Soldier, lawyer, and Ohio Supreme Court Justice. Judge Minshall's family came to Ohio from Virginia about 1800 and his father, William Gilmore Minshall, took up farming near Colerain Township in Ross County. Always industrious, Judge Minshall, as a youth, studied at night while working in a wool mill and subsequently paid his own education expenses at Kingston Academy. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1861. He enlisted in the army during the Civil War, rising to the rank of sergeant, then formed his own volunteer infantry unit, of which he was elected captain. He fought in Kentucky, Tennessee, and was part of the Siege of Atlanta. After a term as prosecuting attorney for Ross County, he formed his own private practice in Chillicothe which he maintained until he was elected a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1876. In 1886, he was selected by the governor to fill a vacancy on the Ohio Superior Court (later renamed the Supreme Court) and was quickly validated by the voters in a special election. He was reelected in 1890 and 1896. He was chosen Chief Judge during his final term on the high court. He retired in 1902, but his efforts to restart his private practice in Chillicothe were thwarted by ill health. A history of Ohio written in 1924 states that "Many of [his] opinions in important cases exhibit great legal learning, logical reasoning, and remarkable powers of keen and discriminating judgment." His written opinions are still used by the Court because of their conciseness and clarity.
Soldier, lawyer, and Ohio Supreme Court Justice. Judge Minshall's family came to Ohio from Virginia about 1800 and his father, William Gilmore Minshall, took up farming near Colerain Township in Ross County. Always industrious, Judge Minshall, as a youth, studied at night while working in a wool mill and subsequently paid his own education expenses at Kingston Academy. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1861. He enlisted in the army during the Civil War, rising to the rank of sergeant, then formed his own volunteer infantry unit, of which he was elected captain. He fought in Kentucky, Tennessee, and was part of the Siege of Atlanta. After a term as prosecuting attorney for Ross County, he formed his own private practice in Chillicothe which he maintained until he was elected a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1876. In 1886, he was selected by the governor to fill a vacancy on the Ohio Superior Court (later renamed the Supreme Court) and was quickly validated by the voters in a special election. He was reelected in 1890 and 1896. He was chosen Chief Judge during his final term on the high court. He retired in 1902, but his efforts to restart his private practice in Chillicothe were thwarted by ill health. A history of Ohio written in 1924 states that "Many of [his] opinions in important cases exhibit great legal learning, logical reasoning, and remarkable powers of keen and discriminating judgment." His written opinions are still used by the Court because of their conciseness and clarity.
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