USA > Indiana > Courts and lawyers of Indiana, Volume III > Part 45
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
1358
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
land is a Democrat, a Mason, an Odd Fellow, an Elk and a member of the Order of Ben-Hur, while he and his wife are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Mr. Sutherland married Lucy E. Otwell, in 1887, a daughter of William Otwell, and to this union one child has been born, a son, Ralph O.
LUKE H. WRIGLEY.
Hon. Luke H. Wrigley, of Albion, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, December 30, 1856. He is one of two children born to Benjamin F. and Sarah A. (Finley) Wrigley. His father was an attorney and editor, a native of New York who, after living in Indiana for some years, moved to Texas, where his death occurred in 1860. Luke H. Wrigley was edu- cated in the common and private schools of his home. He read law with C. C. Binkley and was admitted to the bar in 1879. He opened an office in Wayne county, where he practiced until June, 1881, when he removed to Noble county and opened an office at Albion, the county seat, where he has since resided. In November, 1908, he was elected circuit judge on the Democratic ticket and has served in that capacity since. On November 16, 18S7, he was married to Lutie E. Prickett, of Albion, and had by her one son, who is now a student in the Harvard Law School. His first wife died on May 31, 1897. On June 10, 1913, he was married to Jennie Menaugh, of Whitley county.
WILLIAM JOHNSTON.
Following the death of Judge William Johnston, of Valparaiso, on October 3, 1915, the Porter County Bar Association held a memorial ses- sion in Judge Loring's court and passed resolutions of respect and con- dolence, from which the following excerpts are taken: "He was a man of great force of character, indomitable will and commanding personality. He was industrious, honest, able, courageous, brilliant and forceful in debate and skillful and resourceful in argument. His public career was marked by unusual display of ability and gave universal satisfaction. As a lawyer, he stood at the head of the bar of northern Indiana, and commanded a lucrative and extensive practice. He was for some time the president of the Valparaiso National Bank and gave it a reputation for strength and safety. His business career was strikingly successful, his fortune being the largest ever accumulated in this county. In society he was genial and entertaining, showing a large appreciation of humor, and was a successful conversationalist. He was a devoted husband and a kind and indulgent father, and the comfort and happiness of the loved ones at home were never sacrificed for business or political interests. By his departure the bar has lost its strongest and most esteemed member ; the community has been deprived of its most conspicuous and esteemed citizen ; his family of its stay and comfort."
Judge Johnston was a native of Indiana, born on a farm in Porter county on February 14, 1843, and was a resident of that county all his life. Upon completing the course in the public schools he entered the
1359
BIOGRAPHICAL
Valparaiso Male and Female College, and after completing his studies there remained in that institution for two years as a teacher of mathe- matics. Upon the breaking out of the Civil War, in 1861, he enlisted for three months' service and upon the completion of his military service entered Asbury University at Greencastle, from which he was graduated in 1866 at the head of his class. On January 15, 1867, he was admitted to the bar and began practice at Chesterton, remaining there two or three years, at the end of which time he moved to Valparaiso, where he remained in practice the rest of his life. In 1889 Judge Johnson was appointed Judge of the Circuit court by Governor Hovey to succeed E. C. Field, and in 1890 was elected to the bench. In 1892 he resigned and became a candidate for Congress. Following his retirement from the bench and continuing to within a couple of years of the time of his death, Judge Johnston devoted his time to his law practice and his exten- sive business interests.
On August 16, 1SS8, William Johnston was united in marriage to Maud McKeenan, of Porter county, daughter of David McKeenan, a native of Pennsylvania, and to that union three children were born, William Mc., Edward M. and Maryhelen, who, with their mother, survive. Both sons are students of the law department of the University of Michigan and the daughter is in Mt. Vernon Seminary, Washington, D. C. Mrs. John- ston continues to reside at Valparaiso.
FREDERICK VAN NUYS.
Frederick Van Nuys, of Indianapolis, former state senator from Madi- son county and a practicing attorney in Indiana since the year 1900, is a native Hoosier and has lived in this state all his life. He was born in the village of Falmouth, Rush County, April 16, 1874, son of Dr. D. HI. and Kate (Custer) Van Nuys, both natives of Indiana and both now deceased. He was graduated from the Lebanon high school in 1894; from Earlham College, with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, in 1898, and from the Indiana Law School at Indianapolis in 1900. In that same year he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession at Shelbyville, one year later moving to Summitville, where he was engaged in practice until 1904, when he moved to Anderson and there continued his practice in partnership with A. H. Vestal, Republican nominee for Congress from the Eighth district in 1914 and 1916. In 1906 Mr. Van Nuys was elected prosecuting attorney for Madison county and was re-elected in 190S, serving two terms, at the end of which term of service. in 1910. he formed a partnership with J. F. McClure. now member of the Public Service Commission of Indiana, which continued for two years. In 1912 Mr. Van Nuys was elected to the state Senate and served in that body during the sessions of 1913 and 1915, in the latter session being president pro tem, of the Senate. During the session of 1913 he was chairman of Senate judiciary committee B and of the committee on manufactories, while during the session of 1915 he was chairman of the committee on corporations and a member of judiciary
1360
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
committee A and numerous other committees. On January 1, 1916, Mr. Van Nuys moved to Indianapolis and is now engaged in the practice of his profession there, with present offices in the Lemcke building. Mr. Van Nuys is unmarried. He is a Democrat and a member of the Indiana Democratic Club. He also is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with the Knights of Pythias and with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, having filled the chairs in all three organ- izations.
JAMES C. FLETCHER.
James C. Fletcher, a practicing attorney at Knox, the county seat of Starke county, since 18SS, president of the First National Bank of Knox and president and treasurer of the Starke County Abstract, Title and Guarantee Company, is a native of Indiana, born on a farm in Starke county, December 20, 1864, youngest of the five children born to John and Clara (Thompson) Fletcher. His father was a native of Ohio and his mother a native of Virginia. Upon completing his high school studies he took a course in Valparaiso University, and in 1888 was admitted to the bar. He began the practice of his profession at Knox and has made his home there ever since. Mr. Fletcher is a Democrat and served two terms as clerk of the Circuit court and one term as member of the city council at Knox. He is a member of the County Bar Association. For years Mr. Fletcher has been actively identified with the business inter -. ests of his native county, and is president of the Starke County Trust and Savings Bank, formerly the First National Bank of Knox. He also is president and treasurer of the Starke County Abstract, Title and Guar- antee Company.
HENRY SEYFRIED.
Henry Seyfried, a member of the Indianapolis bar, was born on June 5, 1872, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is a son of Henry and Rosalie Seyfried, both of whom were natives of Germany. Mr. Seyfried received a common school education and began working in various law offices at the age of fourteen years. He was first employed in the office of Alexander Metzger, and afterwards entered the office of the late James Cropsey, a noted crimi- nal lawyer, and remained with him until Mr. Cropsey's death. Mr. Sey- fried was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one years, and upon the death of Mr. Cropsey, formed a partnership with Elmer Marshall, who had also been in Mr. Cropsey's office. This partnership arrangement con- tinued until 1905. In the earlier years of his practice Mr. Seyfried attained a state-wide reputation as a criminal lawyer, but in recent years has given up, more or less, the practice of criminal law, and devotes himself more especially to other branches of the profession. He is at present general counsel of the Fidelity Trust Company, of Indianapolis, and attorney for the Indianapolis Brewing Company.
Henry Seyfried served as assistant city attorney in the last adminis- tration of Hon. Thomas Taggart, at which time Senator John -W. Kern was
Newy Kyfred
1361
BIOGRAPHICAL
city attorney. This was from 1901 to 1903. In 1914 Mr. Seyfried was appointed as a member of the Indianapolis Board of Park Commissioners, his term of service expiring January 1, 1919. Mr. Seyfried enjoys the dis- tinction of having tried a greater number of murder cases in the earlier years of his practice than perhaps any other lawyer in Indianapolis, and many of them were famous cases.
Henry Seyfried was married on August 19, 1896, to Bertha Elff, of Indianapolis, and they have two children, Joseph and Wilfred, both of whom have finished preparatory work and will enter the University of Indiana in September, 1916.
Mr. Seyfried is a Democrat in politics, a member of the Catholic church and of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce. He occupies a suite of offices on the eighth floor of the Fidelity Trust building, Indianapolis.
REUBEN CONNER.
The late Reuben Conner, a practicing attorney at Connersville from the time of his admission to the bar in 1875 to the time of his death on February 9, 1915, was a native of Indiana, born in Decatur county in 1851. His father died when he was a boy and he thereafter was thrown largely on his own resources. After a course at Hartwell Acad- emy, Reuben Conner taught school for a few years and then went to Connersville, where he studied law under James McIntosh, Sr., and in 1875 was admitted to the bar. He immediately began the practice of his profession in that city and was thus engaged the rest of his life, after 1898 having as a partner and associate his son, Lon Conner, prac- ticing under the firm name of Conner & Conner. On February 22, 1872, Reuben Conner was united in marriage to Laura Daily, of Fayette county, and to this union two sons were born, one who died in infancy, and Lon Conner, who is continuing the practice of law at Connersville. Reuben Conner was a Republican, but never accepted public office. He was a member of the Masonic order.
THOMAS S. CRAVENS.
Thomas S. Cravens, a member of the bar of Indiana since 1895 and a practitioner at Lawrenceburg since 1905, is a native of Indiana, born at Osgood, in Ripley county, August 5, 1872, son of John O. and Mar- garet (Hite) Cravens, natives of Indiana, both now deceased, the former of whom for years was one of the best-known lawyers in southern Indi- ana. Upon completing the course in the common schools, Thomas S. Cravens studied at Belmont College and at the Ohio Military Institute at College Hill, Ohio; and after a two-year course in civil engineering engaged in engineering in Maryland and Ohio during the years 1892-93. He then entered his father's law office at Versailles, 1893-95, and was admitted to the bar in 1895. In the meantime he had continued his law studies at the Indiana Law School at Indianapolis and was grad- uated from the same in 1896, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Dur-
(86)
1362
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
ing the years 1896-98 Mr. Cravens practiced his profession in the office of Merrill Moores at Indianapolis and in the latter year moved to Bates- ville. where he remained in practice until 1905, when he moved to Law- renceburg, where he ever since has been engaged in practice. Upon his arrival in Lawrenceburg, Mr. Cravens formed a partnership with George M. Roberts, which continued until the latter's death the following year, since which time Mr. Cravens has been practicing alone. Mr. Cravens is a Republican, a member of the State Bar Association, a Mason and a Knight of Pythias and is affiliated with the Columbia Club and the Marion Club at Indianapolis. In 1900 Thomas S. Cravens was united in marriage to Grace Hervey, of Indianapolis.
WALTER F. BOSSERT.
Walter F. Bossert, county attorney for Union county, attorney for the city of Liberty and chairman of the Sixth district Republican com- mittee, a practicing attorney since 1907, with offices at Liberty since 1910, is a native of Indiana, born at Brookville, April 27, 1885, son of Abraham and Carrie (Beckman) Bossert, the former a native of Frank- lin county, Indiana, and the latter of Ohio. Following his graduation from the Brookville high school in 1904, Walter F. Bossert entered Indiana University, from which he was graduated in 1907, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In that same year he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession at Brookville, where he remained until 1909, in which year he moved to Terre Haute moving thence, February 18, 1910, to Liberty, where he since has been engaged in practice. In 1911 Mr. Bossert was elected attorney for the board of commissioners of Union county, and in June, 1910, was elected attorney for the city council of Liberty, both of which positions he still holds. On March 14, 1916, he was elected chairman of the Sixth district Re- publican committee. Mr. Bossert is a Mason, a member of the Knights of Pythias, a member of the Columbia Club at Indianapolis and the first vice-president of the Methodist Brotherhood of Liberty. On August 21, 1913, he was united in marriage to Margaret Helen Roach, of Liberty.
G. EDWIN JOHNSTON.
G. Edwin Johnston, of Connersville, city attorney of that city and county attorney of Fayette county, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Allegheny county, that state, November 30, 1878, son of John C. and Elizabeth (Anderson) Johnston, natives of that same state. Upon com- pleting the course in the grade schools at Pittsburgh, G. Edwin Johnston entered the Pittsburgh Academy and, upon completing his studies there, began to teach school and was thus engaged during the years 1897-1900. In the latter year he entered Valparaiso University and finished there in 1903, in which year he entered the Indianapolis College of Law and was graduated from that institution, with the degree of Master of Laws, in 1905. He was admitted to the bar at Indianapolis and in that year began the practice of his profession at Columbus, Indiana. A year later
1363
BIOGRAPHICAL
he returned to Pittsburgh, where he remained for one year, at the end of which time, in 190S, he located at Connersville, where he has been engaged in practice ever since. For a year he was associated with Charles W. Neff and then practiced alone until his present association with William E. Sparks was formed in 1915, since which time he has been the senior member of the firm of Johnston & Sparks. Mr. Johnston has been attor- ney for the board of commissioners of Fayette county since January 1, 1915, and attorney for the Connersville city council since January 1, 1916. He is a Democrat, a member of the Presbyterian church and a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In 1905 Mr. Johnston was united in marriage to Zella Ralston, of New Salem, Indiana.
ALLEN WILES.
Allen Wiles, of the firm of McKee, Wiles & Elliott, attorneys-at-law, Connersville, and former prosecuting attorney of the Thirty-seventh Indi- ana judicial circuit, is a native of Indiana, born near the village of Glenwood, Fayette county, March 13, 1879, son of Joseph B. and Armilda (Worsham) Wiles, both natives of this state. He was graduated from the high schools both at Glenwood and at Fairview and then entered Indiana University, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1902. Admitted to the bar in that same year, he engaged in practice in the office of Reuben Conner, at Connersville. On November 15, 1904, he formed a partnership with Raymond S. Springer, which continued until the latter's election to the circuit bench, and on February 15, 1916, the present partnership of McKee, Wiles & Elliott was formed. Mr. Wiles served as deputy prosecutor for the Thirty- seventh judicial circuit, 1904-07 and as prosecutor for the same circuit, 1908-09, being elected on the Republican ticket. During the campaigns of 1906 and 1908 he served as chairman of the Fayette county Repub- lican committee. On October 19, 1910, Allen Wiles was married to Mary McClure, daughter of Richard E. and Carrie (Tague) McClure, of Con- nersville. Mr. Wiles is a thirty-second degree Mason, affiliated with both the Scottish Rite and the York Rite, and is a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, connected with Murat Temple at Indianapolis. He is a member of the Kuights of Pythias and of the Connersville Commercial Club.
JUDGE HUGH D. WICKENS.
Judge Hugh D. Wickens, Greensburg, of the Ninth Indiana judicial circuit, is a native of Indiana, born on a farm near North Vernon in Jennings county, August 30, 1870. son of Patrick and Hanna (Devine) Wickens, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Jennings county, this state. He was graduated from the North Vernon high school in 1888 and taught school in Jennings and Knox counties, this state, and in Hamilton county, Tennessee, 1888-94; was graduated from the Indiana Law School at Indianapolis in 1895, was immediately thereafter admitted
1364
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
to the bar, and in that same year entered upon the practice of his pro- fession at Greensburg. In 1897 he formed a partnership with John E. Osborn, under the firm name of Wickens & Osborn, which continued until his election as Judge of the Ninth judicial circuit in 1910. In 1916 Judge Wickens was renominated for the office of Judge by the Democrats of the Ninth circuit. Previous to his elevation to the bench, Judge Wickens had served (1900-01) as county attorney of Decatur county and (1902-10) as a member of the library board of Greensburg. Judge Wickens is a member of the Decatur County Bar Association, the Indi- ana State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He is a member of the Indiana Democratic Club, of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks and of the Knights of Columbus, and he and his wife are members of St. Mary's Catholic church at Greensburg. On Octo- ber 1, 1902, Judge Wickens married Adele Gallagher, of Greensburg, and to that union have been born six children, five sons and one daughter.
WILFRED JESSUP.
Wilfred Jessup, an attorney of Richmond, Indiana, was born on De- cember 10, 1876, at Danville, Indiana, and is a son of Thomas R. and Katie (Smalley) Jessup, the former of whom is a native of Indiana, and the latter of Vermont. Thomas R. Jessup was grand master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows from 1901 to 1902. Wilfred Jessup, when four years old, removed with his parents to Cambridge City, Indi- ana, and remained there with them until fourteen years of age, when he removed to Richmond. He attended the graded schools of Cambridge City, graduating from the Richmond high school. For several years thereafter, and during the time he was in high school and college, he was employed in the shop of a merchant tailor in Richmond. Mr. Jessup attended Earlham College in Richmond in 1895, and spent two years there. In the winter of 1897 he went to Washington, D. C., and remained there until 1902, during which time he was chief clerk of the House of Representatives postoffice. In 1900 Mr. Jessup was graduated from the National University Law School, and during the latter part of the same year took special work at the University of West Virginia. In June, 1901, he graduated from the law school of Georgetown Univer- sity. In January, 1902, Mr. Jessup returned to Wayne county, Indiana, where he has since remained. He began the practice of law at Rich- mond in 1902 in partnership with his father, which arrangement con- tinued until October, 1910, when he formed a partnership with Alonzo L. Gardner under the firm name of Gardner & Jessup. In 1911 Frederick G. White, a graduate of Harvard University Law School, was admitted to the firm, and since that time the firm name has been Gardner, Jessup & White. The firm has offices in the new Dickinson Trust Company building. Mr. Jessup is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association. In 1904 Wilfred Jessup was elected on the Republican ticket as prose- cuting attorney of the Seventeenth judicial circuit, and was re-elected in 1906, serving altogether two terms. On April 22, 1902, Mr. Jessup was married to Katherine M. FitzGerrell, of Jefferson county, Illinois,
1365
BIOGRAPHICAL
and they are the parents of two children, Wilfred FitzGerreli Jessup, born March 26, 1903, and Sarah FitzGerreli, born on June 18, 1905. Mr. Jessup is a Mason, Odd Fellow and an Elk. Ile is a member of the Episcopal church and the Young Men's Christian Association. In politics he is independent.
JOHN W. SPENCER.
Hon. John W. Spencer, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indi- ana, was born on March 7, 1864, at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. He is the son of Hon. Elijah M. and Mary E. (Morse) Spencer, the former of whom was a native of Erie county, Pennsylvania, a graduate of Allegheny College, and a lawyer at Mt. Vernon for sixty years. Judge Spencer's mother was a member of the family of Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor of the telegraph. Judge Spencer attended the graded schools of Mt. Vernon, graduated from the Mt. Vernon high school in 1880, and after- wards was a student at the Central Indiana Normal College at Danville for one year. Subsequently he studied law at Mt. Vernon in his father's office, and was admitted to practice on March 7, 1885, the day he was twenty-one years old. After practicing at Mt. Vernon until 1800, he was elected prosecuting attorney of the First judicial circuit, composed of Vanderburgh and Posey counties, and in September, 1891, removed to Evansville. He was re-elected prosecuting attorney in 1892 and. served as such until October 22, 1895. From 1891 until 1911 Judge Spencer was engaged in the practice of his profession at Evansville in partnership with John R. Brill under the firm name of Spencer & Brill. In 1909, however, Frank Hatfield became a member of the firm, and the name was changed to Spencer, Brill & Hatfield.
Hon. John W. Spencer was appointed Judge of the Vanderburgh circuit court November 9, 1911, succeeding Judge Curran A. DeBruler. On March 26, 1912, he was nominated by the Democratic state conven- tion for Judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana, to represent the First Supreme Court judicial district, after a spirited contest for the nomination. Less than one month later, on April 15, 1912, Judge Spencer was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana to succeed the Hon. James H. Jordan, deceased. In November, 1912, Judge Spencer was elected to a full term of six years. Since he became one of the Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court, Judge Spencer has written many of the important opinions handed down by this court, and became Chief Justice on May 26, 1913.
In 1896 Judge Spencer was elected as a member of the Democratic state central committee to represent the First Congressional district, and was re-elected in 1898. In 1902 he was the Democratic nominee for Congress in the First Congressional district, but was defeated by Hon. James A. Hemenway, later a United States senator from Indiana. In 1904 he was a delegate to the Democratic national convention at St. Louis, and the same year was a candidate on the Democratic ticket for elector from the First district. In 1908 Judge Spencer was one of the
-
1366
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
candidates on the Democratic ticket for elector at large from Indiana. In 1899 Judge Spencer was a delegate at large to the anti-trust confer- ence held at Chicago, Illinois, having been appointed by Governor Mount. On December 12, 1882, Judge Spencer was married to Lillie L. Lichtenberger, of Mt. Vernon. They have two living children, a daughter, Mrs. Alethea Vogel, of Dallas, Texas, and one son, John W., Jr., junior member of the law firm of Wittenbraker, McGinnis & Spencer, at Evans- ville. Judge Spencer is a thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite and York Rite Mason. He is also a member of the Shrine, likewise a member of the Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen of America. He is a member of the Indiana Democratic Club and the Presbyterian church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.