USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume III > Part 68
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The following extract from a letter written by A. J. Rickoff and addressed to E. Morgan Wood, Esq., president of the Board of Education in Dayton, O., shows the estimation in which he was held at Cleveland. Mr. Wood had written to Superintendent Rickoff to suggest a suitable person for superintendent of the Dayton schools :
"Will you permit me to presume so far upon the confi- dence you have manifested in me, as to suggest the name of Mr. Warren Higley, who, I think, will be able to carry to a successful issue the plan of organization which you have
lately adopted? I feel a deep interest in your success. The gentleman of whom I speak is the principal of our West High School. His salary last year was advanced from $2,000 to $2,250 after he had consented to accept the $2,000; and had he been willing to accept his reappointment liis salary, I think, would have been put at $2,500. I inclose herewith letters received from men, some of whom are of well-known reputation, which were sent to me in reply to letters of inquiry in which I promised that any thing they might say of Mr. Higley would be held as confidential, if de- sirable. After having had the best opportunity to know Mr. Higley, I can indorse heartily each and every thing they say in his favor."
After Mr. Higley had been in Dayton two years, Mr. Wood wrote to Mr. Rickoff (July Ist, 1873):
"Two years ago you were kind enough to furnish me with letters in your possession regarding Mr. Warren Higley, and also to write your opinion as to his qualifications for the position of superintendent of our schools. Your opin- ion had great weight in influencing the decision which was made in his case, and I am glad now to be able to say that during his term of office for the past two years he has fully justified all you said of him."
Wilbur Conover, a distinguished lawyer of Dayton, and for many years a member of the School Board, also wrote :
"You will have learned that by the reduction of the sal- ary of the superintendent of our schools, our city is to be deprived of the services of Mr. Warren Higley. In view of the fact that I was one of the committee of our Board of Education of this city to whom you expressed the decided opinion that he would make an efficient, judicious, and suc- cessful superintendent, I deem it proper to write you, and to say that in my judgment, from my knowledge of his character and of his management of our school matters, he has fully proven that your recommendation was thoroughly deserved. He has been very industrious, and in his man- agement and discipline careful, prudent, and judicious, uniting courtesy and kindness with skill and firmness. I think that he has been thoroughly faithful to his trusts, and discharged his duties with marked integrity, intelligence, skill, and ability, and I have no doubt that nearly all of the members of our board, and citizens who have any real knowledge of his work, and no motive apart from the suc- cess of our schools to warp their judgment or control their action, regret exceedingly that the schools are to be deprived of his services."
In the practice of law Mr. Higley evinced his characteristic industry and zeal, and though a comparative stranger in Cin- cinnati and a beginner in a profession that is proverbial for slow growth, he soon commanded a good paying practice, and grew steadily in public confidence and esteem. The profession he had early chosen was agreeable to his tastes and specially adapted to his abilities. In the spring of 1881 he was elected Judge of the Police Court of Cincinnati on the Republican ticket, for a term of two years. His administration was noted for its great efficiency. He administered the law impartially and fearlessly. He was a terror to the criminal classes, and the "professionals" found no safety within his jurisdiction. "Judge Higley is worth more than a hundred policemen," was . a common saying; and yet he wisely discriminated between the really criminal and the merely unfortunate, and gave the latter the kindest consideration. His decisions were exten- sively copied by the press of the country, and gave evidence of his thorough knowledge of law, of careful consideration, and of wise conclusion. His dignified, just, fearless course on the bench was recognized and approved by all law-abiding citizens. There were many questions of great public interest that came before him in his judicial capacity, which he promptly decided in accordance with the law, and heedless of partisan clamor or prejudice. A correspondent of an
JohnS. Ledom
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Eastern paper while attending the Opera Festival in the winter of 1883, spent some time at the Police Court, and gave the following account of Judge Higley on the bench :
" Throughout the sitting of the court we were impressed by the fairness which was not only intended but acknowledged. Except Dr. - (whom the Judge had sentenced to pay a fine of $50 and serve thirty days in the work-house), no- body seemed to think that the Judge had been biased. Some thought the testimony perjured, but all seemed to admit that the verdict was based on the testimony, and that of ne- cessity it must be. Yet there was more than this abstract jus- tice. The question seemed to be in disposing of each pris- oner: 'What can I do with you that shall be most for your welfare, and at the same time not peril the welfare of others?' Hence general reputation often went further than testimony. ' Does this man work? has he a family ? does he help support them ?'-the man of whom these questions are answered affirm- atively gets light treatment. In fact, the Police Court of Cin- cinnati is managed conscientiously ; and my observation makes me think well-bestowed the compliment in the following para- graph, which appeared in the Enquirer while I was there :
"' Judge Higley says that under no circumstances will he be a candidate for Judge at the spring election. The Judge can read the signs of the times; but the Republican party will have to draft him to give strength to their ticket, because he has been the best Police Judge Cincinnati ever had.'"
The Judge celebrated his retirement from office by giving an entertainment to his court officers and friends, at his home on Mount Auburn, on Friday evening, April 13th, 1883. One of the city papers says:
"The affair was delightfully informal, and it was a happy thought of his honor to celebrate his retirement from pub- lic life. There were few present who did not congratulate his honor upon the smooth sailing he has experienced in his judicial career. They wished for him untold prosperity in the walks of private citizenship, into which he will again step next Wednesday week."
The compliment was happily returned by the Judge's friends a few days after, when his term of office expired. Immediately upon adjournment of his court, April 24th, he was invited by Judge M. F. Wilson, his predecessor in that Court, to "step over to ~Levy's" on Central Ave- nue. Upon his arrival the retiring Judge was conducted into the dining-hall, on the upper floor, where he was ushered into the presence of the Court officers, the clerical staff, a number of the attorneys and the representatives of the press with whom he had been associated for two years. He was escorted to the vacant chair at the head of the well-filled table, and then Judge Wilson lifted the cloth which covered an elegant silver water-service on a stand to the left, and in a few well-chosen words presented it to Judge Higley. The Judge, taken completely by surprise, was for some moments overcome by emotion, but at length feelingly re- sponded. He said:
"This pleasant surprise quite unmans me, and I can not choose fitting words with which to express my feelings of appreciation for this evidence of your regard and friendship. What I have deserved, if any thing, comes to me through your generosity, through that feeling of human nature that expresses itself in kind words which come from pleasant as- sociations and pleasant remembrances. During the two years I have been on the bench these associations have been con- stant, not once having fallen out officially. For the kind, considerate, obliging ways, and oftentimes more charitable perhaps than circumstances might justify, shown me by all the officers of my Court 1 am truly grateful. 1 have been accustomed to see before me at the table those who give to the public the doings of our Court, the most important Court in the city, dealing, as it does, not only with good order and the preservation of life, but with property and with business affairs. These gentlemen, who are delegated
by the great engines of general information, have treated me most generously, and I thank them kindly."
The service thus presented was an elegant piece of work- manship. The pitcher, a swinging one, was porcelain lined and upon its lid were inscribed these words: "Judge War- ren Higley, from his friends, April 24th, 1883." Each gob- let bore the initial " H " engraved upon its side. An elegant dinner was served. Several toasts were responded to, and the company spent a delightful season of repartee and wit. In closing the festivities Judge Higley referred to the human- ity which should be one of the component parts of a Judge's composition, and cited a case of a young boy from Pittsburg whom he had dismissed. The boy had stolen brooms to sell for the purpose of raising money enough to buy him some- thing to eat. He pleaded guilty, but it was his first offense. The law would consign that boy to a felon's cell; humanity would save him from a criminal life hereafter. Humanity had won the day. Judge Higley is a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, which society he has cherished and honored since his college days. He is also a member of several se- cret societies, and has taken prominent part in matters of public interest. He was one of the originators of the For- estry movement in Ohio, which resulted in the organization of the American Forestry Congress, and is now the Presi- dent of the Ohio State Forestry Association, which he helped to organize. Zealous in the practice of his profession, public-spirited in matters pertaining to the general good, he ranks among the most prominent as a lawyer and a citizen.
LEEDOM, JOHN S. Among the offspring of the hardy pioneers of the Western wilds we find notable examples of men of vigorous thought and forcible character-men who have been competent to fill the highest stations with hon- orable distinction. The subject of this sketch is a fair repre- sentative of this class of men, who, without the aid of advan- tageous circumstances, such as fortune or influential friends, has risen from the humble walks of life to be ranked as the leading attorney at the bar of Champaign County. John S. Leedom was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, August Ist, 1826, and is the son of Thomas Y. and Ann (Stockton) Lee- dom, both natives of the Keystone State, of English ancestry. His mother was a descendant of Richard Stockton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. She died in November, 1883. In 1831 his parents came to Miami County, Ohio, and about 1835 removed to Champaign County, settling in Johnson Township, where his father resided till his death, and where his mother is now living, at St. Paris, in her eighty- seventh year. John S. was brought up on a farm, receiving a good common school education, and in early manhood taught school for the purpose of earning money to prosecute his studies. He attended the Springfield Academy three full school terms, running over a period of three years, which completed his literary education. In 1849 he entered the law office of John H. Young, and afterwards the law department of the Indiana State University, located at Bloomington, from which he graduated February 26th, 1851, and in the spring of the latter year was admitted to the bar in Cincinnati. He immediately located at Urbana, where he entered into part- nership with John II. Young, which continued until 1865. He was married in Miami County, Ohio, October 26th, 1852, to Miss Louisa J. Furrow, daughter of Jacob G. Furrow (de- ceased). Mrs. Leedom is a native of Piqua, Ohio, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have had
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four children, only two of whom ( Louie and Lizzie) are now living. Lizzie married Joseph Perkins, Jr., of Cleveland, Ohio. Politically, Mr. Leedom has always been one of the leaders of the Democracy in Champaign County; is popular and capable as a party leader, and has even lent a powerful influence towards making politics honorable and reputable. His political opponents have always held him in high esteem, and give him credit for fair dealing and entertaining honest convictions in his political conduct. They find him a high- souled gentleman, who fights party battles on party principles. In his early legal career he was Prosecutor for Champaign County for six years, and in 1868 was nominated by the Democrats as the Congressional candidate for his district. He made a vigorous canvass, but, owing to the district being largely Republican, was defeated. As a lawyer he is ready, versatile, and well-informed, and has no superior at the bar of Champaign County. He is apt, terse, and forcible in ar- gument, ready and confident in debate, and always faith- fully identifies himself with the interests of his clients. He is quick to seize upon the solution of the legal problem pre- sented to him, and to discover the salient points of an argu- ment, as well as to grasp and combine the guiding princi- ples underlying the mass of legal rubbish of a case that is sometimes heaped up by the crafty counsel. Mr. Leedom is not an orator, in the popular acceptation of that term, but as a speaker he is clear, analytical, impassioned, and con- vincing, making effective use of all favorable points, no matter how insignificant they may appear to others, and skill- fully turning or ignoring unfavorable ones. Thoroughly conversant with the law, careful and judicious in preparation, ready and trenchant in debate, an expert in the analysis of human motives and passions, he has peculiar qualifications for a successful advocate, and his ability to sway jurors ren- ders him a dangerous foe in a legal conflict. He is at all times courteous in his bearing, and, with the above eminent qualifications as a lawyer, added to his well-known charac- ter for integrity and energy, he can safely be placed among the leading attorneys of this portion of Ohio.
JORDAN, HON. ISAAC M., lawyer, and member of the Forty-eighth Congress from the Second District of Ohio, is a descendant of an English family that settled upon the banks of the Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania, more than one hundred years ago. His grandfather, John Jordan, inter- married with Sophia North, and left a son, Amos, who married Sarah Smith. These were the parents of the subject of our sketch. They left the Susquehanna valley and came West in 1837, locating in the beautiful valley of the Miami, upon a farm in Clark County, Ohio. Dying, they left eleven chil- dren, five of whom are dead. Of the living, five are law- yers-John Smith and Robert North, located in Logan County ; Jackson A., Nathan E., and Isaac M., practicing in Cincinnati; and a daughter, Mrs. Jane Thomas. It was said of Amos Jordan, their father, that he " was a man remark- able for his intelligence, industry, and strong convictions as- to right and duty." The mother was also endowed with fine sense, good judgment, and with high appreciation of the ad- vantages of an education ; so much so that she inspired in the minds of her children a love of learning and all that pertained to intellectual growth. Hence, in time, their sons, one after another, entered upon the practice of the law as a profession, which has been characterized by singular suc- cess to all-one son, Hon. Jackson A., having won judicial
honors as Judge of the Superior Court of Dayton, and an- other, political distinction as a member of the Forty-eighth Congress. Mr. Jordan was born May 5th, 1835, upon a farm in Snyder County, near the Susquehanna River, Pennsylva- nia. He received his education in the common and high schools of West Liberty, Ohio, at an academy at Northwood, Logan County, and Springfield, and at the Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he graduated in 1857. He at once com- menced the study of the law in the office of his brother, Hon. Jackson A. Jordan, who was then a prominent lawyer of Day- ton. He was formally admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio, in 1858. After two years spent in Dayton, he went to Cincinnati and became associated first with Thomas Washington and then with the Hon. Flamen Ball ; remained with him until the latter was appointed United States Attor- ney for the Southern District of Ohio. Thereupon Mr. Jor- dan and his brother, Nathan E., formed a partnership and began that career, as a law firm constituted of brothers, that for more than twenty-five years has figured conspicuously in the legal history of Cincinnati. In 1883 Mr. Jordan was unanimously nominated for Congress by the Democratic party, and was elected by a decided majority-a fact attribu- table as well to his personal popularity as to his high reputa- tion for ability and the confident and ardent love of his own constituents; for the district he now so ably represents usu- ally accords that distinction to the opposite party. Having steadily in view the public interest and public morals, he is serving his district from a broad and patriotic platform, though a partisan, and will close his Congressional career with an honorable record, amid the congratulations of his con- stituents and the public at large. Thus will his public life end almost as soon as he has become familiar with the rules of the House, of which he is one of the brightest ornaments. This step has been resolved upon out of a desire and inten- tion to devote himself exclusively to his profession with all his accustomed energy; with all his brilliant and versatile powers of mind, which have enabled him to achieve such splendid success hitherto. Nature endowed him for the law, and the talent has been employed and developed to an ex- traordinary degree. With no advantages of birth or fortune, other than a strong will, a comprehensive mind, a firmness of temper, and an intuitive knowledge of human nature; san- guine in hope, not easily elated by success, nor depressed by defeat ; a disposition to "smile when the storm approaches, and to be animated in repose;" a punctilious sense of per- sonal dignity and professional honor,-these are the leading characteristics of this finely educated gentleman and distin- guished lawyer, whose commanding talents have met with commensurate success in the comparatively brief period of his professional life. To his varied learning as a profound lawyer may be added his abilities as a public speaker and advocate-sometimes characterized by sharp and manly logic, and sometimes by lofty and impassioned rhetoric; by keen and never-failing wit, and by remorseless sarcasm; and at all times by earnestness, intensity, intrepidity, and, withal, that considerate courtesy and noble equanimity for which he is so generally esteemed and remarked. Mr. Jordan is now associated with the distinguished law firm of Jordan, Jordan & Williams, the name comprising also that of his two broth- ers, Judge J. A. Jordan, and Nathan E. Jordan, and Mr. Wil- liam G. Williams. As a man, many magnanimous and hu- mane actions might be recorded of him. His generous and amiable qualities shine forth in his private life and endear
"Ile Middle
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him to his family, his clients, and his friends. He possesses a cultivated mind, and has given attention to antiquities and works of art, and has collected a large and valuable library. Mr. Jordan married, May 5th, 1863, Miss Lizzie P. Phelps, an accomplished lady, of a well-connected and influential fam- ily in Kentucky. Her social and intellectual attainments were recognized at once in Washington City. They main- tain a beautiful residence in Clifton, built by themselves upon the site of the Ball Homestead, one of the first erected in that now magnificent suburb-this noble edifice taking the place of what was at first a log cabin. Thus has Mr. Jor- dan's life been one of vigorous and sustained exertion in the line of professional labor and achievement, and it goes, with- out the saying, that his standing in public estimation is high, as a lawyer and legislator, as a citizen, and patron of all pri- vate and public enterprises having in view the moral and religious, the educational and political, welfare of his much- loved city and State.
RIDDLE, ALBERT GALLATIN. The Riddles are a Scotch clan, some families of which were planted in Ire- land in the time of James I. The grandfather of A. G. Riddle came to America with the first Scotch-Irish colonists, and in time to bear a part in our Revolution. They, with kin- dred families, settled in and about Monson, Hampden County, Massachusetts. The younger Thomas migrated to the West- ern Reserve, and settled in Newbury in 1817. Albert Gallatin, sixth son of Thomas and Minerva Riddle, was born at Mon- son, Massachusetts, May 28th, 1816. When he was but seven years old his father died, leaving the family fortunes much shattered by the withdrawal of their sole dependence. The household was partly broken up, and the young boy had the usual fortunes of a child in a family thus dispersed. A year after his father's death he was sent from home to live, but after three weeks he escaped, and returned to his mother. Soon again, a young lawyer of Chardon, D. H. Haws, who aided in settling the estate, visited the Riddles, took a fancy to the lad, and carried him behind himself on horseback to Chardon. Here he lived in the family of the late Ralph Cowles a few weeks, when he ran away again through the woods to his home. He was now permitted to remain with his mother for a year or more, until her second marriage, when he went to live with Apollus Hewett, the administrator of his father's estate, who seems to have had a strong liking for the youth. His mother's second marriage proved unfortunate. Discovering her mistake within a month after the wedding- day, she collected the few effects she had brought to the new home, placed them in an ox-wagon, and taking her children, went with them on foot a distance of ten or twelve miles, back to the cabin built by her first husband. In the autumn the third son, Harrison, returned home to the aid of his mother, and the two elder remained away. Harrison was about seventeen, manly and precocious, of strong character and unbounded energy .. Under his management the family affairs began to prosper. The ensuing spring, in the absence of her husband, Mrs. Hewett dispatched home the lad Albert. About this time, also, there came into the neighborhood Dr. O. W. Ludlow, a man of considerable at- tainment, possessed with a passion for books, and of a rare faculty for imparting instruction. Harrison was a youth after the doctor's own heart, and fell much under his influ- ence. The Munns and Utleys, for the time and section, were cultivated people, and the Riddles had the reputation of pos- C -- 31
sessing unusual intelligence. They had books, and had se- cured several of the leading newspapers, among them the old New York Mirror; and later the township library, of which association one of the brothers (Almon) was presi- dent, was located in their house, which became a resort for the reading people of that region. Albert remained at home for two years. He is remembered as a quick, forward boy, with an uncomfortable tendency to say sharp things and in- vent rhymes and couplets at the expense of other members of the family and neighborhood. He was a devourer of books and newspapers, and had at the time, together with his sister, next younger, and who quite exceeded him. in lit- erary hunger, read Gibbon's "Rome" and every other book in the small collection before alluded to. When he was twelve years old, his elder brother, Almon, took him to Seth Harmon, a farmer in the north-east corner of Mantua, and, as his guardian, apprenticed him to Harmon as a farmer. The Harmons were well-to-do and well connected, and young Riddle was in all ways accepted and treated as one of the family. In the winter he went to school, in the . summer he planted, hoed corn, made hay, and in the fall dug potatoes, husked corn, made cider, and got in as much hunting and rough riding of colts as any boy of his age in Portage County. From the warmth with which to this day he cherishes the memory of his Mantua life, it may be supposed that his home there was a pleasant one. It was not, however, in the books that he should be a farmer, and in the summer of 1831 he returned to Newbury, where, during this and the following season, he engaged with his elder brothers, Almon and Merrick, in house-carpentry. But his ambition was for something beyond lumber and jack- planes, and the following two years were spent partly under the tuition of Dr. Ludlow ; so much of his time alternating between his books and guns and fishing-rods as to win for him a reputation for idleness and uselessness. In the spring of 1835 his brother Harrison began the study of law at Jef- ferson, in the office of Giddings & Wade. At his earnest desire, Albert, with a set of bench-tools, went to Hudson, where a feature of manual labor had been organized for stu- dents in connection with the preparatory department and college. He seems not to have entered upon his carpentry or studies there, although an article in "Johnson's Encyclo- pedia" says he was educated at Western Reserve College. At the end of a few months he appeared again to his dis- gusted and disheartened friends in Newbury. He was un- derstood to have visited relatives in Southern Ohio, and did not feel called upon to give any reason for returning. Very likely it was only a choice of two methods, and he preferred rather the one he followed at home to planing and chiseling his way through Cæsar and Euclid at Hudson. He now entered upon his books with zest; taught school in Auburn during the winter, and the following spring entered the Painesville Academy, where he remained a year with great profit to himself. He found here a popular lyceum, of which the young lawyers and students were members, and among whom he at once took a high position as a debater. His first public appearance, as recollected by others, was in reply to the Mormon apostles at Newbury Center, some years before this date. While in Painesville he met with one of the great mis- fortunes of his life, in the sudden death of his brother Har- rison, a young lawyer, and partner of Reuben Hitchcock, of Painesville. His end was caused by intense and long- continued application to study. Albert entered upon the study
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