USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 43
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JAMES M. WOOLWORTH
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ten or fifteen years of his residence in Omaha, the firm of which he was a member (John I. Redick was his partner) had a practice more varied, if not more extensive, than any other in the state.
William A. Little came to Omaha from Aurora, Ill., in 1856 and soon won distinction in the Nebraska courts. He was a man of broad views, a good mixer, and was four times elected to represent Douglas County in the upper branch of the Territorial Legislature, where he both won renown and made enemies by his uncompromising opposition to chartering wild cat banks. He was one of the framers of Nebraska's first constitution and when the state was admitted was made the first chief justice of the Supreme Court-the only candi- date on the democratic ticket to be elected. He served but a short time, however, 011 account of failing health, but returned to Aurora, where he died. Judge Little was a power before a jury, his logical and forceful presentation of a case rarely failing to win a verdict.
Another lawyer who came to Omaha in 1856 was James M. Woolworth. He was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., in 1829. At the age of twenty years he graduated at Hamilton College. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1854. After practicing about two years in Syracuse, N. Y., he decided to go west and in October, 1856, he landed in Omaha. When Omaha was incorporated in 1857, he was elected the first city attorney; was a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1871; was, the democratic candidate for chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1873, although he was not inclined to seek office at any time, preferring to follow his profession. He was one of the founders of Trinity Episcopal Church and for nearly thirty years was one of the vestrymen. In 1867 he was appointed a member of the first board of high school regents; was a trustee of Racine ( Wisconsin) College, which institution in 1875 conferred upon him the degree of LL. D .; was one of the projectors of the Omaha Union Stock Yards, and was a director of the First National Bank. The University of Nebraska honored him with the degree of LL. D. in 1892. Mr. Woolworth was identified with much of the litigation connected with the railroads of Nebraska and as a chancery lawyer had the reputation of being at the head of the profession in the West. Soon after locating in Omaha, he wrote a little book entitled "Handbook of Nebraska Territory," in which he set forth the advantages of the territory in a way to invite immigration. He also wrote "The Cathedral in America" and was a contributor to the legal literature of the country. A few years before his death he was honored by being elected president of the American Bar Association, before which he had previously delivered several addresses. He died on June 3, 1906.
John I. Redick, another addition to the Douglas County Bar in 1856, was born at Wooster, Ohio, July 29, 1828. Soon after that his father met with financial reverses and the boy was left to "paddle his own canoe" at an early age. He attended the local schools and finished his education by an attendance of two years at Delaware College, Delaware, Ohio. He then read law under the tutelage of Professor Parott, of Wooster, and was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Ohio in 1852. Beginning practice at Lansing, Mich., he remained there until the fall of 1856, when he came to Omaha. In 1859 he formed a partnership with Clinton Briggs, which lasted for several years. Mr. Redick was a democrat
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until the beginning of the Civil war, when he became a republican. In 1876 he was appointed United States judge for New Mexico by President Grant, but served only about one year. He resigned to become attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad Company at Denver, where he practiced for about a year and then returned to Omaha. He then formed a partnership with W. J. Connell, which lasted only about one year. He was one of the projectors of the Omaha & Northwestern Railroad and was identified with other important business interests outside of his profession. Mr. Redick died on April 2, 1906.
John R. Meredith came to Omaha in the spring of 1857. He was born at Gettysburg, Pa., in 1832 and began his business career as clerk in a store. Saving his money, he prepared himself for teaching and in time became the principal of the academy at Steubenville, Ohio. There he studied law with Daniel L. Collier and in 1849 was admitted to the bar. Soon after coming to Omaha he became associated with George W. Doane and the firm lasted until 1871. Mr. Meredith was one of the founders of the Presbyterian Chruch in Omaha. In the fall of 1871 he suffered a paralytic stroke and from that time to his death he was not able to take an active part in the work of the courts. He died on October 21, 1880. The Omaha Herald of the next day said: "The death of John R. Meredith removes from among us one of Omaha's oldest inhabitants and best respected citizens. Honest, despising everything that was low and mean, he illustrated the manly virtues of an upright life and a force of character that was natural to a man of conscience and convictions. He was a democrat in early years, but his sympathies with the oppressed drew him into antislavery views and he early joined the free-soil party. He was a republican all the subsequent years of his life. John R. Meredith was a strong and sturdy man in moral force. His influence and example were always for good and thou- sands will unite with the writer of this meager tribute in testifying to his unblemished character and his useful life." The home which he built, and which is still standing on the southwest corner of Nineteenth and Dodge streets, is one of the landmarks of Omaha.
George I. Gilbert, a native of Pittsford, Vt., located at Omaha in 1857, having previously graduated at the University of Vermont, studied law and been admitted to the bar at Chicago a short time before he came to Nebraska. In 1860 he formed a partnership with George B. Lake and the following year was elected prosecuting attorney. In 1862 he went to Washington Territory and about a ycar later was appointed probate judge of a county which embraced practically the southern half of the present State of Idaho. After five years in Washington he went back to Chicago and engaged in the commission business as the senior member of the firm of Gilbert, Wolcott & Company. But he was not cut out for a commerical career and in 1869 he returned to Omaha. In 1875 he formed a partnership with Benjamin E. B. Kennedy, which lasted for about twenty years. Mr. Gilbert married Miss Cornelia, daughter of Origen D. Richardson. For a number of years he was a member of the board of fire and police com- missioners of the City of Omaha.
George W. Doane was another addition to the Nebraska bar in 1857. He was born at Circleville, Ohio, December 16, 1824; graduated at Marietta College
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in 1845; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1848; and in April, 1857. located at Decatur, Burt County, Nebraska. He was a member of the Territorial Council in the legislative session of 1858: removed to Fort Calhoun in 1860, and in 1864 to Omaha. In 1866 he was elected by the people of Douglas County to the upper house of the Territorial Legislature and during the sessions of 1881 and 1882 he was a member of the State Senate. In 1887 he was elected as one of the three district judges for the Third Judicial District, composed of the counties of Burt, Washington, Douglas and Sarpy. He was reelected in 1891, but resigned the next year to accept the democratic nomination for Congress. He was defeated at the election. He then gave his attention to his private practice until a short time before his death, when he retired. He was a gentleman of the old school, the very pink of courtesy, the quintessence of integrity.
The year 1857 also witnessed the arrival of Phineas W. Hitchcock in Omaha. He was born at New Lebanon, N. Y., November 30, 1831; graduated at Williams College with the class of 1855; studied law and worked on a newspaper until his admission to the bar, soon after which he came to Omaha. He never became active in practice, but engaged in the real estate and insurance business and took a lively part in political affairs. In 1860 he was a delegate to the republican national convention and voted for the nomination of Abraham Lincoln. In 1862 he was appointed United States marshal for Nebraska and held the office for two years, when he was elected delegate to Congress. When Nebraska was admitted to statehood he was appointed surveyor-general and in 1871 was elected to the United States Senate, where he served one term. While in the Senate he gave considerable attention to "timber culture acts," calculated to encourage tree planting on the western plains. He died at Omaha on July 10, 1881. His son, Gilbert M. Hitchcock is now one of the United States senators from Nebraska.
George B. Lake, one of the first associate justices of the Supreme Court of Nebraska, was born at Saratoga, N. Y., September 15, 1826. His mother was a descendant of Roger Williams. From New York he went to Elyria, Ohio. After graduating at Oberlin College in 1849 he began the study of law with W. F. Lockwood, of Elyria, and in the fall of 1851 was admitted to the bar. In November, 1857, he came to Omaha and soon afterward formed a partnership with A. J. Poppleton. Subsequently he was associated with George I. Gilbert and still later with Charles H. Brown. Upon the dissolution of the firm of Lake & Brown, Judge Lake became the senior member of the firm of Lake, Hamilton & Maxwell, his partners being John W. Hamilton and Henry E. Maxwell, the latter a son of Chief Justice Maxwell of the Nebraska Supreme Court. When Nebraska was admitted as a state, Judge Lake was elected one of the associate justices. In 1870 he was elected chief justice and in 1877 was again elected to that office for a term of six years under the new state constitution. At the expiration of his term he declined a renomination and engaged in private practice. Judge Lake was a man noted for his public spirit. He was four times elected to the Territorial Legislature; was a regent of the high school under the old system; was a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1871 ; and was always ready to lend a helping hand to any movement for the betterment of his adopted city and state. Old attorneys remember him as an able lawyer and a fair-minded judge, whose decisions have stood the tests of nearly half a century.
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Benjamin E. B. Kennedy, who came to Omaha on September 14, 1858, was born at Bolton, Vt., April 20, 1827. His paternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and his father, Samuel Kennedy, was in the War of 1812 and took part in the battle of Plattsburg, New York. Benjamin received an academic education and then studied law with Maynard & Edmunds at Richmond, Vt. George F. Edmunds, one of his preceptors, was afterward United States senator. In 1853 Mr. Kennedy was admitted to the bar and practiced in his native state until coming to Omaha, as above stated. In 1863 he was elected mayor of Omaha and later served in both houses of the Territorial Legislature. He was chosen school director of the Omaha public schools in 1864 and in 1879 was elected to represent Douglas County in the lower branch of the State Legislature. He also served for a number of years as one of the trustees of the State Normal School. His first vote for president was cast in 1848 for Lewis Cass and from that time on he was actively interested in the welfare of the democratic party. As a lawyer he was noted for his conscientious devotion to the interests of his clients, "not elated by signal triumphs nor overwhelmed by depression when he suffered defeat." He died at his home in Omaha on August 19, 1916, the last survivor of the old school attorneys of Omaha. Mr. Kennedy was for many years an enthusiastic hunter and a great lover of all outdoor sports, a fact to which he attributed his splendid health and long life.
Charles H. Brown, a native of New York, graduated at Williams College in 1858, studied law at Troy, N. Y., and was admitted to the bar in 1860. He came to Omaha in the fall of that year, but on account of his health crossed the plains with a freighting outfit to Denver. He was then employed for a short time in the construction of the telegraph line to Salt Lake City, after which he returned to Omaha and in October, 1862, was appointed prosecuting attorney to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of George I. Gilbert. While holding this office he prosecuted and secured the conviction of Cyrus H. Tator for the murder of Isaac H. Neff. Tator was hanged on August 28, 1863, the first man to be legally executed in Nebraska. In 1864 he was elected to the lower house of the Legis- lature; was a member of the city council in 1865, and in 1867 was elected mayor of Omaha. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1875 and after- ward served in the State Senate. In 1884 he was the democratic nominee for Congress and was defeated in a district where the nominal republican majority was about eight thousand, by only 650 votes. Having accumulated a competence, he retired from active practice some years before his death and passed his last years in retirement. At one time he was the partner of George B. Lake, and the firm of Lake & Brown was one of the best known in Nebraska.
Champion S. Chase was born at Cornish, N. H., and was educated at the Kimball Union Institute at Meriden. He then studied law at Buffalo, N. Y., where he was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1848 and began practice. In the early '50s he located at Racine, Wis., where he became a member of the firm of Butterfield & Chase, one of the leading law firms of Southeastern Wisconsin. While at Racine, he served as president of the board of education; was a dele- gate to the republican national convention of 1856 and voted for John C. Fremont ; was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1857; and in 1862 was appointed paymaster in the Union army, with the rank of colonel, by President Lincoln. In 1866 he came to Omaha and when Nebraska was admitted in 1867 he was
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the first attorney-general of the state. He was elected mayor of Omaha in 1875, 1879 and 1883. The last election was contested by P. F. Murphy, who was seated before the expiration of the term, but in 1887 Mr. Chase instituted quo warranto proceedings in the District Court to recover the amount of the mayor's salary drawn by Murphy. In that case Judge Eleazer Wakeley decided that Chase had been illegally ousted from the mayor's office and that the salary, amounting to nearly one thousand dollars justly belonged to him. Mr. Chase was one of the incorporators of the first Omaha Street Railway Company in 1807; one of the incorporators of Brownell Hall in 1868, and a member of the first board of trustees ; one of the organizers of the Real Estate Owners' Association in 1891, and commander of U. S. Grant Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in 1894.
The year after Champion S. Chase came to Omaha, George W. Ambrose also located in the city. He was born in Detroit, Mich., October 5, 1836, his father at that time being a merchant there. After attending the common schools, Kala- mazoo College and the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, where he graduated as a member of the class of 1863. Soon after locating in Omaha in 1867, he acquired a good practice and was identified with much of the important litigation, both in the local courts and the Supreme Court of the state. In 1876 he was elected to the State Senate, and it has been said of him by Judge Lake: "There is no lawyer in the state whose briefs the Supreme Court finds more satisfactory than those of Ambrose." His son, James C., won considerable reputation as a public lecturer. and a daughter, Emma O., was for several years a Baptist missionary in Burmah, India.
Among the attorneys who practiced in Douglas County during the territorial period, or were residents at the time Nebraska was admitted, may be mentioned the following: Daniel Gantt, Jonas Seely, Cuming & Turk, Albert Swartzlander, George H. Roberts, J. C. Ambrose, Benjamin Sheeks, George C. Hopkins, Charles P. Birkett, John D. Howe and George M. O'Brien.
Daniel Gantt was noted as a chancery lawyer. He was the last United States attorney for the territory and at the time of his death in 1878 was chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court. George C. Hopkins was one of the lawyers who defended Ottway G. Baker for the murder of W. D. Higgins. Baker was hanged. John D. Howe was connected with the waterworks litigation in the latter '70s and was the attorney for the Omaha Motor Railway Company. He was city attorney of Omaha in 1881 and the same year was elected to the State Senate. Charles P. Birkett, who came to Omaha in 1856, was appointed agent for the Ponca Indians in 1872 and removed to their reservation near Fort Ran- call, S. Dak. Three years later he went to Washington, D. C., where he passed the remainder of his life. George M. O'Brien served as a brigadier-general in the Civil war and came to Omaha in 1866. He was a painstaking and successful lawyer and had the confidence of a large clientage. He died in 1885.
Charles A. Baldwin came to Omaha in November, 1868. He was born near Utica, N. Y., October 8, 1825; was educated at the Western Reserve Academy, Farmington, Ohio; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1854; formed a partnership with L. V. Bierce at Akron, Ohio, in 1859 and practiced there until coming to Nebraska. In 1879 he was a candidate for district judge, but was defeated by Judge J. W. Savage. During his practice in Nebraska he was con-
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nected with several important criminal cases-a branch of the law in which he excelled.
Charles F. Manderson came to Omaha in 1869. He was born in Philadelphia, Pa., February 9, 1837, and was educated in the public schools of his native city. He then went to Canton, Ohio, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1859. Soon after his admission he was elected city solicitor of Canton and at the conclusion of the term was re-elected, but he enlisted as a private and through successive promotions was brevetted brigadier-general at the close of the war. Upon coming to Omaha he formed a partnership with James W. Savage, which lasted for six years, or until the elevation of Judge Savage to the bench in 1875. Mr. Manderson served three terms as city attorney of Omaha ; was a member of the constitutional conventions of 1871 and 1875; was elected to the United States Senate in 1883 and re-elected in 1889. While a member of the Senate he frequently presided over the deliberations of that body as president pro tem. HIe also served as president of the American Bar Association ; was one of the first board of directors of the Omaha Law Library Association; a charter mem- ber of U. S. Grant Post, Grand Army of the Republic ; and was for several years president of the Omaha Savings Bank. A man of genial address and courtly manners, his services as a speaker at public functions were always in great clemand.
About the time Senator Manderson came to Omaha, John M. Thurston also became a resident of the city, and he was also afterward elected to the United State Senate. Mr. Thurston was born in Montpelier, Vt., August 21, 1847, and when seven years of age went with his parents to Madison, Wis. He was graduated at Wayland University in 1867 and two years later was admitted to the bar. Almost immediately after his admission he located in Omaha and in 1874 was elected city attorney. In 1875 he was elected to the lower house of the Legislature. He was one of the republican presidential electors in 1880 and in 1884 was a delegate to the republican national convention that nominated James G. Blaine for the presidency. In 1888 he was again a delegate to the national convention of his party. From 1895 to 1901 he represented Nebraska in the United State Senate. For many years he was attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad Company, beginning as assistant in 1877 and becoming general counsel in 1888. Senator Thurston was an eloquent political speaker. He died at his home in Omaha on August 9, 1916.
To give personal mention to all the lawyers who have practiced in the local courts would require a volume of modest proportions. Those above referred to were representative members of their profession and assisted in laying the foun- dlation of the splendid reputation enjoyed by the local bar at the present time. But they were not the only ones who won distinction as members of the Douglas County bar, and no history of the bench and bar would be complete without at least brief notice of some attorneys who came at a later date.
Jolin C. Cowin came to the city in 1867 and John L. Webster in 1869. Botlı are still living and during their years of practice in this state they have been con- nected with many important cases. Edward W. Simeral came to Omaha from Ohio in 1869. He read law with Silas A. Strickland and John L. Webster and was admitted to practice in 1876. He was elected county attorney in 1886 and was attorney for several of the leading Omaha business firms. William J. Con-
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nell came to Omaha as a clerk for the mercantile firm of Tootle & Maul and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He served for four years as city attorney and in 1888 was elected to represent the district in Congress. Edwin F. Smythe came to Omaha in the early '70s and built up a lucrative practice. He married a daughter of Jesse Lowe, Omaha's first mayor, and died in the prime of life, leaving a widow and one daughter. The firm of Spaun & Pritchett, composed of J. S. Spaun and George E. Pritchett, handled a number of important cases while it was in existence. Mr. Pritchett served as city attorney in 1873; was elected to the Legislature in 1876; and was the United States district attorney for Nebraska under the first Cleveland administration. C. F. and R. W. Brecken- ridge, father and son, practiced as partners in the '8os, combining the wisdom of age with the vigor of youth. Sylvester R. Rush, who came to Omaha in 1888, was for a time associated with W. W. Slabaugh. He was appointed assistant United States district attorney in 1894 and served until 1905, when he resigned. He is now special assistant to the attorney-general of the United States.
Then there are Ben T. White, Carroll S. Montgomery, Warren Switzler, Wil- liam R. Kelly, T. J. Mahoney, George W. Covell, Isaac E. Congdon, F. S. Howell, Matthew A. Hall, Joseph H. Blair, William O. Bartholomew, John Schomp, George W. Shields, Charles Ogden, M. V. Gannon, Charles J. Greene, John P. Breen, Francis A. Brogan and William F. Gurley, some of whom are still living, and who were all identified with the Douglas County bar a quarter of a century or more ago.
BAR ASSOCIATION
The Omaha Bar Association was organized in 1889. Article II of the con- stitution then adopted sets forth that: "The objects of this association are to maintain the honor and dignity of the profession of the law; to promote a fra- ternal feeling among the members of the bar ; and to aid in the due and expeditious dispatch of the courts of justice."
Article III of the by-laws provides: "Regular meetings of the association, other than annual meetings, shall be held on the second Saturdays of March, May, October and December of each year. Special meetings shall be called by the president upon the written request of three members of the executive council or twenty members of the association. Notices of such meetings must be mailed by the secretary to each member at least forty-eight hours before the meeting, specifying the business to be transacted, and no business shall be transacted not named in the notice."
The annual meeting of the association is held on the second Saturday of January of cach year, when officers are elected by a majority vote of the members present, said officers to hold their positions until the next annual inceting, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. The year book of the association for 1916 shows 264 members, and at the annual meeting in January, 1916, the following officers were elected: William A. DeBord, president; Ray- mond G. Young, vice president and chairman of the executive council; J. T. Dysart, secretary ; Anan Raymond, treasurer. The executive council was com- posed of Raymond T. Young, Charles G. McDonald, Thomas Lynch, A. K. Barnes and W. C. Fraser. Mr. DeBord died before the expiration of the term
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for which he was elected and Vice President Young succeeded to the presidency.
In addition to the annual meeting and the quarterly business meetings, the association has a "field day," when the afternoon is spent at some of the golf links about Omaha, followed by a banquet in the evening. On these occasions the District Court usually adjourns and the justices of the Supreme Court have found pleasure in visiting the field day festivities. Sometimes a dinner is served at the close of one of the regular meetings. During the sessions of the Legislature, meetings are frequently called to aid in securing the passage or defeat of some measure pending in that body. The association has gone on record as favoring legislation that will result in more prompt action on the part of the courts.
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