USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. II > Part 35
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DAVID M. WILSON, Youngstown. The late David M. Wilson was born in 1823, in Medina county, Ohio. He was educated in the schools of his native county, studied law there, and was admitted to the Bar in 1844. He continued to reside and practice his profession in Medina until 1862, when he removed to Canfield, the county seat of Mahoning county, and afterwards to Youngstown when the county seat was removed there. Here he established himself in the practice of the law and from the commencement, aided by his ability, exper- ience and success elsewhere, took a conspicuous place among the leaders of the profession. Northeastern Ohio has produced some of the most profound stu- dents and most eloquent exponents of the law that are to be found in the his- tory of the State, and it is amongst these that the Honorable D. M. Wilson belonged and won his place at the Bar. He was strong as a man and as a lawyer, holding high rank with very able contemporaries. He was a brilliant advocate, deep thinker, and was gifted with a clear judicial mind, a penetra- tive and incisive wit and an intelligent grasp that has rarely been excelled. He was a forcible, vigorous and convincing speaker. and whether the subject was a case on trial or the principles of a political party, his hearers were equally impressed with his complete knowledge of the subject and his evident sincerity of expression. He was deeply earnest in all he undertook. His man- ner was winning and cordial and made for him hosts of friends. A strong Democrat, residing in an overwhelmingly Republican district, he was nomi- nated by his party for attorney general of the State in 1863, and in 1874 as candidate for representative in Congress, and by his personal popularity effected a change of more than thirty-five hundred votes. He was one of the
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most active and prominent members of the Constitutional convention of 1873, where he gave valuable aid to every suggestion that he believed to be for the best interest of the State. President Mckinley at one time studied law in the office of Mr. Wilson, and the acquaintance thus formed ripened into esteem and friendship that was only terminated by his death. The late President Gar- field was another intimate friend, and so close were their relations that a law partnership was at one time under serious contemplation by them. Some of the personal letters of Mr. Garfield submitted to the editor evidence very clearly the confidence and the intimacy existing between the two friends. In one of them, dated January 27, 1874, the writer, doubtless for the first time, expressed the beautiful sentiment given to the public, with a variation of language, six years later in his speech accepting the high office of United States Senator as the successor of Judge Thurman : "On the vines that grow over the walls of party politics are found the sweetest flowers that bloom in the garden of friendship." (The later rendering is quoted in Judge Thurman's sketch in Vol. I of this work.) Mr. Wilson died February 11, 1882. He was married in 1871 to Miss Griselda E. Campbell, daughter of Thomas Campbell, of Old Town, Trumbull county. They had one son, Francis Service Wilson, who is now a prominent member of the legal profession in Chicago. The widow also resides in Chicago. She is an earnest, devout member of the Presbyterian Church, to which she has always given her faithful support and adherence. During the last five years of his life Honorable D. M. Wilson was associated in practice with his nephew, James P. Wilson, of Youngstown.
JAMES P. WILSON, Youngstown. J. P. Wilson was born in Lyons, Iowa, February 6, 1857. His parents were James T. and Harriet (Hawes) Wilson, both of them natives of Ohio. The father was admitted to the Bar in Cuya- hoga county in 1850 and practiced law at Cleveland five years. Subsequently he became engaged in manufacturing and mercantile pursuits in Lyons, Iowa, afterwards returning to Cleveland, where he died in 1887, at the age of fifty- eight. While in Lyons he was mayor of the place, and afterwards held several important elective positions in the municipality of Cleveland. He left three sons, James P. being the only one who has followed the legal profession. The widow still resides in Cleveland, where she has been prominently identified with some of the more important charitable movements of that city. She is a broad-minded, religious woman of great moral worth, exceedingly liberal and emphatic in her religious views and most highly esteemed by all who enjoy the privilege of her acquaintance. James P. Wilson received his carly educa- tion in the public schools of Cleveland, graduating from the central high school in 1875. He then studied law for a year with Rufus P. Ranney and after- wards took a course at Columbia, and a two years' course at the Law School of Columbia College in New York City. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1878, and to the Bar of Ohio in the same year. He immediately
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entered upon the practice of law at Youngstown, becoming associated with his uncle, Honorable David M. Wilson, which partnership continued until the death of his uncle in 1882. He then associated himself with ex-mayor W. J. Lawsher in a partnership which terminated in 1895. He has since prac- ticed alone. Mr. Wilson is a lover of the profession of the law. He is a wide reader and an earnest student both of the law and of literature of the better sort, and possesses the necessary industry and keen analysis that enable him to acquire full acquaintance with all questions of fact and every point of law applying to the same. He is never satisfied with less than an exhaustive examination of details. As a consequence he is always thoroughly prepared. In handling his cases in court he is equally patient. He is conspicuous through- out a trial in which he is engaged for his quiet, earnest attention. Nothing escapes his observation and he is quick and ready to avail himself of the slightest opportunity to make a point. As an advocate he is earnest, clear and logical ; he never wearies the court `or the jury, and displays great tact in emphasizing his strong points without unduly dwelling upon them or reiter- ating them. His more pronounced success has been gained in the higher courts of Ohio. He has given especial attention to the laws affecting railroad corporations and has represented the Pittsburg and Lake Erie Railroad in Ohio for the past eight years. During this period many important questions have arisen in which his intimate knowledge on the points involved have been of invaluable service. He has in writing an easy, graceful, literary style and has done not a little creditable work with the pen in essays, briefs and as col- laborateur in a number of successful plays. In 1896 he presented a paper before the Ohio State Bar Association, which was very favorably received. In politics he is a Democrat, but has no political aspirations. He is consistent in his principles and earnest in advocating them. His devotion to the law pre- cludes his entering into politics. He feels that his profession is exacting and that its highest awards are not won by anything less than complete devotion . He was married in 1887 to Miss Frances E. Patton, daughter of Thomas Patton, of Newark, Ohio, the former editor and proprietor of the Youngstown Vindi- cator. They have three children, Richard Hartley, named for his maternal great-grandfather, the ex-governor and ex-senator, who afterwards became judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio; James Taylor and Harold Leslie.
LOUIS W. KING, Youngstown. Honorable Louis W. King was born Novem- ber 24, 1854, at Unity, Columbiana county, Ohio. The family are descended from Scotch-Irish ancestry. In 1805 his grandfather settled in Ohio. His mother's family came from Baden Baden, Germany, although she was born in Ohio. His father was and still is a farmer on a very large scale in Columbiana county, and has achieved a wide renown and popularity as a breeder of thor- oughbred horses. His name is familiar to all lovers of fine horses throughout the United States, among whom he is highly regarded as a man of high busi-
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ness principles and sterling integrity. His son, Louis W. King, was born on the farm, and secured his earlier education in the public schools, after which for three years he attended the academy at New Lisbon. At the time there resided in his neighborhood a teacher of German nationality, Andrew Harter, a man of profound learning, a scholar and a tutor of wide experience. He was under considerable personal obligations to the father of our subject, and being honorable and sensitive and entertaining a strong affection for both father and son, he took deep interest in the education of the young man. Indeed, he became private tutor to the boy, and it was his ambition to impart to him the knowledge he had acquired in a life of study and teaching. He was untiring in his efforts, and his pupil made rapid progress under his instruc- tion. When Louis was sixteen years old he attended an examination of appli- cants to teach in the public school, and not only secured his teacher's certificate but obtained the grade of one hundred in every branch of study. His old tutor expressed no surprise, simply remarking that "the boy knew more on every subject than the examiners." Upon the completion of his education he taught in the public schools four years, giving instruction to the high school classes. He then spent a year with his brother, a physician, in the study of medicine, acquiring a thorough acquaintance with physiology, anatomy and the nervous system. He then devoted himself to the study of the law, which had long been his purpose. In 1874 he began reading in the office of W. T. Anderson and Judge Van Hyning at Canfield, and was admitted to the Bar in March, 1876. Whilst studying law he was deputy clerk of Mahoning County Court, and continued to hold the office until February, 1877. He then formed a partnership with W. S. Anderson, which lasted until February, 1882. In the fall of 1881 he had been nominated on the Republican ticket as judge of the Probate Court, was elected, and took his seat on the Bench in February, 1882. In 1884 he was re-elected, serving six years, and retiring in 18SS. HIe then formed a law partnership with John E. McVey, which continued until 1894, when H. M. Robinson was taken into the firm. Their practice is to a large extent corporation business. They represent all the electric street rail- roads of the Mahoning Valley, Mineral Ridge and Youngstown companies, as well as a large number of the manufacturing corporations in Youngstown. These corporations and the railroad companies are the constant mark for vex- atious damage suits, which form a goodly proportion of the court trials in Mahoning county, and more than half of them are defended by the law firm of which Judge King is the senior partner. One of the highest officials in what is probably the most important manufacturing corporation in Youngstown in speaking of him said :
"Judge King possesses a remarkable faculty for handling bodies of men- legislative assemblies, city councils, etc. His methods are invariably straight- forward and honorable; he never uses money, but attains liis ends on strictly legitimate business principles. In preparing for the construction of our works it was necessary to secure the consent of the city to the vacating of streets and highways, and such matters as often lead to contentions, and not infrequently assume such magnitude as to become impediments to the locating of large
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enterprises. In our case this was avoided by the skill and tact with which Judge King handled the details of every measure and action. I consider him a very able man, and one of the most prominent trial lawyers in northern Ohio. He is an orator, a forceful speaker either in a court of law or at a polit- ical convention. He can always secure the attention of an audience. I have known him to quiet a noisy convention with apparent ease, when others of far greater public fame had utterly failed to make themselves heard. If he ever . permits the people to send him to Congress he will make a conspicuous mem- ber of the Ohio delegation. He is as learned in the law as he is eloquent in expounding it, and he is equally sagacious and safe in his advice and counsel."
In politics Judge King has always been a strong Republican, and has made from twenty to fifty speeches in each State campaign since he was twenty years old. He has been twice chairman of the Republican State cen- tral committee, and has served for six or seven years as an active member of the State executive committee. In 1892 he was a candidate for Congress before the district convention, and has since then been pressed by the strongest element in his party to accept the congressional nomination, but has declined. He has always been devoted to the law, and the demands upon by his exten- sive practice have compelled him to withhold his consent. It is, however, quite within the probabilities that his strong partisan zeal will yet lead him into public life.
ROBERT B. MURRAY, Youngstown. Robert Barclay Murray was born March 6, 1843, at Youngstown, Ohio. The family are of Scotch-Irish descent, and emigrated to this country in the colonial days, those on the father's side settling in New England, and those on the mother's side in Virginia. The New England branch of the family were in the Revolutionary War, and were conspicuous for their loyalty and courage, bearing their full share of its pri- vations, responsibilities and dangers. In the early part of this century the father of our subject moved from New England to New York, and in 1816 moved from New York to Ashtabula county, Ohio, eventually settling in Youngstown. Here he established himself in business, and was married, and here his son was born and received his early education. He acquired the rudi- ments of his education in the public schools, then attended the Allegheny Col- lege, at Meadville, Pennsylvania, and still later studied law at the Law School of the University of Michigan. He returned to Youngstown where he commenced teaching school, shortly afterwards accepting the position of principal of the public schools at Mercer, Pennsylvania, still later, upon his graduating at Alle- gheny College, in 1867, taking charge of the Academy at Meadville, as prin- cipal. During these years he was a devoted student of both law and medicine. In the latter science, anatomy, physiology, nervous diseases and even dissection interested him keenly, and his experiments in these lines were endless and his researches deep. His labor was well rewarded, for he acquired a profound knowledge of these subjects, which has proved of inestimable value in later life. The law was, however, his chosen profession, and the acquirement of
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other knowledge was always with a view to its practical bearings in the prac- tice of the law. He was admitted to the Bar in 1868, and at once commenced work alone. In 1870, he entered into a partnership with Honorable A. W. Jones, which became one of the strongest law firms in northeastern Ohio. After a continuance of sixteen years, this partnership was dissolved by mutual consent, each member retaining the regard, esteem and good will of the other ; indeed their social and political relations are of the most intimate character. Mr. Murray has never formed any other partnership, but has continued in practice alonc. He possesses a wonderful capacity in all matters of law per- taining to real estate, and to personal injury cases. In the latter he has prob- ably done more than any other individual to impress upon the corporations operating in this part of the State the necessity of adopting all means at their command to insure the safety of employes and the public and to awaken them to the responsibilities they incur by any negligence or inattention. His great ability and profound knowledge of real estate law were demonstrated in the well-known case of the Pittsburg, Shenango & Allegheny Railroad, which was a foreclosure case for the bondholders. A number of prominent individ- uals and great financial institutions were holders of second mortgage bonds when the holders of the first mortgage bonds attempted the foreclosure. They were holding the second mortgage bonds as collateral security for money advanced, and were dismayed to find that they would be rendered valueless by the sale of the road under the first mortgage bonds, and that they could exer- cisc no influence at the reorganization. Under these circumstances they placcd the matter in the hands of Mr. Murray for the purpose, as one of them expressed it, "not with a hope of saving anything, we know we have lost the money, but to find out how it has been done." Mr. Murray undertook the task and entered upon it with that quiet diligence and persistence that is so characteristic of the man. He caused the abandonment of foreclosure pro- ceedings, and as representing his clients he became a member of the reorgan- ization committee, and in the courts and in committee for five years he contested point by point, and step by step, until he had secured a full -and complete recognition of the interests he represented. He had conducted this remark- able contest with such consummate skill and ability that at its close the com- mittee appointed him chairman of the sub-committee that should pass upon the securities, which amounted to some six millions of dollars. His tact, sagacity, skill and knowledge of the numerous points of law involved were recognized and commended by all parties, and won for him the respect and confidence even of the men whom he had opposed. As a lawyer Mr. Murray is exceedingly cautious and more than industrious. He prepares every important case upon a written brief which is kept on file in his office, the various clauses of which contain specific answers covering every point that his mind can sug- gest, and the authorities bcaring upon such points. He is thorough and method- ical in all his habits and arrangements. In preparing his case he goes to work with the greatest deliberation, and exhausts cvcry detail of evidence, getting its exact and definite bearing upon the case. Ile eliminates all rubbish
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surrounding the essential points and brings out his facts with force and dis- tinctness. In handling his case in court, the same pronounced characteristics of decision, determination and confidence are always distinctly in evidence. He is clear, logical and strong, and it is apparent to every hearer that he is in full possession of every detail of his case. He might not be considered elo- quent, but he is impressive ; the quietness of sincerity and a deep earnestness pervade his utterances. It is difficult to say if he carries greater weight with the court or the jury. His polished style and scholarly attainments insure the respectful attention of the court, whilst his earnestness, confidence and evident acquaintance with all the facts are equally impressive with the jury. In the examination and cross-examination of witnesses he is especially strong, and it is here, in the case of expert medical testimony, that his intimate knowledge of physiology and kindred sciences has proved of great value. This is particu- larly the case where damages for personal injury are sought, as in such suits the medical testimony offered is usually of their own physicians in behalf of the defendant. It has been no uncommon thing for Mr. Murray to expose the weakness and fallacies of the testimony by a scientifically technical cross- examination, which frequently forces from the unwilling witness admissions and evidence that help the cause he was seeking to damage. Mr. Murray has a striking personality. His face indicates power and intellectuality. In man- ner he is reserved, unassuming and thoughtful. A man of the highest integ- rity, of a genial, cordial nature, charitable in all things, he has made hosts of friends who are strongly bound to him. In politics he is a Republican, and while not a politician he is quite prominent in his political views, and gives all the assistance to his party that he can consistently with the heavy demands made upon him by his professional duties. He married, on December 28, 1872, Miss Sophia Bond, of Geneseo, New York, who died in 1885. On June 30, 1897, he was married to Miss Weltha Darby, of Meadville, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Murray is a lady of exquisite taste and culture. Her delight is in artistic sur- roundings. She derives constant pleasure from the cultivation of her genius for painting both in oils and water colors. She is also an excellent musician. She is endowed with a charming personality, refined and accomplished, and is a great social favorite.
CHARLES P. WICKHAM, Norwalk. Charles Preston Wickham, judge of the Common Pleas Court, was born in Norwalk September 15, 1836, and has kept his residence there continuously to the present time. His father, Frederick Wickham, who was for a number of years editor and publisher of a newspa- per at Norwalk, is a native of New York State and his ancestors were among the early English settlers of New England. His mother is Eliza B. Preston, born in New Hampshire and also of English descent. Mr. Wickham's educa- tion was in the Norwalk Academy and his father's printing office until he was eighteen years of age. He then devoted all his time for two years to news- paper work. In 1856 he entered the Cincinnati Law School and graduated in
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1858. Returning to Norwalk he was admitted to the Bar, at once commenced practice and remained alone until 1877. From 1867 to 1871 he was prosecut- ing attorney. His first partnership was with the Honorable Samuel A. Wild- man, now judge of the Court of Common Pleas. This partnership continued until the spring of 1881, when he was elected judge of the Common Pleas. He served on the Bench until 1886, when he resigned to become a candidate for Congress. He was elected that year and re-elected two years later, serv- ing as a member of the Fiftieth and Fifty-first Congresses. At the expiration of his second term he resumed practice in partnership with his son, Louis W. Wickham, at Norwalk, which partnership is in existence at this time. On the 1st of January, 1897, he established an office in Sandusky, forming a partner- ship with W. E. Guerin, Jr., the firm now being Wickham, Guerin & French. His practice is general in its character and is most extensive in scope, embrac- ing all the courts and reaching into all the counties of northern Ohio. He is engaged on one side or the other of many of the leading cases that have been tried in this part of the State. Mr. Wickham is a lawyer of great force and possesses marked ability. As a trial lawyer he occupied first rank in his pro- fession. Gentle and kind in his nature, honorable in his dealings, he is greatly beloved by his friends and enjoys the respect and confidence of the profession, as well as the people of his native town and county. In September, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the Fifty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and was mus- tered out of service in 1865, at the close of the civil war, as lieutenant-colonel of the same regiment. For a time he was attached to the Army of the Poto. mac and was engaged in many of its most heated battles. He was afterwards with the Army of the Cumberland, and later with Sherman in Georgia, and with him also in his march to the sea and northward in the Carolina cam- paigns. While major he was brevetted lieutenant colonel by President Lin- coln, his commission reading "For gallant and meritorious service in the Carolinas." In 1860 Judge Wickham married Emma J. Wildman, a sister of Judge Wildman, his old law partner, and by this union nine children have been born, six of whom are living-four sons and two daughters.
JOSEPH R. JOHNSTON, Youngstown. Honorable Joseph R. Johnston was born in Jackson township, Mahoning county, Ohio, September 12, 1840. He is of Scotch-Irish descent, some of his ancestors having been prominent in the affairs of Scotland both in matters of church and state. On coming to this country they settled in Pennsylvania, and in 1811 the branch from which he is directly descended came from Westmoreland county, now Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, to what is now Mahoning county, Ohio. The other branches of the family removed to the South. A prominent member of the family was General Albert Sidney Johnston, whose death at Shiloh termi- nated what gave promise of being a remarkably brilliant military career. General Joseph E. Johnston was also a distant relative. The father and
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