G. R. GARD.

G. R. GARD.—In a profession where advancement depends upon individual merit G. R. Gard has attained a prominent position, being one of the leading representatives of the bar of Allen county. He has won distinction through his devotion to his clients' interests and through his masterly handling of the intricate problems of jurisprudence that have been connected with the trial of cases in which he has been retained as advocate either for the defense or prosecution. Thus he has long since left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few.

Mr. Gard was born December 10, 1868, in Cumberland county, Illinois, and was reared upon a farm belonging to his father, Jacob Gard, who is represented elsewhere in this volume. Through the winter months he pursued his education in the common schools and during the summer season assisted in the labors of field and garden. The sports of youth also claimed some of his attention and in this manner the days of his minority were passed. He manifested special aptitude in his studies and showed particular fondness for intellectual advancement. It was this that led him to earn the money with which to pursue a college course. He spent the winter of 1888-9 in the Valparaiso Normal College of Valparaiso, Indiana, and then returned to his father's farm where he remained until the autumn of 1890, when at the request of his brother Samuel, who was then a rising young lawyer in Bronson, Kansas, he came to this state and began the study of law.

On the 5th of January, 1893, Mr. Gard was admitted to the bar at Fort Scott, and in order to seek a wider field for his labors removed from Bronson to Humboldt, Allen county, in April of the same year. No dreary novitiate awaited him in his practice, for he soon gained a good clientage and became a popular attorney. He received the Republican nomination for county attorney in 1898 and to that office was elected by an overwhelming majority. He entered upon its duties in January 1898 and in May of the same year removed his family to Iola, the county seat, where he entered into partnership with his brother, S. A. Gard, under the firm name of Gard & Gard. His official course was most commendable. He espoused the cause of the people with the firm conviction that crime should and must be suppressed and the laws of the state respected and obeyed. His labors resulted in the uprooting of a number of crimes in Allen county, and the perpetrators brought before a court of justice. He formed no entangling alliances in societies or organizations that could effect his faithful discharge of duty and allowed nothing to interfere with the administration of even-handed justice. He also avoided unnecessary expense as the legal advisor of the county and that his course was highly satisfactory to the public is shown by the fact that he was tendered the nomination of the Republican party for re-election in the fall of 1899. Owing to the great increase in the civil practice in the firm of which he is a member. Mr. Gard declined the nomination for a second term and retired to private life.

While residing in Humboldt he met and married Miss Katie Gallagher whose father, John Gallagher, was one of the honored early pioneers of

Kansas. She was born in Woodson county, this state, and prior to her marriage was engaged in the millinery business in Humboldt. Mr. and Mrs. Gard were married August 29, 1896, and they now have an interesting family of three children, a son and two daughters. Their friends in the community are many and they enjoy the hospitality of the best homes of Iola. A man of earnest purpose and strong determination with a comprehensive knowledge of law and a high appreciation for his profession, which is the conservator of justice and the protector of life, prosperity and liberty, Mr. Gard has already gained a distinctively representative clientage and undoubtedly has a successful future before him.

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