James OLDS

  General Notes:

JAMES OLDS, attorney at law; Mt. Gilead. One of the oldest practicing attorneys of the Morrow Co. bar is Mr. James Olds; he was born in Westfield Tp., Morrow Co., Ohio, Oct. 4, 1823, and is the son of Benjamin and Abigail (Washburn) Olds; his mother was born in Now York, and his father in Pennsylvania; both parents having come to Ohio at an early day, being among the first families of Westfield Tp., then Delaware Co., where they married. Mr. Olds' father was a farmer and a local preacher; he filled several offices of public trust in Delaware Co.-Justice of the Peace, and Commissioner; he was born in 1795, and died in 1862, leaving a wife and family to mourn his loss;. Mrs. Olds is now living in Mt. Gilead, at the ripe age of 74 years. - Our subject remained on the farm until he was 18, when he set out seeking an education; he engaged in teaching school for a short time, when he entered the law office of Judge Finch, of Delaware, and began reading law; after remaining there a few years, he was admitted to practice at Delaware; in 1848, he came to Mt. Gilead, and began his chosen profession, where he has been engaged ever since; to-day he enjoys a leading practice at the Morrow Co. Bar, being of the firm of Olds & Dickey, which is one of the leading law firms of central Ohio. During the late civil war Mr. Olds took an active part in recruiting Co. D, 65th O. V. I. of which regiment he was made Major, and served faithfully for one year, when he resigned and returned to Mt. Gilead, where he has since been in the practice, of law.