Clements, William G. (Judge)

CLEMENTS, RAMAGE, MERRITT, HALFERTY, BEWYER

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 8/27/2009 at 18:02:18

Clements, Judge William G.

Standing out distinctly as one of the central figures of the judiciary of Iowa is the name of Hon. William G. Clements, of Newton, Jasper County, the able and popular retiring judge of the sixth judicial district of Iowa, comprising Jasper, Poweshiek, Mahaska, Keokuk and Washington Counties. Prominent in legal circles and equally so in public matters beyond the confines of his own jurisdiction, with a reputation in one of the most exacting of professions that has won him a name for distinguished service second to none of his contemporaries, there is today no more prominent or influential man in the district which he has long honored by his citizenship. Achieving success in the courts at an age when most young men are just entering upon the formative period of their lives, wearing the judicial ermine with becoming dignity and bringing to every case submitted to him a clearness of perception and ready power of analysis characteristic of the learned jurist, his name and work for years have been allied with the legal institutions, public enterprises and political interests of the state in such a way as to earn him recognition as one of the distinguished citizens in a locality noted for the high order of its talent. A high purpose and an unconquerable will, vigorous mental powers, diligent study and devotion to duty are some of the means by which he has made himself eminently useful, and every ambitious youth who fights the battle of life with the prospect of ultimate success may peruse with profit the biography herewith presented.

Judge Clements was born January 2, 1847, near Flushing, Belmont County, Ohio. He is the son of a sterling old family of the Buckeye State, his parents, John R. and Malinda (Ramage) Clements, being natives of Belmont County, in which they grew to maturity, received their education and were married, beginning life on a farm. In October 1855, they came to Jasper County, Iowa, and settled first in Monroe, where they remained three years, then took possession of an undeveloped farm northeast of Newton, where they became well established arid well known, the father dying there on November 17, 1888, being survived by his wife, who is now eighty-six years old and is living with her son at Harvey, Iowa. Mr. Clements was an ardent anti-slavery man, and he was a "conductor" on the "Underground Railroad" through Iowa before the war. There were six children in his family, namely: William G., of this review; James M. lives in Helena, Montana; and is judge of the district court there, having held this position for eight years; L. R. is a manufacturer of excelsior at Harvey, Iowa; O. J. lives at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is in the transfer business; John S. is an engineer and lives at Ames, Iowa; Josie died in 1885 at the age of eighteen years. It is a singular fact that the five sons are all living, the youngest being past fifty-four.

The Clements family is of Scotch-Irish lineage. Grandfather James Clements settled in Belmont County, Ohio, in 1803 and began life there as a pioneer. He was born in Maryland and, was a fuller by trade. He married Eliza Merritt and they became the parents of nine children. Josiah Merritt, the Judge' s great-grandfather, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, having enlisted from Pennsylvania, and he became a sergeant. On the maternal side, the great-grandfather, William Ramage, Sr., was also a soldier in the War for Independence, having enlisted from New Jersey, and he settled in Ohio in 1802. His son, William Ramage, Jr., was the grandfather of Judge Clements, and he was a soldier in the War of 1812. He came to Iowa with his son-in-law, father of the subject, and lived here until his death, at the age of eighty, on March 17, 1874, and he is buried at Monroe, Jasper County.

William G. Clements was eight years of age when he accompanied his parents to Jasper County, Iowa, in 1855. He received his primary education in the common schools of Monroe and in the rural schools north of Newton and at the old College Farm, or Wittemberg College, near Newton. This was supplemented by a course in Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa; he was also graduated from the. Iowa Business College at Des Moines. For a few years he taught school, and was later appointed Deputy County Recorder, in the meantime beginning the study of law under Judge O. C. Howe, who was afterwards an instructor in the state law school. Thus he taught school and studied law until November 1869, when he was admitted to the bar. In the spring of 1870 he began the practice of law at Prairie City, having formed a partnership with Sidney Williams, which lasted two years. While there he was mayor of that town for one year. In 1876 he formed a partnership with Hon. B. C. Ward, which existed for eighteen years. Leaving Prairie City in 1887, where he had built up a very satisfactory clientele, he removed to re Newton, in order to secure a broader field for the exercise of his talents, maintaining an office also at Prairie City until 1893. In 1888 he was elected County Attorney, and he performed his duties in such a commendable manner that he was re-elected in 1890, serving four years. He continued to practice law until 1898, his career presenting a series of continued successes such as few lawyers achieve. As a careful and painstaking student he has availed himself of every opportunity to familiarize himself with his profession in every detail to the end that he might better serve his fellow men and render justice to those who appeal to the courts for redress. Judge Clements is a Republican and as such has been active in public and political affairs and an influential force in his party not only in local matters but in the larger and more important theater of state and national affairs. He comes of Republican ancestors, but he does not attribute to this fact his strict adherence to the principles which he supports, but rather to history, also to reflection, judgment and conscience, all of which have combined to make him not only an able and judicious counselor, but a moulder of opinion and leader of men in what concerns the best interests of the body politic. While loyal to his power to promote its success, he believes that a man can be an earnest and active politician and yet be strictly honest in his methods and above reproach in all that he does to advance the interests of his cause. He has ever acted upon the principle that he who serves his country best serves his party best, and with this object in view his political efforts, although strenuous and in the highest degree influential and successful, have been above the slightest suspicion of dishonor and his counsels have not only met with the approval of his party associates but commanded the respect of the opposition as well.

Partly as a reward for his unselfish public service and partly because of his universally recognized ability, Mr. Clements was elected judge of the sixth judicial district in the fall of 1898, and his record was so highly satisfactory that he was re-elected in 1902 and in 1906, making a continuous service of twelve years, during which time he was called upon to try many Important cases, one of which was the noted Sarah Kuhn murder case, in which there was a state-wide interest and one of the most important ever held in Keokuk County, in fact, was one of the noted poisoning cases of the country. She was convicted and given a life sentence, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court, but she committed suicide in prison by swallowing concentrated lye. Another case was that of Chester Tyler, tried for the murder of Dr. Benjamin Tailor, who was convicted and affirmed by the Supreme Court and he died in prison, his case having been tried in Newton. The decisions of Judge Clements shows a smaller percentage of reversals by the supreme court than any other judge who has occupied the bench in this district reversed less by proportion of cases determined by the supreme court; in fact, as a judge he more than met the expectations of his friends and the public, and so discharged the duties of the office as to receive the hearty approval and warm commendation of the bar, in his own and other circuits, without regard to party. He brought to the bench a dignity becoming the high position, and in the line of duty has ever been industrious, careful and singularly painstaking, which, combined with his sterling honesty and fearlessness of purpose, made him one of the most efficient and popular men ever called to preside over the courts of this district. It is but just to say, and greatly to his credit, that no political prejudice, bias or zeal was ever allowed to deflect his mind from its honest convictions and while discharging his official functions, personal ties and friendships, as well as his own interests and opinions, were lost sight of in his conscientious efforts to render equal and exact justice to those whose affairs were adjudicated in his court. His opinions and decisions attested his eminent fitness for judicial positions, being always lucid, unstrained and vigorous, his statements full and comprehensive and his analysis and interpretations of the law conspicuous and complete.

At the expiration of his term of office, Judge Clements resumed the practice of law January 1, 1911, in partnership with his son. He has always stood high in his profession. No one knows better than he the necessity of thorough preparation for the trial of cases, and no one more industriously applies himself to meet the issue than he; he is uniformly courteous and deferential to the court, and kind and forbearing to his adversaries. As a speaker he is earnest and impressive.

The Judge's domestic life began on February 6, 1871, when he was united in marriage with Harriet T. Halferty, a lady of talent and culture, the daughter of James F. Halferty, an influential citizen of Richland County, Ohio, where Mrs. Clements was born. This union has been blessed by the birth of one son, Frank H. Clements, a popular and successful lawyer in Newton; he married Clara Bewyer and they have one child, William B. Clements. The Judge has a beautiful, modern and attractive home in all its appointments at No. 209 South Vine street, where the many friends of the family frequently gather, finding here genuine hospitality and good cheer. Fraternally, the Judge has been a Mason since 1869, and has attained the Knights Templar degree; for five years he was master of Preston Lodge No. 218, at Prairie City. He and his wife are members of the Congregationalist Church, of which the Judge was one time trustee and of which he has always been a liberal supporter. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 421