work that should promise him a living, though he clung to the hope of ultimately making the law his profession. As it happened, his journey ended at Buffalo, New York. Near this city dwelt an uncle, Lewis F. Allen, who was then engaged in compiling an "American Herd Book," in which task he asked his nephew to help him. After completing this work he succeeded in securing through the assistance of his uncle a place with the law firm of Rogers, Bowen and Rogers, of Buffalo. He worked for a number of months without any compensation save the opportunity to study for the legal profession. There is a story told of some especial interest and significance in illustrating his earnestness in the study of the law. It is to the effect that in his first day's reading he became so absorbed in a law book and his presence in the office was so little regarded that when the dinner hour arrived he looked up from his book to find the office empty and that he was locked in. As a boy he evidently possessed the capacity for steady work and the resolute purpose which marked his later life and so often insured success. With these were a practical wisdom and a sturdy devotion to what he considered his duty which were his chief characteristics in his remarkable career.
He was admitted to the bar in 1859, but remained with Rogers, Bowen and Rogers as their managing clerk until 1862, when advancement came, through his appointment as assistant district attorney of Erie county. He entered upon the duties of this position on the first of January, 1863. The Civil war was then in progress and the ranks of the army were being filled by conscription. His father had died ten years before, two of his brothers were in the military service, and the duty of supporting his mother and sisters fell upon him; and that they might not he left in destitution when he was drafted for military service, he borrowed the money necessary to hire a substitute, thus incurring a debt which it took him several years to pay.
In 1865 he was candidate for the office of district attorney, but was defeated. He now formed a legal partnership with Isaac V. Vanderpool, this firm being followed in 1869 by that of Lanning, Cleveland and Folsom. Diligence, intelligence and practical knowledge of the law had by this time won him a successful practice, while he had gained a prominence in the councils of his party, the Democratic, which brought him in 1870 the nomination for sheriff of Erie county. His election followed, and during his three years in this office he made a favorable impression upon all with whom he had
