USA > Indiana > Courts and lawyers of Indiana, Volume I > Part 14
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The Fifth circuit contained Madison, Hancock, Shelby, Bartholomew, Johnson, Morgan, Hendricks, Boone, Hamilton and Marion-ten counties.
The Sixth contained Wayne, Union, Fayette, Rush and Henry-five counties.
The Seventh contained Knox, Sullivan, Clay, Putnam, Vigo, Parke and Vermillion-seven counties.
The Eighth contained Cass, Miami, Wabash, Huntington, Whitley, Noble, DeKalb, Steuben, Lagrange and Allen-ten counties.
The Ninth contained Fulton, Marshall, Kosciusko, Elkhart, St. Joseph, Laporte, Porter and Lake-eight counties.
The Tenth contained Lawrence, Greene, Owen, Monroe, Brown, Martin and Daviess-seven counties.
The Eleventh contained Delaware, Grant, Blackford, Wells, 'Adams, Jay and Randolph-seven counties.
The eleven circuits contained eighty-one counties, an aver- age of over seven counties to the circuit. The Sixth circuit, on the headwaters of Whitewater, was the smallest, having only five counties. It was evident that such circuits as the Fifth would soon have to be divided. The whole schedule was changed by the act of January 15, 1841. A new schedule was made in 1843, but no new circuits. On December 14, 1841, the Twelfth circuit had been laid out. It contained the following counties : Allen, Wells, Huntington, Whitley, Noble, La- grange, Steuben, DeKalb and Adams. By act of January 15, 1847, the counties of Franklin, Decatur, Ripley and Dearborn were erected into the Thirteenth circuit. This left Jefferson, Switzerland, Ohio, Jennings and Bartholomew in the Third. Sixteen separate laws were passed at this session dealing with Circuit courts, and twenty-two dealing with Probate courts.
The last change under the old Constitution was made with the act of March 4, 1852, which took Boone out of the Fifth and placed it in the First. Laws by the scores relating to cir- cuits were passed during the last five sessions of the Legisla- ture, but this was the only change in circuiting between 1847 and 1852, when the new Constitution went into effect.
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CIRCUIT COURTS, 1816-52
By 1850, when the Constitutional convention met, the judicial system was a wilderness of special courts, special sessions, special courts for special purposes and special juris- dictions, while Chancery, Probate, Common Pleas and Justice's courts were hopelessly interwoven. Instead of general laws looking toward simplicity, the practice of the General Assem- bly of remedying each little defect by a special law had resulted in inextricable confusion. The whole judiciary system, once the pride of the Legislature, was now a burden to the state and a weariness to the people. A detailed statement of the judicial circuits from 1813 to 1852 follows. The first act dividing the state into circuits was passed on December 31, 1813, and between that date and 1852 there were no less than ten complete recircuitings of the state, namely, in 1814, 1816, 1818, 1821, 1824, 1830, 1831, 1838, 1839 and 1841. Between these various acts changes were made in some of the circuits and these are noted in their proper place.
JUDICIAL CIRCUITS OF INDIANA, 1813-1852.
December 31, 1813.
First Circuit-Knox, Gibson, Warrick.
Second Circuit-Washington, Harrison, Clark. Jefferson.
Third Circuit-Dearborn. Franklin, Wayne.
August 30, 1S14.
First Circuit-Knox. Gibson. Warrick.
Second Circuit-Washington, Harrison, Clark, Jefferson, Orange (February 1, 1816).
Third Circuit-Dearborn, Franklin, Wayne, Switzerland (August 7, 1814).
December 24, 1S16.
First Circuit-Knox, Gibson, Warrick, Posey, Perry, Pike, Daviess, Sullivan (December 30. 1816).
Second Circuit-Clark. Jackson, Washington, Orange, Harrison.
Third Circuit-Dearborn. Franklin, Wayne, Switzerland, Jefferson, Jennings (December 27, 1816).
January 28, 181S.
First Circuit-Knox, Sullivan. Daviess, Vigo, Dubois, Lawrence, Mon- roe. Owen (January 2, 1819), Greene and Orange (January 9, 1821), Martin (February 21, 1820).
Second Circuit-Harrison, Washington, Orange, Jackson, Clark. Jeffer-
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COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
son, Crawford (January 29, 1818), Floyd ( January 2, 1819), Bartholomew (January 9, 1821), Scott (February 21, 1820).
Third Circuit-Randolph, Wayne, Franklin, Dearborn, Switzerland, Ripley, Jennings, Fayette (January 2, 1819).
Fourth Circuit-Gibson, Posey, Vanderburg, Warrick, Spencer, Perry, Pike (January 9, 1821).
January 9, 1821.
Greene and Owen attached to the First, Crawford to the Fourth, Bartholomew to the Second.
December 31, 1821.
First Circuit-Knox, Sullivan, Vigo, Parke, Putnam, Daviess, Martin, Orange, Putnam (April 1, 1822).
Second Circuit-Jefferson, Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Washington, Jack- son, Scott.
Third Circuit-Ripley, Switzerland, Dearborn, Franklin, Union, Fayette, Wayne, Randolph.
Fourth Circuit-Dubois, Pike, Gibson, Posey, Vanderburg, Warrick, Spencer, Perry, Crawford.
December 31, 1821.
Fifth Circuit-Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, Greene, Owen, Marion, Henry, Rush, Decatur, Bartholomew, Shelby, Jennings, Johnson (May 5, 1823), Madison (July 1, 1823).
January 14, 1824.
First Circuit-Orange, Martin, Daviess, Knox, Sullivan, Vigo, Parke, Vermillion, Montgomery, Putnam, Greene, Owen, Fountain and Clay (Feb- ruary 21, 1826), Warren ( February 24, 1828).
Second Circuit-Scott, Jefferson, Jennings, Jackson, Monroe, Lawrence, Washington, Harrison, Floyd, Clark.
Third Circuit-Allen, Randolph, Wayne, Union, Fayette, Franklin, Dearborn, Switzerland, Ripley, Delaware (February 24, 1828).
Fourth Circuit-Dubois, Pike, Gibson, Posey, Vanderburg, Warrick, Spencer, Perry, Crawford.
Fifth Circuit-Morgan, Johnson, Shelby, Bartholomew, Decatur, Rush. Henry, Madison, Marion, Hamilton, Hendricks, Monroe (February 21, 1826), Carroll (February 24, 1828), Cass (April 13, 1829), Hancock (March 1, 1828).
January 20, 1830.
First Circuit-Vermillion, Parke, Montgomery, Fountain, Warren, Tippecanoe, Clinton, Carroll, Cass, St. Joseph.
Second Circuit-Clark, Scott, Jackson, Washington, Lawrence, Orange, Harrison, Floyd.
Third Circuit-Franklin, Decatur, Dearborn, Ripley, Switzerland, Jef- ferson, Jennings.
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CIRCUIT COURTS, 1816-52
Fourth Circuit-Gibson, Posey, Vanderburg, Warrick, Spencer, Perry, Crawford, Pike, Dubois.
Fifth Circuit-Marion, Hendricks, Morgan, Johnson, Bartholomew, Shelby, Hancock, Madison, Hamilton, Grant (February 10, 1831).
Sixth Circuit-Allen, Delaware, Randolph, Henry, Wayne Union, Fayette, Rush, Elkhart.
Seventh Circuit-Knox, Daviess, Martin, Greene, Monroe, Owen, Vigo, Putnam, Sullivan, Clay, Brown (April 1, 1836).
February 10, 1831.
First Circuit-Vermillion, Parke, Montgomery, Fountain, Warren, Tippecanoe, Clinton, Carroll, Cass, St. Joseph.
Second Circuit-Scott, Jackson, Lawrence, Orange, Washington, Harri- son, Floyd, Clark.
Third Circuit-Ripley, Jennings, Jefferson, Switzerland, Dearborn, Franklin, Decatur.
Fourth Circuit-Gibson, Posey, Vanderburg, Warrick, Spencer, Perry, Crawford, Dubois, Pike.
Fifth Circuit-Marion, Hendricks, Morgan, Johnson, Bartholomew, Shelby, Hancock, Madison, Hamilton, Boone (April 1, 1831).
Sixth Circuit-Allen, Randolph, Delaware, Henry, Wayne, Union, Fayette, Rush, Elkhart, Grant (April 1, 1832).
Seventh Circuit-Knox, Daviess, Martin, Greene, Monroe, Owen, Vigo, Putnam, Sullivan, Clay.
February 3, 1832.
Sixth Circuit-Randolph, Wayne, Union, Fayette, Rush, Delaware, Allen, Elkhart, Henry, LaGrange, Grant (January 7, 1833).
Seventh Circuit-Sullivan, Knox, Daviess, Martin, Greene, Monroe, Owen, Putnam, Clay, Vigo.
January 7, 1833.
Eighth Circuit-Carroll, Cass, Miami, Wabash, Huntington, Allen, La- Grange, Elkhart, St. Joseph, LaPorte, Whitley (February 6, 1836).
February 1, 1833.
Fifth Circuit-Hancock, Shelby, Bartholomew, Johnson, Marion, Mor- gan, Hendricks, Boone, Hamilton, Madison.
Sixth Circuit-Randolph, Wayne, Union, Fayette, Rush, Henry, Dela- ware, Grant, Jay (March 1, 1836).
December 19, 1836.
Eighth Circuit -- DeKalb, Cass, Miami, Wabash, Huntington, Adams, Allen, Wells, Jay, Steuben, Noble, LaGrange, Whitley.
December 19, 1836.
Ninth Circuit-Lake, Newton, Starke, Pulaski, Marshall, Fulton, Kos- ciusko, St. Joseph, Porter, Elkhart.
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COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
February 17, 1838.
First Circuit-Parke, Vermillion, Fountain, Warren, Montgomery, Clin- ton. Tippecanoe, Carroll. White, Jasper.
Second Circuit-Floyd, Clark, Scott, Jackson, Lawrence, Washington, Harrison, Orange.
Third Circuit-Franklin, Decatur, Ripley, Jennings, Jefferson, Swit- zerland, Dearborn.
Fourth Circuit-Dubois, Pike, Gibson, Posey, Vanderburg, Warrick, Spencer, Perry, Crawford.
Fifth Circuit-Hancock, Marion, Morgan, Hendricks, Boone, Hamilton, Johnson, Madison, Shelby, Bartholomew.
Sixth Circuit-Wayne, Union, Fayette, Henry, Rush, Delaware, Grant, Jay, Randolph, Blackford.
Seventh Circuit-Vigo, Brown, Clay, Daviess, Greene, Knox, Martin, Monroe, Owen, Putnam, Sullivan.
Eighth Circuit-Cass, Miami, Wabash, Huntington, Whitley, Noble, Dekalb, LaGrange, Steuben, Allen, Wells. Adams.
Ninth Circuit-Fulton, Marshall, Kosciusko, Elkhart, St. Joseph, LaPorte, Porter, Lake, Starke.
January 28, 1839.
First Circuit-Fountain, Warren, Tippecanoe, Clinton, Carroll, White, Jasper, Montgomery, Benton.
Second Circuit-Floyd, Harrison, Washington, Scott, Jackson, Clark, Orange.
Third Circuit-Jefferson, Switzerland, Ripley, Jennings, Dearborn, Franklin, Decatur. Decatur taken out and put in the Sixth by act of Febru- ary 13, 1840.
Fourth Circuit-Posey, Gibson, Vanderburg, Pike, Dubois, Spencer, Perry. Crawford, Warrick.
Fifth Circuit-Madison, Hancock, Shelby, Bartholomew, Johnson, Mor- gan, Hendricks, Boone, Hamilton, Marion.
Sixth Circuit-Wayne, Union, Fayette, Rush, Henry. Decatur attached February 13, 1840.
Seventh Circuit-Knox, Sullivan, Clay, Putnam, Vigo, Parke, Ver- million.
Eighth Circuit-Cass, Miami, Wabash, Huntington, Whitley, Noble, Dekalb. Steuben, LaGrange, Allen.
Ninth Circuit-Fulton, Marshall, Kosciusko, Elkhart, St. Joseph, LaPorte, Porter. Lake. Pulaski (May 6, 1840).
Tenth Circuit-Lawrence, Greene, Owen, Monroe, Brown, Martin, Daviess.
Eleventh Circuit-Delaware, Grant, Blackford, Wells, Adams, Jay, Randolph. Madison taken out of Fifth and put in Eleventh January 15, 1841.
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CIRCUIT COURTS, 1816-52
January 15, 1841.
First Circuit-Montgomery, Fountain, Warren, Tippecanoe, Clinton, Carroll, White, Benton, Jasper.
Second Circuit-Floyd, Harrison, Washington, Scott, Jackson, Clark, Orange.
Third Circuit-Jefferson, Switzerland, Ripley, Jennings, Dearborn, Franklin.
Fourth Circuit-Posey, Vanderburg, Pike, Gibson, Dubois, Spencer, Perry, Warrick, Crawford.
Fifth Circuit-Hancock, Shelby, Bartholomew, Johnson, Morgan Hen- dricks. Boone, Hamilton, Marion.
Sixth Circuit-Wayne, Union, Fayette, Rush, Henry, Decatur.
Seventh Circuit-Knox, Sullivan, Clay, Putnam, Vigo, Parke, Ver- million.
Eighth Circuit-Cass, Miami, Wabash, Allen, Huntington, Whitley, Noble, Dekalb, Steuben, LaGrange.
Ninth Circuit-Fulton, Marshall, Kosciusko, Elkhart, St. Joseph, LaPorte, Porter, Lake. Pulaski.
Tenth Circuit-Lawrence, Greene, Owen, Monroe, Brown, Martin, Daviess.
Eleventh Circuit-Delaware, Grant, Blackford, Wells, Jay, Adams, Randolph, Madison.
December 14, 1841.
First Circuit-Montgomery, Fountain. Warren, Tippecanoe, Clinton, Benton.
Eighth Circuit-Cass, Miami, Wabash, Fulton, Pulaski, White, Jasper, Richardville (Howard), Carroll.
Ninth Circuit-Marshall, Kosciusko, Elkhart, St. Joseph, LaPorte, Porter, Lake.
Eleventh Circuit-Delaware, Grant, Blackford, Jay, Randolph, Madi- son, Tipton (after May 1, 1844).
Twelfth Circuit-Allen, Wells, Huntington, Whitley, Noble, LaGrange, Steuben, Dekalb, Adams.
January 26, 1842.
Fifth Circuit-Hancock, Shelby, Bartholomew, Johnson, Hendricks, Boone, Hamilton, Monroe.
Tenth Circuit-Lawrence, Greene, Owen, Monroe, Brown, Martin, Daviess, Morgan.
May 1, 1844.
Third Circuit-Jefferson. Switzerland, Ripley, Jennings, Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio.
January 3, 1847.
Third Circuit-Jefferson, Switzerland, Ripley, Jennings, Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Bartholomew.
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COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
January 15, 1847.
Third Circuit-Jefferson, Switzerland, Jennings, Ohio, Bartholomew. Sixth Circuit-Wayne, Fayette, Union, Rush, Henry.
Thirteenth Circuit-Franklin, Decatur, Ripley, Dearborn.
January 12, 1850.
Fifth Circuit-Hancock, Shelby, Bartholomew, Johnson, Hendricks, Boone, Monroe.
Eleventh Circuit-Delaware, Grant, Blackford, Jay, Randolph, Madison, Hamilton.
March 4, 1852.
First Circuit-Montgomery, Fountain, Warren, Tippecanoe, Clinton, Benton, Boone.
Fifth Circuit-Hancock, Shelby, Bartholomew, Johnson, Hendricks, Monroe.
The new Constitution went into operation on October 12, 1852, and the Legislature made the first districting on June 17, 1852, dividing the state into ten circuits. The President Judges from 1816 to 1852 follow :
PRESIDENT JUDGES-1816-1852.
Circuits. Judges. Tenure.
4-Battell, Charles I 1835
S-Biddle, Horace P. 1847-52
6-Bigger, Samuel. 1836-40
1-Blake, Thomas. 1818
12-Borden, James W. 1841-51
7-Bryant, William P. 1841-51
1-Call, Jacob 1822-24
9-Chamberlain, Eben. M.
1843-52
S-Chase, Henry
1839-47
3-Cushing, Courtland
1844-50
4-Daniel, Richard.
1819-22
1-Doty, Jonathan 1819-22
3-Downey, Alexander C. 1850-52
13-Dunn, George H. 1847-50
7-Eckles, Delana R 1851-52
3-Eggleston, Miles C. 1820-44 6-Elliott, Jehu T. 1844-51 4-Embree, Elisha. 1835-46
S-Everts, Gustavus A 1833-36 8-Ewing, Charles W 1836-39
5-Finch, Fabius M.
1842-43
2-Floyd, Davis.
1817-23
4-Goodlet, James R. E. 1822-32
7-Gookins, Samuel B. 1850-51
Circuits. Judges.
Tenure.
4-Hall, Samuel
1832-35
4-Hart, David.
181S
4-Hovey, Alvin P.
1851-52
7-Huntington, E. M.
1837-41
1, 7-Johnston, General W.,
1818-19, 1831-32
11-Kilgore, David.
1839-46
7-Kinney, Amory
1831-37
7-Law, John.
1830-31, 1844-50
4-Lockhart, James. 1846-51
9-Lowry, Robert.
1852
5-Major, Stephen __ 1842, declined
13-McCarty, William M. 1850-52
10-McDonald, David 1839-52
12-McMahon, Elza A. 1851-52
3-Meek, Alexander A
1819
S-Milroy, Robert H. 1852
5-Morris, Bethuel F.
1825-39
5-Morrison, Jas .__ 1825-34, 1839-42 6-Morton, Oliver P 1851-52
1-Naylor, Isaac.
1838-52
9-Niles, John B. 1843
2-Otto, William T.
1844-52
1-Parke, Benjamin
1816-17
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CIRCUIT COURTS, 1816-52
Circuits. Judges. Tenure.
5-Peaslee, William J 1842-19
6-Perry, James. 1837-44
1-Porter, John R. 1824-38
1-Prince, William 1817-18
5-Quarles, William 1842
2-Raymond, David 1816-17
2-Ross, John F. 1823-34
11-Rulon, Morrison 1839
Failed to qualify.
Circuits. Judges. Tenure.
8, 9-Sample, Samuel C. 1836-43
11-Smith, Jeremiah 1846-52
6-Test, Chas. H .. 1830-33, 1832-35
3-Test, John. 1816-19
2-Thompson, John H. 1834-44
3-Watts, John 1819-21
5-Wick, W. W .__ 1822-25; 1834-39; 1849-52.
S-Wright, John W
1839-47
1
CHAPTER IV.
THE CIRCUIT RIDERS.
No limited discussion of the personnel of the old Circuit courts can convey an adequate notion of their importance. To say that they dominated the state government is to put it very mildly and it would also convey a wrong impression. To say that they were the state government would be somewhat beyond the truth, but more in harmony with it.
Jonathan Jennings, the first governor, was a member of the Charlestown bar long before Indiana was a state. He was the friend and neighbor of Judges Dewey, Scott, Holman, Parke and Floyd, who sat on the Circuit bench as Judges or pleaded at its bars. Jennings was in Congress from 1809 to 1816.
William Hendricks was one of the earliest members of the bar at Madison. On this circuit he met the people up the Whitewater as far as Richmond and at other times (for the circuits were often changed) the settlers of the White river counties. His library, now at Indiana University, shows what books were his favorites, which consisted of only two or three small volumes which one might carry in an overcoat pocket or, as he did, in one side of his saddle bags to balance his change of clothing and perhaps a dinner in the other. On these cir- cuits he was a familiar figure for over a third of a century.
James Brown Ray, the third governor of Indiana, came from his Kentucky home to Brookville about 1818, after he had prepared himself for the practice of law at Cincinnati. His powerful voice soon brought him into demand as an advocate at the bar and as a stump speaker. If tradition is correct, he could be heard a quarter of a mile when making an ordi- nary address to a jury-even in a room fifteen feet square. He never got on well with his fellow lawyers, but was invincible before the people.
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THE CIRCUIT RIDERS
David Wallace, the fifth governor, was a Pennsylvanian by birth and a personal friend and neighbor of General Harrison at North Bend, Ohio. Harrison secured him an appointment as cadet at West Point. After completing his education, he read law under Miles C. Eggleston and began practice at Brookville, then the most famous bar of the state. He was personally and professionally the exact counterpart of Ray. His light musical voice attracted by its sweetness, while that of Ray overwhelmed by its mere weight. In a social way he was far the superior of his companions on the circuit, though there is no evidence that he was offensive to them with his polished manners and wide literary culture. He practiced on the Whitewater and later on the Indianapolis circuits and thus had the advantage of meeting nearly half the people of the state.
Wallace was succeeded as governor by his fellow lawyer, Samuel Bigger, from the Rushville bar. Indeed he was taken directly from the bench of his circuit to the governor's office. He began practice at Liberty in 1829, but soon removed to the larger town of Rushville. After considerable service in the Legislature, he was chosen Judge of his circuit by the General Assembly of 1836. He was a man of marvelous equanimity, somewhat akin to Lincoln in that respect. So well versed was he in the law that the Legislature of 1840 authorized him to codify the laws and suggest amendments. He was not an ornamental orator, but spoke plainly and without the violence that frequently characterized the lawyers of that day. In 1843 he opened an office at Fort Wayne, but died two years later, a victim, as many of his fellows were, of the hard life of the circuit.
James Whitcomb succeeded Governor Bigger. He came from the Bloomington circuit, where he had opened a law office about 1828. The circuits of which Monroe county formed a part, and on which he had served a term as prose- cutor, at times reached to Vincennes, to Clark county on the Ohio, and to Parke on the upper Wabash. Whitcomb was a well-educated man, a native of Vermont, a good fiddler, a pleasant speaker, with wide sympathies, and high social quali- ties. With such an arena and such a man, political honor
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COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
could hardly be avoided. His speaking and campaigning abili- ties were rewarded by General Jackson with the appointment as commissioner of the general land office. In 1841 he quit this work and began the practice of law at Terre Haute, a circuit then known for its able lawyers-Hannegan, Howard, Wright, McGaughey and Thompson. His Legislature pro- moted him in 1849 to the United States Senate, but the hard life of the circuit had told on his constitution and he died in 1852 at New York City.
Whitcomb was succeeded as governor by Joseph A. Wright, a former fellow citizen of Bloomington, but then a circuit rider from Parke county, on the same circuit with Whitcomb at times. Parke county, like Monroe, was frequent- ly changed in its circuit relations so that its attorneys traveled over a large part of the state. Joseph A. Wright, like so many of the early settlers, was a Pennsylvanian by birth, but had come early with his family to Bloomington. His poverty had made it necessary for him to work his way through school, and withal had given him a thorough sympathy with backwoods conditions. He was a great favorite with the farmers and workingmen of the state. In his speeches, and he was a re- markably successful stump speaker, he drew largely on his literary training, never hesitating to draw classical allusions on his wondering auditors. Few Indianians have had a wider reputation or more personal friends than this lawyer of the old Seventh circuit.
Thus of the first eight governors elected to the office by the voters, all but one were professional lawyers of the circuit- riding kind. The only exception, Noah Noble, was connected with the land office at Indianapolis and a brother of Gen. James Noble, one of the best known lawyers in early Indiana. He was a familiar figure at the bar of every Circuit court south of the old Indiana boundary line.
Concerning the lieutenant-governors of Indiana under the old Constitution, similar observations can be made. Of the thirteen men, eleven were typical old-time lawyers of wide fame. The first two-Christopher Harrison and Ratliff Boone -were the exceptions.
The third lieutenant-governor was John H. Thompson. He
81
THE CIRCUIT RIDERS
sat on the bench of the Second circuit for ten years, 1834 to 1844. His home was in Charlestown, Clark county. He was a cabinet-maker, but by hard study prepared himself for the bar. When his term of judicial service was over, the Legisla- ture made him secretary of state. He made his home in Salem for a few years and still later-after 1844-in Indianapolis.
He was followed by Milton Stapp, a Kentuckian by nativity and a Madisonian by choice. He studied law in the office of the famous banker, J. F. D. Lanier, who himself began life as a lawyer and served as prosecutor on the old Third circuit. From 1816, when he came to Indiana, to 1860, when he left it for Texas, he was a noted character. His time was pretty equally divided among law, militia and politics. Though he succeeded in keeping himself in office and in a way held some practice among the strong lawyers of the circuit, he could hardly be counted a success in anything he ever undertook.
David Wallace (1831-37), who has been noticed above, fol- lowed Stapp in office. He was the first lieutenant-governor who went by election directly from the lieutenancy to the governorship.
Judge David Hillis (1837-40) succeeded Wallace, the two running on the same ticket. He was a pioneer of Madison, having opened a farm on the hill above that place in 1808. He was a surveyor and a Judge and besides serving his term as lieutenant-governor, served ten terms in the Legislature, dying in office. It is difficult to tell whether Hillis owed his popularity to his judicial service, to his fame as a surveyor or to his all-round good qualities, but it remains that his intro- duction to public life was his service as Judge.
Samuel Hall (1840-43), of the Princeton bar, followed Hillis. He came to Princeton as a boy in 1814. He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1823, but did not go on the circuit till 1829. From 1832 to 1835 he was Judge of the Fourth circuit. He earned a high reputation on the bench, which he later increased by three terms in the Legislature and by serving in the Constitutional convention of 1850. After serving a term of years as President of the Evansville & Terre Haute railroad, he died in Princeton in 1862.
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COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
Jesse D. Bright (1843-45), of the Madison bar, succeeded Judge Hall as lieutenant-governor. He was the political auto- crat of Jefferson county. Law was his profession and he traveled the circuit; and though he traveled the circuit with such lawyers as Joseph G. Marshall, Jeremiah Sullivan, Stephen C. Stevens, John R. Cravens and his brother, Michael Bright, he got some practice. The law, however, was his avocation. Politics was his ruling passion. On the stump he was a second Ray. His overwhelming energy and seeming earnestness carried him through. He had few equals in that line, though his fellow citizens, Joseph Marshall, George G. Dunn and, perhaps, Joseph A. Wright, excelled him. His oratory was the type of the circuit lawyer orator of that day- loud, furious, violent, and heavy with political and historical platitudes. He was elected to the United States Senate, March 6, 1845, and expelled from that body on February 5, 1862.
Paris C. Dunning, who followed Bright as lieutenant- governor (1846 to 1848), was from the Bloomington bar. He rode the circuit with George G. Dunn, James Hughes, Judge David McDonald, Delana Eccles, Col. Richard Thompson and others, all his superiors as lawyers, though he possessed con- siderable ability. He let one of the common vices of the time -intemperance-undermine a fairly good ability. His politi- cal fences were built while on the circuit.
The last lieutenant-governor of the period was James H. Lane, who hailed from the Lawrenceburg bar of the old Third district. His father, Amos Lane, had been a lawyer before him, and preceded the son in the state Legislature as well as in Congress. James Lane was admitted to the bar in 1840, after the famous cavalcade of lawyers who traveled with Judge Miles C. Eggleston had broken up and most of them had re- tired from active labor. Lane varied his work by services in the Mexican War and politics, the latter gradually absorbing most of his attention. About 1853 he went to Kansas and quit the practice entirely, dying later by his own hand.
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