USA > Indiana > Courts and lawyers of Indiana, Volume III > Part 26
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JOSEPH W. THOMPSON.
Joseph W. Thompson was born near Shelbyville, Indiana, July 18, 1853. He lived and worked on the farm until the age of twenty-three. In 1867 he entered the seminary at Shelbyville. He was a graduate of the Shelbyville high school and attended Franklin College for one year. For several years following he taught school and read law with Monks & Thompson. He formed a partnership with D. L. Wilson, but after a year moved to Winchester, Indiana, where he entered the firm of Thompson, Marsh & Thompson. In 1894 Marsh was elected Judge of the Circuit court and Thompson took over all the business of the firm. He published "Indiana Citations" in 1883 and the demand was so large that he pub- lished supplements from time to time, and at last had to revise the whole work. He is now living at Washington, D. C.
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MARTIN J. SMITH.
Martin J. Smith, city attorney of Crown Point and former deputy prosecutor for Lake county, was born on a farm in Dane county, Wiscon- sin, December 9, 1878, one of the eight children born to John C. and Mary (Butler) Smith. He completed his law studies in Valparaiso University in 1907, was admitted to the bar in the fall of that year and early in 1908 began practice at Hammond, this state. Later in that same year he was appointed deputy prosecuting attorney for Lake county and in September, 1908, moved to Crown Point, where he ever since has been engaged in practice, continuing to serve as deputy prosecutor until 1912. In 1911 he was elected city attorney of Crown Point and has ever since been retained in that position. Mr. Smith is a member of the Lake County Bar Associa- tion and is a Republican. He married Julia M. Hughes, daughter of John W. Hughes, of Crown Point.
HIRAM B. PATTEN.
Hiram B. Patten, lawyer at Indianapolis since 1900, is a native of Indiana, born in Shelby county on January 4, 1876. His maternal ances- tors settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1633, and his paternal ances- tors were early Quaker settlers of Pennsylvania and, later, of Georgia. He was educated at Central Normal College, Danville, Indiana, and at DePauw University ; was superintendent of schools at Morristown and for two years was editor in a country town. In 1900 he was graduated from Indiana Law School, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and in that same year engaged in practice at Indianapolis, where he has been located ever since, his present office being Room 330 Farmers Trust building; his residence is at No. 3557 North Meridian street. Mr. Patten has been an instructor in the Indianapolis College of Law and its successor, the Benjamin Harrison Law School. He is a member of the Indianapolis Bar Association, past master of his Masonic lodge, past chancellor of Indian- apolis Lodge of Knights of Pythias, former president of the Indiana Society of Sons of the Revolution, and is also connected with the Marion Club, the Century Club, the Phi Delta Theta Alumni Club of Indianapolis and the Central Avenue Methodist Episcopal church in that city.
CHARLES F. COFFIN.
Charles F. Coffin, former dean of the law department of DePauw University and a practicing attorney at Indianapolis since 1893, is a native son of Indiana, born on a farm in Marion county, June 2, 1856. He is the son of Dr. Benjamin F. and Emily J. (Harlan) Coffin, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Indiana, who later moved to Westfield, Hamilton county, where Charles F. grew to manhood. Upon completing the course in the public schools he entered Asbury (now DePauw) Uni- versity, from which he was graduated in 1SS1, after which he began teach- ing, first in the Indianapolis city schools and then in the Connersville high school. Later he was called to the superintendency of the schools at New
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Albany, in which city, in 1885, he began reading law in the office of Alexander Dowling, afterward Judge of the Indiana Supreme court. Ad- mitted to practice in 1887, he went to Wichita, Kansas, where he was engaged in practice until 1893, in which year he accepted the office of dean of the law school of DePauw University and returned to this state. He presently associated himself with Judge Daniel W. Howe in practice at Indianapolis and later was a member of the firm of Gavin, Coffin & Davis, since the dissolution of which latter firm he has been practicing alone. Mr. Coffin is general counsel of the State Life Insurance Company, which he aided in organizing and of which company he is also vice-president. He is a Royal Arch Mason, a Knight Templar and a member of the Knights of Pythias, and for four years was a member of the Grand Tribunal of Indiana. He is affiliated with the Delta Kappa Epsilon fra- ternity and represented his chapter in the national convention of the fraternity in 1SS0. He is a member of the Methodist church and is active in church and Sunday school work, for some years having served as presi- dent of the Indiana Interdenominational Sunday School Association. On October 26, 1887, Mr. Coffin married Sallie Dowling, daughter of Judge Alexander Dowling, and of the children born to them three are living, Charles F., Jr., Jean and Natalie.
MILTON S. ROBINSON.
Milton S. Robinson was born at Versailles, Indiana, April 20, 1832. He read law in his father's office and was admitted to the bar in 1851. In 1861 he sat in the Legislature. He served as lieutenant-colonel of the Forty-seventh Indiana Volunteers in the Civil War. He began the practice of law at Anderson in 1866. He was state senator on the Republican ticket in 1867 and 1869. In 1874 he was elected to Congress from the Sixth district and was re-elected in 1876. He died in 1892.
ROBERT W. McBRIDE.
Robert W. McBride, of Indianapolis, was born in Richland county, Ohio, January 25. 1842, and is the son of Augustus and Martha A. (Barnes) McBride. He was but six years old when his father died. At the age of thirteen he accompanied an uncle to Mahaska county, Iowa, where he received a common school education. He taught three years and then re- turned to Ohio. He enlisted in the army from Ohio and served two years as a Union soldier in the Civil War. After the war he taught and read law until April, 1867, when he was admitted to the bar at Auburn, Indiana. He was a partner of James I. Best, now of Minnesota, but later, practiced with Joseph L. Morlan. In 1SS2, he was elected Circuit Judge of the Thirty-fifth circuit. In 1890, he located at Elkhart and the same year was appointed to the Supreme bench. In 1893, he formed a partnership with Caleb S. Denny, which lasted until 1904, since which time Mr. McBride has practiced alone. He is president of the Indiana State Bar Association.
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He is a director and member of the executive committee and counsel for the loan department of the State Life Insurance Company. He is a thirty-second-degree Mason, a Knight Templar, a Shriner, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, a member of the Columbia University, Marion, Coun- try and Century Clubs and the Grand Army of the Republic. On September 27, 1868, he married Ida S. Chamberlain. They have four children.
HERBERT T. JOHNSON.
Herbert T. Johnson, probate commissioner for the Lake Circuit court and one of the younger lawyers at Crown Point, is a native of Indiana, born on a farm in Lake county, April 1, 1891. He is a son of Charles A. and Matilda (Wild) Johnson, the former of whom for some time served as auditor of Lake county. Upon completing the course in the public schools, Herbert T. Johnson entered the law department of the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated with the class of 1914. He was shortly afterward admitted to the bar and in that same year began the practice of his profession at Crown Point, where he ever since has been located. In February, 1915, Mr. Johnson was appointed to his pres- ent position of probate commissioner for the Lake Circuit court by Judge McMahan. He is a Republican, a member of the Lake County Bar Asso- ciation, a Mason and a member of the legal fraternity, Phi Delta Phi, while he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Johnson married Edna G. Lovejoy.
LEVI P. HARLAN.
Hon. Levi Pinckney Harlan, a member of the Indianapolis bar since 188S and for years a state senator from Marion county, is a native of Indiana, born on a farm in Marion county, six miles east of the city of Indianapolis, March 3, 1853. He is the son of Austin B. and Elizabeth L. (Conwell) Harlan, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Ohio. Upon completing the course in the public schools he entered the old Northwestern Christian University (now Butler College), at Indian- apolis, and in 1873 entered Union Law College at Chicago. In that same year he was admitted to the bar at Indianapolis and in June of the following year was elected county superintendent of schools for Marion county, to which office he was continuously re-elected until he declined to serve further, ten years later. He then, for nearly three years, was con- nected with the county treasurer's office and in 18SS established himself in practice at Indianapolis, where he ever since has been thus engaged. In 1904 Mr. Harlan was the nominee of the Demoratic party for repre- sentative in Congress from the Seventh Indiana district and in 1908 was elected state senator from Marion county, to which office he was re- elected in 1912. In 1889 he served as president of the board of equaliza- tion of Marion county ; served for a year as president and for several years as secretary of the County Superintendents Association of Indiana and in 1882 was chairman of the executive committee of the Indiana State
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Teachers Association. In that same year he was chairman of the Demo- cratic central committee of Marion county and for eight years was a mem- ber of the executive committee of the same. Mr. Harlan has traveled extensively and has made two trips to Europe. On October 3, 1877, he . married Sarah L. McVey, who also was born in Marion county, daughter of the late John F. McVey. To this union five children were born, of whom three are now living, Horace P., Helen E. and Clara L. The mother of these children died on December 3, 1897, and in 1902 Mr. Harlan mar- ried, secondly, Mrs. Lillian (Franklin) Carter, who was born at Plainfield, Indiana, daughter of James K. P. Franklin.
HERBERT S. BARR.
Herbert S. Barr, former city attorney of Crown Point and a practic- ing lawyer in that city since 1895, is a native of Indiana, born in Lake county, March 4, 1869. He is one of the five children born to Samuel A. and Emma C. (Standish) Barr, the former of whom, at one time auditor of Lake county, died in 1898. Herbert S. Barr completed his legal studies in Northwestern University and on March 4, 1895, was admitted to the bar. He immediately opened an office for the practice of his profession at Crown Point and has ever since been located there. For some time he served as city attorney of that city. Not long after beginning his practice in Crown Point, Mr. Barr formed a partnership with the late Harold H. Wheeler, under the firm name of Barr & Wheeler, which asso- ciation continued until Mr. Wheeler's death, after which Mr. Barr con- tinued to maintain the old office rooms of the firm in his present location in the Peoples State Bank building. Mr. Barr is a member of the Lake County Bar Association. He is a Democrat, and a Mason. Mr. Barr married Jesse M. Hill, a daughter of Charles J. Hill, and to this union four children have been born.
LESLIE R. NAFTZGER.
Leslie R. Naftzger, first deputy attorney-general of the state of Indi- ana, former inspector-general of the Indiana National Guard and now battalion commander, is a native of Indiana, born at Bunker Hill, Miami county, October 2, 1881, son of the Rev. Leslie J. Naftzger, D. D., and Augusta M. (Smith) Naftzger, the former a native of Ohio and the latter, of Hamilton county, Indiana. Subject to the itinerary of his father's several pastorates, his early education was received in the schools of LaGrange, Richmond and Muncie and he was graduated from the high school in the latter city in 1899. He then entered DePauw University, from which he was graduated in 1903, after which he was engaged in newspaper work until 1907, during which period he was connected with the Muncie Star, was for a time managing editor of the Kokomo News and was associated with the promoter of and was editor of The Hoosier, at Indianapolis, then the official organ of the Democratic party in Indiana, In the meantime he had been pursuing his law studies and in 1907 was
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admitted to the bar and began practice at Muncie, in partnership with Judge Ralph S. Gregory, and was thus engaged until his appointment on January 1, 1915, to his present official position of first deputy attorney- general of Indiana, since which time he has made his home at Indianapo- lis, with residence at No. 3477 Birchwood avenue. Mr. Naftzger is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association and is eligible to practice in all the courts of the United States, including the United State Supreme court, to which latter he was admitted on April 5, 1915, on motion of Judge Lawrence Becker, solicitor of the treasury department. In 1910 he was the Democratic nominee for prosecuting attorney of Delaware county and cut down the customary Republican majority by seventeen hun- dred votes. He was at one time dean of the law department of the Muncie National Institute. Since April 5, 1901, he has been an officer of the Indiana National Guard and in 1914-15 served as inspector general of Indiana. He has a certificate of eligibility as a field officer of volun- teers in the United States army, by examination before a board of army officers in 1913, and is the only officer in Indiana so authorized. In June, 1916, he was appointed colonel of the First Regiment, Indiana National Guard. Mr. Naftzger has been an acceptable contributor to the Infantry Journal, Washington, D. C., and to other military and to legal publications, and his present position in the state guard is a compliment to his ability as a military tactician and commander. He is a member of the Indiana Democratic Club and of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce; a York- Rite Mason, a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, a member of the Knights of Pythias, and is affiliated with the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. On November 9, 1904, Mr. Naftzger married Julia C. Parr, daughter of the Rev. William D. Parr, D. D., S. T. D., and Cora (Walton) Parr, and to this union two sons have been born, William Leslie, born on July 2, 1909, and Frederick J., July 17, 1914, and one daughter, Dorothy Julia, born April 5, 1916.
WILLIS C. McMAHAN. 2
Hon. Willis C. McMahan, of Crown Point, Judge of the Thirty-first judicial circuit since the year 1902, is a native of Indiana, born on a farm in Carroll county, August 2, 1858, son of Robert and Martha (White) McMahan, who were the parents of six children. Upon completing the course in the public schools, he entered the Central Normal School at Danville and after his graduation from that institution entered the law department of Michigan University, from which he was graduated in 1883. He was admitted to practice at the bar of the Carroll Circuit court in that same year and in the next year, 1884, began practice at Crown Point where he has been located ever since. For sixteen years he served as city attorny of Crown Point; for years served as county attorney, and in 1890 was elected prosecuting attorney, serving two terms. In Feb- ruary, 1902, he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the bench of the Thirty- first judicial circuit and in the fall of that same year was elected to that
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office. as the nominee of the Republican party. In 190S Judge McMahan was re-elected and in 1914 was elected for the third time and is still serv- ing. Judge McMahan is a member of the Lake County Bar Association and of the Knights of Pythias. Judge McMahan married Irene Allman, daughter of Amos Allman, of Crown Point, and to this union four children have been born, one son, Robert L. McMahan, and three daughters.
JOHN CRAWFORD CHANEY.
John Crawford Chaney, of Sullivan, was born near Lisbon, Columbiana county, Ohio, February 1, 1854. His parents were James and Nancy Chaney, who moved to Allen county, Indiana, in 1855, where John C. Chaney was reared, receiving a common-school education. He graduated from Ascension Seminary, Sullivan county, in 1874. He took the degree of Master of Accounts in the Terre Haute Commercial College. He turned his attention to teaching at Farmersburg and Worthington, establishing high schools at these places, until 1SS0, when he entered Cincinnati Uni- versity Law School from which he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Law in 1SS2. He at once began practicing law at Sullivan, Indiana, and continued until 1SS9, when President Harrison appointed him an as- sistant to the attorney-general in the department of justice, at Washington, his duty being to defend the government in cases brought against it in the United States Court of Claims, and in the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1893 he resigned and resumed the practice of law, maintaining an office at Sullivan and one at Washington. He has been actively con- nected with the Republican party, serving as county chairman, 1884 to 1SS7, presidential elector in 1SSS and was elected to Congress in 1906 and 190S, serving two terms. He is now practicing law in Sullivan.
His family consists of his wife and a son and daughter. Dirrelle E. is editor of the Sullivan Union, a newspaper published at Sullivan, and Zoe Chaney Bays, wife of Lee F. Bays, an attorney-at-law.
JAMES L. CLARK.
James L. Clark, member of the public service commission of Indiana, former Judge of the Hendricks Circuit court and a practicing attorney at Danville since 1SS5, is a native Hoosier, born in Hendricks county, December 17, 1856, son of William and Mary (Petty) Clark, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of North Carolina, who had settled in Hendricks county with their respective parents when children. He attend- ed the public schools of his home county and took a course at Valparaiso University ; studied law in the office of the late Judge John V. Hadley at Danville and was admitted to the bar in 1885. He practiced alone until July, 1892, when he formed a partnership with Enoch G. Hogate, under the firm name of Hogate & Clark, which association continued until Judge Hogate became a professor in the Indiana University Law School in 1903. In 1906 Mr. Clark was elected Judge of the Hendricks Circuit court and served one term. He previously, in 1890, had organized the law depart-
Jam C. Chaney
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ment of the Central Normal School at Danville and for six years was dean of that institution. Upon the creation of the Indiana public service com- mission in 1913, Judge Clark was appointed a member of that body by Governor Ralston, for a term of four years from May 1, 1913. Judge Clark is a member of the Christian church, a Republican, a member of the Columbia Club at Indianapolis, an Odd Fellow and a Jovian. On April 9, 1879, he married Martha Montgomery, who died on November 11, 1900, leaving two children. On January 31 1904, he married Lulu Horna- day. He resides at Danville.
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
Joseph E. Brown, junior member of the law firm of Knight & Brown, at Crown Point, is a native of that city and has lived there all his life. He was born on February 11, 1888, one of the nine children born to Martin J. and Mary A. (Crawford) Brown, the former of whom is the present treasurer of Lake county. Upon completing the course in the public schools, Joseph E. Brown entered Valparaiso University, from which institution he was graduated in 1910, having taken the scientific course. He then entered the University of Michigan and was graduated from the law department of that institution in 1913. In that same year he was admitted to the bar and straightway began the practice of his profession in his home town, where he ever since has been located. On June 1, 1914, Mr. Brown formed his present partnership with Edwin F. Knight, under the firm name of Knight & Brown, which association continues, with offices in the Miller building. Mr. Brown is a Republican, a Mason and a mem- ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
THOMAS DUNCAN.
Thomas Duncan, chairman of the Indiana Public Service Commission, was born on a farm in Gibson county, Indiana, May 5, 1860, son of James L. and Rebecca (Duncan) Duncan, both natives of Indiana and of Scottish descent. He was reared on the farm and his common school course was completed in the high school at Ft. Branch, after which, at the age of eighteen, he began teaching school, and taught four terms of district school. At the age of twenty-two he entered the Central Normal School at Dan- ville, from which he was graduated in 1884, with the degree of Master of Arts. He then resumed teaching and for five years was thus engaged, three years as principal of the high school at Francisco. In the mean- time he had been studying law and after a three months' technical school- ing under the preceptorship of J. E. Mccullough, he was admitted to the bar of the Gibson Circuit court in March, 1889. He opened an office in Princeton, and in that same year was appointed deputy prosecuting attor- ney for Gibson county, serving two years. He early began taking an active part in political affairs, and in 1890 was elected secretary of the Democratic county committee. In 1892 he was elected presidental elector from the Second congressional district. His chairmanship extended
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through 1894. In 1896 he was the Democratic nominee for Congress in the Second district, and was renominated in 1898, being defeated both times by James A. Hemenway. Mr. Duncan continued in active politics until the time of his appointment by Governor Ralston to the position of chairman of the Indiana Public Service Commission, the appointment, effective May 1, 1913, to run four years from date; since which time Mr. Duncan has made his home in Indianapolis. Mr. Duncan was married, December 21, 1884, to Lida M. Wise, of Frankfort, Indiana, and to them five children have been born: Leila, born May 6, 1886, is a teacher of music in the high school at Oakland, California; James Prentiss, born January 9, 1889, is a student at Northwestern University; Thomas Den- ver, born December 28, 1890, died January 5, 1905; Ruth, born July 16, 1894, is a student at Butler College; Frederick, born September 4, 1901; Esther May, born February 22, 1907. Mr. Duncan is a Mason, a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of the Modern Woodmen.
TIMOTHY E. HOWARD.
Timothy E. Howard, of South Bend, was born on a farm at North- field, Michigan, on January 27, 1837. He was one of seven children born to Martin and Julian (Beahan) Howard, both natives of Ireland. He received his elementary education in the public schools, later spending two terms in the Ypsilanti Union School, two years at the University of Michigan, and three years at the University of Notre Dame, from which he graduated in 1862. In the meantime he had spent some time teaching near his old home in Michigan. On February 5, 1862, he enlisted in the Twelfth Michigan Infantry, and two months later was severely wounded at Shiloh and disabled from further service. Returning to South Bend, he accepted a position with his alma mater. He was admitted to the bar in 1883, and began the practice of law at South Bend, where he had continued to reside up to the time of his death, which occurred on July 9, 1916. From 1878 to 18S4 he was a member of the city council of South Bend. From 1879 to 1883 he was county clerk of the Circuit court. In 1886, he was elected to the state Senate, serving until 1892, when he was elected to the Supreme bench, where he served till 1898. He was the author of a "History of St. Joseph County," and various other publica- tions, most of them connected with his work as a member of the faculty of the University of Notre Dame. He was president of the Northern Indiana Historical Society. At the age of twenty-one, he was elected inspector of Northfield schools. He was instrumental in securing the first public park, which was later named for him. He was directly concerned in framing legislation dealing with the Australian ballot act, the establishment of the Appellate court and the Indiana tax law, 1891. He was president of the fee and salary commission, 1900-01; was a delegate to the tax con- ference at Buffalo, May, 1901, and was later, 1903-5, a member of the com- mission for codifying the state laws. On July 14, 1864, he married Julia
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A. Redmond. They have ten children, seven of whom are living. Since his retirement from the Supreme bench, Judge Howard had been engaged as lecturer and instructor in the law department of the University of Notre Dame.
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