USA > Wisconsin > History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin, Vol. II > Part 42
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During his residence in Norway young Vinje's training was meager, only such as could be obtained from irregular attendance at the rural schools of that country. On the arrival of the family in Iowa, he was sent to the common schools of Marshall county which he attended thenceforward until 1874, when he spent a term in the Iowa college at Grinnell. In 1875 he studied in the Northwestern university at Des Moines, Iowa, and spent the two following years teaching in the country schools of that state. In 1878 he entered the prepara- tory department of the university of Wisconsin, and continued his con- nection with that institution, although not regularly, until 1884, when he graduated from both the modern classical and scientific courses with high honors.
Judge Vinje's parents lost their property in the panic of 1873, which cast upon him the burden of defraying the expenses of his education. This he did mainly by teaching school and assisting in conducting teachers' institutes. His university career was a highly creditable one, and it was there that his studious habits, logical qualities of mind, and orderly methods of work became fully known to himself and at- tracted the attention of both students and faculty. His college course was marked by a singular evenness and uniform excellence of work.
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While he was proficient in all branches required by the curriculum and did all his work well, his keenest interest was manifested and his great- est facility displayed in philosophy and the languages. In these sub- jects he was facile princeps, often bringing to the classroom valuable contributions from his original research. He was an active member of the natural history club, the mathematical society and the French conversation club, and is one of the few students who acquired a prac- tical knowledge of the modern languages from academic study. He has a ready use of Norse, German and French, and is perhaps the only judge in the state who can follow the examination of a witness or in- terpret it, if need be, in four different languages. In addition he is a student of Latin, Anglo Saxon, and Italian.
After Judge Vinje's graduation in 1884 he was appointed assistant librarian of the state law library at Madison, which position he occu- pied until 1888. During this time he commenced the study of law, receiving his degree from the college of law of the university of Wis- consin in 1887. In this department he again exhibited the clearness of perception and easy mastery of principles which attracted the atten- tion and won the admiration of his fellows in philosophy and the lan- guages before. In 1888 he was appointed assistant supreme court re- porter, a position which he filled until the spring of 1891 when he resigned to enter the practice of law. It was in this latter position that his studious habits, legal acumen and logical accuracy became known to the profession and especially to the judges of the supreme court who had supervision of his work. The reputation then acquired and the friendships formed were of material aid to him when his name was proposed as a candidate for the judge of the eleventh judicial cir- cuit in 1895.
In 1891 Judge Vinje formed a partnership with L. S. Butler for the practice of law at Superior, Wisconsin. The partnership contin- ued for four years when it was dissolved by mutual consent. In Aug- ust, 1895, the office of judge of the eleventh judicial circuit became vacant by the promotion of Judge R. D. Marshall to the supreme bench of this state. In casting about for a successor A. J. Vinje was early suggested and unanimously recommended by the bar of Douglas county Vol. II .- 29
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and endorsed by the bar of Chippewa county, comprising the great body of lawyers of the circuit. During the same month he received his appointment as judge of the eleventh judicial circuit from Governor Upham, and immediately entered upon the duties of that office. The following spring he was elected for the remainder of the term by popular vote without opposition.
The appointment and subsequent election of Judge Vinje to the circuit bench was something of a departure from the established cus- tom in the selection of circuit judges and began a new chapter in the judicial history of the state. Judge Vinje was not active at the bar, had very limited experience in actual practice and was little known to the people of the circuit. As a practitioner he lacked the partisan aggressiveness to impress the community in which he lived with an appreciation of his ability. He moved to Superior and began to prac- tice law there while that city was yet new and at a time when "smart- ness" was at a premium and the quieter and more substantial qualities at a discount; but among the few who knew him intimately, and who prize brains before brass and count substance more than form, were found zealous advocates of his qualifications for judicial station. The bar was soon converted to this view, and the prompt appointment following owed little to political influence or the prestige of popular reputation, but is a striking illustration of natural selection in political life
Judge Vinje's record on the bench is a complete justification of the wisdom of this method and of the confidence reposed in him by his friends. Suddenly called to perform the onerous duties of circuit judge, without practical experience in the profession and no time for prepa- ration, he has met the requirements with the ease and mastery of a veteran. He has disposed of the business of a busy circuit with an accuracy and dispatch that generally requires long years of experience, and in such a manner as to secure the universal esteem of a critical bar and the commendation of the supreme court. It is his rare good fortune to have found his calling and to be in his element. Nature fashioned him for a judge. To a naturally clear and logical mind, retentive memory and studious habits he unites in a marked degree
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the judicial temper. He is a good listener and has remarkable pow- er of analysis. He is well grounded in the elements of law, has an accurate memory of cases, and an instinct for discovering the real issue in a controversy and divesting it of irrelevancies. In his rulings he is firm without obstinacy, and confident without conceit; his justice is tempered with mercy, and his honesty has no taint of the Pharisee. It has been said of him that "the forces of his mind act with military precision. He is by nature incapable of partisanship, and treats with equal consideration all members of the bar. His honesty and fair- ness command the respect of jury and litigants alike, while his ability, his unfailing courtesy and celerity in the dispatch of business renders practice in his court a pleasure."
Judge Vinje is a republican in politics and a Unitarian in religion. His personal habits are exemplary and in his social relations he is af- fable and kindly but dignified. In appearance he is somewhat above the medium size, of firm and compact physique, of agreeable presence and quiet but pleasing address. He was married to Alice Idell Miller, of Oregon, Wisconsin, in 1886, and they have an interesting family of three children-Arthur, David and Janet. Mrs. Vinje is active in social and charitable work, and deservedly popular on account of her beauty and charm of manner. They have a beautiful home front- ing on Superior Bay in the city of Superior, abounding in the simple but substantial comforts that refined taste and moderate competence can bestow. Judge Vinje is a growing man and all conditions point to a career of honorable usefulness for him and of great happiness for his family.
THE BAR.
ELIAS CHAPMAN ALVORD.
Elias C. Alvord, of the firm of Alvord & Dillon, is a native of Penn- sylvania, being born in Girard, Erie county, on the Ist of February, 1860. His father, Henry W. Alvord, was a soldier of the civil war and sacrificed his life for his country. Emily E., his mother, died in 1872, leaving the boy an orphan at the age of twelve years.
It was in Erie and Crawford counties in Pennsylvania that his early
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years were chiefly passed, such farm work as naturally falls to youth, coupled with studies in the neighboring schools, occupying most of his time. Much of his preliminary education was obtained at the soldiers' orphan school, located at Mercer, and the higher courses were pursued at the state normal school (Edinboro) and Alleghany college (Meadville.)
Thus equipped, both physically and mentally, for the trying battle of life, Mr. Alvord decided to test his mettle in the west, where the rewards of merit were both plentiful and more prompt in their bestowal. He therefore removed to Watertown, South Dakota, a brisk and grow- ing city, and commenced with avidity the task of mastering the prin- ciples of law. Admitted to practice his profession in August, 1888, he opened an office and continued to practice in that locality for three years. . At the end of this period he formed a partnership with E. E. Van Liew, under the firm name of Van Liew & Alvord.
In March, 1892, however, he decided upon another change of lo- cation, selecting as the scene of his professional labors a section of the country permeated both with the vigor of the west and the cul- ture of the east. Locating in the state of Wisconsin, at Washburn, he at first formed a partnership with A. M. Warden, the firm of War- den & Alvord being dissolved in the spring of 1894. From that time until the Ist of January, 1898, he practiced alone, when, with M. E. Dillon, of Ashland, he formed the firm of Alvord & Dillon, the latter attending to the business at the place above named and Mr. Alvord giving his attention to the legal affairs of the partnership at Washburn.
It is safe to say that there is no member of the bar of his age in this section of the state who has a more enviable reputation for ability and probity of character than Mr. Alvord. He has had marked success as a criminal lawyer and in the domain of municipal litigation. His standing in these specialties has been recognized by the public in his service as city attorney of Washburn, from April, 1892, to April, 1895, and as district attorney of Bayfield county for one term, com- mencing in 1894. In the latter capacity he successfully prosecuted a large number of criminal cases, the most important of which were the State vs. Flynn for the murder of William Sullivan and the State
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vs. Probert, on a charge of embezzlement. Although not a politi- cian in the narrow sense of the word, he is a firm republican and being a forcible advocate of the party's principles has much influence in the councils of that organization.
Mr. Alvord's wife, to whom he was married on September 2, 1885, was formerly Miss Miriam L. Moore.
JAMES M. BINGHAM.
James M. Bingham was born at Perry, Wyoming county, New York, February 3, 1828. Until his twentieth year he was on his father's farm; his educational advantages were such as the schools of the vicinity afforded, with the added privilege of attendance at an academy; at twenty he engaged in teaching, at the same time pursuing studies in Latin, Greek, French and mathematics corresponding with a college course; he also studied law at Leroy, New York, for two years. In 1853 he taught school near Detroit. Soon after that date he settled at Palmyra, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where he completed his preparation for the admission to the bar, and where in 1856 he began to practice law. During his residence in Jefferson county he was four times elected a member of the assembly, serving in the sessions of 1863, 1864, 1869 and 1870, and was speaker during the last year. In 1864 he entered the military service as major of the fortieth Wis- consin. In 1870 Mr. Bingham removed to Chippewa Falls and formed a partnership with John J. Jenkins, which continued until 1876, when the latter accepted the position of United States attorney for Wyoming: thereafter the firm was Bingham & Pierce. After remov- ing to Chippewa county Mr. Bingham was elected to the assembly, serving in the session of 1874; in 1877 he was elected lieutenant gov- ernor and re-elected in 1879. He also served as a member of the board of regents of the state university. For some months before his death, which occurred January 8, 1885, Mr. Bingham's health had been poor, and the end was, apparently, hastened by exposure during a fire in his home town.
As a lawyer Governor Bingham attained, by his ability and achieve- ments, a good standing at the bar. It is said that after the death
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of Chief Justice Ryan he was zealously urged by many attorneys for the place. Notwithstanding that he was but a private citizen at the time of his death, resolutions commendatory of his character and public services were adopted by the state senate January 21, 1885, after eulo- gistic addresses by Senators Ginty, Cottrill and Hudd.
CHARLES L. CATLIN.
Charles Leland Catlin, of the firm of Catlin, Butler & Lyons, of Superior, was born at Great Bend, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, February 26, 1842; educated in the common schools of Hudson, Wis- consin, the Montrose academy at Montrose, Pennsylvania, and the Wisconsin university, the time at the latter being brief; legal education obtained at Columbian college law school, Washington, D. C., having been graduated with the class of 1867, in which year he was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of the District of Columbia. After completing his law course Mr. Catlin acted during one winter as aman- uensis for Caleb Cushing, and then returned to his native place and entered upon the practice of the law. In 1875 he returned to Wis- consin and devoted two years to looking after his father's interest in the estate of Richard Catlin, passing most of that time at Ripon. Next Mr. Catlin located at Hudson and went into the office of Baker & Spooner; later that firm became Baker, Spooner & Catlin. In 1881 the junior member removed to St. Paul and entered the legal department of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad Co., as an assistant of Mr. Spooner, and remained there until the fall of 1884, when he removed to Superior and formed a partnership with Henry S. Butler, which subsequently became the firm mentioned in the first sentence of this sketch.
Mr. Catlin enlisted November 30, 1861, at eighteen years of age, in company D. second Wisconsin cavalry, and served until March 29, I864. In politics he is a republican. He was president of the Bank of Commerce of Superior from its organization in 1888 until 1892, and since then has served as vice president and on the board of di- rectors.
In politics Mr. Catlin is a republican. In religious matters he seems
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to have been open to conviction. He was raised in the Presbyterian church, then affiliated with the Protestant Episcopal, and is now a Christian Scientist. He is a member of the Knights Templar and was the first eminent commander of the Knights of Superior. July 22, 1891, he married Mildred Harris Perry, daughter of George W. Perry, of Superior. They have one son-Dudley Brockway-born January 31, 1895.
THOMAS J. CONNOR.
Born at Newport, Columbia county, Wisconsin, March 16, 1859, Mr. Connor is a credit to his state and to the profession. He is the son of Thomas and Catherine Connor, his father being a native of Ireland who emigrated to Canada in his youth and thence to New York state and to Newport, Wisconsin. Settling in the locality last named in 1853. the father conducted a general store in the then pioneer days of the state.
The son, not content with the educational facilities afforded by the local schools, attended the public schools of Kilbourn City and St. John's college at Prairie du Chien. Graduating from the latter in- stitution in 1878, he turned his attention to the study of law, enter- ing the offices of Jonathan Bowman, of Kilbourn, and M. Griffin, of Eau Claire. After a three years' training as student and clerk, in 1881 he passed a creditable examination before Judge Bundy and was admitted to the practice of his profession.
Mr. Connor commenced his legal career at Arcadia, Trempealeau county, Wisconsin, with E. C. Higby, now of La Crosse, the partner- ship continuing for two years. He then moved to Bloomer, Chip- pewa county, remaining there for several years. In Chippewa Falls, his next residence, he practiced alone during the decade, from 1885 to 1895, when he formed the partnership with T. S. Leonard, which still continues.
Mr. Connor has engaged in general practice and has made a fine record for faithfulness and ability, and for energy, wisely directed. It may be said that there are few important cases which have been tried in this section of Wisconsin in which he has not had a leading part.
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The public of his city and county have also called upon him to guard their interests, and such duties he has well performed. He was dis- trict attorney for two years, 1885-86, and city attorney in 1897, be- ing called to office by the republican party, of which he has long been a leader. He is also prominent in the affairs of several secret orders, notably in those of the Elks and the Knights of Pythias (Eau Claire lodge).
WILLIAM DALTON DWYER.
William D. Dwyer, of the well known law firm, Ross, Dwyer & Hanitch, of West Superior, comes of pure Irish blood, his parents being natives of County Roscommon. They were married in 1844, and during the great emigration of 1848 came to America and settled at Liberty, New York. The father was a farmer and now, retired and respected, is peacefully passing his latter days upon the old home- stead. He is over eighty years of age and enjoys the privilege, vouch- safed to few, of seeing his venerable wife (she is eighty-two years old) by his side as he draws toward the end of his long life journey.
It was at this place-Liberty, New York-that William D. Dwyer was born, on the 22d of September, 1859. He passed his boyhood upon the farm, attended the village schools of that place, as well as its normal institute, and afterward took a course at the state normal school at Albany. From this institution he graduated to Cornell uni- versity, finishing his classical course in 1879. Previous to thus grounding himself in the higher branches, he had read law in the office of George H. Carpenter, of Liberty; he also pursued his legal studies at the Albany law school and was admitted to practice in Sep- tember, 1880, having but lately attained his majority.
Mr. Dwyer at once opened an office at Liberty, and was success- ful from the first. His experience, however, was an exception to the rule, practicing as he did with marked success in the locality where he was born, where he was known of all, and where his parents had resided for nearly forty years. In 1883 a most substantial and un- usual evidence of his standing was presented to the community in his election to the office of special county judge of Sullivan county. He
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was elected over his opponent by a large majority, being the youngest man ever chosen to that position and acceptably filling it for two years.
In 1885 Mr. Dwyer removed to Pierre, South Dakota, and after remaining there two years decided upon West Superior, Wisconsin, as a more promising professional field. In October, 1888, he formed a partnership with a new-comer also, Frank A. Ross, and under the names of Ross & Dwyer, Ross, Dwyer & Smith, Ross, Dwyer, Smith, Hanitch & Douglas, and Ross, Dwyer & Hanitch, Mr. Dwyer has con- stituted one of the permanent elements of strength which has given the firm such a high reputation in northern Wisconsin. The pres- ent firm name of Ross, Dwyer & Hanitch was brought about in the spring of 1893 by the retirement of George J. Douglas and the eleva- tion of C. Smith to the bench. In his early professional days Mr. Dwyer was engaged in the defense of several important criminal cases, but for the last six years the time of the firm has been more occupied with the corporate affairs which have been entrusted to its care. Among others who have employed its services are the American Steel Barge Company, the Northwestern National Bank, the Superior Water, Light & Power Company, the Street Railway Company and the North- ern Pacific Railway Company.
Mr. Dwyer's politics have always been democratic and from 1890 to 1894 he served as a member of the state central committee from the tenth congressional district of Wisconsin.
Mr. Dwyer's wife was formerly Miss Anna M. Mayer, of Milwau- kee, to whom he was married November 27, 1890. They have a family of three children-Anna Irene, William D., Jr., and Thomas.
Mr. Dwyer's partners would hasten to say that the flattering suc- cess of the firm should be credited very largely to him. To what is this attributable? He is an easy, self-reliant, tireless worker. He is pre-eminently practical in his manner of looking at things. He is always frank, honest and self-disinterested in dealing with clients, de- voted and everlastingly loyal to their interests. In the trial of causes . he is most at home, ever reveling in "the rapture of the fight." Here he excels at every point from start to finish. Excelling in knowledge
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of human nature, and practical in judgment as to what character of juryman fits his side of the particular case, he gets an advantage in empaneling a jury. He arranges and brings out evidence clearly and adroitly. In cross-examination it is doubtful if he has a superior in the state, the unfair witness soon discovering that he would better be in perdition for the time being than where he is; and in "summing up" his forcible presentation of his side of the case, backed by his great personal magnetism, makes him a dreaded adversary. Quick sighted- ness, pluck and prompt adaptability to the situation insures disaster to the enemy wherever he makes the slightest "opening."
Mr. Dwyer is domestic in his tastes, and happy in his domestic relations.
As a citizen he is public spirited, and the natural foe of corruption and oppression in any form.
Were the element in his make-up that stands out with special prom- inence to be mentioned, it would be boundless generosity and loyalty to his friends.
Mr. Dwyer has faults. They are the faults of his race. On the other hand he has its virtues, and in a marked degree.
LOUIS HANITCH.
That Mr. Hanitch inherits the best qualities of the German na- tionality is a truth which those who know him best are ready to ad- mit. Although his educational advantages were not as broad as he might have chosen, his application and thoroughness have so enabled him to make the most of them that it is somewhat surprising to know that he has never enjoyed a complete university training. But he is one of that class of broad minded men who realize that one's educa- tion is a continuous life process, composed of about equal parts of experience, reading and thought. In fact, in the midst of the prac- tical duties of his profession it is quite remarkable how he seizes the opportunities to keep abreast, as he does, of the literature of the day.
Mr. Hanitch's parents are both natives of Germany. His father, John Hanitch, a wholesale grocer, was born in Hesse Darmstadt. His mother, Mary E. Schilb, is a native of Rhemish Bavaria. Louis was
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Louis Canitek
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born in Dayton, Ohio, on the 9th of October, 1863, and there, in the public schools, received his early education. For a number of years he also attended a private school and enjoyed a partial training at the Ohio state university, Columbus. Believing that the country farther west offered a better field for advancement, at the age of twenty (in 1883) he removed to Bismarck, North Dakota. Here he found the opportunity for which he had longed and entered the office of Flan- nery & Cooke to prosecute his legal studies.
Mr. Hanitch advanced rapidly in the mastery of his profession and was admitted to the bar in 1886. During a portion of the period of his residence in Bismarck he was partner with John E. Carland, now United States district judge of South Dakota. Until Judge Carland was called to assume his judicial duties he remained a member of the firm, after which Mr. Hanitch practiced alone. He participated in much of the important litigation of that section of the country, also holding the office of assistant attorney general during the term of Louis K. Church as governor of the territory and, later, being elected district attorney of Burleigh county.
Removing to the brisk city of Superior in 1891, his standing was at once recognized by his reception, during the succeeding year, into the strong firm of Ross, Dwyer & Smith. At the same time George J. Douglas joined the partnership, but during 1893 he retired and Mr. Smith was elevated to the bench. Thus the firm became Ross, Dwyer & Hanitch and has for several years been recognized as one of the strongest in northern Wisconsin. That this is not speaking without foundation is proven by the fact that it guards the important interests of such corporations as the American Steel Barge Company, the Superior Water, Light & Power Company, the Northwestern Na- tional Bank, and the Superior Street Railway Company.
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