USA > Ohio > Bench and bar of Ohio; a compendium of history and biography, Vol. II > Part 46
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Judge Russell was married September 23, 1873, to Miss Florence R. Ral- ston, daughter of James Ralston, of Meigs county. They have three children : Ralston, Albert D. and Florence E. He is a member of Pomeroy Lodge Free and Accepted Masons, also of Bosworth Council and of the Grand Army of the Republic.
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FREDERICK H. GOFF, Cleveland. F. H. Goff, the junior member of the firm of Kline, Carr, Tolles & Goff, was born at Blackberry, Kane county, Illi- nois, on the 15th day of December, 1858. His father, Frederick C. Goff, who is largely interested in coal mining, is a native of Connecticut. In 1854 he removed to Columbia, South Carolina, where he remained but a short time. He removed to Chicago in 1856, and from there went to Kane county, Illinois, where the subject of this sketch was born. In 1862 lie removed to Chicago, where he resided until 1866. From Chicago he came to Cleveland, where he has since resided. The mother of Frederick II. Goff, Catherine J. Brown, was born in New York City in 1835. He attended the public schools of Cleveland , until eighteen years of age. In 1876 he entered the high school at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he was prepared for the university. In 1878 he entered the University of Michigan, and was graduated in 1881. Returning to Cleveland, he was appointed librarian of the law library, and at once began the study of law under the direction of Judge C. E. Pennewell. In 1883 he was admitted to the Bar. In October of the same year he began practice in the office of W. F. Carr. In the following year the firm of Carr & Goff was formed, and con- tinued until January 1st, 1890, when the firm of Estep, Dickey, Carr & Goff was organized. January 1st, 1896, Messrs. Carr & Goff withdrew and assisted in forming the firm of Kline, Carr, Tolles & Goff. He continues in the prac- tice as a member of this firm. Mr. Goff is the general counsel of the Cleve- land Terminal and Valley Railroad, and the local counsel of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He is a lawyer of ability, a close student, and occupies an enviable position at the Bar and in the community. Politically he is a Repub- lican, but has never held or sought office. He is a member of the Rowfant Club, the leading literary organization of Cleveland. In October, 1894, Mr. Goff married Frances, daughter of W. P. Southworth, of Cleveland. By this union there is one daughter.
HENRY G. BAKER, Defiance. The subject of this sketch is a native of Ohio, born at Cleveland, September 22, 1857. His mother was a native of the State of New York, of Dutch lineage, and his father emigrated from Holland. His paternal ancestors, originally English, removed from England to Holland in the days of Peter the Hermit, at the time when the followers of that great preacher were making their first pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They pos- sessed much of the self-abnegation and the consecration to duty that charac- terized the pilgrims of the Crusades and those of a later century who left Holland for America to secure freedom of conscience in worship. The family removed from Cleveland and settled in Defiance when Henry was only eight years old, so that his early education was acquired in the common schools of the latter city. It was begun and ended in the public schools, so far as text- books and class recitations are concerned. In 1879, at the age of twenty-two, he commenced the study of law in the office of Hill & Myers, and was
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admitted to the Bar in 1881. Taking up the practice alone he continued in that way until January 1, 1897, when he formed a partnership with Honor- able W. D. Hill, who was head of the firm in whose office he pursued his pre- paratory studies. Mr. Baker has always manifested lively interest in politics and affairs generally, supporting the Democratic party loyally by the full measure of his influence. In 1879 he was elected justice of the peace and enjoyed the distinction of being the youngest incumbent of that office in the State of Ohio. After discharging the duties of the justice's office two years he resigned. In 1890 he was elected probate judge and held the office one term. As candidate for re-election in 1894 he was caught in the avalanche which swept his party off its feet throughout the country, and was permitted to return to the practice of law. In 1892 he was appointed commissioner of the World's Columbian Exposition. This graceful compliment was bestowed by Governor Campbell, and was the last official act of that governor. He was one of the very active Ohio commissioners transacting business relating to the exposition, was chairman of the committee on education and a member of several other important committees. He is not actively connected with church or society affairs. September 12, 1881, he was married to Miss Lilian M. Steele, of Henry county, a cousin of Chief Justice Waite. Their only child is Myrtle, born September 11, 1882. Mr. Baker spent two or three years of his time, after being admitted to the Bar, in travel and observation through all the Western States and Territories, including the Republic of Mexico, which give him an opportunity of observing and studying the various conditions in the laws, manners and customs of the people upon our Western frontier and of its Mexican neighbors. He is a man of pleasing address, exceedingly urbane and courteous to all with whom he comes in contact, and though not possessing a classical education, lie impresses himself upon strangers as a thoroughly educated man. He is an advocate of more than ordinary power, and is a natural orator. Though young in the practice, he has already attained a reputation as one of the best lawyers and advocates in north- western Ohio. On the first of January last he formed a partnership with W. D. Hill, his former preceptor, and the firm of Hill & Baker now enjoys a lucrative practice at Defiance. It is conceded by everyone, both friends and political opponents, that in every public position he has filled he has done it with great credit to himself and to the service in which he was employed. His old-time popularity in Defiance county and northwestern Ohio has more than returned to him, and wiped out the sting of his defeat in 1894, which was brought about by financial failures in Ohio, with which he was supposed to be connected, but in which he was really not interested to the extent of a single dollar. In 1896 his friends urged him to be a candidate for his old position, probate judge, but he declined. His subsequent experience has shown that he would have been elected by an immense majority, but his law practice is more lucrative than the salary of that office. Ile is a man of untiring energy, and of sleepless vigilance in the prosecution of his business, never neglecting a
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single detail which he thinks might be of service to his clients. If he continues to grow in reputation and usefulness as he has in the last two or three years he is destined to become one of the most eminent lawyers of the State.
WILLIAM L. PARMENTER, Lima. William Lewis Parmenter, born at Lima, Ohio, May 12, 1867, is of English descent. His father was Cornelius Parmenter, a native of Greene county, New York, who removed to Ohio in 1855, was for twenty years editor of the Allen County Gazette, the leading Republican paper of this section, and was post master of Lima by appointment of Presidents Lincoln and Grant. His mother was Mary E. Boyer, of Lima. He attended the public schools and was graduated from the Lima high school in 1884. After that he worked for one year at the printer's trade in his father's office, but not taking kindly to the business decided to study law. He pursued a course of reading in the office of Davis J. Cable. He entered the University of Michigan and took the law and literary course, graduating in 1888 from the Law Department, and forming a partnership with his former preceptor, which still continues under the firm name of Cable & Parmenter. The firm is energetic in the prosecution of business, progressive in its methods and has a general practice, taking cases in all the courts. One of the important cases conducted by them was that of Frank B. Craig vs. The L. E. and W. R. R. Co. This was an action brought for damages on account of personal injur- ies received by plaintiff while in the employ of defendant company. The case was tried in the United States Circuit Court in June, 1895, before Judge Ham- mond, and a verdict and judgment of $12,000 for the plaintiff secured. This is one of the largest judgments ever entered in the United States Court at Toledo in a personal injury case. Mr. Parmenter is an ardent Republican ; has always taken an active interest in the success of his party. He was unan- imously elected chairman of the Republican executive committee of the Third Judicial Circuit (comprising sixteen counties), organized for the purpose of promoting the election of Judge James L. Price, and it is claimed that the result was largely due to Mr. Parmenter's personal efforts, as Judge Price was the first Republican ever elected judge in the circuit. He was married June 2, 1891, to Miss Hattie A. Crippen, daughter of Milton A. Crippen, of Lima. Of two sons born of this union, one, Warren Crippen, is now living. The family attends the Baptist Church. One of the oldest and most prominent members of the Bar contributes this testimonial : " William L. Parmenter shows great ability as a lawyer ; is a persuasive speaker, and a man of considerable force, good sense and excellent judgment. He ranks as one of the leading members of the Bar of Allen county, and I predict for him a brilliant future."
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EVAN H. HOPKINS, Cleveland. Evan Henry Hopkins was born on the 4th day of November, 1864, at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. His father, David J. Hopkins, was of Welsh parentage, having been brought to this country when three years of age. His mother was Mary Jeffreys Hopkins, also of Welsh parentage, and also brought to this country, in her fourth year. Her father was the Rev. John L. Jeffreys, one of the foremost ministers of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church in America. The parents of Evan H. Hop- kins raised a family of nine sons and one daughter. Eight of the sons are still living. In his younger days E. H. Hopkins was connected with the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company of Cleveland, but at the age of nineteen years entered the Western Reserve Academy at Hudson, Ohio, whence he graduated in 1885 at the head of his class ; he then entered Adelbert College in Cleveland, whence he graduated in 1889 with philosophical honors. He then entered Harvard, whence he graduated in 1892 with the honor degree, and while connected with the law school was one of the board of editors of the Harvard Law Review. Prior to his graduation at the law school, that is, in the fall of 1891, he was admitted to the Bar of Ohio. In the fall of 1892 he was chosen registrar of the Law Department of the Western Reserve University, and to him fell a considerable portion of the work of organizing that department. In the year of 1895 he was made dean of the Law Department, and holds' that position now. In connection with his duties as dean he has also taught several of the subjects of the school course, having made a specialty of the subjects of torts, contracts and equity jurisdiction. The school was begun with a class of twenty-two in the fall of 1892, and now has an enrollment of ninety men, and offers one of the most extensive courses of study that can be obtained anywhere in the country. Since 1892 Mr. Hopkins has also been a member of the Cleve- land public library board, and for the three years last past he has acted in the capacity of secretary of the board. He has also been a member of the board of directors of the Y. M. C. A. of Cleveland for the past two years. In 1892 he formed a partnership with Mr. Frank R. Herrick, and since that time this firm has practiced law under the firm name of Herrick & Hopkins. Mr. Hop- kins married Miss Frances P. Shane, of Cleveland, in 1892, and by the union there is one daughter.
MOSES B. EARNHART, Columbus. Moses B. Earnhart was born on a farm near the village of Fletcher, Miami county, August 7, 1849. His grand- father Earnhart was a native of Germany, and emigrated to Pennsylvania in the early part of the present century, locating near Harrisburg, and subse- quently moving to Ohio about 1820. The father of Moses was Jacob Earn- hart, a minister, first of the Christain Church and afterwards of the Baptist denomination, serving in all some forty years in the pulpit. His mother was Philene Branson, a native of Miami county, Ohio, of German-English ancestry. Moses obtained his early education in the common school of his native village, and in the high school, from which he graduated in 1870,
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entering the same year Miami University, from which he graduated in 1872. He then entered the Law School of the University of Michigan, and received his degree of LL.D. in 1874. Returning to Ohio, he was admitted to practice in 1875, and opened an office in Troy, with W. S. Thomas. In the fall of the same year he was elected mayor of Troy, serving in the office for two years, when he was elected city solicitor for the term of two years. During this time he formed a partnership with Judge Theodore Sullivan, which partner- ship continued for ten years. In 1879 he was elected prosecuting attorney, serv- ing until 1883. At the Republican State Convention of that year he received the nomination for attorney general upon the ticket headed by Joseph B. Foraker. In the campaign, however, the Democrats were successful, electing Governor Hoadly and their entire ticket. In 1886 Mr. Earnhart removed to Columbus, where he has since resided. His first partnership in the latter city was with C. O. Hunter and C. P. L. Butler, the firm being Earnhart, Hunter & Butler. Four years later, upon the appointment of Mr. Hunter as general counsel for the Hocking Valley Railway Company, this firm was dissolved and Mr. Earnhart practiced alone until 1893, when he formed a partnership with Samuel Swartz. This partnership was dissolved in 1896 when Mr. Swartz was elected judge of the Police Court. Mr. Earnhart then formed a partnership with Franklin Rubrecht, which firm still continues. In 1893 Mr. Earnhart was elected State Senator from Franklin county, upon the re-election of Governor Mckinley. Mr. Earnhart served one term. His practice is of a general character. He has been identified with many important cases, among which may be mentioned the testing of the constitutionality of the Dow Law ; the Hocking Valley Company vs. Burke et al., involving many millions of dol- lars ; the Bond-Rennick case, in which Mr. Earnhart represented the Wooster University. Mr. Earnhart has been especially successful as a criminal lawyer, having appeared in over twenty murder cases. Mr. Earnhart is an orator of the popular type, a forceful and ready pleader before a jury and fluent debater upon the stump. He is a close student of the social and economical questions of the day ; a bold and independent thinker, and especially interested in the amelioration of the laboring classes. He is a frequent contributor to the press, not only on political questions, but also on those of a literary and philo- sophical character. He has a poetic imagination and analytic mind and had he so chosen might have been a successful writer in the fields of history, criti- cism and metaphysics. His style of expression is clear, simple and entertain- ing. In 1893 he was married to Miss Ida Morrison, of Columbus. They have two daughters, Helen and Philene.
STEVENSON BURKE, Cleveland. Whenever a complete roll of the really great lawyers of the present generation in the United States is called, the name of the subject of this biography must always be near the top. Stevenson Burke was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, November 26, 1824. At
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the age of eight years he came to Ohio with his parents, who settled on a small farm in Lorain county. On this farm he worked as a boy at clearing the forest and cultivating the fields, contributing his share to the common sup- port of the family, and at the same time developing a sturdy physical organ- ization with powers of close, severe application. In boyhood he enjoyed only the educational advantages of the district schools of the country ; but he was ambitious, aspiring always to larger opportunities and better things. His acquirements in the common schools served to broaden his horizon and stimu- late his ambition. He qualified himself for teaching before reaching the age of seventeen years, and taught school successfully for several terms. During all this time he was an earnest student, unsatisfied with a superficial knowledge of any subject presented to his mind for investigation. This disposition to dig and to fathom and to sift, first manifested in the common schools, has char- acterized all the undertakings of Judge Burke's maturer life, whether of a pro- fessional or business nature. With indomitable will and dauntless courage he pursued his studies, supporting himself meanwhile with the wages earned at teaching, and benefited by the mental discipline and self-assertion which that occupation imposes. From all the fields traversed in youth he was gathering and sifting and assimilating treasures of knowledge and wisdom, as a contri- bution to the immeasurable resources of his professional and business career. IIe was a student in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware in 1846, but did not remain long enough to graduate. Resolute in his purpose to connect himself with the lawyer's profession, and eager to begin the specific work of preparation, he entered upon the study of the law while at Delaware, under the instruction of Powell & Buck. Perhaps no young student was ever more deeply impressed with the dignity and majesty of the law than Stevenson Burke, and none ever had a deeper sense of the responsibilities and duties of a lawyer. Upon returning home he continued his preparatory studies under the capable direction of H. D. Clark, of Elyria .; was admitted to the Bar August 11, 1848, and within a few months thereafter was received into partnership by his preceptor, Mr. Clark. His taste for the law was so keen, his preparation so thorough and his energy so persistent that his success was immediate and unmistakable. At the age of twenty-seven he enjoyed the largest clientage and controlled the most profitable business of any lawyer in Lorain county. At thirty he had fairly won his spurs in the front rank of lawyers in the dis- trict. The records of the Supreme Court note his appearance in nearly all the cases taken by appeal to that tribunal from the courts of Lorain county in the decade from 1851 to 1861. During the same period he was also retained in important cases brought in the United States District Court. It is proper to refer in this connection to his superior tact and shrewdness in securing the release of clients indicted for violation of the fugitive slave law, known in his- tory as the " Oberlin Rescue Case." The United States judge was in political sympathy with the party that passed the law, and the power of the national administration was exerted through the attorney general's office to secure its vigorous enforcement. The United States district attorney was expected to
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secure the conviction of all persons accused of aiding a fugitive slave on his perilous flight for freedom. To quote another's report :
" In the case in question the alleged slave had escaped from Kentucky and had settled in Oberlin, Ohio, where he had sought to enjoy the fruits of his labor and escape from the lash of the taskmaster. The owner, ascertaining his whereabouts, employed four stalwart Kentuckians, armed with the requisite documents, to go to Oberlin and arrest the slave and return him to bondage. For the purpose of getting him safely in their possession a decoy was employed to entice him to the country under the pretense of giving him labor. As he was riding along in the wagon with the decoy, and passing through a ravine, the four men sprang from the clump of bushes in which they had been hiding, seized the negro, handcuffed him and hurried him off toward the railway station at Wellington. The news of his capture spread through the country, and soon a vast crowd of people congregated at Wellington, the result being the liberation of the slave. Several of the citi- zens of Oberlin who were concerned in the rescue were indicted and tried under the fugitive slave law. They were ably defended by such men as Franklin T. Backus, Rufus P. Spalding and other eminent advocates, but in every instance the parties accused were convicted and sentenced to fine or to both fine and imprisonment. The cases caused a great sensation in the State and were watched from all parts of the nation. Salmon P. Chase was governor of Ohio and was in hearty sympathy with the accused. The Supreme Court of the State, upon hearing one of the cases divided in opinion, three against two, as to the validity of the law. Judge Burke had been retained by several of the accused. The time was approach- ing when they must stand trial. He saw the utter hopelessness of making defense in the United States Court as it was then organized, and the thought came to him that he could defend. his own clients better by convicting the men from Kentucky of kidnapping, than any other way. It was a shrewd, strategic move, with a long reach into the future. Accord- ingly he had the cases brought before the grand jury of Lorain county and bills of indictment were promptly returned against the men from the South. They were arrested, taken to Lorain county and arrangements made for their trial. This prompt and decided flank movement on the part of Judge Burke opened the eyes of all concerned and caused the other side to do just what he had intended-as the Kentuckians were about as certain of conviction in abolition Lorain, as were the men from Lorain in Cleveland. A distcontinu- ance of all cases was proposed by the attorneys of the kidnappers, and this was agreed to by the other side. The Kentuckians went free at Elyria and the Lorain men were taken out of jeopardy in Cleveland."
In 1861 Mr. Burke was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas by a vote that was practically unanimous. Before the close of his first term he was re-elected, in October, 1863, without opposition. After serving two years of his second term he resigned, in order to re-enter the practice in a wider field. He was prompted to this step solely because of the inadequacy of the compen- sation as measured by the salary fixed by law. He was worth much more than that and could earn vastly more, either in litigated cases or as a counsel- lor. The judicial office was entirely in harmony with his taste, his tempera- ment and his capabilities. He loved the Bench and the administration of justice. IIe regarded with affection members of the Bar that practiced in his court. He was in turn esteemed and beloved by the Bar. His intuitive per-
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ception, powers of keen analysis and logical argumentation ; his exact knowl- edge of the law ; his capacity for thorough exposition and lucid statement ; his clear, sound judgment, unbiased to a degree rarely excelled in a human judge ; his absolute and incorruptible integrity ; his powers of original thought, and his intellectual independence-all these, with his perfect health and remark- able powers of endurance, combined to make him a model judge. It is cause for deep regret that the rewards of office are not sufficient to hold a man of such ability and character in the judicial office. He removed to Cleveland in January, 1869, and formed a partnership with two great lawyers, F. T. Backus and E. J. Estep, which was terminated by the death of Mr. Backus the following year. The surviving partners remained together until 1875, and subsequently Judge Burke was associated at different times with Judge Will- iam B. Sanders and Judge J. E. Ingersoll. The scope of his practice naturally widened and its importance increased. Almost immediately after locating in Cleveland Judge Burke was retained in very important railroad litigation. The foreclosure of mortgages on the Atlantic and Great Western Railway and the reorganization of the company occupied much of his time from 1869 to 1872. He was thus brought into personal contact with prominent business men and railway managers of Ohio and New York, and with leading lawyers of both States. Morrison R. Waite, soon to become Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, represented the Atlantic and Great Western, while the client of Judge Burke in the same litigation was the Erie Railroad Company. All parties to the controversy at length submitted the whole matter to Mr. Waite and Judge Burke as arbitrators, by whom the complications were adjusted and disposed in a manner satisfactory to all parties interested. In 1878 Judge Burke was retained by L. E. Holden, Cleveland, to defend his title to valuable mining properties in Utah against adverse claimants. The interests involved in the series of cases concerning the Nez Perces and Old Telegraph Companies were large, and the judge, as principal counsel, was required to make two jour- neys to Utah in conducting the litigation, and was completely successful, with the aid of counsel resident at Salt Lake, in establishing his client's title. Cases of great magnitude required his presence in the higher courts, and no lawyer appeared more frequently in the Supreme Court of the State in the argument of such cases for twenty years, and until other interests than the strictly pro- fessional divided his time. Among the railroad cases with which Judge Burke has been connected as counsel are some of the most important ever carried to the Supreme Court of the United States. A few only can be mentioned. He represented the Pennsylvania Company in its complicated litigation with the St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute Railroad, in the United States Circuit Court for the District of Indiana. The nature of the action was a bill in equity to enforce specific performance of a contract of lease of a railway, and contracts of guarantee. There were cross appeals from the Circuit to the Supreme Court of the United States, where the cases were argued exhaustively Jan- uary 14 and 15, 1886, by Judge Burke, representing the Pennsylvania, and by the late Senator Joseph E. McDonald and his partner, John M. Butler, rep-
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