USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County Indiana (Volume 1) > Part 24
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Anderson, and the Gospel Trumpet, a religious periodical, was started in Anderson in 1906. E. E. Byrum is the editor.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Madison county has four Carnegie libraries, located at Anderson, Elwood, Alexandria and Pendleton. The first movement for the estab- lishment of a public library in Anderson originated in July, 1879, when Stephen Metcalf circulated a petition for stock subscriptions for that purpose. On August 29, 1879, a meeting was held at the office of John F. Wildman to decide upon a definite plan for the organization of a library association. Those present at that meeting were John W. Pence, John E. Corwin, W. T. Durbin, Stephen Metcalf, C. S. Burr, J. F. Wildman, Jonas Stewart, W. R. Myers, Edgar Henderson, W. S. Diven, M. A. Chipman, C. D. Thompson, George W. Shreeve, E. P. Schlater, Thomas B. Orr, Paul Fitzgerald, James W. Sansberry, L. J. Burr, H. C. Ryan, Zimri Hockett, H. E. Jones, J. N. Study, William Suman, I. D. Bosworth, Amzi W. Thomas, James Mohan, George W. Kessler, G. W. Brown and G. D. Searle.
Subscriptions amounting to $270 were reported by Mr. Metcalf and an association was organized with John W. Pence, W. T. Durbin, Stephen Metcalf, J. F. Wildman, Garrett W. Brown, Jonas Stewart and E. P. Schlater as a board of directors. The library was opened on November 8, 1879, in the office of Amzi W. Thomas, on the north side of the public square, with 374 volumes. In February, 1882, it was removed to the office of Walker & Walker. Until October, 1885, the library was kept open but one day each week to give patrons an oppor- tunity to exchange books. About that time a Young Men's Christian Association was organized in Anderson and offered to assume the man- agement of the library. The offer was accepted by the directors and the library was removed to "Reeve's art gallery," on the west side of the public square. The Young Men's Christian Association did not last long and the books went back to the board of directors. For about a year the books were stored away and the library was then reopened in the office of Judge Chipman, where it remained until in 1889.
Late in the year 1888 eight young men organized a club, with Claude S. Burr as president, and Charles Platter as secretary and treas- urer. This club held its meetings in the Robinson & Lovett block, on the north side of the public square. Its members secured a majority of the shares of the old library stock, took control of the books and removed them to the club rooms. Donations were received about this time from various persons that brought the number of volumes up to 650.
On February 12, 1889, the Anderson Reading Room and Library Association was incorporated with the following board of directors: John W. Lovett. John F. McClure (then mayor), Stephen Metcalf, Martha V. Underhill, John E. Canaday, Mattie V. Berg and Mrs. E. B. Goodykoontz. These directors, in connection with the club above men- tioned, continued in control of the library until the spring of 1891, when a proposition was made to the city to take charge of the books
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and established a city library. On May 11, 1891, the city council resolved "That the books, papers, furniture and effects of the Anderson Reading Room and Library Association be accepted by the city of Anderson, in accordance with the action of said association transferring said prop- erty to the city, and that the same be hereafter maintained as a city library."
Anderson now had a city library, but had no place to put it. The books were removed to the Newsom block and Marcus Kilburne was installed as librarian. He was soon after succeeded by Anna B. Myers. In April, 1898, the library was removed to the Masonic Temple on Meri- dian street. In the meantime a tax had been levied for the support of the library and the purchase of new books. By this method the library was increased until it became evident that the quarters in the Masonic
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ANDERSON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Temple would soon become too small and in 1901 M. M. Dunlap, then mayor of Anderson, wrote to Andrew Carnegie, asking for a con- tribution that would enable the city to erect a library building. Mr. Carnegie was at that time in Europe, but the following year the mayor wrote again and this time was successful in securing the promise of a donation of $50,000, on the condition that the city would furnish a suit- able site and appropriate $5,000 annually for the support of the institu- tion.
These conditions were complied with, the lot at the northeast corner of Tenth and Jackson streets was purchased for $17,400, and work on the building was soon afterward commenced. It was completed in the spring of 1905 and was formally dedicated with appropriate ceremonies at the Central Christian church on the evening of April 20, 1905, the dedicatory address being made by M. M. Dunlap and the building accepted for the city by Mayor John L. Forkner. The total
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cost of the grounds, buildings and furnishings was $72,200. Miss Kath- erine A. Chipman is the librarian and Miss Carrie E. Lake, assistant. The library now numbers about twenty-two thousand volumes and is one of the points of interest in the city of Anderson.
The following extract concerning the Elwood public library is taken from a little booklet issued by the Library Association: "The Elwood Public Library had its inception in 1898 in the thought of Mrs. A. D. Moffett and has been brought to its present status of usefulness and efficiency by the Elwood Library Association.
"The association had its origin in a committee, composed of Mrs. Moffett, Mrs. D. G. Evans, Dr. H. M. Brown, Rev. L. C. Howe and Rev. George Chandler, which was appointed in October, 1898, by Mr. J. T. Alexander, of Greensburg, Indiana, to select a book list for a small subscription library, owned by the International Library Association, installed by Mr. Alexander in Room No. 1, of the building at the cor- ner of South B and Anderson streets, then known as the Fitz Williams building.
"The committee met at the library room and pursuant to the sug- gestion of Mrs. Moffett, that a free public library be established, the librarian, Mrs. Eva Gilmore, was instructed to send postal cards to twenty persons, inviting them to a meeting at the library room, to confer with the committee upon the feasibility of the plan. In response to this invitation Mr. George Haynes, Mr. W. S. James, Mr. A. H. Mckenzie and Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Willkie met with the committee November 26, 1898, and it was decided to solicit subscriptions at $10 a share to a fund of $1,000 for the establishment of a free public library.
"January 10, 1899, sufficient funds having been subscribed to insure the fulfillment of the plan, a mass meeting was held in Odd Fellows' hall and a temporary organization was effected with Mr. F. N. Simmons as chairman, and Mrs. H. F. Willkie as secretary. Mr. H. F. Willkie was authorized to draft articles of incorporation and secure a charter.
"January 25, 1899, the charter having been obtained, and the required fund being guaranteed by subscriptions, the permanent organi- zation was effected in Odd Fellows' hall by the election of a board of fifteen directors for a period of one year."
Popular interest in the movement to establish a public library was manifested in the subscriptions to the stock. Among the subscribers and contributors were most of the leading professional and business men of Elwood, a number of lodges and trades unions, Sunday school classes and the children of the public schools. In April, 1899, the library was opened in a small room at 1414 Main street, with 1,150 volumes, twelve magazines in the reading room department, and Mrs. Eva Gilmore in charge as librarian. In June, 1899, the library was turned over to the city and a tax was levied by the city council for its sup- port. The following spring the library was removed to the new city hall building. In 1901, at the solicitation of the Women's Club, the American Tin Plate Company made a donation of $1,000.
In December, 1901 Andrew Carnegie, in response to a communication from the librarian and secretary of the association, Mrs. F. L. Saylor, offered to donate $25,000 for the erection of a building, provided the
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city would furnish a site and levy an annual tax equal to 10 per cent. of the gift. The proposition was accepted, a further gift of $5,000 was received from Mr. Carnegie in 1903, and on June 1, 1904, the building was dedicated and opened to the public. In the meantime Mrs. Hannah B. Leeds had given the library $500 and D. G. Reed had donated $100 as an endowment fund for a men's room in the library building.
In June, 1909, library privileges were extended to all the residents of Pipe Creek township, and about a month after this action was taken a branch library was opened at Frankton. J. L. Clauser was president of the board in 1913; Mrs. M. E. King, secretary, and Miss Henriette L. Scranton was librarian.
Some efforts were made to establish a public library in Alexandria in the closing years of the last century, but they were unsuccessful.
ELWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY
The present library association was organized in 1901 and soon after it was chartered steps were taken to secure the asistance of Mr. Carnegie in the erection of a suitable building. A donation was promised under the usual conditions that an appropriate site be furnished and an annual tax equal to 10 per cent. of the donation be levied by the city council for the library's support. A lot was accordingly purchased at the cor- ner of East Church and Wayne streets, the council levied a tax that would bring in about $1,400 annually, and Mr. Carnegie sent in his donation of $12,000, which was subsequently increased by a supple- mentary gift of $2,000. The building, a neat little structure, was opened to the public in 1904 and in 1913 the library numbered over five thousand volumes.
The board of directors of the Alexandria Library Association for the year 1913 was as follows: Dr. F. G. Keller, president; Rev. G. A. Little, vice-president; Mrs. Minnie Malone, secretary ; Rev. F. P. Faust, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic church; E. P. McMahan, representing Monroe township; A. L. Custer, superintendent of the public schools; Mrs. F. C. Jones and W. H. May, the last named being an ex officio director, by virtue of his office of township trustee. Miss Zada Carr is the librarian and Miss Bessie Bertsche, assistant.
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A library association was organized at Pendleton on November 8, 1877. Dr. O. W. Brownback was elected president and James W. Hard- man, secretary. Articles of association and a code of by-laws were adopted and it was decided to solicit subscriptions to a capital stock of $1,000, divided into two hundred shares of $5 each. Subscriptions amounting to $110, or twenty-two shares, were made at the meeting and the work of soliciting was commenced. J. B. Lewis, W. F. Morris, O. W. Brownback, Charles E. Goodrich and Benjamin Rogers were elected directors to serve until the annual meeting of the stockholders as pro- vided for in the articles of association. Among the stockholders were Hervey Craven, A. W. Cook, B. F. Aiman, G. A. Phipps, J. R. Silver, J. F. Silver, Isaac P. Rinewalt, F. M. IIardy, W. R. Kinnard, S. F. and J. L. Thomas, J. W., H. F. and W. H. Lewis, and a number of others
PENDLETON PUBLIC LIBRARY
whose names cannot be ascertained. The library was established in what was known as the Red Ribbon reading room in the Commercial block, but the records of the old association appear to have been lost and the history of the library cannot be obtained.
The present public library in Pendleton was first conceived by Mrs. Sarah Skillen Cook and her ideas were carried into effect by an organ- ization known as the Independent Social Club, Mrs. Cook being aided by Mrs. Ida Parsons, Thomas M. Hardy, Sr., and her club associates in the establishment of a circulating library of their own, supported by contributions. The library was kept in Tank's drug store, but as inter- est in the work increased it soon became evident that more commodious quarters would have to be secured. A mass meeting was therefore called at the Methodist Episcopal church in the early part of 1910, to discuss "ways and means" of making the library a permanent institu- tion. Thomas M. Hardy, Sr., offered to donate a lot on East State
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street, near the high school building, if money could be raised for the erection of a building. This fact was made known to Mr. Carnegie, who offered to donate $8,000, if the town board would guarantee an annual fund of $800 for the support of the library. His proposition was accepted and a tax levied in accordance therewith, and on March 1, 1912, the building was formally dedicated. Jacob P. Dunn, of the state library commission was present and delivered the principal address, Major Henry Post, Grand Army of the Republic, presented the library with eighty-four volumes of war history, the Saturday Club gave 110 volumes, the churches also contributed a number of volumes, and on March 4, 1912, the library was opened to the public, with Miss Margaret Wade, as librarian. The library now numbers about 2,200 volumes.
In addition to the public libraries above described, every public school in the county has a small library composed of works of reference, history and travel, and the books prescribed by the young people's reading circle, supplementary to the regular course of study in the com- mon schools. It is impossible, in the absence of official reports, to give the number of volumes in these school libraries, but Professor James W. Frazier, county superintendent, estimates that there are ten thousand volumes in the township schools alone. There are probably as many more in the school libraries in the cities and incorporated towns.
With school property valued at over $1,100,000; with more than a quarter of a million dollars expended annually in teachers' salaries; with almost a score of well-edited local newspapers; with four public libraries housed in buildings erected especially for their accommoda- tion, and some twenty thousand volumes in the libraries of the public schools, the reader may see that the educational development of Madi- son county has been at least equal to that of the other counties of the state. As a rule, the teachers employed in the public schools are men and women of inherent natural ability, supplemented by training for their work, and many of them hold teachers' licenses of the highest grade. The parents generally believe in education, newspapers and magazines find their way into a majority of the homes, the school and public libraries are well patronized by the students in the public schools, and everything points to a still higher educational standard in the county in the future.
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CHAPTER XII BENCH AND BAR
FIRST SEAT OF JUSTICE-EARLY COURTS AND PIONEER JUDGES-CHAR- ACTER OF THE EARLY LAWYERS-SKETCHES OF JUDGES AND PROMI- NENT ATTORNEYS THE SUPERIOR COURT-INCIDENTS IN CONNEC- TION WITH LEGAL PRACTICE.
Contributed by Frank P. Foster, October, 1913
When Madison county was organized in 1823, its seat of government was located at Pendleton and kept there until 1828, when it was moved to Anderson. The first housing of its court in this city, or town as it then was, though that was less than a century ago, links the dawn of our courts with a cherished romance of the period, for our first court- house was a log cabin which had been built and inhabited by the good Indian, Chief Anderson, and his son. .
At the beginning of our judicial needs, the statutes made provisions for a circuit court which has continued down to the present, and bids fair for a long life yet. Now and then at different dates other tribunals have sprung into existence, but most of them, some after a considerable period, others in a few brief years, following their creation were cut short and are no more. The jurisdiction of these additional courts was not so comprehensive as that of the circuit court.
The probate court which flourished from 1829 to 1852 had to do simply with such matters as are now addressed to the probate side of the circuit court. James Scott was its first judge and held his office for more than ten years and until 1841, when W. H. Mershon rose to the same honor wore it during a like period and until 1851 when J. N. Starkey succeeded him only to lose his office the next year when the court was abolished.
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With the disestablishment of the probate court, a court of common pleas was brought into existence and was retained until 1873, when the legislature compelled it to go the way of the former inferior tribunal. The district of this court was composed of the counties of Madison, Hancock .and Henry. And the attorneys elected to fill the office of judge while it lasted were as follows beginning with the first and nam- ing them in the order of their service: David S. Gooding of Hancock county, Richard Lake of Madison, William Grose of Henry, E. B. Mar- tindale of Henry, David S. Gooding, again elected in 1862, William R. West of Madison and Robert L. Polk of Henry.
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And the attorneys who prosecuted the pleas of the state in this court were from first to last naming them in the order of their service : James W. Sansberry, W. R. Hough, Calvin D. Thompson, William F. Wallace, Joseph W. Worl and Washington Saunders.
The only bench in the county which in importance may properly be classed with that of the circuit court is our superior court organized in 1895. Aside from criminal and probate cases, over which it has no power, its jurisdiction is co-equal and co-extensive with that of the circuit court in all civil causes.
The superior court of Madison county has proved itself of great value. Its beginning took on a happy cast from the splendid adminis- tration which it received through the ability of William S. Diven, its first judge, appointed to the position by the governor of the state imme- diately upon the passage of the act creating the court. He brought to the discharge of his duties all the essential requisites of a successful nisi prius court-industry, impartiality, a keen sense of honor and the mental power to grasp readily the force of testimony and the law's reasons.
The confidence of the public in this court continues. The three terms inaugurated since that of Judge Diven closed have enlisted the conscientious labors of Henry C. Ryan, Cassius M. Greenlee and Clar- ence H. Austill, the present incumbent, respectively in the order named. And their deliberations and decisions have aided in securing for this tribunal the high respect of the bar and of litigants, and a bright place on the pages of our judicial history.
Referring again to the circuit court we behold a long line of judges who have from time to time been summoned to its service. At the time of its creation and for many years following that, two associate judges were called to sit with the circuit judge in the trial of causes. This form of procedure lasted until 1852. Then it was changed, and ever since then the circuit judge has presided alone.
The names of those occupying this position from the birth of the county down to 1852, are William W. Wick, Miles C. Eggleston, Bethel F. Morris, William W. Wick (second term), James Morrison, David Kilgore, and Jeremiah Smith. And the associate judges who served during the same period were: Samuel Holliday, Adam Winsell, Andrew Jackson, Charles Mitchell, William Prigg, Abram Thomas, Uriah Van Pelt, David Pickard, George Millspaugh, J. W. Walker and Eli Hodson. And the names of the circuit judges since 1852 are: Stephen Major, Joseph S. Buckles, Henry A. Brouse, John Davis, James O'Brien, Winburn R. Pierse, Hervey Craven, Eli B. Goodykoontz, David N. Moss, Marcellus A. Chipman, Alfred Ellison, John F. McClure, Charles K. Bagot.
This court in Madison county, owing to its long life, coeval almost with that of the state, and the high and faithful character of its func- tions deserves in this connection more than a mere mention of its duration or its honored names. Those of an earlier period with few exceptions were chosen from the counties with which Madison at differ- ent times was framed into judicial circuits, and naturally were not so well known to us as those who were elevated to that station from our
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very midst, which of course took place as populations grew denser and the circuits in consequence dwindled in area. This process has advanced until Madison county has become a circuit to itself. The judges of the old circuits, however, were men of exalted characters and deserve as they are sure to retain the respect and gratitude of all who have inher- ited the safe and sane conditions of a society to which they definitely contributed by their care and efforts in the administration of justice. The record of the Madison circuit court can not be truly traced in terms other than those of praise. No one of its many members was ever impeached nor so much as threatened with such a proceeding. It has never been charged or believed upon reliable authority that any one of them was ever moved or tempted in his official action by corrupt con- siderations. The people of the county can not too often recall the debt of gratitude they owe to their clean and upright judges. Think of the thousands of controversies they have heard and helped to settle. It seems but little short of marvelous that through all the quarrels of neighbors and the fierce litigation that has marked our local history, we should yet have settled down to the quiet order of the present, so that all fair minded men now looking back over the work of the courts may say, "well done." Can the general public or the litigants directly effected do less than declare the integrity and intelligence of the Madi- son county courts ?
To some of the men who have served upon the circuit bench in recent times there attaches a special interest, both from the inherent traits of their characters and from the volume and importance of the questions which they were called upon to try and determine.
At the conclusion of a certain trial before the Honorable Hervey Craven wherein the defendant had been fined, his attorney in a com- plaining tone remarked that the judgment was rather severe. To this the judge replied, "Well, damn him, he shot my dog."
Again, when a woman of none too savory a reputation for chastity had appeared at the bar for trial upon a charge which emphasized her unfortunate weakness, the judge after a composed but complete survey of the court room, turned to the sheriff and inquired why it was that Dr. and Mr. and a number of well known citizens, naming them, were not present. None of these gentlemen had any connection with the case, but the judge knowing their relish of the testimony usually elicited at such trials, thought it worth while to inquire in open court for them.
But who looking back a generation does not delight to honor the "rough and ready" manner of Judge Craven, by which he enlivened the administration of justice? And though somewhat eccentric in his notions of procedure and the etiquette of the court room, no one questioned his integrity or that he possessed a fearless love of justice or the courage to open for it a highway to the true goal when weighty issues were at stake.
The disposition to encourage a compromise of pending litigation has increased notably during the present generation. This may be the case in various counties of the state. But whether such is a fact or not, it is so in Madison county. And the spirit of compromise was given
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its most distinctive opportunity when Eli B. Goodykoontz succeeded Judge Craven on the bench in 1880. Judge Goodykoontz had never exhibited the extreme qualities of a militant, even as a practitioner. He came nearer to being what is generally understood as an office law- yer. And while he was unquestionably a good pleader and sound law- yer, as may be supposed from his long partnerships with two giants of the local bar, that first with John Davis, who subsequently became judge, and that afterward with the late James W. Sansberry, he did not enjoy participation in the fierce conflicts of the form. Hence, as was but natural when he came to preside as the judge of the circuit bench, it was his habit as it was his happy privilege, in cases prom- ising but meager results at the end of long drawn out struggles, to sug- gest to attorneys for plaitiffs and defendants a settlement without trial. In many instances his advice was followed. And soon the resort to mutual settlements without the intervention of judge or jury became almost common, except in the weightier cases where differences were radical or of such a nature that the tribunal provided by the statute, as aften happens, was the most expedient, the cheapest and the best that could be invoked for the determination of the dispute. But Judge Goodykoontz was a man of the purest morals, the highest integrity, and with his firm grasp of legal principles, he was a positive aid in the con- duct of the court, and his widespread and healthful influence for honor- able practice at the bar had a justification in all that he did and stood for.
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