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 22
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In May, 1873, he was appointed one of the school examiners of Scioto County, Ohio, and held the office for twelve years. He was prouder of this appointment than any with which he was ever
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honored, because it was his first, and during the whole time he held the office, he was associated with the reverend and venerable Dr. Burr, as one of his colleagues on the same board. It was a great honor for any one to be associated, officially or otherwise, with Dr. Burr, and so Judge Dever regarded it.
In April, 1873, he formed a law partnership with Judge F. C. Searl, as Searl & Dever, which continued until January 1, 1879. He then formed a law partnership with the Hon. Dan J. Ryan, as Dever & Ryan, which continued until February, 1881. In the fall of 1879, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Scioto County, Ohio, for the period of two years. He has always been a Republican in politics. At his first election his majority was 144. During his first term as prosecuting attorney, the term was made three years, by the law of April 20, 1881, Volume 780, O. L., 260. In October, 1881, he was re-elected by a ma- jority of 1252 for three years. . He discharged the duties of the office with ability and fidelity. In the fall of 1886, he was elected a common pleas judge of the second subdivision of the seventh judicial district. This election, in the fall of 1886, was the first state election held in Ohio in November. In 1891, he was renominated and re-elected without opposition.
On April 21, 1896, the county of Adams was taken from the first subdivision of the fifth common pleas judicial district and placed in the second subdivision of the seventh common pleas judicial district. This law took effect September 1, 1896, and from that date until Feb- ruary 9, 1897, he was one of the judges of the court of common pleas of Adams County, though he never held a court therein.
On February 8, 1897, Judge Dever retired from the bench at the close of his second term, and was succeeded by the Hon. John C. Milner. Judge Dever's record on the common pleas bench compares favorably with his able and distinguished predecessors. He pos- sessed great executive ability and, as a judge, kept all his business well in hand. He never allowed his dockets to get behind. Since his retirement from the bench, he has engaged in the practice of law with . great success. On January 16, 1899, he was appointed receiver of the Farmers' National Bank of Portsmouth, Ohio, in place of David Arm- strong, deceased, and is engaged in the administration of that trust.
On July 27, 1876, he was married to Miss Lydia Austin, of Iron- ton, Ohio. She lived but a short time, and on July 4, 1878, he married Miss Mattie Gilliland, of Jackson County. Of this marriage, three children have been born; Louisa, the eldest, attended the Ohio State University from 1897 to 1899, and in September, 1899, she entered Mt. Holyoke College, Massachusetts, as a junior; Martha, the second daughter, is a student of the Portsmouth High School, and Alice, the third daughter, is in the grammar schools.
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Noah J. Dever as a boy was taught frugality and economy by his father. It may be said to have been ingrained for generations. From his mother he inherited his natural acumen, quick perception, his pur- pose and will for thorough investigation. He has been taught to con- serve all his physical and mental faculties for the serious objects of life. He possesses a natural spirit of investigation, which made him a diligent, earnest, and faithful student. Not only did he have a great
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love for the acquisition of knowledge, but happily he developed the power of imparting it. As a school teacher he was able to interest his pupils, and so instruct them that what he taught was never for- gotten, but a possession for everyday use. As a teacher he was suc- cessful.
The habit of imparting instruction followed him on the bench and much enhanced his qualities as a judge. As a law student, he was determined to master and understand every subject he took up. As ยท prosecuting attorney, he did his duty thoroughly, faithfully, and effi- ciently. As a judge, he was laborious, industrious, painstaking, and thorough. He kept his business up, and his dockets never lagged be- hind. He possesses the confidence of the business community; and since his retirement from the bench, has developed the able business lawyer that he is, and is recognized to be, by the public and his pro- fession. He holds an enviable position in the community.
In politics, he is and always has been a Republican, and has always taken an active interest. In his personal habits, he is a model, never using tobacco or spirits. While not a member of church, he attends the Bigelow Methodist Episcopal, and has been a trustee of the church many years. His family relations are most pleasant ; and he is a prom- inent, well-respected, and useful citizen. He has obtained his high position in the community by the practice of those principles which, observed by the great body of our English-speaking people, have made the United States and England the most powerful nations of the earth.
William Dow James
was born near Piketon, December 1, 1853. His father was David James and his mother, Charlotte Beauchamp. His first ancestor in this county came over from Germany in 1750, and located in Bedford County, Virginia. His grandfather, grandson of the immigrant, was born in 1785 and came to the Northwest Territory shortly after 1794 with his parents and located in Gallia County. He resided with his parents in Gallia till 1805 when he moved to Pike County in the Beaver Valley, ten miles from Piketon. He married a Miss Allison, and nine sons and daughters were born to them. Among them was David, father of our subject. He became a prominent and successful farmer. Our subject remained at home attending school and receiving in- struction privately until he was about twenty years of age. wher he began the study of law under John T. Moore. This was continued until Mr. Moore located in Jackson in 1875. He then prosecuted his law studies with George D. Cole, teaching school of winters and reading the text-books in summers. This course he followed until 1877, when he was admitted to the bar and opened a law office in Piketon. Here he remained four years. In 1879 he was elected mayor of Piketon and held the office until he removed to Waverly. He continued to practice in Pike and the adjoining counties until 1893 when he was elected judge of the second subdivision of the seventh judicial district. He made quite a reputation as a trial lawyer and advocate while at the bar, and his reputation as a man and citizen is the highest. In 1882, he was married to Miss Terrena F. Vulgamore. At the close of his first term on the bench, he could have been renominated and re-
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elected without opposition, and it was much regretted by the lawyers of his district that he did not so determine, but he felt that he had made all the reputation he desired as a judge and he peremptorily declined a renomination. Immediately on his retirement, he removed to Cincin- nati, and opened a law office in the Blymyer Building, No. 514 Main Street, where he is acquiring a large clientage. His wife died May 13. 1898, and he has since remarried to Miss Louise Adams, of Chicago, Ills.
Judge James is affable in his manners, both on and off the bench. He has a clear and logical mind. His mind, after a survey of the facts, grasps the points in a case and his correct legal training enables him quickly to make the application of the law to the facts. He is pain- staking in the preparation and trial of his case. On the bench, he was never hurried in making his decisions, but when announced, they showed careful and thorough consideration of the questions involved. He had the judicial quality to withhold judgment till he had fully con- sidered the case and until he was satisfied as to the principles govern- ing it. Once satisfied, his decision was made and usually sustained in the higher court. As a lawyer he was always careful and thorough and his client could be sure that the best course would be adopted and the best results obtained.
A friend speaking of Judge James says he is able to perform and does perform exacting labors. He is a patient reader and succeeds in ascertaining the results of what he reads. He is affable as a man, a citizen, lawyer and judge. As a lawyer he was connected with all the important cases in his county. As a judge, he gave great con- sideration to his cases and was without prejudice or partiality.
Another friend speaking of Judge James says he is a man of affable, courteous and at the same time, dignified manners, and is very popular among his associates by reason of his genial and social man- ner. As a lawyer, he is a fluent speaker, with a clear, clean, logical mind, quick to grasp the points of a case and to use them to his ad- vantage, and his power before a jury is widely recognized. As a judge, he was noted for his fairness and keen love of justice, and with his thorough and comprehensive knowledge of the law, administered the complex and onerous duties of that position with the highest credit to himself and to his profession.
William H. Middleton
was born at Locust Grove on the 19th day of July, 1864, son of Rev. Wilder N. Middleton, of the Ohio M. E. Conference, and Cynthia (Bailey) Middleton, daughter of Cornelius Bailey, one of the pioneer residents of the Scioto Valley. His early life was a roving one, his father's calling taking him to various towns in southern Ohio, in the public schools of which he received his education, and later, at the private school of Professor Poe, of Chillicothe, and the National Nor- mal University at Lebanon, Ohio.
He began life for himself at fifteen years of age as a teacher and followed that work for several years, teaching in the public schools at Piketon, Waverly and other towns. His inclinations being directed to the bar, in 1888, he entered the law office of Judge W. D. James, at
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Waverly. In 1889, he was appointed deputy collector of internal reve- nues by M. Boggs, which office he held until his admission to the bar in 1891. After his admission to the bar, he continued with his pre- ceptor until the latter was elected to the bench.
In 1896, he was nominated and after one of the hardest political battles ever fought in the county, was elected prosecuting attorney. receiving 192 votes above the head of the ticket. He continued in this office until his election to the bench in 1898.
On the 24th day of June, 1897, he was married to Miss Minnie Howard, and one child has blessed the union-Wilder Howard, aged one year.
He is a member of the Orient Lodge, No. 321, F. & A. M., Way- erly, Ohio; Chillicothe Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M. and Niobe Lodge, No. 370, K. of P.
Judge Middleton comes of a long line of ministers; hence, in his moral and mental fibre, he is possessed of that conscious sensibility so essential to an upright and just judge. It matters not how young and inexperienced a judge may be, or how old or learned he may be, if he is not possessed of natural, moral and innate honesty, he cannot make a just judge. Honesty of purpose supplants all. Without it, he floats a buoyant pestilence upon the great ocean of truth. A friend says of him-"Having an intimate acquaintance with Hon. William H. Mid- dleton from his youth up, from the country school-teacher, the student of law, to the practitioner, I bear witness that the bright jewel of his crown is honesty and integrity of purpose, a man of native modesty, but possessed of a courage in the exercise of his moral and intellectual convictions. Ever dignified, always genial and at all times agreeable. We bespeak that his integrity and honesty and never failing common sense and cautious sagacity, his powers of analysis, his quickness of intuition to grasp the principles of law as well as the right and morality of a controversy shall win for him the approval of the bench, the bar and the people.
John Clinton Milner
was born July 12, 1856, at Morristown, Belmont County, Ohio. His father was John Milner and his mother's maiden name, Esther Hogue. His father and mother were both natives of Belmont County His grandfather, Joseph Milner, and his maternal grandfather, Samuel Hogue, were also from Belmont County. His great-grandfather, Ed- ward Milner, and his maternal great-grandfather, Isaac Hogue, were both born in Loudon County, Virginia. The ancestors of his mother came from Scotland in 1729, and those of his father, from England, about the same date.
Our subject attended the public schools of Morristown, and grad- uated therefrom in 1872. In 1874 and 1875, he attended the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, graduating from there in 1875. He then went to Hamden, Ohio, and taught school two years, during 1876 and 1877, having charge of four schools. In 1877 and 1878, he taught at Wheelersburg, also having charge of four schools there.
He began the study of law in 1878, and attended the law college at Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1878 and 1879. From 1879 to 1882, he was at home in poor health. In 1882 and 1883, he attended Shoemaker's
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School of Oratory and Belles-Lettres, at Philadelphia. In the fall of 1883, he went to Topeka, Kansas, and while there was admitted to the bar. He did not like the country and returned to Belmont County. On June 9, 1884, he was admitted to the bar of Ohio, at Columbus, and located at Portsmouth, Ohio, at once. He went in partnership with F. C. Searl, in 1884, and the firm was known as Searl and Milner. The same year Judge Harper became a member of the firm, under the name of Harper, Searl and Milner, which continued until 1891. In the fall of 1890, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Scioto County, and re-elected in 1893, serving until 1897. In the fall of 1897, he was elected one of the common pleas judges of the second subdivi- sion of the fifth district, and took his seat as such on the ninth of Feb- ruary, 1897, and is still holding that position.
He was married November 19, 1897, to Miss Mollie E. Warwick. He has always been a Republican.
As prosecuting attorney of Scioto County, Mr. Milner made an honorable record. He was fearless, tireless and brought out of every case all the merit in it. His work in that office was most satisfactory to the public. As judge, he is very quick to grasp all the details in a case, and to give his views as to the justice or equities. He is disposed to dispatch business and to keep his work well in hand. As a lawyer. he was energetic, industrious and able; as a business man, he has no superior.
The Circuit Court of Adams County.
The Constitution of 1802 provided that the Supreme Court should be held in each county once a year. This proved to be a failure and a disappointment. The holding of this court in the circuit was found to be a disappointment to the judges, to the bar, and to the suitors. It was a hardship on the judges to travel and on the bar to follow them about. Suitable time was not given in the hearing and consideration of the cases and under the circumstances, it could not be given. The terms for the counties were often, therefore, omitted, or held in the capital or some other county.
The Constitution of 1851, in making provision for an intermediate court between the common pleas and circuit court provided for a Dis- trict Court to be held in each county at least once a year. It was to be composed of one supreme judge and at least two common pleas judges of the district. In practice, it worked badly. None of the com- mon pleas judges liked to do district court work. The supreme judges found themselves too busy at Columbus to attend and soon after the constitution went into effect, ceased their attendance. In practice, the district court was usually made up of the common pleas judges who had heard the cases before and determined them, and to other common pleas judges, judicial courtesy required them to affirm the former de- cision, and judicial courtesy was not often violated. The system be- came so unsatisfactory to all concerned that in 1883, a constitutional amendment was adopted providing for the present circuit court. These courts were to have independent judges, not sitting in any other court, and were to be held in each county once a year. Each judge could sit in any circuit. The legislature acting on the amendment made nine cir- cuits of which the fourth was composed of the sixteen counties of
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Monroe, Washington, Athens, Meigs, Hocking, Pickaway, Vinton, Jackson, Gallia, Lawrence, Scioto, Pike, Ross, Adams, Highland and Brown. Afterward Monroe was detached and attached to the Zanes- ville circuit. The first election was in 1884 and the judges elected were Thomas Cherrington, of Lawrence; Milton L. Clark, of Ross; and Joseph P. Bradbury of Meigs. The judges met and drew lots for terms. Judge Cherrington drew the two-year term; Judge Bradbury the four-year term, and Judge Clark, the full or six-year term. The court was opened for business on February 9, 1895. It has proven a very satisfactory court. In the fourth circuit, there have been but few changes. Judge Bradbury served out his term of four years in 1889 and was succeeded by Judge Daniel A. Russell, who was elected in 1889, and re-elected in :894. Judge Clark was re-elected in 1890, and served until February 9, 1897. He was succeeded by Hiram L. Sibley, of Marietta. The bench as now composed consists of Hon. Daniel A. Russell, chief judge, and Honorables Thomas Cherrington and Hiram L. Sibley, judges. The lawyers and people of the district are well satisfied with these judges and hope they may serve as long as they are willing to remain. Sketches of the several judges who have oc- cupied the bench are as follows :-
Milton Lee Clark
was born April 21, 1817, in Ross County, son of Col. William Clark, who held that rank in the war of 1812. His father was a farmer and was for many years a justice of the peace. He died when his son, Mil- ton L., was seven years of age. Young Clark was left dependent on his own resources. He clerked in mercantile houses in Chillicothe and Circleville and taught school. He went to Louisville in 1839 and be- came a trusted employee in a wholesale business house until 1842 when he returned to Chillicothe and became a law student with Col. Jonathan F. Woodside. He was admitted to the bar November 25, 1844, in the twenty-eighth year of his age. In 1845, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Ross County and held that office until 1849, discharging its duties with marked ability. He represented Pickaway and Ross Counties in the lower house of the Ohio legislature at the forty-eighth legislative session from December 3, 1849, to March 25, 1850. October II, 1849, he married Miss Jane Isabelle Woodside, eldest daughter of his legal preceptor. He practiced law exclusively from the time he left the legislature until 1873, when he became a member from Ross County of the Ohio Constitutional Convention. Mr. Clark was first a Whig and afterward a Republican and took an active part as speaker in political campaigns. In 1884, when the first circuit judges for the fourth district of Ohio were elected, he was one of the three elected and in drawing for terms, he drew the six-year term. He was renom- inated and re-elected in the fall of 1890 and served till February 9, 1897, when he was succeeded by the Hon. Hiram L. Sibley. He was sixty-eight years old when he went on the bench and gave the circuit twelve years of as able and faithful service as any judge who ever oc- cupied a judgeship. He brought to it the experience of forty years of assiduous study and diligent practice. He was a candidate for a third term, and was most loyally supported by his county and the friends
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he had made in other counties, but his renomination was defeated. This disappointment wounded him mortally and he sickened and died June II, 1897. He acheived great success and reputation as a lawyer, the result of patient and thorough study. He was a fluent and ready speaker as an advocate. As a judge he was thoroughly and well in- formed in the law. He gave patient and careful investigation to all cases and his decisions were clear elucidations of the law. Especially was he thoroughly conversant with the land laws in the Virginia Mili- tary District. In the history of our state jurisprudence, he will be remembered as one of our best and ablest judges.
Hiram L. Sibley
was born May 4, 1836, in Trumbull County Ohio. His father removed to Gallipolis in' 1841, and to Middleport, in 1847. He lived there until 1855 when he removed to Racine, Ohio, where he remained until 1860. His father, Ezekial Sibley, was from Westfield Massachusetts. His mother, Phoebe Simons, from Colebrook, Connecticut. He at- tended school until thirteen years of age, when he began to learn the trade of shoemaking. At sixteen, he attended a select school for six months, and again another term of six months in 1856. April 22, 1858, he was married to Esther Ann Ellis. They had six children, three of whom are living. The eldest, William Giddings, graduated from Marietta College in 1881. In the fall of 1858, Mr. Sibley took up the study of law, and continued it until 1860 when he was elected clerk of the common pleas court of Meigs County, and took the office Feb- ruary 12, 1861. August 12, 1862, he entered the 116th O. V. I. as second lieutenant, Company B. He was promoted first lieutenant, February 1, 1864, resigned January 16, 1865. He was captured June 16, 1863, at the battle of Winchester and was a prisoner of war until December 10, 1864. His health was so broken by his confinement that he was compelled to and did resign. April 14, 1865, he was admitted to the bar at Meigs County. In August, 1865, he removed to Marietta and began the practice of law as one of the firm of Ewart, Shaw & Sibley. He was defeated for prosecuting attorney of Washington County, with the Republican ticket in 1867. In the same year he formed a partnership with R. L. Nye, which continued until 1869. In 1870, he returned to Pomeroy and began practice with Lewis Paine, under the name of Paine & Sibley. In April, 1874, he removed to Marietta to practice with Mr. Ewart under the firm name of Ewart & Sibley. In 1882, he was elected common pleas judge in the second subdivision of the seventh district and re-elected in 1887 and in 1892, the last time without opposition. In 1896, he was elected circuit judge in the fourth circuit to succeed Milton L. Clark. Since 1856, he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and for a number of years has been a local preacher therein. He has attended many of the principal conferences and councils of that church and has written quite extensively on ecclesiastical law. In 1895, Claflin University of South Carolina conferred on him the degree of LL. D. No more de- voted or enthusiastic Methodist than he can be found in the county. He is a great lover of music, especially of the violin, which he carries 13a
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with him over the circuit. He possesses strong analytical power com- bined with a faculty of clear and logical reasoning. He is an inde- fatigable student and examines all authorities cited to him. He has a good memory of all cases in the report which he has once examined and has them at his command at all times. He is always fair, and on the trial or hearing, he is always along with counsel conducting the case and sometimes anticipates him. He conducts the investigation of a case on lines suggested by himself and reaches his conclusions quickly. He is habitually courteous to all before him and especially considerate of the younger members of the profession. In the conduct of a case, the vital points must be approached and reached directly. No side issues are tolerated. Without the benefit of a classical education or a law school training, he has become learned in law and literature and has made a first-class lawyer and an able judge.
Daniel A. Russell,
who succeeded Judge Joseph P. Bradbury in the circuit court of the fourth circuit in 1889, was born on a farm in Athens County, September 2, 1840, and when three years old was taken into Meigs County. Un- til the age of sixteen, he attended the district schools, when he spent two years at the Ohio University at Athens, and two more years at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. In 1860, he accepted a position in the treasurer's office in Meigs County. July 16, 1861, he enlisted in Co. E, 4th Virginia Infantry. He was promoted for bravery to second lieutenant, August 22, 1861, first lieutenant in September, 1862, and captain, January 2, 1863. He was at Haine's Bluff and at the siege of Vicksburg and was twice wounded. He was at the bat- tles of Cherokee Station, Jackson, Miss., Missionary Ridge, and after- wards at Piedmont, Lexington, Lynchburg, Winchester and other en- gagements in the valley of Virginia. He was discharged September II, 1864, and re-entered the service, February 3, 1865, as major of the 187th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served as such until January 21, 1866, when he was mustered out. He at once entered the Cincinnati Law School and remained there until April, 1866, when he was admitted to the bar. He located at Pomeroy in the practice of the law. In 1873, he was a member of the Constitutional Conven- tion from Meigs County. He was city solicitor of Pomeroy from 1873 to 1879. From 1874, he was in partnership with his brother, Charles F., until his election to the circuit bench in 1889. He was re-elected in 1893, and is serving his second term. As a judge, he is careful and painstaking, and aims to see each case in all its bearings. He seeks to ascertain and apply every principle of law bearing on the matter in hand, and after listening to one of his decisions, the bar feel that he has exhausted the subject. As a lawyer, he stood high, as a judge, none is more careful to apply the correct principles of law, and none has a higher sense of honor and justice. His career as a judge has given gen- eral satisfaction to the bar and to litigants.
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