USA > Ohio > Adams County > A history of Adams County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, including character sketches of the prominent persons identified with the first century of the country's growth > Part 21
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HON. GEORGE COLLINGS
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unpleasant for him that he was compelled to board at the houses of private citizens. At the expiration of his term of office in 1848, he was succeeded on the bench by George W. Collings, of Adams County. He resumed the practice of law and in all was fifty years at the bar. He reared a family of nine children. The eldest daughter married Col. John W. Lowe, who was killed at Carnifax Ferry, while commanding the Twelfth Ohio Volunteers in the Brigade of Gen. Wilford B. Hager. The daughter Mary was the wife of Judge Phillip B. Swing, who was the United States District Judge for the southern district of Ohio, hav- ing been appointed to that office by Gen. Grant. His son, George W. Fishback, was editor and proprietor of the St. Louis Democrat for twenty years.
John Fishback was, at one time, owner. of the Indianapolis Sentinel. His son, William P. Fishback, was his father's partner in Ohio until 1857, when he removed to Indianapolis, where he now re- sides. For some years, he was the partner of Gov. Porter and Gen. Harrison, and since 1877, has been master in chancery in the United States circuit court for the district of Indiana. His youngest son, Owen T. Fishback, died from a disease contracted in the volunteer service dur- ing the Civil War. Judge Fishback was one of the ablest lawyers of his time and coped successfully with such antagonists as Gen. Hamer, Sr., Thomas Morris, Hanson L. Penn, and David G. Devore. He was a model judge and fine advocate and his addresses to court were always characterized by great earnestness. He was especially strong in cross- examining an adversary witness. He loved his profession, worked dili- gently, reared a large family and died poor.
George Collings.
James Collings, a native of Annapolis, Maryland, was of Welsh ex- traction, as was his wife, Christiana Davis, of Cecil County, whom he married February 20, 1780. They began housekeeping in Maryland, where they lived many years, and were the parents of a large family. some of the children dying in childhood. They were members of the Episcopal Church. Christian Davis belonged to the family of Henry Winter Davis and David Davis, of Illinois, these being brothers' sons. Their grandfather was Naylor Davis. "Naylor" runs through the family as a baptismal name.
About the close of the century the Collingses, determining to emigrate in company with several other families, started for their pro- posed destination, Limestone (now Maysville, Ky.). When near Man- chester, Ohio, a child of the party dying, they stopped to bury it, and James Collings and family choosing to stay north of the river, by acci- dent, became Ohioans.
Mr. Collings bought of Nathaniel Massie 400 acres of land one mile south of West Union, his heirs adding 100 acres to the purchase. He died at the early age of forty-eight years. His widow is said to have been a person of remarkable energy and great force of character, managing her affairs with ability.
As the years passed, several of the sons and a daughter married and established homes of their own; Elijah living in Adams County, William removing to Pike County, where he was afterward elected to
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the Legislature; James emigrating to Vermilion County, Ind., and Nancy marrying Mr. James Cole and residing in Adams County. The family circle was thus narrowed to the widow, two unmarried daugh- ters, one of whom is remembered as a woman of commanding intellect, and two sons, the elder, John, a promising young man, was taken off suddenly by a fever.
George Collings, the youngest son of James and Christian Col- lings, was born near West Union, Adams County, Ohio, February 29, 1800. He was a boy whose mind was early awakened to the delights of learning. His educational opportunities being only such as the county afforded, he was largely self-taught. He showed an unconquerable Jetermination to make a place for himself, and his incessant study of books, as well as of men and events, then begun, lasted throughout life. He knew Latin, read and spoke German (among his books is the Ger- man New Testament, which he often read in his last long illness), be- came a practical surveyor (his surveying instruments are still in his sec- retary), and applied himself closely to other branches of mathematics, including astronomy. £ With his mathematical and legal studies, he developed a talent for practical affairs. . His business ventures were numerous. As a young man, he was part owner of a general store at West Union. Later, with Mr. Allaniah Cole, he was interested in a furnace in Eastern Kentucky ; was a member of a queensware firm in Maysville, Ky .; a stockholder in an iron company in Cincinnati; a depositor for years in the LaFayette Bank, in the same city ; was a shareholder in the Maysville and Zanesville Turnpike Company. Besides several small tracts of land in Adams County, Mr. Collings had a farm of 400 acres on the Ohio River, lots in the town of Manchester, a farm of 342 acres in Highland County, real estate in Hillsborough, Cincinnati, Covington, Ky., Maysville, Ky., a tract of 1,000 acres in Iroquois County, Illinois, and lots in Middleport, same county. He erected three substantial houses-one in West Union, one seven miles east of Manchester, and one in Manchester.
Mr. Collings studied law in West Union, probably with Daniel P. Wilkins. He was admitted to practice at that place May.25, 1824. He afterward was appointed prosecuting attorney, and was elected to the Legislature of his native county. In later years he was elected to the Legislature from Highland County. About 1835 he became a resident of the latter county, living at Hillsboro several years and practicing his profession.
At this time of his life, Mr. Collings was a marked social figure. In person he was five feet nine inches in height, very spare, with delicate feet and hands, very dark hair, gray eyes, and a pale complexion. These advantages, with a high-bred manner, exquisitely neat attire, and a large reserve of keen, quiet humor, made him the center of a company. He was extremely fond of music, singing by note, and when a young man, playing the flute. From native gifts and systematic cultivation, Mr. Collings possessed a style of writing, strong and clear, there be- ing no superfluous words in his manuscripts. The mechanical part was beautifully done. In looking over scores of papers signed by him, one does not meet a blot, an erasure, an error in spelling or in grammar, a false capital, or anything to mar the production.
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Mr. Collings was a charming letter writer. His keen insight, deli- cate humor, and wide information, having here scope, made his letters delightful.
The few chance letters remaining of his large correspondence are full of quaint and superior touches. When young, addressing a friend from New Orleans, he is shocked at the general wickedness of the city, by the slaves working on Sunday, etc., and opens by saying, "there are doubts resting on my mind concerning two points: First, could three righteous men save such a city? Second, could three righteous men be found in this city?" and proceeds to describe the February sunshine flooding the southern city, while it was bleak when he had left the north a short time before. Among his effects are autograph letters from those who were or subsequently became men of influence, as Philip B. Swing, Durbin Ward, W. H. Wordsworth, John A. Smith, Richard Col- lins, Nelson Barrere, Allen G. Thurman, J. H. Thompson, the Trimbles, and others.
In January, 1848, Mr. Collings was elected by the Legislature judge of the tenth judicial circuit, which included the counties of High- land, Adams, Brown, Clermont, and Fayette, and remained in office until June 30, 1851, when his resignation was accepted. He resigned his office on account of domestic misfortunes. He was a member of the convention to revise the State Constitution in 1851. Some time before this, owing to the continued ill health of his family, he had taken a resolution to remove to his Ohio River farm, which he did in 1852. He united with the Methodist Episcopal Church about this time, and built a chapel within a mile of his home, which the church gave him the privilege of naming. He called it "Collins Chapel" for the Rev. John Collins, a celebrated pioneer preacher and circuit rider of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the father of his dear friend, Col. Richard Col- lins, and Mrs. Nathaniel Massie, the latter of whom lived many years in Adams County, and whom Judge Collings visited once a year as long as his health permitted. The people of the community where he lived, not distinguishing between the names of "Collings" and "Collins," thought that the judge had named the chapel for himself, which al- ways amused him and caused him many a quiet smile. He was a lay delegate to the general conference of his church in 1856, sitting in Indianapolis. In 1857, at a quarterly conference, held at West Union. he was granted a license to preach, the little certificate setting forth that "George Collings is hereby authorized to exercise his gifts as a local preacher, in the Methodist Episcopal Church, as long as his faith and practice accord with the doctrines and discipline of said church " It was renewed statedly as long as he was able to speak in public.
Judge Collings was helpful in his community, bearing the perplex- ities of the working people, and giving them aid and material advice during the week, and being, for the most part, their spiritual director on Sunday. He brought the same careful oversight to his farming opera- tions that had characterized his every undertaking. His commonplace books are full of notes as to the planting of fields, fence building, wood chopping, harvesting, etc., with exact figures as to dates and the pay- ment of the "hands." He was a great lover of trees, and wherever living, a tireless planter of them. He had caused to be planted a large
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orchard of mixed fruits at his Ohio River home. He became a scien- tific gardener-his manual on gardening being yet in his library -- and his vegetables and small fruits had a neighborhood fame.
In this ideal retreat, Judge Collings was often appealed to to take charge of lawsuits in his own and neighboring counties. These offers he declined without exception, but to the last, gave private advice to friends and acquaintances, who visited him for the purpose. After several years of tranquil rural life, seeing himself surrounded with a family of small children, William, Mary, Harry, Davis, Jane (his son James had died in West Union), Judge Collings realized that he must either have private teachers for their instruction or make his home near public schools. In 1861 he began the erection of a dwelling at Man- chester (still occupied by his youngest son and daughter), and during the few months of life remaining to him, planned for the comfort of his stricken family in a new situation. He died at his country .place Jan- uary 5, 1862. His remains rest in the family burial ground near where he was born. His career had been full of care, effort, and not- able events.
Shepherd F. Norris
was born April 8, 1814, at Epping, Rockingham County, New Hamp- shire, but removed when a young man to West Union, Ohio, where he read law. He was admitted to the bar at Georgetown, and practiced in Adams County, where he was elected prosecuting attorney in Octo- ber, 1839. He served until March, 1843, when he removed to Batavia, and Joseph McCormick was appointed in his place. He was a mem- ber of the Legislature from Clermont County in 1847 and 1848.
In 1851 he was appointed presiding judge of the court of common pleas of Adams County, Brown and Clermont, under the old Constitu- tion, and served until the new Constitution took effect. He was elected common pleas judge in the three counties in the fall of 1851, and again in 1856, and served two full terms. He was a member of the Constitu- tional Convention of 1851, from Clermont County. He was a candidate for Supreme Judge on the Democratic ticket in 1854, but was defeated. The vote stood, 186,498 for Joseph R. Swan, and 109,025 for Shepherd F. Norris.
The writer of this sketch, Mr. Evans, remembers when he sat upon the bench as common pleas judge in Adams County. He wore a very full and long brown beard, and was a snuff taker. He was constantly taking snuff while sitting on the bench, and his beard was full of it. He was considered a very good and fair judge by everybody but Judge Owen T. Fishback, of Clermont County, who maintained a contrary opinion, perhaps growing out of some personal matter. However, he was kindly remembered by the people of his own county and the law- yers of his subdivision. He died August 23, 1862. He was a Demo- crat in politics.
Thomas Q. Ashburn.
was common pleas judge of Adams, Brown, and Clermont Counties from 1861 to 1876, fifteen years. He resigned in February, 1876, to accept an appointment on the Supreme Court commission, to which he was appointed by Governor Hayes. He served on this until 1879. His
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father was a native of Lancashire, England, though his son was born at Walnut Hills, near Cincinnati, February 9, 1820. When a boy, his father removed to New Richmond, in Clermont County, where he was reared. In 1838 he entered as a student of Miami University, and afterward spent several years at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania. After his college course, he returned to Clermont County and taught school. He studied law with Shields and Howard, and was admitted to the bar April 1, 1843. He practiced at New Richmond until 1846, when he removed to Batavia. He was prosecuting attorney of Clermont County from 1848 to 1852. He was a candidate for Supreme Judge of Ohio in 1875 on the Democratic ticket, and was defeated by a small majority.
He was married December 3, 1846, to Sarah W. Penn. She died November 10, 1854, leaving four children, two of whom are Dr. A. W. Ashburn, of Batavia, and Anna, now the wife of William R. Walker, the well-known attorney.
He was remarried on May 27, 1856, to Miss Mary Ellen Griffith, a first cousin of Gen. U. S. Grant. By this wife he had two children, Albert I. and Mamie.
In February, 1879, he retired from the Supreme Court commission and entered into partnership with George W. Hulick, of Batavia, with whom he continued until his death. His opinions while on the Su- preme Court commission are found in Volumes 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33 of the Ohio State Reports. He was not a member of any church, but his views accorded with those of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
As a judge, he was careful and painstaking. The controlling idea of his life was duty-what is it? He was true to every obligation. He was elected to the State Senate from the fourth district in Novem- ber, 1889, on the Democratic ticket. At the time of the election of Calvin S. Brice to the United States Senate, he was very sick at the in Columbus, and had to be carried into the legislative hall to cast his American Hotel in Columbus, and had to be carried into the legislative hall to cast his vote for Mr. Brice, and he died within a few days afterward, on the seventeenth of January, 1890.
Thomas M. Lewis
was common pleas judge in Adams, Brown, and Clermont Counties from February, 1876, to October, 1876. He was admitted to the bar April 2, 1842. He was appointed judge by Governor Hayes, to serve to the next election. From 1846 to 1851 he was deputy county clerk of Clermont County. He was a captain in the 59th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was a bachelor, and boarded at the Hamilton Hotel at Batavia, Ohio, for over thirty-five years.
David Tarbell,
was born at Ripley, Ohio, December 3, 1836. His father was a seafar- ing man, a native of Massachusetts. After following the sea many years, he became an Indian trader and later located at Ripley. He was a Whig. He accumulated considerable property. He died in 1852. He married Martha Stevenson, of Adams County. David Tarbell was reared at Ripley and attended the
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Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. He read law with Chambers Baird, of Ripley, and was admitted October 4, 1858. In April, 1858, he was elected a justice of the peace of Union township. In 1861, he was appointed assistant prosecuting attorney. In 1864, he was elected probate judge of Brown County to fill a vacancy. In 1866, he was re-elected for a full term. In 1871, he was elected an additional judge and re-elected in 1876. His rulings on points of law were seldom reversed.
He was married June 1, 1861, to Nancy Sallee and has five children. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Democrat in politics.
De Witt Clinton Loudon,
was born at Georgetown, Ohio, May 29, 1827, son of Gen. James Lou- don. He graduated at the Ohio University in 1850. In 1846, he was in the Mexican War, in the first Ohio Regiment, and was quartermaster sergeant.
In 1832, he conducted the Democratic Union newspaper in George- town for two years. He studied law with Lot Smith, of Athens, and David G. Devore, of Georgetown, and was admitted to practice in No- vember, 1851. In October 3, 1861, he went into the 70th O. V. I. as lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to colonel, April 26, 1864, and resigned August 9, 1864.
In 1857, he was elected probate judge of Brown County, Ohio, to fill a vacancy and resigned November, 1858. In 1881, he was elected common pleas judge of Brown, Adams and Clermont counties. He was re-elected in 1886. From 1861 to 1872, he acted with the Republicans. Previous to the war he was a Democrat. He again acted with the Dem- ocratic party in 1896 until his death, making speeches in the Bryan cam- paign.
In 1852, he was married to Hannah W. Bowles and had five chil- dren. He was a Presbyterian. He was an excellent lawyer. He died suddenly about one year since.
Henry Collings,
the son of the Hon. George Collings and Harriet Conner, his wife. was born on his father's farm in Monroe Township, March 15, 1853. He at- tended school in Manchester and the Ohio Wesleyan University at Del- aware in 1869, 1870 and 1871, when he gave up his course. Had be re- mained, he would have graduated in the class of 1873. He took up the study of law in the fall of 1872, with Col. Oscar F. Moore, of Ports- mouth, and was admitted in April, 1874. He began the practice of law in Manchester, where he has since continued to reside. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Adams County, and served one term. In the fall of 1891, he was a candidate for common pleas judge in the first sub- division of the fifth common pleas district, composed of Adams, Brown and Clermont counties, and while there was a nominal majority of 1500 against him, he was elected by a majority of about 500. He had 800 majority in Adams County. In his career as a judge in his first term he made such a reputation for judicial ability that his friends determined his service should not be lost to the public. In order that he might be
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retained, his county, was by the Legislature, taken from the first sub- division of the fifth district and placed in the second subdivision of the seventh district, and in the latter he was nominated and elected common pleas judge in 1896, and is now occupying that position. Judge Collings has always been a Republican in his political faith and practice, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
He was married September 20, 1882, to Miss Alice Gibson, daughter of Rev. - Gibson. There are two children of this marriage, Henry Davis and Mary King. Judge Collings had a reputation as an able lawyer before he went on the bench and has more than sustained it. He is well trained as a lawyer, has a clear judicial mind and in his investi- gations groups all the essential points of a case and when he has deter- mined it, the opposing party is satisfied that he has determined it im- partially and according to his conception of the law.
In addition to his excellent qualities as a judge he has a fine sense of humor, which is continually asserting itself and makes his intercourse with the lawyers and his best friends have a spice which is most enter- taining and delightful, but as he inherited this most entertaining qual- ity from his distinguished father, we do not propose to hold him respon- sible for it. Enjoying the confidence and respect of all the people whom he serves, we hope he may not be gathered to his fathers till he has en- joyed the good things of this world as long as his venerable neighbor and friend, David Dunbar.
Frank Davis,
of Batavia, Ohio, was born in New Richmond, Ohio, October 21, 1846. His father was Hon. Michael H. Davis, who was State Senator for a number of years and was one of the most prominent Democrats in south- ern Ohio. His mother's maiden name was Mary E. Walker. She lived to be a very old lady, remarkable for the vigor of her mind, her gentle- ness and kindness and the extraordinary number of people, who, though they were in no way related to her, yet loved her as a mother.
Judge Davis was educated in the public schools and attended Miami University for a short time, but was compelled to leave before he fin- ished his course on account of ill health. He afterward attended Cler- mont County Academy. He studied law and graduated from the Cin- cinnati Law School in April, 1867. Several months before he was of age, ne was admitted to the bar at New Richmond. In July, 1868, he formed a partnership with Hon. Perry J. Nichols, which continued until :879. In 1875, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Clermont County. He filled this office for two terms, making a record that has never been surpassed in this office. He finished his second term in 1879, and in this year, his partnership with Judge Nichols also terminated, Judge Nichols going to Batavia to fill the office of probate judge and Judge Davis re- maining in New Richmond and continuing his practice there until 1888 when he was elected judge of the court of common pleas, taking his office on October 14, 1888. He served in this office ten years. When he ran for the second term, there was no one nominated against him on the other ticket. His term as judge was filled with honor to himself, and, to the position, he added both honor and dignity: He is regarded as one of the best judges that Clermont County has ever produced. After the expiration of his second term, he retired to resume the practice
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of law in Batavia, forming a partnership with John R. Woodlief, of Batavia.
In 1872, Judge Davis was married to Elizabeth Short, of New Rich- mond, Ohio. He has two children, a daughter Agnes, who is the wife of Lieut. P. M. Ashburn, of the United States Army, and Frank Davis, Jr., who is at present studying law. In politics, Judge Davis has been a lifelong Democrat and has always been one of the mainstays of his party in Clermont County. He has always been prominent in religious matters, being a staunch Presbyterian, and taking always an active part in all the affairs of the church. He belongs to the Masonic order, being a thirty- third degree Mason. He is president of the First National Bank, of New Richmond, Ohio; vice president of the J. & H. Clasgens Company, and vice president of the Fridman Lumber Company, of the same town.
One of his friends says of him: "He is certainly one of our best business men. He has always been broad-minded and liberal. He is a close thinker and has sometimes been thought critical to a certain degree, but his criticisms are only made and intended for the improve- ment of his fellow men. He well knows the correct standard of true manhood and measures his acquaintances thereby. His walk through life from early manhood has been most commendable and exemplary, a golden mark for others to follow. His attainments in law and literature are admired by all who know him. He applies himself closely to law and to business, but his interest in his fellow men, is not in the least lessened by these pursuits. He has always fostered and encouraged improvements and is among the first to give the people anything that may add to their comfort and happiness. As a lawyer, he is well known throughout southern Ohio as clear-minded, able and honest and has had but few, if any, superiors as a common pleas judge.
Noah J. Dever
was born August 17, 1850, in Madison Township; Scioto County, Ohio. His father is William Dever, and his mother's maiden name was Louisa McDowell. He is the only son of his parents and the first born, but has eight sisters. His maternal great-grandfather, John Bennett, was a sol- dier in the war of 1812. His father was and is a farmer, and he was reared on his father's farm, until the age of fifteen years, when he at- tended the Jackson High School. In 1867, he began teaching in the common schools, and taught and attended school at Lebanon alter- nately until 1871. In that year he took a commercial course in the Iron City Commercial College at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In Octo- ber, 1871, he began the study of law in the office of Messrs. Harper and Searl, in Portsmouth. and read law under their instructions until Judge Harper assumed the duties of common pleas judge in February, 1872, and then with Judge Searl until October, 1872, when he attended the Cincinnati Law School that fall and winter, completing the senior year and graduating in April, 1873, when he was admitted to the bar by the district court of Hamilton County, and immediately began the practice of law in Portsmouth, Ohio.
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