T. Forest Railsback

T. FOREST RAILSBACK. - The career of T. Forest Railsback is a splendid example of what may be accomplished by young manhood that is consecrated to ambition and high purposes. He is a lawyer, and a self made one at that, but he is recognized throughout this community for his high order of ability and his conscientious dealings with his clients. His start in getting his education was particularly difficult and under similar circumstances many young men would have become discouraged and left the field, but the obstacles instead of disheartening Mr. Railsback spurred him onward, giving him a momentum and force which have resulted since the period of his first struggles in steady progress and success and have brought him the esteem of both the judiciary and associate attorneys. Mr. Railsback is a member of the prominent law firm known as Hogan & Railsback, in Kansas City, Kansas.

A native of the fine old state of Kansas, T. Forest Railsback was born at Winfield, Cowley county, on the 28th of January, 1884, and he is a son of Amasa W. and Mary L. (Holmes) Railsback, both of whom are living in 1911. The father was born at Crawfordsville, Montgomery county, Indiana, in 1858, and the mother claims the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, as the place of her nativity, her birth having there occurred in 1863. Mr. and Mrs. Railsback are the parents of three children, T. Forest, who is the immediate subject of this review; Beulah, who is the wife of Charles W. Ensley, of this city; and Alma, who is still in school. Amasa W. Railsback made his advent in Kansas in 1876, at which time he located, in Wilson county, where he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and whence he later removed to Cowley county. In 1888 he engaged in the grocery business at Winfield, Kansas, whence he removed, in the following year, to Kansas City, Kansas. In this place he entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, working in their machine shops up to 1901, when he again became interested in farming. At the present time he is running a fine farm in Jackson county, Missouri, in the vicinity of Leeds, where he is recognized as a prominent and influential citizen. He is affiliated with a number of fraternal and social organizations of representative character and in their religious faith he and his wife are devout members of the Christian church, in which he is an elder. In politics he is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor and while he has never manifested aught of ambition for the honors or emoluments of public office of any description, he is ever on the alert and enthusiastically in sympathy with all projects advanced for the well being of the community.

T. Forest Railsback received his preliminary educational discipline in the public schools of Kansas City, Kansas, being graduated in the local high school. He early became possessed with an intense desire to practice law as a profession, and in 1902 he entered the offices of McAnany and Alden, under whose able preceptorship he took up the study of law. In 1902 he was matriculated as a student in the Kansas City School of Law, at Kansas City, Missouri, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1905, duly receiving the degree of bachelor of Laws. During the years when he was obtaining his legal training he sold the Kansas City Journal as a means wherewith to defray his expenses in college. He also did other work of various kinds and so great was his ambition and energy that he managed to earn enough money to see him through his collegiate course. His troubles had not all been vanquished when he received his diploma from the Kansas City Law School, however. He and his present partner, Mr. Hogin, were the first graduates from that institution to take the examination before the Supreme Court of Kansas. Upon their first application they were refused examination, as there was a general feeling prevailing against the school. Finally, however, they were examined and it is most gratifying to note that out of fifty-one they received the highest honors awarded to any of the candidates for admission to the bar at that time. After being admitted to the Kansas bar Mr. Railsback again entered the offices of McAnany and Alden, remaining with that well established law firm until 1909, when he entered into a partnership alliance with James L. Hogin, as previously noted. Messrs. Hogin and Railsback are engaged in a general practice at Kansas City, and they have built up and now control a large and lucrative clientage. They have figured prominently in a number of important litigations in the state and federal courts and are everywhere known for their unusual ability and excellent equipment in the line of one of the most learned professions to which a man may devote his attention.

On the 25th of November, 1906, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Railsback to Miss Martha Shipley, who was born in Wooster, Ohio, a daughter of George W. and Carolina Shipley, both of whom were likewise born in the fine old Buckeye state of the Union and both of whom are now residing at Kansas City. Mrs. Railsback was the second in order of birth in a family of four children, three of whom are living, in 1911. Mr. Shipley is a carpenter by trade and he is now in the employ of the Kansas City, Kansas, Stock Yards Company. Mr. and Mrs. Railsback have two children, namely: Edward F. and Dorris.

In connection with the work of his profession Mr. Railsback is a valued and appreciative member of the Kansas City, Kansas, Bar Association, and in politics he accords a stanch allegiance to the cause of the Republican party. He is also affiliated with the Mercantile Club and in their religious relations he and his wife are consistent members of the Christian church. Mr. Railsback is everywhere accorded the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens and in a social way he and his wife are very popular and prominent in their home community.