Montgomery County, Ohio - Chapter 17, 1882

Chapter 17

IN a nation of freeni9n, where the government is supposed to be an express) < of the people's will, the influence of such a vast body of men as the log. profession now contains, whose study leads to a correct understanding of tl nature, principles and machinery of the civil compact, cannot be overrate! The American lawyer, not content with the routine of courts and profession) services, directs his efforts to a wider field, following the path to which his pi sition, acquirements and tastes strongly tend, he eagerly enters the politic) arena, searching assiduously the honors of the legislative hall; with what sui cess our history plainly testifies.

From the commencement of our Government, four-fifths of the highei offices have been filled by lawyers. The bar stands high in public estimatioi and the time has never been when political office or ^influence was moi liberally accorded to its members than at the present day. In tl most important trusts they are to be found. The National legislate halls, and the executive departments, are filled with men whose claims f distinction, to a great extent, originated in legal excellence and acquirement The several State Governments are in the same hands, while all the acknow' edged party leaders, and nearly all who are thought of as candidates for hig political places have been educated in the same great school. The lawyer wh prides himself on his profession, cannot avoid a feeling of complacency as h surveys its present condition in the United States, always prominent and all ways honored; and, as we believe, more at the present time than ever beforj it occupies a position and wields an influence such as no other profession c calling can for a moment aspire to.

It is the nature of the profession of the law, when pursued by con genial minds, and in accordance with its inherent spirit, to elevate an liberalize the social principle. Those who attain eminence in that prc fession necessarily take deep and wide views of human conduct, obthne by living, practical observation of the motives of men, the objects they pur sue, and the uses of those objects. Hence it is that men of that professio; are ever found in the front rank of those who devote themselves to the inter ests of the age, evidenced by noble exertions and personal sacrifices in sup port 'of the great principles upon which the rights of liberty and proper! depend. The history of the times since the dawning of American liberty dowi to the present, constitutes one line of successive monuments of the labors, th sacrifices, and the self-devotion of the men of the legal profession to the bes interests of their country.

Great as is the fame of many who, in ages past, have won themselve: renown by their attainments, the power of their reason and their elo quence as advocates, we believe their equals are now living. We are no' of those who are ever deifying the past and unable to recognize any meri or ability in the present age. Though none are more willing to pay tri bute to the well-earned fame of those who have been the glory of the Ameri can bar in periods that are gone, yet while we give the fathers all just praise we would not depreciate their sons; and because we honor and respect thf

Many whom the bar is still proud to number among its members, will rind none the less surely in the niche of fame than the brightest names of by- ;ne days. Nearly every county in Ohio has had members of the legal profes- On who have won well deserved local honors, while many can boast of having joduced lawyers of State and National reputation. To this latter honor Montmery County can lay a just and undisputed claim.

The Bench

The first Judges who sat upon the bench in Dayton were: Hon. Francis linlevy, of Warren County, a resident of the First Judicial District, with aac Spinning, John Ewing and Benjamin Archer as Associates. Court was ild July 27, 1803, in the upper room of Newcom's Tavern. Benjamin Van !eve was clerk pro tern; Daniel Symmes, of Cincinnati, Prosecutor pro tern.; ! d George Newcom, Sheriff. The officers of the court were instructed as to tpir duties by the Presiding Judge, and State's Attorney, and there being no cier business to transact, court adjourned the same day. The second session Vs held here November 22, 1803, the Grand Jury holding their deliberations 1 heath the spreading branches of a large tree close at hand. The first indictrnt was against Peter Sunderland, for an assault and battery on Benjamin Sptt, to which he pleaded guilty, and was fined $6 and costs. After trying tree criminal and four civil cases, the court adjourned on the second day of i session. In 1805, the place of holding the courts was changed from New. cm's Tavern to McCollum's Tavern, and were held in the latter building until ts erection of the court house, in 1806. The State, under the Constitution of 1 02, had been divided into three circuits, in each of which a President of the ;.urt of Common Pleas was appointed, while in every county were appointed r: more than three and not less than two Associate Judges, who were to be r idents therein dining their continuance in office, and these, with the Presing Judge, constituted the Court of Common Pleas. All the legal business : the county was transacted in this cotut, including all probate and testamen- % matters. The Judges held their offices for the term of seven years, and tre appointed by joint ballot of both houses of the General Assembly. The fjord of proceedings in the courts of those days was very. brief and concise, ai the Supreme Court was held once a year in each county.

In the year 1817, Joseph H. Crane was appointed Presiding Judge to succ/jd Hon. Francis Dunlevy. He was born in Elizabethtown, N. J., August r; 1872, and his father was a Major in the Revolutionary war, and lost a leg i that struggle for liberty. He was a brother of Commodore William M. .me, and of Ichabod B. Crane, the latter a Colonel of the Regular Army. r grew to manhood in his native State, there studied law under a celebrated hyer named Ogden, and was admitted to practice. In the spring of 1804, n came to Dayton, opened an office and began that career which culminated '-Iplacing him in the foremost rank among the members of the Ohio bar. He 'Jrried Miss Julia A. Elliot, daughter of John Elliot, a Surgeon in the United gites Army, then stationed at Vincennes, one of the frontier posts. Mrs. bine was one of the organizers of the Female Bible Society, in 1815, as was a|) h°r husband of the Montgomery County Bible Society, organized in 1822. Gy became the parents of a large family, most of whom died young. Two s<s> William and Joseph G., were members of the Montgomery County bar, ?*:v the latter served throughout the rebellion, on the staff of Gen. Robert C. i enck. At the close of the war, he was commissioned a Captain, with the Djret of Colonel, in the regular army, and while Acting Military Governor I 'ackson, Miss., was assassinated in the street by the notorious Col. Yerger, an ex-Confederate officer. William died in Dayton, while practicing his pr fession. -Judge Crane was nominated for a seat in the Ohio Legislature the first political convention held in the county, September 6, 1809; was su sequently elected, and was author of what is known as the Practice Ac

Ho served as Prosecuting Attorney of Montgomery County from 1813 1816, and, in 1817 became Presiding Judge of this district, continuing in tk office until the close of 1828, having been elected to Congress in the fall that year. For eight years he ably represented his constituents in the nation legislative halls, where his profound legal abilities were soon recognized ai appreciated. Upon returning from Congress in 1838, he was appointed Prc ecuting Attorney of the county, and served one year. Some years after sc tling in Dayton, he formed a partnership with Col. John H. James, o? t bana, which continued until 1831, as Crane & James, when Robert C. Sciren was taken into the firm, and the name became Crane, James & Schenck. Tk it remained for one yea1', at the expiration of which Col. James withdrew, at the firm name was changed to Crane & Schenck. In 1834, this partnersk was dissolved by mutual consent, and Judge Crane became associated with E ward W. Davies, and afterward his son, William Crane, was taken into t firm, where he remained until his death. The law firm of Crane & Davi continued until the death of Judge Crane, in November, 1851.

Judge Crane was one of the ablest lawyers who ever lived in Ohio. P( sessed of a thorough knowledge of the law by extensive reading, historical a: literary, as well as professional, characterized by an even-balanced, clear-hea ed temperament, added to quick perception, a comprehensive mind, and an i stinctive impartiality, he was at all times enabled to grasp the hidden poin and dispel the cobwebs of sophistry which crafty counsel often wove arouj. their cases. Scrupulously honest and upright, he would not stoop to a me' or dishonest action, while his generosity and unselfishness kept him cornpai tively poor all his life. Of a retiring disposition, his social qualities were 1 tie known outside of his immediate circle of friends; but those knew him aj kind, genial, whole-souled, delightful companion, whose rich store of inform tion on all subjects seemed to be inexhaustible. He was loved and venerat by the bar of Montgomery County, and his death, in the seventieth year of li age, was deeply regretted.

The next to don the judicial ermine on the Montgomery County ben was Hon. George B. Holt, a native of Norfolk, Litchfield Co., Conn., bortn the year 1790. In early manhood he entered tli9 law school of Judges Ren & Gould, in Litchfield, and in 1812 was licensed to practice. In 1819, he rived in Dayton, then a small village, and the following year opened an ofb as attorney at law. In 1822, Mr. Holt established, and for three years cc ducted the Miami Republican. In the fall of 1824, he was elected to the Li islature, and participated in the passage of laws which rendered that sessiji one of the most important ever held in Ohio. Among the most import;! measures adopted was the ad valorem system of taxation. The columns of s paper had been employed by Mr. Holt in favor of a canal communication tween the lakes and the Ohio River, a measure which had excited a bitter <- position. During this session the canal law was passed under which the 0 ) and Miami canals were commenced, and the policy of the State in favor of ternal improvements was considered settled. Mr. Holt was a member of - committee to which the subject of a school system was referred, and the U reported by them passed into a law, which established the present comm school system of Ohio. In 1825, he was re-elected to the Legislature, and ) 1827 was elected to the State Senate for a term of two years, and was Ckiman of the Committee on Internal Improvements. During the last session,!

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J28, he was elected Presiding Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and rved for the constitutional term of seven years. After the expiration of his rm on the bench, under appointment by the court, he served one year as Prosuting Attorney of Montgomery County, one year in Mercer County, and two nns in the county of Yan Wert. At thp legislative session of 1842-43, he is again called to the bench, and served out the constitutional term. Part of e interval between his first and second terms on the bench was spent in agrilture and stock- growing, spending much money in improving the breed of ttle, introducing the first thoroughbred Short-Horn Durham stock into the unties of Montgomery, Mercer and Miami. He was for a time President of 'e Montgomery County Agricultural Society, and in 1849, at the time of the olera epidemic, was chosen as President of the Board of Health. In 1850, ldge Holt was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention, was Chair - an of the Committee on Jurisprudence, and took a prominent part in framing ;e present Constitution of Ohio. This service ended his official career, and though he partially resumed the practice of his profession, with advancing ars spent much of his time in his favorite occupation of gardening. Politilly. Judge Holt was for many years a Democrat; but in later life acted with e Republican party, and was firm and decided for the "Union. Before leaving s native State, he had united with the Congregational Church, but for more an twenty-five years previous to his death he was a member of the Presbyrian faith. On the organization of the Montgomery County Pioneer Society, -ldge Holt was chosen its President, and retained that office until his death, rich occurred on the evening of October 30, 1871, in his eighty-second year, e was married in 1821 to Miss Mary Blodget, second daughter of Dr. Willm Blodget, who with three daughters, still survive him.

The next Presiding Judge was Hon. William L. Helfenstein, who went . the bench in 1836. Some time prior to that date, the family came to Dayn, Ohio, from Pennsylvania, where William L. had studied law and been admitted to the bar. He served his full tei'm on the bench, and subsequently removed to New York City, remaining there several years, finally returning to ;e State of his nativity, where he is now residing.

Ha was succeeded in 1843 by Judge Holt, and he, in 1850, by Hon. John eers. The only other Judge under the old regime was Hon. Ralph S. Hart, jao was appointed in the spring of 1851. During his term the new constition was adopted, which abolished the office of Associate Judge, and made o vision for a new order of things. Judge Hart, under this law, held over, id in October, 1851, was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

The Associate Judges of Montgomery County, from 1803 to 1851 were: an jam in Archer, Isaac Spinning, John Ewing, Abner Garrard, William eorge, Philip Gunckel, James Steele, Benjamin Maltbie, Henry Hippie, )kn W. Turner, Thomas Winters, George Olinger, John Shelby, Charles G. vain, Elias Mathews, Amos Irvine, Michael Cassady, Robert P. Brown and erman Gebhart.

Under the new law the term of Common Pleas Judges was changed from ven to five years. The first occupant of the bench under the new constitu- )n was the Hon. Ralph S. Hart, a native of New Jersey, born in the year 00. In 1811, his family came to Troy, Miami Co., Ohio, where he was reared id educated in the common schools of that county. In 1844, he removed to ,ayton, was appointed Presiding Judge in 1851, and under the new constitupn> elected J udge of the Common Pleas Court, serving in all six years on the mch. He afterward resumed the practice of his profession, but on account poor health, abandoned the law, and is now residing on a farm in Butler

In October, 1856, Hon. Ebenezer Parsons, of Miami County, was elect Judge of this subdivision, and re-elected in October, 1861, serving until fa ing health compelled him to retire from the bench. Many other Judges this district have occupied the Montgomery County bench, from time to tin who, like Judge Parsons, were non-residents of this county, yet the latter we known gentleman served so long and occupied the bench so continuously tl he deserves mention in connection with the judiciary of this county.

The next resident Judge was Hon. John C. McKemy, who, in April, 181 was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He removed to Dayton 1869, and served on the bench until October, 1872, when he resigned and i sumed the practice of his profession.

The present Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Hon. Henderson El ott, was born in Perquimans Co., N. C. , August 17, 1827. His parents, Jee and Rachel (Jordan) Elliott, came to Butler County, Ohio, in 1831, where 1 father died in 1840. His mother subsequently removed to Preble Count and from there to Iowa, where she died in 1863. Henderson' s youth was spe on a farm, and he learned the trade of a millwright. At the age of ninete he began teaching school in the winter seasons, using his earnings attendi school the balance of the year, and so continued for six years, three of whi were passed in Farmers' College, Cincinnati. After completing his course the: he taught for three years during which time he studied law under Felix Man of Eaton, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court at Columbi in 1851. He practiced three years in Germantown, removing to Dayton 1855 , where he has since been engaged in his profession, excepting from 18 to 1869, when he was editor of the Dayton Daily Ledger. In 1859, he wa candidate for a seat in the State Legislature, but was defeated by a small n jority. In 1861, he warmly espoused the Union cause, and from 1861 to 18 was Prosecuting Attorney of Montgomery County. In the fall of 1871, he w elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and is now serving his thi term in that office. In politics he has always been a Democrat, served for f years as a member of the Dayton Board of Education, and has been a mem): of the Methodist Church for more than thirty years. In the year 1851, married Rebecca Snavely, of Montgomery County, who has borne him five chj dren, two of whom are living. Judge Elliott possesses a clear, legal mind, go1 judgment, and sound common sense. He is cautious, prudent, firm and ccj scientious, a gentleman of sterling integrity and genial manners. He is a h cible, vigorous writer and a sound reasoner, and his judicial career has giv much satisfaction to the Montgomery County bar.

The Superior Court of Montgomery County, although of merely lo< jurisdiction, has acquired and always maintained a high reputation in t history of the Judiciary of Ohio. It was established by an act of the Legis.i ture, passed March 29, 1856, and the first election held on the first Monday the following June, at which time Hon. Daniel A. Haynes was elected Judge the Superior Court, his term beginning on the 1st of July, 1856. -lad Haynes was born in Columbia County, N. Y. , in the town of Chatham, St tember 9, 1815, and was a son of Daniel and Magdalene Haynes. After c taining an ordinary common school education, he was sent to a boarding schq at Landlake, N. Y. , and afterward to Lowville Academy, in the same Sta and from there he entered Union College at Schenectady, graduating in t class of 1835. He soon afterward came to Dayton, and for a year was assi: ant teacher in the old Dayton Academy. In 1838, he entered the office Judge Joseph H. Crane, and was admitted to the bar in 1839. In Januai i_«Q he commencsd the practice of his profession in partnership with Henry ; Idard. Sr., and afterward formed a partnership with John Howard, with ;,m he practiced eight years or more. He was Prosecuting Attorney of Mont- County from 1843 to 1847, and in the latter year was elected to the ))o Legislature. As a lawyer he continued in active and very successful r,;tice until the establishment of the Superior Court, when he was elected Jge, re-elected in 1860, and again in 1865. The learning and eminently acial qualities which Judge Haynes brought to the discharge of the duties ome bench, gave to his decisions an authority that was recognized and reputed by both bench and bar throughout the State. In February, 1870, he spied the Judgeship, and returned to the practice of law in partnership with hi.. 0. L. Vallandigham, in Dayton. A rapidly growing and lucrative praciC attested the strength of this firm, which was dissolved by the sudden eh. of Mr. Vallandigham in June, 1871. Judge Haynes then formed a partsihip with John Howard & Son, under the firm name of Haynes, Howard & [Card. This continued until 1875, when he was again elected Judge of the aarior Court, in which office he served until 1881, and in which his eminent b ity and unimpeachable integrity commanded the confidence of the public,

' jell as the unbounded respect of the bar. In early life a Whig, he subse- Ujitly became a Republican, and was an ardent supporter of the Government ang the dark days of civil war. Outside of his profession, Judge Haynes rai for several years, President of the Dayton Bank, and also of the Dayton airance Company. On the 13th of June. 1848, he married Miss Emily Ion, daughter of Gen. Samson Mason, who was one of the leading lawyers pringfield, Ohio. Mrs. Haynes died on the 2d of September following, ip which time he has not again married.

Upon the resignation of Judge Haynes in 1870, Jackson A. Jordan was punted to serve until the next annual election, at which Hon. Thomas O. lie was chosen and served until 1876. In that year, Judge Haynes, again «3 upon the bench, and in 1881 was succeeded by Hon. Dennis Dwyer, the 1 3nt occupant. There is no more beautiful character than the courteous, a mt, honorable, learned, careful, earnest, kind and venerable Judge, whose ' noted legal abilities have raised him to the bench. His integrity no one v question; his firmness and impartiality are proverbial; his decisions are ab with care, and clearness; from every sentence thoughts drop pure as gold, eeels strong because he feels that he is just, while the bar and public revere and his works because they are known and appreciated as the best efforts toilsome professional life. Who would exchange such an honorable posi-

0 for the gold of Ophir? To the mandates of the judiciary every other pur- >;i submits; in the presence of that great power every other is silent. It is

1 ice the ultimate hope and grand ally of Jihe people and of their agents, ands above the National Legislatures and the President; above the army

Kithenavy; and in this sublime attitude, as representative of eternal prinf in the form of law, is above reproach. The poet, in his verses defining " 'hat Constitutes a State," says:

The Probate Court of Montgomery County was established under the 0 'th Section of Act 4, of the new Constitutional Convention, and the second jday of October, 1851, was fixed for the first election. The term of service designated as three years, but some of the Probate Judges have filled the i°r two or three terms. At the first election. Youngs V. Wood was chosen as Probate Judge of Montgomery County, and began bis duties in Februi 1852. In 1855, be was succeeded by Joseph G. Crane, and be, in 1858. James H. Baggott. In 1800, Samuel Boltin was elected, and re-elected 1863, bis term of office expiring in 1867. He was succeeded by Dennis Dw' wbo had been elected in the fall of 1866; was re-elected in 1869, and ai in 1872, filling the office three terms. In 1875, John L. H. Frank was chose Probate Judge, and re-elected in 1878, and in 1882 was succeeded by TV McKemy.

The Bar

For professional courtesy, gentlemanly tone, moral rectitude and intell ual ability, the association of men known as the Dayton bar, has always 1 jnstly distinguished. It has furnished one Governor of Ohio, Hon. Cha Anderson; five members of Congress, viz. : Hons. Joseph H. Crane, Bober Schenck, Clement L. Val landigh un, Lewis B. Gunckel, and John A. McMal twenty-five members of the Ohio General Assembly; nine Judges of the C mon Pleas and Superior Courts; seven Probate Judges, and eighteen Pi cuting Attorneys, all of whom have filled their positions with ability and si faction to the people. Of the members of the Montgomery County bar practiced here previous to the year 1840, but four are now living, viz. . H Robert C. Schenck, Peter P. Lowe, Charles Anderson and Ralph P. Lowe, two latter of whom left the county many years ago, and by the advice of u of the leading attorneys of Dayton they alone of the surviving members of bar, who have not been on the bench, will have special mention in this art There is, perhaps, no name in the annals of the Montgomery County ! more worthy of a prominent place in this history than that of the Hon. Bo : C. Schenck. He was born in Franklin, Warren Co., Ohio, October 4, 1809, i is a son of Gen. William C. Schenck, a pioneer of the Miami Valley, wbo < at Columbus, Ohio, in January, 1821. After the death of his father, Ro was placed under the guardianship of Gen. James Findlay, of Cincinnati, in November, 1824, when in his fifteenth year, entered the sophomore cla; Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He graduated in 1827, but remained at ford until 1830, employing his time in reading and as a tutor of French Latin, when he received his degree of Master of Arts. In November of year he entered the law office of Hon. Thomas Corwin, at Lebanon, and following January was admitted to the bar. He came to Dayton with a 1 of introduction from Mr. Corwin to Judge Joseph H. Crane, who irnmedi; offered him a partnership, which he accepted. This lasted three years, aij the end of that period he formed a partnership with Peter Odlin, which tinued until the commencement of his public career. From 1844 to lS5j was associated with Wilber Conover in the practice of his profession, the being Schenck & Conover. In 1837, being but twenty-eight years of ad became a candidate for State Representative on the Whig ticket, and wal feated by a small majority; but three years later he again made the race, t was elected. In May, 1 843, he was chosen by his party as their candidate Congress, and was re-elected for each succeeding term until 1850, when b dined the nomination, and at the close' of 1851 was appointed by Prasi'i Fillmore United States Minister to Brazil. He returned from Brazil in : and for some years took no active part in politics. He was engaged occai!> ally in important law suits, and principally in managing, as President, a of railroad from Fort Wayne, Ind., to the Mississippi River. In 1859,1 political meeting in Dayton, he made a stirring address on the events of times, and was on this occasion the first to suggest the name of Abraham i coin for the next President. When the attack was made on Fort Sumter, j Schenck at once tendered his services to the Government, and was con iced Brigadier General of Volunteers. From that time up to August, 1862, 1< . Schenck took a leading part in all the battles in which his brigade was Jlged, but on the second day of the second battle of Bull Run, he was - rely wounded, carried from the field, and conveyed to Washington. Gen. -\L in his report of this battle, speaks of Gen. Schenck' s conduct in terms hilly commendatory. Shortly afterward he received his appointment as T or General of Volunteers, and accompanying it a letter from Secretary titon in which the great war Secretary wrote as fellows: "No official act of fie was ever performed with more pleasure than the forwarding of the inked appointment." For some time Gen. Schenck' s wound was critical, and recovered very slowly, with his right arm permanently injured, and over six idths elapsed before he was again fit for field duty. On the 11th of Deeeme 1862, he was assigned as commander of the Middle Department, in jjnand of the Eighth Army Corps, with headquarters at Baltimore, in iih capacity he rendered valuable aid to the Union cause, receiving flatuiig testimonials from the loyal conventions and leagues, as well as the ahest praise of the War Department and President. On the 5th of Iffimber, 1863, he resigned his commission to take his seat in Congress,. > yhich he had been elected from the Third Congressional District of b, in 1862. He was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Military ijirs, and a history of his course in the Thi cty-ninth and Fo-tieth Congresses

!d be a complete history of the military legislation of the country through inmost eventful years of the war, and after its close. It is enough to say that in iiilitary matters he was laborious and vigilant. He proved himself utterly u less as to loss of popularity, and championed measures which were generally fito be needful, but from which many of his colleagues shrank through fear f he prejudices of their constituents. In civil as in military life, he has e . the same bold and fearless fighter for what he deemed the right. As an ft tive orator he has had few superiors in the Nation, and as a political leader irjudgment is excellent and his counsels always sagacious. During the four ejjs from 1867 to 1871, Gen. Schenck, as Chairman of the Committee of \ rs and Means, held position as the acknowledged and active leader of the -I< se of Representatives. In this capacity, he framed and carried through to iglative enactment the system and leading provisions of the laws relating to aimal revenue, and introduced and passed the first proposition made for reung the rate of interest on the bonds of the United States. Probably at no eod of his busy life did he ever devote himself more effectively and success- 11 to labor in the public service than in those last years of his Conrsioual career. In 1871, he was appointed United States Minister to Great -lam, serving in that capacity until 1876. Gen. Schenck is a man of wide a!fire and varied accomplishments, a brilliant lawyer, well read in literary, :.l and political history, as well as a good French and Spanish scholar. He 3 ready conversationalist, free, affable and courteous at all times, a gentleu in every sense of the word. Although never forfeiting his residence in liton, he has not lived here permanently for many years, yet is proud to k n the Gem City as his home.

Cotemporary with Gen. Schenck in the legal and political arena, and i ding a like powerful influence in State and National affairs, stood Hon. laent L. Vallandigham. He was born in New Lisbon, Columbiana Co., July 29, 1820, and received his early education from his father, a pioneer . 'r cher who settled at that point in 1807. After a year spent in Jefferson c ege, Cannonsburg, Penn., lie served for two years as Principal of Union Acad- , rtj' 8now Hill, Maryland, and then returned to Jefferson College to complete hi course of study. When within a few months of graduation, he fell into a controversy with the President of the College on constitutional law, which - suited in young Vallandigham demanding and receiving an immediate ;i honorable dismissal. Some years afterward, President Brown offered hin a diploma, but he declined to accept it. After leaving college, he read law, admitted to the bar at Columbus, Ohio, in December, 1842, and began, pi . rice in his native town. In 1845, he was elected to the State Legislate without opposition, and re-elected in 1846. Here he soon gained a high r . utation as a speaker and debater, as well as an honorable partisan. On 27th of August, 1846, he married Louisa A. McMahon, sister of the Hon. Ji n V. L. McMahon, of Baltimore, Md. Having imbibed his political princij * from Jefferson and other fathers of the Republic, he started in life as a Dei . crat, although nearly all his friends were Whigs. In 1 847, he located in B ton, where he formed a law partnership with Thomas J. S. Smith, and also j two years conducted the Western Empire newspaper of that city. In 1852, » was the Democratic candidate for Congress, but failed of an election by 1 votes, and again in 1854, but the Know-Nothing fanaticism swept the ik , In 1856, he was again placed on the ticket, and though defeated at the pH by nineteen majority, was upon contest admitted to his seat. This was ond the most noted cases of the kind in the annals of Congress. His opponent i the Hon. Lewis D. Campbell. He was re-elected in 1858, and again in 15) His ability, industry and sincerity gave him great prominence in Congrii He took a leading part in opposition to the war, not because, as he claixi. 1 that he did not love the Union, but upon constitutional grounds in its man: ment. as well as from an honest conviction that force would lead to its dost)] tion. For these reasons he advocated compromise as the only way to porn, ate the Union in peace, prosperity and liberty. He was arrested by the Gjr eminent, tried at Cincinnati by a military commission in May, 1863, and sji tenced to be banished to the South, which was carried into effect. The C federate authorities treated him kindly, and sent him to Wilmington, N. from where, on the 17th of June, 1863, he , ran the blockade, finally settl |< at Windsor, Ont, opposite Detroit. In the fall of 1863, the Democracy noli nated him by acclamation for Governor of Ohio, he being then in exile, j campaign was one of the bitterest in the history of the Nation, and he was 1 feated by an overwhelming majority. In June, 1864, he left Windsor inn guise, and arrived at Hamilton, Ohio, on the morning of the 15th, where] addressed a Democratic convention, and was by it appointed a delegate to I! Chicago convention that nominated Gen. George B. McClellan for iPresidii The Government took no public notice of his return, and in time the excitenji caused by it died out and was apparently forgotten. He settled down to practice of his profession, and in February, 1870, formed a partnership vl Judge D. A. Haynes, which continued until his death. In May, 1871, he jj> sented to a Democratic convention, held in Dayton, his "new departure' olutions, which were unanimously accepted and adopted by the State ConY tion, on the 1st of June following. These resolutions did much toward reel ciliug the Democratic party to the new Constitutional amendments, and evening of their adoption Mr. Vallandigham delivered one of the abjs speeches of his life, and the last political speech he ever made. On the nil of June 16, 1871, in full life and vigor, while engaged for the defense i murder trial at Lebanon, Ohio, he accidently shot himself in the demonstrat i of a theory as to the manner in which the alleged murder might have b i committed, and died the next morning. This accidental shot proved fatal > only to Mr. Vallandigham, but to his wife also, who was at that time attends the funeral of her brother at Cumberland, Md. On receiving the sad news shock was so great that she never recovered from it. but died a few we; asr, leaving one son, Charles N. , who is the present Representative of Montopery County in the State Legislature. Mr. Yallandigham possessed great eysical and mental vitality, a wonderful memory and a towering ambition, f.hino' could move him from his honest convictions, while his energy and lity were such that he always rose with the occasion, and no degree of opi lition could discourage him. Such were the resources of his mind that his 8 feehes were always original, and this State has produced few men that could h.d an audience so completely spell-bound as this great champion of consti- ; ional Democracy.

Among the very earliest lawyers of the Dayton bar. we find the name of imry Stoddard, a native of Woodbury, Conn., born March 18, 1788. He was m of Asa Stoddard, a descendant of the Rev. Anthony Stoddard, of London, 'Rand, who settled in Boston in 1670. Having received such education as si common schools afforded, Henry spent the last five years of his minority eiking in a store. He then read law and was admitted to the bar in 1812. t or years later he came West on horseback, and in 1817 permanently located i] Dayton. Of the early lawyers of Dayton, Mr. Stoddard was one of the most ptninent and successful. He threw his whole soul into his profession, and b his integrity and determined character, rapidly obtained a large and lucratip practice, and won the confidence and esteem of all acquainted with him. I all matters intrusted to his care, whether great or small, the same conscientiusness and accuracy directed his actions, and these best qualified to judge hr testimony that there was no attorney at the Dayton bar whose cases were mre carefully prepared, or whose business was more accurately conducted, was he less distinguished for the professional learning and ability dismWed during trial. From 1840 to 1844, he was in partnership with Judge I A. Haynes; but having by the latter year acquired a handsome competence, h retired from regular practice and devoted himself to the management of his ivate affairs. His mind was an encyclopedia of information relative to the pints of three-quarters of a century. He was one of the constituent members o the First Presbyterian Church of Dayton, in which body he was for many yjirs a Ruling Elder. He was in fullest sympathy with all moral and religi< s movements, and toward such he ever maintained very marked liberality. 1 . Stoddard was married twice, first to Miss Harriet L. Patterson, who died

1822, leaving one son. His second wife was Miss Susan Williams, who bje him three sons and one daughter, dying in 1861. For many years pre-

us to his death, which occurred November 1, 1869, he was a confirmed inva- 1 Nearly eighty-two years had passed ere death claimed him; but in dying 1 had the satisfaction of knowing; that he was leaving' behind him those who

The oldest living representative of the Dayton bar is the venerable Peter 1 Lowe, who was born in Warren County, Ohio, June 11, 1801. His parents v're Jacob D. and Martha (Perlee) Lowe, natives of New Jersey. Peter P.

' eived his early education in the country schools, and studied classics under airivate tutor. _ He studied law in the office of Hon. Thomas Corwin, and i mediately after his admission to the bar in May, 1825, he came to Dayton 1 began practice in June of that year. In 1832, at Washington, D. C. , he Ms admitted to practice in the United States Courts, and in 1834 was elected Osecuting Attorney of Montgomery County. He took a deep interest in the i)wth and development of Dayton, and did much toward that end. In 1849, i was chosen President of the Dayton & Western Railroad, and by his wise f ancial management, placed the road on a substantial footing. In 1837, he vs elected on the Democratic ticket to the State Legislature, and served as * airman of the Judiciary Committee during his term of office. Originally a

Whig, he left that party and cast his first Democratic vote for President Va Buren. In 1856, he again changed his political affiliations, joining his foil unes with the Republican party, and in 1860 was chosen as a delegate to tl convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for President, and during the took a determined stand in support of the Union. He was married in Mai 1830, to Miss Ann Bomberger, of Dayton, who bore him four children. SI died in 1877, after a married life of nearly half a century. Mr. Lowe ha been an adherent of the Presbyterian Church all his life, and has been ver successful in the accumulation of property. ' He is a courtly, frank and cult vated gentleman - a member of the old regime - whose house was the resort fc the great men of by-gone days, such as Stanton, Chase, Tod and Brough, vvh were his warm personal friends. For many years he has not been engaged i active practice, but is still in possession of much of his old-timed busjnes energy.

Next in the order of time, but in the front rank of leading lawyers, come Edward W. Davies, a native of New York City, born January 16, 1802, an died in Dayton, Ohio, December 11, 1873. In 1804, the family came to Wil iamsburg, Hamilton Co., Ohio, and, in 1806, removed to Cincinnati; here Ec ward W. grew up, studied law and was admitted to practice. In 1826, he be came a member of the Dayton bar, where, during the early days of his practici he had all the experiences of the pioneer lawyer. In 1829, he married Mis Mary Pierce, daughter of Joseph Pierce, an early merchant of Dayton, wh bore him seven children, four of whom ar© yet living. In 1832, he was af pointed Clerk of the Court, of Common Pleas, and held the office for a numbe of years. He was afterward associated with Judge Joseph H. Crane, and fo many years was the attorney of the C., H. & D. R. R. Mr. Davies was instri mental in securing the passage of the bill creating the Board of Police Con missioners for Dayton; was one of the organizers of that board and Presider of the same for some years. Although for nearly half a century he maintaine j a high position at the Dayton bar, he never cqurted popularity. With broa | and extensive views, firm convictions and purity of motives, he was unremilj ting in his efforts to accomplish an object which he believed to be right. H possessed a deep sympathy with the laboring classes, and was ever ready upojj all occasions, and in every way in his power, to assist them in their struggle|| and to relieve their sufferings. The following is an extract from the testimo nial of the Dayton bar. just after his death: "Mr. Edward W. Davies dt served and maintained without reproach, throughout his long, active and use ful life, the character of a diligent and able lawyer: an energetic, public-spiritejj and patriotic citizen, a sincere and upright Christian and a pure and hones: man. By unswerving integrity and force of character, he commanded the con fidence and respect of the entire public, but to those only who were intimatelj associated with him were known the purity and excellence of his social quail ties and those still higher and more sacred attributes that adorn with grace an happiness the domestic circle and belong to the cultivated private Christia gentleman. With a dignity that naturally pertained alike to his persons, appearance and his character, he blended a generous and genial kindness, tba never failed to respond when a proper occasion called it forth; and such werj the sterling qualities of his nature, that no temptation could shake his hdelit. to truth, manhood and duty."

Another of the prominent lawyers who came to Dayton more than fift.j years ago was Thomas J. S. Smith, a native of Cumberland, Md. , born Decern ber 10, 1806, and who died at Dayton July 31, 1868. He graduated at Jeffer son College, Pennsylvania, and, in 1830, came to Dayton, where he studiei law and was admitted to the bar in 1832. He then settled in Troy, Ohic i Tan practice, and soon rose to a leading position among the members of the p- of Miami County. In 1837, he became Clerk of the Court of Common leas and served as such for several years. He also at one time represented r it county in the Ohio Legislature. In 1844, he resumed the practice of his 1 Session in Dayton, and soon became engaged in numerous railroad projects, png made President of the Dayton & Michigan Railroad shortly after its ormization, and so continued until its completion. His connection with that ai other roads gave him practice in railroad cases and he became known as cb of the best railroad lawyers in this part of the State. In 1856 and 1857, t represented Montgomery County in the State Legislature, and, in 1860, was * j candidate of the Democratic party for Supreme Judge of Ohio, and, upon fi breaking-out of the rebellion, he gave his active support to the Union ise. He was always recognized as an able lawyer and speaker, a man of ( e vigor of mind fully developed by large culture and discipline; of great finness and decision of character; of excellent judgment and of the most s upulous integrity. Politically, a Democrat, he was always distinguished his conservativeness. Moderate in his opinions, charitable in his judgnnts, refined in his tastes, kind and gentle in his manners, he was greatly seemed by men of all parties and conditions in life. A Presbyterian by eduction, and, for many years, a member of that religious body, his life was a king example of Christian piety and truth. On the 28th of May, 1833, he vs married to Miss Jane Bacon, daughter of Henry Bacon, a prominent law- V of Dayton, of which union five children were born, four now living, one of v|om, Samuel B. Smith, is the present Adjutant General of Ohio.

In the same rank and cotemporary with Mr. Smith may safely be placed t-| name of Peter Odlin, who was born October 6, 1798, at Trenton, N. J. Is parents were citizens of Philadelphia, but, at the time of his birth were tijiporary residents of Trenton, and Mr. Odlin always claimed Pennsylvania a the State of his nativity. The ancestors of Mr. Odlin were ministers of Eater, N. H., where, for forty years, they occupied the pulpit. In 1802, his f her died while absent on mercantile business, at Cape Francais, Island of St. Imingo. Soon afterward, the family removed to Washington, D. C., where 1 Odlin was educated at the Washington Classical Academy, and where he S'died law under John Law, Esq., a lawyer of eminence, whose name is fail iar in the United States reports. Mr. Odlin was admitted to the bar of the Cited States Circuit Court at Washington City, in 1819, his examiners being m Law, Elias B. Caldwell and Francis Key, the author of the " Star-Span - gd Banner," For a short time, he practiced at Washington, but, in 1820, moved to Somerset, Perry Co. , Ohio, and, for ten years, was Prosecuting Att< aey of that county. He was elected to the Legislature for the session of 1 10 - 31, during which he was a member of the Judiciary Committee and also

1 j>4, formed a partnership with Hon. Robert C. Schenck, and, for about nine ,v is, the firm of Odlin & Schenck stood at the head of the Montgomery . mty bar. After Gen. Schenck' s election to Congress, Mr. Odlin entered ijo partnership with Col. John G. Lowe, which existed for about six years, a er which he became the partner of William H. Gilman: subsequently, of Iraham Cahill, and, in his later years, was associated with Albert Kern. In Pities, he was a Whig and a Republican; was a delegate to the convention Mch nominated Gen. Taylor for President, and was also on the electoral r set for Fremont. In 1845, he was elected President of the Dayton Branch o the State Bank of Ohio, and was annually re-elected to the same position 'ml the expiration of its charter, when he was elected and served for many ? -rs as President of the Dayton National Bank. At the first election, after the adoption of the new constitution, he was the Whig candidate for Supreun Judge of Ohio. In 1829, Mr. Odlin became a member of the Presbyteriai Church, at Somerset, in which he was elected an Elder, and, upon his remova to Dayton, he was elected to the same office in the First Presbyterian Church where he remained until 1836, when he became one of the founders of tin Third Street Presbyterian Church, in which he remained an Elder until hii death. In 1861, he was elected to a seat in the General Assembly of Ohio, an< remained there as Chairman of the Committee on Finance until the close of th rebellion, and then declined further candidacy. He was the author of the bil giving to the soldiers in the field the right to vote at the darkest period of th rebellion, when the State was defenseless. Mr. Odlin introduced a bill makini an appropriation of $1,000,000 for the defense of the State, which passed aru became a law. Under this bill, four parks of artillery for the State wen made immediately, and, at the same session, the military committee perfectei and passed the law organizing the National Guard, which placed the State ii security and enabled Gov. Brough to send 40,000 men to the front. Mr. Odlii was also author of the bill, which is now a law, preventing the sale of liquo on election days, one of the best laws ever enacted. In 1869, although retirei from public life, he was elected by the Republican party as Senator from tin Montgomery and Preble Districts, and served his full term. As a man, Mr Odlin's place was among that class of Christian gentlemen whose calm an< vigorous intellects are governed by a Christian heart and a Christian con science. He was tall, slim and compactly framed, bearing at all times the de portment of a dignified and earnest, but kind-hearted man, and, although ; stem man when principle was involved, he was courteous to every one, and hi long public life and extensive acquaintance with the men and business of th world, failed to give him that forbidding sternness so common with publi men. As a Legislator, Mr. Odlin ranked among the very first of his day, an wielded a powerful influence in both branches of the State Legislature. Hi knowledge of law and of finance enabled him to render the State iinportan service, and gave him an influence such as few men ever attain. In debate, h was clear, severely logical and always master of the subject in hand, revealirt; a cultivated taste and a mind enriched with the beauties of literature. H was married, at Somerset, Ohio, October 14, 1821, to Miss Ann M. Ross, foi merly of Washington, D. C., to whom were born nine children - five daughter and four sons - two of the former being dead. Two of his sons were in th army throughout the rebellion, one of whom was a Major in an Ohio regiment Mr. Odlin died October 18, 1877, in the eightieth year of his age, loved an respected by his professional brethren for his manly attributes and brill ian legal attainments, as well as honored and revered by the best citizens of Mont gomery County, among whom he had. lived nearly half a century.

Prominent in the affairs of this county, we find the name of Hon. Charlej Anderson, who was born at his father's residence, called " Soldiers' Retreat,) near the present city of Louisville, Ky., June 1, 1814. His father, Col. Riel! ard C. Anderson, a native of Virginia, settled at that point in the year 1785 and was Surveyor General of the Virginia military lands. Charles received thorough education, and, under the best of teachers, prosecuted his studies i the English branches and in the classics. In 1829, he entered Miami Fn versity, at Oxford, Ohio, graduating in 1833. He soon after went on avis:, to his brother, Robert, who was then in command of the United States Arsenal ; St. Louis, Mo., but who subsequently became the hero of Fort Sumter. He tker engaged in farming, which did not prove a success, and he returned to Louis ville, where he entered the law office of Pirtle & Anderson. In 1835, havinj completed his law studies, he came to Dayton, Ohio, and, on September 11 as married to Miss Eliza J. Brown. He opened an office, and, for ten years, as half lawyer and half farmer, exhibiting little zeal in his profession, but Ver displaying a strength of moral principles and a calm independence of raracter, which won for him the increasing respect of the community. He as first elected Town Clerk and Superintendent of the common schools, and,

1 1842 and 1843, was Prosecuting Attorney of Montgomery County. In 1844, [3 was elected to the State Senate, where he exhibited the moral courage of sing the first man in Ohio who dared to propose and vote for the repeal of le law disqualifying negroes from appearing as witnesses in legal trials, for hich he was bitterly denounced. After the expiration of his Senatorial term, e went to Europe for the purpose of trying to regain his health, which was [ary poor. His tom' of Europe completely restored his wonted vigor, and, ipon his return, he removed to Cincinnati, where he entered into a law partership with Rufus King, which lasted eleven years. His health again failing, b removed to Texas and engaged in stock-raising, which he followed until the [hellion, when he was driven from the State on account of his Union sentient®, barely escaping with his life. He then went to England for the pur- Ise of delivering a series of lectures, and endeavored to turn the tide of English opinion in favor of the Union, but, upon reaching that land, he soon scovered that such a thing would be impossible, as nearly the whole English jition, with the exception of Ireland, were secretly assisting the rebels and redoing in the coming dissolution of the Union. Upon returning to America, b was appointed Colonel of the Ninety- third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Inf any, but, after the battle of Stone River, wounds and exposure had so impaired is health that he was compelled to resign his commission. He was soon after - ard elected Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, and, by the death of Gov. Brough, beime Governor of the State. At the close of the war, Gov. Anderson advocated omediate and general amnesty, but the legislation then enacted led him to ass into the Democratic party. He subsequently removed to Lyon County, y., and settled upon a large iron estate on the Cumberland River, where lie now living in the seclusion of private life. Gov. Anderson was distinrished as a man of broad national patriotism; a genius of brilliant parts, ith a great command of language, and an intuitive power of disentangling atricacies. He was a frank, open-hearted and generous man, whom every one haired and respected.

The other living member of the Dayton bar. who practiced here previous 1840, is Hon. Ralph P. Lowe, of Washington, D. C. He was born in Warn County, Ohio, November 24, 1805, and was a son of Jacob D. and Martha . Lowe. He grew to manhood in his native county, and from there entered iami University, where he graduated. Immediately afterward, he went to labama, where he followed school teaching and the study of the law; was ibsequently admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession, bout 1834, he returned to Dayton and formed a partnership with his brother, per P., which lasted until his removal to Iowa, in 1839. In the year 1838, he arried Miss Phoebe Carlton, of Cincinnati, who bore him nine children, all of hom are living. He practiced law in Iowa many years, and, in 1860, was ected Governor of that State, and subsequently, to a seat on the Supreme 3nch of the same commonwealth. About nine years ago, he removed to rashington, D. C. , where he is at present engaged in the practice of his prolusion. Judge Lowe possesses a thorough knowledge of the law. made a good idge and is considered a first-class lawyer.

There are many other members of the early bar who deserve special menpn> hut. of whom we have been unable to obtain necessary data for a sketch; tt of those who acquired especial distinction we find the names of Henry

Bacon, Sr., Robert A. Thmston and M. E. Curwen. The former was one of the very ablest lawyers at the bar, and, although a man not possessed of much energy, at times he would be " imbued with a spirit of eloquence, and deliver speeches, which, for logical strength and beauty of composition, were seldom equaled. He was a well-read lawyer, and, from 1817 to 1833 inclusive, was Prosecuting Attorney of Montgomery County and also represented the county in the State Legislature. The second gentleman, Robert A. Thruston, is claimed to have been the most eloquent member of the early bar - a man of un doubted legal ability and brilliant attainments. In 1836 and 1837, he was a member of the Ohio Legislature, and was considered one of the ablest legislators in the House. Both he and Bacon died many years ago, but are still kindly remembered by many of the oldest citizens. M. E. Curwen was a man of great legal learning, and, for many years, a professor in the Cincinnati Law School. He was the compiler of Curwen's Revised Statutes and author of sev eral books, among which was a short history of Dayton, published in 1850, which preserved many important facts about the early settlement at the mouth j of Mad River.

Few men were better or more favorably known among their professional ! brethren since 1840 than John Howard, whose death occurred in Dayton May; 8, 1878. He was born in Belmont County, Ohio, October 5, 1813, and, in! 1826, his father, Horton Howard and family, moved to Columbus, Ohio, where, in 1833, both parents and sister died of cholera. John graduated at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, in 1838, and, in 1839, located in Dayton. He read:; law in the office of Odlm & Schenck; was admitted to the bar in 1840, and was engaged in a very successful practice for nearly forty years, during eight, of which he was associated with Judge D. A. Haynes. He was rather indiffer ent to politics, though for several years he was Mayor of Dayton and a member; of the City Council. In 1876, he was made a candidate for Congress against his wishes, but was defeated by less than 100 votes. As a lawyer, he was noted for the care and thoroughness with which his cases were prepared, and also for the skill, ingenuity and ability that characterized his pleadings. Though not eloquent, the effect of his argument on courts and juries was ai ways telling and emphatic. In religious faith, he was educated a Friend, his; father being a minister of that church, but, some eight years previous to his death, he united with the Third Street Presbyterian Church of Dayton. On the 6th of April, 1841, Mr. Howard married Ann E. Loury, daughter of Fielding Loury, of Dayton, who became the mother of seven children, two of whom survive. In his latter years, his son, William C. Howard, was his partner in the law pi'ofession. It was said of him that he never made an enemy while at the Dayton bar, or that there was a living soul who entertained other than the highest respect for him. He was considered the most prompt man at the bar, a hard and cheerful worker, always ready for business.

Of the leading members of the Montgomery County bar who have passed: from this scene of action in the last few years, none have been more deeply regretted than Wilbur Conover. He was born in Dayton, Ohio, May 10. 1821. and died in his native city October 3, 1881. In 1834, he began attending school at the Dayton Academy, where he spent three years, and, in 1837, entered the Sophomore class at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, graduating in the same class with Robert W. Steele, of Dayton, in 1840. He was distinguished among his classmates as a diligent, popular student, endowed with an' unusually clear, analytical mind, which, with his love of study and industry, made him the best scholar in his class. Upon leaving college, he at once chose the profession of the law, entered the office of Odlin & Schenck, and was admitted to the bar in 1842. In 1844, be became the law partner of Robert C.

Schenck, and so continued until 1850. The following year, he formed a partnership with Samuel Craighead, which firm was recognized as one of the most reliable and eminent in this portion of Ohio. Mr. Conover was married, September 1 1, 1849, to Miss Elizabeth W. Dickson, who bore him five children, three of whom are now living. His associates say of him that he possessed all the qualifications of an excellent lawyer, being diligent, painstaking and strictly conscientious, active and clear in his perceptive faculties. He never concealed his honest convictions on any subject, and never sacrificed or compromised them for the sake of popularity. His opinions as a lawyer wrere regarded with deserved confidence, as well by the community as by the profession; and his business life seemed to illustrate the lofty sense of duty united with a sincere devotion to his calling. Robert W. Steele, who was his classmate for six years, says of him: " Thoroughness was his distinguishing quality as a student, and he never left a subject until he reached the bottom of it. Truthfulness and purity characterized him throughout his college course, and in all my intercourse with him I never heard him utter an unworthy or impure word. His later life was a fitting fulfillment of the bright promise of his college days. He occupied no official positions, because he never sought nor would accept them. He devoted himself wholly to his profession, and worthily won the high position he attained as a lawyer. While steadily refusing all offers of political preferment, he served for many years as a member of the board of Education. His services as a member of the Library Committee were specially valuable, and his excellent judgment of great use in the selection of books." As far back as 1870 his health began to fail - the result of a too close and diligent application to business, and from which he never fully recovered.

In closing the record of those lawyers who are recognized as fitting representatives of the Montgomery County bar since the first court was held, in 1808, the history would be incomplete without a brief sketch of Col. Hiram Strong, who was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga and died at Nashville, lenn., October 7, 1863. He was born October 28, 1825; graduated at Miami University in 1846, and was admitted to the bar in Dayton in 1849, where he continued in successful practice until August, 1862, when he was made Lieutenant Colonel of the Ninety-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was married September 28, 1852, to Miss Harriet A. Conover, to whom were born four children, all now living. Immediately after his admission to the bar, Col. Strong formed a partnership with William C. Bartlett, which continued until 1853. In that year, he became associated with Hon. Lewis B. Gunckel, and this firm, during its existence of ten years, was recognized as ranking among the leading ones of Dayton. Of the many noble men who lost their lives in the war, there was no better or nobler than Col. Strong. Quiet and retiring in his manners, of a warm, generous, impulsive nature; he never acted without deliberation, he never formed an opinion without reflection - in fact, his character was a model one. He was a just man and scrupulously honest. Frank, open and fair himself, he despised cunning, deceit and trickery. He was always genial, hopeful, companionable, possessed of the most perfect self control and temperate in all things. Never a politician, he nevertheless took a lively interest in public affairs. As a speaker, he was forcible; but strove to convince, rather than to please, while, as a lawyer, there was no safer counsel at the bar. As a soldier, he was ever at the post of duty; was exact in his. discipline, and paid the (strictest attention to all the minutest details. Having no military knowledge when he entered the army, he became, by rigid study, a thorough tactician, and made of the Ninety-third one of the best disciplined regiments in the field. He had no military ambition, and accepted the position of Lieutenant Colonel purely from a sense of duty and patriotism. Such was his attachment for home and family that the highest command in the army would have beer no inducement for him to leave them. Cautious, apparently timid, he shunned no danger when duty called, and was as brave as the bravest. He ever acted upon principle, and duty could command him when no personal interest could move him. A kind father, a loving husband, a patriotic citizen and a brave sol dier, he gave his life in the prime of manbood, a willing sacrifice for his country,

The bar of Montgomery County furnished the Union army with the ml lowing soldiers: Gens. Robert C. Schenck, Gates P. Thruston and Moses B. Walker; Cols. Hiram Strong, Edward A. King, John W. Lowe, Michael P Nolan, Joseph G. Crane, Edward A. Parrott, Charles Anderson, John G. lowt and David B. Corwin; Majs. Samuel B. Smith, Daniel O Driscoll, Luther B. Bruen and William H. Sigman; Capts. E. Morgan Wood, Samuel B. Jacksor and George W. Brown; Lieuts. O. M. Gottschall and William C. Howard: Sergts. Elihu Thompson and William Craighead. Of these, Cols. Strong, | King, Crane, John W. Lowe and Maj. Bruen gave their lives as a sacrifice ori the altar of their country, while many of the others bear honorable wounds.

From the organization of the county up to the year 1852, practicing at torneys had to pay an income tax, but in the latter year that law was abolished

The following attorneys have retired from practice, or have abandoned the ofession and engaged in other pursuits: Cornelius Boltin, J. B. Dravenstedt, -ed C. Fox, W. S Fox, Simon Gebhart, Ralph S. Hart. William P. Huffman, oise Huesman, S. J. Henderson, *Peter P. Lowe, John G. Lowe, John Mcaster, *Edwin A. Parrott, ^Robert C. Schenck, John W. Stoddard, W. H. mms, J. *McLain Smith, G. W. Shaw, T. F. Thresher, James R. Young.

The Dayton Bar Association was incorporated on the 15th of April, 1868, i E. S. Young, Thomas O. Lowe, Samuel Craighead, John A. McMahon, hn Howard and Abraham Cahill. The purpose of the association was to oate a law library by the subscription of stock by the members of the Montjmerv County Bar. The library at the time of its incorporation consisted of < rut 800 volumes. On the 24th day of December, 1868, the following officers si directors were chosen for the year 1869: Daniel A. Haynes, President; omas 0. Lowe, Treasurer; O. M. Gottschall, Secretary; D. A. Haynes, John . McMahon, C. L. Vallandigham, J. A. Jordan, E. S. Young. Thomas O. Lowe

1 D. A. Houk, Directors. A constitution and by-laws were adopted March - 1869. During the past thirteen years, there has been made many valufie accessions to the library until it now contains 2,500 volumes, and is in a H're prosperous condition that at any time since its incorporation. The 1 unty Commissioners have reserved a room in the new court house, which, ven finished, will be used for the law library of the Bar Association. The I Vent officers of the association are: Warren Munger, President; John A.

Mahon, Vice President; John A. Shauck, Treasurer; Joel O. Shoup, Sectary and Librarian; Warren Munger, John A. McMahon, John A. Shauck, John i Sprigg, A. A. Winters, Quincy Corwin and O. M. Gottschall, Directors.