USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne county, Ohio, from the days of the pioneers and the first settlers to the present time > Part 39
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In 1842 he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio. His abilities, industry and fidelity to his cli- ents, immediately introduced him into active practice, and soon placed him in the front rank of his profession. At that time the Wooster bar was conspicuous for its ability throughout the State. Judges Willis, Silliman, Dean, Avery, Cox and Carter were its leading members, although other distinguished lawyers were also in practice then, prominent among whom were Samuel Hemphill, James C. Miller, William McMahan and General Samuel R. Curtis. All of these, save Carter, are dead.
From the beginning Mr. Jeffries enjoyed a large and lucrative practice, not only in Wayne county, but throughout the State. His integrity and purity of character; his power of research, inves- tigation and combination; his varied and accurate general knowl- edge; his untiring energy and perseverance, have given him a wide and worthy reputation, both as a man and lawyer. Few
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men in the practice of the legal profession have accomplished more in winning causes in the exciting collisions of the forum, or in es- tablishing reputation for legal acumen and a profound and compre- hensive knowledge of the law, than Mr. Jeffries. During his long and successful practice he has had associated with him as partners in his profession, the following prominent lawyers: Judge C. C. Parsons, Sen. (now on the bench), Judge William Given (deceased), Judge William Sample (deceased), and Judge Martin Walker, all eminent jurists, the latter at the present time being District Judge of the United States for the Northern District of the State of Ohio. These were his only partners until 1877, when he associated with him in practice his son, L. Q. Jeffries.
One professional characteristic of Mr. Jeffries is his uniform disposition to treat with the most marked lenity and courtesy the younger members of the bar. This is quite commonly remarked of him, and is a noble and manly expression of the higher and finer qualities of human nature. The reverse of this is of frequent oc- currence with the older lawyers, but is a mean and detestable habit.
For many years, and until recently, Mr. Jeffries took an active part in politics. He served four years as State's Attorney of Wayne county, and, as an evidence of his accuracy and sagacity as a pleader, it said that not a single one of his legal papers was held defective.
In 1858 the Democracy of the Fourteenth Congressional Dis- trict, composed then of the counties of Wayne, Ashland, Medina and Lorain, in Convention, gave him a unanimous nomination as their candidate for Congress. He was not successful in the can- vass, however, Gen. Cyrus Spink, his opponent, being elected; but, notwithstanding it was a strong Republican District, Mr. Jef- fries' large vote was quite flattering to his personal popularity.
In 1860 he was a delegate to the National Democratic Conven- tions at Charleston and Baltimore, from the Fourteenth District above named, and instructed to vote for Stephen A. Douglas, which he did, taking a prominent part in both Conventions, and in the spirited campaign that followed. As an event of those days it may be stated that on the 24th of September of that year, Her- schel V. Johnson, the candidate for Vice President, visited Woos- ter. The coming of this distinguished gentleman was obtained through the personal influence of Mr. Jeffries. He met Mr. John- son in Harrisburg, Pa., made a speech with him at Altoona, and by filling some of his appointments elsewhere in that State, and
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accompanying him to Pittsburg, prevailed upon him to proceed on to Wooster, where he addressed an immense assemblage to the highest admiration of the Democracy.
He received, in 1860, a majority of the popular vote of the Wooster district for Common Pleas Judge, but not desiring the position he withdrew his name upon the eve of nomination, which secured the nomination to Wm. Sample, of Coshocton county.
In 1862 he was elected by the people of Wayne county a mem- ber of the State Legislature by the home vote, the soldiers' vote giving his antagonist a small majority, and not desiring the posi- tion he did not contest his seat.
Mr. Jeffries, in 1844, commenced collecting facts concerning the primitive peoples of this continent, and continued his research until 1868, when he produced his volume entitled the "Natural History of the Human Races," which was published in New York in 1869.
His first aim was to write a History of the American Indians, and, in order to do so, visited many of the tribes and examined the antiquities of the country supposed to be of Indian origin; but their history unfolded to him a much wider and more comprehen- sive field than he at first conceived, whereupon he extended his in- quiry to the whole human family, and has given to the world the above-named accurately written and most valuable work.
Upon the production of this compendium of the origin of the races, wherein the boldness and tenability of his propositions are so maturely and scientifically elaborated, Mr. Jeffries may securely rest his reputation as a philosophical and candid expounder of ethnological truth, and to which may be referred the basis and cer- tainty of a lasting and enviable renown. His dissertation upon the origin of the American type of the human family, or the American Indians, supplies a necessity in ethnological history heretofore most culpably neglected by the most erudite writers upon this intricate but most interesting science. There can be no room for conjecture as to the correctness of his propositions con- cerning their origin, and the means and methods by which they obtained possession of the continent ; and his classification and localization of the different tribes is at once comprehensive, lucid and conclusive. To the American student of ethnological his- tory is it especially attractive, as it solves many of the mysteries relating to these nomadic tribes, who have been grievously desti-
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tute of proper annals and without an exponent of their manners, habits and character.
Mr. Jeffries has, we believe, never made any personal effort to introduce his book to the public beyond the first edition, yet it has found its way into many of the largest libraries, not only of this country but of Europe. A few years ago, in an official document, bearing the seal of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, he received most complimentary mention of his work, with intelli- gence that it was numbered upon the shelves of its library as a valuable contribution to ethnological science. It is quoted from in the leading magazines of both countries as corroborative of sim- ilar theories sought to be advanced by distinguished scientists in the same field of investigation.
The press highly commends the work. The following extracts from a few of the notices indicate the prevailing sentiment :
From the New York World.
This contribution to ethnology is a carefully prepared summary of the knowl- edge possessed on the subject. Mr. Jeffries discusses the question of the antiquity of man, his distribution, his physical nature and natural history. He examines the peculiarities of the various types, devoting a large space to the American and African races. In general, he accepts the theory of the unity of the human family, but considers that theories in reference to human equality should be considered in the light cast on these questions by a knowledge of the respective endowments, physical, mental and moral, of the various races.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The when, the where, and the how of man's origin has been the subject of in- teresting and perplexing inquiry for ages. * # Then comes that other per- plexing inquiry as to the cause of the different types or races of mankind. Are they the offspring of a single pair, or are they separate and distinct creations ? The work before us takes the ground that each type or race is a distinct creation of Al- mighty power, formed for their respective zones, and unfitted for perfect development out of them. The author scouts the idea that the diversity of race is acciden- tal, or as being inconsistent with man's natural history and the changeless laws of nature. No one ever knew of an instance where a negro was accidentally born of Caucasian parents, nor a case where the white man was accidentally born of negro parents ; nor does history show an instance of the typical complexion of a race being changed by climate. No agency can perform such a change but amalga- mation, and that inevitably leads to deterioration and death.
Our author has entered fully into all these matters, presented candidly the va- rious theories and the grounds upon which they are based.
Two facts are particularly prominent in the work, but not more so than they are in the history of the races, which are, that the whites embody the active intel- lectual force of the world which has imparted to Christian civilization its promi- nence and its triumphs; that the negro is the great representative of moral and in- tellectual stagnation. What the negro is now, he was over four thousand years ago, and will be four thousand years hence. Natures so dissimilar require different
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management, and to attempt to make them co-equals with the whites in the same government is a crime, which no humanitarianism can hide or wipe out.
From the Scientific American.
This book contains a great deal of rare and valuable information concerning the history of our race, and in respect to which the mass of mankind know but very little.
From the Phrenological Journal.
The author advocates the theory of the original diversity of the human crea- tion, that is, that there were the following five great types of the human family : Caucasian, Mongolian, Malay, African and American. His book gives evidence that, notwithstanding his legal practice of a quarter of a century's duration, he has found leisure for extended research in ethnology, and presents its results in this work in an entertaining and understandable manner.
We commend the book to the attention of all who are interested in the study of ethnology and kindred subjects.
From the New York Express.
The author gives an elaborate and learned investigation of the subject; bring- ing to the aid of his theory that there was an original diversity of the human crea- tion, of which there were five distinct types : the Caucasian, Mongolian, Malayan, American and African. This mooted question has been ably argued by opposing scientists, and the present work will find many earnest readers who take interest in the discussion. We recommend the book, for the candid and lucid manner the author treats the subject, and can with justice afford him the commendation that he presents an array of interesting ethnological facts that are valuable to the in- quirers into this deeply interesting problem. The work is profusely illustrated by valuable specimens of types of the different races, and the mechanical execution of the volume is unexceptionable.
There is a versatility about the attainments of Mr. Jeffries that is somewhat remarkable. That he should, at hours of leisure, or at intervals apart from his legal studies, have produced a work upon the distinct peoples of the earth, is almost incredible. Law- yers as a rule only bridge the chasms, tunnel the mountains, and ascend the peaks of the law. There are distinguished exceptions to this rule, of course, yet the proposition is true applied to them as a class. That they should become politicians is quite natural, as their oratorical powers are ever in requisition, but that they should incline to and consummate scientific and philosophical expo- sitions in conjunction with local politics and law, is most notable.
The geologic chapters of this work, as intimated elsewhere, are from his pen, and while they, more properly speaking, are but ab- breviations from his notes, we call attention to them as an epitome of systematized, compact, concrete, scientific thought.
To his acquisitions in the domain of scientific exploration we may add the other equally distinguished ones of the lawyer. The
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legal service, though it is in many respects, as the great Wirt asserted, "dry, dark, cold and revolting," an old feudal castle in perfect preservation, yet a legal architect, like Mr. Jeffries, who aspires to the honors of the profession, takes great delight in ex- ploring it.
His arguments at the bar are replete with legal knowledge, logical acumen, fullness of vocabulary, and he is felicitous in his analysis and application of evidence to law. He is one of the world's toilers, who believes there is no excellence without great labor. He is patient in all things, and maintains that wisely directed effort which secures all needful results. The lightnings of God are terrible, but the mattock sinks deeper holes in the earth than it. He is an indefatigable and discriminating reader, and draws the virtue out of the best books as hot water draws the strength of tea leaves. His mind is of the strictly ratiocinative or- der; from the parts of things, by rational presumptions and comparisons, he is apt to arrive at just, logical and reliable con- clusions.
Mr. Jeffries is a genuine American citizen, though he inherits the English temperament, and is brave, cordial and hearty. He is a thorough gentleman, plain and unaffected, singularly affable and courteous, but opposed to all ultra refinement. Upon ac- quaintance he instantly impresses you with his social inclinations, his manner being polite and accessible.
Though the revolving years have sifted snow upon his hair, he retains his vivacity and vigor, and possesses an erect and well-de- veloped figure. He is grave, sedate and dignified in his deport- ment and easy and polite in his action. He is frank, open and manly in expression, firm and resolute, fighting hard for the sly hare, success, and catching her ; is careful and temperate in all his habits-except that he will work too hard, which he had better quit. His domestic attachments are strong, and in the circle of home he is the luminous center.
C. C. PARSONS.
Hon. C. C. Parsons was born near Ithaca, Tompkins county, State of New York, 135 miles west of Albany, September 25, 1819. His father, Jabez Parsons, was a native of New Hampshire, and was married to Miss Petronella Cutler, of the State of Ver- mont. His grandfather, named Jabez, was a soldier in the
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War of the Revolution, one of the secretaries of Major General Israel Putnam, and among other of his achievements, it may be mentioned that he was by the side of Generals Washington and Lee in the memorable conflict of Monmouth, June 28, 1778, which resulted disastrously to the British forces under Clinton. For ser- vices rendered in the war of American Independence he became one of the worthy pensioners of the Government.
The father of Judge C. C. Parsons began life as a shoemaker, though he subsequently embarked in mercantile business, and, we believe, likewise pursued the ocupation of a farmer. He emigrated to Medina county, Ohio, in 1833. Hon. C. C. Parsons, his son, removed with his father to Medina county, when he was but four- teen years of age. His early education consisted in attendance upon the common schools of the State of New York, prior to his coming to Ohio, and three years patronage of McGregor's Acad- emy after his arrival.
At the age of sixteen he first presented himself in the role of teacher, taking charge of a school near "Johnston's Corners," in Summit county. His next school was taught in Sharon, Medina county, Ohio. For eight years he devoted himself to teaching and going to school. In 1839 he removed to Sugarcreek township, Wayne county, where, in the village of Dalton, he continued his profession as teacher, successfully serving in that capacity for three or four years. Having resolved upon the study of the law during this period, he commenced his elementary course of reading with Charles Wolcott, Esq., and after two years of close and attentive study, was admitted to practice in 1841, at the Circuit Court in Wooster.
He was twice married. First, March 11, 1841, to Miss Eliza Cahill, of Dalton, by which marriage there are six living children ; second to Aurelia A. Foote, September 10, 1858, and has two children. In March, 1841, he commenced the legal practice in Dalton, and soon established himself as a sound counselor and good lawyer. Identifying himself with the old Democratic party, he soon achieved prominence and popularity with that organization, and in 1848 was elected Auditor of the county by a majority of eight or nine hundred ; he was re-elected in 1850.
From 1851 to 1855 he practiced law with Eugene Pardee ; from 1855 to 1862, he was in partnership with Hon. John P. Jeffries. In 1862 he was appointed Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, to fill a vacancy occasioned by the incompetency and resignation of
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William M. Weiker. To this position he was elected in the fall of 1862, and re-elected in the fall of 1865. In 1863 he entered into partnership with Hon. John McSweeney, which continued until October, 1876, when he was elected Judge of the third sub- division of the Sixth Judicial District of Ohio, assuming his official responsibility on the second Wednesday of February, 1877.
The career of Judge C. C. Parsons, from the time he entered upon professional and official life, has been a busy, honorable and successful one. Like many of the eminent lawyers, jurists, and other professional men who, by dint of solid energy, have risen to prominence, his origin was an obscure one, possessing neither wealth nor influence to recommend him to popular favor.
From the time, at the age of sixteen, when he first hit "the buffer of life" as an humble school teacher, to the date of his as- cension to the Judgeship, his experience has been one of toil and study. Possessed of a good English education, with vigor of in- tellect, logical symmetry, a mind self-drilled and trained to rigid modes of thought, he advanced to his personal conflicts with ad- vantages not enjoyed by more cultivated and brilliant scholars. His habits of hard, original, exhaustive thought made him self- reliant, tenacious and independent, and imparted, not only a logical, but an inflexible character to his conclusions.
A teacher for many years of others, the inference is admissi- ble that he did not fail to be instructed, and in the school-room, by the very nature of his mental organization, he would establish rule and system, and his pupils would acquire and develop by simply unfolding himself. He could not fail to make plain subject matter.
During his ten years of official life he discharged his public duties with scrupulous fidelity and a punctilious regard for every public obligation. Taking charge of the Clerk's office after the malfeasance and general neglect of William Weiker, he reduced chaos to order and confusion to method. He has surrounded his various honorable political promotions with an atmosphere of in- tegrity and probity at once creditable to himself and worthy of imitation by his successors.
As an attorney, he attained enviable prominence at the Wooster bar. Combined with the qualities of a sound lawyer, he intro- duced the technical brevities and exactitudes of the business man. If a client had legal transactions with which he entrusted him he was ready and prepared to take hold of them, and no superfluous words were needed to urge him to vigilance. On trial day he was
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ready for trial. His self-possession never deserted him, and at the right time and place his self-assertion re-enforced him and made him strong. He was a first-class pleader, where the lawyer must be "a master in logic-fence; " a sound, incisive analyst ; a critical ex- pert, and at times a torturing cross-examiner, full of bitterness, withering rebuke and rankling sarcasm.
To the jury he talked pithily, plainly, pointedly, seldom am- plifying, and always aiming to convince by the cogency and validity of argument and a copious, methodical and sagacious presentation of facts. The law with him was the spear of Ajax, with which to stab an adversary, and the facts the club of Her- cules with which to pommel him. When once entrenched in the authorities he delivered spirited and courageous battle.
To the bench Judge Parsons has borne his legal learning, his acute, discriminating reason, his calm, sober judgment and an un- swerving sense of right-those most important pre-requisites in a Judge-and we doubt not, in this new and dignified province of jurisprudence he will fully sustain his past reputation as a lawyer and add other honors to his name.
In his Court criminals will not go unwhipt, and offense, though it wear a "gilded hand," will not "shove by Justice."
KIMBALL PORTER.
Colonel Porter was born in Lee, Massachusetts, on the 4th of July, 1803. He resided in Wooster from 1831 to 1856, and was marked as being one of its most prominent citizens in all respects. A man of unusual business enterprise, he was especially identified with the successful management of the stage coach line, of which, for many years, he was Superintendent. On the advent of the railroad through this part of Ohio he went West to assume a simi- lar position there, and died in Iowa City, Iowa, June 27, 1863. His body was brought to Wayne county for interment in the Wooster Cemetery. Few men were more deservedly popular for noble, personal characteristics than Kimball Porter, and many cherish his memory with tenderest emotions. He was a member of the Disciple church, and died as he had lived, a zealous and consistent Christian.
HON. GEORGE REX.
George Rex was born in Canton, Stark county, Ohio, July 25,
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1817. He is a son of Jacob and Catharine Rex, who emigrated from Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pa., and settled in Canton in May, 1815. His parents were members of the Methodist church for thirty years and their lives were exemplary, pious and pure. His mother died April, 1867, and his father April 27, 1876, at the residence of his son-in-law, Hon. John McSweeney of Wooster.
George Rex spent his earlier years in Canton under the guid- ance and care of his parents and under the shadow of the family circle, where germinate and grow, under the fostering care of father and mother, those great clusters of human virtues which in the coming years ornament so many lives, and illustrate the good- ness and beneficence of parental teaching. He attended school at the Lutheran Seminary at Canton, for one year and a half, when that institution was removed to Columbus and incorporated as the Capital University, after which he continued as a student for two years, devoting himself to mathematics, the higher branches of scientific and philosophical study, as well as to the German lan- guage and literature and the classics.
After his return to Canton at the Christmas vacation, in the winter of 1833-34, he was employed for three years during the winter season to teach the public schools of that city. He com- menced reading law in the fall of 1839 with Hon. John Harris, for many years a leader of the bar of Stark county, and on the 10th of October, 1842, was admitted to practice, by the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio.
He removed to Wooster February 9, 1843, and engaged in the practice of the legal profession, where he has since continued to live, and where, with the exception of time devoted to official duties, he has zealously and assiduously applied himself to the solution of the technicalities and riddles of the legal science. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Wayne county in the fall of 1847, and re-elected in Obtober, 1849. In October, 1851, he was chosen to the Senate of the State of Ohio from the District of Wayne and Holmes, where he served with distinguished ability ; was elected by that body President pro tem., and in that capacity very soon achieved the distinction of being a superior presiding officer, and one of the best parliamentarians in the State. In October, 1859, he was again elected to the office of Prosecuting Attorney of Wayne county, and in the fall of 1861 re-elected to the same office. At the August term of 1864 he was appointed by the Court-Judge Sample upon the bench-Prosecutor of the
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county, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of the incumbent elect. At the October election in 1867 he was chosen a second time to the Senatorship of Ohio, representing the coun- ties of Wayne, Holmes, Knox and Morrow, serving through the regular session of 1868, and the adjourned session of 1869.
On the IIth of September, 1874, he was appointed and com- missioned by Governor William Allen as Judge of the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio, to fill a vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Hon. Walter F. Stone, and was elected by the peo- ple of the State to the same office the ensuing October.
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