A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 63

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels
Publication date: 1904
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1273

USA > Indiana > LaPorte County > A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana > Part 63

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

community. Among those arrested for selling spirits to Indians was Jean Baptiste Chaudonia, under the name of John B. Shadney, a friend of Arba Heald and preserver of Captain Nathan Heald at the massacre of Fort Dearborn.

The October term, 1834, was held at the house of Noah Newell. The April term, 1835, was held in the new court house; the grand jury inspected the "county prison" and reported its condition.

Mr. George Thomas, clerk of the county, certified to the county commissioners that the fines assessed by the circuit court of December, 1833, amounted in all to seven dollars ; five dol- lars against James Lockhart on an indictment for retailing liquor to an Indian, and two dollars against Calvin Lilley for retailing liquors without license; and the docket of Elisha Newhall, a justice of the peace, shows that the only fine he assessed during the year was one dollar against Willis Huges for profane swearing.

The following table shows the number of judgments of the circuit court rendered each year for the years given, the amounts, etc. :-

No. of judgments in civil causes.

No. of judgments in State canses.

AMOUNT.

No. of transcripts from

AMOUNT.

1888

$ 274 55

7 00

1884

1.962 70

124 00

1885

15,573 70

328 30

1836

170

16,908 47

348 49

1887

194

73,658 54

315 30

1838

401

149,532 40

41 11

103 48

1889

293

130,062 49

160 00

1,529 82

1840

852

79,790 17

2,231 50

7.012 78

1841

6.023 91

16៛ 00

2,570 50

1842

124

80,117 54

216 10

10,960 23

1843

46.152 64

6,861 75

1.252 16

1844

21.756 69

1,582 75

1,342 23

1845

33,699 34

118 00

597 90

1846

100

20.729 55

538 02

1.018 35

1847

4,086 27

176 51

1,845 09

1848*

15,292 78

28 53

:52 11

2.810

$695.616 74

452

$12.731 36

211

$29.722 98

*March term only.

For some reason, perhaps the terrible finan- cial depression of the time and the sickly season, both of which are apt to breed general discour- agement and inability to meet obligations, the business of the court in 1838 was the greatest. The fee books show that the fees of the clerk for

that year were $2,391.75 ; the fees of the sheriff were $2,158.58. But many of the fees were never paid.

The legislature under the power which the first constitution gave to establish inferior courts established probate courts, which had original and exclusive jurisdiction "in all matters relating to the probate of last wills and testaments, grant- ing letters testamentary, of administration, and of guardianship," and several other things ; and con- current jurisdiction with the circuit court "in all suits at law or in equity, upon all demands or causes of action in favor of or against heirs, devisees, legatees, etc., etc." The probate court was established in LaPorte county and its judges, up to the time of its abolishment by the new con- stitution or rather its mergement into the com- mon pleas court, were Chapel W. Brown, -; Jabez R. Wells, 1841, re-elected in 1848; and Mulford K. Farrand, 1849.

The probate court in this county commenced with the November term in 1832. It convened on November 12th, at the house of George Thomas, Jacob Miller and Judah Leaming, as- sociate judges, sitting as a probate court : George Thomas clerk, and Adam G. Polke sheriff. There was no business and the court adjourned.

The February term of 1833 began on the eleventh, at the house of George Thomas, Hon. B. McCarty, probate judge, presiding. The judge, clerk and sheriff presented their commis- sions and organized the court. Letters of admin- istration issued by the clerk in vacation to Martin Baker as administrator of the estate of James Madison Reeves late of St. Joseph county "hav- ing been duly weighed and considered," were confirmed. The court adjourned.

The May term of the same year opened at the house of George Thomas with the same judge and officers. The seal adopted by the county com- missioners for the circuit court was adopted as the seal of probate. Martin Baker, having been cited, appeared and filed inventory in the Reeves estate. There was no other business.

(The August term opened at the clerk's office on August 12. The same officers were present, save that David Dinwiddie acted as deputy sheriff. The sale bill in the Reeves estate was reported, but there was no other business. In the November term of 1833 and the February term

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DATE.

AMOUNT.

LaPorte and other counties.

623 46 514 87

209

HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

383

of 1834, there was no business worth mentioning.

The May term of 1834 opened in the clerk's office, on the 12th. Jay Mix, a minor, petitioned for the appointment of a guardian for his estate. Hiram Todd was appointed, with A. P. Andrew, Charles W. Cathcart and Abram Harrison as bondsmen.

At the term beginning September 18, 1834, Clarissa Bunce was appointed administrator of the estate of Simon G. Bunce, who had been the court house contractor. This estate ran through several years, representing considerable property, including town lots probably taken as pay for the court house, and during its pendency the widow married a man named Teeple.

(On page 18 we learn of the death of Antoine la Fromboise, a minor Indian owning the south- east quarter section number one, township thirty- seven, range two, recorded, with Globe la From- boise. his reputed father, as sole heir to the land which was granted by treaty of 1826. This is the first of a long series of Indian descents show- ing the names of fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, as heirs to the 1826 grants, from which it appears that most of the grantees, possibly all, were minors and many of them young girls.

At the term beginning March 10, 1835, An- drew Burnside and William Hawkins, with Adam G. Polke as surety, were appointed admin- istrators of the estate of George Thomas, late county clerk. Subsequent proceedings show that he left a widow and seven children, three of whom were married, and had some town and farm property (pages 20 and 46). The widow was Elizabeth. The children were Eleanor, wife of John Hews; Nancy, wife of Willard Ball; Mary, wife of Charles Egbert; Reynear, Ruth Jane, Perlina, and Joel, the last four being minors.

On page 26 is an entry stating that We-saw- we was a scholar at the Carey mission in 1823- 4-5. John B. Niles was attorney for his heirs.

The November term, 1836, beginning on the IIth, was the first term of probate court stated as meeting in the new court house. Page 61 of Order Book A, from which all the foregoing items are taken, shows the appointment of Joseph Bays as guardian for his daughter, under a bond of $3,000, with John Cissne as surety, and Asa M. Warren and Joseph W. Lykins as appraisers

of her estate. The estate was carried along sev- eral years, showing that the family had consid- erable means.

On page 66 Joseph Bays and Joseph W. Lykins appear as affiants to prove the death of an Indian treaty grantee, Sos-wa, and are certi- fied as good and lawful citizens. They appear several times through the probate records as bondsmen, appraisers, affiants, etc. They have been mentioned in previous chapters in connec- tion with Hudson township.

Order Book C, pages 303, 305, 448, January term, 1855, shows that Joseph W. Lykins was appointed guardian for Andrew W. Lykins, owner of the undivided half of the northeast quarter section No. 5, township thirty-five, range one. Order Book E, page 309, October term, 1869, says, "The court being satisfied that John W. (undoubtedly Joseph W.) Lykins, guardian of said ward (Andrew W. Lykins), has gone to Missouri, this cause is ordered off the docket." These entries should be sufficient evidence of the existence and respectability of both Bays and Lykins, and of the final record of the latter. Ap- parently the judgments taken against him on surety debts, for he signed paper heavily, wiped out his property, and though beyond middle age he went west to retrieve his fortunes.

And now follow the five earliest executions issued in the county, including the first levy, the first levy on real estate, and the first payment without necessitating a levy. We give them somewhat technically :-

I. June 17, 1833. James Hutchins v. John Mell- ville & Andrew Melville; debt $8.00; costs $20.00; fi. fa. $ .50; stayed June 19.

2. July 11, 1833. Jacob Coleman v. Hugh McGiven : debt $70.44; costs $5.36 1-2; execution $ .50; stayed Aug. 6.

3. July 31, 1834. State of Indiana v. John Hop- kins : fine $2.00; cost $15.60 1-2; fi. fa. $ .50; returned Aug. 20, 1834: "I have levied on one brown horse and made the sum of fourteen dollars & twelve 1-2 cents. No other property found." This was the first levy made in the county.

4. State v. Jeremiah Bartholomew : fine $2.00; costs $8.54; fi. fa. $ .50. Returned: "Satisfied by payment without levying." This was the first judgment paid without levy.

Here we remark that it is amazing how many

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

leading business men of the county, during 1833- 34, were indicted for gambling, fighting or for selling liquor without a license to Indians. The foregoing may give some idea of the courts and morals of the county up to the time when the new constitution was adopted. The old days when the lawyers, a jolly company, used to ride the circuit together, were great days.

With the adoption of the new constitution in 1852-which was voted upon in 1851-the probate court passed away, or rather was really merged into the common pleas court, which was established by the legislature in 1852. The com- mon pleas court was a sort of circuit court which was presided over by a judge who was elected in a prescribed district composed of certain coun- ties in which district he must reside. The first common pleas court was composed of LaPorte, Porter and Lake counties. In 1859 the district was changed so as to include Elkhart, St. Joseph, Marshall and LaPorte counties. In LaPorte county the court was held on the second Monday in February, June and October, and continued three weeks "if the business required it." This court was abolished by the legislature in 1873 and its business transferred to the circuit court. The judges of the common pleas court were Her- man Lawson, 1852; William C. Talcott, 1856; . Elisha Egbert, 1860, re-elected in 1864, and in 1868; Edward J. Wood, -; and Daniel Noyes, 1872.

As to the conduct of the courts since 1352, we can only remark in general. The following, taken almost at random, will give names which revive old memories :-

At the session of the county circuit court be- ginning on September 20, 1861, the following attorneys were in attendance : J. B. Niles, Messrs. Hannah, Andrew, Hathaway, Bradley, Will- iams, Farrand, Seymour, Woodward, Noyes, Weir, Biddle, Trippe, Higgins, William Niles, and Bliss of LaPorte, Lawson, Thornton, and Bailey of Michigan City, Webber and Williams of West- ville, Stanfield and Liston of South Bend, Church of Valparaiso, McDonald of Crown Point, Phil- lips of Plymouth, Keith of Rochester, and Fra- zier of Warsaw. The Civil war soon took sev- eral of these men away, some of whom were never to return; but as yet they were present. Judge Osborne was on the bench and went

through the docket which was unusually large, numbering two hundred and eighty-three cases, for the reason that there had been a failure to transact business regularly during the previous session. There were thirty-eight state cases, but many of them were old cases kept on the docket simply to prevent the return of the offenders who had fled, and the greater part of the remaining cases were for retailing intoxicating liquors, all of which were continued until the next term. The only case of much importance was that of the state against James Lawrence for grand larceny, who was charged with stealing two horses, a wagon and other valuable articles, the property of Charles M. Teeple. He pleaded guilty and declined any counsel. A jury was called which after deliberation brought in a verdict of six years' imprisonment, $400 fine, and twelve years' disfranchisement. The prisoner objected only to the fine, asking the judge where it was to come from. He was informed that he would be con- fined in the county jail until it was paid or re- plevied. Robert Smith, charged with stealing money at Michigan City, on plea of guilty was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. On the civil docket there were about twenty appeal cases brought on the premium notes of the defunct State Fire Insurance Company, and that of John P. Dunn against Offley Leeds for damages to the plaintiff by falling down in the cellar way of the Jewell House in Michigan City. It was sought to make Leeds responsible because he owned the building and knew of the defect in it, though the house was kept by a third party. There also was the case of Wakeman against Snavely, in which an action was brought to recover damages al- leged to have been sustained by overflowing the plaintiff's land by a ditch of the defendant. The grand jury were in session during the first week and returned into court two hundred and eigh- teen indictments for retailing ardent spirits, and one for arson.

The following also, which concerns the com- mon pleas court, may be of interest :-

13 Indiana Supreme Court Reports 438. November Term, 1859. Crews et al. vs. Cleghorn et al.

In 1826, there was granted, by the United States, to Ann Sharp, an Indian woman, a tract of land in

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

LaPorte county. The grant was contained in the terms of an Indian treaty made at the mouth of the Mississenewa river, in Indiana, and was coupled with this restriction, viz., that the land so granted should never be conveyed by the said Ann Sharp, or her heirs, without the consent of the president of the United States. U. S. Stat. at Large, vol. 7, pp. 295 to 299. Subsequently Ann Sharp married Luther Rice, and bore him a son named William M. Rice, in the Indian ter- ritory west of the state of Missouri. Rice died. His widow, once Ann Sharp, married William W. Cleg- horn. Subsequently she died, leaving no child by Cleg- horn. Cleghorn alleged that she made a will and procured probate of it in Missouri. He then came to LaPorte county, Indiana, and applied for an order to sell the land granted to Ann Sharp by the treaty above named. He made publication against William W. Rice, sole heir of Ann, then being a resident in the Indian country west of Missouri. The LaPorte common pleas ordered a sale, and it was made. In the meantime, William M. Rice, the heir of Ann Sharp, sold the land, with the approbation of the president of the United States, to Crews and Sherman. Subsequently Rice, Crews and Sherman appeared in court and applied to have the proceedings for the sale of the land set aside. Afterwards they dismissed their proceedings, and the court set aside the sale. Cleghorn then renewed his motion for an order of sale and Rice, Crews and Sher- man opposed it. Judgment for Cleghorn. Rice and Sherman appeal. Judgment reversed. The land involved was N. W. 1-4, sec. 8, Tp. 37, R. 1 ..

In general it may be said with confidence that the courts of LaPorte county have been conducted with ability, dignity and respect. In proof of this we instance the fact that there have been comparatively few appeals from their de- cisions.

As to civil appeals the earliest case appear- ing in the supreme court reports as appealed from LaPorte county is found in 4 Blackford, page 226, decided Saturday, January 7, 1837, and is entitled Harrison and another v. Hixson and another. The plaintiffs shipped 413 bushels of wheat from Michigan City to Buffalo by the schooner Post Boy, which was owned by the defendants. The wheat was lost in some man- ner on the voyage and plaintiffs brought an action on the case, after the old common law forms. The circuit court, by error of law, re- fused to admit the bill of lading in evidence and the plaintiffs lost the case, which they appealed and on the appeal won a reversal. C. Fletcher,

O. Butler and S. C. Sample appeared in the supreme court for the plaintiffs and C. W. Ew- ing, J. Rariden and J. S. Newman for the de- fendants.

No other case was reported as from La- Porte county until Tuesday, May 21, 1839, when the decision in Davis v. Graniss and others was handed down. C. B. Graniss sued Henry Davis and John Allison on a promissory note. Davis appeared and answered, but Allison did not ap- pear, and judgment was taken against Davis. The supreme court held that judgment should also have been taken against the other defendant by default, he being a joint contractor. W. Quarles was plaintiff's attorney, J. A. Liston defendant's.

May 25, 1839, the case of David Burr v. Dunham and Ward, on land floats, was re- versed, in Burr's favor. W. Quarles for Ward and Dunham; C. Fletcher and O. Butler for Burr.

Three appeals from LaPorte county were de- cided in 1840, all on promissory notes. Har- rison, assignee of Wyatt, sued Clark and C. McClure and got judgment. Clark and Mc- Clure appealed and won a reversal, May 30. J. B. Niles for plaintiffs, C. Fletcher and O). But- ler for defendant. In Wells v. Teall the decision of May 30 was an affirmance of the circuit court. Darlington v. Evans was reversed June 2.

From 1840 to 1860 civil appeals were rare- ly taken.

And as to criminal appeals, LaPorte has a most remarkable record, unapproached by any other county in the state. LaPorte county has no criminal case reported in the supreme court until the May term, 1874, forty-two years after the county was organized. Men tried in our courts must have been well satisfied with the results and the trials must have been fair.

At the November term, 1876, (53 Ind. 555), two men were tried on an indictment for as- sault and battery with intent to kill, having in a neighborhood quarrel shot at a neighbor. The parties are all living and are respectable people. They were found guilty of assault and battery, but not of felonious intent, and were sentenced to one month in the county jail and a fine of $1,000. On appeal the verdict was sustained.

Prior to that, in 1874 (47 Ind. 144), one

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

Gastner was tried on a charge of knowingly receiving stolen goods and was convicted, but the supreme court set the verdict aside for fail- ure of essential proof. This was the first crim- inal case.

At the May term, 1868, of the supreme court (29 Ind. 308, 312), were tried two cases of usurpation of office, statutory offenses tried on the criminal side of the court, involving a disputed election in the city of LaPorte. (See also 28 Ind. 248 for a civil case involving same election).

In December, 1903, the Chesterton Tribune contained the following while speaking of a re- cent criminal, and the statement is a distinct compliment to the courts of LaPorte county : "It is a strange fact that whenever Porter coun- ty took a murderer to LaPorte county for trial he was convicted, and when it took one to Lake county he was not convicted. This holds true from the days of Page, who killed his wife and mother and shot Rickey Ludolph, down to Beam. If Beam is tried again he had better be tried before a LaPorte county jury."

In the foregoing paragraph the Tribune re- calls a noted crime which up to that time was the worst ever committed in northwest In- diana. It was about the first of the wholesale or family murders which have become so com- mon since. It occurred on Wednesday night; January 16, 1867. Page, a jeweler, had mar- ried in Valparaiso, and the union being an un- happy one, a divorce was pending. His wife had gone to her mother, a Mrs. Long. Mr. Long was absent for the night in Buchanan. Page went to the home and shot Mrs. Long, Mrs. Page, and Miss Fredericka Ludolph, an intel- ligent Lutheran girl about eighteen years of age, who lived in the family. Seeing she was not yet dead he emptied the chambers of his revolver into her body, dashed the kerosene lamp to the floor, touched a match to the oil, and left for Chicago. But Fredericka lived and her testimony sent Page to prison. A party of young people returning home discovered the flames and rescued the girl. Page was ar- rested, brought to Valparaiso, and spirited away to LaPorte to avoid a lynching. There his trial was held.

Hon. Thomas J. Merrifield of Valparaiso

was attorney for the state and Judge M. K. Far- rand and Hon. James Bradley of LaPorte for the defense. Judge Osborn of LaPorte occu- pied the bench. The judge delivered his charge Saturday afternoon, which was short and con- cise, and at ten minutes past four the jury re- tired to the jury room to deliberate. At six o'clock they changed their quarters to the Myers house, where they had excellent quarters until 3 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, when they returned to the court house for the purpose of delivering their verdict. On their appearance crossing Main street there was a grand rush for the court room to hear the result. The judge asked the jury if they had agreed on a verdict. The foreman replied that they had. The paper was handed to the judge who at once in a clear voice, while all was still as the grave, read the following: "We, the jury, do say and find that the defendant, Chauncey F. Page, is guilty of murder in the first degree, in manner and form as he stands charged in said indictment, and that he be imprisoned in the states prison for and during his natural life." W. A. Place, foreman of the jury.

Thus ended one of the most exciting trials ever held in LaPorte. A long array of promi- nent people of Valparaiso as witnesses: Thomas Bushore, Columbus Pierce, Martin Ludolph, Fredericka Ludolph, Hon. M. L. McClellan, Dr. Jones, L. H. Mandeville, George Longshore, Thomas A. E. Campbell, Miss 'Vine Sperry, Anna Kitchall, Walter DeCourcey, A. R. Gould, R. L. Caldwell, Elias Goss, (Mrs. Page's broth- er) Col. I. C. B. Suman, S. L. Bartholomew (the county sheriff), Champ Buel, T. A. Hogan, Azariah Freeman and perhaps others. The jury did not seem to disagree about the guilt of the prisoner, but the contention was over the pun- ishment to be given him.

LaPorte has had murder cases of her own. The first in order of time if not of interest was in 1836. An inhabitant of New Durham named Pelton started for the west with a considerable sum of money. Soon after starting he was waylaid, murdered and robbed. A man named Staves was arrested and tried for the crime and being found guilty was hanged at Valparaiso. the murder having been committed in Porter county.

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HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY.

One of the most exciting crimes ever com- mitted in the county was the murder of James M. Coplin by Scott in 1838. Coplin had a sum of money due him in Virginia, amounting to $500 or $600. Scott wishing to visit Ohio, the two young men started east together. Scott stopped at the house of his mother in Lucas county, while Coplin went on to Virginia, the state of his nativity; and having procured his money, four hundred dollars of which was in silver and the balance in gold, he undertook his return. Coplin stopped at the house of Scott's mother on his return and remained over night, and the next day started for LaPorte county. Scott followed and overtaking Coplin rode with him, each being on horseback. Strange to say, either because he could not bring himself to commit the awful deed or for some other rea- son, he rode with Coplin until within less than a mile of Coplin's house, when he shot him dead, took possession of the money, and fled. But he was soon arrested and lodged in the jail at La- Porte. The murder took place February 2, 1838, within half a mile of Jedediah Austin's farm, at about eleven o'clock at night. The re- port of the pistol that did the deed was heard by several. The body was found the next morn- . ing by James Andrew, who lived in the vicinity -not the brother of A. P. Andrew. Scott was soon after tried, found guilty, and hanged just east of LaPorte, June 15, 1838. Coplin's age when murdered, as inscribed on his tombstone, was nineteen years, three months and twenty days.

Of course the whole county was stirred up over it. There are those living to-day who took part in the trial and saw the execution. One lady, now living in Chicago, from a distance saw the crowd and the criminal as he stood on the gallows. After Scott was arrested his grandmother said to him, in harmony with the old Scotch superstition in such cases, "Can you put your hand on Coplin's body and say you did not kill him?" And Scott had the boldness to say, "Yes," and he did so. This was the only execution that ever took place in the county under the authority of the county. Sutton Van Pelt was sheriff.

In December, 1841, there occurred a mur- der at Hudson which for a time created much

excitement, not only in the town but all over the county. Charles Egbert had formerly been a merchant in Hudson and an active business man. He had a tavern stand at one time on the road which runs along the south part of the township line. This hotel had done a good bus- iness, but Smith had made efforts to get a direct road through to LaPorte and had succeeded. This cut off all travel from Egbert's place. The parties had disputes about it at different times thereafter. There has been much dispute about the date and circumstances of the murder, but the writer has ascertained that on the even- ing of Saturday, December 4, 1841, Egbert went into Smith's bar-room. He had on the same day purchased a knife at the store of John Reynolds. The two were intoxicted and quar- reled. Much crimination and recrimination passed between them. Smith ordered Egbert to leave the house. Egbert went towards the door ostensibly to go out but apparently for the pur- pose of opening his dirk, and then returned toward Smith, who raised a chair. Andrew Fos- ter, who was present, not seeing the knife, caught the chair thus preventing Smith from striking, and Egbert stabbed Smith twice, once in the arm and once into the heart. Smith died immediately. Egbert was arrested and taken to LaPorte and examined before two justices of the peace. Nine-tenths of those who heard the examination thought that Egbert was guilty of willful murder. The examination was pro- tracted and adjourned over. Bail was first set at $25,000 and then at the solicitation of counsel reduced to $5,000, and Egbert was bound over to appear at the next session of the circuit court. But he never appeared. He fled to Texas, then not a part of the United States, where he lived until after the close of the re- bellion. It is said that he deeply repented his rash act and became a religious man and a Methodist class leader. His bondsmen made an arrangement with the administrators of Eg- bert's estate, but by tortuous legal windings the matter was not settled until 1853.

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A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Laporte County Indiana, Part 63

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1273

Author: Rev. E. D. Daniels
Publication date: 1904
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1273