USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. I > Part 37
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SAMUEL ANDREW BOWMAN, late of Springfield. This eminent law- yer and jurist was born at Zanesville, Ohio, January 13, 1832, and died at Beatrice, Nebraska, December 19, 1895. His father, John Bowman, was a native of Germany, and his mother, Susan Bowman, a German-American, born in Ohio. His early education was obtained in the public schools of Zanes- ville ; later he entered Kenyon College, but finished his course at Wittenberg College, Springfield, graduating in 1852, in the second class from that insti- tution. He was educated with a view to the ministry, but finally decided on the law as a profession, and immediately after leaving school took up the study of law, with Jewett & O'Neil of Zanesville, completing his preparation with General Charles Anthony of Springfield. In 1854 he was admitted to the Bar and at once began practicing at Springfield. His natural ability and his equable inental poise attracted attention and his rise was rapid ; before reach- ing middle age he had attained a commanding position at the Bar of the State. His first business associate was General Sampson Mason, who invited him into the firm when Rodney Mason, his brother, retired from practice. The con- nection was a good one for Mr. Bowman, as it put him into a large practice,
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and it was a good one for Mr. Mason, as, it gave him an able assistant. This partnership continued until General Mason's death in 1870. His next partner- ship was with Judge Goode, and he was never thereafter without one or more partners, which the large business made a necessity. The style of the firm at different times was Goode, Bowman & Scott; Bowman, Pringle & Scott; Bow- man, Summers & Bowman ; and Bowman & Bowman. Until the death of the senior partner, the latter firm was composed of Samuel A. Bowman and his sons, Edmond O., John E. and Border. Early in his career he became known as a forceful man of strong parts and numbered among his clients some of the largest corporations in the State. He was attorney for the Little Miami Rail- road for thirty years, for the Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland many years, and for the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Indianapolis, now known as the " Big Four" Railroad. He had a very extensive practice in the State and Federal Courts, and tried many cases involving large sums of money. Between the years 1870 and 1885 his practice extended into several States, particularly in patent litigation. He was purely a lawyer, and his profession was his only ambition. His mind was a remarkable one. He seemed to grasp the salient points in a case almost by intuition. When satisfied that he was just in his contentions, he was a bold and fearless lawyer, and generally succeeded in gaining his point. Mr. Bowman was a close student both of nature and books. He possessed a mind of great natural vigor and strength, which was trained to its highest capacity by methodical study, reading and thought. He had the useful faculty of focusing his powerful mind on the subject before him and the ability to express his conclusions in a clear, concise, logical manner. He was absolutely incorruptible, honest alike to friend and foe. He was strong and aggressive; untiring in a cause, when he believed in it; always faithful and true to the interest of his clients. He would not do a mean thing, and abhorred deception in others. All of his learning in the law was at ready com- mand, which added to his effectiveness in argument and advocacy. Speaking of his position at the Bar of the State and in local circles, the president of the Clark county Bar association, among other things, said :
" Mr. Bowman was for many years the first citizen of Springfield, respected by all, loved by many, and greatly admired by those who knew him best. A man of great natural ability ; thoroughly educated in his youth ; with a clear, strong and brilliant mind, enriched by much knowledge acquired in many fields of literature and science ; noted for his perfect integrity, and a moral character without reproach ; and ardently devoted to the noblest of all the learned pro- fessions ; he was distinguished-and long deserved to be distinguished-as one of the best lawyers in Ohio. In a better locality for the exercise of his talents he would have acquired national fame as a lawyer. If ambition had led him into politics, he could easily have reached an exalted station in public life ; and professional honors of the highest order would not have been beyond his grasp."
His forty years' practice at the bar brought him high reputation and for his family a competence. As a citizen he was pre-eminently public-spirited, and his office was the rendezvous of the projectors of every public movement. He was practically the originator of such enterprises as Ferncliff Cemetery, the
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savings bank, the Associated Charities, the Springfield Seminary, in its present form, and the Gentlemen's Literary Club. He was a charter member of the cemetery board, drew up the articles of incorporation, and was a member of the board of directors from its formation to his death. The Associated Charities was particularly the creation of his heart and brain, and he was its lead- ing spirit until his retirement, on account of failing health. He was for a num- ber of years a director of Wittenberg College. In 1881 he purchased the Foos interest in the Second National Bank for the Messrs. Whitely, and was for a year or more a director and president of the bank. Mr. Bowman was married December 23, 1856, to Miss Adeline Ogden, of Springfield, who died July 5, 1895. They left six children, Edmond Ogden, John Elden and Border, of Springfield ; William H., of Beatrice, Nebraska ; Mrs. Laura Elder, of Indian- apolis, and Mrs. May Showell, of Dayton, Ohio. In politics Mr. Bowman was a Republican, in church relations a Presbyterian; but in all things a broad- minded and liberal citizen.
AUGUSTUS N. SUMMERS, Springfield. Judge A. N. Summers was born in Shelby, Richland county, Ohio, June 13, 1856. He is one of the nine chil- dren born to Rev. Daniel Summers and Louisa Hine, his wife. His father, a native of Pennsylvania, was educated for and is engaged in the ministry of the Lutheran church. His mother, a native of Illinois, and a woman of estimable character, died some years ago. He came to Springfield from Van- dalia, Montgomery county, Ohio, to enter Wittenberg College. He com- pleted its course of study, and graduated from that institution in the class of 1879, and received the degree of A. M. in 1881. Immediately after gradua- tion he began the study of law in the office of the late Samuel A. Bowman, who was then one of the ablest and most successful lawyers of Springfield and of the State, and upon his admission to the Bar in 1881 entered into partner- ship with him, under the style of Bowman & Summers. He was elected city solicitor of Springfield in 1885, and re-elected in 1887 and 1889. He was elected one of the judges of the Circuit Court for the second circuit in 1894 for the term of six years, and entered upon the discharge of his duties in Feb- ruary, 1895. He was married November 17, 1887, to Nellie Thomas, daughter of Honorable John H. Thomas. They have two sons, Thomas Bonser and Daniel. Judge Summers is a polished and scholarly gentleman, of refined tastes, strong native abilities and habitual diligence. He is an accomplished advocate and a thorough lawyer, amply qualified in every respect to discharge the duties of his high office, and is an honest and upright judge and a man of spotless integ- rity of character. He is a progressive, public-spirited citizen, enjoying the highest respect and esteem of all who know him.
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JACOB KREIDER MOWER, Springfield. Any history of the Clark county Bar for the last forty years that did not contain copious reference to Jacob K. Mower would not be a faithful record of the events as they transpired. Dur- ing the period of his practice at Springfield he has seen men of his own age, who were his colleagues in the early years of his professional life, rise like meteors and attract the attention of the millions; but it was rather by the dis- play of their peculiar genius than by the usual slow and painstaking methods of the lawyer. A man may by the delivery of a brilliant speech on the floor of Congress, or by the successful turn of a battle, become famous in a day ; but success at the Bar does not come that way. Of all the lawyers, living or dead, who have tried cases in the Clark county courts during the last half a century, there is no name that appears oftener than J. K. Mower. He is purely and only a lawyer ; has not used his profession as a stepping stone to political preferment. The only political office he ever held was that of county representative in the State legislature for one term, and that was not of his own seeking. He is one of the kind of lawyers whose devotion to the profes- sion inspires admiration. His clients place their interests in his hands with a feeling af absolute confidence that they will receive the best attention he is capable of giving them. His honesty is unquestioned, and his lawyer-like abilities are undisputed. He has built his reputation mainly as a trial lawyer. His judgment as to the value of evidence is discriminating. He has the happy faculty of getting the facts from the witnesses and knows where to stop, both in direct and cross examination. He is a pleasant speaker, logical and con- vincing, rather than brilliant ; his arguments have great weight with a jury. Like most of the men who have gained prominence in their profession, he was raised on a farm. His parents, George and Mary Mower, were natives of Pennsylvania, and our subject was born in Franklin county of that State, April 4, 1833. They came to Ohio when Jacob was but one year old and settled on a farm near the village of Ontario, in Richland county. The rudiments of his education were obtained in the district school near his home, and these were supplemented in later years at the Massillon high school. His collegiate education was obtained at the Ohio Wesleyan University and the Ohio Uni- versity at Athens. He was graduated from the latter in 1856, receiving the degree of A. B., and A. M. three years later. Soon afterwards he became superintendent of the Athens public schools, devoting his leisure to the study of law text-books. Later he entered the office of Leonidas Jewett, where he continued his studies until 1858, when he was admitted to the Bar. In December of the same year he took up his residence in Springfield and opened an office for the practice of his profession. He began alone, but later associ- ated with him a Mr. Rawlins, under the firm name of Mower & Rawlins, and this business relation continued five years. He never formed another profes- sional or business partnership until his son became associated with him. He served as city solicitor for two years, 1868 to 1870, and the next two years was in the State legislature as the representative of Clark county. He was for five years a member of the board of education of the city of Springfield, from
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1873 to 1878, and four years president of the same. Practically his profes- sional life has been unbroken since he opened his office. While he has not been a politician, he has always held firm and pronounced political convictions. He cast his first vote for the first Republican Presidential candidate, John C. Fremont, and has affiliated with that party ever since. His anti-slavery views he acquired by inheritance and education. His father was first a Whig, then a Republican and always an anti-slavery man. In the days when the " under- ground railroad" was kept in active operation, neither the youthful Jacob nor his more experienced father hesitated or refused to pilot the fleeing slaves from their home to Oberlin, where they were provided with a safe cover. Mr. Mower was married December 2, 1858, to Miss Eunice M. Rice, the intelligent and cultured daughter of Dabinus and Pamelia Hilberd Rice, of Amesville, Athens County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Mower have three children, two daugh- ters and one son. Mabel, the eldest, was graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan University with the class of 1882, and received the degree of A. B. Alice Mary took the same degree at Wittenberg College, Springfield, in the year 1884. Carl Kreider was graduated from the same institution in 1886, and after studying law in his father's office for three years, was admitted to the Bar in 1889. He is now the junior member of the firm of Mower & Mower.
WILLIAM JAMES GILMORE, Columbus. Judge Gilmore was born in Liberty (now Bedford City), Bedford county, Virginia, April 24, 1821. He was the son of Dr. Eli Gilmore and Clarissa Mosby Clayton. Both were natives of Virginia. The father became a prominent physician in the commu- nity in which he lived in Ohio; the mother was a sister of the Honorable Alex- ander M. Clayton, of Mississippi, for many years a member of the High Court of Errors and Appeals of that State. William Gilmore, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, moved from Virginia to Ohio in 1818, and was fol- lowed in 1825 by Dr. Gilmore and his family. They settled in Israel town- ship, Preble county, a community consisting then, as now, almost exclusively of Associate-Reformers, Covenanters and United Presbyterians of Scotch and Scotch-Irish descent. Here young Gilmore obtained such elementary education as was afforded by pioneer teachers in the log school house, and at Hopewell and Westfield academies. He began reading law in 1844 in the office of IIon- orable Thomas Millikin, at Hamilton, Ohio, and completed his studies with J. S. & A. J. Hawkins, in Eaton, Ohio. While prosecuting his studies he supported himself, as he had for some years before, by teaching school, clerk- ing, and as a farm laborer. IIe was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio at Columbus on the 8th day of December, 1847. With the exception of a portion of the first year after his admission, his office was located at Eaton; but his practice called him into all the surrounding counties, where he was known as a very successful lawyer. The public offices which Judge Gilmore held were all in the line of his profession. He was
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prosecuting attorney of Preble county for four years, 1852 to 1856; in 1857 he was appointed by the governor, and subsequently elected to fill a vacancy on the Common Pleas Bench, his term expiring in 1862 ; in 1866 he was again elected to the same position, and re-elected in 1871, serving until he entered upon his term as one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Ohio, in 1875. He retired from the Bench in 1880 and removed his residence to Columbus, where he continued in the successful practice of his profession until his death. He was president of the Ohio State Bar Association for the year 1885-86, and was, for a number of years prior to his death, by appointment of different governors, a trustee of Miami University, and also of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society. On September 7, 1848, he married S. Anne Rossman, daughter of William Rossman of Eaton, and two sons were the issue of this union. His wife died in 1885. Jackson H., the elder son, died in 1880. The venerable lawyer and jurist died August 9, 1896, at the residence of his sur- viving son in Columbus. Judge Gilmore did not confine his reading to the law ; it was varied and extensive, and what he read he could always call from the wonderful store-house of his memory. To a clear judgment, a quick per- ception and great caution, he was mainly indebted for the success that attended his legal career. He was an upright, modest and successful lawyer, an excellent judge, not only of the courts at nisi prius, but of the highest court of the State; a steadfast friend, a genial companion and a generous citizen. His merits and services and characteristics as a public servant and private citizen inspired the confidence and commanded the esteem and admira- tion of every one who had the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with him.
DAVID L. MEEKER, Greenville. Honorable David L. Meeker, who for nearly twenty years served as judge on the Common Pleas Bench, was born in Darke county, Ohio, July 18, 1827. His parents were David M. Meeker and Nancy Ann Miller. The former, a native of Newark, New Jersey, came to Ohio in 1802, when about ten years of age, and worked for a time in the brick- yards at Cincinnati. On reaching the age of manhood he became a farmer, and located first in Hamilton county, but soon afterward settled in Darke county when it was almost the extreme limit of frontier settlement. Here the remainder of his life was passed in the work of transforming the wilderness into a productive farm and by the assistance of his worthy helpmeet rearing a large family of children, who have honored his memory and added luster to the name. He died in 1852. Judge Meeker's boyhood was spent on the farm, where he became familiar with all of the hard work and discomfort of clearing the land and cultivating the soil when the rewards of agriculture, in money, were scarcely greater than the advantages offered for education. He attended the school in his native district a portion of each year, and enjoyed the limited amusements which the country afforded. The privations of pioneer life were more than offset by the helpfulness of neighbors and the genuine, unpretentious
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hospitality characteristic of log cabins and enterprising settlers. When suffi- ciently advanced in his studies he was employed in teaching the district school for several winters, and extended his studies to academic branches in the academy, which marked the progressive instincts of the people among whom he lived. While engaged in teaching he directed his course of reading with a view to entering the legal profession as soon as the opportunity offered. His pre- liminary study of the law was under the instruction of the late Judge Ebenezer Parsons, of Miami county, and he was admitted to the Bar in June, 1851. For almost a year thereafter he was travelling in the West, and it was not until 1853 that he settled in Greenville for the practice of his profession. The dis- cipline acquired by study and teaching, the habits of industry formed, and the close application to books, together with an excellent natural capacity, qualified him for success in the law. He made his way unaided among the attorneys of the county and soon established himself as a lawyer. In 1856 he was elected prosecuting attorney for the county and was re-elected in 1858, serving four years. His preference for the practice rather than the duties of public office was so pronounced that he yielded reluctantly to the solicitation of friends to accept even the judgeship. He persistently declined to permit the use of his name as a candidate for Congress, although he was frequently urged for that important position. In 1861 he was elected judge of the Com- mon Pleas Court of the First Subdivision of the Second Judicial District for a term of five years, but resigned after four years of service and was succeeded by Judge William Allen. Resuming the practice, he was permitted to con- tinue it without interruption until October, 1872, when he was appointed judge by Governor Noyes, on the unanimous recommendation and petition of the Bar in every county of the judicial district. This appointment was for the unexpired portion of the term to which Judge McKerny had been elected. His service on the Bench was so acceptable to all the people that he was chosen at the election next following to succeed himself without opposition. Both of the leading political parties nominated him, and the members of the Bar with- out dissent recommended his election. After this he was re-elected for two terms and declined a third because of failing health. It is given to few men to enjoy the public confidence to a degree that disarms all political opposition. The example of Judge Meeker is almost unique. Although a member of the Democratic party and a partisan, in the sense of supporting its principles and candidates, he was known to be so fair and impartial as to be uni- versally trusted by political adherents and adversaries alike. He was married June 18, 1857, to Miss Mary A. Deardoff, daughter of John Dcardoff, of Darke county, who bore him eight children, and died November 21, 1876. He was married again September 5, 1878, to Miss Jennie D. Crisler, of Eaton, Ohio, a woman of many accomplishments, who presided over his household with dig- nity and grace, assisting him to dispense the hospitality for which his home was noted. His tastes were essentially domestic, and he found the pleasures at home which somne men seek at the club. The time not necessarily devoted to business was spent in the society of his family and among the inspiring,
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renewing influences of home. One of the leading lawyers of the district has furnished a characterization of him substantially in the following terms: Judge Meeker filled a place in the history of this judicial district that is cred- itable to himself and honorable to the profession. A judge for a period of almost twenty years, he retired from the Bench with the highest respect of the profession and admiration of the public. He was always a close student, and when in practice was known as a hard working lawyer, and likewise a success- ful one. His greatest reputation, however, will rest on his work as a judge. His judgment was almost unerring. He possessed what is well termed a legal mind ; understood thoroughly the principles of the law ; was painstaking in his investigations, and accurate in his decisions. He was always fearless and impartial in the discharge of every duty. There has never been on the Bench in the history of this judicial district a judge who held the confidence of the profession and the public to a greater degree. His personal popularity was unbounded. Nature made him a gentleman, and he made himself a lawyer. One of the sources of his popularity was undoubtedly his unassuming manners, unfeigned cordiality, his fine sensibilities, and readiness to help his fellow men. Both in the relations of private citizenship and in public office, Judge Meeker's life was irreproachable. Not only was he an able jurist, but also a successful business man. He possessed one of the finest homes in the county, accumulated a competence and left a valuable estate. Judge Meeker died September 5, 1896, suddenly, at his home in Greenville. While at the supper table he was stricken with partial paralysis, which became complete a few minutes later, causing a painless death within three hours. The tributes to his character and worthiness, expressed in a memorial meeting of the Bar and in the funeral serv- ice, were hearty and sincere. They testified that he was not only an incorrupt- ible judge, but scrupulously, delicately and conscientiously free from all willful wrong, in thought, word or deed. His uniform kindness and patience to the younger members of the Bar were marked. In later years he was accus- tomed to recount for the edification of the young lawyers his own early strug- gles to secure success, the discouragements he encountered and the difficulties he had overcome. He was not a dreamer in any idle sense, but as a boy looked forward hopefully, spurred to his best endeavors by high aspirations. In a paper read at his funeral by Mr. D. W. Bowman, a former law partner, it is said that throughout a career of nearly half a century at the Bar and upon the Bench, the day dream of his boyhood, the cherished desire of his heart in youth, was never lost sight of, but kept in full view. With this noble longing for professional success he wore the judicial ermine for twenty years, and laid it aside as spotless as when it first touched his shoulders. He achieved a fame that posterity will not willingly let die. Judge Meeker's second marriage was without issue. All of his children by his first marriage survived him. They are as follows : Frank D., Greenville, in loan and real estate business, lately married to Emma Anderson, of Franklin; Sadie E., married to D. L. Gaskill, attorney at law, Greenville, a late partner of the deceased ; Walter S. Meeker, attorney at law, Greenville, late partner of the deceased, married to Minnie
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Lowry ; Mary C., married to J. R. Smith, druggist, Dayton ; Nan Meeker, Greenville, unmarried ; Verge G., married to W. H. Gilbert, attorney at law, Troy ; Alice M., married to A. R. Crawford, of Ventura, California, deputy clerk of the court ; Carrie W. Meeker, Greenville, unmarried.
FRANCIS MARION HAGAN, Springfield. Of the members of the Spring- field Bar who owe their prominence entirely to their acknowledged legal abil- ity must be classed Francis M. Hagan. He was born June 10, 1844, in Clark county, on a farm in Mad River township. His father, Hugh Hagan, was a native of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, born in 1803, and came to Ohio with his parents in 1815. The paternal grandfather of Francis M. was a native of County Monahon, Ireland, and was a Scotch-Irishman. He came to America in 1798 and settled in Pennsylvania. Seventeen years later, attracted by the fame of the Northwest Territory and Ohio, the first State erected therein, he pushed westward over the mountains with his family and established a home in the fertile valley of Mad River, Clark county. The subject of this sketch may rightfully claim Ohio citizenship, also by inher- itance. His mother, Anna Furay, who was of French-Irish extraction, was a native of the State, born in Ross county, October 13, 1816, lived until 1892 and died in Clark county. Mr. Hagan obtained his early education in the common and select schools of his native township. His youthful ambition was to become a lawyer and his efforts to obtain a collegiate and legal training were unremitting until the object was accomplished. He was for some years a student in Antioch College, at Yellow Springs, but before he had completed the course his health failed and he was compelled to retire. The years of his early manhood were spent in teaching and reading law, never for a day losing sight of his guiding star. He was admitted to the Bar in 1873 and the next year began the practice of his profession at Springfield. In acquiring his legal education Mr. Hagan had not been satisfied with a superficial knowledge, but had been a hard student and had so thoroughly mastered the elementary principles of law that when he began practice he soon established such a repu- tation for marked legal acumen as to place his name among the leaders of the Clark county Bar while he was yet a comparatively young man. He has not been ambitious for political honors, as his profession lias been and is his ambi- tion. The places of trust he has filled have not been used as stepping stones to higher honors, but rather as means to increase his useful and practical legal knowledge. He has never occupied any office outside of his profession, with one exception, for a short time, though he has occupied a number of places of honor and trust in the line of his practice, and in every one of them he has maintained himself in such a manner as to gain a higher place in the public estimation. He was elected city solicitor in 1879, and so fruitful of good results for the city was his administration that he was again elected to the same office in 1883, and in that election received the unqualified endorsement
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