USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume II > Part 61
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was eminently successful, and since that time many of the large suburban residences of Cincinnati have been built from these two materials. Mr. Probasco is entitled to the credit of having led the van. In December, 1865, Mr. Tyler David- son, his brother-in-law, died, and Mr. Probasco disposed of
the business to Lowry, Perin & Co., in March, 1866, Mr. Lowry having been a partner in the firm of Tyler David- son & Co. for some years. In 1866, he again left this coun- try for Europe, visiting all its principal cities, returning late in 1867. In October, 1866, while in Munich, at the Royal bronze foundry, he was shown some designs for a fountain. The idea of a public fountain for Cincinnati had been a topic of discussion some years previously between Mr. Probasco and Mr. Tyler Davidson. Mr. Probasco resolved to erect a foun- tain, that while it should be a practical benefit to the people, it should also be more beautiful than any previously erected in the United States. He commenced negotiations with the director of the foundry, and the great artist, Kaulbach, and his son-in-law, Kreling, and the result was the magnificent fountain, so widely known, as well for its artistic beauty, as its useful purposes, which he presented to the people of Cin- cinnati on the 6th October, 1871. During Mr. Probasco's various travels in Europe, he devoted much of his time to the study of public and private galleries, and museums of science and art. His natural taste, cultivated by that education which association with the works of the great masters gives, has enabled him, unaided by amateurs and critics, to assemble to- gether one of the finest collections of pictures in the country. His passion for curiosities in literature has induced him to collect a splendid library of books and rare manuscripts. Besides indulging his love of the rare in literature, and the beautiful in art, Mr. Probasco has embellished his grounds with choice trees and shrubs, imported from Japan, Califor- nia, France, and England. He has shown a public spirit that the city of Cincinnati is proud of, and always feels a pleasure in opening his collections to those who are able to to appreciate the gems they contain. Mr. Probasco is an Episcopalian, having contributed to the erection of Calvary church in Clifton, and donating its beautiful tower and stone spire. He has been one of the managers of the Cincinnati Public Library, a director of Spring Grove Cemetery, an ac- tive trustee of the Cincinnati Orphan Asylum, a director in several benevolent associations in the city, besides for ten years a member of the council at Clifton, and in 1877, its mayor.
SPENCER, OLIVER M., lawyer and jurist, was born March, 1809, at Cincinnati, died September 30th, 1861, at West Walnut Hills, in Hamilton county, Ohio. He was the third son of Oliver M. Spencer, a prominent pioneer mer- chant of that city, who was distinguished for his great liber- ality, and grandson of Colonel Oliver Spencer, an officer of the Revolutionary war, who, at the battles of Prince- ton, Trenton, Brandywine, Springfield, Monmouth, and in other engagements, commanded a regiment equipped at his own expense, and sacrificed almost his entire fortune in the cause of American independence. The subject of the present sketch was educated at the Cincinnati college, and, after en- gaging for a short time in mercantile pursuits, was sent to the well-known "Reeves Law School," at Litchfield, Connecti- cut, where many of the great lawyers of the day received their legal training. By habits of industry while at this school, he laid the foundation of that exact knowledge of the principles of the common law, which gave him, in after life, his justly earned claims to eminence in the profession. When he returned to Cincinnati, he engaged in the practice of the law with different partners at various times, Judge Bellamy Storer being among the number. He was appointed
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attorney for the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, and conducted a large practice until 1854, when he was elected one of the judges of the Superior court of Cincinnati, upon its organization, for a period of four years, with Justices Bellamy Storer and W. Y. Gholson as his colleagues. He was reelected for a term of five years, in 1858, but died before the expiration of his second term. His chief characteristic as a judge was his laborious habit of thought, by which all ques- tions that came before him were settled on principles of law rather than by precedent. This was so much the case that a point of evidence having been raised and determined by him through the application of strict legal reasoning, he would exhibit unfeigned surprise when he was informed that he had decided a similar question, in a similar manner, a few months before. He was the great common lawyer of the entire bar, and was recognized as such by every member of the profes- sion. His charges to juries were models of perspicuity and careful analysis of the question at issue. He administered all proceedings before him with singular exactness and an impartiality that made every decision unquestioned. A proof of the respect entertained for his great ability was found in the fact, that no case in which the opinion was delivered by him was overruled by the Supreme court of the State. He loved law as a science, and profoundly felt its responsibility. His perceptions of right were intuitive ; and in all delibera- tions with his colleagues he sought to reach a result his con- science could approve. Mere expediency, or the power of precedent, never controlled his decisions; nor did the appro- bation or censure of the profession when stern duty claimed his bold utterances for the truth. He endeavored to admin- ister human law in accordance with the divine laws of the just Judge, whose will he ever conscientiously strove to obey. Previous to his election to the bench, he had a certain degree of prominence in politics, and with George W. Runyan, was elected to the House of Representatives in the exciting can- vass of 1851, but was displaced by George E. Pugh and Alexander Pierce, who were declared to be elected in con- formity with the law dividing the State into districts. He was a candidate for Congress in opposition to George H. Pendleton, but was defeated in the contest. He was mar- ried three times, his last wife being Sarah P. Halstead, a daughter of Chancellor Halstead, of New Jersey, by whom he had three children -Chauncey, Minnie, and a son, who died a few years after the death of his father. His brother, Hon. Henry E. Spencer, a prominent and highly respected citizen of Cincinnati, was born in Columbia, Hamilton county, and was, for four terms mayor of Cincinnati, serving in the aggre- gate eight years, being one of the best officers who ever served in that capacity. He was also, for many years, a member of the city council. He became president of the Firemen's Insurance Company, and by his successful man- agement of its interest, became known and deservedly re- cognized as one of the leading underwriters of the West. He is a man of strict integrity, and like his brother, liberal in sentiment, and benevolent. He married Henrietta Halstead, sister of Chancellor Halstead, and has had ten children. A
third brother, Robert Spencer, also a native of Hamilton county, was an eminent Methodist minister, one of the pioneer clergymen of the State, a sound theologian, a fine scholar, and a good man. He traveled the circuit on horse- back in the days before railroads were introduced, and was widely known throughout the western country as an earnest, simple minded man, and one universally beloved.
LLOYD, HARLAN PAGE, lawyer, was born at Angel- ica, New York, March 26th, 1838. His father was Hon. Ransom Lloyd, for many years Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, in Allegany County, in that State. He was the personal and political friend of Hon. W. L. Marcy, Hon. Horatio Seymour, and other prominent statesmen of New York. He was of English descent, tracing his lineage directly to the Lloyds who fought for liberty under Oliver Cromwell. Judge Lloyd married Miss Julia M. Starr, a descendant of one of the Puritan forefathers, who joined the Plymouth colony in 1634. Six children, all of whom are now living, were born to these parents, the subject of this sketch being the third. After a common school training in his native village, young Lloyd went to Cooperstown to prepare for college. He en- tered the sophomore class at Hamilton College in 1856, graduating in 1859, one of the youngest students of his class, winning the second honor in general scholarship, and the highest prize in rhetoric and oratory. For a year he was classical instructor in a collegiate institute at Bloomfield, New Jersey, and at the same time pursued the study of the law. Later he placed himself under the immediate tuition of Hon. Martin Grover, Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, and was thus peacefully engaged when the firing upon Sumter called the nation to arms. He heard the appeal and closed his books. Duty was plain, and straightway he assisted in raising and equipping the first company of soldiers which left his native village; and after the memorable disaster of Bull Run, gave his entire time for several months to the work of recruiting volunteers. Untiring in his efforts in this behalf, he visited nearly every school district in his native county, and addressed numerous meetings in churches and school-houses. In the national emergency he freely gave heart, voice, strength, and example to encourage and ani- mate his fellow-men to the rescue of their imperiled coun- try. A full company of the 6th New York Cavalry, of which he was first lieutenant, enlisted under .him, and marched to Camp Scott, on Staten Island. There his regi- ment was consolidated with another, and he was involuntarily mustered out of service. He thereupon repaired to Albany, and was admitted to the bar by the Court of Appeals, in December, 1861, afterward taking a thorough course at the Law School of the University of Albany. Early in July, 1862, he again enlisted, this time as a private in a battery. Promotion followed rapidly. After faithful service at New- bern and Roanoke Island, under General Burnside, he was commissioned captain of the 22d New York Cavalry, and ordered to the Army of the Potomac. His soldierly conduct and qualities frequently attracted the notice of his superior officers, and at the close of the war General Custer tendered him a position in his own regiment in the regular army, but he declined the honor. He took part in the battles of the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania Court-house, Cold Harbor, the siege of Petersburg, at Jerusalem Plank Road, and in all the battles of the Wilson Raid. Thence he marched to the defense of Washington against Early; and thence to the Shenandoah Valley, taking part in every battle of that brill- iant campaign. While leading a charge, at the head of his regiment, near Winchester, August 2Ist, 1864, he was shot di- rectly through the body, and was considered mortally wounded. He was sent to the hospital, and thence to his home in New York, as soon as he could be removed. He partially recov- ered, and with an open wound, took the stump for Abraham Lincoln, in the fall of 1864, and made campaign speeches
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till the very day of election. Then he rejoined his regiment in the field, and served on a general court-martial during the Winter of 1864 and 1865. In the Spring of 1865, he marched up the Valley of the Shenandoah with General Sheridan and General Custer, and his regiment led the attack at Waynesboro, in the battle which resulted in the capture of the entire army of General Jubal Early, one of the most brilliant of General Sheridan's famous series of victories in the valley. The column pushed on to Charlottesville and Gor- donsville, destroying the Virginia Central Railroad and General Lee's source of supplies, until it reached a point only twelve miles from Richmond, on the west. Then, wheeling suddenly to the left, General Sheridan crossed the York River to White House Landing, and joined General Grant's army in front of Petersburg. During this rapid march Major Lloyd served as aid-de-camp on the staff of General Wells, of Vermont, and won the highest commendation for his soldierly qual- ities. He was now commissioned as major. He took part with the Army of the Potomac in the daily and nightly battles which resulted in the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox. He was next appointed commissary of mus- ters, by the Secretary of War, and was assigned to duty on the staff of Major-general Torbert, commanding the Army of the Shenandoah. He mustered out and sent home all the men of this army, and was himself honorably discharged at Rochester, New York, in August, 1865. Thus closed his brill- iant military career. Major Lloyd now cast about for a field in which to practice his chosen profession. He was not long in determining to come to Cincinnati, and as an entire stranger, without any means, he opened a law office, and began the struggle with many competitors. Business came slowly at first, but diligent study and faithful, energetic attention to the interests of his clients gradually enlarged his practice, and made for him the prominent place at the Cincinnati bar which he now holds. Of the many important causes in which Major Lloyd has been engaged, there is none more interesting than one of his early practice. Some emancipated slaves sought to recover an estate which they claimed by inheritance from a runaway slave from Kentucky, who had accumulated prop- erty in Cincinnati. Major Lloyd was retained to prosecute their claim. Suit was instituted in 1869. The defenses of the occupying claimants were threefold: That the plaintiffs were illegitimate, as a slave marriage had no legal validity ; that the plaintiffs were chattels, and had no legal status at the time the descent was cast; and finally, that if any property de- scended, it vested in the master and not in the slave. Major Lloyd took the broad ground that the validity of the slave marriage should be recognized in the interests of justice and morality, as it certainly had been under the law in many of the slave States. His argument was an exhaustive re- view of the history of the institution of marriage among the slaves in this country, and of the legal authorities which rec- ognize its validity. The Superior Court, in General Term, unanimously sustained Major Lloyd's position, and gave judgment accordingly. The case was the first of its kind in the country, and attracted much attention, especially among the colored people. They looked upon the result as one of the chief steps in attaining for their race complete equality before the law. Major Lloyd gave the bankrupt law and the decisions under it the closest study, and was engaged in several cases which afterward became leading cases in its construction. One worthy of mention was argued at Mansfield, in this State. The case turned on the question
of the power of the United States Court to set aside a dis- charge in bankruptcy granted by a Federal Court, under the law of 1867. The question was then undecided. Major Lloyd took the negative, argued the case three times at Mansfield, and finally won it. The law in Ohio and other States has since been settled, affirming the theory of Major Lloyd in that case. The most important case, considered from a legal stand-point, in which he has been engaged of late years was a copyright case in the United States Court. The case had been decided adversely to Major Lloyd's clients by Judge Emmons, of the United States Circuit Court, and by Judge Swing, of the United States District Court, before he was retained. The main question presented was whether a system of book-keeping could be copyrighted. Major Lloyd argued that it could not, and both in his brief and in his oral argument before the Supreme Court of the United States sounded the depths of the question by an elaborate review of American and English decisions. The court unanimously sustained his position, in an opinion which will make this a leading case. It has already been quoted a number of times by English courts. It is reported in volume 101 United States Reports, page 99. Major Lloyd has been associated in the practice with C. S. Bates, now Professor in Kenyon Col- lege; with Governor E. F. Noyes; and with Judge Alphonso Taft. His present partner is Wm. H. Taft, Esq. Major Lloyd's career at the bar is unfinished, but his close application to business and business-like methods, his strict integrity, his quickness of perception and clearness of thought, accom- panied, as they are, with great facility of speech and per- spicuity of expression, leave no doubt of the high stand he has taken, and will continue to maintain, in his profession. Major Lloyd's powers of speech already alluded to, his cre- ative imagination, and literary education make him a suc- cessful lecturer and public speaker. He delivered the baccalaureate address before the University of Cincinnati in 1882. Frequent calls have been made on him for lectures on historical subjects, the delivery of which gave the greatest satisfaction to his audiences. As a Republican he has gone on the stump and lifted his voice with no uncertain sound in favor of his political principles. He has never held an office, nor been a candidate for one. A large number of lawyers throughout the district recommended him for appoint- ment as Judge of the United States District Court, after Judge Swing's death. After some consideration he declined to be a candidate, preferring to remain in the practice. The weight of Major Lloyd's influence has always been on the side of Christianity, and therefore has he always been actively interested in the Sabbath-schools in Cincinnati, in the Young Men's Bible Society, and in the Young Men's Christian Association, of which, at one time, he was president. He was also President of the State Convention of the Young Men's Christian Association, at Toledo, in 1874. He is deeply in- terested in the organization known as the Grand Army of the Republic, composed of his comrades in the war, and has devoted much of his time to the interests of that order, of which at the present time he is Judge-advocate for the De- partment of Ohio. In 1877 he visited Europe, and spent several months in travel and study, visiting England, France, Germany, and Switzerland. In 1882 he visited Europe again, extending his travels into Bavaria and Austria. Major Lloyd married at Poughkeepsie, New York, in June, 1869, Miss Harriet G. Raymond. Two children have been born of this union, Raymond and Marguerite. Mrs. Lloyd is the daughter
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of President John H. Raymond, of Vassar College, and has written and published a work entitled " The Life and Letters of Dr. John Howard Raymond, late President of Vassar College." The success of this work, attracting, as it has done, favorable notice from the press, in the United States and England, and the rare power of writing displayed in its edit- ing, show her the worthy daughter of her distinguished father. In its preparation and the spirit with which it is accomplished, she has verified the words of Webster: "There is also a moral and philosophical respect for our ancestors which ele- vates the character and improves the heart. Next to the sense of religious duty and moral feeling, I hardly know what should bear with stronger obligation on a liberal and enlightened mind, than a consciousness of alliance with excellence which is departed; and a consciousness, too, that in its acts and conduct, and even in its sentiments and thoughts, it may be actively operating on the happiness of those who come after it." Mrs. Lloyd is a shining example of the wisdom of Dr. Raymond's theory of the proper edu- cation of women, and has followed her father's teaching: " Plant these lights modestly but bravely on whatever candle- stick Providence may set before you, and let them so shine as to benefit others and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Major Lloyd, in common with many represent- ative men of this day, owes much of his success to the en- nobling influence of a cultivated wife.
COLLINS, ISAAC C., lawyer and jurist, born in Low- ville, New York, January 2d, 1824, was the fifth son of Hon. Ela Collins, and grandson of General Oliver Collins, both prominent citizens of northern New York. His maternal grandfather was Rev. Isaac Clinton, who graduated at Yale in 1788, and subsequently became pastor and principal of the academy at Lowville. Two of the brothers of Isaac came West and settled; one in Cleveland, and the other in Colum- bus. The subject of our sketch graduated at Yale college in 1846, studied law in the city of New York one year, and in his father's office in Lowville until April, 1848, when he removed to Cincinnati. In 1850, he became a member of the law firm of Matthews, Keys & Collins, andin 1853, associated with Hon. John W. Herron, (who married his sister,) in the firm of Col- lins & Herron. For twenty-five years or more, the firm of Collins & Herron was intrusted with a large and responsible business, and enjoyed the confidence of the best class of citizens and clients. . In 1877-8, Mr. Collins was the president of the Cincinnati Bar Association, being successor to Hons. Alphonso Taft and Henry Stanbery in this position. In all his career he was remarkable for diligence in the preparation of his cases, and for boldness and clearness in their presenta- tion; while his candor and sincerity gained for him in an unusual degree the confidence of both court and jury. Mr. Collins served two sessions in the Ohio legislature of 1857-8. He was the author of the law regulating assignments, and the champion of the opposition to usury laws. He urged that the rate of interest could safely be left, like the price of wheat, to the law of supply and demand, and that all legisla- tion upon the subject, tended to enhance rather than to diminish the rate to the borrower. His speech upon the sub- ject was printed, and had a large circulation. In October, 1858, he was elected judge of the court of common pleas and district court, and filled the position with credit until Novem- ber, 1861. He was not again a candidate for office until the summer of 1873, when he was nominated for governor of
Ohio by the liberals, and was supported by prominent men of both parties ; also by the Cincinnati Commercial and the Volksblatt. He was not elected, nor did those who supported him expect to succeed. They expected only to cultivate in the minds of intelligent citizens more independence of party, and a higher regard for purity and economy in public affairs. Judge Collins always expressed great faith in the principles of government set forth and made illustrious by Thomas Jefferson, of which the cardinal idea, in his opinion, was that those people are the happiest who are governed the least. For many years he was vestryman in the Episcopal church, but was understood to be of rationalistic tendency. He was married in February, 1852, to Miss Emily Hopkins Ruth, a native of Baltimore, and had six children, five daughters and one son. He resided on Forest avenue, Walnut Hills, on a site commanding a beautiful view of the Ohio river and valley, and enjoyed a large measure of social and domestic felicity, until his death, on July 29th, 1879.
WADSWORTH, ELIJAH, pioneer, born in Hartford, Connecticut, November 14th, 1747, and died in Canfield, Ma- honing county, Ohio, December 30th, 1817, was a descendant of Captain Joseph Wadsworth, who hid the charter of Con- necticut in the oak tree on the 9th May, 1680. Brought up to the trade of a blacksmith, he worked at it in Hartford until 1770, when he removed to Litchfield, in the same State, and continued his work there until the breaking out of the Revo- lutionary war. He then assisted in raising Sheldon's regi- ment of light dragoons and served in it through the war, end- ing his service as a captain. When Major Andre was cap- tured, he was at West Point, and was one of the guard set over the prisoner the night after the capture. After serving in several actions he returned to Litchfield, when the army was disbanded, and remained there until his removal to Ohio. In 1795 he became associated with others in the formation of the land company which, in September of that year, purchased the Connecticut Western Reserve in Ohio from the State of Connecticut, he being one of the six who gave their bonds as principals and sureties for the first purchase-money. In com- pany with Ephraim Kirby and Samuel Andrew Law, he took one-half the contract, the remaining half being divided equally between Uriel Holmes, Jr., and Elijah Boardman. He was one of the original proprietors of the townships of Canfield and Boardman, in Mahoning county, Johnston, in Trumbull county, Salem (now Conneaut), in Ashtabula county, Palmyra, in Portage county, and Wadsworth, in Medina county, which last township was named after him. The summers of 1799, 1801 and 1802 were spent on the Reserve, surveying and lay- ing out townships, and the winters of the first two years in Connecticut. In the fall of 1802 he returned to Litchfield for his family and brought them to Canfield, where he took up his residence. He was instrumental in having the first mail route on the Reserve established, and was appointed the first postmaster in Canfield, in October, 1801. He resigned the office in 1803, and was again postmaster there in 1813. At the first general election after Ohio was organized as a State, in 1803, he was elected sheriff of Trumbull county. In the year following he was elected major-general of the fourth military division of Ohio, comprising all the northern part of the State, and for the two or three years following labored under great difficulties to organize a militia. At the session of the legislature in 1807-8 he was appointed one of the three commissioners to locate the seats of justice for Tuscarawas
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