Part 26

When the subject of this sketch was about seventeen or eighteen years old his father emigrated to Ohio, leaving his son behind with only forty dollars in money, who, after making arrangements with his brother, W. A. Otis, to furnish him such pecuniary aid as he might need, proceeded to fit himself for college under the Rev. Roswell Hawks, of Cummington, devoting only one year to preparation, and entered Williams College in the Fall of 1826. In order to lighten the burden upon his brother, he taught school two Winters during his college course, and graduated in the autumn of 1830, among the best scholars of the class.

Before graduating, he was appointed principal of Gates' Academy, in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and entered upon the duties of the appointment; but at the expiration of the year he followed the rest of the family to Ohio, and in the month of September, 1831, commenced reading law with Whittlesey & Newton, of Canfield, Ohio. In September, 1833, he was admitted to the Bar, and immediately commenced the practice of the law in Ravenna, Portage county, where he continued to reside till 1840.

In June, 1840, after the county of Summit was organized, Mr. Otis moved to Akron, where he resided and continued to practice his profession until January, 1854. While a resident of Summit county he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of the county for two years. He also filled the position of president of the Akron Bank, from its organization, till January, 1854, and was a member of the Board of Control of the State Bank of Ohio, and member of the Convention which formed the present Constitution of the State of Ohio. While a member of the Convention he devised and reported to that body the scheme for the apportionment of the members of the House of Representatives, which, with slight modifications, was adopted into the Constitution, and is now the system in this State. While a member of the Constitutional Convention, he acquired a distaste for political life, and resolved to abandon it, a resolution to which he has since constantly adhered.

In January, 1854, Mr. Otis was elected vice-president of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad Company, and in order to better perform the duties of the position, he removed to Cleveland, taking charge of the operations of the road and the finances of the Company. In the Winter of 1854 and 1855, he was tendered the presidency of the Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad Company, but declined, and in the Spring of 1855, resumed the practice of his profession. Soon afterwards he was elected the Solicitor of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad Company, and continued to act as such until he resigned the position in May, 1869, and since that time he has confined himself strictly to the practice of law.

As a lawyer Mr. Otis ranks high in his profession, having a very extensive knowledge of the law in all its ramifications, and a readiness in the application of his knowledge that enables him to baffle and confound his opponents without descending to mere pettifogging.

For many years he has been a member either of the Congregational or Presbyterian churches in the places in which he has resided; and has always taken great pleasure in studying the Bible, and great satisfaction in teaching it to others, hence the secret of the spotless morality and unswerving integrity he has maintained through life.

Mr. Otis was married in January, 1836, to Hannah, daughter of the late G. Mygatt, and sister of George Mygatt, of Cleveland. She died without issue in April, 1840. In November, 1842, he was married to Laura L., daughter of the late Judge Lyman, of Ravenna.

Franklin J. Dickman.

Franklin J. Dickman is a native of Petersburg, Virginia, where his parents have long resided. At the age of sixteen he entered the Junior class of Brown University, at Providence, Rhode Island, and at the age of eighteen graduated with the salutatory honors of his class. In the same class were the Hon. S. S. Cox, Lieutenant Governor Francis Wayland, of Connecticut, and the Rev. James C. Fletcher, now so well known for his travels in Brazil.

On leaving college Mr. Dickman studied law in the office of the late Charles F. Tillinghest and ex-Chief Justice Bradley, at Providence, and after completing his studies he commenced the practice of his profession in the same city, continuing with success until he removed to Cleveland.

His entry on public life was early. In 1857, the Democracy of Rhode Island selected him as their candidate for Attorney General of the State, and it is a noticeable fact that although running on the Democratic ticket, he received almost the entire colored vote of the State. In 1858, he was appointed a member of the Board of Visitors to the Military Academy at West Point, and was chosen Secretary of the Board. In that capacity he drew up the report of the Board for that year, which was subsequently published by order of the Secretary of War.

In December, 1858, he removed to Cleveland, rightly considering that its growth and prosperity, and the important cases continually arising out of its commercial business, rendered it a good field for a man of knowledge and of energy to put that knowledge to account. He entered on the practice of his profession with zeal, and speedily reaped his reward in a large business.

Up to the breaking out of the war Mr. Dickman had acted with the Democratic party, but when treason culminated with rebellion, he joined those of his political associates who disregarded party lines and united with the Republicans in forming the Union party. Although fitted for college with Roger A. Pryor, of Petersburg, and though his parents remained in Petersburg during the war, Mr. Dickman took strong ground against the rebellion and all who gave it encouragement.

In 1861, he was nominated for member of the State Legislature from this city, and was elected by a large majority. In that body he was made chairman of the Committee on Railroads and also placed on the Judiciary Committee. In the latter capacity the subject of military arrests came under his notice, and his speech on that subject was considered so able and exhaustive an exposition of that subject that it was published at the request of the Judiciary Committee and widely circulated through the State.

At the close of his legislative term he formed a law partnership with Judge Spalding, which still continues, and re-entered assiduously on the duties of his profession, devoting most of his attention to admirality, marine insurance, and patent cases. In these he has been very successful.

In 1867, President Johnson appointed Mr. Dickman United States District Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. The appointment was received with satisfaction by all shades of political opinions, and Mr. Dickman continued to perform its duties to, the approbation of all having business with the court until early in 1869, when he resigned the position in order to confine himself more closely to his private practice. It is admitted on all sides that the duties of his office were faithfully and ably performed. Of the great number of criminal cases brought before the court by him only two escaped conviction, thus evidencing the merit, care and attention given to the getting up of the cases for trial. Such uniformity in securing conviction is very unusual.

Mr. Dickman is a gentleman of fine literary tastes, extensive reading, and rare classical attainments. The relaxation from his legal duties is found mainly in his library among the highest class of authors. His frequent orations for the literary societies of Brown University and the University of Michigan, and other occasions, have been marked by scholarly finish and have always been received with approval. During the existence of the Knickerbocker Magazine, before its decadence, he contributed to its pages a series of valuable articles on "Butler's Horae Juridical," and on "The Revolution of 1688."

Cherishing a high ideal of professional attainments and ability, Mr. Dickman has realized it to a degree remarkable for a young man. With ample acquirements he has clear conceptions, and broad views of the principles of legal science, frequently never attained by older lawyers, even after a large and life-long practice. His habits of study are wisely methodized, so as to husband time, and make his efforts tell without waste upon results.

A very marked feature also in his character, is a rigorous but highly intelligent economy. Upon a limited practice in Rhode Island, before coming to Cleveland, he not only sustained himself, but accumulated a considerable sum as a basis upon which he could rely with honorable independence in a new field. This was done in circumstances in which multitudes of young men at this day, would by self-indulgence and lavish outlay, have become embarrassed by debt.

The example of a wise economy in one familiar with the first social surroundings--an economy supplying means for a rich and broad literary culture, under the guidance of liberal tastes, yet rigid as to self-control--but ever avoiding parsimony, is far too rare among young men in this lavish and wasteful age. The young man who shows what enlightened self-control, what high probity and fidelity to the details of little wants and expenditures can do to lift a man high above debt, to thrift and self-reliance, is a valuable citizen, exerting an influence as wholesome as it is wise, manly, and rare.

Mr. Dickman, in his mental growth, aims at the solid, rather than the merely sensational; the lasting, rather than the transient. Gifted naturally with vigorous and admirably balanced powers, the right use of which has enriched him already with ample mental furniture, and with habits the most exemplary, and a high character, established upon an intelligent religions basis, the future to him is full of promise of the most honorable achievements.

In 1862, Mr. Dickman was married to Miss Annie E. Niel, daughter of Robert Neil, of Columbus, Ohio, and has two children living.

James M. Jones.

The subject of this sketch is the third son of Thomas and Mary Ann Jones, who emigrated from England to the United States, and settled in Cleveland in the Spring of 1831, where they still reside, They were the parents of nine sons and four daughters, all of whom, save one son and one daughter, are still living.

James Milton Jones enjoyed only such moderate advantages in the way of education as were afforded by the common and high schools of the day, and by the classical and English school of the late lamented and most accomplished educator, H. D. Beattie, A. M.; but his memory was good, he was a close student, and he therefore readily and easily familiarized himself with the studies in which he engaged. He early manifested unusual taste and fondness for composition, and his inclination and talent in that direction were much cultivated and improved by assiduous study of the best standard works in prose and poetry.

On leaving school he became interested as a partner in the marble manufactory of T. Jones & Sons, and acquired a practical knowledge of the business, but never applied himself very closely to its duties.

He joined various literary and forensic societies about the year 1850, composed of some of the best literary and professional talent among the young men of the city, where essays, poems, and discussions on all topics of the day were embraced in the order of exercises; and he soon became marked for his thorough preparation of and familiarity with the subjects of debate, and regarded as a speaker of more than ordinary promise.

He became a frequent contributor, (but never in his own name,) in prose and poetry, to the literary, as well as the daily papers of the day, and especially to the daily Plain Dealer, of which the late J. W. Gray, Esq., was then the accomplished and witty editor, and by whom Mr. Jones was much encouraged, and his contributions frequently commended. As specimens of his poetic contributions, we give the following. It should be noted that with his entry on the actual duties of professional life, Mr. Jones bade a final adieu to the muses:

Woodland Reveries.

In this deep shady dell, Where the soft breezes swell, And beautiful wood-sprites by pearly streams wander-- Where the sweet perfume breathes, O'er angel twined wreaths, Luxuriantly blooming the mossy trees under-- Here, beneath the bright vine Whose leaves intertwine, I'm dreaming of thee, my lost Angeline!

Oh! I think of the time-- Of the warm spring time, When with thee I've wandered, and with thee I've dallied; E're my soul had once dreamed That the roses which seemed So fadeless, could leave thy warm cheek cold and pallid, Or thy dear form decline, From its radiance divine, To press the cold grave sod, my own Angeline!

While the pale starlight laves, With its shadowy waves, A brow, that with memory's anguish is throbbing; Each quivering leaf, Seems trembling with grief, That's borne on the zephyr's low sorrowful sobbing. For that dear form of thine, So oft pressed to mine, My angel-claimed lost one, my own Angeline!

As the stream leaps along, And I list to its song, It sounds like the surging of sorrow's dark river;

When o'er my young bride, Passed its dark rolling tide, And bore her away from my bosum forever; Yes; bore thee to shine In regions divine, Resplendently lovely, and pure, Angeline!

And _there_, as I gaze On its bright sparkling face, Where pearly white ripples are merrily gleaming, Reflecting each star That shines from afar, The face of my lost one seems tenderly beaming; Yes! there beside mine, Are thy features benign, By memory mirrored, my own Angeline!

As I gently recline, 'Neath the clustering vine, The veil from futurity's vista is lifted, And adown life's wild tide, I rapidly glide, And into eternity's ocean am drifted; And there, soul of mine In regions divine, I meet thee, to part _nevermore_, Angeline!

A Wreck! A Wreck! "Man the Life Boat."

The blackness of midnight hung over the ocean, And savagely, shrilly, the Storm Spirit screamed. Athwart the dark billows, which wild in commotion, Sublimely, yet awfully, heavenward streamed.

A bark that but rode from her moorings at morning, 'Neath bright sunny skies, and prosperous gales, With streamlet and banner, in beauty adorning Her tapering masts and snowy white sails,

Now rolls in the trough of the tempest-plowed surges! A wreck! madly urged to a rocky bound shore; Where from the dark jaws of wild ocean emerges, To fear-stricken hearts its ominous roar

Her sails are in ribbons, her banners in tatters! Her masts are afloat from the perilous wreck, And now o'er the billows the Tempest Fiend scatters With one mighty effort her hurricane deck!

The voice of the clarion-toned captain is ringing, Above the hoarse murmuring roar of the surge, And an echoing voice, seems sepulchrally flinging, Far back o'er the waves, for the vessel, a dirge.

And now the doomed vessel is beating and crashing, With violence on the dark, rough, rugged rocks; And the tempest-tossed surge, while resistlessly dashing Around her, each effort to save her but mocks.

The lightnings play luridly, fiercely above her, Illuming with horror the wind-cloven waves! Displaying the wreck, as their flashes discover, The victims despairingly gaze on their graves.

For forked and furious, the fiery flung flashes, Gleam o'er the sad wreck like a funeral pyre; And louder and louder each thunder clap crashes. The air in a roar! the billows on fire!

The heart-anguished cries o'er the pitiless waters, Are borne on the blast of the thunder-rocked air, As husbands and wives, as sons and as daughters, Unite in a wild shrieking wail of despair.

But now from the moss covered fisherman's dwelling, The _Life-Boat_ is manned by the chivalrous brave! Though the wild howling storm of the tempest is swelling, They'll peril their own lives, the wrecked ones to save.

And now to the merciless surges they launch her, And back she is flung to the white-pebbled beach! Now cleaves the wild surf, for never a stauncher, Or braver crew mounted a deadlier breach.

Now swift o'er the waves madly bounding and dashing! The nobly manned life-boat speeds on her lone way, Now sinks she below, the waves o'er her splashing, Now cleaves like arrow, the white foaming spray.

And now for a moment she's hid from our vision, As darkness, and thick gloom enshroud her frail form; A flash! and we see that the life-saving mission, Still skims o'er the waves like a Bird of the Storm.

Hurrah! they have triumphed! the wrecked ones no longer Resignedly list to the ocean's hoarse roar; But now with strong arms, that bright Hope has made stronger, They pull with a hearty good-will for the shore.

Hurrah! and Hurrah! on the whirlwind's commotion, And the howl of the storm, uprose cheers from the land; From hearts throbbing wildly with grateful emotion, As safely she reaches the surf-beaten strand.

The Æronaut's Song.

Up! up! from the ground, for the chords that bound Us to earth are rent in twain; And our Aerial boat shall gracefully float, Far, far, o'er the sea and main.

O'er the forest trees, on the rippling breeze, We'll proudly soar away: And higher and higher, will still aspire, Toward realms of endless day.

To regions on high, like an arrow we fly, Through limitless fields of air; And away apace, through trackless space, The giddiest flight we dare.

Earth's brilliance fades, and her everglades Assumes a softer hue; Her hills and dales, her lake gemmed vales Are glorious to the view.

Meandering round enchanted ground, Earth's crystal rivers seem; So far below to brightly flow, Like liquid silver's stream.

Her cloud capped hills o'er rocks and rills, That proudly seem to stand, Now fade like gleams in passing dreams Of lovely fairy land.

Yet on we mount to the drainless fount, Of wild tempestuous storms; And our fairy shrouds now kiss the clouds; In all their varied forms.

Proud man, who at birth was king of the earth, Soon made himself lord of the sea; And now we arise to empyrean skies, For kings of the air are we.

Grim centuries old to the past have rolled, Since the stars from chaos-woke; Yet no earth-born sound hath this deep, profound And solemn silence broke.

The highest note of the lark ne'er floats To this region of sunless cloud; Nor hath eagle bird the silence stir'd, With his screaming, shrill and loud.

Yet our joyous song, as we sweep along In pathless realms afloat, Rings on the air and trembles there, From out our fairy boat.

On eddying waves a thousand caves, Where Aerial spirits throng, Repeat each tone as though they'd known Our unfamiliar song.

O'er billowy seas with fresh'ning breeze, 'Tis glorious oft to roam; And joy to mark a graceful bark, Divide the salt sea foam:

And joy to wake at morning break, When huntsman's bugle sounds, And gaily lead on fiery steed, In chase of deer and hounds.

But moonlight sail with fresh'ning gale, Or merry chase afar, Can ne'er compare with flight through air, In our Aerial Car.

Early in 1853, Mr. Gray, who was also then postmaster, offered him a position in the Cleveland post-office, which he accepted, and entered upon its duties; but at the end of two months, being dissatisfied with the dull routine and monotony of such an occupation, he threw up his position; and having, on the very day he left the post-office, decided to adopt the legal profession, before night he had secured a position in the law office of Charles Stetson, Esq., then in large and active practice, and had entered upon the study of the law, where he continued for over a year and a half, pursuing his studies with assiduity and success. He then entered the law office of Hon. William Collins and pursued his studies with him until June, 1855, when he was admitted to the Bar by the District Court in Delaware, Delaware county, Ohio.

[Illustration: Yours Very Truly, James M. Jones.]

Shortly after his admission to the Bar, he was retained as leading counsel for the defence in the famous "Townsend McHenry" extradition case, a proceeding pending before U. S. Commissioner Grannis, on the charge that the prisoner, who claimed to be Robert McHenry, was no other than the notorious William Townsend, a well known, desperate Canadian highway robber and murderer; and in this Mr. Jones attracted attention by the skill with which he managed it. Indeed, it became necessary to send to Canada for several successive lots of witnesses, before they could make a case. The prisoner was, however, taken to Canada and put upon his trial for murder as William Townsend, the sole question on the trial being one of identity; and a more extraordinary trial in that respect cannot be found in history. And although on the trial about one hundred witnesses testified to his being the veritable William Townsend, he was, nevertheless, able to produce a still larger number of equally credible witnesses to testify that they knew Townsend, and this was not the man, and also such an array of circumstances as satisfied the jury he was not the man, and he was acquitted!

Mr. Jones was nominated by the Republican party of Cleveland as judge of the City Court, in 1857, but in common with the entire ticket, was defeated. He was an early adherent of the old Liberty party, and a warm advocate on the stump and elsewhere, of the election of John C. Fremont to the Presidency, and a firm supporter of Lincoln's administration.

He was appointed Attorney for the Western Union Telegraph Company, one of the largest corporations in the United States, in the year 1865, and has ever since continued, as such attorney, to have charge and supervision of a large and peculiar legal business for the company, extending over the various States and Territories embraced in what is known as the Central Division of the territory covered by its lines. He has made telegraph law a speciality for several years, and has probably had as large and extended experience in that comparatively new and peculiar branch of the law as any other attorney in the country.