USA > Wisconsin > History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin, Vol. II > Part 50
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
In fact, whether in local, state or national affairs, whether within the limits of his own profession or in the limitless fields of humanity, Mr. Hurlbut has ever been at the front. For many years he has held the position of court commissioner and has long served and is now vice president of the state bar association; and, as if it were not enough that
5.39
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
he should have made such an enviable record as lawyer, reformer, execu- tive and statesman, since 1875, when he came into possession of the Wisconsin Free Press, he has established himself as one of the leading journalists of the northwest, having been honored for several terms with the vice presidency of the Wisconsin state press association, which posi- tion he now holds, and was vice president of the national editorial association for two years.
Mr. Hurlbut is also a Mason of high rank (thirty-second degree). a member of the Scottish rite, Knights Templar, and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. His first wife was Miss Catherine Chandler, to whom he was married October 10, 1840, and by whom he has had three chil- dren, now living-Mrs. J. A. Hassell, Henrietta C. Hurlbut and Mrs. O. K. Borden, of Leslie, Michigan. Mrs. Hurlbut died April 6, 1864, and he was married to Miss Maggie E. Spearing, a New Orleans lady, the daughter of John F. Spearing, of Louisiana, October 14, 1886. By this union there are two children-Edwina and Margie Spearing Hurlbut.
MARTIN L. LUECK.
Martin L. Lueck was born in Juneau, the town in which he is now practicing his profession, on July 24, 1872. He is of German descent, his father, F. William Lueck, having left Europe with his parents in 1853 and made a settlement in Dodge county. The grandparents of the subject of this sketch having fallen victims to cholera, his father, shortly afterwards, moved to Milwaukee, and there made himself master of the shoemaker's trade. When the war broke out he did his duty by the country of his adoption, enlisting August 14. 1862, and serving in company A, 26th Wisconsin volunteers, until his regiment was mus- tered out on June 13, 1865. Then resuming his business, he threw into it such energy that it grew and prospered until he became recognized as among the leading merchants of his town. He married Phillipine Scheur, who became the mother of Martin L., the subject of the present sketch.
His earlier education obtained in the common schools of his native town, young Martin later attended its high school. Having found em- ployment for two years as bookkeeper for the Juneau Manufacturing
540
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
company, he at last determined to study law and with that purpose in view he entered the law department of the university of Wisconsin, graduating therefrom in 1894, and in the same year being admitted to practice at Madison. In the fall of 1894 he opened an office at Juneau, where he has since followed his profession alone.
Quickly succeeding in showing himself possessed of superior abili- ties, Mr. Lueck speedily made his mark. For one so young in years he has been connected with a great many notable cases of more than local importance, and among such may be mentioned the William Zell- mer murder trial, in which, as junior counsel-his senior being absent- he was called upon to handle the case, and secured an acquittal. Also the Baker will contest, possibly one of the most important cases of its kind that has occurred in the state, and in which, as in the others, he acquitted himself in such a manner as to earn unqualified praise.
An active member of the democratic party, his allegiance to his party and considerable faithful work was recognized in his appointment for two years as city attorney of Juneau.
In his religious views he is associated with the Reform church, and since 1896 he has been a member of the Knights of Pythias.
His honest hard work, his high character and his abilities have made him highly esteemed in his community, and indeed it may be said, with- out fear of contradiction, that there are few if any men of his age in the state who can point to as good a record.
JAMES E. MALONE.
There are few criminal lawyers in the state whose success has been more uniform than that of James E. Malone. To use a homely but expressive phrase, "things come his way"-the true explanation being that he uses his best ingenuity and his strongest efforts to force cir- cumstances to his liking. Although a young man, as professional ages run, he has reached a position to which many of his elders might aspire, proof of which assertion is found in the following facts.
John Malone, the father of James E., was born in Ireland, and emi- grated to America when but sixteen years of age and settled at Ma- lone, Franklin county, New York. Here, in the spring of 1850, he
54I
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
married Mary McCabe, whose parents lived near that town. Two years thereafter the young couple removed to Beaver Dam, Wis., where the father has since resided, and where James E. Malone was born, on November 7, 1853.
Mr. Malone was a man of enterprise, including within his activities the avocations of the merchant, the brick manufacturer and the farmer. At first the boy attended the public and parochial schools of Beaver Dam, but, according to his own statement, took more pleasure in shoot- ing pennies out of split sticks with the Indian boys than in acquiring an education. With years, however, his ideas in this regard changed, and by the time he became a student at Wayland academy and St. Francis seminary he had settled down to the business of deriving every possi- ble benefit from his educational advantages.
Mr. Malone commenced the study of law in the office of Judge Ed- ward Elwell, at Beaver Dam, and was admitted to the bar at Juneau, in September, 1877. He commenced practice at the former place, but removed to Juneau in January, 1879, in order to assume the position of clerk of the court, to which he had been elected during the previous autumn. He practiced alone in Juneau until January, 1894, when he formed a partnership with John G. Bachhuber, which still exists. He also has a branch office at Beaver Dam, conducted with C. C. Miller, who became his associate in the spring of 1896.
As has been intimated, Mr. Malone's specialty is criminal law. He prosecuted Alexander McCloud for murder in 1885 and William Saars for the same crime in 1886. During the same year he participated in the apprehension, trial and conviction of Frederick Hempel for em- bezzlement. He was also identified with the Stonemitz and Pitcher- koski poisoning cases and with the following suits: Allard vs. North- western Railway Company; Mrs. Kreutziger vs. Railway Company; State vs. Eugene Sweeney, assault with intent to kill, and State vs. Zellmer, murder.
Mr. Malone reports that he was born a democrat and is still a democrat. He was elected clerk of the town of Beaver Dam in the spring of 1875 and was re-elected in 1876. In the fall of 1878 he was chosen clerk of the circuit court of Dodge county, being re-elected in
542
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
1880 and 1882. He served as district attorney in 1884 and became mayor of the city of Juneau in 1897. The above, a bare enumeration of the offices held by Mr. Malone, is sufficient to indicate his standing in the community. It may be added that he is a prominent member of the Roman Catholic church, the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin and the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Malone was married to Mary A. Burke, on June 1, 1881; the children are Mary Patritia, Rachel Isabel, James Francis, Alice Made- line and Donald A.
ERNST MERTON.
Ernst Merton is a native of Prussia, having been born August 9, 1848, near the city of Berlin. His parents emigrated to America in 1856, and located in Milwaukee, the parochial schools of which city Ernst attended until he reached his fourteenth year. He then obtained employment on a farm, and increased his store of knowledge by at- tending a night school. But under these conditions he could not ob- tain such an education as he desired, so at about the age of twenty- four he entered the employ of a sewing machine company, with whom he remained for five or six years. In the meantime he began the study of law, not in a law office, for he was entirely dependent upon his own. exertions for his subsistence, and therefore could not afford the time such a course would require, but he devoted such hours to its study as the duties of his occupation would permit. Later he studied with a Mr. Merrill of Walworth county, where he was admitted to practice in 1877. He entered upon his professional career at Burlington, Wis- consin, where he continued to practice most successfully until 1889. Part of this period he was alone, and part he was associated with a Mr. Kearney, under the firm name of Merton & Kearney. Upon leav- ing Burlington he located at Waukesha and formed a legal partner- ship with T. E. Ryan of that place.
Mr. Merton has been brought very prominently before the public by reason of his ability as a criminal lawyer, and his identification with several of Wisconsin's most celebrated murder trials. He was coun- sel for the defense in a celebrated murder case in Waukesha county
543
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
in 1884. His client had two trials which both resulted in his acquittal. In 1892 he defended successfully the case of the State against Anton Voght. This trial, which will be remembered as attracting a great deal of interest at the time, resulted, as did the one we have just cited. in a verdict of acquittal. Mr. Merton on one occasion aided the prose- cution in a murder trial in Waukesha county, having been appointed by the court to assist the district attorney in an action for murder brought by the state against one Bernhardt. Mr. Merton won this case and secured a verdict of murder in the first degree. Every mur- der trial for which he has been retained he has won, and in all cases of his very large criminal practice, he has almost invariably obtained a verdict of acquittal, although frequently compelled to carry the case to the supreme court for final adjudication. As "peace hath her vic- tories no less renowned than war," so with Mr. Merton in the wide field of civil jurisprudence ; for here he has been equally successful. In the two celebrated Hygeia water cases he appeared for the city and some land owners. The first of the cases involved the validity of a franchise granted by the village of Waukesha permitting the water to be piped out of the village. He won in the lower court. His adver- sary appealed to the court of last resort, where the decision was af- firmed. The second case was one where the same parties who had previously been defeated attempted, under the name of the Wisconsin Water Company, to condemn lands for the purpose of pumping water through pipes to Milwaukee and Chicago. In this case he was de- feated in the lower court, but upon his appeal to the supreme court that tribunal reversed the decision and instructed the trial court to dismiss the proceedings. Mr. Merton has also been counsel in several very important life insurance cases, and in each and all of them has been victorious. In fact, throughout his entire legal career he has been very successful, and lost but very few cases entrusted to his care.
Mr. Merton's success may be attributed to honest toil, careful and painstaking research and close application. He is considered by those who have watched his professional career to possess an analytical legal mind, a fact that is proven by his many victories at the bar.
Mr. Merton is a prominent member of the orders of Odd Fellows
544
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
and Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a pronounced democrat, and during the period of his residence in Burlington was elected on his party's ticket to the office of president of the village nearly every year that he lived there. In 1884 he was the democratic candidate for Con- gress in the first Wisconsin district. In religious matters he is a be- liever in the doctrines of the Baptist church.
Mr. Merton was married on the 2d day of February, 1868, to Miss Evelyn Adams, of East Troy, Walworth county, Wisconsin. Of this union have been born three children: Bella, Lillian M. and Hal.
ANTHONY B. ROGAN.
Anthony B. Rogan comes of good Irish stock, and is a son of James and Nancy Rogan. His mother's maiden name was Carney; both pa- rents were natives of County Mayo, Ireland, where his father was born in 1808 and the mother ten years later. In 1838 they were married, and in 1840 together the two dared fortune across the Atlantic and found a settlement in New York state, near Saratoga Springs. Four years afterward, however, circumstances induced them to return to Ireland; but like many others they discovered that American condi- tions held the advantage. and in 1848 a return was made to the United States and a temporary home found in Boston. Twelve months later they went to Cincinnati, where they remained until 1850, then going west and settled at the town of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, where they remained till 1854, in which year another change was made to Dodge county, a settlement being made on an 80 acre tract of wild land, pur- chased by the father shortly before. Here, after wandering so far to- gether, they passed an honored and peaceful life and crossed to the great beyond in the same year, the mother dying September 24, and the father on November II, 1880. Ten children were born to them, the subject of this sketch being the youngest son and the youngest liv- ing child. He was born in the town of Lebanon, Dodge county, Wis- consin, June 20, 1858. It was in the common schools of that county that Anthony B. Rogan received his early education. He taught school in winters from 1876 to 1888; during the summer months he worked on his father's farm. He managed to save sufficient money to carry
居
ـع.
-
-
٥٠٫٠٠٠
F.E. Ryan
545
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
him through college and the law school. The summers of 1876 and 1877 he attended the Sacred Heart college at Watertown, Wisconsin. His profession decided upon, in September, 1889, he entered the law department of the university of Wisconsin, from which he graduated in 1890. Having successfully passed his law examination, he was ad- mitted to the bar of the Wisconsin supreme court and the federal court for the western district of Wisconsin, June 25 of that year. In the following year Dodge county, where all his previous life had been spent, was left and he moved to the city of Oconomowoc and immedi- ately started out for himself and opened up an office. A partnership was formed in 1893 with his brother-in-law, William Fleming; this continued until May, 1895. The character of Mr. Rogan's practice was general, and he has taken part in much of the more important litigation in Waukesha county, and with most gratifying results as re- gards success in the cases that have been entrusted to him. Demo- cratic in his political opinions, his first vote was cast for Hancock in 1880, when the last named ran for President. Mr. Rogan has stood and stands high in the councils of his party. For 1881 and 1882 he was town clerk of Ashippun, Dodge county, and in 1884 was assessor of the same town. From 1893 to 1895 he was justice of the peace, and in 1895 was elected municipal judge of the western municipal dis- trict of Waukesha county for a six years' term. He was a candidate in a republican district on the democratic ticket, the contest being a three-cornered one and his plurality over the next highest of his op- ponents being forty-one. Judge Rogan is a Roman Catholic, a mem- ber of the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, and a bachelor.
TIMOTHY E. RYAN.
Timothy Edward Ryan was born in the town of Greenwich. Wash- ington county, New York, on the 10th day of January, 1859, and is a son of Jeremiah and Johanna (Cronin) Ryan, the former a farmer by occupation. Young Ryan attended a school at Greenwich until 1872, when his father removed with the family to Wisconsin and located on a farm north of the village of Pewaukee. Here the lad at once Vol. II .- 35
546
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
commenced his studies in the public schools, and supplemented his ,early educational training with a course in the Spencerian business col- lege of Milwaukee. During the winter seasons of the succeeding six years he taught in the public schools of Waukesha county, and after- ward, having decided to enter the field of jurisprudence, he became a student in the law office of Van Dyke & Van Dyke, of Milwaukee. Here he remained for one year and then took a law course in the Wis- consin state university, at Madison, graduating at that institution in the class of 1885, after which he at once entered upon what was des- tined to prove a most lucrative practice. He formed a partnership with P. H. Carney, of Waukesha, which continued for four years, and upon its dissolution he became associated with E. Merton, of Burling- ton, Wisconsin.
In his profession he has displayed ability of a high order, of quick perception, possessing a subtle power of discrimination and sound prac- tical judgment in the discussion of legal principles; he is lucid in his statements, logical in his arguments and forcible in his conclusions. His professional career in Waukesha has been continuously successful and there are few important cases with which he has not been identi- fied, either directly or indirectly. The noted divorce case of Wheeler vs. Wheeler was taken by him twice to the supreme court of the state. In the State of Wisconsin vs. John Henry Phillips, the defendant be- ing charged with arson, Mr. Ryan was appointed assistant to the dis- trict attorney. He was also chairman of the citizens' committee that fought the pipe line scheme, being also counsel in the litigation re- sulting therefrom. As assistant to the district attorney in the murder trial of the State vs. James Butler he also greatly added to his repu- tation as a powerful pleader before the jury and an astute criminal law- yer. He was leading counsel in the Fabacher will contest, winning his suit in both the county and circuit courts, the case still pending in the supreme court. Mr. Ryan is also identified with the litigation over the Morris D. Cutler will, involving about $250,000. As may be inferred from a consideration of the above mentioned cases, he is equally successful whether engaged in the practice of either criminal or civil law, which implies an unusual versatility of legal ability.
547
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
In addition to his law business Mr. Ryan has other interests. He is president of the Waukesha Beach Land Company, a member of the firm of Hardy & Ryan, abstractors, and president of the National Manufacturing Company of Buchanan, Michigan.
In his religious faith he is a Catholic, a consistent member of the church and holds membership with the Catholic Knights of Wisconsin and the Catholic Order of Foresters. Politically he is a stanch believer in the principles and doctrines of the democratic party, and is one of the most prominent of its younger members in the state. For five years he held the office of town clerk of Pewaukee, and since his re- moval to Waukesha he has been a delegate to numerous party conven- tions, where he is always one of the leaders, his opinions being received with consideration. In 1886 he was candidate for district attorney of Waukesha county, and in 1889 was elected city attorney; he was also, in 1888, the democratic candidate for attorney general of Wisconsin. In 1890 he received the support of the Waukesha delegation at the con- gressional convention held in Juneau, Dodge county, and in 1892 came within one vote of receiving the nomination for Congress in the con- vention held at Cedarburg, Ozaukee county. In 1898 he was enthusi- astically supported by a very large majority of the delegates to the dem- ocratic state convention as a candidate for governor. The esteem in which he is held by members of his party is thus readily observed.
In 1895 Mr. Ryan was appointed postmaster of Waukesha by Presi- dent Cleveland; a position which he still holds. However he has not permitted the duties of the office to interfere with his large practice any more than necessary.
On the 5th of October, 1887, Mr. Ryan was united in marriage to Miss Mary Bannon, of Waukesha, and three daughters and two sons have been born of their union, namely: Marguerite, Katherine Frances, Agnes Josephine, Paul Joseph and Timothy Edward, Jr. In all the relations of life Mr. Ryan has ever been an honorable, upright gentleman, and his public and private life is alike above reproach.
548
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
GEORGE W. SLOAN.
George W. Sloan was born at Farmington, Jefferson county, Wis- consin, on the 24th day of January, 1850, of good old Irish stock. His father, P. D. Sloan, was a great-grandson of Margaret Lee, whose large estate in the county of West Meath, Ireland, was confiscated at the time of the invasion of Cromwell, but who retained, until the time of her death, the prerogative long enjoyed by her family of saving one life from the gallows each year. His mother. Ann Killoy Sloan, was a lineal descendant of Hugh O'Niell, the Red Hand of Ulster; her great- grandfather, Niell Brown, had command of the pike men at the siege of Droghida on September 10, 1649, and perished with his comrades in that historic battle.
Mr. Sloan comes of a long lived family, particularly on his mother's side, his grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother having lived to the respective ages of one hundred three, one hundred seven and one hundred eleven. His mother died at Juneau in 1887 and his father in 1891, each having completed more than four score years of honest, faithful toil.
Mr. Sloan spent the most of his time on his father's farm in the town of Watertown until he was twenty years of age, going to school and teaching in the winter, and working on the farm in summer. He entered the high school at Watertown in 1864 and graduated in 1857, walking from the farm every night and morning, a distance of four miles. He entered the law office of Enos & Hall at Watertown in 1867, and read law until October, 1870, when he entered the law de- partment of the Michigan university and graduated therefrom in 1873.
In 1874 he accepted the position of principal of the Juneau high school, which he occupied until 1876.
He was admitted to the bar in his native county of Jefferson in 1875 before Judge Conger, but an attack of inflammatory rheumatism, with which malady he had been afflicted for several years, prevented his engaging in the active practice of his profession until March, 1879. when he opened an office at Juneau and has been there ever since.
By industry and perseverance he has built up a substantial prac-
549
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN.
tice, and for several years has enjoyed the distinction of being one of the ablest jury lawyers of the Dodge county bar. Mr. Sloan filled the office of district attorney of Dodge county from January, 1893, to January, 1897, and during his administration of that officce he was instrumental in sending fifty-two convicts to the state penitentiary. He has also served in the capacity of court commissioner and register in pro- bate, and has been public administrator of Dodge county since 1885.
In politics Mr. Sloan is a democrat. He took an active part in Cleveland's three campaigns, and is still an enthusiastic believer in the wisdom of the political policies of the ex-president.
On November 15, 1880, Mr. Sloan was united in marriage to Matie A. Kelsey, a daughter of one of the earliest pioneers of Wisconsin. Four girls have been born of their happy union: May E., who died in childhood, Loretta J., F. Josephene and Grace G., who are living, and who enjoy considerable distinction for their musical talent.
Mrs. Sloan is a notary public and devotes the most of her time as- sisting her husband in the office.
ADELBERT S. TULLAR.
Born at East Troy, Walworth county,. . December 20, 1857, Mr. Tullar comes of New York ancestry, both his parents, Sidney B. and Ruth (Bromaghin) Tullar, being natives of that commonwealth. His father was a farmer, but seemed thoroughly imbued with the military spirit, being commissioned a colonel in the state militia by the great Silas B. Wright. Coming to Wisconsin in 1842, upon the breaking out of the civil war he enlisted in company B, sixteenth Wisconsin infantry. After the battle of Shiloh, in 1862, he was mustered out of the service, on account of sickness, and the resulting fever dragged along, with intermissions, for nearly two years.
In the meantime Adelbert commenced to attend the district schools, followed by a training in the higher branches and a course in the law department of the state university. As his means were extremely lim- ited, however, he was obliged to follow the carpenter's trade for three years before he possessed a sufficient fund to enable him to pursue his legal studies. He was for three years also in the office of E. T. Cass,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.