USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 54
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Jesse M. Brandt,
Attorney at law at Cincinnati, and Justice of the Peace in the same city, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, on the Ioth of Septem- ber, 1869. He is of German descent, his father being Mr. J. R. Brandt, a contractor and builder. Young Brandt was educated in the public schools of Fairfield County and at the Ohio State University at Columbus. He sub- sequently took up the study of law at the Cincinnati Law School, from which institution he graduated in 1896, receiving a prize of $50 for the best oration. He was admitted to the bar in the same year, and immediately took up the practice of his profession, in which he has become eminently successful. Mr. Brandt is a lawyer of extraordinary ability, well grounded in all the questions pertaining to his pro- fession. He is a Republican who has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his party. He was Secretary of the Republican Executive and Central Committees of his home JESSE M. BRANDT county, and in the years of 1891 to 1893 served as a Township Clerk. He was elected Justice of the Peace in Hamilton County in the April election of 1900, and was re-elected for a second term in 1903. Mr. Brandt has always been a conscientious and painstaking official, and com- mands the respect of all the members of the Hamilton County bar, irrespective of party affili- ations. Mr. Brandt is a member of the Blaine Club and of the Stamina Republican League.
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George K. Browning,
An eminent attorney of Zanesville, Ohio, was born on his father's farm in Hopewell Township, Muskingum County, on the 26th of March, 1860. His parents, James and Eliza- beth Sheppard Browning, were natives of Virginia and descendants from the early settlers of that State. In 1856, the father brought his family to Ohio, settling on a farm in Mus- kingum County. Mr. George K. Browning, while working on his father's farm, attended the public schools when the opportunity presented itself, and thereby prepared himself to enter the Muskingum College at New Concord. His date of matriculation was in 1884, and he graduated from that seat of learning three years later, when he commenced the study of law with John W. King, of Zanesville, Ohio. Desiring to complete his legal studies, he entered the law department of Ann Arbor University, of Michigan, and graduated with the degree of L.B., in 1891. Returning to Zanesville, he read law for another year, was admitted to the bar, and at once commenced the practice of the profession in which he has made a name. In 1893 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Muskingum County, and during his incumbency handled many important cases to the satisfaction of his people. He was re-elected in 1896, serving until 1900, when he resumed the general practice of law, and became a partner of Judge King, founding the firm of King & Browning. This firm remained in existence until the death of Judge King, in 1903, when Mr. Browning took as a partner the son of the late Judge, the firm name becoming Browning & King. A Repub- lican since twenty-two years of age, Mr. Browning has been ever active in politics, and has rendered his party signal services. He was Chairman of the Judicial Committee of the First Subdivision of the Eighth Common Pleas District for two years, and at the present writing is a member of that important body ; during the years of 1903-1904 he was Chairman of the Republican Central Committee, and in 1900-1901 he served as Chairman of the Executive Com- mittee of Muskingum County. In 1904, Mr. Browning was a prominent candidate for Con- gress, and at the Republican Congressional Convention of his district would have received the nomination but for the petty jealousy of a former Congressman from the same district. On the 12th of March, 1896, Mr. Browning was united in marriage to Miss Helen M. Lewis, daughter of Henry Lewis, of Lansing, Michigan. He suffered the loss of his wife in July, 1903. Mr. Browning is a man who retains the friendship and esteem of all his fellow men who know him and appreciate his worth and ability. As a lawyer his reputation is estab- lished, and it is expected of him, that his future will be one of usefulness and success.
JOHN ELDRIDGE BRUCE
John Eldridge Bruce,
Of Cincinnati, Ohio, ranks among the fore- most members of the bar of Hamilton County, Ohio. He was born in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, on the Ist of October, 1856. His parents were natives of the United States, the family's name being recorded in the history of this country for six generations. On his father's
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side the family originally came from Scotland, and on his mother's from England. Mr. Bruce received his education at the Western Reserve College, Hudson, Ohio, graduating from that institution in 1876. After leaving college he taught school for two years, at the same time studying law with E. P. Bradstreet. He came to Cincinnati in September, 1879, where he finished his legal training. Being admitted to the bar in May, 1879, he immediately opened an office, associating himself with Judge H. C. Whitman, later forming a partnership with E. P. Bradstreet, and afterward becoming a member of the firm of Bromwell & Bruce. Mr. Bruce is recognized as one of the leading corporation lawyers in the State, and is connected with many business corporations as director, Secretary or Treasurer. He is a director of the well-known firm, The J. A. Fay & Egan Co., of Cin- cinnati. In political belief, Mr. Bruce is a staunch Democrat, and during both of President Cleveland's terms was Assistant United States Attorney. In 1883 he was elected to the State Legislature, serving one term of office. He also was- a member of the Council of College Hill, in which village he for the last thirteen years has held the honorable position of Mayor. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, a Shriner and Knight Templar; of the college fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta; the Business Men's Club, and Duckworth Club, in which latter celebrated organization he occupied the office of Vice President for a num- ber of years. Mr. Bruce is President of the Mercantile Library. On the 12th of December, 1883, he was married to Miss Alice S. Knowlton, and by that union he is the father of one son and one daughter. His law office is located in the Masonic Temple, Cincinnati, and his residence, in College Hill.
Robert Allen Calvert,
Attorney at law at Portsmouth, Ohio, is one of the best-known members of the Scioto County bar. He is of English extraction, his parents being of the good and sturdy stock that has contributed so much to the civiliza- tion and energy of American life. His father, Mr. George Washington Calvert, a native of Fairfax County, Virginia, was born near the site of the Bull Run Battlefield, in 1805, and came to Ohio in 1812 with his mother and two brothers, where they located on a farm in Scioto County. The mother of Robert Allen Calvert, Mrs. Emma (Hoskinson) Calvert, was a daughter of a soldier in the War of the Revolution. Mr. R. A. Calvert was born on the 17th of June, 1837, on a farm in Scioto County. He spent his early youth on the farm, and received the rudiments of an edu- cation in the common schools of the county, but, more fortunate than most boys reared on a farm, he subsequently had the advantages of an education more extended than that acquired at the district schools. After a course in these schools Mr. Calvert entered Witten- berg College, at Springfield, Ohio, from which institution he graduated. He then entered actively into business life. For four years he
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was engaged in the grocery business with his brother, Frank W .; he then became the sole owner of the store and continued in the business for three years more. He finally took up the study of law in the office of the late John W. Collings, at Portsmouth, Ohio. Being admitted to the bar in West Union, Ohio, on October 8, 1868, Mr. Calvert immediately started into the general practice of law, in which he achieved a high standing. In 1872 Mr. Calvert was elected Probate Judge of Scioto County on the Republican ticket, and re-elected in 1875, serving in all six years. After the close of his second term Judge Cal. vert resumed the practice of his chosen profession. Judge Calvert is a man of conserva- tive temperament, considerate judgment and affable manners and stands high in the esteem of his fellow practitioners. He is a Republican who has always taken an active part in the affairs of his party.
Newton Chalker,
Of Southington, Trumbull County, Ohio, whose picture, at the age of 60, accompanies this article, is another example of that large class of successful men in America who began life in the most limited circumstances, and struggled against poverty in acquiring an edu- cation, and, by self-reliance and energy, ulti- mately achieved wealth, influence and indepen- dence. He is the third son of James Jr. and Eliza Hyde Chalker, and was born in Southington, Trumbull County, Ohio, September 12, 1842. The early years of his life were passed on his father's farm in his native township assisting in the farm work, except when attending the short winter and summer terms of the country public school of the district in which he lived. At the age of 14 years he began to attend the Western Reserve Seminary, at West Farm- ington, Ohio. At the age of 16, after an attend- NEWTON CHALKER ance of three and one-half terms at that insti- tution he began teaching the winter term of nearby country schools, teaching in the town- ships of Graceville, Southington and Champion in his native county, and in Parkman, in Geauga County, and also in the township of Litchfield, in the State of Michigan.
In the spring of the year 1862 he quit school and enlisted in Company B, Eighty-sev- enth Regiment, O. V. I., in our late war against disunion and slavery. He was in the bat- tle of Harper's Ferry, Virginia, which began on the 13th and terminated on the 15th of September, of that year. In that battle the Union forces numbered 15,000, and were under command of Coloned Dixon S. Miles. The Rebel forces were under command of General "Stonewall" Jackson, and numbered three times as many. After three days hard fighting the Union forces surrendered and 13,500 of them were taken prisoners, the others being cav- alrymen, made their escape. These prisoners were soon paroled and sent back North. Later in the same year, by reason of the expiration of the term of enlistment, this regiment was mustered out of service and Mr. Chalker returned to his home. In the spring of 1863
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Mr. Chalker entered Allegheny College, at Meadville, Pennsylvania, and graduated therefrom in June, 1866, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and later the degree of Master of Arts. The year 1866-1867 he was Principal of Dixon Seminary, at Dixon, Illinois, and the following vear he was Superintendent of the public schools at Darlington, Wisconsin. In September, 1868, he entered the law school at Albany, New York, and graduated therefrom the following year and was admitted to practice at the bar of that State. After passing a few months in a law office in New York City he located in Cameron, Missouri, and there began the practice of his profession in the autumn of 1869. He remained in Cameron nearly five years, but not realizing his expectation which he had entertained of the West, he returned, in 1874, to Ohio, and on the 14th day of August, of that year, he located in the city of Akron, in that State, and there resumed the practice of his profession. In addition to his profession Mr. Chalker engaged in various other branches of business. For a time he owned and managed a farm in his native township ; he was a charter member, and, for a long time, a director of the People's Savings Bank, of Akron ; he was also a charter member of the Savings Banks of Barberton, Ohio. He has also dealt quite extensively in real estate, purchasing various tracts in Akron, subdividing them into residence lots, building dwelling houses on many of them and selling out to indi- vidual purchasers; also making extensive purchases in the Island of Cuba. In the year 1893 Mr. Chalker practically retired from the practice of law and his other business, and devoted several years thereafter to travel. visiting nearly every State and Territory of his own country, also Canada and Mexico. In June, 1895, he started on a tour abroad and vis- ited the chief places of interest in Ireland, Scotland, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzer- fand, Italy, Greece, Palestine, Egypt, India, Birmah, Malay, China, Japan and the Sand- wich Islands, making a complete tour around the world in one year. In politics Mr. Chalker is a Republican. He has been Commander of Buckley Post, Grand Army of the Republic, with headquarters at Akron. Ohio.
James Harlan Cleveland,
Attorney at law, at Cincinnati, Ohio, is among the best known members of the Ham- ilton County bar. He is a native of the State of Kentucky, a son of Francis L. and Laura Harlan Cleveland, and was born in the Capital City of the Bluegrass State on the 21st of Jan- uary, 1865, Mr. Cleveland received his early education in the schools of his home city, after which he attended Princeton College, New Jersey, graduating with the class of 1885. After his graduation he immediately went to Europe and matriculated at the University at Berlin, Germany, where he followed his studies for one year. Returning to his native land, he became a student in the Columbian Law School, at Washington, D. C., from which institution he graduated in 1888. On the 29th of February, of that year, he was appointed Assistant District Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, from which position he
JAMES HARLAN CLEVELAND
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resigned on the 3d of November, 1889, forming a law partnership with Hon. C. B. Mat- thews, under the firm name of Matthews & Cleveland. On the 28th of March, 1894, he was commissioned United States District Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and after the expiration of his term of office, having served with distinction, he again took up the general practice of law and achieved a high standing. Politically, Mr. Cleveland is one of the pillars of Democracy in Southern Ohio, and he has served his party often and faith- fully. He was a delegate to numerous party conventions, and in July, 1904, represented his party in St. Louis at the Democratic National Convention. He is a member and ex-President of the famous Duckworth Club, of Cincinnati, as well as of several social organizations. As a lawyer he stands high in the esteem of his fellow practitioners, and in all his career he has never done one act which a possible enemy might use against him. Mr. Cleveland was married in Washington, D. C., on the 5th of June, 1888, to Miss Grace E. Matthews, daughter of the late Stanley Matthews, Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Benjamin Rush Cowen,
Clerk of the United States District and Circuit Court, for the Southern District of Ohio, was born in Morrfield, Harrison County, Ohio, on the 15th of August, 1831. His father, Benjamin Sprague Cowen, was for many years presiding Judge of the Court of Com- mon Pleas, and was elected to Congress in 1840. General Cowen spent his boyhood, and until he was 26 years of age, in St. Clairsville, Ohio, where, in the classical institute of that place, he obtained his education. He served an apprenticeship at the printing business, and worked at that business, and, at the same time, pursued a regular course in the study of medicine. From 1848 to 1857 he was the editor and proprietor of the "Belmont Chronicle," a weekly papers published at St. Clairsville. For three years after that period he was engaged in mercantile and real estate business at Bel- laire, Ohio. In 1860 he was elected Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, and BENJAMIN RUSH COWEN in October, 1861, he was elected Secretary of State, of Ohio, on the ticket with Governor Tod. This position he resigned in May, 1862, and went to the field. Besides serving as Chief Clerk in 1860 and 1861, he was Engineer-in-Chief on the staff of Governor Dennison, with the rank of Colonel. In April, 1861, on the breaking out of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Regiment for three months' service, and in May, of that year, was appointed First Lieutenant and assigned to duty as Assistant Commissary of Subsistence. In June, of the same year, he was appointed additional paymaster in the army by President Lincoln. General Cowen served in that capacity in the Army of the Potomac, in the Shenandoah and Kanawha Valleys, and elsewhere in West Virgina, until January, 1864, when he took a leave of absence without pay, and was appointed Adjutant General of Ohio by Governor Brough, filling that office during the terms of Governors Brough,
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Anderson and Cox, and until January, 1868. In 1865 he was breveted Brigadier General of volunteers by President Johnson for organizing and sending out the "hundred-days men" of Ohio.
General Cowen is a staunch Republican. His first entrance into politics was an an anti-slavery Whig, and he edited a newspaper for four years before he became a voter. His first vote was cast for the last Whig candidate for the Presidency, General Winfield Scott, and he voted for the first Republican candidate, John C. Fremont, and for all succeeding Republican candidates. General Cowen was a delegate to the National Republican Con- ventions of 1856 and 1868, and was Secretary of the latter. He was Chairman of the State Republican Executive Commitee in 1865, 1866 and 1867, and a member of the National Republican Committee from 1866 to 1876. In 1867 he was a candidate for the nomination for Governor, and was defeated in the convention by General Hayes by ten votes only on the last ballot. He was then tendered the nomination for Lieutenant Governor by the same convention, but declined it. General Cowen was appointed Supervisior of Internal Revenue for the District of California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah in 1869, and transferred thence to the Southern District of Ohio in 1870. From 1871 to 1877 he was Assistant Sec- retary of the Interior Department under President Grant. In 1871 he was appointed Com- missioner to appraise the lands in the Indian Territory, west of the ninety-sixth meridian, and in 1872 he was a Commissioner to visit Sitting Bull's Indians in Montana. In 1873 General Cowen was a Commissioner to survey and appraise certain Indian reservations in California, and in September, 1874, he was a commissioner, associated with the late Admiral Rodgers, to investigate and report on the race troubles in New Orleans, and wrote the report of that commission afterwards, and in March and April, 1875, he was Commis- sioner to investigate the Mormon troubles in Utah. In 1880 General Cowen returned to the newspaper business, becoming editor of the "Ohio State Journal," at Columbus, and served in that capacity till November, 1884, when he was appointed Clerk of the United States District and Circuit Courts of the Southern District of Ohio, which position he still holds. General Cowen stands high in the esteem of is fellow citizens. He is a Knight Templar Mason, a member of the Loyal Legion, of the Fred Jones Post, G. A. R., and of the Cincinnati Literary Club. In 1876 he de-
clined an election as Commander of the G. A. R. of Ohio.
Jerome D. Creed,
Of Cincinnati, attorney at law, was born in the Queen City on the 9th of September, 1854. He is the son of D. K. and Mary Ring Creed, and received a very careful education, attending the public schools of Cincinnati, as well as St. Xavier College, and taking a spe- cial business course at Nelson's Business Col- lege, of Cincinnati, where he became an expert bookkeeper. The business of bookkeeping, however, did not harmonize with the aspira- tions of Mr. Creed, consequently he began the study of law, entering the office of J. G. and H. Douglas. Hon. Alexander Long was later his preceptor in his chosen profession, and
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JEROME D. CREED
from him particularly he gathered sufficient knowledge to warrant him in opening an office under his own name after his admission to the bar before the Supreme Court of Ohio in the spring of 1880. From that time Mr. Creed has constantly been engaged in his profes- sion, and has gained as clients the leading business men of the city, as well as large cor- porations. He has a wide experience in the settlement of estates, and has engaged in num . erous extensive litigations. His professional knowledge has been devoted particularly to commercial and real estate law, and he has acquired a reputation in tax cases in which he has been exceptionally successful. The records of the courts repeatedly bear his name as assignee and receiver. In politics Mr. Creed is a Democrat, and has been elected by his party to the office of Mayor of the village of Mt. Airy, in which community he has also acted as Councilman and member of the School Board. Mr. Creed is a member of the St. Xavier's Alumni Association. His office is located in the Allen Building, corner Fifth and Main Streets, Cincinnati, Ohio.
D. R. Crissinger,
Of Marion, Ohio, an attorney of more than local fame and a Democrat who is a leader in his party's councils, was born on the Ioth day of December, 1860, in Tully Town- ship, Marion County, Ohio. He is of Dutch- German ancestry, his father's people having come across the ocean from Holland in 1775, taking part in George Washington's memorial campaign at Valley Forge during the Revolu- tionary War. Mr. Crissinger's father, John Crissinger, a native of Ohio, was a well known lumber dealer; his mother, Margaret Gans- horn, came from the famous old university town, Heidelberg. Mr. Crissinger received a careful training in the public schools of Cale- donia, Ohio, at Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio, and at the Cincinnati Law School, from which institution he graduated, and was admitted to the bar at the age of 26 years. Immediately after his admission to the bar he commenced D. R. CRISSINGER the practice of his profession, becoming asso- ciated with the Hon. W. Z. Davis, now Chief Justice of the State of Ohio, under the firm name of Davis & Crissinger. This partnership continued until he was elected Prosecut- ing Attorney of Marion County, to which office he was re-elected. Completing his second term as Prosecutor he was elected City Solicitor of Marion, and during his third term as such formed a partnership with Hon. John A. Wolford under the firm name of Wolford & Crissinger. This partnership lasted until the death of Mr. Wolford in the fall of 1898. In the spring of 1900 he formed the present law partnership with Hon. Fred E. Guthery, as Crissinger & Guthery, which has become one of the foremost law firms in Central Ohio. In 1904 Mr. Crissinger received the nomination for Congress on the Democratic ticket in the Thirteenth Ohio District, but owing to the National Republican landslide was defeated by a small majority, although he run many hundred ahead of his own ticket. This
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defeat was no reflection upon his popularity, but rather a tribute to President Roosevelt. In 1905 he was appointed a member of the State Bar Examiners' Committee for the term of five years. Socially, Mr. Crissinger is a Mason, an Elk, a K. of P. and a Shriner. Mr. Cris- singer is a married man, and the father of one daughter.
Harry M. Daugherty,
Attorney at law at Columbus, Ohio. It is not an easy matter to condense the story or life or achievement into a single paragraph. For the sake of brevity much that goes to round out and complete the ordinary biography must necessarily be omitted.
The subject of this sketch was born in Washington Court House, in Fayette County, Ohio, on the 26th of January, 1860. He availed himself of the educational advantages afforded by the public schools of his native city, and later entered the law department of the Uni- versity of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1881. After being admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio he began the prac- tice of law at Washington Court House. His success at the bar and his increasing business rendered it necessary for him to open an office in Columbus, Ohio, to which he has now transferred his entire practice, and where he now enjoys a large and lucrative business. He is counsel for several large insurance com- panies, railroads and other corporations.
HARRY M. DAUGHERTY
In politics Mr. Daugherty has always been an active, aggressive Republican, and by his work through the party organization, as well as by his services upon the stump, has contrib- uted in no small degree to the success of that party in the State. He was Chairman of the State Executive Committee in 1898, and his work in that campaign stamped him as one of the most successful political organizers in the State. He was elected to the General Asembly in 1889, and served on the Judiciary and Corporation Committees. He was re-elected in 1891, and, besides important committee work, was chosen permanent Chairman of the Republican House caucus. He was also honored with the Chairmanship of the caucus that decided the Speakership, upon which hinged the election of a United States Senator. In 1893 he was Chairman of the State Republican Convention which nominated Mckinley for Governor. In 1897 he was Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee. In 1888 he was a candidate for the Congressional nomination in his district, but was defeated on the 250th ballot by three votes. In 1900 Mr. Daugherty was a candidate for Governor of the State of Ohio, and, after one of the most memorable campaigns in the history of the party, he was defeated by Governor Nash on the second ballot by a very close vote, Mr. Nash hav- ing secured the support of such powerful leaders as Senator Hanna and George B. Cox.
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