USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. II > Part 32
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ANDREW SQUIRE, Cleveland. Andrew Squire was born at Mantua, Port- age county, Ohio, on the 21st day of October, 1850. He is the son of Andrew Jackson Squire and Martha Wilmot, both of whom are natives of the State. His paternal ancestors were among the early English settlers of New England, and the family seat was for many generations in Berkshire county, Massachu- setts. His father, born two years after the settlement of the family in Ohio, now retired at the ripe age of eighty-two, was a very successful physician with a large practice for many years. His mother belonged to an old New Eng- land family, whose home was long in Connecticut. Andrew commenced his education in the district schools in his native town, but in 1861, at the age of eleven, he entered the Western Reserve Eclectic Institution at Hiram (after- wards Hiram College). In 1863 his family removed to Hiram, and he remained at the school, with occasional breaks, until 1872, when he graduated. Coming to Cleveland at once, he entered the office of Cadwell & Marvin and com- menced the study of law, and on December 3, 1873, was admitted to the Bar. In January, 1874, he formed a partnership with A. J. Marvin-Judge Cadwell having been elected to the Bench-the firm being Marvin & Squire. In 1876 Alphonso Hart, who was lieutenant-governor of the State, became a member of the firm, under the name of Marvin, Hart & Squire. In 1878 Mr. Squire retired from this firm and formed a partnership with E. J. Estep, under the firm name of Estep & Squire. In 1882 Judge M. R. Dickey joined them, and the firm became Estep, Dickey & Squire, and so continued until 1890, when Mr. Squire withdrew. Judge William B. Sanders retired from the Bench, and with James H. Dempsey (who had been a partner in the firm of Estep, Dickey & Squire) established the present firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. This is acknowledged by the Bar to be a most excellent combination, all being men of exceptional ability. Mr. Squire's standing as a man and lawyer is unexcelled in this section of the State. "Gentle by nature, kind and considerate in his family," is the verdict of those who are in a position to judge the man in his domestic life. Possessed of unusual common sense, superior judgment, and a thorough training in the law, and being a good judge of men, he is admirably
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qualified to be at the head of one of the ablest law firms of the city, and one that enjoys a large practice. He cannot by any means be classed as a case law- yer. While he conducts a trial with skill, it is in presenting the principles of the law involved in the cause that his clearness, force and ability are most observed. He is a safe counsellor, and his advice is much sought. In the formulating of methods and plans in business he has been most successful, and by his advice and counsel in this direction he probably has contributed as much as any other lawyer at the Bar to the advancement of the great commercial interests of the city of Cleveland. The business of the firm can be classed as a general civil practice, but they have a very large and lucra- tive corporation practice. Mr. Squire is a Republican, always taking an active interest in political affairs, but his professional work has been so continuous and exacting he has not had time to be much of a worker. However, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention which met in St. Louis and nominated Mr. Mckinley. Mr. Squire has been twice married. In 1873 he married Miss Ella Mott, of Hiram, Ohio, and by this union there were two children, a daughter, who died, and a son, Carl A., still living. After the death of his first wife he was married again, in 1896, to Mrs. Eleanor Seymour Sea, whose father, Mr. Belden Seymour, for many years prior to his death had been his friend.
FRANK E. DELLENBAUGH, Cleveland. Honorable Frank E. Dellenbaugh is judge of the third subdivision of the Fourth Judicial District of the Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga county. He was born at North Georgetown, Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 2d day of October, 1855. His father, C. W. Dellenbaugh, a native of Ohio and a physician, was prominent in his pro- fession and highly respected at his home. His grandfather, also a physician very eminent in his day, was a native of Switzerland and came to America in the early part of the present century, settling in Ohio. His mother, Sarah A. Everett, was also a native of Ohio, of English ancestry. When Frank was less than a year old the family moved to Cleveland, and his early education was received in the district schools and the Cleveland Academy. Afterwards he entered the Western Reserve College, but owing to ill health he was com- pelled to leave before completing his collegiate course, and for two years he had a private tutor. In 1875 he entered the law department of the University of Pennsylvania, where he remained one year and until he was appointed by President Hayes inspector in the department of finance of the Centennial Exposition, which position he filled from May 1, 1876, to November 29 of the same year. Returning to Cleveland in December, 1876, he entered the law office of his uncle, Charles D. Everett, Esquire, and continued the study of law. In 1877 the Ohio State Union Law College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Bachelor of Laws, and on the 21st of March, 1877, he was admitted to practice in the State courts, and on the same day one year later he was admitted to the Federal Courts. Commencing the practice of his pro-
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fession he remained alone for about one year, when he formed a partnership with Albert H. Weed, under the firm name of Weed & Dellenbaugh. This partnership continued about two years when he withdrew to form a partner- ship with his uncle, Charles D. Everett, under the firm name of Everett & Dellenbaugh. In about two years the firmi was enlarged by taking in his first partner, Mr. Weed, and so continued until 1895, when President Mckinley, then Governor of Ohio, appointed Mr. Dellenbaugh judge of the Court of Common Pleas to fill the unexpired term of Judge John C. Hutchins, who resigned to accept the postmastership of the city of Cleveland, to which posi- tion he had been appointed by President Cleveland. Mr. Dellenbaugh gave up a large practice to accept the judgeship. He had been a most successful practitioner. Coming upon the Bench he brought with him and applied busi- ness methods, and very soon demonstrated the wisdom of Governor Mckinley in making the appointment of so young a man. So efficiently had he dis- charged his duties that six months after his appointment he was the unanimous choice of the Republican party for the nomination for a full judicial term of five years, and without any effort on his part defeated Judge Noble, the Demo- cratic candidate, by nearly six thousand majority, and in the spring of 1897 entered upon his judicial service for the full term. Judge Dellenbaugh is a close student, possessed of strong will-power, high moral character and great industry. He is evenly balanced and well grounded in the principles of the law. His judicial career is very bright and promising. Judge Dellenbaugh has always been in politics a Republican, taking a most active part in political matters, but never held elective office until he accepted his present position, and even this came unsought, for he was not a candidate. He is a speaker of more than average ability. When the St. Louis convention nominated Gov- ernor Mckinley for the Presidency he immediately offered his services as a speaker to the Republican National Committee. His offer was gladly accepted and he was sent first into the Northwest, where he made many speeches, closing the campaign in his native State. Judge Dellenbaugh is a Mason and a member of all the leading social clubs of Cleveland. Having a most genial and affable manner he has as large a circle of friends and admirers as any lawyer in Cleveland.
JAMES LAWRENCE, Cleveland. James Lawrence was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, on the 15th of January. 1851. His father in his younger days was a merchant, but always took a great interest in affairs relating to the pub- lic good. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1851, once a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, three times a member of the Ohio Senate, and a member of Congress from 1857 to 1859, during Buchanan's administration. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. The great-grandfather of James came to this country toward the close of our Revolutionary War, some- where about 1783, and settled in Maryland, his grandfather being born at Havre de Grace, Maryland. The family removed to Washington county,
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Pennsylvania, coming to Ohio about 1810, where his father was born. His mother, Margaret E. Ramsey, was of Scotch descent, her ancestors coming to this country at an earlier date than those on the paternal side, and settling in Pennsylvania. The larger part of his mother's early life was spent in Virginia with relatives. The early education of James was in the public schools and after- wards at the academy. He entered Kenyon College in 1868, in the sophomore class, taking his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1871. Having when quite a boy determined upon the law as his profession he immediately took up the study of law with the Honorable J. W. White, at Cambridge, Ohio, remaining with him for three years, and in 1874 was admitted to the Bar. He immedi- ately removed to Cleveland and entered the office of G. H. Foster. After a time he became a partner of Mr. Foster, remaining with him until 1893, when the partnership was dissolved. The firm at the present time is Lawrence & Estep. During the administration of Honorable George Hoadly as governor of Ohio, for the years 1884 and 1885, Mr. Lawrence was the attorney-general of the State. . He was corporation counsel for the city of Cleveland from 1893 to 1895. Mr. Lawrence is considered by the Bar to be a good all around law- yer, a close student devoting great care to the preparation of his cases. He possesses a keen sense of justice and honor and has the confidence and respect of both the profession and the public. In politics he has always been a Dem- ocrat, taking an active interest in all matters affecting his party. In 1888 he married Jennie Gardner Porter, and by this union has three children, one boy and two girls, all living.
JAMES M. JONES, Cleveland. James Milton Jones first saw light in Eng- land, having been born in Herefordshire, near the ancient Roman walled city of Hay, in the beautiful valley of the river Wye, and in the shadow of the battlements of Clifford Castle, famed for its romantic legends of Henry II. and Fair Rosamond. He was the third son of Thomas and Mary Jones, and was brought by his parents to Cleveland in his infancy, in 1831, when the city was but a village. The family consisted of thirteen children, six sons and seven daughters. It was a family noted for its eminently social characteristics, for the public talent of its sons and the bright and cheerful personality of its daughters. The status of the sons among men is manifest. The eldest, Thomas Jones, Jr., was United States collector of internal revenue and postmaster at Cleveland ; James M. was twelve years on the Superior Court and Common Pleas Bench ; John P. is United States Senator for Nevada, now serving his third term ; Samuel L. is superintendent of Crown Point Mine, Nevada, and Frederick was at one time head of the coining department of the United States mint, New Orleans, Louisiana. The father, for more than forty years a prominent and enterprising citizen of Cleveland, is now dead. The vener- able and beloved mother died at the age of ninety, in the home of her son, Senator Jones, at Gold Hill, Nevada, in 1893. It is mainly in the legal and judicial character of Judge Jones that this sketch is written -- phenomenal suc-
The Century Publishing & Engraving Co. Chicago
James Me. Jones
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cess coupled with judicial eminence. With the requisite professional prepara- tion he came to the Bar in 1855, and probably but few lawyers immediately acquired so profitable a clientage. Shortly after his admission to the Bar he was retained as leading counsel for the defense of the famous "Townsend- McHenry " extradition case, a proceeding pending before the United States commissioner, on the charge that the prisoner who claimed to be Robert McHenry was no other than the notorious William Townsend, a well known desperate Canadian highway robber and murderer. It was a long hearing and several successive lots of witnesses had to be brought from Canada before they could make a case. The prisoner was, however, extradited and ultimately put upon his trial for murder, as William Townsend, the sole question on trial being one of identity. About one hundred witnesses testified to his being Townsend, but he was nevertheless able to produce a large number of witnesses to testify that they knew Townsend and this was not the man. He was acquitted. For public notoriety and identity of issue it has hardly been sur- passed by the Tichborn case. It was in this case that Mr. Jones first attracted public attention for his skill in the cross-examination of witnesses and the forcible style of his advocacy, which at once brought him to the front. This early manifestation of legal accomplishments led very directly to his appoint- ment as attorney for the Western Union Telegraph Company, a relationship which he for many years sustained. Having supervision of a large and pecul- iar legal business for this company, extending over various States and Terri- tories covered by its lines, he made telegraph law a specialty for some years, and his experience in that new branch of the law is probably unsurpassed by any other lawyer. In 1867 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Cuyahoga county. In 1873 he was elected one of the three judges of the Superior Court, having the rare compliment of a nomination by two political conventions. He served until July, 1875, when the judicial system was changed and he was transferred by election to the Court of Common Pleas for the full term of five years. At the end of his term in 1880 he resumed the practice of law, with a largely increased clientage. One year thereafter he was elected, by the largest majorities ever given a judge in the county, to succeed the Honorable Samuel B. Prentiss, who voluntarily retired, having served fifteen years. Judge Jones resumed the Bench in February, 1882. His last judicial term was a season of unprecedented litigation, often involving millions in a single case, and requir- ing not infrequently the elucidation and administration of municipal, commer- cial and railroad corporation law, and it is sufficiently specific and expressive to remark that in his entire judicial service Judge Jones proved equal to every occasion. Finally, in 1887, Judge Jones stepped from the Common Pleas Bench into a large and paying practice, and has since been identified with many of the most important cases brought before the courts in the northeast section of Ohio. In the investigation and preparation of his cases and in the trial thereof the peculiar genius, skill and vigor, and the convincing presenta- tion of the facts and law applicable thereto, have won for him pre-eminent pro- fessional distinction. Not only for his legal and judicial eminence is he
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recognized, but for his social and business qualifications. He is a director of the Citizens Loan and Savings Association, was once president of the German- American Savings Bank Company, trustee of the Kelley Fund for the Art Gallery and School in Cleveland, and for considerable time was the president of the Cleveland Bar Association. In 1894 he secured the passage of a law doing away with jury trials in a certain class of commercial cases. Judge Jones has been singularly blessed and made happy in his domestic relations. In 1860 he married the most excellent and accomplished Miss Ermina Barrows. Three bright, lovely and accomplished daughters, the fruit of this union, lend charm and grace to their lovely home.
ALPHONSO TAFT, Cincinnati. Honorable Alphonso Taft was born at Townsend, Vermont, November 5, 1810, the only son of Peter Rawson Taft and Sylvia Howard Taft. His grand parents, both on his father's and his mother's side, emigrated from Vermont to Worcester county, Massachusetts, the families being originally from England. One of his ancestors, Edward Rawson, came to Newbury, Massachusetts in 1636. He was a man of very high standing, holding for thirty-five years the position of secretary of the province of Massachusetts. Judge Taft's father was reared as a farmer, but subsequently studied and practiced law. He served a number of years in the Vermont legislature, and also as judge of the Probate and Circuit Court of Windham county, Vermont. Alphonso Taft was brought up as a farmer, and attended the neighboring country schools until he was sixteen years of age. He taught school during the winter and earned money to pay his tuition at Amherst Academy. His summers were largely spent at work upon his father's farm. After several years of hard work he entered Yale College in his nineteenth year, and graduated with high honor from that institution in the class of 1837. After graduating he taught for two years in the high schools at Ellington, and for two years later held the position of tutor at Yale. He attended the Yale law school, from which he graduated in 1838, being admitted to the Bar in the State of Connecticut at that time. After visiting a number of the western States, he finally settled in Cincinnati in 1839, where he began the practice of the law. His first associate was Judge Thomas Key, who entered his office in 1842, and became judge of the Commercial Court in 1849. Subsequently, Mr. Taft was associated with Judge Patrick Mallon, Honorable William M. Dickson, Honorable Aaron F. Perry and Honorable George R. Sage. Later he was associated with Major H. P. Lloyd, and with his sons, Judge William H., Charles P., Peter R. and Horace D. Taft. Although Judge Taft was an entire stranger at the time he entered upon the practice of his profession in Cincinnati, he eventually obtained a very large practice, appearing in some of the largest cases brought in the State. A well- known case was one involving the will of Charles McMicken, by which prop- erty valued at over one-half million of dollars was devised to the city of Cin-
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cinnati to found a university for the free education of the youth of the city. Mr. Taft was of counsel defending the will. The case was tried before Justice .McLean, of the Circuit Court, and the will was sustained. Subse- quently, the case was carried to the Supreme Court of the United States where again the will was sustained. The justice in delivering the opinion of the court paid a very high compliment to the brief of Mr. Taft, which was a com- plete compendium of the law on the subject of religious and eleemosynary trusts in wills. Another important case in which Judge Taft appeared as counsel was a suit involving the issue of two million dollars in bonds for the completion of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, in which Judge Taft was retained by the trustees of the railroad to defend the constitutionality of the bill. He was also successful in this suit, which was carried to the Supreme Court of Ohio. During his earlier residence in Cincinnati he was a member of the city council, where he favored the extending of the city limits north from Liberty street to what is now known as McMillan street. He was one of the incorporators of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, and acted as its coun- sel for many years. He was also a member of the first board of trustees of the Cincinnati & Marietta Railroad, as well as a director for many years of the Little Miami Railroad. He was strongly interested in the subject of rail- roads, and delivered before the Mercantile Library Association an address on railroads, in which he showed the importance to the city of having a large number of railroads. He believed that Cincinnati, Baltimore and St. Louis should be joined by railroads, which should form the main avenue of com- munication between the East and the West, very much as is now accomplished by the Baltimore and Ohio system. He favored strongly the building of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. As one of the judges of the Superior Court the question of the validity of the Act authorizing the first issue of bonds was before him. He delivered the opinion of the court sustaining the constitu- tionality of the act. He was one of the court at the time of the appointment by the court of the first board of trustees of the Southern Railroad, and upon his retirement from the Bench he was himself appointed a trustee in 1875. This office he resigned upon being called into the cabinet, but upon his return to the practice of the law he was retained as counsel to defend the two-million dollar issue of bonds which enabled the final completion of the road. He was first president of the Mount Auburn Street Railway, which was the pioneer in the way of strect railways connecting the city with the suburbs. He took a great interest in the founding of the House of Refuge, and delivered the open- ing address upon the completion of that institution. Mr. Taft during his whole life was much interested in politics, but took no prominent part until 1856, when he was a member of the convention which nominated John C. Fremont for President. In that year he was a candidate for Congress in the First Ohio District against George H. Pendleton, by whom he was defeated. In 1864 he was tendered an appointment to fill a vacancy in the judgeship of the Superior Court of Cincinnati, but declined the honor. In 1865, how- ever, he accepted the position made vacant by the resignation of Judge
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George Hoadly, and the following year was elected to the position for the full term, and again in 1869, receiving at that time the unusual honor of the unanimous vote of both political parties. He resigned in 1873 and.resumed the practice of the law in partnership with his two sons, Charles and Peter. During his term on the Bench he delivered a great number of opinions, which are considered among the very best among the records of the court. The best known case perhaps which came before him was the so-called Bible case, in which suit was brought to enjoin the school board of Cincinnati from strik- ing out of the rules governing the public schools the provision for the reading of the Bible in the opening exercises of the school. Judges Storer and Hagans, constituting a majority of the court, granted the injunction, but Judge Taft dissented. The case was taken to the Supreme Court, which unanimously reversed the decision of the court below and sustained the opinion of Judge Taft. In 1875 Judge Taft was a candidate before the Republican convention which nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for governor, and again in 1879 he was a candidate against Charles Foster and was defeated, in the latter instance; by but seven votes. One of the arguments used against him in each of these cases was the Bible decision, which, though affirmed unanimously by the Supreme Court, prejudiced him in the minds of those of his party who differed with him upon that question. On March 7, 1876, President Grant appointed Judge Taft secretary of war to succeed General Belknap. After three months in this position he was appointed attorney-general of the United States, succeeding Edwards Pierpont, which position he held until the close of President Grant's administration. At that time he returned to Cincinnati to the practice of the law, and associated with Major H. P. Lloyd. In April, 1882, President Arthur appointed Judge Taft United States minister to Austria, where he resided for several years at Vienna with his wife and daughter. In the summer of 1884 he was appointed by President Arthur United States minister to Russia. He remained in St. Petersburg until the fall of 1885, when he returned to Cincin- nati, and resumed once more the practice of the law. In 1889 his health became so poor that he was obliged to go to San Diego, California, where he remained for two years, dying May 30, 1891, in the eighty first year of his age. Judge Taft during his life-time took a great interest in the cause of education, and was one of the original trustees of the Woodward fund, and for more than twenty years a member of the Union Board of High Schools. His sons he caused to be educated at Yale College, from which he himself received the degree of LL. D. in 1867. In 1873 he was elected one of the corporation of Yale College, and was re-elected for a subsequent term of six years, at the end of which time he refused another election, for the reason of his appoint- ment to Austria. He married for his first wife Miss Fannie Phelps, of Town- send, Vermont, in the year 1841, who died in 1852, leaving two sons, Charles Phelps and Peter Rawson. In 1854 he married Miss Louise M. Torrey, of Millbury, Massachusetts, who, with four children, William Howard, Henry W., Horace D. and Fannie Louise, survives him.
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