Moses Lairy

Moses Barnett Lairy (August 13, 1859 – April 9, 1927) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as a justice of the Indiana Supreme Court from January 4, 1915 to January 3, 1921. Biography Lairy was born in Harrison Township, Cass County, Indiana to Thomas Lairy and Eliza Barnett Lairy. His family was of Irish descent and originally lived in Butler County, Ohio before moving to Lafayette, Indiana and then again to Cass County. His brother, John S. Lairy, also became a judge. Lairy was raised on the family farm in rural Cass County. He attended local schools until age seventeen, when his father died and he took on the responsibilities of head of the household. Lairy later resumed his education at Valparaiso University (then known as the Northern Indiana Normal School). He taught at a schoolhouse in Fulton County to help fund his education. Lairy began studying law under judge Dudley H. Case. In 1888, he began attending the Law School of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After graduating in 1889, he moved back to Indiana, setting up a private law practice in Logansport, working in partnership with DeWitt C. Justice and M.F. Mahoney.