Kansas City School of Law - Pandex Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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JUDGE FRANCIS M. BLACK

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Elvis lpear Jbook, of the class of 1905 of the lkansas Gilto School of law, is oeotcateo to the jfacultp, bp vobose liberal ano generous aio its pub- lication was maoe possible. I asf, Q9yg D. P. Tl1'0HS0fY, 0FFl0ML PHUTOGHIPHEH. ,

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FRANCIS MARION BLACK. 5 9 HERE are three chief sources of inspiration, first, the forces and aptitudes within us g second, the record, ex- periences and thoughts of those who live in the booksg third, the strong characters we have personally known. , Francis M. Black was born July 26, 1836, in Cham- paign County, Ohio. He was a farmer's son. He was born under a happy star, in this : that every circum- stance and surrounding of his boyhood ministered to the development of physical strength and mental stamina, to the creation of sturdy self-reliance and ambitious eifort. He was completely fashioned to guide strong young men along strong lines. In a log district school house he began and continued his studies, as far as his home duties permitted, whilst his vacations were constantly spent in farm labor. His further education, as far as it was at all made depend- ent upon others, was completed by a one year's attendance at the high school of Urbana, and a three year's course at Farmer's College of Ohio. Here he mastered the English branches and literature with a thoroughness that made strong and clear his writings in after lifeg whilst his excellency in moral philosophy and higher mathematics not alone won him college honors, but far better created that love and power for thorough investiga- tion that peculiarly distinguished his subsequent labors. At the age of twenty-eight he was admitted to practice at the bar of the Supreme Court of his native state: but almost immediately his ambition sought newer iields. It is uncertain why he selected Kansas City as the 'deld of his future labors. It surely then seemed not the land of promise, it was passing through the stormy and meagre days of its history. Legal services were not here and then richly rewarded. The country was poor, war-ridden, and sparsely settled. Everything was scattered, save money. But there is a destiny which shapes our ends, and it is doubtful if this self-reliant, determined young worker could have made a happier choice. 5