Ohio Genealogy Express- Darke County, Ohio, Biographical Index
DAVID L. MEEKER. Perhaps the public record of no man in Darke county has extended over a longer period than that of Judge David L. Meeker, and certainly none has been more fearless in conduct, more faultless in honor and more stainless in reputation. He served for nearly twenty years as judge on the common pleas bench, and his career was marked by the utmost fidelity to duty, while a comprehensive knowledge of law and great accuracy in applying the principles of jurisprudence to the points in litigation won him high standing among the legal fraternity.
Judge Meeker was born in Darke county, Ohio, on the 18th of July, 1827, a son of David M. and Nancy Ann (Miller) Meeker. The former, a native of Newark, New Jersey, came to Ohio in 1802, when about ten years of age, and for a time worked in brickyards in Cincinnati. On attaining his majority he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, following farming for a short time in Hamilton county, Ohio, whence he removed to Darke county, settling within its borders when it was a wild region almost on the extreme limit of frontier civilization. There the remainder of his life was passed in the work of transforming the wilderness into a pro-ductive farm, and, by the assistance of his wife rearing a large family of children, who have honored his memory and added lustre to his name. He died in 1852, respected by all who knew him.
Upon his father's farm Judge Meeker spent his boyhood, becoming familiar with all of the hard Work and discomfort of clearing the land and cultivating the soil when the financial reward of agriculture was scarcely greater than the advantages offered for education. He attended the school in his native district a portion of each year and enjoyed the limited amusements which the country afforded. The privations of pioneer life were more than offset by the helpfulness of neighbors and the genuine, unpretentious hospitality characteristic of the occupants of log cabins in pioneer times. When sufficiently advanced in his studies he was employed in teaching the district school for several winters and extended his studies to the advanced. branches in the academy, which marked the progressive instincts of the people among whom he lived. While engaged in teaching he directed his course of reading with a view to entering the legal profession as soon as the opportunity offered.
His preliminary study of the law was prosecuted under the instruction of the late Judge Ebenezer Parsons, of Miami county, and he was admitted to the bar in June, 1851, For almost a year thereafter he was traveling-in the west, and it was not until 1853 that he settled in Greenville for the practice of his profession. The discipline acquired by study and teaching the habits of industry formed and his close application to books, together with an excellent natural capacity, qualified him for success in the law. He made his way unaided among the attorneys of the county and soon established himself as a lawyer. In 1856 he was elected prosecuting attorney for the county and reelected in 1858, serving four years. His preference for the practice of law rather than the duties of public office was so pronounced that he yielded reluctantly to the solicitation of friends to accept even the judgeship. He persistently declined to permit the use of his name as a candidate for congress, although he was frequently urged to become a nominee for that important position. In 1861 he was elected judge of the common pleas court of the first subdivision of the second judicial district for a term of five years, but resigned after four years of service and was succeeded by Judge William Allen. Resuming the practice, he was permitted to continue it without interruption until October, 1872, when he was appointed judge by Governor Noyes, on the unanimous recommendation and petition of the bar in every county of the judicial district. This appointment was for the unexpired portion of the term to which Judge McKemy had been elected. Judge Meeker's service on the bench was so acceptable to all the people that he was chosen at the next election for the position without opposition. Both of the leading political parties nominated him, and the members of the bar without dissent recommended his election. After this he was reelected for two terms and declined a third because of failing health.
It is given to few men to enjoy the public confidence to a degree that disarms all political opposition. The example of Judge Meeker is almost unique. Although a member of the Democratic party and a partisan, in the sense of supporting its principles and candidates, he was known to be so fair and impartial as to be universally trusted by political adherents and .political adversaries alike.
The Judge was married, on the 18th of June, 1857, to Miss Mary A. Deardorff, of Darke county, and to them were born eight children: Frank D., who married Emma Anderson, of Franklin,, and is engaged in the real estate and loan business in Greenville; Sadie E., who is the wife of D. L. Gaskill, who was associated in the practice of law with her father; Walter S., who was also his; father's partner, married Minnie Lowry;. Mary C., who is the wife of J. R. Smith, a druggist, of Dayton, Ohio; Nana, who is. the wife of Dr. S. A. Hawes, of Arcanum, Ohio; Virginia G., who is the wife of W. H. Gilbert, an attorney at law, of Troy, Ohio; Alice M., who is the wife of A. R. Crawford, of Ventura, California, where he is serving as deputy clerk of the court; and Carrie W.; at home. The mother of these children died November 21, 1876, and the Judge was afterward married, on the 5th of September, 1878, to Miss Jennie D. Crisler, of Eaton, Preble county, a lady of many accomplishments, who presided over his household with dignity and grace, assisting him to dispense. the hospitality for which his home was noted. She is a native of Ohio. Her father, Albert G. Crisler; was born in 1810 in Culpeper. county, Virginia; and her mother, Ann nee Foos, was born in Pennsylvania in 1812.
They were married in 1831 in Preble county, Ohio. The mother died February 28, 1857, and the father passed away October 19, 1857, near Columbus, Indiana.
Mrs. Meeker attended the country schools in her early girlhood, but later enjoyed, and took advantage of the privileges afforded by a private school. At the age of sixteen she began teaching and followed that profession for a few years, when she went to reside with her uncle, J. H. Foos, a prominent attorney of Eaton, Preble county, Ohio. After her marriage to Mr. Meeker she took change of his household, discharged faithfully all the duties of helpmate, and at once took a motherly part in caring: for, educating and advising his eight children in the moral and religious duties of life, the youngest child being at the time only three years of age. After the death of the Judge she erected her present residence from a fund set apart by him, and with the request that after his death a new dwelling house should be built for her because it required too much care and expense to keep the former residence—a palatial brick—in proper condition. The new dwelling was planned by Mrs. Meeker, assisted by her stepson, Walter S. Meeker. It is modern in architectural design, neat, and commodious in all its appointments. Mrs. Meeker is an acceptable member of the First Presbyterian church, is consistent in her professions, and her life of Christian fortitude may well be imitated by all.
Judge Meeker's tastes were essentially domestic, and he found at home the pleasure some men seek at the club. The time not necessarily devoted to business was spent in the society of his family and among the in spiring, renewing influences of home. One of the leading lawyers of the district has furnished a characterization of him substantially in. the following terms: Judge Meeker filled a place in the history of this judicial district that is creditable to himself and honorable to the profession. A judge for a period of almost twenty years, he retired from the bench with the highest respect of the profession and admiration of the public. He was always a close student, and when in practice was known as a hard working lawyer, and likewise a successful one. His greatest reputation, however, will rest on his work as a judge. His judgeship was almost unerring. He possessed what is termed a legal mind; understood thoroughly the principles of the law; was painstaking in his investigations, and accurate in his decisions. He was always fearless and impartial in the discharge of every duty. There has never been on the bench in the history of this judicial district a judge who held the confidence of the profession to a greater degree. His. personal popularity was unbounded. Nature made him a gentleman, and he made himself a lawyer. One of the sources of his popularity was undoubtedly his unassuming manners, unfeigned cordiality, his fine sensibilities, and readiness to help his fellowmen. Both in the relations of private citizenship and in public office, Judge Meeker's life was irreproachable. Not. only was he an able jurist, but also a successful business man. He possessed one of the finest homes in the county, accumulated a competence and left a valuable estate.
Judge Meeker died suddenly, September 5, 1896, at his home in Greenville. While at the supper table he was stricken with partial paralysis, which became complete a few minutes later, causing a painless death within three hours. The tributes to his character and worthiness, expressed in a memorial meeting of the bar and in the funeral service, were hearty and sincere. They testified that he was not only an incorruptible judge but also scrupulously, delicately and conscientiously free from all willful wrong, in thought, word or deed. His uniform kindness and patience to the younger members of the bar were marked. In later years he was accustomed to recount for the edification of the young lawyers his own early struggles to secure success, the discouragements he encountered and the difficulties he had overcome. He was not a dreamer in any idle sense, but as a boy looked forward hopefully, spurred to his best endeavors by high aspirations. In a paper read at his funeral by D. W. Bowman, a former law partner, it is said that throughout a career of nearly half a century at the bar and on the bench, the day dream of his boyhood, the cherished desire of his heart in youth, was never lost sight of, but kept in full view. With this noble longing for professional success he wore the judicial ermine for twenty years, and laid it aside as spotless as when it first touched his shoulders. He achieved a fame that posterity will not willingly let die.