Part 30 (1/2)
In October, 1862, he was chosen to succeed Mr. Riddle as Representative of the Eighteenth Congressional District in Congress. The wisdom of the choice was almost immediately made manifest. Judge Spalding had not long occupied his seat in the House of Representatives before ”the member from the Cleveland District” became noticed for the interest he took in questions of importance, the soundness of his views, and the ability with which they were urged. He took part in all the leading debates, and with such effect that he commanded the attention of the House whenever he spoke, and the leaders listened respectfully to his suggestions. He was appointed a member of the Standing Committee on Naval Affairs, and of the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions, and on the formation of a Select Committee on the Bankrupt Law, he was made its Chairman. In committee he was noticeable for his punctuality, patient and conscientious attention to the drudgery of committee work, and the system with which he was enabled to despatch large amounts of it satisfactorily.
In 1864, he was re-elected to his seat, and in that term was made a member of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, and retained his former position on the Committee on Bankruptcy, the chairmans.h.i.+p of which was held by Mr. Jenckes. In this Congress Judge Spalding took a leading part in the important debates on the subject of Reconstruction, and impressed his influence on the Legislation upon this matter. In the early days of the session he made a speech, in which he indicated the measures he regarded best adapted for the for the purpose of properly reconstructing the rebel States. The speech attracted great attention, both within and without Congress, and the suggestions therein contained were for the most part subsequently adopted, and worked into the Reconstruction Laws. The military features of Reconstruction, which formed an integral part of the legislation, originated in an amendment proposed by Judge Spalding, when the first Reconstruction Bill of Thaddeus Stevens was presented.
In 1866, he was again re-elected to Congress, his national services, as well as his fidelity to the local interests of his const.i.tuents, having secured for him that distinguished compliment. In this Congress he continued to occupy a prominent position, and was recognized as one of the leading men on the Republican side, though not so thoroughly partizan as to accept all the measures proposed in the name of the Republican party.
He differed occasionally with the dominant section of the party, when he believed their zeal outran discretion and sound policy, and the judgment of the country has in most cases p.r.o.nounced him to have acted rightly. In this Congress he served on the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on the Revision of the Laws of the United States, and upon the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress. In the debates on the financial questions that enlisted the attention of Congress at this session he took a leading part, and in May, 1868, he delivered a speech on ”The Political and Financial condition of the Country,” which took strong ground against the unconst.i.tutionality of the Legal Tenders, whilst approving the pa.s.sage of the Legal Tender Act as a measure of military necessity at the time.
With this Congress Judge Spalding's legislative career closed. The duties of the position, always faithfully performed by him, were growing too onerous, and at his time of life, though still full of activity and healthy vigor, it was urged that he should enjoy more ease than was possibly consistent with his idea of a proper fulfillment of the trust of member of Congress. He therefore wrote a letter to his const.i.tuents several months before the period of nomination, positively declining a renomination, and withdrawing from public life.
The determination of Judge Spalding to withdraw from active political life was a matter of surprise and regret to his colleagues in Congress, who had learned to value his sound judgment, ripe scholars.h.i.+p, earnest patriotism, and great legislative ability. It was a positive loss to the people of the Eighteenth Ohio District, for never had the interests of that district been better cared for. To Cleveland, especially, he proved in reality a representative member. The wishes of his const.i.tuents were promptly attended to, their interests carefully guarded, and no stone left unturned in the endeavor to benefit the city and its people. In the Congressional session and out of it, he was ever on the watch for opportunities to advance the interests of his const.i.tuents, and in complying with the daily requests for advice and a.s.sistance, he did so, not grudgingly or reluctantly, but with earnestness and hearty good will, as if it were a matter of his own personal concern. The withdrawal of Judge Spalding from public political life, was a loss to the national councils in which he had achieved distinction, but was a still greater loss to the const.i.tuency he represented.
Judge Spalding has returned to the legal profession, of which he ranks among the brightest lights, and finds in its practice, and in the quiet enjoyment of social and domestic life, a satisfaction which his public career, brilliant as it was, failed to give. In his seventy-second year, he is yet in the full enjoyment of all his faculties, physical and mental, and is the picture of sound health and mental vigor.
Judge Spalding has been married twice. In October, 1822, he was married to Lucretia A. Swift, oldest daughter of his preceptor in legal studies.
Seven children were born of this marriage, of whom but three yet live: Col. Zeph. S. Spalding, United States Consul at Honolulu, Brevet Captain George S. Spalding, First Lieutenant 33d U. S. Infantry, and Mrs. Lucretia McIlrath, wife of Charles McIlrath, of St. Paul, Minnesota. In January, 1859, Judge Spalding was married to his present wife, oldest daughter of Dr. William S. Pierson, of Windsor, Connecticut.
W. S. C. Otis.
W. S. C. Otis was born in c.u.mmington, Hamps.h.i.+re county, Ma.s.sachusetts, August 24th, 1808. His father was a farmer in narrow circ.u.mstances, who, owing to the loss of property, was able to bestow upon his children only such an education as could be obtained in the district schools of a purely agricultural district. Books were scarce, and as poor in quality as meagre in quant.i.ty; but being a lad with literary tastes, a desire for information, and an omnivorous appet.i.te for reading, every book that fell in the way of young Otis was eagerly seized and its contents ravenously devoured. The life of a poor farmer, with its ceaseless drudgery and petty needs, was distasteful to the lad, and he was anxious to obtain a collegiate education, and thus become fitted to fight the battle of life with brain instead of muscle. His ambition was not discouraged by his father, but there was a great difficulty in the way of its gratification--the want of money. Mr. Otis was utterly unable to give his son any pecuniary a.s.sistance, though ready to resign his claim on his son's time; an important sacrifice when the demands of a large family and the straitness of his means are taken into consideration. Application was made for admission to West Point Military Academy, but unfortunately a Congressman's son was also a candidate for the appointment, and of course the friendless son of a poor struggling farmer had to go to the wall. This was a heavy blow and sore discouragement.
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 c.u.mmington, 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 cla.s.s.
Before graduating, he was appointed princ.i.p.al of Gates' Academy, in Marlborough, Ma.s.sachusetts, 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 Const.i.tution 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 Const.i.tution, and is now the system in this State.
While a member of the Const.i.tutional 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. d.i.c.kman.
Franklin J. d.i.c.kman is a native of Petersburg, Virginia, where his parents have long resided. At the age of sixteen he entered the Junior cla.s.s of Brown University, at Providence, Rhode Island, and at the age of eighteen graduated with the salutatory honors of his cla.s.s. In the same cla.s.s were the Hon. S. S. c.o.x, 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. d.i.c.kman 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.