Several years since, the writer of this was in conversation with a poor man who had a hard struggle with misfortune and sickness in his attempt to rear a large family, and secure them a humble homestead. In the course of conversation the name of James M. Hoyt was mentioned, and the poor man was inquired of who that gentleman was. "Lawyer Hoyt?" he replied, "why he's the honest lawyer, God bless him!" He who could acquire this title among the poor must be no ordinary man.

[Illustration: James M. Hoyt]

James M. Hoyt was born in Utica, New York, January 16, 1815. The circumstances of his parents were such that he was enabled to acquire a good education, and graduated at Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in 1834. On leaving College he commenced the study of law in Utica, but soon removed to Cleveland, where, in February, 1836, he read law in the office of Andrews & Foot. He remained with them in that capacity for one year, when a partnership was formed under the name of Andrews, Foot & Hoyt, which lasted about twelve years, and was dissolved only by the appointment of Judge Andrews to the bench of the Superior Court of Cuyahoga county. The firm of Foot & Hoyt continued four years longer, until in 1853, Mr. Hoyt withdrew from the practice of law and turned his attention wholly to the business of real estate, not as a broker, but as an operator on his own account, or in company with others, nearly all his operations being adjacent to the city. For the last twenty years his transactions have been very heavy, having made of land belonging to him wholly, or in part, in the city of Cleveland and its environs, thirty-one recorded sub-divisions, covering an area of five hundred acres, on which he has personally, or in connection with others interested with him, opened and named no less than seventy-six streets, including the well-known Croton, Laurel, Greenwood, Humbolt, Mahoning, Kelly, Lynden, Maple, Mayflower and Siegel streets, and Longwood avenue. He was also largely instrumental in opening Prospect beyond Hudson, and sold nearly half of the land on Kinsman street, besides selling a large amount of land on Superior and St. Clair streets; also on the West Side, Madison avenue, Long street, Colgate street and Waverly avenue. He has sold in all 3000 lots in Cleveland.

Mr. Hoyt united with the Baptist church in Utica in 1835. Soon after coming to Cleveland he became connected with the First Baptist church Sunday school, and was its superintendent twenty-six years, when he resigned, and became teacher of a congregational Bible class, which labor of love he has performed for about three years, and still continues.

In 1854, he was licensed to preach the Gospel, by the church with which he was connected. He was never ordained, and never contemplated being, but simply desired to testify to Christian truth as a business man on the principle of "He that heareth, let him say come." For the past fifteen years he has labored in that capacity more or less in nearly all the Protestant denominations in the city and elsewhere.

In 1854, he was elected President of the Ohio Baptist State Convention, and has been re-elected annually ever since, and has held anniversaries in nearly every city of the State. In 1866, he was elected president of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, being the national organization for missions for North America, has been re-elected annually, and still holds the office. Through all this time Mr. Hoyt has made many public addresses, and given lectures on both secular and religious subjects, in addition to publishing a number of articles, reviews and other literary work.

He was married in 1836 to Miss Mary Ella Beebe, in the city of New York. Of this marriage have been born six children, five of whom are living. The oldest daughter, Mary Ella, died in 1854, aged fourteen. The oldest son, Wayland, is in the Baptist ministry, and is now pastor of the Strong Place Baptist church, Brooklyn, N. Y. The second son, Colgate, is now clerk and assistant in his father's business. The daughter, Lydia, is the wife of Mr. E. J. Farmer, banker of this city.

We do not think it is exaggeration to say, that not a man in the city has more entwined himself with the affection of the people than Mr. Hoyt. For many years he has had the power to do untold evil to the poor, and to do it with a show of justice and legality, but this power was never exercised. Of the thousands of lots sold by him, a very large proportion have been for homesteads for the poor, hundreds of whom became involved through sickness, or other misfortunes, and were not able to make payments when due; many men died and left encumbered homes for widows to struggle on with, but they never lacked a friend in James M. Hoyt. Other creditors would sometimes crowd such persons, but to the extent of his ability he always kept them at bay, and if the load was in any case too heavy, would sell for the embarrassed owners, and give them the benefit of the rise in property. Time and again have we heard such things from the grateful poor.

He is liberal with his means, contributing freely for religious and charitable purposes. In politics he has ever sided with the party of progress, and, although not a politician, has added his means and exertions to the cause whenever necessary. During the war against the rebellion he was an energetic supporter of the Government, and rendered valuable aid to the cause of loyalty by his money and influence.

Mr. Hoyt, since his retirement from the legal profession, has devoted much time to those liberal studies which are too apt to be neglected amid the engrossing engagements of the Bar. He is a ripe scholar in English history, and especially in the period between the Revolution of 1688 and the accession of the House of Hanover. With an eminently practical turn of mind, he is not disinclined to meta-physical investigations, and we well remember the enthusiasm and keen zest with which he passed many winter evenings at the house of a friend in reading, analyzing, and applying the canons of criticism to Burke's Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful. His article on Miracles, published in the October number, 1863, of the Christian Review, contains one of the most searching examinations of Hume's doctrines extant. It presents a vexed subject in a new and striking light, and offers an unanswerable argument to the sophistries of the great skeptic. The article has been widely circulated and much admired for its logical acumen, and its striking simplification of an apparently complex subject. With the faculty, in a large degree, of presenting abstract truth in a form plain, attractive and intelligible to the common understanding, it is to be hoped that Mr. Hoyt will continue to contribute to the higher departments of our periodical literature, and thus by his studies and his pen add to his present usefulness in his daily avocation, for we seldom find one blessed with such a versatility of talent. He is methodical in everything, and thorough in everything. In short, he is a good lawyer, a good preacher, a good citizen, a good business man, a good father, a good neighbor, and a true friend. He is now only fifty-four years of age, both mentally and physically vigorous, and we sincerely hope his life of usefulness may be extended many years.