Emilius Oviatt Randall. 87
But a recognition, wider and even more
highly prized, was
that written in the hearts of those who
knew and loved him.
During his college days at Ithaca, Mr.
Randall met Miss
Mary A. Coy, the lady who later became
his wife. To her and
their two sons and daughter, we of the
Kit-Kat Club offer our
sympathy. We, too, have suffered a
grievous loss. We knew
his genial companionship, his ready
helpfulness and his contin-
uing friendship. His sterling
scholarship, his vivacious eloquence
and his industrious pen won for him a
wide admiration, while
his historical research offers to this
and succeeding generations a
legacy of inestimable value.
We are proud to have known him and to
have walked with
him through the years; and here, in this
solemn hour, we write
down among our most treasured memories
his qualities as man
and citizen, companion and friend.
Mr. Williams then said:
Mr. Randall was Reporter of the Supreme
Court of Ohio
from 1895 until his death. Since the
adoption of our present
Constitution in 1851, until the present
time, ninety-nine volumes
of reports have been issued, with one in
preparation. Of these
one hundred volumes, forty-eight, almost
one-half, will bear the
name of "Randall" as the
compiler. This gives us something
of the measure of his service as an
official of our highest court.
But it is only a superficial gauge. None
of us, outside of the
court, can know fully how much he
contributed to the preparation
of the reports, but we can rest
confident that his breadth of
knowledge, his gift of expression, and
his wide reading, both in
law and in literature, were freely at
the command of the judges,
with all of whom his relations were of
the most intimate and
cordial character. Mr. Chief Justice
Nichols will speak:
RANDALL AND THE OHIO SUPREME
COURT.
BY HON. HUGH L. NICHOLS,
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
Ohio.
That fascinating orator, Senator
Conkling, in his classic
nominating speech, at the Republican National
Convention, in
1880, presenting the name of General
Grant as a candidate for
88
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
President, said, in one of those
wonderful sentences that he
alone could compose, speaking of his
great chieftain: "His fame
was born not alone in things written and
said, but of the arduous
greatness of things done."
In somewhat similar vein, one can well
speak of Mr. E. O.
Randall, late the Reporter of the
Supreme Court of Ohio. His
field of activity was so wide, his
accomplishments so great, and
his achievements so marked, that one is
perplexed to determine
whether he was most excellent in his
literary labors, in his splen-
did speeches, or in the things he has
done.
If our State had an Institute, patterned
after the fashion of
the Academy of France, where by
selection the intellectuals of
the state were gathered into one body,
as a mark of the very
highest distinction, I would, had I the
right to select, have cast
my vote for Mr. Randall; and I am of the
firm conviction that
by common consent his name would head
the list.
Mr. Randall was the efficient and
well-beloved Reporter of
our highest Court for nearly a quarter
of a century, and, since
the Constitutional Judicial Amendment in
1912, he
was also the
Official Reporter of the Courts of
Appeals. In this capacity he
was the repository of the private and
confidential matters apper-
taining to the administration of
justice. Prior to 1913, it was
his laborious duty to prepare the law
points argued in each re-
ported case, and to collate the
authorities relied upon by counsel.
This particular function of reporting
was abandoned in 1913, as
it has been in all but fourteen of the
States of the Union. His
work of reporting, covering but
one-fourth of the Court's life,
embraced, however, five-twelfths of its
actual output.
In my chambers in the Judiciary Building
I have spent many
happy hours in social intercourse with
Mr. Randall, and I want
to bear testimony to the fact that I do
not recall that I ever had
converse with him without adding to my
store of knowledge.
We found much edification in joint
perusal of the letters of
Mrs. James G. Blaine, published about
ten years ago by her
daughter. These letters were written by
Mrs. Blaine principally
to her several children. We felt that in
these letters the picture
she unconsciously drew of herself as a
wife and mother is one
of the most beautiful in all the pages
of literature.
Emilius Oviatt Randall. 89
Mr. Randall was a roommate, at Andover,
of the eldest son,
Walker Blaine, and he well remembered
the circumstances of the
son reading to him the mother's letters
written to Walker while
he was his fellow-student.
The Supreme Court of Ohio feels that
some signal honor
should be paid to this great man, and to
that end the Court itself
has prepared a Memorial to be published
with and made a part
of Volume 101 of the Reports of that
Court. It is thought that
Mr. Randall, had he the privilege of
selecting the forum where
his memory might be most enduringly and
lovingly preserved,
would have chosen this instrumentality.
No other Reporter has been so signally
honored; indeed,
none of the distinguished members of the
Supreme Court have
been remembered in this wise by the
Court itself, it being the
established custom of the Court to
memorialize its deceased mem-
bers through the means of a committee of
the Ohio Bar, ap-
pointed by the Court for that purpose.
And so it is, that for many generations
yet to come, indeed
so long as our very Government shall
endure, the memory of
Mr. Randall will be perpetuated, for
every published volume of
the 1O1St Ohio State Reports must
contain the Supreme Court's
estimate of its beloved Reporter.
The Memorial is as follows:
"The Supreme Court learned with
deep regret of the death
of Hon. Emilius O. Randall, for almost a
generation the Reporter
of the Court. He was an unusual man,
and, as such, an unusual
Reporter. Unusual as both, he sustained
exceptional relations
with the Supreme Court of Ohio,
officially, and with its members,
personally, for a long period of years.
Those relations justify
the unusual, special proceeding which
this Court unanimously
and sincerely approves.
"In recognition of his long and
valuable service in that place
and of his distinguished position as a
leader of wholesome public
thought in the state, the Court has
ordered that the following
Memorial be spread upon its Minutes and
published in Volume
1O1 of the Ohio State Reports:
"Emilius Oviatt Randall was born in
Summit county, Ohio,
October 28, 1850, and died at Columbus,
December 18, 1919. His
90 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
parents were natives of Connecticut and
were of strong Puritanic
stock. Three of his great-grandfathers
fought in the Revolution-
ary War. They were John Randall, Patrick
Grant Pemberton
and Benjamin Oviatt. Another direct
lineal ancestor was Eben-
ezer Pemberton, one of the founders and
for many years pastor
of the famous Old South Church of
Boston.
"Endowed by nature with fine
literary capacity, and with the
instinct for historical and archaeological
research, Mr. Randall
received the education which was best
suited to the exercise of
those talents. As a scholar at the
Columbus High School, and
at the famous Phillips Academy of
Andover, Massachusetts,
where he attained high rank, he found
opportunity for the display
of his natural ability. In the former he
was editor of the High
School News, and, at Andover, of the Philo Mirror, the school
magazine. He graduated from Cornell
University in 1874, with
the degree of Ph. B. He then took a
special postgraduate course
in history at Cornell and in Europe. He
was the Commencement
Day orator at Cornell and the historian
of his class. Of fine
social tendencies, his gentle impulses
were quickened and made
firm by membership in two Greek-letter
fraternities.
"For a short time after his return
from Europe he was an
editorial writer on a Cleveland paper,
but at the solicitation of
his parents he returned to Columbus in
1878, and from that time
until 1890 devoted himself to mercantile pursuits. During this
time he read law and was admitted to the
practice by the Su-
preme Court of Ohio June 5, 1890. He graduated
from the law
school of the Ohio State University in
1892.
"Having early developed a capacity
for imparting knowledge,
and possessing a warm and sympathetic
intimacy with young
men, he was made one of the Professors
of Law of the Ohio
State University in 1893, which position
he occupied with great
benefit to the institution and credit to
himself until 1911.
"On May 14, 1895, he was appointed
Reporter of the Su-
preme Court of Ohio, and occupied that
position until his death.
He published forty-eight volumes of the
Ohio State Reports.
They constitute an outward exhibition of
his service in that posi-
tion, but they do not adequately testify
to the great assistance
he rendered in presenting to the bench
and bar of the state the
Emilius Oviatt Randall. 91
contributions made by the Court to the
body of the law and to
our system of jurisprudence.
"For more than thirty years Mr.
Randall led a semi-public
life. His activities in the spread of
intelligence and in the instruc-
tion of the people were manifold and
far-reaching. It is doubt-
ful if any other citizen of Ohio has
mastered with such breadth
and detail the history of the great
Northwest Territory, which
he always presented with attractive
diction and vast learning.
He had extensive knowledge of the mounds
and Mound Builders.
He knew the history of the tribes of
Indians who have lived in
the Northwest Territory, their chiefs
and their achievements, and
he eloquently described with sympathetic
voice and pen the de-
cline of the Indian influence in
America.
"He was in great demand as a
speaker on art, literature,
history, economics, politics and
religion. In great public crises,
like the recent world war, his services
were much sought, and
willingly and laboriously contributed
for the public good.
"His vast fund of knowledge on
affairs relating to the gov-
ernment of the state and its
institutions led to his being consulted
on important matters by every Governor
of Ohio for the last
quarter of a century, and by many state
officials and members
of the General Assembly.
"In 1893 he was appointed by
Governor McKinley trustee
of the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society. He
became Secretary of the Society in 1894,
and has been reap-
pointed trustee by Governors Bushnell,
Nash, Herrick, Harris,
Harmon and Cox. He was editor of the
Society's QUARTERLY,
and in 1903 was the protagonist and
director of the Ohio Cen-
tennial celebration held at Chillicothe.
Mr. Randall edited the
account of the proceedings of that
celebration, a work of over
700 pages.
"A Republican in politics, he was a
delegate to the National
Convention of that party in 1904. He
occupied many state and
municipal positions of trust.
"He actively engaged in the
procuring of funds by private
benefaction and public appropriation for
the carrying on of many
works for the historical and literary
instruction of the people.
"In addition to many lectures which
he wrote and delivered
92 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
in different parts of the country and
which disclosed his wide
learning and versatile literary talents,
he was the author of a
number of works. Among these are Negotiable
Acts Bills of
Ohio, Cases in Ohio Agency, The
Separatist Society of Zoar,
The Mound Builders of Ohio, and Blennerhassett. He was an
associate editor of Bench and Bar of
Ohio, two volumes, and
contributor to Cyclopedia of Law and
Procedure and Encyclo-
pedia Americana. He was joint author with the Hon. Daniel J.
Ryan of Randall and Ryan's History of
Ohio, in five volumes.
If the distinguished authors of this
work had rendered no other
services to their state, this great work
of itself would entitle them
to the lasting gratitude of the people
of Ohio.
"Mr. Randall wrote well and with
conspicuous beauty and
strength of statement. His enthusiastic
and optimistic nature
and superb humor made a fit setting for
the gospel of good cheer,
of which he was the apostle. One of the
finest things about him
was his splendid love for children, and
this always showed itself
in the frequent lectures that he
delivered in the public schools
and institutions, particularly to the
afflicted children at the School
for the Blind.
"He was a member of the American
Historical Association,
the American Bar Association, Ohio State
Bar Association, the
American Literary Association, English
Speaking Union, honor-
ary life member of the Columbus Chamber
of Commerce, and
Trustee of the Sessions Academy of Art.
At his death he was
President of the Kit-Kat Club of
Columbus, a literary organ-
ization, whose meetings were a constant
delight to him, and which
he enriched with his learning and wit.
"On October 28, 1874, Mr. Randall
was married to Mary,
the daughter of John H. and Catherine
Coy, Ithaca, N. Y., who,
with two sons and a daughter, survive
him. His private life was
delightful and serene. He had a firm and
beautiful belief in his
religion and was loyal to the
Congregational Church, to which he
belonged. Of incorruptible integrity and
purity of character,
he had the gentle spirit and the love
for mankind which adorns
and never fails to benefit the community
in which it is found.
"It is ordered that a copy of this
Memorial be sent to the
family of Mr. Randall."
Emilius Oviatt Randall. 93
Mr. Williams, in presenting Gov. James
E. Campbell, said:
Conspicuous as Mr. Randall was in many
different and va-
ried activities, there is one field in
particular, where he stood
pre-eminent, and that was the field of
archaeology. Fine as he
was in literary ability, he there had
his rivals; happy as he was
as an after-dinner speaker and
toastmaster, others there ventured
to challenge his superiority, but in
knowledge of the early history
of Ohio, and of its earliest
inhabitants, he was universally recog-
nized as having no equal. His writings
on the Mound Builders
and their works, concerning Indians and
Indian life and charac-
ter, are and will continue to be
accepted as authority.
Mr. Randall was a trustee for many years
of The Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society.
For the last twenty-five
years, he has been its Secretary.
During much of Mr. Randall's connection
with the Society,
Governor Campbell has been a conspicuous
and helpful member,
and is now its President. He knows much
of Mr. Randall's con-
tributions to its literature and its
records, and will speak.
RANDALL, ARCHAEOLOGIST AND HISTORIAN.
BY HON. JAMES E. CAMPBELL.
It is especially fitting that these
impressive services in mem-
ory of Emilius Oviatt Randall should be
feelingly participated
in by The Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society; for,
of the many eminent and useful citizens
associated with that
organization in its long career, his
name leads all the rest.
In February, 1893, the society was in an
unsatisfactory con-
dition generally, and three thousand
dollars behind financially.
Governor McKinley, having a full
appreciation of the work for
which the society had been founded,
repeatedly urged Mr. Ran-
dall to accept a trusteeship and,
although a very busy man, he
finally consented. Having assumed the
responsibility, however,
he took hold of his duties with his
customary intelligence and
vigor, and a few months later, became
Secretary of the Society
which position he held continuously
until his death - having been
successively appointed as trustee by
Governors Bushnell, Nash,
Herrick, Harris, Harmon and Cox. In
addition to his work as
Emilius Oviatt Randall. 87
But a recognition, wider and even more
highly prized, was
that written in the hearts of those who
knew and loved him.
During his college days at Ithaca, Mr.
Randall met Miss
Mary A. Coy, the lady who later became
his wife. To her and
their two sons and daughter, we of the
Kit-Kat Club offer our
sympathy. We, too, have suffered a
grievous loss. We knew
his genial companionship, his ready
helpfulness and his contin-
uing friendship. His sterling
scholarship, his vivacious eloquence
and his industrious pen won for him a
wide admiration, while
his historical research offers to this
and succeeding generations a
legacy of inestimable value.
We are proud to have known him and to
have walked with
him through the years; and here, in this
solemn hour, we write
down among our most treasured memories
his qualities as man
and citizen, companion and friend.
Mr. Williams then said:
Mr. Randall was Reporter of the Supreme
Court of Ohio
from 1895 until his death. Since the
adoption of our present
Constitution in 1851, until the present
time, ninety-nine volumes
of reports have been issued, with one in
preparation. Of these
one hundred volumes, forty-eight, almost
one-half, will bear the
name of "Randall" as the
compiler. This gives us something
of the measure of his service as an
official of our highest court.
But it is only a superficial gauge. None
of us, outside of the
court, can know fully how much he
contributed to the preparation
of the reports, but we can rest
confident that his breadth of
knowledge, his gift of expression, and
his wide reading, both in
law and in literature, were freely at
the command of the judges,
with all of whom his relations were of
the most intimate and
cordial character. Mr. Chief Justice
Nichols will speak:
RANDALL AND THE OHIO SUPREME
COURT.
BY HON. HUGH L. NICHOLS,
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
Ohio.
That fascinating orator, Senator
Conkling, in his classic
nominating speech, at the Republican National
Convention, in
1880, presenting the name of General
Grant as a candidate for