Nodaway County, Missouri - Chapter 27: Bench and Bar, 1882

Chapter 27: Bench and Bar

We here submit a few memorials of the bench and bar of Nodaway County and the " Platte Purchase." Every hour diminishes our recollections of by-gone days ; but a few glimpses remain, and a few short years will obliterate every view and vestige of what, in the passing pageants of life, has been so interesting to us all.

To one of the oldest representative members of the legal fraternity are we indebted for most of the following sketches of the men who were the pioneer attorneys of Nodaway County and Northwest Missouri : first settled in Platte City, and then removed to Sparta, Buchanan County, in 1839. Mr. Almond was a Virginian by birth, from Prince Edward County, and a graduate of the Hampton Sidney College. He and General Sterling A. Price were natives of the same county, and were graduated at the same institution at about the same time. He was educated with some care for a Presbyterian minister, but being of an adventurous disposition, he went with the old fur company of Smith, Sublett & Jackson, to their depot in the Rocky Mountains, on the headwaters of the Yellowstone. With the wages he received (which were high, as the trip was dangerous), he returned to Virginia and studied law. He then returned to Missouri, and as soon as the Platte country was annexed to the state, he settled in Platte County. He had a very good practice in Buchanan County for a few years, and in 1844, he formed a partnership with Henry M. Vories, late judge of the supreme court, which continued until 1849, when Almond went to California, still following his disposition for travel and adventure. On his arrival there, through the influence of Governor Burnett, of California, he was appointed judge. He remained in California for several years. Having accumulated about $20,000 while there, he returned and permanently located in Platte City. He was elected judge of that circuit, comprising the Platte country, in 1854. He only held the office a short time, resigning to return to California to attend to some pecuniary matters.

After his second return from California he practiced law in Platte City and Leavenworth until his death, which I think occurred in 1861, he dying suddenly at the breakfast table in Leavenworth, while there attending court.

Almond was a fluent speaker, without approaching or approximating eloquence. He was a fair lawyer, and, while not an orator, was an honorable and successful advocate.

James M. Dews

The pioneer attorney of Maryville was James M. Dews, from Kentucky, who located here in 1848, at a time when there was but little litigation. He also taught the first school in the town in the summer of the same year. His office was in the old log court house, which was also used as a school room. He was regarded as an excellent lawyer, careful and painstaking, and never undertook a case without being fully convinced that his client was in the right. Having acquired the reputation of being a safe counsellor, his advice was sought by litigants throughout the county. After remaining here five or six years, alternately teaching and practicing law, he went to Glenwood, Iowa, where he soon acquired a lucrative practice. He now resides in Kansas City at the age of about sixty-five years.

Hon. Henry L. Warren

was born in Ouincy, Illinois, about the year 1830 ; attended the law school at Rochester, New York, and came to Maryville in 1858, and began the practice of law as the partner of Hon. Samuel D. McEnery. Like his paitner, he had had excellent social advantages in youth, and obtained a collegiate education. Alter remaining here for two years, he returned to Quincy, and afterwards became a distinguished member of the legal fraternity. He is now a United States district judge in one of the western States, which position he fills with great fitness and marked ability.

The law firm of Warren & McEnery is well remembered by the older residents of Maryville, where they began the battle of life, and where \\ as witnessed the beginning of that struggle which has at length resulted in giving to each a national reputation.

came to Maryville in the spring of 1858, from Louisiana, where he was born about the year 1835. A short time before his arrival here, he was graduated by the law school of Rochester, New York, having previously thereto received an excellent education at one of the prominent literary institutions of the country. Mr. McEnery was a man of small stature, weighing not more than 120 pounds, but active and energetic. Possessing a warm heart and a genial disposition, young McEnery made many friends. He began the practice of law in Maryville with Henry L. Warren, of Quincy, Illinois, a friend and school-mate, the partnership lasting until about the year i860, when he returned to his native state.

Mr. McEnery, although he practiced here but about two years, gave evidences of that ability which has since distinguished him as a lawyer. He has filled many positions of honor and trust in Louisiana, being now the governor of that state.

Matthew G. Roseberry

Matthew G. Roseberry was born in Adams County, Illinois, in 1833. His early education was obtained in the common schools of his neighborhood. He afterward took a course in the scientific department, of what was then called the Illinois College, at Jacksonville. From 1854 to 1856 he was a teacher under the school laws of Illinois. He then studied law with Hon. C. A. Warren, an eminent lawyer of western Illinois, and was admitted to the bar, after a thorough and searching examination by that eminent jurist, O. C. Skinner, of the Supreme Court of that state. In 1857, he located in Maryville, and began the practice of law with J. H. Richardson, now a prominent lawyer of Quincy. Illinois. Business being dull here he returned to Illinois and entered into partnership with D. C. Johnston at Rushville, in Brown County.

In 1859, he started for Pike's Peak; went as far west as old Fort Kearney, and there found a beautiful and level piece of ground on which to turn his team, and started for the states, returning to Adams County, Illinois, and in November, 1859, returned to Maryville, where he has since resided. In June, 1858, he was united in marriage with Miss Phcebe E. Beal, of Maryville, who resided with his father in Adams County until his return from the plains, when she accompanied him to this place. After his return to Maryville in 1859, he engaged in the practice of law, and attained marked distinction in his profession. He and Judge Herren defended Amos Halsey for the murder of Lawrence, which was at that time a very noted case, Hon. Silas Woodson, being the circuit judge. In 1 86 1 , when the civil war broke out, Mr. Roseberry, though raised a Democrat, and having adhered to the doc- trines of the party as expounded by that prince of statesmen, Stephen A. Douglas, espoused the cause of the Union, and in the early part of the year 1863 was appointed Provost Marshal for Nodaway County. In his official capacity he was universally kind and lenient to all who were under the ban of disloyalty, extending to them every privilege consistent with the faithful discharge of his duty. Shortly after the abolition of the office, he formed a partnership with A. P. Morehouse in the practice of the law and real estate business. He has already been spoken of as an educator, and it may be added that he has been an earnest friend and fearless advocate of our free school system. Under the school law of 1864-65 a tax was voted by the citizens of Maryville for the erection of our public school building, and certain parties, who were not yet educated up to the importance of free schools, undertook by proceedings in court to enjoin the collection of the tax.

Hon. William Herren was then circuit judge, and Vories & Vories, with B. K. Davis and L. H. Case, were employed by those resisting a collection of the tax, and Roseberry & Morehouse for the school district. A temporary injunction wa sissued by the county court on the prayer of petitioners returnable to the circuit court. To the petition of plaintiffs, the school district, through Roseberry & Morehouse, filed a general demurrer. The position of Mr. Roseberry in the argument before the court was, that the petition failed to show a proper case for equitable relief; that if the assessment was void, as alleged in the petition, it would not protect the officer in his levy, nor would his pretended sale divest plaintiffs of their property; that the wrong, if any was done, could be fully compensated by law. He argued that it could in no sense work upon plaintiffs an irreparable injury, and that there existed no reason for transferring the jurisdiction in such a case from law to equity. It was insisted on the other side that equity should interfere and prevent a sale of property under the circumstances. The argument of Mr. Vories, for the plaintiffs, was based principally on the dissenting opinion of Judge Scott, of the supreme court, in the case of Dean vs. Todd, 22 Mo. After elaborate arguments on both sides, Judge Herren decided that plaintiffs showed no ground for extending the strong arm of equity in their behalf, and sustained the demurrer. The case alluded to was at that time the most important that had ever come before our circuit court. It involved legal questions with which the people were not familiar. The friends of free schools were deeply interested, as they regarded the prosecution as a direct attack on their favorite system, while those who inherited the dogmas incident to slavery regarded the fostering of free schools as an innovation on their traditional theories. The opinion of Judge Herren, however, was so clear and explicit that all acquiesced - the school house was erected, and hundreds have received liberal educations within its walls.

In 1868, Mr. Rosebcrry was nominated and elected to the State Senate by the citizens of this (first) senatorial district. He served out his term with marked distinction, being the associate and compeer of such intellectual and distinguished giants as James S. Rollins, James H. Burch, Jr., Reed Brockmyer, Harbine Wells, H. Blodgett, Headly, and others, of equal distinction. Perhaps the State of Missouri never had an abler senate than that of which he was a member. Whilst there he served on the committee of ways and means, of criminal jurisprudence, and county boundaries.

He was the author of the bill by which the swamp lands which the United States had ceded to Missouri, were patented to the several counties, saving to the people thousands of dollars. Although not the author of, he was the champion of the railroad consolidation bill, which became a law in March, 1870. Prior to that time the people had experienced great inconvenience, and those engaged in the enterprise of building railroads were thwarted on every hand, because provision had not been made for the consolidation of extra territorial roads with the roads of this state. In 1869, he, in connection with others, organized the Q., M. & P. R. R. Company, in which he was for five years a director.

In 1870, he founded the Maryville Republican, whose editor he was for two years. In politics he has acted with the Republican party since the war, though not extreme in his views. He united himself with the Christian Church in 1870, and is a firm believer in the Christian religion. Mr. Roseberry's mind is rather of a judicial cast. His judgment is clear. He deliberates before arriving at a conclusion, and seldom makes a mistake. He belongs to that class of lawyers who believe that the subtle technicalities of the law ought to be forever buried beneath the overshadowing vail of pure equity and justice. In all the walks of life he is exemplary. The organ of hope is largely developed in him. He looks forward to the ultimate happiness of all people who deserve to be happy. He has been the protector of youth and innocence, a liberal giver to those in want, a friend of education, and one who mingles his joy with those who have prospered by their own exertions.

Henry M. Yok1Es

Henry M. Vories was a native of Henry County, Kentucky, where he received a very common education in the common schools of that state. He emigrated to Indiana, where he led a varied life for some years, engaged in merchandising at a small village, combining farming and trading generally, and especially trading in hogs in the Cincinnati market, in which last business he declared to me that he broke three times in one week. When, growing tired of these employments, which were bootless and abortive, he studied law with Oliver Smith, of Indiana, who afterwards became a United States Senator, and commenced the practice of law in a circuit abounding with good lawyers. Although he was only able to make a living, the contact with these men made him a sharp, ready practitioner, and a perfect master of the science of pleading under the old Chitty practice. He emigrated to Sparta, Missouri, in 1843 or 44» where he commenced the practice of law, in partnership with William B. Almond. I practiced with him in all the courts of Northwestern Missouri. We were often together and often opposed to each other. I may safely say he was the most unhandy man as an opponent I ever met. His early vocations in life had rendered him oerfectly familiar with the prejudices, the habits, and the peculiar tastes of common people, and therefore in selecting and addressing a jury he was a very formidable advocate. He was quick, shrewd, always cool and selfreliant. When the testimony of a witness happened to be the reverse of what he expected, he never showed any mark or trace of his disappointment in his face or manner. He remained in St. Joseph until 1855, moving there, I think, in 1846. He then removed to San Jose, California. He remained in California two years, and, although he succeeded well in his profession, he preferred St. Joseph as a permanent home. After his return, he built a handsome suburban residence in St. Joseph, in which he resided until his death, which occurred in 1876. After a most successful practice in St. Joseph for some years, he was elected a judge of the Supreme Court of the State, which office he held until just before his death. Judge Vories was essentially a lawyer. He had a lawyer's mind. Some members of the profession are good lawyers theoretically, but never successful practitioners, and others are quite superficial as lawyers, but by tact and energy succeed very well. The world rates them as good lawyers. Judge Vories was good in theory and in practice. He was a thorough lawyer and the most formidable practitioner I ever met. He knew little of politics and had but little taste for general literature.

His convictions, however, were always strong and fearlessly expressed. He was a Democrat of the old school and an unflinching Union man during the whole war. He lived as nearly up to the golden rule as any man I ever knew.

James B. Garden.Hire

James B. Gardenhire came to Sparta, Missouri, soon after the county seat was located there, from Tennessee. Commenced the practice of law as a competitor of Almond, Vories and Hall ; was very modest and seemed to lack self confidence, and was of a sensitive nature. He impressed me as having acquired a rather superficial knowledge of the law hastily, but had energy and industry, which soon enabled him to overcome these deficiencies of his earlv education.

I could form no estimate of his early education. He used good language - pure English - and seemed to have the ordinary literary acquirements of young men of that age. He was graceful in his manners and deportment, which evinced the fact that he had seen good society, but I never heard him speak of his early life, his advantages, or want of education. He soon became a good lawyer, and was really an orator, although he occasionally failed to come up to what his friends expected. I have heard him make as brilliant speeches as any man I have heard in the Platte country. Very effective in law arguments before courts, and as an advocate very effective before juries. He had considerable taste for politics and once represented Buchanan County in the legislature, and was once a candidate for congress. During his candidacy for congress I heard him make two speeches, remarkable for their brilliancy, and in one of these he drew a parallel between Marshal Ney and Colonel Benton. It was so thrillingly eloquent and pathetic that old men sobbed aloud. He became attorney general of the state, and finally died at the head of some bureau in Washington, under Mr. Lincoln's administration.

Owing to his delicate health, his efforts were not always equal ; indeed, frequently dissimilar. When his physique was all right, his efforts never disappointed his friends. He was as delicately constructed as a sensitive plant, in relation to his honor.

Willard P. Hall

was born in Jefferson County, Virginia, at Harper's Ferry, in 18 - , and is, therefore, sixty years of age. He was educated partly in Baltimore, and graduated at Yale College. His education, of course, was very thorough and ample, coming from such an institution. The family (his father having died) removed, shortly after he graduated, to Randolph County, Missouri. He studied law, probably with his brother, Judge William Hall, Judge of the Circuit Court in Missouri. He was very industrious and energetic, and devoted his energies, physical and mental, to his profession. I am not aware that he ever practiced law before he came to Sparta He was then a very ripe lawyer for his age, and one of the best lawyers I ever met.

System and order and logical arrangement were natural with him. His eyes soon became diseased and annoyed him for some years. This, I always supposed, came from intense over-study, using his eyes too much by lamp or gas light. He succeeded at once. Plain and simple in his manners as a child, naturally frank and easy with everyone, he soon became a favorite, and from his youthful appearance, even a pet with his older friends. He succeeded, I think, Governor Burnett, as prosecuting attorney, and was a very efficient officer. He prevented grand juries from presenting anything that could not be sustained and prosecuted with great energy those he believed to be guilty. He was as an officer very conscientious. In 1844, he was selected by the State Democratic Convention as one of the electors, and I was a candidate for elector on the Whig side. I met him often. He conducted the canvass with marked ability for one so young.

He had the criminal law, and especially the statutes of the state, at his fingers' ends, and could readily refer to them in a moment's time. During this canvass Governor Hall's speeches would greatly astonish those who have only known him in the past twenty years. He then, not without success, essayed the higher realms of oratory ; and, although he occasionally let the eagle loose, he was clear, bright, logical and concise. For the last twenty years his style has been but little more than conversational, still marked with even more of its original terseness, vigor and logical conciseness. He never thinks of indulging in pathos, or poetry or mere decoration. He gained a very high rank during the canvass, of which I have spoken, as a public speaker and as a well informed politician. To this, added to his high reputation as a lawyer, he was indebted for his first nomination for Congress, over many older and able politicians of his party. This was in the spring of 1846, and during the canvas Col. Jas. H. Burch (late Judge Burch,) was his opponent as an Independent Democrat. Governor Hall volunteered as a private in the First Regiment of Missouri Cavalry. This he was induced to do, because he had been a strong advocate of the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican war having grown out of that annexation, he was taunted as not being willing to incur the consequences which his course and that of his friends had brought on the country.

He went with us as far as Santa Fe, New Mexico, doing duty as a private faithfully. Soon after we arrived in Santa Fe, I received a letter from my father-in-law, Colonel Thornton, giving a sufficient number of the returns to ensure the election of Mr. Hall by a very large majority. I showed that letter to Mr. Hall and to General Harney, and General Harney at once, as a matter of courtesy, and as he should have done, released Governor Hall from all involuntary duty. General Harney, having orders to go to New Mexico with a part of the troops, in the discharge of an order he received from Washington, to devise temporary laws for the people of that territory, requested Governor Hall and myself to prepare laws for that territory to conform to the conditions of the territory, and to be in conformity with the civil institutions of our own country. We organized a legislature consisting of Governor Hall and myself, and about six clerks, and the work of legislation was never more rapidly performed, each of us frequently dictating to two or three clerks at a time. In a few days we were able to present to General Harney a code of laws, which he was kind enough to approve, sign, as military

Governor, and promulgate for the government of the people. It is astonishing, considering the short time we had been there and our limited means of information, that we should have written a code that Congress, after the annexation of the territory, re-enacted, and which after thirtyfive years I found still in vogue in 1881. Governor Hall determined not to return to the states until after he had seen more of the west, so that he might be more capable to legislate for its wants.

Colonel Philip St. George Cook, having been left by General Kearney, when he started to California, to take command of a battalion of 500 Mormon soldiers and conduct them to California as soon as they arrived and were outfitted, now took up the line of march and Hall accompanied Colonel Cook to the Pacific Ocean, going by the route of the Heyla River. He came back with Kearney the next spring to the states. It is a fact not generally known that the first gold discovered in California was discovered by two of the soldiers under Cook's command at Sutter's Mills. Hall returned and took his seat in Congress in the winter of 1847, and remained there till March, 1853, having been elected three times.

He made a very industrious, efficient and popular representative of his district, and at the end of his third term declined to become a candidate for re-election. He remained in private life, devoting himself assiduously to the study and practice of his profession, and attained as high a reputation as a lawyer as any man in the state.

In February, 1 86 1, he was elected to the state convention, which convention was called by an act of the general assembly for the purpose of ascertaining the position the state should take in reference to the secession of the cotton states. He was elected and took his seat as an avowed Union man, and after Governor Jackson had abandoned the state, that convention proceeded to form a provisional government, and proceeded to elect state officers. Hamilton R. Gamble, of St. Louis, was elected Governor, and Willard P. Hall, Lieutenant Governor. Governor Gamble died during his term and the office of Governor was filled by Mr. Hall. Times were exceedingly exciting, as the war was still raging in Missouri, as well as elsewhere, and much trouble and anxiety necessarily devolved upon the Governor. It is impossible to give any detail of his acts while Governor, as any one month of which would more than fill this sketch.

His administration was as satisfactory as it could have been to all conservative men. At the expiration of his term of office, he resumed the practice of law in St. Joseph, which he has followed ever since. He has been employed in all the important cases since his return to the practice, and has added greatly to his well earned reputation as a lawyer before the war. He has sought no office or position since. On the contrary, Governor Hardin told me that he had twice offered him the posi- was one of the early immigrants to the Platte country. He had been engaged in teaching school at the time of his coming. He was in moderate circumstances, indeed might be termed poor, but he had pluck and perseverance enough for two men, but succeeded rather slowly at the practice of law. He lived on a small farm two miles from Platte City, about twenty acres of which he cleared and cultivated. From these two sources he made barely a comfortable subsistence. In 1843, I think, the state was entitled to 500,000 acres of public land, and Solomon L. Leonard was appointed a commissioner to select land for the state. The compensation he received for the same enabled him to purchase the land on which he resided and on which his wife now resides, east of St. Joseph.

In 1844 or 1845, he was appointed judge of that circuit to fill a vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Henderson Young, who had been judge for about one year after General Atchison's resignation. He continued in office until 1852, when he declined being a candidate for re-election. In most respects he was a model judge ; commencing court every morning early, at the very moment to which it was adjourned. Every day he got through the docket of that day, if it could be done by dark.

Lawyers had to work hard, and those who were not fond of hard work found fault. I always found him courteous and respectful to all members of the bar. The hard work imposed on the bar was not the result of any arbitrary feeling on his part, but a determination and an honest purpose to subserve the interest of the public properly. It would be better for the bar and public if more judges would follow the same course.

After he retired from the bench he formed a partnership in the practice of law with General Bela M. Hughes. It was a very able firm, and while it continued it had as much practice as it could attend to. Judge Leonard's wealth gradually increased, and the property he left made all of his family rich. The increase of his property, and the business consequent upon it, induced him to abandon the practice almost entirely.

During the first year of the war, in 1861, he went south, whether to carry his negroes south or to engage in the Southern cause, I do not know. He was drowned at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, in Grand River, in that year.

control them on the bench, which he did successfully. He was devoted to his family, and educated his daughters with a great deal of care, regardless of expense. Rather impatient by nature, yet he was fond of legal and logical discussion, and listened with patience to lawyers of any ability. We were warm personal friends, and I deemed him a just and able judge.

Silas Woodson

My first acquaintance with Silas Woodson was at Plattsburg, in the fall of 1854. I was then attending court, and was employed to assist Hughes and Leonard and General Loan in the defense of William Langston, charged with murder. The case had been pending some time in Buchanan County, and finally had been taken to Clinton County ; but i was only employed in the case at the time at which it was tried. Governor Woodson had recently emigrated from Knox County, Kentucky, to Sc. Joseph, and some of the citizens of St. Joseph had employed him to assist in the prosecution of Langston. We had been several days engaged in examining the testimony and had closed on both sides. While I was writing some instructions in my room, General Loan and Judge Leonard came in and told me Mr. Woodson complained of being sick, and desired to make the closing argument in the case instead of the opening. I told them that I had an invariable rule that I would not depart from, that the circuit attorney must make the closing argument in every criminal case in which I was engaged. In a few minutes after they left Mr. Woodson came in, and told me he was not well, and being a stranger did not like to address a jury under disadvantageous circumstances. It was a strong appeal to my courtesy, and I felt somewhat inclined to accede to his request, but I had read the trial of Dr. Baker, who was tried and convicted tor murder in Kentucky, and a Mr. Woodson had been the prosecuting attorney. It occurred to me that he might possibly be the man. I asked him if he had been prosecuting attorney when Dr. Baker was tried. He said he had. I said, " Mr. Woodson, a prosecutor who was able to meet and gain a victory over the most eminent attorneys and advocates in the Union, is able to prosecute against such lawyers as Langston has, even though he is sick. I regret that my duty to my client compels me to be apparently discourteous. You cannot make the closing argument in this case." An hour afterward, the instructions had been given by the court, and Mr. Woodson commenced his address, which for ability, brilliancy and pathos I have never heard equalled. I regret that I have not language that will convey even the faintest idea of this torrent of eloquent invective.

As a practitioner, he takes rank among the leading lawyers of the state, and his professional associates cheerfully concede his eminent ability in criminal cases. The vital interests of the largest corporations, the equally important rights of the humblest citizen, alike command his services, and whether the fee is a fortune or a farthing, he devotes his best abilities and his constant attention to the success of his client.

In August 1872, quite unexpectedly to himself, he was nominated by the State Democratic Convention as candidate for Governor of Missouri, and was elected to that office by a large majority, and served for two years with distinguished ability.

No blemish mars the purity of his private life. He is one of the few men, who, through a leng public career, has never once neglected or betrayed any trust reposed in him. His motto is, and his action has always been, to do what right and justice demand, leaving consequences to take care of themselves.

He possesses an earnest nature, great energy and firmness, a clear judgment, with comprehensive and analytical mind, and a heart lull of true charity and noble impulses.

General J. M. Bassett

J. M. Bassett was born in New Haven, Connecticut, February 7, 1817. He came with his father, when a small boy, to Ohio, and at the age of ten years, removed to Springfield, Illinois, where he completed his education. He read law with Governor Cailin, and was admitted to the bar by Judge Stephen A. Douglas. Afterward he opened an office in Quincy, Illinois, and, after several years of successful practice, came to Plattsburg, Clinton County, Missouri, in 1844, where he remained two years. While here he was elected a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and came to St. Joseph shortly after the labors of that convention were closed.

He soon became one of the leading lawyers of the country. He served four years as prosecuting attorney of this judicial district, and was elected mayor of St. Joseph in 1855. At the breaking out of the war he espoused the cause of the Union, and did much to rally the loyal sentiment of Northwest Missouri. He was captain of a company of militia, and was for two years provost marshal of this district.

General Bassett was a ready and powerful writer ; generous, pleasant, social and charitable. He was a fluent speaker and strong in argument, and his success before juries and judges was proverbial.

J72 History Of Nodaway County

revealed a back-ground of study, reflection and special preparation, which stamped him as one of the foremost lawyers of Northwest Missouri. He seemed to rise with the occasion when the subject in hand demanded intellect and power. Then it was he would pour forth argument and hurl invective and eloquent appeals to the jury, sweeping everything before him.

Whenever he devoted his full powers to a case, no client in the West had a more safe, competent and successful advocate. General Bassett died in 1871.

Benjamin F. Loan

I first knew the late General Loan in Platte County. He was born in Hardensburg, Breckinridge County, Kentucky, in 1819. He remained in the old home in Kentucky until 1838, when he came to Missouri and settled in Platte County. He commenced reading law in Platte City with Isaac N. Jones, in 1842. After two years spent in close study, he obtained a license and located in Buchanan County. He was an active, industrious, painstaking and conscientious attorney. He was a deep thinker and a ripe scholar in legal and political lore, and possessed great personal honor and integrity, and was admired by not only his brother attorneys, but no one spoke of him but to praise.

When the late civil war broke out he took an active part in military affairs, and was appointed brigadier general. In 1862, he was elected to a seat in the Thirty-eighth Congress, and served as a member of the Committees on Pacific Railroads, and Freedmen, and Debts of Loyal States, and other committees. During the Fortieth Congress he was chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions, and on that of Freedmen's affairs. In 1869, he was appointed visitor to West Point. He was the Republican candidate for congress in 1876, and was defeated by Hon. David Rea. These in brief are the salient points of one of the most popular and one of the ablest and best known lawyers in the " Platte Purchase."

General Loan died at his home in St. Joseph on the 30th day of March, 1881, at the age of sixty-two years. The St. Joseph bar held a meeting on the occasion of his death, the proceedings of which we here give :

" The adjourned meeting of the Bar Association of St. Joseph was held in in the circuit court room yesterday afternoon at half-past four. General Craig, as chairman, called the meeting to order, and requested the chairman of the committee appointed to wait upon the family o' General Loan to ascertain their desire as to the funeral arrangements, to report. Mr. Allen H. Vories then informed the meeting that General Loan's family had expressed their wish that the bar should take charge of the funeral, which was to take place at two o'clock this afternoon. Mr. Vories suggested that the bar should not monopolize the funeral arrangements, but should invite a number of citizens to assist in the obsequies. It was moved and seconded that six members of the bar be appointed pall bearers, with authority to select four citizens to act with them in the same capacity.

Messrs. Vories and Vineyard were appointed by the chair to select the legal pall bearers, and male choice of the following gentlemen: Governor Woodson, General Craig, Judge Tutt, Governor Hall, John D. Strong, and A. H. Vories.

Resolved, That we, the members of the bar of St. Joseph, bear witness that through the crucial test of a long and active practice in a profession, which more than any other, tries and makes known to his fellows the real character of a man, Benjamin F. Loan has passed, without an imputation of the slightest neglect of a client's interest or of the courtesies and fair dealings due an opponent ; that his life is a noble illustration of the truth that untiring industry and unswerving honesty are the essential elements of real success in our own no less than in the other vocations of life ; and we direct the attention of every young man who would gain an enviable distinction in the legal profession to the course and career of the deceased as worthy of the highest emulation.

Resolved, That our departed brother was true to the interests committed to him in all the relations of life ; that he was a faithful public servant, a steadfast friend, a devoted husband, an estimable citizen and an honest man.

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, we request the judge to adjourn the circuit court of this county, now in session, during the day of the funeral, and that the members of this bar attend the funeral in a body.

Resolved, That the secretary of this meeting furnish a copy of these resolutions to the press of the city for publication ; also a copy thereof to the family of the deceased, and also a copy thereof to Alex. D. Vories, by him to be presented to the judge of the Buchanan Circuit Court, with a request that they may, with other proceedings of this meeting, be spread in full upon the records of said court.

At a meeting of the directors of the Merchants' Bank, with which General Loan had long been identified, held yesterday, the following resolutions were adopted :

WHEREAS, It has pleased Almighty God, in His divine providence, to remove from our midst our valued friend and associate, the Hon. Benjamin F. Loan, therefore be it

Resolved, By the Board of Directors of the Merchants' Bank, that in the death of the Hon. Benjamin F. Loan, this board has lost a member whose counsels were of the utmost value to the interests of the institution, and that we, individually, have lost a friend and associate whose death is deeply and sincerely deplored ; and be it further

Resolved, That we sympathize most sincerely with the family and relatives of our deceased friend in this hour of their sad bereavement ; and be it further

Resolved, That these resolutions be spread at length upon the minutes of the board, and that a copy, signed by the president, be sent to the family of our deceased friend.

After reading the resolution, Mr. Vineyard said that it seemed strange to him to stand among his professional brethren and miss the form of General Loan. Only two days ago he was engaged in the active duties of his profession, and now he was no longer among us. Not very long ago General Loan had said to him that he would go soon, and go suddenly, and his foreboding had proved true. He had known the deceased since 1866, and had enjoyed his disinterested friendship. Of his military and congressional record he would let others speak, but as a lawyer he had found him frank, upright, and sincere. General Loan never made a promise to a brother lawyer that he did not faithfully keep. His zeal for his clients was unbounded, while he was ever an indefatigable worker. To pronounce this eulogy was a sad task, not because the subject did not deserve it, but because he was no more.

The chairman here suggested that the youngest member of the bar be selected to present the resolutions to the circuit court. The suggestion was adopted.

Mr. R. T. Davis then addressed the meeting and recalled his last conversation with General Loan. It was the opinion of the deceased that young lawyers should stick to their practice and avoid politics. He had such a high appreciation of the bar of St. Joseph that he told the speaker that nothing could induce him to reside away from this city. Free passes to Chicago and New York, a large income and nothing to do, would have no temptation to him, compared with the society of his friends, if he had to give up the latter to enjoy the former.

had lost his most confidential friend, and he could not reconcile himself to his loss. For thirty years a close friendship had existed between himself and the deceased. If ever there was an honest man General Loan was that mm. Ever faithful to his clients, he was the soul of honor in his dealings with all men. Among- the members of this bar he had not one enemy. Outside of his professional career he had no enjoyments, and was so attached to the members of the St. Joseph bar that he had determined to spend all his days among them. Of his proficiency as a lawyer it was not necessary to speak. The harder the case the better lawyer General Loan proved himself to be. His courtesy to other attorneys was remarkable. "By his death," concluded Mr. Vories, "I have lost my best friend.

Mr. Thomas had known General Loan for eleven years, and had frequently, as a young man, applied to him for advice, and had always found him gracious and courteous. Whether opposed to him or associated with him, he always exhibited a courtesy which was extended to all the attorneys with whom he came in contact. His loss will be greatly felt. Mr. Thomas endorsed the sentiments of the resolutions.

Mr. H. K. White said that General Loan had attained the high degree of philosophy which enabled him to endure differences of opinion without giving up personal regard. In his adherence to the ideas of the past upon legal matters, General Loan had many sharp conflicts with the rising generation, but from these antagonisms an unkind personal feeling had never once been developed.

Mr. John S. Crosby, as a younger member of the bar, paid an earnest tribute to the friendliness toward young members of his profession, which characterized General Loan. He also referred to. the strong domestic affections of the deceased, which he had had occasion to witness. Carrying with him a heavy and constant burden of disease and suffering which would have made most men morose, he was always cheerful and good natured.

Mr. P. V. Wise said that he had so long associated with General Loan that he did not consider it inappropriate on his part to make a few remarks. The deceased was a man who took lor his motto " deeds not words." He acted justly from a principle of right and not from the hope of future reward. He was satisfied to practice the golden rule. Notwithstanding the industrious habits of the deceased he enjoyed philosophical contemplation, and believed that the best of all lives was to so live here that when the great change came there would be nothing to repent of. He fulfilled William Cullen Bryant's noble lines :

" So live that when thy summons come to join The innumerable caravan which moves To that mysterious realm where each shall take His chimber in the silent halls of death, Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night. Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, l-ike one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams "

The chairman then said that he first knew General Loan thirty-five years ago, when he was struggling to earn his first town lot. In those days he had traveled the circuit with him ; had observed his course during the war, and known him intimately as a Congressman, and he had always found him honest. During the days of political corruption that followed the war, no man had ever dared to say that General Loan had taken a dollar that was not his own. His home life was full of tender affection, one long honeymoon. It has been said that he was not without a presentiment of his approaching end, and on Tuesday called at the bank, and transferred some bonds from his own name to that of his wife. In all the relations of life he (General Craig) had never known a better man than Benjamin F. Loan.

Hon. Berryman K. Davis

Berryman K. Davis was born in Pettis County, Missouri, in April, 1839. His father removed to this county in Ig42, and settled on the White Cloud, near the farm now owned by Isaac Cox. Here Berryman grew to boyhood. The family moved to Nebraska sometime about the year 1852. Young Berryman acquired a good common school education. During the Pike's Peak gold fever he took a trip to the mountains and mined one summer. He always had a great longing for a collegiate education, and the height of his ambition was to go to college. But circumstances were against him, and his desires were never realized. In i860, we find him in Maryville attending school. He entered the law office of M. G. Roseberry in 1862, and commenced the study of law. But the country was torn and distracted by civil war, and we imagine it was hard work to study amid the excitement of those times. We think the young student found it so, for we find that in the spring of 1864, he threw down Kent and Blackstone and took up the sword. He was elected Major of the Forty-third Missouri Infantry. His career as a soldier was short, as his regiment was captured by General Price in the summer of 1864, and he was not exchanged in time to again enter into active service.

He again took up the study of law and commenced to practice his profession in 1866. He immediately took high rank as a lawyer. In 1868, he was elected to the responsible position of prosecuting attorney for the Twelfth Judicial District. This position he held almost four years, and filled it with honor to himself and to the satisfaction of the public.

Major Davis was married to Miss Sarah Broyles, February 16, 1868. His marriage was a fortunate one, and his domestic relations have been of the most happy character. The fruits of this union have been four children, two of whom are dead.

In 1872, Mr. Davis was a presidential elector on the Republican ticket. His name was prominently mentioned in 1876 as a candidate for congress, and it was only withdrawn at his own request. He was then tendered the nomination of state senator from this district, which he accepted. But the accident which proved fatal prevented him from taking any part in the canvass. He died in November, 1876. Had Major Davis lived, there is no doubt but that a most brilliant career was before him. He was a man of fine talents and of strict integrity. His morals were of the purest character, and he delighted in the enjoyments of the home circle. He was a model husband and father. Since the death of his father, in 1875, the family looked to Berryman for guidance. Said one of his weeping sisters : "Berryman never spoke a cross word to one of us." He left one brother and four sisters to mourn his loss. They are : Mr. George Davis, Mrs. H. H. Geiger, Miss Lucinda Davis, of Maryville, and Mrs. J. C. Wiswell and Mrs. Burwell Spurlock, of Nebraska. Mrs. Davis is a sister of the wife of Joseph Jackson.

The bar of Nodaway County met at the court house in Maryville, Monday evening, November 20, 1876, to take appropriate action on the death of Major B. K. Davis, one of its most honored members. Hon. M. G. Roseberry was called to the chair. A committee was appointed to draft appropriate resolutions. Hon. Lafe Dawson then pronounced a most touching and beautiful eulogy on the deceased. It will be found below.

The committee on resolutions then reported, and one after another of his brothers at the bar arose and said a few words in commendation of him who had gone. It was a touching and beautiful scene. The feelings of some of the gentlemen who spoke entirely overcame them, and manly tears coursed down their cheeks. Such scenes give one a better idea of human nature, and shows that the world is not as cold and heartless as many would have us believe. Judge Kelley was present and added his testimony to the worth of the departed. The resolutions were then passed and the meeting adjourned.

Mr. Dawson'S Remarks

M>\ President and Members of the Bar: The occasion of our meeting this evening is one of peculiar sadness. At the last term of this court a voice was heard in this room, which is now hushed in death. We see before us an empty chair, in our midst a vacuum. For ten years and more I have met the deceased at this bar. At each recurring term of this court his stately form has moved among us, and his stentorian voice has been heard within these walls. But, alas, when least expected, when in the prime of his manhood, when his intellectual powers were just maturing, he was overtaken by an accident which has terminated his earthly existence. Having known him so long, so intimately, and so favorably, I cannot, in justice to his memory let this occasion pass without adding my feeble testimonial to his moral worth.

* -;;- "- When it became apparent to him in the prosecution of a case that the evidence did not warrant a conviction, he would invariably shrink from the task of urging it. I have often heard him remark that he wanted the loss of no man's liberty or good name chargeable to him. On the other hand, if the evidence showed a case of guilt, that individual right had been ruthlessly violated, that society had been outraged and the laws set at defiance, no one was more energetic in prosecuting the moral and legal delinquent than he. But even then his duties were performed with such a degree of fairness as to command the respect and admiration of his adversaries. After having faithfully performed the duties of his office for nearly four years, he retired to the civil practice in this place, and every member of our bar will bear me witness that in this branch of his profession his conduct has ever been characterized by that fairness and candor which entitled him to our lasting respect. It has been said that he was ambitious, but his ambition was always subordinate to those great fundamental maxims of equity wliich he learned in his first lessons of the law to which he was such an earnest devotee. Who does not admire such ambition ?

Not a great scholar, still he was a man of fair education, a close student and a most diligent searcher for the right. He was a man of great common sense, possessed of an analytical mind, and anxious always after reading a principle to ponder and philosophize over it, and by bringing his great reasoning powers into requisition, satisfy himself why it should be so. In his intercourse with his fellows he was urbane, courteous and affable, having a kind word for all. In his intercourse with his brothers at the bar and with our courts, he was dignified and candid, but always most pleasant, and would treat the most calamitous defeat in a philosophic manner, and take the blame, if blame there was, upon himself, rather than attribute it to others. In his investigation of cases he invariably sought for the truth and possessed the moral courage to inform his client of the result of that investigation even though it blasted the hopes of his client. He was an earnest seeker for the truth, and was always anxious to know the motives which prompted men to litigation. He practiced law upon the great principle that while lawyers depend in the main upon th<- contentions and woes of others, still they must maintain their own integrity. And when our deceased brother was overtaken by that terrible accident which resulted in his death, he exhibited the calm, deliberate judgment which characterized his professional career. He cal- culated the chances against him, and convinced in his own mind that his end was near, he uttered not a word of complaint. Although his suffering had been intense, his bodily pains of the most excruciating character, still he bore all with a fortitude and heroism which commanded the admiration and enlisted the sympathies of all. When informed of the probable result of the surgical operation, to which he submitted, he resigned all to that Omniscient Being whose power he believed was sufficient to save. What an example ! A man who for years had been engaged in the busy strifes incident to his profession, with a bright future before him, surrounded by family and friends, yet when the summons came he yielded without a murmur. Napoleon Bonaparte, when overtaken by the delirium of death on the Isle of St. Helena, was heard to mutter disconnected words of command and battle which showed that his turbulent spirit was still struggling in imaginary conflicts. But milder spirits gathered around the death -bed of our departed brother. While no doubt his contests at the forum and the victories of his youth crowded upon the mind of their dying votary, still that equilibrium so characteristic of the deceased was undisturbed even in death.

Although Berryman Davis is dead, he still lives ; lives by his example ; lives in the hearts and affections of those who knew him best ; and our bereavement is only intensified because he was cut down in the vigor of manhood, in the meridian of life, when his mind was undimmed, his intellect unclouded, and his usefulness unimpaired.

John Edwards, Esq

The subject of this sketch traces his ancestry, on his mother's side, as far back as 1682, at which date one Dennis Kunder arrived from Germany with the first company of religious settlers who fixed their residence at Germantown, now the city of Philadelphia. At his stone mansion in Germantown, being probably the largest at the time, the Society of Friends, of which, however, he was not a member, held their first meeting during the year of his arrival. His friendly disposition toward the Quakers, or Friends, is mentioned in Ploud's History of Pennsylvania. He was a large contributor to the fund for the erection of the first Friends' meeting house erected in Germantown. The lot upon which stood his stone house is now the property of Jacob Burns. Part of the walls of the large, fine two-story house now on the premises, was the original exterior wall of the stone house of Dennis Kunder. The name Kunder was anglicized to Cunrad, then to Conrad, and lastly to Conard. Mr. Edwards' great great grandfather on the maternal side, was named Cornelius Conard. He was a direct descendant of Dennis Kunder. His son, Everard Conard, settled near Doylestown, in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Cornelius Conard, a son of Everard Conard, married Susanna Chalfont, in the year 1790. They lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Their daughter, Elizabeth Conard, the mother of Mr. Edwards, was born in the year 1802, and is still living. She was married to Robert Edwards iu 1827. Mr. John Edwards was the fourth child of this marriage, and was born at Valley Forge, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, December 8, 1836. In 1837, his parents removed to Highland County, Ohio, and settled near Leesburg, where they are still living. Robert Edwards is of Welsh descent. His ancestors were among the first immigrants who peopled Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Ed wards was reared on a farm. In 1856, he attended the academy at South Salem, Ohio, then conducted by Professor J. A. J. Lowes. In September, 1858, he entered the freshman class of Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, in which institution he pursued the regular classical course and was graduated with the highest honors of his class for scholarship, July 3, 1862. During his stay at the university, he was under the tuition of Professor David Swing, a distinguished scholar and divine, now living at Chicago. Mr. Edwards, during his course as a student, was successively the recipient of all the honors awarded by his class. He was chosen to address the Elodelphian Literary Society, was elected poet laureate, and delivered the valedictory address to his classmates at their graduation in 1862.

After graduating, in 1862, he was elected in the fall of that year to the position of superintendent of public schools at Hillsborough, Ohio, which he resigned in 1864, and in September of that year was chosen superintendent ot public schools in the city of Hamilton, where he continued till his resignation of that position in 1867. July 5, 1865, for distinguished scholarship, the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by the Miami University.

During the three years of his stay in Hamilton, he studied law under Hon. Robert Christy, afterwards United States District Attorney at Cincinnati, Ohio. He was admitted to the bar at Hamilton, Ohio, before Hon. Josiah Scott, of the Supreme Court of that state, in 1867. In the fall of that year he commenced the pactice of law at Hillsborough, O., forming there a co-partnership for that purpose with Hon. James Sloane and Judge S. F. Steel.

In August, 1868, he removed to Maryville, Mo., where, during the winter of 1868-69, he filled the position of superintendent of public schools.

In July, 1869, he formed a co-partnership with Hon. Lafayette Dawson in the practice of law. The firm was dissolved by mutual consent January 1, 1877. In the fall of 1876, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Nodaway County, which position he filled until January 1, 1879.

Mr. Edwards was reared under Quaker influences - his mother being a strict member of that sect. He was married February 12th, 1864, in Hillsborough, Ohio, to Mrs. Eli/.abeth A. Hays. She was born in Dallas County, Alabama, August 22, 1839, and was the daughter of Colonel

Mr. Edwards' wife, her daughter Anna D. Hays, by a former marriage, his two sons, Edward D. and Robert J., and one daughter, Mary L., constitute his family circle.

As a lawyer, Mr. Edwards ranks among the best in Northwest Missouri. He is thoroughly conversant with the elementary principles of the law, and applies them with great clearness and candor. He is a forcible, logical speaker, and conducts his cases with marked ability. His proficiency as a pleader, his accuracy of statement and power of reasoning rarely fail to carry conviction to the court or jury. His mind acts quickly and with precision. His temperament is poetic, even romantic, but guarded by fine taste and the most delicate sense of the ludicrous. He is a ripe scholar, and possessing a tenacious memory, his mind is well stored with a vast fund of useful information, both of a historical and classical nature. No blemish mars the purity of his private life, and having a large heart, full of charity and noble impulses, he is held in high esteem by all who know him. He has written a number of poems, many of which have been published, and have obtained a wide circulation, notably, " The Deliverance," "Death," "The Battle of the Fens," and "Ode to the Mound Graves," and are greatly admired for their easy, vigorous and classic style. His "Ode to the Mound Graves,'' being perhaps his best, as well as his most popular production, we here insert it :

Ode To The Mound Graves William Whittington Ramsay, Esq

" Some things admit of mediocrity : A counsellor or pleader at the bar. May want Messala's pow'rful eloquence, Or be less read than deep Casselius ; Yet this indiff'rent lawyer is esteem'd."

Josiah Ramsay, the great great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Virginia. Back in the colonial days, when the borders of Virginia constituted the wild frontier, he was captured by the Indians in his childhood, and remained with them seven years. On his release from this captivity, he returned to Virginia and was there married to a lady by the name of Patterson in the month of November, 1775. Jonathan Ramsay was born of this marriage, in the year 1788. Josiah Ramsay moved from Virginia and settled in Robertson County, Tennessee, where, on the 2d day of May, 1793, Jonathan Ramsay was married to Hannah Lambkin, a native of North Carolina. Some time during the year 1794, Josiah Ramsay, Jr., was born of this marriage, and in the year 1796 or 1797, Jonathan Ramsay moved from the State of Tennessee to Kentucky, where he resided for several years. During the early part of the war of 18 12, Jonathan Ramsay was commissioned Brigadier General of Kentucky Militia, and commanded a division of men under General Samuel Hopkins in the northern campaigns. In Colins' History of Kentucky, General Ramsay is recorded as a member of the Kentucky Legislature from Livingston County for the year 18 13.

Some time after this he moved from the State of Kentucky and settled in Callaway County, Missouri, where he resided to within a short time of his death. On the 1st day of June, i860, at the residence of his daughter, Jane Ewing, near Jefferson City, this State, in his eighty-sixth year, he died. Josiah Ramsay, Jr., took part in the southern campaigns during the war of 181 2, and was at the battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815.

Shortly after the close of this war, at Belle Fountain (a garrison in St. Louis County, Missouri), he was married to Martha W. Lockwood, a daughter of Captain Lockwood, then commanding the garrison.

On the 10th day of May, 18 18, in the city of St. Louis, Lycurgus Lockwood Ramsay was born of this marriage. He grew to manhood in St. Louis and Cole Counties, Missouri, and on the 8th day of February, 1838, at Columbia, Boone County, Missouri, was married to Elizabeth Jane Fenton, then a resident of Columbia, and a native of this state. Some time after his marriage Lycurgus L. Ramsay settled in Andrew County, Missouri.

William Whittington Ramsay was born in Andrew County, Missouri, on the 6th day of April, 1850. The spring of his birth was one of excitement throughout the country, on account of the late discovery of gold in California. His parents were comfortably situated upon a fine farm, in a land of great promise to those who were truly contented ; but Lycurgus L. Ramsay longed to behold the gold-beds of the great Eldorado. Accordingly, in May, 1850, he left his family upon the farm, which had been heavily mortgaged to procure funds for his journey, and went to California.

Thus, at less than two months old, left to the sole control of his mother, with his little brothers and sisters, William W. Ramsay commenced to solve the problem of life.

In childhood, he attended such schools as were taught in his neighborhood, and, by the aid of his mother, who guided and directed his early education, at the age of ten years had mastered such elementary studies as were then taught in the common schools of that country. It was the desire and wish of his mother to continue his education, but by this time the old homestead had been wrested from her under the mortgage, and she was compelled to rent and move annually from place to place, while his older brothers were forced to work out from home for the support and maintenance of the family.

While thus situated, James M. Ewing, principal of the North Prairie Farmers' Institute, proposed to take the lad into the institute, without charge, and teach him all the branches taught in that school. The family decided that his work could be spared at home, and that he should have the favorable opportunity of acquiring a more thorough education. In the fall of i860, he entered this institute, and continued during the following winter and spring. In this school he made a thorough review of the elementary studies and some advancement in the higher branches, and was favorably situated to pursue his studies when the institute was suspended by the breaking out of the civil war. Here ended his school days for several years.

In 1864, he left Andrew County and went to Nebraska City. In the spring of 1866, he concluded to try his fortune in the west ; hiring as a teamster, for forty-five dollars per month, he drove an ox team to Pike's Peak and back that summer. In the fall of 1866, in company with his mother and one brother, he went to the state of Texas, where he spent one year. In the summer of 1867, he returned to Hamburg, Iowa. On this homeward journey, on the 23d day of July, 1867, at North Fork, in the Indian Territory, he lost his mother, who fell a prey to the cholera, then prevalent in that country.

In the fall of 1869, Mr. Ramsay came to Nodaway County and commenced teaching a district school. He continued in that business, reading law at intervals, until the spring of 1875, when he moved to Maryville and entered the law office of Messrs. Dawson & Edwards. In the month of July, 1875, he was admitted to the bar. In the fall of 1875, he formed a law partnership with Judge Andrew Royal, which continued about one year, and was dissolved by his partner's removal to St. Joseph, Missouri. Mr. Ramsay continued alone in the practice up to January 1, 1878, at which date he formed a partnership with John Edwards, Esq., which partnership still exists. Politically, Mr. Ramsay is a Democrat. He regards it the duty of every good citizen to study well the measures and and policies of government - to look upon politics as a science.

From the spring of 1876, until the spring of 1878, he served as chairman of the Democratic Central Committee of this county. In the fall of 1878, he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of prosecuting attorney, and in the fall of 1880, was re-elected to the same office, which he now holds. He took an active part in the campaigns which preceded the elections of 1876, 1878 and 1880. In the caucus, the convention, or upcn the stump, his action is open, well defined and sincere. Passionately fond of debate, he is always willing to meet his opponent in joint discussion, and measure swords with him in an open field. Notwithstanding the interest he takes in the recurring political canvass, his time and energies have not been diverted from the law. Few lawyers of his

On the 22d day of February, 1874, Mr. Ramsay was married to Madora A. Lamar, only daughter of Charles J. and Kasiah Lamar. His home has been blessed with one sprightly little boy, Charles A. Ramsay, born November 1, 1876.

Hon. Lake. Dawson

No introductory remarks are needed to present this distinguished gentleman to the public, as he is as familiarly known as any man within the borders of the Platte Purchase. He was born in McClean County, Illinois, May 13, 1839. His father, James R. Dawson, was a native of Kentucky, and his grand-father, James Dawson, was a Virginian, and among the pioneers of Kentucky, where he met his death at the hands of the Indians. James R. Dawson was one of the substantial agriculturists of McClean County, Illinois ; was County Judge, and prominently identified in political circles, being an associate and intimate friend of General Shields and other noted men of his day. Young Lafe's early education was received in the common schools of his native county, after which he took an academic course at Lexington, Illinois. When nineteen years of age he went to Fort Scott, Kansas, where he followed school teaching. Having a desire to see more of the western country, he journeyed into New Mexico, thence to Colorado, eventually returning to Kansas. In 1862, he came to Nodaway County, locating temporarily ; returned to Colorado, from which point he went to Illinois, remaining until 1865, when he returned and became a permanent resident of Maryville.

Mr. Dawson has attained a wide and well-merited reputation in the Northwest, both as a civil and criminal lawyer - as a criminal lawyer, he has been on the defense with marked success in many noted cases in Nodaway and other counties. Of. these the most noted are the State vs. Torrance, tried in Worth County ; State vs. Bain, tried in Andrew County ; State vs. Cornell ; State vs. Wood ; State vs. Fluegel ; State vs. Cox ; State vs. Alexander ; State vs. Talbott Brothers ; State vs. Grant, and State vs. Harmon, both in Gentry County.

He was Presidential Elector on the Democratic ticket during the celebrated Tilden campaign, and made a most brilliant canvass of his district.

He has a splendid physique ; is just now in the prime of life, and is one of the most genial and companionable of men. He has many strong friends, who are for " Lafe." first, last and all the time.

Although deficient in his early education, yet as an orator he ranks among the best in Northwest Missouri, and his power before a» jury, or a popular audience, is something wonderful.

Possessing an ardent temperament, a vigorous imagination and a volubility of speech, he is ready at a moment's warning to discuss publicly, and in a pleasing and effective manner, any theme which may delight an audience.

Since the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific railroads reached Maryville, he has been the attorney for both of those popular lines.

Hon. Cyrus A. Anthony

Hon. Cyrus A. Anthony was born April 29, 1839, in Hackettstown, New Jersey. His father, Francis Anthony, was a native of Tyrone, Ireland, and emigrated to America about 1818, settling in New Jersey. In 1852, he came west, selecting as his home a beautiful farm in Stark County, Illinois, where he died in 1876, after a happy, useful life. His mother, Elizabeth Hager, daughter of Jacob Hager, a German farmer, was a native of Warren County, New Jersey. The subject of this sketch was raised on the family farm in Stark County, Illinois. He attended a course of literary reading at Lombard University, Galesburg, Illinois. In 1 86 1, he entered as a private soldier Company K, Fifty-first Illinois Infantry, and remained in active service until peace reigned, being mustered out in 1865. Mr. Anthony possesses firmness and self-reliance, combining the two qualities indispensable to great action. Add to these daring, and you will readily see why his promotions followed so rapidly. He was first a quartermaster sergeant, then first lieutenant, and finally promoted to Captain of Company G.

He was engaged in service in Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. He was admitted to the bar in April, 1869. In 1870, he located at Maryville, Nodaway County, where he now resides, engaged in the practice of his profession. He was county attorney of Nodaway County during 1875-6, and city attorney of Maryville during 1874-5-6.

He is now (1882) member of the Lower House of the State Legislature from Maryville. His success as a lawyer lies in his noble devotion to his profession. Politically, he is a Democrat ; religiously, a Presbyterian. In 1864, he was married to Miss Charlotte Shaw, of Stark County, Illinois.

Hon. Jeff. Chandler

Hon. Jeff. Chandler, of St. Louis, was born in Maine, educated in Michigan and elevated to fame in Missouri. He is a college graduate, and in his youthful days imparted a portion of his lore, firmly implanted by a liberal use of the birch, to many male and female Michiganders, several of whom have climbed into national renown. In the latter days of the civil war, then an ambitious young man of about twenty-one years, he went west and located in St. Joseph, Missouri. Amid the clash of contending arms the laws were silent, and young Chandler, fired with patriotic zeal, enlisted in a regiment of Missouri militia. Much to his regret, however, the regiment was never ordered to the front. Hanging out his shingle when peace was established, he quickly secured a lucrative practice and was in turn elected city, county and district attorney. In 1872, he was nominated by the Conservatives of Missouri for Attorney-General and made a glorious campaign, in company with ex-Senator John B. Henderson, who headed the ticket. He made a splendid race, but the whole ticket was defeated by over 40,000 majority. Then he abandoned politics and devoted his entire attention to the law. Locating in St. Louis, where he is universally respected, he speedily took a front rank at the bar of the western metropolis. He has an elegant country seat and delights in bucolic pastimes. The Democrats of the Third District of Missouri have repeatedly manifested a disposition to send him to Congress. Mr. Chandler is most happily married to the daughter of one of Missouri's leading families. He has five bright-eyed children, three of them pursuing their studies at the Georgetown Convent of the Visitation. He is special counsel for Gen. Brady in the Star Route cases. Mr. C. is now a resident of Washington, D. C.

Hon. Henry S. Kelley

was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, near Cincinnati, on the 18th day of December, 1832. His father, Samuel Kelley, was born in Ohio, and was a merchant and farmer. His mother's maiden name was Mary Holder, who was also a native of Ohio. The subject of this sketch was raised on a farm, and received his education in the common schools of his native county. He studied law and was admitted to the bar at Marion, Indiana, in 1853. From 1854 to !856, he was prosecuting attorney of a district in Indiana, and from 1856 to i860, was judge of the common pleas court, embracing the counties of Grant, Blackford and Delaware.

In 1861, September, he moved to Dakota Territory, and in 1863, he removed, going to Iowa In 1866, he came to Andrew County, Missouri, locating at Savannah, where he engaged in the practice of his profession,, continuing therein until April, 1872, when he was elected Judge of the

Judge Kelley is the author of " Kelley's Treatise for Justices and Constables in the State of Missouri," published in 1869, a book containing 800 pages, and revised in 1881. He is also the author of " Criminal Law and Practice," published in 1876, 700 pages, and author of the " Probate Guide," published in 1872.

Since 1872, he has, at stated times, lectured on Criminal Law and Practice in Missouri, at the State University. He lectures also on Medical Jurisprudence, in St. Joseph College of Physicians and Surgeons, and is a contributor to the Central Law Journal, St. Louis.

He married Miss Adelia Harlan, in 1855, at Sturgis, Michigan, who was the daughter of Andrew J. Harlan, of Marion, Indiana. They have seven children, five boys and two girls, the eldest being twenty-two years of age.

Judge Kelley was a Democrat until the organization of the Republican party; since then he has been a Republican. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, but has no religious preferences. He is a good lawyer and an able jurist.

I. Y. M'Millan, Esq

Prominent among the many substantial and worthy citizens of Maryville, is he whose name heads this sketch. He was born in Belmont County, Ohio, May 13, 1S42. His father, J. McMillan, was a native of Pennsylvania, and among the comparatively early settlers of Belmont County. I. V. received the benefits of the common schools of his native county, after which he attended college at Haysville, Ohio, and upon the completion of his course, took up the study of law at St. Clairsville, Belmont County. He was admitted to the bar in the autumn of 1865, and soon after came to Missouri, locating temporarily at Mexico, and in February, 1866, took up his abode in Maryville. Few men have been more closely and officially identified with the interests of the county than Mr. McMillan, having held the offices respectively of county attorney and public administrator, the former for over two years and the latter four years ; was also city attorney three years. In the different trusts he was diligent and faithful, securing a high reputation for fidelity, liberality and the courtesy he extended to all. As a lawyer he possesses fine oratorical power, is a ready speaker and speaks with clearness and precision. The Republican doctrine is his rule of faith ; he, however, is a gentleman of decided and independent spirit, and does not allow party fealty to bias his judgment, and condemns wrong wherever found. He is a Royal Arch Mason. Has been twice married - first in 1868, to Miss R. Y. Howarter. By this union they had three children : Frank 1. and I. 1 1 ; lost one, [da

R. Mrs. McM. deceased in 1872. By his present wife, nee Mattie L. Hosmer, he has had two children - one living, Rosa, and one deceased, May.

Hon. S. R. Beech, Mayor Of Maryville

This highly esteemed fellow citizen is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born in Crawford County, December 25, 1846. His father, O. O. Beech, was a Pennsylvanian, and his mother, nee Ruth Baker, was a native of Ohio. His father was a carpenter and contractor of considerable note, and for a time was identified with mercantile pursuits in Crawford County. His death occurred when S. R. was in his fourteenth year. The mother, with eight children, was left in limited circumstances, consequently his early educational advantages were meagre. He resided in his native state until 1864, when he tendered his services to the Union cause, enlisting in Company E, Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. At the battle of the Wilderness he was dangerously wounded, one ball taking effect in his left arm, and passing through his body, and received a slight wound in one of his lower limbs. After serving one year he was honorably discharged, returned to his home in Pennsylvania, and for a time attended an academy in Crawford County, after which he took a course at the Eastmann National Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York. Upon returning home he was appointed postmaster at Cambridge, Crawford County, which position he held two years, when he resigned and came to Missouri, taking up his abode in Nodaway County, eleven miles west of Maryville, where he engaged in farming, coal mining, and devoted a portion of his time to school teaching. In 1872, he was elected sheriff by the Republican party, and at the expiration of his term re-elected, being the first time in the county that a sheriff was his own successor.

While discharging the duties of sheriff he devoted his leisure hours to the study of law, made good progress, and in the spring of 1877, was admitted to the bar. His professional career has been very successful. He has been attorney in many noted trials. Among these were the Otto Sharp murder trial, and the celebrated Talbott parracide.

In 1878, he was chosen chairman of the Republican Central Committee, and still retains that position. In 1878, was city attorney, has been secretary of the school board, and identified with the educational interests of the city.

In 1880, he was the choice of the people for mayor of the city, and as an incumbent of that office has done much towards the improvement of Maryville. Mr. B. is a man of clear judgment and a vigorous thinker, and is destined to take a leading place at the bar of Northwest Missouri. He is perfectly free from affectation, very cordial, and possesses the manners of a true gentleman. Nodaway County cannot have too many such men as Mr. Beech. He married in 1868, Miss Matilda Burdick. By this union they have had four children, three of whom are living : Minnie, Charlie and Ernst ; lost one, Guy ; died when nine months old.

Hon. T. J. Johnston

was born in Pike County, Illinois, August 20, 1836. His father, David Johnston, was a native of Virginia, and of Scotch descent. His mother (whose maiden name was Sarah E. Day) was a Kentuckian by birth.

Mr. Johnston's youth was spent on his father's farm, in the neighborhood of which he attended the common schools of his county. He afterwards atended the Christian University at Canton, Missouri. He made choice of law as a profession, and entering the law office of O. H. Gilmer, of Pittsfield, Illinois, he thoroughly prepared himself for the duties of his profession. He was admitted to the bar in i860. In 1864, he moved to Milan, Sullivan County, Missouri, and engaged in active practice. During his residence at Milan, he was elected judge of the probate court. In 1870, Judge Johnston located at Maryville, Missouri, and at once was recognized as one of the leading attorneys of the Nodaway County bar. He is a good lawyer and safe counselor, always preparing his cases with great care, and being thoroughly conversant with the law and its proper application to the questions at issue, he rarely fails of success.

He is held in high esteem by not only the members of the legal fraternity, who acknowledge his ability as a lawyer, but is highly respected in the community where he resides as a good citizen, a neighbor and friend.