Nelson Cobb

Nelson Cobb (March 19, 1811 – June 16, 1894) was the second chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court from December 28, 1862, to January 5, 1864.

Life, education and early career Born March 19, 1811, in Windham, Greene County, New York, Cobb was educated at the common schools, moving with his family moved to Genesee County, New York, in 1826, where he lived on a farm with his father. He gained admission to the bar, and moved to Ellicottville, Cattaraugus County, New York, where he practiced his profession until 1859, serving two terms as county judge.

Although his age has exempted him from military duty in the American Civil War he joined Captain Cracklin's company and took part in the defence of his home-town. After Lawrence was sacked by William Quantrill a new independent militia company was formed including Cobb as a private, which was subsequently mustered into the state militia. The appointment was until the end of the unexpired term vacated by Judge Ewing with the next election to be held in 1863.

He served on the supreme bench for just over a year from December 28, 1862, to January 5, 1864. While there he wrote the opinions of the court in fifteen cases. He also served as a special circuit judge on occasions.

Death and acknowledgment He died June 16, 1894, aged 84 at his home 2535 Oak Street, Kansas City, Missouri (no longer standing). He had lived in Kansas City for over a quarter of a century.

On the occasion of his death the Supreme Court of Kansas passed the following resolution and ordered it spread upon the journal of the court: "Resolved, That in the death of Nelson Cobb, who with honor and distinction presided over this court in the earlier years of its history, we mourn the loss of a good man ani an able jurist—a loss that comes as a profound personal bereavement to those of his professional brethren who had the good fortune to know him. We will ever cherish the memory of the deceased, who, as lawyer, judge, citizen, and neighbor, always had the highest respect and esteem of his fellows"

His most distinguished mental traits were his powers of analysis and expression. He had a remarkable faculty for seizing the essential points of a case, of excluding all that was merely subordinate to the principal question, and bringing the latter into clear light for determination.