his speech is fluent and effective. WILLIAM P. BENNETT, Cassopolis. Judge William P. Bennett has served continuously on the Probate Bench of Cass county since 1868, having been elected to that office seven times. He is a native of Burmah, British East India, where he was born October 17, 1831. His parents, Rev. Cephas Bennett and Stella K. Kneeland, were natives of the State of New York. At the time of the judge's birth his father was a missionary representing the American Baptist Board of Foreign Missions in Burmah, BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 535 in which service he was employed about sixty years. Both of the judge's parents died while in the mission field of Burmah. His mother in 1869, his father in 1885, and both of them were over eighty years of age. Judge Bennett received his early education in the district schools of Madison and Tompkins counties, New York, until fifteen years old. He then spent a part of one year in the academy at Cazenovia, New York, and two years in the academy at Groton, near Ithaca, which closed his education in the schools. After that he devoted several years to teaching during the winter season while the remainder of the year was occupied at work on the farm. In the early fifties he came west and settled on a farm in Cass county, Michigan, which was then a comparative wilderness. He cleared up and cultivated a farm, remaining on it until 1868, when he was elected probate judge. Since that time his residence has been kept in Cassopolis. All of his elections have been as candidate of the Republican party. In 1884 he and the representative to the State Legislature were the only candidates of that party elected in Cass county. Although the changes have been great in the political sentiment at various times, Judge Bennett has always had the good fortune to succeed when he has been a candidate. He has filled the position so acceptably to the members of all political parties that par- tisan lines are not drawn very closely on him. In the conduct of his office for the twenty-eight years there have been not more than half a dozen appeals from his decisions to the Supreme Court; and of the cases appealed only two were reversed by that court. This record is not only creditable, but it is unique. The State of Michigan probably has not produced another record equal to it. Many large estates in Cass county have been settled under his supervision, one of which approximated half a million dollars in value, and others whose value approached the two hundred thousand dollar figure. Judge Bennett has long been a member of the Masonic order and of the order of United Workmen. He was married in 1851 to Miss Louisa Brokan, daughter of Garrett and Maria Klute Brokan, residents of Tompkins county, New York. They have three living chil- dren: Alton W., now an attorney at law and general business man at Big Rapids; Frank M., graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy and an engineer in the naval service of the United States now serving on the Amphitrite, one of the new monitors stationed at Key West, Florida; and Stella, who is the wife of Lieutenant Douglas Rohen, a retired officer of the U. S. Navy, now living at Big Rapids and engaged in the practice of law and the business of real estate agent. Judge Bennett is of English and German descent on his father's side. The earliest ancestor of the family emigrated from England about 1650 and settled in Connecticut. From there the descendants scattered into other New England States and New York. One branch of the family in Connecticut has lived on the same farm from the time of the first settlement until the present. The family was represented in the Revolutionary war by Nathaniel Bennett. On his mother's side he is of Irish and Scotch descent, the Kneelands having emigrated from the 警 ​536 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. North of Ireland and settled in Boston about the year 1700. Jonathan Kneeland, the judge's great-grandfather, was among the Continental soldiers of New England in the Revolution. Rev. Cephas Bennett learned the printer's trade early in life and most of his time while in mission work was devoted to the publishing department. HUGO P. GEISLER, Saginaw. Mr. Geisler is one of the prominent young lawyers of Saginaw county. He was born in East Saginaw, May 20, 1866. As the name indicates he is of German extraction. His father, Peter P. Geisler, was a native of Silesia, Prussia, where he lived until 1854 and then emigrated to America, settling directly in Saginaw. He had learned the trade of ship builder in the Fatherland and pursued that occu- pation until 1867, when he was appointed superintendent of the car department of the F. & P. M. railroad. This position he retained for fifteen years. By economy and the exercise of good judgment in making investments he had managed to accumulate a comfortable fortune when he retired in 1882 in order the better to enjoy what his many years of toil had earned. Hugo's mother, whose maiden name was Kathrina Phoertner, was also a native of Silesia, Prussia, and like her husband was reared in her native town, and they were married there June 1, 1852. They are both still living in Saginaw, in comfortable affluence, respected by the people among whom they have lived more than forty years. Their family consists of two sons and a daughter. The elder son is a prominent druggist in New York; the daughter is the wife of a Saginaw business man; the younger son and youngest child, Hugo P., is the subject of this sketch. His boy- hood, up to the age of sixteen, was passed in the schools of Saginaw. He then left the high school to learn the trade of engraver, jeweler and watch- maker. During the six years following he became an expert engraver, following the trade in Detroit and Omaha, Nebraska, and Atchison, Kan- sas. This art became to him the stepping-stone or vestibule to the pro- fession of law. It provided him with the means to prosecute his studies. independently. In 1888 he matriculated in the University of Michigan and while pursuing the regular course of the Law Department, took up certain elective studies in the Literary Department. He was graduated from the Department of Law with the degree of LL. B., in 1890, and immediately thereafter went to New York, where he entered the office of the late Gen. Thomas Ewing, as a clerk. This association afforded a superior opportunity to acquire a knowledge of commercial, corporation and real estate law. Mr. Geisler made a special study of the laws applica- ble to corporations and the laws relating to the title, conveyance and descent of real estate. He became interested in a suit involving the title to a large tract of land in the city of New York comprising some four hundred lots of the aggregate value of four million dollars. It was his BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, 537 duty to ascertain the parties in possession and the sources of their respec- tive titles. In 1891 he returned to Saginaw and opened an office, where he has since practised. He has a clientage also in New York, and trans- acts a general law business there as well as in Saginaw. He is a Democrat and has done some work for his party on the stump during recent cam- paigns. He has not been a candidate for public office. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Geisler was married November 16, 1892, to Miss Nellie O'Brien, daughter of the late P. F. O'Brien, a wealthy contractor of Brooklyn, New York. They have one child. The law business of Mr. Geisler, which is his chief con- cern, does not prevent the useful exercise of his genius for invention, which has already found practical expression in some valuable devices which he has patented. His mechanical instinct is pronounced and his friends will not be surprised if he becomes a famous inventor. He has given time to literary culture and his attainments, with his natural affability, make him an agreeable companion. ROLLIN C. DART, Petoskey. Mr. Dart, a prominent and influential attorney of Petoskey, is a native of Potsdam, New York, where he was born June 10, 1831-the son of Alfred and Jane E. (Wright) Dart, natives of Connecticut. He is one of a family of five sons and one daugh- ter, four of whom are now living. They are Eben W., Frances E., widow of Stephen W. Longyear, Rollin C. and James R. The father came to Michigan in 1858, and settled in Lansing, where he continued to reside until his death in 1886, at the venerable age of 88 years. His wife, the mother of our subject, died in 1882, at the age of 78. Both were Univer- salists, and they occupied a warm place in the regard of their associates. Simeon Dart, the paternal grandfather of Rollin C., was a native of Con- necticut, whither his father had emigrated from England. He died at the age of 89 at Potsdam, New York. He was a blacksmith, a farmer, and a man of means. He was a leader of men in his community. Rollin C. Dart received an academic education in his native town, and remained with his parents until he was twenty years of age. Then he entered the University of Vermont at Burlington in 1851, remaining there until 1854, when his health failed, and he was sent west to recuperate. He came to Michigan, and entered the University of Ann Arbor, where he remained until 1856. He began the study of law at Lansing under the direction and instruction of Judge J. W. Longyear, and was admitted to the Bar in 1859. He then formed a partnership with S. E. Longyear, under the firm name of Dart & Longyear, which was in force until Mr. Longyear retired from practice in 1863. Mr. Dart then formed a partnership with Delos C. Wiley, as Dart & Wiley, which continued for eleven years. then entered into a third partnership with J. C. Shields, which continued He 538 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. } from 1876 to 1880, when Mr. Shields was appointed to a judgeship in Arizona. He practised alone until the fall of 1882, when, having lost his health, he removed to Petoskey, where he has since resided. He never sought political preferment, and the only offices he ever held were those of prosecuting attorney for Ingham county for two terms, and alderman of the city of Lansing for two terms. He regained his health in the bracing air of northern Michigan, and, while carrying on his professional labors with much vigor, also transacts an extensive business in real estate. He has large interests in Ingham and Emmett counties, and is a prosper- ous man. April 23, 1861, Mr. Dart was married to Miss Sarah E., daughter of Christopher and Anna E. Darling. Three children were born to them, all sons: Carlton R., James A., and Fred A. The last named died at the age of seven years. James A. is married to Miss Florence Alger, a daughter of John L. and Mary E. (Chapin) Alger. Both of his sons are graduates of the Michigan Agricultural College. Carlton, who selected civil engineering for his life work, holds a good position in Chi- cago. James studied law with his father, was admitted to the Bar in 1887, and is now the partner of his father under the firm name of Dart & Dart. Mr. Dart is a Republican, but has no desire for office. He is a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a good lawyer, an upright citizen, a genial companion and well liked by the community at large. FRANK P. SULLIVAN, Sault Ste. Marie. Mr. Sullivan was born March 7, 1864, at Peterboro, Madison county, New York. His father, Jeremiah Sullivan, was of Irish nationality, and emigrated to America in 1828. He settled in New York State, where he still lives on a farm. His mother, Mary Sullivan, was also a native of Ireland, and came to this country in 1836. She was the mother of three children, all boys. His older brother, Andrew J., is a merchant at Great Falls, Montana, and his younger brother, Jeremiah Jr., is a farmer in New York. Frank P. Sulli- van spent his early life under the parental roof. He was a bright scholar in the district school, and at the age of seventeen he was able to take a country school and engage in teaching. He taught for four years, and for the last year of that time he was employed in Michigan. In the mean- time he attended Evans Academy at Peterboro, and prepared himself for the State Normal at Albany, which he entered in the spring of 1881 for a three years' course. He located in Saginaw, Michigan, in October, 1885, and became a student of the law in the office of John Hurst, a practising attorney of that city. After spending a year in reading under instruction he taught school a year for the sake of recouping his finances, and studied evenings. He finished his preparation for admission to the Bar BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 539 with Markey & Hall, at West Branch, where he was admitted to practice August 31, 1887. Mr. Sullivan went to the upper country in March of the following year and established himself at the "Soo." Soo." He still occupies the same office in which he first opened business in that city. John Hurst, of Saginaw, joined him, and the two became associated in a partnership which continued for several years and was finally dissolved upon the return of Mr. Hurst to Saginaw. Mr. Sullivan makes no specialty of any branch. of practice, but does a general business, with conceded ability for criminal cases. He has achieved much success in that branch of professional labor. He has carried many cases to the Supreme Court, and acquitted himself well before that body. He has never been a candidate for any county office, but has served as chairman of the county and city Democratic com- mittees. He became city attorney in 1891 and acted in that capacity for two years, and was subsequently re-elected. He was nominated in the fall of 1892 by the Democrats of his district for member of the Legisla- ture, and was elected by a handsome majority. He was the only Demo- crat in either House from the Upper Peninsula. He took an active part in legislative deliberations and was one of the leaders of the minority on the floor of the House. He was on the corporation, judiciary and municipal committees. He introduced a bill making Labor Day a legal holiday, which became a law. He presented another bill revising the Constitution, which was defeated. He earnestly opposed all legislation looking to the repeal of the Miner Law, and secured the passage of an enactment of capi- tal punishment by the Lower House, which was defeated in the Senate. He served one term and declined a renomination. He resigned the office of city attorney in 1896, preferring to devote himself entirely to his own professional business. He was married June 17, 1890, to Miss Minnie H. Hall, of Saginaw. They have one child, Lucile Margaret, born in 1895. Mr. Sullivan excels as an advocate, and has remarkable power over a jury for so young a man. He stands well with the Court and Bar and is a popu- lar, genial gentleman. MARTIN CROCKER, Mt. Clemens. Martin Crocker is the son of Judge Thomas Martin Crocker, a sketch of whom appears in this volume. The place of his nativity was Macomb county, and the date of his birth February 7, 1858. Before he reached a school age his father's family settled in Mt. Clemens; consequently his education was begun in the common schools of that district. After taking the entire course of the union schools he at once took up the study of law with the firm of Crocker & Hutchins (father and brother-in-law), which he kept up with them until 1879 when he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan. He continued his studies and attended lectures there for one year. In August 1880 he passed examination before the Circuit Court and was 1 540 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. admitted to the Bar at the age of twenty-two, a period in life which far too many young men appear to think should be devoted to sowing a bountiful crop of wild oats. Martin Crocker immediately began the prac- tice of his chosen profession. He loved his calling, and, being of a zeal- ous temperament, warm hearted and frank in his intercourse with his fellow men, he rapidly grew into their good graces. He was for four years a member of the city council, from 1881 to 1885; three years city attorney, and a member of the House of Representatives for the years 1887 and 1888. During the term of Charles A. Ward, he was special deputy collector of customs for the Port Huron district and from February 1888 to May 1889, discharged the duties of collector during the absence of his snperior officer. He was elected by the voters of his district to represent them in the State Senate for the term of 1891 and 1892. Though young in years and in parliamentary practice his reputation as a skillful lawyer and hard working man had preceded him to the State capital and he was placed on several very important committees, among which were those of the judiciary, railroad and redistricting and political committees, being chairman of the latter two. He took a leading part in that unusually exciting and stormy session; he had charge of the bill which passed both houses and became a law, providing for the election of presidential electors by Congressional Districts. This law was contested in every State and Federal Court and finally declared constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States, but was repealed by the Republican Legislature which followed. He was also chairman of the committee on contested seats and the work on the celebrated "Friedlande" contest devolved largely on him. Whether or not the decision met the approval of both contestants it was at least conceded by all that the work of the committee was well and faithfully done. Being an orator of more than usual power and an ardent Democrat, he has been a conspicuous figure in every campaign in the State since 1880. He has a large practice and has been employed in many important cases in the county of late years. His practice also extends to the State Supreme Court and the United States Circuit and District Courts. Among the cases he has tried in the higher courts which may be regarded as test cases, we mention: Owen vs. Yale, pending question of dower in estate of divorced husband when alimony had been allowed: State Supreme Court, April term, 1889. Granby vs. Michigan Central railroad: State Supreme Court, March term 1895-fixing liability of the road for damages resulting to stock when the company was not at fault in reference to such stock getting on the track or right of way. Mr. Crocker formed a partnership with his father in 1889 when the latter assumed the duties of the collector of the district. In 1893 he took Mr. Seth Wells Knight into business with him as junior partner. The last to be mentioned, but not the least important step of life taken by Mr. Crocker, was his marriage August 29, 1889, to Miss Emily Sabin, of Memphis, Michigan, daughter of Carleton Sabin, one of the early settlers of the The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Martin Crocker. UNIV M OF The Centary Publishing & Engraving a Chicago Seth W. Knight, BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 541 county and original owner of the village site and in his life time a leading merchant of the town. Their pleasant home is made brighter by one child, Sabin Crocker. Though not a member of the society, Mr. Crocker attends the Protestant Episcopal Church with his family. He belongs to the order of F. & A. M., Lodge No. 6, of Mt. Clemens. SETH WELLS KNIGHT, Mt. Clemens. The subject of this sketch was born at Utica, Macomb county, Michigan, July 17, 1863. His father, Dr. Phillip A. Knight, is one of the prominent physicians of the county. His mother is Clara Ewell Knight, a descendant, on her father's side, of the family of Ewells who emigrated to this country from Scotland and settled in Massachusetts prior to the war of independence. On her mother's side, she is a descendant of the Curtis family of Massachusetts. The Knights are descendants of a Scotch family of the same name who came to this county in 1626 as members of the colony that founded Salem, Massachusetts. Dr. Knight came to Michigan in 1844 and settled in Macomb county. He attended the University of Michigan and graduated from its Medical Department in 1854, and has been engaged in the active practice of his profession ever since. Seth Wells Knight, our subject, had the same advantages of early education as other boys who resided in the large towns of the country. He graduated from the high school of Utica, his native town, in 1884 and the next year entered the Literary Depart- ment of the University of Michigan as a member of the class of 1889. In 1890, he was graduated from the Law Department of the same institution with the degree of LL.B. and the same year was admitted to the Bar at Ann Arbor. Before leaving the high school, Mr. Knight had selected the law for his profession and his training had been with that vocation in view. He settled in Mt. Clemens and entered the law office Crocker & Crocker. When Judge Crocker, the head of the firm, retired to accept the position of collector of customs for the Huron District, Mr. Knight formed a partner- ship with Martin Crocker, under the firm name of Crocker & Knight, as at present. The firm has a wide and valuable practice, extending to all the State and Federal courts. The firm of Crocker & Crocker, to whose business they succeeded, was one of the oldest and best known in that section of the State and they inherited a very large clientage, which is not likely to grow less in their skillful hands. Politically Mr. Knight is a strong Democrat and takes an active interest in party politics. He is a member of the Democratic County Committee, of which his father was for many years chairman. He is an engaging talker, active and energetic in his work and does not shirk the laborious part of the calling. He is a bachelor; has one brother practising medicine with his father at Utica; another who is a prominent coffee planter of Central America. 542 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. SEWARD L. MERRIAM, Port Huron. Mr. Merriam was born in Romeo, Macomb County, Michigan, March 18, 1862. His preparation for his life work began in the public schools of the village. Fortunately for him they were good, and when he graduated from the high school in 1880 at the age of eighteen he had a much better education than many a man at the beginning of his career who afterwards reaches the highest round on the ladder of fame. During the winter of 1880 and '81 he taught school and with the proceeds of his labor he took a two years' course in the Literary Department at the State University at Ann Arbor. Returning to his home he taught in the Romeo school for one year, study- ing law in the meantime with D. N. Lowell; was admitted to the Bar at Mt. Clemens in January, 1886. He came to Port Huron the following February and entered upon the active practice of his profession. He remained alone for two years when he formed a partnership with H. W. Stevens, who had just retired from the Bench of the Circuit Court to engage in active work at the Bar. This partnership continued unbroken until 1894 and was eminently successful. In 1888 he was elected prose- cuting attorney of St. Clair county, holding the office for one term. In 1893 he was nominated on the Democratic ticket for mayor of Port Huron and was elected by the largest majority ever given a nominee of that party for the office in the history of the town. He resigned in 1894 on account of failing health and went to Colorado to try the effects of the rarer atmos- phere of that high altitude. He returned to Port Huron in the fall of the same year and took up the thread of his business where he dropped it in the spring. He has a general practice in the county, State and Federal courts. One feature to which he has given special attention is that of per- sonal injury and negligence cases. He is a strong advocate and among the finest speakers of St. Clair county Bar, and there are many able men repre- sented there. He was married in July, 1888, to Miss Mattie Anderson of Port Huron and they have one child, De Witt H., aged seven years. FRANK WHIPPLE, Port Huron. The subject of this sketch is a native of Vermont, born at Grafton, March 7, 1838. His early education, like that of other country boys, was obtained in the public school of his district. His only departure from the ordinary routine was that his father was his first school master. The family removed to Saratoga Springs in February, 1847, where he continued in the public and select schools, after- wards taking a two term course at Ft. Edwards (N. Y.) Institute. His early manhood days were passed uneventfully. His father seeing oppor- tunities for bettering his condition in the growing west, determined to emigrate and, in 1856, came to Michigan, locating first at Hillsdale, where he entered a drug store as clerk. His ambition was to enter the law BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 543 profession, but as he had to earn his own means to compléte his educa- tion, he was compelled to await his time. In two years he had saved enough of his earnings to start him on the way to his goal. Before he had fully entered upon his studies the dark cloud of war swept over the country, and with a love for the flag that is a marked characteristic of all of New England's patriotic sons, he forgot his own ambition and aspirations to respond to his country's appeal for help. He enlisted as a private in Company C, First U. S. Sharpshooters, and immediately went to the front. He was joined to the army of the Potomac, and was an actor in some of the bloodiest battles the world has ever seen. He parti- cipated in the second Bull Run fight, Antietam, Malvern Hill and McClel- lan's seven days' battle, the appalling battles of the Wilderness and in the numerous other hard contests that have immortalized that army. He served for three years and four months, holding the commissary sergeant until he was promoted second lieutenant Company B, Ist Michigan Sharpshooters, and was discharged as first lieutenant of that company. Coming to St. Clair he entered the employment of Wheaton & Carleton, and by them was engaged to write a set of abstracts of St. Clair county. This was a tedious work, but he completed it. In October, 1866, he removed to Port Huron and, entering the office of A. E. Chadwick, began the study of law and in May, 1871, was admitted to the Bar. partnership with Mr. Potter, under the firm name of Whipple & Potter, which continued until 1880. Since that time he has been alone. He formed a He is He was and always has been held in very high esteem by his neighbors. special deputy collector of customs for the Huron District from 1883 to 1885. He was married October 27, 1869, to Miss Azzie J. Riddle, of Beloit, Wisconsin, and they have four children. Benjamin R. is the oldest, aged twenty-five; Frank B., aged twenty-three; Gail, aged twenty; and Mary H., aged seventeen. He is a member of Charter Lodge No. 18, Knights of Pythias, and of William Sanborn Post No. 98, Grand Army of the Republic, and served as judge-advocate of the department of Michigan in 1891. In politics he is a pronounced Republican, and one of the pillars in the councils of the party and an active worker in every campaign. FRANK TURNER WOLCOTT, Port Huron. Mr. Wolcott was born in Perry, Wyoming county, New York, January 1, 1861. He was a son of Orson M. Wolcott and Emily Thompson. His father was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and served for four years in a New York regiment during the great rebellion. Both father and mother were of New England ancestry, both families having associations with the colonial history of Maine. He attended Perry Academy, and received a certificate of scholarship from the Board of Regents of the State of New York in June, 1880. At the time he finished at Perry Academy, it was 544 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. his intention to enter Cornell University and prepare himself for the ministry, in harmony with his father's wish. But about this time he spent one summer vacation with an uncle who was a lawyer in the city of Buffalo. While there he obtained such an insight into the study and practice of law, that he determined to make it his life work. Being a young man of energy and ambition he was not long in finding an opportunity of making such preparation for it as the times demanded. He entered the office of Stevens & Thomas, attorneys at Port Huron. In the two years that he spent with them he was quite thoroughly initiated into the art and science of law. He was admitted to the Bar July 11, 1882, and immediately opened an office in that city, and began business for himself. After the expiration of some time his professional services were retained by Atkinson & Vance, and in 1886 they took him into a partnership under the firm name of Atkinson, Vance & Wolcott. This pleasant and profitable association was broken off by the election of Mr. Vance as Circuit Judge. The firm then became Atkinson & Wolcott, and still continues under that name. Mr. Wolcott has succeeded in building up a very large general business, but makes no specialty in any particular line of practice. He was Circuit Court Com- missioner for four years, and has served two terms as city attorney. He takes a lively interest in the political affairs of the State, serves as chair- man of the Republican Committee for the Seventh Congressional District, and is secretary of the county committee. He was elected Judge of Probate in 1896. Judge Wolcott is considered one of the rising young lawyers of the eastern part of the State. ANDREW J. SAWYER, Ann Arbor. Mr. Sawyer was born near Ithaca, Tompkins county, New York, in 1834. His paternal grandfather was the Rev. John Sawyer, of New York City and latterly of Western New York, a Baptist clergyman who lost his sight at the age of thirty years and afterwards won great reputation as the "blind preacher." Mr. Sawyer traces his lineage to Sir Thomas Sawyer who was once Attorney General of England. The subject of this sketch was thrown upon his own resources at the age of fourteen years and has won his way to an enviable success by his own efforts. He began teaching when only seventeen years of age. He graduated from Starkey Seminary, Eddytown, New York, at the age of twenty-two, and was classed among the leading educators of the commu- nity. He came to Michigan in 1857 and taught school until 1860, his last labors in that field being in the capacity of principal of the union school at Mason. While teaching he read law with Hon. H. L. Henderson, of Mason, and later with Hon. O. M. Barnes, now of Lansing, and was admitted to the Bar in 1860. Forming a co-partnership with J. T. Honey, he opened a law office in Chelsea in the winter of 1860–61. This part- nership was terminated in the spring of 1861 by the removal of Mr. Honey to Dexter. Mr. Sawyer continued to practise in Chelsea until 1873 when The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago. AJ. Sanger UA OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 545 he removed to Ann Arbor and formed a partnership in the practice of the law with the late Judge Lawrence. After a year's partnership the Judge retired from practice because of the infirmities of advancing age. Mr. Sawyer continued the business of the firm in his individual name. In 1879 he formed a partnership with Jerome C. Knowlton under the firm name of Sawyer & Knowlton. This partnership continued for eleven years and was only dissolved upon Mr. Knowlton's being appointed Professor in the Law Department of the University of Michigan, since which time Mr. Sawyer has continued in the practice of his profession and has been iden- tified in all the important litigation arising in his district, having achieved a success as a trial lawyer reached but by few. In the case of North vs. Johnson, reported in the 59 Michigan, in speaking of the efforts of Mr. Sawyer, the Court said: "And it is a satisfaction for us to know that she has been fortunate enough in the end to secure the aid of counsel whose ability and integrity have not failed her, and, knowing their client's rights, will faithfully see that they are not imperiled but enforced and pro- tected." Mr. Sawyer's greatests effort at the Bar was in the closing argu- ment of the Hand murder trial. So clear and forcible was his description of the manner in which the crime had been committed that the daughter of the deceased who had been in attendance during the entire trial fainted and was unable afterwards to appear in court. Mr. Sawyer has always taken an active part in politics. He cast his first vote for John C. Fre- mont and has always continued a member of the Republican party. He was a member of the Republican Committee from 1862 to 1874 and chair- man of that committee from 1874 to 1880. He was elected a member of the Michigan House of Representatives in 1876 and again in 1878 and his legislative career was brilliantly successful, being recognized as leader of both Houses. He was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a mem- ber of several other important committees. He made the nominating speech for Hon. Thomas W. Ferry for United States Senator in 1877, and rendered a similar service for Hon. Zachariah Chandler in 1879. He intro- duced the first measure which resulted in the establishment of the girls' reformatory at Adrian and was the author of many other important bills which grew into law. He was again nominated and elected member of the Michigan House of Representatives in 1896, which met January 6th, 1897. Mr. Sawyer boasts that more students have been prepared for the profession in his office than in any other office in the State. He still commands the largest practice in his part of the State, is endowed by nature with a shrewd business sense, has availed himself of profitable invest- ments and is master of a very comfortable fortune. He married Miss Lucy A. Skinner, of Corning, New York, after a romantic courtship of ten years. They are the parents of five sons, three of whom are now living. They dwell in a beautiful home in one of the most delightful quarters in the "Athens of the West," and are intimately associated with the Methodist Episcopal church. 35 546 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. GEORGE HOGLE, Pontiac. Oakland is one of Michigan's very best counties and the largest in the Southern Peninsula except Presque Isle. Its twenty-five townships form a perfect square and fifty-two odd thousand people dwell within its borders. Eligibly situated, with a landscape whose surpassing beauty is set off with clear lakes and water courses, flourishing villages and well kept farms; surrounded by an agricultural belt whose remarkable fertility is matched by the richness of its own soil, it abounds in the elements and advantages which contribute to the morality and pros- perity of a rich and busy people of American antecedents and proclivities. Pontiac, the county seat, is one of the most progressive cities of the Wolverine State. It has never had a boom; it has never stood still; it has never retrograded. Its growth has been substantial and uninterrupted. In the county of Oakland and township of Novi, George Hogle first saw the light September 17, 1861. His ancestors were of the sturdy stock that settled New York. His parents came to Michigan in 1833. His early education was obtained in a district school. At the age of sixteen he left home to earn a livelihood, working for several years as a farm hand, living economically and spending his spare hours in study. In 1880 he entered the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, where he remained three years pur- suing the Latin and German course of study. He was known there as an industrious and thorough student, was well liked by his fellows and always possessed the confidence and esteem of his teachers. After his study at the Normal he taught six terms of district school in a manner satisfactory to the patrons. One important qualification not always possessed by the teacher was paramount in him, viz., heart power, without which teaching in its highest and best sense is impossible; it is the influence of character. In 1887 Mr. Hogle was married to Miss Madge, daughter of Charles M. Wright, of Novi. Four children have come to make happy the home of the Hogles. He was elected township clerk of Novi in 1885-7-8 and 1893-4. In 1891 he was elected justice of the peace, an office which he now holds. In 1890 he began the study of law under the direction of William C. Sprague, of Detroit, and was admitted to the Bar of the State. in 1892. Mr. Hogle is undeniably a student in no unmeaning sense of the term. He studies the law continuously. When not engaged in outside business he is found at his office with his books, making preparation so as to be ready for any call that may be made upon him for counsel or the management of a case. He was a candidate for Circuit Court Commis- sioner, wanting only eighty-five votes of election; was renominated without He was opposition in 1894 and elected by a majority of eleven hundred. re-elected in November, 1896. In politics he is an ardent Republican, and cannot be said to have inherited his politics, as his worthy father is a Democrat. He is a member of the M. E. Church. Mr. Hogle is a young man of excellent character, stands well in his profession, is level-headed, industrious and full of promise. He is modest in his aspirations but keeps BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 547 his eye on the goal. A young man who has good health, good habits, and systematic plans for study may overcome all obstacles to success in his chosen calling if he is at the same time persistent, energetic, ambitious and prudent. JOHN F. LAWRENCE, Ann Arbor. For sixty years the name Law- rence has been known and honored in Washtenaw county. This particu- lar representative of the name was born October 20, 1844, at Ann Arbor. His entire life thus far has been passed within the borders of the county of his birth. He passed through the common schools and was graduated from the Literary Department of the University of Michigan in 1866. After that he took the course in the Law Department of the University, from which he was graduated with the degree LL.B. in 1868. Entering upon the practice of his profession without delay, his career at the Bar has been at home, with the exception of a single year spent in New York. He inherited his taste for the law, and doubtless much of the propensity and many of the distinctive attributes which enter into the highest qualifi- cations of the successful lawyer. He was a partner at Ann Arbor of ex- Judge Frank Emerick, now of Alpena. The partnership was formed in 1878 and continued about two years. From that time Mr. Lawrence con- tinued in the practice alone until 1893, when he formed a partnership with O. E. Butterfield. He has devoted himself exclusively to the law, never having been appointed to any office except that of Supreme Court Com- missioner, and never having been a candidate for political honors. He is a Republican, and what may be termed an advisory member of the party, as his counsels in management and administration are highly regarded. He has been local attorney for the Michigan Central Railroad for several years. His standing at the Bar is excellent, and his reputation both as counsellor and trial lawyer assign him to a rank well to the front in his profession. EDWIN LAWRENCE, deceased. The late Edwin Lawrence, who was for many years judge of the Circuit Court, and who was for a few months Judge of the Supreme Court, settled in Ann Arbor in 1832. Not more than half a dozen lawyers preceded him in Washtenaw county. He came there as a young man just entering upon the practice of his profession, and became identified with the sturdy pioneers and the men of the last generation who contributed so much to the prosperity and the glory of the State. He was well qualified in knowledge of the law to make his position among the first, and schooled in the principles which make and govern the best communities. He was often called by the people to scrve them in official station, and for twelve years held the office of Cir- + 548 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. cuit Judge. In this position he gained a favorable acquaintance in the profession throughout the State. In May, 1857, he was appointed by Governor Bingham to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Bench occasioned by the resignation of David Johnson, and served during the remainder of that year. After his retirement from the Bench he continued in the gen- eral practice with very marked success. During the last year of his active participation in the trial of causes and the proceedings of courts he was in partnership with A. J. Sawyer. He retired from the practice in 1874 and died at Ann Arbor, June 26, 1885, after a continuous residence there of more than half a century. His son, John F. Lawrence, succeeds him in the profession and in citizenship in Washtenaw county. ISAAC M. TURNER, late of Grand Rapids. Mr. Turner, who died in Washington, D. C., February 5, 1895, had won a prominent place in Grand Rapids business and professional circles simply and solely by his upright character and uncommon ability. His father left him neither gold or lands, but implanted in his heart a love for good reading and a discrim- inating sense as to what is best in the literature of the world. He read Plutarch and the old standard authors before he was ten years old. Mr. Turner was born in England, April 6, 1851, and his father died before he reached the age of fifteen, leaving the family in somewhat straitened cir- cumstances. But with a mind mature beyond his years, he saw possibilities for penniless lads in the new world that did not obtain around him. His mother was persuaded to cross the ocean with him and join a brother who had become a prosperous farmer in southern Illinois. There he worked hard, burned the midnight oil, pored over ponderous law tomes, and made haste as best he could to enter the legal profession. He was a student at Champaign when President Gregory was at the head of the University and was under his instruction for two years. In 1876 he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan and was a member of the graduating class of 1878. He was admitted to the Bar and located in Grand Rapids, thinking that in the midst of its teeming activities he could make a place for himself. After spending a little time with Judge Grove in gaining an insight into the business ways of the people, he opened an office for himself. There was something attractive and inspiring about the contagious energy with which he applied himself to the business that came to him and he very quickly won an enviable position at the Bar. He soon came to stand among the first lawyers of Grand Rapids, and his abilities were cheerfully recognized alike by attorneys and judges of the courts where he practised. Judge Montgomery said of him "Mr. Turner is the best all around lawyer and has more tact with the court and jury than any other attorney that has practised in the Kent county courts since the days of D. Darwin Hughes." He was associated with many important cases * The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Izane Mr Jurun doave ш OF MICH VAIV BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 549 in Kent county from 1880 to the time of his death. His professional He labors gained much from his broad culture and varied information. was a profound student in many departments of research, and was familiar with the wide sweep of history and its great tendencies, as well as its more particular phases. He was a lover of the literature of all ages and nations. It was a maxim with him that in the knowledge of universal literature was to be found the widest culture. Mr. Turner was a shrewd business man and a close student of the financial world. He was a careful reader of the London commercial literature, and kept a close watch of business indica- tions all over the world. He clearly outlined the present business depres- sion while the country was still in the phenomenal activities of 1892, and pictured the present situation almost exactly as it afterwards occurred. He was shrewd financier, and his modest savings were well invested, and so quickly turned that at his death he had accumulated a comfortable fortune. He had been in uncertain health for several years and his sudden illness at Washington, where he had only gone a week before, occasioned much alarm. He went to the National Capital as an attorney in the celebrated Richardson-Belknap contested election case, and the circumstances of his death were peculiarly painful. He was met at the train by Mr. Richard- son, who had retained his services as attorney. They went to the St. James Hotel, where Mr. Richardson left him with the agreement that he would call in the evening and discuss the case. But leaving the hotel upon an errand he was taken suddenly ill and was removed to Providence Hos- pital, where he was cared for by friends until the arrival of Mrs. Turner. The resources of medical skill were exhausted in his behalf without avail. His death was a sudden and untimely closing of a most promising career. It was not wholly unexpected. For years those most intimately associated with him had often felt deep anxiety on account of his health. But he had a stout heart and unshaken courage; and he compacted into forty- three years achievements and attainments that would have richly crowned an average life of fourscore. Mr. Turner was the senior member of · the law firm of Turner & Carroll, which was formed in 1880, and at the time of his death was the oldest firm in the city without a change. He was also a member of the real estate firm of Davis, Turner & Carroll. The relations existing between Mr. Turner and Postmaster Carroll were of the warmest character and most confidential in their nature. Working easily and heartily together they soon built up a practice worthy of com- parison with that of any firm in the State. He was an active and enthusi- astic Democrat, and naturally became the leader of his party in that section of the State. He gave his services with no thought of reward, and it was largely through his work and counsel that the party reached its highest influence simultaneously with the city's greatest prosperity. In 1882 he was elected prosecuting attorney and served until 1887. During his term of service in that office he had several cases of general interest and in every important instance he secured a conviction. One of the most 550 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. remarkable cases brought before the court in his official career was that of the People vs. Dr. N. J. Aiken, on a charge of abortion. With the death of Mr. Turner, the last person connected with that memorable trial passed away. Another case which attracted almost as much attention was that of the People vs. Harry McDowell, a travelling salesman, who was con- victed of manslaughter. He broke up a gang of thugs who had infested the neighborhood of Grandville, and after a hot legal fight, railroaded them to the penitentiary. In 1889 he was elected alderman, and his work in the common council was of great value to Grand Rapids. He was easily conceded to be leader of that body when Edwin F. Uhl was mayor. He was chairman of the park committee, and did much to improve the park system. He was the Democratic candidate for mayor in 1893, but was defeated by William J. Stuart, the city going overwhelmingly Repub- lican. He was a hard worker, and, though much debilitated during the last years of his life, kept himself up by his indomitable will. He was a great reader, and had gathered one of the most valuable private libraries in the city. He had a reputation throughout the State as a student of Shakespeare. He was genial and courteous in his personal character, and with all his learning belonged to the common people. His death was deeply mourned in Grand Rapids. The local press hastened to bear elo- quent tribute to his manly character and the large place he had filled in the business circles of the city. The Kent county Bar adopted resolu- tions to the effect that it had lost in common with the State of Michigan one of its most honored, able and respected members and citizens. They declared appreciation of his sterling character, courage and fortitude in meeting and overcoming difficulties. They recognized in him the com- bination of the able lawyer, the patriotic citizen, the cultured scholar and the considerate gentleman. Prominent members of the Bar made addresses of ardent eulogy. Willard Kingsley, in submitting the resolu- tions, quoted from the address of the great actor Kemble, who said on retiring from the English stage, that 66 6 He hoped to enjoy some space between the theatre and the grave, like the Roman in the capitol, I may adjust my mantle 'ere I fall.' Mr. Turner enjoyed no such space between the forum and the tomb, for he fell like a soldier at the front. He had simplicity of manner and cor- diality of heart. He has left an excellent reputation because he earned it. He dug deep into political economy and advocated those conservative principles that make a nation strong. He was much more than a common- place lawyer in this commonplace age." Mr. Turner's domestic relations were of the happiest character. He and Mrs. Turner became acquainted while they were students at the University of Michigan. Her maiden. name was Frances Belle Bailey, and her parents resided in Missouri. They were married in 1879 and had two children. Henry Carroll and Agnes. She is a woman of far more than ordinary ability and is a writer CO 7IN0 OF Thomas F. Carroll MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 551 of note. She is a member of the Grand Rapids school board and takes a prominent part in the Ladies' Literary Club. Something over a year before his death Mr. Turner purchased the old Griggs mansion on South Division street and remodeled it so that it became one of the handsomest residences in the city. There, surrounded by his books and family, he spent his leisure time. He was domestic in his tastes, fond of company He was and delighted to have his friends around him at his own table. loyal to them and his noble character will be long remembered by his associates in public and private life. THOMAS F. CARROLL, Grand Rapids. The subject of this sketch was born in Monroe county, New York, November 24, 1854. His father, James Carroll, was a direct descendant of the original Carroll family of Ireland and Maryland. He married Mary Kennedy, both being natives of County Meath, Ireland. His parents came to this country in 1845 and settled in New York State, afterwards removing to Van Buren county, Michigan, where he spent his early life. While young he evinced a fondness for books and literature, and took advantage of every opportunity for acquiring a thorough education, and at the early age of sixteen years began teaching school, which he pursued for six years. He read law ardently and devotedly during this time, and in 1877 located in Grand Rapids, where, in the office of the then well known law firm of Hughes, O'Brien & Smiley, he completed his studies and was admitted to the Bar October 14, 1878. In 1880 he entered into a law partnership with the late Hon. Isaac M. Turner, which partnership continued up to the time of Mr. Turner's death, in 1895. The firm at that time had the distinction of being the oldest in the city without change in its membership. From 1883 to 1886 he was assistant prosecuting attorney for Kent county. Upon the death of Mr. Turner the firm was reorganized, and Joseph Kir- win, who had long been in the employ of the old firm as manager of the office, was admitted to the firm. As a mark of respect to his late partner, the name of Mr. Turner is still kept in the firm, the business being con- ducted under the name of Carroll, Turner & Kirwin. This firm has always done a large and lucrative law business and is among the oldest and strongest in the State. And while their practice has been almost wholly of a civil nature, yet they have been employed in some of the most impor- tant criminal cases which have been on the court dockets in recent years. In addition to his large law business Mr. Carroll is an extensive owner of real estate, and is also Postmaster of Grand Rapids, having been appointed by President Cleveland March 9, 1894. Upon his appointment the Postal Record of Washington said, Mr. Carroll is a Democrat, a self made man and a typical American, in the full sense of the term. Seldom, if ever, has a more thoroughly popular appointinent been made for an important office 552 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. in the State than that of Thomas F. Carroll for Postmaster of Grand Rapids, not only from a political, but from a business standpoint. It is an assured fact that not a man or woman in this city but who has com- mended President Cleveland's action in this manner. Although Mr. Car- roll has been one of the most able and efficient workers for the principles of Democracy, to which his long and valued services on city, county, con- gressional and State committees will amply testify, he has never sought office, although frequently mentioned and urged to accept the nomination for mayor and also for Congress; but has invariably declined, preferring to work in the ranks of his party and aid his friends rather than accept any honors himself. Immediately after the National election his name was suggested unanimously by the party leaders as the man on whom the important position to which he has been appointed without opposition, should be bestowed. His high character, business ability, energy and social qualities eminently fit him for the place. Under his guidance the office will not recede, but, on the contrary will be made to keep pace with the rapid advancement of the city. He assumed charge of the office April 7, succeeding Col. G. G. Briggs, whose term had expired. One of the leading bankers of Grand Rapids has this to say: "I regard Mr. Carroll as one of the safe and conservative lawyers of our city. A man of broad learning, sound judgment, coupled with fine executive ability, as his record as a lawyer and business man has often demonstrated; and as has been particularly shown in his official capacity as postmaster of our city. He reorganized and systemized the entire office, so that to-day we have beyond question the best equipped and best man- aged post office in the country, and among all our people there is but one opinion about Mr. Carroll, and that is, He is a successful lawyer, and one in whom his large clientage has the utmost confidence, and is the best postmaster this city has ever had.' ( Mr. Carroll was married October 11, 1880, to Ella M. Remington, eldest daughter of W. B. Remington, of Grand Rapids, who died in January, 1882. He was a second time married August 19, 1889, to Julia Agnes Mead, only daughter of the late Major A. B. Watson. By the former marriage he has a son, Charles Carroll, and by the latter marriage a daughter, Katharine Carroll. CHARLES P. CALKINS, late of Grand Rapids. Charles P. Calkins was born January 24, 1803 at Hinesburg, Chittenden county, Vermont, and died at Grand Rapids, Michigan, September 2, 1890. His earliest education was received in his native county, but, coming west, it was con- tinued and completed at Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor. He was admitted to the Bar of Michigan in 1835. The following year he removed to Grand Rapids, which continued to be his home during the remainder of his life. In 1837 he formed a partnership for the practice of law with Benjamin G. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 553 2 He Bridge, who died in 1839. For some years thereafter he continued in practice alone and succeeded well in the profession. In 1853 he associated with himself in partnership John T. Holmes, who had been a student at law in his office. In 1879 he retired from the practice, in which he had been actively engaged for nearly forty-five years. The official positions. which he held were related to the legal profession. He was Master in Chancery for the Circuit Court in 1848-49; justice of the peace in 1845 and city recorder in 1850. He declined political office at all times and under all circumstances, preferring to devote himself wholly to the practice of law. Mr. Calkins was one of the pioneer lawyers of Kent county, only one or two having preceded him. At the time of his death he was the oldest member of the Bar, counting from date of his admission. had formed the habit of industry in early life, which was continued during all the years of his practice. He became familiar with the principles of law, the statutes and the reports from close application to reading and the frequent recurrence to them in practice. He was a good counsellor and a logical reasoner, able to present a strong argument for the consideration of the judge or the information of a jury, although he was not in the popular sense an orator. He early established a reputation for honesty and high moral courage, which remained with him throughout life and was left unstained by any dishonorable action or questionable conduct. He gained and held the love and respect of the community in which he lived so long and which his example, industry, public spirit and morality helped to build. He was married December 23, 1839, to Mrs. Mary A. Hins- dale, of Grand Rapids. CHARLES W. CALKINS, Grand Rapids, is the son of Charles P. and Mary Hinsdale Calkins. He was born June 19, 1842. He was born June 19, 1842. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and at the age of nineteen enlisted as a private in the engineer corps of Michigan under Col. William P. Innes. His soldierly qualities soon marked him for promotion and he served six months as regimental sergeant major and for two years as first. lieutenant and adjutant. At the close of the war he remained south for some time and entered the employ of the Nashville and Chattanooga rail- road, at Nashville, as general business agent. After returning home he was employed for three years by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, as cashier, at Kalamazoo. In 1871 he embarked in mercantile business at Grand Rapids, which was continued four years. In 1875 he established an insurance and loan business. During this time he was reading and studying law, and in 1881 was admitted to the Bar. He has not engaged in general practice, but employed his knowledge of the law and the privil- eges secured by his license in the special practice incidental to his loan business. Mr. Calkins has discharged the duties of citizenship and taken 554 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. a lively interest in municipal affairs. He has served a term in the common council of the city, two terms on the board of education and eight years on the board of health. For three years he has been secretary of the Michigan Masonic Home Association, in whose management he has been influential. The military taste acquired during early life led to his identi- fication with the militia organizations of the State. For seventeen years he was a member of the militia and during that time served in every rank from private to chief of staff of the brigadier general commanding, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Colonel Calkins has attended every State encampment in Michigan, either as an active participant or an interested visitor. In the conduct of his business, as in all public affairs, he is methodical, careful and systematic. Order and neatness have a place in the arrangement of everything managed by him and he works quietly, without pomp or ostentation. His intelligence and refinement are crowned. by a strict morality and therefore he is a valuable citizen in a progressive community. He was married September 21, 1869, to Miss Mary L. Scovel, daughter of H. G. Scovel, of Nashville, Tennessee. They have three children, Anna, Effie and Charlotte. Colonel Calkins is a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and has served seven years as a vestry- man. + MITCHELL J. SMILEY, Chicago. Mr. Smiley, though a resident of Chicago at the present time, has long been intimately associated with the courts of Michigan, in which for many years he has been a successful prac- titioner. He was born in South Avon, New York, May 2, 1841, and ten years later removed with his parents to Van Buren county, Michigan, where they settled on a farm. He grew to manhood on the farm and developed a strong and sturdy physique that has stood him well in hand during the close and exhaustive labors of the later years. He was bright and ambitious; at the age of seventeen became a student of Kalamazoo College, and taught part of each year for the purpose of paying his own expenses. He began the study of law in 1860 under the direction of N. A. Balch, of Kalamazoo, who was then at the summit of his professional career. Two years later he was admitted to the Bar and was at once taken into partnership by his preceptor, who had come to highly esteem the earnest and capable young attorney. Mr. Balch and Mr. Smiley were together in practice some ten years, and the firm was dissolved on account of the desire of the junior partner to enter into partnership with Hughes & O'Brien, of Grand Rapids. They needed the additional ṣervices of a good trial lawyer in their business, and made him a very flattering proposition, which he accepted and accordingly removed to Grand Rapids. On the death of Mr. Hughes in 1883, Mr. Smiley organized the firm of Smiley & Earl, which was dissolved by the death of Mr. Earl in 1891. Soon after- The Century Publishing & Engraving to Chicago. MJ. Smily UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, 555 wards he formed a partnership with Wm. Alden Smith and Frederick W. Stevens, which continued until February, 1895, when the firm was dis- solved and Mr. Smiley removed to Chicago, on account of the greater facility afforded there for the executive management of corporations in another State. Prior to that time he had acquired large interests in Wis- consin and had been elected president of several corporations, chief of which is the Land, Log & Lumber Company of Milwaukee. Other important ones are the West Shore Lumber Company of Racine, and the Penobscot Lumber and Dock Company of Milwaukee. In Chicago he associated with himself Mr. Thomas C. Clark in the firm of Smiley & Clark, for a general law practice, which is carried on in addition to the cor- porate and business interests. For twenty-five years he was singularly devoted to the law and it is only within a comparatively recent period that other affairs have been permitted even to divide his allegiance. When twenty-four years of age he was a candidate for the Legislature on the Democratic ticket and was defeated, perhaps fortunately for himself. Some years later he came within fifty votes of an election to the office of Mayor of Grand Rapids, as an independent candidate. He has sought no prefer- ment and cherished no political ambition. For an estimate of his abilities and characteristics the editor applied to one of the very able practi- tioners of the State, whose intimate relations afforded the opportunity of studying the subject and whose impartiality lends value to his judgment. And this is what he says: "For many years Mr. Smiley has been rated as one of the real lead- ers of the Bar of the State of Michigan. While he has been connected with many of the great cases, his reputation is not due to any special effort of his in any one prominent case, but rather to thoroughness in every case with which he has been connected. His reputation was not, therefore, of hasty growth, but is firmly fixed. Nor is it confined to particular merit in some one branch of professional work, as is often the case with distin- guished lawyers. In his case it can hardly be said that he excels any more. in one branch than in another. To use a common expression, he is an 'all round good lawyer.' If there be any kind of legal work in which he may be said to be more valuable than in other kinds, it is the trial or diffi- cult jury cases, and to this fact may be attributed his employment by many corporations in the defense of damage cases. His skill in the exam- ination of adverse witnesses is not less notable than the ability with which he presents the evidence to the jury and the law to the court. In the popular sense of the term, he is not eloquent in his address to a jury, but he appeals strongly to the reason of the jurors, with sledge-hammer blows striking the weak places in his opponent's case, by a close analysis of the testimony and a logical arrangement of the facts. In the preparation of a case for trial, he is diligent to a high degree, shrinking from no amount of labor which may be necessary to prepare himself on all points to insure success. Herein lies the secret of success in the profession, and in its ser- vice Mr. Smiley has the advantage of excellent health and a vigorous con- stitution. Among those who have observed him in the trial of a case, it is notable that he seldom appears surprised or disconcerted by anything in the way of proof. However damaging may be the answers of a witness, it 556 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. is not given additional importance by anything in Mr. Smiley's counten- ance or in his speech, although he is a most acute observer of the tendency of the evidence. He never loses his temper during a trial and is uniformly courteous to his opponents, indulging, however, in no flattery. During the trial lt is his habit to take full notes of the testimony, sometimes with considerable deliberation, and unlike the results of such energy in the case of many attorneys, one who looks on the paper will find something legible. His extreme modesty has prevented his elevation to exalted judicial place for which the entire Bar of the State recognize his fitness. By general consent he occupies the position of leader of the Bar of Western Michigan.'' One of the greatest compliments that can be paid an attorney in the opinion of the legal fraternity is to be called into cases as counsel by other lawyers, for it demonstrates the estimation placed upon his abilities by men most competent to judge. For the past twenty years a large portion of Mr. Smiley's practice has come to him through the desire of brother attor- neys to have his assistance in the trial of their cases before juries and in legal and equitable proceedings before the courts. His practice extended not only to all the courts of Michigan, but he many times appeared before the courts of Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin. During his practice, Mr. Smiley's services have been particularly sought by railroad corporations. He for many years was the trial lawyer of the Grand Rapids and Indiana R. R. Co., and for a time acted as its general counsel. He has been the local attorney for the Chicago & West Michigan R. R. Co., the Detroit, Lan- sing & Northern R. R. Co., and the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee R'y Co., and has tried many cases for all of them in Kent and other counties of Michigan. He has been, and still is, the general counsel for the Manistee & North Eastern R'y Co., and has at times been retained in important matters of the Pennsylvania Company. Scarcely a volume of the reports of the opinions filed by the Supreme Court of Michigan begin- ning with Vol. 15 has been published, in which Mr. Smiley's name does not appear as attorney for one of the contesting parties. When it is remembered that Vol. 15 contains the cases heard in 1866, and that since that time about ninety additional volumes have been published, the extent of his practice before that tribunal may be imagined. His practice also before the Federal Courts of Michigan was very large, the calendars of the Western District showing that he appeared in more cases than any other attorney who practised at that Bar. His extensive practice in this court necessarily resulted in his appearing many times before the Supreme Court of the United States in cases taken there on appeal. The records of that court show more than a score of cases argued by him and they also show that in more than two-thirds of these cases he met with success. Among the many important cases argued by him there were those known as the Lake Shore Railroad Bond cases and the Great Western Insurance Com- pany cases, all of which involved large sums of money, and in all of which his clients were victorious. Lawyers of Michigan are all familiar with the famous Perrin cases which were so long before the Federal and State UNIV OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago ICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 557 case. Courts and the sensational "Jockey Brown'' will case, in both of which Mr. Smiley was counsel. In Attorney General vs. Ruggles and Brown vs. Brown many complicated legal questions as to land titles were settled by the Supreme Court of Michigan on lines laid down by him in his briefs and presented by him in his arguments before that court. Among the many cases tried by him before the Kent county courts, and afterwards argued by him in the Supreme Court that are celebrated locally for the amount involved and the nice legal questions raised, are Godfrey vs. Rath- borne, a complicated partnership accounting, and the Leonard insanity The Bench before which Mr. Smiley has appeared during his many years of practice, and the lawyers with whom he has been associated, or to whom he has been opposed, unite in saying that a distinguished character- istic is his unvarying honesty to the court and counsel. He never know- ingly mistakes the law or the facts, and agreements made by him with opposing counsel are uniformly carried out with scrupulous exactness. In 1874 he married Miss Florence M. Fitts of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and they are the parents of two children, Edmund C., now in his second year at Yale, and Louise B., a girl of twelve. Mrs. Smiley has always occupied a high position in society and is especially well known in Grand Rapids for her work in literary and musical circles. It is needless to add that her hospitable home has always borne evidence of her artistic tastes. EDWIN F. UHL, Grand Rapids. Hon. Edwin F. Uhl, ambassador to the Court of Germany, was born August 14, 1841, near Avon Springs, New York. His parents, David M. Uhl and Catherine De Ganno, were natives of Duchess county, New York. They removed to Michigan in 1844 and settled on a farm near Ypsilanti, where Edwin grew to manhood, gaining in the meantime a practical familarity with all kinds of farm work. He attended the district school in boyhood and was prepared for college under the instruction of Prof. Joseph Esterbrook, in the Union school at Ypsilanti. He entered the University of Michigan in 1858, took the classical course of instruction and was graduated from the Literary Depart- ment with the class of 1862, receiving the degree of A. B. in course. Some three years later the degree of Artium Magister was conferred upon him. by his Alma Mater. His study in the text books of the law was begun at Ypsilanti under the instruction and in the office of Norris & Ninde, and his formal admission to the Bar by the Supreme Court of the State was in January, 1864. For the next two years he engaged in practice alone, and in 1866 was fortunate in forming a partnership with Hon. Lyman Decatur Norris, one of the most eminent and successful lawyers of Michigan. His aptitude in the law and his habits as a student had not escaped the observa- tion of his perceptor, Mr. Norris, during the years of his preparation, and the firm of Norris & Uhl then formed became one of the strongest, most 558 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. widely known and prosperous in the State during the years that followed. A dissolution was occasioned in 1871 by the removal of Mr. Norris to Grand Rapids, but the partnership relation was renewed a few years later, after the removal of Mr. Uhl to the same city. He was appointed attorney of the Detroit, Hillsdale and Indiana, and the Detroit, Eel River and Illinois railroad companies, and subsequently was appointed receiver of the former company. He served one term as prosecuting attorney of Washtenaw county, and declined a second nomination because of his prefer- ence for private practice. From 1873 to 1876 he was associated in partner- ship with Albert Crane, under the style of Uhl & Crane, at Ypsilanti, and in January, 1876, Mr. Uhl removed to Grand Rapids, where, at the begin- ning of the next year, he renewed the association with his old partner and preceptor in the law, L. D. Norris. It is a significant and singular fact in his career at the Bar that he entered into partnership relations at Grand Rapids, successively, with both of the lawyers with whom he had been associated at Ypsilanti. The dissolution of his partnership with Mr. Norris, January 1, 1887, was followed a year later by the organization of the firm of Uhl & Crane. This partnership was continued until January 1, 1894, when the senior member was called to Washington. The business of both firms in Grand Rapids with which Mr. Uhl was connected was large and lucrative, embracing as great a variety of litigation and as many important cases as as came into the hands of any firm of lawyers in Western Michigan. During all this time Mr. Uhl was gaining reputation as a lawyer and eminence at the Bar. He had also become prominent in State and National politics. November, 1893 he was appointed assistant Secretary of State and removed to Wash- ington. He filled this position until May, 1896, performing all official duties with the utmost prudence and sagacity. His record there was his highest recommendation for promotion to a very exalted and responsible diplomatic post. He was appointed by President Cleveland to represent the United States as Ambassador to the Court of Germany. As soon as the arrangement of his private business permitted, he went abroad to enter upon the duties appertaining to an ambassador. His appointment was a recognition of the spirit of the civil service laws-promotion for merit. Mr. Uhl's prominence in financial affairs has not been less conspicuous than in the law. For fifteen years he has been connected directly with the management of large corporations at Grand Rapids. From 1881 until his removal to Washington he was president of the Grand Rapids National Bank. For some time he was president of the Gunn Hardware Company, engaged in the importing and jobbing business. He is a stockholder and director in several large manufacturing companies. He was for several years attorney for the Michigan Central railroad. Until he had become firmly established in the practice of the law and accumulated a competence he was little inclined to accept political office, although regarded as a most available candidate, and frequently solicited by his partisan friends to BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 559 He stand for office. He served two terms as mayor of Grand Rapids. gets on well at whatever he undertakes, because he gives every step due consideration. Socially inclined, his companionship is sought and his friendship highly regarded. He was the first president of the Peninsular Club. He is an Episcopalian, a member and one of the wardens of St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church at Grand Rapids. He was married May 1, 1865, at Ypsilanti, to Miss Alice Follett, whose father, Benjamin Fol- lett, was a leading citizen of Michigan. They have four children, namely, Lucy Follett, David Edwin, Alice Edwina, and Marshall Mortimer. CHARLES M. WILSON, Grand Rapids. The subject of this bio- graphical sketch is of Scotch, English and Irish extraction. His father, Henry J. Wilson, born at Avon, New York, was of Scotch-Irish descent; a man of affairs, a banker and a merchant, who came to Michigan in 1846 and settled in Ionia, where he carried on business until his death in 1879. His mother, Helen Moseman, was of Scotch-English descent, a woman of firm Christian character and estimable traits. She is still living in Ionia. Charles M. is one of a family of five children and the eldest son. The only daughter is Mrs. Lee M. Hutchins, of Detroit; the second son is William K. Wilson, a merchant of Ionia; the third is Hugh E. Wilson, of Grand Rapids, a lawyer; the fourth is Gilbert W. Wilson, of Ionia, engaged in the mercantile business with his elder brother. Charles M. passed his boyhood days in Ionia, where he attended the public schools and received a diploma from the high school in 1875. After taking a post graduate course of one year in the high school, he entered the Literary Department of the University of Michigan in the fall of 1876, and was graduated as a Bachelor of Letters in June, 1880. While in the university he displayed talent as a writer and an orator. He was graduated with honors and chosen the class historian. He was also selected from the Literary Department. of the University to deliver the address on behalf of that department to President Angell on the eve of his departure for China as the Envoy-Extraor- dinary of the United States. After the completion of his course he returned to Ionia, where for a time he was employed as editor of The Standard. His leisure hours during the same period were occupied with the study of law in the office of Blanchard, Bell & Cagwin. Indeed it is proper to say that most of his time was devoted to the study of law and the editorial work was incidental. He was admitted to the Bar at Ionia upon passing the required examination in September, 1882, and the same month entered the senior class of the Law Department of the University of Michigan. His study in the office and his admission to the Bar, upon examination, were accepted as the equivalent of the first year in the law course. After his graduation in the class of 1883, he settled in Grand · 560 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Rapids in April, and was employed as clerk in the law office of Champlin & More. This engagement continued only until January, 1884, when the firm was dissolved by reason of the entrance of Judge Champlin upon the duties of Justice of the Supreme Court of Michigan, to which he had been elected. Soon afterwards Mr. Wilson formed a partnership with John E. More, junior member of the firm, in whose office he had found employ- ment, under the name of More & Wilson, and the partnership is still main- tained. With a single exception, it is the oldest law firm in Grand Rapids. Among the important cases with which he has been connected may be men- tioned Koopman vs. Blodgett in the Missaukee Circuit. This case involved the relative rights of log-runners and mill owners on the streams of the State. It is reported in 70th Michigan, page 610. Mr. Wilson was one of the counsel for complainant. The case was carried to the Supreme Court, where the complainant prevailed. Another case that may be men- tioned is Brown vs. Grand Rapids Parlor Furniture Company, in the United States circuit court, in which he was one of the counsel for defend- ants. The case involved the right of an insolvent corporation to give preferences to its creditors. The decision was in favor of the defendants in the lower court; an appeal was taken to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, and the decision of the lower court was affirmed. U. S. Cir- cuit Court of Appeals Reports, volume 7, page 225. As a lawyer Mr. Wilson is very clear in his discernment of points and felicitous in the expression of his views. He understands the theory of the law and has made himself familiar with the text books. He examines authorities relating to his cases with a great deal of care, not overlooking those which favor the opposite side of the controversy. He seeks to understand his own case and at the same time inform himself thoroughly as to the nature of the case made by his adversary and the authorities relied upon to main- tain it. On account of this carefulness he is not often surprised in the trial of a case, but is usually ready with an argument to meet any position that may be taken by opposing counsel. Politically he has always adhered to the Democratic party, believing in its time-honored principles and defending the views of the fathers. In the campaign of 1896 he was enrolled with the Sound Money Democrats and was an alternate at their National Convention at Indianapolis, September 2. He has never at any time been an office-seeker, but was the nominee of his party for prose- cuting attorney of Kent county in 1894. Although running ahead of his ticket, he went down with the land-slide that was universal in that cam- paign. In June, 1893, he was appointed by Comptroller of the Currency Eckels Receiver of the First National Bank of Lakota, North Dakota, and in October, 1896, he was appointed Receiver of the First National Bank of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. June 3, 1891, he was married to Jane Wads- worth Dunning, of Auburn, New York, daughter of Henry S. and Jane Wadsworth Dunning, of that city. They have one son, Henry Dunning Wilson, aged four years. Mr. Wilson has the characteristics and qualities UNIV M OF CH The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago. Fr Alllaynard BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 561 of a successful business man. He has been a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church during the period of his residence in Grand Rapids and is one of the trustees. He is a lawyer of more than average ability and of unchallenged integrity. He has made for himself an honorable position at the Bar, and by his courteous manner, deference to his asso- ciates in the profession, and respect for the court, has won the esteem of all practitioners, as well as of the courts in which he has the management of cases. He is quiet in deportment, unassuming in bearing, even-tem- pered, sincere-exhibiting the spirit of christianity. He is guided in his practice by strong convictions, and it is not in his nature to be connected knowingly with any action that is improper or questionable. In the home, in the larger circle of society, in the church, in the community and in his professional work his motives and conduct are alike irreproachable. FRED AUGUSTUS MAYNARD, Grand Rapids. This distinguished representative of the Michigan Bar is the Attorney General of the State, is still in the prime of life, and his friends insist that he is at the opening of a brilliant career. He is a master of the theory and practice of law, and his enviable standing as an honest man and an upright citizen gives character to his eloquent speech. He was born in Ann Arbor, January 20, 1852, and his career has honored his native state. His father, John W. Maynard, is the oldest living settler of Washtenaw county as respects years of residence. The father came from Massachusetts in 1824, and when he grew to manhood engaged in mercantile pursuits in Ann Arbor, in which he is still interested. By his generosity it was made possible for Ann Arbor to become the seat of the great University of Michigan. Mr. Maynard's mother is a native of New York, the daughter of the Hon. Gideon Willcoxson, a leader of the Bar in the early days of Michigan. She came with her parents to Ann Arbor in the spring of 1826. Mr. Maynard's parents were married on the 7th day of December, 1836, and soon thereafter established their home in the house which they now occupy. It is thought that this is the oldest home in the State of Michi- gan. Mr. Maynard was reared under the parental roof, and graduated from the city high school in 1870. The same year he matriculated in the Classical Department in the University of Michigan, and in due time completed his studies and receiving the degree of A.B. in 1874. In the fall of that year he entered the Law Department of the same University, and made so good a record in the next two years that he was graduated without undergoing the ordeal of an examination. Even while a law student he was admitted to the Wayne county Bar, after a thorough examination, in the spring of 1875. In 1876 he had conferred upon him the degrees of M.A. and LL. B. The Literary class of 1874 contained a number who have since become prominent in professional, business and 36 562 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. political circles. Among these is Dr. Henry Wade Rogers, president of the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois; Lawrence Maxwell, of Cincinnati, a leader of the Ohio Bar, and lately Solicitor General of the United States; Henry T. Thurber, President Cleveland's private secre- tary; Victor H. Lane, Circuit Judge; Henry R. Pattengill, Superintend- ent of Public Instruction of Michigan; William H. Wells, a leader of the Detroit Bar; Prof. Calvin Thomas, lately of the University of Michigan, now a professor in the College of the City of New York, and one of the most brilliant educators in the country. Mr. Maynard was a leading spirit member of the University base- Late in the year 1875 he in the University athletic world, being a ball nine, cricket eleven and foot ball eleven. went to Grand Rapids, and the next year became assistant prosecuting. attorney of Kent county,-his partner, Capt. Stephen H. Ballard, being prosecuting attorney. In 1881 Mr. Maynard was elected prosecuting attorney by an overwhelming majority, and at the same time formed a partnership with Mr. George P. Wanty, which was continued for three years. In 1887 his present partner, Mr. Henry E. Chase, became associated with him under the firm name of Maynard & Chase. Mr. May- nard's administration of the duties of prosecuting attorney was marked. with great brilliancy. Many reforms were instituted by him, which have resulted in the saving of thousands of dollars to the tax-payers. In 1885 he was unanimously nominated for the office of judge of the superior court of Grand Rapids. In 1886 he declined the nomination to the State Sen- ate. In 1889 he became Michigan's candidate for the office of Governor of Alaska, having the unanimous support of the Michigan delegation, but President Harrison saw fit to give the appointment to Vermont. In 1890 he was elected representative to the State Legislature under the law pro- viding for cumulative voting, which was afterwards declared unconstitu- tional by the Supreme Court. In 1894 he was elected Attorney General by a plurality of over 112,000. He was warmly commended by the State press in his preliminary canvass, and his nomination was made by accla- mation if not the first, among the very few times in the history of the State when a first nomination was accorded by acclamation. In the summer of 1896 he was renominated by acclamation and a rising vote, and elected by a plurality of over 57,000. He has an established reputation as a trial lawyer, and his management of a case is a delight to the student. He is an enthusiastic, all round lawyer, and was for several years a director of the State Bar Association. He is a stalwart Republican, and never hesitates to express his convictions. He advocates broad and progressive ideas, and is a vigorous representative of the young Republicans of the State. He is a public speaker of much power and many natural oratorical gifts. Quickness of perception, soundness of judgment, solid common sense, fidelity and enthusiastic loyalty to his friends are regarded as the prominent characteristics of Mr. Maynard's character. He is very happy in his domestic relations. Miss Charlotte Nelson became his wife Octo- BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, 563 ber 24, 1878. She is a daughter of the late James M. Nelson, a promi- nent figure in the first manufacturing enterprises in Grand Rapids. She is a lovely woman, an accomplished and popular lady and well supports her husband's name and standing. They are the parents of two children, a girl and a boy. Mr. Maynard comes of good patriotic stock, and belongs to the order of "The Sons of the American Revolution." He enjoys the somewhat unusual distinction of having had three great-grandfathers in the American Revolution. He is a college Greek, and is a member of the D K E, in whose fortunes he still takes a lively interest. DENNIS SHIELDS, Howell. Dennis Shields is one of the old lawyers and prominent citizens of Livingston county. He was born, reared and educated in the State of Michigan, and has always practised his profession in the same place since his admission to the Bar. He taught in the district schools seven winters and settled at Howell in April, 1860. His father, John Shields, and his mother, Elizabeth McCabe, were both natives of Ireland. His father was a farmer and he was brought up to work on the farm, and his early education was received in the common schools. He had no opportunity of attending college or acquiring a classical education. In early boyhood he had a liking for the profession of law and resolved to become a lawyer as soon as the opportunity offered. His preliminary readiug and study was in the law office of Mark Chase at Detroit, in 1858, and afterwards completed in the office of H. H. Harmon at Howell, where he commenced early in 1859. He was admitted to the Bar on the last day of December, 1861, and settled in Howell for practice. His only partnership was formed with his brother, Judge John C. Shields, in 1872, and continued for three years. His practice has been general in scope and varied in character, embracing all classes of civil business, criminal cases and chancery practice. The chances for taking up a specialty and devoting one's time exclusively to that do not exist in a small town, such as he has resided in during the course of his professional life. He held the office of prosecuting attorney eight years. Mr. Shields has tried or assisted at the trial of nearly all the important cases litigated in the circuit of his residence for thirty years. Among the criminal cases may be mentioned the People vs. Hartsuff, for murder, and the People vs. Burt, indicted for murder, besides numerous assaults with intent to commit murder, and the People vs. Byand. His civil suits have covered almost every conceivable kind of controversy. Among the important cases may be mentioned Moore vs. Thompson; the matter relative to the Neminster Estate; the will of Francis Monroe; Alonzo Gorton; People vs. Emily Marble, murder, in the Ingham circuit; People vs. George Stapleton, murder, in the Saginaw circuit; People vs. Levi Culver, assault with intent to murder, Ingham circuit. These are only a few of the many cases which have occupied the time of 564 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Mr. Shields in his own and neighboring counties during the past thirty years. He has also assisted in the argument of many important cases in the Supreme Court of the State, including Beebe vs. Birkett, Dean vs. Ellis, Wright vs. Neminster, Sutphin vs. Ellis, Chubb vs. Randall. Besides he has assisted in the trial of several cases in the United States courts at Detroit, among which were the cases of Tuthill vs. the village of Howell, and Fagan vs. Cullen. Mr. Shields has always been a Democrat. He has taken an interest in politics and has held the office of justice of the peace four years, Circuit Court Commissioner four years, in addition to his service as prosecuting attorney. He is not a member of any society, club or fraternity. In his father's family were six sons, all of them lawyers, all Democrats, and all Democratic stump speakers; so that the family appears to be unanimous in politics and in the legal profession. He was married May 12, 1869, to Lydia A. Lonergan. Three sons were born of this mar- riage and have grown to maturity. The eldest, James L., twenty-five years of age, is in the mercantile business at Benton Harbor; Edmund C., aged twenty-three, a graduate of the Literary and Law Departments of the University of Michigan, is engaged in the practice of law with his father; Frank J. is now a student in the Law Department of the University of Michigan. FRANK A. LYON, Hillsdale. Mr. Mr. Lyon was born in Walworth, Wayne county, New York, January 4, 1855, and is now at the prime of his powers. Through his parents he inherits many of the best traits of English and Scotch character, as well as a moral trend that has been of vast benefit to him. They came into Michigan in 1856, where they spent their declin- ing years. His father was Newton T. Lyon, and his mother Caroline M. Smith. Both were much respected by those who knew them best. Lyon received his preliminary education in the Branch county common schools, and afterward attended high school at Quincy and Coldwater, and finished his school days in the Northern Indiana Normal at Valparaiso. For some years he was engaged in school teaching, and in 1879 entered the office of Hon. Charles Upson at Coldwater, for the purpose of reading law. After a thorough course of reading he was admitted to the Bar in February, 1880. After his admission to the Bar he found it wise to defer his entrance upon the practice of his profession for a time on account of his having received the appointment to a clerkship at the consolidated Omaha and Winnebago Indian Agency in Nebraska. He was in the West about six months. On his return to Michigan he opened offices at Howard City and Edmore, and almost immediately found many patrons. At the expiration of about three years he removed to Stanton to enter a partner- ship with M. C. Palmer. Their relations were always very pleasant, but were broken off after some three years by the ill-health of Mr. Lyon, who The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago ہیں you. UNIK OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 565 was compelled to return to his old home in Quincy and devote himself principally to the business of recuperation. In 1891 he located at Hills- dale, and formed a limited partnership with A. B. St. John to close out his business. This was accomplished in about a year, and Mr. Lyon was without a partner until 1896, when he found one in C. M. Barre. The subject of this sketch is a capable and aggressive lawyer and has frequently surprised his friends by the variety of his resources in emergencies and the fire of his action in complicated cases. Probably the hardest legal fight In of his career was in this great criminal case: In 1893 he was appointed by Judge Lane to prosecute the case of the People vs. M. P. Foglesong, who was charged with the murder of his wife. The accused was a physician, and it was said that he poisoned his wife. The trial lasted for seventeen days, and brought out much expert testimony on the question of chronic strychnine poisoning. Some of the leading experts of the country were employed as witnesses upon this trial-the result of the case depending very largely upon their testimony. This testimony was skillfully handled by the prosecution and resulted in the conviction of Mr. Foglesong. the early part of his professional career he turned his attention especially to criminal law and had a large practice in that line. His success was such that in upwards of six years he did not lose a single case. Among his important cases decided by the Supreme Court are the following: Lewis vs. Rice (61 Mich. 97), Ranney vs. Donovan (78 Mich. 315), Donovan vs. Donovan (85 Mich. 63), Keagle vs. Pessell (91 Mich. 618), Cook vs. Foster (96 Mich. 610), People vs. Fowler (104 Mich. 449). Mr. Lyon served on the Montcalm county board of school examiners for three years, and was Circuit Court Commissioner in Branch county one term. In Hillsdale county he took no active part in politics until 1896, when he took the stump for McKinley and the Republican party. He is attorney for the First National Bank, and attends to the legal interests of Hillsdale College. As attorney for the college he has had some important litigation involving the question of the corporate powers of such corporations. He is a Mason much beloved in Masonic circles, and is a member of the Blue Lodge and Hillsdale Chapter No. 18, R. A. M. He has been married twice, his first wife, Mary L. Demarest of Girard, dying December 6, 1881, after a wedded life of three years. He was married August 5, 1885, to Emma Fink, of Ionia. She is the mother of one child, Vivian E., who is nine years old. Mr. Lyon has been for two years a member of the board of directors of the State Bar Association, and his legal acquirements are freely conceded by his brethren at the Bar. As a lawyer he is careful and painstaking, and his health has undoubtedly suffered from his intense application to his work. He has the best law library of any single lawyer on the line of the Lake Shore Railway in Southern Michigan. He is reliable and honest, and suffers no essential detail of any case to escape his observation and attention. His associates regard him as the most thorough lawyer in Hillsdale county. It is claimed that in his effort to be 566 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, thorough he sometimes gives more personal attention to minute details He than is necessary, and certainly more than is good for his health. always does the hard work himself instead of leaving it to others. In the Foglesong poisoning case he studied medicine with special reference to the action of mineral poisons on the system and his knowledge of the subject was so clear and comprehensive as to puzzle the best medical experts called as witnesses by the defense. He has the habit of going to the bottom of all his cases so as not to be surprised at anything that may arise during the trial. In social contact one might conclude that he is too mild-mannered to be successful; but in the trial of a cause he manifests all the force and vigor necessary. He is so thoroughly imbued with the subject matter and his client's interests as to be afire with earnestness and enthusiasm. He never tries his cases in the newspapers, or outside of court, and his methods are known only to himself except as they are developed during the trial. In all personal matters he is careful and prompt, maintaining a reputation for business integrity not excelled by that for legal ability. He is fond of his home and family, ever exhibiting in the domestic circle the kindness and indulgence which adorns the rela- tions of husband and father. If there is in America any then the Avery family of the The honors that accrue to ALEXANDER R. AVERY, Port Huron. distinction attaching to seniority of ancestry, United States and Canada are entitled to it. unbroken lineage extending backward into the dim past, with the super- added honor of knighthood, belong to them. Their genealogy is traced beyond Plymouth Rock nearly four centuries to the days of King John, when Sir William Avery was knighted by that monarch on the field of battle, for feats of valor. Capt. Christopher Avery, youngest son of Sir William Avery, came over in the good ship Arabella and landed at Ply- mouth Rock with Gov. John Winthrop in 1630. He was the founder of the American branch of the family. In the war for independence the family took an active part. Eight members bearing the name of Avery were killed in the battle of Groton and massacre of the garrison of Fort Griswold, which followed the descent of Benedict Arnold in command of the British and their Indian allies. Relatives of the Averys were slaugh- tered in the same historic engagement-September 6, 1781, during the fiendish massacre of the little garrison of patriots at the fort. The old homestead at Groton which was built by James, the son of Capt. Chris- topher Avery, is still standing and is occupied by the Elder Park Avery branch of the family. The grandfather of our subject moved to Canada just prior to the breaking out of the war of 1812, and was conscripted into the British army. Alexander R. Avery was born November 14, 1846, of American parents, in the village of Claremont, Ontario county, Ontario. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 567 His father, Anthony R., and his, mother, Sarah Hilborn Avery, were both natives of Pennsylvania. His education began in the district schools near Toronto. His family moved to Michigan and settled on a farm in St. Clair county, near Port Huron, in 1862. He attended district school dur- ing the sessions, for two years, working on the farm in the intervals. In 1864 he attended the State Normal school, after which he taught until 1868, and attended the Normal another term. He resumed teaching which was continued until 1871. During all these years he had kept one object steadily in view-to prepare himself for the profession of law, and law books were his constant companions during leisure moments. His studies were continued in the law office of Nims & Beach, of Lexington, and in the fall of 1871 he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, where he remained for a year. During the December vacation 1871 he was on examination admitted to practice, but returned to the University and completed the year. Immediately thereafter he took up the practice at Port Huron, with Cyrus Miles. The connection lasted only until January 1873, when he purchased Mr. Miles's interest and good will and formed a partnership with William T. Mitchell, who had just retired from the Circuit Bench, under the style of Mitchell & Avery. Mr. Mitch- ell retired in 1875 and J. W. Avery, who had just passed examination, was admitted, forming the firm of Avery Bros. In 1886 J. W. Avery retired on account of failing health, and his place was taken by Lincoln Avery, present prosecuting attorney, who was a student in the office. In 1892 Mr. Joseph Walsh, who had been with the firm since he was fourteen years of age, was taken into the business and the style of the partnership was changed to Avery Brothers & Walsh, as at present. Since 1875 Mr. Alexander R. Avery has been prominent in connection with cases tried in St. Clair county. He was prosecuting attorney from 1874 to 1879, two terms, and Circuit Court Commissioner from 1872 to 1874. At present the firm is retained by the State to assist the attorney general in settling the titles to the lands known as the St. Clair Flats. In politics Mr. Avery is an uncompromising Republican. He was appointed postmaster of Port Huron by President Harrison, held the office forty-seven months, and was removed by President Cleveland for offensive partisanship, one month before his term expired. He has several times been chairman of the Republican County committee and member of the State Central commit- He was married July 22, 1866, to Miss Martha Locke of Sanilac county, and they have three children. Henry, aged twenty-eight, resid- ing in Detroit; Minnie, aged twenty-four and Kittie, aged fifteen, residing at home. tee. 568 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. JOHN C. FITZGERALD, Grand Rapids. John Chaplain FitzGerald is practically a native of Michigan. His mother, Sylvia Strickland, was of Puritan stock, while his father, Jeremiah FitzGerald, was a native of New York. He was born in Berlin, Huron county, Ohio, in 1835, and when an infant his parents removed to Springport, Jackson county, Michigan, where his father engaged in farming. Jeremiah FitzGerald served his country as a captain of Volunteers in the War of 1812, and after removing to Michigan, was one of the sturdy pioneers of Jackson county. The subject of this sketch had the advantages and the disadvantages in his early days of the average farmer's boy, with the obligation to work as soon as able, and the privilege of attending the district school during a few months of the year. His early education was secured under difficulties which to many would have seemed insurmountable. He, however, made the most of his opportunities, and by dint of hard labor and working late at night after his farm duties had been attended, not only acquired a rudimentary educa- tion, but cultivated that persistent and untiring energy in the face of oppo- sition which has been characteristic of his subsequent life. earned by teaching a district school he was enabled to attend Albion Col- lege. In his work at home, and afterwards at Albion, he had steadily in view the purpose of studying law, and following this plan he, upon leaving school, went to Jackson and entered the office of Austin Blair, afterwards Michigan's War-Governor. In this office he was prepared for his admission With money He held the to the Bar, which took place in 1858, after which he contined to practice in Jackson until early in 1860, when he removed to Marshall, Calhoun county. The Bar of Calhoun county at that time was second to none in the State, and Mr. FitzGerald was compelled to and did win his place, through unflag- ging and energetic devotion to the business entrusted to him. He remained there until 1873 and built up a large and profitable practice. office of prosecuting-attorney from 1861 to 1865 and was also State Senator in 1869, declining to serve beyond the one term. With the exception of a nomination for Congress for the Grand Rapids District in 1884, he has at no other time engaged in politics. On this occasion he was defeated with. his party. In 1873 he was invited to enter into a partnership with John W. Champlin and Roger W. Butterfield of Grand Rapids, and the firm of Champlin, Butterfield & FitzGerald was continued for several years in the enjoyment of a most excellent practice. His removal to Grand Rapids was most happily timed; legal business in the settled agricultural country of Southern Michigan had greatly diminished, while that of Grand Rapids and the country tributary to it was at full tide. His hands were at once full of important business, and his thorough preparation elsewhere fitted him well for the new and more extended litigation in which he was to play a prominent part. On the dissolution of the firm, Mr. FitzGerald opened an office for himself and was without other partnership association until a comparatively recent period. He is still in active practice and has shown The Century Ablishing & being a Chicago John & Signall hald UNIV OF CH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 569 no disposition to relieve himself of the arduous cares of his profession. He has a fine physical development, a keen intellect, quick perception, strong convictions, and is a man of untiring industry. From the outset his ambi- tion has been to reach prominence in his profession and to bring to those entrusting business to his hands satisfaction and success. He has always displayed an unswerving loyalty to the interests of his clients. His natural disposition is to leave nothing untried, and nothing undone that may lead to success in his undertaking, and to that end he enjoys his work. He believes in thorough preparation for the trial of every case, and is always well equipped to meet any position his adversary may take. He deservedly stands high in the ranks of the lawyers of the State. Aside from his unqualified success at the Bar, he has also met success in a material way. His whole strength and ambition have been devoted to legal practice, pure and simple, and he has never allowed himself to engage in speculative enterprises. He was married in 1859 to Addie F. Taylor, only child of Reuben and Harriet Taylor of Albion, Michigan. They have one child, the wife of Edmund D. Barry. Mr. Barry is also a lawyer, and for the past few years has been associated with Mr. FitzGerald in the practice. No biography of Mr. FitzGerald would be complete without making ref- erence to his family life. It has been as nearly perfect as it is possible to be made. His home has always been an ideal one, and no amount of dis- traction or worry in business has ever been allowed to interfere with his unfailing kindness to those dear to him. He is a lover of books, enjoys foreign travel, and is a close student of economic and financial questions. To add nothing to the above, would be to leave half the truth untold. Much of Mr. FitzGerald's position and success must be credited to the unfailing loyalty, the devotion and the sound judgment of his wife. She brought to the union just the qualities most needed by her husband, and whatever his labors or disappointments elsewhere, he found at home such unfailing charm and sympathy that the labor was soon forgotten and the cares and perplexities soon dissipated. He would not care to have the story of his career told without this recognition of indebtedness to one whose gentle character and genuine assistance has made his success beyond doubt. ROLLIN H. PERSON, Lansing. Hon. Rollin H. Person is judge of the Thirtieth Judicial Circuit, a native of the State of Michigan and in the prime of life. He is descended from good New England stock, with English ancestors on both sides. His great-grandfather was Rev. Cor- nelius G. Person, of New Hampshire. His grandfather was Daniel Person, a native of New York, and his grandmother, Fanny Stevens, a native of Vermont. He is one of the two sons born to Cornelius H. and Lucinda Stafford Person, both of whom were natives of New York, who came to 570 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Michigan when young with their respective families. His father came to the State with his parents in 1837, was a teacher in early manhood, and later devoted his energies to farming. The family settled on a quarter section of land in Iosco township, Livingston county, cleared the forest and cultivated a farm. Here Rollin H. was born October 15, 1850. He was brought up on the farm, inured to hard work and privation. During the winters he attended district school and in this manner passed the first fifteen years of his life. After teaching for two winter terms he attended the Howell high school where he completed the academic studies and closed his literary education in school. In 1871 he was appointed deputy register of deeds and held the position two years. Before that he had decided to become a lawyer and began reading the text books in the office and under the instruction of Dennis Shields, an able lawyer of Howell. As may be assumed his preparation was broad and thorough. It was accepted as the equivalent of a year's instruction in the best law school. He entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan in 1872 and was admitted to the Bar the following year. Regarding it advantage- ous to begin the practice in a new country, he located on the Republican river in Harlan county, Nebraska, where he opened an office and began business. Very soon his clientage was large; but the grass-hopper raid, by which the crops were destroyed and the whole country devastated the Not following year, rendered it impossible for him to collect his fees. being able to live upon debts and uncertain promises to pay, he returned to Michigan in 1875 and opened a law office in Howell. Here he estab- lished himself successfully and built up a profitable practice. In 1876 and 1877 he served as recorder of Howell. In 1877-8 he was Circuit Court Commissioner of Livingston county. These are the only offices ever held by him until he was appointed Judge of the Thirtieth Circuit, upon its formation in 1890. At the April election in 1891 he was chosen judge of the circuit, as his own successor, by a very complimentary vote, running ahead of his ticket about eighteen hundred. His reputation as a lawyer, his record on the Bench, and his personal popularity all contributed to this result. He was regarded a leader of the Livingston county Bar before his appointment to the judgeship. He is possessed of all the essential qualifi- cations for successful service on the nisi prius Bench: knowledge of the law, a judicial temper, keen perception in grasping a legal point or proposition, quick discernment of what constitutes proper evidence, and capacity for ready decision. He is therefore regarded by the Bar within his acquaint- ance as one of the best judges on the Circuit Bench in the State. rulings and decisions have almost uniformly been sustained by the Supreme Court. He exercises the functions of a judge with undoubted moral cour- age and wise discretion. Whatever appears in the line of duty is taken up fearlessly. Judge Person is favored with social traits which are courted by the best society. He is a very fine conversationalist and has other charac- teristics which attract friends. He was one of the organizers of the first His OF The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago YO Walbridges UNIV BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 57I State Savings Bank of Howell. In 1890 he removed to Lansing, which continues to be his home. He is described as a self-made man because the education which he acquired and the position which he has gained in the profession did not depend upon the assistance of others. He is in all respects a clean man. As judge he summoned the grand jury to investi- gate the frauds of State officers in canvassing the vote on the salary amend- He seeks to enforce all laws and is an upright judge. ment. HENRY WALBRIDGE, St. Johns. Capt. Henry Walbridge was born August 21, 1820, at Cabot, Washington county, Vermont. He was orphaned at the age of twelve years and from that time forward was obliged to support himself. He learned a trade and worked during the day for self-maintenance and spent his evenings reading. Appreciating the importance of a liberal education he took a thorough course in the academy and while attending the academy utilized his evenings in the study of the law. In this manner he qualified himself to pass the examina- tion before Judge Isaac P. Redfield and was admitted to practice in the courts of Vermont. He entered upon the practice at law at Plainfield and subsequently located at Glover in the same State, where he remained in practice until thirty-two years of age. In 1852 he came West with his young family and located in Saline, Michigan, where he combined the practice of law with the business of a merchant. He was present at the birth of the Republican party, as a delegate to that memorable convention held under the oaks" at Jackson. at Jackson. In 1856 he removed with his family to St. Johns and established his permanent residence there, devoting him- self entirely to his law practice and filling the office of prosecuting attorney for a term. He was appointed second lieutenant by Governor Blair in 1862 and assigned to the service of recruiting for the Twenty-third Mich- igan Volunteer Infantry. He raised Company G of that regiment and was mustered as its captain in July, 1862, going to the front at once. Later he was attacked with fever and diarrhea in camp at Louden, Tennessee, which unfitted him for service, and in January, 1864, he resigned on the surgeon's certificate of disability, returning to his home at St. Johns. While in the army he was detailed as Judge Advocate in courts martial. Soon after the war he was again elected prosecuting attorney. He also served as Circuit Court Commissioner several terms. In 1896 Mr. Walbridge was once more nominated and elected prosecuting attorney of Clinton county. He is hale, active and vigorous, although nearly seventy- seven years old. His popularity is attested by the fact that he was the only successful candidate on his ticket at the last election. He is undoubt- edly the oldest prosecuting attorney in the United States. Captain Walbridge has made a reputation as one of the most prominent and suc- 572 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. cessful lawyers in central Michigan. As an advocate before a court and jury he is fearless and powerful. In the examination of witnesses he has few superiors. He has tried many important cases in the circuits of the State, and his name is a familiar one in the reports of cases in the Supreme Court. He was married in Vermont to Zilpah Allen, a native of that State and a relative of Gen. Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga. Their three children are Henry E., lawyer, St. Johns; Edward L., lawyer, Grand Rapids; and Ella, wife of Dr. H. H. De May, of Jackson. PATRICK HENRY PHILLIPS, Port Huron. Mr. Phillips, of the law firm Phillips & Jenks, was born in New York City, October 11, 1853. His father was a native of Ireland, a tailor by trade, and came to America in 1845. His mother was of Irish parentage and a native of New York City. In 1857 the family came West and settled at Port Huron, Michigan. What schooling he had was obtained in the public schools of that city. He improved his opportunities as demonstrated by the fact that at the age of fifteen he was working at the printing trade and writing for the columns of a weekly paper. While he worked for his daily bread he found time to devote to books and made as much progress in improving his mind as he did in learning a trade. Having mastered the printer's trade he failed to see in it the promise of advancement his ambition craved and he turned to the law, entering the office of Atkinson & Brother—afterwards Atkinson & Stevenson, where he remained in a clerical capacity from 1875 to 1881. He was admitted to the Bar in 1879 in the Circuit Court of St. Clair county. He was for a short time associated with Samuel W. Vance, now the Circuit Court Judge of St. Clair county. In 1881 he formed a part- nership arrangement with Elliott G. Stevenson, now a partner of Don M. Dickinson, in Detroit. It will be seen from the foregoing that Mr. Phil- lips's education had been of the practical kind rather than theoretical. Six years spent with men who stood at the top of the profession and who had a practice that covered every principle in law was the best possible kind of education for a close observer and hard worker, such as Mr. Phillips. The partnership formed with Mr. Stevenson continued until 1885. From that time up to to 1891 he remained alone, when he associated with him in the business, Mr. William L. Jenks, a partnership that continues to the present time. In politics Mr. Phillips is a Democrat. He was elected on that ticket to the office of prosecuting attorney for the years 1885 and 1886. He has been city attorney by appointment of the city council since 1891. He took an active part in the steps that were taken to establish a public library for the city which placed the library in the hands of a commission and which will result in the people of the city having advantages which they were long deprived of, and he fully appreciates what a boon such an institution is to people who are unable to buy books. This provision was BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 573 incorporated in the amendments to the charter of the city of Port Huron made in 1895, and it made provision for a commission of three persons to be appointed by the board of education, whose duty it is to look after the interests of the library and it also made provision for the raising of a fixed sum by taxation every year for library purposes. The firm, of which he is the senior member, has a large general practice in the State and Federal Courts. Mr. Philips was married in 1882 to Miss Kate B. Atkins of Port Huron. They have two children. WILLIAM LEE JENKS, Port Huron. The founder of the Jenks family in America was John Jenks, who came from England in 1642 and settled near Lynn, Massachusetts. He possessed remarkable genius, united with practical common sense. He was the inventor of the modern mowing scythe, which for two centuries held undisputed sway in the meadows. He also invented or discovered a process of iron forging, and had the sagacity to protect it by letters patent from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This was the first patent issued to an inventor on the American continent, and therefore gave to the patentee a historical dis- tinction. His invention was one of the contributions to modern civiliza- tion, inestimable in the money of barter and exchange. One of his descendants, who was the great-grandfather of our subject, was a soldier in the Revolutionary army. William Lee Jenks was born in St. Clair county, Michigan, December 27, 1856, the son of Bela W. Jenks and Sarah Carleton. His father, a native of Essex county, New York, was a dealer in lumber and real estate, came to Michigan in 1848 and located in St. Clair, where he still lives. William Lee was prepared for college in the St. Clair high school and entered the University of Michigan in 1874, where he took the full classical course. He was graduated in 1878, and the following year located in Port Huron and became a student of law in the office of Brown & Farrand. For more than a year he pursued his studies in the law under the instruction of his preceptors, and in October, 1879, was admitted to the Bar. For the first five years he practised alone, and in 1884 became associated in partnership with B. C. Farrand, consti- tuting the firm of Farrand & Jenks, which was dissolved after a continu- ance of five years. He then united with A. R. and Lincoln Avery to form the firm of Avery, Jenks & Avery, which was dissolved after an existence of one year. Mr. Jenks then continued in practice alone until 1891, when the firm of Phillips & Jenks was organized. Mr. Jenks has not given undue prominence to any specialty, or devoted himself to a considera- tion of one class of cases, or a single branch of the law. He has given particular attention to the laws relating to real estate-the investiga- tion of titles by descent or devise or occupation-and all the various complications attending the inheritance, partition, conveyance and incum- 574 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. brance of real property. This is a most interesting branch of the law, and one whose mastery requires vast research. His practice in the main has been general and in all the State and Federal courts. While the law has commanded his devotion and employed his abilities chiefly, he has been led by a pronounced financial instinct to engage in various enterprises that are purely traffic or commercial in character. He has been active in the organization and maintenance of private corporations which require a legal adviser. He is a director and the attorney of the City Electric Railway Company of Port Huron; director and attorney of the Port Huron Loan and Building Association; director and attorney of the Commercial Savings Bank of St. Clair, and a stockholder and director in other Port Huron corporations. He is a plain, practical, sensible man and a good lawyer. He is not distinguished for oratory so much as for the dispatch of business. He is inclined to accept Dickens' definition of time as the measure of business, and makes his argument clear, plain and direct. One of the foremost lawyers of northeastern Michigan character- izes him as a man of gentlemanly instinct, kind, courteous and obliging; a good student and a thorough lawyer. He is a thoughtful, clear-headed man, capable in business, as well as the practice of law. He is not one who can make a flowery speech upon the spur of the moment, and you must know him in order to appreciate his sterling qualities. He is one of the ablest members of the Porr Huron Bar. Mr. Jenks was married in 1881 to Margaret S., daughter of Dr. Moses B. Wilson, a practising physician of Belle Center, Ohio, and has one daughter. Mr. Walbridge was born. EDWARD L. WALBRIDGE, Grand Rapids. November 1, 1856, at St. Johns, Michigan. His father, Capt. Henry Walbridge, whose sketch is published in this volume, is a native of Ver- mont, who came to this State in 1852. His mother, Zilpah Allen, was a descendant of the renowned Col. Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame. The early life of the subject of this biography was spent in St. Johns. His education was obtained in the high school of that city and in the University of Michigan. He read law in his father's office and was admitted to the Bar February 17, 1879, before Judge Louis S. Lovell, passing a highly creditable examination, being the only candidate for admission. Before being admitted he was deputy postmaster of St. Johns for a year and a half. He began the practice immediately upon his admission, and in the fall of the next year was elected Circuit Court Commissioner. In the spring of 1883 he removed to Ithaca, Gratiot county, was at once appointed village attorney and acted in that capacity for five years. He was appointed circuit court commissioner of Gratiot county by Governor Rich in 1887. Was three years on Ithaca school board and its President in 1890. Soon after locating in Ithaca the construction of the Toledo, Ann Arbor and The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicago Edward S. Walbridge! UNID OF M BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 575 Northern Michigan Railroad was begun through the county and he was retained in over twenty injunction suits in the Circuit Court against the proprietors of the road. The object of this litigation was to restrain the company from building the road until the right of way had been paid for. The company at first paid some attention to the injunctions, but soon began to disregard them and began putting down the iron track without paying for the right of way. Mr. Walbridge and his clients tore up the tracks, burned the ties, and plowed up the road bed several different times. He and all his clients were arrested upon a criminal warrant, but through the earnest determination of young Walbridge to fight the suits in the courts the company abandoned the action and all were discharged. He and his clients were afterwards sued in the Federal Courts at Detroit for damages and again arrested upon a capias by United States Marshal Mat- thews. Bail was given and again the company resumed track laying; but it was no sooner down than Mr. Walbridge and his clients again tore it up. The company then proceeded in the probate court to condemn the land for railroad purposes. In the probate court Mr. Walbridge contested the proceedings and upon his motion to quash for defects in company's papers, the suits were dismissed with costs and attorney fees granted Mr. Wal- bridge. Again the company proceeded in probate court as before and again Mr. Walbridge detected vital errors in their proceedings and the suits were again dismissed with costs and attorney fees. The third time the company commenced proceedings in probate court and this time it was so sure the papers were right that on the day of hearing the company got several hundred men all ready to start putting down the track just as soon as the hearing was had; but upon this hearing Mr. Walbridge made another motion to quash the proceedings for defective papers, and after an earnest and hotly contested argument the motion was granted and cases were again dismissed. This ended the fight in probate court, as James Ashley, presi- dent of the road, called upon Mr. Walbridge and proposed settlement. The latter obtained full price for all the land taken from his clients and full costs and attorney fees. The company at its own cost and expense dis- missed its suit for damages in the Federal Court, and shortly afterwards appointed Mr. Walbridge the local attorney for its road. He held the position for two years and tried several important cases for the company. In 1886, at Detroit, he was admitted to practice in the U. S. Circuit and District Courts before Judge Henry Brown, now an Associate Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court. Four years later he formed a partnership with James Clarke, then prosecuting attorney, and served as assistant in this office until the partnership was dissolved in 1892. In May, 1892, he removed to Grand Rapids and formed a partnership with his brother, H. E. Walbridge, which continued one year, when the latter returned to St. Johns. In June, 1893, he was elected to membership in the Michigan State Bar Association, of which he is still a member. The same year he entered into partnership with J. T. McAlister, which was terminated by 576 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. cases. the appointment of Mr. Walbridge, March 1, 1894, to the office of assist- ant prosecuting attorney, by Alfred Wolcott, the prosecuting attorney of Kent county, which he held until June 1, 1896, and then resigned. The appointment came to him unsolicited, after his success in two important cases which he had before tried in the superior court. His work was gen- erally in the circuit and superior courts as assistant prosecutor, and he has made a fine reputation as a trial lawyer. One week he tried eight import- ant criminal cases in the superior court in succession before a jury and won seven out of the eight. He has done good work in prosecuting cases for the Kent county Humane Society and that organization has passed resolu- tions thanking him for his zeal in their behalf. He has tried several important cases in the Supreme Court and was one of the first lawyers who made a success in Supreme Court on the "Bohemian Oat Swindle In politics Mr. Walbridge is a Republican, and has always taken an active part in campaigning; but the last few years has devoted all his time to his profession. He is a popular and magnetic speaker and has been often When he came to called upon to deliver memorial and other addresses. Grand Rapids he had the endorsement of many prominent men in the State, including Judge R. M. Montgomery, of Lansing, Justice of the Supreme Court, Judge A. B. Morse, Consul at Glasgow, Judge Daboll and others. When he left Ithaca the attorneys and court officers held a meet- ing in open court and passed resolutions of regret at his leaving and charac- terized him as a man who had practised his profession without reproach. These were signed by all the attorneys in the Twenty-ninth Judicial Cir- cuit, the presiding judge and all the county officers. A copy was filed with the clerk of the court and an engrossed copy presented to the subject. September 26, 1896, he formed a partnership with William P. Belden, a recent graduate of Cornell University. Mr. Walbridge was married Feb- ruary 11, 1880, to Miss Mary Topping, daughter of Dr. G. W. Topping, of Dewitt, one of the prominent physicians of the State. Dr. Topping was president of the Clinton county Medical Society at different times, has been secretary and treasurer of the State Medical Society, of which he was president in 1883. He was a delegate to the American Medical Association several times, was an active member of the Detroit Medical and Library Association, a prominent Mason and a writer of some note; gave much attention to ornithology and entomology, and possessed one of the largest collections of birds and insects in the country. He died January 14, 1895. Mrs. Walbridge was educated at Hillsdale College. They have one daughter, Zoe, and are a happy family. Mr. and Mrs. Walbridge are both members of the Park Congregational church of Grand Rapids. Mr. Wal- bridge is a gentleman in every respect, entirely trustworthy, painstaking and industrious. His legal ability is of a high order and he is a courteous and companionable man. He is true to his clients and diligent in their interests. He comes from a stock that cannot be "bought, bluffed or choked off." He was counsel for the plaintiff in a recent important case BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 577 of E. E. Barrett vs. Grand Rapids Veneer Works, whose trial in the Circuit Court occupied twenty days. It was an action brought by the plaintiff to recover damages and future profits for breach of a lumber contract. Upon the first trial the presiding judge took the case from the jury upon the theory that the damages were too speculative and uncertain, and instructed them to find for the defendant, for no cause of action. Counsel for plain- tiff carried the case to the Supreme Court, secured a reversal and order for a new trial. The second trial which closed November 11, 1896, resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff, assessing his damages at $6, 198.40 with costs. WILLARD F. KEENEY, Grand Rapids. Willard F. Keeney, of the firm of Butterfield and Keeney, was descended from the yeomanry. Both of his grandfathers were farmers. His paternal grandfather and grand- mother were natives of New York State, the former of Columbia and the latter of Genesee county. His maternal grandfather was born in Oneida county, New York, and his maternal grandmother was a native of Lanca- shire, England. His father, Daniel Keeney, a native of Canada, born at Dumfries, Ontario, came to Michigan with his parents at the age of six. His mother, Rhoda White, a native of Oneida county, New York, came to Michigan with her parents at the age of eight. In this State the parents of our subject were reared, educated and married. They removed to Illinois, where Mr. Daniel Keeney spent several years in the retail lumber trade and then returned to Michigan. He is now a resident of California. Willard F. Keeney was born at Arcola, Illinois, January 25, 1862, and came with his parents to Michigan when he was two and a half years old. He has lived in Kent county ever since that time. His education was received in the Grand Rapids public schools, and he was graduated from the high school in 1879. Immediately after that he entered the Literary Department of the University of Michigan, but in consequence of the failure of his sight, occasioned by over-study, was compelled to leave before completing his course. As soon as he was able to resume his studies he returned to the University and spent one year in the Law Department. In 1882 he returned to Grand Rapids and entered the law office of Hon. R. W. Butterfield as a student. In 1883, at the age of twenty-one, he was admitted to the Bar at Grand Rapids, and, January 1, 1887, he had made such progress in the law as to be admitted to partner- ship with Mr. Butterfield. This was before he had reached the age of twenty-five years. The firm has continued unchanged until the present time. Mr. Keeney has practised in the various courts of the State, the Federal courts of Michigan, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Among the cases he has conducted which have excited public attention is one decided in favor of his client by the Supreme Court of the United States. It is entitled Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company vs. Butler and is 37 578 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. reported in 159 U. S. 87. It involved a question of riparian rights. In this case the bank of Grand river was surveyed in 1831 and there was no express reservation at the time of an island in Grand river opposite the main land. The island was not surveyed at this time, although lines were drawn on the plat indicating the place where the island lay. The land upon the shore was patented. Subsequently the island was surveyed by the United States and a patent to the island was granted by the United States to the railroad company. The land became quite valuable, being near the center of the city of Grand Rapids. Mr. Keeney represented the riparian proprietor, and the court held with him that the patent to the railroad company was void and that the island belonged to the riparian proprietor. Mr. Keeney is engaged in general practice, but the business which has fallen to his lot has related largely to corporate and commercial affairs and estates. In politics he is a Republican. He has never held public position, nor been an aspirant for political preferment; but has con- fined himself closely to the duties or his profession. He is a bachelor. HENRY E. WALBRIDGE, St. Johns. Henry E. Walbridge is one of the strong, capable and successful lawyers of central Michigan. His char- acter as a man and his standing at the Bar make it entirely appropriate that a sketch of his life should appear in a publication dedicated to the profes- sion of which he is an honorable member. It will be interesting to inves- tigate the sources of his influence and discover the hidings of his power. The brief story of his genealogy discloses the probability of hereditary traits and inherited abilities and tendencies. His parents were born natives of Vermont, and possessed the best attributes of the New Eugland type— valor and probity, industry and thrift, integrity and perseverance. His father, Captain Henry Walbridge, is accounted for in his personal sketch. His mother was Zilphia Allen, a daughter of Ethan Allen of Vermont, and a collateral descendant of Gen. Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga. Henry E. Walbridge is the eldest of the three surviving children born to his parents, the others being Edward L., attorney at law, Grand Rapids, and Mrs. Ella De May of Jackson, Michigan. He was born in Glover, Vermont, March 31, 1850, and brought to Michigan by his parents two years afterwards. His early childhood was spent in Saline, and he was six years old when the family removed to St. Johns. Here he attended the Union Schools and the St. Johns high school, in which he was prepared for college. When only seventeen years of age he entered Olivet College, where he took the scientific course. On leaving college he studied law in the office and under the instruction of his father, and was peculiarly favored in having for a teacher a man so interested in his success, and one who understood his mental capacity and disposition. The next week after attaining his majority he was admitted to practice and to a partnership The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago. Hemy Walbridge UNIV OF BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 579 with his father. This relation was continued until the retirement of his father, and in 1890 he formed a partnership with Gen. O. L. Spaulding. At the end of two years this relation was dissolved, and after practising alone until May, 1893, he became associated in a partnership with J. H. Fedewa, which is still in existence. The first case with which Mr. Wal- bridge was connected in the Supreme Court was of prime importance and established a precedent. He represented the defendant in the suit of Eunice E. Vought (by her next friend) vs. George D. Frost (by his guar- dian). Hon. Randolph Strickland was counsel for plaintiff. The question involved was whether or not under the Michigan statutes a man over eighteen and under twenty-one years of age was liable for damages on account of breach of promise, or contract of marriage. The Circuit Court held that such liability existed and the verdict therein was in favor of the plaintiff. The Supreme Court, after a full hearing and review of the case, reversed the Circuit Court and established the law of Michigan. Mr. Wal- bridge has had numerous important cases in the Supreme Court, and during later years has won almost every such case by the carefulness and thorough- ness of his preparation, the lucidity and strength of his argument. He inherited an unmistakable tendency or inclination to the law, without which it is difficult for any man, however learned and industrious he may be, to achieve the full measure of success. He is fortunate also in having early formed the habits of a student. He has been able to summon all of his abilities and command them in the investigation of i mportant or intricate. questions, devoting himself to the work with a persistency which cannot fail. He has what is aptly termed a cultivated common sense. He is not. capricious; there is no vacillation in his course, He is therefore capable of maintaining himself among the men who form the front rank in profes- sional progress. In 1872 he was elected Circuit Court Commissioner and held the office six years. His practice takes him into the courts of Clinton, Shiawassee, Saginaw, Ingham, Gratiot, Kent, Ionia and Montcalm coun- ties. He is local attorney for the D. G. H. & M. railway. Mr. Walbridge has no fondness for political office, preferring the work and rewards of his profession. He is a very enthusiastic Republican and participates actively in all political campaigns, both in public meetings and at the polls. He is frequently chosen as delegate to party conventions. He has two estimable daughters who live with him at home. He is especially courteous in his bearing toward strangers and impresses favorably all who meet him in social contact. His sterling qualities of character no less than his lawyerlike abilities commend him to the profession and the public. He has won an enviable reputation as a skillful examiner of witnesses and a successful advocate before juries. 580 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. THOMAS F. MCGARRY, Grand Rapids. Mr. McGarry was born in Ada, Kent county, Michigan, December 25, 1859; received a common school education; taught school; also taught night school, mathematics and pen- manship. He became station agent of railroad, and construction contractor. He was admitted to the Bar April 13, 1880; January 1, 1881, became a member of the firm of Mitchell, Bell & McGarry of Ionia, Michigan; was city attorney three terms, and mayor of Ionia, one term; was attorney for the D. L. & N. and C. S. & C. railroads. In 1884 he married Miss Nettie Belding, of Cincinnati, Ohio, daughter of D. W. Belding, vice- president of the silk firm of Belding Bros. & Co. In 1890 he moved to Grand Rapids, and became associated successively with the Hons. M. H. Ford, William F. McKnight, Allen B. Morse and J. Byron Judkins. January 1, 1895, he formed a partnership with George E. Nichols of Ionia. This firm conducts business both at Ionia and Grand Rapids, under the name of McGarry & Nichols, and has a large practice. EDMUND D. BARRY, Grand Rapids. Edmund Drinan Barry was born August 4, 1854, in a log house four miles south of Ann Arbor in the Township of Pittsfield, Washtenaw county, Michigan. His father, Rob- ert J. Barry, worked his way to Michigan from New Jersey when but a boy, and was one of the early settlers of Washtenaw county. His mother, Sarah A. Moseley, was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and came with her father's family to Michigan when Washtenaw county was still a wil- derness. In 1855 Robert J. Barry was elected county clerk and moved his family from his farm to Ann Arbor, which continued to be the family residence until 1883. Mr. Barry thns obtained his early training in the Ann Arbor graded schools, and grew up in a literary atmosphere of that college town. On graduating from the high school he entered the classical course of the Literary Department of the University of Michigan, and graduated therefrom in June, 1876, receiving the degree of A. B. He was principal of the Port Huron high school during 1876-7, and superin- tendent of the Allegan public schools from 1877 to 1881. While at Alle- gan he devoted his spare time to reading law and was admitted, on exami- nation, to the Bar of Allegan county June 12, 1880. One year later he resigned his position at Allegan and entered the law office of Norris & Uhl at Grand Rapids, remaining with that firm until its dissolution in June, 1887. Mr. Barry was married August 2, 1888, to Miss A. Belle FitzGerald, daughter of Hon. J. C. FitzGerald. In December, 1889, Mr. FitzGerald and Mr. Barry formed a law partnership under the name of FitzGerald & Barry, which still exists. Mr. Barry has never indulged in politics, and has never sought nor held public office. His entire time and attention are given to his profession. The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago. Exmuna R. Barry 2 OF M BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 581 FOREST C. BADGELY, Jackson. The subject of this sketch is another of Michigan's sons who graduated from the farm before he did from any educational institution. In fact he never graduated from college at all. It can be said to his honor that he educated himself. If we were to elimi- nate from the records of the country the names and doings of the men who have made the history of this country during the past two genera- tions, all those who were not graduates of some of our institutions of learning, what an appalling gap there would appear. Forest C. Badgely He was born twenty-nine years ago on a farm in Jackson county, Michigan. He resided on the farm until he reached the age of maturity, getting in the interval all the educational advantages that were to be obtained in the district school. He supplemented this education by a course in the Jack- son high school, completing in one year the entire two-year course. had determined on the law for a vocation long before he left the paternal roof and Blackstone and other authorities on legal subjects had been the com- panions of his leisure hours. In the spring of 1889 he entered the law office of Hammond, Barkworth & Cobb, and pursued his studies for a year, when he was admitted to the Bar at Jackson and one year later opened an office for himself. He was subsequently elected Circuit Court Commissioner, whose duties he discharged with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. The habits of industry formed early he carried with him into his professional work, which, supplemented by his other excellent habits and well known integrity, soon put him on the high way to success. For a young man in practice but a short time he has a remarkably large clientage. He has engaged in some important litigation and has held his own with lawyers of ripe years and experience. For the time he has been in practice he has made a good reputation and been highly successful as a criminal lawyer. Among his clients are some of the largest jobbing and manufacturing firms in the city of Jackson. He is the local representative of many outside firms and corporations, among which are mentioned the Snow-Church Company, The North American Mercantile Agency Company, The United States Law Association, The Bradstreet Company and Feifield & Feifield. He is an esteemed member of the Knights of Pythias, Maccabees and of the Ancient Essenic Order. Mr. Badgely is a member of the Bar in good standing and is therefore entitled to representation in a volume bearing the title selected for this work. With a substantial moral character formed by the practice of essential virtues, with correct ethical ideas and the habits of a student he may grow and achieve honorable distinction in the profession. 582 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. IRA R. GROSVENOR, Monroe. Col. Ira Rufus Grosvenor is a note- worthy figure in the legal profession of Michigan. Coming at the age of twenty into the territory before its admission into the Union as a state, he has been a resident of Monroe county more than sixty years. He was born in Paxton, Worcester county, Massachusetts, March 18, 1815. His parents were Ebenezer A. and Mary A. Livermore Grosvenor. His father was a school teacher, first in Massachusetts and afterwards at various places in central and southern New York, and the family was poor. Ira therefore found it desirable to become a bread-winner at a very early age. He was barely sixteen when he left home to enter upon a career for him- self which should be independent and self-supporting. His capital consisted of good health, a good academic education, and a character well compacted of the elements and principles which make the best manhood. He was resolute in the purpose to succeed, and willing to accept any employment that was useful and remunerative. He was fortunate, before reaching the age of twenty, in being promoted to a clerkship in the land-office at Mon- roe, Michigan, from the clerkship of a small steamer plying on Lake On- tarion, whose owner was appointed receiver of the land-office. He re- mained in this office two years and worked his way to the position of chief clerk. When the land-office was removed to Detroit he began the study of law, which he pursued four years under most capable instructors: Warner M. Wing, afterwards judge of the Supreme Court of Michigan; Robert McClelland, afterwards governor of the state and Secretary of the Interior in President Pierce's cabinet; and Alpheus Felch, one of the noble men and great lawyers of the State. It was a rare privilege to be associated in early life as a student of law with the men most eminent in the jurisprudence and political affairs of the State. His four years of study under such teachers qualified him liberally for practice when he was admitted to the Bar. His first employment in the profession was in the capacity of clerk or assistant to older lawyers. After two years he opened an office for independent practice. He had several partnerships during the next forty years, first with David A. Noble, an excellent lawyer and prominent man, for nearly ten years; second, with Talcot E.Wing, in the firm of Grosvenor & Wing, for eight years; third, with John R. Rauch, who had been a student of law in his office, for nearly fifteen years; next with Rufus E. Pinney, in a partnership which continued until the latter was elected Judge of Probate in 1876; afterwards with George M. Landon until the appointment of Mr. Landon as Judge of Probate. The War of the Rebellion interrupted the course of Col. Grovesnor's professional life. He had, prior to the war, manifested a considerable taste for military affairs and taken an active interest both in the militia organized under State law and the formation and drilling of independent companies. He was one of the commissioned officers of such a company at Monroe. In 1861 he organ- ized the seventh Michigan infantry and received a commission as colonel. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 583 The regiment was mustered September 5, 1861, and proceeded at once to the front. He discharged the duties of a field-officer with bravery and intelligence, was in numerous battles and skirmishes, and led his regiment in some brilliant charges. At Ball's Bluff he was in command of a brigade for a time. He participated in the Peninsular Campaign, the siege of Yorktown, the battles of West Point and Fair Oaks, Fredericksburg and Peach Orchard, White Oak Swamps and Glendale. He resigned July 7, 1864, with health greatly shattered, and returned to his home soon after- wards. It required some time to gather up the threads of his law prac- tice; but little by little, as the enfeebled state of his health permitted, he regained the business and took an advanced position in his profession. He manifested the interest of a good citizen in political affairs and as a candi- date of the Republican party was elected to the State Legislature in 1870, although the county was overwhelmingly Democratic. This is the only political office he has ever held. In 1879 he was nominated as a candi- date for judge of the twenty-second judicial circuit, but the adverse majority in the counties of Monroe and Washtenaw, which comprised the circuit, was too large to be overcome. In 1881 he was appointed by the Governor a trustee of the Asylum for the Insane at Kalamazoo and served as such fourteen years. He has long been president of the Bar Associa- tion of Monroe county. For nearly sixty years Col. Grosvenor has been a member of the Bar of Monroe, giving earnest thought and attention to the practice of law. He has aimed to master the principles and apply the spirit of the law, rather than concern himself with mere technicalities. His early instruction and reading helped to a proper understanding of the common law. He has the acumen to discern what the law is, a sense of justice which is innate and intuitive, and tireless perseverance. To breth- ren of the Bar his courtesy is unfailing. He concedes the rights of others and maintains his own. His fidelity to a cause or a client is absolute. As an advocate he is argumentative and sympathetic. His sensibilities are fine. He espouses the cause of the poor who are unable to pay with the same alacrity and earnestness as that of the rich. As a man he is highly esteemed for the exhibition in daily life of the traits which make an up- right citizen, a kind neighbor and a faithful friend. He was married Sep- tember 14, 1837, to Miss Harriet Wood, daughter of Col. Joseph Wood, of Monroe, who died in 1845. May 22, 1849, he married Miss Sarah A. Wood, the sister of his first wife. Three children, born of the second marriage, survive: Irene Frances, wife of H. B. Wheelock, of Chicago; Elliott O., who was graduated from the University of Michigan with the honors of his class in 1885, and afterwards graduated from the Law De- partment of the University and was admitted to the Bar, but who has preferred agricultural pursuits; Winthrop W., who is also a resident of Monroe. Col. Grosvenor resides on his beautiful farm just outside of the city, which he named Fair Oaks on account of its resemblance to the bat- tlefield of that name. 584 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. FITCH REED WILLIAMS, Elk Rapids. Hon. Fitch R. Williams is de- scended from good old Dutch and Welsh stock. His father, John Williams, a native of Connecticut, and of Dutch descent, was a teacher in his early manhood, and afterwards a merchant and manufacturer. His mother, Bulia Calkins, was a native of Litchfield county, Connecticut, and of Welsh descent. Fitch R. Williams was the second in a family of six children who lived to maturity. He was born at Amenia, Duchess county, New York, December 18, 1834. His early years were spent in Sharon, Con- necticut, to which his parents removed when he was a small child. There he attended the district school until he was ten years old, when he came west with his parents, who settled in Sharon, Washtenaw county, Michi- gan. This was in 1845. Afterwards the family removed to Albion, where Fitch attended the seminary which developed into Albion College. In this seminary he was prepared for college, and after his attendance there and at the university, he was professor of Latin and Greek in Albion College for two years. He entered the University of Michigan and was gradu- ated in 1858 with the degree of A. B. Subsequently the degree of A. M. was conferred upon him for continuation in literary pursuits. After graduation he was appointed instructor in Latin in the University, and held the position two years. In the Freshman class of eighty or more young men, which he then instructed, were many who have since become prominent in affairs, among whom may be mentioned Judge Henry H. Swan, Regent Levi L. Barbour, Regent C. S. Draper, deceased, Pro- fessors D'Oge and Walter of the University, Edwin F. Uhl, Ambassador to Germany, and many others who became distinguished in the State, in professional life or public station. He recalls this period of his life with much satisfaction, and esteems it an honor to have been permitted to teach such men. His father died about this time, and he was compelled to resign in order to care for the family and the estate. On this account he was obliged to remain in Albion for six years. He had begun the study of law while in the University, and was an important factor in the establishment of the Law Department of the University. That he was instrumental in securing Professor Cooley to the Law School, and to citi- zenship in Ann Arbor, will always afford him a pleasurable memory. While engaged in the settlement of his father's estate he established a book and drug store at Albion, in connection with his brother, and became a successful merchant. In 1866 he sold this business, resumed his law studies and was admitted to the Bar at Marshall two years later. He began practice at Albion, where he remained two years, until the fall of 1870. The well-known firm of Dexter & Noble, having extensive interests at Elk Rapids, induced Mr. Williams to locate there. For the past twenty- six years he has continued to reside in Elk Rapids, and during most of the time has conducted a law practice alone. In the seventies J. A. Parkinson, now of Jackson, was associated with him under the firm name of Williams 4 The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago Fitch Reed Williams UNIV OF MICH BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. 585 & Parkinson; and afterwards, for a short time, Mr. Charles T. Hickox, now of Milwaukee, was in partnership with him. His practice has been gen- eral and as large as that of any other firm in his section of the State. In 1870 Elk Rapids was the county seat of a district which has since been divided into the four counties of Antrim, Kalkaska, Otsego and Crawford. From 1870 to 1876 he served as prosecuting attorney, and while in office he prosecuted fifty cases for infraction of the prohibitory and liquor tax laws, securing convictions in forty-nine of the cases. He was elected to the State Senate in 1876 for a term of two years, and as a member of that body was the authority on the law governing taxation, to which he had given much study. He was counsel for the State against the L. S. & M. S. Railway Company in the case entitled Pritchard (State Treasurer) vs. Latimer (Auditor-General). The question involved was taxing the rail- road company under its old charter after its reorganization or consolida- tion with other companies. He took the position that the old charter was surrendered by their consolidation under the general railroad law. This was the beginning of that class of litigation which has since attracted much attention in the State. Mr. Williams started the ball rolling. He was the principal attorney for defendant in the suit for removal of the county seat from Elk Rapids to Bellaire, in which close constitutional questions. were raised, but was defeated. He tried in the United States court the first case of the series since known as the "Swamp-Land Cases," involving the principle that under the original surveys, as agreed upon, the swamp- lands appearing thereon were granted to the State by the Act of 1850 without further identification. Mr. Williams was married August 12, 1862, to Miss Elizabeth Jane Roberts, of Ogden, Monroe county, New York, a lady of much refinement and cultivated taste; an artist of recog- nized ability. She was educated at Albion College, and Leroy University, New York. They have one son, Fitch Roberts Williams, who was born in 1874, and educated classically at Albion, but is now studying law in his father's office, preparatory to entering the Law Department of the Univer- sity of Michigan. Mr. Williams is a man of substantial means and high financial standing; a stockholder and director in the Elk Rapids Savings Bank, for which he is also the attorney. He has the legal business of sev- eral large corporations. He is a Mason and a member of the Alpha Delta Phi, Greek fraternity, and a scholarly gentleman of versatile talents. The mental discipline which he acquired in teaching was scarcely less important in his subsequent career than the accurate knowledge of the classics obtained by study, and firmly fixed in mind by imparting instruction to others. His success in the law is equalled by his prosperity in business, for which he has always displayed large capacity. Trained to study, he mastered intricate problems of the law; clear in his perceptions, industri- ous and persistent in gaining all possible knowledge of his cases, systematic in the arrangement of his evidence, lucid and forceful in the presentation of his facts, he is able to accomplish all that may be done for a client in 586 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. the trial of a cause. He believes in his profession, and pursues it with a devotion that always secures good results. He believes in culture and practises the amenities. The air of refinement in his home is as distinct as the hospitality and good cheer. He is regarded one of the most useful as well as prominent citizens in his part of the State. APPENDIX. ROLL OF MICHIGAN LAWYERS. Following is a complete list of attorneys whose names appear on the roll kept in the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, as certified by that official. Where the date of admission is unknown the names are marked *. Date of Admission. * Jan. 1839 * 1838 Nov. 12, 1839 * * June, 1839 May, 1842 1842 1843 66 Nov. 1846 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Name. B. F. H. Witherell, R. M. Clelland, Samuel T. Douglass, Thos. W. Lockwood, Wm. T. Mitchell, E. C. Walker, C. I. Walker, Wm. T. Young, Aug. C. Baldwin, A. B. Maynard, G. V. N. Lothrop, D. B. Duffield, D. C. Holbrook, Edmund Hall, H. H. Wells, S. Stevens, Wm. L. Webber, Sidney D. Miller, Thos. H. Hartwell, Alex. J. Fraser, W. A. Moore, Mar. 1847 Mar. 1848 1851 1852 1853 Jan. 8, (6 E. T. Throop, Feb. 25, 1854 Oct. Jan. Jan. 26, June 4, 1855 1856 (( Nov. 3, 1857 May 29, 1858 Oct. 16, (6 66 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Date of Admission. May 5, 1860 June, (6 " Sept. 9, (6 Mar. 23, 1861 Apr. 27, July, Sept. 3, Oct. 15, Nov. 2, (6 66 " (6 Nov. 12, "C Mar. 1862 28, Apr. 4, " (6 66 66 66 (6 Dec. 6, ( * * 1863 * * May, 1859 28, Nov. 5, 25, Mar. 20, 1860 (< Hugh McCurdy, Chas. S. Crosby, H. C. Cheever, Geo. S. Swift, Ashley Pond, E. Hawley, Jr. Wm. P. Wells, D. J. Davidson, Geo. Kingsley, Geo, W. Wilson, Levi T. Griffin, D. W. Jackson, Jas. P. Rexford, Ervin Palmer, L. S. Trowbride, T. M. McEntee, Geo. Andrews, E. C. Hinsdale, Thos. M. Cooley, Geo. S. Newberry, O. E. McCutcheon, Chas. S. Draper, A. J. Dovell, C. H. McGurrin, H. A. Forrest, John Ward, Wm. H. Rexford, Hobart Miller, A. G. Boynton, Jas. D. Weir, John F. Loose, (6 May, May 17, Apr. May 30, " Sept. Oct. 20, Nov. 7, * C * * * * * * * * I 1 t 1 1 1 1 I t t I 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 * Apr. 5, 1864 " " " (6 (6 (( པ 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 } 1 1 , 1 I 1 T J 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 T 1 1 量 ​1 1 1 Name. John J. Speed, Chas. A. Kent, Jas. W. Romeyn, O. J. Atkinson, A. H. Wilkinson, T. R. Denison, Jos. G. Lodge, G. H. Mason, Dan H. Ball, L. S. Hodges, L. M. O'Brien, Henry B. Brown, G. O. Robinson, Jos. D. Horton, C. J. O'Flynn, A. C. Story, F. H. Elder, E. P. Stebbins, A. E. Cowles, G. A. Graves, T. H. Peabody, Dan'l W. Perkins, M. J. Smiley, F. A. Ashley, D. W. Brooks, Jas. Caplis, L. R. Smith, E. H. Towar, John Atkinson, Brady E. Backus, T. K. Gillett, Geo. W. Parks, Hoyt Post, E. E. Benedict, Edward Boltwood, Horace M. Hale, Dan P. Foote, Wm. R. Andrus, Jas. S. Galloway, Benton Hanchett, George Gray, John W. Barnhart, Francis E. Baker, John L. Turrel, John R. Parsons, Francis B. Van Hoesen, J. T. Hoke, W. W. Dedrick, John A. Townsend, Emery D. Potter, Jr., James M. Wilkinson, Cassius M. Osgood, Gideon B. Stite, ii BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Date of Admission. April 5, 1864 Apr. 6, 30, June 8, Oct. 22, (6 64 ( " ( 1865 (6 Apr. 4, (6 66 * Apr. 6, 1865 Apr. 29, "4 ( (6 * July, Oct. 28, " 1865 (( Apr. 3, 1866 * * * * * 1 1 1 1 t I 1 1 1 1 1 1 J *** * * * * * Apr. 4, 1866 (6 (6 5, 12, 28, 66 "" " ( པ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 . T 1 1 1 1 1 Name. George W. Herrick, James Gamble, Wm. M. Hayes, Francis Smith, James F. Billings, John M. Jones, James S. McIntyre, Arthur Brown, Calvin A. Brewer, Watson Ambruster, James I. Van Kuren, Harrison Kelly, Daniel P. Sagendorph, Solomon T. Underhill, Edwin B. Gidley, William L. Cobb, W. H. H. Russell, Chas. W. Wright, C. H. Denison, C. J. Chaddock, C. F. Harrington, Chas. H. Steele, Jas. J. Brown, Henry D. Smith, Thos. A. Bradley, Geo. P. Griswold, Frank A. Hooker, J. C. Patterson, John E. Kelly, John McNamara, Giles T. Brown, F. J. M. Wonser, Date of Admission. Nov. 8, 1866 Nov. 10, Jan. 7, 1867 Apr. 2, 66 Apr. 3, Apr. 4, " (( (6 46 (C "" (( 9, IO, II, 27, May I, (6 " * 66 {{ " 2, (( 15, June 14, * * ( (6 June, 1867 Sept. 5, Oct. 26, " Nov. (( 1868 Jan. 6, Mar. 30, Apr. 7, "" " M. H. Carleton, W. J. Terrell, Isaac S. Coe, Chas. L. Watrous, Apr. 15, H. M. Duffield, Apr. 22, F. C. Bigelow, Apr. 28, May 2, June 2, Oct. 22, " 66 C. L. Altenburg, Thos. M. James, Wm. S. Tennant, S. F. Seager, Walter Elliott, C. N. Riopelle, J. W. Alexander, H. L. Follett, R. R. Rogers, Geo. Chandler, J. W. Ranstead, F. M. Graham, T. J. Dent, C. S. Andrews, Chas. Ladd, J. Ward Hill, Oct. 66 33 1869 Apr. 6, " " "" (( (6 J. C. Baldwin, (4 H. E. H. Bower, 66 (6 J. W. DuBois, " (( J. Y. McMillan, (( (6 Apr. 13, 66 C. F. Gibson, S. L. Taylor, Hannibal Hart, A. L. Canfield, A. M. Nichols, Hal E. McNeil, P. J. D. Van Dyke, Annie Giddings, John O'Connor, Jr., Ezra Keeler, * * 1866 C. B. Grant, May 2, June, Oct. Nov. 8, (( Hiram J. Hoyt, Wm. S. Edwards, E. H. Flinn, * * Apr. 20, 1869 27, May 1, (6 May 6, 1869 * * May 11, 1869 Oct. 5, 1 I t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t T יז 1 1 1 1 J 1 1 [ 1 1 1 1 1 } 1 1 1 1 Name. J. G. Dickinson, Otto Kirchner, N. H. Redmond, Wm. H. Beadle, L. B. Harrigan, D. S. Harley, E. A. Parsons, S. R. Proper, T. D. Hubbard, L. W. Whiting, A. F. Wilcox, H. H. Saunders, H. H. Norrington, Edward Minock, Don M. Dickinson, Dan'l G. Cash, C. W. Glasgow, Fred A. Baker, John Dean, Horace E. Burt, Frank Dumon, A. J. Chapman, John Weber, J. W. Finney, Winsor Scofield, Henry H. Swan, W. Montgomery, Will C. Harris, Chas. D. Long, J. B. Humphrey, Eugene Fecht, C. P. Stoors, John W. McGrath, Warren Olney, E. H. Green, W. C. Stevens, M. I. Ewell, J. B. Crane, W. H. McDowell, A. B. Markham, Wm. B. Moran, Hamilton Balus, B. F. Wagner, Sylvanus Backus, F. G. Russell, Alex D. Fowler, W. G. Howard, Fred'k O. Clark, J. H. Kingsbury, B. B. Edwards, A. E. Ball, E. A. Burlingame, John Young, M. D. C. Thornton, Jas. McNamara, S. A. Burroughs, E B. Steele, L. R. Delamater, Henry Lincoln, C. T. Bartlett, H. W. Stevenson A. A. Crippin, H. F. Brownson, Chas. E. Thomas Herbert Bowen, David F. Fox, Wm. J. English, E. R. Slawson, Chas. W. Tindall, John F. Mahon, Benj. F. Heckert, Lewis L. Wood, BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. iii Date of Admission. Oct. 7, 1869 Oct. 16, Oct. 18, Apr. 5, 1870 ༄ (( ( (6 (( (( .6 (( (" เ " ( " " " " " (( ་ "} (C " " 66 ་ ་ 6. (" ( (6 Apr. 6, " Apr. 15, "( Apr. 30, T t 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 I I 1 1 I J I 1 1 1 1 } 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 J 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 Name. Jos. N. Gaige, H. G. Howard, C. J. Reilly, P. H. Van Buren, Jos. B. Moore, Henry Lorenz, Alfred E. Hawes, Hugh R. Fulton, L. B. Hilliard, S. C. Robison, Albert Kern, D. L. Thomas, Frank W. Clapp, Ezra D. Lewis, John S. Lee, Maurice Stame, Geo. F. Colby, L. A. Hurlbut, Albert Jackson, T. O. Snodgrass, Amos Wolfe, Ace Gregg, Eugene Carpenter, S. Č. Knight, E. P. Burnett, David M. Cook, M. L. Hamblit, A. J. Comstock, Wilson A, Forst, Harvey D. Burch, M. D. Ayers, Fred F. Wendell, James M Barnum, Newell Leonard, J. A. Schuyler, Isaac H. Pedrick, Walter W. Ames, DeWitt H. Taylor, J. S. Stermitz, B. F. Hudson, Orson H. Look, Oliver H. Dean, Edward C. Lovell, W. A. Kingsley, J. L. Starkweather, William N. Brown, Alex. M. Harrison, M. McKernon, Herbert L. Baker, Henry A. Harmon, Geo. B. Cochran, " "( (" (( Ed. E. Kane, ( (( Oct. 19, Oct. 26, cr (6 Apr. 4, 1871 (6 " " "" "" (6 (C (( " " 1 1 1 1 H. Z. Potter, J. W. Donovan, James M. Skinner, T. L. Chadbourne, Edwin F. Conely, Charles C. Hickey, Sarah Killgore, W. R. Edgar, J. B. Cleland, 1 Date of Admission. Apr. 4, 1871 (( (( (6 (( " " "" 1 " " (6 " (( (6 (( ( " "( " (( (" (6 (" " "( " 66 " " (( (( Apr. 5, (6 Apr. 9, Apr. 12, (( Apr. 19, 21, (( "C (( July 4, (6 25, Sept. 27, * Oct. 28, 1871 " Nov. 3, Feb. 8, 1872 Mar. 18, 20, 25, Cass Williams, Apr. 2, " "6 Frank Butterworth, T. W. Heatty, R. S. Norval, John S. Maltman, Fred S. Staff, Wm. O. Axford, William Byrnes, J. W. Shepherd, Justin Badgerow, Hugh C. Killeman, 1 (6 " ( "" "" " .. រ 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 T 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 Name. Geo. H. Hopkins, A. M. Leffingwelll, C. M. Swallow, Chas. S. Thomas, James P. Danders, James B. Beals, James S. McKay, Edwin Spencer, Chas. Woodworth, T. L. Norval, Leonard F. Brown, S. T. Stapleton, Guy W. Cole, W. V. B. Croskey, Jerome Coleman, R. S. Jarvis, W. D. Gould, W. F. S. Hadley, G. D. Pierce, S. Van Blareon, E. H. Eggleston, Gid S. Ives, Albert R. Greene, Henry A. Chaney, Wm. C. Maybury, R. J. Hill, Wm. F. Kenfield, D. B. Hibbard, Jr., Jas. K. Marshall, Chas. H. Wisner, J. S. Nottingham, Isaac C. Seeley, M. D. Howard, W. F. Thomas, Wm. W. Warner, W. H. Perley, Ryan B. Cowles, Frauk L. Burton, Gordon J. Keeney, L. B. Farrar, V. C. Burnham, James B. Erwin, Horace C. Snover, Jos. E. Sawyer, V. W. Steele, Geo. W. Coomer, M. H. Stanford, Edward P. Allen, Jas. E. Dalliba, H. B. Carpenter, Erastus Thatcher, R. M. Montgomery, David A. Rice, C. P. Thomas, Michael Brennan, Peter Roberts, E. F. Mead, John G. Hawley, Henry C. Wisner, A. G. Comstock, Charles M. Howard, R. A. Parker, M. G. B. Swift, Albert Dickerman, Robt. D. McDonald, George Gartner, Wm. J. Stuart, Edward French, Geo. M. Stevens, Chas. F. Beeston, John R. Rowlen, David A. Stout, iv BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Date of Admission. Name. Date of Admission. Apr. 2, 1872 Chas. W. Derr, Apr. 8, 1873 Chas. D. Wright, " " (6 看着 ​46 t ( 66 1 1 1 Alfred B. Sager, Geo. W. Moore, Harvey W. Mager, D. E. McIntyre, Chas. H. Budd, (( " " ( (( 1 1 1 t "" (6 " Curtis Buck, W. B. Gilbert, ་་ (C Henry C. Waldron, Edwin M. Irish, (( " " C " "( " H. K. Wheeler, " Martin L. Becker, i (( ( " 1 1 (( (C "( แ (( "( " (( (6 вы (6 1 T t 1 1 I " (6 (( (4 I " " (( " ( 1 1 1 ( " (6 (" 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 · 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 Name. Jos. T. O'Neal, Robert H. Hazlett, Samuel Hambleton, J. C. Watson, Hiram Smith, Jr., A. M. Frankhauser, Edward B. Sumner, John T. Dehany, John M. Harris, L. F. Portser, Henry A. Neal, Thos. J. Corkey, Wm. N. Skinner, Robt. B. Windham, C. B. Dean, A. C. Steck, A. D. Cruickshank, Alonzo S. Stephen, John D. Evans, T. J. Mitchell, Albert Anderson, Teggart H. Jones, Alonzo A. Rowley, C. E. Thornton, J. M. Reynolds, James F. Thomas, T. A. E. Weadock, L. C. Holden, V. E. Burke, Jas. Cruickshank, Jas. N. Young, Malcolm Kelly, James Ten Eyck, J. T. Finnegan, Geo. W. Buckley, George W. Mann, James H. Pound, Amos W. Martin, Jos. H. Wendell, Chas. A. Cornwell, Dennis J. Brown, S. D. Coon, E. W. Rider, Wesley A. Sperry, O. Preston, Orris W. Farrar, Susannah Raper, Chas. M. Woodruff, M. E. Dowling, John C. Howland, Stearns F. Smith, O. W. Powers, John M. Boyd, James B. Pelte, M. C. Palmer, Geo. A. Hawley, Edward R. Minock, George R. Shaw, Geo. A. Chase, Fred M. Clarke, W. M. Lillibridge, C. M. Wilkinson, S. A. Armstrong, Wm. R. Kendrick, James H. Cambell, Geo. P. Edwards, D. F. Glidden, Geo. P. Voorheis, Schuyler S. Olds, Geo. P. Stone, Jacob Beller, Jr. T. J. McSweeney, Daniel C. Lyle, Harnel A. Patton, Benj. F. Eason, Alvah A. Benjamin, Alexander Thomson, J. H. Johnston, Hiram B. Swarts, H. P. Blackburn, James E. Hazell, John D. Wing, Chas. L. Burton, Jas. H. Blanchard, Amos G. Huber, H. S. Pettingell, Francis D. Neale, Benj. H. Derby, Milo E. Marsh, Edward C. Hagar, Charles Bicy, Wm. L. Conly, Wm. H. Turner, G. S. Conger, Weller D. Bishopp, Castillo Ball, Samuel B. Davis, John A. Edget, A. W. Sindlinger, M. N. Stickney, J. A. Van Auken, F. R. Williams, A. C. Rickett, C. H DuBois, H. O. Cowley, C. J. Beerstecker, William Haynes, Walter H. Palmer, L. S. Montague, R. W. Melemby, D. C. Warner, Geo. N. Lovejoy, John T. McKeown, John C. Donnelly, Jno. Tyler, James M. Sligh, Dallos Bondeman, James D. Turnbull, Samuel B. Price, Julien Williams, F. H. Achauer, Eli B. Vincent, Jas. F. Ware, Gilbert Liddle, Jr., Orson H. Gilmore, Fred'k D. Grove, Edwin F. Abbott, S. L. Morehouse, Wm. O. Robinson, L. D. Turner, Jr., W. H. Washington, (( " << (" (( " " (( (( (( (( (( (( (( (( " " " (( (( "( (4 "" Apr. 9, (( 10, * Apr. 16, 1873 * Apr. 24, 1873 25, * Apr. 26, 1873 * Apr. 29, 1873 * * May 1, 1873 May 12, " 1874 (( Feb. Apr. 7, | May 13, June 12, July 16, ! (6 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 . 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 ་ 1 1 1 1 1 J | 1 1 • 1 } 1 1 1 1 t t 1 $ 1 1 1 1 1 I t 1 Apr. 3, Apr. 4, " " Apr. 9, 10, (( ( Apr. 11, T 1 t t 16, "" 24, 30, May 2, 6, 8, (( ર (( ( 16, * * (( 1 1 1 t 1 1 " 1 1 1 1 Apr. 8, 1873 "" (C (( ( 1 (( " (( ་ ι ་ 1 1 · 1 1 1 1 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. V Date of Admission. July 16, 1874 Aug. 3, Oct. 7, 14, Oct. 15, (( (( (( (( Oct. 20, " "28, Jan. 4, 1875 Jan. 6, 17, * "" Feb. 16, 1875 26, Apr. 6, 1 1 I I 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Name. T. D. Scofield, E. E. Williams, Chas. H. Bauer, Chas. K. Turner, Geo. E. Halladay, Ephraim Follett, Charles R. Ford, Samuel W. Stewart, Harvey W. Montrose, Frank Giddey, John R. Carr, Harsen D. Smith, Benj. T. O. Clark, Frank A. Cahill, Edward Cahill, Thos. S. Sprague, Henry Clay Riggs, Peter Shields, Date of Admission. "6 Jan. 27, 1877 Jan. 17, Apr. 2, 3, (( * * * * (( June 14, 1877 * * * * * 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (6 66 Apr. 7, "" Apr. 13, May 24, June 17, Oct. 6, 14, (( 26, Dec. 9, 66 31, " (( "( (( (( Jan. 13, 1876 " Jan. 26, * Mar. 20, 1876 (6 28, Apr. 4, "" Apr. 6, * " Apr. 11, 1876 (( 12, "C Apr. 13, (( * * ( June 9, 1876 June 13, 1876 15, " June 20, 25, * ( " (( July 14, 1876 * * * * * * * * * Jan. 3, 1877 27, 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 T I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 G. H. Francis, George Wenzell, Thomas F. Shields, W. J. Hill, Henry C. Stewart, Perley K. Scott, Geo. E. Putnam, J. Henry Smith, W. C. Buchanan, Albert P. Jacobs, William B. Given, John Carland, James R. Bishop, Henry F. Higgins, B. E. Benson, Fred T. Sibley, Reuben H. Roys, Walter S. Westerman, James W. Johnson, P. W. Niskern, C. C. Hopkins, Jason E. Nichols, Frank H. Colbath, George M. Reid, G. F. Tincher, T. E. Tarsney, M. Devereaux, N. S. Wood, A. Tauzig, John E. Nolan, Chas. B. Lothrop, Wilbur F. Drury, Albert G. Day, George Luton, E. G. Dudley, Louis H. Jennings, E. W. Pendleton, Geo. W. Radford, Chas. H. Burrett, R. C. Ostrander, S. P. DcDivitt, L. D. Johnson, Thos. Smurthwaite, A. D. Cadwallader, Rogers W. Berry, Myron E. Bishop, Edward J. Kennard, Jas. S. MacDonald, George W. Mead, Henry Russel, D. Clayton Page, Seymour M. Sadler, Geo. F. Marsh, A. G. Pitts, Aug. 29, 1877 Oct. 2, * * Dec. 1, 1877 (( 2, * Dec. 17, 1877 * Feb. 19, 1878 * * * * * * * Mar. Apr. 2, 1878 ( 3, (( 9, * * * * * * * * * May 9, 1878 June 3, " * * * June 20, 1878 * * Aug. 6, 1878 Oct. 17, * * Oct. 28, 1878 " (( (( Nov. 22, Dec. 19, Jan. 15, 1879 " (( 16, 20, "" 30, (6 (6 66 Mar. 24, Apr. 15, 16, ཝཱ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 I 1 1 1 I 1 t 1 1 I 1 1 · 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 Name. Albert R. McBride, C. P. Black, F. W. Knowlen, E. F. Mearkle, Claudius M. Rivers, Theo. S. Shaw, Donald McPherson, Calvin C. Staley, Wm. S. Gridley, Chas. W. Renwick, Jos. M. Weiss, Wm. J. Fowler, Orlo Phelps, Frank W. Hunter, John M. Hall, Anthony Cook, Chas. I. Beatty, Henry W. Rogers, Wills A. Coulter, Edward Donnelly, Ira E. Randall, E. E. Haskins, N. F. Handy, S. S. Miner, H. G. McIntire, Jos. H. Holman, Harry F. Chipman, William H. Fox, John R. Webster, James V. D. Willcox, James L. Coe, Edward E. Edwards, Benjamin F. Button, Isaac A. Gilbert, Henry Allyn Haigh, G. A. Wolf, Bronson Sehoonmaker, Daniel E. Thomas, Geo. A. Cady, George S. Hosmer, Levi J. Hamilton, Geo. C. Moore, Fremont Woodruff, H. Prosser, Augustus C. Stellwagen, William S. Sheeran, Robert H. Vickers, Geo. P. Wanty, Eugene M. Joslin, Louis H. Jennings, Austin Herrick, Bryant Walker, Levi C. Van Fleet, D. W. Hitchcock, Thos. J. Davis, H. P. Stewart, Simon R. Harris, E. H. Ranney, Frank E. Knappen, Samuel Slesinger, John B. Corliss, Newton H. Barnard, Frank E. Withey, Wm. Glover Gage, Ellwood T. Hance, D. V. Samuels, Henry R. Hill, A. M. Stearns, W. T. Bope, Allison C. Roe, E. A. Fraser, Fritz Morris, vi BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. - Date of Admission. Jan. 17, 1879 (( (( * Apr. 17, 1879 (( 18, ** * * Apr. 23, 1879 * * * * June 12, 1879 (( 29, * * * * * * * Oct. 16, 1879 Nov. 20, (" Dec. 23, (( << 31, Jan. 7, 1880 9, * Mar. 27, 1880 Apr. 11, 15, * June 2, (6 22, (( (( Aug. 24, 28, (( {{ (( (C Sept. 13, 14, 20, Oct. 5, Oct. 19, 22, Dec. 24, Jan. 4, 1881 19, " 21, Feb. 14, * (( * ( * * Apr. 26, 1881 May 7, * June 16, June 28, Sept. 28, Dec. 20, * * (( Jan. 6, 1882 12, Mar. 25, ({ (6 ་ (C * 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 I I 1 T 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 F 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 t 1 1 Name. Geo. W. Bates, Quincy A. Smith, Rufus Waples, Samuel S. Babcock, Israel T. Cowles, James L. Clark, Philip T. Colgrove, Alfred C. Sharpe, Robert D. Graham, John R. Stirling, Hiram M. Keeler, J. Henry W. Nolan, Byron Kelly, George W. Hnnt, Thomas D. Hawley, Louis C. Stanley, Wallace Westerman, L. Curran Clark, William McKay, Fred B. Low, William H. Hinman, Samuel T. Douglas, James Cooper, Oscar S. Burgers, Fred C. Harvey, Theo. S. Trombly, William J. Craig, W. G. Clarke, Geo, F. Gillam, Louis W. Crofoot, Jacob J. Van Riper, James O'Brien, R. F. Tinkham, Thos. F. McGarry, H. W. Harpster, M. D. Sutherland, William Rathbun, Albert M. Henry, Ira Scott, Jas. G. Tucker, R. A. Hawley, Thos. Hislop, W. D. Totten, Alonzo B. Haynes, Frank S. Pratt, Date of Admission. * * Apr. 13, 1882 May 6, June 28, July 25, Oct. 3, * Oct. 12, 1882 (( Oct. 21, (( Jan. 3, 1883 ﹀ (( Loco 15, 18, Feb. 13, Mar. 28, * * Apr. 12, 1883 12, (( "" 17, 18, (( " 19, << 24, (( 26, (( May 21, June 5, Oct. 11, Oct. 12, 19, (( (( Jan. 3, 1884 ( 8, Jan. 15, (" "( Jan. 17, " 22, << 22, 29, Mar. 13, என்ன் Wm. P. Van Winkle, Alexander H. Dunlap, Apr. 8, Hirma Kimball, Apr. 9, " 15, 18, June 3, 6, (( 12. (( Jas. H. Davitt, Dallas Boudeman, Albert McCall, Wm. L. Jenks, Cyrus A. Hovey, C. W. Bertch, Herbert H. Howe, George L. Yaple, F. D. Mead, J. B. Woodhouse, Henry G. Dozer, Sept. 10, Oct. 7, 13, Dec. 17, = (( * * " D. Wilford Le Valley, James C. Smith, Jr., Ira T. Sayre, David C. Campbell, Jan. 7, 1885 Charles Henry Rose, * H. E. Jeffers, Jan. 15, Jno. T. McCurdy, James B. Howard, Oscar M. Springer, 1 Mar. 13, Apr. 7, (( (( Ed. W. Lowe, Arthur H. Fleming, Apr. 9, H. F. Barnard, 16, M. J. Gue, 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 . 1 1 J 1 1 I 1 1 1 Name. À. A. Ellis, Thos. Wellman, Mark Norris, Geo. E. Breck, Chas. C. Howell, E. D. Comstock, John H. Lowell, Wm. F. McCorsch, Arthur H. Rood, G. K. Grout, Byron A. Snow, Edwin H. Hackley, John Harwood, Tyrrell Rayner, Jr., Geo. W. Smith, Jerome W. Robbins, Major L. Dunham, Albert L. Chandler, Peter F. Dodds, J. W. Fletcher, M. D. Snow, F. L. Snodgrass, W. H. Russell, Milo A. Boynton, Geo. E. Nichols, Orlando W. Wight, James A. Boggs, Alfred Walcott, Thomas Davies, John D. Canfield, Jacob T. Choate, Eugene A. Snow, William H. Howard, Arthur R. Tripp, Wm. C. McLean, H. M. Elliott, A. A. Worthington, John H. Winton, William Look, William E. Depew, David E. Dozer, Chas, R. Wilkes, Samuel Bacon, Henry C. Sessions, George Gallup, John E. Mills, Arthur Jones, C. C. McCarthy, Harvey A. Price, M. A. Merrifield, E. S. Grace, Geo. W. Bridgman, L. A. Tabor, Frank P. Guise, J. B. McCracken, F. E. Jones, L. H. Titus, R. Hovenden, C. G. Jones, Geo. W. Mecham, Willard F. Keeney, Charles A. Withey, Geo, W. Albrecht, Armond F. Tibbitts, Henry H. Barber, Arthur C. Denison, Morse Rohnert, Louis K. Travis, Louis P. Ernst, Wilford Macklem, Bethune Duffield, Henry A. Mandell, BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. vii ( " 1 1 1 Date of Admission. Apr. 16, 1885 May 8, 26, June 10, II, 16, (( 29, Sept. 19, Oct. 8, (6 " 14, 15, 66 * Jan. 5, 1886 * * Jan. 20, 1886 Feb. 20, (( 26, Mar. 8, " IO, Apr. 6, Apr. 14, (( 44 (6 J 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ן 1 T 1 1 1 1 Name. Leonard F. Humphrey, Date of Admission. Jan. 11, 1887 64 II, • Chas. A. Towne, Jay P. Lee, M. M. Underwood, Elmer E. Stanton, Hiram O. Bliss, L. B. Tompkins, S. J. Platt, Wm. Gowan, Frank G. Wixson, C. W. Root, John A. Bell, Charles T. Wilkins, Albert Edward Miller, Alexander Tison, P. H. Dolan, Andrew Hanson, John M. Corbin, Edward A. Barnes, Clarence A. Lightner, Cassius O. Trumbull, W. H. Bahlke, John H. Farley, Newell S. Wright, John I. Carpenter, Louis C. Miller, Wm. H. King, H. H. Bacon, F. A. Rasch, 66 64 (6 ،، 13, Jan. 17, " 26, Apr. 14, 66 " " May 9, June 13, 66 " 46 "" Aug. 2, Sept. 12, Nov. 66 Dec. 19, Jan. 12, 1888 " " Mar. 19, ( Apr. 12, བ (6 * ོ E. J. McKay, May 28, Apr. 15, 16, George Thomas Abrey, June 14, เ V. H. Lockwood, "" 25, 46 L. C. Watson, Apr. 19, (( E. L. Beach, June 14, " (6 20, " ( 20, 27, " 27, May 5, "" 12, 15, June 16, (4 (6 June 17, June 23, 28, July 20, Aug.11, Oct. 1, (( 12, (( 13, แ (( 66 (6 " 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ་ T 1 1 1 1 (( 66 66 (6 " James Brassington, E. O. Durfee, John V. B. Goodrich, E. O. Grosvenor, Wallace A. Anger, Wm. S. Moore, F. W. A. Kurth, Stewart O. Van de Mark, Albert Danner Elliott, Barton T. Jones, Henry D. Jones, Frank S. Parker, Joseph A. Nealy, John A. Fairchild, Charles Reed, Will E. Brown, James W. Twaits, D. Augustus Straker, Albert A. Hartzell, William H. Mitchell, William Potter, Frank E. Durning, Charles M. Humphrey, J. F. McKinlay, E. A. Woodward, Harvey Sparling, Elvin Swarthout, William A. Tateum, (6 Sept. 18, Oct. II, Nov. 20, Dec. Apr. 11, 1889 Apr. 11, 1890 Apr. 13, May 9, " June 7, 66 13, (( " (" 66 Charles H. Carey, Sidney T. Miller, June 20, July 2, Percy D. Dwight, 26, (6 William C. Gallagher, Sept. 26, (4 Alvin W. Barry, Oct. 17, " 66 44 Oct. 14, " 25, Nov. 10, Dec. 3, ( 4, C. I. T. Gould, Edmund D. Barry, James W. Blakely, B. W. Shoemaker, Grant Fellows, Jan. 11, 1890 16, " 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 T I J 1 1 1 1 1 I F F 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 + 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Name. Henry F. Auten, Henry E. Walbridge, Freeman E. Bowers, Wm. C. Sprague, Wm. R. Clarke, Irving A. Bassett, M. D. Bryce, J. H. Robinson, J. F. Connor, James G. Hays, Oscar C. Lungerhausen. E. A. Whitney, Jos. N. Tompkins, Jas. T. Malony, E. S. Avery, L. B. Hanchett, Chas. A. Jahraus,´ Thos. S. Jerome, M. H. Moriarty, S. S. Abbott, C. Clayton Johnson, Herbert A Wright, W. F. Shedd, George B. Sheehy, Theodore D. Halpin, William A. Leet, Elmer Elsworth Clark, Henry Mervale Morrow. Benton Middlekauff, F. R. Boselly, Hiram H. K. Fitzpatrick, John B. Cook, A. Wakeley, Robert McD. Langville, Irving Willis French, William Ward Lindsay, Christopher H. Wilson, William Kent Clute, Joseph Bell Cotton, Chas. W. McGill, William C. Chadwick, Frederick A. Brown, A. Esler Wood, Walter Bordwell, Wm. H. Aitkin, Fred Irland, Fred E. Briton, G. R. Creelman, T. T. Gelder, J. T. Chestnut, Geo. L. Canfield, Wm. G. Emerick, John P. Garman, A. E. Sharpe, Edwin S. Morey, John A. Brooks, F. S. Porter, H. E. Thomas, Stanley S. Fast, Chas. Rouse, W. D. Fast, G. W. Poynton, W. V. Rinehart, Jr., H. P. Strong, A. M. Smith, J. C. McLennan, Chas. Wilcox, A. H. Tuttle, S. B. Ricaby, Walter McBride, F. E. Rankin, R. I. Lawson, viii BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Date of Admission. Mar. 19, 1890 (6 22, Apr. 1, 12, 66 (( 12, * 17, 46 Name. L. Bassett, J. A. Lombard, J. G. Lamson, Rowland Connor, R. L. Crane, John B. Teagan, Date of Admission. June 16, 1890 (( 17, 17, 22, July 21, Aug. 9, (( + " (( (C 看着 ​1 I 1 1 1 Apr. 21, June 2, CC (( 4, 6, 10, 1 1 1 1 t ( June 11, ( แ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 (6 1 1 1 t t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 T 1 } 1 1 Name. John A. Ferguson, H. A. Hickman, W. C. Frazer, J. A. Wilson, J. C. Flynn, A. L. Sutherland, M. P. McGregor, A. L. Jones, Chas. W. Nichols, Robert Parker, Arthur D. Welton, Michael F. McDonald, James A. Harris, Kirk E. Wicks, Frank T. Aldrich, J. L. Horner, Dwight A. Pray, Thos. W. Hughes, Herman S. Hepner, S. P. Harris, Geo. A. Kendall, William F. Allen, E. A. Cress, J. Marshall Miller, Oliver Morton Jones, John H. Mohr, Jos. L. Hepburn, Fred. H.-Abbott. Fred. H. Johnson, Wm. D. Steele, Frank J. Taylor, Wm. Kaufman, S. E. Sniveley, W. B. O'Neill, L. F. Butler, H. S. Haines, D. Harrington, P. P. Ferry W. R. Dedrick, Asa H. Danforth, J. C. Lindley, Amos C. Maple, Chas. L. Dundey, Wm. B. Ramsay, Arthur P. Will, Arnold H. Burger, Daniel O. Byrne, Thos. J. Wilson, S. B. Mornde, L. D. Buenting, Chas. C. Butler, L. P. Gould, Wm. E. Thompson, Will O. Lindley, Wm. M. Ninde, D. B. Tewkesbury, Elmer Evans, Will E. Cort, L. D. Hubbard, Henry Lardner, John R. Newcomer, Brayton E. Davis. Alfred J, Davis, P. James Cosgrove, Rolland B. Hamilton, B. F. Chase, Sherman T. Handy, Harry Allen Peissol, Edward J. Stebick, Joseph Richard Wilson, John Amby Largent, Charles M. Cassin, ! 1 1 I 1 H. L. Schellenberg, Clark Hubbell, Loyd Walker Moultrie, Flora V. W. Tibbits, Alanson K. Salsbury, T. M. McVeigh, Jas. S. Shortle, F. N. Gavit, E. H. Long, H. H. Thompson, B. A. Herrington, A. A. Dorn, J. R. Davis, L. I. Abbott, J. C. McNally, W. K. Gillette, Jas. H. Kershavy, Wm. A. Blakeley, O. Ellingson, J. A. Matthews, Frank L. Grant, Geo, O. Crane, James S. McCreary, Tom Elwood McClelland Harry D. Jewell, William R. Rummler, John R. Sutton, Henry W. Baird, Thos. W. Shackleford, J. R. Tabor, John Barrow, William H. Foster, James Everett Ball, Nestor Rummons, Orrice A. Murdock, David Jones Davis, Edward J. McKenna, Rufus H. Bennett, Geo. Q. Rich, John M. Cannon, Byron F. Smith, Henry James Barton, M. G. McClung, W. W. Meloan, Alvin C. Spindler, Henry C. Van Meter, Camden W. Keen, Daniel B. Richards, Andrew J. Smith, Clare P. Tallman, Will Hatch Walden, Oliver D. Comstock, William R. Taylor, Thomas Mulvihill, Van R. Brown. Thomas Webster Hoyt, Morgan C Shafer, Benjamin F. Richardson, Edward H. Hinckley, Henry C. Van Meter, Oct. 16, " Dec. 22, Jan. 15, 1891 66 Feb. 12, Mar. 23, Apr. 4, " 16, May 29, 66 ( แ "( " " པ แ 66 " 66 64 (( เ * ་ 66 (6 66 66 " (6 46 (. (( .i (" (6 (( (C June 12, " "C (6 " 1 1 1 › 1 ( (C 1 (( 1 1 1 t 1 1 I "" 66 (6 " " (6 " 1 1 " (( 1 1 " " (6 I I 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 t T 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Edward J. Kent, Samuel S. Cooper, t James R. Hile, " ( Walter R. Taylor, " Wm. A. Grace, " " : (( R. C. Johnson, 1 " (( 1 June 15, 1890 (. BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. ix Date of Admission. May 29, 1891 (( "" (* (6 " " (( 1 I I 1 1 1 J } I I } 1 Name. Harry E. Hooker, Eber Ward Owen, Thomas J. Rose Darling. Charles B. Padlicek, H. A. Forkner, George E. Wissler, Francis Neff Henley, Hugh J. Miller, Ira More, Date of Admission. May 29, 1891 (( (( " " (( " ( (( June 2, "" Harmon C. St. Clair, "( Jeremiah Donovan, June 3, Robert W. Wilde, " Thomas D. Lewis, "" Guy D. Duncan, June 6, Chas. M. Hamper, June 25, Dudley M. Shiver. July 11, " H. M. Bird, Oct. 15, Oct. 27, "" " • 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 (6 " "" " (( " 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t Name. L. B. Robertson, Ralph Platt, Frederick Eberhardt, Abram Lynn Free, John N. Myler, Fred R. Stark, Odell Oldfather, Arthur K. Holmes, W. C. Campbell, W. F. S. Cairns, Howard T. Abbott, Frank H. Kelly, Frederick Mains, Ira A. Leighley, W. H. Prescott, W. H. S. Wood, Arthur E. Sweet, E. Scatcherd, Norman Ellsworth, Henry B. Graves, Thos. H. Pugh, Edward S. Kelley, R. J. Cleland, Jean L. Burnett, Harry D. Cowan, John S. Macbeth, John Mimmerly, Wm. H. Sears, John W. Dwyer, E. F. Johnston, G. B. Killen, J. W. Pennington, Jos. Kirwin, Frank M. Burwash, Eugene F. Law, Wm. J. Carbaugh, J. Elijah Farr, John Albion Harmon, Alex. C.Mackenzie, Herbert L. Woodworth, Eber P. Hotchkiss, William S. Card, Lee Nathan Brown, Lyman T. Powell, Francis J. Welsh, Hugh A. Myers, Willard D. Thompson, Clarence A. Lawson, Almon Ward Copley, George Clark Johnson, H. L. McNeil, Flor Ashbaugh, Milton E. Lewis, Patrick Austin Berry, Chas. E. Olver, J. W. Browning, Frank Thos. Dempse, Yojire Kuwabara, J. M. McGill, W. J. May, Perry Smith, jr., Frank H. Gale, John G. Erdlitz, Newt H. Peer, Wm. C. Gattman, Frank A. Spies, Chas. M. Lemmon, John Henry Walker, Camden Bretz, John F. Kennedy, William L. Steele, William Davis, 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Geo. W. Brown, Harry F. Downing, William B. Munnell, W. L. Carpenter, Harry D. Rankin, George Edmond Clarke, John Henry Kelly, John Clarence Huntoon, Lew S. Callaway, Robert Bruce Francis, John E. Strong, John Dwan, jr., George Mechlin Hosack, Chas. O. Knudson, Berkley Albert Deyoe, Jesse William Curtis, Michael Roach, Henry D. Wood, Eli R. Sutton, Arthur J. Kendall, George Hefferan, Wm. M. Miller, Augustus S. Butler, Jesse L. Waller, Hudson Pomeroy Ellis, W. A. Applegate, Miles Rosenbluth, N. A. Phillips, W. W. Maughan, Melvin E. Peters, V. L. Bevington, John T. Inghram, jr., Thomas D. Long, Henry L. Johnson, Dec. 23, Jan. 12, 1892 Jan. 15, March 1, May 25, June 3, (( 66 แ (6 66 (( (( June 13, << " 66 (( 6C "" "6 (( (( ཝཱ (( " " " (( " (6 66 (( (( (( "" "" (( " แ (( 1 1 1 1 | 1 1 1 1 ( (6 " " " " " ( 1 1 1 1 1 t 66 (( " " 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 "" 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 "" ( "( (( "" "" (6 " (( (( 1 1 1 J 1 T 1 1 1 1 1 I U. G. Foreman, Horace C. Stilwell, "" Austin C. Gormley, ( John E. Bunting, Benjamin F. Ninde, Allin L. Rhodes, " 1 1 I (( (( " ( "( "" 1 I 1 I 1 1 1 1 " " ( (( 1 I 1 (( 1 1 1 I 1 1 (( 66 " (6 (( U. S. G. Mitchell, E. R. Spotts, Harold Taylor, L. G. Rothschild, D. G. Inverarity, J. W. Knipp, F. W. Benz, O. E. Butterfield, John Thomas Condon, Emery B. Tyler, Henderson F. Johns, Francis J. Lynch, C. E. Babcock, H. H. Wefel, jr., J. B. Middlecoff, I 1 t 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (C (( (( ( " (( "C 1 (( "" " " " 1 } 1 1 1 1 1 1 = X BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Date of Admission. June 13, 1892 " (6 Name, Elias D. Salsbury, John E. Maley, William L. Halloway, David E. Burns, Date of Admission. June 13, 1892 (6 " 1 1 1 (C " " ( (6 ( (( " " ( ( (( (( "( (( (C (( (( (( (( ( ( " (( " " " " " " "6 " (( 66 (( I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 រ I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 J 1 I 1 } | 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 Joseph Sears, jr., Will P. Luther, (6 " (( 66 " " (C (6 (C (< " Monroe Juster Echols, George H. Burchard, Melvin B. Parmely, jr., Wm. A. Smith, Wm. P. Crotser, A. E. Baskerville, Mark Chamberlin, A. Donald McCarty, John M. Manley, August A. McLaughlin, Elmer De Witt Brothers, Benj. Chas. Duvall, J. S. Bolard, Francis T. Hard, George M. Davis, Geo. E. Hawes, jr., Victor D. Sprague, Arthur H. Seymour, J. F. Webb, J. II. Whitely, Elmer H. Clement, Bert R. Clark, S. A. Niebuhr, Chas. M. Haft, Edwin A. Clunch, Nelson E. Freer, George A. Eberly, Robert C. Wertz, W. D. Lukehart, James T. Gordon, Edward Mayo Burst, Frank Maury Wells, Lester Samuel Overholt, Clarence Vanderburgh Benson, Thomas F. Fox, Chas. Howard Thomas, " (6 " Albert P. Simpson, Alvin F. Wentworth, Frank C. Moore, Wilson D. Lett, Victor Moran Etting, Edward A. Stricker, I 1 Geo. B. Wilson, Geo. A. Jeffers, Daneil Weber, Frank P. Tscharner, Will P. Story, Geo, H. Cross, Wm. J. Coulson, A. L. Campbell, "( " (( (( "" (C 66 (( (C "" (( (( ( (( "( (6 " "" (6 (( "" (C George M. O'Connor, ( John J. Aldrich, Peter Sharpe, John Q. A. Crosby, (6 S. W. Holloway, Edwin Green Babcock, Samuel M. McCalmont, Oscar W. Moyle, Charles R. Moore, Samuel Treby, Alfred Budge, Grant Steele, George R. Patterson, Colston W. Estey, Jun. 16, Jun. 25, Oct. 13. (( ( (6 66 (( D. Storms, ( Dec. 14, I I · 1 I 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 ! 1 1 រ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 T 1 1 1 t . 1 1 1 1 1 · 1 1 1 Name. Ralph Stone, Aaron W. Morris, Edward Ralph Heard, Walter M. Harvey, Will A. Brady, Frank L. Fowler, Daniel Wright Yancey, Wm. A. Turner, I. J. Stewart, H. T. Mears, Geo. V. Berry, Lemuel W. Stewart, Fred D. Hammond, Charles P. Dunbaugh, Dennis S. Donahue, Joseph T. Atwood, Frank Martin, John William Dawson, I. Lincoln Jones, Howard D. Stannard, Frank Milton Pierce, Walter B. Evans, Frederick Wm. Hoebel, John Henry Herley, Hervey M. Porter, Robert G. Thomson, John Kuauf, Walter D. Meals, William T. Horden, J. Warren Hunter, John Daniel R. Bronson, Thomas A. Morrin, Cramer B. Morris, Geo. O. Williams, Herbert Lincoln Harley, George E. Morgan, Alvin E. Ewing, H. V. Gard, J. J. Bennett, V. A. Trook, R. Addison Hall, Maris T. Kendig, H. A. Smith, Abraham Jay Randall, Herbert B. Shoemaker, Geo. A. Sutherland, Rody P. Marshall, Thomas Lawry, Arthur Webster, Howard W. Phillips, Fred Arthur Sheldon, Alexander W. Gravelle, Jesse Elmer Roberts, Jno. Archibald Coleman, Robert F. Thompson, James Francis Burke, Thos. W. Butler, E. E. Harriott, Thos. J. Gaffey, F. B. Hawk, D. A. Crall, Aylmer Cole, Jas. H. Hoffman, F. S. McClure, Casper C. Weber, T. J. Butler, John Nichol, W. B. Barrett, Eldridge M. Lyon, Geo. W. Davis, Wm. E. Stevens. Feb. 9, 1893 Feb. 17, Mar. 20, (( " A. J. Murphy, BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. xi Name. Chas. Line, D. E. Heineman, A P. Briton, O. G. V. Knecht, A R. Nichols, H. C. Mehan, J. W. Zuber, R. F. Skeels, S. D. Kinne, Arthur Brown, E. W. Marland, B. F. Scanlon, Milton Johnson, T. L. Yancey, John Y. Rice, Date of Admission. June 10, 1893 "( 64 " " 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 J 1 t Date of Admission. Apr. 10, 1893 18, 21, May 23, 26, June 6, 66 " (6 t 1 1 June 9, 66 (( " June 10, " • (C (6 "C (" " (6 " 66 1 1 1 · (4 (6 " 66 E. S. Osborn, Albert B. Hall, A. K. Hitchcock, 1 1 1 I I 1 I I j J 1 66 " 66 " 1 ! 1 1 J 1 (6 (( 66 " 66 (6 George W. Thompson, C. B. Stewart, J. W. McCaughey, C. W. Scrutchin, D. Joseph Reinhan, F. G. Campbell, Frank Crawford, II. M. Jarrett, D. O. Řideout, Jr., Fred W. Walter, Jessie J. Knight, Thomas John, Ernest Paul Bennett, Ulysses F. Bickley, Miner Levant Davis, S. B. Roe, Zeph G. Dunn, R. J. Willis, A. H. Upton, H. W. Jarvis, Charles T. Wetherby, Berton E. Vickery, J. W. Sheehan, Arthur G. Thompson, Wm. R. Hall, Mark Sands, (( (6 (6 (( 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (6 (C " 1 1 1 1 I 1 I 1 66 " (6 "6 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 "" 1 1 1 "( "6 (6 (6 " (( 46 " 1 1 " 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 · 1 1 1 } 1 i I I 1 1 T 1 Name. Chas. P. Richardson, Frank C. Smith, Archie McIntyre, Philip V. Fennelly, Richard F. Waddle, Ross Beale, Alpha C. Barras, W. G. Wilson, Norman B. Morrell, Samuel A. King, W. C. Belknap, Louis C. Jones, John A. Titsworth, Wm. J. Conroy, Geo. F. Rich, M. E. Benson, James C. Lewis, Gordon R. Campbell, J. J. Duncan, Anton Maresh, T. A. Laney, Porter W. Fleming, Will M. Biggs, Wm. T. Aggeler, Willard C. Fitzer, Alfred H. Braus, Willis M Brooks, A. J. Falknor, T. E. Haynes, Marion G. Paul, Jno. S. Ambrose C. Hindman, Clement L. Russell, William L. Tracy, Thomas M. Clough, Robert L. Campbell, Gelmer Kuiper, B. C. Thorpe, E. S. Cunningham, Clifford Thaxton, M. R. Rosenberry, John H. Koenig, H. L. Hegner, Louis W. Jefferson, Hiram Powers, T. B. Cunningham, Jas. G. Estep, Eugene G. Schoonover, Harry C. Lillie, Edwin L. Johnson, Grant A. Dentler. William Hosea Fields, George M. Fields, James M. Lockhart, J. E. Young, Purcell Rowe, George J. Parker, Charles F. Parsons, Eugene M. Bumphrey, George A. True, E. F. Binford, Will L. Miller, George R. Neil, W. N. Smelser, C. M. Howell, James J. Danhof, J. N. Gerlash, Oscar F., Verne A. Wright, Fred E. Glick, Edwin F. Weil, C. C. Thorington, (( (6 (6 (6 " เ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t t 1 1 1 I 1 1 S. T. Wiggins, 66 William A. Bateman, 66 "" 66 " " ( J. H. Liggett, George E. Ferguson, L. P. Paldo, Jr., Walter E. Keeler, Paul Hurd, J. Edwd. Johntz, Chas, E. Dedrick, George C. Stewart, William O. Morrow, Fred Van Tassell, Edwin A. Wilcox, James J. Crosby, Jas. S. Hentoy, L. K. Montgomery, (6 " 66 (( 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 " (6 1 66 (6 1 1 W. A. Reeves, 66 (( " Edward J. Bodwell, 46 (C Ernest E. Ford, " ( (( Joseph C. Hadley, " John A. Percy, Jr., "" Simon J. Spangler, (6 Eva J. Akers, (6 Samuel H. Seccombe, 66 T 1 John E. Hunter, Clinton P. McAllaster, John B. Hoy, Albert N. Blessing, (6 66 * 1 1 1. I 1 I 1 1 I xii Date of Admission. June 10, 1893 (6 " " ( (4 64 (6 (( " " (( ( " "( (" ་་ (( 66 "" (6 $6 " (6 66 66 (6 (6 " July 11, (( 14, 46 17, 25, Sept. 28, "( Oct. 12, 66 Nov. 4, (6 Jan. 15, 1894 18, Jan. 20, May 26, ❤ = 60 ་་ (6 (6 . 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 ་ 1 | 1 1 1 | 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 J 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Name. Jesse S. Phillips, Champ Ross, C. C. Walsh, E. C. Armitage. C. A. Howell, D. D. McDonald, R. L. Lewis, B. B. Crawford, A. P. McCormick, F. H. Kleekamp, Richard D. Purcell, E. A. Fink, F. W. Beal, H. H. Van Sellar, E. Hollingshead, L. L. Baker, Ross Beale. James B. Nelson, James W. Good, Joseph H. Servatious, Herbert H. Reed, Richard A. Shipp, Ed Reed, A. B. Tucker, Henry M. Gardner, Sylvester W. Barker, H. T. Ruch, H. A. Reese, Samuel McRoberts, William E. Griffin, Jesse D. Spitzer, Albert W. Jeffries, F. E. Baldwin, Harrison V. Calkins, Wm. C. Swan. Isaac B. Lipson, Francis N. Trevor, John A. Wood, Geo. E. Tegart, Tyler Hull, John A. McKay, Harry E. Leroy, S. F. Master, W. F. Gibbs, D. R. Barlow, (( ( "" " (6 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 I 1 1 1 Wm. Webster, A. H. McDiarmid, V. F. Ducat, F. T. McArthur, A. F. Bissell, J. A. Harris, John Kroodsma, Sherman Henry, J. L. D. Morrison, G. J. Genebach, John F. Peters, W. R. Hervey, E. D. Babst, John J. Ingle, Benj. F. Reed, H. Č. Vidal, L. L. Stevens, H. F. Condon, J. S. Hurd, Chas. A. Park, H. C. Livengood, C. W. Burch, O. E. Hopkins, "( 66 Lewis A. Stoneman, H. H. L. McCrustie, Chas. E. Cochran, J. M. Haddock, Date of Admission. May 26, 1894 (4 ( " (6 (6 (( " (C << 66 64 (( C ❤ (6 " "" (6 " (( ་ 66 "" (6 " (6 66 " (6 66 66 66 66 * (6 (< " 66 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 T 1 1 T 1 1 1 1 J 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 · · 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ! I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Name. B. F. Wollman, Frank A. Rockhold, Peter McDonald, N. J. Harris, W. K. Moore, R. N. McConnell, James Halleck Crowell, James H. Mc Donald, Victor H. Ringer, George F. Fells, Lewis B. Lindsay, Frank Walters, Benjamin Friend, Lott R. Herrick, Leonard Fiske, Joe E. Kirby, Norman Bruce Country- man, Hyrum Smith Harris, Julius C. Travis, A. S. Beach, A. P. Cady, Evan B. Goss, John Wright, Gilbert W. Phelps, Arthur D. Bate, W. P. Harvey, S. M. Schall, Geo. R. Stoner, Chas. A. Pratt, Jacob Koenigstern, Louis C. Kuhn, Harland B. Howe, H. Frank Eshleman, H. S. Gray, David E. Porter, Hugh E. Root, M. L. McLaughlin, Edward M. Wellman, Geo. W. Fuller, Bertram Shone, Lulu B. Richardson, Henry Walters, George H. Kane, Robert A. Howard, Dudley C. True, Robert Emmet Minahan Charles Henry Kubat, Charles Howard Rector, David J. Marshall, G. L. Reed, Charles H. Towle, Jesse Cameron Moore, A. C. Melchior, M. Leo Coleman, Henry T. Ronning, D. J. Buckly, B. J. Hope, Darwin T. Mason, Walter A. Eckles, Matthew F. Coleman, Percy Wilson, Irving W. Durfee, C. L. Parker, H. W. Webber, F. W. Smith, Geo, Gerlach, Ira Milton Long, Reuben Silliman, Milton E. Blake, George F. Waters, Raymond M. Ferguson, Date of Admission. May 26, 1894 June 2, 46 12, 18, 21, Oct. II, 66 66 Oct. 29, Jan. 66 4, 1895 24, Mar. 12, (6 Apr. 16, May 27, June 1, 66 66 $6 66 66 66 66 66 66 (6 66 46 (6 เ (6 66 (< 66 66 66 (6 " (6 " (C 66 .6 66 (6 (( if 66 " (( 66 (( * (( (( པ C (6 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 T 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN, Name. Charles H. Mattingly, Martin S. Dillon, Albert Beell, F. L. Williams, J. D. Wakeley, L. J. Dann, Mercer Morton, V. R. Dwyer, J. H. Zuver, Wm. Peters, Van R. Pond, Henry Wunsch, Chas. H. Chapman, Geo. M. Valentine, Ernest S. Fuller, Wm. M. Shier, O. C. Granger, G. E. Foerster, Frank Garrett, Moulton J. Hosack, Wm. W. Wedemeyer, James Harvey Payne, Charles L. De Vault, Frederick J. Flagg, George L. Bowman, Allan P. Gilmour, A. C. Bartels, Ralph I. Sullivan, Sanford Levi F. Reece, W. J. Honey, W. A. Coutts, Thomas S. Hayden, Jr., Percy B. Champagne, David F. Maher, Gilmore D. Price, Lawrence E. Mahan, Bernard B. Selling, Chas. B. Henderson, John W. Brown, Llewellyn B. Case, C. D. Kennedy, Charles Zollinger, James H. Bigger, Daniel F. Lyons, Joe Van Rosecrance, Jas. P. Mahan, Mrs. A. B. Butler, Melvin L. Tysser, Claude A. Brayton, Ed C. Saltsman, H. M. Zimmerman, Ira R. Carter, Robert B. Crane, John Clarkson, Chas. H. Hogg, Horace L. Dyer, Frank Q. Quinn, P. McGovern, A. G. Shepard, J. S. Pearl, Joseph Edward Bland, Emil C. Wetten, C. F. Gilkey, Arthur J. Tuttle, William O. McNary, C. H. Eastman, E. H. Wetzel, Edward Horsky. Francis M. Follison, Marmion Hilton Scott, Frank Kauke, 'Date of Admission. | June 1, 1895 Albani Joseph Violette, | " " 46 (" 66 " " 66 (C (6 " " 66 " * "6 66. (( 66 (6 (( (6 (6 (6 66 66 " 66 66 66 ( 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 T I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 T T 1 J 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I } 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 I 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 1 xiii Name. Ackley Beach Hinman, John Sidney Burnet, Elmer Lewis Allor, Wilbur R. Thirkield, W. K. Vance, Albert R. Crozier, Martin Lewis Sullivan, Emory D. Brownlee, Henry J. McKay, Burton L. Hart, Norman M. Cameron, Burton Jay Onstine. Ross M. Rininger, E. E. Gardner, Marr O'Connor, John H. Wilson, Frank P. Graves, Glenn Beale Roseberry, Frank D. Adams, Jos. P. Ulk, Julius W. Gogarn, Chas. Phillips, Harry H. Parsons, J. W. Gillespie, Ulysses A. Albertson, Wm. N. Marshall, George Abby Salisbury, Robert F. Hall, Judd Winton, J. G. Wine, William Albert Keerns, Jacob Nockels, Agnes Fraser Watson, Geo. V. McConahey, Albert L. Lehman, G. A. Jetmore, Francis M. Springer, Marvin M. Atherton, Frank L. Edinborough, Daniel C. Reeves, Willis Edwin Hodgman, Horace Tupper, Jr., Walter Scott Wall, R. M. Addleman, Garland R. Gillespie, Henry R. Jewett, Henry L. Bright, Edgar M. Morsman, Jr., T. Myron Westover, George F. C. Eyre, Jerome Tugersall, Chas. M. Showalker, Wm. G. Duncan, Frederick W. Newton, Jacob F. Kass, Israel Ludlow, Henry H. Cash, Frank B. Reynolds, L. A. Thompson, Lee R. Crawford, Ray Hart, Richard L. Ewbank, Thomas M. Wallace, Harry H. Patterson, Charles H. Coates, Richard Allen Hitchens, William H. Leahy, T. S. Lackey, Henry Blatchford, Frank J. C. T. Krahn, Wm. Israel, George E. Bailey, xiv BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Date of Admission, June 1, 1895 (4 เ June 22, June 24, " 4. " (6 46 (( (6 (4 46 " (4 ( (6 46 (4 1 1 I f I 1 ! I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 T t 1 } + t Name. Thomas Parks Bradfield, Rufus Gillett Lathrop. James H. Mays, Edward T. Hamilton, Benjamin K. Knight, Frank W. Ballenger, E. H. Storie, W. H. Smiley, Harry Conant Bulkley. John W. Beemer, D. B. Duffield, C. H. Alexander, William Huff, Arthur W. DeSehn, D. E. Miner, James Orin Murfin, James Leonard Smalley, Kenner S. Boreman, D. F. Noble, A. Edward Meyer, Charles W. Stratton, John Wilson Hart, J. M. Adams, E. F. Blakely, Harry G. Hay, George Arthur Marston, Giovanni R. F. Villa, C. L. Brooks, Octavia W. Bates, W. Stockton Bigger, Jesse G. Yont, Charles G. Beale, Clarence V. Donovan, Thomas M. Benner, jr., J. Earle Brown, Clark E. Baldwin, Frederick W. Bacorn, Franklin E. Bump, Date of Admission. June 24, 1895 June 25, (6 (6 • แ 66 66 " 66 (6 " (6 64 (6 1 1 1 J 1 1 1 1 រ 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 J T 1 1 1 1 1 (6 ( (6 1 1 Name. F. A. Wood, John Loughnane, Michael F. Conry, Wm. Chas. Manchester, W. A. Spell, Charles E. Carter, W. C. Cadwallader, Arthur Van Duren, Ray G MacDonald, D. S. Ewing, Charles J. Vert, Paoli A. Tarr, Wade Warren Thayer, Edmund R. Harrington, William Lachner, George H. Voorhees, Henry H. Wende, Edward E. Spear, William Wallace Kerr, W. H. Kelly, C. H. Stein, Edward M. Shelby, Fred D. Hunker, C. L. McGuire, Bradford Knapp, Clifford H. Rauch, Joseph Hudson Hunt, Reuben A. Fogg, Fred L. Ingraham, William Carveth, Arthur W. Rinehart, L. F. Jackson, Newton J. Smith, jr., C. C. Kelly, Rolfe A. Mills, C. E. McConkey, Charles Marvin O'Neill, Alfred Lee Short, Daniel A. Edwards, Jacob Lingard Lorie, Kenner S. Boreman, Robert W. Manly, Alfred H. Hunt, Henry L. Lyster, A. C. Bloomfield, Chester Fritzshaw, John C. Davies, Wm. H. Simons, Chas. W. Foster, Albert J. Farrah, E. G. Ryker, Bert E. Nussbaum, Joseph D. Jones, Thos. McC. Benner, jr., Harry G. Nicol, J. O. McIlwain, A. C. Leet, Wm. D. Skinner, Alex K. Sedgwick, L. S. Thompson, John L. Duncan, Henry N. Morros, Jas. E. White, Olin Pengra, Roger Wykes, Geo. D. Williams, Jos. P. Vroman, William O. Van Eyck, Chas, H. Winkenwerder Geo. E. Meredith, Guy Merrill Wilson, Elmer J. Neville, 46 66 William B. Rubin, Martin S. Chandler, Henry M. Wallace, (6 1 1 1 1 1 1 " (i · ( ( (6 (6 " 1 Robert M. Barnett, O. S. Williams, John C. Crapser, Albert A. Huseman, Charles W. Awrey, W. H. Vodrey, jr., Wm. B. Murdock, Henry J. Malone, Charles R. Cary, H. T. Strong, H. H. Wait, John W. Arnold, Arthur A. Meeker, F. A. Kulp, Mark P. Olney, A. E. Dunning, A. H. Perkins, (6 66 46 = June 28, Aug. 12, Oct. II, 1 (( (6 (6 66 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 ( 66 John McUlvan, (C Guy V. Williams, 17, ( Roy J. Covert, Nov. 8, (6 James D. Kennedy, 66 9, " Arthur Miller, Dec. ले 3, (( 66 J. J. Truman, Jan. 7, 1896 66 (( Alfred Rice, 16, 44 (6 Joseph Henry Gosnell, Apr. 16, 1 1 Ralph D. Haley, 23, Lewis E. Royal, June 24, ( (6 * 1 1 A. H. Jarman, Orville W. Prescott, Ernest A. Snow, E. L. Norris, (( 1 I Date of Admission. June 24, 1896 BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN. Name. Herbert N. Rose, "( Wirt A. Cook, Charles H. McBride, (( " "" (( ( 66 " " (4 (( July 17, " (6 (( " (C "( 1 1 1 1 t 1 1 1 1 | 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I } 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Benjamin N. Savidge, Kent D. Williams, Leland H. Sabin, Charles A. Taylor, Lawrence T. Harris, C. S. Carney, George Herbert Lytle, Pierce H. Ryan, Harry T. Huber, Date of Admission. July 17, 1896 (C (( (( (( John Albert Rosen, Harry S. Tafft, (( George L. Sanders, July 21, (( Earle V. Mudge, Dec. 18, (( Ernie A. Snow, * Daniel N. Bessie, Geo. H. Kelly, Luther G. Beckwith, E. G. Hackney, Herbert K. Oakes, Wm. Pringle, D. R. Williams, William Arthur Hurst, Frederick Reed Fenton, Harry Milton Lau, William T. Hewitt, Robert Brown Beath, Duncan B. C. Beath, James Gibbons, Wm. P. Fitzsimmons, Paul E. Davis, * * * ****** ** * * * * 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 Name. Paul T. Davis, XV E. Russell Huston, Everett B. Latham, Paul F. Hempel, Wm. H. Corlette, Herbert G. Peckham, Walter M. Trevor, Frederick P. Smith, Clarence Y. Aird, Templeton P. Twiggs, William Scott, Albert M. Donovan, William H. Hockaday, Neil E. Reid, John A. Higley, Albert B. Hall, R. M. Connor, Wm. Stacy, H. M. High, John W. Adams, N. H. Stewart, P. T. Glassmire, Clark C. Wood, C. T. Alexander, E. A. Murphy, Frank P. Lombard, M. M. Nesbitt, Chas. P. Locke, Wm. C. Hicks, Walter C. Burridge, Frederick S. Wheat, Geo, P. Hopkins. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 3 9015 00555 5134 BOUND FEB 8 1936 UNIV. CF MICH. LIBRARY DO NOT REMOVE OR MUTILATE CARD