John P. Hornish, one of the prominent and able representatives of the bar of Lee county, has practiced his profession in Keokuk continuously and successfully for the past third of a century. He was born within the present city limits of Keokuk, Iowa, on the 27th of October, 1856, his parents being John P. and Martha C. (Plumer) Hornish, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. The father, a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College of Washington, Pennsylvania, studied law in Greensburg, that state, and was admitted to the bar. In 1854 he came to Keokuk, then a growing and progressive western town known as “the gate city of the great west.” Here he was actively engaged in the practice of law throughout the remainder of his life, building up an extensive and lucrative clientage. He practiced his profession as a contemporary of such intellectual legal giants as Samuel F. Miller, General W. W. Belknap, George W. McCreary, John W. Rankin and others – men whose ability caused the bar of Lee county to be recognized as one of the best in the west. John P. Hornish, Sr., gave his political allegiance to the democracy and was elected and served as district attorney and also as a member of the board of county supervisors. His demise occurred on the 17th of September, 1874, after a residence of twenty years in Keokuk. Unto him and his wife, who still survives, were born seven children, five of whom are yet living.
John P. Hornish, Jr., was reared in the place of his nativity and in the acquirement of an education attended the graded and high schools, completing his literary training as a student in the University of Wooster at Wooster, Ohio. Subsequently he read law with the firm of Craig & Collier and in September, 1881, passed examination before a committee of the bar and was admitted to practice. He at once opened an office in Keokuk and has here followed his profession with gratifying success to the present time. His practice is extensive and of an important character. He is remarkable among lawyers for the wide research and provident care with which he prepares his cases. At no time has his reading ever been confined to the limitation of the questions at issue. It has gone beyond and compassed every contingency and provided not alone for the expected but for the unexpected, which happens in the courts quite as frequently as out of them.
On the 18th of September, 1901, Mr. Hornish was united in marriage to Miss Maude M. Morton, of Ipava, Illinois, by whom he has two children, John Morton and Armintha P. Politically he is identified with the democratic party and from 1890 until 1892 served as a member of the lower house of the Iowa state legislature. During this session occurred the famous deadlock over the election of speaker which resulted in the choice of John T. Hamilton, who is now candidate for governor of Iowa on the democratic ticket, and Mr. Hornish was enabled to take advantage of the existing conditions and compel the granting of another representative to Lee county. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the First Westminster Presbyterian church, and fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias. In Keokuk, where his entire life has been spent, he enjoys an enviable reputation as a leading attorney and highly respected citizen.
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