USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume I > Part 78
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BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPÆDIA AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
In February, 1863, when colonel of his regiment, having, on a leave of absence of two weeks, repaired to Kingston, New Hampshire, he there married Miss Margaret W. Proctor, a lady of that place, whose acquaintance he had made when a student in the seminary there.
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HUNT, SAMUEL F., counselor-at-law, Cincinnati, was born at Springdale, Hamilton County, Ohio, on the 22d of October, 1845. His parents were Dr. John Randolph Hunt and Amanda Baird Hunt, both from New Jersey. His father was born at Cherry Hill, near Princeton, New Jersey, July 3d, 1793, and died at Springdale, August Ist, 1863. He was a student of the University of New Jersey, and a grad- uate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, and for more than forty years was a practicing physician in the Miami Valley. His death was a loss not only to his family but to the profession and to the community. His mother is still living. Samuel F. Hunt was early led in the paths of learning by his parents, both of whom were persons of culture and refinement, and under competent private instruction he laid the foundation for future eminence in scholarly pursuits. His family connections were such as to give advantages which he failed not to improve, and even in boyhood he became known for the variety and extent of his information, for excellency of speech, and polished address. In 1860 he entered Miami University, at Oxford, where he remained for nearly four years, going thence to Union Col- lege, New York, where he completed his course, and gradu- ated under the venerable Dr. Nott. Four years later the college conferred upon him the degree of A. M., and about the same time Miami University awarded him a diploma, as to a regular graduate of the class of 1864, and also the hon- orary degree of Master of Arts. Mr. Hunt read law in the office of Justice Stanley Matthews, and graduated at the Cin- cinnati Law School in 1867. In May of that year he started upon a European tour, visiting the Continent, and proceeding by way of Greece, to Palestine, Egypt, and Arabia. During his travels abroad a series of letters written by him was published in the Cincinnati Enquirer, and largely copied · into the other papers. Upon his return Mr. Hunt was fre- quently solicited, and made a number of addresses upon his travels. These were put into permanent form, at the request of numerous auditors. His powers of oratory were known and acknowledged even in boyhood, and at the outbreak of the Rebellion his eloquent and patriotic speeches were enthusiastically applauded. In his own neighborhood his services are remembered in the work of recruiting the 83d and other Ohio regiments. In 1862 he went to Shiloh to care for the sick and wounded, and in 1865 he went with General Weitzel's advance into Richmond, where he remained for several weeks, having charge of the supplies furnished for sufferers in the city. While in college Mr. Hunt was honored frequently by being called upon to make the annual and other addresses before the literary societies, and upon other important occasions. Since his graduation he has been fre- quently invited to serve upon similar occasions, both at home and abroad. Among the addresses which gave Mr. Hunt prominence in a scholarly and oratorical way, mention may be made of those before the Miami Literary Societies, during the year 1864 ; also before the Literary Societies at Marietta College, Kenyon College, Georgetown College (Kentucky), the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity of the United States at Williams College, Massachusetts ; the annual address before
the students of the University of Virginia; his Centennial Oration ; the address, with Governors Hayes and Allen, at the unveiling of the Soldiers' Monument, Findlay, Ohio; and that at the Grant banquet in Cincinnati, in 1880; the historical address on the Miami Valley, on the site of Fort Hamilton; and the historical address on the campaigns of Anthony Wayne, on the site of Fort Greenville. In 1874 Mr. Hunt was appointed, by the Governor of Ohio, a Trustee of Miami University, and at the same time was made a Director of the University of Cincinnati. From that time to the present he has been either Director or President in these university boards, by reappointment and re-election. He was also the Secretary of the Agricultural Society of the county, and made speeches at the Harvest Home Festivals in different townships. Mr. Hunt has also found time to engage in political matters. In 1869 he was elected to the State Senate. Here his abilities were at once recognized, and he was made President, pro tem., of that body, and act- ing Lieutenant-governor of the State, being the youngest man that ever occupied these positions. He was a member of the Judiciary Committee, and Committee on Common Schools, and was the author of the University Bill, the Park Bill, the Platting Commission Bill, and other measures affecting Cin- cinnati interests. At home he has been an industrious mem- ber of the Board of Education. He was a participant in the Democratic State Convention of 1869, and served two years on the State Central Committee. After serving two years in the Senate, the Democratic State Convention, in 1871, nominated Mr. Hunt for Lieutenant-governor, who made a canvass of the State. . In 1873 he was president of the convention that nominated Governor Allen, and also presi- dent of the convention that nominated General Ewing for Governor, and in 1874 was elected a member of the Ohio Constitutional Convention. His speech on the veto power in that body was one of Mr. Hunt's best efforts. In 1879 Mr. Hunt became Judge Advocate-general of Ohio, with the rank of brigadier-general. In 1880 he was nominated for the judgeship of the Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial District, and in 1881 was the Democratic nominee for Congress in the First Congressional District of Ohio. From the commencement of his profession with the Hon. Henry Stanbery to the present time Mr. Hunt has been an industrious worker in the law, and now enjoys a lucrative and constantly increasing practice. Still in the prime of life, of fine personal appearance and pleasant address, he is one of the foremost of the Cincinnati bar, and being rarely gifted with social qualities, his home is the frequent resort of personal friends of both political parties. The mother of Samuel F. Hunt is an estimable lady, whose graces and hospitalities will be remembered kindly by every visitor at the old home mansion. Until 1882 she, with her honored son, resided in the comfortable "home of fifty years ago," across the street from the academy where Governor Oliver P. Morton received part of his early education. Here also, under the shade trees of Mrs. Hunt's old home, may be seen the first classical academy in that neighborhood; and near by the little church from which, as Mrs. Hunt relates, the first missionary was sent from the West to the East. On the brow of a hill in the outskirts of the village, may be seen the spot where Colonel Robert Elliott was killed by the Indians in 1794. Mr. Hunt now resides at his country place at Glendale, surrounded by his books and the comforts and refinements of an elegant home. The ancestors of Hon.
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Samuel F. Hunt were related to the active patriots of the Revolution, the grandsires on the part of both father and mother having fought in the battles of Princeton and Mon- mouth Court-house. When the pioneer days of Hamilton County are recalled, and stories and reminiscences are re- lated of the noble fathers on Revolutionary fields, the con- versational powers of Mrs. Hunt are displayed in the best light. In the charm of her personal narration one may easily perceive that the honorable eminence of the son is largely due to the rare mental qualities and superior culture of the mother.
TILDEN, MYRON HOLMES, lawyer and ex-Judge of Superior Court of Cincinnati, was born in Central New York, August 25th, 1814, and was the son of Dr. Myron W. Holmes, a native of Litchfield County, Connecticut, who died before the birth of the subject of this sketch. He was but three years of age when his family came to Ohio, settling, in 1817, in Huron County. He was then adopted by Daniel Tilden, who was a native of New Hampshire, a graduate of Dartmouth College, and a physician by profession. - Young Tilden ex- perienced all the privations of frontier life. He received his education at the Norwalk Academy. He was a very diligent student, and improved every spare moment in reading stand- ard works, and in pursuing advanced branches of study. In this way he obtained his education. In 1833 he entered the law office of Thaddeus B. Sturges, and in the following year that of Ebenezer Lane, for many years judge of the Su- preme Court of Ohio, with whom he studied law until his ad- mission to the bar in 1835. To assist himself in his legal studies he established and edited, in Norwalk, a paper known as the Western Intelligencer, and it was in this office that Hon. Clark Waggoner, of Toledo (one of the best known jour- nalists in the State), served his apprenticeship. This paper, however, was sold soon after his admission to practice. He began his professional career in Norwalk. At the end of a year he commanded a fair share of the practice, and was thus encouraged to seek a larger place in which permanently to establish himself. In December, 1837, he removed to Toledo, and there formed a partnership with Mr. John R. Osborne, who was then a promising young lawyer, and who is still practicing as the oldest and much respected member of the bar of that city. The partnership of Tilden & Osborne was continued till 1839, when it was discontinued. His next partner was the late General Charles W. Hill, and soon after there was received into the firm Mr. Henry Bennett. Judge Tilden was very active in building up the then small town, and was, the year following his removal there, elected member of the City Council, and in 1840 was elected Mayor. In 1842 he was nominated for Congress, by the Whig party, the same year Hon. Thomas Corwin ran the last time for Governor, and both were defeated. In 1843 he was elected by the Legislature, and commissioned by Governor Shannon, presi- dent Judge of the circuit in which he resided, for a term of seven years; but wishing to resume his practice, he resigned in 1848, after serving four years. Having become a stockholder in the steamer Indiana, which was among the first built in that city, and which was heavily incumbered, Judge Tilden, in order to protect his interest, bought the boat and ran it for about two years, paid off its indebtedness, and sold it. The boat was built to promote the growth of the city, and the Judge, being an owner of considerable real estate there, be- came involved in the enterprise by aiding the project. After
he resumed his practice, he formed a partnership with William Baker, now a wealthy attorney of that city. In 1850 he re- moved to Cincinnati. The malaria of the Maumee River did not agree with him, and when he came to Cincinnati his health was much impaired. Since coming to Cincinnati he has been associated in partnership with several different attorneys, and at present is the senior member of the firm of Tilden, Hardacre & McMillen. In 1851 he was appointed, by the trustees of the Cincinnati College, to a professorship in the Law School, jointly with the late William Green (late Lieutenant-governor of Rhode Island) and Judge Charles P. James (now of the Supreme Court of the District of Colum- bia). Judge Tilden was professor of Equity Jurisprudence for about ten years. He continued in the practice of law till appointed, by Governor Noyes, in January, 1873, to fill an unexpired term of Judge Hagans, in the Superior Court of Cincinnati. At the following election he was elected for a full term, but was defeated when a candidate for re-election, in the spring of 1878, by the popular opposition to the Southern Railroad, whose trustees were the appointees of the Superior Court. Judge Tilden was admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States and to the Court of Claims, in Washington, in 1863. Judge Tilden has devoted much time to equity jurisprudence, in which part of the science of the pro- fession he has but few equals in Ohio, and while he occupied the chair in the Cincinnati Law College distinguished him- sclf as a profound lecturer and able teacher on that subject. The Judge's practice has been for years very large and lucrative, and he has been counsel in many of the most important cases ever brought into the courts of Ohio. He is a man noted for his uniform courteousness of manner in his intercourse with men, and especially with his fellow-attor- neys while engaged with them in the trial of cases. He is not only one of the ablest lawyers of the Cincinnati bar, but he is also one of the city's purest and noblest-minded men ; a man of conscientious scruples in all his affairs. As an advocate in the trial of cases, while he is exceedingly courteous to his opponents, he is likewise decidedly emphatic and earnest in the advocacy of his client's cause. His propositions and arguments are always learned, logical, and convincing; and though now advanced to mature years, his professional labors are still characterized by an undiminished zeal. He has always manifested a great interest in young members of the profession, for whom he is ever glad to do any kind- ness, and is always ready to assist them in any case, giving; without reward, his best judgment in all matters they may see fit to submit to him. He is a man entirely void of envy, and rejoices in every body's prosperity. While he has made a great study of the part of the science of law above-men- tioned, he is likewise distinguished for his knowledge of and familiarity with the general and underlying principles of the law, and in his practice relies more upon those principles than on cases. He is possessed of a high order of intellect, having as its distinguishing attributes both the power of analytic and synthetic reasoning, which renders his mind capable of forming logical and philosophical judgments. While he is thoroughly familiar with all the technicalities of the law, he takes a broad and comprehensive view of all legal questions. As a judge he was recognized as one of very superior abilities, and gave general satisfaction to the bar. He has been a constant student throughout his long professional career, not only on matters of law but on general and scientific subjects, on which he is possessed of a valuable
Waster . Bic E Pob Ci
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James Farmen
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fund of information. He has a rare power of expressing himself, never lacking for words to convey his ideas. His diction is classical, yet pure and clear. Judge Tilden was formerly a Whig, but afterward became a war Democrat, to which party he still adheres. He was married July Ist, 1835, to Miss Louisa, daughter of Harvey and Chloe Morse, of Norwalk, Ohio, of which marriage there has been issue chil- dren, four of whom survive, three sons and one daughter.
FARMER, JAMES, ESQ., of Cleveland, was born near Augusta, Georgia, July 19th, 1802. He is a descendant of a very old and honorable English family, the American branch of which settled in this country early in the seventeenth century. His grandfather was one of the Revolutionary heroes, who took part in many of the battles fought in Georgia and the Carolinas. In 1805, his father, on account of slavery, re- moved with his family, and settled in Columbiana County, Ohio. Here our subject grew to manhood, acquiring such education as the circumstances permitted, and assisting his father on the farm and in the manufacture of salt. In 1824 he leased his father's salt works, near Salineville, enlarged them, and devoted himself to that branch for four years. In 1828, to extend his business, he crossed the mountains to Philadelphia, where he purchased a supply of goods- suitable to the demands of a new country. In this career he success- fully continued for nearly thirty years. In 1838 he built a flouring-mill, purchased wheat, manufactured it into flour, and shipped his product to New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and New Orleans. In 1844 he built a fine steamer, which was employed several years in trading between Pittsburg and New Orleans. In 1846 he was foremost in securing the charter for the Cleveland and Pittsburg Railroad Com- pany. He was made President of the company, and to the construction of the road he devoted means and energy. It soon proved of immense advantage to Cleveland, especially in the coal trade. In 1856 Mr. Farmer removed with his family to Cleveland, and engaged extensively in the coal trade, having mines of his own, which he had worked suc- cessfully for twenty-five years. He soon after identified him- self with the iron manufacturing interests and banking. In 1858 he was again called to the presidency of the Cleveland and Pittsburg Railroad Company ; through his wise adminis- tration the road was put on a good footing. That accom- plished, he again retired from the presidency, though for a number of years he remained on the board of directors. Ever watchful of the welfare of the city of Cleveland, he, in 1870, advocated the building of a new and direct road to the newest coal-fields, as a matter of vital importance, and in 1871, through his efforts mainly, the Valley Railway Com- pany was organized, and he was chosen President. Mr. Farmer was married in 1834 to Miss Meribah Butler, of Philadelphia. They have had five children. He is a man who has risen by his own industry and perseverance, and now, in his advanced years, enjoys a well-earned competency, the honor and respect of the community, and the love of his family.
WAITE, MORRISON REMICK, chief justice of the United States, was born at Lyme, Connecticut, November 29th, 1816; living, April, 1883, at Toledo, Ohio. He was the son of Hon. Henry Matson Waite, also a native of Lyme, born February 9th, 1787, who soon after graduating at Yale became distinguished as an able lawyer and public
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man, was elected successively to the lower and higher branches of the general assembly, was chosen associate justice of the supreme court in 1834, was appointed chief justice of the State of Connecticut in 1854 by the almost unanimous vote of the legislature, and held that office until his seventieth year, the limit prescribed by the Constitution of the State. The mother of Morrison R. Waite was a daughter of Colonel Richard E. Selden, of Lyme, and grand- daughter of Colonel Samuel Selden, an officer of the Revo- lutionary army. The family settled in Lyme, Connecticut, about the middle of the seventeenth century, and had among its members other eminent men. Thomas Waite and his son Marvin were. public-spirited and prominent citizens. The latter was a candidate on the first electoral ticket after the Revolutionary war, was a representative in the State legisla- ture nineteen terms, common pleas judge for several years, and finally one of the commissioners to sell the State lands of the Northwestern territory, the proceeds of which, funded by him, formed the basis of the public school fund of Con- necticut. The subject of this sketch was a graduate of Yale in the class of 1837, which included, among other distin- guished men, Wm. M. Evarts, Edwards Pierrepont and . Benjamin Silliman, Jr. He commenced the study of law in the office of his father, but, removing west early in life, com- pleted his studies with Samuel M. Young, a prominent attor- ney of Maumee, Ohio, with whom he afterward formed a partnership. In 1850 the firm established an office in Toledo, of which Mr. Waite took charge, and for which he soon ob- tained a large business. He subsequently entered into part- nership with his brother Richard and continued with him until he was elevated to the chief-justiceship. A whig in politics, he was always active and influential. In 1849 he was elected to a seat in the Ohio legislature, and was the whig candidate for the convention of 1850 to revise the con- stitution of the State. His party being in a great minority, he was defeated on strictly party grounds. In 1862 he re- luctantly became a candidate for Congress as the nominee of one of the two republican conventions, held at Toledo at the time, which endorsed the war policy of the administra- tion, and pledged itself, in all ways and at all times, to give its full and undivided support to such measures as the gov- ernment should deem necessary to crush out the rebellion in the shortest possible time. The other convention, which nominated J. M. Ashley, adopted a radical anti-slavery platform and urged more radical measures than the adminis- tration had adopted, proposing virtually to make the abolition of slavery an end rather than an incident of the war. Edwin Phelps was brought out as the democratic candidate, and although the superior organization of his opponents caused Mr. Waite's defeat in the district, the esteem in which he was held in Toledo was shown in the fact that he received within 500 of all the votes cast in that city-the most emphatic endorsement ever given there to a public man. The posi- tion of judge of the supreme bench of Ohio, which was left vacant by the refusal of Hon. Hocking Hunter to serve, was subsequently tendered by Governor Brough to Mr. Waite, but he declined to accept. His national reputation dated from his unexpected and unsolicited appointment as counsel for the United States in the arbitration at Geneva, involving the settlement of the " Alabama" claims against Great Brit- ain. He was not an applicant for the position, but was rec- commended and appointed without his knowledge. He ac- cepted the appointment, and in December, 1871, departed
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for Europe, to assume the duties assigned to him. He per- formed the required service to the entire satisfaction of the government and country. His already good reputation as an indefatigable and learned lawyer was greatly enhanced by the ability which characterized his labors on behalf of his country in this historical event. His argument on the liability of Great Britain for permitting the confederate steamers to take supplies of coal in her ports was pronounced a fine effort, remarkable for great logical power and compre- hensive grasp of international questions. At the close of these labors he returned to Toledo and resumed the practice of his profession. To the constitutional convention called in 1873 to revise the Constitution of Ohio he was elected delegate from Lucas county by both political parties, and, on the assembling of that body, he was elected its president. Upon the death of Chief Justice Chase, after Hon. George H. Williams and Hon. Caleb Cushing had been successively nominated and withdrawn, the president of the United States sent to the senate the name of Morrison R. Waite, of Ohio, who but one year previous had, on motion of Mr. Cushing, been admitted to practice in the court of which he was des- tined to become chief justice. At the time the nomination was made Mr. Waite was presiding at the Constitutional convention, and was as much astonished at hearing of the honor which had been conferred upon him as were his fellow members in the convention. The appointment was made entirely without his solicitation, and in opposition to his advice, when efforts to influence the appointment were proposed and offered by his friends. Mr. Waite was con- firmed as chief justice by a vote which conferred an honor as great as it was rare. Every senator voted in the affirma-
tive, and no dissentient voice was heard during the discus- sion of the nomination. Senator Charles Sumner, of Massa- chusetts, made one of his best and most impressive speeches on the appointment, which the press of the country also pro- nounced a good one. Chief Justice Waite took the oath of his high office March 4th, 1874, and immediately entered upon its duties. In April, 1883, he continues to hold the office, having during the few years of his incumbency ad- mirably fulfilled its every requirement, and fully deserves the praises which his promotion has called forth from various sections of the country. His administration of what may justly be pronounced the first judicial position in the world, fairly proved that his energetic and ambitious mind needed · only the occasion calling for great study and labor, to show that he could readily master and unravel the new principles and problems in law which the exigencies of this young but great and growing government originate. Gifted with a superior and elastic physical as well as mental organization, his capacity for work was his leading characteristic, besides which he possessed the solid virtues which won for him a reputation not less honorable and enduring than that which is acquired by a dazzling display of merely brilliant genius. No judge ever held more exalted ideas regarding the great importance and solemn responsibilities of such an office, no occupant probably ever upheld its dignity more thoroughly, and certainly no predecessor ever preserved its ermine more unspotted than has Morrison R. Waite the chief-justiceship of the United States. He married, September 21st, 1840, Amelia C., a daughter of Samuel Selden Warner, of Lyme, Connecticut, and the issue of this union were four sons and a daughter.
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