USA > Indiana > Huntington County > History of Huntington County, Indiana : from the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, notes, etc., together with a short history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the State of Indiana > Part 33
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Hon. Elza A. McMahon became President Judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit in 1851, and held his first term at Huntington in September, 1851.
Isaac DeLong was appointed special prosecuting attorney for this term of the court.
At the September term James L. Worden, of Fort Wayne, acted as prosecuting attorney.
Judge McMahon occupied the bench until the new constitu- tion and the court preceedure adopted under it, went into force in 1853. Judge McMahon was a resident of Fort Wayne, and was at that time a man of considerable local prominence. After retiring from the bench he continued the practice a few years and then removed to the west where it is supposed he is yet living.
Courts Under the New Constitution. - The courts of Indiana received a radical change under the new constitution. They were organized throughout the State in the early part of 1853. Hith- erto the old common law methods had been in vogue, but under the new order of things the practice was much simplified and many of the long and tedious forms were done away with. The change brought about much opposition from some of the older members of the bar throughout the State. They had studied the common laws for years, until they had become imbued with its principles. To them it embodied the genuine wisdom of the ages that concerned law and liberty. They admired it for its grandeur and its equality. It had been so long the recognized channel through which justice had been sought that the "memory of man runneth not to the contrary," and they were reluctant to give up any of its well known avenues. Indeed, to many of these older practitioners the common law practice had grown to be of such paramount importance, and had assumed, to them, such beauty and symmetry that they held it in awe and reverence. It was therefore little short of sacrilege to attempt the pruning of this system even in its smallest branches. To such an extent was this opposition carried that many never became reconciled to the change, while some even went so far as to abandon the practice altogether.
One distinctive feature of the change was the abolishment of the office of Associate judge. This was an office more for orna- ment than for utility. The circuit judge then held court in several counties, and in each he was assisted by two associate judges, who resided in the county. They were men that seldom, if ever, had any knowledge of the law and their decisions usually fol- lowed in harmony with the president judge. At this time, how- ever, they folded away their ermine and took their final leave of the Indiana courts, leaving the task of supporting the scales of justice to a single judge.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY.
John Doe vs. Richard Roe. - The present code practice in Indiana has been in operation since May 9, 1853. Under the old system many relics of feudal times were still lingering. Several fictions of the ancient common law were still retained, but under the new code the methods of pleading were much simplified and the fictions were all abolished. Thenceforth all actions were to be prosecuted and defended in the names of the real parties. It was at that time that the famous mythical personages John Doe and Richard Roe were forever banished from the courts of Indiana. These were fictitious plaintiffs and defendants that were used in all actions to recover the possession of real prop- erty. This common law action of ejectment originated about the beginning of the fourteenth century on account of "the thousand nicities with which real actions are harassed and entangled." The readiness with which John Due always came forward to assert the alleged right of the man out of possession, and the equal promptness of Richard Roe to maintain that the man in possession was the lawful owner, were such as to com- mand the devotion and sincere attachment of all true lovers of the old system. It was with deep regret that the old practition- ers took leave of these knights errant of the common law.
The first term in this county after the adoption of the New Constitution began in February, 1853, with Hon. John U. Pettit as Judge, Joseph Wiley, Clerk, and Henry Brown, Sheriff. Perhaps no man in the State was better adapted to the trying duties of reorganizing the Circuit Court under the new methods of practice than Judge Pettit. He was a resident of Wabash County. His mind was a storehouse of information on almost every conceiv- able subject. A ripe scholar and a great reader, he was thoroughly acquainted with the history, poetry and the current literature of the country. In law no man in Indiana had a more comprehensive knowledge. While sitting as judge but few appeals were taken from his decisions, and the Supreme Court rarely reversed his judgments. Prior to this time he had been a member of the Indiana Legislature, and had been United States Consul in Brazil. Beginning in 1854 he served four terms as a member of Congress, the first three as a Democrat and the last as a Republican. In 1862 he was commissioned colonel of the Seventy-fifth Regiment of the Indiana Volunteers, but was com- pelled to resign on account of feeble health.
In February, 1854, Isaiah M. Harlan assumed the duties of pros- ecuting attorney.
At the August term that year William Robinson was sent to the penitentiary for three years on a charge of larceny.
The next circuit judge of this county was John M. Wallace, of Marion, in Grant County. Judge Wallace was a man of more than ordinary ability. At the bar of his own county he was the foremost lawyer. He was a brilliant man and a fluent speaker. As an advocate he was surpassed by few, and his knowledge of the law enabled him to become on efficient judge. His first term
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BENCH AND BAR.
in Huntington County was in February, 1855, at which time Lambdin P. Milligan was prosecuting attorney. The following year Isaac De Long served as special prosecutor a portion of the time. During the term of Judge Wallace an episode occurred which rendered his presence in this county for about one year a matter of doubtful propriety, and during that time the courts were mostly held by John Brownlee, of Marion, under appoint- ment. This was the discovery by one of the leading citizens of the town at that time of a liaison between his wife and Judge Wallace. The aforesaid leading citizen is said to have developed an ardent desire for blood, and especially for judicial blood. After the lapse of about one year Judge Wallace resumed the duties on this bench, which he continued to discharge faithfully until the expiration of his term in 1861. During the decade of the fifties, John R. Coffroth came into prominence as one of the leading lawyers of the northern Indiana bar. This position he has main- tained until the present time, although not now a resident of the county. His great force before a jury and his commanding in- tellect combined to make him an antagonist that all were unwill- ing to encounter at the bar.
In March, 1861, Hon. Horace P. Biddle succeeded Judge Wal- lace upon the Huntington Circuit Bench. In Judge Biddle, Huntington County had one of the most distinguished jurists presiding in her courts. In 1852, he was elected senatorial dele- gate to attend the convention which met at the capital that year for the purpose of forming a new constitution for the State Gov- ernment. As a member of that convention he distinguished him- self in the advocacy of provisions which experience has shown were wholesome and judicious, imparting additional dignity to the political and judicial economy of the State. Resuming the practice of law during the interval after the conclusion of his convention service, he continued his professional labors until the fall of 1860, when he was re-elected president judge of this circuit, designated at that time as the Eleventh. His commission was dated October 26, 1860, and extended over a period of six years from the day preceding. The circuit was then composed of the counties of Carroll, Cass, Miami, Wabash, Hunt- ington and Grant. Judge Biddle was re-elected in 1866 for another term of six years, as judge of the Eleventh Circuit, com- posed of the same counties, and left the circuit bench at the close of the spring session in 1872. Two years later, however, he was elected one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the State, and served a full term of six years as such, leaving that high position full of judicial honors. Aside from his experience in the field of law as a practitioner and judge, he has not been unknown to fame in the field of literature. having produced many valuable works in the department of science and general knowledge. He was then and is now a resident of Logansport. Meredith H. Kidd was then Prosecuting Attorney, Joseph Wiley, Clerk, and Samuel Dougherty, Sheriff.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY.
About this time Henry B. Sayler began to figure in the matters of the court. In 1863, T. C. Whitesides was prosecuting attorney, and under his prosecution John Sturman was convicted of mur- der in the second degree and sentenced to the penitentiary for life. He was convicted of killing Thomas Clark at Mahon, a station on the old Wabash & Erie Canal. While Sturman was in jail he made his escape and was afterward captured in Illinois. The retaking of him is yet a glowing theme of conversation to one of Huntington's oldest citizens. In October, 1865, he was tried a second time and this time succeeded in obtaining a more favorable verdict. The sentence was for two years in the State Prison which, considering the crime, was remarkably light.
At the January term, 1866, John Gordon, George W. Ruggles, and Mary E. Lowry were indicted for the murder of William Lowry. William and Mary E. Lowry were husband and wife, but the evidence could not be produced sufficient to convict and the prosecutor entered a nolle prosequi to the cause. In Decem- ber, 1867, a special term was held by T. C. Whitesides, at which James Freel was tried for assault and battery with intent to kill, but was convicted of the assault and battery only. At the same term Valentine Mills was found guilty of manslaughter, and sen- tenced to three years in the penitentiary. In May, 1868, Cyrus Winter was tried on a charge of murder and acquitted.
In 1869, at the September term, one of the ablest Judicial offi- cers of Indiana assumed the duties of Circuit Judge in Hunt- ington County. This was Robert Lowry, of Fort Wayne, who for many years occupied important positions in the judiciary of northeastern Indiana. As a nisi prins Judge he has few equals, and while upon the bench maintains a dignified bearing in keeping with the proceedings of a judicial tribunal. His knowl- edge of the law is most profound, and he applies the principles to a case in hand with the most unswerving impartiality. A political ambition at last led him from the bench, and he has just completed a second term in Congress.
Early in 1873 John U. Pettit became Judge again, but a change in the districts soon after brought to the bench in this county Hon. James R. Slack, a resident of Huntington. Judge Slack was the oldest practitioner at the bar of this county. He was a man of many peculiarities but of unimpeachable integrity. He entered the service of the United States in the Rebellion as Colonel of the Forty Seventh Indiana Regiment and soon rose to the rank of Brigadier General. His disposition was somewhat gay, and he thoroughly enjoyed a good joke, but he seldom allowed anything of that nature to interfere with the proper decorum of his court. As a lawyer he was not profound, and his accession to the bench was not deemed auspicious. Notwith- standing this, however, he succeeded in becoming a good Judge, and one well liked by the members of the bar. His natural sense of right enabled him to administer equity in cases where the law was obscure. His last term in this county was in June, 1881,
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BENCH AND BAR.
soon after which he died very suddenly while away from home. The successor of Judge Slack was Hon. Henry B. Sayler, also a resident of Huntington and the present incumbent of the office of Circuit Judge. For more than twenty-five years Judge Sayler has been one of the leading citizens of Huntington. Dur- ing the war he held a commission as Major in one of the six months' regiments, and several years later was elected to Con- gress. As a public speaker he is fluent and his manner is pleas- ing before a public audience. It is to be regretted that he left the domain of politics. As a judge he is not far above the aver- age, although he is popular with the masses and this perhaps goes far toward success. Business accumulates upon his dockets and he seems not to have the ready faculty of turning it off. His decisions however, appear to stand the test well in the Supreme Court. Socially Judge Sayler is agreeable and genial, and as he is now apparently but little beyond the meridian of life, he, no doubt, has a considerable career of eminence and usefulness be- fore him.
The Bar. - In giving an account of the Bar it has been deemed advisable not to give extended accounts of the present practic- ing members except in a single instance and the propriety of that exception will be readily admitted by all. From the pen of another, the following brief mention is given of the earlier members of the Huntington Bar:
"The dawn of the Bar of Huntington is not free from obscurity, and like all unwritten history, invokes the charity of the reader. The intermingling of traditions of the past with the memory of the living, happily affords an approximation to the truth that should be accepted by the general reader.
" When Huntington County was organized the legal business of the county was transacted by the bar of Logansport, Fort Wayne and Marion. In 1840, James R. Slack came here, a young man of little legal experience, but a fine looking blonde of the Pennsylvania Teutonic type, of easy manners, of fine social qualities, vicacious, inclining to hilarity; he was Judge of the Twenty-Eighth Circuit, from 1873 until his death. He was con- servative in public financial transactions, and saved rather than accumulated a competency, and died in 1881.
" Wilson B. Loughridge came from Brown County, Ohio, about 1843, was of Irish descent, large man, dark hair, fair skin, blue eyes, well educated, studied law with Gen. Thomas Hamer, of Ohio, was thoroughly familiar with the elementary principles of his profession, with a weighty brain and phlegmatic constitution, with limited versatility of resource as a practicioner, prone to magnify difficulties to overwhelming proportions, was Judge Judicial District of Huntington and Wells counties, from 1853 to 1861. In 1862 he moved to Peru and conducted the Miami Sentinel, and died in 1883.
" John H. Hendrix, a native the state of New York, settled here in 1846. An active, energetic young man, small in stature
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY.
but of fair promise as a lawyer, was prosecuting attorney at his death, which occurred in 1849.
"Isaac DeLong came here from Perry County, Ohio, in 1848, on his return from the Mexican War. Was quite a military man; his early education was not good, but energetic and devoted to the interest of his clients, was a man of great benevolence to the great detriment of success, was impulsive. strong in his likes and dislikes but charitable and forgiving, always ready to do more for his friends than for himself. He was father of A. W. DeLong, so long the successful editor of the Indiana Herald, and started that paper for his son and maintained a lively interest in that paper until his death.
"In 1848 Dunbar Carney opened an office here but left the next spring.
"In 1849 John R. Coffroth came here from Chambersburg, Penn- sylvania, a student of Mr. McClanahan. He was very young, of fine complexion, fine physique, with good legal education, and a mint of energy, quick perception and tenacious memory, not eloquent in a political sense, nor particularly logical, but stated his propositions with great force and clearness, and with a great pertinacity of purpose so necessary to the practicioner. He soon developed the formidable lawyer, and with Mr. Coffroth and Col. Milligan at the bar at this time, the Huntington Bar took rank as one of the foremost in the state. In 1870 Mr. Coffroth moved to LaFayette, where he since practiced his profession with eminent success, but at this date his health is precarious.
" Lambdin P. Milligan was admitted to the bar in Ohio, and practiced for a time at St. Clairsville. He was examined and admitted in the same class with Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln's famous Secretary of War. Mr. Milligan continued in the practice there for nine years, and in 1845 settled on a farm in this county. After a long and severe illness he resumed the practice in this county in January, 1853, and at once took high rank at the Hun- tington Bar. He was often associated with John R. Coffroth and they were among the foremost lawyers in Northern Indiana. From that time to this he has been one of the most conspicuous members of the Huntington Bar.
" David Oliver Daily, a native of Indiana, came here in 1851. He was a brother to Rev. William Daily, at one time Chaplain of Congress. Mr. Daily was a young man of brilliant talents, very eloquent and energetic and took a high rank at the bar. But over-work shattered his constitution and he became a victim to nervous prostration and died on the 7th of June, 1867, leaving a wife and two daughters, one of whom is the wife of Samuel M. Sayler, of the Huntington Bar."
To complete a review of all the attorneys of the bar would be beyond the scope of this work. The present bar docket con- tains the names of some very bright, promising lawyers whose achievements in the legal arena are destined to be of a higher order. Most of them are elsewhere mentioned in this volume. A
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BENCH AND BAR.
list of nearly all the attorneys admitted in this county prior to 1870 are here given although it doubtless contains some errors and many omissions:
LIST OF ATTORNEYS.
Samuel C. Sample, March, 1835.
John T. Preston, March, 1846.
Charles W. Ewing, March, 1835.
Daniel N. Cox, March, 1846.
David H. Colerick, March, 1835.
John L. Knight, March, 1846.
Henry Cooper, March, 1835.
Levi Washburn, March, 1846.
Hosea Powers, March, 1836.
John M. Wallace, March, 1847.
Joseph L. Jerregan, August, 1836.
Isaac De Long, September, 1848.
Thomas Johnson, March, 1837.
J. R. Coffroth, September, 1849.
Spier S. Tipton, March, 1837.
John U. Pettit, September, 1850.
Wm. H. Coombs, March, 1837.
Anthony F. Yager, April, 1851.
S. P. Ferry, March, 1837.
A. Y. Hooper, April, 1851. James L. Worden, September, 1852.
Williamson Wright, March, 1837.
D. O. Daily, about 1855.
Daniel D. Pratt, September, 1837.
W. C. Kocher, (?) 1857.
Alfred Kilgore, September, 1837.
Henry Comstock, September, 1859.
- Patterson, September, 1839.
H. B. Sayler, 1859.
Robert Brackenridge, March, 1840.
W. H. Trammell, 1860.
Lysander Williams, September, 1840.
Thos. Roche, February, 1862.
James R. Slack, March, 1841.
Wm. L. Best, February, 1862.
W. G. Clark, about 1856.
Rhodes Armstrong, April, 1865.
James C. Branyan, April, 1865.
L. C. Sweer, (?) 1866.
B. F. Hendrix, 1866. W. H. H. Dennis, April, 1866. Wm. L. Manis, May, 1867.
Ulyssus D. Cole, May, 1867.
B. M. Cobb, prior to November, 1867.
- Brown, prior to May, 1868.
- Williams, prior to May, 1868.
Lonis Newberger, May, 1868. John Bippus, May, 1868.
Jno. T. Alexander, about May, 1867.
Wm. M. Thomas, November, 1868.
John W. Dawson, March, 1845. Moses Jenkenson, March, 1845.
Henry Bridge, March, 1870. J. B. Kenner, March, 1870.
Probate Court. - Under the old constitution there was a Pro- bate Court that had jurisdiction in all matters of a Probate nature. Appeals could be taken to the Circuit Court. The judges were residents of the county and seldom knew much of the intricacies of the law. The records are not clear upon the early Probate Courts in Huntington County. The first record bears date of November, 1838, at which time William Shearer was Judge. It is probable that he had been such from the organ- ization of the county until that date. From that time on another judge filled the office whose name was probably James Gillece, the name everywhere being written in such a manner as to pre- vent certain deciphering. In February, 1841, William Shearer again assumed the duties of Probate Judge, in which capacity
Horatio M. Slack, September, 1841.
James D. Conner, September, 1841.
Wilson B. Loughridge, September, 1842. L. C. Jacoby, September, 1843. Alphonso A. Cole, September, 1843. George Johnson, September, 1843. R. L. Douglas, September, 1843. John Conger, Jr., September, 1844. Joseph K. Edgerton, September, 1844. John S. Hendryx, September, 1844. Samuel Bigger, September, 1844.
Elza A. McMahon, March, 1845.
Wm. S. Palmer, March, 1841. John Brownlee, March, 1841. Horace P. Biddle, September, 1841.
J. W. Wright, March, 1837.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY.
he continued until 1848. During that year David Garlick suc- ceeded Judge Shearer, and he in 1850 by William B. Schencke, who held the office until the court was merged into the Common Pleas Court under the new constitution.
The Common Pleas Court. - At its establishment the Court of Common Pleas was given exclusive jurisdiction of probate matters, and the old probate courts were abolished. This was another of the changes which the new practice brought about. It had the jurisdiction of all that class of offenses which did not amount to a felony, except those over which Justices of the Peace had exclusive jurisdiction. State prosecutions were insti- tuted by affidavits and information. Under certain restrictions this court had jurisdiction over felonies, where the punishment could not be death, and in no case was the intervention of the Grand Jury necessary. In all civil cases, except for slander, libel, breach of marriage contract, action on official bond of any State or County officer, or where the title to real estate was involved, this court had concurrent jurisdiction with the Circuit Court, where the sum of damages due or demanded did not ex- ceed $1,000, exclusive of interest and costs. It also had concur- rent jurisdiction with Justices of the Peace, where the sum due or demanded exceeded $50. When the court was organized ap- peals could be taken from it to the Circuit Court, but that right was afterward abolished, but appeals could be taken to the Su- preme Court, and its jurisdiction was from time to time enlarged. The Clerk and Sheriff of the county officiated in this court as well as in the Circuit Court, and the judge was ex officio judge of the court of conciliation. This last had jurisdiction of causes of action for libel, slander, malicious prosecution, assault and battery, and false imprisonment, and extended to questions of re- conciliation and compromise only. No attorney was allowed to appear for his client before the court of conciliation, but the parties were required to appear before the judge apart from all other persons, except that an infant was required to appear by guardian, and a female by her husband or friend. This branch of the court was abolished in 1867.
The first term of the Common Pleas in Huntington County began in June, 1853, with Wilson B. Loughridge as Judge. Dur- ing the twenty years of the continuance of this court, it had no less than seven judges, one of which held the office twice. The dates of their first terms are given: Joseph Brackenridge, June, 1861; James W. Borden, February, 1865; Robert S. Taylor, October, 1868; David Studebaker, March, 1869; Robert S. Taylor, October, 1869; William W. Carson, January, 1871; Samuel E. Sinclair, February, 1873. This was the only term of Judge Sin- clair as the court was then abolished.
Present Attorneys. - The following roll of the attorneys of Huntington is taken from the bar docket of the present and is given as showing the resident attorneys of the county :
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SCHOOLS.
L. P. Milligan.
J. M. Hatfield.
J. Z. Scott.
W. C. Kocher.
J. B. Kenner.
O. W. Whitelock.
Thomas Roche.
T. G. Smith.
W. A. Branyan.
W. H. Trammel.
C. W. Watkins. S. M. Sayler.
B. F. Ibach.
L. L. Simons
R. A. Kaufman.
J. W. Ford.
J. C. Branyan.
G. W. Stultz.
J. L. Hiltebrand.
R. C. Griffith.
B. M. Cobb.
John I. Dille.
D. C. Anderson.
Sherman Watkins.
EDWIN C. VAUGHN, Prosecuting Attorney.
CHAPTER VI.
BY A. D. MOHLER. A. M.
SCHOOLS - FIRST TEACHERS - EARLY SCHOOLS - SCHOOL HOUSES OF EARLY DAYS - TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS - GENERAL MATTERS - SCHOOL EXAMINERS AND COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS - PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF HUNTINGTON CITY.
"There, in his noisy mansion, skilled to rule, The village master taught his little school." - GOLDSMITH.
W HEN the members of the Continental Congress passed the celebrated "Ordinance of 1787 " for the government of the North west Territory they, surely, had no adequate idea of the great possibilities of the vast tract for which they were legislating. The following utterance, therefore, must have been of the nature, almost, of inspiration, for it is not a product of anything that had ever before been given by any of the governing powers of the world. In that memorable document these words are found: " Re- ligion, morality and knowledge, being necessary to good govern- ment and the happiness of mankind, schools, and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." This idea seems to have taken root in the soil and that other idea in the "Ordinance," that of liberty, joined with the educational, has made the entire Northwest Territory a veritable "land of promise."
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