Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. III.djvu/293

 GROVER CLEVELAND 243 of his widowed mother, who died in 1882. He was appointed assistant district attorney of Erie county January 1, 1863, and held the office for three years. At this time strenuous efforts were being made to bring the civil war to a close. Two of Cleveland s brothers were in the army, and his mother and sis ters were dependent largely upon him for support. Unable to enlist, he borrowed money to send a sub stitute, and it was not till long after the war that he was able to repay the loan. In 1865, at the age of twenty-eight, he was the democratic candidate for district attorney, but was defeated by the re publican candidate, his intimate friend, Lyman K. Bass. He then became a law partner of Isaac V. Vanderpool, and in 1869 became a member of the firm of Lanning, Cleveland & Folsom. He con tinued a successful practice till 1870, when he was elected sheriff of Erie county. At the expiration of his three-years term he formed a law partner ship with his personal friend and political an tagonist, Lyman K. Bass, the firm being Bass, Cleveland & Bissell, and after the forced retire ment from failing health of Mr. Bass, Cleveland & Bissell. The firm was prosperous, and Cleveland attained high rank as a lawyer, noted for the sim plicity and directness of his logic and expression and thorough mastery of his cases. In the autumn of 1881 he was nominated demo cratic candidate for mayor of Buffalo, and was