Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/477

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES sional world, he commanded the rcs]Kct and the esteem of the entire communit)-. He was an active and consistent member of the Bap­ tist Church, and held many of the churdi offices. T o his m arriage w as Imm one child, , Robert R . M rs. Little died Ju n e to, 1890, and Ephraim II. Little died Ju n e 10. 1900— ju st ten years apart to a day. Robert R. Little was eight years old when his parents moved from Berw ick to Blooms­ burg. and there he was rcarc<l. receiving a good education in the Bloomsburg State Normal School, from which he w as graduated in 1872. H e sul«ci|ucntly entered the U niversity of Rochester, at Rochester, N . Y .. and then at­ tended Hamilton College, at Clinton, N . Y . In 18 7 3 he entered his father's office and ap­ plied mmscif with such diligence as to be able to pass (he bar examination tvs'o years later, i l c immediately liecame his father's )>artncr. and they practiced under the firm name of K. H . and R . R . Little until the fo n iicr's re ­ tirement. The Ju d gc subsequently practiced alone, and had a large and profitable clien­ tage among the leading citizens and business men. A n u n o f great energy and indomitable w ill, he w as untiring in the prosecution o f every case he undertook. H e was elected dis­ trict attorney o f Columbia county for two term s, serving from Ja n . t, 1878, filled out tw o terms as county solicitor, and w as also solicitor for the borough one term. On N ov. 8 . i8g8, he was elected president judge of the 26th district, which position he w as hold­ in g at (he time o f his death, which occurred Feb. 26. 1906, at Bloomsburg. where he is buried, in Rosemont cemetery. Ilis death w as regarded as a public loss, fo r he had been in­ tim ately associated with various phases of the li f e of the community. H e w as a trustee o f th e Bloomsburg State Norm al School, a mcml>cr o f W ashington I.odge. No. 2O5. F . & A . M ., and w as connected with the Baptist C hurch. He w as a popuUr w orker in the Democratic ju r ty and had served as chair­ m an of the standing committee in Columbia county. On Oct. 15 . 1878, -Mr. Little n urried DeiKtrah T . Tustin, a daughter o f Rev. J . P. T u stin and Catherine A . Nicely, o f Blooms­ b u rg, and she survives him, continuing to m ak e her home in Bloumsburg. The follow­ in g children were born to this m arriage: ( l ) H e n ry Joscjih, a graduate of the dc|tarimcnt o f veterinary .science of the L’ niversity o f Pennsylvania, married Mabel Rogers, o f M u n cy, P a., and has three children, Rolicrt G eo rge, Rebecca R . and Elcnora T . ( 2 ) J o ­

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siah T . w as form criy located at the Union stockyards, Lancaster, F a., as assistant to Dr. Johnston, and is now taking a course as vcteriiiarian in the U niversity o f Pennsylvania. H e married Carola Gunton, of Bloomsburg, and has one son, Llewellyn G . ( 3 ) Catherine T . is a member of the cUtss o f 19 15, Blooms­ burg State Norm al School. F R E D T A Y L O R I K E L E R, son o f E lija h R. and Helena (.Arm strong) Ikclcr, w as bom in Bloomsburg A u g. 12, 1870. H e w as a pupil of the local public schools, graduating with high honors. T he next step in his education w as taken when he enrolled as a student at the Bloontsburg State N ornu l School. Upon the completion o f his course in that institu­ tion he became a student in Lafayette C o l l i e , I'^ston, Pa., from which he graduated in 1 8 ^ . Thus before the young man lu d attained his m ajority he had passed through three phases u f educational activity, assimilating the knowledge that w as to be the basic foundation for a future career. Through inherent ability, and by virtue o f a striking legacy o f talent, with which he w as endowed by being his fa­ ther's son, the youth had long considered fo l­ lowing the law as a profession. T his desire had b ^ n instilled into his heart from the days o f childhood, when from his father’s knee he had watched the panorama of the courts of the county. O ver thirty years later the exam ple set by Fred T aylo r Ikclcr w as followexl by Stew art Ikeler, his own son, whose diminutive figure lu s already become a fa ­ m iliar sight in a n>ore modem courthouse. It w as natural, therefore, tlu t the young graduate should turn to the practice of the profession for which he had been preparing. I'hc year following his graduation from L a ­ fayette College he was admitted to the bar of Columbia county. From that beginning Mr. Ikclcr has attained a position in his profession that ranks him among the leading attorneys of the State. H is l ^ a l practice, extending to every section of the Commonwealth, is now so extensive that he lu s been compelled to alundon criminal work altogether. Through (he passing years hts reputation a s a resource­ ful law yer, gifted with an argumcntati%'e and analytical mind, a keen and most eloquent tongue, together with an intinutc and most minute fam iliarity with the ramifications o f legal procedures, has steadily increased, and his practice of the present day is almost wholly dcvotcil to the interests o f nu n y of the larger corporations of the time. Among his clients arc numbered the Delaware, Lack­