The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-06-07
Death Of Judge stearns f. Smith.

Judge Stearns F. Smith passed
away Sunday evening at eight
o'clock at his home on East Ex-
change street, after an illness COW
ering period of nearly two years.
Death was due to a general mental
and physical breaking down.
Judge Smith was on the Shiawas-
see and Livingston circuit bench for
ten years previous to the election of
Judge Miner about two years ago.
He is survived by widow; two
daughters, Mrs. Fred Edwards, and
Mrs. Grace Hunt; sister, Mrs. G.
A. Cooper, of Silverton, Col, and
two brothers, Judge Quincy A.
Smith, of Lansing, and Philetus
Smith, of Chicago.
AS related below, the venerable
jurist had an interesting and pictur-
esque career. He was famed for
life, while a young man, as the re-
suit OF being thrown from a vicious
broncho, while he was horse-break-
ing in the west. He crossed the con-
tinent in search of gold, and his
courageous spirit ever kept him on
the forefront of danger and activity.
Though not himself a civil war
veteran, Judge Smith was much in
terested in the men that were, and
was a favorite with them, being fire.
quently called upon to address
them at campfires and encamp-
ments. He was also very popular
with Company H., Third Infantry,
M. n. G., and the organizations
which preceded it, Company G., of
the Third, and the Spanish war or
ganization,-G., of the Thirty-Third
Michigan Infantry. He was a men,
Der of Owosso Lodge of Elks, and
of Lodge No. So, l. o. o. F.
AS a jurist he was we'll read,
shrewd and impartial. In case or
doubt, he was prone to temper JUS
tice with mercy. Judge Smith fire.
quently declared to the writer that
Judges duties consisted mostly OF
guessing out the law" and that the
more widely ajurist read, the more
likely he was to sift the opinions
and guess correctly. Be that as 1t
may, he was very successful, COM
paratively few of his cases being re-
versed in the higher court.
Judge Smith was a genial, kindly
man with an ineXhaustible fund OF
story and anecdote, upon which he
drew to the delight of his auditors,
because the stories were mellowed
with tinge of humor which added
much to their piquancy. He will be
missed keenly, especially by the old
er residents of the city.
Judge Smith was circuit Judge of
this circuit for two terms. He has
had a picturesque career. He was
born in the western reserve in Ohio
on his fathers farm, Sept. Is 1885.
He is of Quaker descent, coming
from one of the shiploads of people
who accompanied William Penn to
the new world.
When Stearns was II his father
removed to Perry, Mich.,' but Stems
soon returned to Cleveland and
worked at variety of employments,
studying law the while, and finally
in 1859, he put in year in the
Western Reserve Electric institute,
of which James A. Garfield was then
president. He has very fond memo
ries of the second of the three mar
tyred president, and portrait of
him hangs in the den in the Owosso
residence. 1t was during these
younger days that young Stearns
made himself useful upon the under
ground railroad and helped many
runaway slave to slip aboard the
steamer Antelope, which carried
him to Canada and freedom.
In 1859 young Smith started for
California overland in the hopes
that he could shortly make money
enough to secure for himself a col
lege education. He crossed the
plains with a wagon train of OK
teams. Part of the route was
through lands infested with hostile
Indians, but not openly on the war
path. 1t was an adventurous and
toilsome trip. Soon after reaching
California he became associated
with a man named r. e. Ogelby, an
English descendant of noble
house, who had made and lost for
tune in Australia, and then came to
America to make a new one. Ogelby
was taking a surveying party
through the mountains to establish
a road for getting supplies into the
mining camps of Nevada. Young
Smith knew some thing about sur
veying, acquired in Garfeld's school
and took hold with such a determ-
ination and success that he was, in
due course of time,. made general
manager of Ogelby's grade, one of