Kane County, Illinois - Chapter 19: Courts Bench and Bar, 1908 (part 2 of 2)

Alonzo H. Barry, brother of Hon. W. D. Barry, studied in the office of the latter and was admitted to practice in Kane county in 1853. Until 1870 he continued to reside at St. Charles, but in that year removed to Elgin and formed a law partnership with Judge R. N. Botsford and Joseph Healy. The latter gentleman died, and E. C. Lovell, the present county judge, was a member of the firm for two years. John G. Kribs and John A. Russell were afterward law partners at different times with Messrs. Barry and Botsford. In the spring of 1883 Mr. Barry was elected judge of the city court of Aurora and Elgin, a position he filled with such great ability that he was reelected at the end of his term in 1887. Judge Barry opened an office in W. J. Meehan's block at Elgin in 1885. He has also an enviable military record, having been elected major of the Thirty-sixth Illinois Infantry in 1861, with which command he served over two years. Previous to the war he had served as captain of the St. Charles to succeed P. J. Burchell. elected major of the battalion. Judge Barry was one of the ablest criminal lawyers in the west, and on the bench administers justice in an impartial manner. He died at Elgin in

A. S. Babcock, who had previously practiced a few years at Blackberry Station (now Elburn), was located at St. Charles from 1868 to 1872 in the law and insurance business. He subsec|uently practiced at Sycamore, and in 1876 removed to Oregon, Illinois, from whence he journeyed, a year or two later, to California. He died at San Jose, in the latter state, Septemlier 11, 1887.

John McGuire and John J. Flannery studied in Mr. Babcock's uffice at St. Charles and both were admitted to the bar. Mr. Flannery also studied in the law department of the University of Alichigan, and with A. M. Herrington at Geneva, and was admitted to the bar in September, 1873. He removed subsequently to Sycamore.

T. E. R)'an studied law in Judge Barry's office, and was admitted tu the bar in 1870. He opened an office of his own in 1876. In 1880 he was elected state's attorney for Kane county, serving four years, and he has also been prominently engaged as attorney for several railway companies. He still resides and practices in St. Charles, to which city he returned in 1905 after a sojourn for many months in the west.

Wilbur C. Hunt, George F. Ross and Edward H. Bowman are later attorneys. Mr. Plunt ser\ed several years as city attorney for St. Charles, as did also 'Mv. Ross, who removed to Omaha, Nebraska, in the autumn of 1887. Mr. Bowman graduated from the University of Michigan and the Harvard Law school.

Richard Nichols Botsford, a native of Connecticut, located at St. Charles in 1 85 1 and taught in a select school. He taught later in Missouri and elsewhere, and in 1856 began the study of law with C. C. Pope at Black River Falls, Wisconsin, being admitted to the bar in 1857. Returning to St. Charles, he was for a time engaged in the publication of the Argus at that place, but disposed of it and opened a law office in partnership with D. L. Eastman. After the latter's death in i860 Mr. Botsford associated himself with S. S. Jones, thus continuing until 1865. In 1861 he was elected judge of the county court, a position he filled with great credit for four years. He removed to Elgin in 1867, and made that his home until his death this year (1908). Judge Botsford was recognized as one of the ablest lawyers in the district. It has been said of him that he was always ready for trial when his cases were called, and that in every matter his word was as good as his bond.

Captain J. E. Richmond, who served during the war of the rebellion in the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Illinois Infantry, studied law subsequent to the close of his term of service. About 1870 he removed to Chicago.

In Elgin the first representative of the legal profession was Edward E. Harvey, who has been already mentioned. He located in the place in 1840, having been previously a student in the ofifice of Joseph W. Churchill at Batavia. He is remembered as an able and eloquent lawyer.

Isaac G. Wilson, for many years judge of the circuit court, was the next to hang out his professional shingle in the aspiring young city, becoming a resident in 1841 and removing a few years later to Geneva upon his election to the bench in the county court. Erom 1846 to 1850 he was a law partner with Silvanus Wilcox, who has already been mentioned. A former writer says : "The practice thus ably commenced was continued by Edmund Gifford from 1845 to 1861 ; Paul R. Wright, A. J. Waldron and Charles H. Morgan from 1847 to 1863; E. S. Joslyn from 1852 to the outbreak of the rebellion; John S. Riddle from 1857 to 1862; Thomas W. Grosvenor from 1858 to 1861 ; Joseph Healy, E. W. Vining, A. H. Barry, R. N. Botsford, J. W. Ranstead, William H. Wing, W. F. Lynch, Eugene Clifford, Henry B. Willis, Cyrus K. Wilbur, John McBride and others. Many of the above left their professions to serve their country in the late war and some died from wounds received upon the battlefield."

Eugene Clifford, now practicing in Chicago, studied in Elgin law offices and was admitted to practice by the Illinois supreme crairt in March, 1871 ; was town clerk of Elgin in 1872; city attorney, 1873 to 1877, inclusive; master in chancery of the Elgin city court, and in 1882 revised the Elgin city ordinances. He at present practices in Chicago, but resides in Elgin.

Oliver P. Chisholm, from Grant county, Wisconsin, came to Illinois in October, 1862, and was a member of Company C, One Hundred and Fiftythird Illinois Infantry, in the war of the rebellion. He represented his township on the board of supervisors and was otherwise prominent fnr many years. He removed to Manitoba in the eighties.

Colonel Edward S. Joslyn, father of Frank and R. Waite, was one of the ablest lawyers and readiest and most eloquent speakers who ever practiced in the courts of Kane county. Before the war he was active as a progressive citizen of Elgin, where he was mayor in i86i and alderman from 1855 to 1878, member of the board of education and city attornev. He was one of the early state's attorneys of Kane county. In 1861, on the call for volunteers, he was mustered in as captain of Company A of the Seventh Regiment, which company was the first in Illinois to answer the call for troops. On the organization of the Thirty-sixth Illinois he was elected its lieutenant colonel. Of upright honor and integrity, he did much to establish the standard of legal ethics and practice among lawyers that today makes the word of a Kane county lawyer trustworthy. ]\Iany who strayed from the path of professional rightness felt the sharp sting of his sarcasm and w"it.

The years 1871-73 he spent in the state of Utah in the gathering of evidence for the trial of one of the most celebrated mining cases ever tried in the west, the famous "Emma Mine" case. Colonel Joslyn secured a verdict and judgment for his client, R. B. Chisholm, and gained for him a sum said to be in excess of one million dollars. At the final trial Colonel Joslyn made a speech still spoken of in Salt Lake City which occupied days, during which time friends of both stood in the courthouse with pistols ready for instant service. That the case won w^as due to the work of Colonel Joslyn, who went among the miners as a miner and gathered evidence, made speeches to the people to become acquainted with them and gain their sympathy. This was doubtless the most important case ever handled by a Kane county lawyer. Upon his death. October 5. 1885. resolutions were ofifered by the Kane County Bar Association, and a splendid monument was erected in the cemetery at Elgin by that association.

Before the war Colonel Joslyn was a democrat, and during the war fought for the Union, but owing, it is said, to the influence of Stephen A. Douglas, whose close friend he was, he remained a democrat after the war, not becoming a republican as did so many who had been his political associates. It is said that had he become republican at that time he might subsequently have held any office within the district, so great was his general popularity and the power of his eloquence as a speaker.

Frank W. Joslyn, of Elgin, studied law in the office of his father. Colonel E. S. Joslyn, and w^as admitted to the bar at Ottawa, Illinois, May 23, 1883. He served two terms as Elgin's city attorney and two terms as state's attorney. He has for many years been supervisor from Elgin, and at present holds the position of assistant attorney general of Illinois. He has made an enviable reputation as a criminal lawyer - few large cases that he is not on one side or the other. As an orator he follows his father, and has been in continual demand in every part of the county.

R. Waite Joslyn studied law at Michigan University, graduating from that institution in 1891 with the degree of blaster of Laws (LL.M.). He then went to Chicago, where he practiced with success for ten years. Returning to Elgin, he became associated with his brother. Frank \\'. Joslyn, where they enjoy one of the largest practices of the city.

Mr. Joslyn is the authur of a law book entitled "Joslyn on Personal Injuries," which was published this year (1908) by T. H. Flood & Company, of Chicago, and has a large sale. This work is highly commended by attorneys and will doubtless require many editions. Mr. Joslyn is now engaged in compiling another law book on "Corporation Law in Illinois," which promises to be as successful as his first venture.

Charles H. Wayne studied law with A. B. Coon at Marengo, Illinois, and was admitted to the bar before the appellate court at Ottawa, Illinois, in December, 1882. He at once began practice in Elgin and succeeded so well by virtue of his native ability as a lawyer that he enjoys a very large practice and the reputation of being one of the ablest of Kane county attorneys. He is now senior member of the firm of Botsford, Wayne & Botsford, Judge Botsford dying this year. In 1895-6 he was mayor of Elgin, but has since sought no public otlTice.

Robert S. Egan, now one of the leading trial lawyers of the county, was born in 1857 at Sycamore. He studied law with Judge H. B. Willis and was admitted to practice in 1882. In 1883 he became a member of the firm of Irwin & Egan. In 1883 ^''^ "^^'^s city attorney and from 1903 to 1907.

Charles R. Hopson studied law and graduated at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was admitted to the bar both in that state and Illinois in June, 1877. He has since been in practice at Elgin.

John H, Becker studied law at Elgin, where he now resides, graduated at Union College in 1861, and was admitted to practice by the supreme court of Illinois, Chicago, examination. May 11, 1886. He has been a justice of the peace in the town of Elgin since 1877, and at present is police magistrate.

James Coleman studied law for his profession at Elgin with Colonel E. S. Joslyn, and was there admitted to the bar by the superior court in 1863. He was city attorney from 1863 to 1865, and in April, 1886, was elected police magistrate. Mr. Coleman also dabbled to some extent in newspaper work. He was an able lawyer. His death occurred in

Robert M. Ireland studied law at Chicago and was admitted to the bar on diploma of the Union ( ollege of Law of Chicago at the June, 1876, term of the supreme court at Mo' mt Vernon. He was elected to the state legislature. Died in 1897.

Judge Clinton F. Irwin, now of Elgin, studied law in the office of W. H. H. Kennedy, at Maple Park, and was admitted to the bar at Chicago in April, 1879. He first practiced at Maple Park, and in 1881-82 was supervisor of Virgil township. Subsequently removing to Elgin, he w-as assistant supervisor of that township in 1885-86. In 18 - he was appointed a federal judge to Oklahoma, where he sat with great success for some years, returning to Elgin in 1907. He is now the head of the firm of Irwin & Egan.

Oscar Jones prepared himself for his profession at Sycamore, Illinois, and was admitted to the bar at Ottawa May 16, 1883. He had previously been successfully engaged as a teacher at St. Charles and elsewhere. Since September, 1883, he has been master in chancery of the city court of Elgin.

John P. ^lann is a graduate of the University of Michigan, class of 1882. He was admitted to the Michigan bar April 11, 1882, and to the Illinois bar at Ottawa, upon motion, September 17, 1885. He resides at Elgin.

Thomas J. Rushton studied law with Judge Smith at Woodstock and graduated from the law school of the State University of Iowa at Iowa City in June, 1880. He took the degree of LL.B., was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1880, to the Illinois bar in 1881 and located at Elgin in June, 1882, where he is a law partner with C. A. Van Home. The latter is also a graduate of the Iowa State University (June. 1880) ; took the degree of LL.B.; admitted in Iowa in 1880, in Minnesota in 1881, and in Illinois in 1884. He came to Elgin in June, 1887, and still practices there.

Hon. John W. Ranstead, who is a native of Kane county, was graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan in 1866, and in the same year was admitted to the bar at Ottawa, Illinois. He is a lawyer of marked abilitj-, and from 1873 to 1882 served as county judge of Kane county. As the county is overwhelmingly republican and Judge Ranstead is a democrat the compliment can be readily appreciated.

Charles Stephen Reeves, of Elgin, is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been admitted to the bars of both Michigan and Illinois.

David B. Sherwood, one of the most prominent members of the Elgin bar. studied law at Galveston, Texas, where he was admitted to practice in November, 1870.

John H. Williams, a graduate of the Iowa State University, was admitted to the bar at Ottawa, Illinois, in 1881, and in 1882 located at Elgin, where he still resides.

William H. Wing studied law with Hon. S. Wilcox at Elgin in 1865-66; was admitted to the bar for Illinois at Elgin in the spring of 1867 and later at Chicago for the United States courts. He was city attorney of Elgin in 1871-72; treasurer of the Illinois Northern Hospital for the Insane for five years from April i, 1880, and for four years was director of the First National Bank of Elgin, over which he had his office. Mr. Wing came to Elgin in 1846. For four years he was a law partner with Colonel E. S. Joslyn. Died in 1902.

William H. Wilcox, a native of Montgomery county. New York, came to Elgin with his father. General Elijah Wilcox, in 1842. He ser\'ed with distinction in the U^nion armj' during the war of the rebellion. His connection with the legal profession dates from 1871, when he was admitted to the bar.

Hon. Henry B. Willis is a native of Bennington, Vermont. He located at Sycamore, Illinois, in 1852, when a child, and in July, 1872, came to Elgin. He had graduated in the previous year at Albany, New York, and was, the same year, admitted to the bar of that state. His admission to the Illinois bar occurred in 1872. He has been several times elected to responsible and honorable official positions, among them supervisor of Elgin township, and city attorney and mayor of the city of Elgin. He was succeeded as mayor by the present incumbent. V. S. Lovell, in the spring of 1887.

Judges R. N. Botsford and A. H. Barry have been previously noted among the lawyers of St. Charles, where they were for many years engaged in practice.

Colonel John S. Wilcox, a native of the state of New York, came to Elgin with the family of his father, General Elijah Wilcox, in 1842, when nine years of age. He began the study of law about 1852 with his brother. Judge Silvanus Wilcox; was admitted to the bar in 1854 and entered upon the practice of his profession. Colonel T. W. Grosvenor (afterward killed in Chicago), Judge E. C. Lovell and Justice A. T. Lewis, of Elgin, were among the students in his office, and Mr. Lewis was for a time in partnership with him. In the fall of 1861 Mr. ^^'ilcox entered the United States service, enlisting in the Fifty-second Illinois Infantry. He went into camp as captain and was promoted successively to lieutenant colonel (g'oing to the field with that rank) and colonel. He resigned in 1864 to take the stump in behalf of President Lincoln's reelection, and made able speeches in numerous portions of the state. He held a brevet brigadier general's commission at the close of his service. In the spring of 1864, after his resignation, he took command of the camp of organization of the One Hundred and Forty-first Illinois Infantry, a three months' regiment, and continued until the command was ready for the field. This service was gratuitous to the state. He was elected mayor of Elgin in 1865, and also resumed the practice of his profession, being in partnership one year with his brother. Judge Wilcox. In the fall of 187 1 he became a director in and general solicitor for the Chicago & Pacific Railroad Company, continuing in that position over six years, since when he has not been in practice. He is now living retired in Elgin. In 1904 he completed a history of Kane county, and is in constant demand as a public speaker.

Hon. Edward C. Lovell, present county judge, read law in the office of Colonel J. S. Wilcox, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan. He was admitted to the bar at Detroit in April, 1870. He was a fine scholar, an able lawyer and an honored citizen, and was long identified with the educational interests of Elgin and with the upbuilding of her splendid free public library, of which he was a director during the first six years of its existence. He served two terms as judge of the county court of Kane county, having first been elected in 1882. He was also mayor of Elgin in 1877, member of the Illinois legislature in 1879 and city attorney of Elgin in 1879-80. He died in Elgin in 1902.

John A. Russell is one of the successful trial lawyers of Elgin. He studied with Messrs. Botsford & Barry, and, after his admission to the bar, became a partner with them - thus continuing several years. In the fall of 1884 he was elected state's attorney for Kane county, on the republican ticket and proved an energetic and efficient officer. He was appointed solicitor general of Porto Rico in 1900, but owing to ill health returned to Elgin, where he has since practiced with large success.

Carl E. Botsford, son of Judge R. N. Botsford, studied under the guidance of his father, and is a graduate of Harvard University. He turned his attention in the early part of 1887 to newspaper editorial work in the office of the Elgin Democrat, but later became a member of the firm of Botsford, Wayne & Botsford, where he still continues, enjoying a large practice. Though a democrat, he was elected mayor in 1905 by a large majority and served one term.

Albert T. Lewis read law in the office of Colonel J. S. Wilcox and was admitted to the bar at Ottawa, Illinois, January 31, 1868. He was a justice of the peace over six years. Died in .

Hon. Samuel Drake Lockwood, who located at Batavia in 1853 ^"d died there April 23, 1874, was licensed to practice law in February, 181 1, and opened an office at Batavia, New York. In the fall of 1818 he settled at Carmi, Illinois, entered there upon the practice of his profession, and in 1821 was elected attorney general of the state. In 1823 he became secretary of the state upon Governor Cole's nomination, but resigned soon afterward to accept a commission from President Monroe as receiver of public moneys at the land office in Edwardsville, Illinois, both positions being unsought and a surprise to him. In 1824-25 he was elected by the legislature as a judge of the supreme court, holding until 1848, when the new constitution placed the election of supreme judges in the power of the people. Besides other important positions which he filled he was, in 1851, appointed by the legislature trustee of the land department of the Illinois Central Railroad, which position he held until his death. He was one of the founders of the republican party, and during his early term as state's attorney succeeded in bringing to punishment the survivor of a fatal duel - the only one ever fought in the state. He assisted in revising the state laws in 1826-27.

W. H. H. Kennedy, now deceased, was a promising lawyer, who formerly resided at Maple Park (then Lodi), where he located in 1857. He was admitted to the bar in i860, and for several years represented his township on the board of supervisors.

James O. McClellan, a graduate of the Columbian College Law School, at Washington, District of Columbia, was admitted to the bar in Illinois September 13, 1869. He is a well known lawyer, of recognized ability and has held the position of master in chancery of the circuit court of Kane county since 1875. He resides at Batavia.

Thomas Cincinnatus Moore, also of Batavia, is an old and respected member of the bar. He studied law at Marshall, Illinois, where he was admitted to practice in May, 1843. He has been a well known figure in the courts of Kane county for many years. His practice has been extensive.

Charles T. Barney, now attorney for the United States Wind Engine and Pump Company, located at Batavia, studied law at Burlington, Vermont, and Albany, New York, and graduated at the Albany Law School in the class of 1883. He was admitted to the Vermont bar at Burlington at the September term, 1883, and to the New York bar at Albany at the November term in the same year. Was city attorney of Hoosick Falls, New York, in 1884-85.

F. G. Garfield, of Campton, who came to KaLe county in 1841, commenced the practice of law about 1857, although he was not regularly admitted to the bar until 1865. There is scarcely a man in the county who has become a more familiar visitant in the court rooms at Geneva, and his native shrewdness has assisted more than once in the discomtiture of an opponent. Though "Green" by name, he is scarcely so by nature, and in his advancing age he enjoys a fine competence.

Ebenezer Barry, of Burlington township, brother of Judges W. D. and A. H. Barry, has been for many years a resident of the county, and, while his principal pursuit has been farming, he has found time to practice law to a considerable extent. Perhaps no man in Kane county enjoyed a racy suit before a justice of the peace better than ^Ir. Barry, although there are numerous others who are not far in the rear. He has retired from practice. W. R. S. Hunter, of Elburn, studied law under the direction of Hon. W. D. Barry. W. J. Brown and W. H. H. Kennedy, and was admitted to the bar at Chicago March 24, 1880. He was deputy sheriff under Sheriff Ethan J. Allen; postmaster at Blackberry Station under President Lincoln; local attorney for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway; corporation attorney of Elburn, and once ran for justice of the peace. He still practices and is one of the oldest practitioners in the county.

At Aurora there has Ijeen a long list of attorneys and many of them have been very prominent not alone at home but in state and national affairs. A few of them have been already named.

Leander R. Wagner came to the place with his parents in 1837, when a small child. He studied law in the state of New York with his uncle, Peter J. Wagner, also with W. B. Plato at Geneva and with A. B. Fuller, being admitted to the bar in 1857. He was a brilliant and gifted lawyer, and was district attorney for the district including Kane county from 1864 to 1868. He died of consumption March 29, 1869.

John M. Little, a practitioner residing at Aurora, died of consumption August 21, 1868, and was taken to his father's home in DeKalb for burial.

Hon. William B. Plato, now deceased, was an exceedingly able lawyer, an eloquent speaker and possessed a reputation second to that of no lawyer in the state. He was a tailor by trade and settled at Aurora in 1839. He soon after took up the study of law and subsequently removed to Geneva, where he was for a time in partnership with Judge Wilson.

Tames G. Barr, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Aurora when seventeen years old, in 1844, with the family of his father, Oliver Barr. He studied law with W. B. Plato in 1846 and was subsequently admitted to practice. He was superintendent of schools in Kendall county in 1849, but located permanently in Aurora in 1851. He was the first justice of the peace elected from Aurora under the township organization ; was town clerk two years ; first city clerk, holding six years; four years clerk of the Aurora court of common pleas, etc. He died January 27, 1872, and was at that time and had been for seven years assistant United States assessor for southern Kane county.

Charles J. Metzner, a fine lawyer and a thorough gentleman, was a native of Saxony and came to Erie, Pennsylvania, when three years old. He afterward removed to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, thence to Naperville, Illinois, and in 1856-57 to Aurora. He first worked at blacksmithing, but was forced to gi\e up the trade because of an injury to his eye from a flying spark from tiie anvil. He studied law with B. F. Parks and was admitted in 1859. He was state's attDrney four years, and died at Aurcira August 8, 1874, aged forty years.

Sewell W. Brown, a native of Jetiferson county, New York, was educated at Watertown, its seat of justice, studied law and practiced several years in the south. He came to Aurora in 1858 and practiced until his death, which occurred Marcli 13, 1878.

Hon. Alexander C. Gibson had been a prominent practitioner and citizen in Washington county. New York, before coming to Aurora in 1847. After one and a half years in town he located on a farm in the vicinity of North Aurora. He was interested in railroad and agricultural society matters; edited the Daily Beacon during the Fremont campaign in 1856, and in 1857 was chosen the first judge of the Aurora court of common pleas, holding the position two years. He then retired to his farm, where he died fifteen years later, August 14, 1874, aged eighty years. He was a man very greatly respected. He had come west originally to look for some property interests he had in the region, having furnished at an early date the funds with which his brother Hugh purchased a quantity of land for him and stocked and carried on stores at Clybournville (Mill Creek) and other places.

Hon. John C. Sherwin, a native of St. Lawrence county. New York, came to Kendall county, Illinois, in 1856, and during the war of the rebellion served in the ranks of the Eighty-ninth Illinois Infantry. He located at Aurora in 1865 and studied law with \\'agner & Canfield. After being admitted to the bar he continued in practice until 1873, when he was elected county clerk, a position to which he was reelected in 1871. In 1878 he was the successful candidate of the republicans of the then fourth district for congress, resigning as county clerk. He was again elected to congress in 1880, serving altogether four years. He removed to Nebraska in the fall of 1883.

Hon. Benjamin Franklin Parks is a native of Oakland county, Michigan, and was graduated from the Uni\-ersity of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1848. He studied law with Ferry & Searles at W'aukegan, Illinois, and was admitted to the bar in 1850, coming to Aurora the same year. Mr. Parks was for many years regarded as one of tlie ablest lawyers in the Fox river valley. He was the first city attorney of Aurora; was elected judge of the city court in 1859, and served four years; and was mayor of the city in 1869. He also represented his district in the Illinois legislature. Judge Parks met with a severe accident upon a winter day, falling upon an icy sidewalk in Aurora and sustaining injuries of a permanent character.

B. F. Herrington, now of Kendall county, was located in Aurora for some time, dating from June, 1876. He had an office with Eugene Canfield, and had studied l.".w and begun practice in the state of New York.

Hon. Charles Wheaton is a native of Rhode Island and a graduate of Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, in 1849. He read law with Hon. Benjamin F. Thomas at Worcester, Massachusetts, where he was admitted to the bar September 7, 1851. Removing to Illinois in the fall of 1854, he was located five years at Batavia and removed to Aurora in the spring of 1859, opening an office and engaging in what has proved a very successful practice. In 1873 he established an office also in Chicago. Mr. Wheaton was elected mayor of Aurora on the prohibition ticket in 1864, but resigned after one month, as his views and those of the council did not coincide upon the question of license. He was long prominent. Died 1906 at Aurora.

Captain Alexander C. Little, of Aurora, is a native of Rome, New York, and a thorough student in both law and medicine. He studied medicine in Joliet, Illinois, with Doctors Harwood and Danforth, commencing in the "fall of 1855; read the next year with Doctors Young and Hard in Aurora; matriculated in the fall of 1856 in the medical department of the Iowa University at Keokuk, and attended one course of lectures. He returned to Joliet in 1857, and while still continuing his studies began practice with his first preceptor, Dr. Willis Danforth. He graduated from the Iowa University in the spring of 1858, receiving his diploma and the degree of doctor of medi- cine. The study of law was commenced by him at Aurora with Hon. Charles Wheaton in 1866, and after attending the law school at Ann Arbor, Michigan, he was admitted to the bar of Kane county in August, 1867. He was elected city attorney of Aurora in 1873 and mayor in 1874. He won an honorable record in the war of the rebellion as an officer in the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Illinois Infantry.

Hon. Eugene Canfield, another Vermonter, and one of the best educated lawyers in the west, located at Aurora in i860. In 1861 and again in 1872 he served as city attorney, and was subsequently chosen from this district to the state senate. For a number of years he has been much of the time in the state of Washington, where he has considerable property and has become prominent in connection with state affairs.

Among the earlier lawyers in Aurora we find H. C. Kelly occupying the field in July, 1848, and he had probably been here for some time at that date. W. C. Taylor and R. G. Montony had their cards in the local papers in 1850, the former on the west side and the latter on the east side of the river.

Judge Richard G. Montony, one of the most careful and painstaking lawyers who ever made Kane county his home, has resided in Aurora since 1846 and been engaged in practice since 1849. Mr. Montony is a native of New Jersey. He came to Chicago September i, 1845; taught school at Newark the following winter, and located at Aurora in May, 1846. He read law with O. D. Day and was admitted to the bar in June, 1849. I'"' 1858 he was city attorney of Aurora. From 1873 to 1886 he had an office in Chicago. He has now retired from practice and lives in Chicago, over eighty years of age.

D. W. Poindexter was practicing in Aurora in the beginning of 1855, as was also N. J. Smith, who had but lately arrived from Worcester county, Massachusetts. A. B. Fuller was practicing in the place in the spring of the same year. In the summer of 1858 we find William R. Parker and Daniel Eastman on the list. The latter had temporarily relinquished the medical profession and turned his attention in a successful manner to the law. Mr. Parker was a gifted lawyer and somewhat of a politician, becoming a promi- nent and greatly esteemed citizen, and at one time representing the district in the state legislature. He died January 5, 1859, aged about forty years.

In 1859 the newspaper files show additional attorneys in Aurora in the persons of C. J. Metzner, John W. Ray, L. R. Wagner and E. A. Prichard. George W. Grow came some time previous to i860.

In December, 1847, Messrs. Champlin and Dodge (John C. Champlin, of Ottawa, and A. R. Dodge, of Aurora) announced through the columns of the Beacon that they were ready to practice law in the counties of Kane, Kendall, DeKalb and McHenry. Mr. Dodge has been previously mentioned.

Senator Albert J. Hopkins is a native of DeKalb county, Illinois, and a graduate (1870) of Hillsdale (Michigan) College. In August, 1870, he came to Aurora and began the study of law with C. J. ]\Ietzner, at that time one of the leading members of the Kane county bar. In September, 1871, Mr. Hopkins was admitted to practice by the supreme court of Illinois, and a year later in all the United States courts. He was elected state's attorney for Kane county in 1872 and made a splendid record, the beginning of the career which has placed him at the head of the criminal lawyers in the county. He enjoys an extensive and increasing practice, and the well known firm of Hopkins, Aldrich & Thatcher are acknowledged leaders among the professional firms of northern Illinois. In 1885 Mr. Hopkins was elected to congress from the fifth district of Illinois to fill out the unexpired term of Hon. Reuben Ellwood (deceased), of Sycamore. He was reelected continuously for twenty years, and in 1902 was promoted to the senate, being the first citizen of Kane county to enjoy that distinction. In 1908 he was renominated by the popular vote at the primary election in August, and will doubtless succeed himself.

N. J. Aldrich studied law at Aurora with M. O. Southworth. and took a two years' course at Ann Arbor, Michigan, graduating in 1876. He was admitted to the bar the same year at Mount Vernon, Illinois, before the supreme court, and commenced practice at Aurora wdth A. J. Hopkins in 1878. He has made an enviable reputation and now stands among the leaders at the bar.

Frank A. Thatcher was graduated from the East Aurora High School in 1877, and from the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, in the class of 1881. receiving the degree of Ph.M. Mr. Thatcher studied law for two years with Hopkins and Aldrich, was admitted to the bar in 1883 upon examination by Judge Upton, and of the appellate court. He became a member of the firm of Hopkins, Aldrich &: Thatcher in 1884, where he continued until he formed his present partnership with N. J. Aldrich.

William George was graduated from the West Aurora High School in 1879 and took a collegiate course in the University of Iowa. He studied law with W. H. and J. H. I\Ioore in Chicago and at the same time took a full course in the Union College of Law in that city, receiving the degree of LL.B. He was graduated from that institution and admitted to the bar at Ottawa in June, 1885, and is now practicing in Aurora. For two years he was associated with the firm of Hopkins, Aldrich & Thatcher.

Fayette W. Winslow, a native of Kane county, and a graduate of the West Aurora High School, is also a graduate of Sterling College at Beloit,

Wisconsin, ami the Columbia Law School at New York city. He was admitted to practice upon examination before the appellate court at Ottawa, Illinois, in December, 1883, and in June, 1884, opened an office in Aurora in company with Frank G. Hanchett.

Frank G. Hanchett is also a graduate from the West /\urora High School. In 1882 he was graduated with high honors from the University of Chicago and took a thoruugh law course at Iowa City, Iowa, graduating in 1883. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1884 and has since been engaged in practice at Aurora.

Charles L. Allen, now of Sterling. Colorado, where he is engaged in lucrative business, was formerly a resident of Aurora, and numbered among the able young lawyers of that city. He was at one time city attorney.

J. P. Cass, John C. Murphy and A. J. King were all examined and admitted to the bar in September, 1S82, before the appellate court. Mr. Cass, who was graduated from the East Aurora High School in 1879, and subsequently a teacher for two years, studied law with Judge Parks and A. G. McDole. He opened an office in October, 1882, since when he has been engaged in practice. In 1884-85 he served as alderman from what was then the Fifth ward of Aurora. He was in partnership with Judge Parks for a short time; is now a member of the public library board and second lieutenant of Company D, Third Regiment, Illinois National Guard. Early in 1888 Mr. Cass removed to the Pacific coast. Mr. Murphy has been for over two years assistant United States attorney for Dakota territory, and Mr. King, who was for a time in company with M. O. Southworth, is now prosjiering in the law. loan and real estate business at Overlin, Kansas.

Russell P. Goodwin studied law with Judge Cody at Naperville and M. O. Southworth at Aurora, and was admitted to the bar January 17, 1879, by examination before the appellate court at Ottawa, Illinois, since when he has been engaged in practice at Aurora. He has been public administrator for Kane county, city attorney of Aurora, judge of the city courts, and is now United States customs agent at Chicago.

Thomas B. Swan studied law at Indiana, Pennsylvania, and was there admitted to practice in the fall of 1878. He had been previously graduated from Washington and Jefferson College, Pennsylvania. He practiced a few months at Blairsville, in that state, and in 1879 came to Aurora.

A. E. Searles studied law with Judge A. O. Aldis at St. Albans, Vermont, where he was admitted to the bar in 1842. After practicing about twelve years at Sheldon, in the same county (Franklin) he was located in practice at St. Albans until the spring of 1858, when he removed to Aurora. He was several times city attorney of Aurora, and was in partnership with R. G. Montony until the latter was elected judge of the city court. They had an office in Chicago in 1873-74.

Osborn A. Holcomb read law over two years with A. E. Searles and was admitted to practice at Ottawa in December, 1885, after which he located at Aurora.

graduated, lie taught school sexeral years at Kaneville, Gene\-a and Aurora; read law with J. H. Alayborne at Geneva and S. W. Brown at Aurora; was admitted to the bar in 1865 ui)on examination at Chicago; began practice at Aurora in partnership with 5. W. Br^wn about 1867. Mr. Nichols was several times city attorney of Aurora and previously superintendent of schools in Kane county.

D. M. Clapsaddle, who died at Huron, South Dakota, in 1886, was in practice in Aurora for a few years and for a time in partnership with N. F. Nichols.

Frederick Brown was admitted to the bar in 1853 at Ravenna, Ohio, having studied with Judge Ezra B. Taylor (member of congress and successor to Garfield) and Juhn L. Ranney. After practicing a year and a half he came west and located at Pecatonica, W'iiuiebago county, Illinois, where he practiced five years. He was appointed postmaster there in April, 1861, upon the recommendation of Hon. E. B. Washburne, and held the position over twelve years. During the time he four years in the army, the office in charge of his wife. Resigning the postmastership in 1873. he came to Aurora. He was once a justice of the peace at Pecatonica, but resigned. He has held a similar otiice at Aurora 1881 ; has been school trustee, etc.

Samuel Alschuler, who studied law at Aurora with Captain A. C. Little, was admitted to the bar before the appellate court at Ottawa in December, 1880. and has been in practice since the latter part of 1881. Mr. Alschuler has made an enviable reputation as an attorney, and is now of the firm of Kraus, Alschuler & Holden, of Chicago, one of the important firms of that city. In 1898 he was nominated for governor on the democratic ticket and made a strong run against Richard Yates. He still resides at Aurora.

Charles I. AIcNett read law at Ottawa, Illinois, and was admitted before the appellate court in December, 1881. Since December, 1882, he has been a resident in Aurora, wliere he has an office. He was master in chancery several years.

Asa G. McDole, born in Sugar Grove township, Kane county, Illinois;- was the first white male child whose birth occurred within that township, the date being June 12. 1836. Beginning in 1858, he studied law a year with Judge Parks at Aurora, and in 1859-60 attended for six months the first term of the law school at Ann Arbor. Michigan. He was examined for admission to the bar in the fall of i860 at Chicago by Ebenezer Peck and was duly admitted in January, 1861. He was city attorney of Aurora from April. 1862, to April, 1864. and again from April, 1879, to April, 1882. He revised the ordinances of the city in 1863 and was for a time master in chancery of the Aurora city court.

George \\'. Grove was a practicing attorney at Aurora when Air. McDole entered the professional field, but subsequently removed from the city and is now deceased.

M. O. Southworth studied law in 1864-65 with De\\'olf & Pinckney at Dixon, Illinois, and in 1869-70 at the University of Alichigan, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1871. He began business at Aurora the same spring, and in 1873 entered into partnership with Sewell W. Brown, who is universally mentioned as one of the most upright citizens Aurora ever possessed. Since Mr. Brown's death Mr. Southworth has practiced mostly alone. He was city attorney of Aurora several terms and was county judge from 1902 to 1906. He still is in practice at Aurora.

Hon. C. D. F. Smith is in all respects an excellent lawyer. He has held the position of judge of the Aurora city court and also that of county judge of Kane county.

J. D. Fox came to Kane county in 1857 and soon after commenced the study of law with C. J. Metzner, continuing same until 1863, when he enlisted in the army. After his return he resumed his studies in the office of his old preceptor, and was admitted to the bar in 1865.

The "old school" of lawyers are fast disappearing in Kane county, and but for a few exceptions such as W. R. S. Hunter, of Elburn; Captain Brown, of Geneva; John W. Ranstead, of Elgin; Judge Montony, of Aurora; T. E. Ryan, of St. Charles, and a few others, have answered the final call or retired from practice. That they were an able body of men none can gainsay. That they lived like men and practiced like lawyers knowing the dignity and honor of their profession none will deny. Wilson, Fridley, Parks, Joslyn, Barry, Dearborn, Herrington, Botsford, Montony, Garfield, Lockwood, Wilcox, Wheaton and Farnsworth are names that will live long in the annals of the Kane county bench and bar. The practices of the later day, now becoming well dominant, are as different from the methods of that early day as the conditions now existing differ from those of the '50s. The multiplication of reports and statutes covering quite every point of experience and setting a rule for quite every case has compelled lawyers to become students of the law rather than orators on the facts. The jury, once more or less supreme, has become more subservient to the judge, and the attorney who formerly enjoyed unlimited time in which to address the jury is now confined to such time as the court may judge sufficient. Rules of practice have become more particular, and the court and the lawyer more circumscribed by precedents that did not exist in the earlier time. Few matters are now heard of outside the court room except criminal cases of importance. While the jury is still of value, the upper courts are more and more in view to the attorney in the trial of cases, for where one case formerly went to a higher court ten are now taken up. A new class of lawyers educated to the newer practices now prevails in the conduct of the courts.

Among the younger members of the profession who have come into prominence the past ten years might be named Charles L. Abbott, at present assistant United States district attorney at Chicago ; Frank E. Shopen, T. S. Huntley, referee in bankruptcy; Frank W. Shepherd, John R. Powers, Walter E. Healy and Roy R. Phillips, of Elgin; Frank G. Plain, county judge; Frank R. Reid, state's attorney ; W. J. Tyers. state's attorney-elect, and Judge Mangan, of the city court of Aurora and Elgin.