USA > Wisconsin > History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin, Vol. I > Part 48
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Mr. Kennan has long been a member and for many years was a trustee of Immanuel Presbyterian church. He is a member of the Loyal Legion of the G. A. R., and of the Masonic fraternity (thirty- second degree). His handsome residence on Prospect avenue is the appropriate symbol of a cultured, beautiful home. The wife and mother, to whom Mr. Kennan was married in 1850, was formerly Miss Loa Brown, of Norwalk, O., the little town where his career as an able law- yer, a courageous, honest and successful man, and a refined and Chris- tian gentleman was thus happily inaugurated nearly half a century ago. Six children have been born to them, divided equally as to sex, and all honorable members of society.
WILLIAM J. MCELROY.
William J. McElroy, one of the prominent members of the younger class of Wisconsin practitioners, is of Scotch-Irish descent; his parents were Samuel and Mary McElroy. The early portion of their married life was spent at St. Stephens, Canada, from which place they removed to Berlin (then Strong's Landing), Wisconsin. Here, on the 8th of January, 1856, was born William J., the subject of this sketch, his father having purchased a farm near the city. This, the family homestead, where he spent his boyhood days, was also the scene of the father's death in December, 1891, at the age of eighty-two years. The mother died in 1895. Both were faithful and influential members of the Method- ist Episcopal church, being among those who organized the first so-
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ciety of that denomination in Berlin. Mr. McElroy was an earnest abolitionist and republican, and during the last ten years of his life an ardent prohibitionist.
The youth spent his first eighteen years upon the farm, attending also the public schools and the high school of Berlin, graduating from the latter institution in 1876. He then enjoyed a two years' course at the University of Wisconsin and, although he did not graduate, he ob- tained the honorary degree of master of arts.
After leaving the state university he attended the law office of Car- penter & Smith, Milwaukee; studying also with Markham & Smith, the senior member of which firm took a lively interest in the young, poor and promising student. When he left the latter office, after he was admitted to the bar, Mr. Markham generously advanced him $100 with which to open an office. But this was by no means the extent of Mr. McElroy's equipment. He had energy and brains in abundance, and these, combined with even a meager money capital, will carry a man to success.
Mr. McElroy has practiced now in Milwaukee for about fifteen years, a portion of the time alone and the balance of this period as senior member of the firm of McElroy & Trottman and McElroy & Eschweiler.
As a republican Mr. McElroy has well served his constituents. For four years, from 1887 to 1891, he was secretary of the state league of republican clubs, and one year was a member of the national executive committee. He was also a delegate to the convention which nomi- nated Jeremiah M. Rusk for governor for his third term, and has since acted in a similar capacity at several state conventions. As an execu- tive his force was well illustrated when he served as secretary of the Wis- consin bar committee which conducted the campaign of Judge Webb for a position on the state supreme bench. Elected to the assembly in 1886, to represent the fourth district of Milwaukee, this executive quali- ty in a marked degree was also evidenced during the first year of his term as chairman of the committee on state affairs, and during his entire second term, commencing in 1888, as chairman of the committee on
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judiciary. There are perhaps no more important standing committees of the assembly than these, and it is therefore an unusual honor that a young and untried member should be appointed to head them both.
In 1885 Mr. McElroy was appointed to the office of court commis- sioner by the circuit judge of Milwaukee county, and has continued to hold the position ever since, being considered a model official-court- eous yet firm, judicial yet not severe.
Mr. McElroy has not been extensively identified with secret and benevolent societies; he has, however, for many years been active, and consequently prominent, in masonic affairs. In 1888 he became a mem- ber of Kilbourne lodge and has since filled in succession all the official chairs in that body; he is also a member of Ivanhoe commandery, and Wisconsin consistory, the latter the highest masonic body in the state.
He was married December 4, 1890, to Lillian Elliott, at Milwaukee, two children having been born to them-Catherine and Helen. Fol- lowing in the footsteps of his parents, Mr. McElroy is a Methodist in belief, although since marriage he has been an attendant at the Presby- terian church.
CURTIS THADDEUS BENEDICT.
Curtis Thaddeus Benedict was born at Deposit, in Delaware county, N. Y., November 19, 1837. His father was Rev. Emilius L. Benedict, a Baptist clergyman, born at Deposit in 1815, who married LaMora T. Shaw, of Gilbertsville, N. Y., whose father, Samuel Shaw, was born at Boston, Mass., and whose mother was Marcia Dayton, born at or near Norwalk, Conn. The Benedicts are descended from William Benedict who in or about 1500 lived in Nottinghamshire, England, and more recently from Thomas Benedict, who in 1638 came from Nottingham- shire to Massachusetts Bay and soon after settled at Southold, Long Island, from which he subsequently removed to Norwalk, Conn. Many of his descendants are still living at Norwalk and in its vicinity. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Thaddeus Benedict, in 1791, when a young man, left Connecticut and "went west" to settle in the
C.T. Bereich
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then new and timbered country of Delaware county, N. Y., where, in 1807, he married Mary Hulse, the first white child born in the town of Tompkins in that county, who on the maternal side is said to be a de- scendant of Gen. Nicholas Herkimer, by his only daughter, whom he disinherited for marrying a tory, the secretary of a governor of New York.
A brother of Thaddeus Benedict enlisted in the revolutionary army and died while in camp in New Jersey. Jonas Dayton, the grandfather of Marcia Dayton, was a lieutenant in the Connecticut volunteers in 1756, and Mr. Benedict has in his possession the commission given to Lieut. Dayton by Thomas Fitch, captain general and commander-in- chief of the colony of Connecticut, dated March 26, 1756, authorizing him, "by beat of drum or otherwise," to assist in raising " a company of able-bodied effective volunteers for the defense and protection of his majesties territories at Crown Point, etc." The Daytons were of French extraction, the Shaws of Scotch and Irish, the Hulses of Dutch, and the Benedicts of English.
Curtis T. Benedict was educated in the public schools of New York and in academies at Hamilton and Norwich, N. Y. In October, 1856, he came to Janesville, Wis., and was a clerk in the offices of the register of deeds and of the clerk of the court; taught schools the two following winters, and was book-keeper and financial clerk in the office of the Janesville Standard in the summer and fall of 1857. In 1858 he read law at Windsor, N. Y., in the office of Franklin Wheeler, and in 1859 at Norwich, N. Y., in the office of Sherwood S. Merritt, and was ad- mitted to the bar of all the courts of New York on November 17, 1859. In June, 1860, at Janesville, Wis., he was admitted to practice in the circuit court of Wisconsin, and thereafter went to Iowa and commenced practice in Mitchell county, but remained there only until the spring of 1861, when he returned to New York, and afterward entered into part- nership with Hon. John E. Seeley, of Ovid, N. Y. In 1863 he ran for county attorney on the republican ticket, but was defeated with all others on the same ticket. In May, 1864, he joined the army at Fort- ress Monroe, in the capacity of corresponding clerk under Gen. Herman
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Biggs, quartermaster, who was then on the staff of Gen. B. F. Butler, at that time in the command of the department of Virginia and North Carolina. In the fall of 1864 he went with Gen. Biggs to Washington, D. C., and subsequently to Philadelphia, where, in connection with the large purchasing depot of the quartermaster's department in that city, it became a part of his duties to prepare contracts and bonds and super- vise the letting of contracts for the purchase by the government of army supplies amounting to millions of dollars. After the close of the war some time was spent in settling the accounts of Gen. Biggs, who had resigned, with the government, and in August, 1867, he again came west, settling at Rochester, Minn., where he entered into partnership with Oscar O. Baldwin, in the practice of the law. The next year he was elected clerk of the court, and served for one term of four years. Thereafter he entered into partnership with Charles M. Start (now chief justice of the supreme court of Minnesota), with whom he remained about two years, when, because of failing health, he withdrew from the firm, and soon after took out-of-door employment with the C. & N. W. R. R. Co., obtaining title to considerable of the right of way, etc., of that railroad in Minnesota and Dakota. While residing in Minnesota he was active in the republican party, making campaign speeches, attend- ing county and state conventions and serving on the state central com- mittee. In 1872 he was a delegate to, and a vice president of, the re- publican national convention that met at Philadelphia and renominated General Grant for President.
In 1880 he removed to Milwaukee and soon after entered into part- nership with Col. George B. Goodwin, under the firm name of Goodwin & Benedict, which connection was continued until 1883. Since 1883 he has given his attention exclusively to patent law. In 1891 he formed a partnership with Arthur L. Morsell, formerly of Washington, D. C., under the firm name of Benedict & Morsell. Mr. Benedict and his firm have had charge of many important suits in the federal courts, involving interests in or under patents, both in Wisconsin and adjoining states and in the east. His practice in the patent office and in the federal courts calls him frequently to Washington, New York, Boston and
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other eastern cities, as well as to St. Paul, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Chicago.
Mr. Benedict has an enviable reputation in patent law, both as a counselor and as an advocate. His ability to analyze and group com- plicated questions involved in patent litigation and to clearly and forci- bly present to the court the facts and the law relating to a case, is con- ceded. He is a member of the state bar association of Wisconsin. By close application to business for many years and with thrift and the ab- sence of expensive habits he has acquired a competence. On December 21, 1870, at Geneva, N. Y., he married Janet McCrea Doig, youngest daughter of the late Peter Doig of Ovid, N. Y., whose ancestors came from near Sterling, Scotland. There are no children living of the mar- riage.
Mr. Benedict is not a member of any secret society. Being natu- rally cautious and not inclined to assume positions or accept responsi- bility without good reasons for so doing, he has never sought admission to any order, society or fraternity, whose principles, practices and ob- jects were not clearly and fully disclosed before admission thereto. He sees no satisfactory reason for secret combinations of persons in a coun- try where life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are in the hands of the people, who for these important purposes in life should be free, confiding and honest with each other, a grand fraternity without cabal or secret obligation or aim. For social, educational, business, charitable and religious purposes there is, in his opinion, no occasion for secret association. For doing good every place is an altar and all time is summer; a dark room and a password are not necessary for little or big deeds of kindness.
Being of Baptist ancestry, and being early taught in that church to accept the Bible as the only controlling rule of religious faith, he early studied its teachings, and came to accept the common belief of Bap- tists that man, originally created holy, fell, and that all men by inheri- tance were fallen and had need of a saving means, once given in the earthborn Son of God, who suffered and died that all men, that chose, might by repentance and faith in Him have eternal life. Subsequent
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and more careful study of the Bible, in connection with earlier and con- temporary human records, and the knowledge acquired by recently recognized evidences of evolution in creation, have induced him to yield credence to the now widely accepted beliefs that the collected writings called biblia, or the Bible, are the productions of men, based on then current human knowledge, and are to be accepted as a guide and in- structor, so far as approved by conscience and carefully formed opin- ions; and that religion involves faithful and persistent effort to ascertain and do what is right, especially in and by such a just and kindly regard for others as to lead us to do unto others as we would wish or could expect them to do to us, and in and by our own personal advancement, by all means at our command, in those essentially mental or spiritual conditions that are necessary to that higher life, to which we are stimu- lated by aspirations that emphasize the belief that we are indeed children and participants of the life of an all wise and infinitely good Creator.
GEORGE HENRY WAHL.
George H. Wahl, junior member of the firm of Miller, Noyes, Mil- ler & Wahl, one of the strongest law partnerships in the United States, is a native of Milwaukee, where he was born on the 6th of November, 1861. His father, Jacob Wahl, was one of the pioneer teachers of the city, being principal of the sixth district school for more than thirty years. When the revolution in Germany was begun in 1848 he was a university student, at Giesen, and with thousands of other young men had to leave the fatherland. Arriving in New York city, July 4, 1849, after a residence of nine years in the Empire state, he decided to remove to Milwaukee, whither so many of his countrymen had preceded him.
Locating in Milwaukee, in 1858, Jacob Wahl, who had already mastered the English tongue, at once found a demand for his talents as a teacher and a disciplinarian. He taught for five years and then, in 1863, received the appointment of principal of the sixth district school, his jurisdiction covering no small portion of the German population of Milwaukee. That he was especially adapted for such a post is evident from the fact that he retained it until the time of his death, in 1894.
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It is not strange, considering what a practical part he took in the man- agement of the public school system of his native city, that he should have been, through life, an earnest advocate of its effectiveness in the formation of a steadfast and forceful national character.
Mr. Wahl's wife and the mother of George H., was Miss Barbara von Roeckel, of a Bavarian family whose members emigrated to the United States in 1842 because of industrial and political conditions which were unbearable in their native land.
As stated, George H. Wahl, the son, was born in Milwaukee. Here he received an education in the public and normal schools and entered the University of Wisconsin in 1883. Previous to this, however, he had taught school for three years and before graduating from the law school, in 1885, had studied in the law office of J. M. Olin, at Madison. Returning to Milwaukee, he entered into partnership with Emil Wall- ber, afterwards judge of the municipal court, which continued until his elevation to the bench in December, 1889.
After practicing alone for one year Mr. Wahl was appointed assistant district attorney of Milwaukee county, holding that position during 1891-'92. For a short time he was a member of the firm of Walker, Brown & Wahl, and in March, 1894, was admitted to partnership with Miller, Noyes & Miller.
Mr. Wahl is popular as well as able, having been identified with the Milwaukee and Calumet clubs. He is a mason, a member of Kilbourn Lodge No. 3, and is connected with the Milwaukee musical society. He was married in 1891 to Natalie Rice.
BRADLEY G. SCHLEY.
Mr. Schley, whose sudden death on the 18th of June, 1895, cast a cloud of gloom over the Milwaukee bar and a host of friends, was born in Milwaukee, October 3, 1857; his education was obtained at the Wis- consin university. His whole professional life was passed in his native city. He had served as assistant United States district attorney and also as assistant general solicitor of the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad company ; was a member of the American bar association and
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the western member of its executive committee; was appointed by Governor Peck a member of the committee to promote and effect uni- formity of legislation. It has been said of him that he was "sensitive to a fault, the soul of honor, the epitome of personal pride and self-re- liance; he was a law unto himself and erred, as few men do, in self- blame, magnifying to himself the faults that others readily forgave him. A pleasant, forcible and logical speaker, his forensic efforts were both agreeable and convincing. A close student, he always knew whereof he spoke, and invariably won that attention and appreciation which are the highest compliments to one of his profession; of a genial and lova- ble nature, his friends were legion, and his was the rare gift of attracting and retaining by his personality the warm friendship of mature and ripened men. By nature, birth and education he was a gentleman, and his mental capacity and attainments warranted his pride and ambition. The legal mind was a direct heritage, for his was a family of lawyers, his father, grandfather and great-grandfather having been active and prominent members of the Maryland bar."
E. P. SMITH.
Edwards P. Smith was admitted to practice in the circuit court of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, May, 1849, being then a student in the offices of Finch & Lynde of that city. Prior to that time he was a student in the offices of Hon. E. F. Bullard, now of New York, and of Kirtland & Seymour, of Waterford, Saratoga county, New York.
In October, 1849, Mr. Smith commenced the practice of his pro- fession at Beaver Dam, Dodge county, this state, remaining there in a full and extensive practice until January, 1872, when he removed to Milwaukee, forming a partnership with Ephraim Mariner and David S. Ordway, the latter named gentleman having been associated with him in business at Beaver Dam until 1866, when he removed to Milwaukee.
Thereafter Mr. Smith was a member of and connected with the fol- lowing legal firms of that city : Cotzhausen, Smith, Sylvester & Scheiber; Markham & Markham; Nathan Pereles & Sons; Finches, Lynde & Miller.
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From the time of his admission to practice before the supreme court of the state, until 1891, Mr. Smith was frequently engaged in important litigation in that court-the last case argued by him being that of Burn- ham vs. Burnham, in 1891.
In January, 1890, Mr. Smith removed to Omaha, Nebraska, accept- ing the position of assistant general attorney for the Union Pacific rail- way, and is still residing at Omaha and in the employment of the rail- road company.
Mr. Smith has always been a close student and hard worker, seldom finding time for recreation or even a brief respite from professional toil.
By close application and unfaltering zeal in behalf of his clients he early won a place in the front rank of the profession and has always maintained it.
While a resident of Beaver Dam he was engaged in nearly all the important litigation of that vicinity and it was here the foundation was laid for success in more important fields. He is equally at home in the trial of jury cases and in the argument of difficult questions of law be- fore the supreme court. Indeed there are few lawyers able to sum up a case to a jury in a more able, entertaining and effective manner, or to argue questions of law to a court more persuasively. He is entitled to be classed not only as a capable, learned and well equipped lawyer, but as a genial gentleman, a good citizen and worthy member of society.
AMOS A. L. SMITH.
Mr. A. A. L. Smith was born at Appleton, Wisconsin, September 8, 1849, the son of Reverend Reeder and Eliza P. (Kimball) Smith, and was the first white child born in that place. His father was one of the most conspicuous citizens of Wisconsin, and to him belongs the credit of having been the founder of the city of Appleton, as the agent of Amos A. Lawrence, of Boston, who was the owner of the land upon which the city now stands. He also established the Lawrence university, at Appleton, and founded the town of New London, Wisconsin, which he named after his birthplace in Connecticut.
The subject of this sketch was prepared for college at Lawrence
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university, at Appleton, where he completed his sophomore year. He then entered the Northwestern university, at Evanston, Illinois, in Sep- tember, 1869. After a full classical course, he was graduated in 1872, taking the highest prizes for oratory and English composition. He was a prominent debater in the literary societies of the institution; was for two years editor of the college paper; took several special studies in the department of engineering, and in languages was quite proficient, having in his college course read the whole trilogy of Æschylus, in addition to the Greek prescribed. He also prepared an oration in Greek.
Immediately after graduation Mr. Smith became traveling corre- spondent for the Chicago Inter Ocean, and a few months later joined the editorial force of the city department for two years. In the mean- time, having access to the extensive law library of J. Y. Scammon, proprietor of the paper, his spare moments were devoted to the study of the law.
In 1874 he came to Milwaukee, where he completed his law studies and was admitted to the bar the same year, and commenced the practice of his profession in the office of Carpenter & Murphey. Here, for two years, Mr. Smith assisted in the preparation of cases and participated in many of the trials of the firm.
Upon the return of Senator Carpenter from Washington, in March, 1876, Mr. Smith rented the office and library of Chief Justice E. G. Ryan, and began the practice of law on his own account, acquiring a large and representative clientage. Subsequently he entered into part- nership with Senator Carpenter and Winfield Smith, which was known as Carpenter & Smiths, and upon the death of the former, in 1881, the firm became Winfield & A. A. L. Smith. January 22, 1883, Mr. Smith became associated with James G. Jenkins, afterward United States cir- cuit judge, and General F. C. Winkler, forming the firm of Jenkins, Winkler & Smith. Later Mr. J. T. Fish was associated with them, and upon the subsequent retirement of Mr. Fish to become solicitor of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, E. P. Vilas, of Madison, Wis- consin, entered the firm. When Judge Jenkins went upon the bench,
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July 16, 1888, the present firm of Winkler, Flanders, Smith, Bottum & Vilas was formed by combining the firms of Winkler, Smith & Vilas, and Flanders & Bottum.
In 1892 Mr. Smith was one of the promoters and organizers of the Wisconsin National bank, an enterprise which at once took a promi- nent position among the financial institutions of the northwest. He has always taken an active part in the bank's affairs and is a member of its board of directors.
Mr. Smith is a lawyer of unquestioned ability and takes a most prominent position at the bar of the state. As counsel for estates and for business men in the guidance and conduct of their affairs, he is recognized as one of the most acute and safe counselors at the bar, combining sound legal attainments with excellent business judgment. He is the confidential legal adviser and counselor for two of the largest corporations in the city.
A large portion of Mr. Smith's success is attributable to unremitting attention to his profession, and hard, steady work. He occupies a high position at the bar of the state and, although in the prime of life, can, with justifiable pride, look backward over well-spent years.
He was formerly one of the trustees of Milwaukee college and main- tains a lively interest in educational advancement. He is a lover of fine arts and is a connoisseur in that line, having a remarkably fine pri- vate collection of standard art subjects and of literature bearing upon art work.
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