The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-10-21
DEATH OF JUDGE HAWLEy
REMOVES OLD PIONEER
Life Was Closely interviewer With
Early History OF White
Pine County.

Judge Thomas Porter Hawley, a
pioneer of White Pine county in the
sixties and one of the best known
men in Nevada, is dead. He passed
out of this life last Thursday in the
st. Francis hospital in San Francisco.
Judge Hawley's life was closely in
terwoven in the history of Nevada,
and to know one was to know both.
He came to Treasure Hill as a young
man engaged in the practice of law.
He at one time lived in Austin.
He was the district judge of this
district and, afterwards was elected
to a seat on the supreme bench of
Nevada and served many years. When
he retired from the state bench it was
to accept a seat on the federal bench
as judge of the United States Sircuit
court.
Eight years ago he made the fight
for the United States senatorship on
the Republican ticket.
Judge Hawley was regarded as one
of the brightest and most learned
of jurists on the Pacific coast. Care
full, conscientious and a deep thinker
he had few peers either at the bar or
on the bench. His decisions while
on the state bench and also on the
United States bench were noted for
their clearness of language, concise
ness and lucidity. 1t is said that dur
ing his long career on the bench only
one of his many decisions have been
reversed and that reversal was on a
technicality.
The deceased was born near Milan,
Ripley county, Indiana, July /, 1890,
and spent his younger days in the
Hoosier state. He received his edu-
cation in the schools of that state and
when boy began hard work, first on
the farm and afterwards taking up
other branches of work. When .he
| was % years of age he left his native
state for California, making the trip
overland across the plains to Placer
vile, where he first settled. He re-
| mained in FL Dorado county for one
year, engaged in the mining business
and in August of 1853 went to Neva-
da City, Nevada county, where he re-
| maned for period of fifteen years
He continued in the mining business
| in Nevada City until 1885 when he
entered the Office of county clerk and
! worked there for a period of two
years and then was admitted to the
practice of law in California. In
| 1858 he formed a partnership with
Henry Meredith, whose tragic death
at the hands of the Indians at Pyra-
mid lake forms one of the saddest
chapters of coast history.
In the year 1870 he formed part
nership with John o. Darrow at Eu-
reka and two years later, 1872, was
elected a justice of the supreme court
of the state of Nevada. In 1878 he
was again nominated by the Repub-
licans and reelected by the largest
majority ever given a candidate for
that office In 1884 he was nominat-
ed the third time and again elected
by handsome majority.
| While he was serving as chief JUS
tice of the state of Nevada for his
third term, he was appointed by Pres
| ident Benjamin Harrison as judge
of the United States court for the dis
trict of Nevada. The appointment
was made September 8, $50, and he
resigned his position as chief justice
on the 9th of the same month tC
assume the position as federal Judge
He held the position of federal judge
until June 80, 1906, when he re-
signed owing to his advanced years
and long service. He had retained
the position five and a half years
longer than necessary in order to re-
tire from service at full! lay but he
enjoyed the work and preferred tbs
active duties of the Office rather than
idleness.
His career on the United States
bench was equally as brilliant as or
the state bench His opinions there
were regarded highly by his colleag
ues and he had been on the circuit {
short time only when he was desig
mated as one of the judges to sit OF
the circuit court of appeals of the 9tf
circuit which comprises California
Montana, Washington, Idaho, Ore
gon and Nevada.
He was a member of the Masonic
fraternity, in fact one of the oldes
members in the state in point o
membership. He joined the lodge il