USA > Indiana > Newton County > A standard history of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume I > Part 21
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > A standard history of Jasper and Newton counties, Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume I > Part 21
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The Chicago, Indiana & Southern Railroad was completed straight through the western tier of townships in December, 1905, and-also as part of the New York Central, running from Danville, Illinois, to Indiana Harbor, on Lake Michigan-accommodates Kent- land, Ade, Morocco, Enos, Conrad and Lake village. The line crosses the center of the old bed of Beaver Lake.
CHAPTER XVI
COURTS, JUDGES AND LAWYERS
CIRCUIT JUDGES PRESIDING IN NEWTON COUNTY-JUDGES OF THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS-FIRST TERM OF CIRCUIT COURT- FIRST TERM OF COMMON PLEAS COURT-ALBERT G. BROWN AND OTHER PIONEER LAWYERS-"REPUTATION IS NOT CHARACTER" -REPUTATION OF THE BEAVER LAKE REGION-THE MAN FROM MONG-CONVENING OF COURT, AN EVENT-A DEGENERATE SON -LEGAL MATTERS CONNECTED WITH KANKAKEE IMPROVE- MENTS-BEAVER LAKE LAND LITIGATIONS-THE BRANDON TRIAL-JUSTIFIABLE LARCENY.
By William Darroch
The Bench and Bar of Newton County, as a topic, is closely in- volved in the history of the legal profession and the courts as related to Jasper County. All the general lines of the judiciary, as founded and remodeled by territorial and state laws, have been laid down in this work, and the chapter which is now under way will be definitely confined to a consideration of the subject in its bearings on Newton County as organized in 1860.
CIRCUIT JUDGES PRESIDING IN NEWTON COUNTY
Judges of the Circuit Court: Charles H. Test, 1860-70; David P. Vinton, 1870-73; Edwin P. Hammond, 1873-83; Peter H. Ward 1883-90; Edwin P. Hammond, 1890-92 ; U. Z. Wiley, 1892-96; Wil- liam Darroch, 1896, by appointment to fill term of Judge Wiley, who resigned ; Simon P. Thompson, 1897-1902 ; Charles W. Hanley since 1902.
JUDGES OF THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
The judges of the Court of Common Pleas who served Newton County until the office was abolished in 1873, were : William C. Tal- cott, 1860-68; H. A. Gillett, 1868-73.
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FIRST TERM OF CIRCUIT COURT
When Newton County was organized, Hon. Charles H. Test was judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, which composed the counties of Benton, Jasper, Tippecanoe and White. Having jurisdiction, therefore, over the territory of Newton County when it was estab- lished, he had by virtue of the statute authorizing the formation of new counties, jurisdiction to hold court in such new county at such times as he should appoint, and accordingly a term of said court was called to convene on Monday, August 27, 1860. Notice thereof was given by the clerk, by publication of the court's order, in the Rens- selaer Gazette, a newspaper of general circulation printed and pub- lished in the town of Rensselaer, Jasper County, Indiana, being the nearest paper to Newton County.
At this term of court occurred one of the comparatively few trials for murder in this county-the trial of Samuel Brandon for the killing of David Handly, an account of which appears in this chapter, and leaves it necessary here to say only that the indict- ment was returned and the defendant was arraigned on Wednesday, tried and convicted on the following day, and sentenced to the peni- tentiary for life. The case of Brandon was appealed, was affirmed, and is reported in the Sixteenth Indiana Supreme Court reports at the May term, 1861, so that with the eight admirable reports of Judge Blackford, and the sixteen Supreme Court reports, it would appear that during the first forty-five years of the existence of the state but twenty-four Supreme Court reports were written ; whereas, in the last fifty-five years, 160 additional Supreme Court reports have been written, besides sixty volumes of reports of the Appellate Court since created, have been written and published.
Two orders were entered at that first term of court of passing interest, and read as follows: "Ordered by the Court that P. D. Gallagher be allowed ten dollars for the rent of room to hold court: in." "Ordered by the court that H. Remington be allowed fifty-six cents for two candlesticks and one pound of candles."
On March II, 1861, the General Assembly of the state amended the law for holding court in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit. Newton County was included in this circuit. Three terms of court in each year was provided for each county ; of one week each in the counties of Benton and Newton, two weeks in the counties of White and Jasper, and of indefinite length in Tippecanoe. Now we have four terms each year of four weeks each.
The Common Pleas Court, since abolished, included in one dis-
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trict the counties of Lake, Porter, Starke, Pulaski, Jasper and New- ton, one judge serving all the counties, Newton County having three terms per year of one week each.
FIRST TERM OF COMMON PLEAS COURT
The first term of the Common Pleas Court held in this county convened June 10, 1861. William C. Talcott was judge, and the local lawyers registered in the county at that time were James Bissell, Simeon S. Powers and Albert G. Brown. Mr. Powers could not have remained long in the practice here, as I have no recollection of him. Mr. Bissell and Mr. Brown both enlisted in the army of the Rebellion as volunteers from this county, and neither ever returned here to practice law.
ALBERT G. BROWN AND OTHER PIONEER LAWYERS
Albert G. Brown is remembered more as a school-teacher than a lawyer. He taught our district school and was a fair sample of the pedagogue of that day. He had a song with which to entertain and edify his pupils, and occasionally would sing it at social gather- ings. So much of it as I now recall ran like this :
"When Mr. A. or B. is sick, Run for the doctor and be quick ; The doctor comes with post and mail, And gives him a dose of calomel. Ta rol rol rol rol rol rol rol Ta rol rol rol rol rol rol rol The doctor comes with post and mail And gives him a dose of calomel."
"The man in death begins to groan ; The fatal job for him is done. He dies, alas 'tis sad to tell- An over-dose of calomel. Ta rol," etc.
Parenthetically, this was an appropriate song as a crusade against the excessive use of calomel, because at that time we had malaria, and chills and fever came generally with each recurring season. Ague, commonly called "ager," was prevalent and we took as a specific calomel followed by a dose of quinine and prussiate of iron ;
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the calomel, not in small pillet form with soda as prescribed now, but in old-fashioned copious doses of brown colored powder and of villainous flavor, and which on account of the size of the dose was usually administered in a tablespoon. If after one course of this treatment the patient escaped salivation or death outright, he usually recovered as a matter of self-protection against a second like treatment.
In addition to those already mentioned, the list of resident attorneys who engaged in active practice here and who have since passed away, as I now recall them, and somewhat in the chro- nological order of their appearance, is as follows: William C. Rose, Oliver P. Hervey, James B. Spottswood, William H. Martin, E. Littell Urmston, James Wallace, James T. Saunderson, Edmund H. O'Brien, William H. H. Graham, Peter H. Ward, Joseph R. Trox- ell, John H. Ash, William Cummings and Frank A. Comparet. There may have been, and perhaps the records do show others, but the period of their active work was transitory.
William C. Rose was a man of excellent manner and appearance ; of scholarly attainments and a fine sense of integrity ; but unfor- tunately passed away before reaching nearly the full measure of his possibilities.
O. P. Hervey, in like manner, was a man of good attainments, and promised well as a successful lawyer when claimed by death.
James B. Spottswood was of the old Virginia family of Spotts- woods, well educated, never even a fair lawyer and soon abandoned it for the newspaper business ; but a fluent, forceful writer. It was often remarked that many of his editorials would reflect credit on any metropolitan paper.
William H. Martin was a son of Dr. Martin, of Rensselaer, and was the first prosecuting attorney of local residence. He possessed a fine legal mind ; his papers were always well prepared and rarely rewritten. He removed from this county comparatively early in life ; located at Greenfield in Hancock County, where soon afterwards he was elected circuit judge, which position he filled with credit for many years.
E. Littell Urmston was not a trial lawyer, but did mainly a com- mercial and probate business. He was a successful business man, always courteous and dignified in manner, careful and painstaking in what he did, a good citizen and a safe counsellor.
James Wallace was well on in years when he located at Kentland. He remained a resident only a few years, and is remembered only
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as a kind-hearted, portly gentleman, always interested in the welfare of others.
James T. Saunderson was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, located here as a lawyer soon after the war closed, and was in the active practice in this county continuously until about the year 1896, when he went to Oklahoma, afterwards to Everett, Washington, and not liking the climate there returned to Fowler, Indiana, where later he was elected circuit judge, which position he filled with dignity and credit, and died at Fowler during the summer of 1916. Mr. Saun- derson as a lawyer, because of his acknowledged ability, his pleasing personality and splendid integrity, commanded a lucrative practice while a resident of this county, and when he departed left behind him a host of friends.
Edmund H. O'Brien was a Virginian and a captain in the army of the Southern Confederacy, a man of unusual natural ability, most genial personality ; but, broken in health from the hardships of war, he, too, passed away at a time when he should have begun to feel the real possibilities of a strong mind.
William H. H. Graham was an office man, a counsellor, abstractor and a dealer in real estate. While a resident of Newton County he amassed a fortune, but lost it afterwards in mercantile ventures at Crawfordsville, Indiana. He was at one time consul of the United States at Winnipeg, a substantial man and a good friend.
Peter H. Ward, who served as circuit judge from 1883 to 1890, was appointed by Governor A. G. Porter to succeed Hon. E. P. Hammond, who had been elevated to the Supreme bench of the Thirtieth Circuit. Judge Ward was a native of Columbiana County, Ohio, born in 1835. After obtaining a higher education in several interior establishments of Ohio, he completed a course at the Indian- apolis Law School, from which he graduated in 1868. In that year he was admitted to the bar, located at Kentland in 1870, and prac- ticed in the county and before the State Supreme Court, at Indianap- olis, until he was appointed circuit judge in 1883. He completed Judge Hammond's term and served another by election, and made a good record both for judicial soundness and professional considera- tion.
Joseph R. Troxell came here late in life, and was the senior member of the firm of Troxell, Ward & Graham. He was a lawyer of the old school, ripe in the learning of the law.
John H. Ash was an ex-soldier and was known as Captain Ash. He came here from Zanesville, Ohio, later migrated to Wichita, Kansas, where he died some years ago.
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William Cummings was also a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, came from Grundy County, Illinois, located on a farm northeast of Kentland, and later engaged in the practice of the law, in which profession he continued with success until his demise in November, 1907. Mr. Cummings was not only a good lawyer, but a good busi- ness man as well, and in the details of office work he was most excellent.
Frank A. Comparet, if not born in Kentland, was educated here. He studied law with James T. Saunderson, afterwards in partner- ship with him, and when Mr. Saunderson left Kentland Comparet succeeded the firm. While in the practice he enjoyed a fair clientage, but better by far, he enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who knew him; for he was always the perfect gentleman in all that the word implies. Of excellent mind, but frail of body, we lost him early in life.
David L. Bishop practiced law here for some years; not par- ticularly apt on a question of law, David was strong on facts, and had a most happy faculty of convincing a jury that his view of the facts was the correct one, and often won his case without any merit of law. He went from here to the city of Anderson, Indiana, and later to Oklahoma, in which state he now resides.
Albert Scoonover practiced here some years as a partner to Mr. Comparet, went from here to California, where at this time he is the United States District Attorney for the southern, or lower, dis- trict of that state, which of itself is sufficient to say of his ability as a lawyer and his virtues as a man.
There were and are yet other lawyers, although not residents of this county, present in court here so frequently and their partici- pation in legal affairs of the county so general that any history, how- ever brief, would be incomplete which did not recall Hon. E. P. Hammond, Hon. R. S. Dwiggins, and Hon. S. P. Thompson of Rensselaer; Hon. E. B. Sellers, and Hon. Alfred W. Reynolds of Monticello; Hon. U. Z. Wiley and Daniel Frazer of Fowler.
"REPUTATION IS NOT CHARACTER"
A circumstance in which one of these lawyers figured may be of passing interest here and it may illustrate a fact, establish or dispel a delusion. In earlier times we were taught to write by fur- nished copy ; one of these copies ran like this: "Reputation is not character;" and in such a beautiful Spencerian style! And so we humped over our home-made desks, with home-made ink, indifferent
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pen and penholder and in most indifferent scrawl we wrote line after line, "Reputation is not character." We may not have bene- fited much in penmanship by that copy, but it was a splendid copy.
REPUTATION OF THE BEAVER LAKE REGION
The Beaver Lake and Kankakee region had a widely known reputation ; so general was this reputation and so positive! Fifty miles from that locality on any point of the compass, to hale from there made each person in hearing instinctively put his hand on his watch or pocket-book, take on a confused manner and expression indicating that some dread calamity was about to happen. In the fall of 1873, when on my way home after having delivered the cattle we had grazed that season, and quite depressed because in some instances I could not collect the herd bill, and other instances only in part-it was the week following black Friday-I stopped to lodge over night with a farmer in Livingston County, Illinois. I was put upstairs to sleep, the stairway was a closed one and the door at the bottom of it opened out. When I came down stairs next morning I upset all the chairs in the room below. I had inad- vertently told my host the night before that L was from Beaver Lake and after I retired the chairs had been stacked in front of the door. My appearance at the time may have influenced the man some. I never knew, and I do not know now, what particular cause contributed most to that reputation.
Was it that counterfeiters were located on Bogus Island as early as 1839? They were not residents, and when located by resi- dents were promptly arrested. Was it because an alleged horse thief was shot on the banks of the Beaver Lake ditch in an effort to escape the pursuit of men from near Milford, Illinois? The alleged thief was unknown in the locality where he was killed. No proof that he was a horse thief was ever reviewed in any court by a jury, and neither was the manner of killing him enquired about. Was it because John Shaffer lived in that territory and late in life was shot in the back at his own home by a cowardly assassin ? No court ever convicted John Shaffer of any crime, and no person ever connected him with any crime by credible proof or circum- stance. He was obviously an eccentric, secretive man, of some natural force of mind, who chose to live in the wilds and alone, and that is the most that could be said of him with absolute verity. Was it that in later years two or three men, absolute strangers in the locality, brought cattle there to graze and in breach of faith
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disposed of part of their herds and fled to avoid the pursuit insti- tuted by disinterested residents who sought to have them appre- hended and prosecuted; or was the bad reputation from which that region suffered long, the result of a coloring given by the men who went there fall, winter and spring, to hunt and fish and view what they saw and when they saw from that temporary moral lapse and innocent spirit of vandalism so oftentimes evident? Men of all casts and stations in life made regular trips into that country in season, to hunt and fish, and it was always difficult to judge what they were at home by their conduct on one of these trips. Parties on those periodical trips, when they entered the Beaver woods, would sometimes load their horses down with green cordwood already cut and corded up by the owner of the land, haul it four or five miles over sand roads to use in their campfire at places where dry fallen timber was abundant, and much better for their purpose and otherwise valueless. One man is recalled who was reputed to be a class leader in church at home, who when he recov- ered from the excess of spirits which his companions brought with them, and which the spirit of the occasion induced him to imbibe, implored his comrades to put him out of the way, as he was utterly unfit to return home.
THE MAN FROM MONG
Similar incidents could be multiplied, but the simple incident in mind may in itself be entertaining and sufficiently illustrative as well: Dan Frazer and I were some years ago associated together in the trial of a suit in court. The jury was called, and Mr. Frazer ran his eye over the jury while I was examining them. When I returned to the table he says, "That man over there with the whiskers. We don't want him. That's the man from Mong." This was Greek to me and I replied, "That man is all right; that is Fred Mashino from the west side of Lake Township.'
"That's the very man," said Mr. Fraser, "he is a man from Mong, and you put him off."
I expostulated. I did not wish to lose a good juror or offend Mr. Mashino. "Well," Dan says, "you ask him if he knows me. Maybe he don't remember."
"Mr. Mashino, do you know my associate counsel, Mr. Frazer?"
And he replied: "I wouldn't want to say that I know him. I sold him a pig once."
"Then I was not only astonished but confused. The mystery was growing on me, but when I turned to Mr. Frazer, promptly he
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said : "He is all right. Leave him on. He's a dead game sport, he is."
When court adjourned for the day, all the way from the court house to the office Mr. Frazer would mumble half to himself : "He is the Man from Mong; haven't seen him before in fifteen years."
And when we reached the office it all came out like this: "There was a bunch of us going up to the Kankakee to fish and hunt and we went by Mashino's house up there in the woods. I can remember it all just like yesterday. It looked like a good place to get some good water and we stopped and all went in, but there was no one at home. Coming back out to the wagon, some way one of the boys fell down, and when he got up out of the grass there was a nice fat hen sticking to him. Two of the other boys wanted to stretch their legs a little, and started to walk ahead down the fence, when presently one of them stumbled in the grass and fell down on a pig. When we got down to the river only about three miles ahead we skinned the pig, all but the head, cut the head off, wrapped it in the hide and chucked it in the hollow of an old stump. In the course of half an hour this man rode up on horseback and com- menced inquiring about his pig, whether we had seen anything of it, and he described every spot on that pig and even the ear marks. I thought I was the best man in the party to handle a diplomatic case of that character so I says: 'No sir. We have not seen your pig, sir. Very sorry to hear it has strayed away. We will be wandering around here some, and if we see that pig, mister, we will report to you, sir.'
"Now I had at that time a beautiful greyhound, and had brought him with me, and about this time that infernal hound came walking up to me with the head of that pig in his mouth and trailing the hide along in the grass. Promptly I spoke up and I says, 'Mister, what was that pig worth ?'
"Oh, I knew him the moment I set eyes on him. He is the Man from Mong all right."
What men in the disturbed and exaggerated state of mind, as these men usually were while on these trips, might imagine and choose to tell and elaborate on their return home, in no small degree helped to make the reputation which the Beaver Lake region once had, and hence the wisdom of the copy "Reputation is not Character."
CONVENING OF COURT, AN EVENT
In the earlier times the convening of court was an event, and many of the more prominent men of the county attended whether
.
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they had business in court or not; some would stay a day or two while others of them would remain during the entire session. It was about the only diversion from the everyday life which the time and locality afforded. Thomas R. Barker was of the latter class and in Jasper County, and for some years after this county was formed, he was a regular attendant at court, though I question if the records of either county disclose his name as a litigant. He was a man of unusual natural powers, physical and mental, and, although a man of no book education, was always the center of attrac- tion in an evening group of men about the hotel lobby because of his personal attractiveness and entertaining conversational ability. On this account he was widely known by all the people of the two counties and well known and admired by all the pioneer judges and lawyers. Later he was called as a juror, and court was being held by a young lawyer by the name of Rhodes from Lafayette, who was acting as a special judge. The jury was empaneled in the forenoon and the trial was under way.
When court adjourned for the noon hour A. J. Kent came by and took Mr. Barker home with him for dinner. Naturally the two old pioneers lingered. Court met, Mr. Barker was not in his seat. Twenty-five minutes went by ; an attachment was issued and placed in the hands of the sheriff who was directed to bring Mr. Barker in to answer for a contempt. The sheriff met him on the way to court, but was too wise to even suggest the possession of a writ. When Mr. Barker came into court he was reprimanded for delinquency, but at the suggestion of the clerk, previously made, as to the dangerous impropriety of it, no fine was imposed, nor would the clerk or sheriff accept any fees.
A DEGENERATE SON
At that time we had the old frame barn-like Court House located on the east side of the square, with a wooden board walk, or cause- way, leading to it from the west across the center of the block on a direct line. It was obvious during the afternoon that Mr. Barker was not in a pleasant frame of mind toward the young judge. On the following morning Mr. Barker was standing alone on the little portico on the west side of the Court House, when young Rhodes observing him there walked over the long causeway to engage him in conversation, hoping to get on pleasant terms with him, and the following colloquy took place :
Rhodes-"Good morning, Mr. Barker."
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Barker (gruffly)-"Good morning, sir."
Rhodes-"They tell me that you are a pioneer of this county." Barker-"Yes sir, I have been here some time."
Rhodes-"I expect you used to know my father in earlier times. He used to come out to Rensselaer to practice law."
Barker-"Quite likely I did, sir. I knew all the lawyers that practiced law at Rensselaer."
Rhodes-"David Rhodes, did you know him?"
Barker (with emphasis)-"David Rhodes! David Rhodes! Are you a son of David Rhodes? Great God, how men do degenerate !" Then promptly turned his back and walked away.
LEGAL MATTERS CONNECTED WITH KANKAKEE IMPROVEMENTS
The straightening and deepening of the Kankakee River for drainage purposes has for many years not only occupied the atten- tion of the landowners affected, but the state and national govern- ment as well. The first overt effort in that direction now recalled was the action of the Kankakee Valley Draining Company. This company was organized in the year 1869 as a corporation. After its organization it proceeded to locate the main line of drainage, and mentioned laterals and drains and all without any previous technical information as to the practicability of such an improve- ment. This enterprise was regarded generally by landowners likely to be affected as a private undertaking for profit, and was unfavor- ably regarded. On September 22, 1869, a complaint was filed in the Newton Circuit Court by one James O'Reiley against said company. The plaintiff was represented by James Bradley and the defendant company was represented by Leonidas A. Cole, both of LaPorte. On the date the complaint was filed the defendant appeared by his attorney voluntarily and without process and filed an answer. Imme- diately it was concluded by those locally interested that the suit was collusive, and that the purpose of Mr. O'Reiley was not to enjoin the assessment of his land, but was to give the defendant the benefit of a decree of court in favor of the validity of its proceeding.
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