USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 56
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James Wood Halfhill,
One of the leading attorneys of Lima, Ohio, can be counted among the most influential Republicans in the western part of the State. He is a member of the fourth generation of the family in America, its original representative coming from Germany. Moses Half- hill, the father of James W. Halfhill, was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio with his parents in the early '30's, locating near Apple Creek, Wayne County. Finishing his studies so far as the district schools would permit, Moses Halfhill engaged in the carpenter's trade, and thus found means to continue his education at Delaware College, Ohio. In 1845 he purchased a farm in Morrow County, but removed some years later to Mercer County, where he died in 1876. In February, 1860, he married Eleanor Maria, daughter of James Harvey Wood, of Essex County, New York, a representative of an original English family, whose name is a part of American history, James Harvey Wood being the son of a soldier in the War of 1812 and grandson of a veteran of the Revo- lutionary War. Eleanor Maria Wood was an educated woman, and for seven years prior to her marriage was a teacher in the union schools of St. Marys, Ohio. She discharged with great credit the duty of rearing and edu- cating her children, who were left fatherless at an early age. To Mr. and Mrs. Moses Halfhill were born four children, James Wood being the oldest. The latter attended the union schools at Mercer, and in 1881 matricu lated at the Ohio Normal University at Ada, from which institution he graduated in 1884. Immediately after he entered the law office of that eminent lawyer, Judge W. H. West, at Bellefontaine, under whose preceptorship lic remained until October, 1886. He then entered the Cincinnati Law School, from which he graduated, and was admitted to practice in May, 1887. Coming at once to Lima, Ohio, he formed a partnership with Hon. J. C. Ride- nour, which still continues and is considered the most prominent law firm in that thriving JAMES WOOD HALFHILL city. Mr. Halfhill early became active in political work, and he has always been an energetic, active, working Republican. While still at college he was sent as a delegate from Hardin County to the convention at Cleve- land, held to nominate State officers and delegates-at-large to the succeeding national con- vention, and devoted himself energetically to furthering the interests of James G. Blaine as the party's candidate for President. He has since been a delegate to numerous State, district and county conventions, and has been an active supporter of the party's candidate in every political campaign. In 1889 he was elected City Solicitor, his popularity changing the nominal Democratic majority of 300 to a Republican majority of 240. Two years later he was re-elected by a majority of 1,250 votes. Ever since Mr. Halfhill came to Lima, in 1887, his name has been interwoven with the history of Republicanism in Allen County
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and Northwestern Ohio. At that time the county was considered hopelessly Democratic, and against 1,400 majority the local Republicans had no heart to contend. They wanted a leader-one to inspire and cheer them, and they found such a man in Mr. Halfhill. He had the dash, the magnetism, the force, and withal the cool, clear head which comprehended the situation at a glance, and soon rallied the demoralized Republicans about him and organized them for effective work. And he was successful! The first autumn he was in Lima the county elected its first Republican Representative to the General Assembly. Since then Mr. Halfhill has been a member of nearly every County and City Committee. He has served the party with fidelity as a delegate, active partisan and public speaker. Hc is a born organizer and a speaker of more than ordinary ability. Of commanding appear- ance, he possesses all the qualities of a leader of men. Polished, cultured, cordial, with a kind word and a pleasant greeting for everybody, he makes friends at sight. As a lawyer, Mr. Halfhill stands high in his chosen profession. He has always been a diligent student, both in the law and the field of literature. On the 23d of September, 1896, Mr. Halfhill was united in marriage to Miss Cora A. Miller, the accomplished daughter of Rev. I. J. Miller, pastor of the Spring Street Lutheran Church, of Lima, and he counts this union his chief good fortune. James Wood Halfhill, Jr., a promising son, born on the 23d of October, 1897, is the only child of this union. Socially, Mr. Halfhill is a member of the K. of P., Elk and Masonic orders ; has always been an active inember of the Board of Trade of his city, and he has extensive property and business interests in Lima, Ohio, where his residence and office are located.
Frank Rufus Herrick,
Of Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the leading attorneys of the Forest City. His parents were Gamaliel E. Herrick and Ursula Andrews Herrick, the latter being a daughter of the late Judge Sherlock J. Andrews. He enjoys a lucrative practice in his chosen profession, and is a member of the well-known law firm, Her- rick & Hopkins, with offices at No. 830 Cuya- hoga Building, Cleveland, Ohio. The ancestors of the Herrick family were prominent in New England in early days, several of whom were Governors of the State of Connecticut, others being leading physicians and lawyers in that part of the country. Mr. Herrick is a native Ohioan, and was born on the 26th of April, 1865, at Cleveland. He received his early education in the grammar schools of his home city, and prepared for college with Professor Isaac Bridgeman. Entering Yale University, class of 1888, he graduated from that famous institution of learning with the degree of B.A., afterward taking a special course of study at the Harvard Law School. In 1890 he started the practice of law, and since that time has been continuously occupied in that profession. On the 7th of October, 1891, he was married to Josephine Pomeroy, of Auburn, N. Y., the
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daughter of Hon. Theodore M. Pomeroy. Three children are the result of this union, as follows: Theodore Pomeroy Herrick, Sherlock Andrews Herrick, and Josephine Ursula Herrick. The family attends the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Herrick takes an active part in the social life of Cleveland, and is a member of the Country Club, University Club and the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce.
Timothy S. Hogan,
Attorney at law at Wellston, Ohio, is recog- nized to be one of the leading representatives of the bar of Jackson County, Ohio. He is the son of Patrick Hogan and Margaret (Courtney) Hogan, and was born at Wash- ington Township, Jackson County, on the 11th of June, 1864. His parents were natives of County Kerry, Ireland, where their ancestors had been peasants about the Lakes of Killarney for many generations. Mr. Hogan was edu- cated in the public schools of his home county, and received private instructions from Rev. John Larkin, who was a graduate of Maynooth College, Dublin. He subsequently attended the Ohio Normal University at Ada, the Ohio State University at Columbus, and the Ohio University at Athens, graduating from the Ohio Normal University and the Ohio Uni- versity at Athens. Mr. Hogan received the degree of A.B. at the Ohio Normal University and the degree of B.Ph. at the Ohio University. TIMOTHY S. HOGAN Returning to his home city, Mr. Hogan took up the profession of teaching, and served as Superintendent of the public schools of Wellston, Ohio, from 1887 to 1895. He is now one of the most successful lawyers of Southeastern Ohio, and is the local attorney for The Wellston & Jackson Belt Railway Company and The Hocking Valley Railway Company, for both cement companies operating in Wellston, The First National Bank of Wellston, The Bank of Wellston, and practically for all the large coal companies operating in Jackson County. He has been on one side or the other of nearly all the corporation cases tried in Jackson County in the past few years, and assisting in the defense of important corporation cases in the Federal Courts of Ohio and West Virginia, among the companies being The Davis Coal & Coke Co., of Elkins, West Virginia, of which Henry G. Davis, the late Demo- cratic nominee for Vice President, is the President. Mr. Hogan is also interested in The Bank of Wellston. A lifelong, enthusiastic Democrat, Mr. Hogan has rendered his party many important services. He has held numerous appointive positions in connection with the city administration in Wellston, and in 1896 was a candidate for Congress from the Tenth Ohio District, receiving the largest vote any Democrat ever received in that district, about 19,000 votes, but was defeated by Hon. L. J. Fenton, whose majority was greatly reduced. Socially, Mr. Hogan is a member of the Knights of Columbus and The Ancient Order of Hibernians, of which latter organization he has been for the past four years State President. On the 9th of June, 1891, he was married to Mary E. Collins, of Washington
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C. H., Ohio, at that place. Four children are the issue of their union : Nellie, who died on the 7th of December, 1902, born in April, 1892; Edward P., aged ten years; John S., aged eight, and Charlotte A., aged six, the last three living. Mr. Hogan and his family are members of the Roman Catholic Church, and belong to St. Peter and Paul's Congregation, Wellston, O.
Evan H. Hopkins,
Dean of the Law College of the Western Reserve University, of Cleveland, Ohio, and a lawyer of unquestioned ability, was born on the 4th of November, 1864, at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He is the son of David and Mary (Jeffries) Hopkins, both of whom were natives of Wales, England, who emigrated to this country when respectively being four and three years of age. The parents came to Cleveland in 1874, in which city their .son, Evan H., was educated in the common schools. after having attended the schools at Alliance, Ohio. He later entered the Western Reserve Academy and Adelbert College of the Western Reserve University, from which institution he graduated in 1889, with the degree of A.B. In 1892 he was honored with the degree of LL.B., given to him by Harvard Law School, where he had completed his studies of law. Admitted to the bar in 1891, he opened an office in the EVAN H. HOPKINS following year with F. C. McMillan, with whom he was associated for one year. In 1893 Mr. Hopkins formed a partnership with Mr. F. B. Herrick, with offices in the Cuyahoga Building, Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Hopkins became Registrar and Professor of Law in the Law School of the Western Reserve Univer- sity. After holding this position for three years with eminent success, he was elevated to the Deanship of that well-known institution, in 1895. The distinguished gentleman is a self- made man, and by his own exertion when a boy and youth gained the necessary funds by arduous labor in the shops and mills of Cleveland to pay his way through college. From 1892 to 1898 he was a member of the Cleveland Public Library Board, and from 1893 to 1898 was Secretary of that Board. From 1900 to 1901 he was a member of the Cleveland Park Commission. In political belief, Mr. Hopkins is a Republican, and has served his party in many capacities. As a lawyer, Mr. Hopkins stands high in his profession, and is con- sidered able, thorough and practical, with rare executive ability. In 1892 he was joined in marriage to Francis Shain, by which union he is the father of four girls.
Conrad L. Hotze,
Attorney at law at Cleveland, Ohio, was born in 1839, near Mayence on the Rhine, Germany. He attended school from his sixth to his fifteenth year. French and English were his favorite studies, in which later on, after the death of his parents, he perfected hin- self during a two years' residence in Paris. In the summer of 1860 he came to the United States on a visit to his brother, who resided in Little Rock, Arkansas, and has remained in
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this country since. In 1865 he became a teacher in the Hughes High School at Cincin- nati, which he left in 1867 and became a teacher of Physics and Chemistry in the Central High School in Cleveland. While so engaged, he recognized the importance of introducing the elements of science into the higher grades of the grammar schools, and with that end in view, published "First Lesson in Physiology," two elementary text-books for the use of teacher and pupil of those classes. In 1878 Mr. Hotze was admitted to the Ohio bar, resigned his position in the schools and became a lawyer. He enjoys a lucrative practice in the city of Cleveland. His wife was the oldest daughter of the late Judge J. B. Stallo, of Cincinnati. In 1889 Mr. Hotze had the mis- fortune of losing her by death.
CONRAD L. HOTZE
Charles J. Hunt,
Corporation Counsel of the city of Cincin - nati, Ohio, is one of the most popular members of the Hamilton County Bar. He is a product of Hamilton County, being born on the 18th of November, 1858. His father, Dr. James J. Hunt, was a well-known and highly respected physician. Mr. Charles J. Hunt received his early education in the public schools of Cincin- nati, graduated from Woodward High School and entered the Cincinnati Law School. After graduating from that school and his admission to the bar of Ohio, Mr. Hunt traveled for a period of three years through Central America as the legal representative of a mining com- pany. He returned to the Queen City in 1883 and became attached to the office of Matthews, Ramsey & Matthews, where he obtained the finishing touches of a thorough legal training. He practiced by himself until 1887, when he established a partnership with Mr. W. L. Granger. In 1894 Mr. Outcalt became a mem- ber of the firm, and the latter was known under the name of Outcalt, Granger & Hunt until 1897, when Mr. Hunt retired. The fol- lowing three years he practiced under his own name. In 1900 he was elected Corporation Counsel of Cincinnati, and it may justly be claimed, that he always discharged the duties of his office to the general satisfaction and in the interest of the people of Cincinnati. The result was that Mr. Hunt was re-elected to a second term by an increased majority. In
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political belief, Mr. Hunt is a staunch Republican, and has rendered his party many valu- able services. He is a man of high intellect and of sound judgment, a forceful speaker, and a painstaking and conscientious lawyer, who enjoys the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens. Socially, he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Blaine Club, the Stamina Republican League, and of the Cincinnati Business Men's Club. He is married, and lives with his family on Madison Road. His offices are located in the City Hall, Cincin- nati, Ohio.
Samuel M. Hunter,
Newark, ex-Judge of the Common Pleas Court, is a native of Ohio. He was born at Cadiz, in Harrison County, on the 21st of Feb- ruary, 1838. His parents were Joseph R. and Letitia McFadden Hunter, the former a native of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and the latter of the County of Caven, Ireland. His mother came to America when a child, with her parents, who located in Harrison County, Ohio. His paternal ancestors came from the north of Ireland to America in the early history of the country, settling first in Virginia and removing to Pennsylvania about 1780, on account of having to pay tithes. His great - grandfather, Cyrus Hunter, was an ensign in the command of Colonel Archibald Lochery, a part of General George Rodger Clark's expedition into the Northwest Terri- tory in 1781, and which succeeded in wresting that section from the British and Indians, and SAMUEL M. HUNTER saving it to Virginia and the colonies. This command, when going down the Ohio to join General Clark, were lured ashore by the British and Indians near the mouth of what is now called Lochery's Creek, and captured, killed and imprisoned. Cyrus Hunter was never after heard from, and was probably slain by the British and Indians, or carried into captivity, where he died. The grandfather of Judge Hunter came to Ohio in 1815 and located in Wayne County, upon a tract of land, where he reared his family and resided until death. Judge Hunter's father located in Cadiz in early manhood and followed the trade of a cabinet maker The primary education of our subject was received in the public schools of Cadiz, and, fortunately for him, they were excellent. His father had not the means to send him to college, but he had the advantage of a course in higher mathematics privately, under the eminent instructor, Professor Brinkerhoff, of Franklin College, and a course of classic studies under the tuition of Rev. Henry Davis, a celebrated Presbyterian divine of Cadiz. He first engaged in teaching, an avocation that has been the stepping stone to many high positions in the legal profession. He then learned the printing trade, but later abandoned that for the law. His legal studies began in the office of J. M. Estep, of Cadiz, one of the oldest attorneys of Eastern Ohio. After the usual course he was admitted to the bar in 1863. In 1862, prior to his admission to the bar, he enlisted in Company A, Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served for some months in
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West Virginia and was mustered out in 1863. He began the practice of law at Cambridge, Ohio, immediately after leaving the army, but removed to Newark in February, 1864, con- tinuing the practice there. In 1866 he was elected City Solicitor of Newark, an office he held for five years by successive re-election. In 1871 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Licking County, serving in this position for two terms, from 1872 to 1876. In the fall of the latter year he was elected to the Common Pleas Bench, in the First Subdivision of the Sixth Judicial District. He was re-elected in 1881, retiring from the bench in 1886, after a service of ten years. He then resumed the practice of law. In 1894 he was nominated on the Democratic ticket for Judge of the Circuit Court, Fifth Judicial District, but was defeated with his party. As a lawyer, Judge Hunter ranks as one of the ablest and most successful at the Licking County Bar. He has a tremendous capacity for work, and spares no pains in the preparation of his cases. His honesty and integrity are undisputed, and he is relied upon as being a safe and conservative counsellor. - There are but few men in the profession anywhere who have more public confidence than has Judge Hunter. Said one of the best-known lawyers at the Newark bar:
"Judge Hunter has made a very creditable record in his chosen profession. He has risen from the bottom to the front rank of practicing attorneys at this bar, by his own ability, perseverance and industry. As a lawyer he gained the reputation early in his career of being earnest, fearless and independent, characteristics that have grown with his growth and strengthened with his strength. He proved himself well fitted for the bench by ten years of successful work. He made a very satisfactory Judge. He has read law understandingly. and his judgment was almost unerring. Another feature of his work on the bench was the celerity with which he arrived at the pith of any question. He avoided all circumlocution, and came straight to the point in a direct and concise manner that left his meaning clear both to the jury and to the members of the bar.
"He is of energetic disposition, plain and direct in his speech. He was well qualified for the bench, but perhaps not as patient as he should have been, when he thought time was being wasted; but at the bar his mind was clear, logical and forcible. He has the esteem of his professional brethren and the respect of the entire community."
Judge Hunter in politics has always been affiliated with the Democratic party, from boyhood. Ever since leaving the bench he has been in the active and successful practice of the law in all its branches. On the 14th day of June, 1887, he was admitted to practice in the Federal Courts of Ohio, and on the 29th day of October, 1891, he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States. He is one of the public spirited citizens . of his county and State, and has taken an active interest in developing its industrial resources. He is Vice President and counsel of The Edward H. Everett Company, one of the largest glass manufacturers in the world. He is President of The Advocate Printing Company, publishers of the daily and weekly "Advocate," the leading paper in his city and county. He is director and President of The Franklin Bank Company, the oldest financial institu. tion in the county. He is a member of the Masonic Order and a Knight Templar; also of the Improved Order of Red Men, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was married in 1872 to Miss Iva Robbins, daughter of the late Willis Robbins, at the time of his death being senior member of the above bank. Judge and Mrs. Hunter have three daughters, Helen, Ethel and Louise, and one son, Robbins.
Francis Bacon James,
Who occupies a high position among the members of the Cincinnati bar, was born in Cincinnati on the 10th of June, 1864, and spent a part of his youth with relatives in Natchez,
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Mississippi. He graduated from Woodward High School in 1882, and from the law school of Cincinnati College in 1886, taking first prize for examination, with an average of 96.6 per cent, outranking the second man 4.5 per cent. For the first three years after his admission to the bar, he practiced alone; for the next three years was senior member of the firm of James & Cook, and since 1892 has been a member of the firm of Jones & James, of which Mr. Rankin D. Jones is the senior member.
Mr. James is a member of the International Law Association; American, Ohio State and Cincinnati Bar Associations, and is the Ohio member of the Committee on Uniform Laws of the American Bar Association, member of the Committee on Legal Education of the Ohio State Bar Association, Chairman of the Committee on Commercial Law of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, a delegate from the American Bar Association to the International Congress of Lawyers and Jurists at St. Louis, and is Assistant General Counsel of the Ohio State Board of Commerce. In 1889 he was the nominee of the Democratic party for Corpora- tion Counsel, and for four years served as a member of the Union Board of Cincinnati High Schools, during the last year of his term being President of the Board. The gym- FRANCIS BACON JAMES nasiums and the department of domestic science in the High Schools of the city are the fruits of his special labor. In politics he was a Democrat until the nomination of Mr. W. J. Bryan for the Presidency, since which time he has been a Republican and in full accord with the policies of the Republican party, especially those of President Roosevelt. In 1902 Gov- ernor Nash appointed Mr. James a member of the Ohio State Board of Uniform State Laws, and Governor Herrick has just reappointed him.
The Cincinnati College of Dental Surgery claims him as the President of its Board of Trustees, and he was an instructor in the law school of Cincinnati College, and is now an instructor in the law department of the University of Cincinnati and has been since its consolidation with the former school, his work as a lecturer covering a period of eleven years. "The Ohio Law of Opinion Evidence" and "A Collection of Cases on the Con- struction of Statutes" constitute his legal literary work, and his published public addresses cover : "Manual Training High Schools," "Torrens System of Land Titles," "Municipal Gov- ernment," "Ohio Municipal Code," "Merit System," "Negotiable Instrument Code," "Codifica- tion of Branches of Commercial Law" and "Uniform Laws Governing Warehouse Receipts."
Mr. James' practice of the law covers the widest possible range of subjects. He won his spurs and a national reputation as a lawyer in the case of Kraus vs. Peebles (1893), 58 Federal Rep. 585, which involved the well-known Pepper trade-mark and label for dis- tillery bottling of whiskey. Mr. James has practiced in almost every kind of Court in the United States, including the Supreme Court, and in the diamond smuggling case of Keck
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vs. United States (1899), 172 U. S. 434, he had the unique experience of presenting it to that court on five different occasions, three times on oral argument, once on brief without oral argument, and once upon a petition for rehear- ing, finally winning out by a vote of five to four. This protracted litigation was finally ended after a contest of nearly six years by securing the quashing of the new indictment charging his client with importing contrary to law. Hon. James M. Beck, as Assistant Attor- ney General of the United States, and one of the most brilliant lawyers of Philadelphia, represented the Government throughout this remarkable case, which had more hearings before the Supreme Court than any other case in the history of that great tribunal.
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