USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. I > Part 60
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Vance, the distinguished surgeon, of Cleveland, Ohio, was a brother of the colonel. Colonel Vance has been president of the board of trade since 1889 ; was permanent chairman of the Ohio River Improvement Convention-embrac- ing delegations from six States-held at Cincinnati, in October, 1895, and is the president of the Ohio Valley Improvement Association, which organiza- tion was the result of the convention. He is largely interested in other enterprises of a business character. A life-long friend of Colonel Vance, who is a prominent attorney at Gallipolis, says of him that he is well qualified by study for the law, but was moved by the spirit of the times immediately following his graduation from the law school, and thus turned out of the channel which he had marked out for himself. His brilliant war record was of great assistance in securing the majority which he received when a candi- date for Congress. As a speaker he is plain but interesting in style, and since his return from Congress has been very active in public matters for the bene- fit of the people. He has done more than any other man of his years to promote the interests of this section. He made a good record in Congress. and has uniformly held the confidence of the people of the community. He is one of the most genial of men, takes a lively interest in the welfare of the Grand Army, giving his ear and purse to worthy comrades and all proper objects. Although the busiest man in town, he always gives attention to persons who call, and under all circumstances manifests the courtesy of a gen- tleman. He is frequently called upon to address public assemblies in various parts of the State and is always ready to speak in an emergency, thus evidenc- ing the possession of unusual resources. Had his time been devoted to pro- fessional practice with the same assiduity exhibited in his business affairs, he would undoubtedly have attained high standing and distinction at the Bar. Another prominent lawyer says, he has been very active in all matters per- taining to public affairs, and is a very brave, energetic man.
JOSEPH B. FORAKER, Cincinnati. Honorable Joseph Benson Foraker, now a senator of the United States, was born near Rainsborough, in Highland county, Ohio, on July 5, 1846. His father was Henry S. Foraker, whose fam- ily had moved to the State of Ohio from Delaware because of their bitter opposition to the slave labor prevalent in the latter State. His mother was a daughter of David Reese, who left Virginia in 1802 also on account of his detestation of slavery. When barely sixteen years of age he enlisted as a private July 14, 1862, in Company A of the Eighty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regiment immediately went into active service. Foraker was made second lieutenant January 24, 1863. Late in the summer of this year he was sent into Ohio on recruiting service, and was on this duty when his regi- ment did such hard fighting and suffered such terrible losses at Chickamauga. HIe reached Chattanooga the night before the charge of Mission Ridge, enter- ing his regiment as it was going into battle ; instantly took command of his
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company, leading it in the charge, and being the first man in the regiment over the enemy's works. He was made first lieutenant February 1, 1864. He served with the Eighty-ninth at Dalton in the Rocky Face charge, against Atlanta, and in the battles of Buzzard Roost, Resaca, Burnt Hickory, Peach Tree Creek, Hoover's Gap, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Ringgold, Ken- esaw Mountain, Entoy Creek, Averysboro and Bentonville. After the fall of Atlanta he was detailed for service in the signal corps and assigned to duty as a signal officer on the staff of Major General Slocum, commanding the left wing of the army of Georgia. After the marches through Georgia and the Carolinas, he was promoted brevet captain of the United States Volunteers, and assigned to duty as aid-de-camp on General Slocum's staff, which position he held until the close of the war, being mustered out June 13, 1865. At the conclusion of the war, young Foraker returned to his studies, which for a short time he pursued at Salem Academy in Ross county. He spent two years at the Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, and then went to Cornell, gradu- ating in the classical course and in the first class, July 1, 1869. Governor For- aker has always been fond of his Alma Mater, and has taken great pride in the fact that he was the first of Cornell's children to give to her a student of the second generation, his son Benson graduating there in the class of 1893. While at college, Governor Foraker was a hard student, taking a very high stand to make up the time lost in his studies while in the army, and at the same time he read law. Upon leaving college he entered the law office of Judge James Sloane in Cincinnati, and was admitted to the Ohio Bar October 14. 1869, and entered at once upon the practice of his profession. On October 4, 1870, he married Julia A. P. Bundy, the daughter of Hezekiah S. Bundy, recently deceased, at that time a resident of Jackson county, Ohio, and for several terms a member of Congress, and an intimate friend of Lincoln. Cap- tain Foraker had met his bride while she was a student at the Ohio Wesleyan College at Delaware, where she graduated in the class of 1868. From this union have come five children, two sons and three daughters. Foraker gave close attention to his profession, and soon impressed his fellow citizens with his ability and his high character, eventually securing a fine practice. In 1878, Judge John Baxter, of the United States Circuit Court, appointed Foraker to the position of chief supervisor of elections for the Southern District of Ohio, being selected as a " worthy, honorable and true man in every respect." His performance of the duties of this delicate and responsible position won for him the respect and confidence of the best people of all parties, and as a result he was given the nomination in 1879 for the judgeship of the Superior Court of Cincinnati, a position he held for three years, resigning by reason of ill health May 1, 1882. His associates on the Bench at that time were Judson Harmon, the late attorney-general of the United States, and General Manning F. Force, constituting a court that has always commanded the admiration and respect of the Bar of the State. Judge Foraker's success as an impartial expounder of the law was of the most pronounced character, but it was his excessively painstaking methods and unceasing hard work that made his resig-
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nation imperative by reason of its effect upon his health. This conclusion reached by him from the strong conviction that he could not retain a position to which he could not give his fullest energy was the cause of universal regret and remonstrance' on the part of the Bar and the community, regardless of all party affiliations. His associates on the Bench and the leaders of the Bar, as well as the public press, endeavored to dissuade him from taking the course which alone his conscience justified. He was succeeded, by appointment by the governor, by Judge William Worthington. After recovering his health, he resumed the practice of the law in Cincinnati. In 1883 he was nomi- nated by the Republican party to be their candidate for governor of the State, his Democratic opponent being his friend, Judge Hoadly. His nomination was the natural result of the widespread confidence and esteem of the people who knew him, and was received with great enthusiasm, even his political opponents testifying to his worth and character. He made a vigor- ous and creditable campaign, receiving more votes than were received by any previous Republican candidate, but was defeated. He was chosen as a dele- gate to the National Republican Convention in Chicago in 1884, and as chair- man of the Ohio delegation, presented the name of John Sherman as a candidate for the Presidency. His speech was admirably received, and made him at once a prominent figure in the convention. He was spoken of as a suit- able vice-presidential nominee, an honor to which, however, he did not aspire. In 1885 he was again nominated for the governorship, and this time was successful in defeating Governor Hoadly, for the second time his opponent. He was re-elected in 1887, defeating Thomas E. Powell, of Columbus, the nominee of the Democratic party. In 1888 he was again the chairman of the Ohio delegation in the National Republican Convention at Chicago, and for the second time presented the name of John Sherman, seconding his nomina- tion for Ohio. In 1889 he was for the fourth time nominated for the governor- ship, but was defeated by James E. Campbell, of Hamilton. At the expiration of his term of office in January, 1890, he returned to the practice of the law in Cincinnati, and at once took a leading position at the Bar, acting as counsel for a number of important corporations, and appearing in many of the most important causes before the courts of the State and the United States. In 1892 he was the candidate of a large section of his party for the senatorship from Ohio in succession to John Sherman, but Mr. Sherman was able to gain the caucus nomination and subsequent election. In 1892 he was again a delegate to the National Republican Convention at Minneapolis, and served in that body as chairman of the committee on resolutions. After retiring from the governorship, he took an active part in each political campaign, and in 1895 the Republican State Convention of Ohio, at Zanesville, unanimously endorsed him as the party candidate for United States senator to succeed Calvin S. Brice on March 4, 1897. In the State contest of 1895, the United States senatorship was one of the issues of the campaign, and as a result the legislature that was elected was overwhelmingly Republican, and Foraker was chosen senator in January, 1896. At the Republican National Conven-
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tion in St. Louis, in 1896, he was again chairman of the committee on resolu- tions, and for Ohio placed Mr. Mckinley in nomination as the candidate for the Presidency. In his service in the army, in politics and at the Bar, Governor Foraker has been distinguished for his courage, fearlessness, aggressiveness, untiring energy and uniform courtesy. He is a singularly handsome man, with a remarkably pleasing manner that charms friends and foes alike. He is remarkable for the warmth and number of his friendships, as well as for the aggressiveness in his opposition to those whom he deems his opponents. Naturally, in such a long and active participation in politics, he has encountered many who have most violently disagreed with him, but such dis- agreements have but in rare instances gone beyond the field of politics. In private life he is esteemed of all men, and his winning personality impresses most favorably all with whom he comes in contact. As a judge, he won the unqualified admiration and respect of all ; his withdrawal from that position and his subsequent active participation in public affairs have always been regarded as a loss to the Bench, where it is confidently believed he would have won still greater distinction in a field of larger scope. As an advocate, he is very forcible, his eloquence, charm of manner and earnestness, backed by his thoroughness of preparation, making him very effective both before a court and jury. His manner of address combines aggressiveness with courtesy, suavity with sarcasm and humor, and shows at all times his tremendous energy and his ultimate capacity and willingness for hard work.
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