USA > Iowa > Warren County > The history of Warren County, Iowa, from its Earliest Settlementto 1908 > Part 18
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The first court held in Warren county, convened in the Union schoolhouse near Ackworth, in September. 1849. Tradition says, that the grand jury sat upon a log and held its sessions, that Barlow Granger was appointed proseenting attorney and sat upon a stump and drew two indictments which were found by the grand jury. The following record appears :
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"At a district court begun and holden at the Union schoolhouse, in said county, in the state of Iowa, on Monday, the 24th day of September, A. D., 1849, present the Hon. William MeKay, judge of the fifth judicial district, in said state, the following proceedings were had, to-wit: Barlow Granger was appoint- ed prosecuting attorney for the state of Iowa, in and for Warren county. And there being no legally summoned grand jury for the present term, a venire was issued to the sheriff for him to summon a grand jury to serve during the present terni. The sheriff returned the venire with the following named persons as grand jurors, to-wit : Mahlon llaworth, D. A. Felter, Ulysses Berger, Samuel Ilaworth, Morman Haworth, Henry Hays, John M. Laverty, Jonathan Dillon, Alfred Clark, John Adamson, Thos. Blackford, Amos Barker, Senior, R. M. Hightower, G. M. Aldrich, Jno. S. Wallace, Wm. Manley, Daniel Barker- seventeen good and lawful men, who being duly elected, charged and sworn to inquire of erimes and misdemeanors committed in the county of Warren, and John M. Laverty was appointed foreman, and then they retired in charge of a sworn officer."
Following this record there are several items on the doeket. The first, the dismissal of an appeal in the case of Philemon Morris vs. Thomas J. Hill; the second, the dismissal of a recognizanee; the third, a petition for divorce, Frank- lin Benge vs. Elizabeth Benge. The following decree explains itself: "It appearing to the satisfaction of the court that the respondent in this case has been duly served with process according to law, and the said defendant, being three times solemnly called, came not, but made default thereto. And it is eon- sidered, adjudged and decreed that said petitioner's bill of complaint be taken as confessed; and that the bonds of matrimony heretofore existing between said parties be, and the same are, hereby dissolved and held for naught, and that the petitioner pay the costs herein expended." The first marriage license issued in Warren county was to the aforesaid Franklin Benge and Arena Bales, and was dated October 30th, 1849. Although Mr. Benge had divorced Elizabeth, he was not convinced that marriage was a failure.
The second term of court was held in Indianola in September, 1850. It could not have been held in the first courthouse for that was not completed until 1851. The first man convicted of a felony was James H. Hern, for lareeny, at the September term of 1851. The first jury was composed of John Cary, Amos Bogue, Samuel Haworth, David Taylor, J. M. Hockett, W. W. Hearst, Elijah Johnson. The ease was the State of Iowa vs. Samuel Johnson, who was found guilty of petit larceny. The court adjudged a fine of twelve dollars and fifty cents, and forty-eight hours' imprisonment. R. W. Steele and George Brinkerhoff appear as the first regular attorneys in Warren county.
Judge Mckay was a comparatively young man, of fine presence, a' good lawyer, and made an excellent judge. Judge Townsend was a conscientious administrator of law. W. M. Stone was subsequently governor of Iowa. J. H. Gray was more than an ordinary lawyer, presiding with deliberation and dig- nity. Charles C. Nourse was a better advocate than a judge, but filled the position while on the beneh, with dignity and honor. Judge Maxwell in his legal attain- ments, was a product of Warren county, but to a considerable extent a self-made
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man, whose judicial career was satisfactory with the people whom he served. John Leonard was a man of quick perception and good judgment, and strove to deal fairly with all. It is no injustice to any judge in Iowa to say that in some regards W. II. Mellenry excelled all his compeers.
Since the reorganization of the judicial system of the state, the judges who have presided in the Warren county court are too well known to justify any comment in this book. All of these men, from JJudge MeKay down to the present board of judges, have been men of honor, of legal attainents and purity of purpose.
THE WARREN COUNTY BAR.
In all its history, it has been noted for the uprightness and purity of purpose of its members. The morality of the bar as a whole is certainly above the average. Several of the members of the present bar are young men with a future before them, which they will doubtless improve. This bar has more than one member today who is the peer of any lawyer in the state of Iowa. In looking over the history of the Warren county bar, the members have been singu- lar in this: they have adhered strictly to the profession-have not wandered away and engaged in other pursuits, but in general have striven to rise in the profession, to maintain its honor and dignity and to command the respect of their patrons. There is greater friendship among the members of this bar, and less friction and antagonism than is usually found among lawyers in other counties. Each one appears to have a reasonable amount of business, and to command the respect of the people.
Warren county lawyers from the first have not been office seekers. The offices of judge and prosecuting attorney belong to the legal fraternity, and legislator is in the line of legal work. Aside from these offices, judge, prosecuting attorney and legislator, but few other offices have been filled by lawyers. J. H. Henderson and II. W. Maxwell were judges. Several have filled the office of prosecuting attorney. Of the present bar only three, namely: O. C. Brown, J. O. Watson and William Wilson have filled the office of county attorney. J. E. Williamson, P. Gad Bryan and Fred Powell have represented Warren county in the legislature, and W. II. Berry in the senate. In our civilization the legal profession is an absolute necessity. Every thirty-five years the wealth of the country passes through the courts. The safety of the country depends upon the punishment of criminals and the protection of the innocent, and these things can be secured and maintained ouly by and through the legal profession. The chief legislators in Congress and in all the state legislatures, are men of the legal profession. Whatever may be said about selecting other professions to make our laws, in the end they must be passed upon by men of legal learning.
EARLY ATTORNEYS OF WARREN COUNTY.
For many years P. Gad Bryan stood in the front rank of Warren county attorneys. He was among the first settlers in the county ; was elected treasurer and recorder in August, 1851; and in 1852, was one of three who were chosen
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to represent the district of which Warren county was a part, in the lower house of the legislature. The district was composed of Warren, Marion and Madison counties ; and Mr. Bryan's colleagnes were James M. Walter and N. B. Allison. It was mainly through Mr. Bryan's efforts that the "strip" was returned to Warren county. Mr. Bryan was a cheerful, hopeful and genial man, his com -. pany was sought and enjoyed by all. He was noted for his humor. After he had established himself in Warren county, when he arose to speak on public occasions, the people were ready to laugh, because they knew it must come. Ilis magnetism gave him great power over a jury, consequently his strength as an attorney lay in his advocacy. Ile was a prominent figure in all publie enter- prises in Warren county for a quarter of a century.
J. E. Williamson was a native of Boone county, Kentucky. When twenty years of age he removed to Bowling Green, Clay county, Indiana, where he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1849. In 1852 he purchased a horse, and putting his law library of six volumes on one side, and his wardrobe on the other side of his horse, rode on horseback five hundred miles, reaching Indianola the sixth day of June, 1852. He at once began the practice of his profession, and was identified with Warren county interest for more than forty years. In 1853 he was elected prosecuting attorney; and in 1858 was the first to fill the office of county superintendent of public schools. He represented Warren county in the Eighth General Assembly, and in an extra session in 1860. Mr. Williamson was noted for his military bearing, his chaste language and the neatness of his apparel. Ile prided himself in what he called firmness. When he formed an opinion, he was loth to change it. For many years a Warren county court seemed incomplete without the presence of J. E. Williamson.
The late Robert B. Parrott was a member of the Warren county bar from 1874 until 1884, at which time he removed to Des Moines. He came to Iowa in 1854, and located at Osceola, where he practiced his profession for twenty years. He studied law in Coshocton, Ohio, and was a fellow student in the same office with William Stone, afterward governor of Iowa, and with Josiah Given, late chief justice of the supreme court of Iowa. During his residence in Osceola, and in the early part of his career, he was elected district attorney for that judicial district which covered thirteen counties, reaching from the Mississippi to the Missouri river. He held this position for nine years. Mr. Parrott was
regarded by all his associates as an able lawyer, and enjoyed the reputation of being one of the best criminal lawyers in this part of the state. The trouble with the three gentlemen just named, Bryan, Williamson and Parrott, was that they were life long Democrats. After the organization of the republican party, Warren county was not a delightful field for Democrats in any profession, legal, medical or ministerial. The man who engages in a professional work, where there is an overwhelming political majority against him, will always find himself traveling in a slow coach. Mr. Parrott was a delegate to the national democratic convention in 1864.
The late Lewis Todhunter was born April 6, 1817, in Fayette county, Ohio. When ten years old his parents removed to Indiana, where the remainder of his boyhood was spent. He returned to Ohio and studied law, and was admitted to
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the bar in that state. He came to Iowa and settled in Indianola in the spring of 1854. where he practiced his profession until 1890, when he retired to private life. He was county recorder and treasurer for one term, and was the first mayor of Indianola. In 1857 he represented Warren, Madison, Adair and Cass counties in the constitutional convention, which formulated the laws under which we now live. In 1863 he volunteered as a private, was subsequently appointed quarter master of the 48th Iowa Infantry. In 1864 he was appointed associate quarter master with the rank of captain. After the war he returned home and continued the practice of law. Mr. Todhunter was an nncompromising temperance man. He deplored the evils of intemperance to such an extent that he made many sacrifices in order to suppress the manufacture and sale of in- toxieating liquors. This rendered him unpopular with the liquor forces, and he received many threatening letters warning him to desist from his temperance work, but he continued to go far and near, preaching the gospel of temperance. Mr. Todhunter was a careful and studious lawyer, but without doubt his tem- perance work interfered somewhat with his professional work, for which he had no regrets in the latter part of his life. He loved the cause of temperance, and was willing to stand by it at any cost.
George W. Seevers was born in Coshocton county, Ohio. When he was ten years of age his parents removed to Oskaloosa, Iowa. He was educated at the State University of Iowa and at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he graduated in the law department. He was admitted to the bar in Detroit, Michigan, in 1864. He came to Warren county. Iowa. in 1868, and entered into partnership with P. Gad Bryan. Mr. Seevers was a shrewd lawyer, a smooth and pleasant speaker and delighted in debate. He has developed into a prominent corporation lawyer, holding a good position as attorney for two or three different railroads.
The late George Collings was born in Ohio in September, 1839, and died at the early age of forty-three. When Mr. Collings was twenty-two years old he answered the call of his country, and enlisted in Company D, 24th Ohio In- fantry. He was given the office of sergeant. When his term of three years expired he reenlisted. The 24th and 18th Infantry were consolidated, and Mr. Collings was commissioned captain of Company D, of the 18th Ohio Infantry. He was wounded in the battle of Stone River, and left on the field for dead. His obituary was published in the home papers; but to the joy of his friends, he recovered. IIe was retained at Chattanooga after the close of hostilities as a mustering officer until the autumn of 1865, when he returned home. He imme- diately entered the law office of E. P. Evans, at West Union, Ohio. Mr. Evans had studied law with Mr. Collings' father. Mr. Collings was elected Judge within a year after he was admitted to the bar. He always considered this a great triumph, for the politics of the county were against him. He was a relative of the late David Davis, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Collings came to Indianola in 1871, and practiced his profession for nine years, in which time he endeared himself to the people and convinced all of his legal ability. He was quiet and unassuming, and had a grasp and comprehension of the law equal to any member of the Warren county bar.
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There are other former members of the Warren county bar who attained to more or less prominence, but the absence of data prevents their being presented here. Mention has already been made of the distinguished service of HI. W. Maxwell as judge; as an attorney he was earnest and determined.
SENSATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIALS.
Warren county, although noted for the morality of its people and its freedom from deeds of violence, yet, has had several sensational murder trials. The first of which came from Polk county by change of venue. Pleasant Fouts was charged with having killed his wife, Ruth Fonts. The trial was in 1854, J. S. Townsend on the bench. Barlow Granger, of Des Moines and Lewis Tod- hunter were, prosecuting attorneys. Isaac Parish, Curtis Bates and D. O. Finch were attorneys for the defense. The trial was full of sensation from beginning to end. The evidence brought out the facts that Pleasant Fouts killed his wife with a knife, cutting and stabbing her on the neck. The deed was like that of a mad man; and today the plea of insanity would perhaps have caused the acquittal of the murderer. The jury found the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree. Judge Townsend sentenced him to be hung, and appointed the 15th day of December, 1854, as the day for the execution of the sentence, and within one mile of the town of Indianola as the place. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, and the decision of the court below was reversed in some points, but the offense was made murder in the second degree, and the punish- ment, imprisonment for life. Fouts served in the penitentiary for almost twenty-four years. The old settlers, who remember this case, look back to it as one of the most shocking that ever occurred in this part of the state.
James Neely shot and killed Cassady, in Linn township, on the 1st day of Angust, 1864. Neely was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced by Judge Gray to fifteen years of hard labor in the penitentiary. In 1878, he was pardoned ont by Governor Kirkwood.
The most sensational trials ever conducted in this part of the state are known as the "tear down" murders. There was a neighborhood imbroglio in Greenfield township, which enlminated in the murder of three men, and a fourth was seriously wounded. Three families were involved. Some other parties were drawn into the all around quarrel. There is a Christian church in the neighborhood, where revival serviees were being held. At the close of the services on Saturday night, February 19th, 1876, about forty rods from the church, David Howry quarreled with one of the opposite party. In a moment there was a general fight in which the Howrys, Westfalls, Dillards, Frank Battles, James Grum and Thomas Flannagan took part. Fire-arms and knives were used. George Howry and John Howry were killed on the ground, and Thomas Grum died in a few days, and David Howry was seriously injured. On the next day, Sunday, Sheriff Meek arrested Benjamin Westfall, Levi West- fall, Thomas Dillard, Jack Dillard, Fremont Dillard, Frank Battles and Thomas Flannagan. The first trial was at the Jannary term, 1877, of the Distriet court, when Benjamin Westfall was put upon trial for the murder of George
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Howry. Judge Leonard was on the bench. Williamson and Parrott, Judge C. C. Cole and TI. MeNeil were attorneys for the defendant. Hiram Y. Smith was proseenting attorney and was assisted by Bryan and Seevers. The trial closed after three weeks of continued sensation. The jury found the defendant guilty of murder in the second degree. Judge Leonard sentenced the defendant to the penitentiary for twelve years. The case was appealed to the Supreme court. where the decision of the lower court was reversed, and the case remanded for a new trial. It was tried again at the January term of 1879, and the defendant was acquitted.
The next case was the trial of Thomas Dillard, Simeon Jackson Dillard and Thomas Flannagan. for the murder of George Howry. By change of venue this trial was in the Madison county court in 1877. February term. The verdict was guilty as to the Dillards; Flannagan was acquitted. The Dillards appealed to the Supreme Court. The decision of the court below was reversed and the cases remanded for a new trial. Jacob F. Dillard was tried in the Warren county court, with the same results as the Benjamin Westfall case. He appealed to the Supreme Court and its decision was also the same as in the other cases.
In the spring of 1879, the people having grown weary of both the excitement and expense of these cases, the Board of Supervisors recommended the circula- tion of a petition, asking the court to dismiss all the remaining cases, which was done; and over two thousand citizens of Warren county signed said petition. The trials had already cost the county over $30,000. Mr. George Collings. acting as attorney for Warren county, moved that all the remaining cases be dismissed from the docket, which was finally done. The legal phase of this sad affair was now closed, but it remains a blot upon the good name of Warren county, although a generation has passed since it occurred.
THE MISS CADING MURDER.
In about a year and a half after the "tear down" murders. Miss Augusta Cading was murdered in her own home, in Belmont township. Miss Cading's father had sold his farm, and it was supposed had some money in his house. On the 30th of October, 1877, Mr. Cading and his son went to Indianola. A little after dark, two masked men rushed into the house. Miss Cading attempted to push the leader back through the door. She jerked the mask from his face in the scuffle, and she was shot twice. One of the assailants asked her how she felt after she was shot. She and her little sister recognized the voice and the general appearance of the man as Renben Proctor, a near neighbor. The murderers did not obtain any money, but retreated. Miss Cading bolted and barricaded the doors and then lay down upon a bed to rise no more. Proctor was arrested and lodged in jail in Indianola. At night a mob tried to break open the jail, but failed. The next day, Proctor was taken by the sheriff to Belmont township to be tried before Squire Van Gilder. In the evening. the court adjourned, and as the sheriff was crossing the street with the prisoner. a mob rushed upon them. The sheriff was held by some of the mob, others
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seized the prisoner and hurried him to a stock scales, where a rope was put around his neck, and the other end thrown over the cross beams of the scales, the culprit lifted by the neck from the platform, where he was left to die. The mob dispersed. Miss Cading died the next day. The murder was bad enough but the lynching was far worse. This is the only case of lynching that ever occurred in Warren county.
Many people maintain that the slow processes of the courts and their ntter inability in many cases to punish the guilty, induces lynching, but this does not wholly account for that form of lawlessness. Men imbibe a thirst for blood, and then urge each other on until they are ready to take the law into their own hands, and put a fellow-man to death without due process of law. The fact that the culprit was guilty and deserved death does not justify lynching or relieve it of the charge of murder. If a hundred men unite in taking the life of a fellow man, they are all as guilty of murder as one of their number would be who committed the deed. Nothing so demoralizes a community and breeds lawless-
ness as mobocracy. All good citizens are equally interested in maintaining the law and seeing that its due processes are not hindered by the stealthy pro- ceedings of mobs, who often attempt to justify their unlawful deeds. It is a sad admission to make, that the Supreme Court of Iowa has often defeated the ends of justice and allowed the guilty one to go free by its close adherence to the so called technicalities of the law, at least, it so appears to the common people, but all this is no justification of lynching. Our only safety lies in the absolute prevalence of law.
THE JOHN HOSSACK MURDER.
On the night of December 2, 1900, in Squaw township, Warren county, Iowa. John Hossack, while in his own home and in his own bed, was murdered by the use of an instrument supposed to be an ax. His widow, Margaret Hossack, was charged with the crime, arrested, and indicted by the Grand Jury. George Clammer was county attorney and prosecuted the case with the assist- ance of II. MeNeil. Henderson and Berry were attorneys for the defendant. James D. Gamble was the presiding Judge. This was one of the most exciting trials that ever occurred in Warren county. The trial began April 18, 1901. The Hossack family and many others were witnesses. The jury found the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree, fixing her punishment imprison- ment for life. Her attorneys appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The decision of the court below was reversed and the case remanded back for a new trial. Subsequently, on a change of venue, the case was removed to Madison county, where Margaret Hossack was again tried for the murder of her husband. The jury failed to agree upon a verdict. Later the case was dismissed. This ended one of the most exciting criminal trials in the history of Waren county and in this dismissal the question as to who murdered John Hossack went into the shades of mystery, perhaps, never to be known. One thing is certain, John Hossack was murdered, and his murderer, or murderers, up to this date have not been punished.
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Ou the 9th of September. 1873. Mr. Taylor and his brother-in-law, Mr. Slack. of Richland township, became involved in a quarrel, which ended in a fight in which Taylor used a knife, and so wounded Slack that he died in a day or two. Taylor was arrested. and upon a preliminary examination in the Justice Court, was acquitted on the ground of self defense.
Edward Knotts. of Virginia township. died in a mysterious way. Sometime afterward Charles MeCuddin and J. J. MeCuddin, brothers, were arrested and charged with having murdered Edward Knotts. The trial was concluded on the 17th of January. 1897. The jury failed to agree. The second trial was conelnded on the 25th of September, 1897. The jury acquitted both defendants.
In 1895. T. P. Edgerton was sentenced to twelve years imprisonment in the penitentiary, for having shot and killed a boy named Sandy, whom he found in his melon patch. This unfortunate affair occurred in Liberty town- ship. Edgerton was freed before his time expired.
This closes the painful narration of a list of murder trials that have occurred in Warren county. Perhaps the list is not complete, but the number is alto- gether too long as it is.
BRIEF SKETCHES OF THE BANKS OF WARREN COUNTY.
Banking is the most certain measure of a community's prosperity. No line of business is in such close touch with all other interests. It is essentially reciprocal in its operations. The well managed bank is a promoter of legitimate enterprises and the universal collector, conservator and distributor of the people's money, receiving on deposit funds temporarily unemployed and placing same where needed for temporary use. The bank can make but a small profit in a particular transaction, while the man who receives the accommodation may make it the basis on which he builds his fortune. He who deposits with the bank therefore confers a greater benefit upon his neighbor than upon the bank which receives his dollars. The public is showing its appreciation of these benefits by a freer use of banking privileges than formerly. thus extending the possibilities of the service.
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