USA > Michigan > Bench and bar of Michigan : a volume of history and biography > Part 1
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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
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01074 7126
598
BENCH AND BAR
OF
MICHIGAN
A VOLUME OF HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
Illustrated with Steel= plate and malf= Tone Engravings
GEORGE IRVING REED, A.M. EDITOR
Pt. 2
CHICAGO THE CENTURY PUBLISHING AND ENGRAVING COMPANY
1897
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BENCH AND BAR OF MICHIGAN.
1934890
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. Hle 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-
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cise of economy and hard work, he was enabled to continue his studies to graduation. lle 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. He was grad- uated June 30, 1890, two weeks after his admission to the Bar, as an attorney authorized to practise in all of the State Courts. He returned 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. HIc 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 SH.AS 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
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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. He was 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 carly 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
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Helen was still an infant. To Mr. and Mrs. Clapp were born five children. Three daughters are still living. Carrie I .. 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 culogy, 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 carnestness, 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 focman 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 Nicaragua 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.
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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 ยท 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 cases. Ile 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
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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. It has been his 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 :
"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. Ile 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.
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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. Ilis 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
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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. llis 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." 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 oklest 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
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