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 HON GEORGE
WASHINGTON BAKER -------The subject of this sketch, whose portrait
we produce, was born in Wisconsin while it was yet a
Territory, his parents having removed from Oswego, New
York, to that part of the country in 1844. George, who
is next to the youngest of a family of eight children,
was born in the year 1845. He received a common school
and academic education, and attended college for a short
time, but ceased those studies for the purpose of
commencing the study of the law. This profession he
studied with Hon. S. M. Baker, at Geneva, Wisconsin, who
was one of the most prominent and able lawyers, and one
of the framers of the first Constitution of the State of
Wisconsin.
George
W. Baker, was admitted to the Bar, at Elkhorn, in his
native State, in March, 1869, and immediately thereafter
commenced the practice of his profession at Decorah,
Winneshiek County, Iowa, and rapidly gained a practice
in the courts of that and adjoining counties. The law
practice, however, in agricultural districts, being
rather uninteresting, and the compensation being
necessarily small, Mr. Baker determined
to try a new field, and accordingly emigrated to Nevada,
where he arrived in March, 1872, and settled at Eureka,
where he has since resided. He soon gained a good
practice in his profession, and, being an active
Democrat, was appointed by Governor Bradley to the
position of district Attorney for the new county of
Eureka, upon its organization. May, 1873, which office
he held until January 1, 1875.
In 1870
Mr. Baker was elected to the State Senate, on the
Democratic ticket, by a large majority, and took a very
prominent part in the proceedings of that body during
the session of 1877. Being elected for the short term,
he only acted at one session of the Legislature. He was
conspicuous in his opposition to the attempted change or
modification of the so-called " Bullion Tax Law," having
pledged himself .so to do to the convention by whom he
was nominated; and, after the law did pass, he was
mainly instrumental, after a veto by the Governor, in
having the veto sustained by the Senate. In 1878 he was
nominated by the Democratic party for Secretary of
State, but was defeated by Jasper Babcock, the present
incumbent. The whole ticket, with very few exceptions,
was beaten, and, it is said, by the " Bonanza " ring.
Mr. Baker is at present in the enjoyment of a large and
lucrative law practice in Eureka and adjoining counties
in Nevada, being also interested in railroad and mining
industries in his section, and is thoroughly identified
with the material interests of the State.
He, in
conjunction with some other gentlemen of Eureka, were
the incorporators and promoters of the Eureka and
Colorado River Railroad Company, which has resulted in a
competitive line of railroad now in process of
construction from Eureka eastward to Salt Lake, Utah.
This road will add very materially to the prosperity and
permanency of the mining industries of eastern Nevada,
and greatly benefit the people of the entire State,
extending, by other connections, to
California.
Mr.
Baker was married July 1, 1873, to Miss Mary A. Hull,
and a pleasant family blooms around them.
 EDMUND R. DODGE ----Son of Joel
and Hannah (Clark) Dodge, was born in the town of New
Lisborn, Juneau County, Wisconsin, August 14, 1853. The
parents of our subject were farmers, and young Dodge was
trained to that calling until he reached his fifteenth
year, at which time he accompanied his father across the
plains to the Pacific Coast.
Sickness and the failure of
teams caused him to stop at Austin, Lander County. In
January, 1870, he commenced work in the Manhattan Quartz
Mill, where he continued for one year. Leaving the mill
he began teaming, which occupation he followed only a
few months, when he entered the employ of Wells, Fargo
& Co., as clerk in their express office, where he
remained about one year. Throwing up his
clerkship at that time he went to California, and
entered Healds Business College in San Francisco. In
this last place he acquired a thorough business
education, and returned to Nevada.
Being
an active, energetic man, he did not wait for something
to turn up, but went to work hauling wood until
December, 1872, when he removed to Eureka, and in
company with another party opened a bakery, which they
conducted for about one year. From this Mr.
Dodge entered the real estate business, and in a few
months accepted a position as bookkeeper in the
mercantile establishment of W. H. Clark. His next
venture in the business line was opening a general fire
insurance office.
In the fall of 1878 he received the
nomination for County Clerk, and was handsomely elected
by the Republican party, and still holds that position,
he was married to Miss M. L. Beardsloe, of Eureka,
December 17, 1879.
 HON. THOMAS P. HAWLEY
------ Justice of the Supreme Court of Nevada, was born
in Ripley County, Indiana, on the eighteenth of July,
1830. He resided in his native State until the spring of
1852, when he came to California, by way of the plains,
arriving at Placerville in the month of July. He
remained in El Dorado County one year and was engaged in
mining.
In
August, 1853, he located in Nevada City, Nevada County,
California, where he lived for fifteen years. He
continued the business of mining until 1855, when he
went into the County Clerk's office. In 1857 he was
admitted to practice law, and at once secured a good
legal business at a Bar composed of such able
practitioners as the late John R. McConnell, Francis J.
Dunn, Stanton Buckner and James Churchman, and the Hons.
Aaron A.
Sarcrent, Wm. M. Stewart, David Belden, Niles
Searles, A. C. Niles and A. B. Dibble. In 1858 he
formed a law partnership with Henry Meredith, whose
tragic death at the hands of the Indians, at Pyramid
Lake, in 1859, forms one of the saddest pages of
Nevada's turbulent history.
In 1858
he was married to Miss Eudora Murrell, daughter of Col.
John T. Murrell, of Charleston, South Carolina. They are
the parents of three children, a son and two daughters,
born in Nevada City.
In 1863
he was elected, on the Union Republican ticket, District
Attorney of Nevada County, and served as such officer
for a period of two years. He continued in the active
practice of his profession in California, in partnership
with the late L. W. Williams, of Nevada County, until
1868, when he came to the State of Nevada, locating in
Hamilton, White Pine County. Here, by his industry and
close attention to business, he secured a first-class
practice; and it is but a well-deserved compliment to
say that he took front rank at a Bar which embraced such
able legal minds as the late Delos R. Ashley, C. E.
DeLong, D. W. Perley, and A. M. Hillhouse, as
well as the following, who rank among the leading
lawyers of this coast: John Garber, Harry I. Thornton,
Thomas Wren, D. S. Terry, Frank Tilford, and M.
Kirkpatrick.
In 1870
he formed a law partnership with John O. Darrow, since
deceased, at Eureka, Nevada. In 1872 he was elected, on
the Republican ticket, a Justice of the Supreme Court of
the State of Nevada. In 1874 he became Chief Justice,
and served in that position for four
years.
In 1878
he was re-nominated by the Republican party, and
re-elected a member of the Court by the largest majority
ever given a candidate for that office, his opponent
being an able jurist and popular gentleman. As a lawyer he
was attentive to business and went into Court fully
prepared to try his causes intelligently, never
trusting, as is too often the case to what someone has
neatly phrased "the sublimity of luck." He was always
clear-headed, quick at discovering the weak points of an
opponent, and with tact to present his own strong points
in the most favorable light. As an advocate, his manner
was earnest and impressive. He always made his client's
cause his own. As a Judge, the Nevada Reports bear
evidence that he has continued his industrious habits,
and the decisions written by him will bust illustrate
his legal learning and judicial
character.
On the bench he has been an
impartial Judge. Socially, no man stands better, and his
official worth and personal popularity have twice
received emphatic endorsement at the hands of the people
of Nevada.
 HON. SAMUEL LONGLEY
----The subject of the following sketch, is a native of
the State of New York, having been born in Oswego City.
When a boy he entered a dry goods establishment as
clerk; but, possessing a restless spirit, he was not
satisfied with his lot, and, conceiving the idea that
his fortunes lay in the mines of the Pacific Coast, he
bid adieu to the scenes of his youth, and, at the early
age of seventeen years, left his home for California.
For twelve years previous upon his arrival in the land
of gold, he traveled through the country, visiting
nearly all the camps in the State, as well as those in
Nevada, coming to the latter State in 1869. During these
twelve long years he had learned the art of mining in
all its details, and, upon his arrival here, was
recognized as an expert at the business. His abilities
in other channels have also manifested themselves, as he
has creditably filled the honorable position of
Assemblyman from Eureka in the Nevada Legislature, being
one of the few Republicans elected from that
county. Mr. Longley is
Foreman of the Richmond Mine, at Eureka, a position that
only a responsible man can fill, his position in life,
single.
 GEORGE W. MERRILL
-----Son of Paine and Ruth (Bray) Merrill, was born June
26, 1837, in the town of Turner, Oxford County, Maine.
He was the eldest of three children, Hattie E., born
September 28, 1842, married Geo. E. Stroub, and Philo C,
born February 28, 1847, died September 5, 1861. The
father of our subject was born December 7, 1803, died
May 5, 1854. Mrs. Merrill was born January 11, 1809, and
is now living.
After
obtaining a thorough academic education, Mr. Merrill
entered the law office of Barrows, the present Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Maine, and
subsequently studied with a well-known firm in
Evansville, Indiana.
In 1860
he was admitted to the Bar in the latter State, and when
the country was threatened with destruction, consequent
upon the breaking out of the Rebellion, he enlisted as a
private in the Sixteenth Indiana Volunteer Regiment, but
was soon promoted to a first lieutenancy, then to a
captaincy, and was subsequently elected major of his
regiment, but resigned before receiving his commission.
After his withdrawal from the army
he came to California, and soon after to Austin, Lander
County, Nevada; thence to Nye County, where he was
elected to the office of District Attorney for several
terms. After spending one year in the White Pine
country, he settled permanently in Eureka, engaging in
the practice of law. In 1874, was elected District
Attorney of Eureka County, holding the office three
consecutive terms. In 1880 Mr. Merrill was chosen to
represent the people in the Legislature, being the only
Democrat elected in the county. He was elected Speaker
of the House, and proved to be the right man in the
right place.
 HENRY RINES ----Judge of the Sixth
District, and the subject of this sketch, was born in
Pittsylvania County, Virginia, April 6, 1848. His
education was obtained at the Richmond College, in Ray
County, Missouri, and at the Port Royal Academy, in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Soon after
leaving school he entered the law office of Col. A. S.
Buford, President of the Richmond and Atlanta Air-line
Railroad Company, at Danville, Virginia, where he
pursued the study of law, and afterward came to Nevada,
and finished his studios with Col. A. C. Ellis, in
Carson City.
In 1869
he commenced the practice of law in this State. His
ability in his profession was readily recognized by the
people, and he was elected Judge of the Sixth District
in Nevada in November, 1874, being the youngest man ever
elected to such a position on the Pacific Coast, and
probably in the United States, being only twenty-six
years of age. Again, in 1878, he was elected to the same
high office, and has yet two years before the expiration
of his term, drawing the largest salary paid in this
State to any officer, not excepting Governor or Supreme
Judges. In politics he is a Democrat, and has taken an
active part in the counsels of his party from the days
of his youth, and has long been recognized as one of its
leaders. On
the sixth of April, 1874 (his birthday), he was married
to Miss F. M. Hazen, in the Church of the Advent, in San
Francisco, California.
 HON THOMAS
WREN -----The following biography of Hon. Thomas Wren, of
Eureka, Nevada, is taken from the Nevada Monthly, of
September, 1880:
The
subject of this sketch was born at McArthur, Athens
County, Ohio, January 2, 1826. His parents were natives
of Virginia, and, emigrating to Ohio, were among the
first settlers of that State. They both died when Mr.
Wren was quite young. Being left an orphan at an early
age, his advantages of education were very limited,
especially in the then unsettled condition of that
portion of Ohio in which he lived. He received but the
rudiments of a common school education, but early
developed a taste for reading and study, which he has
retained through life, and thus stored is mind with
knowledge.
This self-education, aided by talents peculiarly
fitting him for the profession, has enabled him to
become one of the leading members of the Bar of the
Pacific Coast.
He is a
man of indomitable will, an inflexible firmness of
purpose, and untiring industry; and has, through these
qualities, attained a position among the foremost
lawyers of the coast, in spite of numerous obstacles
with which he was forced to contend. He went with his
eldest brother to Peoria, Illinois, in 1835. He
inherited some property from his mother, and when
scarcely more than a boy inherited what was in those
days, and in that section, a considerable fortune from
his eldest brother. Through
inexcusable carelessness, and the rascality of a lawyer
employed as his attorney, this entire property was lost
before he had arrived at an age when he could be capable
of managing his own affairs.
Mr.
Wren is a true type of the Western American; of medium
stature, with broad shoulders; full, well-developed
chest, and stalwart, manly proportions; a massive head,
with expansive forehead; deep-set, brown eyes, out of
which beam intelligence and determination; and thin,
close-set lips, which, more than any other feature of
his face, denote the character of the man; they indicate
will-power and force of character, which would at once
impress a physiognomist with the conviction that the
owner of those was a man not to be trifled with.
Mr. Wren is
one of the kindest-hearted of men, pleasant and genial
to all with whom he is brought in business contact or
social intercourse; but he is a man who will not brook
insult or slight; and none who know him would dare to
attempt to impugn his honor or outrage his feelings,
notwithstanding that his profession is sedentary, Mr.
Wren is a great lover of out door exercise and athletic
and open-air sports. Often on a fine day, at his home in
Eureka, he may be seen, after the arduous labor of
trying an important and hotly-contested mining case, out
in the middle of the street obtaining relaxation by
playing ball with the school-boys, and as eagerly
intent, and as ardently interested in the game as any of
his playmates. Having in his early life performed heavy
physical labor, such as mining, being blessed with a
fine physique and robust constitution, and never
neglecting an opportunity for physical exercise, his
fifty-five years sitting on his shoulders; and
notwithstanding his battles with the world, and the ups
and downs through which he has passed in the exciting
and feverish life incident to the Pacific Coast, and
especially to the mining communities of that section, he
is the embodiment of health and manly
vigor.
In 1850
he left his Illinois home, and crossed the plains to
California, arriving in El Dorado County in that year.
During the years 1850, 1852, and 1853 he was engaged in
mining, and in the last-named year became interested in
a mining ditch property, of which he was appointed
Superintendent and Chief Engineer. In 1854 he was
appointed Deputy Clerk of El Dorado County, his first
active participation in politics in his own behalf,
though always from boyhood having taken an ardent
interest in political affairs. At the expiration of his
term he again engaged in mining, dividing his time until
18G3 between mining and the practice of law. Ever since his
arrival in California mining has had for him a
fascination, and long alter his abandonment of that
industry as his exclusive business, he continued to
engage in mining enterprises. His practice as a mining
lawyer having brought him in contact with many knotty
questions of geology, he saw that it would become
necessary to familiarize himself with that science. He
accordingly entered upon the study of geology and
mineralogy, and so successfully did he master those
sciences, that there is probably not a lawyer in the
United States who better understands them as applied to
mining litigation.
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