SAMUEL CRAIGHEAD, [pages 909-910] late a distinguished member of the bar of Montgomery county, Ohio, was born June 16, 1817, in Cumberland county, Pa. In his youth he went to New York city, where he was for several years in the employ of a large publishing house. He prepared himself for the profession of the law, was admitted to the bar of Ohio, and became a resident of Dayton in 1844. Here he at once entered upon the practice, and in 1848 was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney, which he filled for two terms.
Mr. Craighead speedily attained prominence and wide reputation as a criminal lawyer, and during a period of forty years he was engaged upon one side or the other of well-nigh every criminal case of importance in the courts of this county, his practice extending also to other portions of the state. In about 1854 he formed a co-partnership with Wilbur Conover, and this became, and for a quarter of a century continued to be one of the leading and most successful legal firms in Ohio, when it was dissolved by reason of Mr. Conover's failing health.
In February, 1853, Mr. Craighead married Mrs. Jeannette A. Schenck, daughter of Judge William Miller, of Cincinnati, and widow of Lieut. Woodhull S. Schenck, of the United States navy. To this marriage were born three children: Robert G., Emanuel J. and Charles A. Craighead.
Samuel Craighead died September 6, 1894. Rightly to estimate the place he held in the community, and especially in the profession to which he had devoted his great gifts of intellect and eloquence, we turn to the words of the tribute paid to his life and character by his associates at the bar of Montgomery county. We quote from the memorial adopted by the Bar association following Mr. Craighead's lamented death:
"For nearly a quarter of a century he was the acknowledged leader of this bar. In these halls others contended with him as to the soundness of legal propositions or as to the effect of evidence, but no one hoped to triumph over him by personal superiority. The elements of his great professional success were, in part, the generous gifts of nature. His presence was attractive, his capacity for work was great, his mind was active and versatile, his judgment as to what should be offered or omitted in the trial of a cause was instinctive and accurate, and his power of dramatic presentation could hardly have been acquired. But these native qualities were strengthened and supplemented by a close and extensive study of the law, by a. careful preparation of all the causes in which he appeared, and by the zeal and fidelity which are prompted by an accurate appreciation of the high duty which a lawyer owes to his client. A clear conviction that the law is a profession, and not a trade, lay at the foundation of his success and was the corner stone of his professional character. It raised him to those intellectual and moral heights where controversies are courageous and honorable, where victories ennoble and defeats are not followed by shame.
"Most of us, upon our admission to the bar, found him in full practice, engaged in nearly all the important causes that were tried here, winning favorable judgment in most of them and in all adding to his reputation as a powerful and honorable advocate. Rejecting the overtures of those who desired to place him in public positions for which his talent so admirably fitted him, he was nevertheless a public man by virtue of his ability. In our professional circle he was the Great Commoner. We have all respected his character and emulated his success. Those of us have been most fortunate who have most clearly observed that honor and virtue made that success possible.
"In the trial of causes he was fearless and aggressive. He must have been conscious of his great powers as an advocate, though he was without arrogance.
"Loyalty and fidelity were prominent in his character. These qualities bound him firmly and closely to profession, to clients, to family, to friends, to truth, to country. He received patriotism by inheritance, and throughout his long and useful life he nurtured it by the faithful performance of those duties which every citizen owes to the state.
"In his later years his life showed a strange and beautiful blending of vernal and autumnal colors. To his own business and to that of his clients he brought the ripe fruit of long experience and much observation. But at home and office his friends were sure of a cheery welcome, and at the meetings of lawyers his favorite place was among the younger members of the bar, whom he encouraged by kind words and delighted with the sallies of wit which so often enlivened the court room and the social circle. It seems as though it were but yesterday that he passed among us with the erect figure, the elastic step, the natural vision and the cheery voice of youth.
"But age brought even to him its inevitable infirmities, and compelled his gradual abandonment of active professional duties. Yet he never ceased to teach us by his exemplary conduct. When the twilight deepened, his life became a perpetual benediction upon all whom he met and all whom he had ever known.
"The memory of his talents, his virtues and his kindness will remain .to us a valued heritage. But we cannot cherish the hope that we shall ever meet a manlier man."
