USA > Missouri > The history of the bench and bar of Missouri : With reminiscences of the prominent lawyers of the past, and a record of the law's leaders of the present > Part 78
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When he reached the scenes of his childhood, he found his father arranging his affairs preparatory to migrating with his family westward. He urged his son to join the family in seeking a new home, but this did not suit the plans of the latter, and after a short stay at his old home, he departed for the East, where he spent the spring and summer of that year at pleasure resorts and watering places. In June, 1866, President Johnson tendered him a commission as Major in the United States Army, but the stagnation of army life in time of peace he knew would be wholly unsuited to one of his active and aspiring temperament, and he accordingly declined.
In the fall of 1866 he deterinined to visit his father, who had settled near the little town of Bancroft, in Daviess County, Missouri. Impressed by the grand and magnificent proportions of the new country, no less than by its possibilities, which he saw with prophetic eye, he at once decided to inade it the scene of his future labor. February, 1867, he entered the law office of Judge Robert L. Dodge, at Gallatin, the judicial seat of Daviess, to prepare himself for the law. On November 6, 1868, he was admitted to the bar by Judge Jonas J. Clark, at Gallatin, and at once began practice there.
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THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
Judge McDougal's first public office came in the form of the City Clerkship of Gallatin, to which he was elected on the reorganization of the corporation after the war. So favor- ably did he impress the citizens of his new home, that without opposition they elected him Mayor of Gallatin, an office he held for two terms from April, 1870. A third term was offered, but he declined, to accept the office of Judge of the Probate Court to which he was elected in 1872, serving four years with ability and honor. He served many years on the School Board of Gallatin, and has always been an active friend and benefactor of the public schools, and an energetic promotor of every enterprise of public advantage.
In December, 1874, the Judge formed a partnership with Marcus A. Low, noted as one of the most brilliant members of the Missouri bar. Mr. Low was then a resident of Ham- ilton, Missouri, but soou moved to Gallatin, and the partnership was unchanged until Jan- uary, 1876, when Col. John H. Shanklin, of Trenton, Missouri, became a member and the firm became Shanklin, Low & McDougal. They were not only division attorneys of the Rock Island and Wabash Railways, but had a large and lucrative general practice. This strong combination continued up to 1885, with offices at both Gallatin & Trenton, the Gal- latin part of the firm being represented by Judge McDougal.
In 1885, much to the regret of his law partners and the people among whom he had lived for nearly twenty years, Judge McDougal decided to remove to Kansas City, which was then nearing the highest point of its wonderful boom. There he was a member of the law firm of Crittenden, McDougal & Stiles, from 1886 to 1889; since 1889, a member of the firmn of McDougal & Sebree, with Hon. Frank P. Sebree, a most excellent lawyer, as his junior partner.
For more than twenty years the Judge kept free of politics, and devoted himself with all his industry and energy to his profession, though frequently importuned to accept judi- cial and Congressional nominations. However, in 1895, at the earnest solicitation of the newly elected Mayor, Webster Davis, now Assistant Secretary of the Interior, who had read law under Judge McDougal as his preceptor and knew how to value his able counsel and advice, he accepted the office of City Counselor of Kansas City, involving responsibili- ties that would have discouraged a lawyer less resourceful and able. The larger volume of sich responsibility was the "water works litigation," a contest that had been waged in the courts for six years. It involved interests worth $3,179,000 to the city, and only a trained mind of the most inclusive strength could grasp its technical and intricate bearings. Judge McDougal took up the litigation and pushed it to a conclusion which was eminently satis- factory to the city, within less than six months after his appointment.
Although of Southern blood, birth and education, revealing his origin in all his tastes, habits and actions, Judge McDougal has always since his majority been a Republican. He is a man of conviction and principle on this point no less than in all the ethics of life. He has made the law his life-work, and lic has found his reward in the high and honor- able reputation lic bears. He is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court, and in all respects is a lawyer worthy of the high position hc occupies. The estecin in which lie is held by the members of his profession is shown by the fact that lic was unani- mously elected President of the Missouri Bar Association in 1895. He is an adept in Masonry, is a Royal Archi Mason, a Knight Templar and has been a member of the order since 1868.
Judge McDougal is one who has believed in the educational influence of travel, and there are few places in the United States where lie has not been. He is a thoroughi cos-
hong lo
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mopolite, and the eroding influence of contact with many men of many minds is to be noted in the tact and savoir faire which characterize him. Distinctive, individual, human, he is a man of thorough culture, and one, too, with that magnetismn of person which attracts men, and hence it is his good fortune to enjoy the personal acquaintance and friendship of most of the prominent men of State and Nation. He has a keen, investigat- ing mind, with the faculty to see and grasp quickly the full meaning of any proposition. He is a fluent, graceful writer and speaker, and is much in demand because of his talent, on public occasions. He is a thinker, also, and his discussion of the hypothesis-" Is Hamlet Insane ?" is considered a most deep and scholarly production, and has been printed in law and literary journals everywhere. Among his many printed public addresses, tlie one delivered at Kansas City on the eighty-eighth anniversary of the birth of Lincoln, Feb- ruary 12, 1897, entitled, "Egyptian and American Slavery-a Comparison; Moses and Lincoln - a Parallel," is considered a masterpiece. He stumped the country in the cam- paign of 1896, and his exposition of the money question was considered by Mckinley the clearest and inost forcible of the contest. As a writer of the law, too, he has few superiors. His briefs and arguments are models of strength and conciseness; his opinions as City Counselor read like those of a court of last resort, and his opinion on the " Power of Muni- cipalities to regulate telephone charges, control streets and force overhead wires into con- duits," as well as his paper read before the Missouri Bar Association in June, 1893, on "The Seal-Its Origin, Evolution and Abolition," were reproduced in full in a number of the leading legal periodicals of the country.
A year after his admission to the bar, and on November 2, 1869, Judge McDougal re- turned to Ohio and married Miss Emma F. Chapdu, eldest daughter of Edmund K. Chapdu, a well-to-do French-American of Gallipolis. The union has proved most felicitous and has been blessed by five children : Mabel, now Mrs. Robert B. Rudolph, of Canon City, Col- orado; Genevieve, now Mrs. Ulysses Turner, of Kansas City; Henry C., Jr., now of El Paso, Texas; John Edmund, and Emma Florence, the latter now a school girl.
SAMUEL MCREYNOLDS, CARTHAGE.
A LAWYER who has been located at Carthage for almost a quarter of a century and during that time has not only won standing in his profession, but has found time to contribute very largely to the material development of Southwest Missouri, is the subject of this sketch, who is the senior member of the strong legal combination of McReynolds & Halliburton.
Mr. McReynolds is a native Missourian, having been born at Grand Pass, Saline County, January 11, 1849. His father, Allen McReynolds, was a son of Joseph McRey- nolds, both natives of Virginia. Mr. McReynolds' mother was Martha A. Cooper, daughter of William and Nancy H. Cooper, all natives of Virginia. Nancy H. Cooper, the grand- mother of our subject, died in 1896 at the very advanced age of 100 years and seven months. The Coopers, who were of Scotch-Irish blood, settled in Lafayette County, Mis- souri, in 1836, and many of the family's descendants yet reside there. The McReynoldses as Missourians are yet older, dating from 1832, both the father and grandfather of our subject settling in Saline County within that year. Bothi were farmers, as who was not in those days when civilization liad not produced cities and sub-divisions of human labor?
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THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
There were professional men and merchants, it is true, but they, too, were generally farmers, for in that day the dignity of agriculture was properly appreciated and the men of those times realized the peace and contentment that came from close contact with nature's bosomn. That they have mostly so continued to-day is not singular, nor is it strange that thic families of oldest American residence are to be found in the country, as when they came to America there were no cities and agriculture was the only occupation. Those who came later settled in the cities, and hence to-day there the great "foreign element" will be found, while those who have been converted into genuine Americans by many generations of residence will be found holding the land.
Allen McReynolds, father of Samuel, resided in Saline County, from 1832 to 1864, the year of his death. In December of that year he was atrociously murdered by the State Militia, although he was a well-known Union sympathizer.
Samuel McReynolds was educated in the common schools of Saline County and at the State Normal at Kirksville. He studied law in the office of Judge Andrew Ellison and his brother, Judge James Ellison, at Kirksville, an office that has turned out many gifted young lawyers, whose names will be found in this volume. He was admitted to the bar at Kirksville by Judge John W. Henry, and immediately started for Carthage, Jasper County, where he located in January, 1875. He began practice with the rigid determination to achieve success, if it were within the limits of industry, and application to his profession to win it. Such inflexible purpose bent to the accomplishment of a single end nearly always succeeds, and it did in this instance, as is testified by the place Mr. McReynolds now holds at the bar of Southwestern Missouri, as well as by the volume of his practice and its character.
Mr. McReynolds is a Democrat and a thorough believer in the principles of that party. Therefore he manifests an abiding interest in all political affairs and is always well informed on the political men and issues of the day; but he has never been disposed to enter the field of politics as a means of personal advancement, and has never accepted other offices than those wholly honorary. In many enterprises of a quasi-public character lie has taken the place of a leader. At present he is a director of the Central National Bank of Car- thage, and was one of the organizers and promoters of the electric railway stretching between Carthage and Carterville, and his firm is now the legal representative of that line. He was likewise one of the most active promoters of the borings made in and around Car- thage for natural gas. He is an active supporter of the public schools and for years was President of the Carthage Board of Education.
Mr. McReynolds was married at Milan, Sullivan County, December 21, 1876, to Miss Helen M. Halliburton, sister of Mr. McReynolds' present partner and daughter of the late Westley Halliburton, for many years one of the ablest lawyers and best known Democratic leaders of North Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. McReynolds have four children, three boys and one girl, named respectively, Allen, Jolin W., Armilda H. and Samuel, Jr.
SCOTT JOHNSON MILLER, CHILLICOTHE.
HISTORY of the bar in Livingston County would be incomplete if it did not include A the name of Scott Jolinson Miller. He was born December 29, 1866, at Columbus, Olio. His father, Jolin Willis Miller, took for his wife Mary E. Bland. He was a fariner
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THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
and stock-raiser in the Buckeye State, and emigrated to Missouri in 1868, where he pursued the same vocation, becoming a prominent citizen of Livingston County. He was honored by his neighbors on several occasions in election to offices of trust and responsibility, hav- ing once been County Assessor. The Millers were originally Germans, the grandfather of the present Mr. Miller having been born in Ohio of parents who came from Germany ten years after the beginning of the century. Stanley Mathews, the well-known jurist, was a cousin of Mr. Miller's father. The maternal branch of his house, the Blands, were also of Ohio, but more remotely from New York. His parentage and ancestry were thoroughly American, and endowed him with that intense love of country which was characteristic of nearly all the pioneers and early colonists of this continent. The sturdi- ness of the German and progressive spirit of the American are evident traits of the char- acter of Mr. Miller, and it may be that to this descent he can attribute many of the suc- cesses of his career.
After a course of primary study covering some years in the common schools of Livingston County, he entered the Missouri State University, at Columbia, where he completed his education. Then he studied law with Judge E. J. Broaddus, at Chillicothe, Missouri, and was admitted to practice October 12, 1888. The day of his admission to the bar was a notable one, being marked by his argument of a case before the Circuit Court. He did not even have an office on that occasion, but opened one next day. He has practiced in Chillicothe continuously ever since, and is now a member of the firm of Miller Brothers, his partner being his elder brother, Frank Seymour Miller.
Mr. Miller has been connected with several leading cases in his time, of which a few can be here enumerated: Lilley versus Menke; Reid Murdock versus Lloyd & Moormon, Mo. Ap., 52; State versus Low, Missouri Supreme Court Reports, 98. But perhaps the most famous case in his career was that of Charles and William Ziefle versus Fred Seide, which was tried in the Supreme Court of Missouri, at the October term, 1897, Mr. Miller being for respondents. The point at issue was the affirmation of the judgment of the Circuit Court, because appellants had failed to comply with Section 2253, of the Revised Statutes of Missouri for 1889, not having filed certificates of the judgment, entry and order granting appeal, fifteen days before the first day of the term of the Appellate Court at which said appeal was returnable. On this point Mr. Miller argued wisely and well, and one pas- sage in his brief is worth quoting and remembering: "We cannot understand why an overruling of this inotion would mean other than a setting aside of this section of the statutes; because, if you can pass one terin of the Supreme Court under that section, there is no reason why you cannot pass all the terins." The Supreme Court wrote an opinion dismissing the appeal and construing the statute, making a leading case and settling the practice on this forin of appeal.
Although having never sought public office, he was named as a candidate for Congress in 1896, but failed to receive the nomination; but he was defeated only after one of the most bitter party contests in the political annals of Missouri, the convention lasting fourteen days, during which that body balloted 1,492 times before a nomination was reached. Mr. Miller was also a ineniber of the military staff of Governor Stone, and is now one of the Regents of the State Normal School, at Kirksville, Missouri. He is a member of the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the United Commercial Travelers, having a standing in these orders which incites the emulation of fellow-members.
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THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
Mr. Miller is, in all respects, a strong, vigorous, commanding character. He is straightforward and positive, and never seeks to carry a point either by cunning or sub- terfuge. He is aggressive in every respect, is bluff and liearty in manner, but always courteous and kindly in his intercourse with his fellow-men. He is gregarious in his instincts, and is, therefore, fond of society, and a favorite therein, because of his brilliancy and wit. As a member of Governor Stone's staff, he filled his position with fine tact. Among his large circle of acquaintances he is very popular, and his good humor and joviality make him a most agreeable companion. He is a ready conversationalist, and always talks intelligently and interestingly. He is sensible of the requirements of business, and never permits any lighter thing to interfere with its demands. He is open and candid, and one is sensible of his truth and honesty, and altogether he impresses one as a character of great power and virility.
THE MONTGOMERYS,
SEDALIA.
A LEADING law firm of the city which has given the State a Vest and a Philips, is composed of the Montgomerys, father and son. John Montgomery, Jr., the father, unquestionably stands in the very front rank of Sedalian attorneys, a position he occupies not only by right of legal ability, but also by reason of an honorable life-time spent among the people where he practices his profession. His practice is a certainty and he is estab- lished in unshakable security in the confidence of the people. With his future thus assured he need not worry, and like a philosopher does not worry about anything.
Mr. Montgomery is of Kentucky-Virginia stock, a strain that has ever manifested its power to overcome every obstacle of circumstance or environment and forge to the front rank in whatever condition placed. His grandfather on the paternal side of the house was a native of Virginia, while his grandmother of the same branch was from England. On the inother's side, his ancestors were residents of Kentucky so far back that the memory of inan runneth not to the contrary. His father, Dr. Thomas J. Montgomery, was a success- ful practitioner of medicine, and his inother, Emily Montgomery, was of the Flournoy family, of Kentucky. At Springfield, Kentucky, on August 18, 1844, the subject of this sketch first saw the light of day. While he was still a child his parents moved to Sedalia, where his father practiced medicine for inany years and was universally loved and respected.
The common school was the educational fount from which young John received his scholastic instruction. He determined to become a lawyer and entered the office of Philips & Vest, composed of Judge Jolin F. Philips and United States Senator George G. Vest, which even in that day was one of the most prominent law firms in the State. June 10, 1868, he was duly admitted to the bar at Sedalia, and during the more than a quarter of a century since, he has practiced his profession there.
As only misfortune is the warp and woof of history, the inan as well as the nation is blessed whose history is uneventful. History is tragedy. Tranquility and peace, the joys of home and family, the consciousness of duty well done and the respect of friends, the multi- plicity of ordinary attainments which make success, are the sum of thic greatest happiness, and in the light of these facts thic life of John Montgomery, Jr., must be considered botlı happy and prosperous.
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THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
In politics he is a staunch Democrat and he would have been honored by his party many times had he only been complaisant, but he values his practice, his uneventful pros- perity and his influence among his friends and neighbors too highly to jeopardize either or all by a plunge into the vexations of political life. His deep concern for education has led him to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the public schools, but it may well be doubted whether he could be induced to accept the nomination of any office that inter- fered with the regular routine of his life, were it offered to him on a silver salver, unless convinced that his duty as a good citizen absolutely required such a sacrifice.
Mr. Montgomery was married November 24, 1869, to Maggie Sneed, daughter of John M. Sneed, a prominent farmer near Sedalia. His son, Lee Montgomery, is associated with his father in the practice of law.
Lee Montgomery is the son of John Montgomery, Jr., and Maggie Sneed-Montgom- ery. He was born in Sedalia, August, 1869, and is therefore at this date twenty-nine years old. His paternal grandfather, Dr. T. J. Montgomery, was honored as one of Sedalia's best physicians for many years. His maternal grandfather, Capt. John M. Sneed, was one of the most influential citizens and farmers of that part of the State. Both came to Mis- souri from Kentucky early in the 'fifties.
Young Lee was given a splendid education. He prepared for college at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, and then entered Princeton College, New Jersey, in the fall of 1890. His college record is a brilliant one. He graduated in 1893 with the degree of A. B., standing seventh in a class of 150. He took prizes in college for proficiency in politi- cal economy and the Bible, extemporaneous speaking and debate. He also took the prize of $150 for the best essay on an assigned subject in ethics, as well as an honorary fellow- ship in philosophy worth $450. During his course he was President of the University Club, the American Whig Literary Society and a member of the Board of Editors of the Nassau Literary Magazine. As a climax to his long list of collegiate honors he was made one of the commencement orators and was one of the three voted on by the faculty for val- edictorian of his class.
His high standing as a scholar established, he returned to his Sedalia home and took up the study of law in the office of Jackson & Montgomery. His progress was rapid and he was admitted to general practice in May, 1895, and in the November following was enrolled on the list of attorneys entitled to practice in the Federal Courts. In a month after his admission to general practice he was admitted to partnership by his father, John Montgomery, Jr.
Mr. Montgomery is a Democrat in politics and in 1896 was his party's candidate for City Attorney. Besides his law practice, he has a number of business connections, being Vice-President of the Sedalia Book and Stationery Company, is Secretary of the Porter Real Estate Company, and Secretary of the Kingsbaker Cigar Company.
He is prominent in religious circles, belonging to the Old School Presbyterian denomi- nation and acting as Deacon of the Broadway Presbyterian Church, Sedalia. As Secretary of the Missouri Chautauqua he has given that cause enthusiastic and faithful service. His social influence is also felt and he is looked upon by the young people of Sedalia as a leader. He is President of the Melita Club and also a member of the Beta Theta Pi Col- lege Fraternity.
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THE HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF MISSOURI.
Those who know him consider Mr. Montgomery one of the most brilliant young men Sedalia lias ever produced. They are sure that a bright future is before him and that his name will one day be well known. He is the first Sedalian who ever went to Princeton to return bringing honors with him. He has already manifested a high degree of ability as a lawyer, and it is felt that he is "one able to bend unwilling circumstance to do his bid- ding," which after all is but the power of genius.
MILTON MOORE, KANSAS CITY.
G ENERAL MILTON MOORE, one of the prominent members of the Kansas City bar, is a native Missourian. He was born January 22, 1846, on a farm in Jackson County, not many miles from the city which has been the scene of his professional career. He comes of that hardy and masterful stock which, developed by the environments of that strip of territory which is border land between the North and the South, and known as Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia, has given so many of her sturdy sons and daughters to the great commonwealth of Missouri.
His father, Albert Adam Moore, was born March 31, 1811, in Rutherford County, Ten- nessee, and came to Missouri in 1837, settling in Lafayette County, where he has since resided. He is a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, having early dedicated his life to service in the religious field. The pioneer preacher in those early days of frontier life came side by side with the man who wielded the ax to open the path for the civilization that followed-one of that
"Legion that never was 'listed, That carries no colors or crest, But split in a thousand detachments, Is breaking the road for the rest."
It was at a time when moral conviction must need be attended by a strong hand, a sturdy will and a soldier's heart.
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