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Augustus J. Ricks, son of Charles F. and Regina Marguerite (La Pierre) Ricks, was born February 10, 1843, near Massillon, Ohio. His father came from a rich Prussian family and his mother was the daughter of a French officer. Following the tide of immigration to America at the turn of the nineteenth century, Ricks' parents settled in Massillon, Ohio where Charles Ricks became a leading business man and also served as postmaster. His paternal grandfather engaged in the commercial transportation business and owned a large number of horses and wagons for the transportation of goods from city to city, all of which Napoleon seized for the use of the French army in its German campaign of 1813.1
Ricks obtained his early scholastic training in the public schools of Massillon and entered Kenyon College in 1861, but left at the end of the first year to enlist in the Union army. Receiving a commission from the governor of Ohio as a first lieutenant of volunteers, he aided the citizens of Massillon in their recruitment drives and the organization of the 104th Regiment, Ohio Volunteers Infantry. While serving in Kentucky from 1862 to 1863, Ricks joined General Burnsides' march into East Tennessee. Upon entering Knoxville he was made post adjutant and developed an attachment for the city which resulted in his subsequent location there. Ricks was at the capture of the Cumberland Gap, the siege of Knoxville, and later served in the Atlanta campaign. In June, 1865, Captain Ricks was serving as aid-de-camp on the staff of Major General J. D. Cox in North Carolina when the war ended.2
After his discharge, Ricks returned to Massillon. In September of 1865, he moved to Knoxville, Tennessee to read law in the office of Judge John Baxter of the U.S. Circuit Court, Sixth Circuit. In 1866, he became a member of the Knoxville firm of Baxter, Champion and Ricks. By 1870, Ricks had helped establish the Knoxville Daily Chronicle, the only Republican daily paper then published in the South. He continued as one of the editors until September, 1875, when he returned to Massillon to resume his practice of law. He entered into partnership with Judge Anson Pease, forming the law firm of Ricks & Pease.
In March, 1878, Judge John Baxter appointed Ricks as clerk of the United States Circuit Court for the Northern District of Ohio. In 1886, he was reappointed by Judge Martin Welker. From 1878 to 1889, Ricks acted as standing master in chancery for the Northern District of Ohio, and during that time he decided many important cases arising out of the foreclosure of what was then known as the "Narrow-Gauge System" of railroads connecting Cincinnati, Toledo and the St. Louis, the Wabash and other railroads. Involved were issues in marshaling, mortgage and other liens, and claims against railroads, and relating to the powers and authority of the U. S. Courts in the operation of railroads through receivers. Many of Ricks' reports as master were reviewed by the Supreme Court and all were sustained.
On July 1, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Ricks to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Judge Welker. He served until January, 1901, when ill health forced him to slow down.3 He died December 22, 1906 while on a visit to New York City.
Although Judge Ricks left Kenyon College during his sophomore year, he maintained an interest in the college by delivering lectures in common law and code of pleading. In 1895, Kenyon College conferred an honorary LL.D. upon Judge Ricks for his accomplishments.
On February 21, 1867, Judge Ricks married Emma Elizabeth Atwater. They were the parents of three children: Charles A., Mary H. (Ricks) Rounds, and Theodore A. Ricks. |
