Biographical Sketches
HON. LOUIS HENRY WATERS
In the history of the bar of Missouri the name of this gentleman deserves honorable mention. In the profession where one must rise by superior merit or remain in the ranks of mediocrity he as attained an eminent position that ranks him among the leading lawyers of Kansas City. He was born December 22, 1828, and when a lad of ten summers accompanied his parents on their removal from Campbell county, Kentucky, to Fort Madison, Iowa. This was during the territorial days of the state and Mr. Waters largely became familiar with the experiences of frontier life. When he had attained a sufficient age he began reading law in the office of Miller & Williams, of Fort Madison, and after his admission to the bar he began teaching school, merely, however, as a temporary expedient.
Mr. Waters accepted the position as teacher in the schools of La Harpe, Hancock county, Illinois, and subsequently removed to Macomb, that state, where he taught school and practiced law for a year or more. In 1854, he was elected to the legislature from McDonough county, Illinois, as the representative of the whig party, and while a member of the general assembly supported Abraham Lincoln for United States senator. When the name of Mr. Lincoln was dropped and the whig members gave their support to Lyman Trumbull, he voted for Archibald Williams, of Quincy, Illinois. In 1858 he was appointed by Governor Bissell as prosecuting attorney for the judicial circuit, composed of McDonough, Fulton, Schuyler, Brown and Pike counties.
With the year 1861 came the opening of the civil war, and, prompted by a patriotic ardor that was not quelled while the struggle lasted, he offered his services to the government. Now that the story of the war of the rebellion has passed into history, the records of the soldiers of Illinois are as rich in deeds of daring and heroism as any page in the annals of the revolution, and their names will live in the affections of their countrymen �to the last syllable of recorded time.� With the names of Grant, Logan and Yates, that of General Waters has found its place on the roll of honor as a loyal defender of the stars and stripes which now float so proudly over the united nation, emblem of an unbroken union and of peace and good will. When the county became involved in civil war, Mr. Waters raised a company of volunteers, which was mustered into the service of company D of the 28th Illinois infantry, and when the organization of the regiment was effected he was commissioned lieutenant colonel by Governor Yates. In the spring of 1862 he was authorized to raise a regiment and was assigned to the command of the camp in Quincy, Illinois, where were organized the 78th, 84th and 119th regiments of Illinois infantry. He was commissioned as colonel of the 84th, and served as its commander until the close of the war, when he was commissioned by the president as brigadier general by brevet. He led his men in many a gallant charge, encouraging and inspiring them to put forth their best efforts, and the boys in blue of the 84th won a renown that reflected credit upon the leadership of their colonel. All through that sanguinary struggle he was found at the front, faithfully discharging his duties, and among Illinois' honored warriors he well deserves mention.
In 1866 General Waters was appointed by Governor Oglesby as prosecuting attorney of his circuit to fill out an unexpired term, and in that position he acceptably served until 1869, when he removed to Carollton, Carroll county, Missouri, and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1876 he entered into partnership with Judge C. A. Winslow, of Chariton county, Missouri, and located in Jefferson City. The firm of Waters & Winslow was dissolved in 1878 by the appointment of the colonel to the position of United States attorney for the western district of Missouri. While he was the incumbent of that office, by an act of congress, the district was divided into two divisions, which required sessions of the district and circuit courts to be held at Kansas City; and upon the passage of that act General Waters and District Judge Krebel removed to Kansas City, where he has since resided. In January, 1895, he was appointed county counselor by the county court of Jackson county, and is discharging its duties with the same promptness and fidelity that have always marked his career both in public and private life. He is an able advocate, a conscientious and painstaking lawyer, logical in argument and possessing high oratorical powers. His addresses before judge and jury or on the bench have a substratum of sound sense and legal knowledge that is undisputable and yet is adorned and beautified by figures of speech as a stream is bordered by flowers.
The Colonel has been twice married. In 1850 he wedded Miss Cordelia T. Pearson, and in January, 1880, he wedded Mrs. Annie E. Wylie. In politics he was a whig until the dissolution of that party, when he joined the ranks of the republican party. He devotes most of his time to the law, in which he has met with signal success, but gives enough attention to politics to keep in touch with the republican party of Missouri.
This page was last updated August 2, 2006.