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 8
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 8
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
County treasurers : Albert Persail, the first incumbent. was suc- ceeded by Samuel L. Sparling, who served until 1852 ; Jacob Merkle, 1852-56; Ezra Wright. 1856-60: Samuel Alter, 1860-64; Thomas Boroughs, 1864-68; Charles Platt, 1868-70; Lemuel Henkle, 1870- 72 : Lemuel C. Jones. 1872-76: Henry I. Adams. 1876-80: Moses B. Alter. 1880-86; WV. H. Hoover, 1886-88: I. B. Washburn. 1888-90; Marcus H. Hemphill. elected in 1890, and succeeded by Jesse C. Givin. in 1894: Robert A. Parkinson, elected in 1898: Samuel R. Nichols. 1902 ; Jesse D. Allman, 1906; Alson A. Fell. 1910: Charles V. May, the present incumbent, 1914.
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Among the early sheriffs were Henry Barkley, Sr., in honor of whom Barkley Township was named; William Stewart, John Phil- lips, William Henderson and Willis J. Wright, who served from the organization of the county until 1858; Sheriff Wright was succeeded by Simon Phillips, 1858-62; Daniel F. Davies, elected in 1862, who died in office; John M. Austin, coroner, serving the unexpired term; Charles Platt, 1864-68; Allen J. Yeoman, 1868-72; Lewis L. Daugh- erty, 1872-76; George M. Robinson, 1876-80; John W. Powell, 1880-86; Samuel E. Yeoman followed Mr. Powell; Philip Blue, elected in 1888, was succeeded by Charles Hanley in 1892; Nathan J. Reed was elected in 1896 and Abraham G. Hardy, in 1900; John O'Connor, 1904; Lewis P. Shirer, 1908; William I. Hoover, 1910, and Benjamin D. McColly, 1914.
Among the county surveyors who served previous to 1890 were Wesley Spitler, James Ballard, Frederick Schraack, J. D. Hopkins, John Miller, R. B. James, Joseph M. Hopkins, Charles P. Mayhew, Daniel B. Miller and Lewis S. Alter. James C. Thrawls was elected surveyor in November, 1884, and was succeeded by John E. Alter in 1892, who served until 1898, when Myrt B. Price was elected. W. Frank Osborne, chosen in 1908, was succeeded by Clifton J. Hobbs, in 1914, and he has since been replaced by Mr. Price.
Among the early coroners were John M. Austin, Norman War- ner, Frank J. Sears and Philip Blue. Since 1888, with years of their election, the following have held office: Real P. Benjamin, 1888; Shelby Grant, 1892; Truitt P. Wright, 1896; Willis J. Wright, 1902; Cecil E. Johnson, 1914.
Following are the prosecuting attorneys of Jasper County, with the years of their election, who have served since 1886: M. H. Walker, 1886; John T. Brown, 1890; Thurman C. Annabel, 1894; Albert E. Chizum, 1896; John D. Sink, 1900; Robert O. Graves, 1904; Fred H. Longwell, 1908; Reuben Hess, 1914.
Thomas Antrim was elected recorder of the county in November, 1886; James F. Antrim, in 1888; Robert B. Porter, in 1896; John W. Tilton, 1904; and George W. Scott, still in office, in 1912. The assessors since 1892 : Charles E. Mills, 1892 ; John R. Phillips, 1896; John Q. Lewis, 1904; G. L. Thornton, 1914.
CHAPTER V
COURTS, JUDGES AND LAWYERS
FIRST WESTERN AMERICAN COURTS-FIRST TERRITORIAL COURT- FEDERAL VS. TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION-JUDICIAL SYSTEM UN- DER THE FIRST STATE CONSTITUTION-SUBSEQUENT LEGISLATION AFFECTING THE COURTS-CIRCUIT COURT, A MONOPOLY OF JUDI- CIAL POWER-LIST OF CIRCUIT JUDGES, 1852-1916-FIRST COURT SESSIONS IN JASPER COUNTY-NOTED EARLY LAWYERS-JOSEPH A. WRIGHT-RUFUS A. LOCKWOOD-EDWIN P. HAMMOND- SIMON P. THOMPSON-ROBERT S. DWIGGINS-MORDECAI F. CHILCOTE.
Until the middle period of the Revolutionary war, after General Clark had conquered the territory northwest of the Ohio for the patriot army, no earnest attempt was made by either France or Great Britain to establish civil or judicial administration over any part of the country west of the Alleghany Mountains ; and then it was too late for either mother country to do anything in that line. In other words, neither France nor Great Britain ever attempted to estab- lish other than a military rule over the Northwest. Under French rule the commandants of the posts decided most points at issue be- tween the civilians and the Indians, or which came up between the whites themselves; when the cases seemed particularly involved or important, some of the most influential characters of the special locality which was disturbed would be called into consultation. But few cases of law suits could arise, as few of the settlements in In- diana consisted of more than fifty families; they were happy-go- lucky people who did not worry about definite titles to their lands so long as their neighbors did not object, and much of the land in the settlements was communal, each man usually cultivating only so much as would furnish him or his family with the necessities of life.
When the common law of England was established over the ter- ritory no attempt was made to establish courts, as the newcomers discouraged settlement west of the mountains. Until 1777 they did
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not think it worth their efforts to even take possession of Vincennes, the only real center of civilization in the Northwest.
FIRST WESTERN AMERICAN COURTS
But when General Clark conquered the Territory of Virginia and the Americans, and John Todd was appointed lieutenant for the County of Illinois, the authority of the courts commenced to be es- tablished. His headquarters were at Fort Chartres, but he sought also to establish a court of civil and criminal jurisdiction at Vincennes, of which the commandant of the post, Col. J. M. P. Legras, was presi- dent. A historian of those times says that "no record of an action by. this court remains, except its assumption of the right to make grants of land, and it exercised that authority with royal liberality, most of the grants being made to the members of the Court." That was the first judicial tribunal which legally and theoretically exercised jurisdiction over what are now Indiana and Jasper County, although fifty years were to elapse before any white men came to that section of the state to look for civil or judicial protection.
Under the ordinance of 1787, Samuel H. Parsons, James M. Varnum and John C. Symes were appointed judges of the Northwest Territory, who, with Governor St. Clair, were authorized to enforce such laws of the original states as might be applicable to the new territory. It appears that the judges who held their first session at Marietta exceeded their authority and tried to incorporate some original-very original-laws, which were repudiated by the Con- gress of the United States. In 1795 the governor and judges met at Cincinnati and enacted a number of laws which conformed to the authority of the organic ordinance; the validity of the laws pro- mulgated at Marietta was questioned until 1799, when, to avoid complications, they were re-adopted, as a whole, by the Territorial Legislature.
FIRST TERRITORIAL COURT
In January, 1801, William Clark, Henry Vanderburgh and John Griffin, who had been appointed the first judges of Indiana Territory, met Governor Harrison at Vincennes, the capital, for the purpose of passing a code of laws to supersede that enacted at Cincinnati for the government of the Northwest Territory. Among those passed as a part of the new code was one establishing courts of General Quarter
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Sessions of the Peace in the counties of Knox, Randolph and St. Clair.
The first session of the General Court was opened at Vincennes on the 3d of March, 1801, all the judges present. The grand jury called, as will be seen by an examination of the names of its mem- bers, was largely of French extraction, consisting of Luke Decker, Antoine Marshal, Joseph Baird, Patrick Simpson, Antoine Petit, Andr. Montplaiseur, John Ockiltree, Jonathan Marney, Jacob Teve- baugh, Alexander Vadney, Francois Turpin, Fr. Compagnoitte, Charles Languedoc, Louis Severe, Fr. Languedoc, George Catt, John St. Barios, Abraham Decker and Philip Catt. With a Court of Gen- eral Sessions and a grand jury in operation, the judiciary of Indiana may be said to have been fully established.
FEDERAL VS. TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION
In February, 1805, the first popular assembly of the territory met at Vincennes and split off Michigan from Indiana Territory, and four years later Illinois was carved out of it. In 1814 what is now Indiana was divided into five districts, each of which was to elect a member of the Territorial Council ; this action originated in Con- gress. In the same year the General Assembly divided the territory into three judicial districts, but Judge Parke refused to act on the grounds stated in the following letter to Governor Posey: "By an act entitled 'An act reorganizing courts of justice,' passed at the late session of the Legislature, the Territory is divided into three districts, in each of which a circuit court is established-the court to consist of one of the judges appointed by the Government of the United States for the territory, as president, and three associates commissioned under the authority of the territory, and to have juris- diction in all cases at law and in equity. The first circuit, compris- ing the counties of Knox, Gibson and Warrick, is assigned to me. The Legislature is empowered to make laws in all cases for the good government of the territory not repugnant to the laws of the United States. In the delegation of power that which is not expressly given is reserved. Implications cannot be admitted further than to carry into effect the power given. The laws of the United States being paramount to the laws of the territory, if they are found in conflict, the latter must yield to the former. Congress has defined the juris- diction of the judges appointed by the General Government and made one judge, in the absence of the others, competent to hold
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court. The judges are coordinate and their jurisdiction extends over the whole territory. They are judges in and over, and not a part of the territory. As the judges derive their jurisdiction and power from the Government of the United States, they cannot be controlled, in the exercise of their functions, by persons deriving their authority from the government of the territory. The judges appointed for the territory are limited, by the laws of the United States, to the exercise of a common-law jurisdiction. The act, there- fore, as it regards the organization and jurisdiction of the Circuit Court, is repugnant to the laws of the United States, and neither confers any powers, nor imposes any duty, on the judges appointed for the territory by the United States. The General Government has appointed for the territory three judges with common-law juris- diction ; but when, where or in what manner they are to hold a court, or rather exercise the jurisdiction with which they are invested, Congress has not provided. I consider it the duty of the Legislature to do it. To you, sir, it belongs to watch over the affairs of the territory and to see that the laws are faithfully executed and, on account of the relation in which I stand to the Territorial Govern- ment, I have thought it my duty to make this representation to you. The peculiarity of the case leaves me no other mode of stating my objections and the cause of my not conforming to the law. The Legislature has organized certain courts and assigned me to per- form certain duties ; but the law constituting the one, and directing the other, is unconstitutional, and as I can derive no authority from it, it imposes no obligation. I shall, therefore, not hold the courts for the circuit."
This refusal of Judge Parke, with various appeals to the General Assembly to establish courts which should modify the one-man power of the Superior Court (one judge being competent to hold court), hastened the establishment of the Circuit Court which was alive when Jasper County was created. At the legislative session, which convened at Corydon in August, 1814, the territory was divided into three judicial districts, each of which was to be pre- sided over by a judge appointed by the governor. In selecting the presiding judges the chief executive was required to choose men "learned and experienced in the law," who were citizens of the United States and who had "regularly practiced in some of the courts of the United States, or in this territory, three years." The two associates of each county were to be residents of good standing, but not necessarily lawyers. Two judges were to constitute a quorum.
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JUDICIAL SYSTEM UNDER THE FIRST STATE CONSTITUTION
The entire judicial system was virtually fixed and consolidated under the state constitution of 1816. Under its provisions, the judi- cial bodies were to consist of a State Supreme Court, Circuit courts, and such inferior courts as the General Assembly might establish. The highest body was to consist of three judges to be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, their term of office to be seven years. The Supreme Court was given jurisdiction in capital or chancery cases, where the president of the Circuit Court might be interested or prejudiced.
The Circuit courts were to consist of a presiding judge and two associates. The president alone, or with one of the associates, or the two associates together, could hold court, although capital and chancery cases could not be tried in the absence of the presiding judge. The presidents of the Circuit courts were elected by the General Assembly in joint session and the associate judges were chosen by popular vote.
The first state constitution also provided that the clerk of the Supreme Court was to be appointed by that body and that the clerks of the Circuit courts were to be elected by the people, but no clerk could qualify who had not obtained a certificate of competency from a judge either of the Supreme or Circuit Court. The constitution also provided for justices of the peace.
SUBSEQUENT LEGISLATION AFFECTING THE COURTS
The constitution of 1851 made the supreme judgeship elective instead of appointive, and reduced the term of service from seven to six years. The choice of a clerk of the Supreme Court was also given to the people, and the associate judges of the Circuit courts were abolished. Further, the new constitution provided that no one elected to any judicial office should be eligible to any other office during the term of his service.
"In creating inferior courts," says W. H. Smith, in his "History of Indiana," "the Legislature established what were known as Courts of Common Pleas. These courts were given exclusive juris- diction in probate matters and concurrent jurisdiction with the Cir- cuit courts in some other matters. This created great confusion. All the courts assumed to pass upon the constitutionality of laws enacted by the General Assembly, and the state witnessed the anomaly of having laws enforced in one county and declared uncon-
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stitutional in another. When the Legislature enacted the prohibitory liquor law in 1855, some of the Circuit judges declared it constitu- tional and enforced it, while others declared it void. This lasted until the Supreme Court finally overthrew the law. The confusion grew worse after the Common Pleas Court was established, for then some counties were operating under two different laws at the same time, according as the opinions of the judges differed. This confusion could not last, and finally the General Assembly abolished the Courts of Common Pleas, and in counties where the business
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was too great to be transacted by the Circuit courts, Superior and Criminal courts have been established, with well defined juris- diction."
CIRCUIT COURT. A MONOPOLY OF JUDICIAL POWER
From the consolidation of Jasper and Newton counties, and the establishment of the county seat at the Falls of the Iroquois River in 1839. to the adoption of the second state constitution in 1851, the immediate judicial affairs of that territory were under the juris- diction of the Circuit and Probate courts, with right of appeal to the State Supreme Court; in 1852 all probate matters were trans- ferred to the Common Pleas Court : the Circuit Court continued its jurisdiction, with the abolishment of the two associate judges, and
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in 1873 absorbed the Court of Common Pleas. So that, as far as Jasper County is concerned, the Circuit Court has had a monopoly of judicial power for sixty-four years.
LIST OF CIRCUIT JUDGES, 1852-1916
The constitutional convention of 1851 provided that the Circuit Court should consist of one judge instead of three, and by legis- lative act of 1852 it was provided that there should be ten districts in the state. Jasper County became a part of the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Indiana, composed of Jasper, Parke, Vermilion, Mont- gomery, Boone, Fountain, Warren, Benton, Tippecanoe and Clin- ton counties. William P. Bryant was the circuit judge from 1852 to 1855. On January 21, 1853, Jasper County was attached to the Ninth Circuit. and on February 9, 1855, it was attached to the Twelfth Circuit, composed of Jasper, Benton. White and Tippecanoe counties. In 1855 John Pettit was circuit judge for a short time, and after him. David Turpie, who was formerly United States sen- ator from Indiana. From 1855-57 Andrew Ingram was the circuit judge and for a portion of the year 1857, John Pettit. From 1857-70 Charles E. Test was the judge ; from 1870-73 David W. Vinton, who so continued service in Tippecanoe County until 1894. In 1873 the Thirtieth Judicial District was formed, composed of Jasper, Newton, Benton and Pulaski counties, and existed as such until March 5, 1875, when Pulaski County was attached and made a part of the Twenty-ninth District, with Carroll and White counties. In Feb- ruary, 1899, Benton County was dropped and made part of the Twenty-first District, with Warren and Fountain counties. Jasper and Newton counties have since composed the Thirtieth Judicial circuit. From 1873-83, E. P. Hammond was judge; 1883-90, Peter E. Ward; William Darroch, four months in 1890, by appointment ; 1890-92, E. P. Hammond; 1892-97, Ulrick C. Wiley; 1897-1902, Simon P. Thompson, and from 1902 to the present time, Charles WV. Hanley.
FIRST COURT SESSIONS IN JASPER COUNTY
The first session of the Circuit Court in Jasper County was held in 1839 at the residence of the county clerk. George W. Spitler. at the Brook settlement. It was attended by Isaac Naylor as judge, with Matthew Terwilliger and James T. Timmons as associates. Joseph A. Wright was the prosecuting attorney. His later career
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as a member of Congress, twice governor of the state and United States minister to the German Empire at Berlin, marks him as one of the most prominent lawyers who ever resided in Jasper County. Rufus A. Lockwood, another lawyer in attendance, is chiefly remem- bered for his successful prosecution of General Fremont's claim to the Mariposa tract, for which he received a fee of $100,000, an exceptional amount for those days.
The cases which appeared on the docket were: Hepsey Mont- gomery, administrator, vs. Ed Boon, administrator-a civil action ; State vs. I. T. Timmons, a criminal case which strongly savored of the "practical joke" brand, as it was promptly nollied and disap- peared ; an assault and battery case against Jonathan Hunt, who was never found, and a petition for divorce made by Louisa Barr against Andrew Barr.
The first session of the Circuit Court at Rensselaer was held in an old half-demolished cabin near the residence of Mr. Merkle in April, 1840. The grand jury consisted of W. Donahue, Hannaniah Hewitt, Wesley Spitler, Robert Mallatt, Lewis Elijah, William Gil- lam, William Doran, Joseph Woolsey, George Culp, Thomas Tim- mons, James Reed, James Brown, Andrew Richey, Joseph D. Yeoman and Samuel Benjamin. The fall term of the year at Rens- selaer was attended by Judge J. W. Wright, of Logansport.
The Probate Court was first opened in 1839 at the courthouse in the Brook settlement, the Spitler house. David McConnell, judge, finding no business on the docket, adjourned court. At a subsequent session, the business consisted of granting letters of administration to Elias Clifton on the estate of John Wolf ; setting off a dower to Mrs. Julia Lewis, widow of Benjamin Lewis, and the issuing of a marriage license to James Lacy and Matilda Blue, the ceremony being performed by John Lyons.
EDWIN P. HAMMOND
Edwin P. Hammond, one of the broadest, strongest and most honored representatives of either bench or bar who ever graced the profession in Jasper County, was a native Hoosier, born in Franklin County, November 26, 1835. One of his brothers, Abram A. Ham- mond, was at one time governor of Indiana. The judge was of sub- stantial Maine stock, work upon the farm and years of out-door life adding to his natural ruggedness. Until he was nineteen his education was mainly obtained from the district schools of Brook- ville and the neighborhood. but in 1855 he entered a broader field of
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experience and education by commencing business life in a wholesale drygoods house of Indianapolis. Soon afterward he assumed the study of law in the office of his half-brother, Hon. Abram A. Ham- mond, and Hon. Thomas H. Nelson, of Terre Haute. In the winter of 1856-57 he was admitted to the senior law class of what is now DePauw University and was graduated in the latter year. Immedi- ately afterward he located at Rensselaer. His practice was inter- rupted by his prompt enlistment for the three-months' service, at the outbreak of the Civil war. In April, 1861, he went to the front as second lieutenant of Company G, Ninth Indiana Infantry ; was after- ward commissioned first lieutenant, and served under Col. Robert H. Milroy. At the close of his military service in West Virginia, Mr. Hammond resumed his law practice at Rensselaer and in October, 1861, was elected without opposition to the lower house of the Legis- lature as a representative for the counties of Newton, Jasper and Pulaski. In August of the following year he assisted in recruiting Company A, Eighty-seventh Indiana Infantry, was commissioned its captain, and in 1863 was advanced to the ranks of major and lieutenant-colonel. When Col. Newell Gleason was placed at the head of the brigade. Mr. Hammond was advanced to the command of the Eighty-seventh and so continued in the campaigns from Chat- tanooga to Atlanta, and thence through the Carolinas to Washington. At the close of the war he was brevetted colonel "for gallant and meritorious service."
Within a few years after the war Colonel Hammond had earned a high and substantial professional standing and a large practice, and in March. 1873. Governor Hendricks appointed him judge of the Thirtieth Judicial Circuit. to which office he was elected in the fall of the same year. Again, in 1878. he was elected without opposition for a term of six years. In May. 1883. Judge Hammond was ap- pointed by Governor Porter judge of the State Supreme Court from the Fifth District. succeeding William A. Woods who had become United States district judge. Judge Hammond retired from the bench of the State Supreme Court in January. 1885. with a judicial record and personal popularity which few have equaled. During the succeeding five years he practiced at Rensselaer, served again as circuit judge from 1890 to 1892. and then formed a partnership with Charles B. and William V. Stuart of Lafayette. under the firm name of Stuart Brothers & Hammond. At first the Rensselaer repre- sentative of the firm. Judge Hammond finally made his residence in Lafayette, of which he remained a citizen and a leading lawyer from 1894 until his death in 1915. In 1892 Wabash College conferred Vol. 1-5
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upon him the degree Doctor of Laws, and no such honor was ever more worthily bestowed. Judge Hammond was a republican after the Civil war, but, in view of his years, had little to do with politics for a generation. He was an ardent admirer of General Grant, and in 1872 was sent as a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Philadelphia which nominated the silent commander for his sec- ond presidential term.
SIMON P. THOMPSON
Simon P. Thompson also was elected to the circuit judgeship from Jasper County, having previously been an able member of the bar for thirty years. His father was a Virginian, transplanted as a boy to Ohio, and in Hancock County, of that state, was born the future judge, Simon Parr Thompson, on the 8th of May, 1838. The boy's schooling was all that could be expected of the frontier times in which he was reared, but, after teaching for a time, his ambition for a higher education than could be realized at home was partially satisfied by a year spent as a student at Otterbein University, Westerville, Ohio. He taught at intervals, while attending school, and it was not until 1859 that he was able to graduate at the North- western Normal School, Cincinnati. Three years later he was se- lected as the head of the school at Rensselaer, where he taught two years, and was then appointed school examiner of Jasper County. After studying law privately, he entered the law department of the Michigan State University, from which he was graduated in Jan- uary, 1866. He then formed a partnership with Robert S. Dwig- gins, which continued for three years, and subsequently associated himself with his brother, which connection was of nearly thirty years' duration. During that period the firm of Thompson & Brother was widely known in Northwestern Indiana and its senior member held the offices of prosecuting attorney, from 1872 to 1876, and state senator in 1886-90. In 1896 he was elected judge of the Thirtieth Circuit and served from 1897 to 1902.
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