ter Academy, and at Brown College, whence he graduated with high honors in 1856. Entering the Harvard Law School, he took his degree of bachelor of laws in 1858. In 1859 he was admitted to the Suffolk Bar, and entered the office of Judge Benjamin F. Thomas. In 1861 he married a daughter of Judge Thomas; and they have two daughters, who are married. His promi nence in the profession did not begin at his admission to the bar. Before he had been long in the Law School, he was picked out by his instructors as a young man of uncommon good judgment, of trained meth ods of thought, of unusual acumen. As a student his industry fairly amounted to a rapacity of learning. From the time he entered Judge Thomas's office until the judge's death twenty years afterwards, the relations of these two men, both professionally and otherwise, were very close. They were constantly employed together in the same cases; and as the younger man matured, he grew to be more and more his elder's associate rather than his junior. There was a sympathy and congeniality of mind in both men that pro duced striking results in the preparation and presentation of their cases. In 1860 practice at the Suffolk Bar was diversified. No lawyer, except the convey ancer and some of the criminal lawyers, confined himself strictly and exclusively to any special branch of the profession. By 1880 this specializing had made consider able headway; in 1893 it has engulfed the profession. But from the beginning Mr. Olney's practice led more especially into two chan nels, — the law of wills and estates and the law of corporations. Upon both he is a recognized authority. His clearness of per ception and soundness of intellect, aided by his profound knowledge of the law and his truly judicial quality of mind, gave him peculiar advantages In leading his clients to a safe and sure position. In his work he is always prompt and
thorough. These are attributes which can not be commended too highly to members of the legal profession. No man can be really successful as a lawyer unless he does his work promptly and thoroughly. Noth ing appeals so certainly to a business man seeking legal counsel or direction. It is natural, therefore, that Mr. Olney should have gained a most enviable reputation as a chamber counsel. To a remarkable force of intellect he has joined an indefatigable industry, supplement ing both by a splendid physical constitu tion. Such a combination in a lawyer is capable of great results, and Mr. Olney has taken entire advantage of these gifts. He is a hard student and an omnivorous reader. All literature, legal and otherwise, is grist to his mill. His preparation of cases is so complete that they come to trial but rarely. He in variably familiarizes himself with every aspect of the case. Hence the settlement of a case by him means that his client gets all that he is entitled to. His breadth of view is so comprehensive, his honesty and fairness are so well recognized, and his judicial temperament is so thoroughly appreciated by opposing counsel and by all the parties, that his ultimatum is generally accepted. As a junior Mr. Olney was always of the greatest help to his senior associates. His accumulation of facts and marshalling of the evidence, and his application of the law pertaining to the case in hand, gave his seniors unlimited confidence that they had their whole case within reach. His faultless logic and his ingenuity of mind could always be depended upon to help them over a rough spot or around a sharp corner. But of late years it is as senior coun sel only that Mr. Olney has appeared in cases. There the same great legal qualities already spoken of have won the admiration of his juniors. But more than that, the courtesy, kindness, and patience shown his younger associates have been unfailing, and
