Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 4

Author: F.A. Battey & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 976

USA > Indiana > Noble County > Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 4
USA > Indiana > LaGrange County > Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 4

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Separate Probate Courts were also held under the old Constitution, but when the new Constitution went into effect in 1852, all this class of business was transferred to the Common Pleas Court, a new court then established. The Probate Judges were Elias B. Smith and William S. Prentiss. The Com- mon Pleas Judges were Joseph H. Mather and E. W. Metcalf, of Elkhart County, and William M. Clapp, of Noble County. This court was abolished in 1873, and all its business transferred to the Circuit Court.

Another item furnished by the early records is that the first marriage license issued in the county was July 25, 1832, to join together in the holy bonds of matrimony, Lewis D. Parish and Elizabeth Cook. Six marriage licenses were issued in 1833, twenty in 1834, and thirty-six in 1835. For the

HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

last few years, the average has been about one hundred and twenty. Many connubial knots were tied over the line, in Michigan, in an early day, and the custom is not, by any means, yet abandoned.

The first application for divorce was made at the October term, 1839, but the cause was continued, and several terms thereafter dismissed. The first divorce granted was in 1840.

The first murder trial in the county was occasioned by an assault of a party of young men, of Clay Township, upon Jacob Bean and some members of his family, in December, 1861. In the melee, Jacob Bean was struck down and his neck broken. Three persons were indicted, but only one, Hiram Springer, found guilty, and he of manslaughter. He was sentenced to two years' impris- onment, but was relieved by the decision of the Supreme Court on a technical fault in the records. This was in "war times," and the proceedings were nolle prosequied, and the accused endeavored to repair his record by gallant service at the front.

The most famous trial in the county was that of Stephen Jenks, for the murder of George Mallow, of Ontario, which was commenced in September, 1870, and concluded at a special term in December, 1870. The attorneys engaged were James McGrew, Prosecuting Attorney, assisted by Andrew Ellison, for the State; and for the defense, Joseph D. Ferrall and John Morris, of Fort Wayne. The trial lasted fourteen days, and during the entire time the court room was densely crowded, and excitement at a high pitch. The prisoner, during the trial, was quiet and undemonstrative, apparently taking little interest in the proceedings. This trial was the first one in the county in which the defense of insanity was made.

The defense of insanity, however applicable it may have been to Jenks, was very distasteful to the people of the county, who had just felt an indignant interest in the acquittal of McFarland, the murderer of the famous war corre- spondent of the New York Tribune, Albert D. Richardson. It was felt that it was an attempt to reproduce sharp New York criminal practice into a country where justice was yet dear. The sentiment of the people was well expressed by the following editorial remarks in the Standard:

" The advocates of paroxysmal insanity, as a defense against the charge of premeditated murder, may congratulate themselves on having a local illus- tration of the beauties of their doctrine in the murder of George Mallow. This heartless transaction, which has chilled the blood of our community by the heinousness of the offense, is nothing more than a natural outgrowth of those pernicious teachings which seek to establish the doctrine that a man may take the life of his fellow, while laboring under the impression that he has been wronged, and that his angered and excited feelings shall be taken as an apology for the crime. It is high time that cracked-brained the- orists on the laws of insanity, who seek to make their doctrines applicable to a defense in a case of murder, had a practical illustration of the dangerous

HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

nature of their teachings. The world is well stocked with moralizing fools that the community could get along without."

After a hotly contested trial, the jury took the case and struggled with it several hours, and then brought in a verdict of guilty, and fixed the penalty at imprisonment for life. A severer penalty was not expected, as the impression prevailed that a La Grange County jury would not sentence to death. Public opinion generally acquiesced in this result, although a considerable number gave credence to the defense of insanity. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, and the judgment reversed on the ground of the refusal of the lower court to continue the case for the introduction of further evidence for the de- fense.

Before the case was retried, Jenks escaped from jail, and was not found again until 1877, when he was discovered quietly working in a Michigan vil- lage, near Saginaw. Another trial, upon a change of venue, was then had in Elkhart County, and the same sentence imposed ; after which, further defense was abandoned, and Jenks was taken to the penitentiary, at Michigan City, where he still remains.

The next important criminal trial was of Chauncy Barnes, for the murder of Addie Dwight. On account of the social position of the parents of the parties to this tragedy, and the mournfully romantic circumstances attending this sad murder of a young, beautiful and virtuous lady, a great interest was taken in the trial. A special term of court in December, 1871, was devoted to this case, which occupied four days. A considerable number of witnesses were called in, and a hotly contested trial resulted. The defense was insanity, as in the previous trial, and the verdict was also identical ; but the defense was content with saving the life of the young man, and the sentence went into im- mediate effect. These cases were the most exciting which were tried in the old frame court house, and were probably the occasion of the greatest display of legal acuteness and forensic eloquence in the history of the county. Judge Hiram S. Tousley occupied the bench during the first trial of Jenks and at the Barnes trial, and his rulings were generally accepted as well intended and im- partial.

Public buildings were, of course, a necessity at once, and a two-story frame building was soon erected at Lima, in which to hold the scales of justice be- tween the early settlers. But as soon as the central and southern parts of the county began to emerge from the status of a wilderness, and become settled, the location of the county seat became the dominant local question. Lima, it was . argued, though it could not be excelled in its location as the site of a promising town, was not central enough for the county seat. The question was carried into the Legislature, and, at first, Lima seemed to have the advantage; but, af- terward seeing that the contention would be productive of much ill-feeling, and that the question would never be settled, even if temporarily gained for her side, Lima finally abandoned the strife, and the geographical center was harmonious-

HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

ly agreed upon for the county seat. That spot was found in a hilly, swampy spot on Fly Creek, covered with a heavy forest and partly with a luxurious growth of blackberry brambles, which it required many years to exterminate. There the town of La Grange was laid out. Two land-owners, Joshua T. Hobbs and Reuben J. Dawson, were materially benefited by this creation of a new town. They were not, however, ungrateful for the favor, but manifested their appreciation of the new state of things by the donation of grounds for a public square. On this a substantial and, for its day and place, a really fine building, of two stories, was erected in 1843 for the use of the public offices and court. It was a commodious building in its day, but it is estimated that it would only comfortably fill the court room in the present court house. A jail was soon after erected, which long remained a picturesque, though not a very secure, abode for the misdoers of the county. The jail proper was built of logs, and, in addition to the iron-barred doors and windows, there was, for se- curity, a high board fence put around the cell windows. This primitive house of refuge was used for thirty years, although toward the last, prisoners of any importance were taken to other counties, and the jail became also, on ac- count of its unhealthfulness, no longer tenable. A new jail was ordered by the Board of Commissioners February 2, 1872, and W. H. Croker, of Grand Rapids, Mich., was employed as architect. The contract for building was let to Messrs. Brace & Reed, of Kendallville, March 12, 1872, and the house was completed and occupied in February, 1873. The Sheriff's residence part is two stories in height, and the jail part one story above basement. The foundations are laid with bowlder stone, and the walls above of brick, the outside side wall being white pressed brick manufactured at Grand Rapids, Mich. The jail part is well cased inside with iron, and so constructed as to make escape for prisoners about impossible. The first cost of the building was about $29,000. Since then improvements have been made in drainage, and otherwise, to the extent of some $600.

The first court house was built at Lima in 1833; the second at La Grange 1843; the third was determined upon by the County Commissioners at their September term, 1877. The two first were wooden structures, of temporary build, without vaults or facilities for safety or convenience. The latter was to be permanent in structure and in style and convenience in unison with the day of improvements. Mr. A. J. Smith, of Chicago, was first engaged as archi- tect, but a difference arising between him and the Commissioners, his engage- .ment was dissolved and Messrs. T. J. Tolan & Son, of Fort Wayne, were em- ployed. The general outline of plan for the building, prepared by the Auditor, Samuel Shepardson, and the Clerk, Samuel P. Bradford, and adopted by the Commissioners, was then placed in their hands. The details of plan and the specifications were then drawn up by the architects, and contractors advertised for to put in bids for the construction of the building April 24, 1878. The bids, in sealed envelopes, were handed in and when opened were found to be as

COUNTY AUDITOR

HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

follows : W. H. Myers, Fort Wayne, $53,000; O. D. Hurd, Fort Wayne, $48,365; Crane, Duncan & Co., Waterloo, $54,690; M. D. Brennemen & Co., Huntington, $54,529; John L. Farr & Co., Grand Rapids, $58,000; J. W. Hinkley, Indianapolis, $59,900; James E. Shover, $59,700; Charles Bosse- ker and John Begue, Fort Wayne, $46,700; R. W. Ostrander and D. O. Porter, Kalamazoo, $48,898.52; Brace, Reed & Ruick, Kendallville and La Grange, $48,758. The Commissioners being satisfactorily assured that Messrs. Bosse- ker & Begue, the lowest bidders, were responsible, and satisfied with the bond of $30,000 offered by them, that the work should be done in accordance with the plans and specifications, their bid and bond were accepted and the work at once commenced. The Commissioners, in addition to requiring the architects to act as general superintendents of the work, appointed Samuel P. Bradford local superintendent, his duty being faithfully to enforce all the conditions of the contract, to inspect all materials and work, to make estimates for the contractors of the amount due them on the contract for materials and work, and in no case to estimate any objectionable materials or work. The work was then taken hold of and pushed satisfactorily, materials gathered, foun- dations put in, and on the 15th of August, 1878, some two thousand citizens, pursuant to an invitation of the Commissioners, met to witness the laying of the corner-stone. The ceremonies were simple and without religious formality and civic display, short speeches, music by Odell's Martial Band, the Lima Silver Band, depositing a box in the corner-stone, the placing of the stone and several rounds of cheers, constituting the whole procedure. Rev. John Paul Jones, then County Recorder, presided. Hon. John B. Howe spoke briefly. He thought he was probably the only one present who settled in the county as early as 1833; but upon calling for others to raise their hands, if any were present, nearly a dozen hands flew up. He then referred to his early life' in the county, as a law student, admittance to the bar, early law associates and the first court house. The changes that had since occurred were most remark- able. The progress seemed to have been almost too rapid. Few things, he said, could show a sharper contrast of the ability and disposition of the people now and then, than the court house first erected and the one the corner-stone of which was now to be laid. The cost of the new building would be as much as the whole county was then worth. He did not believe in very expensive and ornamental court houses. They should be like justice itself, simple and unos- tentatious. . But it was the fashion now to build expensive public buildings, and the people could not endure being out of fashion and away behind their neighbors. He was willing to pay his part and only referred to cost as a matter of contrast.

Andrew Ellison, the next oldest member of the bar, next addressed the meeting. He had been a member of the La Grange County bar, he said, thirty- six years, and his record as a lawyer was scattered through the records of the court all through that period, and he was willing to stand by the record

HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

made. Then, taking for his subject, "The Court House-what it has been, is now, and its future," he spoke at some length, the substance only of which was preserved. The word court house, he said, was distinctly an American phrase. The house should be simple, but in size and construction should be distinguish- able from all others in the community. Then, reviewing in outline the admin- istration of justice through the means of the court house in England, from the days of its conquest by Cæsar to the present, he demonstrated that the court house was the corner-stone upon which England built. The mode it adopted of settling differences between citizens, of protecting person and property, which gave rise and necessity for public temples of justice, had banished its former bar- barism and developed a people superior to all others in physical, intellectual and moral power, on the face of the earth, except possibly the American peo - ple Our jurisprudence was derived wholly from England's, and it had likewise been to us what it has been to the mother country. The court house, the mili- tary, or the mob must rule. The administration of justice was expensive, but it was immensely cheaper, and gave better protection to life and property. The mob at Pittsburgh, in one hour, last year, destroyed more than enough to run all the courts in the United States, National, State and county, for one year. The law of the court house says to the young man, buy your land, develop all you can out of it and I will protect your title and the proceeds of your hard toil. The administration of justice was by no means perfect, and with humanity as frail as it is, could never be, but it was the best system for adjusting differ- ences between man and man, and of protecting life and property, ever devised. It is the poor man's fortress ; without its protection there could be no incentive to industry or provision for the wants and comforts of home. Though there had been no religious ceremonies on this occasion, every stone of a court house rested upon the Christian religion. Our laws were based upon the laws of God. All writers upon law recognized this fact. The more our laws and their admin- istration were in harmony with God's laws, the safer would it be for the people, and the greater their prosperity in all that contributes to happiness here and favor in the sight of the Almighty.

The contents of the copper box, placed in the cavity of the corner-stone, were read by Samuel P. Bradford, and were as follows :

Copy of Acts. of 1832, containing act organizing the county ; copy of Bar Docket of April term, 1878, Circuit Court; copy of La Grange County Direc- tory ; copy of the Daily Service (a camp-meeting paper); copy of the La Grange Standard, Centennial issue, and issue of the day ; copy of the La Grange Reg- ister, August 15, 1878; copy of Wolcottville Gazette, August 9, 1878 ; copy of application of Farmers' Rescue Insurance Company ; piece of three-cent scrip ; six Confederate postage stamps, found in rebel camp in Virginia ; pieces of 10, 25 and 5 cent scrip, different issues; names of members of Lima Silver Band ; names of officers of incorporated town of, La Grange; manual of the common schools of La Grange County ; coin dated 1771 ; 25-cent silver

HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

United States coin, 1877 ; 40-cent silver coin, United States coin, 1834; silver coin dated 1774; two pieces of scrip, private issue ; Swiss medal ; photograph copy of New England Chronicle and Gazette, 1775; premium list of La- Grange County Agricultural Society ; copy of School Law and Acts of 1877.

After the box was placed, Judge William A. Woods, Judge of the Thirty- fourth Judicial Circuit, and ex officio Judge of the La Grange Circuit Court, being introduced, made some complimentary and facetious allusions to the previous speaker, and then referred at some length to the practical questions connected with the administration of justice. The law, he said, is divided into two grand departments, that which protects the person, and that which protects property. In a state of barbarism, the first predominated, and in advanced civilization the latter. The major part of the works of courts now was in respect to questions involving the right of property, and for that reason he believed that property should pay the expenses of courts, and that poll taxes should be abolished or made very light. Two days' work a year on roads and a poll tax were too much of a levy upon the mere person. He placed the court house beside the schoolhouse, the church and the family circle, and paid a tribute to the homes of the people. The virtues inculcated in the family circle were, after all, the greatest protection of the people as a whole.

The tackling was then adjusted to the cap stone, and, guided by Judge Woods' hands, it was placed in position, after which cheers were given for the court house, the speakers, the contractors and the laborers. The President of the day, Mr. Jones, now made some remarks, referring to the past, congratu- lating the people upon the great changes, saying he felt it one of the proudest occasions of his life to preside at such a meeting of his fellow-citizens, and invoked the divine blessing upon the work commenced, and upon the use to which the building when completed would be devoted. The inscriptions upon the corner-stone are as follows :

(East Face.) Corner Stone Laid with Public Ceremonies August 15, A. D. 1878. County Organized May 14, A. D. 1832. Jacob Vandevanter, Edmund Littlefield, Arthur Barrows, First Commissioners. Joshua T. Hobbs, First Clerk. County Seat Located at Lima, A. D. 1832.

Removed to La Grange, A. D. 1844. First Term of Court Held October 22, A. D. 1832. (North Face.)

HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

La Grange County. Hezekiah Davis, Alanson Blackmun, George W. Edgcomb, Commissioners. Samuel Shepardson, Auditor. T. J. Tolan & Son, Architects.

S. P. Bradford, Local Superintendent. Bosseker & Begue,

Contractors. Completed, 18 -.

The work on the house progressed without material interruption until March, 1879, when the contractors complained they were losing money, and were becoming financially embarrassed. The matter was finally adjusted on the basis of the appointment of Andrew Ellison on the part of the contractors, as their agent, to receive and pay out the money on the contract in their behalf, and that the Commissioners should have the right to control the employment of labor and the purchase of all materials (not then covered by sub-contracts) required to complete the building, the county to pay for all materials and labor in excess of contract price, that would be necessarily required to fully complete the house.

The work now progressed again, the work completed and house taken possession of by the county November 13, 1879.

The size of the building is sixty-four feet eight inches by one hundred feet eight inches, with two stories above basement, and a tower built from basement up centrally through the building, and reaching 125 feet from grade to top of finial ; the first story is thirteen feet in height, and the floor divided centrally east and west by a hall twelve feet in width; from this hall a stairway, in the dome part, leads from either side of the hall to the hall above, and another from either side to the basement below. On the south side of the hall are the Clerk's office, Clerk's vault, Recorder's vault, Recorder's office and Sheriff's office. On the north side, the Tax-payer's room, the Treasurer's office, Treas- urer's vault, Auditor's vault, Auditor's office and Commissioners' room.

The second story is fifteen feet in height. On the second floor, fronting the east, is the court room, fifty-seven feet three inches, by twenty-four feet three and one-fourth inches, and twenty feet in height. Opening into it, at the southwest corner, is the law library, and at the northwest cor- ner a witness room. Double doors open into the hall-way on west side of the room ; this hall is same size as below, and leads to the Surveyor's office, two Petit Jury rooms, one Grand Jury room, County Superintendent's ofice and Janitor's room. From the Janitor's room, a stairway leads to the dome above. In the dome are three floors. On the first, the clock room, on the second, the bell room, and on the third, the dial room.

HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

In the basement are four vaults, and rooms corresponding in size with those on the first floor.

The foundation is laid in concrete, with tiling two feet out from footing-stone and four inches below ; this tiling connects with a drain that runs into Fly Creek. The footing-stone are limestone rock from six to ten feet in width, and are laid in a floating coat of mortar on the concrete, all points thoroughly filled with cement. The foundation walls built on the footing-stone are of bowlder stone, all split, and above grade rock faced with quarter, half-rounded, sunk-joint, pointed with white putty mortar. The walls above the foundation are all of brick, the outside being of a superior quality of pressed brick made at Porter Station, Ind., and the inside and partition walls of common red brick, manufactured mainly at Fort Wayne, but partly in this county. The pressed brick are all laid in putty mortar, with smooth-pointed joint.

The water-table at grade-line, the sills and caps of all the doors and windows are of cut limestone, from Joliet, Ill. The beams, bars and trusses, for floors and ceilings, and the rafters of the roof are of wrought iron, the ceilings of corrugated iron, the outside moldings of galvanized iron, with all ornaments made of pressed zinc. The roof is of the best quality of black slate, 14 inches wide by 2 feet long, nailed with copper nails. The floors in the rooms are of oak wood, and in the main halls, of the best quality of black and white mar- ble tile. Tbe plastering is three-coat work, with the best of material. The fin- ishing work is all in walnut and ash alternately. The court room is also quite handsomely frescoed. The whole building is practically fire-proof. The vaults are absolutely so. All the rooms are supplied with water, furnished by pipes leading from a wind-mill tank on the jail lot; the heating is by stoves, though the building is constructed for furnace heating, should it ever be desired. A cut elsewhere will give a general view-outside view-of the structure. The total cost of the building, as reported in Auditor's annual statement for 1880, is as follows :

Miscellaneous expenses. $ 3,830 01

Extra sub-foundation. 966 85

Paid T. J. Tolan & Son, architects. 1,144 00

Paid Commissioners, for extra sessions. 233 50

Paid contractors, Messrs. Bosseker & Begue 47,445 30

Paid in excess of contract.

7,879 00

Total

$61,498 66

The total cost to tax-payers, for improvements upon Court House Square, from September 1, 1877, to June 5, 1880, is as follows :

New Court House

$61,498 66

Tower clock and bell .. 1,517 45

Furniture for new Court House

3,735 07

Real estate purchased (west part of Court House Square). 4,127 13

Grading court yard.

797 01

Total cost.

$71,675 32

HISTORY OF LA GRANGE COUNTY.

The next season the public square was inclosed with an iron fence, costing about $2,500, making the total cost of the erection of the building, the furnish- ing, extension of the public square, grading and fencing, less than $75,000. The whole was paid for as fast as the work was done, the county neither bor- rowing nor owing a dollar after its completion. The county is now supplied with public buildings good enough for a century to come, and without a dollar of indebtedness to carry.

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Counties of LaGrange and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 4

Author: F.A. Battey & Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago : Battey & Co. Number of Pages: 976

Author: F.A. Battey & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago : Battey & Co.
Number of Pages: 976