McCabe - James
Source: James McCabe, 1860 Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana census
#49 age 13 b. Ireland Peter age 17 Ireland. These also born Ireland Eliza 12; Kate 9; Mariah 7; Rosa 4; John 2 and Mary 35.
Source: HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY INDIANA, with Personal Sketches
of Representative Citizens - Volume II - Illustrated - A. W.
Bowen & Company, Indianapolis, Indiana. Pages 1254-1259.
Standing out distinctly as one of the central figures of the
judiciary of Indiana of the generations that are past is the name
of the late Judge James McCabe, of Williamsport. Prominent in
legal circles and equally so in public matters beyond the confine
of Warren County, with a reputation in one of the most exacting
of professions that won him a name for distinguished services
second to that of none of his contemporaries, there was for many
years no more prominent or honored man in western Indiana, which
he long dignified with 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
decades were 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
community noted for the high order of it's talent. A high purpose
and an unconquerable will, vigorous mental powers, diligent study
and devotion to duty were some of the means by which he made
himself eminently useful, and every ambitious youth who fights
the battle of life with the prospect of ultimate success may
pursue with profit the biography herewith presented, for therein
are embodied many lessons as well as incentive, and, although he
"serenely sleeps in the windowless palaces of rest," his
influence is still a part of many lives, making them better and
happier; thus Shakespeare wrote, "The good that men do lives
after them." Judge McCabe was born in Darke County, Ohio, July 4,
1834. His father, James B. McCabe, Sr., was a native of
Middletown, south of Terre Haute, Indiana and his mother was Jane
Lee, a daughter of an old Virginia family. After their marriage
the senior McCabe and his young wife went to Ohio, and there the
subject of this memoir was born, being one of five sons. While an
infant his parents moved to Kisciusko County, Indiana. From there
they went to Illinois and the boy that afterward became one of
the supreme judges of Indiana plowed prairie sod with an ox team
on the ground where Watseka now stands. Three of the sons of the
stern Whig father left home, coming to Indiana and James was one
of the three. He went to Crawfordsville, attracted there by the
presence of relatives of his mother, the Lees. At this time he
was seventeen years old, and here it was that he first went to
school, having had no learning whatever up to this time. His
first schooling was at a night school taught by Judge NAYLOR, one
of the well known members of the bar. He made his living while in
school by working on the Monon railroad as a section hand, and he
boarded wherever it was handy.
At the age of eighteen years he
married Serena, the daughter of M. M. VanCleve, with whom he
boarded a part of the time. The marriage occurred on March 24,
1853, when the bride was but sixteen years old. The couple began
housekeeping on a farm seven miles from Crawfordsville. One day,
when work on the farm had grown slack, he rode to Crawfordsville
and, impelled mainly by curiosity, attended a murder trial in
which the prosecutor was the great criminal lawyer, Daniel W.
Voorhees, and the defendant's attorney was Edward Hannegan. The
splendid eloquence of these two distinguished lawyers was enough;
then and there Mr. McCabe conceived the ambition to be a lawyer.
he never parted from that ideal.
In the winter, Judge McCabe
taught school, and in the summer he followed any vocation which
was convenient, always with the hope of succeeding in his chosen
profession. he lived at Oxford and Pine Village in succession
and, finally being admitted to the bar, he became a resident of
Williamsport in 1861. Here success was slow in coming; he passed
through the "starvation period" which is legion with the legal
profession. He knew what it was to walk to Walnut Grove to argue
a cause before the squire, but his labors were lightened usually
by his success. In politics Judge McCabe was a Democrat, the
reason of which is characteristic. He, and his wife's people,
were Hand Shell Baptists, and believed absolutely in the literal
interpretation of the Bible, and considered that it sanctioned
slavery. Therefore he allied himself with the Democratic party,
although his father was a Whig of uncompromising type. Twice was
he nominated for Congress, and in a strong Republican district
defeated by only narrow margins. In 1892 he was elected to the
state supreme court for a term of six years. Although nominated
for a second term, he was defeated with the rest of the ticket.
Three very important opinions were handed down by Judge McCabe
while he was on the bench. The most noted was that of Haggart vs.
Sthelin, 137 Indiana, 43. This was one of the noted supreme court
decisions that have for many years been cutting down the
privileges of the saloon, the most infamous institution that
society sanctions. He took advanced ground in this decision,
going far beyond any ideas that had ever been presented in any
court in the world. The gist of the decision, which was rendered
in 1898, was that a saloon may become a nuisance, may be enjoined
and may have judgment for damages rendered against it. So
far-reaching was this decision that it was widely commented upon,
not only in America, but in Europe. The "LITERARY DIGEST" gave it
considerable space. An interesting fact is that John W. Kern, the
present United States Senator from Indiana, was the saloon man's
attorney. Another famous case was that in which the decision of
the lower court sentencing Hinshaw, the preacher who murdered his
wife, to the state prison for life, was confirmed. The evidence
was purely circumstantial, but the opinion of Judge McCabe reads
like a fascinating detective story. And one more famous opinion
was that in which he repelled an attack on Indiana law that might
have reduced the state to anarchy. Some man had tried to enjoin
the holding of an election on the grounds that a legislative
apportionment had been illegal. Judge McCabe showed that if
possibly such could be the case, then the very argument of the
petitioner would be illegal for the same reason and he denied the
right of the plaintiffs to be heard on the question. As a public
speaker, Judge McCabe had few equals, his oratory being of a
style that entranced those who heard him. His diction was
perfect, his logic irresistible, his illustrations well chosen,
while his well modulated voice, graceful gestures, and charm of
manner all contributed to a most remarkable success in the legal
and political forum. Some of his most pleasing and effective
speeches were made extemporaneously, for his general knowledge
was so broad and comprehensive, his grasp of a subject in all its
aspects so quick, and his talent as a speaker so natural, that he
could easily, without preparation, make addresses that would have
been creditable to most men after careful preparation.
After his
retirement from the bench Judge McCabe practiced law with his
son, under the firm name of McCabe & McCabe. He enjoyed a
lucrative practice and many times served as special judge. The
death of Judge McCabe occurred on March 23, 1911, at his home in
Williamsport, Indiana, after an illness of long duration.
Judge
McCabe left, besides the faithful wife, three children, namely:
Nancy Ellen, the wife of J. B. Gwin, of Indianapolis; Edwin F., a
well known and successful attorney at Williamsport; and Charles
M., a successful lawyer of Crawfordsville, of the firm name of
Crane & McCabe.
There are twelve grandchildren and five
great-grandchildren. Mrs. McCabe is the daughter of Mathias and
Nancy (Nicholson) VanCleve and she was born in Ross County, Ohio.
Mathias VanCleve was born near Shelbyville, Kentucky, in 1810,
and he was educated mostly in his native state. He was a Baptist
minister of considerable reputation, and he finally came to
Indiana and established the family home near Crawfordsville,
where they continued to reside for nearly a half century. He was
primarily a self-made man, and most of his higher learning was
obtained by home study. His family consisted of six children.
Mrs. Serena McCabe having been the third in order of birth. The
bar of the Warren Circuit Court held a memorial service at
Williamsport on May 7, 1911, when the last tribute of respect and
honor to his memory was paid by an immense crowd of neighbors and
friends. Many prominent and distinguished jurists and state
officers were present; former Appellate Judge Joseph M. Rabb
presided. Addresses were made by others, the principal speaker
being William Jennings Bryan, the Nebraska Commoner having been a
close personal friend of Judge McCabe and his active associate in
national politics. Mr. Bryan paid a splendid tribute to Judge
McCabe, detailing the characteristics that controlled his
actions, and naming the four cornerstones upon which the judge's
life was built as God, home, society, and government. He enlarged
upon, and showed how the life of a successful man was so builded,
particularly that of Judge McCabe. The following memorial was
prepared by the local bar association, the committee drafting the
resolutions being William H. Durborow, H. D. Billings, Victor H.
Ringer and Chester G. Rossiter; part of the memorial, bearing on
the life of the deceased, is omitted, to avoid repetition from
foregoing paragraphs in this sketch: "From 1861 until his
elevation to the supreme bench of the state, Judge McCabe's
career as a lawyer was one of unremitting labor, crowned with
remarkable success. By his power of oratory, he could sway a jury
as few lawyers could. When espousing a client's cause he never
rested from his efforts in his behalf. He had a large, varied and
widely extended practice, and could and did meet the most
distinguished lawyers on equal teMrs. During his term of six
years on the bench, the opinions prepared by him have become
masterpieces of profound learning, many of them on public
questions of lasting benefit to the people of the state at large.
But his life work is finished. It was well and ably done. In
summing up the professional career of this honored and honorable
gentleman, it can be truthfully said, that:" "As an advocate he
possessed a remarkable power of clear statement and convincing
logic.
As a counselor he was exact, careful and carried his
researches into the remotest sources of the law. As a public
orator, he swayed men with force of argument, and molded their
ideas to coincide with his own. As a judge, he was upright,
masterful and added luster to the bench of a mighty state;
therefore be it" "Resolved by the bar of Warren Circuit Court
that in the death of Judge James McCabe our bar has lost the
guidance of its oldest and wisest member; with reverence we will
be guided by his precept and example. That his family has lost a
devoted and loving husband and father and they have the sympathy
of our bar. That the state has lost a wise and able jurist, the
community a popular and distinguished citizen. Be it further"
"Resolved, that the memorial and these resolutions be spread on
record in the order book of the Warren Circuit Court, a copy
thereof be furnished by the clerk, under his hand and seal of the
court, to the family of our deceased member, and that a copy be
published in the county papers." As a further insight into the
character of Judge McCabe, the following letter from United
States Senator John W. Kern, of Indianapolis, written to the son
of the subject of this memoir, will be of interest: "I learned
this morning of the death of your father, and hasten to express
my deep sympathy and to assure you that I am one of his many
friends who are today mourning his many noble qualities of head
and heart." "I had known James McCabe since the days of my early
manhood, and my admiration for him increased as the years rolled
by until it amounted to genuine affection. He was a man of
sterling qualities. His convictions were positive and always
expressed fearlessly, though he always manifested a rare spirit
of charity towards those who honestly differed from him in
opinion." "He was a just judge, whose first aim was the security
of justice to the litigant, and to maintain at the same time the
dignity of the high judicial office which he so long honored."
"As a lawyer, he threw his whole soul into his work and to his
great legal knowledge he added the saving grace of common sense
in such a degree as to make him a most formidable adversary." "As
a citizen, he stood for the highest ideals and his voice was
always to be heard in behalf of temperance and morality. But it
was as a friend, true, loyal, and devoted, that he won my
personal affection, so that I now mourn with you as a
kinsman."