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Note: Thomas Lewis Edelen -- It cannot be denied that the Kentucky bar is one which has more than its quota of sound and brilliant reasoners and forensic lights, whose reputation extends far beyond the limits of the state. Naturally the greate
Note: st number of these are to be found in the capital city and among the most able representatives of the profession in Frankfort is Thomas Lewis Edelen. He is a native of Kentucky and like all true Kentuckians, very loyal to that state which gave him birth. The scenes upon which he first opened his eyes were in Harrodsburg, Mercer county, and the date of his nativity was December 28, 1857. The parents of Mr. Edelen were James H. and Mary (Lewis) Edelen, the former a native of Lebanon and the latter of Harrodsburg, and through their union the Scotch, English and Welsh elements are mingled in the veins of their son. The paternal grandfather, Leonard Edelen, was a native Kentuckian, and his wife bore the maiden name of Bruce. Her family was of Scotch origin, as is very evident by the name, and they had crossed the Atlantic at an early day, settling first in Virginia and subsequently comin over to Kentucky. The great-grandfather Edelen was a native of Maryland and the tracing of the lineage discovers his forbears living in England. The Welsh element enters through the mother of Mr. Edelen, the Lewis family in Kentucky being an old numerous one, coming originally from Virginia. James H. Edelen, the father of Thomas Lewis Edelen, was a drug merchant, and in 1858, the year following the birth of the subject, he moved from Harrodsburg to Lebanon, and it was in the latter city that both he and his wife died. They were the parents of two children, Mr. Edelen's sister havinbg become the wife of Mr. J.R. Gilkeson of Lebanon. Mr. Edelen passed his boyhood and youth in Lebanon and in private schools was prepared for college. In September, 1873, he entered what was then Centre College, at Danville, Kentucky, and in 1877 he was graduated from that institution with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. His unusual ability was evident even in his student days, and he received the honors of his class. He had already come to a conclusion as to his life work and immediately took up the study of law at Lebanon under William B. Harrison, and in January, 1879, was licensed to practice law. He hung out his shingle at Lebanon and practiced there until 1891, going through the usual experiences of the young lawyer, winning encouragement even from defeat, possibly staring at a blank wall for a time in the fashion of the Hon. Peter Sterling, but eventually finding himself and winning the double benefit of prestige and practice. In 1891 he located at Frankfort and his subsequent career has been most gratifying. He was in partnership with former Governor Knott until that gentleman became dean of the law department of Central University, and for the first three years of his residence in the capital city he was state reporter of the Kentucky court of appeals and issued meanwhile volumes 104, 105, 106 and 107 of the Kentucky Reports. He eventually formed a partnership with the late United States senator, William Lindsay, with whom he was associated from 1908 until the death of Senator Lindsay in October, 1909. At present he is associated with Mr. W. O. Davis in the practice of the law and their partnership is one of recognized strength and reliability. Mr. Edelen is one of Kentucky's prominent Republicans and is very active in the futherance of the policies of the party. His lodge relations are confined to membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and he is Presbyterian in religious faith. On November 19, 1884, Mr. Edelen forsook the ranks of the bachelors, taking as the lady to preside over his household Miss Eliza Bull, of St. Louis, Missour. She is a native of St. Louis and a daughter of John C. Bull. They have three children: Lida P., J. Leonard and Mary Lewis Edelen. Another daughter, Ruth by name, died at the age of four years. Mr. Edelen's activities are not confined to the legal profession and among his other interests in the Capital Trust Company of Frankfort, of which he is president. The Lewis Edelen Garrison source shows that Thomas Edelen was born at Harrodsburg, Mercer Co., Kentucky THOMAS LEWIS EDELEN, of Frankfort, was born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, December 28, 1857. His father, James H. Edelen, a merchant of that place, was a native of Marion county, Kentucky, and a representative of one of the old families of Maryland, its founders in Kentucky coming from Carroll county, of that state, in the early part of the present century. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Mary S. Lewis, and was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, a daughter of Thomas Lewis, a merchant at Harrodsburg, who in an early day came to Kentucky from "the cradle of the American nation," Virginia. Thomas L. Edelen acquired his education in the academic schools of Lebanon, Kentucky, and at Center (Centre) College, of Danville, graduating at the latter institution in 1877. His choice of a profession which he wished to make his life work fell upon the law, and he began preparation for its practice as a student in the law office of W. B. Harrison, of Lebanon, Kentucky, being admitted to the bar in January, 1879. He practiced as a member of the Lebanon bar until September, 1891, when he removed to Frankfort and entered into partnership with Hon. J. Proctor Knott, ex-congressman and ex-govenor of Kentucky and now dean of the law department of Center (Centre) college, of Danville, Kentucky. Mr. Edelen has since continued a member of the Frankfort bar and has been retained on many important cases. He represented the public printer and secretary of state of Kentucky in the case of Miller versus Johnson, which involved the question of the legality of the adoption of the constitution in 1891, and was also retained as counsel on the case of Norman, state auditor, versus the Kentucky Board of State Managers, involving the legality of the appropriation made by the legislature to the Columbian Exposition at Chicago. His practice for years has been almost exclusively in civil cases and before the court of appeals. A close and through student, Mr. Edelen never approaches a case without completely mastering all of its phases, and his argument of a law point is concise and thorough, leaving nothing unsaid. A man of the very highest integrity, with character unimpeachable, his success is the result of constant application, and a regard for the interests confided to his care, which are watched and protected as his own. On the 19th of November, 1884, was consummated the marriage of Mr. Edelen and Miss Eliza Bull, daughter of John C. Bull, of St. Louis, a prominent business man of the Missouri metropolis. They have two children, Lida Payne and James Leonard. The family attend the Presbyterian church and Mr. Edelen is serving as deacon therein. (Lawyers and Lawmakes of Kentucky, by H. Levin, editor, 1897. Published by Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago., p. 182) The WorldConnect Project - Wood and Edelen Family History source shows his date of birth as December 1, 1857. James L. Edelen, Detroit, Michigan, was the informant for his death certificate.
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