from which he graduated with honor in the class of 1843, receiving
the degree of A.B. In 1S46, his Alma Mater conferred on him
the degree of A.M. Mr. Shirley studied law in the University of
Virginia, under the instruction of Professor Miner, graduating in
1*48. Immediately after the completion ot his law studies, he was
admitted to the Virginia Bar, by virtue of his diploma, and, the
following vear, sought his fortune in the West, arriving in Chicago
October 5, 1S49. The young Virginian hired a small office over
Tinkham & Co.'s bank, on Clark Street, put out his sign, and
waited for his first client. He heard him approach, as he climbed
the stairs, with a noise proportionate to the size of his feet. He
proved to be a stalwart negro, who, having been arrested on the
charge of stealing a pair of boots, was in search of a legal defender.
Although the voung lawyer did not expect to meet such a client, yet
he gladly defended the negro and gained his acquittal, receiving his
first fee, amounting to seven dollars. From this unique beginning
Mr. Shirley's practice rapidly increased. During the earlier years
of his practice, he incurred, at one period, much popular displeas-
ure, having, in 1852, in his professional capacity, conducted the
prosecution of a case under the fugitive-slave law of the United
States. The ephemeral reproach of those exciting times was long
since buried in oblivion with the institution which occasioned it.
In politics, Mr. Shirley has always been a Democrat, and is at
present a member of the Iroquois Club, and one of the Democratic
Central Committee of Cook County. He is a Freemason, and
has served as Master of Oriental Lodge, No. 33 ; High Priest of
Lafayette Chapter, No. 2 ; and Eminent Commander of Apollo
Commandery, No. 1. He has also been Orator of the Grand
Lodge, and Scribe of the Grand Chapter, of the State of Illinois.
He has been president of the School Board of District No. I, of
Lake View, since that district was created. Mr. Shirley was mar-
ried, in September, 1859, to Miss Carrie Rasbon, daughter of John
Kasbon, formerly of Maine, and in the lumber trade there. They
have seven children — four sons and three daughters.
JOHN M. Rountree, son of Hon. John H. Rountree and
Mary Grace (Mitchell) Rountree, was born February 13, 1836, at
Plattville, Grant Co., Wis. After acquiring a preliminary educa-
tion in the common schools and the academy in his native town,
John M., in 1853, entered Hamilton College, N. Y. Finishing a
• I study at that institution, he entered the office of Hon.
John N. JewcU (who married his sister), at Galena, III., with whom
he completed his law studies, and was admitted to the Illinois Bar
in 1856. He then went to Milwaukee. Wis., and commenced prac-
tice in the office of Hon. Henry 1. Palmer, remaining until Octo-
'7. when he removed to Chicago, and. after practicing in
the office of -lamicon, McCagg ,y Fuller, until the spring of 1858.
formed a partnership with Alexander C. Coventry, which continued
until 1863. During this time. Mr. Rountree was retained in many
important cases. In 1S62, he conducted the defense in the case of
bury vs. Chicago & North-Western Railway Company,"
which settled the title to a large amount of property fronting on
the North Branch of the Chicago River, including the site of the
North-Western depot. The suit was decided in favor of the rail-
road company He also, in 1865, conducted to a successful issue,
for his clients, the "Clinton Bridge Case," a suit growing out of
efforts of steamboatraen to remove the bridge across the Missis-
sippi River at Clinton, Iowa, which they claimed impeded naviga-
tion. Mr. Rountree was president of the Chicago Law Institute in
1S64-65, and continued a laborious and increasing practice until
1S67, when his health became so seriously undermined that he was
compelled to suspend his professional labors entirely, and travel for
rest and recuperation. On the re-establishment of his health he re-
turned to Chicago, and resumed his practice. In 1872, he was
elected to the State Legislature, and during the session was ap-
pointed one of a joint committee of five for the revision of the
Statutes of Illinois, a work completed during his term. In the fall
of 1S73, he was elected attorney for Cook County for a term of four
years. At the expiration of his official term, he again resumed
practice, devoting himself more especially to corporation law, his
clientage among large corporations, railroads, banks, etc., being
important and influential. Mr. Rountree was married, in January,
1862, to Mary H. Bancroft, a lineal descendent of Samuel Hunting-
ton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. In
January, 1877, he married his present wife, Virginia, daughter
of N: H. Wolfe, one of the most prosperous shipping merchants
of New York City. He has one daughter living.
John A. J. Kendig was born December 14, 1834, at Blooms-
burgh, Penn. In 1709, Martin Kendig, a Mennonite bishop, led
a colony of three hundred of his countrymen to Lancaster County,
in that State, where he purchased two thousand acres of land for
himself. He was the means of establishing a flourishing settle-
ment, which, by 1799, had grown to such importance that it became
the capital of the State. This was the first Mennonite colony in
America; and from the Kendigs, who were a part of it, have come five
or six thousand descendants, now scattered throughout the country,
many of whom have followed the bishop's example and become
clergymen of note. What is quite singular, also, is the fact that, so
far as is known, no Kendig has ever entered politics or held an of-
fice under the Government. Mr. Kendig's maternal grandfather
was Colonel John Wertman, a cavalry officer in the War of 1812.
Mr. Kendig mastered the common branches of education, and com-
menced to teach at a very early age. He entered Kenyon College
in the senior class of 1859, was soon appointed superintendent of
the college buildings, and as a member of President Andrews's fam-
ily, met many of the ablest men of the country, including Salmon
P. Chase. During that year he commenced the study of law under
Dr. Francis Wharton, the well-known author, and then a member
of the college faculty; came to Chicago, continued his studies with
Jesse B. Thomas, and was admitted to the Bar in 1861. In the
autumn of that year he was married to Abby E. Gates, sister of
the widow of President Andrews, and daughter of the late Simon
S. Gates. About this time, he received from his Alma Mater the
degree of Master of Arts In the spring of 1S33, was elected presi-
dent of the Kenyon College Alumni Association, and in June,
1885, was chosen vice-president of the association and trustee of
the college. Since coming to Chicago, Mr. Kendig has been prom-
inent in several fields of labor outside of his profession. For three
years he was superintendent of a Sunday-school, and has been
a delegate to various diocesan conventions. In the celebrated
Cheney case, he prevented a conflict between the civil and ecclesi-
astical authorities by an eloquent speech. Through the influence
of Professor Joseph Haven, his intimate friend, he joined the Eng-
lish literature class, and after the death of that gentleman was
chosen its leader, being re-elected to that position for seven years
thereafter. In this connection, he wrote a pamphlet entitled " In-
tellect or Character," which was published by a resolution of the
class, and attracted much attention. He has also delivered several
lectures on literary and philological subjects, which have been most
favorably commented upon by the daily press. In June, 1878, in
company with his wife, Mr. Kendig took a tour around the world,
and enriched current literature by many productions of his pen.
D. Harry Hammer was born in Springfield, 111., December
23, 1840, the son of John and Eliza (Witner) Hammer. In 1S42,
his parents removed to Ogle County, where young Hammer sub-
sequently attended the district schools of the neighborhood, worked
on a farm and learned his trade as a harness-maker and saddler.
At the age of seventeen, he entered the Rock River Seminary,
Mount Morris, 111., graduating, with honors, in 1863. He then
entered the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann
Arbor. Graduating in 1865, he looked around for a favorable lo-
cation in which to commence practice. He decided, in the fall of
that year, to locate in St. Louis; but the unsettled condition of the
country, coupled with the incursions of the cholera, drove him,
with thousands of others, from the city. In the meantime he had
formed the acquaintance of a man ever ready to hold out a helping
hand, thoroughly awake to the activities of the age and, therefore.
a thorough admirer of Chicago. Benjamin F. Taylor, the elo-
quent war correspondent of the Chicago Evening Journal, and who
has since gained a world-wide reputation, was then traveling
through the West on a lecturing tour. The young man seeking
a career and the one who had already made his mark met. and be-
??U%^^ AtM^,
THE BENCH AND BAR.
481
came friends at once, and it was through Mr. Taylor's represent-
ations that judge Hammer came to Chicago, in October, [866.
fudge Hammer entered at once into the practice of his profession,
and soon built up an enviable reputation for ability and probity, as
well as being remarkably successful financially. In April, 1S79,
Governor Cullom appointed him a justice of the peace for the
town of South Chicago. At the expiration of his term, in 1SS3,
his course had given such general satisfaction that he was re-
appointed by Governor Hamilton. From the first he has been an
earnest Republican. He is an active member of many of the
leading secret and benevolent societies of Chicago, having been
connected with the Masonic fraternity since 1863. He is at pres-
ent connected with S. H. Davis Lodge, No. 96, A. F. & A. M. ;
Chicago Chapter, No. 127, R. A. M.; Chevalier Bayard Command-
ery. No 52, K. T.; Oriental Consistory, 32°, S. P. R. S.; Court
Energy, No. 19, I. O. F.; and Delphus Lodge, No. 2507, K. of
H. He is also a member of such leading political and social
organizations as the Calumet, Union League and Indiana clubs.
Mr. Hammer married Emma L. Carpenter, of Athens, Ohio. They
have three children — Maud, Hazel Harry and Fay.
John Clarke Barker was born March 1, 1S33, at Windsor,
Kennebec Co., Me., the son of Oliver C. and Caroline L. Barker.
In 1S44, his parents located in Lee Center, Lee County, where a
farm was purchased, and on which their son, John C, learned to
be a good farmer, subsequently attending Rock River Seminary
and Rockford Commercial College. He was a teacher in district,
select and graded schools for a few years and obtained his educa-
tion chiefly by his individual efforts and under many difficulties.
His tastes inclined him to the profession of law or medicine.
He read the different systems of medical science for a year, then
read the elementary authors in law. After thorough reading, while
a teacher, and subsequent practical experience in different law offices
and a course of one year at the Chicago Law School, he passed a
highly creditable examination before the State Board of Examina-
tion, in August. 1865, at Chicago, where he commenced practice.
For eighteen years he successfully followed his calling in this city,
building up a lucrative practice. By his straightforward and able
course, he was recognized as a lawyer of established reputation,
both as a special pleader and as an advocate before the court or
jury, as well as a citizen of culture and high moral character.
During the first six years of his residence here, he accumulated a
fine library, which, with his home and all its effects, was swept
away by the fire of 1S71. There was no insurance on his property,
and Mr. Barker was thus left penniless. He bravely commenced
the battle of life again, and soon placed himself in comfortable cir-
cumstances. From the first he has been a prominent member of
the Law Institute and Bar Association. Mr. Barker was a lieuten-
ant in the military service in the last War. He represented North
Chicago as a legislator in the Twenty-ninth General Assembly with
credit to himself and his constituents. In the fall of 1882, when
Mr. Barker's prospects looked the brightest, he was afflicted with
a dangerous attack of sciatica, and, upon the advice of physicians,
abandoned the active practice of his profession. In May, 18S3, Gov-
ernor Hamilton appointed him a justice of the peace for North Chi-
cago, a position he still holds. Mr. Barker is a member of many secret
and benevolent societies, being connected with Waubansia Lodge,
No. 160, A. F. & A. M., of which he was master for two years ;
with Lincoln Park Lodge, No. 2620, K. of H., of which he is past
dictator, and was a member of the last Grand Lodge and alternate
representative to the Supreme Lodge For many years he has been
a leading official of the Methodist Church, being president of the
Board of Trustees of the Grant-place Methodist Episcopal Church.
In October, 1869, he was married to Elizabeth E. Vaughn, of Chi-
cago. They have two children — John V. and Sarah Louisa.
Colonel Henry Franklin Vallette was born at the old
Vallette homestead, in Stockbridge, Mass., on November 1, 1821,
the son of Jeremiah and Abiah (Mott) Vallette. His father was a
man of broad views and varied information, as is exhibited by the
fact that Theodore Sedgwick, while preparing his work on political
economy, frequently sought the opinions of Mr. Vallette, who was
also a highly respected farmer. When Henry was seventeen years
of age, he removed to Illinois with his father's family, and settled
near the present town of Wheaton, in DuPage County. He
attended the public schools and Stockbridge Academy before leav-
ing his native State. The scholastic facilities of ihe West were
limited at the time, but, by persistent effort on his own part and the
aid of a private tutor, he mastered the English branches and the
science of surveying. In 1848, he resumed his studies at Mount
Morris Academy, and that year he began the study of the law.
During that year he married Miss Abbie A.
I linsniore, a daughter of the eminent divine,
Rev. Alvin Dinsmore, of DeWitt, Iowa.
She has been a noble and devoted wife and
mother ; to them have been born four chil-
dren. Mr. Vallette was elected treasurer of
DuPage County, to which office he was re-
elected four times. In 1851, he was admit-
ted to the Bar, and has devoted his attention
to the practice of his profession since that
time, with the exception of the time spent in
the army. He was in partnership with
Judge H. H. Cody for seventeen years. In
1862, he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the 105th Illinois
Volunteer Infantry. He was a brave officer, and was much loved
by the men under his command. He resigned in 1S64, and, in
1867, he resumed the practice of the law in Chicago, in company
with General B. J. Sweet and Judge Isaac Wilson. Since the
dissolution of this partnership, Colonel Vallette has continued in
the practice of his profession, and has been very successful. In
politics he is a Republican, but has never sought political prefer-
ment. In religion he is a Universalist, and has always given that
denomination his hearty support.
George Scoville, attorney-at-law, was born in the town of
Pompey, Onondaga Co., N. Y., October 10, 1S24. In early life,
his parents removed to the woods of Ohio, where the rudiments of
education were acquired by him in a log house by the light of a
tallow dip. At the age of eighteen he commenced attending school,
working his way as best he could. Entering Yale College, in
1846, on account of a stress of finances he was obliged to abandon
his educational course at the end of the second term, and turned
his attention to the study of law. After pursuing his studies in
the office of Hammond, King & Barnes, at Albany, N. Y., he was
admitted to the Bar in August, 1848. The succeeding three years
he spent in traveling through the West, and in April, 1851, came
to reside and practice in Chicago. Mr. Scoville formed a partner-
ship with Grant Goodrich in 1852. The partnerships of Goodrich
& Scoville, Goodrich, Scoville & Seeley (Henry E.), and Goodrich,
Farwell (William W.) & Scoville, continued until 1857. In 1869,
the firm of Scoville. Bailey & Brawley was formed, consisting of
Mr. Scoville, J. M. Bailey and F. W. S. Brawley. which continued
until the great fire. In 1872, the firm of Scoville, Corwin (John
A.I & Bayley (Edward F.) was formed, and continued four years.
Since then, Mr. Scoville has practiced alone, having been brought
prominently before the country as the counsel of Guiteau. He as-
sumed the responsibilities and unpleasant notoriety of the defense,
however, only at the request of Guiteau, through Colonel Corkhill,
and the earnest solicitation of his wife. His only ambition is to fill
such a place in life as ability, honest labor and perseverance have
fitted him for, and at his death to leave the world somewhat better
for having lived in it.
George A. Meech was born at Norwich, Conn., on January
19, 1824, receiving his preliminary education in the academy at
that place, where he remained until twelve years of age. Next re-
moving to New Haven, he graduated at Yale College, in the class
of 1843, and then contented himself with teaching school for seve-
ral years. He first taught at Bozrah, Conn., at a compensation of
$12 a month and board. In 1844, he became principal of the Nor-
wich Academy, where he had received his early schooling. In the
fall of 1845, on account of ill health, he was obliged to resign his
position and remove to the South, locating in Demopolis, Ala. In
1847, he repaired to Boston, to complete his law studies, which he
had already commenced with Lafayette S. Foster and Frank Lyon.
In Boston, he studied in the offices of Hubbard & Watts and of
Robert Rantoul, whose reputation was of a national character. In
the fall of 1848, he was admitted to practice law in Connecticut,
and the next year received his appointment as justice of the peace.
He gave such general satisfaction, that the citizens of the Norwich
District, in 1S53, elected him to the position of probate judge. On
account of his wife's falling health, however, he was obliged to
resign his place upon the Bench, and removed to the West. On
reaching Chicago, he opened an office at No. 117 Lake Street,
and soon formed a partnership with Joseph N. Barker, a lawyer of
established reputation. In 1S62, after continuing in private prac-
tice for about nine years, Judge Meech was elected city attorney,
which position he held during the administration of Hon. Francis
C. Sherman. He was chosen assessor of the South Town in 1864,
continuing in the successful practice of the law until his selection,
4S2
HISTORY OF CHICAGO.
in the spring of 1S75. as justice of the peace for the South Town.
In the winter of 1S79, and again in iSSs. the judges of the courts
of record unanimously re-nominated him to his former position, be-
ing recommended by the bankers, merchants, lawyers and business
men of the city. Notwithstanding the manifold judicial duties
which have fallen upon his shoulders for years, he has found
time to retain the reputation which he earned during his younger
days of being remarkably proficient in belles-lettres. During much
of the period from 1S47 to 1S53, he was quite a constant contribu-
tor to the New York Tribune, and is now recognized as a fine
Latin scholar. He is a Mason, and a life-member of Waubansia
Lodge. Washington Chapter and Apollo Commander)'. Judge
Meech was married, in 1S50, to Sarah H. Dorchester, daughter of
Rev. Daniel Dorchester, of Norwich, Conn. His first wife died in
Februarv, 1S59, and in October, 1S60, he was united in marriage
to Celia Addie Hunt, daughter of Hon. Milo Hunt, of Chenango
County. New York, for many years State senator, and a man well
known in that section of the State. His second wife dying in the
fall of 1S7S, he was married, in October, 1SS0. to Florence W.
Story, daughter of Captain William Story, of Norwich, Conn.
Judge Meech has but one child — Harold Appleton
James Ennis (deceased) was born on March 27, 1S37, at En-
niscorthy. County of Wexford, Ireland. His father was what was
termed a gentleman farmer, and in such affluent circumstances as
enabled him to bestow upon his children the advantages of a good
education. His death occurred on March 27, 1852, it being the
fifteenth birthday of the subject of this sketch; and, soon after, the
remaining family, consisting of James, his mother and four sisters,
emigrated to America, and settled in Lake County, Illinois, where
his mother purchased a farm. In company with a farmer, who
drove a loaded ox-team, he made his first trip to Chicago, on foot,
on a bitterly cold day, in the winter of 1S54. He first obtained
employment as a clerk in a clothing store, but, shortly after-
ward, engaged as a clerk with Mr. DeWolf, and immediately entered
upon his duties, and commenced the study of the law. He also
applied himself to the study of German, which, in after years,
resulted in a fluency of speech, rarely acquired in a foreign
tongue. He was admitted to the Bar January 11, 1856, being, at
the time, not quite twenty-one years of age. He immediately com-
menced the practice of his profession, in which he rapidly achieved
success. His unimpeachable integrity, combined with his acknowl-
edged ability, brought him a lucrative practice, which constantly
increased up to the time of his death — a period of nearly a quarter
of a century. In 1S71, he located a new office at No. 145 Madison
Street, where he was scarcely established when everything was
swept away by the great fire. He lost, in addition to his offices,
his homestead, with all it contained, and his houses on the North
Side. Out of his property, nothing was saved, except a horse and
buggy, and a small house, on West Randolph Street, into which
he moved his familv, and, within one week, resumed his practice —
the parlor of his house serving as his office. In 1S72, he removed
his office to the newly erected Metropolitan Block, Room 22, which
continued to be his place of business up to the time of his decease.
He died of heart disease, November g, 1880, after a brief illness of
two days and was buried, November II. in Calvary Cemetery. In
politics, Mr. Ennis was a Democrat of the Douglas school, and,
after the breaking out of the Rebellion, was known as one of the
most pronounced and ardent War Democrats of Chicago. In reli-
gion, he was a firm believer in the Catholic faith. As a lawyer, his
ability as an advocate was excelled by few of his contemporaries,
while his general success before the Supreme Court, as shown in
the Reports, evinces his profound knowledge of the abstract prin-
ciples of law. Mr. Ennis was married, November 3, 1S58, to Miss
Mary A. Sexton, a native of Chicago, and a daughter of Stephen
Sexton, one of the early settlers, and who built the first school-
house in Chicago. She died August 11, 1876, leaving nine children
(the eldest being sixteen years old, and the youngest a babe), at the
time of her death. He was married, again, two years after the
death of his first wife, and left one child by his second wife. His
children, still living, are Lawrence M., James I., Callistus S.,
Lullus J Stephen I'., Agnes M., Laura G., and Juven-
tius T.— all residents of Rogers Park, a suburb of Chicago.
IIf.nhv J. Furber, of the firm of Higgins & Furber, lawyers
and capitalists, was born in Rochester, Stafford Co., N. II., on
July 17, 1840, being the son of Benjamin and 1 Hive (Hussey) Fur-
ber. He litter] for college at the Great Falls High School and en-
tered Bowdoin College in the fall of 1857. In the spring of i860,
before the graduation of his class, Mr. Furber accepted a call from
Green Hay. Wis., to 1. rintendent of the public schools
of that city. Subsequently, the faculty of liowdoin College confer-
red on him the regular college degree, and enrolled his name among
the graduates of Ihe class of 1861. Mr. Furber continued in
charge of the public school of Green Hay for two years, devoting
all his leisure moments to the study of law In July. 1 siVj, he was
admitted to the Wisconsin liar, and, in August, formed a partner-
ship with E. H. Ellis, a leading corporation lawyer of Green Bay.
Becoming interested in the subject of fire and life insurance,
through his professional labors, he was, in the spring of 1S64, ap-