USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. I > Part 20
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Bethune's History of France ; fragments of Shakespeare, Bobby Burns, Field- ing's novels, Æsop's Fables and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. His youthful intellect was not even palled by the remorseless dreariness of Hume's England. His imagination was cultivated early and his variety of reading gave him much to think about. His relish for books was keen when he entered the primary department of Martinsburg Academy, in the fall of 1840, and pursued his studies in the common school branches to qualify himself for teaching in the country districts. These he mastered with remarkable ease and rapidity, even before his aspiration for a classical education received much practical encouragement. He was, however, persuaded by his preceptor, Rev. Henry Hervey, to remain away from the farm another term and take up the study of Latin as an experiment. To begin was to continue. He read the First Book of Cæsar's Commentaries and was so charmed with it, from the "Omnis Gallia in tres partes divisa est " to the finis, that his resolution was formed to pursue his studies to the completion of a university course. He was obliged to rely upon himself for the means ; but his tastes were moderate and his habits inexpensive. It was, therefore, easy for him to pay all neces- sary expenses with the wages received from teaching a part of the time. Within six years from the time he entered the academy in 1840 he was grad- uated from Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, as a Bachelor of Arts. The Junior and Senior years only were spent in the college; but his instruction was not less thorough in the academy and his scholarship was undoubted, for he was able to divide the class honors with General A. B. Sharpe, of Pennsylvania, in a class of fifty-eight members. During his last year in Jefferson the college was presided over by the eminent Dr. Robert J. Breck- inridge, and after graduation he accompanied Dr. Breckinridge to Lexington, Kentucky, and took charge of a school in the neighborhood which the doctor had procured for him. A year later, associated with his classmate, Rev. G. W. Zahnizer, Mr. West assumed control of the Lexington High School for boys, and among his pupils were members of very distinguished families, in- cluding the Clays and the Breckinridges. It is almost certain Judge West received, unconsciously, while teaching at Lexington, the first inspiration to change his profession. The Bar of the city then contained in its membership some of the greatest lawyers and jurists the State of Kentucky has produced -Henry Clay, General John C. Breckinridge, Matt Johnson, Chief Justice Robertson-and he was privileged to hear all of them in the bloodless com- bats of the forum. He heard the last great popular address of Clay and the splendid oration of General Breckinridge, in 1848, at the memorial services for the volunteer soldiers of Kentucky who sacrificed their lives on the field of Buena Vista. It may readily be assumed the brilliant arguments before a jury, and the matchless eloquence of these masters on the platform, kindled new aspirations in the soul of the young school-teacher in whom were latent all the superb powers essential to masterful debate and sublime oratory. He could not remain long in the quiet occupation of teaching. After one year of service as tutor in Jefferson College and one year as
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adjunct professor in Hampden Sidney College, Virginia, he resigned, returned to Ohio, and entered the office of Judge William Lawrence at Bellefontaine as a student of law, in August, 1850. He had just witnessed one of the memorable contests of the arena-the United States Senate-in which those mighty political gladiators, Benton, Clay and Webster, were discussing the fugitive slave law. He was accustomed to study; his mind was mature; his capacity to grasp and comprehend principles was large, and he made such rapid progress as to be .qualified for admission to the Bar in 1851. He formed a partnership with Judge Lawrence by which he was at once in- troduced to a good practice. The following year he was elected prosecuting attorney of Logan county. As a student and teacher he had become proficient in the classics and higher mathematics. He was especially fond of geome- try, which has in its conception and construction more of logic than any other branch of mathematical science. And the mental dicipline acquired by the application of his knowledge of such branches in the art of teaching enabled him quickly to become formidable in the higher reasoning of the law. At thirty he was a good lawyer. At forty he was the peer of any in his circuit. His progress was facilitated all the while by association and contact with the great lawyers who gave character and prestige to the Bar of Belle- fontaine and the circuit. To quote another biographer, among these were: " Benjamin Stanton, unsurpassed in his power of debate; C. W. B. Allison and Mr. James Keenan ; Colonel John H. James and the Corwins of Urbana ; the courtly General Mason ; General Charles Anthony ; the brilliant William A. Rogers, of Springfield, and the eminent Richard A. Harrison, now of Columbus." No lawyer could maintain himself in such company without the severest labor. No self-respecting, ambitious man would desire to con- tinue his relations with a Bar whose membership was so far above him that he could not occupy a position of comparative respectability. Judge West for- tunately possessed the natural ability, the inclination, the will, the capacity for sedulous application, and all the qualities of mind essential to a clear under- standing of the law and to fit him for high companionship. Without pretense or arrogance he quietly and certainly established his right to be in the first rank of the Bar. He continued in the practice, with slight interruptions on account of political service, until 1871, when he was elected a judge of the Su- preme Court of Ohio. Few members of that court have entered upon judi- cial service better equipped by original power of intellect, integrity of char- acter, broad and varied attainments, habit of patient investigation, honesty of purpose and the temperament which is best adapted to the duties of Appel- late Court Judges. Unfortunately he was permitted to serve on the Bench only one year, when failing vision constrained him to.resign. Despite this infirmity, by which the State was deprived of an able jurist, he resumed the practice of law, and has since achieved a higher reputation as a lawyer. A remarkable memory is the substitute for lost vision to a marvellous degree, in the trial of a canse. He holds in mind the important facts in a cause and the testimony of witnesses on every point. He proceeds with a trial expedi-
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tiously, and in argument is able to arrange, classify and present the evidence in the most orderly and effective manner. No material fact is overlooked; no link in the chain of evidence is omitted. His original statement of a case is a plain and comprehensive epitome of what the evidence is expected to establish. His final argument is a masterful rehearsal of the evidence applied to the law, supplemented by the most cogent reasoning, in order to create in the minds of the jury that view of the case which is so clear in his own mind. In this he exhibits the wonderful power of the advocate. Furnished by exhaustive investigation with complete knowledge of the facts, which he has carefully digested and classified by meditation, and arranged among the treasures of his memory, he has undisputed mastery of the subject. Gifted with an active imagination, strong sympathy and the earnestness born of deep conviction, having at command a comprehensive vocabulary of choice Anglo-Saxon and expressive English words, he proceeds in a style great in its simplicity and clearness to reason with the jury. He is particularly strong in his facts and in his application of the law to the facts. In the discussions of legal questions before the court one cannot fail to be impressed with his clear discrimination of the nice distinctions of the law ; his accurate judgment in the construction and application of principles ; his clearness and definiteness of statement, made possible by the complete irradiation of his mind and a certain forceful style of reasoning from the base of an underlying principle, of which he has keen discernment. He is accustomed to study exhaustively both sides of a contro- versy, not only to fortify himself against any possible surprise during the trial of a cause, but in order to be able to state his adversary's contention strongly, so that he may combat it effectively with logic and law. He believes in the genius of work, and relies upon the laboratory of the mind for the analyzation of principles and the construction of theories. In the extent and variety of information, in the power of analysis and differentiation, and the felicity of expressing a proposition or an argument, Judge West has few equals at the Bar. Early in his career, as may naturally be expected of one so gifted in oratory, Judge West participated actively in politics. Starting out as a Whig, he became one of the founders of the Republican party in the State, and one of the founders of the first Republican newspaper in his county. In 1857 he was elected to represent his county in the State legislature. In 1860 he was chosen one of the delegates to the Republican National Convention held in Chicago, and he still regards the modest part which he took in the nomination of Lincoln for the Presidency as the proudest political service of his life. He was elected to the legislature of Ohio again in 1861, because the State demanded her wisest and best nien for public service, in a crisis for which there was no precedent. In 1863 he was elected to the Senate, and so was continned in the general assembly through- out the war. He was influential in the legislation of this period for the honor of the State and the restoration of the Union. In 1865 he was elected attorney-general and served two terms. In 1869 he was nominated by President Grant and confirmed by the Senate to represent the United
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States as consul at Rio Janeiro, but declined to accept the position. After his judicial election and service already mentioned he was nominated in 1877 for governor, but the party suffered defeat. This terminated his politi- cal career and permitted him to give undivided allegiance to the law. In 1873 Judge West was a delegate to the convention to revise the Constitution of Ohio. Among the members of this convention, which comprised many great lawyers and jurists, were the late Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite, ex- Governor George Hoadly, Rufus King, Sherlock J. Andrews, Cooper K. Wat- son, General Thomas Ewing and Lewis D. Campbell. As a political orator and debater he has attained very high rank. His public addresses are charac- terized by fluency, perspicacity, thoroughness and dignity. He prefers to be plain rather than ornate. And yet, on occasion, his imagery is beautiful and his manner impassioned. He has never fallen below the requirements of any occasion, or disappointed his friends. Possessing in a high degree true oratori- cal genius-the opulent imagination, the bright humor, the flashing wit, the quick sympathy, the finely modulated voice, the felicitous expression, the earnest manner and the graceful action-he charms an audience by rhetorical declamation. His conception of the public address, however, gives it a char- acter and a purpose above the amusement of those who hear. He believes it should contain ideas, impress a thought, or advocate a principle. Public dis- cussion is one of the means ordained for the propagation of truth, for influ- encing the minds of men and directing their action in some practical way. He always has the public welfare in view. His diction is always pure. So culti- vated is he in belles-lettres that his oratory would befit a college rostrum ; so deeply versed in the law and so skillful in the art of reasoning that his argu- ment honors the forum. One of his really great political addresses was deliv- ered in the National Convention of the Republican party at Chicago in 1884. He was a delegate from the State at large and had the honor of presenting for nomination the distinguished James G. Blaine. To the same convention John G. Long, of Massachusetts, seconded by George William Curtis, presented the name of Senator George F. Edmunds, and Honorable Joseph B. Foraker, at present a senator of the United States, presented the name of John Sher- - man, now secretary of state. Judge West has an ideal home, the center of genuine affection, confidence and happiness. He married, the first time in * young manhood, Miss Elizabeth Williams, of Lima, who was a native of Wales, a woman of uncommon mental power and moral excellence. Three sons were born of this marriage, William A., John E. and Samuel A. The first two studied law and became associated with their father in practice at Bellefontaine, in the firm of West & West. The third son is deceased. His second marriage was with Mrs. Clara G. Gorton, widow of Ira M. Gorton, formerly of Colum- bus, and daughter of Mr. Abner Riddle, of Bellefontaine. She is a cultivated lady, whose cordial manner and genial temper are the flower of her great kind- ness of heart. Her attachment to her husband and his sons has ever been marked by deep devotion. Naturally benevolent, she devotes much of her independent means to charity, under the auspices of associations able to give
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the contributions proper direction. Judge West remains young and keeps abreast of the progressive thought and material advancement of the time. Since the complete loss of his natural vision his intellectual vision appears to have become quickened, and his insight into things not seen appears to be keener and deeper. In his conceptions of private deportment and public duty, as revealed in social intercourse and official conduct, he belongs to earth's nobility.
ALFRED S. DICKEY, deceased, Greenfield. Judge Alfred S. Dickey, who was born in Giles county, Tennessee, January 6, 1812, and died in Brown county, Ohio, when on a visit to his sister, Mrs. Eliza Kinkead, August 22, 1873, was one of the eminent and honored men of his profession. He was of Scotch-Irish extraction, and his character was enriched by the best elements which by common consent are attributed to the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian. His great-grandfather was John Dickey, and his great-grandmother, Martha McNealy, who were married in the north of Ireland, emigrated to the Colony of Virginia and settled in Albemarle county. From these historic ancestors descended the members of the Dickey family in Ohio who have won distinc- tion in the profession of law and the ministry of the Gospel. Judge Thompson affirms that the whole family history was characterized by four prominent traits : "First, a strong Scotch-Irish Presbyterian religious faith; second, firmness of purpose ; third, integrity ; fourth, abhorrence of slavery." When four years of age Alfred was brought to Ohio by his parents, who settled at South Salem, in Ross county. There he grew to manhood, receiving his edu- cation in the common schools and in the profession of teaching. The family was fortunately poor, and he developed the best traits of independent manhood by earning his own living while studying his profession. He was qualified for the practice of law by the time he attained his majority, and soon afterwards entered into a partnership which exercised a wholesome influence upon all of his subsequent life. It was a partnership approved by his heart and judg- ment-a union for life with Miss Emily Ann Mackerly, which was formally contracted in 1832. In 1838 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Fayette county, and in that office gave evidence of the possession of a legal mind and correct principles. It was the means of leading him into a bountiful practice, and introducing him to a large clientage, which remained with him so long as he continued at the Bar. In 1847 he removed to Greenfield, a location more convenient for the care of his practice, and one which afforded in its excellent academy better advantages for the education of his children. In 1858 he was appointed by Governor Chase to the office of Common Pleas judge of Ross, Highland and Fayette counties, to succeed Judge Sloan, resigned. He held this office by successive elections until 1871, and during the time lived in a beautiful home which he fitted up at Linden, Ross county. He was always generous and hospitable, entertaining with remarkable heartiness the hosts of friends and distinguished visitors who sought his home. He was a thoughtful,
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affectionate husband, a devoted father. His domestic life was serene and happy. The confidence and trust and affection between himself and his wife never wavered. Their mutual sympathy and helpfulness were manifest in rearing and educating a family of three daughters and one son-the latter being Honorable Henry L. Dickey, of Greenfield. Judge Dickey in early life and on to middle age was a Democrat, who believed in the principles taught by the fathers and founders of the party. His love of freedom and hatred of the aggressions of slavery brought him into the Republican party upon its organization. His patriotism made him a firm supporter of the Union and the government during the Rebellion. He enjoyed the confidence of Chief Justice Chase, as evidenced by the latter's endorsement of a letter addressed to the surgeon-general of the United States, recommending the appointment of Doctor Wilson to a position on the medical staff of the army. This endorse- ment was as follows : "I am well acquainted with Alfred S. Dickey, the writer of the within. He is an eminent judge in Ohio, and worthy of the great esteem in which he is held. S. P. Chase." The address of Honorable Richard A. Harrison, of Columbus, delivered at the memorial meeting of the Bar at Hillsboro, on the occasion of Judge Dickey's death, contains such a clear and fair estimate of his abilities and characteristics that the biographer cannot do better than reproduce it here. He said : " My personal acquaintance with Judge Dickey began a few weeks after I entered upon the practice of the law, nearly twenty-eight years since. The impression I formed of him, upon my first interview, was that he was a superior man. Our acquaintance soon ripened into intimacy. This continued without interruption or abatement until his decease. Thorough knowledge of him confirmed my first impression as to ' what manner' of man he was. Judge Dickey was a man of large mind, and it constantly grew in bulk. He was remarkable for his sound sense-an inestimable companion for either man or woman. He had an excellent mind for the law. His power of analysis was strong. In the investigation of a subject, his mind rejected the irrelevant and weak. He was fond of investi- gating and applying general principles. His mind pondered upon whatever subjects he undertook to examine, until he saw them in all their aspects and bearings. He endeavored in his investigations to keep clear of the ruts of commonplace, and to tread on the higher planes of thought. He did not decide until his judgment was thoroughly convinced. If he could not, on the first effort, find data upon which to base a satisfactory conclusion, he sus- pended his judgment for the time being, and renewed his process of pondering. He was an instance of the truth of a striking observation of a distinguished philosopher. 'There is,' says he, 'much in this process of pondering and its results, which it is impossible to analyze. It is by a kind of inspiration that we rise from the wise and sedulous contemplation of facts to the principles on which they depend. The mind is, as it were, a photographic plate, which is gradually cleansed by the effort to think rightly, and which, when so cleansed, and not before, receives impressions from the light of truth.' Judge Dickey was cautious and deliberate in arriving at a decision ; when he did reach a
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determination, he was hard to stir from it. Still, whenever he became con- vinced that any conclusion to which he had come was erroneous, he would frankly confess his error, and cheerfully embrace the truth, for truth's sake. He never tried to uphold an opinion by dogmatism ; if he could not maintain it by fair argument, he gave it up. He was a man of strong, sub- stantive and lasting convictions; and he maintained them with great, but unoffending firmness. No man who does not possess this mental and moral quality can become either a great lawyer or a great judge. But Judge Dickey was not one of that too numerous class who, because they choose to be positive, are therefore sure they have the truth. * He loved knowledge, and upon its acquisition it seemed to become an immovable fixture in his mind. In the latter part of his life, he preferred to acquire it by obser- vation, conversation and meditation, rather than much poring over books. He expressed the opinion to me more than once, that many of the law books which have in late years been published were gotten up chiefly to enable the authors, as well as the publishers, to make money; and that many of them tend rather to obscure and unsettle sound principles of law than to elucidate and establish them ; and are, therefore, fit things for a bonfire. Judge Dickey, during the years of his preparation for admission to the Bar, and for several years afterward, must have carefully and thoroughly studied the law as a science ; for, upon a state of facts being presented to him for legal solution, he would frequently solve the question as to the legal rights and responsibilities of the parties to the transaction, by the correct application of a general principle of law ; and this, too, without consulting a single authority. His suggestions upon novel or difficult law questions were always valuable, because he got at the precise point, cleared them of dross, and led you at least in the direction of the right highway to the desired legal truth. Whilst he was at the Bar, Judge Dickey was a successful lawyer. He didn't degrade his pro- fession by making merchandise of his legal knowledge and skill. He didn't ' run down' business, but let it seek him. He would not litigate a case, if he could well avoid it, when he thought his client would surely fail. He never encouraged a client who had not justice on his side. He preferred compromis. ing controversies to bitterly litigating them. He seldom prepared any other brief than a reference to a few authorities, and he hardly ever prepared a written argument. He could think and reason orally with greater accuracy, clearness and force, than he could with a pen in his hand. On the trial of a case, he was master of the facts, understood the exact points in contest, and was prepared to discuss them intelligently and ably. He well knew how to put a point to the 'immortal twelve' so that it would have the most telling immediate effect and the most enduring influence. He was not regarded as an active practitioner. And the truth is, he was not an energetic man, physically; but he was a continual, earnest thinker. Ile was never mentally inactive nor unemployed. Judge Dickey had a just conception of the position and func- tions-the rights and duties-of the Bar; and he looked upon our profession as something above a mere occupation in which to make money. He not only
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thought that underhand practices will fail in the end, but he detested such practices, because they are, in themselves, wrong and dishonorable, and bring the profession itself into disrepute. The last case argued by Judge Dickey was the ' Ross County Railroad Case,' before the Supreme Court. He under- stood thoroughly every question and point in the case, and discussed them clearly and forcibly. He held the opinion, from the close of the first con- sultation, prior to the commencement of the suit, until the final decree, that the 'Boesel Act' was unconstitutional, and that the Supreme Court could not do otherwise than so declare it. He took a very lively interest in the case, and was much gratified with the result. He justly felt, no doubt, that he had not only rendered faithful and valuable service to his clients, but that he had really ' done the State some service.' Judge Dickey was a good judge. He had an eminently judicial cast of mind. He loved justice and desired that every case should, if practicable, be decided upon its substantial merits. Some practitioners in his court thought he was too much inclined to allow equita- ble views and considerations to enter into his decision of every question and every cause. A sound point, clearly stated by the weakest member of the Bar, had the same effect upon his judgment as it would have had if urged in argument by the strongest lawyer in his court. He was not often misled by fallacious propositions, however artfully and strongly put. Although he was not regarded as a 'ready man,' he was almost always prepared to give an intelligent and sensible decision upon the submission of a question to him. His instructions to the jury were plain and simple. Whilst he had a discrim- inating mind-a mind for which clear, nice distinctions were nutriment-still, as a magistrate, he seemed to think that too much refining destroys pure rea- son and interrupts the course of justice. Very few of his rulings or judgments were reversed. Nearly all of them that were carried to the Supreme Court were unanimously affirmed. On the Bench, at the Bar, and in every other position, he was of sterling integrity. 'The best court of equity is a good conscience.' But, above all, Judge Dickey was a true man. He was one of the most companionable men I ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was kind, genial, tolerant, and intelligent. He could interest, edify and divert any person, whether learned or illiterate, refined or rude, young or old. His con- versation and discourse were characterized by solid sense and useful informa- tion, and oftentimes sparkled with seasonable wit and humor. Every one now in this court room can recall many of his 'flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table in a roar.' If any man who came into his company had any genuine wit or humor in his nature it would be brought out-it would catch of the judge's, as fire of fire. He took great interest in all current top- ics, and in whatever concerned the prosperity of the community in which he resided. He was always ready and gratified to aid in relieving the unfor- tunate or distressed. Judge Dickey loved his country, her Constitutions and institutions. He uniformly, during our late civil war, expressed to me a firm conviction that the country would weather the conflict of arms. Whatever apprehensions he had for our safety and welfare as a people, were based upon
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