James A. Devitt

JAMES ARTHUR DEVITT, a former president of the Iowa State Bar Association, has been in practice for over thirty years at Oskaloosa, and the success of his work and his intellectual attainments and public services were all included in the recognition given him by his fellow members of the state bar when they made him president of their association.

He was born at DeWitt in Clinton County, Iowa, June 1, 1872. His parents, John and Mary (Laurent) Devitt, were natives of Ireland and settled in Clinton County about 1852, being pioneers of this great state, and by their sturdy character and industry won the respect and esteem of many friends. John Devitt was a teacher and educator. Both parents died when their son James Arthur was only two years of age.

The latter in consequence grew up in the house of relatives, spent his boyhood in rural districts and attended country schools. Before going to the university he taught school in Hardin County. At the University of Iowa at Iowa City he attended the literary department and then enrolled in the law school, from which he was graduated in June, 1897, with the degree LL. B. Mr. Devitt put himself through college by his own efforts, having the necessary grit and ability to grasp each opportunity for advancement as it came to him.

After his graduation he and his classmates, Walter C. Burrell, opened a law office in Oskaloosa. Both were young men of unusual promise, and they made rapid progress in accumulating a volume of business, becoming known as lawyers able to give their clientage sound advice and the benefit of resourceful legal minds. They became attorneys for many leading corporations, including the Minneapolis & Saint Louis Railroad Company, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company and also counsel for several Oskaloosa companies, such as the Oskaloosa Traction & Light Company, Light & Fuel Company, People's Water Company. This firm partnership was maintained for over twenty years, finally being dissolved in 1920 when Mr. Walter C. Burrell retired. Mr. Burrell died December 8, 1921.

In addition to his law practice Mr. Devitt from time to time has assumed public responsibilities and many interesting relationships with social and civic affairs. He was county attorney from Mahaska County from 1900 to 1904, and in 1913 was appointed by the Supreme Court of the State of Iowa as a member of the Iowa State Board of Law Examiners and has served continuously on that board for over fifteen years. Mr. Devitt is a Republican and represented the sixth Congressional District as a member of the Republican State Central Committee for a number of years and on different occasions has represented the Republican party as a delegate to its national conventions. He is a thirty-second Scottish Rite Mason, being a member of the des Moines Consistory and also is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and B. P. O. Elks.

Mr. Devitt is a member of the American Bar Association and for a number of years has been active in its affairs, serving as the Iowa member of the General Council of the Association. He has been a member of the Iowa State Bar Association since his appointment to the bar, and it was in 1923 that h was given the honor of being elected president of the state association. He has served that body in many capacities and for a number of years has been chairman of the American Citizenship Committee. Since locating at Oskaloosa he has been a member of the Mahaska County Bar Association and is a past president. Mr. Devitt had to make his own early opportunities, and the creditable position he has attained is a real measure of his abilities and his worthy ambition.

Mr. Devitt married, August 20, 1902, Pauline Lewelling, a daughter of former Governor Lorenzo D. Lewelling of Kansas. To this marriage three children have been born. The son James Lewelling Devitt recently graduated from the University of Iowa and was admitted to the bar in June, 1929, and is now associated with his father in practice at Oskaloosa. The daughter, Pauline Devitt, in 1926 graduated from the Finch School for Girls in New York City, and since leaving school has been engaged in the theatrical and literary work in New York City. The younger son, John Branson Devitt, is a senior in the Oskaloosa High School. Mrs. Pauline Lewelling Devitt has been active in public work for a number of years, having served as president of the Iowa Suffrage Association and in 1921 was appointed by Governor N. E. Kendall as a member of the Iowa State Board of Education. Mrs. Devitt and Anne Lawther of Dubuque were the first women who ever served on this board. After a term of six years Mrs. Devitt was reappointed a member of the board in 1927.