USA > Indiana > Gibson County > History of Gibson County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 18
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. Upon the change in the circuit which removed Judge Mallott from the courts of Gibson county, the governor of the state appointed Oscar M. Wel- born to the judgeship of the eleventh judicial circuit, comprised of the coun- ties of Gibson, Pike and Dubois, and for a continuous period of thirty-six years Judge Welborn presided in the courts of the circuit with distinguished ability and to the entire satisfaction of his constituency. The characteristics of Judge Welborn as a judge, which marked him for success, were the abso- lute fairness of his judgments, the decorum of his own conduct and the con- duct of the bar and court officers in pursuance of his requirement and example, and entire absence of every suspicion of either fear or favor as an impulse to his action.
From the time that Judge Welborn was elevated to the bench the busi- ness of the courts of the circuit increased in volume, and in difficulty and im- portance, at a steady and rapid rate, until after a time it was deemed proper by the General Assembly to make another change in the circuit by cutting off the counties of Pike and Dubois, and adding the county of Posey.
The augmentation of the business of the courts continued, but the indus- try and constancy of purpose of Judge Welborn enabled him to keep fairly apace with it, and at the end of his service the business was little in arrear.
Judge Welborn declined to stand for re-election in 1908, preferring to retire from public life, and at the end of his term, in 1909, he retired from the bench in possession of the absolute confidence and respect of the people of the circuit. Since his retirement he has devoted his attention to the man- agement of his lands and to the practice of law.
Upon the retirement of Judge Welborn, the people of the circuit chose as his successor Herdis F. Clements, who served as judge of the Gibson cir- cuit court until Gibson county was removed from the eleventh judicial circuit in 1913. Judge Clements is a resident of Mt. Vernon and he is still the judge of the eleventh circuit, which is now constituted of the county of Posey.
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GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.
In 1913 the governor of Indiana appointed Simon L. Vandeveer, a sound and capable lawyer, to the judgeship of the new sixty-sixth judicial circuit, constituted of the county of Gibson, and Judge Vandeveer is still in service, rendering to the people efficient return for their confidence in him.
The judges that have presided over the courts of Gibson county in the past live in the history and in the traditions of our people and it is with pride and satisfaction that it is recalled that in their days and times they were an important element of our community. There are few counties that have beenî more fortunate in this respect than Gibson county has been, during the now closing first century of her existence. Let us hope that the future will deal with us no less favorably than the past has done.
The bar of Gibson county has been as distinguished as the bench, and many have been the contests of skill and eloquence in our temples of justice.
In the old days it was the custom of the lawyers of the circuit to follow the judge from court to court, and by reason of this fact the business of the courts was not conducted by local lawyers to the extent that it is now. Travel- ing from court to court upon horseback, carrying their libraries, consisting of Blackstone's Commentaries, Chitty on Pleadings, Starkie on Evidence and Tidd's Practice, in their saddle-bags, the bar, in company with the circuit judge, proceeded from county to county, each hoping for employment at each successive county seat. They made a congenial company and entertained one another on the way and at the taverns by jokes and stories, such as would be at the command of able and enlightened men isolated as these men were.
The court rooms during the sessions of the courts, plain and not at all commodious, presented a scene of life and interest. The tables were covered with books and the appearance was that there was at hand a considerable library, probably as many as sixty volumes. Upon examination of the titles of the volumes, however, it appeared that the library was made up largely of duplicates of the works above enumerated, which had been removed from the saddle-bags and deposited in the court room for use during the term.
The terms of court were held twice a year and they lasted usually less . than one week. Reports of decisions were few and difficult of access and because of this the successful practitioner was required to draw his inspira- tion from the texts of the classics of the law, and to place his reliance upon first principles. The result of this was that arguments upon questions of law were more scientific than the usual presentations of the present day. They were built upon the history and the maxims of the law, and in them quickness of perception, soundness of judgment and ability to set forth in clear and in- telligible language the reasons for the contention of the advocate, counted for
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GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.
much. The bar generally was made up of men of education, who were stu- dents in the sense that they thought more than they read, and it is said that in those days the discussions in court of a question of law was usually profound and interesting.
The people were without books and newspapers and during court week it was their custom to gather at the county seat to listen to the proceedings in court, and when they left the court house and gathered together at their . homes and at log-rollings, there were spirited discussions among them upon the relative merits of the lawyers to whom they had listened, and of their several contentions. Court week was a time of popular diversion.
Very able men have conducted causes in the courts of Gibson county. The voice and person of John Johnson were familiar to our people, as were also those of Charles Dewey. The early volumes of the reports of the deci- sions of the supreme court of Indiana are a monument to the learning and judicial perception of Charles Dewey. He was an educated lawyer and a judge that would have been not only an ornament but a pillar of strength to any court in christendom.
The late Judge Samuel Hall left among his papers a list of the early practitioners at the Gibson county bar. The date when this list was made is not definitely known, but probably about 1833. It is of historic interest and is here set ont, as Judge Hall compiled it :
NAMES AND RESIDENCES OF LAWYERS PRACTICING IN 4TH CIRCUIT FROM 1816
TO 1833.
Names
Residences.
John Johnson
Knox County
Remarks. One of the Judges of the Supreme Court of In- diana-Dead.
Isaac Blackford
Vincennes.
Charles Dewey
Charlestown.
One of the Judges of the Supreme Court of In- diana-now living in In- dianapolis. One of the Judges of the Supreme Court-Yet liv- ing.
William Prince
Princeton Dead
David Hart
Princeton Dead
General W. Johnston
Princeton and Vincennes Dead
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GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.
Names.
Residences,
Remarks.
Richard Daniel
Princeton and Mt. Vernon Dead
Reuben Kidder
Springfield, Posey County Dead
Thomas F. Blake
Vincennes and Terre Haute Dead
Nathaniel Huntington
Vincennes and Terre Haute Dead
George R. G. Sullivan
Vincennes
Dead
Jacob Call
Vincennes
Dead
Judge Doty
Vincennes
Dead
Henry Hurst
Jeffersonville
Yet living
David Raymond
Vincennes
Dead
Elias Roberts
Springfield
Dead
legor Howk
Charlestown
Dead
" then W. Nelson
Jeffersonville
Killed
Harbon H. Moore
Corydon
Dead
Alexander Buckner
Charlestown
Dead
David Floyd
Corydon
Dead
Dunn
Dead
McDonald
Vincennes
Dead
John McLain
Shawneetown
Dead
Adolphus Hubbert
Shawneetown
Dead
Thomas Brown
Shawneetown
Dead
Robert M. Evans
Princeton
Dead
James Ralph Erskin Goodlet
Yet living
George W. Lindsay
Vincennes and Princeton
Dead
John Law
Vincennes and Evansville
Living
George W. Ewing
Vincennes
Dead
Samuel Judah
Vincennes
Living
F hn A. Brackenridge
Boonville
Living
Pandell Crawford
New Albany Living
Charles I. Battell
Springfield and Evansville Living
Amos Clarke
Evansville and Texas Living
James A. Boice
Evansville
Dead
John Pitcher
Mt Vernon and Princeton
Living
Samuel Hall
Princeton
Living
Abner T. Ellis
Princeton and Vincennes Living
Willis C. Osbourne
Princeton
Dead
James Hillyer
Henderson, Ky. Dead
Thomas Towles
Henderson, Ky. Dead
Walker
Henderson, Ky. Dead
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GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.
Names.
Residences,
Remarks.
Walker
Henderson, Ky.
Dead
E. F. Hopkins
Henderson, Ky.
Living
A. Dickson
Henderson, Ky.
Living
L. W. Powell
Henderson, Ky.
Living
George Morris
Henderson, Ky.
Dead
Mckinney
Evansville
Dead
Theodore Barnett
Crawford County Living
Gibbs
Crawford County Dead
Sterrett
Kentucky
Dead
Lyman Lessly
Corydon
Living
George Webb
Bonpas, Ill.
Dead
Joseph Warner
Washington
Dead
Amory Kinney
Washington and Terre Haute
Living
Elisha Embree
Princeton
Living
Eben D. Edson
Mt. Vernon
Dead
Seth M. Levenworth
Leavenworth
Living
Amos Lane
Lawrenceburgh
Dead
Thomas Fitzgerald
Boonville
Living
Thomas Jefferson Evans
Princeton
Dead
James O. Wattles
North Harmony
Dead
William L. T. Jones
Evansville
Dead
James Lockhart
Evansville
Living
James G. Jones
Evansville
Living
John R. Porter
Paoli
1 Dead
John Calhoun
Kentucky
Dead
Phil. Triplet
Yellowbanks, Ky.
Dead
Phil. Thompson
Yellowbanks, Ky.
Dead
Hannah
Yellowbanks, Ky. 1
Dead
Mosely
Yellowbanks, Ky.
Dead
William R. Griffith
Yellowbanks. Ky.
Dead
John McFarland
Yellowbanks, Ky.
Samuel Frisby
Rome
Living
George S. Green
Mt. Vernon
Living
Bell
Rome and Springfield Dead
Flias S. Terry
Washington
Living
- Cardozes
Princeton
Dead
David McDonald
Bloomington
Living
Fenry P. Thornton
New Albany
Living
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GIBSON . COUNTY, INDIANA.
Names.
Residences,
Remarks.
William P. Thomasson
Corydon
Living
John W. Payne
Corydon
Living
Stephens
Crawford County
Dead
James P. Maxwell.
Princeton
Dead
Fifty-five dead; thirty-one living; two not known; total, 88.
General W. Johnston for a time resided at Princeton. He practiced in the courts of Gibson county and was a man of marked ability. As a member of the territorial Legislature he prepared and presented a report which ranks among the ablest anti-slavery documents of our history.
Robert M. Evans, one of the chief public men of his day, whose name is intimately associated with most of the events of our early local history, was a member of the bar of the Gibson circuit court, and John Law was engaged frequently in the litigation of this county.
Samuel B. Judah, a resident of Vincennes, practiced his profession here and in doing so made quite an impression upon our history. During the territorial days of Indiana, Congress, by law, devoted a township of land as an endowment of a seminary of learning within the territory and, pursuant to the enactment, Albert Gallitan, the secretary of the treasury, set apart township number 2 south, of range number II west, for the purpose. By an act of the territorial Legislature, Vincennes University was incorporated and made the beneficiary of the donation. The trustees of the university were duly organized and they established a school at Vincennes, which, after a fitful exist- ence, ceased to be maintained. The matter remained dormant for a number of years, and meanwhile the General Assembly of the state established the State University at Bloomington and by law undertook to divert the nation's gift to that institution. Mr. Judah in these proceedings discovered an op- portunity for business. He succeeded in getting together the survivors of the board of trustees of the Vincennes University, caused them to hold meet- ings and to fill the vacancies in that body and finally to institute in the Gibson circuit court actions of ejectment against the purchasers of lands in township number 2 south, of range II west, from the state of Indiana.
This was by no means popular among the dwellers within that congress- ional township and there was great indignation and much threatening of vio- lence. It was found to be inconvenient to prosecute these actions in the Gib- son circuit court, and to avoid trouble and probably something worse, Mr. Judah appealed to the Legislature and secured the passage of a law permitting
193
GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.
the Vincennes University to sue the state in the Marion circuit court at In- dianapolis.
In the action which followed, the Vincennes University was successful and the state appealed from the judgment to the supreme court of Indiana, by the judgment of which court the judgment of the Marion circuit court was reversed. This was followed by a writ of error carrying the record to the supreme court of the United States, where the cause was argued on behalf of the Vincennes University by the great Chancellor Kent, of New York. The result of this proceeding was that the supreme court of the United States reversed the judgment of the supreme court of Indiana, holding that the title to the township of lands had vested in the Vincennes University, and that there was no power in the state Legislature to divest that title.
The next step on the part of Mr. Judah was to realize upon his victory and the course he pursued to do this was to procure the passage of an act by the Legislature of Indiana, authorizing the issuing of bonds of the state to raise funds wherewith to pay the judgment.
The bonds were issued and fell into hands of Mr. Judah, whereupon there began a course of interesting legislation whereby the Vincennes Uni- versity sought to get into its hands the fruits of its victory. Just how much it was able to wrest from Mr. Judah the writer has never learned.
These proceedings have been the basis of the periodical demands that have been made by the Vincennes University for reimbursement by the state for the lands in township 2 south, of range II west, that were sold many years ago for the benefit of Indiana University. These demands have been fairly successful in the past, but it is hoped that the university will not have to be reimbursed again.
Another lawyer of prominence in his day was John Pitcher, a lawyer of the old school and a man of large ability. He lived to a great age and died at his home in Mt. Vernon, in Posey county, a few years ago. For a period he was judge of the court of common pleas and many were the stories illustrative of his wit and sarcasm both at the bar and while upon the bench.
During his incumbency of the bench there was a lawyer at Princeton named Harry Kiger, a young man of gay spirit and convivial habits. The passages between him and the judge provided stories of interest, some of which are yet current.
It is said that upon one occasion Mr. Kiger left the court room to take an additional inspiration before beginning an address to the jury. He stayed a little too long and his time to speak came before his return. The weather
(13)
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GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.
was warm, and as Mr. Kiger hurried into the court room and toward the bar he was engaged in removing his coat, his neck cloth and collar which, when the judge perceived it, caused him to announce from the bench in an audible voice, "Mr. Kiger kindly keep on your shirt."
On one occasion after Judge Pitcher had decided adversely to the hope of some members of the bar, the defeated and chagrined lawyers proceeded to leave the court room in a manner somewhat perceptible. As they went to- wards the door the Judge called out to them, "Yes, yes, gentlemen, adjourn to the nearest tavern and cuss the judge."
A few years ago a volume could have been written of anecdotes such as these relative to Judge Pitcher and Harry Kiger, but the men of their days are gone and the wit, the sarcasm, and the glory of these men have passed into that oblivion which is the goal of the votaries of the law.
A member of the Gibson county bar of signal learning and ability in his day was Alexander C. Donald, a Scot by birth and a man of ripe learning. Mr. Donald was an orator of unusual merit, and his broad Scotch accent and the burr of his r's lent a charm to his delivery which seldom has been equalled. His case was one of buried talent. If Alexander C. Donald had been in a larger community and had had opportunities equal to his talents, there is no way of estimating the height to which he might have ascended in success and fame.
Contemporary with Mr. Donald was James T. Embree, a classical grad- uate and an educated lawyer of distinguished power and success. He was born in Princeton and front 1852 until 1861, when he entered the Union army as major of the Fifty-eighth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, Mr. Embree practiced his profession in the courts of Gibson and neighboring counties. It was quite ustal for him and Mr. Donald to be upon opposite sides in cases in court, and while their talents were dissimilar, the measure of their success was about equal. After resigning from the army because of failure of health in 1864, Colonel Embree returned to the practice of the law in Princeton, as partners of his brother, David F. Embree. His health did not permit him to continue long, and his career ended in death in 1867, at the age of thirty-eight years.
Another man of prominence at the bar of our county was William M. Land, a man of great cunning in the trial of cases, and a figure in the political and civic life of the community. He was judge of the court of common pleas for a few months immediately before that court was abolished.
At about the same period there came to the bar of this county Clarence
195 .
GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.
A. Buskirk and David F. Embree. and both took rank at once as leaders of the bar. They were men of education and lawyers of more than common strength. In the trial of cases before a jury, Mr. Buskirk was a man of great success ; as a technical lawyer Mr. Embree had few superiors. These men were frequently opposed to one another in the trial of cases and though their talents and equipment were in no way the same, it was not observable that either one of them had the greater advantage.
David F. Embree had served as a captain of Company E, Forty-second Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, during the Civil war, and exposure in that service was the cause of his death in 1877. Mr. Buskirk still survives, but for a number of years he has not pursued his profession.
A member of the Gibson county bar of other days, whose learning and ability in the conduct of causes demands special mention was William H. Trippett. Many years ago Mr. Trippett left Gibson county to become a resi- dent of Montana, where he still resides and practices law. He is remembered at Princeton as a capable lawyer, somewhat inclined to indolence and to a disposition to have a "good time." It took a spur to put him in motion, but when he moved it behooved the other side to keep wide awake. The writer remembers well the efficiency of Mr. Trippett in the prosecution of one Ed. Smith, a negro charged with larceny. In the trial of this cause at Evansville, the argument of Mr. Trippett in closing this case for the state was equal to any forensic effort the writer has ever heard in more than thirty-six years of service at the bar. Mr. Trippett is still engaged in the practice at Anaconda, Montana.
Nearly forty years ago James E. Mccullough, now the assistant attor- ney-general of Indiana, came from Petersburg to Princeton and entered upon the practice of law. In the practice, Mr. Mccullough was very successful and there have been at the Princeton bar few men who were his equal in keenness and accuracy of legal perception and capacity to impress his views upon the courts. For a number of years he has been in the practice at Indianapolis.
There are others deserving of mention, some of them long since passed into the great beyond. There were John C. Schaffer, a good lawyer and a kindly gentleman; Martin W. Fields, an advocate of great skill and a capable lawyer; Richard M. J. Miller, the victim of many weaknesses, but a man of good ability and native sincerity ; David D. Doughty, a matchless player at checkers and a friend of all men. These are gone.
There yet remains Thomas R. Paxton, a graduate of Harvard law school and a good lawyer, who has forsaken the tribe of the law for the more con-
196
GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.
genial business of banking; Thomas Duncan, the chairman of the public utilities commission of Indiana, whose practice at the Gibson county bar was an unbroken chain of success; Henry A. Yeager and James B. Gamble, sur- vivors of the old school, who still persevere in the practice; Arthur P. Twine- ham, who has returned to the bar after a considerable period spent in other pursuits ; John H. Miller, for many years a successful practitioner, but who has quit the law for the farm; Woodfin D. Robinson, ex-judge of the appellate court of Indiana, and William E. Stilwell, one time a state senator, who together are engaged in successful practice at Evansville; John W. Brady, a lawyer of sound learning and judgment, and a master hand at trial by jury. There is a train of new and younger men who are fast pushing to the front of their profession.
[Not the least deserving of specific mention in this connection is Lucius C. Embree, author of this chapter, and who, during a long, honorable and suc- cessful career, has ably sustained the splendid professional record of his fam- ily .- ED. ]
ATTORNEYS AT THE BAR OF THE GIBSON CIRCUIT COURT IN ACTIVE PRACTICE
IN 1914.
John T. Ballard
Princeton
Charles O. Baltzell
Princeton
Robert C. Baltzell
Princeton
Luther Benson
Princeton
Robert H. Clark
Princeton
Thomas W. Cullen
Princeton
Donald W. Duncan
Princeton
Lucius C. Embree
Princeton
Morton C. Embrce
Princeton
James B. Gamble
Princeton
John Q. A. Goodman
Princeton
Dorris R. Head
Princeton
Harvey Harmon
Princeton
Hovey C. Kirk
Princeton
Henry Kister
Princeton
Oscar Lanphar
Princeton
Marsh T. Lewis
Princeton
Thomas M. McDonald
Princeton
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GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.
Henry H. Niekamp Princeton
Claude A. Smith
Princeton
Charles C. Sumners
Princeton
Sanford Trippett
Princeton
Arthur P. Twineham
Princeton
Henry A. Yeager
Princeton
Oscar M. Welborn
Princeton
Abraham Cole
Oakland City
John M. Vandeveer
Oakland City
Henry Johnson
Owensville
Byron M. Johnson
Owensville
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CHAPTER XIV.
SECRET SOCIETIES OF THE COUNTY.
In Gibson county, like all progressive counties, it was not long after the first struggles of early settlement had been gone through before various civic societies were organized. There was, however, a period when secret orders were not as popular as today. But the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and, in more recent decades, the Knights of Pythias, all secured a footing and have ever since been advancing with the march of years. There are a score of so-called secret societies, the majority of which are of the fraternal, benevolent, or beneficiary insurance order, but of these this chapter will not go into detail, but of the three great, well-established, and world-wide recognized fraternities above named, more will be said in this con- nection. In any community where churches, schools and these three great orders are found there is found also the highest type of civilization.
FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS.
Masonry was instituted for the first time in Princeton, December 21, 1820, under the name of Warren Lodge, under dispensation, with Randolph West as master, William B. Dimick as senior warden, Walter Wilson as junior warden, Holly Crawford as senior deacon, John I. Neely as junior deacon, William Jerauld as secretary, Ezekiel Reynolds as treasurer, and Joel F. Casey as steward. The first initiates under dispensation were Judge Samuel Hall. John I. Neely and Joel F. Casey.
The grand lodge met September 11, 1821, at Corydon, when a charter was issued to the above lodge under the name of Clinton Lodge No. 16. Judge Samuel Hall was present at this meeting as the representative of the new lodge and was therefore the first representative from a Princeton lodge of Masons to the grand lodge. The charter of this lodge was arrested in 1835 during the Morgan excitement.
On August 23, 1857, a dispensation was issued for the organization of Princeton Lodge, and a charter was issued May 25, 1858, as Prince Lodge, the name it now bears. The change was made at the request of the brethren
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GIBSON COUNTY, INDIANA.
in honor of Judge William Prince, who died a Mason, and for whom the city of Princeton was named. The number of the lodge is 231.
William Jerauld served as the first master from date of dispensation to June, 1858, when he was succeeded by Rev. John E. Jenkins, who served seyen years, during the period of the Civil war.
The charter members were Judge Samuel Hall. John Arbuthnot, Dr. John F. Howard, Joseph Neely, Joseph Chambers, William Jerauld, Holly Craw- ford and John McKain.
The first initiates were two, Jesse C. Kimball and B. Brauner, on Novem- ber 17, 1857.
The masters in the order of service are as follows: William Jerauld, John E. Jenkins, J. D. Kaufman, Ralph Redding. John M. Ryan (eight years), Jacob G. Vail, Dr. William G. Kidd, Wilford B. McDonald, John N. Key, Henry P. Chambers, Thomas W. Cullen, Dr. George C. Kendle, Robert A. Woods ( ten years), Rev. George D. Wolfe, John Burke, Ernest Mundelius, John F. Stewart, W. L. S. Wood, Harry G. May, Clarence Rosenberger, Rev. J. B. Pilant, Robert Baltzell.
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