John Milton Killits

John Milton Killits
circa 1917
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
In office June 24, 1910 – October 6, 1928
Appointed by	William Howard Taft
Preceded by	new seat
Succeeded by	George Philip Hahn
Personal details
Born	October 7, 1858 Lithopolis, Ohio
Died	September 13, 1938 (aged 79)
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Alice Nourse Steuart
Children	two daughters
Alma mater	Williams College Columbian University
Religion	Methodist Episcopal
Signature

John Milton Killits (October 7, 1858 – September 13, 1938) was a United States federal judge.

Life

Born in Lithopolis, Ohio, Killits received an A.B. from Williams College in 1880, an LL.B. from Columbian University in 1885, an LL.M. from Columbian University in 1886, and an A.M. from Williams College in 1887. He published a daily and weekly newspaper in Red Oak, Iowa, 1880-1883, and worked in the War Department at Washington, starting March 1884, before becoming private secretary to General William Babcock Hazen, chief signal officer, U.S. Army.^[1] He was in private practice in Bryan, Ohio from 1888 to 1904, also working as a prosecuting attorney of Williams County, Ohio from 1893 to 1899. He was a judge on the Court of Common Pleas, 3rd Ohio District from 1905 to 1910.

On June 21, 1910, Killits was nominated by President William H. Taft to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio created by 36 Stat. 202. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 24, 1910, and received his commission the same day. He assumed senior status on October 6, 1928, serving in that capacity until his death, in 1938.

Killits was married to Alice Nourse Steuart, June 21, 1887, at Washington, D.C., and had two daughters.^[1][2]

Killits was a member of several Quadrennial General Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church.^[2] He was a Mason, Chi Psi, Phi Delta Phi, Knights of Pythias, and a Republican.^[2]

Killits had hobbies including carpentry, motor boating, the study of sociology and the history of the bible.^[3]

References

1. Reed, George Irving; Randall, Emilius Oviatt; Greve, Charles Theodore, eds. (1897). Bench and Bar of Ohio: a Compendium of History and Biography. 2. Chicago: Century Publishing and Engraving Company. pp. 186–188.
2. Neff, William B, ed. (1921). Bench and Bar of Northern Ohio History and Biography. Cleveland: The Historical Publishing Company. pp. 496–497.
3. Winter, Nevin O (1917). A History of Northwest Ohio. 2. Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 663–664.

Sources

• John Milton Killits at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.