Transcript:Orth, Samuel P. History of Cleveland, Ohio/v3p012

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12                            HISTORY OF CLEVELAND

wedded Mrs. Ella M. Southworth, of Clinton, New York, the eldest daughter
of Henry C. Beebe, formerly of Westfield, Massachusetts. Their congeniality
of tastes and their well developed intellectual powers made theirs a particularly
happy home life.

  His life was that of a Christian gentleman and his allegiance to the Higher
Power was also manifest. No man possessed a keener regard for right and he
often remarked: "One of the greatest achievements of man is to do right."
His opinions seemed to be formed with remarkable rapidity and yet they were
the outcome of clear and earnest previous thought upon various questions, so
that he was enabled to reach a right conclusion on almost any question of importance
that arose among the directorates of the several companies with which
he was connected. His opinion on such occasions was invariably accepted as
being the proper course to pursue. Those who knew him in other than business
relations found him tender-hearted and sympathetic. His charities were large
and his benefactions numerous. His gifts, however, were modestly and unostentatiously
given, on many occasions being known only to the recipient. His
was the spirit of genuine humanitarianism, however—-a recognition of the universal
brotherhood of man. He sought to alleviate suffering and distress and
sympathized with the sorrowing, his benefactions reaching out in generous aid
to those who suffered from an untoward fate. He was always interested in
questions of vital import and on a moment's notice would speak instructively
and interestingly to his fellow citizens upon art, education, finance or matters
of state. He was the controlling spirit in the Cleveland School of Art and sought
in many tangible ways to further the progress of the city which he made his home.
A contemporary biographer said of him: "He was one of the few men endowed
with a capacity to mold surrounding circumstances to suit his purposes." His
career was almost meteoric in its dazzling qualities and yet it possessed a continuity
that made him, throughout many years, one of the most distinguished
representatives of the Ohio bar and one whose activity in railway circles left
deep imprint upon the history of the nation.

  On the occasion of Judge Burke's death the Cleveland Bar Association on
April 26, 1904, passed the following resolutions. "For more than fifty years
Judge Burke has been a conspicuous and commanding figure in the law. While
his early training and later studies and labors made of him a broadly cultured
gentleman with an active interest in literature and the arts, the characteristic
which the thought of him brings at once and always to mind is the enormous
energy of the man and the vigorous, rugged strength of his intellect. By nature
he was aggressively earnest in everything he undertook. At the time of removing
to Cleveland he almost at once entered upon a legal career that has had
few parallels in the history of the bar of Ohio. He participated in many cases
involving vast interests and conducted all with such striking ability that his reputation
soon passed the bounds of his own city and state and gave him almost national
fame. While his later years were devoted more to his private interests,
he nevertheless remained prominent in the community as a great lawyer as
well as a man of affairs and a man in whom the bar of the county had continuing
pride to the time of his death. While the weighty interests which he had
in hand continuously during his long career prevented his participation to a
great extent in social affairs, he was nevertheless a man whom those who knew
him well found most cordial, friendly and entertaining. He entertained his
intimate friends in a charming manner and left impressions of his social character
that always drew one nearer to him. He was a man to be admired, a man
to be honored and a man whose example at the bar and on the bench as well
as in private life ought to be followed. He always showed respect to the
bench. He stood as an American citizen absolutely kingly in the deportment of
his own life. He formed his opinions without fear or favor and there was something
so noble, so masterful in his utter independence that it made the deference
he always showed the court the more noble and the more glorious."

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