Emilius Oviatt Randall. 85
It is fitting that Mr. Hooper should
speak for the Club on
this occasion. Mr. Hooper is a charter
member of the Club, was
its first President, and has been for
many years its Secretary and
active Executive. I have the privilege
of presenting Mr. Osman
C. Hooper.
RANDALL, OUR PRESIDENT.
BY OSMAN C. HOOPER.
Secretary of the Kit-Kat Club.
The Kit-Kat Club meets today in sorrow.
Death has entered
our circle and taken our President,
Emilius Oviatt Randall who,
whether the mood was of laughter or
tears, was our friend of
unfailing sympathy; a leader of our
thought, and a promoter of
our companionship. His coming to the
Club presidency -an
office given unanimously and joyously
because there was none
other whom it fitted so well- had been
the assurance to us all
of a pleasant and profitable year. He
had planned the year's
schedule with care and had begun a
service that promised the
fulfillment of every wish for a flawless
fellowship in the consid-
eration of themes worthy of us and in
full keeping with our pur-
poses as a Club. He presided at the
first meeting in October,
bravely and uncomplainingly enduring, as
he did so, the first
suffering of a fatal disease. When he
left that gathering, it was
to return no more to our circle and
never to resume the active
work of his profession. Save for a few
occasions when he was
permitted to ride out, he was for weeks
confined to his home or
the hospital. But his thoughts were with
us as ours were with
him. Out of his weakness and pain, he
gave counsel in the con-
duct of Club affairs, and did not rest
till he was assured that all
was done for another successful meeting.
In those days of
anxiety, members were privileged to call
at his home and join
personally in the formally expressed
hope of the Club that he
would soon be in his accustomed place at
the head of the table.
But on the morning of December 18, death
came, dissipating our
hopes and saddening our hearts by taking
him from our earthly
fellowship forever.
86 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
Mr. Randall was born at Richfield, Ohio,
October 28, 1850.
His mother was a woman of culture and a
lover of the best and
most beautiful things in life. His
father, whom in his later
years I was privileged to know, combined
in his person qualities
that were many and varied. Besides being
a leading book-dealer
of Columbus, he was an eloquent divine,
a devoted and influential
churchman, a profound Biblical scholar
and an author of books
which in many Ohio homes ranked next to
the Bible because they
were an exposition of its themes. There
was dignity in his walk,
serenity in his face and authority in
his speech. To the son were
transmitted the characteristics of both
parents - an exceptional
heritage of birth, glorified by an
Americanism which antedated
the Revolution and shared in the
struggle for independence. His
wise father directed his training in the
schools and, before his
college days, broadened his learning by
taking him on a trip to
Europe when royalty was aflame. It was a
rare comradeship -
that of father and son -and the latter
often referred to it with
the tenderest feeling.
Graduating at Cornell in 1874, Mr.
Randall first turned his
attention to editorial work and then,
partly through force of cir-
cumstances, to business. Later he
studied law at the Ohio State
University, where he took both the
bachelor's and master's degree
in law, and for six years was professor
of law. In the meantime,
he had made friends and had been honored
in every circle he
entered, whether of literature, business
or law. In 1894 he be-
came secretary of the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society,
and in the following year was elected
Reporter of the Ohio
Supreme Court. Thus he came to two
important tasks that were
congenial and suited to his diverse
talents. In them he continued
to the end, performing a great volume of
work as reporter of
Supreme Court decisions, as editor of
the Archaeological and
Historical QUARTERLY, as author of
numerous historical books
and as speaker on historical and
literary themes, at the invitation
of people both within and beyond the
limits of the state. These
were years of earnest, joyous service of
others - a service that
will never be forgotten by those for
whom it was so freely ren-
dered. Some recognition of it was made
last year when Ohio
University conferred upon him the degree
of doctor of laws.
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