USA > Missouri > Cole County > Jefferson City > The Bench and bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and other Missouri cities : biographical sketches > Part 35
USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > The Bench and bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and other Missouri cities : biographical sketches > Part 35
USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > The Bench and bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and other Missouri cities : biographical sketches > Part 35
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Mr Adams was in steady and successful practice in the state and federal courts at Saint Louis until his election as judge of the circuit court in the autumn of 1878. As a practitioner he was noted for thoroughness in preparation, readi- ness in grasping the points of his case, those against as well as those favorable to him, and for the logic of his arguments. Well versed in the principles of law, he readily applied those principles to the facts presented to him. In the trial of cases he was wary, keen, quick, determined, but uniformly courteous, both to the court and his opponent These qualities he has exhibited in a more marked degree since his elevation to the bench No member of the court is more courte- ous to the bar, or more punctilious in exacting the respect due to his position. Though he is quick to see the strength or fallacy of an argument, to brush aside the immaterial surroundings and reach the kernel, yet he will listen with pains- taking patience to all that can be urged by either side. When he has formed and
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expressed an opinion he is slow to rerede from it. His decisions are lucid, brief, and clothed in simple, forcible language. He allows no time to be wasted, and is a diligent worker in and out of comt. As a result he disposes of a large num- ber of cases every year, while his docket never becomes clogged or unmanageable. His decisions are rarely reversed by a higher court.
Judge Adams is a democrat in his polities, and a decided, though not a violent partisan.
In the summer of 1883 Judge Adams visited the Old World, passing through England, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, and returned in October, invigorated in body, and with his mind enriched with some of the legal lore of those old countries.
WILLIAM W. FRY. MEXICO.
W WILLIAM WALLACE FRY, of the firm of Forrist and Fry, dates his birth at Louisiana, Pike county, Missouri, August 18, 1851, his parents being Jacob Y. and Elizabeth (Jordan) Fry. Both parents were born in Missouri. His grandfather, James Fry, came from near Cynthiana, Kentucky, and settled on land in Pike county in 1819, two years before Missouri became a state. Jacob Y. Fry now occupies the old homestead, of two hundred acres, which he devotes almost entirely to fruit growing, he being one of the leading horticulturists in that county.
The grandfather of Elizabeth Jordan was one of the first settlers in Pike county, going there from South Carolina in 1812. He helped build the first fort in the county, in which the families slept at night, and he was finally killed by the Indians in March, 1513.
William Wallace was the third child of a family of five children, all sons. He Was educated in the Pike county schools, and the University of Michigan, leaving the classical department at the beginning of the junior year, and receiving the degree of bachelor of laws in the spring of 1876. In August of that year he opened an office in Mexico, and in the spring of 1877 he became a partner of Hon. William O. Forrist. They practice in the federal as well as state courts, and have an extensive practice. They are often employed as attorneys against the railroads running through their city, and these companies usually carry their cases to the supreme court and United States circuit court. Mr. Fry is prudent, and very careful in preparing cases, and excels as an office lawyer. He is well
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S.P. 2 Ayer
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read, industrious, strong in the preparation of briefs, a good adviser, and an honest and excellent business man.
Mr. Fry is chairman of the democratic central committee of the city, a mem- ber of the democratic congressional committee of the seventh district of his state, and at times is quite active in politics, but we believe he has held no office. He gives his leisure time very closely to his law books. Mr. Fry is a member of the Missouri Bar Association. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a young man of excellent character, and a worthy member of the social circles of Mexico. Ile was married, November 25, 1880, to Miss Annette Bourne, daughter of Doctor Richard W. Bourne, of Mexico, and they have one son.
HON. GEORGE G. VEST.
SED.IL.I.A.
G EORGE GRAHAM VEST is in the United States senate, and one of the ablest members on the democratic side of that body. On the tariff ques- tion, especially, he is very able, and his speeches on that subject always attract much attention and are widely copied.
Senator Vest was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, December 6, 1830. He was graduated at Centre College, Danville, in 1848, and at the Transylvania Univer- sity four years later, being valedictorian of his class. In 1852 he opened an office at Georgetown, Pettis county, a few miles from Sedalia, and in 1856 moved to Boonville, Cooper county, where he built up a well paying practice. In politics he allied himself with the democracy, and in 1860 was one of the electors on the Douglas ticket. In that year he was elected to the legislature, and in that body began his public career, which ended in taking him to the United States senate in 1878.
In the legislature his sympathies were with the South, and were seen in the clearest light, his labors in that direction ending in drafting the ordinance of secession, which was passed by the southern wing of that body at Neosho, November 22, 1861. About that time he was elected a member of the confeder- ate provisional congress at Richmond, and in 1864 he was assigned a seat in its senate.
Senator Vest returned to Missouri in 1867 and settled at his present home, and soon took his rightful position as one of the foremost lawyers in western Missouri.
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Senator Vest helped nominate Greeley and Brown at Baltimore in 1872, and in the same year came very near receiving the nomination of his party for gov- ernor, Hon. J. S. Philps being the successful man.
In the United States senate he has had a rapid growth in power and influence, and is certainly one of the leading debaters in that honorable body. His elu- quence is striking, his logie strong, and his command over his bearers marvelous. On the stump he can hold an audience casily for three hours.
Senator Vest is yet in the prime of life, and in superb health, and greater heights of oratory and statesmanship undoubtedly await him. Nous verrons.
HON. JAMES H. LAY. WARSAW.
AMES HENRY LAY, who, at the time of writing, represents Benton county J in the legislature, is one of the foremost lawyers in his part of the state, and a Very successful business man. He was born in this county, in which he now resides, December 18, 1844, being a son of James Hardin and Jane (Siddons) Lay. Ilis father was a native of Virginia, but reared in Kentucky, coming thence to this state. The Siddonses were also a Kentucky family. James HI. Lay was a farmer, and died in Benton county in 1870. His widow is still living. She was the mother of two children by her second husband, of whom James H. was the elder child. The Hon. Alfred M. Lay, deceased, late member of congress, who resided at Jefferson City, was the son of James Hardin Lay by a former mar- riage.
The subject of this sketch was raised on the farm till fourteen years old, and was educated at Carlton College, Springfield, and Central College, Fayette, How- and county; read law with How. Foster P. Wright, of Warsaw, where he was admitted to the bar in March, 1864, and where he has practiced since that date. Ilis business is miscellaneous, and mainly in the state courts, though he occa- sionally goes into the federal. He is a man of mature judgment, wise in counsel, and of sound moral character. He is in large measure a self-educated man; is constantly adding to his literary as well as legal library; is well read in science and general literature, as well as in his profession, and is cordial in manner and easy and pleasant in conversation.
Mr. Lay is an extensive and successful dealer in real estate, as well as a marked success in his profession, and is the largest tax payer in Benton county,
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and president of the Bank of Warsaw. He has held a few offices in the city of Warsaw; in 1875 he was elected to the legislature to fill a vacancy, and was again elected in 1882. In the thirty second general assembly he was chairman of the committee on elections, and on the committees on internal improvements, re- trenchment and reform, and one or two others. He was on the democratic side of the house.
Mr. Lay was joined in marriage May 13, 1869, with Miss Julia Parks, daughter of Judge Samuel Parks, who represented Benton county twice in the legislature, and was at one period on the county bench. They have three children.
JAMES K. HANSBROUGH.
SAINT LOUIS.
T HIS lawyer is a native of Missouri, born in Callaway county, January 4, 18.40, the son of Joseph S. and Susan M. (Boulware) Hansbrough. He received his education in Kentucky University; read law with C. C. Bassett, of Butler, Missouri; was admitted to the bar in 1876, and has been in active prac- tice ever since that time, doing a reasonable amount of business. He tries his cases well, is a good counselor and a gentleman of strict integrity. He has a fine presence, is tall and slender, with a graceful figure, bas auburn hair, a heavy beard worn full, and is courteous and obliging in his intercourse with mankind.
HON. JOHN A. HOCKADAY.
FULTON
T' THIS gentleman is the leading lawyer in Callaway county, where he now lives, and where he was born in 1836 His parents came from Kentucky to Missouri in 1820. He was educated at Westminster College, Fulton, the county seat and place of his birth; read law in Fulton; was admitted to the bar in 1859, and in the same year was elected city attorney of Fulton. In 1864 he was appointed county attorney, and in 1800 was elected to the state senate, but was ousted after sitting ten days, on the ground that he was not of age. In 1868 he was the democratic candidate for attorney general of the state, and that whole ticket was defeated. Four years later he was a Greeley and Brown elector, and canvassed his district. In 1874 he was elected attorney general of the state, and in 1878 was again elected to the state senate, this time to fill a vacancy, and was
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chairman of the judiciary committee, and of the committee to revise the statutes and prepare them for publication. This position in the senate was second to that of no member of that body.
Mr. Hockaday was a precocious youth, beginning to ripen early, and, best of all, has not ceased to ripen - has not come to full maturity, still being a growing man, and a peer of any of the lawyers in his vicinity.
CHARLES M. MOCLUNG. SEDAI.I.I.
C HARLES MELVIN MCCLUNG, judge of the probate court of Pettis county, is a native of Warren county, Kentucky, though he was raised on a farm in this state, and has lived in this county since a year old. He was born February 11, 1851, son of John G. and Mary E. (Barret) McClung. The family settled on a farm in Pettis county in 1852, where John G. McClung died in 1875. Charles was educated at Westminster College, Fulton, Callaway county, taking a partial course, including the higher mathematics and Latin, and taught school, meanwhile, three winter terms. He read law at Sedalia, with Vest and Phillips, and was admitted to the bar in May, 1876. His practice is mainly in the civil courts, he having a decided preference for that class of litigation. He was elected to his present county office in the autumn of 1882, and is attending to the probate business of the county with promptness and accuracy, being assiduous in all his duties. His neighbors give Judge MeClung an excellent name for probity, and he is growing in popularity as well as in influence and strength as a citizen and as a lawyer.
GENERAL JOHN B. CLARK, SR. FAYETTE.
OWARD county has been the home of many historical men, among whom - we mention Judges David Todd, James HI. Birch, James W. Morrow and William B. Napton; Governors Claiborne F. Jackson, Hamilton R. Gamble and Thomas Reynolds; Generals Robert Wilson and John B. Clark, Sr., and a dozen other men, who at some period were residents of Howard county, and distin- guished either on the bench, at the bar, or in some other honorable sphere.
Among the lawyers now living in that county, and worthy of special mention in a work like this, is General Clark, a native of Kentucky, born in 1802, and a
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resident of Howard county since 1818. Few men who have ever lived at Fayette, the county seat, have held so many offices as he has. He was appointed clerk of the county court in 1823; was elected captain of a militia company in the same year, and colonel two years later; was in the Indian wars in 1829; the Black Hawk war in 1832, having been elected brigadier general of militia in 1830, and was elected major general in 1830. He was elected to the legislature in 1849, to congress in 1854, serving in the latter body three terms, and was a brigadier gen- eral in the confederate army, and a member of the confederate congress.
A resident of Missouri three years before it became a state, coming here in his teens, General Clark has witnessed the development and growth of this great commonwealth, and he has, in fact, its history by heart. In his prime he was a fine specimen of the frontier lawyer, a little rough at times, but always ready in debate and strong in argument, and usually successful before a jury of his peers. He has rounded up his four score years, ten more than the Scriptures allot to man, and in this matter is evidently a little defiant.
ROBERT C. SNEED. SED.II.I.I.
R OBERT CAMPBELL SNEED is descended from revolutionary stock, his great -grandfather, John Sneed, from Scotland, being on the staff of General Washington, and at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in the autumn of 1782. Alexander Sneed, son of the revolutionary patriot, a native of Virginia, was in the second war with England.
The subject of this sketch was born in Boyle county, Kentucky, February 26, 1854, son of John M. and Mary J. (Stuart) Sneed, who were also born in that county. The Starts were of Irish lineage. In 1855 John M. Sneed brought his family to Pettis county, and settled near Sedalia on a farm, on which Robert was reared until eighteen years old He finished his scientific education at Westmins- ter College, Fulton, Callaway county, taking a partial course; read law with Hon. George G. Vest, now United States senator from Missouri; was licensed to prac- tice by Judge William T. Wood, of the eighth judicial circuit, in 1874, and since that date has been in practice at Sedalia, his business taking him into the several state and federal courts, he confining himself exclusively to civil litigation. He is well read in his profession, has an unusually active mind, and fine business as well as legal talents, and is making a success in the practice of law.
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Mr. Sneed has accepted no political office of any kind, and attends assid. uously to the duties of his profession He acts with the democratic party, and in Odd-Fellowship has passed the several chairs in the subordinate lodge.
Mr. Sneed has a good share of public spirit, and is secretary and a director of the Home Building and Loan Association, also a director of the Citizens' Loan Association. He is a member of the Old-School Presbyterian Church, and a young man of stable character.
The wife of Mr. Sneed is Maggie B., daughter of Doctor Thomas J. Mont- gomery, of Sedalia, their marriage taking place October 18, 1881.
HON. ABRAHAM J. SEAY. UNION.
T HE judge of the ninth judicial circuit, whose name we have placed at the head of this sketch, is a Virginian by birth, a son of Camm and Lucy J. (Tiller) Seay, and was born at Amherst Court House, November 28, 1832. Both parents were also natives of Virginia. In 1835 the family came to Missouri, and Abraham finished his education at the Steelville high school. He taught school about four years, holding the office of school commissioner for Osage county at the same time, for about two years, and also read law to some extent. He finished his legal studies at Steelville, in the office of Pomroy and Seay, the latter being his brother, and he was admitted to the bar in 1861.
In that year he enlisted as a private in the 24th Missouri infantry, Colonel Phelps' regiment; subsequently went into the 32d Missouri infantry, and served until 1865, being, meanwhile, promoted from second lieutenant through every grade to colonel.
At the close of the war, Colonel Seay opened a law office at Steelville, and was in practice there until 1870, holding the office of county attorney one term, and that of circuit attorney under Governors Fletcher and McClarg. In 1870 he removed from Steelville to Union, where he soon had an excellent prac- tice. He is a man of indomitable will and perseverance, well read in his profes- sion, and made a splendid success at the bar.
In 1872, and again in 1874, he was the republican candidate for congress in a democratic district, and made a highly creditable canvass on both occasions, but was defeated.
At an especial election held in March, 1875, the subject of this sketch was
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elected to the circuit bench, as already stated, having defeated Hon. Jas. Halli- gan, and was reflected in 1880; hence is now serving his second term and ninth year. As a judge he is patient in investigations, cautious and deliberate in com- ing to his conclusions, and rarely fails of correctness in his decisions. His charges to a jury are not Horid, but clear and logical, and couched in plain Saxon. The judge is a third-degree Freemason. He is a cordial, large- hearted man, and a good entertainer in social circles.
HENRY CLAY CONDE. SAINT LOUIS
T THE subject of this biography was born at Saratoga, New York, at which place he resided until sixteen years of age. He was educated in Troy Academy and Rensselaer Institute, and was graduated from the last named insti- tution in June, 1850. He read law with Millard, Stowe and Freiot and Judge Francis Norton Mann, and was admitted to the bar in 1852, and immediately commenced practice at Saratoga, where he remained until 1855. He then went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, remaining about ten months, thence removing to ('Ineago, Illinois, where he remained in the practice of his profession until 1859. He then went to Memphis, Tennessee; lett that place in 1873, and removed to Saint Louis, where he has been in the general practice of his profession ever since, doing a good general business. Mr. Conde is an excellent trial lawyer, a fluent, ready advocate, and is an easy, social gentleman. He was married, in 1853, to Marietta Livingston Ferrell, of Stillwater, New York. She died in May, 1876.
He was married the second time to Miss Katie Linn Porter, of Leavenworth, Kansas, in June, IS81. They have one child, Henry Clay Conde, Jr.
EVERETT R. BARTLETT. MEMPHIS.
E VERETT RUSSELL BARTLETT, son of Bryant and Louisa (Russell) Bartlett, was born at Nauvoo, Hancock county, Illinois, February 27, 1849. Ilis father was a real-estate dealer from Essex county, New York, and died in Clarke county, Missouri, in 1882. His wife, who was born in Cavendish, Vermont, died a year earlier. Russell was educated at Jamison's classical school, Keokuk, Iowa, and Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and is a graduate of the last' named institution, class of 1871. He was principal of Clarke City Academy one
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year, and elsewhere taught a few terms; Look a six months' course of lectures in the law department of Cornell; finished his readings at Kahoka, and was admitted to practice in May, 1872, opening an office at Clarke City, Clarke county. In 1875 he settled in Memphis, where he is doing a good business, his specialty being real- estate law, which with him is thrifty and profitable. He keeps entirely out of political offices, and attends assiduously to his other duties.
Mr. Bartlett is an active worker in the temperance cause; has organized many lodges of Good Templars in this state and Illinois, and is indefatigable in his efforts to push forward this grand movement to lessen or suppress the liquor traffic. He is a true humanitarian.
Mr. Bartlett was married in December, 1873, to Miss Laura E. Millburn, of Scotland county, and they have two children, both daughters.
PLEASANT D. D. HASTAIN. HARSIN .
PLEASANT DEE DAWSON HASTAIN, a member of the Benton county bar, and prosecuting attorney of that county, is a son of Daniel M. and Martha Jane (Wade) Hastain, and dates his birth in Henry county, this state, April 18, 1853. His father was a native of Tennessee, and a farmer in early life, and later a merchant, dying at Warsaw in 1874; and his mother was born in Ken- tucky, and is yet living. David Hastain, the father of Daniel M., changed his name from Hastings,
The subject of this notice received a partial collegiate education, spending two years at the Christian Brothers College, Saint Louis, and one year at the state university, Columbia, where he also received his legal education, and where he was graduated in 1877. Before locating, Mr. Hastain spent nearly a year in looking up a place in which to settle, and in the spring of 1878 opened an office in Warsaw, where he is doing finely in the practice of his profession. Probably no young man in the county ever started out with better promise, and he has sufficient ambition and self respect to maintain his good character, and push ou to brilliant success. He is well read, an easy talker, and a much better speaker than the average lawyer of his age.
Mr. Hastain was elected prosecuting attorney on the republican ticket in 1880, and reflected in 1882. He makes an alert and successful prosecutor, and is grow- ing in popularity and in intellectual strength. He is financial agent for the
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county in funding its bonded indebtedness, and is quite efficient as a business man. He is past grand in Odd Fellowship
Mr. Hastain was married January 7, 1885, to Miss Lena Hill, daughter of Mrs. Lou Hill, of Warrensburgh, Johnson county, and they lost their firstborn child, a daughter, and have one daughter living
HON. JOHN COSGROVE. BOONVILLE.
J LOHN COSGROVE, one of the members of congress from this state, is in large measure a self-educated man, and a good example of a plucky spirit, determined to gain an honorable position in spite of all opposing obstacles. How well he has succeeded his present position clearly indicates. He was born in Jefferson county, New York, September 12, 1839, the son of a farmer, and the grandson of an Irish immigrant. He received a district-school education, and a good knowledge of agricultural work; in 1859 went to Pike's Peak; returned the next year without a fortune; attended a high school a short time; commenced the study of law at Watertown, in his native county, in 1961; was admitted to practice in 1863, and in the autumn of 1865 came to this state, and settled in Boonville.
He was not long in securing a fair business, and was afterward elected prose- cuting attorney of Cooper county. In a few years he became quite prominent as a lawyer and also as a politician of the democratic faith, and in the autumn of 1882 he was elected to congress, where he is serving his first term.
Mr. Cosgrove has a wife and four children, he being married in December, 1873, to Miss Georgia Augusta Bliss, of Brattleboro, Vermont.
HON. FOSTER P. W'RIGHT. 7FEFERSON CITY.
F COSTER PELLETIER WRIGHT was for a long time judge of the circuit court, and has been on the beach of this state, in all, the long period of twenty -four years. He is one of the best known men of his class in the state, and very highly esteemed for his qualities of mind and heart, and for his services to the commonwealth. He was born January 20, 1800, in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, while the family were on a visit, and he was raised in Warren
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county, Pennsylvania. His father, Lodowick Wright, was a cousin of Hon. Silas Wright, the eminent New York senator and statesman. The mother of our sub- jeet was a Buell.
The subject of this notice was graduated at Miami College. Oxford, Ohio, in 1828, and in 1832 came to Bowling Green, Pike county, where he read law, and the next year was admitted to the bar, being licensed by Judge Mathias MeGirk, then chief justice of this state. In 1836 he was elected to the legislature from Pike county, and the next year he was appointed by Governor Boggs judge of the seventh judicial circuit, and moved to Warsaw, in the southwestern part of the state. That circuit at that early period was very large, and the labors of Judge Wright were very burdensome, there being no railroads in the state. He was reappointed in 1848 by Governor Austin .A. King, and was succeeded at the end of his term by Judge Waldo P. Johnson. He was elected to the same office in 1859, and held it until the great civil commotion, when, refusing to take the lest wath, he was ousted from office. When not on the beach Judge Wright was engaged in the practice of his profession. He remained in Warsaw from 1837 to 1865, when he removed to Sedalia, where he did a good business in the state and federal courts. His briefs, prepared for the supreme court, are numerous and well done.
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