North Dakota Law Review Volume 21 Number 2 Article 2 1944 Report of Committee on Memorials North Dakota State Bar Association Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/ndlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation North Dakota State Bar Association (1944) "Report of Committee on Memorials," North Dakota Law Review: Vol. 21 : No. 2 , Article 2. Available at: https://commons.und.edu/ndlr/vol21/iss2/2 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in North Dakota Law Review by an authorized editor of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BAR BRIEFS REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON MEMORIALS JOHN C. ADAMSON John C. Adamson was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1872. He came to Devils Lake in 1893. In Wisconsin he had worked in a print shop and in North Dakota was in law offices until he was admitted to the bar in 1900. During the next two years he was secretary to the Hon. Thomas F. Marshall, member of the House of Representatives in Washington. He returned to Devils Lake and remained there for three years. He then moved to Bottineau where he became a member of the firm of Noble, Blood and Adamson. This firm had offices in Bottineau and in Minot. In 1913 he returned lo Devils Lake and formed a partnership with the former attorney general and district judge, John F. Cowan, and remained a member of the partnership until the death of Judge Cowan in 1917. Later he was associated with Mr. Sivert Thompson and Mr. F. T. Cuth- bert. He died in Devils Lake December 23, 1943, after a long illness. At that time he was serving the city as police magistrate. In 1903 he was married to Miss Clara I. Stowell at Buffalo, Minnesota, who, with his three children, survives. The pallbearers were members of the Devils Lake Bar Association, and funeral services were held the following Saturday with the rector of the Episcopal Church in charge. Mr. Adamson was a member of the Masonic order, and of the Elks Society. He was a man of varied experience and wide acquaintance. He had worked on the Chicago Tribune about 1890 and was personally acquainted with Finley P. Dunn of Dooley fame. When he came to Devils Lake he took up a homestead north of the city and it was while there that he began his study of law after he had obtained a position as stenographer in the offices of Cowan and McClory, Mr. McClory being his brother-in-law. THEODORE G. AUSTINSON Mr. Theodore G. Austinson was born at Ulen, Minnesota, July 25, 1881, and died in Grand Forks on June 19, 1943. Mr. Austinson had an intensive education, having attended the Moor- head State Teachers' College, the Park Region Luther College, and the law department of the University of North Dakota. He was graduated from that institution in 1904 and practiced law at Ambrose and Crosby, North Dakota, and later in St. Paul. Minnesota. In 1935 he came to Grand Forks where he practiced until the time of his death. Mr. Austinson leaves his wife and one son Harris who lives in St. Louis, and his brother Carl of Phoenix, Arizona. He was buried in Memorial Park Cemetery of Grand Forks on Tues- day, June 22, 1943. He was a member of the Lutheran church and was active in public life while living in the western part of the state. BAR BRIEFS W. H. BARNETT A truly old-time lawyer died when William Huntley Barnett of Fargo went to his eternal reward on May 21, 1943. Mr. Barnett was born at Fox Lake, Wisconsin July 23, 1856. He attended the public schools of that state and entered the law department of the University of Wisconsin. But Dakota Terri- tory and North Dakota State was to be his home and so he came to Fargo May 8, 1880. He took the bar examination shortly thereafter and began the practice of law with the insurance firm of Briggs and Elder, but soon opened an office alone. From 1885, in Territorial Days, to 1896, in Statehood Days, Mr. Bar- nett was the police magistrate in Fargo and from that time on was known as Judge Barnett. Later he was assistant state's attorney and served in the office of state's attorney for four years. For five years he was assistant United States District Attorney and was associated with Mr. Seth W. Richardton, now engaged in the practice of law in Washington, D. C. March 14, 1883, Judge Barnett was married to Miss Lelah H. Tillotson. To them two children were born both dying in early childhood, and Mrs. Barnett died in 1924. Later Mr. Barnett was married to Miss Madge Trunky, who survives him. While never neglecting the legal profession and though engaged in a great deal of important litigation, Mr. Barnett never lost his interest in outdoor sports, his particular hobbies being base- ball and horse racing. In Fargo he was known as an ardent fan and endeared himself to all those who admired outdoor sports. Judge Barnett was a member of the Masonic order and of the Elks Lodge and was noted for his active work in the Chamber of Commerce. He was buried May 24, 1943. The Rev. Francis A. Sullivan, rector of the St. John's Episcopal church, Moorhead, was in charge of the services. H. L. BERRY The Honorable H. L. Berry of Mandan, one of the judge of the Sixth Judicial District of this state, died at his home on July 16, 1944, after a serious illness of some duration. Harry Lynn Berry was born in Maine county, Minnesota, November 25, 1871. He attended the high school of Mapleton, Minnesota, and then entered the University. After his studies at the Uni- versity of Minnesota he taught school in Minnesota for some years and then took up the study of law, receiving his law degree from the University in 1903. When Judge Berry came to this state he practiced law for a short time at Anamoose and formed a partnership with State Senator Henry Bessesen, now of Minneapolis. The partnership practiced law at Harvey in Wells County for some years and then Judge Berry removed to Mercer County where he practiced law at Stanton and at Killdeer. He served two terms as state's attorney of that county and in 1920 was elected judge of the BAR BRIEFS Sixth Judicial District, and continued as such judge until the day of his death. Upon his election he moved to Mandan where his chambers were established and that was his home from that time on. He was buried from the Methodist Church of Mandan on July 20, 1943, and interment was in the cemetery north of the city. No better summation of Judge Berry's career can be given than these excerpts from the brief statement of the Gov- ernor of this State. The Governor said, "North Dakota has lost a valued public servant-and his place will be hard to fill." Judge Berry was a member of the Masonic order and had served actively in the Methodist Church. At the funeral serv- ice the district superintendent of that church spoke with great feeling in regard to the active service which Judge Berry had rendered during his entire career. He is survived by his wife and six children. E. E. CASSELS The death of Ernest Eber Cassels October 26, 1943, re- moved from our number one who was truly a pioneer in the Dakotas. He was born September 22, 1869, in Ontario, Canada, but when he was a mere child his family removed to Aberdeen, Dakota Territory, arriving there before the railroad was put through. The family was domiciled on a farm and later moved to the city where Mr. Cassels received his early education. Later he went to Valparaiso University in Indiana and there studied law. By this time, the Territory was divided, and April, 8, 1896, Mr. Cassels was admitted to the bar of North Dakota, being then a resident of Ellendale, and Ellendale was his home until the day of his death. Mr. Cassels served Dickey County as state's attorney for about fifteen years, and as the Dickey County Leader said: "No picture of the early life of Ellendale which followed the first pioneer days would be complete without some mention of E. E. Cassels." On February 28, 1900, Mr. Cassels married Miss Loiuse Chambers, who with their two sons survive. One son, Robert C. Cassels, is an attorney in Baltimore, Maryland, while the other is a physician now serving as a lieutenant in the army at Fort Rice, Tennessee. Mr. Cassels was a member of the Angelican Church of Canada in his early days and for many years belonged to the Masonic lodge of Ellendale. At his funeral, the local bar attended as honorary pallbearers and old-time friends carried him to the grave. The Masonic committal service was read. MARK CHATFIELD Mark M. Chatfield, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, and for many years a practicing attorney in Minot, died at his BAR BRIEFS home February 23, 1944. Mr. Chatfield was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, October 19, 1876, a descendent of an English family which had settled in Massachusetts in colonial days. His father was a veteran of the Civil War, pioneered in Minnesota, and in 1901 the family came to Bottineau County in this state to take advantage of free land.