John H. Fimple

JOHN H. FIMPLE, senior member of the widely known law firm of Fimple, Holder & De Ford, of Carrollton, Carroll County, is a native of the county, having been born March 31, 1859, in Augusta Township, on the farm where his parents were then and are now living, and which they at present own. His parents, David and Hannah (Dumbleton) Fimple, were both native-born citizens of the United States, former of whom (at any rate on his mother's side) is believed to have been of German descent. He was born in Washington County, Penn., and when about two years old (some time prior to 1827) came with his father's family to what is now Augusta Township, Carroll Co., Ohio, where they settled. Here David Fimple was married to Hannah Dumbleton, a lady of English descent, some of her sisters being born in England, and whose parents came to this country a short time prior to date of her birth.

The early days of young Fimple, the subject of this sketch, were spent in working on the farm and in attending the district school of the neighborhood. He excelled in mathematics, and after completing his studies at this primary school he attended the high schools at Malvern and Minerva, in Carroll County, after which he entered college, completing a classical course at the Northwestern Ohio Normal School at Ada, Ohio, in 1880; subsequently he graduated at Mount Union College with the degree of A. B., in the class of 1882, taking the honors of the class as a public debater in the Literary Society of the institution to which he belonged. While attending college he worked upon the home farm during the summer seasons, and also taught school for the purpose of earning means with which to complete his studies at college. After leaving college he was principal of the schools at Northfield, Summit Co., Ohio, for one year, and also worked upon the farm one year. Always having been inclined to the study of the law, in the spring of 1884 he entered the office of the late Judge Robert Raley, as a student. In the fall of 1884 he took an active part in the campaign for Blaine and Logan, and the following year (1885) was elected representative from Carroll County to the State Assembly for the term of two years. During his first year in the Legislature, on May 4, 1886, Mr. Fimple was admitted to the bar, ranking second in the examination out of a class of forty-two, and immediately upon his admission to the bar he was offered and accepted a partnership in the practice of law with his former preceptor, Mr. Raley, which partnership continued until the latter' s appointment to the bench a short time afterward. Mr. Raley' s appointment to the bench leaving the business of the firm in Mr. Fimple' s hands, he then practiced alone for a while; but finding that, owing to his duties in the Legislature, his practice necessitated a partner, the firm of Fimple & Holder was formed, and subsequently Union C. De Ford, who had read law with Judge Raley and Mr. Fimple, was taken into partnership, the present firm of Fimple, Holder & De Ford then being formed.

During his first term in the General Assembly Mr. Fimple was active in temperance legislation, being the author of what was known as the "Fimple Local Option Bill," which, though the bill itself did not become a law, yet led to legislation which substantially embodied its provisions. In July, 1887, the faculty and trustees of Mount Union College conferred the degree of A. M. upon him, and during the same year he was re-elected to the Assembly for two years, during which time he served on the judiciary committee, and was also appointed by the speaker a member of a special committee which prepared and drafted the Constitutional Amendments submitted to a vote of the people at the general State election held in November, 1889. Shortly after the adjournment of the second session of the Sixty-eighth General Assembly, and prior to the expiration of his official term, Mr. Fimple was appointed a principal examiner of land claims and contests in the general land office at Washington, by the Harrison administration, at a salary of two thousand dollars per year, which position he still holds, though he has by no means given up his law practice, nor the permanency of his residence in Carroll County. He still retains an interest in the firm at Carrollton, and assists in the trial of important cases there; in fact he expects to abandon his official position at Washington at an early day, and give his attention exclusively to his law practice. Mr. Fimple is an avowed Protectionist, and has participated in several public debates in Carroll County and vicinity, and has spoken in nearly every political campaign since 1884. Although yet a young man, he stands second to none among his colleagues at the bar of Carroll County; and in the years that lie ahead of him the proper ambitions of his youth will no doubt be far excelled in the realities of the future. His ability as a debater, public orator and pleader is acknowledged to be of the highest order; and the force with which his reasonings and arguments are advanced, whether on the platform as a debater, or at the bar of justice as a pleader, seldom fail to carry convincement.

On December 3, 1888, Mr. Fimple was united in marriage with Miss Ida J. Patterson, of Augusta Township, Carroll County, daughter of John D. Patterson, and to them one child, Marie Hanora, was born December 8, 1890. In religion Mrs. Fimple is a Presbyterian, and Mr. Fimple, though a believer in and inclined to the Methodist faith, is not a member of any church; socially he is a Knight Templar Mason, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias.

Source: Commemorative Biographical Record of the counties of Harrison and Carroll, Ohio, containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, and of Many of the Early Settled Families, Chicago, J. H. Beers & Co., 1891

Welcome to The American History and Genealogy Project (AHGP), an unincorporated not-for-profit network of independent sites devoted to History & Genealogy, and covering North American Countries and Territories. For more information about our group, including how you can join us, please see our About page. This page was last updated Tuesday, 28-Feb-2017 19:49:02 EST. Webspace for this site is generously provided by     and This page is a free service to all Family Historians who are currently doing research in the Carroll County, Ohio area. It is not intended for commercial use. This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent of the contributor. All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited! Copyright © 2017~2024 by Carroll County AHGP