Andrew Robeson Calderwood

ANDREW ROBESON CALDERWOOD,

_ MH UDGE and journalist, Greenville, was born in Montgomery 5 county, O., September 14, 1818. His parents were George Calderwood and Margaret Robeson, natives of Huntington county, Penn., the former born December 15, 1783, the latter May 28, 1791. They were married September 14, 1811. In ‘1817, he became a pioneer of Montgomery county, O. In 1832 he removed to Darke county, where he died September 7, 1849. He was possessed of an excellent judgment and great firmness; was very courageous, agreeable and kind hearted, and was generous to a fault. He was of Scotch parentage. His wife died August 12, 1873. She descended from Scotch-Welsh ancestry, was a lady of fine natural talent, great caution and shrewdness. When a youth Judge Calderwood learned the carpenter’s trade. His early educational privileges were very meagre, being those of the common school only; but by private application to reading and study he fitted himself for a teacher, and when seventeen, began a_ pedagogical career in Darke county of some seventeen years, teaching,in the winter season, and being occupied the remainder of the year at his trade or otherwise. He began the study of law under the late Judge William M. Wilson; finished in the office of the late William Collins;, admitted to the bar in 1851, and began practice in Greenville. In October, 1854, he was elected Probate Judge of Darke county, and filled the position with ability for three years. In October, 1861, he recruited company I, yeth O. V. I., and was in the service nearly three years., At the engagement at Pound Gap, in February, 1862, he was injured by falling from ‘his horse, on account of which he resigned in the following July, but was soon re-appointed to ‘his former position. In January, 1863, he again resigned, his disability preventing active service, and till the close of the war he was employed as recruiting officer for his district. In the autumn of 1876, he took the editorial charge of the Greenville Sunday Courier, which was started by his son, George W. Calderwood, in the summer of 1875. In respect of local positions, it may be mentioned that he has been three times elected Mayor of Greenville,, and also for several years served on the Board of School Examiners for Darke county, and also on the Greenville Board of Education. In 1868, his name was presented by the Darke county delegation to the Republican convention of the fourth district as a candidate for Congress. Of four candidates our subject was second best.

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Judge Andrew R. Calderwood.

. F “March BRL O Fou CME. Calderwood married Eleanor Matchett, daughter ‘of Erick Matchett, of Darke county, O. This lady died May 15,

1851, having been the mother of eight children. Enos, the oldest, was a drummer in the goth O. V. I, and died from disease contracted in the army. John, the second son, was a fifer in the 152d O.

As printed in A pictorial outline history of Darke County, Ohio with portraits and biography of prominent citizens of the county (1890). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ANDREW R. CALDERWOOD.

Andrew Robeson Calderwood, attorneyat-law of Greenville, and one of the old settlers of Darke county, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, September 14, 1818, and died at Greenville several years ago. He was a son of George and Margaret ( Robeson) Calderwood, natives of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. They were married September 14, 1811, and in the fall of 1 817 moved to near Dayton, Ohio, going thence in 1832 to Darke county, where George Calderwood died September 7, 1849. His wife survived him until August 12, 1873, when her death occurred. George Calderwood was of Scotch parents and though uneducated was a man of sound judgment, great firmness and courage, of large stature and possessed of an iron constitution. He was kind and generous to a fault. Margaret Robeson descended from Scotch, Welsh and Irish ancestry, and was a woman of remarkable good sense, fine natural talent and great kindness. Our subject was employed in early life upon a farm, digging ditches, hauling rails, etc. His education was meager, but being called upon to serve as juror, he was so inspired by the eloquence of some of the attorneys in the case that he resolved to become a lawyer and at once commenced the study of law, being admitted to the bar and beginning practice in 185 1. He was elected probate judge in 1854 and after serving three years he entered the

Union army as second lieutenant; was promoted to captain of Company I, Fortieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; resigned his commission on account of injuries received from being thrown from a horse, and on regaining his health he was re-commissioned by Governor Tod, and by Colonel Cranor was assigned to the command of his old company. After six months' service in the above position, by loss of his voice and previous injuries, he was again compelled to leave the active service of the army and acted in the capacity of recruiting officer until the close of the war, after which he resumed the practice of law. On December 3, 1876, he assumed the editorial control of the Sunday Courier, a leading organ of the Republican party of Darke county. He was three times elected mayor of Greenville, and in 1868 the Republicans of Darke county presented his name in the fourth congressional district of Ohio for congress, his competitor, Mr. McClung, being nominated by a small, majority over him. He always had a liberal share of the law practice in this county and enjoyed more than a local reputation as a criminal lawyer; at the form his abilities were best known; he had an original faculty of developing a subject by a single glance of the mind, detecting as quickly the point upon which every controversy depended. There was a deep self-conviction and emphatic earnestness in his manner, and a close logical connection in his thoughts. He wove no garlands of flowers to hang in festoons around a favorite argument, yet for impromptu appeals and eloquence he stood among the first of his profession, and, by his great knowledge of human nature he was acknowledged to be one of the best judges of a jury at the bar.

23S was born in Frederick county. Maryland., in 1812, and died suddenly in Adams township, Darke county, Ohio, several years ago. He was the son of John and Barbara Bireley. John was born in the first county above named and Barbara was born in Hagerstown, Maryland. Her maiden name was Brindle. The grandfather, John Bireley, was born in Saxony and emigrated to this country before the Revolutionary war. The grandmother was from Wurtemberg, Germany, and also came to this country prior to the Revolutionary war. Mr. Bireley's father came to Lancaster, Ohio, in the spring of 1822 and in the fall followingwent to Montgomery county, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1827. Mr. Bireley, the subject of this sketch, came to Darke county, October 15, 1830, and located in Greenville. He carried on the boot and shoe business for William Martin. Sr., and continued with him about five months, when he returned to his mother, in Montgomery county, where he remained until 1833, when, on January 24th, of the same year, he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Martin, daughter of Christopher and Elizabeth Martin. Sr. They were born at Sewickley, Pennsylvania, came to Ohio in 1814, and located in Butler county in 1815, settling about five miles east of Greenville. After raising a large family of children they moved to Greenville, where they lived and died. Mr. Bireley. in May, 1833, came back to Greenville and entered upon the manufacture of earthenware, which occupation he followed for twenty-eight years, doing an extensive business. He then bought a farm of one hundred and fifty acres, one mile out of the corporation of Greenville, and in 1851 he moved his family to this farm. In 1858 he sold this farm and bought another, five miles east of Greenville, upon which several quarries of limestone were located. He engaged in the manufacture of lime and continued at this business until January, 1880, when he rented the place to Martin Smith and Emanuel Hershey for five years, receiving four hundred dollars yearly, or two thousand dollars for the five years. In 1870 Mr. Bireley moved from the farm into Greenville, where he resided for a number of years, or until the expiration of the above lease, when he moved back on the farm, where he resided at the time of his death, and where his widow now resides with her daughter, Mary R. Mr. Bireley was the father of ten children, seven of whom are now living: Henry P., Elizabeth E., William W., Barbara C., Harry H, Wade G., all married and settled in life, and Mary R., the youngest, who remains at home with her mother. Mr. Bireley united with the Methodist Episcopal church in 1835, lived a consistent Christian life and the record he has left here upon the pages of time is surely a worthy example for all future generations to follow.

As printed in A Biographical history of Darke County, Ohio : compendium of national biography (1900). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ANDREW ROBISON CALDERWOOD.

The law as practiced and exemplified in person by the late Andrew Robison Calderwood, held its majesty. Profound respect, unfailing confidence and wholesome awe are vital necessities in the maintenance of order, and the services of such men as Mr. Calderwood in upholding the best dignities and traditions of the bar cannot be too highly valued. Possibly he will be remembered only by the older members of the profession in Darke county; yet his influence will continue to remain, and his probity, integrity and uncompromising fidelity to each and every duty should continue as watchwords for those who hope to attain not alone the rewards resulting from material success, but the honor that is granted to those whose lives are respected because they have been lived in a manner that merits respect.

Mr. Calderwood was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, September 14, 1818, a son of George and Margaret (Robison) Calderwood, natives of Huntington county, Pennsylvania, where they were married September 14, 1811. In the fall of 1817 the parents moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, and in 1832 removal was made to Darke county, Ohio, where the father died September 7, 1849. The mother survived until August 12, 1873. Although reared a farmer, Andrew R. Calderwocd’s aspirations led him into the field of law, and his assiduous and well-applied study allowed him to be admitted to the bar in 1851. Three years later he was elected to the office of probate judge, and he was so serving when secession threatened the Union. Laying aside the ermine, he shouldered the musket in defense of his country and after serving for a time as second lieutenant was promoted to the rank of captain of Company I, Fortieth regiment; Ohio volunteer infantry. It was his misfortune to meet a soldier’s injury while in the service, being thrown from his horse, and was forced to resign, but when he regained his health again showed his willingness to go to the front, and by reason of his.acknowledged ability was reinstated as captain of his old company, given him by Governor Todd. Six months later he was again incapacitated, this time by the loss of his voice, vet was loath to leave the service, and therefore was placed as recruiting officer, a capacity in which he served until the close of hostilities between the States.

Having proven himself an able, efficient and faithful soldier, Judge Calderwecd took up the practice of law again and showed that he could serve with as much reliability and honor in the ranks of peace. His practice brought him into connection with newspaper men, and he was induced to become editor of the “Sunday Courier,” a Republican newspaper, with which he continued to be connected throughout the remainder of his life. Although tempted by the journalistic field, Judge Calderwood never lost his love for the law, and among the older practitioners of the State he is remembered as a valuable associate and a worthy opponent. Had 101 first-degree murder cases and sentence was not pronounced on a single client. All men but one.

His three terms as mayor of Greenville brought forth his excellent executive and managerial ability, and it is remembered that this city has had no more popular official. He was not a politician in the generally accepted meaning of the word, but answered always the call of the people, and in 1868 allowed his name to be presented before the Republican Congressional Convention of the Fourth District, but, owing to political conditions at the time, met with defeat by a small margin of the. delegate vote. In his death, in 1891, Darke county lost a man who had been true to every principle as he saw it, who had discharged life’s duties conscientiously and fearlessly, who had asked no favor but who had granted many—a clean-lived, clean-spoken man among men; truly “one of God’s own gentlemen.”

As printed in History of Darke County Ohio (1914). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.