USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107
Frederick Gimke, of Chillicothe, was a man tall of stature, slim, pleasant looking and had a fine legal education and a fair minded jurist. He was thoroughly practical and also rose to the supreme bench of Ohio.
Joseph R. Swan was born in Oneida county, New York, in 1802, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. He was educated at Aurora, New York, and there studied law. which he completed under his uncle, Gustavius Swan, at Colum- bus, Ohio, where he was admitted to the bar in 1824. In 1830-34. he was prosecuting attorney in Franklin county and in 1834 was appointed president udge. He resigned in 1845. He, too, rose to the supreme court bench, and later wrote many books on Ohio laws. Columbus was his home many years.
James L. Torbert, the last presiding judge of this district, was a resident of Springfield, locating there in 1824 when yet a young man. He had a fine classical education, followed school teaching for several years and then studied law and was admitted to the bar. In 1848 he edited the Springfield Republic. making it an ardent Whig paper. His last term at Marysville was
188
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
held September 29, 1851. He then became probate judge of Clark county. his old home county.
JUDGES OF COMMON PLEAS COURT.
The Ohio State Constitution of 1851 provided for a branch of the judici- ary to be styled the "Court of Common Pleas." Among others who have held the position of judges for such a court, as relates to Union county may be named the following :
Benjamin F. Metcalf, the first judge of common pleas for this district under the 1851 Constitution, lived most of his time during his term of office at Lima, Allen county, although his home was at Delphos. He commenced Jaw practice in Shelby county, Ohio. Considering his limited opportunities and none too good education, he made a very acceptable judge. He possessed good sound judgment and was tactful, and this, in part, made up for his lack of training as a lawyer. His fair name was, however, somewhat tarnished, even at that early day, by a too frequent use of the wine cup and all that goes along with its use. His death occurred at Lima soon after the close of the Civil War.
William Lawrence, judge of the court of common pleas from 1856 to 1865, followed Judge Metcalf and resided at Bellefontaine, Logan county. He was a well-read attorney and possessed remarkable industry and great energy. He made a practical, self-respecting judge and satisfied the people and the lawyers by his fair decisions. Morally, he was without spot or blemish. He was always pleasant and affable and was very popular in and out of court. In 1864 he was elected to a seat in Congress, resign- ing his position on the bench to take the position as one of the war congress- men from Ohio. Near the end of President Hayes' administration, he was appointed comptroller of the United States treasury.
John S. Conklin, of Sidney, Ohio, followed Judge Lawrence as judge of the common pleas court of this district. He was as conscientious and honest as the sun, as was said of him once. In 1882 he was a candidate for Congress on the Republican ticket, but was defeated by Benjamin LaFevere.
Following Judge Conklin, P. B. Cole, of Marysville, Union county, came to the common pleas bench. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1815 and in 1820 was taken by his father and other members of the household to Mill Creek, Delaware county, where he continued to reside until 1833. The following year he came to Marysville and entered the office of William C. Lawrence and began reading law, boarding in the family of his preceptor.
18g
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
He was admitted to the bar at Columbus, December, 1836, and ever after- wards was known as a lawyer of Marysville. In 1847 he formed a law partnership with George D. Witter, which was severed by the death of Mr. Witter in 1849. He then formed partnership with John B. Coats, continuing until 1851. He was elected a member of the Legislature in 1850 under the old Constitution and held over under the new Constitution in 1851. He was also state senator in 1865, and had been prosecuting attorney as early as 1844. He was elected judge of the common pleas court in 1871 and served five years. In 1882 it was said of him that he was the oldest lawyer practic- ing in Union county and almost as old as any within Ohio. He was admitted to the practice when twenty-one years of age. continuing in practice over forty-six years, during a period when many of Ohio's brightest legal lights reached the height of their legal fame. They had nearly died and he alone left to practice among a younger generation of lawyers and judges. He made inpartial decisions and was respected both in and out of court for his manly methods. He ever practiced practical temperance and lived to a ripe old age, beloved by all.
John L. Porter was a native of Delaware county, Ohio, born in 1827. came to Union county in 1849 and immediately commenced reading law in the offices of Cole & Witter, at Marysville. He finished under Cole & Coats, the last named gentleman having been admitted to the firm that year after the decease of Mr. Witter. Mr. Porter was admitted to the bar in 1851 during the last term of court under the old judicial system. The same was the supreme court held at Marysville. He was examined before Judge Swan, Otway Curry and others. He at once entered upon the practice at Marysville, entering into partnership with P. B. Cole, with whom he con- tinued for three years, subsequently becoming a partner of J. B. Coats. In 1862 Porter enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio regiment. and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, serving till the end of the Civil War. He was elected in 1855 and 1857 as prosecuting attorney of Union county and after his return from the war was chosen to such position again. He served until 1873. In the autumn of 1876 he was elected judge of the court of common pleas, serving until February, 1882. After the war he formed a partnership with Col. A. James Sterling and remained with him until he was elected judge. Porter & Sterling collected a very large amount of the extra bounties for soldiers, more than any other firm. In the early fifties he was mayor of Marysville. After his son Edward was admitted to the bar the firm was styled Porter & Porter.
John A. Price, elected as judge of the third sub-division of the tenth
190
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
judicial district, was horn in Calloway county, Missouri, in 1840. His father died two years later, when his mother removed the family to Logan county, Ohio, where the son ever afterward continued to reside. He re- ceived a common school education and read law under Stanton & Allison, of Bellefontaine, and was admitted to the bar in 1862. In 1861 he enlisted in the Union cause, but for disability was discharged at Camp Chase. Janu- ary 1. 1864, he was commissioned first lieutenant of the Fifth United States Colored Troops, and served in the campaigns that year around Petersburg, Virginia. On account of ill health he resigned in November, 1864. While still in the army he was elected prosecuting attorney of Logan county and re-elected in 1866 and 1868; he resigned in 1869 to accept a seat in the Ohio Legislature. He was judge of the court of common pleas from 1887 to 1892. He still resides at Bellefontaine.
The next judge of the court of common pleas is the present judge, James M. Brodrick, whose sketch appears in the mention given members of the Union county bar in the latter section of this chapter. He took the bench in 1906.
Union county's first permanent attorney-at-law was William C. Law- rence, who was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, March 2, 1804. He was one of seven children. The family removed to a point midway between Delaware and Marysville, Ohio, but in what is now known as Delaware county. Young Lawrence lived with his father, worked on the pioneer farm, attended school, and when eighteen years of age entered Washington Col- lege, Pennsylvania, where he took a thorough classical course including Greek. After his graduation he returned home, remaining a short time and being desirous of seeing the Southland, he set out and taught Latin in Ala- bama one year and a mixed school in Tennessee. He then pushed on to New Orleans and remained in the South about four years. He read law while teaching school. After coming home to Ohio, he was admitted to the bar at Medina in the autumn of 1831. He was married about this date and removed with his bride to Marysville. He was a good lawyer. an excellent citizen and lived to enjoy the fruits of his early struggles for an education and a place in his chosen profession. From 1833 to 1838 he was prose- cuting attorney. He felt that a larger field would suit him better and had planned to move to Kenton, Hardin county, but before removal he was stricken by typhoid fever and died at the age of forty-two.
Prior to the settlement of Attorney Lawrence, however, there had been a legal light at Marysville in the person of a Mr. Barlow, who arrived in Marysville about 1828 or 1830, and boarded for a short time with Silas
191
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
Strong. He did not remain long and went on to more promising fields, where possibly law business was better at that date than here in Union county.
Concerning other members of the Union county bar it may be stated that the facts in this chapter have been obtained from former histories of Ohio and Union county and from the memories of those now living in the county who have been in a position to know the general history of the law- yers of the county.
Augustus Hall, the second regular lawyer in the county, came from Knox county in the spring of 1836, remamed several years, was elected prosecuting attorney and later removed to Iowa, in which state he was elected to Congress.
The next to locate here was P. B. Cole, whose life has been reviewed in the section on the bench of this chapter.
John F. Kinney located in Marysville in the autumn of 1836, was ad- mitted at Columbus the following year and commenced practice here. He moved to West Point, lowa, and was twice elected to the supreme bench of that state, and subsequently went to L'tah, from which territory he was elected a delegate to Congress. He lived many years and held property in Lincoln and Plattsmouth, Nebraska.
Otway Curry was admitted to the bar in 1840. He rose to be one of the ablest lawyers and most eloquent speakers, as well as forceful writers, in the country. For many years he was a law partner of C. W. B. Allison. A further account is found in the biographical section of this work, of this most excellent citizen and attorney.
About 1842 came James E. Wilson, but he practiced little while here. He was connected with the local newspaper and was deputy clerk of the court. He became a minister in the Methodist Protestant denomination and removed from the county.
Charles W. B. Allison settled in Marysville about the same time Mr. Allison did. He was a fine young man and made an excellent lawyer. He was a partner of Mr. Wilson and also for a time was associated with Otway Curry. He had a large practice and remained until about 1850. Ile died in Wheeling, West Virginia, about 1880.
Jackson C. Doughty came to Marysville in 1844, remained until 1859, and then removed to Missouri. During the Civil War he was driven out of that state by the Rebels, returned to Urbana and practiced with John A. Corwin. He enlisted in the Union army as a private soldier, and after the war moved to Mendota, Illinois.
In the decade between 1840 and 1850. Edward Stillings and Hiram
192
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
Culver read law in Marysville, the former with W. Lawrence and P. B. Cole, and the latter with Mr. Cole. Both were admitted to the bar; Culver went to Oregon and died ; Stillings went to Leavenworth, Kansas. Both were capable attorneys. Culver was admitted in 1845 and Stillings about 1846.
George D. Witter read law with P. B. Cole and was admitted to the bar in 1847. The same year he formed a partnership in law with his pre- ceptor, which continued until the death of Mr. Witter in 1849. He was a bright. clear-headed, promising man and only twenty-six years of age at the time of his death.
Ransom C. Clark, who was admitted and began practice at Marysville in 1849. left here in 1867. removing to Hardin county, Iowa. He later located in Fayette county, Missouri. He had been prosecuting attorney while residing here in Union county.
John B. Coats, a native of Vermont, found his way to Xenia, Ohio. in 1842. He followed school teaching from 1842 to 1848, reading law during this time in the office of John H. Watson. He was admitted to the bar in Xenia in June. 1847: the following year, on account of ill health, he returned to Vermont and remained until 1849. when he located at Marys- ville, Union county, Ohio, forming a partnership with P. B. Cole. The firm of Coats & Cole existed until 1851. In 1854 Coats became the law partner of John L. Porter. Coats was elected prosecuting attorney in 1859 and ten years later was elected judge of the probate court for Union county.
James W. Robinson, a native of Union county, read law with Otway Curry ; graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1851 and was admitted to the bar at London, Madison county, in April of that year. He at once formed a partnership with Otway Curry and this association was continued (except one year) until Mr. Curry's death in 1855. After this change took place Mr. Robinson practiced alone for a short time, but then took as his partner, his brother, Col. A. B. Robinson. In 1869 Leonidas Piper was admitted to the firm, making it Robinsons & Piper. J. W. Robinson was a member of the Legislature in 1858-60. In 1864 he was elected to fill the vacancy made by the resignation of A. J. Sterling. In 1872 he was elected to a seat in Congress and served two years. He was a candidate for re- election, but went down to defeat with the rest of the Republican party in the district.
Probably the next attorney to locate in the county was John L. Porter. whose sketch has been given in the bench section of this chapter.
S. Morton Tucker. a Vermonter, arrived in Union county, Ohio, when
193
UNION COUNTY, OIIIO.
a small boy with his parents, who settled in Union township. He read law with Cole & Coats, beginning about 1850, and two years later was admitted to the bar. In the autumn of 1852 he moved to Lewis, Cass county, Iowa. He later moved to Kansas and enlisted in that state in the Union cause and was commissioned lieutenant, although having only one hand, the other hav- ing been shot off by accident at a Fourth of July celebration. After the war ended he resumed his practice of law in the West. He died in 1912.
In 1852 I. B. Allen came to Marysville and remained until about 1855. Of him it is related that he was susceptible to all kinds of practical jokes. The members of the bar soon learned this peculiarity, took advantage of it and had much fun with him. They put him through what they termed an "initiation" which ended in a climax which set the court and lawyers in a great uproar, including the usually quiet and dignified Otway Curry. These old timers enjoyed the ridiculous as well as the sublime in life.
John D. Vandeman was admitted to the bar before the Union district court in August. 1853, although he never resided in this county. He gradu- ated from the Ohio Wesleyan University about 1850; was a resident of Delaware, Ohio, and a member of the law firm of Carper & Vandeman, but frequently practiced in the important cases in Union county courts.
H. J. King, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Ohio in 1824, when a child, with his parents, the family locating in Pike township, Madison county. He began reading law with Samuel Kerr, at London, in 1842, and became a citizen of Union county in 1853. He practiced many years before the lower courts before his admission to the regular bar in 1869, before the supreme court at Columbus. For three years he was a member of the firm of Randall, Cameron & King, and later a partner of Andrew Stevenson until 1878, after which he practiced alone.
Aaron I. Gould settled in Marysville about 1854. practicing a year with Jackson C. Doughty. He moved his family to Iowa, where he embarked in the newspaper business. He had a very bad temper and this made him the butt of many a good joke among the members of the bar. He was a tall man and someone dubbed him "Shanghai." and when he heard of it he was wroth and made all manner of dire threats upon the man who started this name for him. Messrs. Coats and Porter, to whom he applied for information, could only surmise the name of the offender, and Gould was about to depart dis- satisfied, when Porter told Coats to call him back and he would tell him. Gould again entered hastily and Porter, with all the gravity of which he was possessed, remarked that "Dave Welch was the man." "Oh h --! "
(13)
194
UNION COUNTY, OIIIO.
said Gould, "I can't lick him; but I'll cut his d-d heart out ;" and away he hastened with bad intent in his heart. Mr. Coats undertook to get ahead of him and warn Welch, but was too late. It was probable that no man was ever more scored by tongue than was poor Welch. He was one of the most powerful citizens in the town and Gould dared not lay hands on him. Welch, in relating this incident, said he had not the faintest idea of what Gould was trying to get at when talking so to him. Had he been a smaller man possibly the trouble between Welch and Gould might have been even more serious than it was.
In 1854 George Lincoln, from Connecticut, settled in Marysville and commenced the practice of law. In the fall of that year he formed a law partnership with Attorney Hamilton. Subsequently he moved to Madison county and was made judge of the court of common pleas.
Col. Maecenas C. Lawrence, eldest son of William C. Lawrence, was born in Marysville in 1832, read law with Judge P. B. Cole and was ad- mitted to the bar at Marysville, August, 1865. He inherited the wonderful memory possessed by his father. He was a well-read lawyer and the older members of the bar more than once consulted him regarding hard problems in law. He made an envious military record as a member of the Thirteenth and One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Regiments. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He served in the House in the Ohio Legislature in 1865-67 and in the Senate in 1873. He died at home in Marysville, Decem- ber, 1881, aged about fifty years. He was buried by the Grand Army of the Republic.
Col. Aaron B. Robinson, of the old law firm of Robinson & Piper, studied law under his brother, Hon. James W. Robinson, at Marysville, and subsequently attended a law school at Cincinnati. He was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1859. Col. Robinson gained his title by service in the Civil War as a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment from Ohio. He was the junior member of the firm above named before Mr. Piper entered it. In the early eighties he was not actively engaged in legal practice, but was absorbed in what was styled the "Factory Store" at Marys- ville. In 1879 and 1881 Col. Robinson was elected to a seat in the Ohio Legislature as a member from Union county. He met with physical afflic- tion a few years ago and has ever since been confined to his home.
William H. Randall came to Marysville in August, 1863, to take charge of the Democratic newspaper published at that time. For a law part- ner, he had for a time an attorney by the name of Cummings. From Marys-
195
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
ville, Mr. Randall removed to Defiance. Ohio, where he continued in the prac- tice of law.
Hylas Sabine, though not a regular legal practitioner in the county, was a graduate of the law department of Harvard University in 1863. He was a lifelong citizen of this county, but was best known as a real estate dealer. Under Governor Foster he was appointed state commissioner of railroads and telegraphs.
N. A. Gilbert came to Marysville either in 1865 or 1866. He had read law in Mahoning county, Ohio, and was for a short time a partner of W. M. Randall: in 1868-69 he associated with J. B. Coats, and still later with D. WV. Ayers. He was a good lawyer and well liked in the county. He moved to Cleveland about 1871 and there built up a large practice.
Ulysses D. Cole, eldest son of Judge P. B. Cole, read law with his father and later attended law school at Cleveland and Harvard University. Early in 1866 he was admitted to the bar by the supreme court at Columbus. He served in the Union Army in Civil War for two years with the rank of cap- tain. He practiced a year with his father and in 1867 moved to Hunting- ton, Indiana. He was elected state representative in 1876, and for a time was deputy United States assessor of internal revenue. He finally located at Rushville, Indiana, where he died.
Col. A. James Sterling was born in 1836 in Harrison county, Ohio, and accompanied his parents to U'nion county when but a mere babe. He was educated at the old Marysville Academy and at Ohio Wesleyan University. When the Civil War broke out, he raised a company and was elected as its captain. he being assigned to the Thirty-first Ohio Regiment Infantry. He was severely wounded in the right arm and shoulder at the fierce battle of Chickamanga, and was soon after discharged for disability. In 1864 he was elected to the lower House in the Ohio Legislature, but as soon as his wounds had healed, resigned to re-enter the war. He was commissioned lieutenant- colonel of the One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Regiment, and saw active service until the end of that hitter. prolonged strife. Soon after his return from the war he was admitted to the bar ( about 1866), and formed a part- nership with John L. Porter, which relation lasted until Porter's elevation to the bench in 1876. Mr. Sterling was a member of the Ohio Legislature in 1870-72. While residing in Marysville he became possessed of a good for- tune, but through unfortunate circumstances lost most of it. In 1878 he removed to Leadville. Colorado. He is deceased.
Leonidas Piper, born in Union township in 1836. commenced reading
190
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
law in May, 1865, at Marysville, with Col. M. C. Lawrence, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1867. He practiced with his preceptor a year and a half and in March. 1869, united with the firm of Robinson & Robinson. The firm of Robinson & Piper was perhaps the strongest law firm of the county at any time in the county's history, and continued as long as a firm as any other. For two years in his career Mr. Piper was superintendent of the Marysville city schools. In 1869 and 1871 he was elected prosecuting at- torney for Union county. He was secretary of the Union County Agricul- tural Society from 1867 to 1874. He was one of the board of school exan- iners for a number of years. He was elected judge of the probate court in 1888 and served until 1895. He is still practicing law.
J. L. Cameron, born in Jackson township, in this county, read law before the Civil War in the office of J. W. Robinson and was admitted to the bar by the district court at Marysville, August, 1867, and soon commenced to practice his chosen profession. In 1868 he was admitted to the practice in all state and federal courts. In 1869 he formed a partnership with W. M. Randall, which continued until 1871. Subsequently, he was a partner of Joseph M. Kennedy, and in January, 1878, he admitted Thomas B. Benton as partner. This firm was dissolved in the autumn of 1881 and then he practiced alone. Mr. Cameron served in the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War.
D. W. Ayers, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Union county, Ohio, in 1868, read law with James W. Robinson at Marysville, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He served as city solicitor of Marysville and in 1875 was elected prosecuting attorney for two years. In 1871 he became a law partner of R. L. Woodburn. He had previously been associated for a short time with N. A. Gilbert. In 1876 he entered into partnership with Col. A. J. Sterling, which was dissolved in 1878, after which he resumed his practice alone. He made a specialty of criminal cases, in which he was quite successful. He was an energetic worker in political campaigns. He served in the Union Army from Pennsylvania under General Sheridan and was present at Lee's final surrender to Grant. He is now deceased.
R. L. Woodburn was a native of Jerome township. He commenced the study of law in 1869 in the offices of Robinson & Piper at Marysville and was admitted to the bar at that place in August. 1871. He formed a partnership with D. W. Ayers and commenced his law practice at Marysville. Two years later he commenced practicing alone. In 1877 and again in 1879 he was made prosecuting attorney for Union county. From 1873 to 1878
197
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
he was secretary of the county agricultural society. He served in the Eighty- sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. He is now deceased.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.