Oscar Hilton Montgomery (April 27, 1859 – May 5, 1936) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

who served as a justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...

from January 2, 1905 to January 2, 1911.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 200 ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page

Biography

Montgomery was born on a farm near

Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia *Seymour, Victoria, a township *Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria *Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria *Seymour, Tasmania, a locality ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Montgomery's father, Theophilus Wylie Montgomery, was of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent and his mother, Susan Harriet Montgomery, was from

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. Montgomery grew up on the family farm and was educated at local

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

before leaving to attend Hanover College, where he was part of the

Sigma Chi Fraternity Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

. Graduating in 1881 from Hanover's

classical studies Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

department, Montgomery became a school teacher in Reddington while he began studying law. In 1884, he was admitted to the Indiana bar. He moved to

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shortly before returning to his boyhood home of Seymour. Back in Seymour, Montgomery opened up a private law practice and became involved in local politics as a Republican. In 1892, he was elected to serve on the Jackson

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

. In 1896, he served as a delegate from Indiana to the

1896 Republican National Convention The 1896 Republican National Convention was held in a temporary structure south of the St. Louis City Hall in Saint Louis, Missouri, from June 16 to June 18, 1896. Former Governor William McKinley of Ohio was nominated for president on the firs ...

in St. Louis,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. Montgomery served for ten years as Seymour's city attorney. He was also active in numerous local fraternal organizations, namely the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

and the Masonic Order, and was also a member of the private

Columbia Club The Columbia Club is a private club located on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The current structure was built in 1925 as the club's third home on the same site. Club history The Columbia Club was originally formed on February ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. Montgomery was on the

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

for Hanover College and the First National Bank of Seymour. He presided over a state Committee on Uniform State Laws. In 1904, Montgomery was elected to the

to succeed Justice Alexander Dowling. He was succeeded to the court in 1911 by Justice

Douglas J. Morris Douglas J. Morris (January 5, 1861 – July 9, 1928) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 2, 1911 to January 1, 1917.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinsc ...

. In 1886, Montgomery married Ida E. Harding and had four children. One of them, Theophilus Harlan Montgomery, was a

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

graduate and practiced law with his father in Seymour. Montgomery died in Seymour in 1936, at the age of 77.

References

1859 births Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court American judges People from Seymour, Indiana 1936 deaths Hanover College alumni Indiana Republicans American people of Scottish descent {{US-state-judge-stub