Hon. James Sloane
Hon. James Sloane was born February 22, 1822, in Richmond, Virginia. His parents were from near Belfast, in Ireland, and were Presbyterians. They had located in Richmond, Va., but a short time prior to the birth of their son, James. In 1827, they removed to Cincinnati, and in 1828, to a farm near Fayetteville, Brown County, Ohio.
James Sloane was raised a typical farmer's son. He worked hard all Summer and attended District school in Winter. At seventeen, he received a severe injury, caused by a log rolling on his side and fracturing his ribs, from which he never fully recovered. In 1839 and 1840, he taught school in Brown and Clinton Counties. In 1840, he began the study of law with Judge Barclay Harlan, in Wilmington, Ohio, and graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1844. In 1845, he located in Hillsboro and began practice. In 1845, he was married to Miss Kate White, of Ross County, who bore him two sons, one of whom is Ulric Sloane, the eloquent advocate, now a resident of the city of Columbus, but well known to all the people of Adams County. In 1856, James Sloane was elected a Common Pleas Judge in the Fifth Judicial District on the Democratic ticket, but resigned after one year's service. He felt that he was made for the bar and not for the bench, and while his fellow members of the bar were of the opinion that he made an excellent Judge, he felt that the bar suited him better. He practiced law in Highland, Ross, Fayette, Brown, Clinton and Adams Counties. When the war broke out he organized Company K, 12th O. V. I, three months service, and went out as its Captain. He was wounded April 20, 1861, and mustered out July 6, 1861, to accept appointment as Captain in Company K. 12th O. V. I., three years' service. He was severely wounded in the West Virgina campaign, at Scary Creek, July 17, 1861. His health broke down and he resigned November 25, 1861. He soon learned, after going into the army, that the injury received at the age of seventeen prevented him from performing the duty of a soldier and hence his enforced retirement. He practiced law in Hillsboro until 1868, when he opened an office in Cincinnati, where he remained until 1871, when he returned to Hillsboro. He died September 17, 1873, of congestion of the brain. He possessed high degree of natural talent. His mind was always clear and he possessed great analytic power. He was capable of great and continued mental effort and seemed to take pleasure in it.
He had a remarkable memory and a fertile imagination. In his temperament he was warm and impetuous. He was an eloquent and powerful advocate. His success was brillant, but with it all, he was a misanthrope and given to fits of melancholy. He could be a delightful companion if he chose, but did not often so choose. His last days were clouded by his fits of melancholy and he stood aloof from most of his friends. He is remembered by the bar in the counties before mentioned as a lawyer of wonderful power and application.
From History of Adams County, Ohio from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers - West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers - 1900