USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. I > Part 21
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M.le Ceroper
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speculations as to possible departures, after the conclusion of the contest, from the principles upon which our system of government is based, and the demoralization which seems always to result from a great war, and especially from a great civil war. Whatever were, at different times, his relations to the political parties of the country, he was always firmly of the opinion that the cardinal principles of government which he adopted early in life, and which constituted the traditional policy of the country, were just and sound. He was not, however, a believer in the infallibility of party leaders, nor in the perpetual existence of particular organizations. Judge Dickey was a sensitive man ; his emotional nature was of fine fiber. Hence, he was easily affected by sharp or unkind words, or malicious criticism ; but he was not revengeful; his resentments were fleeting. He doubtless thought the most speedy and effectual, as well as the noblest, remedy for injuries is oblivion. He cherished his friends ; 'grappled them to his soul with hooks of stcel.' And he seemed to regard them as a shield to his sensitive nature against harsh criticism and unjust censure. He was morc charitable in his judgment of his fellow-men than they were in their judgment of him. In speaking of others, he acted on the principle that detraction is a sin against justice. He did not try to discover, and hold up for ridicule and execration, the foibles of any man, whether friend or foe. He was above the meanness of envy. He never sneered at that which he could not rival. He praised meritorious deeds, by whomsoever done. He was pleased when a young man came to the Bar, who gave promise of maintaining its proper standard of learning, honor and abil- ity. Judge Dickey was unpretentious in his manners and in all his perform- ances-another illustration of the truth that unpretending characters are rarely deficient. For a man of his age Judge Dickey was, when he died, of remark- ably buoyant and elastic spirits. His genial disposition, and the enjoy- ment derived from the play of his wit and humor, had kept off, in a good degree, wrinkles from both body and spirit. In common with his friends, as well as himself, I hoped and expected many years of earthly happiness and usefulness were in reserve for him. But alas! that hope and expectation van- ished-forever vanished, without warning, and in an instant of time."
WILLIAM C. COOPER, Mount Vernon. Knox county has for more than half a century been noteworthy for the ability and high character of its Bar. The records of appellate courts, common report and the statements of the im- partial historian substantiate the assertion. At all times there have been leaders of the Bar, lawyers who naturally and without inciting the envy of their brethren rose above them. There can be no impropriety, therefore, in saying that whenever the roll of the present members is called, not in the order of senior- ity, but in the order of recognized ability, the name of Honorable William C. Cooper must be among the first. Colonel Cooper is a resident of the city by right of birth and continuous habitancy for sixty-five years. lle was born
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December 18, 1832. His descent is Scotch-Irish from the ancestors of his mother, and American through a lineage of half a dozen generations on his father's side. His ancestors were modest but not undistinguished. His grand- father, Daniel Cooper, and his father, Thompson Cooper, were both natives of Butler county, Pennsylvania, although the family removed to Ohio in 1806, during the boyhood of the latter, and settled in Mount Vernon. The city was then little more than a small clearing in the forest, through which the highways were generally Indian trails or bridle paths. Daniel Cooper became captain of an Ohio volunteer company in active service during the War of 1812 and continued to reside in the county until his death, in 1841. Thompson Cooper, grown to manhood among the pioneers, became a leader in neighborhood affairs and politics. He served his fellow-citizens for thirty years as a justice of the peace and for eight years administered the affairs and executed the laws of the municipality, as mayor. The positions to which he was chosen by the free suffrage of his neighbors, term after term, evidence their confidence in his ability and character. None surpassed him in the virtues which make up manhood and respectability. None ever left a cleaner reputation for the employment of energies usefully, for the conservation of justice, honor and right living. He died in 1863, while serving as mayor of the city. William C. Cooper is the son of Thompson Cooper and Rebecca Craig, the latter a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and a woman whose ideas of truth, honor and duty were in conformity to the stern maxims and practices of her Scottish ancestry and qualified her admirably to train her sons for the responsibilities of life. He was educated in private schools and the Mount Vernon Academy. His vacations were spent at the various kinds of work on the farm, a healthful exercise, if taken in moderation, which hardens the muscles and strengthens the body. He gave his time to work ungrudgingly, as an essential part of his preparation for the active business of his profession. His heart was set on the law and he commenced the study of it before reaching his majority, under the instruction of Joseph W. Vance and James Smith, Jr. At twenty-two he was admitted to the Bar and soon afterwards became associated in a partnership with Mr. Vance, under whose instruction his course of reading had been pur- sued. The association was continued about ten years and then was broken only by the death of the senior member, who was killed on the battle field in 1864. Both members of the firm entered the volunteer service of the Union army and Colonel Vance was commanding a regiment at the time of his death. Mr. Cooper enlisted in the Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry upon the first call for troops, and was elected first lieutenant of Company B. Going to the front, he continued in active service until January following and then resigned in order to look after the business of the firm and important personal matters. Early in 1864 he returned to the service for one hundred days, as colonel of the One Hundred and Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was in the Petersburg campaign. At the conclusion of this second term of enlistment he returned home and resumed the practice of law alone, and then for two years in partnership with Henry T. Porter and for eight years as head of the firm of
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Cooper, Porter & Mitchell, the last named member being Lewis H. Mitchell. Ever since he was admitted to the Bar the practice of the law has been Colonel Cooper's chief concern. In it he has prospered and succeeded. His solid attainments in the principles and the literature of the profession ; his acute- ness in discernment ; his knowledge of human nature; his capacity to see the larger aspects of anything and at the same time grasp all the details ; his familiarity with the hurly-burly of business affairs; his power of original thought; above all, the probity of his life and his saving common sense have combined to secure for him first place at the Bar. He has long excelled as a trial lawyer. In the management of a case in court no detail is overlooked ; no essential is omitted. He fortifies and guards every vulnerable point and his vigilance prevents surprises. Watchful and alert, he never loses an oppor- tunity to take advantage of his adversary's mistake or inadvertence. In the sifting of evidence and the examination of witnesses he is skillful. In sum- ming up evidence and massing his argument before a jury he is great. Before the war Colonel Cooper held the office of prosecuting attorney four years. He also served as mayor of Mount Vernon two terms, having been elected the first time in 1860. In 1871 he was elected a member of the legislature, served one term and declined a second nomination. He was for six years president of the board of education of the city of Mount Vernon and was for five years judge advocate general of the State of Ohio. These are the only civil offices ever held by him until he was elected to the Forty-ninth Congress in 1884. He was re-elected in 1886 and again in 1888, serving through the sessions of the Fif- tieth and Fifty-first Congresses. His reputation as a lawyer gave him a standing which was maintained and advanced by the wisdom of his counsel in the committee room and his power in debate on the floor. He was not only a very able, but also a very useful member. He was a member of some of the most important committees of the House. During his first term the bill pro- viding for the order of succession in the office of President was passed and he was a member of the committee in charge of the bill. His argument on the subject was masterful and patriotic. He was influential in the committees on elections, on territories, on banking and currency. Politically he has always been a Republican. He managed several campaigns as chairman of the State Central Committee and was the representative of the Republican party in Ohio in the National Committee from 1876 to 1884, during the period of greatest contention within the party. He was a delegate to the National Con- ventions in 1872 and 1880. He is an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic and has represented his State in the National Encampment on two occasions. Colonel Cooper is a man whose amiable traits give him boundless personal popularity. He was married in January, 1864, to Miss Eliza Russell, daughter of the distinguished physician, Dr. John W. Russell, who practiced his profession for sixty hears in Mount Vernon. Two daughters were born of the union.
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ROELIFF BRINKERHOFF, Mansfield. General Brinkerhoff is descended from one of the oldest Knickerbocker families. He is the seventh generation in direct lineage from Joris Derickson Brinckerhoff, who emigrated from Dret- land, Holland, settled in New Netherlands and became the progenitor of the family in America, establishing his home at Brooklyn. Many of the descend- ants of this first emigrant are still living on Long Island, and in the city of New York, and a few are scattered through the western States. The latter are generally the descendants of Hendrick, one of the sons of Joris, who settled in New Jersey and changed the orthography of the name by dropping the c before k. General Roeliff Brinkerhoff was born in Owasco, Cayuga county, New York, June 28, 1828. His grandfather was a native of Hackensack, New Jersey, but his father, George R. Brinkerhoff, was born in Gettysburg, Penn- sylvania. His mother descended from the union of two historic families of France, Bouvier and DeMarat, Huguenots, who fled from the religious persecu- tions in their native France and found refuge among the tolerant Dutch of New Netherlands. The subject of this sketch was taught in the public schools of his native county during his early years and for a time attended the academy at Auburn. Among his fellow students in the academy were Roscoe Conkling and Frederick H. Seward. At sixteen he was a teacher in his native town. At seventeen he had charge of a school at Hendersonville, Tennessee. At nineteen he was a tutor at the Hermitage in the family of Andrew Jackson, Jr., where he remained three years. In 1850 he came north and became a student in the law office of his kinsman, Judge Jacob Brinkerhoff, at Mansfield, Ohio. In 1852 he was admitted to the Bar and continued to practice until the Rebellion broke out. Four years of the time, from June, 1855, to 1859, he was editor and proprietor of the Mansfield Herald. He entered the military service of the Union in September, 1861, as first lieutenant and regimental quartermaster of the Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In November following he was promoted to the rank of captain and assistant quartermaster and stationed at Bardstown, Kentucky, during the winter. After Nashville was captured by the Union forces he was placed in charge of land and river transportation, with headquarters in that city. Thence he was ordered to the front and placed in charge of the field transportation of the Army of the Ohio, subsequent to the battle of Pittsburg Landing. When Corinth was taken he returned home on sick leave, and upon regaining health was ordered to Maine as chief quartermaster of the State. Subsequently he was transferred to Pitts. burg, Pennsylvania, and placed in charge of transportaton and army stores. Thence he was sent to Washington as post quartermaster, where he remained until June, 1865. He was then promoted to the rank of colonel and made inspector of the quartermaster's department. In that capacity he remained on duty at the war office with Secretary Stanton until November, 1865, when he was ordered to Cincinnati as chief quartermaster of the department. In Sep- tember, 1866, he was made brigadier general of volunteers by brevet, and declined a commission in the regular army, which was tendered. He was mustered out at his own request on the first of October, after a continuous
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service of five years. Without delay he returned to Mansfield and resumed his law practice, which was continued until 1873, when he accepted the posi- tion of cashier and executive manager of the Mansfield Savings Bank, which he assisted in organizing. Later on he became its president and has had the executive management of that institution nearly a quarter of a century. General Brinkerhoff was one of the promoters, and a charter member of the Ohio Arhæological and Historical Society, which he also served as president. For the last nineteen years he has been a member of the State Board of Chari- ties and chairman of the board. He became a member of the National Con- ference of Charities and Corrections about twenty years ago, and has devoted much time as well as thought to the subject of prison management and reform. His broad and generous philanthropy has found its highest expression in the intelligent efforts to better the condition of the unfortunate and improve the methods of prison management. An important feature of this philanthropic work is the National Prison Association, organized first in 1870 and reorgan- ized in 1884. General Brinkerhoff became a member of this association at the time it was reorganized, and has been devoted to the cause which it represents ever since that time. Since the death of ex-President Hayes in 1893, he has been president of the association. He delivered an eloquent address before the New York Prison Association on the occasion of its semi-centennial celebration, from which a paragraph is quoted :
" In conclusion it is cheering to say that when we look back through the vista of fifty years and see what was and then consider what is, we are able to thank God and take courage and look forward with hopefulness to the future. In fact I am very sure that when the New York Prison Association celebrates its next semi-centennial anniversary, or rather its full centennial, those who participated will be able to chronicle even larger progress than we do now. When we remember how slow the processes of evolution are, and how many æons of time it has taken to bring the earth to its present development, let us be hopeful and not doubtful, for we know that God lives and that the trend of humanity is upward and not downward. We may fail here through want of co-operation with the forces of the Infinite and lose our own reward, but God's elect shall not perish from the earth, and man's redemption shall surely come. As the great globe swings in its mighty orbit around the sun, and lifts its polar ice crowns into the dissolving summer, so let us have the faith to believe that in the grander cycles of human destiny the long and icy winter of humanity is evolving into the golden summer of the Son of Man."
The plan of representing Ohio at the World's Columbian Exposition by the famous group of statuary in front of her State building was evolved by General Brinkerhoff as president of the Archaeological Society. He was chosen to deliver the oration on " Ohio Day," when the group was unveiled, and most eloquently did he portray the matchless valor and virtues of Grant and Sherman and Sheridan, of Chase and Stanton and Garfield. In 1895 he was a delegate, and chairman of the delegation, from the United States to the International Prison Congress held at Paris, France. In that Congress he delivered a public address on American Prison Systems, in which he found
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occasion to state a curious fact: That the three great prison systems of the world originated in the United States, viz., the separate system, which had its origin in Philadelphia ; the congregate system of associated labor by day and cellular separation by night, originated at Auburn ; the Elmira system, based upon the indeterminate sentence and conditional liberation. He made another speech on behalf of the American delegation in acknowledgment of a compli- mentary reference to Dr. E. C. Wines and his great services as a prison reformer. During his tour abroad General Brinkerhoff availed himself of the opportunity to visit the British and Continental prisons, and became acquainted with their methods of management. His observations were clearly set forth in a comprehensive report printed by the government at Washington, with the proceedings of the Congress. In March, 1897, he attended the sessions of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections, at New Orleans, and delivered one of the principal addresses. As indicative of the trend of his mind the opening sentences of his address are quoted here:
"Two years ago when I came into the city of London, on my way to the International Prison Congress in Paris, there was one place, with a memorial, that I desired above all others to visit. It was not the Tower of London, with its memories and memorials of historic events ; it was not Westminster Abbey, with its countless statuary and costly monuments in honor of soldiers and statesmen and poets who had passed away; it was not the British Museum, with its literary treasures or its vast collection of antiquities; on the contrary, what I wanted to see most of all was the statue of John Howard, in the Cathedral of St. Paul. Since the days of the great apostle to the Gentiles, all through the weary centuries down to the present, there has been no other man who has surpassed John Howard in enthusiasm for the betterment of mankind, or who had endured privations and sufferings for the good of others with an abandon more complete. I was not disappointed, as I feared I might be, for the statue of John Howard was not unworthy of him, and the closing sentence of its inscription was all that could be desired : 'He walked in an open, but unfrequented way to immortality.', As I came into London, so I came into New Orleans, for my mind was saturated with the memories of a man whose history I reviewed on my way down the river, and who, as an honored citizen of New Orleans, wrote his name among the immortals. It was not as a states- man that he impressed me, although as such he had but few equals in our country's history. It was not as a soldier, although, as the aid and military secretary of General Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, there was no man who rendered more essential service to his chief; on the contrary, it was as author of the penal code for Louisiana, and as a philosopher in the require- ments of penal discipline, that Edward Livingston ranks as the foremost pen ologist in American history, and I am not sure that he has any equal in the world's history."
General Roeliff Brinkerhoff is a man of large abilities and great force of character. He is a clear, strong, earnest, forceful speaker, who understands what he says and puts his conscience into his work. His position as one of the foremost citizens of the State is fixed. He was married February 3, 1852, to Mary Lake Bently, of Mansfield, daughter of Baldwin Bently and grand- daughter of General Robert Bently. Their family comprises four children, of whom the oldest, Robert, is a lawyer in New York City ; Adelaide resides
my truly yours
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with her parents; Mary, who married Colonel William McCrary, of Minne- apolis, is deceased ; and Roeliff, the youngest, is the Probate Judge of Rich- land county. General Brinkerhoff is especially active as a Christian worker, and for more than a quarter of a century has been in charge of the senior Bible class of the Congregational Church.
JOHN MCINTYRE LEMMON, Clyde. The late Judge Lemmon, whose life for thirty years was so intimately related to the corporate life of his town and the public interests of his county, was a native of Ohio. He was born in San- dusky county, July 25, 1839, and died at his home in Clyde, August 17, 1895. He had scarcely reached the meridian when stricken by a painful and linger- ing disease from which death was a welcome release. Judge Lemmon was of Scotch-Irish extraction, the ancestors of his father, Uriah Blake Lemmon, hav- ing emigrated originally from Ireland, and the ancestors of his mother, Emily Amanda McIntyre, having come to America from Scotland. His father at an early day bought one hundred and twenty acres in the woods of Sandusky county, on which he cleared a farm and established a home. The father had learned the trade of carpenter, and the exercise of his mechanical skill was observed in the construction of the comfortable hewed log house erected on his land, which was much more comfortable and palatial than the ordinary set- tler's cabin. It had two floors, one near the ground and the other just below the roof-reached by carpenter-made stairs instead of the customary ladder. All the space on either floor was included in one room, so that the dwelling had two rooms full size. In this house Jolin McIntyre Lemmon was born, and in its attic chamber his boyhood nights were passed, with only the clap-board roof between him and the vaulted heavens. He probably assisted many a time as the winter approached in daubing the cracks anew with fresh clay mortar to hold the chinks in place and keep out the blizzards and render the living room habitable. He attended the country district school, and was studious at home; so that before reaching the age of eighteen he was qualified for teach- ing, as evidenced by a license from the proper examiner. His special instruc- tion up to this time, aside from the common school, had been obtained in a select school which he attended for six weeks. After teaching at Wales' Cor- ners, on the South Ridge, four miles from Clyde, the winter prior to the eighteenth anniversary of his birthday, for a term of four months. he spent a year in Oberlin College, perfecting his education in English and mathematics. For two or three winters he was employed as teacher, and then went to Jeffer- son City, Missouri, where he took up the study of law in the office of James Proctor Knott, who was at the time attorney-general of the State. Although but twenty years of age, he was deeply impressed with the political questions of the day, especially the dominant issue of extending the institution of slavery into free territory. It was the time when that issue was fought out between the free Territory of Kansas and the slave State of Missouri, and young
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Lemmon improved the opportunity to become acquainted with some of the principal actors in that bloody drama, and with others soon to become promi- nent in the rebellion. Among them were Stringfellow, the notorious leader of the " Border Ruffians," who controlled elections and made constitutions for Kansas; Sterling Price, the famous general ; and Claiborne Jackson, after- wards governor of the State. In April, 1860, he was called back to his home on account of the illness of a member of the family, and continued the study of law at Fremont, in the office of J. R. Bartlett. He shared in the excitement and participated in the activities of the great Lincoln campaign, which joined more closely the issue between freedom and slavery to be fought out on the battlefield during the succeeding five years. Judge Lemmon also had an hon- orable part in that conflict. He was aroused from sleep the night following the attack on Fort Sumter by some young comrades or friends, who brought the news to his home at Fremont. He was among the first in his town to enlist, under the President's call for seventy-five thousand volunteers for three months. He enlisted in the Eighth Ohio Infantry, but was attacked with measles-which missed him in youth-and was unable to accompany his regi- ment into camp, but joined it later. October 9th of the same year he re-enlisted in Company B, Seventy-second regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel (afterwards General) Ralph Pomeroy Buckland. He not only set the example of patriotism by first enlisting himself, but devoted considerable time to recruiting, by attending public meetings, making public speeches and urging other young men to enter the army. He went to the front with his command in January. 1862, and was introduced to the activities of war only two days before reaching the bloody field of Shiloh. He par- ticipated in the fighting both days at Shiloh, and sustained no less than three wounds, two of which were received the first day-one a musket shot wound in the left arm, and the other by a spent ball on the right arm. The second day in the afternoon he was disabled by a shell from a Rebel battery, whose explosion hurled a piece of heavy timber against his side. The following month he was promoted from a private to the rank of second lieutenant, and just two months later received further promotion to a captaincy. He served until the war closed, all the time in the west. As a soldier he performed every duty faithfully and uncomplainingly. He was one of the intelligent soldiers who comprehended the nature of the conflict, and did not underestimate the skill or courage of the enemy. Whether in the field, participating in the brilliant campaign against Vicksburg, or at the Siege of Corinth, or pursuing fugitive bushwhackers in Missouri, or in numerous engagements on the way to the Gulf, in Tennessee and Mississippi, he was the same brave soldier and modest officer, respected by superiors and honored by subordinates. He was detailed at Memphis for special service as judge advocate general. to conduct on behalf of the government the prosecution of civilians charged with violating the military regulations and the com- mon law. The court was a military commission, composed of three officers detailed for the service, with the late Thomas M. Browne, of Indiana, as
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