St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-11-08
PEN PICTURES.
Judges Wood and Wilkin- Their Pecu-
liarities In and Out Of
Court.
The Personal Characteristics of a
WeIi-Known Dry Goods
Firm.
Comptroller Roche's Early Life and
Public Career as Il City
officer.
copyrighted by L. NJ. Newson. |
EDWARD II. WOOD.

| lCopyrlghted by Il. M. NcWSOn.l
| EDWARD II. WOOD.
A large man, with large brain and large
heart, and large sympathies, is Judge
Wood, who moves slowly but surely and
effectively in every enterprise he inaugu-
rates. He has well-developed physical
organization which supports more than or
dlnary-sized brain, and which requires ex-
traordlnary opportunities to bring it into
play, as it moves slowly but powerfully
when called into action. The Judge has
mistaken his calling; he ought to have been
a politician-in one sense he is such now,
but mean a national politician, and then
when in the house of representatives or in
| the senate he could have displayed
| those qualities of the mind which are now
hidden from public view. Circumstances
backed by ability would push him to the
front very rapidly, and when there he
would be the master of circumstances.
Men OF less brains and more ambition have
| climbed to giddy heights but, unable to
sustain themselves, have fallen, while
Judge Wood when once up would stay
there demonstrating the difference in the
preponderance of mentality. The judge
moves moderately speaks deliberately,
| thinks deeply, expresses an opinion
| cautiously, weighs matters carefully, and
would have made an excellent Judge of one
OF our courts. He is genial and social in his
| nature, kindhearted. attracts men to him,
and yet when aroused on any matter which
enlists his sympathies, he is positive and
! powerful in his opposition. He adj
mires genius and generosity. hates mean
ness and trickery, is a good lawyer and
made most excellent justice. The home
| circle is his ideal conception of heaven, and
tblIp no chpyUc hic hac ole ont fntbnr
| husband, friend.
HIS LIFE.
He was born in Kentucky, near Louis
| vile, in 1886; was the youngest son Of
| Maj. Nathaniel B. Wood, one of Ken
tucky's soldiers of the war of 1912; received
| an academic education in Louisville, and
on the death of his parents, went with his
Oldest brother and the Kentucky settlement
to Texas, near Gonzales, on the Guadalupe
| river, in1S41, and returned home in 1913. He
well remembers Jack Hayes and Ben and
Henry Mccullough, the great Texas rang
ers and when mere boy, has heard them
relate many thrilling incidents OF their
| great runaway scrapes, as they were then
called, one of which eliminated i'll the
battle and victory of Santo Jaclnto over
| Gen. Santa Anna. After Judge Woods re-
turn he remained at school until 1856, when
| he came to st. Paul and at once entered
| the employ of Henry McKenty as an assist
| ant surveyor in surveying Como villas; in
| the fall OF the same year he Joined the
Parker II. French party, which undertook
| to boom Watab, small town on the upper
Mississippi river, but which failed; went to
| Anoka and clerked in the store Of E. p.
Shaw; then taught school in Round Lake
district near there; commenced reading law
| in 1857, and had the nucleus of a law
| library presented to him by Gen. c. C.
Andrews, late minister to Brazil; taught
| school and read law up to 1860. when he
was admitted to the bar at Taylors Falls,
Senator S. J. r. Mcmillan being the pre-
siding judge. The same year he married
| Miss Helen S. BOles, daughter of the then
presiding elder of the st. Paul District NJ.
| E. church; practiced his profession at
| TaylOrS Falls until the war; when
| he entered the Seventh Minnesota reg
| lment as private; was promoted to quarter
| master sergeant on the organization of the
regiment; passed the military board as first
lieutenant. and was assigned to duty in the
army of the Cumberland under Capt. j.
| w. Bond. who was chief commissary of
| that district, and bore the title of A. A. @.
| M. and A. G. s. twas mustered out in 1866
| and in 1867 settled in West ST. Paul. where
| he taught school several terms. and inaugu-
rated the scheme to annex the West side to
| the city OF st. Paul; was member of the
| town board several terms; was alderman
| from the Sixth ward in 1875: ran independ-
emily against an opponent who was nom
| mated by both parties and won; was justice
Of the peace in this city for five years, and
declined a denomination; is now engaged
in real estate business in West st. Paul.
Judge Wood is very popular man because
he gets down into the hearts of the people,
and the people are always quick to appreci-
| ate their friends.
WESTCOTT WILKIN.
Judge Wilkin of the district court is a
| man of medium size, somewhat slender,
very gentlemanly and courteous in his
bearing and possessing all the character
stic dignity of Judge. He is very sim
| pie in his tastes and quiet in his ways, and
| yet as judicial officer on the bench he
commands the highest respect for his i'm
Partially and sound decisions. He consid-
ers his cases with great care. and it has
been very rare that an appeal has been
taken from him to the supreme court. and
very few appeals when thus taken have
been sustained. He was born in Goshen,
n. Y, in 1927; received a good education,
dIlu lduudbCu db llICctOll COIltSC Ill lSfO,
attended law school in New Haven, Conn,
in 1916; studied law with his father, Hon.
Samuel j. Wilkin; practiced law in
Sullivan. N. Y, was county judge for
three or four years; came to ST. Paul III
1856, was in partnership with 1. V. D.
Heard; elected judge of the district court
in 1864; reelected in 1871; elected again in
1878 and in 1884 without opposition, hav-
ing occupied the position some twenty
years.
HOW HE LOOKS.
Judge Wil1in wears long hair, now
sprinkled with gray, and a long, flowing
beard. now nearly white; is little bent in
the shoulders, with pleasant expression
on the face, and is never without courtly
bearing. He is of a slight physical build.
not large. He has well-developed head;
is cool and calm in his utterances and I'M
demonstrative in his ways: is social in his
nature; a close student, keen lawyer. a
pure Judge, a pleasant companion, generous
and lust, and good citizen. He is unmar-
ried and wears his age as he wears his
honorS-with becoming modesty.
THEODORE C. FIELD.
A little boy. so to speak, in 1856; man
of mature years in 1885. Young, active,
industrious, Mr.. Field came to ST. Paul
with Mr.. Ingersoll in 1885, clerked for him.
married his daughter in 1859, became a
partner in 1861, and continued as such up
to 1884, when Mr.. lngersoll retired from
an active participation in the partnership,
and it became Field, Mailer u Co. He has
been in the same firm and almost the same
place. and in the same business for twenty
eight years. quiet, honorable unostenta-
tious dry goods man; never devating from
his special line of business, always ueading