USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume I > Part 59
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Under the provisions of this section, it was a mooted question for about twenty years whether or not the constitution permitted the selection of more than one judge in a district. But in 1911 the Legislature passed an act authorizing the election of two judges in each of three districts. The original five districts have been increased to ten, in five of which two judges are elected. The districts and judges elected in 1918 are as follows :
First-Shoshone County, William W. Woods.
Second-Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis and Nez Perce counties, Edgar C. Steele.
Third-Ada, Boise and Owyhee counties, Charles P. McCarthy and C. F. Reddock.
Fourth-Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Elmore, Gooding, Lincoln, Minidoka and Twin Falls counties, William A. Babcock and Henry F. Ensign.
Fifth-Bannock, Bear Lake, Franklin, Oneida and Power counties, John J. Guheen and Robert M. Terrell.
Sixth-Bingham, Custer, Butte and Lemhi counties, Frederick J. Cowan.
Seventh-Adams, Canyon, Gem, Payette and Washington counties, Edward L. Bryan and Isaac F. Smith.
Eighth-Benewah, Bonner, Boundary and Kootenai counties, Robert N. Dunn and John M. Flynn.
Ninth-Bonneville, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison and Teton counties, James G. Gwinn.
Tenth-Idaho, Lewis, Nez Perce and Valley counties, Wallace N. Scales. Vol. 1-38
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THE BAR
The bar of Idaho has always been regarded as exceptionally strong, when compared with the population, and probably in no state in the Union have there been fewer flagrant violations of professional ethics. The people of the state are so well acquainted with the reputation of the majority of present day lawyers that to give them any extended mention is unnecessary. But in closing this chapter it seems appropriate to refer to some of the "old timers," who came to Idaho at an early date and assisted in the work of carving the state out of the raw material of the wilderness and laying the foundations of its judicial system, and who since have passed away. But before so doing it is proper to say that never before was there assembled in any new section of the United States a more brilliant and learned bar than practiced in Idaho from 1864 to 1875. The careers of some of these-E. D. Holbrook, George Ainslie, J. K. Shafer, S. S. Merritt-have already been briefly sketched and reference also made to many of the distinguished jurists who have graced the supreme bench of Idaho. Of equally high standing in the profession were R. E. Foote, Jonas W. Brown, Frank Ganahl, James W. Reid, Henry Martin, L. P. Higbee, Albert Hogan, H. E. Prickett, J. B. Rosborough, J. C. Rich, Weldon B. Heyburn, W. T. Reeves and a number of others whose names are readily recalled. As illustrative of the class of men who composed the bar of Idaho in those early days, a few other brief references to the careers of others not heretofore named are added.
Richard Z. Johnson. For more than twenty years Mr. Johnson was the undisputed leader of the Idaho bar. Born in Akron, Ohio, in 1837, he was educated in the public schools of his native state and graduated from Yale College in 1857. He then went to Minnesota and practiced law at Winona for five years, going from there to Virginia City, Nev., and after a short stay in that place, coming to Idaho and settling in Silver City. He practiced there until 1878, when he removed to Boise where he continued in the practice until his retirement, after which he spent the greater part of his time living upon an estate he had purchased at Wassenberg, on Lake Constance in Bavaria, Germany, oc- casionally returning to Boise for a visit, and died in 1912. Much of the im- portant litigation of Idaho was carried on by Mr. Johnson until his retirement ; his practice was extended and his library equalled that of any lawyer of the Northwest. Mr. Johnson was always greatly interested in political matters, but cared little for office, although in 1880 he consented to run for the upper house of the Legislature from Ada County and was elected without opposition. He was instrumental in the enactment of a great deal of important and much needed legislation. In 1887 he was appointed attorney general, filling that position until statehood in 1890.
H. Z. Johnson and R. H. Johnson, sons of the veteran practitioner, are both engaged in the profession in Boise and maintain the family standing.
John. S. Gray. A native of New York, born in 1837, who came to Cali- fornia in the early days, Mr. Gray was one of the best known of the early Idaho lawyers. From 1872 until his death in 1891, he resided in Boise and had an ex- tended practice. He was probably identified with more important litigation than any lawyer of his day.
Mr. Gray was an old timer in Idaho, having gone to Florence in 1862 and
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from there to the Boise Basin, where for several years he engaged in mining. He was a republican in politics and always maintained a leading position in his party, although he cared but little for office. He was appointed Territorial Treasurer in 1871 ; was a member of the lower House of the Legislature in 1880; and a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1880. To the day of his death no man in Idaho had more friends or firmer ones, or better deserved them. One of those who knew him well speaks of him as a man who "stood four square to every wind that blew and never spoke unless he had something to say."
John P. Gray, of Coeur d'Alene, the only son of Mr. Gray, occupies the same enviable position in the legal profession as did his father.
Francis E. Ensign. One of the well known pioneer 'lawyers, Mr. Ensign was born in Painesville, Ohio, March 4, 1829, and was educated in the common schools and the Western Reserve Collegiate Institute in his native state. He then entered Oberlin College, but failing health compelled him to give up school and he went to sea, spending a year "before the mast." In February, 1854, he landed in San Francisco where he worked at various occupations during the next four years, studying law as opportunity offered, and in 1858 he was admitted to the bar. He then practiced at Yreka for eight years, six of which he held the office of district attorney of Siskiyou County. In 1866 he located at Silver City, Idaho, where he was engaged in practice for twelve years. He was a member of the legislative council in the session of 1868-69 and was three times elected district attorney of the third judicial district, when it included all the southeastern portion of the territory. In 1878 he removed to Boise and in 1881 to Hailey, of which town he was the first attorney. In 1890 he was nominated by the democrats as one of that party's candidates for the Supreme Court and was again a candidate for the same office in 1892. Mr. Ensign was a careful, painstaking lawyer, who commanded the confidence of his clients and the respect of the profession. Mr. Ensign continued to live at Hailey, enjoying an extended practice, until his death in May, 1908. His only son, Harry L. Ensign, succeeded his father in the profession and is now one of the judges of the fourth judicial district.
Edward J. Curtis was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1827, and edu- cated in the public schools there, afterward graduating from Princeton Uni- versity. He then went to Boston and studied law under the celebrated jurist, Rufus Choate; while thus engaged, came the news of the discovery of gold in California. Laying aside his law books, Mr. Curtis joined a company of young men bound for the West and crossed the plains, arriving in San Francisco early in 1849. After a short experience at gold seeking, he went into the office of Judge Chipman at San Jose and resumed his legal studies, but soon went to Sacramento, where he studied under Judge Murray. In 1851 he became the editor of a newspaper at Yreka and while thus engaged was twice elected to the Legislature from Siskiyou County. In April, 1856, he was admitted to the bar at Sacramento and began practice at Weaverville. At the beginning of the Civil war he was commissioned a second lieutenant in a company of California volun- teers, but his command was never ordered to the front. In 1864, in company with Richard T. Miller and Hill Beachy, he came to Idaho and located at Silver City, where he and Mr. Miller formed a partnership for the practice of law. On July 1, 1868, Mr. Miller was appointed one of the associate justices of Idaho
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Territory and on May 4, 1869, while in Washington, Mr. Curtis was appointed secretary of the territory.
From that time on he was prominently identified with the history and politics of Idaho until his death, which occurred on December 29, 1895. In 1872 he was a delegate to the republican national convention; was adjutant-general of the territory at the time of the Indian wars in 1877-78; went to Washington and secured an appropriation of $5,000 to establish a territorial library ; was again appointed secretary by President Arthur in February, 1885, and was reappointed by President Harrison in February, 1889, holding the office until the state was admitted. His son, Edward L. Curtis, also served as secretary for about a year in 1883-84. Upon the admission of the state Edward J. Curtis engaged in the practice of law until a short time before his death and was one of the most distinguished members of the early Idaho bar.
Charles M. Hays, whose father, Gilmore Hays, was the first clerk of Owyhee County, was born in Saline County, Missouri, in April, 1845, and came to Idaho in September, 1865. For about a year he served as deputy clerk and recorder under his father and was then appointed by Solomon Hasbrouck deputy clerk of the territorial Supreme Court. In 1871 he began the study of law under Richard Z. Johnson at Silver City, while at the same time acting as agent for the stage line between Boise and Winnemucca, Nev. He was admitted to the bar in 1873 and the next year was elected sheriff of Owyhee County. In 1881 he was appointed deputy district attorney for that county and the following year purchased a half interest in the Owyhee Avalanche. The people of Owyhee County elected him as a delegate to the constitutional convention and he was elected the first district attorney of the third judicial district after Idaho was admitted into the Union. At the expiration of his term he was reelected and continued in office until January 1, 1899. His district was composed of the counties of Boise, Ada, Washington and Owyhee, and while in office he probably prosecuted more criminals than any other district attorney in Idaho. In 1898 he was elected to the state Senate from Ada County and at the close of the session of 1899 he was appointed by the governor a member of the Code Commission. After assisting to revise and codify the laws of the state he practiced at Boise until his death some years later.
William H. Clagett, who was one of the leading attorneys of Northern Idaho in territorial days, had served as delegate in Congress from Montana before coming to Shoshone County, and on December 18, 1871, introduced in Congress the bill providing for the creation of the Yellowstone National Park. The bill finally passed and was approved by President Grant on March 1, 1872. He was also the author of the Federal mining law, which still is in force. Mr. Clagett was elected a delegate from Shoshone County to the constitutional convention in '1889, and was chosen president of the convention. Soon after Idaho was admitted as a state, he went to Nevada, where he continued in the practice of his profession until his death.
James W. Poe, one of the pioneer lawyers of Lewiston, was born in Jackson County, Missouri, in 1838, and acquired his education in Oregon, whither his parents went in 1853. He studied law in the office of Williams & Gibbs in that state and was admitted to the bar in 1869. Mr. Williams, one of his preceptors, was afterward United States attorney general under President Grant, and Mr.
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Gibbs was governor of Oregon. Mr. Poe first came to Idaho in 1861 and followed mining at Florence, Oro Fino and Warren. He was the first district recorder in the Warren mining district and after his admission to the bar practiced in Warren and Mount Idaho until 1876, when he was elected district attorney for the district comprising all of Northern Idaho. He then removed to Lewiston, took part in the Nez Perce war of 1877 and in 1880 was elected to the upper house of the Legislature. For several years after that he was the senior member of the law firm of Poe & Anderson at Lewiston.
FEDERAL BUILDING, BOISE
OWYHEE HOTEL, BOISE
CHAPTER XXXII THE COUNTIES OF IDAHO
FIRST COUNTIES IN IDAHO-COUNTIES CREATED BY THE FIRST TERRITORIAL LEGIS- LATURE-THE FORTY-FOUR COUNTIES IN 1819 -- ADA-ADAMS-BANNOCK-BEAR LAKE-BENEWAH-BINGHAM-BLAINE-BOISE-BONNER-BONNEVILLE-BOUN- DARY-BUTTE-CAMAS-CANYON-CARIBOU-CASSIA-CLARK - CLEARWATER- CUSTER-ELMORE-FRANKLIN-FREMONT-HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EACH- DATE OF ORGANIZATION-BOUNDARIES-RESOURCES-TRANSPORTATION FACILI- TIES-POPULATION AND WEALTH, ETC.
In January, 1858, while Idaho was a part of Washington Territory, the Legis- lature of that territory created the county of Shoshone, which included all that part of the present state of Idaho north of the Snake River. On December 20, 1861, two more counties-Idaho and Nez Perce-were erected by the Washington Legislature and embraced all the territory between the Snake and Clearwater rivers. At the next session (1862-63) Boise County was formed from part of Idaho, including within its limits the Boise Basin mines.
Idaho Territory was created by act of Congress, approved on March 3, 1863, and the first territorial Legislature was convened on the 7th of December follow- ing. That Legislature readjusted the boundaries of Boise, Idaho, Nez Perce and Shoshone counties and created the counties of Alturas, Oneida and Owyhee, all within the present limits of the state except the eastern part of Oneida, which extended into what is now the State of Wyoming. At that time Idaho embraced most of the present states of Montana and Wyoming and the first Legislature also erected ten counties east of the Rocky Mountains. These counties, with their county seats, were as follows: Beaver Head, Bannock City; Big Horn, county seat to be located by the county commissioners; Choteau, Fort Benton ; Dawson, Fort Andrew; Deer Lodge, Idaho City on the Cottonwood Fork of the Deer Lodge River; Jefferson, Gallatin; Madison, Virginia City; Missoula, Wordens- ville; Ogallala, Fort Laramie; Yellowstone, county seat to be located by the county commissioners.
All these counties were in Montana except the last two, which included all that part of Wyoming east of the Rocky Mountains, Oneida County extending to the summit of the Continental Divide and embracing nearly one-fourth of what is now Wyoming. The original counties of Alturas, Boise, Idaho, Nez Perce,
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Oneida and Shoshone have been divided and subdivided until at the end of the Fifteenth Legislature there were forty-four counties in the state, viz: Ada, Adams, Bannock, Bear Lake, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Boise, Bonner, Bonne- ville, Boundary, Butte, Camas, Canyon, Caribou, Cassie, Clark, Clearwater, Custer, Elmore, Franklin, Fremont, Gem, Gooding, Idaho, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Latah, Lemhi, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Nez Perce, Oneida, Owyhee, Payette, Power, Shoshone, Teton, Twin Falls, Valley and Washington.
ADA COUNTY
Ada County, located southwest of the center of the state in the beautiful Boise Valley, includes within its boundaries the upper part of the Boise Valley. It was created by an act of the second territorial Legislature, approved on De- cember 22, 1864. The boundaries as defined by that act were as follows: "Com- mencing at the point where Grimes' Creek forms a junction with the Boise River on the westerly line of Alturas and on the easterly line of Boise County, and running thence in a northwesterly direction to a point on the Payette River known as Picket's Corral; thence due north to the south line of Idaho County; thence west along said line of Idaho County to the middle of the channel of the Snake River; thence up the middle channel of the Snake River to the point where the westerly line of Alturas County intersects the same ; thence in a northerly direc- tion along said westerly line of Alturas County to the place of beginning."
As thus established, Ada County included the present counties of Canyon, Payette and Washington, and the greater part of Adams and Gem counties. The county is now bounded on the north by Gem County; on the northeast by Boise ; on the east by Elmore; on the south by Owyhee, from which it is separated by the Snake River; and on the west by Canyon County. In the northern and eastern sections the surface is somewhat mountainous, but the land there is well adapted to stock raising, the fine pasturage supporting animals for about nine months out of the year without feeding.
Boise City was named as the county seat in the act creating the county. Except the residents of the city the original settlers of the county were farmers and for the first few years barely made a living while putting their land in good condition for the production of crops. Irrigation had not been introduced, seed grain had to be brought from Oregon at considerable expense, none could afford to hire help, and it was not an uncommon occurrence for an Ada County farmer to go to some mining district and work a while for wages to buy the necessities of life for himself and family. Those who possessed cattle or sheep had better success, as the stock ranges were good and mutton and beef found a ready market in the mining camps. In fact the market was so good that quite a number of the farmers sold all their live stock to the butchers and left the country.
The early records of the county are incomplete, but early in January, 1865, J. C. Geer was appointed sheriff ; A. G. Cook, probate judge ; L. D. Montgomery, auditor and recorder ; A. G. Redway, treasurer ; S. L. Carr, county clerk ; William Law, Jr., clerk. of the district court; S. S. King and Charles .H. Warren, county commissioners-the records do. not show the name of the third commissioner. In March, 1865, David C. Updyke succeeded Mr. Geer as. sheriff ; John T. H. Green's name appears. in the records as treasurer ; and Robert S. Gillespie suc-
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CARNEGIE LIBRARY, POCATELLO
FEDERAL BUILDING, POCATELLO
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ceeded A. G. Cook as probate judge. These officers served until the election in August, 1865.
During the first ten years of the county's history the question of taxation and public expenditures caused considerable anxiety. County warrants were issued in payment of claims and these warrants were often sold for forty or fifty cents on the dollar. The Ninth Territorial Legislature, which met on December 4, 1876, passed an act providing that 35 per cent of all revenues collected in Ada County should be placed in a "Redemption Fund," to be used in paying out- standing warrants, and the other 65 per cent should be called the "Current Expense Fund," to be used in defraying the current expenses of the county. Under the operations of this act the outstanding warrants (about $80,000) soon went to par and in a few years the county was practically on a cash basis. The present courthouse, on the northeast corner of Sixth and Jefferson streets, was built in 1884.
Ada County is the wealthiest and most populous county in Idaho. The United States census for 1910 gives the population as 29,088, and in 1918 the assessed valuation of property was $33,116,680. It is watered by the Boise River, the valley of which comprises the greater portion of the county. The great Arrow- rock dam, the highest dam in the world, completed in 1915, is located in the . eastern part of the county. This dam insures the successful cultivation of 240,000 acres of land, the greater part of which is in Ada County. Thousands of carloads of live stock, farm and dairy products and fruits are shipped out of the Boise Valley every year. The main line of the Oregon Short Line Railroad crosses the central part of the county from southeast to northwest, and a branch of the same system connects Boise, the county seat and capital of the state, with the main line at Nampa, so that the transportation facilities are above those of the average Idaho county. The principal railroad stations are Kuna, Owyhee and Mora on the main line, and Boise, Beatty and Meridian on the branch.
ADAMS COUNTY
This is one of the new counties of Idaho, having been created by the Act of March 3, 1911, from the northern part of Washington County. It is bounded on the north by Idaho County, on the east by Valley County; on the south by Gem and Washington counties; and on the west by Washington County and the State of Oregon, from which it is separated by the Snake River.
The county is irregular in shape and being at a comparatively low altitude, with considerable rainfall, the sheltered valleys are particularly adapted to agri- culture and fruit growing. Some of the largest apple orchards in the Northwest are in the Weiser Valley in this county. The southern part of the mountain range called the "Seven Devils" extends into Adams County. In this section large deposits of copper ore exist, but there has not been sufficient development of them owing, chiefly, to the lack of transportation facilities, the nearest railroad being the Huntington & Homestead branch of the Oregon Short Line, west of the Snake River in Oregon. The central part of the county is traversed by the Pacific & Idaho Northern Railroad, the northern terminus of which is at New Meadows, in the northeastern part of the county, and this affords an easy method of trans- porting to market the products raised. The Adams County stations on this line
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(going north) are: Goodrich, Vista, Council, Mill Creek, Fruitvale, Hot Springs, Glendale, Evergreen, Woodland, Tamarack and Rubicon.
The act creating the county assigned it to the seventh judicial district and designated the town of Council as the temporary seat of justice, the location of a permanent county seat to be decided by the people at the general election of 1912. At the election a majority voted in favor of Council on account of its central location and railway accommodations.
As Adams County was not created until after the census of 1910 was taken, its population at that time was included in Washington County and cannot be given. In 1918 the property of the county was valued for tax purposes at $4,561,- 445. The Oxbow power plant, one of the great electric power developments on the Snake River, is in this county.
BANNOCK COUNTY
The county of Bannock, named for the Indian tribe once so numerous in Southern Idaho, was created by the Second State Legislature, the act being approved by Governor McConnell on March 6, 1893. The boundaries as defined by that act were as follows: "Commencing at the intersection of the township line between townships 4 and 5, south with the Snake River; thence down the Snake River southwesterly to the mouth of the Port Neuf River; thence up the Port Neuf to what is known as the point of the mountain, about four miles northwest of Pocatello; thence southerly in a straight line to the top of the range; thence along the crest of the mountains below Malad and Marsh valleys to a point on the top of the range, due west of a point one mile south of the present southern boundary of the townsite of Oxford; thence due east to the Bear Lake County line; thence northerly and easterly along the line of Bear Lake County to the line of the State of Wyoming; thence north to the inter- section of the township line between townships 4 and 5, with the line of the State of Wyoming; thence west along said township line to the place of be- ginning."
Bannock was taken from the southern part of Bingham County and as origi- nally created included a portion of Power County. The act creating the county assigned it to the fifth judicial district and designated Pocatello as the county seat. It is one of the elevated counties of the state, no point within its boundaries having an altitude less than 4,200 feet above sea level. Farming and stock raising are the principal occupations, about 200,000 acres being under irrigation.
Old Fort Hall, established in 1834, was within the limits of the present Bannock County and near Pocatello have been discovered the remains of some old Indian fortifications constructed of earth and bowlders. The mouth of the Port Neuf Canyon was formerly the favorite winter quarters of freighters and cattle- men on account of the good feeding ground. Around the post at Fort Hall a considerable settlement grew up and cultivation of the land was commenced, but the modern settlement of the county dates from the building of the Oregon Short Line Railroad in 1882. Since then the population has gradually increased until Bannock is the second county of the state in population and third in wealth. The census of 1910 gives the number of inhabitants as 19,242, and the assessed valua- tion of property in 1918 was $28,938,226.
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