USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Memoirs of the Miami valley > Part 27
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The heavy load of responsibility which had been laid upon the newly created county prepared a great field for resident practi- tioners. There was, to begin with, the natural ignorance and license in construction of law of the early days of American liberty. There was also the fact that the courts of Logan county were to be held responsible for the punishment of all crimes committed within the vast indefinite territory included in the phrase: "All that territory lying to the north of said [Champaign county] line." There was, in addition to these, the confusion of land titles brought about by the Virginia Military Surveys, in the relocation of the Ludlow Line north of the Greenville Treaty Line; and the half century dispute over the Hardin county boundary line, both of which were veritable mines of litigation. But, while to be the scapegoat of border out- lawry might have carried opprobrium with it, there was a distinct advantage in the situation. For the crimes incident to the edge of civilization and the inevitable quarrels which even the best of people had (since they were merely human) and the endless land tangles drew the best of legal talent Loganward as gladiators to the arena.
Prominent Ohio lawyers of that day who were often present in the primitive court room of 1820 and the few years following, were Orvis Parrish, Sampson Mason, Charles Anthony, Gustavus Swan, Moses B. Corwin, William A. Rogers, Peter P. Lowe, and
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others whose names are written high on Ohio's scroll of fame. Battles royal were fought and won by the legal giants of a hundred years ago. Moses Corwin was an able advocate, witty and per- suasive; William A. Rogers a quiet but formidable opponent ; Sampson Mason a lawyer of great polish, courtly and eloquent in appeal; and all were men of marked ability, resourceful and astute.
William Bayles was the first of his profession to locate in the county, coming from Urbana in 1818. He had married a sister of Moses Corwin, with whom he studied law, and, while he had only limited educational equipment, was a man of considerable native ability. He served four years as prosecuting attorney, from 1821 to 1825, but soon neglected his practice, and as years went by drifted into hopeless inebriety, from which habit he met his death one night in the waters of Possum Run, which flows through the heart of Bellefontaine.
Following Bayles, Anthony Casad, a young lawyer of high integrity, came to the Logan county bar in 1826. Casad is not recorded as a brilliant lawyer, but successful through diligence. He succeeded Bayles as prosecuting attorney until 1831. In 1840 he was elected to the state legislature, and again in 1852. In 1858 he was elected judge of the probate court, which court was established in 1852, and he held this office until his death in 1861. He was a fervent patriot and was driving from Camp Chase (near Columbus) after visiting the federal troops there, when he contracted a cold from the effects of which he died soon after reaching home.
Hiram McCartney located in Bellefontaine in 1830, having studied law with Judge Benjamin Piatt at West Liberty, who was then a resident of the county. McCartney had decided ability, added to industry and energy. He was a fearless and outspoken abolitionist at a time when that meant political ostracism. "He lived," said Judge Lawrence of him, "in advance of his time." Before his death, which occurred in 1842, "all too short a lease," he had advanced to the head of the Logan county bar.
Samuel Walker, who came to Bellefontaine in 1831, was also, like McCartney, an ardent abolitionist, and especially active in the "underground railway." He was a man of ordinary ability, though honest and thorough, and held in high esteem. McCartney and Walker were friends linked in sympathy on the question of slavery, but maintained a lifelong argument over their opposing religious beliefs. Walker retired from practice to a farm near Huntsville and died in 1852.
Henry M. Shelby, a native of Lewistown, became a resident of Bellefontaine in 1851. As Judge Lawrence wrote, "he had a respectable degree of ability, and enjoyed the distinction of being a leading Democrat in a strongly Republican county." He died in Bellefontaine after a practice of twenty years.
Isaac Smith and George H. Neiman were lawyers from De Graff who practiced at Bellefontaine for a number of years. Smith was previously a justice of the peace. Neiman, a Virginian by birth, lived but a few years after coming to this county.
Richard S. Canby came to Quincy, Logan county, with his father, Dr. Joseph Canby. He was but a very small boy at the
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time. Richard received the finest of educational advantages and became a most finished scholar. He was admitted to the bar in 1839, and thereafter divided his time between law and business. He was sent to the state legislature in 1845, but had previously served as prosecuting attorney. In 1846 he was elected to congress, but after serving one term he retired from law and engaged in business pursuits until 1860, when he removed to Olney, Illinois. There he was elected circuit judge and became distinguished as a jurist during a long incumbency. Judge Canby was politically unambitious, and personally very modest. Of himself, he said in a letter to Judge Lawrence, "If I had stuck to the practice of law, I might have become a respectable lawyer."
Benjamin Stanton, born of Quaker parents, June 4, 1809, at Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, and left an orphan at the age of two years, had a life story which reads like a romance. He lived with his grandmother until he was fifteen, attending school and working on a farm, but by some accident acquired a stiff ankle which was believed to unfit him for continuing the life of a farmer. In con- sequence of this circumstance Benjamin was apprenticed to a tailor, a trade which did not appeal to his taste, but which as a dutiful lad he tried to do well, though he freed himself from his master before his majority, and became an independent workman. Very early in life, Mr. Stanton married a Methodist lassie, whereby he lost his birthright membership in the Society of Friends; but it is recorded that he never considered it a cause for regret. He suc- ceeded in supporting his family by means of his distasteful trade (in which he did not shine) while studying law with Samuel Stokely and Rowell Marsh of Steubenville, and was admitted to the bar in 1833, coming with his wife to Bellefontaine in 1834. For thirty- two years thereafter he was engaged in all the most important litigation in the county, except that which occurred during his eight years of service in congress. He was also a supreme court practitioner. When in congress he held a position on the board of regents of the Smithsonian institute, and was at one time chairman of the committee on military affairs.
Beside the activities mentioned, Benjamin Stanton served two terms as prosecuting attorney early in his career and two as state senator ; was a prominent member of the constitutional convention in 1850, and in 1862 was elected lieutenant governor of Ohio. His forensic ability was superb, and the occasion of his famous reply to Vallandingham, candidate for governor of Ohio, caused a genuine sensation.
Mr. Stanton was a cousin of Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln's great secretary of war. After the war was closed he decided to leave Logan county for West Virginia, where, he said, there was a dearth of loyal lawyers, and spent the remainder of his life in that state, dying in 1873 at Wheeling.
C. W. B. Allison came to Bellefontaine from Union county. He married a daughter of Benjamin Stanton and became his partner in legal practice. Allison is said to have been a highly valuable counselor, though not a great jury lawyer, as he was not a public speaker. He removed with Stanton to West Virginia in 1866.
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Joseph H. Lawrence, a son of Judge Lawrence (see Judges of Logan County), was a native of Bellefontaine, born August 4, 1847. He was graduated from Washington and Jefferson college, in Penn- sylvania, in 1870, and from the Columbian law college at Wash- ington, D. C., in 1871, and was admitted to the bar the same year. He was associated in practice with his distinguished father during the latter's lifetime.
John M. Lawrence, a brother, born April 10, 1854, was educated at Wittenberg college, Springfield, Ohio, graduating in 1878, and in the Cincinnati law school, which he completed in 1880, and was admitted to the bar at Columbus. While at the law school he was a classmate of President William H. Taft. He returned to Belle- fontaine, and, the practice of law not being to his liking, he remained in his father's office while the latter was comptroller of the United States treasury, afterward entering the Bellefontaine National bank, and devoting himself to financial and business interests in active association with his father, following this line of work until his death, which occurred September 12, 1913.
James Kernan, sr., was born in Ireland in 1814, was brought to America when a child, and received his education in this country. He graduated from Cincinnati law school in 1849 and located in Bellefontaine, where he practiced for nearly thirty years. He was the embodiment of what is known as "an Irish gentleman," as well as a successful lawyer. He died suddenly, in 1878, from a stroke of paralysis.
His son, James Kernan, jr., born 1840, was educated in the Bellefontaine schools, studied law with his father and became his partner in 1865. James, jr., inherited the gentlemanly and scholarly qualities of his father and is now one of the most exact and pains- taking members of the bar. He is in active practice and highly respected.
James Walker, a lawyer of splendid ability and fine training, came to Bellefontaine about 1850. From 1854 to 1856 he was prose- cuting attorney ; from 1862 to 1865 he was United States assessor ; in 1867 he was elected mayor of the city, and subsequently was member of the legislature for four terms. In 1854 he co-operated with Judge William West in the establishment of the Bellefontaine Republican, a Republican newspaper which later became famous for its fearless advocacy of political principles, morality and right- eousness under the management, ownership and editorship of John Quincy Adams Campbell.
James B. McLaughlin, born in Perth, Scotland, in 1817, was brought to America at the age of three years, and settled in Belle- fontaine in 1833, when he was sixteen years of age. During the fifties he was twice elected county surveyor. He studied law with Judge Lawrence and was admitted to the bar in 1860. In 1862 he was elected prosecuting attorney and served one term, after which he received an appointment as United States commissioner. In 1872 he was admitted to federal court practice. He died in 1878.
J. Duncan Mclaughlin, son of James B., was born in Belle- fontaine in 1845, educated in the local schools, and graduated from the Cincinnati law school in 1869, being admitted to practice imme-
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diately thereafter. He was county surveyor in 1866 and prosecuting attorney in 1874, and in 1880 was elected mayor of Bellefontaine. He was associated in practice with his father and Judge Duncan Dow. He ably served for two terms as judge of the probate court, from February 9, 1897, to February 9, 1903. He is still in active practice in Bellefontaine, highly esteemed and respected.
N. G. Johnston, born in Logan county, 1830, graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan university in 1859. He read law in the office of West & Walker and attended the Cincinnati law school, and was admitted to the bar at Cincinnati in June, 1869. He formed a partnership with H. R. Gwynn, who subsequently died, and later became a partner of E. J. Howenstine. In 1876 or 1877 he removed to Defiance, where he resided until his death, about 1902.
Thomas H. Wright is a native son of Bellefontaine, born in 1849. He was graduated from the local high school with honors, studied law with the Kernans and was admitted to practice in 1871. He spent a short period in Denver, Colorado, then returned to Belle- fontaine, but was never an active member of the Logan county bar. He was, however, a successful pension attorney, rendering faithful service to the soldiers of the civil war.
Sidney B. Foster of Huntsville was a native of New York and came to Logan county in 1850. He studied law under James Kernan, sr., and began practice in 1856. For many years he was a thriving merchant and a justice of the peace in his home town. Sidney B. Foster was widely known for his high ideals and espe- cially for his opposition to saloons and the use of intoxicating liquors. His influence on the community still lives.
Henry C. Dickinson, born in Logan county, June 30, 1839, was educated at Marysville, Ohio, and read law with the Mclaughlins and Dow at Bellefontaine, entering the practice of law in the fall of 1873. During his active practice he was regarded as one of the best trial lawyers of the Logan county bar. He died after a suc- cessful career of nearly thirty years.
William W. Beatty came to Logan county in 1850 and studied law with Judge Lawrence, being admitted to practice in 1853. He lived at Huntsville but his large practice carried him into all the courts of this and surrounding counties. In 1870 he was licensed to practice in the United States courts. He was sent to the state legislature in 1873, and to the state senate in 1875. While there he originated or was the author of the Township Local Option Law. His death occurred some years since.
R. N. Jordan, who was never an active practitioner, came to West Liberty in 1850 and was local justice of the peace there for many years, and also mayor of that village for three years previous to being admitted to the bar in 1874. He was a brother of the Jordans of Cincinnati and Dayton. His death occurred about 1910.
George W. Emerson of Bellefontaine was born in Logan county and educated at Hinsdale college. He studied law with West, Walker and Kennedy, and was admitted to the bar in 1875, after which he taught school for one year, and began practicing in 1876. "George Emerson," as he was familiarly known, was one of the most kindly and amiable characters, enjoying the confidence and
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affection of the entire community. He was in the very prime of his professional, useful, happy and exemplary life, forty-eight years of age, when he died. He was prosecuting attorney for several terms, and at the time of his death, 1897, was a candidate for the legislature.
Capt. Harold B. Emerson, son of "George," having graduated from the local schools and from Columbia university, is well edu- cated, admitted to the bar and is a practicing lawyer, being a mem- ber of the law firm of Miller & Emerson, enjoying a large practice. He served two terms as city solicitor. When the United States entered the world war he volunteered his services and remained in the army until honorably discharged after the signing of the armistice, and is now practicing.
James W. Steen, a native son of Logan county, and once a member of the law firm of Price & Steen, is still living, in Oklahoma, where he is a judge.
Milton Steen, an uncle, was both banker and lawyer. He died at Bellefontaine and is buried in the Huntsville cemetery.
John Reese, who practiced law in Bellefontaine courts for a long period of time, served as mayor of the city and later removed to Broken Bow, Nebraska, where he resides at this writing.
James A. Oder, a native of Logan county, was educated at Geneva college, Northwood, afterward studying law with J. B. Mclaughlin. He commenced practice in 1867, was prosecuting attorney for two terms, and died about fifteen years ago.
John O. Sweet of Urbana, who was educated in the local schools and studied law with Emanuel J. Howenstine, afterward becoming his partner and enjoying a large practice, left Belle- fontaine about the year 1895 and is now in the pension department in Washington, D. C.
William A. West, son of Judge William H. West, was born in Bellefontaine. His education was finished at Wooster university, and he studied law in his father's office, being admitted to the bar in December, 1876. He entered the firm, which then became West, Walker & West. His death occurred in 1916.
Samuel H. West, a nephew of Judge William H. West, who also studied with him, served two terms as prosecuting attorney and was afterwards attorney for the National Cash Register com- pany at Dayton. He was state senator for this, the Thirteenth district, for two terms, and is now in Cleveland, serving as general attorney for the L. S. & M. S. railway.
John E. West, born in Bellefontaine, February 8, 1858, was educated in the local high school, Wooster university, and the Cincinnati law school. He also read law from early boyhood in his father's offices. He has been in continuous practice of his profession since 1885. Mr. West is now United States commis- sioner for Logan county and is a member of the board of trustees of Wooster university, and is now one of the leading members of the bar, enjoying a fine practice. The law firm of West & West is widely known, having existed for nearly sixty years.
His son, Johnson E. West, educated at Bellefontaine, Wooster, Ohio, and Columbia university, New York. was admitted to the
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bar and is now in diplomatic service for the United States in Siberia, but previous to this service was city solicitor for Belle- fontaine, his native city, and in active legal practice in the firm of West & West.
Robert P. Kennedy was born in Bellefontaine in 1840. He was educated in the local high school and in New Haven, Connecticut, after which he read law in the offices of West and Walker, and was admitted to the bar in 1866. Previous to this, he had served more than four years in the Federal army during the Civil war, attaining by successive promotions the rank of brevet brigadier general of volunteers. He became a partner of Judge West and James Walker in 1876. In 1878 he was appointed collector of internal revenue, and in 1885 he was elected lieutenant-governor of Ohio. While serving in that capacity, he acquired, by reason of his sturdy rulings, the appellation of "King Bob." In 1887 he was sent to Congress, and once re-elected. In 1899, following the Spanish-American war, he was appointed by President William Mckinley, a member of the Insular Commission, to visit Cuba and Porto Rico, preparatory to planning their new form of government. In 1903 he published a "Historical Review of Logan County," a handbook of genuine value to posterity. The city of Bellefontaine owes its beautiful shade trees along the streets to General Kennedy's activity while serving on the Tree Commission for the city. He died in the spring of 1918, leaving behind him a splendid record of public service, which will perhaps never be fully written save in the hearts of those who knew him personally.
Emanuel J. Howenstine, born in Bucyrus, Crawford county, Ohio, receiving his education there and at Jefferson college in Penn- sylvania, graduating in 1864, and graduating from Cincinnati law college in 1866; came to Bellefontaine in the same year, March, 1866, and has occupied the same rooms for his office during the fifty-two years of practice. From time to time partnerships in prac- tice with Mr. Howenstine were formed, in which Judge Lawrence, N. G. Johnson, John O. Sweet, A. Jay Miller and others have been interested. For the past twenty-eight years the partnership of Howenstine and Huston has continued. Mr. Howenstine's activity and devotion to the business of his profession has been of great service to the community. Of all the members of the Logan county bar who were in practice in the spring of 1866, when Mr. Howenstine commenced practice, Judge John A. Price and James Kernan, jr., remain.
John R. Cassidy was born in Ireland and came to America when a boy. He studied law with great ardor and was admitted to the bar in 1893. He continued in the active practice of law until 1913, when he was made clerk of the House of Representatives. On January 1, 1915, when Judge John C. Hover resigned as judge of the probate court to become judge of the court of common pleas, Governor James M. Cox appointed Mr. Cassidy to serve during the unexpired term as judge of the probate court, which he accepted and was again made clerk of the house when the political wheel turned to his favor, where he is now serving. Mr. Cassidy was twice elected
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mayor of Bellefontaine and represented Logan county in the consti- tutional convention of 1912.
William B. Ramsey has considerable local practice at Belle Center, the town of his nativity. He was educated at the local schools, Wooster, Princeton, and graduated from the Cincinnati law school, June 10, 1898. He practiced in Toledo, Ohio, for a few years, but after the death of his father, he gave his attention to the "Ramsey" bank, founded by his father, who, with his brother, Earl, conducted it in Belle Center.
Joseph C. Briggs of Belle Center, studied law under the direc- tion of Judge William H. West. He was admitted to the bar in 1890 and enjoys a large practice, his services being in demand in his immediate community, before justices of the peace, and he practices extensively in the Logan and Hardin county courts, as well as the court of appeals and supreme court.
P. M. Stewart, admitted to the bar in 1903, is in partnership in the practice at Belle Center with Joseph C. Briggs, his half brother.
Major Edward K. Campbell, born in Bellefontaine, was edu- cated in the local schools, graduating from the high school, and extended his education in Washington, D. C. He served in the Spanish-American war, after which he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1901. He has been in the general practice, serving two terms as city solicitor. He volunteered when the war against Germany was declared and at this time, January 1, 1919, is still serving in Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio, having been made provost marshal at that camp. Mr. Campbell is one of the four sons of Charles D. Campbell now in the U. S. army service, and is a grandson of Edward Knight, former U. S. commissioner of patents and celebrated widely for his genius and attainments.
Alexander Jay Miller, born in Bellefontaine, educated in the local schools, Wooster college, and is a graduate of Princeton uni- versity and of the Cincinnati law school. Was admitted to the bar in 1895. At the beginning of his practice he served two terms as city solicitor. His ability as a lawyer is recognized and his services required in many jurisdictions. He has a partnership with a law firm of which his brother, Albert Miller, is a member, at Toledo, Ohio, and gives a portion of his time to practice there. Mr. Miller has a fine education, is well traveled, having made two or more visits to Europe, and is familiar with all parts of his own country.
William Wallace Riddle, a son of Bellefontaine, and scion of one of the older and substantial families of this community, was educated at Wooster college and is a graduate of the Cincinnati law school. Besides his law practice, he is president of the People's National bank, the oldest financial institution of the city. Mr. Riddle is an expert in conveyancing and on questions of taxation. He has served as city solicitor, two terms in the legislature, and is now one of the trustees of the sinking fund. His services to the United States government were valuable as chairman of the Liberty Loan committee.
Thomas M. Shea, a native of Bellefontaine, son-in-law of Judge John A. Price, was admitted to the bar in 1892. He has served as city solicitor and is now in active practice.
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Jacob J. McGee, formerly of West Mansfield, removed to the county seat about the year 1910, and is a valuable acquisition to the legal force now practicing in Bellefontaine.
The law firm of Hamilton Brothers, consisting of John M. and Ernest M. Hamilton, was established about 1880. These brothers first opened their eyes to the beauties of the village of Zanesfield and the Mad river valley, coming from a staunch pioneer family. They have been actively engaged in the law practice, but have not been content to confine their efforts to the practice of law alone, their buoyancy of spirit and activity of life has carried them into a wide range of business enterprises.
Hugh H. Newell was born and raised in Union township, Logan county, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1896. Mr. Newell has extensive farming and other business interests besides his active law practice.
E. P. Chamberlin, a native of Logan county, studied law in the office of Judge William H. West, graduated from the Cincinnati law college in 1893, served two terms as prosecuting attorney and was enjoying a large practice when he was appointed special assistant district attorney by the United States government, with headquar- ters at Cleveland, Ohio. For a time he was in partnership with Mr. Hugh H. Newell. When Judge Dow retired from the bench, a part- nership was formed with him, and later, after the death of Judge Dow, a partnership was formed under the name of West & West & Chamberlin. Mr. Chamberlin has continued to reside in Cleve- land since being appointed by the government.
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