Walsh Brothers

WALSH

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Date: 4/15/2003 at 18:22:11

Source: "The 1901 Biographical Record of Clinton Co., Iowa, Illustrated" published: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1901.

WALSH BROTHERS.

A family history perhaps unequaled in the annals of this country is that of the Walsh brothers, where six sons have embraced the same profession—that of the law—and are associated in the practice in a single partnership. The eldest forty-one years of age, the youngest twenty-three, they are all men of strong mental caliber, differing, perhaps, in those characteristics which constitute individuality, yet alike in strong purpose, in laudable ambition, determination and energy, and it is these qualities which have won them continued advancement, making the firm known to fame until the members are not only prominent in professional circles in Clinton, but have also won distinction at the bar of Chicago, in which city they also maintain an office.

The father, A. Walsh, was engaged in farming for a number of years near Low Moor, Iowa, moving to that place form the city of Davenport. Realizing the value of education as a preparation for the responsible duties of life, he resolved that his sons should have good opportunities in that direction, and accordingly he came with his family to Clinton in 1867. All are graduates of the Clinton high school, and after completing the course in that institution entered the Iowa State University, at Iowa City. They are western men by birth, training and preference, imbued with the true western spirit of progress and enterprise, and Iowa may well be proud to number them among her native sons.

Edmund C. Walsh, the senior member of the firm, was born in Davenport, October 13, 1859, but during his early youth was taken by his parents to the farm, and in 1867 came with his family to Clinton, where in 1879 he completed the high school course. He then matriculated in the State University, in which he was graduated in 1881. Determining to make the practice of law his life work, he early enjoyed the instruction and benefited by the experience of the Hon. A. R. Cotton, one of the most distinguished lawyers of the state, now equally prominent as a member of the profession in San Francisco, California. It soon became evident to him that close application and hard labor, together with an upright life, were the elements which form the foundation of success for every lawyer, and throughout his career he has been a thorough student, preparing each case with the greatest care and precision and entering upon the trial well equipped for the forensic combat. When his preceptor and associate, Mr. Cotton, removed to California, he very naturally became his successor, for he had demonstrated his ability to successfully cope with the intricate problems of jurisprudence, and his devotion to his clients’ interests was then, as now, proverbial. For several years he conducted the largest legal business of any of the attorneys in Clinton county.

As his brothers prepared for the bar they were taken one by one into the firm, which is now well known in all parts of the state, having in hand important litigated interests in the United States district and circuit courts and the court of appeals, as well as in the state, district and supreme courts. Unlike the great majority of attorneys, he does not confine his readings to the law alone, but is a man of broad and liberal education and is well versed in what the supreme courts of the various states have to say on any proposition he has under consideration, as well as what is said by the supreme court of Iowa. He has made the common law of England, as also the civil law of Rome, contribute to his success, and says that only in those two fields can a man work for the real science of law; and that without a true knowledge of the science of the law no man can be a truly great lawyer and be prepared for all emergencies, for it is his idea that a lawyer should always be able to reason out and tell why the law of the case should be as he claims it to be, rather than to be able to cite the decisions of some court in his favor, although he never neglects to cite cases also. He is still a young man, yet has already won a position of distinction that also promises still greater advancement.

Edmund C. Walsh, however, has been by no means a lawyer alone. He is a financier and a capable director of extensive business concerns and his interests are varied and important. Early in his professional career he established the match factory plant on North Second street, in Clinton. His quick perception caused him to embrace new ideas in the manufacture of matches, and he soon had control of valuable patents and was making matters so interesting for the Diamond Match Company that after a year’s operation they offered a handsome figure for the plants and patents, which were accordingly turned over to them. The same year he became interested in electric lighting. Clinton at that time had no plant and Mr. Walsh secured the franchise for lighting the city, which was sold to the General Electric Light Company and by them resold a few years later to the Clinton Gas Company. In 1891 he organized the State Electric Light Company for the purpose of building and equipping an electric railway in Clinton. There was then a horse railway running between Clinton and Lyons, operated by a man of immense wealth who resisted the entrance of the new company, but finally after the latter had laid its tracks on the principal streets and showed that it was determined to carry forward its works the old company sold out to the new company, which has laid twelve miles of track in the city and is in splendid working operation.

About this time Clinton commenced to enjoy an era of building prosperity seldom seen in any Iowa town. Mr. Walsh was quick to recognize his opportunity and organized companies that purchased large tracts of land near the city and personally secured options on a large proportion of the most desirable property. On his investments he realized handsome profits. In 1892 he transferred his attention to the city of Burlington, organized the Burlington Electric Light Company and soon secured the contract for lighting the city. This was followed by the organization of the Burlington Gas Company, the purchase of the stock of the Burlington Street Railway Company, the organization of the Burlington Improvement Company and the Burlington Steam Heating Company, all of which are now being consolidated into the Burlington Railway & Light Company, with a capital stock of one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. All of the plants, with the exception of the street railway, were newly built and equipped, involving an expenditure of over four hundred thousand dollars, and are now in successful operation under the management of C. H. Walsh.

In the winter of 1895-6 Edmund Walsh and his brothers turned their energies to Davenport, and in the spring of the latter year secured from the council a franchise for gas, electric light and steam-heating plants, together with a city contract for twenty-five years. Later the purchase of the old gas and electric light plants was effected. Over one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars was spent by the firm in 1896 in putting in steam-heating pipes, extending and enlarging the gas mains, and equipping the electric light plant in Davenport. The plant in Davenport is under the personal management of J. W. Walsh.

The field of labor of the firm has not been confined alone to Iowa, but has extended to other states and included the organization of the Pioneer Paving Brick Company, of Galesburg, Illinois, now doing an extensive business. The firm is also interested in the American Mining Company, of which E. C. Walsh is president. Other enterprises with which they are financially associated are the Clinton Woodenware & Match Company, Clinton Land Company, Woodland Land Company, Eyer Land Company, Commercial Land Company, Pleasant Valley Land Company, State Electric Company, J. P. Calnan Construction Company, Burlington Electric Railway Company, Burlington Gas Company, Burlington Steam Heating Company, Burlington Improvement Company, Burlington Railway & Light Company and the Davenport Consolidated Gas & Steam Heating Company, their total capital in these different concerns amounting to three and a half million dollars.

The Walsh Brothers have been so closely associated in professional and industrial life that the history of one is almost the history of the other, although each has his own part to perform in the management of their extensive interests. Mark A. Walsh, the second member of the firm, was born in Clinton county, March 31, 1867, and completed his law course in the State University of Iowa with the class of 1889, in which year he was admitted to practice before the United States court of this state. Later he was admitted to the Illinois courts and his time is now devoted almost entirely to corporation law, of which department of the science of jurisprudence he has made a comprehensive study, and is therefore well informed concerning the law applicable to the business of extensive concerns.

James W. Walsh, who was born in Clinton, December 17, 1868, completed the high school course in June, 1887, and the law course in 1889; Charles H. Walsh, born March 4, 1871, was graduated in the Clinton high school, in June, 1890, afterward attended the Iowa State University and was later admitted to the bar. Alfred E. Walsh, born January 24, 1874, completed the high school course in June, 1892, and four years later was a graduate of the law department of the State University in 1896, and in October, 1899, was admitted to practice in the courts of Illinois. Eugene J. Walsh, born April 17, 1878, is a graduate of the Clinton high school of June, 1896, and of the law department of the State University in 1900. The business of the firm has constantly increased in volume and importance as the years have gone by. They represent the local interests of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company; the Davenport, Rock Island & Northwestern Railway Company; the Postal Telegraph Company; the American Express and the Western Union Telegraph Company and many large commercial corporations in Iowa and Chicago. Law offices are maintained both in Clinton and Chicago, and their time is now mostly devoted to corporation law and to practice in the supreme and federal courts.

The brothers have all traveled extensively at home and abroad and are all entertaining writers and speakers. Of social natures they are welcome additions to social gatherings yet do not devote much of their time to society. However, they are enrolled as members of many prominent clubs and fraternities and easily win friends among their representatives. Strong mentality, keen discernment, a genius for organization for executive control and for earnest indefatigable efforts, these are among the leading characteristics of the Walsh Brothers, constituting one of the most unique as well as one of the strongest law firms in the Mississippi valley.