USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. II, Pt. 1 > Part 2
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HON. GEORGE HOADLY, LL. D.
HON. GEORGE HOADLY, LL. D., deceased, ex-Governor of the State of Ohio, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, July 31, 1826, and was the only son of George and Mary Ann (Woolsey) Hoadly. His mother came from New York, and was a granddaughter of Timothy Dwight, the eminent divine, · and a great-granddaughter of Jonathan Edwards. His father was once mayor of New Haven. When their son was six years old, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. There the younger George Hoadly attended the public schools until he was 14 years of age, when he entered the Western Reserve College, at Hudson, Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1844. He entered the law school at Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he studied dili-
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gently under such instructors as Judge Story and Prof. Simon Greenleaf. He studied a second year in the office of Charles C. Converse, then a prom- inent attorney at Zanesville, Ohio, and afterward a judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
In September, 1846, Mr. Hoadly came to Cincinnati, where he was a student in the office of Chase & Ball, the former being the illustrious Salmon P. Chase, afterward distinguished as a member of President Lincoln's cab- inet, and still later Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. There he attracted the interest and friendship of that eminent jurist, and when admitted to the Ohio bar in 1847 he was taken in as a partner, and the firm became Chase, Ball & Hoadly.
Soon after entering the firm of Chase & Ball, in 1851, Mr. Hoadly was married to Mary Burnet Perry, a grandniece of Judge Jacob Burnet, one of the old settlers of Ohio.
When Salmon P. Chase was elected to the United States Senate, his absence from Cincinnati led to Mr. Hoadly's appearance in im- portant cases, and in 1851 he was elected by the Ohio Legislature to a judge- ship of the Superior Court of Cincinnati. Four years later he became city solicitor. In 1859 he succeeded Judge William Y. Gholson on the bench of the new Superior Court. Previous to this, his former preceptor and part- ner, then Governor Chase, offered him a seat on the Supreme bench of Ohio, and the offer was repeated in 1862 by Governor Tod, but he declined both appointments. He was reelected to his former position on the Cincinnati bench in 1864, but resigned in 1866, to establish the law firm of Hoadly, Jackson & Johnson, which soon ranked among the leading firms of the West.
In the Constitutional Convention of 1873-74 he was one of the leading figures, and labored earnestly and most influentially in a revision of the Ohio Constitution. In politics, Governor Hoadly had originally been a Democrat, but, differing with many of his associates on the leading ante- bellum issues, he allied himself with the Republicans, and was a supporter of the measures of that party until the close of General Grant's first term. In 1876.he supported Tilden and Hendricks, and in the controversy that followed the election, he responded to the request of the Democratic com- mittee, and appeared as one of Tilden's counsel before the electoral commis- sion appointed by Congress, to decide the vote in the disputed States. Gov-
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ernor Hoadly was a presidential possibility in 1884, his name being placed before the National Democratic Convention. He was retained as counsel for the United States government in the celebrated Union Pacific Railroad case. In 1883 he was nominated for Governor of Ohio by the Democrats, and in October of that year defeated Hon. Joseph B. Foraker, the Repub- lican candidate. The same gentlemen were opponents in 1885, when Mr. Hoadly was defeated, and returned to Cincinnati, where he resumed his practice.
From 1864 to 1887 he was a professor in the Cincinnati Law School, and for many years was a trustee in the Cincinnati University. He was one of the counsel who successfully opposed the project of a compulsory reading of the Scriptures in the public schools, and was the leading counsel of the assignee and creditors in the famous Archbishop Purcell assign- ment. In 1887 he removed to New York, where he became senior partner in the law firm of Hoadly, Lauterbach & Johnson. In 1875 the Western Reserve College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
One of the incidents which illustrates the character of George Hoadly occurred during the terrible storm that followed the assignment of Arch- bishop Purcell. J. B. Mannix, who was the assignee of the Archbishop, was required to furnish a bond of $250,000. In those days there were no such things as bonding companies, and a man who was required to furnish such a bond was compelled to appeal to his friends to sign it. Among those who went on the bond of John B. Mannix was George Hoadly. Then there came the terrible crash, and the discovery that the money left in the hands of Mannix had been largely dissipated, and that an immense sum must be made good by his bondsmen. The litigation that followed to collect the money due from his bondsmen forms a large part of the history of the Ham- ilton County bar, and never were cases so bitterly fought. No suit was, however, brought against George Hoadly for the reason that such a course was not necessary. When he became convinced that Mannix was really a defaulter, he took steps to learn the amount of the shortage as nearly as possible, and then he went to Gustav Tafel and Isaac J. Miller, who had been appointed trustees of the Purcell estate. All that he had asked was that his share of the responsibility be determined, and that he be informed upon what terms he could be released from the obligation. It was found that
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his share of it would be $50,000, and one afternoon Governor Hoadly walked into the office of the trustees, paid over $50,000 in cash, and ob- tained his release from any further responsibility on the Mannix bond. Noth- ing that had occurred in legal circles for many years created as great a sensation as Governor Hoadly's action in this matter. Being an able law- ver, it was generally supposed that he would contest the matter, but such was not the case. He said that he had signed the bond in good faith, be- cause he believed in the honesty of Mannix, but if he had been wrong he was willing to pay for it.
The subject of this sketch was Governor during the riots of 1884, and at that time he was averse to sending militia to Cincinnati, because he argued that soldiers should be employed only as a last resort. Telegrams were pour- ing in on him regarding the situation, and finally a dispatch came from a member of the Governor's military staff, who was a resident of this city, saying that troops were necessary. Only then did he consent to send them.
While Governor Hoadly was recognized as one of the greatest corpora- tion lawyers in the United States, and amassed a fortune as such, he was always very moderate in his charges, and many stories are told of his leniency with clients.
In March, 1887, soon after completing his term as Governor, he went to New York, and established the law firm of Hoadly, Lauterbach & John- . son. From that date he gave his entire attention to his profession. His firm was concerned chiefly in cases of corporate litigation. Among the im- portant law suits in which Governor Hoadly was engaged was the Hocking Valley Railway case, in which the bondholders tried to cancel $3,000,000 worth of bonds, which they claimed had been unlawfully issued by the Hocking Valley Railway Company, for coal property belonging to them- selves. In the Third Avenue cable litigation, George Hoadly's firm was beaten five times, but, carrying the case to the Court of Appeals, was suc- cessful the sixth time. The point at issue was the right to use cables instead of horses, for street railways. Other important trials that the Governor was successful in were the Stevens will case and the Sugar Trust case.
Governor Hoadly was the legal representative of the Jefferson Davis estate, and also of Mrs. Jefferson Davis, in her suit against the Bedford Publishing Company. Beside Edward Lauterbach and Edgar M. Johnson,
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who had been a partner for 27 years, William N. Cohen and Lewis Adler were associated with Mr. Hoadly in the practice of the law.
The old-time professional friends of Governor Hoadly performed the last sad duty of bearing his body to the grave. Although Governor Hoadly was one of the seven charter members of the Scottish Rite Masons, it was doubtful whether that order would take part in the services. Col. William B. Melish sent a letter to the Hoadly residence, offering the Scottish Rite ceremonies, if desired. For the last twenty years of his life Governor Hoadly had been so engrossed by the cares of business that he took but little interest in Masonic work, although he had previously been very enthusiastic about it.
It is recalled that only one Democratic ex-Governor of Ohio, James E. Campbell, is left, since the death of Governor Hoadly, and each was one of four Democratic Governors of this State in more than 40 years. Two Republican ex-Governors are still living, Foraker and Nash. The news of the death of this great lawyer was a decided shock to the older citizens, who knew him well, and especially to many of his colleagues at the bar. Senator Foraker said, in reference to the passing away of the eminent man: "Gov- ernor Hoadly's death does not come as a surprise, for it has been well known for some time that he was in failing health, and that he was approaching the end. Nevertheless, it is with much regict that the whole country, and his friends in particular, will hear of his demise. He lived a long life. It was one of great activity. His energies were devoted almost exclusively to his profession, but he was always interested in public affairs. Those who dif- fered from him. found in him a man of broad and intelligent views, with kindly consideration and sincere respect for his opponent. His greatest achievements were professional. He had a natural aptitude for the law. In New York, where he spent the last years of his life, quite as much as in Ohio, he was a recognized leader at the bar. It was my fortune to know him pretty well. I saw much of him as a practicing lawyer, and perhaps had more reason to study him carefully in his political relations than anybody else. He was always brilliant, always aggressive and always exceedingly interesting and entertaining, whether you were in accord with him or not. My per- sonal relations with him were always cordial and agreeable. Although we opposed each other twice for the governorship, there was never a harsh word spoken by either of the other in our campaign addresses, and the friendship that began almost at the very moment when I was admitted to the bar con-
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tinued without interruption through life. I shall always remember him with great respect, great admiration for his abilities and high character, and . with profound regret that I shall see him no more."
As an evidence of the marvelous ability and energy of Governor Hoadly, it may be stated that when he left Cincinnati, after giving up $50,000 to pay his share as bondsman for the Mannix shortage, he was comparatively a poor man. He went East to regain his fortune, and from the very day of his arrival in New York he was successful. His fortune at the time of his death was estimated at not less than $200,000, and may have been much greater than that figure. In the campaigns of 1896 and 1900, Governor Hoadly, who, as before mentioned, was originally a convert from Republicanisni, was a very bitter anti-Bryan man. He was an intimate friend of President Cleveland, and it is a matter of history that he refused a place in the second cabinet of Mr. Cleveland. The religious opinions of Governor Hoadly were never very well defined. He had respect for all creeds, but was not allied with any particular denomination. He was more of a Unitarian than any- thing else, but never concerned himself much about the matter. The personal appearance of the famous lawyer indicated that he was not a man of rugged constitution, but his wiry activity and unflagging energy enabled him to do more work than any of his contemporaries in this city.
After a long campaign, in 1885, for reelection, Governor Hoadly ex- pressed his utter disgust with politics, and he could never be induced to take an active part again, except to write and speak his views. That he left his impression upon his fellow men and that his death is a severe loss to the community are conceded by every one. The Cincinnati Bar Association took appropriate action on the death of their departed colleague. His death occurred in August, 1902, and he was laid to rest in Spring Grove Cemetery.
The following letter from former Governor Hoadly, who was a delegate to the first National Republican Convention, in 1856, was written in May, 1900 :
"Your letter of May 26, from Cincinnati, is in my hands. With regard to the Fremont convention, the six members from Cincinnati-three from each Congressional district-were Alphonso Taft, Jolin K. Green. Charles E. Cist, Thomas G. Mitchell, Medard Fels and your humble servant. Green wanted to go to the convention; Taft was indifferent, although he finally went, and he and Green committed what I consider the folly of voting for
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Justice John McLean. The others of us voted for Fremont. Of course we were all, in the first instance, for Chase, but when we came to get together in Philadelphia we had no show for nominating him. Indeed, we knew that before the convention met, and on my way to Philadelphia I went over to New York to see what kind of a bird Fremont was. Thad Stevens made a mistake in picking up as his candidate, in Philadelphia, Justice John Mc- Lean, who at his best was nothing more than a Whig, while the majority of the younger men of our delegation were not engaged in promoting Whig- gery, but would have been glad to have made a reform Democratic party- an impossible delusion-which I may say, by the way, our friend, Mr. Chase, was under the most of his life.
"Thad Stevens, to whose character I do no injustice, was an hones', sincere, irascible, domineering man, who put his best efforts at that conver .- tion into the attempt to dictate to the Ohio delegation, that they should turn themselves into Whigs for the sake of making McLean, President.
"I left the caucus of the New York, New Jersey and Ohio delegations, with all the young men, before Mr. Stevens had got through his attempt to bulldoze us, so that I do not know how it ended technically, but he got a majority of the Ohio delegates for McLean (Chase being out of the way), but a very large majority of quorum pars fui voted for Fremont, and then repented years afterward, but not so bitterly as we should have done if McLean had been nominated.
"A strange thing happened at that convention, as it seems to me nov., looking back at it. After we had nominated Fremont for President, and we Ohio people had agreed to vote for Dayton for Vice-President, Col. Will- iam S. Archer, a Congressman from Illinois, put the name of Abraham Lin- coln before us as a candidate for Vice-President, with a sort_ of eulogy, in which the principal fact to which he alluded was that Mr. Lincoln, or Colonel Lincoln, as we called him, was a Kentuckian.
"That suggestion did not serve to recommend him to us, and we voted against him, and for William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, in utter ignorance that in turning down Mr. Lincoln we had voted against the greatest man of the century. It is a queer fact, but Mr. Lincoln had been in Congress for .
. two years, and while there had done nothing, and his great debate with Douglas had not come off. He was not in any sense of the word a leader of the American people on the 18th, 19th and 20th of June, 1856. The
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Ohio delegation was divided in opinion. All the young element was for Chase first and Fremont next. We considered McLean as just about as bad as Buchanan. Thad Stevens tried to dragoon us into supporting Mc- - Lean, under the old pretext that Pennsylvania could not be carried for Fre- mont, which was true enough. We young fellows went into a meeting of the Ohio, New Jersey and Pennsylvania delegations, but finding that the whole object was to force us to vote for McLean, and not having a preference for him over even Buchanan, a large portion of the Ohio delegation shook the dust from their feet and left the meeting.
"A good many of us took pains to tell Stevens and his friends that if McLean were nominated we should not vote for him, even if we had to help Buchanan thereby, but after the McLean specter was allayed, we were of one mind, and very enthusiastic at that. We wanted to put a stop to the encroachments of slavery, and Fremont was not then known to us. We supported him under the delusion that he would make a good President if we could elect him.
"I am reminded here of an incident associated with the convention that had a lot of good fun in it. You may, perhaps, remember what a black- faced, but very earnest and sincere man, Job Pugh was. We all went to Philadelphia by way of Baltimore, and breakfasted at the Relay House. Job and Colonel Schuler, then editor of the Cincinnati Gazette, were longer in getting their breakfast than the rest of us, but presently they emerged, just as the train started-Job without a hat, and on the run, and Schuler chasing after him. Some one set up a cry, 'run-away nigger,' and there was more excitement at the Relay House for about five minutes than I have seen anywhere. Job was naturally black enough, and this day he was almost covered with coal soot from the journey, which he had not taken the trouble to wash off before breakfast, and Schuler looked like the owner of a slave, although he was more like a slave himself than the owner of one. He was one of those parrots of politics, who always repeated the words of a Whig master.
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"Job did not soon hear the last of the story that he had ,tried to run away from his master at the Relay House. He was useful at the convention, for he roared around the lobby, 'cussed' old Thad Stevens, denounced Mc- Lean, and altogether made it warm for anybody who did not support Chase or Fremont. I never think of Job Pugh without thinking of what good old
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Deacon Converse said about Senator Wade, when Griswold came around electioneering for himself, and denouncing Wade as a blasphemer, whereas, Ohio, being a Christian State, ought to be represented by a Christian states- man, viz. : himself, Hiram Griswold. This was about 1858.
"Old Converse said : 'Mr. Griswold, if he is all right on the main ques- tion, what is the use of pottering about those little things?' So Job felt with regard to profanity. I saw in the paper the other day, membership in the convention that nominated Fremont attributed to Ulric Sloan, who I am sure, was born after that event, and to my dear general, Rollf Brinker- hoff, of Mansfield, who may have been a member. With the exception of William H. Gibson, deceased, Jacob Miller (I think he was a member), de- ceased, William D. Sloan, of Ottawa County, who afterward went to New Mexico, and Dennison, Swayne and Giddings, I cannot remember whom we had in the movement. I want to call your attention to the fact that there was no 'protection' in the platform. The Republican party never advocated the old Whig notion of what is called protection, until after the death of Mr. Lincoln. I know at that time it was not in the platform. I was as much a Democrat then as I ever was. I voted for Mr. Lincoln twice without · the least idea that I was helping old Whiggery to revive a bad cause, and burden the interests of the country with duties, after the Mckinley fashion, although I presume I shall be obliged to vote for Mckinley more than any- thing there is going.
"I voted for Palmer and Buckner four years ago, but do not see any- thing to do now but to support Mckinley. There was no risk in New York four years ago in throwing away anyone's vote. There may be now. Well, alas! the old times have gone. I have had a good deal of fun as I passed through them, and hope that I have done but little harm, although I have occasionally intended more than I worked out.
"GEORGE HOADLY." "No. 22 William street, New York, May 29, 1900."
Governor Nash, of Ohio, issued the following proclamation concerning the late Governor George Hoadly :
"Ohio has lost one of her best loved sons. George Hoadly died yester- . day at his summer home in Watkins, New York, at the age of 76. His in- tegrity, ability and learning as a lawyer were recognized not only by the bar of Ohio, but by the bar of the United States. After many years devoted
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to the active practice of his chosen profession in our State, he was chosen by the people in 1883 as the Governor of Ohio. In this important position, and in the discharge of his official duties, the same great ability and sterling - integrity, which made his life as a lawyer conspicuous, characterized his every act. He left office honored and beloved by all the people. In recent years, he has been engaged in the practice of his honorable profession in the city of New York. The people of Ohio, regardless of party, will be among the mourners who bow their heads in sorrow, on account of this sad bereavement. Out of respect to his memory it is hereby ordered that the flag be displayed at half-staff over the State Capitol until after the obsequies.
"By the Governor, "L. C. LAYLIN, Secretary of State."
The subject of this sketch was a 33rd degree Mason. George Hoadly, Jr., one of his sons, is a member of the law firm of Harmon, Colston, Gold- smith & Hoadly. Edward Hoadly, a civil engineer with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway system, and a daughter who is the widow of Theodore Scar- borough, complete the family. The late W. W. Scarborough was a half- brother of Judge Hoadly, and Mrs. Joshua H. Bates is his sister.
Mrs. George Hoadly, widow of Governor Hoadly, died suddenly October 25, 1903, at her home at Riverdale-on-the-Hudson, New York. She was 76 years old. The remains were brought to Cincinnati and were interred in Spring Grove Cemetery. She was a most estimable woman and was well known not only in Cincinnati, but all over Ohio. She was a woman of many charming attributes, and entertained lavishly when her husband was Gov- ernor of Ohio.
HON. JUDSON HARMON.
HON. JUDSON HARMON, of Cincinnati, formerly judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Attorney General of the United States, is the head of the law firm of Harmon, Colston, Goldsmith & Hoadly. The last named is a son of the late Governor Hoadly, whose death occurred in August, 1902. Judge Harmon's birth occurred in Newtown, Ohio, February 3, 1846. He occupies a place among Ohio's most prominent men. Vigorous, unselfish, upright and able, none ranks higher in public esteem and confidence
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than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. His past and present life have demonstrated that he is the peer of the ablest members of the Ohio bar.
Among the paternal ancestors of Judge Harmon was one of the founders of Springfield, Massachusetts, whose sons, in 1669, settled at Suffield, Con- necticut. Toward the latter part of the last century, David Harmon settled in Jefferson County, New York, where his son, Benjamin F. Harmon, the father of Judson, was born.
Benjamin F. Harmon moved to Ohio in 1840, and soon afterward mar- ried Julia Brunson, of Olean, New York, a descendant of one of the early settlers of New England. Her grandfather, Cornelius Brooks, was a soldier in the Continental Army. The names of the earlier generations of Harmons will be found enrolled in the armies of the French and Indian War, the Revo- lutionary War and the War of 1812. They were all devoted Puritans, strong, determined men, and earnest advocates of purity of personal char- acter, civil liberty, and liberty of conscience.
Benjamin F. Harmon taught school and was also a Baptist minister. He preached for more than 40 years in the same parish. Throughout his life he was known as a man of great integrity, strong common sense and upright character. Beloved and respected by all, he died in 1893, and was carried to his tomb by his four sons.
Judson Harmon was the eldest son and received his first teaching from his father, who prepared him for college. At the age of 16 years he entered the freshman class of Denison University, at Granville, Ohio. In order to help to provide means for pursuing his college course, he taught school during vacation, and during term time acted as tutor to a number of other students. He graduated in 1866, at the age of 20 years.
Having determined at an early age to become a lawyer, the subject of this sketch directed his course of study toward that end, and read extensively the history of England and his own country, as well as a number of works on the development of constitutional law. He also read, with great care, the works of Bunyan, Milton and Shakespeare, and made it a point to read daily selections from the Bible. He stood high as a student in college, and showed marked ability as a speaker and offhand debater. At the time of the surrender at Appomattox, a celebration was held in the college town at which young Harmon was called upon to make an address for the "boys." His address displayed so much wit and eloquence that he captured the crowd,
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