Cleveland Past and Present

M >> Maurice Joblin >> Cleveland Past and Present

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In 1849, Mr. Kelly was appointed by the legislature one of the
Commissioners of the city of Cleveland to subscribe on behalf of the city
to the capital stock of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad Company. He
accepted the trust, and for a number of successive years thereafter, until
the stock of the city in that road was disposed of, was chosen a Director
of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad Company, to represent the
interests of this city in the capital stock of that company.

In September, 1866, he was appointed by President Johnson District
Attorney of the United States for the Northern District of Ohio, and held
the office until the next March, not having been confirmed by the Radical
senate for the reason that he had been a member of the Philadelphia
Convention of the previous summer.

On the organization of the City Bank of Cleveland under the law of 1845,
Mr. Kelly became a stockholder therein and was a director, and its
attorney, during its existence, and has continued in the same connection
with the National City Bank which succeeded the former. He also for a
number of years has been a director and attorney of the Cuyahoga Steam
Furnace Company.

Mr. Kelly was one of the organizers of St. Paul's Episcopal church, and
has always remained a liberal supporter of the same.

He was married in the year 1839 to Jane, the daughter of Gen. Hezekiah
Howe, of New Haven, Conn.

In 1850, Mr. Kelly purchased a tract of about thirty acres, being a part
of what was then known as the "Giddings farm," fronting on Euclid avenue,
a short distance East of Willson avenue. Here he soon after erected a
tasteful dwelling, where he has since resided, and where in the leisure
snatched from professional avocations he has gratified his taste for
horticultural and agricultural pursuits.

In person Mr. Kelly is tall and spare, and dignified in demeanor, and
although he has reached three score, he is still active and in good
health. His character for integrity is unblemished and in his long
professional career has never been known to uphold or defend a
dishonorable cause. His rule has been to decline advocating causes which,
in his judgment, have neither merits nor justice. In social intercourse he
is affable and genial, and in public, private and professional life, has
always commanded the respect, esteem and confidence of his fellow men.
Firm in his convictions of duty, and resolute in doing it, yet so
respectful and courteous to opponents is he that he may be said to be a
man without an enemy.

The great rise in real estate and his professional earnings have rendered
Mr. Kelly, if not what in these days would be called wealthy,
comparatively rich, and surrounded, as he is, by an affectionate family
and kind friends and possessed of all the enjoyments which culture and a
successful life brings, we trust he may long continue amongst us.

Thomas Bolton.

It has been said of history, that it should never venture to deal
except with periods comparatively remote. And this was doubtless true
when literature was venal, or in any way subservient to royal or to
party power.

It has been alike suggested of biography, that it cannot be securely
trusted in the portrayal of the living. And this is no doubt true where
political or partisan objects are sought to be subserved. But with this
exception the most faithful portraits may naturally be expected where
the subjects of them are before us, and familiarly known to us. And so
that the hand refrains from those warmer tints which personal friendship
might inspire, and simply aims at sketches which the general judgment
may recognize and approve, the task, however difficult, cannot be said
to be unsafe.

Thomas Bolton was born in Scipio, Cayuga county, New York, November 29th,
1809. His father was an extensive farmer in that section of western New
York, where rich fields, and flowing streams, and beautiful scenery, are
happily combined.

At seventeen he entered the High School on Temple Hill, in Geneseo, where
he fitted for college; and in the Fall of 1829, he entered Harvard
University, where he graduated in 1833, the first in his class in
mathematics. In this connection, it is pleasant to advert to the fact
that his most intimate schoolmate, classmate and fellow graduate, was
Hon. Moses Kelly, who was afterwards his partner in the law for many
years at Cleveland, and that between the two from boyhood down to the
present day, there has been a steadfast and unbroken life-friendship
almost fraternal, both now in affluence, but still living side by side.
Such life-long friendships are unusual, but whenever they do exist, they
imply the presence in both parties of true and trusty qualities which
preserve their character as pure cement, exposed to any atmosphere, or
tried in any furnace.

[Illustration: Yours Truly, Thomas Bolton]

After graduating, Mr. Bolton entered upon the study of law at
Canandaigua, in the office of John G. Spencer, now deceased, but then a
strong and distinguished name in the profession. At the end of a year he
came west, to seek a permanent location to further pursue his studies and
enter upon the practice, first stopping at Cleveland, on finding that any
further west was hardly within the pale of civilization. Cleveland itself
was then, September, 1834, but a mere village, of about twenty-five
hundred inhabitants. Superior street had not been graded, and at its
western terminus was higher than the first story of the Atwater Block, and
the bank of the lake extended fifteen rods out beyond the present Union
Depot. The village did not become a city till 1836, when at a public
meeting to determine upon the corporate limits, Mr. Bolton was appointed
on a committee to draft the charter, and urged that both sides of the
river should be embraced, but was overruled, and Ohio City was established
on the other side of the river as a sort of rival, but since consolidated
with Cleveland. His connection with city affairs was renewed as
Councilman in 1839, and as Alderman in 1841.

But to go back to his professional life. Having studied law in the office
of James L. Conger, at Cleveland, for a year, he was admitted to the Bar
in September, 1835, by the Supreme Court of Ohio, on the Circuit, Chief
Justice Peter Hitchcock, that Nestor among judges, then presiding. He was
in partnership with Mr. Conger for a year, when he bought him out and sent
for his old college friend, Mr. Kelly, with whom he formed a partnership,
which continued until the Fall of 1856, a period of twenty years, when he
was elected to the Bench.

As bearing upon his political career, it may be narrated, that in the Fall
of 1839, he was elected prosecuting attorney of the county, at which time
the Whig party was largely in the ascendancy, commanding from 1,500 to
2,000 majority, though he was a Democrat and nominated by the Democrats
for the office. Two years later, at the expiration of his term, he was
strongly solicited by both parties to take the office another term, but
declined in consequence of the inadequacy of the salary.

An incident occurred during his term as prosecuting attorney which had a
marked effect upon the politics of Cleveland and its vicinity. Up to 1841,
slave-owners were in the habit of sending their agents to Cleveland and
causing their runaway slaves to be arrested and taken before a magistrate,
when a warrant would be obtained to return the slave, and he would be
carried back into slavery. All this was done openly and publicly, creating
little or no excitement, and Mr. Bolton, in the practice of his
profession, was more frequently employed for this purpose than any other
attorney in the city. In the Spring of 1841, three negroes, who were
claimed as slaves, had run away from New Orleans and were in Buffalo. The
agent of their master applied to a law firm in Cleveland for assistance.
At that time, slaves arrested in Buffalo were in the habit of claiming a
trial by jury, which was granted. To avoid a jury, with its sympathies, it
was thought advisable to get the negroes into Ohio, and, accordingly, one
of the attorneys, the agent and a negro of Cleveland, repaired to Buffalo.
On their return the three negroes came with them, and it was said they had
been kidnapped. On their arrival at Cleveland, the negroes were arrested
under the law of Congress as fugitives from service, and lodged in the
county jail. This information coming to the ears of the few Abolitionists
then in the city, among others the late Hon. Edward Wade and Hon. John A.
Foot, lawyers at the time in full practice, they applied to the jailor for
admission to consult with the negroes. But public opinion was so strongly
prejudiced against the Abolitionists that neither the jailor nor the
sheriff would permit any of them to communicate with the prisoners.
Accidentally, a colored man inquired of Mr. Bolton if he would take up
their defence. He readily assented, and being prosecuting attorney of the
county, and it being well understood that he was not an Abolitionist, the
doors of the jail were readily opened to him, and he immediately made
preparations for a vigorous defence of the prisoners. A writ of _habeas
corpus_ was immediately applied for to Judge Barber, one of the associate
judges at the time; the negroes were brought before him, and their case
continued for ninety days, to prepare for a defence.

When it was known about town that Mr. Bolton had undertaken the defence of
the negroes, great indignation was excited, and many threatened to tear
down his office, and to use violence toward his person. This only aroused
him to greater energy and effort in behalf of the prisoners. In the
meantime indictments were procured in Buffalo against the alleged
kidnappers, and the excitement in the city greatly increased, so that on
the day of the trial the court-house was packed with people. After an
investigation, which lasted two days, the court discharged the defendants
and they went acquit.

From the iniquitous proceeding in the case, and the manner in which it
was prosecuted, and the excitement it produced, the community was led to
reflect upon the iniquity of the system and the oppression of the law;
and from that day till the slave-girl Lucy was sent back into Virginia
slavery, in 1862, (to appease, it is said, the wrath of the rebels,) not
a negro was sent back into slavery from the city of Cleveland, or county
of Cuyahoga.

Mr. Bolton left the Democratic party in 1848, or, as he claims, it left
him when it adopted its national platform of that year. He then joined the
Free Soil party, and was a delegate to the Buffalo Convention, and one of
its secretaries. In February, 1856, he assisted in organizing the
Republican party at the Pittsburgh Convention, and in the Summer of the
same year was a delegate from this Congressional District in the
Philadelphia Convention, which nominated Fremont and Dayton.

When he was admitted to the Bar, the Court of Common Pleas, under the old
Constitution, consisted of four members, a president judge and three
associates, elected by the Legislature, and the Supreme Court of the State
consisted of four judges, also chosen by the Legislature. A session of the
Supreme Court was held by two of its members once a year in each county,
and three sessions a year were held by the Court of Common Pleas in this
and the adjoining counties. In 1835, Hon. Matthew Birchard, of Warren, was
president judge. He was succeeded by Hon. Van R. Humphrey, of Hudson, and
he by Hon. John W. Willey, of Cleveland, who died during his term. Hon.
Reuben Hitchcock was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy, and
Hon. Benjamin Bissel, of Painesville, was elected by the Legislature during
the next session. Hon. Philemon Bliss, then of Elyria, and now Supreme
Judge of Missouri, was afterward elected, and his term was cut short in
1851, by the adoption of the new Constitution, under which the judges were
elected by the people for the term of five years. Hon. Samuel Starkweather
was the first judge elected under the new system, and in 1856. Mr. Bolton
was chosen his successor. In 1861, he was unanimounanimouslynated and
elected without opposition, and in 1866, at the expiration of his second
term, he retired from the Bench and the Bar.

We thus complete our outline sketch of the professional, judicial, and
political career of one of our most prominent and respected citizens.

He came to the Bar of Cleveland before Cleveland was a city, and entered
upon practice with that force and earnestness which were the ruling
elements of his nature. He had able competitors, but he was a strong man
amongst them. His promptness in the courts was proverbial. He was always
ready, and if he granted indulgences he never asked for any. He was less
given to books than his partner, Mr. Kelly, who was the student and
chancery member of the firm, but in the ordinary departments of the common
law and in criminal practice, he was always at home. He prepared his
causes with the most thorough premeditation of the line of his own
evidence, and of all the opposing evidence that could possibly be
anticipated. Hence he moved with rapidity and precision, and was never
taken by surprise. His arguments were not elaborate, or studied in point
of finish, but they were strong, downright practical, and to the point. In
this sense he was a fine and effective speaker to courts and juries.

These same characteristics he exhibited upon the Bench. Hardy and vigorous
in his perceptions and understanding--thoroughly versed and ready in the
law of pleadings and evidence--bringing to bear on the civil code, the
logical training of the common law system--his ten years of service as a
judge were honorable to himself and valuable to the public. In all the
phases of his career and life he has been thoroughly upright.

Retired upon an ample fortune, amassed by forecast and business
energy--fond of his home, and devoted with entire liberality to the
education of his children--independent of office and in all other
ways--strong and robust as ever in person and in mind--he is still a power
in any direction wherever he chooses so to be. His broad, projecting
brow, his direct and forcible speech and bearing, symbolize his character.
They assure you of vital energy, strong, practical comprehension,
directness and will. He may have more of the "_fortiter in re_" than of
the "_suaviter in modo_" but all who know him have faith in his truth,
implicit reliance upon the hearty fidelity of his friendships, and
assurance, that he is always loyal to his convictions, both in public and
in private life.

James M. Hoyt.

Several years since, the writer of this was in conversation with a poor
man who had a hard struggle with misfortune and sickness in his attempt to
rear a large family, and secure them a humble homestead. In the course of
conversation the name of James M. Hoyt was mentioned, and the poor man was
inquired of who that gentleman was. "Lawyer Hoyt?" he replied, "why he's
the _honest lawyer_, God bless him!" He who could acquire this title among
the poor must be no ordinary man.

[Illustration: James M. Hoyt]

James M. Hoyt was born in Utica, New York, January 16, 1815. The
circumstances of his parents were such that he was enabled to acquire a
good education, and graduated at Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in
1834. On leaving College he commenced the study of law in Utica, but soon
removed to Cleveland, where, in February, 1836, he read law in the office
of Andrews & Foot. He remained with them in that capacity for one year,
when a partnership was formed under the name of Andrews, Foot & Hoyt,
which lasted about twelve years, and was dissolved only by the appointment
of Judge Andrews to the bench of the Superior Court of Cuyahoga county.
The firm of Foot & Hoyt continued four years longer, until in 1853, Mr.
Hoyt withdrew from the practice of law and turned his attention wholly to
the business of real estate, not as a broker, but as an operator on his
own account, or in company with others, nearly all his operations being
adjacent to the city. For the last twenty years his transactions have been
very heavy, having made of land belonging to him wholly, or in part, in
the city of Cleveland and its environs, thirty-one recorded sub-divisions,
covering an area of five hundred acres, on which he has personally, or in
connection with others interested with him, opened and named no less than
seventy-six streets, including the well-known Croton, Laurel, Greenwood,
Humbolt, Mahoning, Kelly, Lynden, Maple, Mayflower and Siegel streets, and
Longwood avenue. He was also largely instrumental in opening Prospect
beyond Hudson, and sold nearly half of the land on Kinsman street, besides
selling a large amount of land on Superior and St. Clair streets; also on
the West Side, Madison avenue, Long street, Colgate street and Waverly
avenue. He has sold in all 3000 lots in Cleveland.

Mr. Hoyt united with the Baptist church in Utica in 1835. Soon after
coming to Cleveland he became connected with the First Baptist church
Sunday school, and was its superintendent twenty-six years, when he
resigned, and became teacher of a congregational Bible class, which labor
of love he has performed for about three years, and still continues.

In 1854, he was licensed to preach the Gospel, by the church with which he
was connected. He was never ordained, and never contemplated being, but
simply desired to testify to Christian truth as a business man on the
principle of "He that heareth, let him say come." For the past fifteen
years he has labored in that capacity more or less in nearly all the
Protestant denominations in the city and elsewhere.

In 1854, he was elected President of the Ohio Baptist State Convention,
and has been re-elected annually ever since, and has held anniversaries
in nearly every city of the State. In 1866, he was elected president of
the American Baptist Home Mission Society, being the national
organization for missions for North America, has been re-elected
annually, and still holds the office. Through all this time Mr. Hoyt has
made many public addresses, and given lectures on both secular and
religious subjects, in addition to publishing a number of articles,
reviews and other literary work.

He was married in 1836 to Miss Mary Ella Beebe, in the city of New York.
Of this marriage have been born six children, five of whom are living. The
oldest daughter, Mary Ella, died in 1854, aged fourteen. The oldest son,
Wayland, is in the Baptist ministry, and is now pastor of the Strong Place
Baptist church, Brooklyn, N. Y. The second son, Colgate, is now clerk and
assistant in his father's business. The daughter, Lydia, is the wife of
Mr. E. J. Farmer, banker of this city.

We do not think it is exaggeration to say, that not a man in the city has
more entwined himself with the affection of the people than Mr. Hoyt. For
many years he has had the power to do untold evil to the poor, and to do
it with a show of justice and legality, but this power was never
exercised. Of the thousands of lots sold by him, a very large proportion
have been for homesteads for the poor, hundreds of whom became involved
through sickness, or other misfortunes, and were not able to make payments
when due; many men died and left encumbered homes for widows to struggle
on with, but they never lacked a friend in James M. Hoyt. Other creditors
would sometimes crowd such persons, but to the extent of his ability he
always kept them at bay, and if the load was in any case too heavy, would
sell for the embarrassed owners, and give them the benefit of the rise in
property. Time and again have we heard such things from the grateful poor.

He is liberal with his means, contributing freely for religious and
charitable purposes. In politics he has ever sided with the party of
progress, and, although not a politician, has added his means and
exertions to the cause whenever necessary. During the war against the
rebellion he was an energetic supporter of the Government, and rendered
valuable aid to the cause of loyalty by his money and influence.

Mr. Hoyt, since his retirement from the legal profession, has devoted much
time to those liberal studies which are too apt to be neglected amid the
engrossing engagements of the Bar. He is a ripe scholar in English
history, and especially in the period between the Revolution of 1688 and
the accession of the House of Hanover. With an eminently practical turn of
mind, he is not disinclined to meta-physical investigations, and we well
remember the enthusiasm and keen zest with which he passed many winter
evenings at the house of a friend in reading, analyzing, and applying the
canons of criticism to Burke's Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful. His
article on Miracles, published in the October number, 1863, of the
Christian Review, contains one of the most searching examinations of
Hume's doctrines extant. It presents a vexed subject in a new and striking
light, and offers an unanswerable argument to the sophistries of the great
skeptic. The article has been widely circulated and much admired for its
logical acumen, and its striking simplification of an apparently complex
subject. With the faculty, in a large degree, of presenting abstract truth
in a form plain, attractive and intelligible to the common understanding,
it is to be hoped that Mr. Hoyt will continue to contribute to the higher
departments of our periodical literature, and thus by his studies and his
pen add to his present usefulness in his daily avocation, for we seldom
find one blessed with such a versatility of talent. He is methodical in
everything, and thorough in everything. In short, he is a good lawyer, a
good preacher, a good citizen, a good business man, a good father, a good
neighbor, and a true friend. He is now only fifty-four years of age, both
mentally and physically vigorous, and we sincerely hope his life of
usefulness may be extended many years.

Franklin T. Backus.

Franklin T. Backus, was born in Lee, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, May
6th, 1813. He was the son of Thomas and Rebecca Backus. While Franklin T.
was very young, his father removed to Lansing, New York, where he shortly
died, leaving a large family of young children to the care of his
surviving widow, with limited means for their support and education. In
consequence of this, the subject of this sketch was early in life inured
to hardy exercise upon a farm, to which, in after life, he has attributed
his strong constitution, and ability to endure confinement, and the
severest mental toil incident to an extensive legal practice.

It would be inappropriate in a brief sketch, to refer to and narrate
incidents of boyhood days, and they are therefore passed over. Mr. Backus,
while in early youth, became possessed of an unconquerable desire for
knowledge, and while laboring with his hands, his mind was busy
determining how he should secure the advantages of education. No
superficial acquirements could satisfy him. Added to native talents, of a
high order, were thoroughness and perseverance in everything which he
resolved to undertake, and these traits applied particularly to him as a
student. After resolving to obtain a thorough classical education, he set
about it in earnest, and in an unusually short period of time, prepared
himself, and on examination, entered the junior class of Yale College in
1834. Though the only time actually spent in college was during his junior
and senior years, yet his standing was very high, and he graduated at Yale
in 1836, occupying a position of one of the best mathematicians in his
class. Soon after, he was tendered the position of assistant professor, or
instructor in that venerable institution, an honor accorded to but few in
so short a time after graduation.

On leaving Yale, Mr. Backus settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he
established a classical school, which at once became very popular and
successful, and shortly afterwards commenced the study of law with
Messrs. Bolton & Kelly, who were among the leading members of the
Cuyahoga county Bar.

In August, 1839, he was admitted to the practice of law at Cleveland, the
Supreme Court then being in session there, and entered at once upon the
practice of his profession, in which, from the beginning, he took a high
position. He was also an active politician, and as a member of the Whig
party, participated largely in its active operations in the State, as well
as in his own district, and was frequently a recipient of its honors.

In 1841, he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney of Cuyahoga
county, having been nominated to that office in a contest in which several
who were older and more experienced in the profession than he, were
candidates. His administration of the office was in the highest degree
able and successful, and so met the approval of the public, that he was
renominated by his party and elected for the second term of two years.

In January, 1842, Mr. Backus was married to Miss Lucy Mygatt, daughter of
George Mygatt, Esq., then of Painesville, now of Cleveland. The choice was
a most suitable and wise one, and Mrs. Backus still lives, the light and
joy of their home.