USA > Indiana > Courts and lawyers of Indiana, Volume III > Part 24
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make his own way through the world even from boyhood. Upon complet- ing the course in St. Mary's high school at Michigan City, Indiana, he entered Valparaiso University. With assistance from his widowed mother, he worked his way through that institution, from the law and elocution departments of which he graduated in 1907, with the degrees of Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Oratory. In the same year he began the practice of his profession at Michigan City, and has ever since been located there. In the primaries of March, 1916, Robert H. Moore was nominated by the Republicans of Laporte county for the office of prosecuting attorney, for the Thirty-second judicial circuit. During that race the Michigan City Evening News said of him: "Lawyer Moore is a bright young attorney and his energy, ambition and earnestness in his work have made him what he is. . . Any young man who has acquired the success he has, under the handicaps and struggles he has had to overcome, alone and unaided by money or the influence of others, cannot fail to acquit himself honorably and creditably in the office of county prosecutor."
FORREST F. SMITH.
Forrest F. Smith, attorney-at-law at Michigan City and former deputy prosecutor for Laporte county, is a native of Ohio, having been born on a farm in Richland county, that state, December 23, 1888, the son of Eslie W. and Ella (Watts) Smith. Upon completing the course in the public schools of Plymouth, Ohio, he entered the Ohio State University, from which he was graduated in 1912 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In June of that same year he was admitted to the bar in his native state and later in the same year was admitted to practice in the courts of Indiana. He located for the practice of his profession at Michigan City and has ever since resided there. In October, 1912, Mr. Smith was ap- pointed deputy prosecuting attorney for the Thirty-second judicial circuit, under Prosecutor Ralph N. Smith, and served in that capacity up to Jan- uary, 1914. He is a Democrat; a member of the Laporte County Bar Association ; is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and with the Knights of the Maccabees and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Smith married Ruth W. Harry, daughter of Ver- non V. Harry, of Columbus, Ohio, on June 15, 1912.
JAMES H. ORR.
James H. Orr, head of the law firm of J. H. Orr & Son, Michigan City, is a son of a lawyer and a representative of the third generation of the family to practice law in Michigan City. James H. Orr was born in that city, November 29, 1878, the son of Jared H. and Sarah F. (Winship) Orr, the former of whom was a lawyer at Michigan City from the year of his admission to the bar in 1868 to the time of his death, on August 23, 1915. Upon completing the course in the high school at Michigan City, James H. Orr took up the study of law under the able preceptorship of his father and in 1900, when twenty-one years of age, was admitted to the
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bar. He began the practice of the profession in his home town and has ever since been thus engaged there, also devoting considerable attention to the insurance business. Mr. Orr is a Republican. He is a member of the Laporte County Bar Association and of the Commercial Law League; fra- ternally, he is affiliated with the Elks, while he and his family are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Orr married Mabel Throckmorton, daughter of William W. Throckmorton, of Michigan City, Indiana, now deceased, and to this union two children have been born, Harrison T., his father's law partner, and Sarah F.
JOHN C. ROBINSON.
John C. Robinson was born near New Salem, Rush county, Indiana, on February 29, 1840, the son of Osmyn and Nancy Robinson. Osmyn Robinson served in the Legislature in 1839, and his death occurred in 1847. John C. Robinson prepared for college in Fayetteville Academy. He entered Indiana University in 1857, and was graduated from that institution in 1861. While in college, and afterwards, he read law, and in 1865 began the active practice in Spencer. The same year he was appointed deputy district attorney, and in 1866 he was elected to the office of which he had been a deputy. He was re-elected in 1868 and again in 1870. In 1872 he was a candidate for reporter of the Supreme court, but was defeated. In 1876 he was elected judge of the Circuit court for Mor- gan, Owen and Greene counties. At the expiration of his term he formed a partnership with I. H. Fowler. In 1883 he 'was appointed on the com- mission to locate and build three insane asylums. During 1887 and 1888 he served as journal clerk of the House of Representatives. In 1896 he was a Gold Democrat.
Judge Robinson married Martha J. Cooper, of Spencer, Indiana, on April 18, 1869, and they were the parents of three children, two of whom, Jesse and Ralph, are living. Mr. Robinson always took a prominent part in the work of the Christian church. His death occurred at his home on April 5, 1914.
ELLSWORTH E. WEIR.
Ellsworth E. Weir, lawyer, at Laporte, and a practicing attorney since 1SS2, was born at Laporte, August 13, 1861, son of Morgan H. and Henrietta (Teeples) Weir, the former of whom was a member of the bar of Indiana, practicing at Laporte from 1852 to the time of his death, in 1902. Upon completing the course in the high school at Laporte, Ells- worth E. Weir entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and was graduated from the law department of that institution in 1SS2. In June of that year he was admitted to the bar. For seven years he was engaged in the practice of his profession in Kansas and then returned to Laporte, where he has been practicing ever sinec. For three terms he served Laporte county as county attorney. In 1898 he was the nominee of the Democrats of Laporte county for the office of Judge of the Thirty-second
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judicial circuit. He is a member of the Laporte County Bar Association and of the Indiana State Bar Association; fraternally, is affiliated with the Elks and the Knights of Pythias and he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. Mr. Weir married Nettie Rogers, daughter of Andrew J. Rogers, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, Harriet, wife of William M. Warren, of Chicago.
N. EARL ROWLEY.
N. Earl Rowley, member of the law firm of Darrow, Rowley & Tris- sal, at Laporte, is a native son of Indiana, born on a farm in Laporte county, November 15, 1885, one of the six children born to Noah S. and Alice (Wills) Rowley. Upon completing the high school course, he entered Valparaiso University and was graduated from the law department of that institution in 1908. In that same year he was admitted to the bar and began practice at Laporte, where he has continued ever since. On Jan- uary 1, 1915, Mr. Rowley formed a partnership in the practice of the law with Lemuel Darrow, former mayor of Laporte, under the firm name of Darrow & Rowley, with offices in the Masonic temple. On May 1, 1916, Mr. Francis M. Trissal became a member of the firm. Mr. Rowley is a member of the Laporte County Bar Association and of the Indiana State Bar Association. He is a Republican and, fraternally, is affiliated with . the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the Elks, the Knights of Maccabees and with the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Rowley married Grace Watson, daughter of Joshua Watson, late of Laporte county.
JAMES W. NOEL.
James W. Noel, of Indianapolis, was born, November 24, 1867, at Mel, more, Seneca county, Ohio, and is the son of William P. and Caroline (Graves) Noel, now residents of Star City, Indiana. James W. Noel was reared on his father's farm near Star City, attending the district and public schools of that locality. At the age of sixteen years he began teach- ing school, and after teaching six years in the public schools of Indiana, he entered Purdue University in 1889, graduating in 1892. During the fol- lowing two years he served as secretary of Purdue University. In 1894 Mr. Noel entered the law office of Byron K. Elliott, in the meantime at- tending the Indiana Law School, from which he was graduated in 1895. He was at once admitted to the bar and has since been actively engaged in practice, building up a wide and valuable clientage, and being identified as counsel with some of the most prominent cases tried in the state and federal courts. In 1912 Mr. Noel, under appointment by the attorney- general of the United States, was associated with District Attorney Charles W. Miller in the successful prosecution of the Dynamite conspiracy which had culminated in the Los Angeles Times explosion. More recently, under employment by the state of California, he had charge of the trial of Mathew A. Schmidt, at Los Angeles, for murder of the men killed in that explosion. Both of these trials resulted in conviction, and rank among
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the most notable trials in American history. In 1903 Mr. Noel conducted a public investigation of the affairs of the city of Indianapolis, which resulted in the overthrow of the administration at the following election. In 1905 Governor Hanly appointed him a member of the commission to investigate the state offices and the insurance companies of the state, the result of the investigation being the removal from office of the auditor of state, secretary of state and adjutant-general, besides the recovery to the state of hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 1908 Mr. Noel was employed by the Merchants Association of Indianapolis to investigate the affairs of Marion county, resulting in the indictment and trial of several officials and the return to the county treasury of a large amount of money. In 1898 Mr. Noel was elected a representative from Marion county to the Legislature on the Republican ticket. He was the author of the bill grant- ing a franchise to the Citizens Street Railway Company, it being generally considered one of the best street railway franchises ever framed in the United States. Mr. Noel is a Methodist, a Sigma Nu, and a member of the Indianapolis and Indiana State Bar Associations.
In 1895 Mr. Noel married Cornelia Horton Humphrey, of Patriot, Indiana, and on September 11 of the same year, Mrs. Noel died of typhoid fever. On June 29, 1899, Mr. Noel married Anne Madison Sloan.
JAMES E. PIETY.
James E. Piety was born on a farm in Vigo county, Indiana, and is the son of Jacob D. and Eliza (Perry) Piety, both natives of Indiana. At the age of ten, his family moved to Illinois. He received the ordinary common school education, began teaching at seventeen and taught several terms. He attended the Valparaiso Normal and entered the law office of Golden & Wilkin at Marshall, Illinois, where he was admitted to the bar in 1884. He began practice at Terre Haute the same year. In 1886 he was appointed deputy prosecutor, and in 1SSS was elected prosecutor. In 1900 he became a partner of his brother, John O. Piety, which continued till he was elected Circuit Judge in 1896. He served as Judge by re- election until 1908, since when he has practiced. He married Margaret Eberle, of Terre Haute, and they have one child, Charles E.
WILLIAM H. DOWDELL.
William H. Dowdell, who has been practicing law at Valparaiso since the year 1883, is a native of Indiana, born in Dearborn county, on July 11, 1842. He is the son of Isaac and Rebecca (Mccullough) Dowdell, the for- mer a Virginian, who for years served as a pilot on the Ohio and Missis- sippi river, and who moved to Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1844. William H. Dowdell was but two years old when his parents moved to Hamilton county and he grew to manhood there. Upon completing the course in the common schools he began teaching school and was for several years thus engaged, meanwhile devoting his vacations to the study of law in the office of Pryor & Chambers, at Covington, Kentucky. He finished his
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studies in the University of Indiana, from which he was graduated in 1871, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1873. He began the practice of his profession at Lawrenceburg,. Indiana, and ten years later, in 1883, moved to Valparaiso, where he has been located ever since. Mr. Dowdell has served for two terms as deputy prosecutor, once under E. D. Crum- packer and once under Prosecutor McMahan. He is a Republican and a member of the Porter County Bar Association, while he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Dowdell married Chris- tina M. Toph, daughter of William Toph, of Ohio, and to this union three children have been born: Nettie, who married Prof. A. A. Williams, of Valparaiso University; Lewis E., a newspaper man of Valparaiso, and Earl C., also of Valparaiso.
WILLIS A. SATTERLEE.
Willis A. Satterlee was born near Scotland, Illinois, February 9, 1878, and is one of five children born to Cyrus W. and Matilda (Griffith) Satterlee. His parents brought him to Clinton when he was two years old and grew up there under ordinary circumstances, helping his father in the timber or on the farm. He enjoyed the usual educational advan- tages, graduating from the Clinton high school in 1900. He next took a course in the Vories Business College at Indianapolis. While dealing in real estate and insurance, he read law and was admitted to the bar at Newport, December 20, 1909. He has since practiced at Clinton. He was elected prosecuting attorney for the Forty-seventh judicial circuit in 1910 and served a term. He is a Modern Woodman, a Methodist and a Demo- crat. In 1904 he married Jessie Foltz and they have six children.
JOHN C. MCNUTT.
John Crittenden McNutt, of Martinsville, Indiana, was born on May 25, 1863, in Hensley township, Johnson county, Indiana. His father was James McNutt, who died when the subject of this sketch was only four years old, and his mother was Cynthia Jane Hunt; both were natives of Johnson county. John C. McNutt remained on the farm and attended the country schools until the age of fifteen, when he entered high school at Trafalgar, Johnson county, but finished his high school work at Morgan- town, in Morgan county. He attended teachers' normals and taught school for five years, during which time he studied law, a part of the time under his uncle, the late Cyrus F. McNutt, of Terre Haute, Indiana. He was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one and began the active practice at the age of twenty-two at Franklin. He was elected prosecuting attor- ney of Johnson and Shelby counties in 1888 and was re-elected in 1890. He was appointed, in 1893, librarian of the Indiana Supreme court library and served in this position for six years, being the author of the catalogue of this library now in use. Since 1899 he has been engaged in the practice of law at Martinsville. In April, 1916, Mr. McNutt was appointed to the Appellate court, succeeding Judge Shea, resigned. He was one of the char-
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ter members of the State Bar Association and is a member of the Morgan County Bar Association, a Mason and an Odd Fellow. In 1886 he was married to Ruth Neely, of Morgantown, Indiana, and they have one child, Paul V., with whom he is now in partnership in the practice of law at Martinsville. Paul V. McNutt was graduated at Indiana University in 1913 with high honors and was graduated at Harvard Law School in 1916.
WALTER C. WILLIAMS.
Walter C. Williams, a practicing attorney at Michigan City since the year 1914, is a native of the gallant little land of Wales, born on March 21, 1879, son of John and Mary Ann (Newbold) Williams, who were the par- ents of five children. He received an excellent education in his native land and in 1904 made a trip to the United States, proceeding to Wiscon- sin, but presently returned home. In 1907 he returned to the United States and located at Berlin, Wisconsin. He later entered the law depart- ment of Valparaiso University, from which he was graduated in 1914. He was admitted to the bar in that same year and began the practice of his profession at Michigan City, where he ever since has been located. Mr. Williams also has been admitted to practice in the Supreme court of the state. He is a member of the Laporte County Bar Association, a Repub- lican and a member of the Masonic fraternity, while he and his family are members of the Presbyterian church. In his native land Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Marion Fortescue, daughter of William Fortes- cue, and to this union three children have been born.
JOSHUA H. MELLETT.
Joshua H. Mellett was born in Monongalia county, Virginia, April 9, 1824. He studied law and was admitted to the bar before he was of age. He began practice in Muncie, Indiana, but soon went to New Castle. In 1848 he was elected prosecuting attorney and in 1858 was elected to the House of Representatives. He served in the Senate in the sessions of 1861 and 1863. He served one term (1870-1876) as Circuit Judge of the Seventh circuit, but in 1876 he declined a renomination and resumed his practice. He died at his home in New Castle, Indiana, October 1, 1893.
INMAN H. FOWLER.
Inman H. Fowler, of Spencer, was born on June 7, 1834, at Lewisburg, Preble county, Ohio, and is a son of John and Sarah (Kisler) Fowler, of German extraction. In 1836 the family moved to Tippecanoe county, from which they soon moved to Iowa, where the father died in 1839. The fam- ily returned to Indiana and finally located in Clinton county. Inman H. Fowler took every possible opportunity to secure an education by teaching and attending school alternately. He was admitted to the bar in May, 1859. In 1858 he moved to Spencer and from 1859 to 1861 was deputy clerk; from 1862 to 1870 he was clerk. He then entered the State Uni- versity, from which he graduated in 1871. He was state senator for eight
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years from the senatorial district composed of the counties of Clay and Owen, being elected in 1876 and serving until 1SS0 and re-elected in 1884 and served until 18SS. He practiced law at Spencer with J. C. Robinson until 1877, when the latter went on the bench. Mr. Fowler has continued in the practice till the present, being one of the oldest practicing attorneys in the state. He is admitted to the Federal and State courts. In 1875 he helped organize the Exchange Bank, of Spencer, of which he is now president. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar, being the oldest in membership of any Mason in Owen county. For thirteen con- secutive years he was master of Spencer Lodge No. 95. He is also an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias.
LEMUEL ERTUS SLACK.
Lemuel Ertus Slack, of Indianapolis, was born on a farm near Trafal- gar, Nineveh township, Johnson county, Indiana, and is one of five children born to Elisha O. and Nancy A. (Teeters) Slack. He received his educa- tional training in the common and high school at Trafalgar. When seven- teen years old he secured employment in the Central Hospital for the Insane and worked there four and one-half years, and in later years served as trustee for the institution. His leisure time was so well spent reading law that in 1896 he was enabled to enter the senior class of the Indiana Law School, from which he graduated in 1897. The same year he formed a partnership with Judge W. E. Deupree and began practice in Franklin. He was deputy prosecutor one year, county attorney six years, representative in the General Assembly in 1901 and 1903, and senator in 1905 and 1907. In 1906 he made a race for the gubernatorial nomina- tion, but was defeated by Hon. Thomas R. Marshall. In December, 1914, he established his office in Indianapolis. On January 1, 1916, he was ap- pointed United States district attorney for Indiana. He is a Modern Wood- man, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, a thirty-second-degree Mason, a Knight Templar and a Shriner, a member of the Christian Science church, and a Democrat. On October 31, 1897, Mr. Slack married Mary Shields, of Columbus. They had one child, who died in infancy.
HERMAN W. SALLWASSER.
Herman W. Sallwasser, former clerk of the Circuit and Superior courts and former county attorney of Laporte county, who has been prac- ticing law in Laporte since 1897, is a native of Germany, born on Feb- ruary 2, 1861, one of the eleven children born to his parents, Henry and Dorathea (Peters) Sallwasser. He was five years old when he came to the United States with his parents in 1866, the family settling at Laporte. He received a high school education and for some time after leaving school served as a deputy in the office of the clerk of the Circuit court at Laporte. He later served as clerk of the Circuit and Superior courts. In 1897 Mr. Sallwasser was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profes- sion in partnership with Frank E. Osborn at Laporte, which association
T. Em Black
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continued until 1901, in which year Mr. Sallwasser formed a partnership with Judge Truesdell, which continued until the death of the Judge in January, 1912, since which time Mr. Sallwasser has been practicing alone. He is a Democrat and has served two terms as county attorney for Laporte county. He is a member of the Laporte County Bar Association. Mr. Sallwasser married Caroline Fickweller, daughter of Ernest Fick- weiler, and to this union five children have been born. The Sallwassers are members of the German Lutheran church.
BENJAMIN F. CORWIN.
Benjamin F. Corwin, of Greencastle, was born on a farm in Putnam county, Indiana, December 4, 1859, and is one of seven children born to Benjamin F. and Juliet (Whitsitt) Corwin. He received his elementary education in the district schools, was a student in the Greencastle schools, and graduated from Depauw University in 1879, at the age of nineteen. After reading law two years with Williamson & Daggey, of Greencastle, he was admitted to the bar. In 1SS3 he formed a partnership with Henry C. Lewis, which continued until the latter's death in 1901. Since then Mr. Corwin has been practicing alone. Mr. Corwin is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America, is a Sigma Chi, and a Re- publican in politics.
CASSIUS C. SHIRLEY.
Cassius C. Shirley was born at Russiaville, Howard county, Indiana, November 28. 1859. He attended Asbury University two years and grad- uated from the law school of the University of Michigan in 1SS1. He began the practice of law with Judge James O'Brien and continued in partnership with him for ten years. In 1SS2 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the circuit composed of Howard and Tipton counties. In 1SS9 he was chosen city attorney of Kokomo, Indiana, and was elected six terms in succession.
EDWIN F. KNIGHT.
Edwin F. Knight, senior member of the law firm of Knight & Brown at Crown Point, is a native of Indiana, born in the city of Wabash, March 22, 1SS6. He is the son of Frank L. and Cora (Waite) Knight, who were the parents of five children. Upon completing the course in the public schools of his native city, Mr. Knight took up the study of law and was graduated from the Indiana Law School in 1913. He was admitted to the bar immediately thereafter and in that same year began the practice of his profession at Crown Point, where he ever since has been located. His present partnership with Joseph E. Brown, under the firm name of Knight & Brown, was formed on June 1, 1914, and the firm has since then main- tained offices in the Miller building. Mr. Knight has served as deputy and county attorney and as deputy prosecutor for Lake county. He is a member of the Lake County Bar Association, a Republican, belongs to the
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Masons, the Eastern Star, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, while he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Knight married Teressa Crowell, daughter of Eugene H. Crowell.
WILLIAM W. THORNTON.
William W. Thornton, Judge of the Superior court of Marion county, was the first child of John A. and Ellen B. Thornton, and was born one mile west of Logansport, Indiana, June 27, 1851. When an infant his parents moved to Bureau county, Illinois, but returned to Cass county, Indiana, where William grew to manhood. His education was obtained at the old Seminary in Logansport, and at Smithsonian College, a Univer- salist institution near that city. In April, 1874, he went to California and spent the summer teaching school. In October he returned home and entered the law office of his uncle, Henry C. Thorton, in Logansport. He was shortly afterward admitted to the bar, but did not begin the practice until April, 1876, in which month he graduated in the law department of the University of Michigan. In November, 1SSO, he was. appointed deputy attorney-general by Hon. D. P. Baldwin, the attorney-general of Indiana, and served two years. He then located 'in Crawfordsville. In January, 1882, he married Mary Freytag, youngest daughter of the late Judge Robert F. Groves, of Logansport. He continued the practice in Crawfordsville until he moved to Indianapolis in 1SS9. As a writer upon legal topics he has achieved considerable reputation. "Jones' Index to Legal Period- icals" shows that in 1SSS he had written more articles for legal periodicals at that date than any other writer in England of America, with two exceptions. These articles are published in the Central Law Journal, the Albany Law Journal, the American Law Register, the Green Bag, the Southern Law Review and the American Law Review, as well as in sev- eral others. In 1SS7, he published his first legal work, "Statutory Con- struction," a complement to the Revised Statutes of 1SS1. It represents ten years of labor, given at such moments as he was not occupied in the active labors of his profession. In 1890 a supplement to it was published. In 1SS3 he edited the "Universal Encyclopedia," a work of over fourteen hundred pages, based on an English work of like character. He wrote fully one-half the work. It was afterward published in two large volumes with notes. This work suggested to the publishers the "American and English Encyclopedia of Law," for which Mr. Thornton prepared several articles. In 1888 he wrote "Juries and Instructions," a local work for this state; in 1889 he and Messrs. T. E. and E. E. Ballard published their "Annotated Code," a work on the Civil Code of this state; in 1893 he pre- pared a new edition of this work and in 1907 a third; in 1890 he published a small volume, entitled "Lost Wills," the only work on that subject; in 1891 he brought out "Indiana Municipal Law," and a second edition in 1893, the sixth or last edition being published in 1914; in 1892 he pub- lished "Railroad Fences and Private Crossings," a work of general char- acter ; in 1893 appeared two volumes on "Indiana Practice Forms for Civil
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