USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. II > Part 39
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had decided on the law profession for his life work and occupied his leisure hours while teaching in the study of law privately and under the instruction of the late Judge Hanna, of McConnellsville. In the meantime the civil war broke out, and his sense of duty to his country impelled him to sacrifice per- sonal ends for his country's welfare. He enlisted in Company C, 122d Ohio Volunteer Infantry, August 16, 1862, at Zanesville, for three years or during the war. While in camp at Zanesville, before going to the front, he passed examination before the Circuit Court and was admitted to the Bar to practice in the courts of the State. After a few months' service in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia his regiment was attached to the Army of the Potomac, and was with it to the end of the war. Mr. Power entered the ranks as a private, was promoted to first sergeant, commissioned first lieutenant June 27, 1864, and captain December 7 of the same year. He, with his regiment, par- ticipated in Grant's Virginia campaign, and was in the engagements at Front Royal, the two weeks' fighting in the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Bermuda Hundred, Petersburg and the Monocacy and the wind up at Sailor Creek and Five Forks. He was mustered out of the service after taking part in the grand review at Washington in July, 1865, at Columbus, Ohio. Returning to his home in Morgansville, in Morgan county, he soon after began the practice of his profession at McConnellsville, in partnership with Colonel William H. Ball, who in later years became one of the most prominent attorneys at Zanesville, and for several years judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Muskingum county. Mr. Power was the inventor and patentee of an elliptic spring for use in railway cars and road vehicles. The law firm of Ball & Power was dissolved after several years' duration to permit Mr. Power to give his attention to the manufacture of this spring, a company having been organized for that purpose. The spring came into general use on railroad cars, and there was a time when Mr. Power could have sold out his interests in the business and patent to great pecuniary advantage. The man- ufacturing business proved disastrous in the end, on account of the J. Cook & Co.'s failure, which caused the worst financial disasters in manufacturing in the history of our country, and he lost both his investment and time given to the business. After the failure of this venture he returned to McConnellsville and resumed the practice of law alone, continuing there for several years, when he removed to Zanesville; forming a partnership with Judge W. A. Brown, of that city. This association continued until Mr. Power removed to Dresden, in 1874. He resided there, practicing his profession for six years, and during that time built up a large practice. In 1880 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Muskingum county, and was re-elected a second term in 1884. Accepting the office of prosecutor made it necessary to remove to Zanesville, and at the close of his official term he continued to practice in that city, in partnership with Mr. H. F. Achener, which continued for about two years, when the firm was dissolved and a partnership was formed with his son, Edwin E. Power, under firm name of Power & Power, which remained in effect until the death of the senior member of the firm.
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Mr. Power was a typical representative of the self-made men of the country. He had no education until he himself realized the necessity for it, and then it was obtained entirely by his own efforts. He achieved distinction in the military service, and rose to a prominent position in his profession by virtue of his own indomitable will, perseverance and force of character. Asa lawyer he achieved the greatest success in criminal practice, though he made no claim of being a specialist in this line of business. He was the author of the system under which the Zanesville work house is operated, which has proved so beneficial that it has been duplicated by many other towns and in other States. He was a prominent factor in bringing about the erection of the beautiful Memorial Building in Zanesville, by Muskingum county, for the benefit of the soldiers and sailors of the volunteer army of 1861-5. Mr. Power was a member of the Democratic party, of which he was a leader for many years in the community where he resided. While active in party man- agement, he never sought preferment for himself, the only office he ever accepted being in the line of his profession. Ile was a member of the I. O. O. F. and the G. A. R. He affiliated with the Christian Church, of which he was an honored member. He was married in 1860 to Miss Aurelia M. Scott, daughter of Alvin and Melissa Scott, of McConnellsville. They had five sons, of whom Edwin E. was the eldest. Mr. Power was recognized as a useful citizen and was highly esteemed. Said a prominent attorney of Zanesville:
" B. F. Power was one of our successful lawyers, though as a jurist he did not rank in the highest class. His greatest ability was as an advocate and trial lawyer. He was a man who had excellent command of himself on his feet, and his ability to state before a jury all he knew about a case in the strongest form was remarkable. In some respects he was a brilliant man, but was not particularly fond of study or office details of the profession. I do not wish to be understood as implying that he was disinclined to work ; he was an industrious man. His mind was too active to contentedly dwell on abstract questions of law. The active part of the practice suited him better, and he was also better adapted by nature for the trial and argument of cases. He had a very receptive mind, quick perception, and an extensive vocabulary- qualifications that fitted him well for a trial lawyer. His reputation as a criminal lawyer was high, and as an office lawyer he was above the average. He was a man of great versatility, and would have been successful in business had he devoted hinself to that instead of a profession. His military record was excellent. He was a brave soldier, and arose to a command because of conspicuous gallantry on many fields of battle. He was a useful citizen, and had the estcem of the public of the community as well as of the profession."
Edwin E. Power, successor to Power & Power, is a native of Morgan county, and his literary education was obtained largely in the public schools of Zanesville. He graduated from the high school of that city, after which he took a course in the Ohio University, at Columbus. In 1889 he took up the study of law in his father's office, and in 1892 was admitted to the Bar by the Supreme Court. He at once entered on the practice of his profession, in part- nership with his father, and has ever since been in active practice alone, since his father's death. He had the prestige of an established business, and is
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maintaining himself well in the practice of law. He is a member of the order of Red Men and of the Masonic order. In politics he is a Democrat, and is quite active in local party management; was chairman of the county central com- mittee for the year 1895. He is studious and upright, and has the respect of the profession, and of the public wherever he is known.
JAMES M. THOMAS, Chillicothe. James Milton Thomas is a native of Ross county, the son of Archibald and Mary Norris Thomas, born April 24, 1858. He is a descendant of Samuel Thomas who emigrated to America in 1620 as one of the Mayflower's sturdy passengers and settled in New England. ,His grandfather, Samuel Thomas, and grandmother, Jane Payne, were both natives of Maryland who married and lived in Virginia until 1818, when they moved to Ohio and located a homestead in that part of Ross county which is now included in Pickaway. The locality was known as the Deer Creek settle- ment. That homestead scattered three generations of the family, two of whom, the father, who was born in Virginia in 1814, and grandfather of our subject, died there. Both the Paynes and Thomases are of Welsh descent. Archibald Thomas was the only son of Samuel Thomas and Jane Payne, but had three sisters. He was highly respected in the community and lived until 1888. He was married twice, the first time to Miss Sarah Ater, by whom he had two children: William A., who is a citizen of Pickaway county, and Mary A., wife of John J. Junk, of Judsonia, Arkansas. His second wife was Mary E. Nor- ris daughter of Leonard and Dorothy Shepard Norris, who were likewise natives of Maryland. Her grandfather, Arnold Norris, was an officer of the Rev- olutionary army, in which other relatives also rendered valiant service. James Milton was the sixth of nine children born to Archibald Thomas and Mary E. Norris, his second wife. He sprang from patriotic and puritan ancestors, brave and reliable in the military service of the country and true to their con- victions in the civil service. He worked on the farm and attended the district school until he was seventeen years of age, having qualified himself for teach- ing in the meantime. For three years thereafter he engaged in teaching and in 1879 entered Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, with a view to com- pleting his scholastic education. He did not remain for the full course, but resumed teaching at Clarksburg and at the same time pursued the study of law in its preliminary stages. Afterwards he continued his legal studies in the office of Judge William H. Safford, until his admission to the Bar in June, 1884, and then immediately entered upon the practice in Chillicothe. Having a good knowledge of the principles of law, a general acquaintance in the com- munity and the full confidence of the public, as well as his colleagues at the Bar, he soon built up a profitable practice, which continued to increase until 1893, when he was elected Judge of Probate. Judge Thomas is an active member of the Republican party, whose candidate he was for mayor in 1885. The Democratic majority was too great to be overcome, but he succeeded in
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JAMES M. THOMAS.
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reducing it about one-half. He was married October 18, 1887, to Miss Flora E. Wayland, whose father is a merchant of Chillicothe. Four children are the offspring of this marriage : William A., Julia E., Lulu W. and Virginia E. His membership with that of his family is in the First Presbyterian Church of Chillicothe. The only fraternity or benevolent society to which he belongs is the Order of Elks and in this he is prominent .. The opinions of prominent associates of the Bar may be accepted as the basis of a correct estimate of his qualities and characteristics. One says:
" Judge Thomas is universally popular, is genial, social and very approach- able. Although a young man he has been very successful; is very thorough in whatever he undertakes and is more concerned about doing his duty than to secure fame. He stands very high socially. He had a fine .office practice and a large business in settling up estates ; his advice was sought and trusted by all."
A judge of high reputation says:
"Judge Thomas is a man of good education and fine intellect-a solid man ; not particularly brilliant, but a sound, safe man of good judgment; a safe counsellor who stands as well as any young man at this Bar. He is uni- versally popular; has a good legal mind, well versed in the principles of the law ; is a very good trial attorney, quick to discern the strong points in his case and careful to avoid those that endanger it ; is a fine commercial lawyer, but is more than a commercial lawyer-a universal lawyer is more appropri- ate. He is a pleasant speaker, has a ready use of language and a nice dis- crimination of points. In his present position he is rendering great satisfac- tion ; is upright and thoroughly honest, and his judgments are usually satis- factory."
ANDREW R. BOLIN, Circleville. Honorable A. R. Bolin, a native of the city in which he resides, was born in January, 1849. His parents were John P. and Mary A. (Brannon) Bolin, the former of French and the latter of Irish descent, and both natives of Martinsburg, West Virginia. Mr. Bolin's pater- nal grandfather came to America from France in the early part of the present century and lost his life in defense of his adopted country during the War of 1812. He died at Norfolk, Virginia. At that time the family name was spelled Boleyn, but the succeeding generation dropped the "y " and eventually adopted the present mode of spelling the name. John P. Bolin, the father of our subject, married and came to Ohio in 1834, settling first in Jackson town- ship, but later removed to Circleville, where he engaged in contracting and building, but spent the later years of his life at Harrisburg, Franklin county, in the vocation of a hotel keeper. Andrew was the youngest in a family of seven children; his preliminary education was in the public schools of his native town, but at the early age of twelve years he was thrown on his own resources. Young as he was he appreciated the value of an education and bent all of his slender resources in that direction. At the age of seventeen he had completed the course in the Circleville public schools, then followed teaclı- ing and other avocations by which he could earn an honest penny. In 1867
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he entered Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, and was graduated from that institution four years later with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, receiving the honors of his class. At a later period the faculty conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. Mr. Bolin had chosen the law profession for a life work and immediately after leaving college took up legal studies which he pursued for about one year, first with Judge Olds, now of Columbus, and later with Henry F. Page, a leading member of the Circleville Bar, now deceased. In 1872 he entered the Law Department of the Cincinnati College, from which he was graduated the next year with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was admitted to the Bar in the same year and at once entered upon the prac- tice of his profession at Circleville among the friends of his youth by whom he was honored and respected for the gallant up-hill fight he had made to get a start in life. His natural ability, fine attainments, and industry soon brought him into prominence in his profession and obtained for himself a cli- entage that extended far beyond the usual boundaries of the Pickaway county Bar. He has taken an active part on one side or the other in most of the important litigations that originated in his county during the past twenty years. A few of the cases in which he took a leading part that attracted widespread attention was the "Thomas Brown Will Case," involving some $300,000 worth of property in which he succeeded in his contentions for sustaining the will. Another will case that was important in which he was one of the counsel was the McArthur case, in which on the different sides of the case were engaged many of the most eminent lawyers of the State. One of the most hotly contested cases ever tried in Pickaway county was what was known as the Bond-Renick Contract case. Mr. Bolin was one of the leading counsel for the plaintiff, assisted by Job E. Stevenson, A. J. Cunning- ham and J. K. Love, of Cincinnati. The trial occupied six weeks and cost nearly $25,000. The defendants won, but the verdict was set aside and a new trial granted, and finally the case was compromised. He has also estab- lished more than a local reputation as a criminal lawyer, and in that capacity is often called to practice in outside districts. He in recent years defended four murder cases, that of the State of Ohio vs. Bechtel ; State vs. Newlen ; the State vs. Shaw, and the last one the State of Ohio vs. Josephine Purcell, which was tried in July, 1896. In every case he obtained a verdict of acquit- tal except the first one, Bechtel. He received a penitentiary sentence. He is known as a working attorney, and never slights the drudgery of the profes- sion. He prepares his cases thoroughly and tries them on their merits. He sticks close to his practice and has never held office or engaged in any outside business that took his attention from his professional work except as a member of the general assembly of Ohio. One of his senior colleagues of the Circle- ville Bar, in referring to the professional side of his life, observed :
"Mr. Bolin is a good all around lawyer and has made himself from the start without the aid of money or influential friends. He arose in his profes- sion by virtue of hard work and natural ability. He is very unassuming in his manner and is affable and courteous in his bearing towards his fellow men
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Virgil P. Kline
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whether he meets them at his home, in public places or in the court room. He has always been a close student, but has not confined himself to his law books ; his readings have covered a wide range of subjects and this no doubt has con- tributed in a large measure to his success as a trial lawyer and a public speaker. He has a logical mind and is able to clothe his thoughts in clear, concise and forcible language, and in the trial of important cases, or on the platform, under the spur of deep feeling his addresses are often truly eloquent. Any man who is gentlemanly in his deportment is apt to be graceful in bear- ing, and Mr. Bolin is no exception to the rule. He is a man of keen percep- tions and always ready to take any fair advantage, but never stoops to trick- ery, or anything that could be construed as unprofessional. As a lawyer he stands high and as a citizen he has the respect and esteem of the entire com- munity. In his political affiliations he is Democratic, and takes an active interest in advancing its principles, both with his ballot and on the public ros- trum. As a campaign orator he has quite a reputation, often being called into border States to talk for his party."
In 1880 he was a candidate for presidential elector on the Hancock ticket and in 1888 he was the nominee of his party in this congressional district, but as it had at that time a nominal Republican majority of 4,000 he was not elected ; but his popularity was such that he reduced this by nearly 1,500 votes. He is prominent in Masonic circles, is Past Master of the Blue Lodge, High Priest of the Chapter and Eminent Commander of the Scioto Commandery Knights Templar of Circleville, a thirty-second degree Mason and a Shriner, and has been a delegate to the grand bodies. Mr. Bolin was married April 8, 1875, to Miss Sophronia Rector, daughter of Edward and Sophronia Rector, one of the oldest and most prominent families of Pickaway county. They have two children living : Stuart R. and Mabel E. Bolin.
VIRGIL P. KLINE, Cleveland. Virgil P. Kline was born at Congress, Wayne county, Ohio, on November 3, 1844. When a small boy his parents moved to Conneaut, Ashtabula county, Ohio, where he attended the common schools. He was prepared for college in the Eclectic Institute at Hiram, entered Williams College in 1864, and was graduated in 1866. After gradua- tion he was superintendent of public schools at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, for two years. In 1869 he moved to Cleveland and began the study of law in the office of Albert T. Slade, and was admitted to the Bar in 1870. He immedi- ately formed a partnership with his preceptor, under the firm of Slade & Kline, which lasted until the death of Mr. Slade in 1874. He then joined in partnership with John M. Henderson, under the firm name of Henderson & Kline. This firm continued until 1882, when S. H. Tolles entered the part- nership, and it then became Henderson, Kline & Tolles, and so continued until January 1, 1895, when Mr. Henderson withdrew from the partnership. From January 1, 1895, to January 1, 1896, the firm was Kline & Tolles, when another partnership was formed with W. F. Carr and F. H. Goff, the name of the firm then becoming Kline, Carr, Tolles & Goff, and has since so continued.
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Mr. Kline is a lawyer of fine ability, holding the front rank in his profession. No lawyer in the State is a more ready and powerful advocate, or a more industrious student of his cases, or in a higher degree commands the confidence of courts. He has an unusual talent for effective work and a recognized genius for quick and comprehensive perception and safe judgment. His clientage is made up of all classes, rich and poor. Mr. Kline has always been a Democrat in politics and in social life. Democracy is part of his nature. In the application of civil government to the affairs of men, he sees and advo- cates democracy as the best means by which to establish equality in accord- ance with justice. He has frequently been placed in nomination by his party for judicial office, for Common Pleas, Circuit Court and Supreme Court judge- ships, and, although always running ahead of his ticket, he has never been elected, because when on the ticket his party has always been in the minority. For many years he has taken a prominent part in the counsels and campaigns of his party. Whether at the Bar, in politics, or on general sub- jects, upon which he is often invited to deliver addresses, his speeches are distinguished by clearness of thought and impressiveness of delivery, by learn- ing and brilliancy. As a man, Mr. Kline occupies a prominent station among his fellow men. Of remarkable strength of character and of unquestioned integrity, generous in disposition and a hater of shams, his actions always inspired by lofty purpose, no nian at the Bar or as a citizen has greater influ- ence in the community in which he lives.
JAMES M. COFFINBERRY, Cleveland. The late James M. Coffinberry was born May 16, 1818, in Mansfield, Ohio. He came naturally by a strong intellect and a logical cast of mind, having inherited from his father a decided predisposition for the law and ability of a special nature. His grandfather was one of the very first settlers of Mansfield, and his father, Andrew Coffin- berry, was a man of strong character and rare mental gifts, and was distin- guished as a lawyer and pleader throughout northwestern Ohio. He was ad- mitted to the Bar in 1813 and rode the circuit in the early days, and was in active practice for over forty years, and until within a short time of his death, which occurred in 1856. He was greatly respected for his exemplary habits and purity of thought, and he readily made friends through his affable and courteous manners and his keen ready wit, which never caused a sting except to him who really deserved it. He was known familiarly by his brother law- yers, particularly the younger portion of them, as "the good Count Coffin- berry," and usually behind his back, and often to his face, was called "Count." So persistently was the term used throughout the country that many supposed "Count" to have been his first or Christian name. Many stories are told of the origin of this nick-name, but the most plausible one is that some one called him "Count" because of his courtly manners ; everybody at once saw its applicability, and in consequence the name staid with him. Andrew Coffin-
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berry was a poet of considerable ability and had an extended reputation as such in his portion of the State. In 1840 he wrote an extended poem of very considerable merit in seven cantos entitled "The Forest Rangers." It is a vivid and stirring story of the march of General Wagner's army against the Indians in 1749, and his final victory over them. James M. Coffinberry attended the common schools of Mansfield, and all his early education was obtained at them. He then studied law with his father who had moved to Perrysburg, in Wood county, gaining practical experience in the practice of the law while still a student by rendering assistance to his father, under advice. In 1841 he was admitted to practice and was at once taken into partnership by his father, opening an office at Maumee city, at that time the county seat of Lucas county. Young Coffinberry's ability and the excellence of his train- ing soon brought him into prominence at the Bar, which in those days meant prominence in politics. He was elected prosecuting attorney for the county and was re-elected for a second term. In 1845 he removed to Findlay, where he remained for a period of, about ten years practicing his profession with marked success and taking a leading position among his associates. Although he took no part in politics as a candidate for office, he had much to do with forming public opinion and wielded much influence in political affairs. This power he exercised as editor and proprietor of the Findlay Herald, a Whig paper. Mr. Coffinberry moved to Cleveland in 1855. Here he devoted him- self exclusively to his profession and, as his reputation had preceded him, he almost immediately found himself possessed of a fine and lucrative practice. He had been in Cleveland but six years when he was induced to accept a nomination for judge of the Court of Common Pleas and he was duly elected, serving one term. Through his quick decisions of legal questions raised on trial, his impartiality and learning he gave unusual satisfaction to the Bar. Judge Coffinberry was particularly gifted in formulating charges to the jury. They were essentially logical and lucid in dealing with the law of the case, and so clearly set forth the duties of a juror in reaching a verdict that one could rarely go wrong except wilfully. His charge to the jury in the case of the State vs. Dr. John W. Hughes, who was indicted for the murder of Tamzen Parsons, of Bedford, in 1865, gained for the judge a wide reputation. The case was a celebrated one and attracted attention among laymen as well as law- yers, and it was generally acknowledged that the charge by Judge Coffinberry was one of the ablest ever delivered from the Bench of Cuyahoga county in a trial for murder. While living it was written of him, "He possessed an apparently intuitive perception of legal truths, a peculiar faculty for seizing the strong points of a case, and great power to present his arguments in an original and forcible manner. While appreciating the learning of the profes- sion and ever mindful of its nice distinctions, he made them subservient to his own broad and liberal views." This statement is remarkable in view of the claim that while acting as judge he never had a case reversed. On leaving the bench he resumed for a time the practice of the law, but was obliged to dis- continue it on account of poor licalthi. He was naturally fond of study and
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