Henry Brown Fallass
Henry Brown Fallass,_Among the jurists who have gained distinction at the Kent county bar is the gentleman whose name appears at the beginning of this article. He has long been considered one of the leading men of the legal profession in western Michigan, a man of scholarly tastes and profound learning, a political economist of more than local reputation, and withal a gentleman signally free from ostentation, highly esteemed by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.
John W. and Phebe (Brown) Fallass, parents of Henry B. Fallass, were natives of Madison and Tompkins counties, N. Y., where the ancestors of their respective families settled at a very early period of the country’s history. John W. Fallass came to Michigan when a young man in 1837 and located at what has since been known as Fallassburg, Kent county, where he built a mill and early began the manufacture of lumber and flour. Going back to his native state in 1842 he there married, and with his bride returned to the county of Kent, and until the year 1875 continued to operate his mill. In that year he disposed of his mill to his sons and turned his attention to his farm, which he cultivated until his death, November 5, 1896. His wife
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preceded him to the grave, departing this life in the year 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Falllass were excellent people and left the impress of their lives indelibly fixed upon the community which they assisted in founding. Mr. Fallass was a man of extended reputation by reason of his superior mental attainments, and for many years was a leader in the M. E. church, and a republican politician of the old school. His popularity was not confined to the limits of the neighborhood where he lived for more than half a century, but his name was long a synonym for manliness and uprightness of character in communities far remote from his place of residence. John W. and Phebe Fallass, were the parents of two children, the subject of this sketch and Charles W., a merchant of Petosky, Mich.
Henry Brown Fallass was born on the old homestead in Fallassburg, Kent county, on the 13thy day of May, 1846. His youthful years were spent under the parental roof, and the public school of the neighborhood furnished the means of a common English education, which was afterward supplemented by a commercial course in the Bryant & Stratton Business college, Detroit. Until his eighteenth year he assisted his father in the mill, and from that time until twenty-two he was engaged in teaching in the common schools of Kent county. His reputation in the educational field brought him into prominent notice, so much so, in fact, that in the year 1868 he was elected superintendent of the Kent county public schools, a position which he filled two terms. In the meantime he began the study of law, and after the expiration of his official term entered the office of Hughes, O’Brien & Smiley, Grand Rapids, where he pursued his reading one year, and during the succeeding year received instruction from Judge Holmes. The further to increase his legal knowledge, Mr. Fallass entered the law department of the university of Michigan, from which he was graduated in 1875 and immediately thereafter was admitted to the bar and became associated in the practice with C. H. Gleason, under the firm name of Fallass & Gleason. The partnership thus formed continued three years, and for about seven years Mr. Fallass and Elvin Swarthout constituted one of the leading law firms of Grand Rapids. For several years past Mr. Fallass has been alone in the practice, and he is now one of the leading lawyers of the Kent county bar. His name appears in connection with many of the most important cases ever adjudicated in the courts of this city, and not infrequently has he been retained as counsel in equally important litigation elsewhere. Mr. Fallass is a close student, and through a long and successful practice has become thoroughly familiar with the underlying principles of his profession. He prepares his cases with the utmost skill and precision, and his dignified presence and earnestness of manner indicate his thorough familiarity with the contested points. He is logical in argument, clear in his reasoning, forceful in delivery, and his opinions always carry weight and seldom fail to convince.
On the 12th day of September, 1876, Mr. Fallass entered into the marriage relation with Miss Mary J. Brown, who was born in the town of Parma, Jackson county, Mich., June 27, 1851. She is the daughter of William G. and Lucinda (Landon) Brown, and has borne her husband one child, a daughter, Florence P.
In addition to his regular practice, Mr. Fallass is largely interested in real estate, his dealings therein having been very successful financially. He owns valuable property in both city and county, including numerous houses, besides business blocks, farms, etc., and a beautiful home on Ransom street, which is the center of a cultivated circle. He exercises the right of franchise in support of the principles of the republican party, and socially is connected with the Hesperus club of Grand Rapids. For three years he served as a member of the city school board; and the cause of education has always been to him a matter of great concern. The religious belief of Mr. Fallass is embodied in the Congregational church, which they are both identified.