Thomas Chadbourne - Early Life and Career

Early Life and Career

Chadbourne was born March 21, 1871 in Houghton, Michigan to Thomas Lincoln Chadbourne, Sr., a lawyer and Harvard graduate, and Georgina Kay Chadbourne. He describes himself in his autobiography as having been a “twelve pound baby”. He is described as a rambunctious youth, having run away from home at age three before being expelled from a series of schools throughout his young life as a “bad influence”. “By the time I was twelve,” Chadbourne states, “I had become a crack pool player – the infallible sign of worthlessness”.

At age six, Chadbourne witnessed the death of his sister Eliza, called “Leila.” She was a toddler aged three, and died after running through two panes of glass and sustaining severe cuts. He describes the event as a graphic and horrific experience.

At age nineteen, Chadbourne was turned out of the house by his parents. His father left him at the train station bound for Chicago with $150 and the advice that he was “not fitted for a profession or any other work in life that calls for mental effort" and should go into manual labor.

Chadbourne took a series of night jobs including one as a police officer. before being hired by Judge Russell Wing at the law firm Wing and Carter. Despite never attending law school, Chadbourne’s training under Judge Wing left him well prepared for the state bar exam, which he passed with a ranking of two out of 35. Chadbourne founded the law firm Eschweiler and Chadbourne with a cousin in Milwaukee before going on to found the prestigious Chadbourne, Babbit & Wallace, which survives today as Chadbourne and Parke.