USA > Missouri > Cole County > Jefferson City > The Bench and bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and other Missouri cities : biographical sketches > Part 6
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 6
USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > The Bench and bar of St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, and other Missouri cities : biographical sketches > Part 6
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The subject of this sketch was graduated at Waterville College in 1858, at the head of his class. He taught school two winters while in college, and three years afterward, reading law also at the same time. He was about ready to be admit- ted to the bar when civil war broke out, and in May, 1861, he enlisted as a pri- vate in the ed Massachusetts infantry, the first three years' regiment mustered into the United States service. He rose step by step to the rank of captain, and during the last year was on the stan of General A. G. Williams, the regiment being in the first division, twentieth army corps. He served his full three years, was in many engagements and was never wounded.
In October, 1864, Mr. Pattison was admitted to the bar in Maine, and the next December in Saint Louis, which has since been his home, and the field of his suc- cess, he opening an office January 1. 1865. He is of the firm of Pattison and Crane. His practice has been in the civil courts entirely, and is largely in cor. poration law, which he seems to have made an especial study. His railroad prac- tice alone is large, and quite remunerative.
Mr. Pattison's prominent success at the Saint Louis bar is due entirely to his
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conspicuous talents, and his industry and integrity. He is devotedly attached to his profession, and has no sympathy with those who seek to procure advance- ment in it otherwise than by loyal service to it, or with those who endeavor to make it the opportunity for success in other fields. He is a sagacious counselor in the office, and in the court room is a fluent and always entertaining talker. Hle is seen to best advantage when unexpectedly confronted with some "objec- tion," or when a hard-fighting antagonist attempts to change his line to some better position on the battlefield. He is then cool and collected, and rarely fails to find some clear way to success out of seemingly the most fatal dangers. One of the oldest judges in the country recently said of him: "I always find pleasure in trying a case in which he is engaged, as he never asks the attention of the court unless he has something well worth listening carefully to, and he always says it well." Since forming his present partnership relations, he has confined his attention for the most part to cases when they appear upon the law docket, or when they find their way to the appellate courts. Much of the work of the firm is in railway and other corporation practice, and in this Mr. Pattison has been equally successful.
Mr. Pattison was the attorney of the Saint Louis school board several years ago, and we cannot learn that he has held any other office. He is a republican, and during an exciting canvass will work hard to help his friends into office, without asking anything for himself.
Mr. Pattison is the author of the " Missouri Digest" in three volumes, a work which has had a cordial reception at the hands of the legal fraternity, it being a very able work. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and a member of the Legion of Honor, the Royal Arcanum, and perhaps one or two other orders of that class. Ile was married in June, 1861, to Miss Marcia T. Whitehouse, of Waterville, Maine, and they have one daughter, Martha.
HON. CHARLES E. PEERS. WIRRENTON.
C' HARLES EDWARD PEERS, member of the twenty-seventh general assem- bly of Missouri, is a native of Lincoln county, this state, and was born at Troy, May 2, 1844. He is a son of Edward J. Peers, a native of Prince William county, Virginia, and son of a revolutionary soldier. The mother of Charles was Mrs. Cytha ( Reynolds) Stone Peers, a native of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Ed- ward J. Peers was a carpenter in his younger years; a man of very ordinary means, yet a good soldier, and of some political distinction in his day. He had command of the whole district north of the Missouri River from the time of the Union up to the Mexican war, in which he was a major, and served under Gen- eral Scott.
The subject of this sketch never went to school more than twelve months in
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his life, but by improving his leisure time, he mastered the elementary branches, and obtained a fair business education. In his youth he spent part of his time on a farm, and part in a printing office, the latter being no mean college to a thoughtful young man. He borrowed law books of his kind friend, Henry Quig- ley, of Troy; read them diligently and thoroughly, and was admitted to the bar at Warrenton in 1867. The next year he became circuit attorney for the district comprising Pike, Lincoln, Warren, Saint Charles, Montgomery and Audrain counties, and held that office four years. At the expiration of that time he was elected ( 1872) to the legislature, in which he served one term, being chairman of the committee on criminal jurisprudence, and on two or three other com- mittees.
Mr. Peers is a democrat, and quite prominent in the state. He was on the presidential electoral ticket in 1876, and made a lively and splendid canvass that year, as he does every year when an important election is to come off. On the stump he does yeoman's service in the interests of his party. He is a fluent and attractive talker, logical as well as facetious, and never fails to draw a crowd. At state conventions he is often made president, and is quite a favorite among his political confreres. He is one of the best parliamentarians in the state.
Mr. Peers has good abilities, pleasing manners, a very cordial disposition, and is popular in his district. Hle excels as a jury lawyer, being clear and logical, candid and earnest, and having strong persuasive powers. His character in all respects stands well.
He is past master of Warrenton Lodge, No. 34, of Freemasons, and an Odd- Fellow, having passed the chairs in the subordinate lodge. Mr: Peers was married November 6, 1866, to Miss Mary C. Humphrey, a native of Brooklyn, New York, and they have two sons.
HON. LOUIS F. COTTEY. EDIN'A.
L' QUIS FRANCIS COTTEY, one of the prominent lawyers and democratic
politicians of Knox county, is a son of Ira D. and Sarah E. (Eads) Cottey, and was born in the county in which he still lives, March 31, 1846. His father was a native of Kentucky, and belonged to one of the pioneer families in that state, and his mother was a native of Virginia, and the daughter of a Methodist preacher.
Louis worked upon his father's farm until he was nineteen years old. Up to this time he had had very few school advantages. His one ambition was to go to school. His parents were in moderate circumstances and unable to render him much assistance. Young Cottey, with commendable spirit, determined not to call upon his father, but to make his own way in the world, and mainly by his own efforts and practices of economy, succeeded in obtaining an education
5 . Cotter
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and a profession. He last attended school at Central College, Fayette, Howard county, where he was graduated in 1868.
He taught school two terms afterward; read law at Richmond, Ray county, under General Doniphan; was there admitted to the bar at the June term of the circuit court in 1871, and settled in Edina. In 1872 he was elected county super- intendent of schools, and held that office two terms, practicing his profession more or less at the same time.
In 1875 Mr. Cottey was elected to the constitutional convention as one of the members from the twelfth senatorial district, not being at the time quite twenty- nine years old. He was the youngest member of that body. Young as he was he did much valuable work in that convention, and at its close he moved the preparation of the address to the people of the state, which address no doubt did more than anything else to familiarize the public with the character of the con- stitution. He modestly waived the right to be chairman of the committee appointed to prepare that address.
In 1876 Mr. Cottey was sent by his democratic constituents to the lower house of the general assembly, and was chairman of the committee on claims, and was a member of several other committees. He did so well in that house that in 1878 he was elected to the upper house, his senatorial district being composed of Clarke, Lewis, Scotland and Knox counties. In the first session he was made chairman of the same committee that he held the chairmanship of in the other house, and he was the author of the so-called Cottey bill, which had for its object the putting of the bonded litigation of the state in the hands of the state courts, an act which attracted general public attention throughout the state.
In the second session of the senate he was chairman of the committee on ways and means, one of the most important committees in a legislative body. He was a faithful and zealous worker in the three general assemblies of which he was a member, and made a noteworthy and highly commendable record. He was not a candidate for reelection, preferring rather to devote his time to the practice of his profession.
Mr. Cottey was a delegate to the democratic state conventions which nomi- nated Governors Phelps and Crittenden, and he is a stirring and energetic can- vasser in the interests of his party.
Ilis religious connection is with the Methodist Church South. He has a good share of public spirit, and likes to encourage local enterprises, being a stock- holder and director of the Edina Creamery, and interested in various other pub- lic measures.
As a lawyer, Mr. Cottey has stood well from the start, being a good judge of law, far above the average as an advocate, and true as steel to his clients. He is making a marked success in his profession. "Since his retirement from the sen- ate," says a circuit judge who knows him well, "Mr. Cottey has had a rapidly increasing business. He is well read in his profession, has a strong, logical mind, is a pointed and forcible speaker, and is a young man of much promise." Mr.
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Cottey has always been honest and conscientious in his business transactions, and it may be remarked that no man more fully possesses the confidence of his neighbors than does he.
Standing as he does in the prime of young manhood, in vigorous health, his ability as a lawyer established, and with a character that no one has ever dared to impeach, we predict for him an honorable and useful future.
JOHN HENRY OVERALL. SUNT LOUIS.
T HE subject of this brief sketch was born in Saint Charles, Missouri, March 27, 1845, being a son of Major Wilson Lee Overall and Eliza Ann ( Williams) Overall. His father was a native of Tennessee, and came to this state in 1806, and engaged in farming in Saint Charles county. He was judge of the county court, and a member of the legislature, being for years one of the leading citi- zens of his county, enjoying the highest respect of the community. He died at Saint Charles, December 24, 1850. The mother of our subject was born at Har- per's Ferry, Virginia, and a descendant of one of the families which early settled in that state. She was a pioneer in editorial work by woman, contemporary with Ann Bowles, and conducted newspapers forty and fifty years ago, first at Fayette, then at Columbia, and finally at Saint Charles, all in the state of Missouri. She died at Saint Joseph in 1880.
The subject of this sketch was educated at Saint Charles College, by Presi- dent William H. Shields, at Columbia, Missouri, where he paid especial attention to the languages and higher mathematics, and at the State University, entering the latter institution, sophomore class, on its opening in the spring of 1863, and being graduated with the first honors of his class in 1865. He also took a course of instruction in Henderson and Stewart's Commercial College, Saint Louis. Mr. Overall read law at Jefferson City with Hon. E. L. Edwards, and was admitted to the bar at Macon in July, 1866; but, not satisfied with his legal attainments, he went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and attended school in the law department of Harvard University, where he was graduated in August, 1867. We learn that while Mr. Overall was at Cambridge he partially supported himself by assisting in the preparation of opinions and briefs, and in collating authorities for the law works produced and elaborated by Professors Theophilus Parsons and Emery Washburn.
Mr. Overall was a member of the Macon bar from 1866 to 1874, spending some time in Saint Louis in 1867 in studying the statutes, code pleadings and practice of this state. In November, 1868, he was elected attorney of the second judicial circuit, comprising the counties of Macon, Randolph, Howard, Boone and Calla- way. That office he resigned in June, 1872, to accept the position of dean of the law school at the Missouri University. Owing, however, to the condition of his
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health, he held that chair only long enough to perfect the organization, and then went to the Rocky Mountains Returning to Missouri, his health was so far restored that in 1874 he opened a law office at Columbia, where he remained until November, 1875, when he settled in Saint Louis. He entered the office of Hon. James O. Broadhead on the demise of his partner, Fidello C. Sharp, and he was a partner of Colonel Broadhead until January, 1878, at which date the present firm of Overall and Judson was formed
In January, 1874, Mr. Overall was united in marriage with Mary E., daughter of Hon. James L. Rollins, of Columbia, this state. Of the marriage five children have been born, of whom three are living.
Mr. Overall has always declined political preferment, being contented to occupy an honorable position in his profession
NEWTON CRANE.
SAINT LOUIS.
N TEWTON CRANE was born at Long Branch, New Jersey, April 1, 1847, being a son of Rev. John Newton Crane, and Hannah (Wilde) Crane. Ilis father is still living in New Jersey, and is a descendant of the Cranes of Cranetown, now Mont Clair, which has become a well known summer resort. Members of the family participated in both wars with the mother country. .
Benjamin Wilde, the father of Hannah Wilde, was a Yorkshire cloth manufac- turer, and the first man in England to manufacture woolen goods by steam. He followed a brother of his, an officer in the English army, to this country; started a woolen factory at Bloomfield, New Jersey, having a large capital, and was one of the most successful business men in that part of the state.
Mr. Crane was educated at the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, being a graduate of the class of 1807. Returning to New Jersey, he became city editor of the Newark " Daily Advertiser," occupying that post a year and a half. He then, in connection with R. Watson Gilder, now the editor of the " Century," established the Newark " Morning Register," which proved a success, and which they disposed of to good advantage in about eighteen months.
In September, 1870, Mr Crane came to Saint Louis, and went on the editorial staff of the " Democrat," now the "Globe-Democrat;" and in December, 1873, he was married to Miss Mollie Allen, daughter of Gerard B. Allen, Saint Louis, three sons being the result of this union.
In January, 1874, he was appointed consul to Manchester, England, and while acting in that capacity, he attended law lectures in Owen's College, that city. Resigning his consulship, he returned to Saint Louis in December, 1877, and was here admitted to the bar in the following March. Since that date he has applied himself very closely to the practice of his profession in the civil courts, and is rapidly taking a place among the most successful members of the bar. He is
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especially adapted to the trial of jury cases. His easy, conversational style, and his trank manner, at once gain the confidence of witnesses, and he evinces great skill in drawing from them to the fullest extent the testimony he desires. In addressing the jury he is particularly happy. His brilliance and ease as a writer are reproduced here; and while he is always entertaining, he succeeds in present- ing to the twelve the salient points in the case, and rarely fails to impress them with the justice of his client's cause. In the argument to the court of the many law questions which arise in the course of a trial, he aims at clearness and terse- ness of expression, presenting his points in a few incisive sentences, free from fallacy or any attempt at rhetorical display.
Since January, 1881, Mr. Crane has been a member of the firm of Pattison and Crane, his partner being Everett W. Pattison, elsewhere mentioned in this vol- ume. Mr. Crane is a decided republican, and can give a strong reason for his political faith, either with the tongue or pen; but since coming to the bar, our impression is that with him the law has the precedence over politics. He has served as vestryman and junior warden of Christ (Episcopal) Church; is a man of sterling moral character; has fine social qualities; is a good converser, a polished writer, and no mean factor in the literary circles of Saint Louis.
SENECA N. TAYLOR.
SAINT LOUIS.
ENECA NEWBERRY TAYLOR, one of the hardest-working members of S the Saint Louis bar, was born in Oakland, Oakland county, Michigan, Jan- uary, 1836, the year that that state was admitted into the Union. His parents, John and Leah (Shannon) Taylor, were natives of New Jersey, married in that state, and settled in Michigan in 1834, the father opening a farm at Oakland. Seneca was the third child in a family of ten children, who all lived to grow up. He was educated at Dickinson's Academy, Romeo, the State Agricultural College at Lansing, and at Adrian, where he was graduated in the literary department of the Adrian College in isor. He was admitted to the bar in the same year, and subsequently spent a year in the law department of the University of Michigan
Mr. Taylor commenced practice in Niles in 1862, and was there till near the close of 1865, serving two years of that time as circuit court commissioner. In December, 1865, Mr. Taylor settled in Saint Louis, and has since devoted himself assiduously to his professional duties. He has repeatedly been urged by his republican friends to be a candidate for circuit judge, but he has neither sought nor held a civil or political office since coming to this state. His practice is civil only, with no specialty, yet leaning latterly to patent law, in which branch alone he has a lucrative business.
Mr. Taylor is not only one of the hardest workers at this bar, but his work, as might well be supposed, is honest. He goes to the bottom of any subject that
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engages his attention; is vigorous and aggressive in the conduct of cases: has the entire confidence of his clients; has thorough confidence in himself; rarely abandons a case until the court of last resort has passed upon it; is keen and shrewd, and never allows himself to be outwitted, and his character is in all respects above reproach.
Mr. Taylor is the senior member of the firm of Taylor and Polland, his part- ner being Henry M. Polland, another lawyer of excellent character and good standing.
Mr. Taylor was married in July, 1803, to Miss Letitia Wayland Chester, of Niles, Michigan, and they have four children living, and have buried one child. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are members of the Union Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he has long been a trustee. They constitute important factors in the social circles of that denomination in this city.
THOMAS B. CHILDRESS.
SAINT LOUIS.
T IIIS gentleman is one of your quiet, steady workers at the bar, making a little bluster as possible, and doing faithfully all business entrusted to him. He hails from Tennessee, and was born in the town of Franklin, in Williamson county, December 12, 1827. His parents were William G. and Mary (Bradley) Childress. His father was born in Tennessee, and was in the war of 1812-14 and with General Jackson at New Orleans, January 8, 1815. He was for many years next prior to his death, in 1816, one of the leading democratic politicians in Ten- nessee.
Our subject was educated partly in Tennessee, and partly at the naval acad- emy at Annapolis, Maryland, and served as a midshipman in the navy during the Mexican war, being in engagements at Tampico and Vera Cruz.
He finished his legal studies at Lebanon, Tennessee, and after practicing a short time at Memphis, settled in Nashville in the autumn of 1849. The next year he went to California in search of gold, but met with poor success, and re- turned early in 1851, and resumed the practice of his profession at Nashville. In March, 1853, Mr. Childress was appointed by President Pierce United States attorney for the middle district of Tennessee, and having discharged the duties of that office with such general satisfaction, he was, at the expiration of his com- mission, reappointed to that position by President Buchanan, without application therefor. This position he held until April, 1861, when he united his fortunes with those of the southern confederacy. In 1862 he went south with the confed- erate army, and continued his connection with that army in different capacities, when his health (which was then very feeble) would admit of it, until the close of the war. Shortly after its close Mr Childress returned to Nashville, and again commenced the practice of the law, continuing it there until November, 1868,
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when he removed to Saint Louis. He does business in all the courts, civil and criminal, with promptness and fidelity, and with integrity unimpeached. He never experiments with his clients' business, but always tries his case for all it is worth.
Mr. Childress is a decided democrat in politics, and a Roman Catholic in re- ligion, being a convert to that faith. He is a man of excellent moral charac- ter, is modest and retiring in his habits, conscientious and painstaking in the discharge of his professional duties, and firm and decided in his convictions and opinions when once formed.
Ilis wife was Miss Matilda Benson, ot Saint Louis, to whom he was married in February, 1858. He has three children living.
HON. HENRY C. LACKLAND. SAINT CHARLES.
H ENRY CLAY LACKLAND, member of the last constitutional convention (1875) and of the legislature in 1879-81, was born in Montgomery county, Maryland, August 20, 18.30. Both parents, James C. and Matilda (Crabb) Lack- land, were also born in that state. Some of Henry's paternal great uncles took part in the struggle tor independence, and his maternal grandfather was a mem- ber of the first congress which was elected after the adoption of the constitu- tion in 1787. His father, James C. Lackland, was a soldier (lieutenant of a company) in the war of 1812 with Great Britain. He was in the battle of Bladens- burg, and in several skirmishes and battles around Baltimore and Washington city. In 1833 James C. Lackland emigrated from Maryland to Saint Louis county, this state, where he engaged in farming. Three years later he settled in Saint Charles, where he had a saw mill, and manufactured lumber until his death in 1862. His wife died in 1800
Henry was educated at Saint Charles College, being graduated in 1848. He taught school on Dardenne Prairie, this county, one school year, reading law at the same time, and was admitted to the bar in 1852. He then engaged in civil engineering, and followed that business on different railroads, Missouri Pacific, North Missouri, now Wabash, Saint Louis and Pacific, for three or four years, at the end of which time he accepted the chair of mathematics in Saint Charles Col- lege, and occupied it for three years.
Since 1859 Mr. Lackland has devoted his time to the practice of his pro- fession in the several courts of the state, and he is one of the most successful and most prominent members of the Saint Charles county bar. He handles all cases intrusted to his care with marked ability, and usually to the complete satisfaction of his clients. He has the polish of a scholarly gentleman, and belongs to that class who favorably impress a stranger at the first interview. Mr. Lackland held the office of school commissioner of Saint Charles county, from 1858 to 1801, when the office was abolished; and he was a member of the constitutional con-
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vention (1875) which framed the constitution of the state now in force, and was on several committees, among them the judiciary committee, on which he did much of his work.
Mr. Lackland was elected to the thirtieth general assembly in 1878, and served in the session of the following year, being acting chairman of the judiciary com- mittee part of the time, and on several other committees. He was a candidate for the same office in 1882, and was defeated. He is a democrat, and Saint Charles county is republican. He is an active politician, prominent in his party, and often attends county and state conventions.
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