USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 58
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first vote. He has served in different capacities in the interest of that political organiza- tion, and in 1902 he was elected Justice of the Peace, which position, at the present writ- ing, he still holds. Squire Muller is a single man and lives with a maiden sister. His offices are located at 323 West Seventh street, Cincinnati, Ohio. For the last twenty years he has been a member of the Blaine Club, and he also is a member of the Stamina Republican League, the Elks and the K. of P.
James E. Neal,
A leading attorney of Cincinnati and Hamilton, Ohio, with offices in the Carew Building, Cincinnati, was born on the 21st of November, 1846, at Hamilton, Ohio. His father, James A. Neal, a lumber dealer, was a native of Maine, while his mother, Margaret Neal, came from Pennsylvania. Both parents are of Scotch-Irish descent, their ancestors having emigrated to this country many gen- erations ago. After having received his edu- cation in the public schools of Hamilton and at College Hill, graduating in 1862, Mr. Neal determined to prepare himself for the profes- sion in which he has now gained a high stand- ing. He therefore entered the law office of Mr. Robert Christy, at Hamilton, where he diligently studied law until, in 1871, he was admitted to practice. He immediately opened an office at Hamilton, where he was engaged in his profession until April, 1893, when he JAMES E. NEAL accepted the position as United States Consul in Liverpool, under President Cleveland's second administration. Mr. Neal filled that important place for a period of four years, returning to this country in 1897, resuming the practice of law, with headquarters in Cincinnati. In politics Mr. Neal has always been a true adherent of Democratic principles, and nas on several occasions been signally honored by his party. He was a member of the General Assembly in 1876 and again in 1880, during the latter session serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives, an office he filled with great distinction. For many years Mr. Neal was identified with the Ohio National Guard, serving as Lieutenant Colonel of the old Fourth Regiment, O. N. G. Socially, he is a mem- ber of the Elks, which order he has been affiliated with for a number of years. Mr. Neal resides with his family, consisting of wife and daughter, in Hamilton.
Frederick C. Niederhelman,
Attorney at law at Cincinnati, Ohio is a young member of the legal profession, who unquestionably has a bright future before him. He comes from good German stock. His father, Mr. Ernst Niederhelman, who was a shoemaker by trade, emigrated from his native country, Westphalia, Germany, to the Unitem. He comes from good German stock. His Civil War, in which he fought for the preservation of the Union. Mr. Frederick C. Nieder-
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helman was born on the 30th of January, 1874, in the Queen City. After pursuing a course of study through the public schools of his native city he entered actively into business life as stock-keeper with the firm of H. and S. Pogue, remaining in that position until 1893. He subsequently accepted a position in the office of Judge Otto Pfleger, where he com- menced the study of law. Deciding to make the legal profession his life's work, he matricu- lated at the Cincinnati Law School and grad- uated from there in 1897, with high honors, having received a prize of $75 for highest aver- age (96.9 per cent). Mr. Niederhelman was admitted to practice in the same year. When Judge Otto Pfleger was elected to the Com- mon Pleas bench of Hamilton County he trans- ferred his practice to Mr. Niederhelman. The latter is a staunch Republican, but has never held any political office. He is an enthusiastic member of the Stamina Republican League and FREDERICK C. NIEDERHELMAN of the National Union. He has been Judge Advocate of the Ohio Division, Sons of Veterans. His offices are located in the Johnston Building, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Carl Norpell,
Attorney at law, at Newark, Licking County, Ohio, was born on the 6th of April, 1852, at Newark, N. J. His parents, Conrad Norpell, a machinist, and Mary Louise Pfaff, were natives of Germany and Switzerland, respectively, emigrating to this country in 1859 and 1851. When two years of age Mr. Norpell came with his parents to Newark, Ohio, where his education was obtained in the public and high schools. After leaving school he studied law in the office of Judge Jerome Buckingham, and was admitted to the bar of Ohio on the 18th of June, 1877, since which time he has continuously been engaged in the practice of his profession. For a period of twenty years Mr. Norpell was in the same office with Judge Buckingham. He has never been connected with any law firm, but always practiced under his own name. He is a man who has made a success in life, and his abili- ties as a lawyer are unquestionable. Being a Republican by conviction, Mr. Norpell has always taken a keen interest and active part in the affairs of his party, and has been a mem-
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ber of the Republican Executive Commitee of Licking County for a period of thirty years, serving as a member of that body at the present time. Though being very active in the ranks of Republicans, Mr. Norpell has never held any political elective office, except that of Coun- cilman. The only position he has accepted is one of honor, that of Trustee of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, to which he was appointed by Governor Nash in 1901. In 1885 Mr. Nor- pell was married, and he is the father of five children, four of whom are living, two boys and two girls. His residence is located at 66 Granville Avenue, and his office is to be found at 12 Lansing Block, Newark, Ohio.
Myron Augustine Norris,
A prominent attorney of Youngstown, Ohio, is a native of this State, having been born in Ashtabula County on the 24th of Sep- tember, 1849. Jairus and Martha Maria (Rockwell) Norris were his parents. Mr. Norris traces his ancestry back to the early settlement of the New England States. His grandfather, Eliphalet Norris, fought under the immortal Washington for the liberation of his country from the yoke of the hated English, he entering the patriot army when a boy of seventeen. Jairus Norris, the father, was a native of New Hampshire, and at the time of Myron A. Norris' birth, was a farmer of limited circumstances in Ashtabula County, Ohio. He died before his son had reached manhood, and thus the latter was early thrown upon his own resources. He had but few early educational advantages ; none indeed, beyond the common schools of his county and about one year at a MYRON AUGUSTINE NORRIS college in Willoughby, Lake County. How- ever, he made the best of his opportunities, and when he reached the age of sixteen he had acquired sufficient knowledge to enable him to teach a country school. The next two years his time was divided between teaching and attending school during the winter, and in summer working on the farm. After he was eighteen he left school, but continued teaching until he was twenty-two. In the meantime he had decided upon the law as his profession in life, and in 1871 he entered the law office of Judge W. P. Howland, of Ashtabula, where he studied diligently under the able instructions of that gentleman until 1873. In September, 1872, he was admitted to the bar at Cleveland, Ohio, and the following spring he began the practice of his profession at Kent, Ohio, where he encountered the usual obstacles which present themselves in the path of the young practitioners, and which to some are stumbling blocks and to others but stepping stones to success. Overcoming all obstacles, in a comparatively short time he built up a prosperous business, and continued at Kent until 1884, when he came to Youngstown and formed a partnership with General T. W. Sanderson, under the firm name of Sanderson & Norris. Here again he quickly established a lucrative business of a general practice, which became eventually of a corporation nature.
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During his professional career Mr. Norris has been identified with numerous cases of great importance. After many years' practice the firm was dissolved, and Mr. Norris became a member of the firm Norris, Rose & Jackson, with offices in the Dollar Savings Bank Building at Youngstown, Ohio. Mr. Norris is admitted to be a man of the strictest integrity, bright in conception, brilliant in execution, and a man in whose hands the most important cases can safely be given. He is a born orator, with a rich and resonant voice, his arguments are logical and convincing. Personally, he is a man of commanding appearance, genial and wholesome. Mr. Norris was originally a Greeley man, in 1872, and while he was reading law to prepare himself for the profession was nominated for Clerk of the Court at Ashtabula County, which at the subsequent election went overwhelmingly Republican. While a resi- dent of Kent he was City Solicitor ; in 1892, he was a Presidential Elector on the Republican ticket ; and in 1896, he was an alternate delegate to the St. Louis convention which nom- inated William McKinley. Mr. Norris has frequently been mentioned for a place on the bench of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and there is no doubt that his name will be enrolled as a member of that honorable body. On the 5th of January, 1876, he was married to Miss Mary D. Howdon, an accomplished young lady of Kent. Three daughters have blessed this union. Among fraternal organizations he is a prominent man, and is a member of the Masons and Elks, and also belongs to the Rayen Club, in which famous organization he was formerly President.
Russell K. Ramsey,
Attorney at law at Sandusky, Ohio, was born on the 27th day of May, 1878, at Colum- bus, Ohio. He is a son of Gustavus F. Ramsey, who has been for many years a resident of Columbus and connected with the Pennsyl- vania Lines, and of Margaret Young Ramsey, a daughter of the late William H. Young, a pioneer resident of Columbus, a contractor and the erector of many of the old landmarks of that city. Both parents were born in Ohio, his father's people being of Scotch-Irish extraction and his mother's of English-Welsh descent. Russell K. Ramsey obtained his edu- cation in the public schools of Columbus, graduating from the High School in 1894, and in the Ohio State University classical course of 1898 and law course in 1900. Starting the practice of his profession at the age of twenty- two years, Mr. Ramsey became connected with the prominent law firm of King & Guerin at Sandusky, Ohio, of which firm he became a RUSSELL K. RAMSEY member in 1902. This partnership lasted until 1904, when Mr. Guerin removed from the State to represent large interests in Oregon, and Mr. Ramsey thereupon became the partner of Judge E. B. King, under the firm name of King & Ramsey. The firm is recognized as the leading law firm in that part of the State. In politics, Mr. Ramsey is affiliated with the Republican party, and has taken more or less of an active interest in affairs political in
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Sandusky and vicinity. He is a member of the Erie County Roosevelt Club and a Mason, and is interested in a number of industrial enterprises. On the 25th of September, 1901; he was united in marriage to Miss Florence L. Samuel, a young lady well known in Columbus society, and is the father of one son. Mr. Ramsey's residence is at No. 319 Adams Street, with offices located at No. 137 Colum- bus Avenue, Sandusky, Ohio.
Charles W. Rattermann,
Formerly attorney at law at Cincinnati, but for a year past engaged in the fraternal insur- ance business in Louisville, Ky., with offices in the Keller Building, is a man well known in his native city, Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was born on the 14th of September, 1867. His father, Mr. H. A. Rattermann, the famous German-American historian, emigrated to the CHARLES W. RATTERMANN United States in the '40's, settling in Cincin- nati, and became the founder of The German Mutual Insurance Company, which organization is still existing and in a very flourishing condition, with Mr. H. A. Rattermann at its head. Mr. Charles W. Rattermann was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati, and after leaving school became file clerk in the office of the United States Circuit and District Courts. Deciding to enter the legal profession, he finally matriculated at the Cincinnati Law School, from which institution he graduated in 1896, after which he immediately took up the practice of his chosen profession. As before stated, in 1904 he went to Louisville, where he founded the Washington Fraternal Guards of America, a fraternal beneficial society, of which Mr. Rattermann is the Secretary and General Manager. Mr. Rattermann is also the editor and publisher of "The Fraternal Guard," a monthly magazine devoted to fraternal insur- ance. He is very prominent in fraternal circles. and is a Colonel on the staff of the Brigadier General of the U. R., K. of P. of Kentucky. Mr. Rattermann is married, and lives with his family in Louisville.
Otto J. Renner,
Attorney at law in the city of Cincinnati, and a member of the well-known law firm of Renner & Renner, with offices located in the Bell Building, that city, is a native of the
OTTO J. RENNER
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Queen City, where he was born on the 7th of March, 1871. His father, Mr. Joseph Renner, was a native of Bavaria, Germany, while his mother, Caroline Reimer, was born in the old historic city of Treves on the Moselle, Germany, which city was founded by the Romans two thousand years ago. Mr. Otto J. Renner was carefully educated in the public schools of his native city. Deciding to devote his life to the legal profession, Mr. Renner took up the study of law, attended the Cincinnati Law School, and in due time was admitted to the bar of Ohio. Before his admission to the bar, in 1892, Mr. Renner for a period of two years taught school. Being admitted to practice, Mr. Renner immediately opened an office, and since that time he has been continuously engaged in the practice of his chosen profes- sion, which has proved to be a very successful one. For many years Mr. Renner has been a member and for a number of terms President of the Teachers' Examiners Board of Ham- ilton County. During the administration of Dairy and Food Commissioner James A. Blackburn, Mr. Renner was connected with that department in the capacity of attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. In 1899 he was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. In political belief, Mr. Renner has always been an active working Repub- lican, and though he never held any office, he has rendered his party many important services. Mr. Renner is a member of the Masonic fraternity, a thirty-second-degree Scot- tish Rite Mason, and also belongs to the Cincinnati Business Men's Club, Avondale Club, Essenic Order, K. of P., Blaine Club, Stamina Republican League and others. He was married in 1892 to Miss Martha M. Miller. He lives with his family on Southview Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio.
John Marshal Smedes,
A well-known lawyer of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a native of the State of Mississippi, born in Vicksburg on the 10th of February, 1858. His father, William C. ^m des, was a very prominent lawyer, and President of the South- ern Railroad Company. He died in 1863, when his son had reached the age of five years. Mr. Smedes obtained a very careful and thorough: education in the public and private schools of his home city ; at Vanderbilt University, Nash- ville, Tenn .; the Kenyon College, Gambier. Ohio, and the University of Virginia. He sub- sequently took up the study of law at the law school at Chautauqua, New York. The various universities which he attended conferred upon him the degrees of B.Ph. and LL.B. After his graduation from the Law School, Mr. Smedes started into active life and for one year was connected with railroad business in Louisville, Kentucky. Removing to Cincinnati, he opened an office, and since that time has been continu- ously engaged in the practice of law, which has become quite extensive and lucrative. Mr. Smedes is considered to be an able and con- scientious member of the Hamilton County Bar, and enjoys the full confidence of his clients and the respect of his fellow practition-
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ers. His offices are located at No. 448 Main Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Cincinnati Bar Associa- tion, the Cincinnati Business Men's Club, and of the Cincinnati Fall Festival Association.
Andrew Squire,
Of Cleveland, a lawyer of national reputation, and a member of the firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, with offices in the Perry-Paine Building at Cleveland, Ohio, is a native of the State of Ohio. He comes from good old Colonial stock, and is of Scotch-English ancestry. His grandparents on his paternal side were natives of New England, and came to Portage County, Ohio, in 1812, enduring the hardships and privations of early pioneer life. In 1815, the father of Mr. Squire, Andrew J. Squire, was born. He became a prom- inent physician at Mantua. The mother, Martha Wilmot Squire, was also born in Portage County. Mr. Andrew Squire first saw the light of day in Mantua, Portage County, on the 2Ist of October, 1850. He attended the district schools of his home place until he was eleven years of age, when his parents sent him to the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute at Hiram, Ohio, where he remained until 1866, when he came to Cleveland, owing to his father's wishes, to attend a course of medical lectures. But the profession of law was more to his liking than medicine, and accordingly he began to read Blackstone and Bouvier. Returning to Hiram, he attended Hiram College, from which institution of learning he graduated in 1872. In the same year he came to Cleveland and entered the law offices of Cadwell & Marvin for the purpose of studying the legal profession. He was admitted to the bar before the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio on the 3d of December, 1873, entering immediately upon the practice of law. He became associated with the above-named firm, and in 1874, when Mr. Cadwell was elected to the Common Pleas Court, Mr. Marvin took Mr. Squire as a partner. This partnership lasted until the Ist of January, 1878, when Mr. Squire retired and became affiliated with E. J. Estep, one of the oldest and best-known practitioners in the State. In 1882 Judge Moses R. Dickey entered the firm, and for a num- ber of years Estep, Dickey & Squire enjoyed a splendid practice. On the Ist of January, 1890, Mr. Squire withdrew from the firm, and, together with Judge William D. Sanders, who resigned from the bench, and James H. Dempsey, formed the present partnership of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. Mr. Squire is an ardent Republican, and was a delegate to the St. Louis convention, in 1896, which nominated William McKinley, who, together with the late United States Senator Hanna, were his intimate friends. Professionally, Mr. Squire is a lawyer of sound and accurate learning, with a fine business capacity, genial and courteous, and a man who has made a marked success in life. He is a splendid orator, a logical thinker and occupies a high social and professional standing. The firm with which he is connected has a large, diversified and remunerative practice. His business interests are varied and extensive. He is director of the Bank of Commerce National Association, The Citizens Savings & Trust Company, The Cleveland Stone Company and The Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad Company. Mr. Squire has been twice married-in 1873, to Ella Mott, of Hiram, by which issue he has one son, Carl A. Squire ; and on the 24th of June, 1896, to Mrs. Eleanor Seymour Sea. He is a thirty-third-degree Mason, a member of the Republican Tippecanoe Club, Union Club, Country Club, Roadside Club, Yacht Club, etc.
J. H. Charles Smith,
Of Cincinnati, is one of the most successful and thorough lawyers of the Hamilton County Bar. Being self-made, he has gone through all the hardships that go to make up a self-reliant man. By his own efforts he acquired his education in the public schools, Cin-
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ANDREW SQUIRE
cinnati University, West Farmington College and Cincinnati Law School. His father, whose memory he dearly cherishes, died when under thirty years of age, without wealth, leaving his good mother to struggle with two small children. His love for his mother and her memory are the sweetest thoughts of his life. When a law student in the office of Hon. Charles W. Baker, then Prosecuting Attorney, and as a court stenographer at the same time, he early became thoroughly familiar with court procedure, which many lawyers never acquire, and therefore are not successful in the courts.
He at once began practicing law upon admission to the bar. As a side diversion he became legal editor of the "Express Gazette," a railroad journal, and his discussions upon common carrier law became celebrated. He was author of a great many law articles in the daily papers of Cincinnati and elsewhere, and also in law journals, by which he gained a reputation as a sound lawyer that has staid with him ever since. He has often given 1 :ctures on law in various schools.
He makes it a rule never intentionally to deceive the Court or jury. He has a frank, persuasive style of speech, which he must have imbibed from his friend, the late Judge Patrick Mallon, with whom he studied law J. H. CHARLES SMITH for some time. He is a hard worker, has a large practice, and devotes himself to it very zealously for fifteen hours every day except Sunday.
Mr. Smith has also taken a course in bookkeeping in the Queen City Business College, and after he became a lawyer took a course in the Ohio Medical College, and many a case has he won by virtue of his knowledge in these branches of learning. He has written for several magazines, and is a literary scholar. He has the degrees of M.A. and LL.B.
Mr. Smith has continuously for years occupied positions of honor and trust, appointed by the Courts and various organizations. He is a man of honor, his word is unimpeachable, and his friends are legion all over the State and beyond. He was a member of the Board of Education, trustee of the Public Library, and member of the Board of Examiners of the public schools, and is spoken of in connection with a Judgeship. His friends say that he could poll an immense vote.
He is a past officer in the orders of Knights of Pythias, Ben Hur, Essenic, is a thirty- second-degree Mason, an Elk; is Noble Grand of Franklin Lodge, Odd Fellows, and is a Judge in the Board of Appeals, which is the Supreme Court of the Red Men of Ohio. He believes in law, education and religion, in the latter of which he is a tolerant Protestant, having studied all the great religions of the world. He is married, but is disappointed in having no children. In politics he adores the principles of the Republican party, and has often spoken in campaigns, and is a member of the Blaine Club of Cincinnati. He has a beautiful home in Avondale, a suburb of the Queen City, where his friends are always welcome, and from which many a charity is dispensed to the poor.
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Stanley Struble,
Attorney at law at Cincinnati, with offices in the Lincoln Inn Court, is a native of Ham - ilton County, Ohio, being born at Miamitown on the 7th of February, 1865. He is the son of Royal Struble, who was engaged in the real estate business. His father's family came from New Jersey, while his mother is of Scotch descent. Mr. Struble received a careful education in the Cincinnati public schools and at Oberlin College, after which he attended the Cincinnati Law School, from which institution he graduated in 1892. He immediately opened an office and became engaged in the practice of his profession. Mr. Struble is an able lawyer, and enjoys the confidence of his clients and the esteem of his fellow practition- ers. In political belief, he is a Republican. He was for many years Solicitor of the villages of Addyston, Cleves and North Bend, a member of the Hamilton County Republican Cam- paign Committee and Chairman of same for one year. He also belongs to the Blaine Club and the Stamina Republican League. Socially, Mr. Struble is a member of the Masonic fraternity. On the 30th of October, 1895, Mr. Struble was united in marriage to Miss Alice Argo. Three daughters have blessed their union. Mr. Struble lives with his family at Cleves, Ohio.
Samuel J. Schwartz,
Ex-Mayor of the city of Columbus, and one of the most prominent members of the bar of Franklin County, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, in the year of 1859, his parents being Eli B. Schwartz and Lizzie Jackson Schwartz. His father was a prosperous farmer, who, at the outbreak of the Civil War, left the plow for the rifle, enlisting in the Forty-sixth Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry, and serving in a number of important engagements up to the battle of Shiloh, when he was killed in action against the enemy. Mr. Samuel J. Schwartz has obtained a thorough education. He first attended the district schools of Fairfield County ; after that he entered Fairfield Union Academy at Pleasantville, Ohio, and finally attended Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, from which institution he graduated in 1881. His first business experience was as a commercial traveler, and he continued a "knight of the road" for five years, when he SAMUEL J. SCHWARTZ began the reading of law, and was duly admitted a member of the Franklin County Bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio, in 1888, at once beginning active practice. His ability in legal matters soon gained him a large clientele. Early in 1897 Mr. Schwartz was appointed Police Judge by Governor Bushnell, a vacancy having occurred, and in April of the same year he was regularly elected to the same position, which he filled with consummate ability, being the only Republican elected on the city ticket. Two years later Mr. Schwartz was elected to the honorable position of Mayor of Columbus. He had the distinction of being
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