Francis Marion Hagan

As printed in 1902

FRANCIS MARION HAGAN.

Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied that members of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs than any other class of the community. This is but the natural result of causes which are manifest and requires no explanation. The ability and training which qualify one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for duties which lie outside the strict path of his profession, and which touch general interests. of society. Holding marked precedence among the members of the bar of Springfield stands Mr. Hagan, who has also been honored with various official positions of trust, and the confidence thus reposed in him has never been betrayed in even the slightest degree.

Judge Hagan has spent his entire life in Clark county, his birth having occurred near Enon, in Mad River township, on the roth of June, 1844. He comes-of Scotch-Irish lineage. His paternal grandfather was a native of county Monaghan, Ireland, and in the year 1798 he left the Emerald Isle for the new world, taking up his above in Pennsylvania. Subsequently he continued his westward journey until he reached Clark county, Ohio, being a resident of this place from 1815 until 1825, when he was called to the home beyond. Among his children were Hugh Hagan, the father of our subject. His birth occurred in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, June 3, 1803, and he was therefore about twelve years of age when the family cast in their lot with the pioneer families of this locality. He was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life and through many years witnessed the development and upbuilding of this section of the state, bearing his part in the work of public improvement. Having arrived at years of maturity, he married Ann Furay, who was born in Ross County, Ohio, October 3, 1816, and was of French and Irish extraction and a daughter of Peter Furay. Her death occurred September 22, 1892.

The youth of Judge Hagan, like that of other boys, was largely given to the work of acquiring an education. He attended the public and select schools and later became a student in Antioch College, at Yellow Springs, but ill health prevented his graduation. From early life he was imbued with a desire to become a member of the legal profession, and so directed his reading and efforts that he might ultimately realize his ambition. It was not possible for him at once to prepare for the bar, and for a number of years he engaged in teaching in common and select schools, but he never lost sight of what was his real aim, and pursuing his reading as he found opportunity, he was admitted to the bar in 1873. The following year he opened an office and began the practice of law in Springfield, where he has since remained. His preparation of cases is most thorough and exhaustive; he seems almost intuitively to grasp the strong

As printed in A Biographical Record of Clark County Ohio (1902). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.