Michener was born in Connersville, Indiana to William and Mary A. (née Blake) Michener. William Michener, a native of Ohio who came to Indiana as a child, was descended from a Quaker family from Washington County, Pennsylvania. Mary Michener was a native of Virginia and also came to Indiana with her family at a young age.[1][3]
Michener attended common schools in Fayette County and was a student at Brookville College for a year. In 1870, he began to read law with James C. McIntosh in Connersville. He was admitted to the bar in 1871 and opened a practice in Brookville.[1]
In 1873, Michener moved to Winfield, Kansas before returning to Indiana one year later, settling in Shelbyville. In Shelbyville, he continued to practice law in partnership with his father-in-law, Thomas B. Adams. Michener left the firm in 1886.[1][3]
In 1886, Michener was elected Indiana Attorney General, succeeding Francis T. Hord. He served in the administrations of GovernorsIsaac P. Gray (a Democrat) and Alvin P. Hovey (a Republican). Michener served two full terms as Attorney General and was succeeded to the office by Alonzo G. Smith. From 1886 to 1887, the Deputy Attorney General under Michener was William B. Hord, son of Michener's predecessor, Francis T. Hord.[1][5]
In 1872, Michener married Mary E. Adams, daughter of his law partner, Thomas B. Adams. Mary Adams was a native of Franklin County and moved with her husband to Washington, D.C. where she died in 1935. They had one child, Nora, who married a D.C. lawyer.[3]
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