Motter, Edwin Cameron

The following data is extracted from Muskogee And Northeastern Oklahoma.

     Edwin Cameron Motter, an attorney of Muskogee who has resided here during the past fifteen years and has been connected with much important litigation, was born near Chillicothe, Ohio, on the 16th of June, 1884, a son of Dr. James R. and Ida (Faust) Motter. His parents and a sister, Mouser M., still reside at the old home in the Buckeye state. He began his education in the public schools near the place of his nativity and when thirteen years of age entered the preparatory college to Ohio University at Athens, which is the oldest university west of the Alleghany mountains. Leaving that institution in 1903, he matriculated in the College of Law of the Ohio State University at Columbus, from which he was graduated with the degree of LL. B. on the 9th of June, 1906, and immediately afterward was admitted to the Ohio bar.
     It was in the following October that he located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and on the 1st of January, 1907, he became a law clerk in the Dawes commission, continuing in that connection until August 1, 1908. At the latter date he was appointed as a special assistant to the attorney general of the United States and he is said to have been the youngest man ever appointed to a place of that kind. His first appointment to that position was for the purpose of assisting in the prosecution of what are known as the thirty thousand land suits. This was the largest number of suits ever brought at one time in the history of legal jurisprudence, being instituted for the purpose of clearing title to individual Indian allotments.
     On the 1st of September, 1910, Mr. Motter resigned his position as special assistant to the United States Attorney General, in order to engage in the active practice of law and on the 1st of January, 1913, formed a partnership with Judge J. B. Furry, under the firm name of Furry & Motter. This association was dissolved in June, 1920, to permit Mr. Motter to give his entire attention to the Harding campaign, to which he devoted practically all of his time from October, 1919, until November, 1920. Hon. Carmi A. Thompson of Cleveland, Ohio, and Mr. Motter, together with John L. Moorman of Knox, Indiana, had the sole management of the Front Porch campaign.
     After the inauguration of President Harding, Mr. Motter was appointed by his lifelong friend, Attorney General Daugherty, as a special assistant to the attorney general in charge of the Arkansas and Cimarron river bed cases, together with other special litigation, including the famous Tommy Atkins case, which involves about forty million dollars.
     As a lawyer he is sound, clear minded, and well trained. An excellent presence, an earnest manner, marked strength of character, a thorough grasp of the law and the ability accurately to apply its principles, make him an effective and successful advocate.
     On the 10th of September, 1905, Mr. Motter was united in marriage to Miss Nelle B. Lloyd, who was born and reared at Hillsboro. Ohio. They have one daughter, Nelle Cameron. Mr. Motter belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is also a member of the Delta Tau Delta, a Greek letter fraternity. His position in both professional and social circles is indeed an enviable one and the success which he has already achieved promises much for the future.

Source: Muskogee And Northeastern Oklahoma

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