USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. I > Part 18
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JOSEPH COX.
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he again assumed the practice of the law in partnership with his eldest son Clement Bates, and devoted his time to the profession successfully until 1875, when he was again elected to the State Senate by the Republicans. He served his constituency in a most able and satisfactory manner. After the expiration of his term in the Senate he devoted himself to his profession, and in 1883 formed a partnership with Rufus B. Smith, now judge of the Superior Court, and afterwards associated himself with H. P. Kaufman under the style of Bates & Kaufman, which partnership still exists. The law practice of General Bates has been varied and extensive and he has always commanded the highest regard of his associates. In 1872 he was chosen a member of the electoral college which elected General Grant Presi- dent of the United States a second term. Although originally a Democrat, General Bates left that party on war issues and has since been a staunch Republican. He has been elected as candidate of the Republican party three times to important offices. He has been a citizen of Cincinnati for over fifty years, and with only a few interruptions has been occupied continuously with the duties of his law practice. Although prominent in his party and always taking a decp interest in all things affecting the public welfare, he has never been willing to accept any municipal office or any official position connected with his profession. He has for many years lived at Woodburn, a suburb of Cincinnati, and was for several years mayor of that place. In 1844, on May 8th, General Bates was married to Elizabeth Dwight Hoadly, daughter of George and Mary A. Hoadly, of Cleveland, and a sister of Honorable George Hoadly, afterwards governor of Ohio and now a resident of New York. General and Mrs. Bates are the parents of five children, all boys. Clement, the eldest, is practicing law in Cincinnati. has been a judge of the Common Pleas Court and is the author of several important law books, on insurance, partnerships, etc .; the second son, Charles, Jr., is a civil engineer in New York City ; the third, William S., is a patent lawyer in Chicago; the fourth, Merrick L., after spending some time in Europe pursuing literary studies, is living in New York City ; the fifth son, James H. S., is an electrician, also living in New York City.
JOSEPHI COX, Cincinnati. Joseph Cox, presiding judge of the Circuit Court, Cincinnati, is the son of Dr. Hiram and Margaret Edwards Cox, from both of whom he inherited a strong constitution, great energy and love of labor. He has literally worked his way up. His grandfather on his father's side was one of the early settlers in western Virginia, and on his mother's side, in western Pennsylvania ; both were in the war of the Revolution. and also the Indian war, prior to 1800, and the latter was killed near Whecling in a conflict with the Indians, about 1795. His grandmother, after this event, with her five children made her way over the mountains to Franklin county, Pennsylvania. His paternal grandfather died from the effects of wounds received in felling a trec, leaving a family of three sons and four daughters to provide for them-
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selves. Hiram Cox, the father of our subject, was then but twelve years of age, and was apprenticed to a saddler, but he was fond of study, and so applied himself, in his spare moments, that at the age of sixteen he became a school-teacher. While so engaged, he was also a scholar, taking lessons pri- vately in the higher branches, so that at the age of twenty-one he was an excellent Latin, Greek, German and scientific scholar. At twenty-one he opened an academy at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which obtained a very high reputation, and was conducted by him for ten years. In the mean- time he was married. Joseph was the second of eight children, and was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, August 4, 1822. He evinced great quickness and aptitude for learning at an early age, and before his seventh year, by attending his father's school, had acquired the art of reading, writing and arithmetic far beyond his years. His father, determined on the practice of medicine, which he had been studying for some years, was now attracted by the great fame of the Miami valley, and in February, 1830, the family prepared to move to what was then looked upon by many as beyond the pale of civilization. The manner of that journey we take from some family note given on that subject:
" Our beds, carpets, straw bread baskets, copper kettles and smoothing irons, and other articles of furniture, besides our clothing, were stored in boxes in a Conestoga wagon, to which were attached six large horses, with arches over their collars and bells ringing right merrily. Mother sat in front with four children, on the boxes, while father trudged sturdily along with the driver. When within a day and a half of Pittsburgh it became so cold that we had to take the stage and go forward more rapidly, for fear of being frozen. This was' a fortunate step for us. as the snow became so deep on the mountains that it was a whole week before the wagon reached Pittsburgh. This greatly annoyed us, as we were anxious for passage on a beautiful steamboat that was about to start on her first trip. But this, too, subsequently proved to be a providential hindrance, as we had only proceeded as far as Wheeling on the old . Seventy- six,' when we discovered the wreck of the boat we had been so anxious to travel on. She had taken fire and burned to the water's edge. After this we were not only satisfied with our old boat, but thankful for the deliverance we had experienced. On reaching Cincinnati we found that the canal was frozen up so that we could not continue our journey to Dayton until February 25, 1830."
Dr. Cox practiced his profession in Dayton for two years, and then removed to Cincinnati and was graduated at the Ohio Medical College in 1831. After remaining in the city one year he removed to Clermont county, where he resided four years, and then returned to Hamilton county and continued the practice of medicine until his death, in 1867, at the age of seventy. He was a great student, prominent and successful in his profession, of large, philanthropic heart, an unblemished Christian character, and universally respected. While in Clermont county, the subject of this sketch attended the public schools and also the academy of Rev. Lud well G. Gaines, a Presbyterian minister, near Goshen. This academy was kept in an old log cabin on his farm. and was known through the country as " Quail Trap College." Mr.
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Gaines was a thorough teacher. As a linguist he had few superiors, and he exacted from every scholar punctuality, diligence and thoroughness in every lesson. His old scholars will recall the tall, huge form, with the immense head, walking up and down the school-room with arms folded behind his back, listening intently, and detecting in a moment the slightest error in reading, parsing or scanning. No man was ever more faithful in the discharge of his duty, or took greater interest in the welfare of his pupils. After remaining in this school nearly three years, Mr. Cox became an assistant in the academy of Mr. Thompson at Springdale, taking charge of the Latin and scientific department. Here he taught until his wages amounted to enough to pay for his first session's tuition at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he remained nearly three years. For want of funds he was compelled to leave before graduating, but the university afterwards con- ferred on him the honorary degree of A. M. The first year after leaving Oxford he studied medicine under his father, did miscellaneous work about their home in the country, and assisted in settling up his father's accounts, and for this purpose rode a good portion of the time on horseback through the country. In April, 1840, he commenced the study of law with Thomas J. Strait, Esq., of Cincinnati, then one of the most extensive and suc- cessful practitioners of the city. For the first eighteen months he resided at Springdale, twelve miles in the country, and walked twice a month. on Satnr- day, to the city to recite. He then entered the law office of Cary & Caldwell. and about a vear afterwards was admitted to the Bar, and commenced practice, forming a partnership with Henry Snow, Esq., then also a beginner. This partnership lasted for about five years, with the usual experience of young lawyers-small fees. close living, little money, and much hope. But the time was not passed in idleness. His scanty means were eked out by assisting in keeping books for some small store-keepers unable to employ a regular book- keeper. In company with several other lawyers, moot courts and debating societies were organized, where mind encountered mind in the apparent mimic, but to them real fray, giving to them strength, elasticity and self-reliance. A regular course of legal reading by topics, with miscellaneous reading by way of diversion and variety, and frequent articles for newspapers, an active par- ticipant in the political struggle, annually going around the country making speeches in the interest of the old Whig party, sometimes as many as thirty or forty in a campaign, left little time for idle repining at fortune. Twice he was nominated by that party for the office of prosecuting attorney, not, however, with any hope of success, for the county was Democratic by from five to eight thousand majority. In 1854, however, he was elected to that office by a large majority, and now his careful training and forensic experi- ence came into active play. During his term of office his business was of an extraordinary character. It seemed as if all the evil elements had been brought face to face with justice. During the two years of his term he tried over thirty cases of murder, including the celebrated Arrison case for the mur- der of Allison and wife, by blowing up with an infernal machine the medical
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college on Central Avenue and Longworth Street. This was perhaps the most interesting and closely fought case ever tried in Hamilton county. As a case depending altogether on circumstantial evidence, to be followed up link by link through a long series of acts, it has never been paralleled. It was tried three times ; once before Mr. Cox was prosecuting attorney, and twice during his term. The first time it resulted in a verdict of murder in the first degree, which was set aside for error; in the second the jury disagreed ; in the third he was found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to the penitentiary for ten years. Arrison served out this imprisonment and died a few years later. The case was defended by Judges Johnson, Key and Dickson, with great ability, each trial lasting about twenty-five days. The arguments of each counsel drew crowded court rooms, and the young prosecutor rose with the occasion, and in a masterly, logical and fervid speech of three hours, won the encomiums of old lawyers and judges, and surprised his warmest friends. During his term he also succeeded in breaking up a large gang of counterfeiters, who made their head- quarters on the Big Sandy, and sallied forth at intervals to flood the city with counterfeit notes. Some ten or twelve of the most prominent were convicted and sent to the penitentiary. It was also during his term that charges of extravagance and corruption were made against the public officials and con- tractors in the erection of the new court house and lunatic asylum, and he assisted in having the contract annulled or modified, thus saving, as was believed, hundreds of thousands of dollars to the county. He also prosecuted one of the county commissioners for corruption in office, and finally succeeded in having him convicted, fined and dismissed. There never was, perhaps, in the history of the county, so many important cases in one term as occurred during that of Mr. Cox. These cases, too, were defended by the ablest members of the Bar, and thus he was compelled on every occasion to be prepared to meet all that tal- ent, industry, ingenuity and learning could bring to bear against him. That he sustained his position with great ability and to the entire satisfaction of the public, we believe was the verdict of men of all parties. At the end of his term he declined to be a candidate for re-election, resumed practice, and for a number of years was favored with an extensive general business. In the organization of the Republican party he took great interest, believing that its principles alone would bring universal liberty, prosperity and happiness to the Nation. He entered ardently into all the campaigns, and spoke fearlessly and eloquently in its behalf. During the Rebellion he espoused, naturally for him, the Union side, and by pen, tongue and means, aided all in his power to sus- tain the Union, encourage enlistments, support the families of soldiers, and aid the sick and wounded. In 1866 he was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the First Judicial District, and after serving in that capacity with general satisfaction for five years, was re-elected twice for a like term, and served for fifteen years. On the organization of the Circuit Court (which is a Court of Appeals) he was elected one of the three members ; and after serv- ing two years, the allotment of his first term, he was elected twice for terms of six years each, and is now serving his third term, which began February 9,
Hostern Blogl Fo C
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1893. As a practicing lawyer at the Bar, Judge Cox was remarkable for promptness, thoroughness of preparation, quickness of perception, excellent business ability and knowledge of general things, and an intense earnestness of purpose which carried him and his hearer always with him. He has a large knowledge of ordinary topics and things, and business affairs of life, and knows well how to command this knowledge. On the Bench, Judge Cox is prompt, decisive, sees the point of a case and grasps it in all its bearings on a mere suggestion. The general principle and authority to sustain a given case seem to come to his aid almost intuitively, and the last word of counsel in the most difficult one has hardly ceased, when the judge is ready to unravel its intricacies and announce his decision with a clearness which brings con- viction, and is rarely reversed. So in his charges to a jury there are a distinctness and clearness which always convey to the understanding the legal bearings of the case, and there has never been an instance, since he has been on the Bench, in which the jury returned for further instructions. He is an intense worker, always up with his docket, and never seeming to be fatigued. Aside from his profession, Judge Cox has been one of the most faithful laborers in every good work. He often lectures with great acceptance, and always to full audiences, before philanthropical, religious and moral asso- ciations, and before literary societies and colleges. Among his addresses which have attracted attention and favorable notice are those in relation to the archæology of the Mississippi Valley, one on Gettysburg, and another on the life of General Harrison, delivered for the purpose of urging the legislature of Ohio to erect a monument to his memory, and another delivered in Spring- field, Ohio, at the unveiling of the statue erected to the memory of the Union soldiers of Clark county who fell in the Rebellion ; address at the dedication of Eden Park, Cincinnati, on the 4th of July, 1870; centennial address at Marietta, April 7, 1888; at Hamilton, Ohio, September 15, 1891, and also vari- ous addresses before the State Bar Association. Judge Cox possesses great versatility of talent, is a fluent, earnest, eloquent speaker, writes with great rapidity and correctness, and has furnished many valuable articles for the press. He perhaps is known to. and knows, more persons in the city of Cincinnati and county than any other man in it. He rarely forgets one whom he has seen or a name he has heard. In 1848 Judge Cox was married in New Orleans to Miss Mary A. Curtis, daughter of the late Benjamin R. Curtis, of Richmond, Virginia. Nine children have been born of this marriage, of whom six are living.
HARLAN PAGE LLOYD, Cincinnati. Major Harlan P. Lloyd was born at Angelica, New York, and is descended from an illustrious Welsh family, whose estate was at Dolobran, in Wales. The head of this family was a lineal descendant of King Edward the First. One branch of the Lloyds went to England, and took a prominent part in the war for constitutional liberty under Oliver Cromwell. Their descendants emigrated to New England, and
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settled in Rhode Island. Several of them were soldiers in the war of the Revolution. Mr. Lloyd's father was Honorable Ransom Lloyd, of Angelica, New York, who was for many years judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Allegany county. He was the personal and political friend of W. L. Marcy, Horatio Seymour, and other prominent statesmen of New York. Judge Lloyd married Miss Julia M. Starr, of Danbury, Connecticut, a descend- ant of one of the Puritan forefathers, who joined the Plymouth Colony in 1634. Her grandfather and great-grandfather were officers in the war of the Revolution, and the former was killed in battle when the British forces assaulted his native city. Judge Lloyd's grandfather was killed in the battle of Bennington, Vermont. From both parents young Lloyd inherited patriotic ardor and military instincts. He enjoys the singular distinction in genealogy, that from 1634, when his remote ancestor served in the wars against the Pequod Indians in Massachusetts, until his own service in the war of the Rebellion. every generation furnished a military officer in the service of the Colonies and of the United States. He had a thorough academic train- ing, and entered the Sophomore class in Hamilton College in 1856. He graduated in 1859, one of the youngest students of his class, winning the second honor in general scholarship and the highest prize in rhetoric and oratory. Three years later he received the degree of Master of Arts. For a year he was classical instructor in a collegiate institute at Bloomfield, New Jersey, and at the same time pursued the study of the law. Later he placed himself under the immediate tuition of Honorable Martin Grover, judge of the New York Court of Appeals, and was thus peacefully engaged when the firing upon Sumter called the nation to arms. He heard the appeal and closed his books. Duty was plain, and straightway he assisted in raising and equipping the first company of soldiers which left his native village ; and after the memorable disaster of Bull Run, gave his entire time for several months to the work of recruiting volunteers. Untiring in his efforts in this behalf, he visited nearly every school district in his native county, and addressed numerous meetings in churches and school-houses. In the national emergency he freely gave heart, voice, strength and example to encourage and animate his fellowmen to the rescue of their imperiled country. A full com- pany of the Sixth New York Cavalry, of which he was first lieutenant, enlisted under him, and marched to Camp Scott, on Staten Island. There his regiment was consolidated with another, but he was involuntarily mustered out of service. He thereupon repaired to Albany, and was there admitted to the Bar in December, 1861, afterward taking a thorough course at the Law School of the University of Albany. Early in June, 1862, he again enlisted, this time in a battery. Promotion followed rapidly. After faithful service at Newbern and Roanoke Island, under General Burnside, he was com- missioned captain of the Twenty-second New York Cavalry, and ordered to the Army of the Potomac. His soldierly conduct and qualities frequently attracted the notice of his superior officers, and at the close of the war General Custer tendered him a position in his own regiment in the regular
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army, but he declined the honor. He took part in the battles of the Wilder- ·ness, at Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, the siege of Petersburg, at Jerusalem Plank Road, and in all the battles of the Wilson raid. Then he marched to the defense of Washington against Early, and thence to the Shenandoah valley, taking part in every battle of that brilliant campaign. While leading a charge at the head of his regiment, near Winchester, August 21, 1864, he was shot directly through the body, and was con- sidered mortally wounded. He was sent to the hospital, and thence to his home in New York, as soon as he could be removed. He partially recovered, and with an open wound took the stump for Abraham Lincoln, in the fall of 1864, and made campaign speeches till the very day of election. Then he rejoined his regiment in the field, was commissioned as major, and served on a general court-martial during the winter of 1864 and 1865. In the spring of 1865 he marched up the valley of the Shenandoah with General Sheridan and General Custer, and his regiment led the attack at Waynesboro, in the battle which resulted in the capture of the entire army of General Jubal Early, one of the most brilliant of General Sheridan's famous series of vic- tories in the valley. The column pushed on to Charlottesville and Gordonsville, destroying the Virginia Central Railroad and General Lee's source of supplies, until it reached a point only eight miles from Richmond, on the west. Then, wheeling suddenly to the left, General Sheridan crossed the York river to White House Landing, and joined General Grant's army in front of Peters- burg. During this rapid march Major Lloyd served as aid-de-camp on the staff of General Wells, of Vermont, and won the highest commendation for his soldierly qualities. He took part with the army of the Potomac in the daily and nightly battles which resulted in the surrender of General Lee at Appo- mattox. IIe was next appointed commissary of musters by the secretary of war, and was assigned to duty on the staff of Major General Torbert, com- manding the Army of the Shenandoah. He mustered out and sent home all the men of this army, and was himself honorably discharged at Rochester, New York, in August, 1865. Thus closed his brilliant military career. Major Lloyd now cast about for a field in which to practice his chosen profession. He was not long in determining to go to Cincinnati, and as an entire stranger, without any means, he opened a law office and began the struggle with many competitors. Business came slowly at first, but diligent study and faithful, energetic attention to the interests of his clients gradually enlarged his prac- tice and made for him the prominent place at the Cincinnati Bar which he now holds. Of the many important causes in which Major Lloyd has been engaged, there is none more interesting than one of his early practice. Some emancipated slaves sought to recover an estate which they claimed by inheri- tance from a runaway slave from Kentucky, who had accumulated property in Cincinnati. Major Lloyd was retained to prosecute their claim. Suit was instituted in 1869. The defenses of the occupying claimants were three-fold : That the plaintiffs were illegitimate, as a slave marriage had no legal validity ; that the plaintiffs were chattels, and had no legal status at the time the descent
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was cast ; and finally, that if any property descended, it vested in the master and not in the slave. Major Lloyd took the broad ground that the validity of , the slave marriage should be recognized in the interests of justice and morality, as it certainly had been under the law in many of the slave States. His argu- ment was an exhaustive review of the history of the institution of marriage among the slaves in this country, and of the legal authorities which recognize its validity. The Superior Court, in general term, unanimously sustained Major Lloyd's position, and gave judgment accordingly. The case was the first of its kind in the country, and attracted much attention, especially among the colored people. They looked upon the result as one of the chief steps in attaining for the race complete equality before the law. Major Lloyd gave the bankrupt law and the decisions under it the closest study, and was engaged in several cases which afterward became leading cases in its construction. One worthy of mention was argued at Mansfield, in this State. The case turned on the question of the power of the State court to set aside a dis- charge in bankruptcy granted by a Federal court, under the law of 1867. This was the first case on this subject in Ohio, and the question was then undecided. Major Lloyd took the negative, argued the case three times at Mansfield, and finally won it. The law in Ohio and other States has since been settled, affirming the theory of Major Lloyd in that case. Another important case, considered from a legal standpoint, was a copy- right case in the United States Supreme Court. The case had been decided adversely to Major Lloyd's client by Judge Emmons, of the United States Circuit Court, and by Judge Swing, of the United States District Court, before he was retained. Major Lloyd argued the question at length, and both in his brief and in his oral argument before the Supreme Court, pre- sented an elaborate review of American and English decisions. The court unanimously sustained his position in an opinion which makes this a leading case. It has already been quoted a number of times by English courts. It is reported in Volume 101, United States Reports. He has constantly been retained in leading cases in the Ohio courts, in the Supreme Court of the United States, and in the courts of many different States. In 1884 he was employed to contest a will of a wealthy decedent at St. Louis, Missouri, and won a great victory for his Cincinnati clients. He was retained in more than thirty cases growing out of the failure of the famous Fidelity Bank in 1887. Some of these cases involved hundreds of thousands of dollars, and one case involved nearly three millions. He was also selected to represent the McMicken heirs in the contest for the removal of the University of Cincinnati. His argument in the Supreme Court of Ohio was very able, and was never answered, and no opinion was rendered in that court. Major Lloyd has been associated in practice with C. S. Bates, who afterwards became a clergyman in Cleveland ; with Governor Edward F. Noyes, afterwards United States minister to France; with Honorable Alphonso Taft, attorney-general of the United States and United States minister to Vienna and St. Petersburg, and with Honorable W. H. Taft, now United States Circuit Judge. Major Lloyd's scholarly habits,
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