W. B. Glasse

HON. W. B. GLASSE, who since the fall of 1902 has been judge of the Eleventh Judicial District of Kansas, comprising Cherokee County, is one of the leading men of this section of the State. He was born in Harrison County, Ohio, August 21, 1840.

On both paternal and maternal lines, Judge Glasse comes of pioneer ancestry. His paternal grandfather brought his family from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1802, before it had been made a State, and located about 50 miles north of the Ohio River, in what was then the outermost settlement. There he lived until his death. The father of Judge Glasse was the eldest son of this pioneer family, and his life was spent on his lands located near the dividing lines of Tuscarawas and Carroll counties. On the maternal side, Grandfather Rouse brought his family to Belmont County, Ohio, from Maryland, about 1809. He assisted in building the first church in the wilderness of Belmont County. Later the family settled in the vicinity of the Glasse homestead, in Carroll County. Of Judge Glasse's two brothers, one died in young manhood, and the other, Jacob Glasse, has been a farmer in Johnson County, Missouri, since 1867.

W. B. Glasse was educated in the common schools of his own locality and at the Hagerstown Academy, and began to teach school in his early manhood. The Civil War found him ready to lay aside the hopes and ambitions which he had been cherishing, and on August 2, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, 126th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., in which he was later commissioned sergeant. Hardships and exposure brought on a state of health which caused his discharge at Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 1863, but in 1864, he returned to the service, as Captain of Company B, 170th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., and served through the succeeding four months.

In the fall of 1866, he went to Ann Harbor, Michigan, where he pursued the study of the law, and taught school at intervals until the close of the college term in 1868. He then came West and spent a short time in Johnson County, Missouri, and in 1869 settled at Oswego, Kansas, where he was admitted to practice. During his residence here, he became a prominent man of affairs, and was elected in the fall of 1880 to the State Senate from Labette County. His abilities were soon recognized and made him an acceptable partner of some of the leading jurists of the State. In the fall of 1869, he formed a partnership, which continued for four years, with J. J. Brown, now of Spokane, Washington. This was followed by association, for nine years, with Hon. H. G. Webb, who was formerly judge of the Eleventh Judicial District. After the dissolution of this partnership, in 1883, Judge Glasse practiced alone for two years, and then entered upon a partnership with Hon. Nelson Case, which continued for eight and a half years, and was terminated by Judge Glasse's removal to Columbus. In June, 1893, he entered into business with C. D. Ashley, at Columbus, a partnership which continued for two and a half years. Judge Glasse again practiced alone until 1900, when he became associated with Col. R. W. Blue, and this connection was continued until Judge Glasse was elected to the bench. His long career has brought him the emoluments of successful business, and the valued confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. He is noted for just those qualities which bring honor upon his position, profound legal knowledge, unerring judgment and rigid impartiality in the consideration of judicial questions.

Judge Glasse married a Miss Fuller, who belongs to a prominent Michigan family, and they have five children. viz: Amy; Carey S.; Paul, a student of law; Millie; and Helen. The religious association of the family is with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Fraternally, Judge Glasse belongs to the Masons, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Grand Army of the Republic. Personally, he is very popular, his circle of friends extending through a large section.

History of Cherokee County Kansas and its representative citizens, ed. & comp. by Nathaniel Thompson Allison, 1904, transcribed by Carolyn Ward, instructor from USD 508, Baxter Springs Middle School, Baxter Springs, Kansas, 3/11/97.