Bio of HALE, Hon. William Edward (b.1845 d.1922), Hennepin Co., MN
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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; 
Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. 
Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); 
volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical

HON. WILLIAM EDWARD HALE - Vol III, pg 164-167
Hon. William Edward Hale, who for almost thirteen years was judge of the
district court at Minneapolis and who for a half century was a resident of this
city, came to the northwest from Wheeling, West Virginia, his birth having there
occurred on the llth of May, 1845, his parents being Isaiah Bryan Burr and Mary
E. (Covey) Hale. The father was a lawyer by profession and was a direct
descendant of Samuel Hale, who, coming from England during the early period of
colonization in the new world, settled at Glastonbury, Connecticut, in the year
1637. He served in the early Indian wars and later representatives of the family
loyally espoused the cause of the colonies in the Revolutionary war. Members of
the family have also taken prominent and helpful part in civic affairs in
various sections of the. country for many years, the number including James T.
Hale, congressman from Pennsylvania, and Gideon Wells, the great naval
secretary.
In his youthful days William Edward Hale visited Minnesota in company with his
father and in 1860 returned to this state, settling at Plainview, where he was
resid­ing when in 1861, aroused by the attempt of the south to overthrow the
Union, he en­listed, in the Third Minnesota Infantry. He served for three years
in defense of the Stars and Stripes, at the end of which time he received an
honorable discharge, being not yet twenty-one years of age when he left the
army. He afterward entered Hamline University, then located at Red Wing,
Minnesota, where he pursued a three years' collegiate course and thus in broad
and liberal literary training laid the foundation upon which to build the
superstructure of professional knowledge. Subsequently he became a law student
in the office of Judge Wilder of Red Wing and after thorough preliminary reading
was admitted to the bar in 1869. He next located in Buffalo, Wright county,
Minnesota, where he practiced his profession, and while there residing was
elected to the office of county attorney, in which position he continued to
serve for two years.
It was in 1872 that Judge Hale came to Minneapolis, where he continued to make
his home until his demise, and in 1878 he was elected county attorney of
Hennepin county, while later he was reelected for a second term. He made a
notable record in the practice of law, advancing steadily in his chosen
profession from the outset of his career. No dreary novitiate awaited him, for
he soon gave proof of his ability to handle intricate and involved legal cases
and find ready solution for the vexed problems that frequently come before the
court. He practiced in partnership with Judge Seagrave Smith from 1877 until
1880 and afterward was associated with Judge C. M. Pond, under the firm style of
Hale & Pond. His next partner was Charles B. Peck, with whom he formed the firm
of Hale & Peck, and this eventually became Hale & Montgomery. Judge Hale showed
marked aptitude in the work of the courts, presenting his cause clearly,
cogently and forcefully and winning many favorable verdicts. In 1909 he was
elected a judge of the district court and continued to serve upon the bench
until his demise, his record as a jurist being in harmony with his record as a
man and lawyer characterized by an intimate and accurate knowledge of the law
and by marked fidelity to every duty entrusted to his care.
Judge Hale was united in marriage to Miss Ella C. Sutherland, a daughter of
James Sutherland of Michigan, and they became the parents of three children:
Helen, the widow of Shepard A. Ainsworth, mentioned on another page of this
work; Frank C., living at Redondo Beach, California; and Florence, the wife of
Daniel Agnew of Detroit, Michigan. The wife and mother passed away in 1912,
while the death of Judge Hale occurred July 13, 1922, when he was seventy-seven
years of age. He be­longed to Rollins Post of the Grand Army of the Republic and
also to the Hennepin County Bar Association. Throughout Minneapolis were heard
expressions of regret when he passed away and much testimony concerning his
well-spent life and his value as a citizen. He had ever fully sustained the
dignity and honor of the court and he was a candidate for reelection when his
life's labors were ended.