Sunday, 1st July 1917: Hugh M. Dorsey, State’s New Chief Executive, Is Lawyer And A Farmer, The Atlanta Journal

ONE OF THE LATEST AND ONE OF THE BEST PICTURES of Governor Dorsey, recently taken at Stephenson's Studio, in Atlanta. Governor Dorsey is a young man and shows it.

He Comes by the Law Naturally, His Father, the Late Judge Rufus T. Dorsey, Being a Leader at Atlanta Bar

Hugh Manson Dorsey, the new governor of Georgia, is one of the youngest men who ever held the high office of chief executive, but while young in years, he is a man of inherent ability and mature experience.

Mr. Dorsey's father before him was a lawyer, being for years one of the leaders at the Atlanta bar, and it was natural for him to enter the profession likewise chosen by two of his brothers.

The late Judge Rufus T. Dorsey, father of the new governor, moved to Atlanta in 1879 from Fayette county, where he was one of the prominent lawyers of the old Coweta circuit. He formed with Judge William Wright, a former judge of that circuit, the law firm of Wright & Dorsey. Later he formed with Judge John S. Bigbee, also a former judge of the Coweta circuit, the law firm of Bigbee & Dorsey. In these two firms he practiced for several years, and then formed the law firm of Dorsey, Brewster & Howell, his partners being Colonel P. H. Brewster and Albert Howell, Jr.

Before the formation of the last named partnership Judge Dorsey was engaged in practically every criminal case of note in Fulton county. When the firm of Dorsey, Brewster & Howell was organized he gave up criminal practice and devoted himself exclusively to civil cases.

While judge of the city court of Atlanta, before it was divided into a criminal and a civil division, Judge Dorsey had the distinction of being sustained in every case appealed from his decision. He died on February 3, 1909, a venerable and respected man who was loved by a host of friends throughout the state.

Governor Dorsey was born on July 10, 1871, in Fayette county, before his father moved to Atlanta. Coming here at the age of eight years with his family, he entered the public schools of the city and began his education.

He attended Crew street school, Walker street school, Prof. John Isan's private school, Prof. M. L. Parker's private school at Hartwell, Ga., and entered the University of Georgia in 1889.

HUGH MANSON DORSEY, STATE'S NEW EXECUTIVE, IS LAWYER AND FARMER

(Continued from Page 1.)

CLASSMATES OF GOVERNOR.

Among the class and college mates of Governor Dorsey at the University of Georgia were the following:

Harry A. Alexander, of Atlanta; Harry Hodgson, of Athens; Walter A. Warren, of Atlanta; George Hillyer, Jr., of Atlanta; Eugene Dodd, of Atlanta; Louis Camak, of Athens; Sam L. Olive, of Augusta, president of the state senate just convened; John N. Holder, of Jefferson, speaker of the house of representatives just convened.

Mr. Dorsey graduated from the University of Georgia in the class of 1893, taking the A. B. degree. Afterwards he took a course in law at the University of Virginia and entered the employ of his father's law firm of Dorsey, Brewster and Heyman. After some years in this connection he was admitted into partnership in the firm together with Arthur Heyman, and the firm name became Dorsey, Brewster, Howell & Heyman.

On the death of Judge Dorsey in 1909, Governor Dorsey became the head of the firm, and remained so until his withdrawal in August, 1916.

Following the death of the late Charles D. Hill in 1910, Governor Dorsey was appointed solicitor general of Fulton superior court to serve his unexpired term, the appointment coming from Governor Joseph M. Brown. At the next election he was elected for the full term.

Previous to his appointment as solicitor general, Mr. Dorsey had taken quite an active and frequent part in politics in behalf of his friends but had never offered for public office.

During his occupancy of the office of solicitor general he prosecuted four of the most famous criminal cases in the history of the state.

First was the Grace case, in which Mrs. Daisy Opie Grace was tried on the charge of shooting her husband, Eugene Grace, who was paralyzed by the shot and afterwards died. Mrs. Grace pleaded guilty to firing the shot, but claimed it was accidentally fired in a scuffle with her husband, and the jury acquitted her. She left Atlanta soon afterwards and went back to Philadelphia, where Grace had married her.

Next comes the case of Mrs. Callie Scott Applebaum, charged with the murder of her husband, Jerome Applebaum, a traveling man who was shot and killed in a hotel at the corner of North Pryor street and Houston street. In this case the jury also returned a verdict for the defendant.

FAMOUS FRANK CASE.

After the Applebaum trial came the famous case of Leo M. Frank, tried and convicted of the murder of little Mary Phagan. Solicitor Dorsey's prosecution of this case not only brought him prominence throughout the state, but carried his name all over the country. No other criminal case in Georgia or the south has ever attracted such widespread attention. The trial lasted a month and aroused the most intense interest. It resulted in Frank's conviction. Solicitor Dorsey successfully fought all Frank's appeals to the courts.

The fourth famous case to be tried by Georgia's new governor was that of Victor E. Innes and his wife, Mrs. Ida May Innes, on a charge of larceny after trust in connection with the mysterious disappearance of the Nelms sisters, Eloise and Beatrice, whose sensational case likewise aroused universal interest throughout the country. Solicitor Dorsey procured the extradition of the Inneses to Georgia from Texas after fighting the case to the United States Supreme Court. He brought them to Atlanta and indicted them on a charge of larceny after trust. Both were convicted on this charge.

ESIGNS SOLICITORSHIP

On July 1, 1916, Mr. Dorsey resigned the office of solicitor and entered the race for governor. In August he withdrew from the law firm of Dorsey, Brewster, Howell & Heyman. His success is too recent to need recounting. He was overwhelmingly elected over the opposition of Governor Nat E. Harris, Dr. L. G. Hardman and Joseph E. Pottle.

Since the election the governor elect has spent practically all of his time in retirement. He has a farm in the north end of Fulton county which furnishes him the recreation found by other men in golf or hunting or fishing. He used to ride horseback a great deal, but lately has not kept a mount.

On June 29, 1911, Mr. Dorsey married Miss Adair Wilkinson, of Valdosta, one of the most widely known and popular young women of the state, whose family are very prominent in south Georgia. Two sons have come to bless their home Hugh Manson Dorsey, Jr., aged five years, and James Wilkinson Dorsey, aged three years.

The new governor's mother, who survived Judge Rufus T. Dorsey, lives in Atlanta, and the governor's brothers live here. They are Dr. R. T. Dorsey, who was called "Dutch" in his college days and was a star on the Auburn football team; Cam D. Dorsey, an Atlanta lawyer, who starred on the University of Georgia team; Roy Dorsey, the law partner of Cam D. Dorsey, the governor's sisters are Mrs. S. B. Yow, of Lavonia, Ga., and Mrs. Luther Z. Rosser, Jr., of Atlanta.

Governor Dorsey is a member of the Capital City and Piedmont Driving clubs, a member of Trinity Methodist church, and lives on Peachtree road. His home in a few days will be in the governor's mansion at Peachtree and Cain streets.