USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. I > Part 58
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prominent in his profession, recognized and honored as a public-spirited, citizen and a leader in his community. In politics he is a Democrat, and though he has helped many others to get into office, he has never accepted office for himself outside his profession. He has, however, held many positions of trust without remuneration. He was for a number of years a member of the board of education of the union schools, serving for five years as president of the board. He served on the military staff of Governor George Hoadly from 1884 to 1886, with the rank of colonel, and rendered important services during the Cincinnati riots of 1885. He was also an important member of Governor Campbell's staff, ranking as formerly, under Governor Hoadly, from 1890 to 1892. He was for a number of years, by appointment of Supreme Court, a member of the board of commissioners for examination of candidates for admission to the Bar. He is prominent in fraternal circles, being one of the widest known Masons in the State. In that order he is now and has been Worshipful Master of Pickaway Lodge No. 23, Free and Accepted Masons, is M. E. High Priest of Circleville Chapter No. 20, Royal " Arch Masons, and is serving in that capacity for the twenty-second year. Has been thrice Illustrious Master of Tyrian Council No. 60, Royal and Select Masters, and Eminent Commander of Scioto Commandery No. 35, Knights Templar. Was Grand Master of the Grand Council of Royal and Select Master for three years, declining a re-election. In Scottish Rite Masonry, has attained the thirty-second degree. Has been Grand Dictator of the Knights of Honor of Ohio and was thrice representative to the Supreme Lodge. He is also Past Chief Patriarch of the order of Odd Fellows, and is an active member of the Presbyterian Church. He was married December 14, 1865, to Miss Jennie R., daughter of Major Z. R. Martin, a prominent cit- izen of Circleville. They have three children, Florence B., Jennie B., and Marguerite B. The judge has gained a handsome competence and resides with his family in one of the most tasteful and elegant homes in the city. Referring to his standing in his profession and as a citizen, one of the well known members of the Pickaway county Bar remarked : "Judge Courtright is a very successful lawyer and has a very large practice, which is a general one and reaches all the courts of the State; he is able both as a trial and as a chancery lawyer ; he is quick to grasp the facts in a case and is accurate in his judgment ; he is strongest possibly as a trial lawyer. Before a jury he is very effective ; in his addresses he is both eloquent and logical and builds up a con- vincing argument. He is thoroughly reliable, and one of the things that have contributed to his large clientage is the perfect candor and fairness with which he has treated all who approach him for legal advice. As an attorney he stands high in his profession and has the confidence and respect of his brethren in the practice wherever he is known."
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JULIUS C. POMERENE, Coshocton. A study of the early history of the members of the Bench and Bar of Ohio who have succeeded in practice and risen to prominence in their profession discloses the interesting fact that the majority of them were reared on a farm. Honorable Julius C. Pomerene, one of the judges of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, belongs to that class whose theo- retical and practical education went hand in hand. He alternated his boyhood days between his text-books in the district school and practical lessons in industry and management of his father's farm. He was born on the farm in Holmes county, June 27, 1835. His parents were Julius and Elizabeth (Piersol) Pomerene, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of French and the latter Welsh descent. The founders of the American branch of the family earned their title to citizenship by personal service in the war for independence. Julius Pomerene, the grandfather of the judge, came to America as a soldier in the army of General La Fayette, and participated in the glorious results which followed the advent of the army in the struggle. He married and settled in Pennsylvania, where he lived until his death, in 1795, and where his posterity resided until Judge Pomerene's father removed with his family to Holmes county, Ohio, in 1819, and settled on the tract of land where he spent the remainder of his days, leading the useful and independent life of an agri- culturist. He died in 1863. Julius attended the district school and assisted with the work on the farm until he reached the age of seventeen, when he entered Mount Union College, where he remained for two years. He did not have the means to take an uninterrupted course through college. He spent his summers and vacations at work on the farin, teaching and attending school during the fall and winter. He thus spent one year at the Haysville Academy, afterwards engaging in teaching. He followed the educational work for an aggregate of about three years. In 1857 he took up the study of law in the office of Hoagland & Reed, leading attorneys of the Holmes county Bar, at Millersburg, and continued for one year, when he entered the Ohio State and Union Law College, at Cleveland, from which he was graduated in June, 1859. In November of the same year he began the practice of his profession at Coshocton, which he continued in an unbroken series of years until he was elected to the Circuit Court Bench in 1892. His first partnership was with Colonel Josiah Given, now one of the judges on the Supreme Bench of Iowa. This connection continued until the breaking out of the Civil War. After practicing alone for about eighteen months, he formed an association with Benjamin S. Lee, maintaining the relation for six years, when the firm was dissolved. His next partner was Etherington T. Spangler, a partnership that remained in effect for fifteen years. On the dissolution of this copartnership Mr. Pomerene continued the practice alone until 1886, when he took his eldest son, William R., into the business. This arrangement continued until January 1, 1893, when he entered upon his duties as judge. In the thirty-three years Judge Pomerene was in the active practice at the Coshocton county Bar, he gained the confidence and respect of the public in that secton of the State ; built up a clientage that was lucrative, eminently respectable in its character,
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and created a high reputation for legal acumen. Referring to his standing in the profession and as a citizen, a prominent practitioner of the Coshocton Bar observed :
"There is not a man in Coshocton county who is more highly respected as a citizen than Judge Pomerene. He is a gentleman both by nature and education. He is upright in his intercourse with his fellow citizens, and has a thorough appreciation of the rights of others. He is a man of firm convictions, though not dogmatical in enforcing his views on others. He is open, frank and sincere in his manners, and has the confidence and esteem of all those who come to know him well. As a lawyer he has long been one of the foremost at this bar. He is conscientious with his clients and is regarded as a safe counsellor. He had a large practice before he went on the Bench, which was of a general nature, though he had more chancery practice, perhaps, than business in open court. He is recognized as one of the best read lawyers in this section of the State, and is eminently qualified for the judicial ermine."
Judge Pomerene has honored his profession and his profession has hon- ored him. When, in 1892, he was nominated by the Democratic party as their candidate for one of the judges of the Fifth Judicial District, the selection was at once recognized as one of peculiar fitness, and he received the actual or qui- escent endorsement of all other political parties in every county in the district. This compliment to his worth and ability appears in a much stronger light after the fact is known that both his colleagues on the Circuit Bench are of opposite political faith. Concerning his characteristics as a judge, said an old and able practitioner of the central Ohio Bar :
" Judge Pomerene is an able jurist. He is adapted by nature and educa- tion for a judge. He has an equitable mind, and is well grounded in the prin- ciples of the law. He is clear and concise in his statements of questions of law, and eminently just in his decisions. He is conservative and safe rather than brilliant, and his judgment has been well sustained by the Supreme Court. The purity of his life, the honesty of his purpose, and his close adherence to the practice of law, to the exclusion of everything else since he entered the profession, are other elements of his character that have raised him in the esteem of the members of the Bar in the district. He has maintained himself well in the position of judge and fully met the expectations of those who placed him there."
In his political faith Judge Pomerene is Democratic, though he has never been conspicuous in party politics. He was a member of the board of educa- tion for ten years. He was married in 1862, to Miss Irene Perky, daughter of Dr. John F. and Julia Perky, of Hancock county, Ohio. They have three children-William R., Frank E. and Helen. William R. was born March 19, 1864. He received his primary education in the public schools of Coshocton, graduating from the high school in the class of 1879. He then entered Woos- ter College, but finished the course at the Ohio State University, at Columbus. He studied law for one year in his father's office, after which he entered the Law School of the Cincinnati College, from which he was graduated in 1886. He was admitted to the Bar the same year, and entered on the practice of law at once, in partnership with his father, under the firm name of J. C. & W. R. Pomcrene. This association continued until the senior, member of the firm
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went on the Circuit Court Bench. He was alone in the practice thereafter until 1895, when his brother came into the business. Frank E. Pomerene was born March 25, 1868. He was graduated from the Coshocton high school in 1885, and from the Ohio State University in 1891. He read law in the office of W. R. Pomerene for two years, and graduated from the Law Department of the Ohio State University in 1895. He was admitted to the Bar in June, 1895. He began the practice of his profession at once in partnership with his brother, and is now the junior member of the firm of Pomerene & Pomerene. The young men are maintaining themselves well in their practice, and are highly spoken of by the profession.
PALMER C. SMITH, Circleville. Mr. Smith is a native of New York, where he was reared until he reached his majority. He was born near Whites- town, in Oneida county, July 31, 1823. His parents were Joseph O. and Harriet (Cone) Smith, both natives of New York and of English extraction. Both families were also early settlers, coming to America in colonial days. Our subject traces his ancestry back to Plymouth Rock and the good ship Mayflower, hence comes of the real pioneer stock. Mr. Smith's parents were agriculturists and he was raised on a farm and received a good academic edu- cation, working on the farm in the summer season and attending school in the winter. On attaining his majority he came to Ohio, stopping first at London, where he obtained a position as teacher in the public schools. He followed this avocation for two years, occupying his leisure hours in fitting himself for the legal profession in the office of his brother-in-law, Honorable H. W. Smith, of London. He was admitted to the Bar December 1, 1846, at the old Supreme Court House in Columbus. He entered on the practice of his profession the following spring at Circleville, where he has been in continuous practice ever since. In 1849 he formed a partnership with Judge Jones, who later removed to Delaware, Ohio. This connection continued until 1856. Early in his career Mr. Smith took rank with the leading attorneys of the county, and though lie did not affiliate with the party in power he was twice elected to the office of city solicitor, and once elected prosecuting attorney of Pickaway county in the earlier years of his practice. He has the distinction of being the oldest practicing attorney in Pickaway county, and among the best all around lawyers in this section of the State. He is purely a lawyer and has a high appreciation of his profession, and has never slighted it to engage in any other calling or avoca- tion. His practice is general and he has a very large clientage both in court and chancery practice, and reaches all the courts of the State and in the District and Supreme Court of the United States. He is an easy and graceful speaker, cautious, logical and convincing before a court or jury, and has the reputation of always being fair in the treatment of his opponents. The present firm of Smith & Morris was formed June, 1877. Despite his seventy-four years, Mr. Smith is one of the most active attorneys at the Circleville Bar, and has the
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appearance of a man many years younger. He is sprightly as a man of fifty and has the same easy bearing, jovial disposition and entertaining manners that made him a favorite both in the profession and out of it forty years ago. In his political principles Mr. Smith is a Republican, and as he is a man of positive convictions on any subject, is naturally of the stalwart kind, and has been an active worker at times in support of his party. He has repeatedly been chosen chairman of the county executive committee and many times dele- gate to State conventions. He was married December 14, 1858, to Miss Sarah Osborn, a native of Columbus, and daughter of Ralph Osborn, one of the early settlers of Circleville, and for nearly seventeen years auditor of State. Three daughters are the fruits of this union. Said one of the leading practi- tioners of the Circleville Bar, referring to Mr. Smith's standing in the pro- fession :
" Mr. Smith belongs to that class of lawyers who have always been an honor to the profession. He has not belittled it by turning aside for honors in any other calling. He is a man of scholarly attainments, has always been a close student of current literature as well as of his law books. He has one of the finest law libraries in the county and is recognized as one of the best read lawyers at this Bar. He has stood in the front rank at this Bar for many years and has a large and lucrative practice. He is a good all round lawyer, but is strongest perhaps as a trial lawyer, and as such we have no better in this section of the State. Ile is quick to perceive both the strong and weak points in a case, and is an adept in bringing out the weaknesses of his oppo- nents, though he never stoops to take a mean advantage. He is both strong and impressive before a jury, and is a successful attorney. Personally he is one of the most companionable of men. He is an entertaining conversation- alist, possesses a large fund of humor and a word of cheer for everybody he meets, either in his office or on the street. He has the respect and esteem of the profession, and no man is held in greater respect by the public than is Palmer C. Smith."
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THOMAS A. LOGAN, Cincinnati. Thomas Ackley Logan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 25, 1829. He is the son of Cornelius Ambrosius Logan and Elizabeth Ackley Logan, who were the parents of a family remarkable for its intellectual and artistic achievements. The father had been educated for the priesthood, but after a varied experience as a sea- man, editor and dramatic writer, he became an actor, in which profession, both in tragedy and comedy roles, he was very successful. He wrote several popu- lar plays and a celebrated defense of the stage, as well as various tales and poems. His son, a brother of Thomas, was a distinguished physician, writer and editor, and also minister of the United States to Chili, Guatemala and again to Chili. The daughters were Eliza, Olive and Celia, the two former being celebrated actresses, and Olive and Celia both well known writers. Thomas A. Logan prepared himself in early life to engage in business, but Judge Key, of the Commercial Court of Cincinnati, was attracted to him by his clear testimony in an equity case pending in his court and induced the
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parents to train the boy for the Bar. He studied in the office of the late Timothy Walker, and was so successful in his preparation that he took the first honors of his class at the Cincinnati Law College. General Win- field Scott presented his diploma to him in a very congratulatory speech. He was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of Ohio April 9, 1851, and of the United States Court in October, 1885. After his admission to the Bar he remained a year in Judge Walker's office, which he left to assume the duties of the office of city prosecuting attorney, to which he had been elected by the people. He resumed the practice at the expiration of his term and has held no other public office. At the outset of his career he imbibed from Judge Walker a strong belief in codifica- tion and for many years was an earnest advocate of the code system as dis- tinguished from the old common law procedure, contributing a number of articles on the subject to the old Western Law Monthly and other kindred publications. He has always taken great interest in all methods of law reform tending to introduce simpler forms of practice and to free his profession from the bane of technicalities. His early experience gave him an excellent com- mand of criminal law and in later life he gave a great deal of attention and study to insurance and commercial law, and the law relating to wills. To fit himself for a more thorough understanding of causes involving mental capacity and the questions of sanity, he took a complete course in medicine and anatomy and is such an expert in handling cases of this character that his services have been called for from many parts of the country. He is a very fluent talker, has a fine physical presence and has always been regarded as a very powerful advocate. Mr. Logan is an enthusiastic student of natural history and partic- ularly of ichthyology. He was one of the founders of the Cuvier Club, whose purpose is the preservation and protection of game, and was for many years the corresponding secretary of the club. He has been a member of the exec- utive committee on law of the International Association for Protecting Fish and Game, and president of a similar State organization for Ohio. In 1853 he married Jennie, daughter of Captain Joseph Thornton, one of the old resi- dents of Cincinnati. To them were born three children, of whom George W. Logan, an ensign in the navy of the United States, alone survives. Mr. Logan married a second time Mary Nichols, of Boston, Massachusetts, whose family is one of the oldest in New England.
ALEXANDER BOTKIN HUSTON, Cincinnati. If it was true of the subject of this sketch, as has been said of a certain great man once in office, that " we love him for the enemies he has made," our estimate of him would be overshadowed by the overwhelming confidence, love and esteem he enjoys among his fellows, especially among the members of the Bar with whom he has associated as lawyer and judge since 1854. In his character we find an unusual depth of thought, breadth of learning, a reverence for truth, morality
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and right, a love for domestic life and the society of his family ; he delights in the association of friends, enjoys keen humor and reads Shakespeare as a literary dessert after the day is done. He is "to the manner born," indeed ; a son of Paul C. and Esther Phillips Huston, who resided at his birth, December 7, 1829, in Colerain township, Hamilton county, Ohio. He comes from sturdy stock. His ancestors on his father's side were Scotch-Irish ; on his mother's, English. His great-grandfather, John Huston, emigrated from County Antrim, Ireland, in colonial times and settled in Berks county, Penn- sylvania. He was a soldier in the war for independence and was killed, or died from the effects of exposure, at the battle of Brandywine. His grand- father, Paul Huston, with two brothers, Samuel and David, came to Cincinnati in 1794, with but $150 in silver, for which he was offered large tracts of land in and near the town, but like many others, he preferred to push out into the wilderness, and following the trail of General St. Clair's army he located on a large tract of land in Hamilton county, near its northern boundary, erecting thereon a frontier log cabin (that gave way in 1834 to a substantial brick house, which has been the family homestead ever since), in which the subject of this sketch was born; and to this day the neighborhood is known as the " Huston Settlement," in honor of his grandfather, father and brothers, who constituted in large measure the citizenship of that community. What is now known as the Cincinnati and Hamilton turnpike was for many years designated " Huston Road." Paul C. and Esther Huston lived together fifty-four years. To them ten children were born, seven sons and three daughters, the fourth in the order of birth being Alexander B. Huston. His early boyhood was spent on the farm and in attendance at the township school, where his love for books asserted itself, and his ambition to attain knowledge was his pre-eminent char- acteristic. He began the studies of Latin and French in the district school, and in his fourteenth year entered Cary's Academy, which during his term became Farmers' College. Associated with him were ex-President Harrison, Bishop Walden, Murat Halstead, Honorable Lewis B. Gunckle and the Nixon brothers of the Chicago Inter Ocean. He was graduated in his eighteenth year, having remained in school one year longer than necessary on account of his youth. Three years later he received his A. M. degree, and subsequently became a director in the college. As a student he was equally pro- ficient in mathematics and the classics, preferring the latter. In 1848 he began the study of law, clerking during the day in the office of County Clerk Edward C. Roll, and later as chief deputy under James McMasters. He was admitted to the Bar in 1852, and after a lapse of two years began the practice of his profession, in which he has attained marked distinction both as lawyer and judge. In 1856 lie formed a partnership with Edwin D. Dodd, whichi continued to 1864 as Dodd & Huston. Following the death of Mr. Dodd he was executor of his estate, in the execution of which trust he was associated with Judge Patrick Mallon, who says of him, " Mr. Huston was a diligent, careful and painstaking lawyer and an honest and upright man." From 1866 to 1875 he was associated in
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practice with C. K. Shunk, and from 1881 to 1884 he was a partner of John R. Holmes, as Huston & Holmes. In politics he is a Jacksonian Democrat ; always taking an active interest in party affairs and frequently being honored with nominations for office from its conventions ; first, in 1881, for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, but with his entire ticket was defeated ; again, in 1884, he was nominated for judge of the Circuit Court and again defeated with his ticket. In October of the same year, however, a vacancy occurred on the Common Pleas Bench, to which Governor Hoadley appointed Judge Hus- ton, who at once assumed the duties of the office. In the fall of 1885 he was unanimously nominated by his party for the same position and was elected by a handsome majority, evidencing his popularity as a judge. In the fall of 1886 he was renominated unanimously to succeed himself, but was defeated with his party. His term expired February 9, 1887. In 1893 he was endorsed by the Independent Citizens' Party and placed on its ticket for Common Pleas judge, without his consent, which nomination he declined. In law he had the advantage of study and training under both the common law practice and the civil code, and throughout, his professional career has been methodical, earnest, conscientious ; characterizing his professional life with a high regard for his associates at the Bar. As a judge he was kind and gentle; he listened with patience to the arguments of counsel, diligently and carefully examined the merits of every case at issue before him, considered and weighed, with the single purpose of being just, every authority presented, and formed his deci- sions upon foundations of law, that to him at least were incontrovertible. As a consequence his decisions were generally sustained by the reviewing courts. Finally, as a lawyer and judge he is the embodiment of honesty of purpose, has a keen, discriminating, logical mind, a quick perception and grasp of legal principles, and a very high sense of the responsibilities of his profession. " A case well prepared is more than half won," summarizes his professional life in his own favorite saying. He was married December 27, 1871, to Alice M. Griswold of Toledo, Ohio, a direct descendant of Revolutionary stock. Her great-grandfather on her mother's side, Roger Welles, was a friend of Washing- ton and served on the staff of General La Fayette. Three children bless their home, the eldest Paul Griswold, born June 22, 1873, a graduate from Wood- ward High School and also of Princeton University, where he is now taking a post-graduate course, studying for the Ph. D. degree; Francis Phillips, born May 18, 1879, and Alice Welles, born June 5, 1884. His home evidences the rare accomplishments of his wife, ornamented with exquisite carvings of her execution ; a cabinet filled with rare editions of Shakespeare tells the story of his love for the play. Other cabinets loaded with hundreds of specimens of minerals and fossils indicate his love for the abstract in nature. In his early manhood he took a great interest in Masonry, in which he attained the honor of having conferred upon him the thirty-third degree. He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is a litterateur of great scope of reading, and enjoyed, prior to the loss of his voice in 1874, which was, however, recovered in about three years, a more than local reputation for his dramatic delineation of char-
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