USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. II > Part 38
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a position from which he resigned, being succeeded by his father, within a year. As prosecuting attorney he brought to trial and convicted John O'Mic, an Indian, the first person tried for murder and executed in Cuyahoga county. The Indian was ably defended by Peter Hitchcock. In August, 1816, Mr. Kelley was elected president of the Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, the first bank established in Cleveland. It failed in 1820 ; was reorganized in 1832, and resumed business after paying off its liabilities, consisting of less than $10,000, due the treasurer of the United States. In 1814 he was elected repre- sentative in the State legislature, and was the youngest member of that body. He continued to represent Cuyahoga county at intervals until 1822, when he was appointed one of the canal commissioners. As early as 1820 there was some legislation in Ohio on the subject of joining Lake Erie and the Ohio river by a canal, and on the 31st day of January, 1822, an act was passed authorizing the appointment of a commission to examine into the feasibility of the project. The act named the commissioners. Alfred Kelley was super- vising commissioner during its construction, performing his duty with such fidelity and economy that the actual cost did not exceed the estimate. The dimensions of the Ohio canal were the same as those of the Erie canal of New York, but had almost double the number of locks, and yet the Erie canal cost $19,679 per mile. The Ohio canal cost $15,300 per mile, being less than that of any other canal constructed on this continent. The work was finished about 1830. The labor, for want of adequate facilities, was onerous, but Mr. Kel- ley's indomitable will and iron constitution overcame all obstacles. He neither charged nor received pay for his first year's services, and received only three dollars a day for the remainder of the time! During the construction of the canal Mr. Kelley moved to Akron, and later to Columbus, where he resided the remainder of his life. The eight years he had devoted to the exacting duties of canal commissioner told heavily upon his health. When the work was com- pleted he resigned, and retired to private life. In 1836, however, he was elected to the State legislature from Franklin county, and was his own succes- sor for two following terms. In the presidential campaign of 1840, Mr. Kelley was chairman of the Whig State central committee. The same year he was appointed State Fund commissioner, where he displayed his accustomed force and integrity. Ohio, like most of her sister States, was tempted to be dishonest, but thanks to Alfred Kelley she did not yield to the temptation. A strong fac- tion in the legislature in 1841 and 1842 advocated the non-payment of the inter- est accruing upon the State debt, and even the repudiation of the debt itself. Mr. Kelley, feeling keenly the impending disgrace to his State, went to New York and succeeded in obtaining a loan of nearly a quarter of a million dollars on his own personal security. With this the interest on the State debt was paid when due. He was one of a committee of three that adjusted the matter and saved the State's credit. Mr. Kelley was elected to the State Senate in 1844. While senator he drafted the bill to organize the State Bank of Ohio, and other banking companies, which was almost universally conceded to be the best bank- ing law then known in American legislation. While in the House, in 1818, Mr.
Cestuy Fubleship LEagi . . -
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Kelley was the author of the first bill to abolish imprisonment for debt ever presented to a legislative body. It did not become a law, but he clearly fore- saw that sooner or later justice would demand such a measure. In a letter to a friend he said : "The time will come when the absurdity as well as the inhumanity of adding oppression to misfortune will be acknowledged." Mr. Kelley became president of the Columbus & Xenia Railroad at the close of his senatorial term, to which he devoted his energy and influence until it was completed. In 1847 he accepted the presidency of the Cleveland and Cincinnati Railroad, and new life was instilled into the enterprise, which had languished for several years. Under his management it was completed in February, 1851. It is related that he dug the first wheelbarrow full of earth and dumped it to save the charter, by a show of work, on the right of way, and as a compliment he was allowed to lay the last rail. In 1848 Mr. Kelley became one of the projectors of the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Rail- road, and in 1880 became its president. He resigned the presidency of these roads on their completion, but remained a member of their several directories until his death. Mr. Kelley was again a member of the Ohio senate in 1857. His physical strength was much impaired, but he attended the sessions and was influential in passing important laws-especially in relation to taxes. He died December 2, 1859, leaving behind him many valuable monuments of his patient, useful toil. He was married in 1817 to Mary S. Wells, of Lowville. New York, and eleven children were born of the union.
SAMUEL HOWARD HOLDING, Cleveland. Mr. Holding was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 27, 1858. On his paternal side he is of English ancestry. The first of his ancestors in this country settled upon the eastern shore of Maryland about 1763. His grandfather removed to Smyrna, Delaware, where Mr. Holding's father was born, who in 1854 re- moved to Philadelphia, in which city he subsequently became engaged in mer- cantile business. He died in 1865. His maternal ancestors were Scotch on one side and French Huguenots on the other, the former being among the early settlers of Baltimore, Maryland, and the latter being among the first of those exiles to settle in Virginia. Mr. Holding received a public school and academical education. In 1877 he commenced the study of law under the direction of Robert Emmett Monaghan, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, and later in the office of Daniel Dougherty, of Philadelphia. He was admitted to the Bar March 11, 1880, and shortly thereafter came West to practice, locating in Cleveland, August 7, 1880, as attorney in the legal department of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway Company. He resigned his position October 1, 1886, and went to Cincinnati as member of the firm of Matthews, Holding & Greve. Withdrawing from this firm January 1, 1888, he again entered the legal department of the same railway as assistant general attorney. He remained with the company after its consolidation
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under the name of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company. On December 1, 1892, lie was removed to Cincinnati, where the general offices were located, and resigned January 1, 1893, to form a partner- ship with Harvey D. Goulder, in Cleveland, under the present firm name, Goulder & Holding. During his connection with the railway company he engaged in the trial of cases throughout Ohio and Indiana, and since that time he has been a special attorney for the trial of cases for that company. . The firm has a very large admiralty practice along the great lakes, besides business of a general nature. Mr. Holding is a Democrat, but never held office. He was a delegate to the National Convention at Chicago in 1896, but disa- greed with the platform and was one of the first to withdraw from the conven- tion. He was one of the forty-five who determined upon the organization of the National Democratic party in the "Sound Money Conference" of Democrats from eleven States, which assembled at Chicago, July 23, 1896. He after- wards represented Ohio on the Provisional National Committee and is now State chairman of that party.
WILLIAM L. MCELROY, Mount Vernon. The subject of this biography was born near Howard, Ohio, October 6, 1865. His father, James R. McElroy, was of Scotch-Irish descent, and his mother, Frances E. Mast, of German and Scotch lineage. He was reared on his father's farm, engaged in the usual farm work and attended the district schools until he was fourteen when he entered Butler University, at Irvington, Indiana. After remaining there one year he went thence to Bethany College, West Virginia, where he pursued the classical course, from which he was graduated, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, June 18, 1886. His scholarship entitled him to first honors of his class and to him was awarded the honor of delivering the Greek oration. Mr. McElroy, having completed his scholastic education, returned to his home in Ohio and entered the law office of William M. Kuns, at Mount Vernon, under whose instruction he was fitted for the Bar. December 6, 1887, he was admitted by the commission of the Supreme Court at Columbus to practice in all the courts of the State. Immediately thereafter he opened an office and entered upon the practice in Mount Vernon. August 11, 1888, he was nomi- nated in the Republican county convention for prosecuting attorney, and on the 6th of November following was elected, being the first Republican to hold that office for more than twenty years. Mr. McElroy has been successfully engaged in the practice continuously since his admission to the Bar, devoting himself to litigated cases. He studies his cases well and is widely informed in the law as well as general literature. He takes an active interest in politics and has been frequently chosen a delegate to district and State conventions of his party. In 1894 he received the hearty support of the Knox county delega- tion in the Congressional convention of the Fourteenth District held at Mount Vernon. He is still unmarried and resides with his aunt, Mrs. Catherine Cole- man. Mr. McElroy is a bright young lawyer of good abilities, studious habits
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and high promise. With his intellectual equipment, classical scholarship, application to the business of informing himself in the literature of his profes- sion, his prospect of success as a lawyer is unclouded, provided he continues to give his whole mind and all his talents to the profession. There is little doubt indeed of his attaining distinction at the Bar before reaching middle life. Should he be influenced by the guilded promises of politics and seek . preferment at the hands of his party, his ambition, personal character, knowl- edge of practical politics and undoubted qualifications for public office will be serviceable in securing for him high position.
MICHAEL DONNELLY, Napoleon. Judge Michael Donnelly was born in Henry county, Ohio, August 18, 1856, of parents who emigrated from Ireland and settled on a farm in that county. During boyhood he worked on the farm and attended the public schools. At the age of sixteen he entered the famous Normal University at Lebanon and completed the course therein, teaching a part of the time in order to support himself and make practical use of his acquirements. He was graduated in 1878, and took up the study of law in the office of Honorable Justin H. Tyler, at Napoleon. At an early age he discov- ered in himself a very strong inclination toward the law, and his purpose to qualify himself for practice was formed while yet a school-boy. This purpose was resolutely maintained, and he therefore engaged in the preliminary reading with heartiness and zest. He was admitted to the Bar in December, 1880, and was at once received into a partnership by his preceptor, Mr. Tyler, under the firm name of Tyler & Donnelly. This partnership was maintained until 1886, when Mr. Donnelly was elected Probate Judge of Henry county, as the candi- date of the Democratic party. Before the close of his first term he was re- nominated and re-elected, serving as judge for six years. Upon retiring from the Bench he resumed the practice of law and succeeded in estab- lishing himself in a profitable business while building up and extending his reputation as a lawyer. In 1894, he received the Democratic nomination for judge of the Court of Common Pleas, but was overtaken by the Republican landslide which buried all opposition in November of that year. Even candi- dates for the judiciary did not escape. Mr. Donnelly's activity in support of his party for fifteen years prior to that time, and his astuteness as a politician, counted for naught in a campaign like that of 1894. An overwhelming majority of the people took occasion to register a protest against certain poli- cies inaugurated at Washington, and many voters, either discontented or displeased, remained away from the polls and permitted the opposition to register the protest. Mr. Donnelly is possessed of unusual business sagacity and a strong will. Receiving no aid from others, he learned very early the lesson of self-dependence and self-reliance. He took the measure of his own capacity pretty accurately by the things accomplished and the means employed, and early became closely observant of life in its various aspects and
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the affairs with which men concern themselves. He has always been practical and methodical, working with an aim in view and making effective use of every force or influence available for success. He was the active, working influence at Napoleon which secured the Lima Northern Railroad for Henry county. The projectors had other plans, intending the road should take a different course, but the active interest and persistent efforts of Judge Don- nelly succeeded. His activity has been uniformly enlisted in behalf of enter -. prises promotive of the public welfare. He was married July 5, 1886, to Miss May Vocke, of Napoleon, and has a family of one daughter and three sons. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church. A personal friend and capable member of the Bar furnished the information that Judge Donnelly's strong point is his remarkable faculty for business. He is naturally and easily a money-maker. His instinct for business is keen, his sense of adaptation strong, and his discernment clear. His mind works rapidly and accurately. He is quick to apprehend every point in a law case or business transaction. He aims directly at the principles of the law on which any case depends, and devotes himself with tireless industry to the search and examination of authorities, either sustaining or combating his theory. He studies sedulously and is exceedingly accurate in the preparation of his pleadings. He has laid a sub- stantial foundation in the law, and is careful as well as methodical in the trial of cases. He presents and sums up his cases before a court and jury in admir- able style, and at the same time very effectively. He reasons well and power- fully. He has built for himself an irreproachable character, and has maintained a spotless reputation in his domestic relations as well as the larger arena of his professional and business activities. His gentleness is indicated by his abound- ing love of children.
WALTER C. ONG, Cleveland. Honorable Walter C. Ong, judge of the Court of Common Pleas, was born in Smithfield township, Jefferson county, Ohio, on the 24th day of November, 1851. His father, Moses H. Ong, was a farmer and a native of Ohio, whose grandfather, a Quaker minister, came to the State at the beginning of the present century from Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. The Ongs are of English descent. Members of the family emigrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania not long after William Penn founded his Quaker colony. His mother, Mary Cane, was a native of Ohio and was descended from Scotch stock. Her family settled first in Vir- ginia and came to Ohio in the early days. Young Ong's primary education was obtained in the district schools, from which he was received into the high school at Mt. Pleasant, Ohio. Afterwards he entered Richmond College, where he was graduated in 1870, after completing the classical course. Hav- ing selected law for his profession he entered the law office of W. P. Haves at Steubenville, where he remained one year. He then entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, in which he derived much benefit from lectures by the first and probably the greatest faculty of that Department-Thomas
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Walter C. Org
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M. Cooley, the late James V. Campbell and the late Charles I. Walker-all of whom were not only eminent in the profession, but also exceptionally capable and masterful instructors. He was graduated as a Bachelor of Laws in 1874. Returning to Ohio at once he went to Columbus and was admitted to the Bar of the State by the Supreme Court. He commenced practice at Steubenville alone. In the fall of 1875 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Jefferson county, and subsequently was re-elected, serving two terms of two years each. In 1879 he formed his first partnership, with Charles Reynolds, the firm being Ong & Reynolds. This partnership lasted only a year, when it was dissolved, and he became associated with John A. Mansfield, now of the Common Pleas Bench. The style of this firm was Ong & Mansfield, and the partnership lasted until 1882. Mr. Ong having determined to locate in Cleveland, arrived there June 27th of that year and at once opened an office and practiced alone until 1884, when he formed a co-partnership with F. C. McMillan, under the name of Ong & McMilian. This relation was continued six years. On January 1, 1891, he formed a partnership with Walter Hamilton, a son of Judge E. T. Hamilton, who was for twenty years a judge of the Court of Common Pleas at Cleveland. Ong and Hamilton remained together until the 1st of Febru- ary, 1894. On the 9th of February in that year Judge Ong took his seat on the Common Pleas Bench, to which he had been chosen at the fall election in 1893. From 1886 to 1888 Judge Ong represented the Twentieth ward in the city council. He is a Republican with convictions on the subject of finance and coinage, and is enrolled with the members of his party who openly declare themselves in favor of independent bimetalism. Judge Ong while at the Bar enjoyed a large practice. He is quick and outspoken, always having the cour- age of his convictions. He is a fair, impartial judge and has shown great clearness and force in the interpretation of the principles of law. In 1875 he married Anna M. Mansfield, and there are two children from the union, a daughter and a son.
ELGIN A. ANGELL, Cleveland. E. A. Angell was born at Hanover Centre. Chautauqua county, New York, on the 14th day of August, 1849. His father, C. D. Angell, has for years been in the oil business, and now engaged at Pitts- burg in the buying and selling of oil lands. On the paternal side he is descended from Thomas Angell, who came over with Roger Williams in 1632. and was related to him. The family settled in that part of New England known as the Providence Plantations, afterwards Rhode Island. The great- grandfather went to Berkshire county, Massachusetts, in 1778, and thence to New York State, where he died. The grandfather was one of the pioneers of western New York. His mother, Lucina Sheppard, was born in central New York, her family being among the earlier settlers of that part of the State. At the age of thirteen Elgin was sent to the Belleville Seminary, at Belleville, Canada, where he remained for two years. On his return home he remained out of school for three years, and during this time received instruction at home.
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In 1869 he entered Harvard College, taking his degree of B. A. in 1873. After graduating he at once entered the law department of the college and took his degree of LL. B. in 1875. In college he was a close student of history and political economy. This no doubt greatly influenced him in the selection of law as his profession. In the spring of 1876 he was admitted to the Bar at Youngstown, where he practiced for ten months. He then removed to Cleve- land and practiced alone until 1884, at which time he formed a partnership with Mr. J. H. Webster, the firm being Webster & Angell. Mr. Angell, while active in the practice of the law, has found much time to devote to historical and economic questions, has written many articles on these subjects and deliv- ered a number of addresses.
A recent and very able paper on " The Tax Inquisition System in Ohio" was published in the February number of the Yale Review. In 1893 he was appointed by Governor Mckinley a member of the Ohio tax commission, serving until the first of January, 1894, when the commission made its report. Since that time he has served on two committees appointed by the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, each committee making reports which have been published. He has been a contributor to the reviews of this country devoted to the discussion of economics. The laws of heredity teach us that man is the sum of his ancestors, but to view him properly we must take into account all the modifications of education and surrounding cir- cumstances. On both sides of the house the subject of this sketch is descended from historical families, who have contributed much to the glory and good of our country. With a thorough education and a broad, practical experience acquired before reaching the prime of life, it is safe to predict greater achieve- ments. As a historical and economic writer and in his profession as a lawyer his influence in the community has been felt. By the Cleveland Bar he is considered an authority on all questions relating to taxation. A man of high moral character, straightforward, prompt and candid in all business and social ' duties, he has the respect and confidence of all who know him. Until three or four years ago his practice was of a general character, not confined to any particular branch of the law. Now, however, it is confined almost entirely to litigated patent cases. He does no soliciting, leaving that to the regular patent solicitor. In politics he is a Republican, but he has never been an office- seeker and has never held political office, preferring to devote himself to the work for which he is so ably equipped and well suited. He has, however, made a number of political speeches. In 1887 he married Lily Curtis, of Con- necticut, and by the union has two children, a son and daughter, both living.
ALBERT J. MICHAEL, Cleveland. A. J. Michael was born in Ross county, Ohio, October 12, 1849. His father, John Michael, a farmer, was the first child in his family born in the State after his parents moved from Baltimore, Maryland, and located in the Virginia Military District. Mr. Michael is related to Thomas Jefferson, his grandmother on his paternal side being a
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BENJAMIN F. POWER
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nieee of Jefferson. His mother, Katharine Hauser, was also the first child in her family born in Ohio after her parents came to Ross county from Lees- burg, Virginia. On the maternal side he is related to the McDowells of Vir- ginia, one of whom was governor of that State. On both sides of the house he is of English extraction. Young Michael's early education was obtained in the publie schools at Chillicothe. In 1869 he entered Ohio University, graduating with honors in 1872. Afterwards he took a special course in Har- vard University, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Having been compelled to educate himself he found himself in debt when his collegiate education was completed. He accepted the superintendeney of schools at Monroeville, Ohio, which position he held for five years. Afterwards he held a similar position for one year at Youngstown. Having determined upon law as his profes- sion when in College, he devoted as much time as could be sparcd to the study of law. In 1880 he came to Cleveland and entered the office of Judge C. E. Pennewell, under whose directions he completed his studies, and in 1881 was admitted to practice. He at once opened an office, and has since devoted himself industriously to his profession. He now enjoys a large and luerative business. Mr. Michael has always practiced alone, never forming a partner- ship. In polities he is a Republican, always taking a great interest in the work of his party, and whenever necessary has given mueh time to public speaking. In the last campaign he made many speeches for MeKinley. Mr. Michael was for one term (two years) a member of the Cleveland eity eouneil, the second year of the term being the president of that body. He served one year as a member of the park and boulevard commission, rendering most valuable services to that important body. He was for fifteen years a member of the board of examiners of public school teachers for Cleveland, and for nine years president of the board. Mr. Michael is highly respected in Cleve- land. He is industrious and painstaking in his work, and has shown marked ability in his profession for one so young in practice. He has never married.
BENJAMIN F. POWER, Zanesville. Mr. Power was born near MeConnells- ville, June, 1837, and died at Zanesville, September 8, 1895. During all the interval of fifty-eight years he was a resident of the State of Ohio. His parents were both natives of Virginia. They emigrated to Ohio in 1837 and settled on the farm where Benjamin was born. The family was numerous, and the father's means were limited, necessitating the incessant labor of the sons for the common support of all the members. On this account the carly education of Benjamin was sadly neglected. He never attended school of any kind until he reached the age of sixteen. He had mastered the common branches usually taught in the publie schools of that day at home, so that after attending school for a period of eighteen months he received a certificate to teach in the district sehools, an avocation he followed for several years during the winter, attending Ohio University, at Athens, during the summer. He
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