USA > Indiana > Courts and lawyers of Indiana, Volume II > Part 31
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November 17, 1894-November 17, 1898.
John McCormick
November 17, 1898-January 1, 1901.
Everett Cooper
January 1, 1901-January 1, 1903.
Charles V. Sears
January 1, 1903-January 1, 1907.
Edgar M. Blessing
January 1, 1907-January 1, 1911.
Charles V. Sears
January 1, 1911-January 1, 1913.
James P. Snodgrass
January 1, 1913-October 1, 1915, resigned.
Levi A. Barnett Appointed October 1, 1915; term expires January 1, 1917.
HENRY COUNTY.
Henry county was created by the legislative act of Decem- ber 21, 1821, and the county began its formal career on June 1, 1822. The locating commissioners selected the site of New Castle, a town in the center of the county, for the first county seat and this choice has proved very satisfactory, no other town in the county having ever been considered for the honor.
The first term of the Circuit court of Henry county con- vened September 13, 1822, at the house of Joseph Hobson and adjourned at once to the house of Charles Jamison, where the court continued its deliberations. At this first session Thomas R. Stanford and Elisha Long, the Associate Judges, were in charge of the court. The President Judge, William W. Wick, did not put in appearance until the second session.
Henry county was organized in 1822 and was attached to the Fifth Circuit, over which W. W. Wick was then presiding. Judge Wick resigned in 1825 and the Legislature selected B. F. Morris to succeed him. Judge Morris was on the bench of this circuit until the act of January 23, 1830, placed Henry county in the Sixth circuit. On the same date the Legislature elected Charles H. Test as the first Judge of the new circuit and he served until he resigned, December 11, 1835. The Legislature next chose Samuel Bigger, who presided over the Sixth circuit until the spring of 1840, when he resigned to make the race for Governor. Upon his resignation, Governor Wallace appointed James Perry to serve out his unexpired term. Judge Perry was succeeded in January, 1844, by Jehu T. Elliott, who was on the bench until February 15, 1851. On the same date Governor Wright appointed Oliver
Тар. Рис. 1.в.
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P. Morton as Judge of the circuit; he presided over the cir- cuit until the new Constitution went into operation October 12, 1852. No one of these seven Judges was a resident of Henry county.
When the state was divided into ten circuits in 1852, pur- suant to the new Constitution, Henry county was placed in the Seventh circuit, which at that time included Henry, Wayne, Randolph, Delaware, Jay, Blackford and Grant. Joseph An- thony, a cripple by nature, a tavern keeper by profession and a Judge by the accident of political manipulation, was the first Judge of the Seventh circuit. Probably no Judge ever pre- sided over any circuit in Indiana who had less knowledge of law. His service was so unsatisfactory that the counties making up the circuit immediately began to agitate the forma- tion of new circuits in order to get rid of him. The Legisla- ture, by the act of February 9, 1855, created the Thirteenth circuit, composed of the counties of Henry Wayne, Randolph and Jay, leaving the tavern-keeper Judge in the Seventh with Delaware and Blackford counties. As soon as this new circuit was organized Governor Wright appointed Jeremiah Smith as its first Judge. In the fall of the same year (1855) Jehu T. Elliott, who had formerly been on the bench of the circuit under the old Constitution, was elected Judge, serving until he resigned in January, 1865, to become Judge of the Supreme court of the state. Upon his resignation, the Governor ap- pointed Silas Colgrove to fill out his unexpired term. The act of February 11, 1867, reorganized the Seventh and Thir- teenth circuits, and at the same time created the Seventeenth. Henry was placed in the Seventh with Delaware, Hancock and Grant; Wayne, Randolph, Jay and Blackford became the Thir- teenth; Madison, Hamilton, Tipton and Howard were consti- tuted the Seventeenth. Joseph S. Buckles had been on the bench of the Seventh since October 26, 1858, and he continued to preside over the circuit until October 15, 1870, when Joshua H. Mellett took the bench. Judge Mellett was the first resi- dent of Henry county to preside over the circuit to which Henry was attached. When the whole state was recircuited by the act of March 6, 1873, Henry was united with Hancock in the Eighteenth circuit, Judge Mellett being transferred from the Seventh to the Eighteenth.
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COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
Robert L. Polk, of Hancock county, was elected in 1876 and served until his death, May 11, 1881. Governor Porter appointed Mark E. Forkner, May 11, 1881, to fill out the unexpired term of Judge Polk and, by subsequent election, Judge Forkner continued on the bench until November 15, 1888. William H. Martin, of Hancock county, succeeded Judge Forkner and presided over the circuit composed of Henry and Hancock until February 22, 1889. The act of that date divided the Eighteenth circuit, leaving Hancock as the sole county in the circuit and constituting Henry as the Fifty- third, where it has since remained. Since Judge Martin lived in Hancock county, he was left as the Judge of the Hancock Circuit court and Governor Hovey appointed Eugene H. Bundy as the first Judge of the newly organized Fifty-third. Judge Bundy was elected in the fall of 1890 for a six-year term. Four Judges have succeeded him on the bench of the circuit, namely : W. O. Barnard, from 1896 to 1902; John M. Morris, from 1902 until his death in July, 1907; Ed Jackson, who was appointed July 14, 1907, and served by subsequent election until 1914; Fred C. Gause, who has been on the bench since November 17, 1914. Specific mention is made of Judges Fork- ner, Barnard, Jackson and Gause in volume III.
ASSOCIATE JUDGES.
Elisha Long. July 5, 1822; resigned, May, 1826.
Thomas R. Stanford July ,5 1822; resigned, June 21, 1825.
John Anderson August 16, 1825, vice Thomas R. Stanford, re- signed.
Byrum Cadwallader August 19, 1826, vice Elisha Long (resigned), to serve until July 5, 1829.
John Anderson August 15, 1829, to serve sevn years from July 5, 1829.
Byrum Cadwallader August 15, 1829, to serve seven years from July 5, 1829.
Jacob Thorp August 15, 1834, vice Byrum Cadwallader (re- signed), to serve seven years from July 5, 1829. John Anderson August 20, 1835, to serve seven years from July 5, 1836; died, December, 1838.
Jacob Thorp August 20, 1835, to serve seven years from July 5, 1836.
Jacob Thornburgh February 19, 1839 (special election), vice John Anderson, deceased. Jacob Thornburgh died March, 1840.
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THE COUNTY COURTS
Gabriel Casand April 16, 1810 (special election), vice Jacob Thorn- bnrgh, deceased.
Abraham Elliott August 22, 1842, to serve seven years from July 5, 1843; died, November, 184S.
James W. Crowley August 22, 1842, to serve seven years from July 5, 1843.
William W. Williams __ Jannary 17, 1849 (special election), vice Abraham Elliott, deceased, to serve seven years from July 5, 1843.
William W. Williams __ Angnst 23, 1849, to serve seven years from July 5, 1850.
Joseph Farley August 23, 1849, to serve seven years from July 5, 1850.
PROBATE JUDGES.
Jesse H. Healey
August 14, 1829.
Samuel Hoover August 14, 1836,
Ralph Berkshire August 15, 1843.
Milton Wayman
Angnst 14, 1850.
COMMON PLEAS JUDGES.
Martin L. Bundy
1852; died in office September 4, 1859.
William Grose.
1860-61, resigned.
Elijah B. Martindale
Appointed August 31, 1861-October 18, 1861.
David S. Gooding.
1861; resigned September 10, 1864.
William R. West.
Appointed September 12, 1864-72.
Robert L. Polk
1872-73.
DISTRICT PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
E. B. Martindale.
1852-54.
James Brown
185-1-56.
Thomas B. Redding.
1856-57, resigned.
Miles L. Reed
Appointed October 29, 1857-60.
William R. Hough
1860-62.
Daniel W. Comstock
1862-64.
James D. Martindale.
1864-66.
Calvin D. Thompson.
1866-67, resigned.
.
Reuben A. Riley
Appointed April 27, 1867.
William F. Walker
1867-69.
Joseph W. Worl.
1869-72.
Washington Saunders _.
1872-73.
PRESIDENT JUDGES.
William W. Wick Jnne 1, 1822-January 20, 1825, resigued. Fifth
circuit.
Bethuel F. Morris Appointed January 20, 1825-January 23, 1830. The act of January 23, 1830, put Henry in the Sixth.
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COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
Charles H. Test Appointed January 23, 1830-December 11, 1835, resigned.
Samuel Bigger Appointed January 20, 1836-March 29, 1840, re- signed.
James Perry Appointed March 29, 1840-January 23, 1844.
Jehu T. Elliott January 23, 1844-February 15, 1851.
Oliver P. Morton February 15, 1851-October 12, 1852. CIRCUIT JUDGES.
Joseph Anthony October 12, 1852-February 9, 1855. The act of February 9, 1855, took Henry out of the Seventh and put it in the newly created Thirteenth.
Jeremiah Smith Appointed February 21, 1855-October 20, 1855. Jehu T. Elliott October 20, 1855; resigned to take effect January 2, 1865, the day on which Judge Elliott took his seat on the Supreme bench.
Silas Colgrove. Appointed January 2, 1865-February 11, 1867. The act of February 11, 1867, put Henry in the Seventh.
Joseph S. Buckles February 11, 1867-October 15, 1870. Judge Buckles had been on the bench of the Seventh since October 26, 1858.
Joshua H. Mellett October 15, 1870-October 24, 1876. The act of March 6, 1873, put Henry in the Eighteenth, and transferred Joshua H. Mellett from the Seventh to the Eighteenth.
Robert L. Polk. October 24, 1876-May 11, 1881, died.
Mark E. Korkner Appointed May 11, 1881-November 15, 1SSS.
William H. Martin November 15, 1888-February 22, 1889. The act of February 22, 1889, made Henry the sole county in the newly created Fifty-third, where it has since remained.
Eugene H. Bundy Appointed February 22, 1889-November 17, 1896.
William O. Barnard November 17, 1896-November 17, 1902.
John M. Morris November 17, 1902; died in office in July, 1907.
Ed Jackson Appointed July 13, 1907-November 17, 1914.
Fred C. Gause November 17, 1914; term expires November 17, 1920.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
Harvey Gregg August 9, 1824-August 9, 1825. Fifth circuit.
Calvin Fletcher August 9, 1825-August 14, 1826.
James Whitcomb August 14, 1826-January 14, 1829.
W. W. Wick January 14, 1829-January 23, 1830. The act of January 23, 1830, put Henry in the sixth.
James Perry January 25, 1830-January 25, 1832.
William J. Brown January 25, 1832-December 10, 1836, resigned.
Samuel Parker Appointed December 10, 1836-December 10, 1838. David Macey December 10, 1838-December 11, 1840.
1
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THE COUNTY COURTS
Martin M. Ray December 11, 1840-December 15, 1842.
Jehu T. Elliott December 15, 1842-January 23, 1844, resigned.
Samuel E. Perkins Appointed January 23, 1844-August 20, 1844.
Jacob B. Julian.
August 20, 1844-August 27, 1846.
John B. Still.
August 27, 1846-August 27, 1848.
Silas Colgrove
October 12, 1852-November 7, 1854. Seventh circuit.
Elijah B. Martindale __ November 7, 1854-October 20, 1855. The act of February 9, 1855, took Henry out of the Seventh and put it in the newly created Thirteuth, and transferred Martindale from the Seventh to the Thirteenth.
Thomas M. Browne. October 20, 1855-October 22, 1861, resigned.
James N. Templer October 22, 1861-February 11, 1867. The act of February 11, 1867, put Heury in the Seventh.
David W. Chambers November 12, 1867-October 21, 1872.
Johu W. Ryan. October 21, 1872-March 6, 1873. The act of March 6, 1873, put Henry in the Eighteenth.
Exum Saint Appointed March 7, 1873-October 22, 1873.
Charles M. Butler October 22, 1873-October 22, 1875.
William F. Walker October 22, 1875-October 22, 1877.
Joseph M. Brown October 22, 1877-October 22, 1879.
Charles M. Butler October 22, 1879-February 21, 1881.
Leonidas P. Newby
February 21, 1881-October 22, 1883.
George W. Duncan
October 22, 1883-October 22, 1887.
William O. Barnard
October 22. 1887-October 22, 1893. The act of February 22, 1889, made Henry the sole county in the newly created Fifty-third, where it has since remained. This act transferred Barnard from the Eighteenth to the Fifty-third.
Frank E. Beach. October 22, 1893-October 22, 1897.
Wrighter R. Steele October 22, 1897-January 1, 1902.
Edgar Jackson January 1, 1902-January 1, 1906.
George M. Barnard. January 1, 1906-January 1, 1910.
Herbert H. Evans.
January 1, 1910-January 1, 1914.
Walter R. Myers. January 1, 1914-January 1, 1916.
Charles O. Nogle January 1, 1916; term expires January 1, 1918.
HOWARD COUNTY.
Howard county was organized out of the great Miami Reservation, as Richardville county, by the act of the Legis- lature, January 15, 1844, the act becoming effective May 1, 1844. The county was named in honor of Richardville, a Miami chief and successor of Little Turtle. On December 28, 1846, the name of the county was changed by an act of
Joshua H. Mellett
August 18, 1851-October 12, 1852.
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COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
the Legislature from Richardville to Howard. The name was in honor of Tilghman A. Howard, a noted Indiana statesman of that time. Originally Howard county was a part of the Eighth judicial circuit, which included also Carroll, Cass, Miami, Fulton, Pulaski, White and Jasper counties. The first term of what was then known as the Richardville circuit was held November 7, 1844, at the house of John Harrison in the township now called Ervin. Nothing much was done on the first day of the term. The first Judge of the Howard Cir- cuit court was John W. Wright, of Logansport, who served from 1844 to 1847. N. R. Lindsey, subsequently Judge of the Howard Common Pleas court, was enrolled as a member of the bar on the second day, and on the third day the grand jury returned twenty-five indictments. The first petit jury received thirty-five cents each for one day's service. A term of court generally lasted from three to four days, but seldom longer. The first court house was built in 1845 of hewn logs with a clapboard roof, twenty-four feet square and two stories high. The upper room was fitted up for a court room. In 1868 a new court house was begun, which was finished in 1870 at a cost of seven thousand five hundred and forty-eight dol- lars and forty cents. This court house is still in use.
Judge John W. Wright, the first Judge of the Circuit court, was noted for his eccentricities. He presided at a trial during his term of office in which Abraham Lincoln and Joseph E. McDonald were opposing counsel. The two eminent lawyers set forth in detail the law in the case, one which was particu- larly intricate, and Judge Wright immediately ruled on it without consulting any authorities. It took him but a few minutes to dispose of a case on which the two learned lawyers had been working for weeks. After Lincoln's election and inauguration as President, McDonald called upon him and was grasped heartily by the hand of the President, who in- quired : "How's old Judge Wright, anyway?" In conversa- tion, Judge Wright was given to exaggerations, and on some occasions showed a particularly vicious temper. Subsequently Judge Wright removed to Washington, D. C., where he became quite wealthy. His death occurred in Washington and his body was brought back to Logansport for burial.
749
THE COUNTY COURTS
Judge Horace P. Biddle, of Logansport, succeeded Judge Wright in 1847, and served until his resignation in the spring of 1852. He was an able jurist, a savant, and a gentleman of broad culture. Upon his retirement from the Supreme bench of Indiana, upon which he served from 1875 to 1881, he re- turned to Logansport, and spent his closing years at his home on Biddle's island, in that city.
Judge Biddle was succeeded in 1852 by Gen. R. H. Milroy, of Delphi, who served by appointment from April 20, 1852, to October 12, 1852. At this period the Circuit court ac- quired a migratory character. The May, 1854, term of court was held in the Methodist church on West Mulberry street.
The fourth Judge of the Howard Circuit court was John U. Pettit, of Wabash (1853-54), a man of striking personal characteristics and eccentricities. He was a graduate of Columbia College, and a classmate of Robert Toombs, of Georgia, the "great Southern fire-eater and slavery advocate." Judge Pettit represented the Eleventh Indiana district in the thirty-fifth Congress from 1857 to 1859. He was speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives during the forty-fourth session and the special session following it. Upon the resig- nation of Judge Pettit on August 28, 1854, John Brownlee was appointed and served until October 25, 1854.
The next Judge was John M. Wallace, of Marion, who was a native of Franklin county, a brother of Governor David Wallace, and an uncle of General Lew Wallace. He served from 1854 until the act of February 1, 1859, put Howard in the Seventh circuit, over which Joseph S. Buckles was presiding. Judge Buckles lived near Muncie on a stock farm of six hundred and fifty acres. Judge Buckles was elected to the bench as a Democrat before the Civil War, but became a Republican and remained so during the rest of his life.
In 1867 the circuit was changed and Howard county was organized with Madison, Hamilton and Tipton counties into the Seventeenth judicial circuit. Henry A. Brouse, of Ko- komo, was appointed Judge of the new circuit and served until October 19, 1867.
Judge Brouse never admired technicality enough to be
750
COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
skillful in the use and construction of it. As a lawyer he employed it from necessity. He had a natural antipathy and aversion to it, and in taking advantage of technicality, he was much more skillful than in the formulation of it. He believed that courts were established to administer justice, and that when technicality conspired to this end, it ought scrupulously to be observed.
John Davis, of Anderson, was elected as the successor of Judge Brouse. He was a man of scholarly attainments and had been a corporation lawyer. Shortly after taking up his duties as Judge, he became enfeebled by disease, and was rendered unable to perform the duties of his office. He never- theless refused to resign and, his office being a constitutional one, he could not be removed. The Legislature of 1871, how- ever, passed an act to meet the emergency, providing for the choice of a Judge pro tem, and the Governor appointed Judge James O'Brien, of Kokomo (March 4, 1871), as the successor to Judge Davis. He was an able Judge and, personally, was positive in his likes and dislikes. He had warm friends and bitter enemies. During Judge O'Brien's administration, a new judicial circuit was formed comprising Howard and Tip- ton counties. Thomas A. Hendricks was then Governor of Indiana, and he appointed Clark N. Pollard, of Kokomo, as Judge of the Thirty-sixth circuit, comprising Tipton and Howard counties. Judge Pollard was appointed March 12, 1873, and at the succeeding election in October, 1873, he was elected and served until 1879, when Judge Nathaniel R. Overman, of Tipton, succeeded to the judicial office. Judge Overman died in office (October 25, 1883) and his unexpired term was filled by Judge O'Brien. At the ensuing election, Judge Daniel Waugh, of Tipton, was elected as Overman's successor. Following Judge Waugh, Lex J. Kirkpatrick, of Kokomo, was elected in 1890. He was succeeded by Walter W. Mount, of Tipton, in 1896, and Judge Mount was succeeded by Judge James F. Elliott, of Kokomo, in 1902. Judge Elliott was succeeded by Lee Nash, of Tipton, in 1908, who presided over the courts of Tipton and Howard counties until Howard county was made a separate circuit by the act of March 1, 1909. Lex J. Kirkpatrick was appointed Judge of the new
751
THE COUNTY COURTS
circuit and served from March 15, 1909, to January 1, 1911. The present Judge of the Howard Circuit court is William C. Purdum, of Kokomo, whose term will expire in 1917.
Nathan C. Beals was the first Probate Judge (1844-46) of Howard county. He was a plain, good natured, unsophisti- cated farmer, and a man of average intellect. Benjamin Lesoura, who succeeded Beals, was an honest, upright and industrious citizen, and a farmer by occupation. Nathan C. Beals was elected to succeed Judge Lesoura, and he, in turn, was followed by Robert Ervin, who served until the office was abolished.
The first Judge of the Howard Common Pleas court was Earl S. Stone, a quiet, unassuming lawyer of fair ability. Nathaniel R. Lindsey, of Kokomo, succeeded Judge Stone on the bench. He was twice elected Judge of the Common Pleas court, but resigned before the end of his second term. Before Nathaniel Lindsey was eight years old, he was left, by the death of his father, to orphanage and penury in a wilderness home, and without property or a father's counsel, commenced the battle of life. He was elected justice of the peace at the age of twenty-four years, at a time when the office was far more important than it is now. Judge Lindsey was a mem- ber of the thirty-sixth, fifty-second and fifty-fourth Indiana General Assemblies, 1851, 1881 and 1885. As a member of the Legislature he was engaged in codifying the laws of the state after the adoption of the present Constitution. As a lawyer, he was distinguished for his ability as an advocate and for his tact in the management of a trial. Judge Green, of Tipton, was the third Judge of the Common Pleas court. Judge Green, besides being a matter-of-fact lawyer, was popu- lar with the people. The last Judge of the Howard Common Pleas court was William Garver, a resident of Hamilton county, who had studied law under Isaac Blackford. Judge Garver was a member of the fiftieth session of the Indiana General Assembly in 1877, and a member of the special ses- sion which followed it. He was the last Judge of the Howard Common Pleas court, and served until the court was abol- ished in 1873.
Among the early lawyers who practiced before the How-
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COURTS AND LAWYERS OF INDIANA
ard Circuit court were James W. Robinson, J. B. Johnson, Nelson Purdum, Joel Lewis, Rawson Vaile, Capt. Milton Gar- rigus, David Nation, John W. Kern, J. Fred Vaile, B. F. Har- ness, John W. Cooper, Col. N. P. Richmond, Charles E. Hen- dry, Daniel H. Bennett and Nathaniel P. Lindsay.
James W. Robinson was a singular character, who read a great deal, but studied very little, and who incessantly bluffed and blustered. He was nevertheless good at repartee, and was popular among the lawyers of the county. J. B. Johnson was a young man of considerable brilliancy and more than ordinary talent. He did not live long enough to fully mature and develop his powers. Nelson Purdum, an early attorney at the Howard county bar, was the first mayor of Kokomo. He detested buncombe, rant and bombast, and was most proficient in the civil law. Joel Lewis had the reputa- tion of being one of the best collection lawyers in northern Indiana. He was nervous in writing, in speech, and in fact in everything. Rawson Vaile, more than any other member of the bar, was accustomed to explore into the depths of old records, minutely and critically examining every mouldy paper buried beneath the dust of years. There was no fool- ishness about him, and he was little inclined to a joke. At one time in life he was actively engaged in the duties of journalism, and published the Free Territory Sentinel. He was also at one time one of the editors of the Indianapolis Journal.
In 1847 Milton Garrigus came to Howard county from Wayne county. While postmaster at Greentown, Captain Garrigus studied law, and later held trials in the postoffice. David Nation, famous as the divorced husband of Carrie Na- tion, the Kansas temperance cyclone, was once a lawyer in Howard county. Two members of the Howard county bar have attained national prominence-J. Fred Vaile, later of Denver, Colorado, and a leading lawyer of the country, and John W. Kern, United States senator from Indiana, and the nominee of the Democratic party for Vice-President in 1908. When a youth, Vaile ran away to college, and paid the expenses of his first year at Oberlin by doing chores and cutting wood. He graduated with honor and then taught school in Kentucky.
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THE COUNTY COURTS
He secured the only death penalty ever obtained from a How- ard county jury. In a case involving technical chemical knowledge his argument reflected the learning of a college professor.
John W. Kern came to Kokomo from the University of Michigan in 1869, and immediately thereafter hung out his shingle. Early in his legal experience Mr. Kern encountered at the Howard county bar, Rawson Vaile, editor of the In- dianapolis Journal before the Civil War, and father of J. Fred Vaile, of Denver, a schoolmate of Mr. Kern, and now one of the best known lawyers of the west. The elder Mr. Vaile wore a stiff tile, and Kern, while making an argument to the court, brought his law books down on Mr. Vaile's plug hat with a crash, smashing it completely. Senator Kern was threatened with a fine for contempt, but with all the wit with which he is possessed, he begged the pardon of the injured lawyer and the mercy of the court, pleading inadvert- ence during the heat of argument. Senator Kern was for several years a partner of Judge B. F. Harness. Subsequently he removed to Indianapolis, and for a number of years prac- ticed law with Joseph Bell, now mayor of Indianapolis. Sena- tor Kern was a candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1909, and was defeated. In 1911, however, he was elected for a term of six years, and immediately became prominent as a national leader of his party in the Senate.
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