Biographies
For
Muscatine County Iowa
1889



Source: Portrait and Biographical Album, Muscatine County, Iowa, 1889, page 371

STEPHEN WHICHER, deceased, an eminent lawyer and distinguished pioneer of Muscatine, was born at Rochester, Vt., on the 4th of May, 1798, and was the son of Stephen and Esther ( Emerson ) Whicher, who were of English origin. He was the second child of a family of fourteen, and had but limited educational advantages, which disadvantage was overcome by self-culture and studious habits. In his youth he attended the public schools of his native town, and when eighteen years old he went to Kentucky, where he received additional schooling, and later became a teacher. He was employed in that vocation near Lexington for a time, and then entered upon the study of law in the office of Henry Clay and his partner in the city of Lexington, the partner being his preceptor.

In 1826 in that city Mr. Whicher and Miss Mary Eliza Venable were united in marriage. The lady was born at Lexington, Va., and was descended from an old Virginian family, and her death occurred May 2, 1880. Shortly after his marriage Mr. Whicher removed to Indiana, and settled at Vevay. He pursued his law studies at Lawrenceburg under the direction of Amos Lane, a prominent lawyer of that city, and was admitted to the bar. Subsequently he removed to Dayton, Ohio, where he pursued the practice of his profession until 1839, when he came to Iowa, and settled at Muscatine, then a hamlet known as Bloomington. He here found but two practicing attorneys, S. C. Hastings and J. Scott Richman, both since prominent on the bench. Mr. Hastings, who subsequently became the first Chief Justice of Iowa, and later the Chief Justice of California, was his especial friend. They rode the circuit together, and were usually pitted against each other in the course of their professional business, and both developed remarkable ability, winning the highest honors in the courts of the Territory and State. Judge Hastings, who has since achieved a national reputation, takes pleasure in speaking in the highest terms of admiration and respect of his departed friend, Judge Whicher, saying that he was a talented and eminent lawyer, the peer of any in Iowa; that he was remarkable as a special pleader, and was an acknowledged leader at the bar; that he was a man of rugged honesty and integrity, upright and steadfast in his devotion to duty, and commanded the confidence and respect of all with whom he came in contact. He was a man of strong determination and great force of character; when once embarked in a cause he never relaxed his efforts or swerved from his direct purpose until the end was reached. Naturally nervous and sensitive, he had his emotional nature under complete control, and for this reason was sometimes thought cold and unsympathetic, while the reverse was true. To his friends he was cordial and most entertaining in social converse. He had been a deep and thorough student, and possessed mental faculties of a high order. His knowledge of the law was wide in its scope and accurate in its conclusions, and his opinions were always quoted with confidence. At the time of the celebrated Missouri War, Mr. Whicher was appointed by Gov. Lucas as one of its commissioners to meet the Missouri commissioners, with a view to a peaceable settlement of the difficulty. He and his colleagues accomplished their purpose by signing articles binding both sides to submit the dispute to arbitration in the National Congress. This delicate mission was accomplished while bodies of armed men on both sides were marching toward the border to engage in mortal combat.

Mr. and Mrs. Whicher were the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters : Patterson V., the eldest, a physician by profession, married Rosa Dasshell, and resided in Louisiana, where his death occurred in 1867 ; Harriet L. married Charles Brown, a resident of Cincinnati ; Francis, also a physician, died in New Orleans in 1861 ; Stephen E., who wedded Ann H. Meason, is engaged in real estate at Muscatine ; Margaret Esther died in childhood, and two children died in infancy.

Mr. Whicher was a member of Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to Iowa Lodge No.2, Muscatine. In early life he was a Whig in political sentiment, and retained his connection with that party until its dissolution. In 1848 he served as United States District Attorney for the State of Iowa. When the first organization of the Republican party was affected at Muscatine, he signed the constitution which was brought to him while sick at home. His death occurred Feb. 13, 1856, and was mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.


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