USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. II > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50
.
+
The Century Publishing & Engraving Co Chicano.
207
BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO.
earnest of the bright future which has been realized in its present population and wealth, its culture and its institutions, public and private, which meet the eye on every side and are a source of so much pleasure to us all. He has fur- nished an example for the imitation of the young men in our midst who would do something for common welfare in their day of generation. His influence, we are sure, will long be felt, and will be an inspiration to those who would strive to accomplish the greatest good in the place where their lot has been cast.
" Peace to the just man's memory, let it grow greener with the years and blossom through the flight of ages.
Let the light Stream on his deeds of love that shunned the sight Of all but heaven ; and in the book of fame The glorious record of his virtues write, And hold it up to men, and bid them claim A palm like his, and catch from him the hallowed flame."
Ile was well acquainted with the doctrines of the different schools of theology, but while cherishing his own religious creed without the shadow of a turning, he was ever prompt to raise the healing voice of charity for the opinions of others. His mind was most acute and discriminating, and by a natural selection he seemed to take special pleasure in the investigation of metaphysical truth. But in analyzing and tracing the operations of the intel- lectual faculties he never fell into mysticism, but always moved in the cloud- less region of large, sound, common sense. He was a fond lover of nature ; he constantly interrogated her and acquired a rare knowledge of her trees and flowers. At a meeting of the Bar of Cuyahoga county, on the occasion of the death of the Honorable James M. Hoyt, by unanimous election Judge Franklin J. Dickman was chosen chairman, and by his permission we quote the following from his address :
" One of the most striking proofs of the respect and consideration in which the legal profession is held in this country may be found in the fact that when distinguished citizens have reached the highest political honors they deem it no disparagement to return again to the ranks and become instruments for advancing the cause of justice, for vindicating the rights and redressing the wrongs of their fellow men. And not only is the profession itself, from its aims and objects, ennobling in its nature, but it derives lustre in turn from those who follow it. If we seek exhibitions of the rarest intellectual powers, we find them at the Bar and on the Bench. The history of jurisprudence is illumined by the intellectual triumphs of Erskine and Pinkney and Choate at the Bar, and of Hardwicke and Mansfield and Marshall and Kent and Story on the Bench. But after all, in estimating the world's best men and greatest, it is moral power, moral attributes that weigh most in the scale It has been well said by Charles Sumner that the true grandeur of humanity is in moral elevation, sustained, enlightened and decorated by the intellect of man. It was the combination of moral with intellectual traits that gave Mr. Hoyt his prominence and influence among those who knew him. It was in the sunshine of the heart that the fruits of his intellect were ripened. Few men were moved by a stronger benevolence and soul ; few men more thoroughly per- meated by a love of his fellow men. He lived as ever in his great Taskmaster's
208
BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO.
eye, and in obedience to the divine command to love your neighbor as your- self. His affections expanded to embrace the near and the remote, and he was always ready to deal out with a generous hand that he might ameliorate the condition of sufferers around him, and even of the distant heathen who sat in the region of darkness. The sentiment of the Roman dramatist, ' Humani nihil alienum,' would have been a fitting motto for his shield. It was from this broad humanity, this disposition to promote human happiness, that in his purchase of large tracts of real estate in and around Cleveland-and its division into lots and sale for homesteads, he rarely foreclosed a contract or mortgage. Hence it was that the poor and honest laboring man who was struggling to secure a homestead was quick to purchase of him, for he knew that if misfortune overtook him he would be treated with forbearance and indulgence. Thus it was, too, that while his philanthropic kindness dispelled anxiety and distress from many a household, he had the satisfaction of wit- messing his own contribution to our city's rapid growth, for it has been estimated that nor far from a thousand acres of city suburban property were owned by him, wholly or jointly with others, and subdivided into lots and sold for settlement, and that more than a hundred streets were opened and named by him. But I would not on this occasion omit to notice some of the mental characteristics of Mr. Hoyt. As a lawyer he was well versed in the doctrines of equity. He was thoroughly grounded in real estate law, and unravelled with more than ordinary ease the complicated difficulties in which titles to real property are often involved. He read history extensively, and studied its lessons in the spirit of philosophy. He was fond of belles-lettres, and had a delicate appreciation of the best productions in English poetry and prose. He was a constant and habitual reader, not only of speculative and philosophical but of practical works."
HENRY MCKINNEY, Cleveland. Henry Mckinney. ex-judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Cuyahoga county, was born at Canfield, Ohio, October 9, 1828; was educated at the Western Reserve Seminary at Farmington, Trumbull county, and at Twinsburg Institute, of Twinsburg, Ohio. He read law two years with Judge J. W. Tyler and one year with Judge S. W. Mc- Clure; was admitted to the Bar in 1850 and immediately formed a partner- ship with his former preceptor, Judge McClure, under the firm name of McClure & Mckinney. This lasted fifteen years. He then formed a partner- ship with N. D. Tibbals, of Akron, which continued eight years. In the spring of 1873 Mr. Mckinney came to Cleveland and practiced law in connection with Judge Tyler and A. C. Casky. While residing at Akron he was prose-' cuting attorney from 1856 to 1858, and was State Senator for Summit and Portage counties. In 1880 he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas ; served one term of five years, and three years on his second term, when he resigned and became a member of the law firm of Ranney & Mckinney. This partnership was continued several years. Judge Mckinney retired from act- ive practice when in the full vigor of his manhood. He had no superiors and few equals in Ohio, possessing a thorough knowledge of legal principles, a clear, logical mind and a wonderful power of discrimination. He was one of the most powerful trial lawyers at the Cleveland Bar, presenting his points
.
209
BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO.
with a force and clearness both effective and remarkable. In jury trials he was peculiarly strong and forcible. His oratorical powers were of the highest order. Judge Mckinney is to-day considered by the Cleveland Bar to have been one of the ablest jurists ever upon the Bench in Cuyahoga county. His rulings and decisions were clear, logical and remarkably sound.
CARLOS M. STONE, Cleveland. C. M. Stone, judge of the Court of Com- mon Pleas, was born in Strongville, Cuyahoga county, March 27, 1846. His father, Montraville Stonc, who came to Ohio from Vermont in 1830, was a farmer, and for the last twenty years of his life was a banker. His mother, Mary A. Smith Stone, was born in Ohio. Both father and mother were of English ancestry, his father's family coming from Somersetshire and settling in New England in the early part of the seventeenth century. Judge Stone's early education was received in the district and select schools of the county. He entered Oberlin College in 1864, but left in his junior year, in 1867, and entered the office of the district attorney, A. T. Brinsmade, at the same time becoming a student of the Ohio State Union Law College (now out of exist- ence) taking his degree in 1869. Young Stone, when quite a boy, determined upon law for his profession, and entered college with that object in view. The influence which probably had more to do with his decision than any one thing was his early association with his cousin, Judge Walter F. Stone, of Sandusky, late judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio. The latter was a frequent visitor at his father's home, and as a child he formed a great admiration for him and determined to follow in his footsteps. After taking his degree of LL. B. he immediately entered into practice and shortly afterwards became a partner of his preceptor, under the firm namc of Brinsmade & Stone. This partnership continued until 1875. He then formed the partnership of Stone & Hessen- muler, from which he retired upon assuming the duties of prosecuting attorney. He was elected prosecuting attorney at the October election in 1879, taking the office on January 1, 1880. While serving his first term the law was changed, making the term of office three years instead of two. He was re-elected in 1882, retiring from office in 1885. He then resumed the practice of law under the firm name of Stone, Hessenmuller & Gallup, but in the fall of the same year he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, taking his seat on the Bench in November, 1885. He has twice been re-elected and is now serving his third term since coming to the Bench. Many important cases have come before him. A brief mention of two of these cases is not out of place here.
Stevenson Burke vs. The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapo- lis Railway Company. In March, 1889, The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railway Company, The Indianapolis & St. Louis Railway Company, and the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis & Chicago Railway Company agreed upon a contract of consolidation, by the terms of which the
210
BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO.
companies named were to become one company, under the name of the Cleve- land, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company, with a capital stock of $30,500,000 (These roads are now popularly known as the "Big Four.") The action was brought to enjoin the carrying out of the agreement of consol- idation. The judge held that these roads were not in their general features "parallel and competing," but formed a continuous line, and that under the laws of Ohio the proposed consolidation was fully authorized, and thereupon refused the injunction. The case attracted general attention both East and West because of the magnitude of the interests involved. The decision stood as the law of the case and was not questioned in the higher courts.
One of the pioneer cases in Ohio involving the use of electricity in oper- ating street cars came before Judge Stone in 1889, the title of the case being F. W. Pelton and others vs. The East Cleveland Street Railway Company. This company owned and operated a street railway along Euclid Avenue and other streets in the city of Cleveland, its cars being drawn by horses. In July, 1888, the city council authorized the company to use electricity as its motive power, by means of the overhead wire system. The plaintiff's, who were abut- ting property owners upon the streets through which the company operated its lines, sought by their action to prevent the proposed change, claiming it. could not lawfully be done under the original grant made to the company. The court decided that " In the operating of a street railroad the change in the motive power from horses to that of electricity applied by means of the overhead wire system, does not constitute a new and additional burden upon the street, entitling abutting lot-owners to compensation before such change is made ; or to an injunction to prevent such change." This view of the law in the case was sustained by the Supreme Court of the State. More than usual local interest was felt in the case, not only because of the novel questions involved, but because the eminent jurist, Honorable Rufus P. Ranney, appeared in person to argue the case and had for his opponent Judge Steven- son Burke, the distinguished railroad attorney and operator.
Judge Stone was too young a man when elected to the Bench to have developed into a great lawyer ; he, however, was a most successful practi- tioner. He had the reputation of preparing his cases with great care, and con- ducted the trial of them with marked ability. As a man he possesses a high sense of honor, an unexceptional character, always faithful in the discharge of a trust. As a jurist he can better be judged, for the best years of his life thus far have been spent upon the Bench. Always courteous, careful and conserv- ative, he exercises the greatest patience in the trial of cases brought before him. Industrious and painstaking in his investigations, and conscientious in his conclusions, as in all his work, his decisions usually bear the test of criti- cism and review. One of the strongest testimonials of his character as a man and his standing as a judge is the fact that he is now serving his third term. Different from the average lawyer and judge he is a man of wide reading in general literature and is well posted on both historical and sociological ques- tions. He has always been a Republican, taking as active an interest in polit- ical matters as he could, consistent with his position as judge. In 1884, he was chairman of the county central committee that conducted the Blaine cam- paign in the county. He is a member of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Peace Congress which met in Washington in 1895, and on the 17th of March, 1896, delivered a very able address before the
.
The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago.
Janne A. Hoyt.
211
BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO.
Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, upon " A Permanent International Court of Arbitration." This address has been most highly spoken of. In 1872 Judge Stone married Jeanette Follett, and by this union has two children, both girls.
JAMES H. HOYT, Cleveland. Mr. Hoyt was born in the city of Cleveland on the 10th day of November, 1852. His father, James M. Hoyt, was a native of the State of New York, but resided in Cleveland from 1836 until his death in 1895. He was a lawyer in the front rank of his profession, of liberal cul- ture, prominent in business affairs, public-spirited, and most active and influ- ential in promoting the cause of religion and benevolent enterprise. The mother of James H. Hoyt was Mary Ella Beebe, a native of New York City. She was a woman richly endowed with graces and accomplishments-with traits of mind and character that rendered her singularly attractive to all who knew her. James H. Hoyt received his early education in the public schools of Cleveland and the preparatory department of the Western Reserve Univer- sity, at that time located at Hudson, Ohio, but now at Cleveland. He after- ward entered Brown University, and graduated in 1874 with the honor of class orator. His career at the University was one of marked success, and gave an earnest of his future distinction. Among the professors and resident graduates in Providence, Rhode Island, he is still remembered, after a lapse of over twenty years, for the native vigor of intellect and scholastic attainments. that distinguished him during his undergraduate course at that institution. Returning to Cleveland he commenced the study of law in the office of Spald- ing & Dickman, where he remained one year, when he entered the Harvard Law School, taking the degree of LL. B. in 1877. In the study of his profes- sion he was indefatigable, and laid up a store of elementary principles by which he has been enabled to solve with great readiness difficult and compli- cated questions as they have arisen in an extensive practice, and in solving which he could get but feeble light from adjudicated cases. The writer of this once heard Judge Spalding remark, that while in his office he on one occasion heard Mr. Hoyt analyze a legal proposition in a way that reminded him of the old-school lawyers in Connecticut, who had been trained in the Litchfield Law School under Chief Justice Swift, to seek for the philosophy of the law, and to go up to the fountains rather than follow the rivulets. Upon being admit- ted to the Bar he at once commenced the practice of his profession with Henry S. Sherman, under the name of Sherman & Hoyt. Afterward the partner- ship of Willey, Sherman & Hoyt was formed, which continued in successful practice for several years. Later Mr. Willey retired, and the firm of Sherman & Hovt continued until 1884, when it was succeeded by that of Sherman, Hoyt & Dustin. In 1893, upon the death of Mr. Sherman, the firm became Hoyt & Dustin for one year, when Mr. Kelley became a member of the present partnership of Hoyt, Dustin & Kelley. This firm is one of the best known in Ohio, and its practice is largely in the line of corporation, commercial, admi-
.
212
BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO.
ralty and patent causes. Mr. Hoyt is well known as a lawyer of eminent ability. He is a cautious, safe and wise counsellor, and is vigilant and sagacious in watching the important interests intrusted to his charge. He is frequently engaged in cases before the Supreme Court of Ohio, and always commands the respect and close attention of that tribunal. As an orator he has few if any superiors in his State. While he never fails to address himself to the reason and judgment, he has the faculty of imparting interest to the dryest details. With ample stores of knowledge, derived from reading and observation, with an affluence of speech, written and spoken, with a fund of ready wit and humor, with an imagination and fancy curbed with a skillful hand, with a clearness and precision of statement, he could not fail to be in general requisition when popular assemblies are to be addressed. In politics Mr. Hoyt is a Republican. always taking an active interest in political affairs, and known throughout the State as having rendered yeoman service for his party. While he has never held office, he has been a candidate for the nomination of governor of his State. The city of Cleveland and the county of Cuyahoga, in which he resides, were enthusiastic for his nomination as governor ; and there was a general feel- ing throughout northern Ohio that if nominated and elected he would be the right man in the right place. He is an especial favorite of his party, and as long as merit and superior fitness and qualifications are appreciated by a dis- criminating public, he will continue to grow in popular favor. Mr. Hoyt is now the general counsel for the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, and as a member and director of that body, has always taken a most active and promi- nent part in its work of advancing the interests of the city of Cleveland. In 1885 he married Miss Jessie T. Taintor, and has two children, a daughter and a son.
ROBERT F. PAINE, Cleveland. The parents of Robert Findley Paine were from Connecticut, whence they removed to Madison county, New York, where Robert was born the 10th day of May, 1810. He was the second son of Solomon J. and Lucretia Bierce Paine, who were both natives of Cornwall, Connecticut. His father was the son of Rufus Paine, and his mother the daughter of William Bierce, both of whom served in the American army dur- ing the entire War of the Revolution, and both lived to be over eighty years of age. On his father's side his ancestors could be traced to Robert Treat Paine, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. This would indicate that on his paternal side he is of English descent and that the Paine family came to Connecticut from Massachusetts. In March, 1850, Solomon Paine came West with his family and settled at Nelson, Portage county, Ohio, where they continued to live until his death in 1828. Young Robert had but little opportunity to obtain an education. He daily walked a mile and a half to the log school house, and after he was nine years of age was obliged to work on the farm during all but the winter months. At the time of his father's
213
BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO.
death young Paine was eighteen, but even then manifested the pluck and steadfastness which were the prominent features of his character and the great sources of his success in after years. He took entire charge of his father's family, and continued to provide for them until the children were able to take care of themselves. He was obliged to educate himself. This hard fact he appre- ciated, made the best of circumstances and did get a good education. Judge Paine began the study of law in 1837, while a clerk in a crossroads store. With but few books and without an instructor he devoted his leisure hours to hard study. Not having had a single previous recitation, he was examined at the September term of the Supreme Court, then sitting at Ravenna, in 1839, and was admitted to practice. He got his legal education as he got everything else in early life, by unremitting toil ; by his own exertion alone. The follow- ing quotation from J. H. Kennedy's History of Cleveland gives an idea of his condition: "Judge Robert F. Paine, of Cleveland, once used these words in describing the home accommodations of his boyhood in Portage county : 'We possessed few dishes of any kind. There was a man in Trumbull county who made them of wood, and his advent into a neighborhood would cause more excitement than the establishment of another national bank in Cleveland to-day. We ate at what we called trenchers, a modern affair in shape something like a plate. Our neighbors were in the same condition as we, using modern plates, modern bowls, modern everything, and it was years before we could secure dishes harder than wood. and when we did they were made of yellow clay.'" As soon as Judge Paine was admitted to the Bar he opened an office at Gar- rettsville and entered upon what for those days was a good practice. In 1844 he was elected to the State legislature, being obliged to go to Columbus, a dis- tance of one hundred and forty miles, on horseback. Judge Paine took an important position among his colleagues and succeeded through much oppo-
- sition in securing the passage of the first law in Ohio granting to women the rights of property. So satisfactorily did he represent his constituents that he was offered a renomination, but declined the honor. He was, however, elected prosecuting attorney for Portage county, which led to his removing to Ravenna. While practicing law at Garrettsville Judge Paine became the intimate friend of the Honorable Daniel R. Tilden, who, like himself, was deeply interested in the slavery question. These two young men enthusiastically working among their neighbors created a strong and aggressive feeling in favor of the freedom of the negro in the United States, and together they organized the first anti- slavery organization in Portage county, at Garrettsville. On the expiration of his term as prosecuting attorney Judge Paine removed to Cleveland and opened an office in May, 1848. After a short time he became the clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, a position he retained until 1852, when he returned to the practice of the law. About this time Honorable Daniel R. Tilden removed from Portage county to Cleveland, and formed a partnership with his friend, under the firm name of Tilden & Paine. The partnership was dis- solved when Mr. Tilden was elected probate judge of Cuyahoga county, in 1854. In 1855 Judge Paine entered into partnership with James Wade, which
214
BENCH AND BAR OF OHIO.
continued until the former's election to the Common Pleas Bench of Cuyahoga county. In 1861 Judge Paine was appointed United States district attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, assuming the duties of the office in May of that year, with Mr. Wade as his assistant. When his term expired he resumed his law practice with Mr. Wade. He was elected to the Common Pleas Bench in 1866, where he remained as his own successor until 1874, when he again entered upon the practice. While on the Bench Judge Paine was called upon to try one of the most noted cases ever tried in the State, made celebrated through his remarkable instructions to the jury. The case was the State vs. Dr. Jay T. Galentine. The defendant was indicted for murder in the first degree, with counts for murder in the second degree and manslaughter. The defense was emotional or temporary insanity, which was ineffectually set up, the verdict being guilty of manslaughter. In his charge to the jury the judge dealt in a remarkably original as well as remarkably clear and able manner with this class of defenses. The press throughout the country 'commented editorially upon the charge, strongly endorsing its good sense, its sound rea- soning and its unmistakable clearness. Not the least interesting incident in con- nection with the case was a letter written by James A. Garfield, then in Congress, to Judge Paine congratulating him, little dreaming that ten years later he as President would fall by the hand of an assassin presenting the same plea for his act. Following is the letter :
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.