USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. I > Part 26
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Independent Odd Fellow. During his professional career, Mr. Noble has also served in many positions of trust and confidence. He was one of the directors of the Tiffin, Toledo & Eastern Railroad from its organization until this branch was completed and turned over to the Pennsylvania system. He was a member of the board of trustees of the Ohio State University for about ten years next after that board was first organized, and took an active part in all its business affairs-having been elected president of that board, at least twice, whilst a majority of the board were Republican in politics. He has. served on the board of education of his own city for more than twenty years. And for about fifteen years he was president of the Commercial Bank of Tiffin, and is still its vice-president. He has been the preceptor of many young men now successfully practicing in different parts of the country, and about one-half of the most active and successful lawyers now in his own city have received their legal education in his office-two of whom have received judicial honors. And the first lady lawyer ever admitted to the Bar in Ohio read under his tuition and received her certificate for examination at his hands, namely, Mrs. Nettie C. Lutes, now the wife of Nelson B. Lutes, another of his students ; and who, by the way, is now one of the most able and successful lawyers in northwestern Ohio, though laboring for many years under a diffi- culty that would seem to most men insurmountable. He is and has been for the greatest part of his professional life so completely deaf as to be unable to hear the articulation of his own voice, or to even hear the loudest thunder ; yet by the aid of his ambitious wife, who for that purpose, with him, studied the art of communicating by the motions of the mouth and lips, so that she could sit by and hear the questions put to a witness and the answers given, and by this art readily communicate to him all such questions, answers, and, in fact, everything else necessary for him to know, he was enabled to properly conduct his case. Whilst all this requires great patience and perseverance as well as hard labor on the part of both Mr. and Mrs. Lutes, yet one who has never seen it would be astonished to see with what facility it is accomplished by these two persons. The remarkable success of these parties, under the circum- stances, deserves a more extended notice than it is proper to insert here. A prominent lawyer, than whom no one now living knows the subject better, writes of Mr. Noble as follows :
" When I first knew Mr. Noble, he had, perhaps, already reached the zenith of his power as a lawyer, and now after twenty-seven vears of the closest professional and social relations with him, I feel as well qualified to speak of his qualities-the inan, the citizen, and the lawyer-as any man now living. In presence, he is one of God's masterpieces ; calm, dignified and majestic, he moves among his fellow-lawyers of the Bar, his fellow-men in the different walks of life, with an ease and dignity, a conscious superiority of demeanor, never intrusive, but always pleasant, that commands the respectful admiration of every one. As a citizen and public servant occupying positions of the highest honor and trust, his life has been irreproachable ; as a friend, he is incomparable. But as a lawyer I have known him best. He may well be styled a self-made man. We first meet Warren P. Noble entirely self-dependent and unaided, at a time
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in our history when opportunities for education and advancement were very limited, and almost unattainable to the young man unaided by wealth or influential friends, but nothing daunted, we see him, a young man of eighteen summers, entering upon this grand study of his life's work with an earnest determination, an untiring industry, an unconquerable zeal and energy, joined to unlimited patience, for well did he realize that ' the treasures of wisdom are not to be seized with a violent hand, but to be earned by persevering labor.' Nurtured by such qualities as these found in the boy-student, lay in embryo the future of one of the foremost figures of the Ohio Bar ; a man of comprehensive intellect, broad views and sound judgment, to all of which is united a conservative nature which is ever guarding against any radical move- ment, fully recognizing that 'to command any subject adequately we must stand above it,' and not be carried away with it, thus keeping the master hand on the rudder. Such was Warren P. Noble when I first met him, and such are the qualities of the man to-day. The habits of his professional life, like those of his student life, have been of unceasing industry and unconqner- able energy. His method of preparing his cases was always most thorough, and is undoubtedly one of the chief causes of his remarkable success. As has been said of Rufus Choate, 'he was never content until everything which might by any possibility bear upon the case, had been carefully investigated, and this investigation brought down to the last moment before trial,' and his briefs, always full and comprehensive, could never be said to be finished until the question in controversy had been settled by the judgment of the court ; and if not settled to his satisfaction in the trial court, by the judgment of the court of last resort. Thus equipped, he enters upon the trial of his cases with a conscious power, which, united with his magnificent presence and dignified courtesy, makes him an antagonist of great force to meet and combat, step by step. every seeming vantage ground of his opponent, and the diligence of his research and preparation is always very apparent as the trial progresses. Fully understanding his case and knowing the points upon which it must turn for or against him, he is never off his guard, while assailing the weakest points of his adversary's case with the force of a battering ram, with all of his forces, of evidence and argument, marshalled with such skill as to be delivered with most telling effect, to convince the court and jury that he is entitled to the verdict or judgment for which he contends. Mr. Noble's argu- ment is of the sledge-hammer style. In this respect he resembles the late Allen G. Thurman in a marked degree. Employing none of the arts and tricks of oratory, he is eloquent in the clearness of his statement, the broad common sense of his reasoning, the force of his logic and the earnestness and power of his utterance, and his argument always commands the most respect- ful attention, and carries with it a depth and weight of most convincing power. And now, after more than fifty years of active practice, we see in Mr. Noble's life an inspiration and noble example for the young members of the Bar ; his life has been one of great demand and activity, honored among men in a remarkable degree, and he will take his place in the history of the Ohio Bar, which has furnished so many legal giants, as one of the foremost lawyers of the State, of whom her Bench and Bar may justly be proud."
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HENRY H. GREER, Mount Vernon. Henry Harrison Greer was born in Knox county, Ohio, July 22, 1837. His father, Alexander Greer, a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, born in 1805, came to Ohio when five years old, and was one of the earliest settlers in Union township, Knox county, removing to Jefferson township a few years later. His grandfather, Colonel John Greer, was one of the three children of Alexander Greer, a native of County Antrim, Ireland, who emigrated to America in 1785 and settled in Maryland. Henry Harrison Greer sprang from sturdy pioneer stock 'and inherited patriotic Irish blood. His early days were occupied with work on the farm and in the common schools. His scholastic education was acquired in the schools at Millwood and Haysville, and in Dennison University. His course of reading in the law was begun in the office of Messrs. Delano, Sapp & Smith, and upon the dissolution of that firm it was completed with Walter H. Smith. He was admitted to the Bar in May, 1860. Instead of opening an office for practice he became the principal deputy in the office of his father, who was at that time treasurer of Knox county. The following year he was nominated by the Republicans and elected to succeed his father as county treasurer, and held the office until 1864. Declining a renomination, he formed a partnership for the practice of law with Honorable W. R. Sapp in 1865, with whom he continued until April, 1869. At that time he succeeded to the prac- tice and law office of Honorable W. H. Smith, upon the latter's acceptance of the solicitorship of the bureau of internal revenue, in the treasury department, to which he was appointed by President Grant, and from which he was pro- moted to the position of assistant attorney-general. Having fortunately acquired a good business while yet a young practitioner, Mr. Greer held it and continued the practice alone until 1889, when his son, Robert M. Greer, was received into partnership with him. Robert was graduated from Kenyon College at the age of twenty ; read law with his father, was admitted to the Bar in June, 1889, and immediately thereafter became a member of the firm of H. H. & R. M. Greer, a style then adopted and still preserved. Mr. Henry HI. Greer has made his reputation as a lawyer in practice at the Bar and in the preparation of opinions while holding official positions. As a counsellor he stands pre-eminent in the estimation of the local Bar, in the disposition and management of really large and important affairs. Well informed in the law, he is further fortified by quick and clear perception of the points involved in a controversy, a mental grasp that comprehends all details, and a capacity for reasoning that enables him to arrive at correct conclusions. In matters appertaining to the administration and settlement of large estates, the adjust- ment of conflicting interests requiring tact and diplomacy as well as legal knowledge, he is employed inost frequently. For a good many years Mr. Greer has been intimately connected with affairs of the community demand- ing enterprise and public spirit. He has also given much attention to business and corporation matters. In 1888 he accepted the position of secretary and treasurer of the Knox county Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which is the oldest mutual company in Ohio. Its incorporators were men of great promi-
96. No. Green
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nence, high commercial standing and personal responsibility, among whom it is proper to mention Honorable Columbus Delano, who in his life was the peer of the ablest men in the State. This company, under the careful and shrewd management of the secretary, has been successful as a corporation and gained wide popularity by its promptness in paying losses. Unusually liberal in the treatment of patrons by accepting a small percentage rate for insurance, the company has paid losses aggregating a million dollars. Regarding it as a foster child, Mr. Greer has guarded and protected and promoted its interests, without in the least neglecting his law business or other duties. For the last eight years he has served as a member of the board of trustees of Columbus State Hospital, receiving appointment from three governors. The estimated value of his official services is fairly inferable from this circumstance. He has not been a candidate for political office and has even refused to stand for nom- ination for the judicial office. He had formidable and influential backing for appointment to the high and honorable position of judge of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. His name was considered by President Harrison at the request of men of great prominence in the party and the profession, both in central Ohio and Cleveland. Among those who visited Washington and called upon the President in his behalf was the late Columbus Delano. Although candidates for the place were numerous, he was second only to Judge Taft in the favor of the appointing power, and second to none in quali- fications and endorsements. He has always been connected with the Repub- lican party and has long been a trusted adviser in its councils. Whatever he has done to direct political policy or to promote partisan success had not its inspiration in self-interest, but in the conviction that the policy of the party to which he belongs would better conserve the interests of the people. He has been absolutely frec from political ambition in a personal sense. A native of the county which has been his home during all the sixty years of his life, Mr. Greer has become identified with the people and the welfare of the community. His life has been open and more than ordinarily prominent. He is known to his fellow citizens, and his reputation is safe in their hands. He is of good report among them. If any antagonisms have been aroused, they are only such as a man of force and activity is liable to encounter in the performance of his duty. He is a leader in the affairs of the municipality, and relied upon as the friend and champion of policies and measures best adapted to the wants of a progressive community. His daily life illustrates the spirit of Christian- ity, without the badge of public profession or church membership. He is charitable, hospitable, kind and true-hearted. He has a secure place in the confidence and the affection of his neighbors, as well as an honorable position in his profession.
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WILLIAM H. GIBSON, late of Tiffin. William Harvey Gibson was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, May 16, 1821. His father, John Gibson, was of Scotch-Irish lineage, and his mother, Jeanette Coe, was a native of Washing- ton county, Pennsylvania, and the daughter of Sarah and Moses Coe. His grandfather, a native of England, settled in Scott county, Kentucky, where he died during the boyhood of his son John, who was afterwards apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade. The latter, after acquiring bis trade under the apprenticeship, drifted to western Pennsylvania and thence to Ohio, where he was married with Miss Coe. The farm which he owned and occupied for some time near Steubenville is now used for the Infirmary of Jefferson county. William H. Gibson was the tenth in a family of eleven children, five girls and six boys. When he was five months old the family removed to Seneca county and entered a tract of government land on Honey creek, near Melmore. The county had not yet been organized and the country was a wilderness. Facilities for education were found in the log-cabin school house with greased- paper windows, puncheon floor and backless seats. Young Gibson tapped this primitive fountain of knowledge eagerly and thirsted for more. He was placed under the private tutorage of Dr. D. A. Bates, of the village, and then spent two years in Ashland Academy, where he won the highest honors of his class for scholarship and debate. After leaving the academy he worked for a time at the carpenter's trade with his father, who was a general reader of books and a man of superior intelligence, earnestly desiring the advancement of his children and making personal sacrifice to promote their education. His house was the resort of itinerant preachers and pedagogues. In 1842 William Harvey Gibson began the study of law at Tiffin in the office of Abel Rawson and Rev. G. Pennington. He was admitted to the Bar in December, 1844, rose rapidly in his profession and soon ranked among the able practi- tioners. He was especially powerful as an advocate and in fact had few equals before a jury. Mr. Gibson won his position at the Bar and was firmly established in practice long before the Rebellion. His convictions on the sub- ject of slavery and his superior oratorical ability gave him prominence in poli- tics at an early period. He was a Whig and a delegate to the National con- vention of the party that nominated General Scott for President in 1852. He was among the leaders in organizing the Republican party and a delegate to the convention at Pittsburg in 1856, which effected the organization. He supported General Fremont for the Presidency. He participated in twelve presidential campaigns, speaking in fourteen different States, from Maine to Kansas and Tennessee. His fame as an orator always drew crowds and his services were eagerly sought for by his party. Personally he was one of the most genial and companionable of men. He was tall and lithe of form, of a sanguine temperament, smooth shaven, with a most pleasing countenance, gentle and tender-hearted as a child, never capable of saying or doing a harsh and unkind thing; rather suffered himself to be imposed upon than retaliate. He was generous to a fault, loved and cher- ished his family and friends, and next to them his greatest devotion was to his
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comrades of the War of the Rebellion. He lived at Tiffin from the time of entering the profession of law. In 1847 he married Miss Martha Matilda Creeger, of German Moravian extraction, a native of Graceham, Frederick county, Maryland, but a resident of Tiffin from 1831. Four children were born to them ; two sons and two daughters. The daughters only survive-Mrs. Ella G. Dildine, wife of D. P. Dildine, of Toledo, who was adopted as the daughter of the regiment at its organization at Camp Noble; and Jennie G., wife of George E. Bradfield, of Barnesville. Happy in the companionship of his family and the esteem of his friends, and prospering in business, he had no greater ambition than to serve his country in its various demands upon him as a citizen. More than that; when the booming of guns upon Sumter heralded the dread news to the unprepared Nation that the govern- ment was imperiled, he was ready to sacrifice all that was dear in life, and to die if needs be, for his country. Ohio's sons made a glorious record in the War of the Rebellion, but none left a finer record than William H. Gibson. His command was organized at Tiffin, under special authority of the secretary of war. On the 31st day of July, 1861, he received his commission from Governor Dennison to raise the 49th regiment, of which he was appointed colonel. It was principally recruited from neigh- bors and friends. It started September 10th for Camp Dennison, where it was equipped and left for Louisville, Kentucky, and on September 21st reported to General Robert Anderson, who had just been assigned to command there. It was the first organized body of troops to enter Kentucky from the north. It received an enthusiastic reception from the loyal citizens and became the nucleus of the far-famed fighting Army of the Cumberland. Colonel Gibson was proud of his nien and they loved him as a commander. He was able and discreet, kind to them, yet strict in discipline. He was frequently recom- mended for promotion by his superiors, Generals McCook, Buell, Lill, Johnson and Rosecrans. At Shiloh he commanded the brigade in the absence of Gen- eral R. W. Johnson, and received a bad bayonet wound. At Stone river, while in charge of the brigade after the capture of General Willich, he had two horses shot under him. He served two years and a half as brig- adier commander, as ranking officer, and sometimes as division commander. From the Ohio to the capture of Atlanta he was in all the marches and skir- mishes and battles of the Army of the Cumberland. He served under McCook at Shiloh, Johnson at Stone river and Tullahoma, and under Wood in all the battles from Chattanooga to Atlanta. No part of the regiment ever faltered or failed in any duty assigned it. Its gallantry under fire and its efficiency were at all times marked, and it was conspicuous in most of the great battles of the West. The distinction of losing the largest number of men killed in battle belonged to the late W. H. Gibson's regiment, the gallant 49th Ohio, viz., fourteen officers and one hundred and ninety-eight men killed in battle. General Gibson was mustered out on expiration of his term, September 5, 1864, and brevetted brigadier general March 13, 1865. Brilliant as was his career at the Bar and in public life, more noble was his service for his country
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in the army. General Johnson, in his Reminiscences of the War, speaks of him as " a fine gentleman, and one of the best stump speakers I ever heard. If any dissatisfaction outcropped in his regiment he would usually mount a barrel, or a stump, and with a ready flow of wit, clothed in the most beautiful language and expressed only as an orator could give it utterance, he would soon have the men in good humor and all satisfied." In public speaking he was plain and simple in his statements. His illustrations, though always striking, were taken from the common affairs of life. His oratory stirred alike the learned and unlearned, and was not modeled after any other known in history. He stirred the blood by exciting enthusiasm, appealing to sympathy and rea- son by matchless wit and good humor, always carrying with him the vast assemblage of people who flocked to hear him. In 1856 he was elected Treas- urer of State. He was appointed adjutant general of Ohio by Governor Charles Foster, whom he had placed in nomination at the State convention. After the war he returned to the practice of law and engaged largely in rail- roading, hoping thereby to better his town. He also platted the villages of Gibsonburg, Bairdstown and Payne. Governor J. B. Foraker appointed him on the board of canal commissioners, of which he served as president. In 1888 he was a delegate to the National convention at Chicago which nomi- nated Benjamin Harrison for President, and was appointed by him postmaster of Tiffin, which position he held until his death. It was as an orator in later life that he towered above his compeers, and he was known from ocean to ocean, politically and upon the lecture platform. His famous lectures, "Along the Lines" and "Our Century," were exceedingly popular. Yet it was with the comrades of the G. A. R. at their campfires that he was most appreciated, on account of his happy faculty in relating reminiscences so stirring to the memory of the old soldier. After the death of his only sur- viving son in 1878 he, with his family, united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, when license to preach without a charge was conferred upon him, and from that time he was in great demand at church dedications and camp- meetings, and was a consistent Christian to the day of his death. About July, 1894, General Gibson's health began to fail. Hardships endured in the army left their lingering and destroying effects in his system, and in spite of all that loving friends could do the vital spark grew dimmer until on the 22nd of November, 1894, his gentle spirit took its flight. As the shadows of evening were falling upon the earth the tolling of bells announced the sad intelligence to the citizens that the old hero, whom all loved and honored, had passed to that bourne whence, he often said when speaking to the comrades on Decora- tion Days, his spirit would look down upon them while strewing flowers upon the graves of those who had answered the last roll-call.
lewart
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GIDEON TABOR STEWART, Norwalk. Mr. Stewart was born at Johns- town, New York, on the 7th day of August, 1824, and was named after Judge Gideon Tabor. He is descended from sturdy Scotch-Irish ancestors, both paternal and maternal. His father, Thomas Ferguson Stewart, was a con- tractor and builder at Schenectady, New York, where his mother, Elizabeth Ferguson Stewart, daughter of Dr. Thomas Ferguson, of Stewartstown, Ire- land, opened the first English school and academy, which continued under her auspices until it was merged in Union College. She was well educated and a very successful teacher, attracting pupils from all parts of the State, some of whom became prominent in its early history, one of them being Governor Yates. His mother, Petreshe Hill, was a daughter of the distinguished divine and Revolutionary patriot, Rev. Nicholas Hill. The Hill family came to Sche- nectady from Londonderry, Ireland, at about the beginning of the eighteenth century. Henry Hill, grandfather of Petreshe, was a prominent citizen of Schenectady, and for his patriotic utterances was arrested and so cruelly mal- treated and tortured by the British soldiers that he died in less than a year after, near the beginning of the Revolution. Inspired by his patriotism, and to avenge his death, his two youthful sons, Nicholas and Harry, entered the second New York regiment. They were with Washington at Valley Forge and Yorktown and remained until his army was disbanded in 1783. Then, for the first time, they returned to Schenectady. Nicholas, completing his studies, entered the Christian ministry. He lived on his beautiful plantation by the Mohawk to the advanced age of ninety years, greatly honored and beloved by his church and country. Petreshe Hill was sister of the celebrated lawyer, Nicholas Hill, Jr., who had the largest private law library and most lucrative practice of any lawyer in the United States. Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography says of him: " He was appointed State law reporter in 1841, and became one of the best special pleaders in the State, taking part in over three-fourths of the cases on the docket of the Court of Appeals during his active practice." At his death, in 1859, his life-size portrait, as standing in the act of addressing that court, was placed in its rooms by the Bar of the State. She was also sister of the eminent lawyer, John L. Hill, who was lead- ing counsel for the defense in the famous Tilton vs. Beecher case. She had four sons, who, following the example of her two brothers, sought the legal profession. The first was Merwin Hill, who graduated with honors at Union College, but died when preparing for the Bar. The second was James Fergu- son, who graduated at Oberlin College, went with early settlers to California, and was one of the oldest lawyers of San Francisco when he died, in 1893, leaving a son and grandson, who are worthy members of the Bar in that city. The third was Nicholas Hill, who was both scholar and lawyer, and acquired fame as an educator, being at the head of the principal institution in the State of Florida, at Quincy, where he died in 1858. The fourth was Gideon Tabor, whose mother died in his infancy. He was brought by his father to Oberlin College, but left before graduating to begin the study of law, which he did at Norwalk, Ohio, in the spring of 1842 in the office of Jairus Kennan, with
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