USA > Indiana > Boone County > History of Boone County, Indiana : With biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families, Volume I > Part 20
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Joe Emmons, private, Company I, 38th Infantry U. S. A.
Frank Richey, private, Company I, 5Ist Iowa Volunteer Infantry U. S. A.
Ralph Reese, private, Company, 34th Infantry U. S. A.
W. S. Frazer, private, Company F, 17th Infantry U. S. A.
Benjamin Frazer, private, Company F, 17th Infantry U. S. A.
Charles E. Wilsont, military secretary, Indian troops.
William G. Burt, lieutenant-colonel.
Orison P. Leef, captain, Company K, 45th Infantry U. S. A.
Harlan Page Perrill, naval officer, assigned to collier Sterling, then St. Louis.
Layton M. Parkhurst, lieutenant, Company K, 16Ist Indiana Volunteers U. S. A.
H. E. Newman*, corporal, Company B, 22nd Infantry U. S. A. "New- man," recognized by the government and papers given to him by government as hauling down first Spanish flag in Cuba.
Thomas Galvin*, corporal, Battery L, 3rd Heavy Artillery U. S. A. Dr. Guy A. Shultz, hospital steward, Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
Rowell Lucas, quartermaster sergeant, 8th Army Corps U. S. A.
Julian Schoen, first sergeant, Company A, 12th Infantry U. S. A.
Paul Tauer, sergeant, Company F, 16Ist Infantry Indiana Volunteers U. S. A.
William Purdue, private, Battery G, 3rd Heavy Artillery U. S. A.
William Eldert, private, Company I, 23rd Infantry Indiana Volunteers U. S. A.
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Rube Hawk, private.
Clarence B. Eden, private, 9th Illinois U. S. A.
Charles C. Bennett, private, Company G, 158th Indiana Volunteer In- fantry U. S. A.
Morton Silbaugh, private, Company H, 159th Indiana Volunteer In- fantry U. S. A.
Guy McKey, private.
Ora Brown, sergeant, Company G, 10th Infantry U. S. A .; Gordon Scouts, Philippines.
Claude Brown, sergeant, Company E, 18th Infantry U. S. A.
Samuel Shera, private, 4th Infantry U. S. A.
Frank Richey, 5Ist Infantry Jowa Volunteers U. S. A.
Elmer Van Arsdall, corporal, Company C, 16Ist Indiana Volunteer Infantry U. S. A.
Arthur Alexander, private, 40th Infantry Ohio Volunteers U. S. A.
Ira L. Wilson, Company M, Ist Infantry Illinois Volunteers U. S. A.
Lon Miller, private, Company M, Ist Infantry Illinois Volunteers U. S. A.
Homer Carriger, private, Company I, 14th Infantry U. S. A.
Philip List.
Rado Lumpkins.
Harry Caldwell. James Spencer. Leonard Spencer.
Carl Wild. Carl Owsley.
Carl LaFollette, coast duty in New York.
Oscar Hilligoss, 16Ist Indiana Volunteer Infantry U. S. A. Emmett Nelson, 32nd Infantry U. S. A.
Ora Ottinger, regular at Fort Barancas, Florida.
Will Moliere, Heavy Artillery.
Frank Aldrich, Heavy Artillery.
Fred Graves, Heavy Artillery. Lon Laughlin, Company D, 4th Infantry U. S. A. Frank Montgomery, private. ¡Dead. *Wounded.
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A ROLL OF HONOR.
Notwithstanding this county did not have an opportunity to send either of the two companies organized for the purpose of fighting Spaniards, our boys rallied to the front in numbers, that, under the circumstances, where no home company was called, was most commendable. Two excellent com- panies were formed here, one under the captaincy of Arthur R. Brown and one commanded by Captain Loughrun. Much disappointment was expressed when they were not called.
Among the names of our own Boone county lads are :
Arthur R. Brown, sergeant-major, 161st Indiana Volunteers.
Baird Saltsgaber, quartermaster-sergeant, 161st Indiana Volunteers, U. S. A.
Oscar N. Dale, Company L, 16Ist Infantry.
Engle, sergeant, Company E, 11th Infantry U. S. A.
John Rogers, private, Company G, 158th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Frank Dodson, private, Company D, 18th Infantry U. S. A. William Hawkins, private, 18th Infantry U. S. A.
Cleveland Pipes, private, U. S. A.
The following are the names and ages of the survivors of the Civil and Spanish-American wars living in Thorntown as determined by a recent enumeration.
J. A. Ball, 68; Michael Barker, 73; S. R. Carter, 70; George Coulson, 75 ; Peter Coffman, 83; James A. Darrough, 79; David B. Davis, 74; C. W. Daugherty, 89; David Essex, 80; Enos W. Gill, 82; H. W. Hill, 73; John P. Henry, 83; William Hinton, 76; Calvin Houk, 79; H. W. Henderson, 83; J. W. Hines, 71; J. C. Jaques, 71; C. W. Johnson, 68; J. P. Logan, 84; David L. Miller, 69; George E. Miller, 70; W. R. Marks, 69; J. S. Mills, 81 ; Philip Mella, 77; O. S. Mclaughlin, 83; Homer B. Patterson, 36; W. A. Pearson, 77; William Proctor, 70; John Rogers, 69; L. C. Riley, 69; Josiah Rance, 66; William Richey, 70; James Sexton, 74; John Templeton, 65; William Terhune, 52; M. J. Zeigler, 75; E. A. Mills, 70.
All of them were in the Civil war of fifty years ago excepting Homer Patterson and William Terhune, who were soldiers in the Spanish-American war when the Philippines were occupied.
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J. P. Henry, George E. Miller and Philip Mella enlisted from Ohio, W. R. Marks from Pennsylvania, W. A. Pearson from Illinois, Calvin Houk from Kentucky and William Hinton from Colorado.
The oldest survivor of the Civil war in the list is C. W. Daugherty in his 90th year ; next comes Logan in his 85th; I. S. Mclaughlin, H. W. Hen- derson, John P. Henry and Peter Coffman in their 84th years; then comes Enos W. Gill, 82; J. S. Miller, 81 ; and David Essex, 80. John Templeton, aged 65, is the youngest survivor and next him is Josiah Rance, 66; then C. W. Johnson and J. A. Ball, 68; and David Miller, George E. Miller, W. R. Marks, John Rogers and L. C. Riley, 69. Seventeen are in the 70 list.
The combined years of the list to last birthday totals 2,702. Eliminat- ing the ages of the Spanish-American soldiers, the average of the remaining thirty-five is slightly in excess of 75 years.
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CHAPTER IX.
BENCH AND BAR.
The memory of the life and work of a lawyer to a great degree passes away with his generation; our great judges are soon forgotten, and their names and work are preserved only in the pages of dry and musty reports of which the average man knows, and cares nothing. The very nature of the work of the lawyer and the jurist insures its speedy oblivion in the midst of the more spectacular achievements of the soldier, the executive, the in- ventor, the author and the statesman. How many of the citizens of our county can name a half dozen of the early judges and lawyers who were prominent in our county history? And yet they were men famous in their day, looked upon with something akin to awe by the rough makers of our pioneer civilization.
This chapter is written with a desire to do some measure of justice to the men who made the early legal history of the county and whose memories are rapidly fading, even among the members of the profession, and to pre- serve in a permanent form something of the work of our modern bench and bar which is equally as sure of oblivion in the near future. That this desire will be satisfactorily fulfilled is not even hoped, but we trust that we may be able to set forth in this chapter some information that will make it of value to both the legal profession and the public generally.
The Hon. O. H. Smith, in his "Early Indiana Trials," gives an interest- ing description of the typical court room of that day. "The building," he says, "generally contained two rooms,-the court room being the largest,- at one end of which there was a platform elevated some three feet high, for the judges, with a long bench to seat them. These benches were very sub- stantial in general, sufficient to sustain the most weighty judges. The bar had its benches near the table of the clerk, and the crowd was kept back by a long pole fastened with withes at the ends."
The state was divided into judicial circuits, each composed of a num- ber of counties, and each presided over by the circuit, or as he was then
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called, the president judge. These judges moved about from one county to another in their circuits, holding court at the various county-seats, and Boone was in the twentieth judicial circuit. The president judges were appointed by the legislature and were invariably men well versed with the law, but the most interesting feature of our early judicial organization was the system of associate judges. Two associate judges were elected in each county by the people, and no legal knowledge was required of them; they sat with the president judge and each of them had equal power with him, a power which they often exercised in overruling his decision. The associates often carried on the business of the court in the absence of the president judge, the rec- ords often showing that after important cases had been disposed of he left the bench and they proceeded to the end of the term, ruling on pleadings, the meaning of which they had not the slightest idea. The average lawyer of those days was a man learned not only in the substance of the law, but also in its highly technical language, and the associates were often compelled to appeal to them to learn the meaning of terms used in the arguments and pleadings. Many of our early lawyers were men educated in eastern uni- versities, who brought with them much of culture and refinement entirely foreign to our rude frontiersmen; they were looked upon as professional men indeed, invariably being the leaders of social and intellectual life of the community. The country was largely virgin forest and the population hardy and rough, and generally reckless. This latter characteristic is amply illus- trated by the pages of the early court order books, on which a great amount of space is devoted to indictments for affray, riot, and assault and battery.
The members of our present bar may find it hard to picture in their minds the practice of law under such conditions. The lawyers often trav- eled about the circuit with the president judge, riding horseback through the forests, fording streams and putting up at rough country taverns, and in spite of the scholastic atmosphere which surrounded the practice of law, it was not a sedentary pursuit by any means and its followers were apt to become physically hardy and vigorous like the people among whom they lived.
Mr. Smith gives an interesting picture of the early court days. "The 'crowds' at that day thought the holding of a court a great affair. The people came hundreds of miles to see the judges, and hear the lawyers 'plead' as they called it. On one occasion there came to be tried before the
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jury an indictment for an assault and battery against a man for pulling the nose of another who had insulted him. The court room was filled to suffo- cation. The two associate judges were on the bench. The evidence had been heard and public expectation was on tip-toe. All was silent as death, when my young friend, then 'squire', afterward Judge Charles H. Test, rose and addressed the court: 'If the court please.' He was here interrupted by Judge Winchell from the bench: 'Yes, we do please ; go to the bottom of the case, young man. The people have come in to hear the lawyers plead.' The young squire, encouraged by the kind response of the judge, proceeded to address the jury some three hours in excited eloquence upon the great provo- cation his client had received to induce his docile nature to bound over all legal barriers and take the prosecutor by the nose. All eyes were upon him, and as he closed, Judge Winchell roared out, 'Capital; I did not think it was in him!' The jury returned a verdict of not guilty amid the rapturous ap- plause of the audience. Court adjourned, and the people returned home to tell their children that they had heard the lawyers 'plead.'"
It may be noted that until the constitution of 1851 the common law of England was largely the law of our state, and that the library of the aver- age "backwoods" lawyers consisted generally of a work on common law pleading, the few Indiana statutes then in force and the volumes of Black- ford's reports, all of which were easily carried from place to place.
Brief History of the County Courts From Their Organization to the Present.
Courts of law are a necessary adjunct to civilization. There is no civilization without law, and courts are the mediums for the enforcement of law. The first court in Boone was the Probate court. This court had juris- diction over the settlement of estates of deceased persons and the appoint- ment of guardians for minors. The first term of this court was held at the house of David Hoover, in Eagle township, near the present site of Zions- ville. As there was no business to transact they adjourned. The Hoover homestead continued as the home of this court up to the November term, 1832. After this its sessions were held at Lebanon at the residence of A. H. Longley, which was situated on the lot now occupied by the marble front building. To convey an idea of the amount of business transacted by this
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court it will only be necessary to state that the only record made was the entry of meeting and adjournment up to the eighth term of the court, when one guardian and one administrator were appointed. The judges of this court were : 1830, William Bodman; 1835, Cornelius Westfall; 1836, Samuel McLean; 1843, S. Buckles ; 1844, William McDaniel; 1844, Jonathan Rose; 1845, William McDaniel; 1846, Samuel McLean. In 1851, James A. Thompson was elected and served until 1852, when the court was abolished and the jurisdiction thereof transferred to the court of common pleas. While the judges of this court may not have been profound lawyers and able to distinguish fine technicalities they were endowed with what is more im- portant, good judgment and common sense.
In 1852 the new constitution of the state was adopted. By its pro- visions the judicial power of the state was vested in a supreme court, circuit courts and such other courts as the general assembly might establish. It also provided that any person being a voter and of good moral character should be admitted to practice law in all courts of justice, consequently when- ever you meet a practicing attorney the presumption is strong that he is a person of good morals, perfectly honest and entitled to your full confidence. With one solitary exception they are the only persons in this state who have to prove a good character before engaging in business.
Under the provision of the constitution above referred to, the court of common pleas was established in 1852 and remained in existence until 1873, when it was abolished and the circuit court took jurisdiction and charge of its business. The first judge of this court was the Hon. Lorenzo C. Daugh- erty, who served from the date of its organization until 1860, a period of about seven years. Judge Daugherty was a fine and able lawyer and not once during his entire term of service was his decision or rulings reversed by the supreme court. After leaving the bench he engaged in the banking business in connection with the late Harvey G. Hazelrigg and continued in that business until a short time before his death in 1876. Hon. John Coburn, of Indianapolis, was the next judge of this court. He served until 1862, when he entered the army and was succeeded by Hon. Charles A. Ray who, in 1865, was succeeded by Hon. Solomon Blair. In 1867, Hon. Thomas J. Cason became judge of this court and served until 1871. As a lawyer, Judge Cason was among the foremost of his day. He served the people in several public positions, being at various times representative, state senator and con-
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gressman from 1873 to 1877. He was the first judge of the circuit court, composed of the counties of Boone and Clinton.
THE CIRCUIT COURT.
The first term of the circuit court ever held in Boone county was held at the residence of John Galvin in Jamestown in April, 1832. Although at that time Lebanon had been designated as the county-seat, it was a town on paper only, not a house having been built within its limits. The next session was held at Thorntown at the residence of Cornelius Westfall on the 18th day of October, 1832. Hon. B. F. Morris was the first judge of this court. The next term of the circuit court was held at the home of Rev. A. H. Longley in Lebanon, the court room being an arbor erected in front of his residence on the southwest corner of the public square. Hon. W. W. Wick was the judge and the only attorney in attendance was Calvin Fletcher, who was at the time prosecuting attorney and accompanied the judge as matter of duty. There was no business for either judge or attorney, conse- quently the term was short.
Hon. Fabius M. Finch was the next person to don the judicial robes and he was succeeded by Hon. William J. Peasly, who dispensed justice with mercy until 1849, when W. W. Wick again became judge. In 1852 Isaac Naylor served as judge until 1853 and was succeeded by W. P. Bryant who served until 1859 when John M. Cowan was elected. Judge Cowan served until 1871, when Hon. T. F. Davidson was elected and served until 1872, when by reason of the change of the boundaries of the circuit he was suc- ceeded by Hon. T. H. Palmer. Judge Palmer was succeeded in 1878 by our fellow townsman, Hon. T. J. Terhune, who resigned in 1888 and John A. Abbott was appointed to the vacancy. Judge Terhune ranks among the fore- most judges of the state.
Hon. Stephen Neal donned the judicial ermine in November, 1890, and served acceptably until 1896, when the scales of justice were bv the votes of the citizens of Boone county entrusted to the care of the Hon. B. S. Higgins. The four last named judges were all residents of Lebanon, Judge Terhune being first elected when the circuit was composed of the counties of Boone and Clinton, the others since Boone county was made a separate circuit.
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Since his retirement from the bench Judge Terhune has been engaged in the practice of his profession in this city and Indianapolis, and ranks high as a practicing attorney and has the confidence of a large clientage. Judge Abbott is at present a resident of Washington, D. C., and in the employ of a Law Publishing Company as a writer of syllabi of court decisions, a position for which he is well qualified. During the term of service of Hon. Stephen Neal, there was never any delay in the transaction of business in court on ac- count of the absence of the judge.
Judge B. S. Higgins, previous to his election as circuit judge, served for two terms as prosecuting attorney and was regarded as an excellent officer. His record on the bench speaks for itself and will be carried down in Boone county history. He is a man endowed with honesty, integrity and fairness, fearless in the discharge of his duty and carrying with him the honor and dignity attached to his exalted office.
The first attorney in Lebanon was the Hon. Joseph Hackler, who moved to Missouri many years ago. Another early disciple of Blackstone was Jacob Angle. W. B. Beach, a brother-in-law of Captain Bragg, was also one of the first attorneys in Lebanon. He afterward removed to New Jersey, where he filled many positions of honor and trust, one time being lieutenant gov- ernor of the state. The other old time attorneys were J. C. Hague and O. S. Hamilton, who was perhaps the most remarkable character of his time. He never studied or paid much attention to a case until it was called for trial and about the only law books he respected were Archibald's pleadings and the statutes of 1843.
Other old time attorneys who have either died or removed are D. H. Hamilton, C. C. Galvin, C. S. Wesner, J. W. Gordon, J. W. Clements, Olney Newell, Wash Griffin, S. W. Ferguson, A. J. Boone, H. J. Hayward, S. M. Burk, J. W. Nichol, W. B. Walls, J. C. Farber, G. H. Ryman, J. H. Ewick, R. B. Simpson, S. L. Hamilton, D. E. Caldwell, R. C. Kise, Shannon,
Peterson, and many others.
The Nestor of the bar is Hon. R. W. Harrison who has been in the practice for nearly forty years. He began as prosecuting attorney, when the circuit was composed of the counties of Boone, Clinton, Fountain, Parke, Warren, Montgomery and Vermilion. During his long service he has been engaged in many important cases both civil and criminal and has acquitted himself with credit. He served during the war as captain of the 116th regi-
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ment of Indiana Volunteers which was a part of the Persimmon brigade and took part in the battle of Walker's Ford. Captain Harrison has held only one other elective office, that of township trustee. He was a candidate for judge in 1890, but went down in defeat with the rest of his party. The other resident members are J. L. Pierce, T. J. Terhune, P. H. Dutch, W. A. Dutch, y A. J. Shelby, John Shelby, C. M. Zion, S. M. Ralston, I. M. Kelsey, C. M. Bounell, S. R. Artman, John Perkins, W. O. Darnall, B. F. Ratcliff, H. C. Ulen, Jr., Reed Holloman, H. C. Wills, Oliver P. Mahan, Frank C. Reagan, J. O. Pedigo, Noah Loughrun, Harvey P. New, W. A. Tipton, Mike Keefe, and Joshua G. Adams.
Of the non-resident attorneys of "ye olden time" who practiced in the Boone Circuit Court, were the following: Rufus A. Lockwood, John Petit, R. C. Gregory, James Wilson, G. S. Orth, J. W. Gordon, Daniel W. Vorhees, Benjamin Harrison, Zebulon Baird and others.
Rufus A. Lockwood was for a time a resident of Thorntown, removing from there to Lafayette where he became a partner of the Hon. A. S. White. He left LaFayette, abandoned the practice of law and was next heard of as a sheep herder in Mexico. From there he drifted to San Francisco and en- gaged as a common laborer or stevedore on the docks. It was while thus sigaged that he was employed by Gen. John C. Fremont (the pathfinder ), as one of his principal attorneys in the prosecution of his famous Mariposa claims. He afterwards lost his life at sea while on a return voyage from California. It is said he could have saved his life had he consented to abandon the manuscript of a book which he had written. He was last seen standing on the deck of the sinking ship with his arms folded across his breast, calmly awaiting the inevitable.
Benjamin Harrison, ex-president of the United States, was the principal attorney in the prosecution of Nancy E. Clem for what is known as the Cold Springs murder. Hon. J. W. Gordon and Daniel W. Voorhees were the principal attorneys for the defense in that case. Hon. G. S. Orth served during the war and for several years afterwards as representative in congress from this district. He was appointed United States minister to the court at Berlin which position he resigned and was afterwards elected to congress and was a member thereof when he died.
Hon. John Petit was one of the able men of Indiana. During his life he served as judge, representative in congress, United States senator, United
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States district judge in Kansas in 1858-9, judge of the supreme court of this state and mayor of the city of LaFayette. He was known politically as the "Old Brass Piece."
Among the later non-resident attorneys who practiced at this bar are C. N. Beamer, Zionsville; Ira Sharp, Thorntown; C. D. Orear, Jamestown; R. P. Davidson, E. P. Hammond, S. N. Caldwell, L. Caldwell, A. A. Rice and others, LaFayette; R. R. Stephenson, T. J. Kane & Son, T. Boyd, A. F. Shirts, Christian & Christian and others, of Noblesville; John Duncan, Caleb Denny, A. J. Beveridge, Thomas Hanna, Newton Harding and others, of Indianapolis.
In 1886 C. N. Beamer was elected prosecuting attorney, but resigned in the spring of 1889 and C. M. Zion was appointed as his successor. Mr. Zion is spoken of more extendedly in another column.
H. P. New served one term as prosecuting attorney from 1890 to 1892, when he was succeeded by Hon. P. H. Dutch. At the close of his term as prosecutor, Mr. New formed a partnership with Hon. T. J. Terhune and later with J. L. Lewis.
Patrick H. Dutch served as prosecuting attorney from 1892 to 1894. He was a vigorous prosecutor and was instrumental in securing punishment for many criminals. He was succeeded by Noah Loughrun, who served from 1894 to 1896. Mr. Loughrun is a self-made man, having spent the best days of youth in the service of his country as a private in the Tenth Regiment Indiana Volunteers during the war of the rebellion. He was a good soldier, faithful in the discharge of his duty, and beloved and respected by all of his comrades. After the war he lived near and in Zionsville, where he filled the positions of town marshal and justice of the peace. While serving in these capacities he studied law and on his election to the office of prosecutor he removed to this city, where he has since resided. He is now in partnership with Hon. R. W. Harrison.
In 1852 the office of associate judge was abolished and the business went into the circuit court. In 1873 the common pleas court was abolished and the business and books were transferred to the circuit court and given four terms a year. Under the new constitution, the probate court and its judges were abolished and the court of common pleas organized, with probate jurisdiction.
The first term of the probate court was held November 4, 1830, at the
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