Daniel Mulford Valentine was a Franklin County pioneer who became a Kansas Supreme Court Associate Justice after serving as State Representative, State Senator, and District Court Judge from Franklin County. While on the Kansas Supreme Court he wrote the opinion for the 1881 Tinnon v. Board of Education of Ottawa that anticipated the 1954 Brown v. Board decision. To read more about that historic case, see “People/Tinnon, Elijah” in this portal. Valentine also wrote a detailed history of Franklin County from earliest times to 1856. That manuscript is held by the Kansas Collection, Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas and was transcribed and edited by FCHS Director Deborah Barker for publication in the 1993 ” History of Franklin County, Kansas,” published by Franklin County Historical Society and Ottawa Library. Valentine’s wife, Martha Root Valentine, was also an accomplished writer who left several stories of pioneer life in Franklin County. See her entry in People and in Places/Franklin County/Pioneer Stories for some of them.
The following is Valentine’s obituary as published in “The Ottawa Dailey Herald” on August, 6, 1907 with the headline “House on Wheels/How the Late Judge Valentine Came to Ottawa/Followed the County Seat/End Came to the Ottawa Pioneer Jurist Yesterday/Served Twenty-four Years on the Supreme Bench–Four on District”
“Judge Daniel M. Valentine died shortly after 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon at his home in Topeka. Death was not unexpected, he having been hopelessly ill for some time.
Judge Valentine was the only Ottawa lawyer up to a week ago to reach the supreme bench of Kansas. For twenty-four years he sat on the bench, the longest time for any one man. Judge Valentine was elected to the supreme bench from Ottawa while he was filling the position of judge of the Fourth judicial district. For two years after he was elected he continued o reside in the city but finally moved his family to the capital where he has since lived.
Judge Valentine came to Franklin county in 1860 and settled at the then county seat, Peoria. There he lived on a farm and did some farming in addition to the work he got to do as a lawyer. The county seat was moved to Ohio City and he moved there. There he became associated with Judge C. L. Robbins, Hon. H. F. Sheldon, P. P. Elder and other old settlers. He resided there until 1864 when the county seat was moved to Ottawa. The natural place for a lawyer was at the county seat. At Ohio he had built his house with the intention of remaining there. With property at no value there Judge Valentine decided to move his house to Ottawa also.
One of the Fullers was engaged to do the moving and he put the house on wheels. Judge Valentine and his family remained in the structure while it was on the move. At the Mud Creek crossing, the mover had trouble and they remained in the crossing for two or three days. Fortunately the creek did not come up. The house was moved to Locust street and stood where Dr. Ewing’s residence now stands. [ed. note: this would be 230 S Locust, according to the 1907 Ottawa City Directory] In that house with an addition or two, the family lived until the elevation of the judge to the supreme bench.
Judge Robbins and Mr. Sheldon were together this afternoon discussing he death of their old associate. Mr. Sheldon recalled the house moving incident and Judge Robbins, who was sheriff during the time Judge Valentine was on the district bench, recalled the time the judge was named for the bench. Judge Robbins and Judge Valentine, with the other delegates, had gone to Paola where the convention was to be held. Each of the nine counties in the district had a candidate but Franklin. The delegation decided to put in a candidate and chose Valentine. After fifteen or twenty ballots, he was nominated.
Up in the district court room around the walls inside the bar, hang the pictures of the men who have graced the bench. Judge Valentine’s picture is the second one in the row, he having been the second occupant of the office. He was the successor of Solon O. Thatcher.
Judge Valentine was one of the pioneers of the state. Born in Shelby county, O., he remained in that state until 1854, when he moved to Iowa. He was educated in the common schools and two academies and taught school during the three later years of his residence in Ohio, during which time he also studied law as his time permitted. He was county surveyor of Adair county, Ia., from 1856 to 1857 and continued his study of law. He was admitted to practice on March 9, 1858. During that year and a part of the next he served as county attorney of Adair county.
He and his wife first visited Kansas in 1858, when they made a trip through the eastern part of the state in a one-horse rig. At that time the eastern part of Kansas was about all the state there was. They visited Leavenworth, Lawrence, Topeka and a number of other places. In Topeka they stopped at the old hotel at the southeast corner of Fifth street and Kansas avenue, which building still stands. They returned to Iowa, where Mr. Valentine served out his term of attorney of Adair county. In July, 1859 they moved to Kansas, settling in Leavenworth where they resided about a year.
In 1862 Mr. Valentine served as a member of the lower house of the legislature from Franklin county, and in 1863 and 1864 was state senator from Franklin county. From January, 1865 to January 1869, just four years, he was district judge of the district in which Franklin county was included. This district was composed of most of the counties of the southeastern part of the state, including Douglas, Franklin, Johnson, Bourbon, Linn and Miami. There was no railroads and he made the circuit from county seat to county seat on horseback and in a buggy. Six years after he became a member of the Kansas supreme court he brought his family to Topeka to make this their permanent home.
Judge Valentine married Martha Root, daughter of Judge Azariah Root on June 26, 1856. She survives him. They celebrated their golden wedding two years ago by a family reunion and dinner at their home on Polk street, when all their children except Mrs. Merrick, of the City of Mexico, and all their grandchildren were present. Beside his widow, Judge Valentine is survived by nine children, five sons and four daughters. They are Delbert A. Valentine, clerk of the supreme court and proprietor of the Clay Center Times; J. W. Valentine, who is engaged in the lumber business at Overbrook, Kan.; Harry E. Valentine, of Topeka, junior member of his father’s law firm; Ralph E. Valentine, who is engaged in a real estate and financial business in Topeka; Louis Valentine, who is employed on his brother’s paper at Clay Center; Mrs. A. A. Godard, of Topeka; Mrs. J. F. Merrick, of the City of Mexico, and Martha and Lillian, who are living at their parents’ home.
The funeral, which will be public, will be held from the family home at 625 Polk street at 4’oclock tomorrow afternoon. Rev. Francis L. Hayes, pastor of the First Congregational church, will officiate. All the children will be here for the funeral, except Mrs. Merrick and Miss Lillian Valentine, who are in the City of Mexico and too far away to come home in time for the funeral. The burial will be in Topeka cemetery and will be private. ”