USA > Wisconsin > History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin, Vol. II > Part 54
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His service to the public included three terms as mayor of Eau Claire, one term as district attorney of Eau Claire county, and one as judge of the seventeenth circuit, the latter covering the years 1892-97. He was elected to that office over James O'Neill, but was defeated by the latter for re-election. Judge Bailey had previously been a candi- date for judge of the sixth and eleventh circuits.
While on the bench he prepared for publication a treatise on "The law of the master's liability for injuries to servant;" this was published in 1894: and a work entitled "The law of Personal Injuries relating to Master and Servant," published in 1897 (2 vols.). The favor with which these works have been received will, it is understood, induce Judge Bailey to continue in the field of legal authorship. The industry which has been devoted to the writing of the books named is remarkable, the more so that they were prepared during the time that he was discharg- ing his judicial duties. .
JAMES O'NEILL.
James O'Neill, present judge of the seventeenth judicial circuit, was born in Lisbon, St. Lawrence county, New York, on the 3d of September, 1847. His parents were Andrew and Mary (Holliston) O'Neill, his father being a farmer, who still lives on the farm in New York where he was born-the last to survive of a family of nine chil- dren.
Tracing his ancestry to an earlier date, it is found that his paternal grandfather, Andrew O'Neill, was born in Shanes Castle, Ireland, on September 23d. 1766. Emigrating to America about 1790 he settled at Edwardsburg, Canada, where, on the 18th of February, 1798, he married Jane Armstrong. During October of the next year they lo- cated at Lisbon, New York, Mr. O'Neill being the first settler of the town. Here, as a farmer, he lived and died.
The maternal ancestry was Scotch, Andrew Holliston and Mary
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Lees, the grandparents, coming from the banks of the Leader, a branch of the historic Tweed in Berwickshire, Scotland. In the early '40s they left their native land, locating in Oswegatchie, St. Lawrence county, New York.
Thus it is that Judge O'Neill combined in his character the per- sistency, thoroughness and balance of the Scotch with the elasticity of the Irish. He is a trustworthy friend and counsellor, and as a judge has given eminent satisfaction. From the evidence already presented it will be seen that distaste for change runs in the family blood, and the life of Judge O'Neill is virtually divided between the states of New York and Wisconsin.
In the district schools of his native state the boy was prepared for the higher branches of learning, entering St. Lawrence university in the fall of 1863. Here he spent three years industriously and profitably, but supplemented this training by a thorough and still higher course of three years at Cornell university, graduating from the latter institu- tion in 1871, with the degree of A. B. Thus equipped with a mental training of unusual breadth and solidity, he was well qualified to rapidly advance in the mastery of the profession which he had already deter- mined to adopt. His legal education was obtained in the office of Joseph McNaughton, of Ogdensburg, and at the Albany law school, his graduation from the latter institution occurring in 1873.
After his admission to the bar at Albany, Mr. O'Neill fortunately visited his uncle James at Neillsville. This was in September, 1873, and, as the uncle had no son, and as he and the bright young attorney were mutually so attracted, that date marks the commencement of a continually progressive and honorable career covering a period of a quarter of a century. Opening an office for the practice of his pro- fession, he continued alone during a period of four years, after which (in August, 1877) he entered into partnership with H. W. Sheldon. This connection only terminated with the death of Mr. Sheldon, in February, 1879. For one year he was associated with Joseph Morley, and in 1890 formed the partnership with Spencer M. Marsh, which con- tinued until Mr. O'Neill left the profession for the bench, in January, 1898.
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It requires but a cursory examination of the law reports of the state, covering the period of Judge O'Neill's practice, to convince one that he has been a remarkably active and successful member of the profession and that there are few important cases in Clark county in which his ser- vices have not been required. Especially will his record in the supreme court be found in the state reports beginning with the 40th Wisconsin and continuing up to the time of his election to the circuit judgeship, in 1897. Persistent and hard work, a thorough training, a natural ability, an earnest purpose, an unfailing courtesy and an unswerving fidelity have earned him steadfast supporters and friends and a firm and high position.
In 1885 Judge O'Neill was elected a member of the first biennial legislature. Governor William E. Smith appointed him district attorney in 1887, and in 1888 he was elected to the position for a term of two years. He has also served as president of the school board.
But the culmination of the well-earned honors which have been bestowed upon him was hiis election, in April, 1897, to the judgeship of the circuit court, his term being for a period of six years. The con- test was somewhat bitter, his opponent being Judge Bailey, but, as Judge O'Neill had almost the entire press of Eau Claire, Clark and Jackson counties in his favor and a decided majority of the legal con- fraternity, his election was virtually assured from the first.
. During the progress of the campaign one of the county papers had this to say of him-a just estimate of the man and the lawyer:
"There is no man in the three counties (of this circuit) nearer and dearer to the position by long years of successful legal practice, re- inforced by constant study and firmly rooted upon a good education at the start. His make-up is judicial and he has all the qualities of a just and upright judge. He has resided in Neillsville for nearly a quar- ter of a century; with a large legal practice, his daily life has been under the almost constant scrutiny of our people, and no man is found who can say aught against him. He has been in the legislature and in other positions of trust, and his record is clean everywhere. His knowledge of the law is thorough and comprehensive and he is regarded as the safest counsel lawyer in this part of the state."
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Outside the pale of his profession, Judge O'Neill has taken an abiding interest in the fortunes of the republican party. As to the secret and benevolent orders, the Knights of Pythias claim him as one of influence. He joined them in 1882, when the Neillsville lodge was organized, and has since filled all the local offices as well as served several times as a delegate to the grand lodge. His religious affilia- tions are with the Episcopal church.
On June 18, 1876, at Neillsville, Judge O'Neill was married to Marian Robinson. Their son, Ernest A., twenty-one years of age, is a student at the Wisconsin state university. Marian, the daughter, is in her fifteenth year. Mrs. O'Neill is a woman of refinement and thor- ough education, being a graduate of both the Sisters' academy, Daven- port, Iowa, and Lawrence university, Appleton, Wisconsin.
THE BAR.
WILLIAM PITT BARTLETT.
W. P. Bartlett was born at Minot, Maine, September 13, 1829. His early educational opportunities were meager, but he obtained a teacher's certificate at the age of fifteen years. He paid his way through the academies at Farmington and Bloomfield and at the age of twenty years entered Waterville college and was graduated in 1853. He was elected principal of the Hallowell (Maine) academy and served in that capacity until he resigned in 1855, having in the meantime be- gun to study law. Being of weak physique it was deemed advisable to seek more favorable climatic influences, and he located in Watertown, Wisconsin, where he taught school for six months and continued the study of law. He was admitted to practice in the spring of 1856 and in the following year moved to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he has since resided. He was the first lawyer to locate in Eau Claire county. He is the Nestor of the school board of Eau Claire, has always been in- terested in educational matters, for the past fourteen years has been a member and since 1891 president of the board of regents of the uni- versity of Wisconsin. He was elected district attorney in 1859 and during his term of office became a member of the legislature. In the
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spring of 1860 he was appointed judge of Eau Claire county by Gov- ernor Randall and in 1861 and 1863 was again elected district attorney. In 1872 he was again elected a member of the legislature, in 1874 ap- pointed register of the United States land office by President Grant and reappointed in 1878 by President Hayes. From 1857 to 1872 Mr. Bartlett practiced by himself, but in the latter year he formed a partner- ship with H. H. Hayden, which, under the name of Bartlett & Hayden, became one of the strongest law firms in Wisconsin. In 1884 this part- nership was dissolved and since then Mr. Bartlett has practiced by himself.
Mr. Bartlett was married August 15, 1861, to Hattie, a daughter of Edward W. Hart, of Baraboo, Wisconsin.
IRA B. BRADFORD.
Mr. Bradford is a member of the Eau Claire county bar, and has practiced law at Augusta since 1873. He was born in the town of Fulton, Rock county, Wisconsin, June 24, 1851, and in that year re- turned with his parents to Washington, New Hampshire, from which place they had recently removed to the west. He was educated in academies and seminaries in that state. In the fall of 1869 he went to Edinboro, Pennsylvania, and soon after entered upon the study of the law there. In the fall of 1871 he returned to New Hampshire, taught school and continued his studies at Newport until the summer of 1872. when he went again to Edinboro. In February, 1873, he reached Janesville, Wisconsin, and entered the law office of Cassoday & Car- penter as a student; in March, 1873, he was admitted to the bar at Monroe, and immediately went to Augusta, where he has continued to reside.
Mr. Bradford was the first mayor of Augusta; in 1879 and 1881 he was a member of the assembly, and served very acceptably as speaker during the latter year. In politics, he is a republican, and has often been a delegate to state and other conventions of his party. His record as a public officer, lawyer and business man, as well as his private char- acter, deservedly command respect.
2.A. Frawley
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THOMAS F. FRAWLEY.
Thomas F. Frawley was born near Troy, New York, on the 6th of March, 1851. His parents, Thomas and Honora (Hogan) Frawley. were natives of Ireland, and possessed such attainments of mind and heart as especially fitted them to mold the characters of their children. The father was studious, thoughtful, industrious, independent and energetic, and the mother of a kindly, cheerful and benevolent disposi- tion, being a woman of deep religious convictions.
The family consisted of seven sons and two daughters, all of whom were thoroughly educated. It is quite a remarkable fact that six of the sons graduated from the university of Wisconsin and that from 1870 to 1896 some member of the family was a student at that institution. It is, therefore, little wonder that Mr. Frawley should take an abiding interest in the state university and that he should be instrumental in maintaining a fellowship therein.
A short time after the birth of Thomas F. Frawley, the family re- moved to Wisconsin and settled upon a farm in the town of Vermont, Dane county, and there he resided until 1875. Until he was seventeen years of age the boy assisted in the cultivation of the farm, attending district school during the winter months. For two terms he was a student at the Albion academy, in Dane county, and in the spring of 1872 entered the university of Wisconsin. From October, 1873, until June, 1874, he taught school at Highland and Dodgeville, but during that period he continued his studies in the university and was graduated therefrom in 1875, having largely paid the expenses of his collegiate education with the money he earned as a teacher. As a university student he was an acknowledged leader in debate, being a participant in the joint oratorical contest of 1874.
For five years after his graduation Mr. Frawley served as principal of the high school at Eau Claire. During this period he commenced the study of his profession and formed the nucleus of his law library. which is now considered one of the most complete private collections in the state. Upon his admission to the bar in 1880, he abandoned the educational field and earnestly assumed the duties of his new profession.
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Since that time his practice has been general and remunerative; during the first few years of his career he conducted the defense of many im- portant criminal cases. Among those best known may be mentioned that growing out of the lynching of Olson, in Trempealeau county, in 1889. Of late years he has given more attention to civil cases, especially to those involving important questions of corporation law.
As is evident from his record, Mr. Frawley is a democrat of high standing. In 1888 he served as a delegate to the national democratic convention, held in St. Louis. In 1892, upon the delivery of his telling speech before the state convention, the old ticket was nominated for re-election. For many years prior to 1896 Mr. Frawley was a member of the democratic state central committee. In June of that year he was chosen both temporary and permanent chairman of the state conven- tion which convened in Milwaukee for the purpose of selecting dele- gates to the national convention called to meet in Chicago. Upon taking the chair as presiding officer of the convention, he forcibly out- lined the policy of the party and made an able argument against the adoption of the resolution advocating the free coinage of silver. This speech was influential in shaping the course of the state organization, but when it was found that the Chicago convention favored the free silver policy, Mr. Frawley resigned his membership in the state central committee and, to use his own words, "in common with other non- silver-coated democrats, have been extremely quiet in speech, but active in voting, since that time."
Mr. Frawley was for ten years a member and for several terms president of the common council of Eau Claire. Interested in educa- tional matters, he was for many years a member of the board of educa- tion, and in that capacity did much to improve the school system of the city. His professional brethren have honored him with the presi- dency of the Eau Claire county bar association. He is also financially and professionally interested in several corporations, being a stock- holder and director of the Chippewa Valley bank and stockholder and attorney for the Eau Claire Light & Power company, in addition to holding similar relations to other corporations.
On the 6th day of August, 1877, Mr. Frawley was married to Lydia
1
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A., daughter of Joseph Lawler, one of the early settlers of Eau Claire and one of its most highly respected citizens. They have one son, Thomas F. Frawley, Jr., now fifteen years old, who is a graduate of the Eau Claire high school and is about to matriculate at the university of Wisconsin. Mrs. Frawley is largely interested in charitable work, and in every way has been an inspiration to her husband. Finally, it may be said of Mr. Frawley that his position in the profession is largely due to his energy and power of application, as well as to the systematic treatment which all cases entrusted to him receive. His judgment is sound, his powers of discrimination keen, his capacity for work unusual, and before commencing the draft of his pleadings he makes it a rule to examine and analyze a case in all its bearings. In addition to preparing a complete and exhaustive outline of each case, he classifies and keeps memoranda of all facts pertaining thereto, and reports of all decisions are classified and arranged alphabetically.
Not only has Mr. Frawley a capacity for seizing the vital points in a case, but he has also the faculty of strongly impressing his ideas upon others. Respecting the rights of his legal opponents, it should be added that he never resists a motion that ought to be granted, never refuses a continuance which is based on just grounds, and, although firm in his attitudes, endeavors always to treat his brethren at the bar with dignity and courtesy.
During the eighteen years that he has been a member of the legal profession Mr. Frawley has formed several connections. From 1881 to 1884 he was of the firm of Frawley, Hendrix & Brooks: from 1884 to 1888 he practiced alone: the following year his brother, W. H. Frawley, was his partner, and from August, 1889, to August, 1890, he was associated with H. H. Hayden as a member of the firm of Hayden & Frawley. From August. 1890, until September, 1897. Mr. Frawley had no partner, but at the latter date the present firm of Frawley, Bundy & Wilcox was formed.
In religion Mr. Frawley is a Roman Catholic.
Vol. II .- 40
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MICHAEL GRIFFIN.
Michael Griffin was born in County Clare, Ireland, September 9, . 1842. In 1847 his parents emigrated to America and after a short time spent in Canada, in 1851 they moved to Hudson, Summit county, Ohio, where the boy attended the common schools. In 1856 the family moved to Wisconsin, locating in Newport, Sauk county, where he continued his studies in the district school.
In the time of excitement immediately preceding the outbreaking of the rebellion, his patriotism was frequently aroused, and he deter- mined that in case of war he would tender his services to his country. He enlisted at the age of nineteen, September 11, 1861, in what became company E of the twelfth Wisconsin volunteer infantry. He was with the rest of the company mustered into the United States service No- vember 5, 1861, and was appointed sergeant on the same day. January II, 1862, the regiment left Wisconsin, being ordered to Fort Leaven- worth. March I, it was ordered to Fort Scott, and thence to Fort Riley, on a prospective expedition to New Mexico. At Fort Riley orders to return to Leavenworth were received. From Leavenworth the regiment descended the Missouri and Mississippi rivers by boat to Columbus, and thence by rail to Corinth, where they joined Grant's army. They then marched to Bolivar, Mississippi, thence below Holly . Springs, then after the capture of Holly Springs by the Confederate General Van Dorn, the retrograde movement of Grant's army was be- gun, and the entire command marched by way of Memphis, with Vicks- burg as its objective point.
After the siege of Vicksburg they marched to Jackson and engaged in a fight with Joe Johnston; thence they marched to Natchez, then to Harrisburg, Louisiana, where they captured a confederate fort and a number of prisoners, and returned to Natchez and then to Vicksburg, and, after veteranizing, participated in Sherman's campaign against Meridian. During the ensuing winter the regiment re-enlisted as vet- erans and returned home on furlough. The furlough having expired, they returned to Cairo, ascended the Tennessee river to Clifton, Ten- nessee, crossed the mountains to Huntsville, Alabama, and then to
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Rome, Georgia, joined Sherman's army while under fire, at Big Shanty, Georgia, and participated in the various engagements of the Atlanta campaign and in the march to the sea. At the battle of Bald Hill, Atlanta, Georgia, July 21, 1864, our subject was wounded in a charge upon the works of the enemy. He was marching beside his men when a small shot entered his head on the left side of his nose and passed into his right jaw. He was rendered temporarily insensible, but upon becoming conscious was delighted to perceive that the enemy had been driven from his position and that the Union soldiers were in possession of the enemy's works. He was ordered to the hospital, and, although suffering severe pain, assisted the surgeons in tending the more seriously wounded.
An incident showing his pluck and self-reliance occurred during the following day. Hearing the noise of battle, and perceiving from the location of the fight that his regiment was attacked, he rushed from the hospital to the front and took his place with the company. Having been placed on the list of wounded he was, upon the roll-call in the hos- pital, discovered to be missing and was reported as a deserter. His colonel was notified and amusingly replied that "he wished all the soldiers in the hospital would desert in the manner Sergeant Griffin did." He was commissioned second lieutenant February II, 1865, and mus- tered as such on the 30th of the following March. He was commissioned first lieutenant July 5, 1865, but owing to the close of the war he did not muster as such until several years later, and then only to complete the record. He was mustered out of the service July 16, 1865, because of the close of the war. He then returned to Newport, and during the following fall he began to read law in the office of Jonathan Bowman, of Kilbourn City, Wisconsin. He was admitted to the bar of the cir- cuit court at Portage City, May 19, 1868, and entered on the practice of his profession in Kilbourn City, where he resided until 1876. In addition to his professional duties, from 1871 to 1876, he also acted as cashier of the bank of Kilbourn. While a resident of Kilbourn City he held the office of town clerk, and was a member of the county board of supervisors. In 1875 he was elected to the assembly from the first district of Columbia county. In the legislature he at once took a promi-
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nent position, and, although quite young at that time, was appointed chairman of the committee on judiciary, the most important of the house committees. He was also a member of the committee on privi- leges and elections. This committee had two contested seat cases of more than usual importance brought before it. These contests led to a most peculiar fight in the body. It finally decided to permit the contestants to appear by attorney before the house, to plead their cases. Mr. Griffin appeared for Bennett against Gray, and through his efforts and because of his faithful work, Gray, the democrat, was unseated, and Bennett, a republican, given his place in the house. He was also a mem- ber of the joint committee that investigated the administrations of Governors Washburn and Taylor, and conducted the proceedings on behalf of the committee.
At the close of the session of 1876 he moved to Eau Claire, where he has since resided, and has been actively engaged in the practice of law. He was appointed city attorney in 1878, and reappointed in 1879 and in 1880. In 1879 he was elected state senator from the thirtieth senatorial district, comprising the counties of Dunn, Eau Claire and Pierce, and served as a member of the committee on judiciary, and chairman of the committee on federal relations of the senate for two sessions of his term as senator. He was an active and useful member both of the house and the senate, reflecting credit upon himself and his constituents.
In 1889 he was appointed by Governor W. D. Hoard, quartermaster general of the state, with the rank of brigadier general, under the law. During the two years he occupied that position the Wisconsin rifle range for the militia was established at Camp Douglas, and out of the first appropriation made by the state he purchased the land and directed the construction of suitable buildings for that purpose. He has always taken a great interest in the welfare of the militia, as well as of the old soldiers, and in recognition of his earnest support one of the local militia companies has honored him by adopting the title of "Griffin Rifles" as its name.
General Griffin has been an active member of the Grand Army of . the Republic since its organization, and has occupied many positions
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of trust in that body. He served several times as post commander, and for two years served as judge advocate of the department of Wisconsin. In February, 1887, he was elected department commander, and served one year. As department commander he earnestly devoted himself to the interests of the order and placed its affairs in a most satisfactory condition. He is a member of the Wisconsin Commandery, Milwaukee Order of the Loyal Legion, also of the commandery, chapter and blue lodge of the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias and Royal Arca- num.
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