USA > Wisconsin > History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin, Vol. II > Part 44
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man before he goes to prison, in which he gives him such encourage- ment as is possible, when they part lasting friends.
Judicially Judge Smith has grown with the years, and is ranked among the excellent trial judges of the state. He is a good judge of character, and seldom imposed upon.
Judge Smith was re-elected in the spring of 1898. It was under- stood that he was intensely opposed to a partisan judiciary, and that he would stand for re-election only as a non-partisan candidate. This encouraged others, who were ambitious of the position, to avail them- selves of the methods and machinery of "practical politics," and Judge Smith found himself in the field with both a republican and a democratic candidate pitted against him. He is by nature and principle non-com- batant, but when occasion forces him to fight he rises to the heroic. Here, backed by the cream of the bar, he took the stump, and went at politicians and their machinery vi et armis. His opponents appealed to the voters to stand by the party nominees, and also charged him with being "old-womanish," as they termed it, in his dealing with crimi- nals. He promptly picked up the gauntlet, and in a series of speeches rarely equaled for bravery and brilliancy, he carried everything by storm, and got nearly as many votes as both partisan candidates com- bined.
It should be said of him, however, that as a judge he sometimes shows nervousness on the bench, and he says of himself that he falls below the ideal in self-poise, as well as too hastily reaches a conclusion at times.
In politics he is independent republican.
He is married, and very happy in his domestic relations.
Socially he is the best of companions, and convivial to the last de- gree. He enjoys a good joke or story, and in repartee is seldom ex- celled. . He wears no official robes on or off the bench. Anything savor- ing of "pomp and circumstance" is abhorrent to him.
In private he is known as one of the most generous, humane, phil- anthropic and magnanimous of men. "He does good deeds as others commit crimes, by stealth." Naturally refined and religious, he has by
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right reading and right living been brought in touch with all the finer shades of ethics.
He is a member of no church, but an unwavering believer in, and lover of, Jesus as the Anointed of God. Technicalities in religion and in law are equally distasteful to Judge Smith.
WILLIAM H. STAFFORD.
There is perhaps no state in the northwest to which more natives of the Pine Tree state have migrated than Wisconsin. The reason for this is undoubtedly the fact that Wisconsin-especially the northern part-is essentially a repetition of the state of Maine in its physical features, its industries and the character of its people. The sons of Maine feel at home in northern Wisconsin and, as a rule, when they go there, they remain and prosper.
An illustration in point is found in the personality of William H. Stafford, a native of Orono, Maine, where he was born on the 19th of March, 1855. His parents, Richard T. and Margaret (Field) Staf- ford, were also natives of that state, the former being a lumberman and a farmer. The son, William, worked with his father in these dual lines, besides laboring hard to secure the rudiments of his education. But he persevered, as in all else, and when the family removed to Wisconsin, 1872. he had made such advancement in his studies that he was ad- judged competent to teach.
The first location of the family in Wisconsin was at Staffordville, two years afterward a removal being made to Chippewa Falls. After the removal of the family to Chippewa county Mr. Stafford worked at manual labor, attended school and taught school until he commenced the study of law in the office of Governor J. M. Bingham, Chippewa Falls; was admitted to the bar at that place in 1879 and has since prac- ticed his profession. His father removed to California in 1890 and remained seven years, but returned to Chippewa Falls and died No- vember 4, 1897. His mother still lives.
Soon after his admission to the bar, in. 1879, he spent a few months in Montana, but returned to permanently locate in Chippewa Falls. He opened an office there alone in 1880, and during the following year
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entered into a partnership with John J. Jenkins. This continued a short time, when Mr. Stafford was elected county judge, serving for two terms, or eight years. For a few years he was also a partner of T. J. Connor, but the balance of his career he has been an independent practitioner. Possessed of a practical knowledge of the country and its industries, there are few members of the bar in northwestern Wisconsin who have more firmly and justly secured the confidence of the people and enjoy a larger or more profitable clientage.
Mr. Stafford is a democrat, being a member of the state central committee from the tenth district. He has served three years as town clerk of La Fayette (in the vicinity of Chippewa Falls); as city attorney of Chippewa Falls for two terms, and as mayor of the city in 1893. During the following year he was tendered the position of assistant United States district attorney for the western district of Wisconsin, but declined the honor.
Mr. Stafford is a Mason of the thirty-second degree; a member of Chippewa Falls Lodge No. 176, Chippewa Falls Chapter No. 46, and Tancreed Commandery No. 27, also of Chippewa Falls.
Mr. Stafford has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Etta Hopkins, of Chippewa Falls, to whom he was united in marriage in 1885, and who died three years thereafter. In 1890 he was married again to Fannie H. Shields, of Oshkosh. The five children which have been born to him are all living-William T., John S., Lyman R., Harold E. and Howard L.
JOHN P. WALL.
Mr. Wall is a native of the Old Bay state, being born in the year 1851. His parents, Edward and Mary (Hines) Wall, were natives of Ireland, and came to the United States in 1850. They settled in Massa- chusetts, where they have continuously resided, the father being long known as a contractor, builder and woolen manufacturer.
The early years of our subject were passed in Worcester, Massa- chusetts, where he received much of his education in the Monson acad- emy and the college of the Holy Cross, of that city. Afterward he commenced his law studies under Ashmun, Chapman, Leonard & Wells,
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of Springfield, Massachusetts. The senior member of the firm has the distinction of having nominated Lincoln for President the first time. The training which Mr. Wall received was thorough and calculated to bring out his latent strength.
It was here, where he had received his preliminary legal education, that he was admitted to the bar (1871) and at Springfield he commenced the practice of his profession. During a portion of the succeeding nine years Mr. Wall was alone, and a portion of the period was in partner- ship with Mr. Slattery. In 1880 he came to Chippewa Falls and entered the office of J. J. Jenkins, where he remained three years, previous to his appointment as postmaster at Cadott, a town several miles east of Chippewa Falls. His appointment to that position by President Cleve- land dates from 1883, and in 1886 he was elected district attorney of Chippewa county, and resumed the active practice of his profession. He held the latter office for two years and twice thereafter he received the unanimous nomination to the same position. As the democratic party, with which he is prominently identified, was, however, in the minority, he obtained that honor without the election. Mr. Wall was also city attorney for one term, and has served as court commissioner for more than fifteen years.
From the very first he has been self-reliant, industrious and able, which is a sufficient accounting for his pronounced success. He left home when but thirteen years of age, and certainly that was not for him an unlucky number, since from that time he has made his way in the world as one who relies solely on his own strength of mind and will for personal advancement. The result is that he has been generally recog- nized both as a strong man and as a successful lawyer. He has also been a leader in the affairs of such secret orders as the Knights of Honor, having served for three years as a state official.
Mr. Wall's wife, before marriage, was Miss Sarah Harrity. There are six children in the family-Mary, Eugenia, William, Edward, Frances and John T.
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE TWELFTH CIRCUIT, ITS JUDGES AND LAWYERS.
In 1870 the counties of Rock and Green were detached from the first judicial circuit, and the county of Jefferson was detached from the ninth judicial circuit, and these counties constituted the twelfth circuit. The first judge was elected in April, 1870, and his term of office began January 1, 1871. The first judge was Harmon S. Conger, who served until his death, October 22, 1882.
THE BENCH.
HARMON S. CONGER.
A committee of the Rock county bar association, consisting of John R. Bennett, S. J. Todd and B. B. Eldredge, reported resolutions com- memorative of Judge Conger, in which it was said "that on his death the bar of Rock county had lost one of the ablest, most industrious and honorable of its members; the state of Wisconsin, one of its most useful and eminent citizens; and the people of the twelfth judicial circuit, a judge who, in his entire judicial career of over [nearly] twelve years, has been so just, so full of equity, so noble, notable and incorrupt in his high office 'that envy itself could not accuse or malice vitiate.'" That association also appointed a committee, consisting of I. C. Sloan, S. J. Todd and B. B. Eldredge, to prepare and report a memorial address. January 2, 1883, that committee reported such address to the circuit court for Rock county, Judge John R. Bennett presiding. The address said: "Judge Conger was born April 9, 1816, in the town of Freeport, Cortland county, New York. His father was a farmer. The early years of his life, until he approached manhood, were, so far as we can learn, uneventful, but were so similar, in the course of life which he pursued and in the training which he received, to that of so many hundreds of young men who have acquired distinction in public life and in the pro-
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fession of the law in this country, that it is well worth the attention of thoughtful minds to inquire whether it was not the best training that a young man could receive, to fit him for a life of usefulness and honor. Until he reached the age of seventeen years he worked upon his father's farm in the summer, and attended the common school of the neighbor- hood, in which only the elementary branches of an education were taught, in the winter. At the age of seventeen he entered upon a course of study at the Cortland village academy, which he pursued until he was nineteen years of age, when he commenced the study of law in the office of Horatio Ballard, a prominent lawyer practicing at Cortland. In 1840, feeling a deep interest in the exciting presidential contest between General Harrison and Martin Van Buren, then engrossing the attention of the people of this country, he purchased the Cortland County Whig, a weekly newspaper, which he continued to edit for the five following years, conducting it with energy and ability in advocating the measures and principles of the whig party, but at the same time con- tinuing the study of the law, as he was fully determined to make the practice of that profession the main business of his life.
"Judge Conger, having passed an excellent examination, was ad- mitted to the bar in 1844, and commenced the practice of his profession at Cortland. He possessed the respect and confidence of the people among whom he resided in so high a degree that he had already been called upon to discharge responsible public duties. He had been elected treasurer of Cortland county several years before, and he had been successively re-elected until, in 1845. he declined further service in that office. He was, however, destined to remain a private citizen but for a short period of time. In 1846 he was put in nomination by" the whig party of the district in which he resided as a candidate for representative in Congress, and was elected to that office. During his first term he discharged his duties as a member of Congress with such fidelity and ability that, in 1848, he was again nominated and re-elected. Although he was but thirty years of age when first elected to Congress the record which he made as a member of the national legislature is one in which his family, his friends, and all who are interested in a pure ad- ministration of government may well take a great pride. As might
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have been expected of him, he spoke in strong condemnation of frauds at elections, and was a steady and unswerving opponent of all unfounded and fraudulent claims against the government and of every species of corruption in office. All his impulses were in favor of freedom and of the best interests of the people in enacting national laws, and his best judgment coincided with his impulses. When the bill for the organiza- tion of a government in the territory of Oregon was before Congress, he strongly advocated the exclusion of slavery therefrom. And when the famous compromise measures were being agitated on the floor of the house of representatives he denied the right of Congress to make any compacts or agreements by which the cause of human slavery was to be extended into new territory. He was a zealous advocate of cheap postage both on letters and newspapers. His probity and sterling in- tegrity of character were proof against every temptation to betray the interests of the people, or to pander to political corruption. No cleaner or purer congressional record than his has ever been made.
"At the close of his second congressional term, in 1851, he retired from political life and devoted himself assiduously to the practice of his profession at Cortland, until 1855, when he removed to Janesville, Rock county, where he continued the practice of law until he was elected judge of this judicial circuit in 1870, to which office he was re-elected without opposition in 1876, and he may be said almost liter- ally to have died in the discharge of his judicial duties. Although he had been in failing health for a year or two, he was not disabled from performing the duties of his office, and was stricken down with his fatal sickness while holding the September term of the Jefferson county circuit court, and came home only to die. He never again left his house, and scarcely his bed, until he died on the 22d day of October, 1882.
"Such, may it please the court, is the brief and meager outline of a highly useful and honorable life. When we look into his character for the purpose of discovering those qualities which so commanded the respect and confidence of his fellow-men, and carried him onward in his successful career, we find they were of the most substantial and solid kind. He was a man of strong will and firm purpose. There was
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no frivolity or vacillation in his character. He pressed forward to the accomplishment of all objects which he thought worthy and within the sphere of his duty with an unfaltering determination. No obstacles deterred, no difficulties discouraged him. He was a hard student and pursued the study and practice of his profession with laborious and un- remitting industry. As the result, his mind was stored with the solid and accurate learning of his profession. Whilst in its processes his mind moved somewhat slowly, but with the methodical and untiring industry which it was the habit of his life to bring to the investigation of legal questions and legal principles, it moved surely to the accomplishment of the highest objects of the true lawyer's labors and ambition-the accurate knowledge and elucidation of those principles which have raised the law into a science and have made it a safeguard and protec- tion to the highest human interests, life, liberty and property. He was a quiet, unassuming man. There were no elements of noisy self-asser- tion or of arrogant assumption of knowledge which he did not possess, in his character. He derived no aid from the showy and fascinating gifts of popular oratory. He had little imagination and his manner and style in public speaking were without ornament, and would have been considered dry and uninteresting but for the learning and weight of argument which characterized his forensic efforts. He moved steadily onward with a firm purpose and persistent determination, gaining and keeping the respect and confidence of all who were brought within the sphere of his action. During the period of nearly twelve years in which he occupied the bench as presiding judge of this judicial circuit, he held the scales of justice with a firm and impartial hand. No member of our profession, no person within the limits of the district can say, and we do not believe that there are any who think, that his judicial action during that long period was ever swayed by any unworthy or improper motive. The judicial mantle that has fallen from his dying shoulders and now rests upon your shoulders, sir, received no spot or stain while he wore it. He discharged his judicial duties so impartially, so ably, bringing to them so much of sound judgment and accurate knowledge of the law in all its varied and complicated branches, that it may well be an object worthy of any man's highest ambition, who occupies a seat
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upon the judicial bench in any of the courts of this state, to imitate and rival the example which he has left us.
"As a man there was much popular misconception of his character. He was naturally grave and dignified, without frivolity of manner or conversation. Many who were not well acquainted with him thought him cold, and mistook a natural reserve for sourness or austerity of temper. No mistake could be greater. He was naturally a man of strong sympathies and tender nature. He appeared to be, and per- haps was, at times, somewhat irritable, and during the later years, when that trying and painful disease which terminated his life had somewhat affected his nervous system, may have sometimes appeared somewhat peevish and unreasonable. Of folly, and of ignorance of the principles and proper methods of practice of the law, he was always intolerant and impatient, but this was superficial. No truer or more tender heart than that of Harmon S. Conger ever beat within the breast of man. No man living would go further in generous or uncalculating kindness in the service of a friend than he. He was the soul of truth and honor. He despised all falsehood, chicanery and fraud. He was, in all relations of life, faithful and true. To his intimate acquaintances and friends he was genial and social, and none who knew him well can fail to grieve deeply for his death, or cease, while memory holds, to respect and honor his memory."
Judge Bennett said: "I must fully and heartily concur in everything that has been so truthfully, appropriately, and with such discrimination and eloquence said in the address of Mr. Sloan. I have known Judge Conger from the time he became a citizen of the county, but far more intimately during the last six years of his life; and the more intimately I knew him the more I learned to respect and admire his manly char- acteristics and sturdy virtues. It is the uniform testimony of all who knew him that he was an upright man and a just judge. The upright man is naturally opposed to fraud, the truthful man to falsehood, the just man to oppression, and the pure minded man to all manner of evil and iniquity. As a consequence all frauds, deceptions and vicious prac- tices met a determined, though just, opponent in the late Judge Conger. He was a lawyer of great learning in his chosen profession and of re-
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markable industry. I learned this as soon as I met him at the bar in the trial of cases. I never knew him to come into court without being thoroughly prepared for trial. When, by the almost unani- mous choice of the people of this judicial circuit, he was called to the bench, the same industry, learning and ability and uprightness of char- acter which he manifested as a lawyer were equally marked in his entire career as a judge. "
The resolutions, memorial and Judge Bennett's response were pre- sented to the supreme court by Mr. Eldredge, and the response there- to was made by Mr. Justice Lyon. Some extracts therefrom follow: "During the five years I had the honor of presiding in the circuit courts of the counties then comprised in the first circuit, he practiced largely in those courts, and I came to know him very intimately. My esti- mate of his ability as a lawyer and his worth as a citizen, which was high from the first, constantly increased during those years of intimate inter- course with him.
"His mental processes were not rapid, but any deficiency in this particular was more than supplied by his constant and untiring indus- try. Indeed his industry was marvelous-almost unprecedented. His investigations of legal questions were most thorough and exhaustive. He seldom assumed the truth of a proposition without ample verifica- tion. He would not build,an argument or base an opinion upon what most of us might recognize as a settled rule of law, until he had con- sulted books of established authority and found the rule there stated. In such cautious, painstaking way he framed all his arguments. So he always came to the trial of his causes with as complete preparation as it was in his power to make. The same qualities were conspicuous dur- ing his judicial career.
"Judge Conger possessed a strong intellect. When, in his cautious, laborious way, he had framed an argument, it always contained abund- ant intrinsic evidence that it was the production of a powerful mind. In it would be found no dodging, no equivocation, no conscious fallacy of argument, but every known adverse view of the law of his case would be equally and squarely met and answered.
"He was also a man of strong convictions, and was conservative in
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his opinions. He was slow to abandon an opinion once deliberately formed. This quality of his mind made him exceedingly loyal to the jurisprudence of his native state, in which he was first educated. He was very learned therein. It was difficult for him to recognize the fact that different conditions in this, the state of his adoption, required a different jurisprudence to some extent, and it disquieted him to witness the laying aside of any rule of law which prevailed in New York. Yet, although so firm in his views and opinions, he was too able a lawyer and too good a judge to adhere to them in the face of adverse authority. Hence, however strongly he may have disapproved any rule of law enacted by the legislature or affirmed by the court of last resort, when satisfied that the rule was established be accepted it and acted upon it, although sometimes under vigorous protest.
"Judge Conger was pre-eminently an honest man-thoroughly, radically honest in every fiber of his nature. This high quality-so essential to true manhood-was so conspicuous in all his conduct and relations, whether private, professional or judicial, that we never heard his integrity assailed or doubted. In this respect he was in no peril of being misapprehended. So, also, the most casual observer could not fail to see and appreciate his great intellectual strength and his pro- found knowledge of the law.
"But in some other aspects of his character he was not always under- stood aright. To one not well acquainted with him, he appeared re- served and distant-almost austere and unapproachable. Owing, in part, to a defect of vision, and in part, no doubt, to a habit of mental absorption, he would often pass those whom he well knew without recognition. When particularly absorbed in his work he would some- times manifest a testy and curt demeanor to those who chanced to in- terrupt him. Thus he unconsciously confirmed many who saw him only under those unfavorable circumstances, in such estimate of his 'character. That opinion of him was, however, utterly erroneous. Those of us whose good fortune it was to meet him in his home and in social life, and to know him as he was when the burden of professional and judicial labor and anxiety had been laid aside, knew full well that at heart he was one of the most affable, the gentlest, and most tender of Vol. II .- 31
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men. He had read much and judiciously, had traveled much, and had a wide and varied personal experience. In conversation he drew freely from those rich fountains, and delighted and charmed all listeners.
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