USA > Wisconsin > History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin, Vol. II > Part 26
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As has been said, Mr. Losey first displayed his remarkable ability in the trial of causes while he was district attorney. He brought, how- ever, to the conduct of civil actions the same resources of vigor, cease- less labor and superior management. He has won great lawsuits enough to make the fortunes of half a dozen ordinary lawyers. The instance is not on record of his going out of court by non-suit, nor of having a case taken from the jury and a verdict being directed by the court. He has seldom failed of securing a verdict in actions in which he has appeared for the plaintiff. In causes which he defends, the plaint- iff is sure to fail if a successful defense is possible.
This phenomenal success is due to causes which lie upon the sur- face. No great and masterful efforts of the advocate, sweeping away all opposition and compelling the wills of men by the magic of speech, have gained him success. He has great strength and power as an advocate, but he has relied on these only to supplement his careful and thorough trial of his cause. To a thorough knowledge of the law, to an almost intuitive perception of the view the court will take of the law and of the view which the jury will take of the facts, he unites the most rugged common sense. To these great traits of a lawyer he adds incessant labor in the preparation of a case; skill, perfected by long
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practice, in presenting the facts of his case, and the quickest percep- tion of the bearing and effect of the evidence of his opponent. When to these qualities we add a genial, cordial, good-natured disposition which attracts the friendship and favor of men, a self-reliance which never, shows embarrassment and never provokes antagonism, and that sort of personal dignity, resolution and sense of authority which ward off and overthrow attempts to trifle with or infringe upon his own or his clients' rights, and which sometimes buttress up a cause not alto- gether too strong, we are sure of portraying a superior lawyer and a remarkable man.
Mr. Losey is general attorney of the Chicago, Burlington & North- ern railroad, and was formerly general attorney of the Southern Min- nesota railroad until it was bought by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. He has been the local attorney of the latter road for the past twenty-five years and upwards.
He has not limited his activity to his profession. For a period of ten years he served the city as an alderman. He accepted and retained the office that he might be of service in commencing and carrying for- ward much needed public improvements. His service began at a time when sidewalks did not extend beyond the business portions of the city, when there were no macadamized streets, no sewers and no gen- eral system of water works.
Perceiving that the time had come when such improvements must be made or the progress of the city retarded and its growth stunted, he entered upon the task of inciting the enterprising, stirring up the lag- gards and combatting the conservatives. Through his efforts these improvements were begun and completed.
It happens usually in new towns of rapid growth that there is a gen- eral neglect of the burial place of the dead. The immediate concerns of the living engross attention and there is no united effort to embellish the last home and resting place of all. So it was in La Crosse. The cemetery was in an out-of-the-way place which could not be reached in summer or winter with convenience, and which on account of neglect was forbidding rather than attractive. Mr. Losey took the matter in charge about twenty years ago and has since then had the entire man-
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agement of the cemetery. He soon changed it into an attractive and beautiful place with convenient and handsome approaches. It has been to him a labor of love, and receives the same forethought and care as his private affairs. In all public and charitable matters he gives freely without ostentation.
In 1859 Mr. Losey was married at La Crosse to Miss Florence T. Lehman, a daughter of Germany. They have four children, Mary, wife of L. F. Easton, of La Crosse; Josephine, wife of Dr. Carl Behrendt. a physician of Berlin, Germany, and Fannie and Joseph Walton.
DANIEL O. MAHONEY.
Daniel O. Mahoney was born June 8th, 1854, at Mount Morris, Livingston county, New York. His parents, Patrick and Mary (King- ston) Mahoney, were both natives of Ireland: In 1856 his father, who followed farming as an occupation and who for some time had settled in New York, located in Dane county, Wisconsin, and it is to this farm, upon which he was raised, that Daniel O. Mahoney's earliest recollec- tions carry him. His education was obtained in the district schools in Dane county, in the Northwestern business college, and was finally completed at the university of Wisconsin. In the mean- time, to meet his college expenses, he taught school and also worked for a time on a farm in Dane county. He removed from the latter in 1879 to take charge of the Ontario graded school and he there re- mained for five years as principal of that institution. He resigned in 1885 to accept the county superintendency of the schools of Vernon county, an honorable responsibility he retained for eight years, dis- charging every duty in such. a manner as to give entire satisfaction to every one concerned.
His determination made to become a lawyer, he studied for the necessary time with the firm of Bashford, O'Connor & Aylward in Madison, and in 1895 was graduated from the law school of the Wiscon- sin university. Two years later, in 1897, he was elected judge of the county court for a term of four years. A law partnership was formed in November, 1897, with former Judge Charles W. Graves, under the firm title of Graves & Mahoney, an association which beyond all question is
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one of the strongest in their district and which at once took its place among the leading law firms of that portion of Wisconsin.
In his political views Mr. Mahoney is a strong republican and has done excellent service as a speaker for his party during the last six campaigns through western Wisconsin and has also been several times a delegate to state and congressional conventions. His high reputation and general consideration have been recognized by his election twice (1893-1895) to the state legislature, where he was chairman of the com- mittee on education and member of the committee on privileges and elections and was prominently mentioned as a candidate for speaker of that body. He also served as town clerk and justice of the peace for the town of Whitestown in 1894. Then for three years, from 1893 to 1896, he was president of the school board of the city of Viroqua and he has also been visitor to the Platteville and Milwaukee normal schools. With educational work he has ever been most closely identi- fied and his labors in that direction are fully recognized throughout the state.
Mr. Mahoney joined the Odd Fellows in 1883 and has held the chair of noble grand district deputy. Of other fraternal organizations he belongs to the order of Modern Woodmen of America, of which he is now venerable counsel, as well as to the Independent Order of For- esters.
For some time he was connected with newspaper work as a member of the Mahoney, Alexander & Mahoney Publishing company, of La Crosse, and upon him devolved some portion of the responsibility for the publishing of the La Crosse News. At the present time he is presi- dent of the Vernon county agricultural society and is strongly interested in farming, stock raising and fruit growing.
He was married in 1884, at Ontario, Wisconsin, to May E. Welsh, and they have an interesting family of two children-Emmet and Nellie.
CHARLES M. MASTERS.
Charles M. Masters was born October Ist, 1841, at West Spring- field, Massachusetts. His father, John McMasters, followed farming as an occupation, and he now, at the age of ninety-two, enjoys the
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evening of a healthy and well-spent life. John's grandfather came from Scotland, locating at Amherst, Massachusetts, as far back as 1700. John McMasters married Laura Bissell, a member of the Bissell family who left England and settled in Connecticut in colonial times. The maternal grandfather was a Bissell, an Englishman born, and the grand- mother of our subject was also from England, having located in this country at Windsor, Connecticut. The change in the name from Mc- Masters will be noticed, the "c" was dropped and the "M" made a mid- dle initial by the gentleman of whom we are writing.
Charles M. Masters received his education at Amherst and Wilbra- ham academies, in Massachusetts, taking the academic and language course, following which, for two years, he taught school in Connecti- cut, then came west and for one and a half years was engaged in insur- ance business in Minnesota. His next move was to Sparta, where he engaged in the stationery business, at the same time studying law under L. W. Graves. His studies completed, in 1871 he took his examination before Judge Bunn at Sparta and was admitted to practice. For six months he was alone, a partnership being then formed with Judge Mor- row, which has existed to mutual satisfaction and profit up to the pres- ent time. The law practice of the firm is of a general character, but the standing of Mr. Masters and his estimation among the community in which he lives was shown by his election for two terms as county judge of Monroe county, he having held that responsible position from 1878 to 1886.
He belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and has held a number of high positions therein-first, as master of his lodge, then as grand master, for several years served on the committee on laws as representative in supreme lodge, and in 1888-89 was supreme master, since which time he has been on the board of arbitration of the supreme lodge.
Mr. Masters' business mind also has found other outlets. In the '8os he was connected with the Sparta board of trade, a business men's organization, and he has also been a stockholder and director of the Monroe county bank since the organization of that institution.
He was married December 7th, 1865, at Bangor, Wisconsin, to Ella
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Seely, a native of Syracuse, New York. She died in 1882, one child, Louise B., four years and a half old, preceding her in August, 1878, and leaving a son, Harry J., now seventeen, who is attending school at Sparta in preparation for the university.
In his political views Mr. Masters is a republican. He belongs to the Congregational church and is strictly temperate in his views.
G. C. PRENTISS.
G. C. Prentiss was born at Georgia, Franklin county, Vermont, January II, 1824; admitted to the bar in September, 1847, and prac- ticed in his native state until 1852; came to Wisconsin in November, 1852, and settled at Portage; there formed a partnership with Luther S. Dixon, which continued until 1857; in 1872 removed to La Crosse and practiced as a member of the firm of Wing & Prentiss. At the time of this writing is a justice of the peace in La Crosse.
DANIEL B. PRIEST.
Daniel Badger Priest was born in Putnam county, Indiana, March 9, 1830; his first location in Wisconsin was at Monroe, Green county, where he opened a law office in 1851, being then twenty-one years of age. In 1855 he removed from there to Richland Center, where he practiced law until 1861, at which time he went to Viroqua, practicing there until 1868, when he became a resident of Sparta. He died there September 6, 1870. In 1863 and 1868 he represented a portion of Vernon county in the assembly.
JACKSON SILBAUGH.
Jackson Silbaugh was born October 15th, 1863, in Vernon county, Wisconsin. Of his parents, Sebastian and Nancy (McClain) Silbaugh, the father was by occupation a farmer in Ohio and engaged chiefly in stock raising. He removed to Wisconsin in 1854 and continued farm- ing until his death in 1871. The mother died in 1875.
Jackson Silbaugh received his education in the schools of Vernon county and in the high school of Viroqua, graduating from the latter in 1884, and studied law for a year in the office of C. J. Smith. He then
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went to New York and graduated from the law department of the Union university, Albany, in 1888. Admitted to the bar in 1888 by the exam- ining board at Milwaukee, he at once returned to Albany to take charge of the collection department of an installment house. The work, how- ever, was found not exactly congenial and he returned to Viroqua and afterwards opened a law office for himself. In the spring of 1893 the necessities of his rapidly growing business obliged him to take a partner and his association with the late John S. Larson was then formed.
He has been connected with a number of very interesting cases, among which may be mentioned the prosecution and conviction of Sullivan for murder in June, 1897, and the defense of Andrew Engebret- son for the poisoning of his family, where, though unsuccessful in pro- curing an acquittal, six years in the penitentiary was the light sentence imposed. He was associated with ex-Congressman O. B. Thomas in the defense of the Harris murder case, tried at Prairie du Chien. Wis- consin, in November, 1897.
In 1891 the good opinion of his fellow-citizens was made manifest by his appointment as assistant clerk of the senate and two years later, in 1893, he became journal clerk, being in the same year appointed post- master of Viroqua, being by many years the youngest man that had ever held the office. He held the office of postmaster of Viroqua for four years and one month under the Cleveland administration, and left the office with the highest praise from all, regardless of party. Sena- tor Munson gave him the following mention in the Censor: "Of Mr. Silbaugh's administration as postmaster the Censor believes naught but good words can be said. The principal and his assistants, Miss Suttle and Mr. Nordrum, have been courteous, obliging and faithful, and pa- trons of the office have been served without partiality. The Censor, which probably does more business through the office than any other patron, desires to go on record with this testimonial."
Mr. Silbaugh became a Mason in 1892, is a Knight Templar, Sparta commandery, No. 16, and a member of the Eastern Star. He has been an Odd Fellow from 1887, is a member of camp 60, and for several years has served on the judiciary committee. He is at the present time deputy grand master of the state, and his speeches throughout the
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state speak conclusively as to the activity of his interest. He has a fine voice and is a member of the choir of the Congregational church. In bi- cycling and all outdoor sports he takes a very great interest.
CHARLES J. SMITH.
Charles J. Smith was born in Buffalo county, Wisconsin, January 22d, 1858. Concerning his parents, his father, Melford P. Smith, was by occupation a farmer, who, starting in life without other resources than the ability to work and the persistence that knows no result other than a successful one, is now the proprietor of one of the finest farms in southern Wisconsin. He married Ada, daughter of David and Deb- orah Adams.
It was as an infant of six months that Charles J. Smith first moved into Grant county, where his parents are still living. Originally from Pennsylvania, they had settled in Wisconsin in 1852. Young Charles found his education in the common schools of Grant county, where he remained until he was nineteen. He then attended the state normal school at Platteville, from which he graduated in 1881. Afterwards for three years he held the position of principal of the high school at Viro- qua. Having taken up the study of law with Judge Wyman at Viroqua. he later entered Albany law school, graduating from the latter institu- tion in 1886. He was one of four orators appointed to represent his class at commencement and was chosen valedictorian. It was in July. 1886, at Madison, that he obtained his admission to the bar and with- out any delay settled in Viroqua. He practiced alone until 1895, when the partnership, which still exists, and to mutual success and profit, with Ira S. Griffen, was entered into.
Mr. Smith has been connected with a number of interesting and im- portant cases, and, as possibly the most notable, may be mentioned the Sullivan murder case defense, which is still pending in the supreme court. The accused was tried for murder in the first degree, but the jury convicted him in the second, upon which Judge Wyman, not be- lieving such a verdict would stand, certified the case to the supreme court for a decision on a point of law. . In his political affiliations Mr. Smith has at all times been a repub-
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lican and his services to his party are thoroughly recognized. Through- out every campaign for the last twelve years he has stumped the entire state in the interests of the republicans. Elected district attorney of Vernon county, he held that position from 1891 to 1897; from April, 1893, to April, 1895, he was mayor of Viroqua, and at the present time he is president of the board of education, of which he has been a mem- ber for the past eight years. For five years he was city attorney and for four years city clerk.
He is a Knight Templar, a member of Sparta commandery, No. 16. He was master of La Belle lodge, A. F. & A. M. at Viroqua for two years and he also belongs to the order of Modern Woodmen.
On September 4th, 1889, he was married at Trempealeau, Wiscon- sin, to Eda M. Blume, who for five years was a teacher in the Viroqua schools. They have one child, Kenneth B., a bright boy of five years.
Notwithstanding the heavy demands upon his time made by his profession, Mr. Smith still finds opportunity to do considerable work on the farm of two hundred and forty acres of which he is the proprietor, and where he finds his chief recreation. Here also he raises and deals in fine full-blooded Jersey cattle, Poland China hogs and Southdown sheep, his stock having aready obtained a reputation which is not bounded by the limits of the state of Wisconsin.
MILLS TOURTELLOTTE.
Mills Tourtellotte, son of Monroe L. and Louisa C. (Mills) Tourtel- lotte, was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, August 31, 1853. His an- cestry in America, on the paternal side, is traceable back to 1640, when Gabriel Bernaugh, a Huguenot, settled in New England. Some years later his daughter married Abraham Tourtellotte, who emigrated from France in 1660 and settled in Rhode Island. The mother of Mills Tour- tellotte was a member of an old New England family. His maternal grandfather was one of the earliest plow manufacturers in Connecticut and was a man of wealth and influence in the community in which he resided. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Tourtellotte was also one of the foremost citizens of Connecticut; he was a member of the legislature of his state and was an enterprising and progressive man of affairs.
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Monroe L. Tourtellotte and his family moved to Wisconsin in 1855 and settled in La Crosse county, where a tract of land near the village of West Salem was purchased and upon which they resided for a number of years. An uncle of Mills Tourtellotte, Colonel J. E. Tourtellotte, was on General Sherman's staff until the latter was retired. Colonel Tourtellotte died July 22, 1891, and is interred in the national cem- etery at Arlington, Virginia.
Mills Tourtellotte's boyhood was passed in West Salem, where he at- tended the common and high schools. Later he entered the university of Wisconsin and was graduated from the university law school in 1875. In that year he located in La Crosse and after further pursuing his legal studies in the offices of B. F. Bryant and Lyndes & Burroughs he be- came associated in the practice of his profession with W. E. Howe. The firm of Howe & Tourtellotte continued until 1880 and thereafter Mr. Tourtellotte formed no partnership until 1886, when the firm of Bleekman, Tourtellotte & Bloomingdale was organized. This partner- ship was continued with success until 1891, when, owing to the stress of private business, Mr. Tourtellotte decided to withdraw. Since then he has practiced alone. He has been successful in his profession. His clientage is composed of the most substantial citizens in La Crosse. He is financially interested in several corporations, and, although in gen- eral practice, the most of his professional career has been devoted to corporation law. His name, however, is rarely seen upon any court calendar and he seldom appears as a pleader at the bar, but acts as con- sulting counsel to several of the most important local corporations and his work is confined almost exclusively to office practice. He is presi- dent of the La Crosse Carriage company.
He was married in 1878 to Miss Lillie C. Woodbury, of Somer- .ville, Massachusetts; they have four children-Lillie W., Augustus M., Wallace L. and Nathaniel M. Mrs. Tourtellotte is the only child of Captain W. W. Woodbury, of Boston, Massachusetts, an officer of the civil war, who died in 1891.
Mr. Tourtellotte is a member of the vestry of Christ Episcopal church of La Crosse. Politically he is a firm advocate of republican principles. He is in no sense a politician nor an office seeker, but does
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his utmost to aid the party in its battles. He is domestic in his tastes and loves his home above all else.
MERRICK P. WING.
Merrick P. Wing, formerly of La Crosse, was born at Hinsdale, Massachusetts, September 10, 1833; his parents removed to Michigan when he was about four years of age, and he remained there about six- teen years, when he returned to his birthplace and completed his educa- tion at the academy there. In 1855 he came to Wisconsin and located at Portage, where he began the study of the law at a subsequent time; in 1861 and 1862 he was a student in the law department of the univer- sity of Michigan; was admitted to the bar at Portage in 1862; the fol- lowing year settled at La Crosse, where he practiced until his death; he was for several years in partnership with G. C. Prentiss and later with Thomas A. Dyson. From 1877 to 1882 Mr. Wing was state senator. His death occurred April 11, 1895.
Mr. Wing's reputation as a lawyer rests upon his industry and skill in preparing cases for trial and his ability as an office lawyer. He was less than commonly favored with the graces of oratory; indeed, a hesi- tancy in speech made him less than an interesting speaker so far as his manner was concerned. As a senator he was active and mainly instru- mental in bringing about a change in the method of publishing the su- preme court reports, whereby their price has been very materially re- duced. The legislation fathered by him in 1878 has been quite gen- erally adopted in other states.
GILBERT M. WOODWARD,
of the firm of Losey & Woodward, of La Crosse, was born in Wash- ington, D. C., December 25, 1835. His father, William Woodward, was a printer; his paternal grandfather removed from Washington to the vicinity of Marietta, Ohio, about 1804; his paternal great-grand- father was a soldier of the Pennsylvania line in the revolutionary war; his mother belonged to the family of the Rittenhouses, of Philadelphia, and was born on Chestnut Hill, now in that city.
In 1850 Mr. Woodward was apprenticed to learn the printing trade,
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and from that time until he came west, in 1860, worked as a compositor and proofreader; prior to 1860 he worked on country newspapers in southern Maryland. His education was obtained in the common schools, printing offices, and by general reading. Preparation for ad- mission to the bar was made in the law office of Cobb & Messmore, at La Crosse; admission occurred at Black River Falls in March, 1861. On coming west Mr. Woodward settled at La Crosse, where he has continued to reside. From 1866 until 1876 he was in partnership with S. S. Burton; in 1889 he formed a partnership with J. W. Losey, which continues to the present time.
In May, 1861, Mr. Woodward entered the military service as a private of company B, second Wisconsin infantry ; in September, 1861, he became orderly sergeant; August 25, 1862, was promoted to second lieutenant; September 14, 1862 to first lieutenant; in May, 1863, be- came adjutant of that regiment and held that rank and position until mustered out, though he served occasionally as aide on brigade and division staff. His military service was that of the second Wisconsin infantry volunteers. He was in every engagement in which that regi- ment took part, except the battle of Antietam, from which he was ab- sent by reason of sickness.
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