USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of Dayton, Ohio. With portraits and biographical sketches of some of its pioneer and prominent citizens Vol. 2 > Part 16
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ing and retaining knowledge so acquired, an unrivalled power of chaste and happy expression, and the strongest and purest social tastes, he became widely celebrated, not only for his eloquence upon the platform and at the bar, but for those most attractive and charming personal traits, that have endeared him to perhaps as large a circle of cultivated and admiring friends, as have ever fallen to the lot, or blessed the social life, of an American gentleman.
After a successful term of service as prosecuting attorney of Mont- gomery County, he was elected to the State Senate, serving in 1845, with Henry B. Payne ( then a young Democratic leader and now senator from Ohio) and other gentlemen who have since become eminent in public life. Ilis brave, chivalrous nature there found expression in a bold single- handed assault upon what were known as the black laws of Ohio -- one provision of which prohibited negroes from testifying in courts of justice. Although a native of Kentucky, born and reared in a slaveholding family, he was the first man in the legislature of Ohio to raise a voice in protest against these laws. It was many years before public sentiment advanced so far as to demand their repeal.
At the close of his senatorial term, he made a visit to Europe, spend- ing some time in Constantinople; and upon his return went to Cincinnati, where he formed a law partnership with the Hon. Rufus King -so well kuown and so universally esteemed, afterwards embracing John W. Herron, now the very capable United States attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. This partnership continued for a number of years, commanding a large and successful business. Cincinnati supplied a most congenial place of abode to Mr. Anderson, being the place of residence of his brother Larz, one of its most eminent and esteemed citizens, and embracing a very large society of gentlemen as well as ladies, of the highest culture and social distinction. Returning to Dayton along in 1855 or 1856, he resided here until his precarious state of health induced him to remove to Texas, where he invested in large landed property, and remained until the breaking out of the Rebellion. He made no seruple in the face of an overwhelming secession sentiment surrounding him, of announcing his unfaltering fidelity to the Union and the old flag, which he afterwards so fondly and eloquently denominated the " banner of beauty and glory." Too brave and patriotic to conceal his sentiments, he at onee became known as a pronounced "Union man," and with the inauguration of the Rebellion, by the firing upon Fort Sumter, then garrisoned by a company of United States troops under the command of his distinguished brother Robert, he was placed under arrest by the secession authorities in Texas and held in close custody. At great per-
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sonal risk, he adroitly effected his escape, leaving his property, including a large and valuable library, legal and miscellaneous, to be confiscated, and he returned to his home in Dayton. He was entrusted by Mr. Lincoln with a special mission to England, to attempt to stem the tide of opposi- tion to the Union cause in that country, but found the task hopeless, and returned to the United States. He went into the field as colonel of the Ninety-third Ohio Regiment, raised in this city and county, and close vicinity, and was wounded at the battle of Stone River. His wounds and exposure so impaired his health, he was compelled to resign, and was elected lieutenant-governor of Ohio, over his warm personal friend, the Hon. George E Pugh, in the celebrated Brough and Vallandigham campaign of 1863, to which allusion has been made. Upon Governor Brough's decease, Charles Anderson became governor of Ohio, in which capacity he was serving at the close of the war, when he again returned to his home in Dayton. Always having a taste for agricultural life and a large landed estate, he finally removed from Dayton about 1870, and settled upon a tract of some ten thousand acres of land, which he pur- chased in Lyon County, Southern Kentucky, where he now resides, widely known and honored as a hospitable, chivalrous, and accomplished Christian gentleman.
It was the fortune of still another member of the Dayton bar to have been afforded the opportunity of attaining a national reputation in public life.
John A. McMahon was elected to Congress from the Dayton district in the fall of 1874, was reelected in 1876 and again in 1878. Although not a native of Ohio, he was educated from his early youth at St. Xavier Col- lege, in Cincinnati, from which he was graduated in 1849. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1823. His father, Hon. John V. L. MeMahou, ranked among the very first lawyers of the early American bar. He was purely a lawyer, and seems to have transmitted to his son the superior legal qualities that so eminently distinguished himself throughout his career at the bar. John A. MeMahon came to Dayton in the year 1851, and at once entered upon the study of the law in the office C. L. Vallan- digham, who had married his aunt, Miss Louise McMahon. He was admitted to the bar in 1854, and entered upon practice in Dayton in part- nership with his preceptor. In 1861, he formed a law partnership with George W. Houk, which continued until the third term of his service in Congress. Since his withdrawal from public life in 1880, he has practiced his profession alone, and is generally known and regarded as one of the most able and distinguished lawyers of the State. Although during Mr. MeMahon's first term in Congress he was placed by Speaker Kerr upon a
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rather inconspicuous standing committee, that of post-offices and post- roads, an opportunity occurred in the impeachment trial of Secretary of War Belknap, which enabled him to become known and recognized, not only by the bar throughout the United States, but by the press and public generally as a most capable and thorough lawyer. The impeachment pro- ceedings were instituted in the House of Representatives, and a special committee of managers was selected by that body, composed of Scott Lord, Mr. MeMahon, Proctor Knott, William P. Lynde, George A. Jenks, George F. Hoar, and E. G. Lapham, all lawyers of recognized ability. Mr. McMahon was chosen by the committee to conduct the trial on be- half of the prosecution. The attorneys for the defense were Hon. Jerc- miah Black, attorney-general under Mr. Buchanan's administration, Ex-Senator Matthew Carpenter, of Wisconsin, and Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, all lawyers of the highest rank. The trial lasted from the 6th of July to the 1st of Angust, and was the eugrossing political topic of the time. It attracted the attention of the bar, especially; not only at Washington, but throughout the country; was fully reported daily in the press, every movement upon both sides being closely watched and criti- cised. Mr. McMahon's especial duty was regarded as the most arduons and responsible, and required the continuons, most vigilant exercise of the highest qualities of the trial lawyer. The facts involved in the case were numerous and intricate, requiring patient and thorough searching out, and, in their presentation to the senate, the utmost familiarity with the law of evidence. It was universally conceded that Mr. McMahon's conduct of the case was beyond criticism. The press, without distinction of party, toemed with compliments upon the consummate tact and ability he displayed.
A correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial ( Republican ) thus speaks of him:
" The complete manner in which Mr. McMahon has won the plaudits and admiration of the public here in Washington, and especially of the members of the bar, who resort to the senate chamber day by day to witness and enjoy as a rare treat the masterly, unequaled manner in which he conducts the trial, on behalf of the house, may be taken as another tribute to the State of Ohio. The unanimity with which, on all hands, Mr. McMahon is enthusiastically applauded, is something new and wonderful in Washington. He is combating giants, but he meets those veterans, Jeremiah Black, Montgomery Blair, and Matthew Carpenter, to say nothing of Conklin, Logan, and others, who seem to have undertaken the dual labor of judging and defending, with the assured air of their conceded superior, and his uniform success in overthrowing them is ample 37
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warrant for the calm confidence that becomes him so well. Nobody was more surprised than Carpenter himself, at the great power and skill so unexpectedly displayed by the hitherto almost unknown lawyer from the interior of Ohio. *
* Jeremiah Black himself cannot refrain from testifying to his admiration for this young master of nisi prius practice."
A special dispatch to the Graphie ( Republican ) speaks thus:
"Nearly everyone thought that when the case actually came to trial, Messrs. Black and Carpenter would be more than a match for the whole board of managers. A few days has served to undeceive us all, including the counsel for the defense. The manager, McMahon, who had charge of the introduction of testimony for the prosecution, has managed his case with consummate skill. He has again routed the defense on all points. Ile has again and again measured swords with Carpenter, on questions arising on the competeney of testimony, and the famous ex-senator has retired worsted froni the field: In acuteness, in logic, in law, he has shown himself fully able to cope with the defendant's counsel, while in thorough knowledge of his own case and theirs, there is only contrast between him and them." Special dispatches equally complimentary to Mr. McMahon, were sent to the Boston Post, Chicago Times, and other leading papers of the country.
General Belknap having resigned before the impeachment proceeding was regularly begun, bis counsel raised the question that the senate had no jurisdiction of his case. The vote of the senate nevertheless stood thirty-six guilty, twenty-five not guilty; nineteen of the latter giving the qualified vote of " not guilty for want of jurisdiction "
In the next, being the Forty-fifth Congress, Mr. MeMahon was placed upon the judiciary committee and also on the committee on accounts. To the judiciary committee was referred, during the first session of this congress, the important bill to provide for the further distribution of the moneys received under the Geneva Award. It will be remembered that the aggregate award of the Geneva arbitration, to be paid by the govern- ment of Great Britain to that of the United States, amounted to fifteen million five hundred thousand dollars. This amount was duly paid over to our goverment, and proper steps taken by Congress for its just and equitable distribution to those who had suffered loss during the war, in consequence of the depredations upon American commerce, for which it had been duly determined England should be held accountable. Among the claims upon this fund, the most important, and by far the largest in the aggregate, was the class presented by the American marine insurance companies for losses they had been compelled to pay for property insured
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by them, and destroyed or confiscated upon the high seas by the Con- federate cruisers that had been permitted to sail from British ports. Some nine or ten millions of dollars yet remained for distribution, and a bill was reported from the judiciary committee, for the purpose of prescribing the principles and rules which should be observed in such distribution, and govern the same. A minority of the judiciary committee, consisting of Mr. McMahon, General Butler, William P. Frye, now senator from Maine, Oscar D. Conger, afterward senator from Michigan, and Elbridge G. Lapham, dissented from the bill reported by the majority, upon the ground, mainly, that in indemnifying the insurance companies for the losses they had suffered during the war, in paying for property destroyed or confiscated, they should be required to account for what gains they, had made during the same period in increased war premiums. Against any such rule the insurance companies, of course, violently protested. With unlimited means at their command, they had a powerful lobby and the most eminent counsel in Washington to represent their interests. It is hardly necessary to say that Mr. McMahon could probably have prescribed his own terms for the withdrawal of his opposition to the bill that had been reported in accordance with the interests of the insurance companies. As a lawyer, he regarded it as a violation of justice and equity, and con- sidered it his duty as a faithful representative of the people to oppose it. Ile, therefore, prepared a bill with the cooperation of the other members of the minority of the judiciary committee, embodying their views and a report upon its presentation to the House.
On the 18th of January, 1849, he made an argument upon the bill to the House, which, together with the report which he submitted as the views of the minority of the judiciary committee, was exhaustive of the whole subject, and which, in view of the international character of many of the legal questions involved, as well as the magnitude and importance of the claims, may justly be regarded as one of the most logical, compre- hensive, and able speeches ever made upon any subject in the Congress of the United States. For the first time in a long lapse of years in the his- tory of Congress, the House refused to sustain the majority report of the committee on the judiciary and passed the bill reported as a substitute on behalf of the minority by Mr. MeMahon. It went to the Senate and failed there only for want of time. At a subsequent session, however, a law was passed by Congress and signed by the president, providing for the distribution of the balance of the award in accordance substantially with the views which had been so ably and conclusively presented by Mr. McMahon in his report and speech. As a practicing lawyer at the Day- ton bar, he has always been held in the very highest esteem by his
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brethren and the community. Invariably honorable and courteous, he is as generous to weaker adversaries as he is formidable to the strong. A sincere encomium upon the purity and beauty of his domestic life, the spotless integrity of his character, and his unsurpassed abilities as a lawyer, may be pardoned to one who has long known and esteemed him in most intimate association, social and professional, and who has felt a pride as a member of the Dayton bar, in the well-deserved fame he has achieved in the legislative councils of the country. From the distinction won by these gentlemen may be inferred what might have been accom- plished by others had occasion offered-ce pede Hereutem !
It is no disparagement to those who attained such wide celebrity to say that there have been, doubtless, many men who have been in time past, and others who are now members of the Dayton bar, who, if they had sought or been afforded opportunity, would have achieved a like dis- tinetion. Among these, I am sure it will not be regarded as invidions to mention the now senior practicing member of our bar, Mr. Samuel Craighead. Mr. Craighead came from the Cumberland Valley, Pemisyl- vania, where he was born and reared among the Allegheny Mountains, and from as fine a race of men as there is in the world.
In his early manhood, with the advantages of an carly ordinary cdu- cation, he went to the city of New York, where a relative was the pro- prietor of a large publishing house, and was there employed for several years. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and, arriving in Dayton in the spring of 1844, at once entered upon the practice of his chosen profession. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Montgomery County in 1848 and served two terms, fully maintaining, by his able discharge of the duties of that office, the high character that had been conferred upon it by his predecessors, Daniel A. Haynes, Charles Anderson, Judge Holt, William Blodgett, Judge Crane, Peter P. Lowe, and Harry Bacon. From this time forward, continuously, until the present, Mr. Craighead has main- tained his position in the foremost rank of our lawyers. His practice has been wide, varied, and successful. Uniformly able and thorough in the trial of cases, always distinguished for courteous bearing, gifted as an orator, and strong in argument, with excellent literary taste, and superior social accomplishments, no one has better title to be regarded as a typical Ohio lawyer. Had Mr. Craighead determined, instead of pursuing the even tenor of his profession, to have entered the political arena, there is little doubt that he would have attained, through his sterling abilities and character, as well as his social qualities, a rank among those who are re- garded as the foremost publie men of the United States. Although not personally in politics, he has always been a pronounced Republican, and
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has for years been considered as one of the safest and ablest counselors of the Republican party in Ohio. Preserving to a most wonderful degree the appearance of the freshness of youth, his presence repels the sugges- tion of age, and he still pursues diligently the duties which professional and private business relations impose upon him, regarded with the unani- mous and warmest esteem of his professional brethren, as well as that of the entire general community.
Of the early Dayton lawyers, Henry Stoddard and Judge Holt, both natives of Connecticut, were about the same age, the former born in 1788, and the latter in 1790. Mr. Stoddard came to Dayton in 1817, and George B. Holt in 1819 .. They both speedily became prominent and suc- cessful; and maintained their high position to the close of their lives. Mr. Stoddard died at the age of eighty-one, in 1869, and Judge Holt died at the same age in 1871. This interval of two years between them, first occuring at their birth, by a singular coincidence marked the difference in the dates of their location in Dayton, and the final end of their long lives. They were both prominent members of the Presbyterian Church, and always highly esteemed as citizens. Judge Holt's professional quali- fications and public services have been hereinbefore alluded to. Mr. Stoddard was a careful, methodical, and successful lawyer, reputed to be especially well versed in real estate law.
Messrs. Edward W. Davies and Peter P. Lowe were about ten years younger than Stoddard and Holt, and about the age of each other-Mr. Lowe having been born in 1801, and Mr. Davies in 1802. Mr. Lowe came to the bar here in 1825, and Mr. Davies. in 1826. Mr. Davies was for many years a partner in practice of Judge Crane, with a leading and important business. He was long the attorney of the Cincinnati, Hamil- ton & Dayton Iailroad Company, and in the latter part of his life, a partner of Colonel John G. Lowe. The following extract from the testimonial of the Dayton bar, adopted at his death, is a truthful, though brief, summary of his character:
"Edward W. Davies deserved and maintained without reproach, throughout his long and useful life, the character of a sincere and upright Christian, and an honest man. By unswerving integrity and force of character, he commanded the confidence and respect of the entire public, but those only who were intimately associated with him knew the excellence of his social qualities, and the still higher attributes that adorned with grace and happiness his domestic cirele, and belong to the cultured Christian gentleman. With a dignity that seemed natural, alike to his personal appearance, and character, he blended a generous kindness that never failed to respond when a proper occasion called it
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forth, and such were his sterling qualities that no temptation could swerve his fidelity to truth or his devotion to duty."
Mr. Davies was one of the executors and trustees under the will of D. Z. Cooper, and for many years managed the large property interests of the estate with great wisdom and judgment. He, in connection with his co-trustee, Mr. Alexander Grimes, projected the important improve- ment, changing the original natural channel of Mad River from the aque- duet to its mouth, thus bringing into the market all the valuable property now occupied by Mr. Bimm's ice business, the car works, city water works, manufacturing establishments, railroad tracks, canal extension and desir- able ground between the present bed of Mad River and First Street.
When the will of Mr. Cooper was contested, about 1858-1859, the whole management of the litigation devolved upon Mr. Davies, and after a long and really celebrated trial, most ably contested by eminent counsel on both sides, the will was sustained.
Of Mr. Peter P. Lowe, his confrere, it may be truthfully said that, in his prime, he was for many years one of the very foremost and successful lawyers at the early Dayton bar. Governor Anderson very kindly says of him: "He gained and long held a most leading position. That fact was not an accident. He could only have done it by his own abilities. For one thing, to his great honor, he was without rival. Even to my knowledge, the foremost man at the bar in giving to any raw fledgling the most considerate, kindly, generous, and efficient countenance and hand of help in his new vocation. I never can forget," continues Gov- ernor Anderson, "this noble trait, as shown to myself and to many others, yourself included." And I wish to add for myself, that I know this warm praise to be fully deserved, for neither can I "ever forget " this "noble trait," as shown to myself.
I may be regarded as entitled to bear personal testimony to many estimable qualities in the character of Mr. Lowe when I say, that at eighteen years of age I entered his office as a law student, under his preceptorship. Upon my admission to the bar three years afterwards I became associated with him as a partner in the practice. He was a true, considerate, and generous friend to me in my carly life. During a long business connection with him and, in fact, during forty years of most intimate association, personal, professional, and social, I can recall no act or word of Mr. Lowe that I would desire to forget, but many that it is a pleasure to remember. He was always kind, just and hospitable, enter- taining in conversation, vigorous in thought, ripe in reflection and instructive experience.
Colonel John G. Lowe, now for many years past retired from active
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practice, was originally in partnership with his brother, Peter; afterward with Mr. Odhin, then with Edward W. Davies. He graduated at Oxford in 1839, and commenced practice in Dayton in 1841. He was an active and enthusiastic young Whig in the celebrated campaign of 1840, and an ardent supporter of Mr. Clay in 1844. He has always continued to be one of the most respected and publie spirited citizens of Dayton, and regarded as an accomplished lawyer and safe counsellor. He served as colonel of a regiment in the war, being called into sudden service, to do important garrison duty at Baltimore, when there was urgent need of veteran troops at the front, full reference to which will be found in the chapter upon the military history of the city.
Before further reference to others of the group of attorneys to which Mr. John Lowe belongs, I wish to speak of two others of the original bar. I allude to Thomas J. S. Smith and Robert A. Thruston.
Both these young men came from Maryland, or the District of Columbia, to Dayton about 1830. Mr. Smith was a graduate of Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, and Mr. Thruston of West Point; or if not a graduate, had been a cadet there several years, completing his education elsewhere. He was accomplished and very talented, a son of Judge Buckner Thruston, one of the first senators from Kentucky after its admission to the Union; afterward appointed, by President Madison, United States district judge at Washington.
Mr. Smith, soon after settling in Dayton, determined to remove to Troy, where he at once took a leading position at the bar, and remained there until 1844, when he returned to Dayton and resumed the practice here. Hle was president of the Dayton & Michigan Railroad Company upon its organization, and continued in that position until the road was completed. Hle represented Montgomery County in the legislature in 1856 and 1857, and was a candidate for the supreme bench in 1860. Mr. Smith was an excellent lawyer, and especially qualified to exercise judicial func- tions. He was highly esteemed personally for his social qualities, and as a thorough gentleman. He was the father of Hon. J. MeLain Smith, who for a while was proprietor and editor of the Dayton Ledger, and repre- sented this county in the legislature, and is a gentleman of the highest culture and ability; and also of General Samuel B. Smith, who served gallantly through the war, and was, during Governor Foster's adminis- tration, adjutant-general of Ohio, now a resident of Ludlow Falls-both members of the Dayton bar.
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