USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Richmond > Memoirs of Wayne County and the city of Richmond, Indiana; from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Wayne County, Volume I Pt. 1 > Part 25
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The "Pingree" or Detroit plan of helping the poor to help themselves came into being through the efforts of Mayor Ostran- der, in the spring of 1895. He asked the council to appropriate $100 for the experiment, which they did. A committee, composed of Caleb King, Jacob Hampton, and Daniel Hill, was appointed to carry it out. The plan was highly successful. During the first year fifty-two gardens were cultivated. In 1896, eighty gardens were cultivated and sixty dollars of the $200 appropriated by the council in that year was turned back into the treasury. In 1808 and 1899, $200 was appropriated by the council and the number of gardens was considerably increased. In order to obtain a plot of ground the applicant must sign several articles of agreement be- tween himself and the committee. The committee agrees to fur- nish a plot of ground, put it in suitable order for planting, and furnish seed potatoes; the applicant agrees to furnish the smaller seeds and plants, to cultivate the same in good order, and to fur- nish a report to the committee. A failure in any one of the above requirements forfeits the lot. The plan has been a grand success and some very good products have been exhibited at the annual exhibition of such products. The principle involved in this plan is in accordance with all the principles of correct charity giving.
Richmond also has a Council of Charities, organized Aug. 16, 1896; it brings all the charitable organizations into harmonious action. There has recently been organized a new institution, known as the Richmond Benevolent Association, with J. B. Craig- head as president ; its object is to raise funds for the various chari- table institutions of the city by giving entertainments, such as a society circus in the summer and a play in the winter. It is a worthy movement and deserves great success.
From this brief review it is evident that Wayne county is far advanced in the methods of her charitable work, in the amount of such work, and in the efficient institutions engaged in it. In the sphere of organizations for raising the general standard of culture
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and sociability, she is also well up in the forefront. Nearly every hamlet has its literary society, which has not only an educational influence, but also a direct social influence. The town of Cam- bridge City has three active literary societies: The Helen Hunt Club, the Friday Night Club, and the Magazine Club. In Rich- mond there are eighteen active clubs. They are the Tuesday Chib, a purely literary organization which discusses papers on miscel- laneous subjects written by its members ; the Cycle, a purely lit- erary club, engaged in studying literature, biography, economic and political history; the Tuesday Aftermath, consisting of forty members and studying literature, history, domestic, economic, and current events; the Wednesday Society, a ladies' club which has done literary and musical work and contributed to charitable ob- jects ; the Tichnor Club, organized for literary and social purposes ; the History Class, having for its purpose the study of history and art ; the Tourist Club, having a social as well as a literary feature, the latter being a successive study of the conditions of the coun- tries of the world; the North End Literary Club, devoted to the study of children and literary subjects; the Variorum Club, a club of ladies engaged in invstigating questions concerning municipali- ties ; the Women's Literary Circle, having about forty members and organized for social, literary and charitable purposes; the Spring Grove Literary Society, a family organization, having for its purpose the social intermingling of the families which consti- tute its membership and the discussion of general literary subjects and current events; the Magazine Club, which considers all the current magazines and contributes to the musical taste and social enjoyment of its members; the Child's Study Club, a club com- posed of mothers and teachers devoted to "the promotion of the welfare of the children and to bringing parents and teachers into mutual relationship in order to accomplish this"; the Twentieth Century Club, a ladies' organization, having for its object the study of political questions; the Nomades Club, composed of twenty ladies who study the work of various authors and the art of con- versation ; the Woman's Collegiate Club ; the Friday Evening Club, composed of twenty members, both ladies and gentlemen, and giv- ing programmes, consisting of discussions of English and Amer- ican authors, and music, besides a general social time; the Local Sociology Club, devoted to the study of various social questions in Richmond, and composed of the foremost business men and educa- tors of the city ; and the Political Economy Club, composed of the leading business men of the city who are investigating questions of political economy, political science, and sociology.
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Besides these various clubs there is a co-ordinating organiza- tion, known as the Council of Clubs, which is composed of two delegates from each club in the city. Its meetings are purely business meetings ; their work is towards the general advancement of culture in the city by art exhibitions, etc.
One more problem in the county remains to be treated-the temperance question. This question has been met with as much ability as have the others which we have examined. In the first place, where the original elements of population have held sway, the saloon has never flourished, and drunkenness has been the ex- ception rather than the rule. The fight against the saloon has been determined and systematic and not without favorable results. In the early days little was thought of drinking; many farmers had their whiskey barrel in the cellar and the jug was usually seen in the harvest field ; but to-day these practices are unusual. In New Garden township, of which we have made mention before, on ac- count of its high moral atmosphere, we find public sentiment strongly shown against saloons. A brewery, started there in 1825, was abandoned on account of the hostility of the inhabitants to- wards it. In the year 1828, William Way started another, but it soon succumbed to the pressure of public opinion. In 1829 four saloons were present in Fountain City; in 1830, a temperance so- ciety was organized to resist their influence; a debate was opened on the question between the liquor men and the anti-liquor men ; it occurred in public from 2 o'clock p. m. until after midnight. The temperance debators were Dr. H. H. Way, Able Lomax, and Willis Davis. The representatives of the whiskey faction were John Huff, E. Lee, and Joseph Lomax. The debate is said to have been won by the anti-liquor men. This locality succeeded in get- ting rid of its saloons and is now free from their baneful in- fluence. In Clay township, in 1849, twelve women of the com- munity succeeded in driving out the only saloon in their midst. Only one saloon has ever been licensed by the county commission- ers in that locality, and it quit before its license had expired.
A Woman's Christian Temperance Union organization was started in the town of Green's Fork in 1875. Williamsburg had a branch of the Washington Society in 1841, and an organization, called the Sons of Temperance, was organized in 1846. A woman's temperance society was organized in 1851. The women have been very active in keeping out saloons in that community and one has not been located there since the last named date. Dublin's first temperance society is said to have been organized as early as
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1839; it was supplanted by the Sons of Temperance in 1846; in 1851 the Temple of Honor and the Social Temple were organized to combat the liquor habit. In 1850 the Good Templars took the field against it and held out until 1875, when the general opinion of the public was apparently so strong against the saloon and drinking that its labors were no longer needed. Dublin has been practically free from saloons for over fifty years.
Webster, Abington, Boston, Chester, and Middleboro, have been, as a rule, free from saloons. Centerville had one or two saloons for several years, but strong efforts have been continually made against them by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and other temperance workers. In the winter of 1898 and 1899, the inhabitants took advantage of the Nicholson Law, which gave a community the right to expel a saloon from its midst by a peti- tion of a majority of the qualified voters, and protested against the re-issuing of licenses to the saloons in their midst and were successful. Two other saloon keepers were prevented from ob- taining licenses. In Richmond no organized attempt was made against saloons until 1830. About this time a Washington Society was organized. A delegation from Cincinnati organized a society of the Daughters of Temperance about the same time. The Tem- ple of Honor and the Social Temple also had organizations in the city of Richmond during the 'sos. The Sons of Temperance came next and were in turn followed by the Good Templars. These or- ganizations have done much to discourage the drinking of intoxi- cating liquors and to establish a public sentiment against it. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is now one of the most active organizations upholding the temperance cause. The White Water Quarterly Meeting of Friends has a standing committee of twenty-one members on temperance which has also been very active.
In reviewing the social characteristics of the people of Wayne county the following challenge our attention : Intelligence and culture are widely spread throughout the county. It is only neces- sary to drive through the town and country places to observe traces of culture and aesthetic taste; well kept farms, lawns, and houses, tell a story of their own; thrift is the rule rather than the exception.
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CHAPTER XVI.
WAYNE COUNTY BAR.
ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY-FIRST COURT-EARLY JUDICIARY-PROBATE COURT-RULES OF PRACTICE-MENTION OF PROMINENT LAWYERS -- COUNTY AND ASSOCIATE JUDGES-JUDGES OF THE COMMON PLEAS COURT, AND OF THE WAYNE CIRCUIT, CRIMINAL, SUPERIOR, AND PRO- BATE COURTS-PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS-DISTRICT ATTORNEYS- MEMBERS OF THE BAR.
Wayne county was organized in 1810, being formed of the eastern and northern parts of Dearborn county. Before the or- ganization of Wayne county, a legal business of this section of the country-commonly known as the "White Water Country"- was transacted at Lawrenceburg, the county seat of Dearborn county. Indiana was, at this time, a Territory, with Gen. Wil- liam Henry Harrison as its first governor. Owing to the increas- ing population of this portion of Dearborn county, Richard Rue. in 1806, was appointed by the governor as the first justice of the peace. The Act by which Wayne county was formed also named John Cox, John Addington, and George Holman, as commissioners to locate the county seat, on or before the first Monday of the fol- lowing May. This Act further directed that, "until the establish- ment of the county seat, the house of Richard Rue, Esq., shall be the legal place for holding courts, in and for said county, until a suitable court house be completed." Rue and Holman were among the earliest settlers in this part of Indiana. They were natives of Kentucky, who, after a long and brutal captivity of three years and a half among the Indians, escaped and emigrated to this county in 1805.
The first court held in Wayne county was held on Feb. 25. 1811, at the log house of Richard Rue, three miles south of the present site of Richmond. (These early records are very incom- plete at the present time, and many are entirely illegible.) The county judges were Peter Fleming, Aaron Martin, and Jeremiah
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Meek. George Hunt was the first clerk of the court, John Turner was sheriff, and James Noble was the prosecuting attorney. But little business came before the court at this first session, and the court soon adjourned. At the next session, held at Rue's house in March, ISIt, the Hon. Jesse L. Holman, chief judge of the Third Circuit Court of Indiana, presided. Peter Fleming and Aaron Mar- tin were associate judges. John Turner, as sheriff, impaneled the first grand jury in Wayne county. A seal of the court was adopted and consisted of "a wafer and a piece of paper turned over it, with the letters, 'Wayne County,' written thereon." These early courts were such in name more than in reality. It often happened that the presiding judge was unable to reach the place on the opening day of the court and it was necessary to postpone the session until his arrival. Swollen streams and lurking Indians made "circuit rid- ing" anything but desirable in those early days. The sessions were held in the woods adjoining Rue's house, whenever the weather permitted, and the seats consisted of the family chairs and a half dozen convenient logs.
The following is the record made of a session held on June 17, ISII : "At a court of Nisi Prius, Oyer and Terminer, and General Jail Delivery, held at the house of Richard Rue, in and for the said County of Wayne on the 17th day of June, 1811, Present, the Hon. Benjamin Parke, Judge," etc. The court adjourned from the house of Rue to a large log in the edge of the wood and there held its session, the Grand and Traverse juries retiring in opposite directions to deliberate. There were but two cases for trial: "U. S. vs. James Pettit, for Larceny," and "U. S. vs. Isaac Shelby, for Assault and Battery." In the first case, the defendant, a boy, was charged with stealing a knife from John Smith, the Richmond merchant. The indictment was drawn by James Dill, the prosecu- tor, and was in a verbose and ancient form. It alleged that "the said James Pettit, not having the fear of God before his eyes, and being moved and instigated thereunto by his Satanic Majesty, the Devil. did then and there, wickedly, unlawfully, and feloniously steal, take, and carry away, said knife," etc. The boy was found guilty and the court decided that he should pay to Smith twelve and a half cents-the value of the knife-and to Indiana Territory, twenty-five cents and costs. Jeremiah Cox, one of the jury, al- though he considered the boy guilty, thought that the indictment was "rather too bold for so slight an offense."
Whipping was legal as late as 1820, as a punishment for crime. In this year we find an entry made of a judgment given
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for larceny, of a fine and five lashes across the bare back. In these early days the attorneys' fees were proportionate to the fines as- sessed. In Order Book No. 1, we find an entry made that James Dill was allowed $25 as payment for his first term's services as prosecuting attorney.
A few words on the judiciary of Wayne county will be neces- sary in order to better understand the early courts, as well as those which followed them. When Indiana was a Territory, this county was included in the Third Territorial Circuit and its judges were appointed by the Territorial governors. Previous to the or- ganization of Wayne county, in 1810, "County Judges" were ap- pointed to represent this portion of Dearborn county. In 1810, however, the Wayne Circuit Court sprang into existence and a separate judge was chosen to preside. Benjamin Parke was the first judge of the Wayne Circuit Court and served from ISHI to 1815. The office of associate judge began when Indiana was ad- mitted, in 1816. and continued until the new Constitution was adopted, in 1852.
There were two associate judges and, in connection with the Circuit Judge, or presiding judge, as he was called, constituted the court. They were seldom members of the bar and too often had but a very scant knowledge of the law, and as the two associate judges constituted a majority, there were numerous cases in which they overruled the opinion of the presiding judge, whose superior knowledge of the law ought to have decided the case. Such was true in the trial of Hampshire Pitts for murder, in 1822. In Order Book No. 1, we find that Associate Judges William McLane and Jesse Davenport overruled the objections of Presiding Judge Eg- gleston and granted Pitts a new trial, notwithstanding the fact that the evidence all pointed to his guilt.
A Probate Court was established in 1829 by an Act of the legislature, and Septimus Smith was appointed as the first judge. This court continued up to 1852, when the new Constitution abol- ished it, and that year the legislature established the Wayne Com- mon Pleas Court. This court was given original jurisdiction in all probate matters, and in all civil cases where the amount claimed did not exceed $1,000, excepting where the title to real estate was involved, and in slander cases. Concurrent jurisdiction in divorce proceedings and criminal jurisdiction on misdemeanors were also given it. Nimrod H. Johnson was the first judge of the Common Pleas Court.
In 1867, an Act of the legislature established the Wayne Crim-
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inal Court and William A. Peele was appointed to serve as the first judge. It was abolished in 1873 by the same Act of the legisla- ture which abolished the Common Pleas Court. The Wayne Su- perior Court was established in 1877 and William A Bickle was appointed the first judge of this court. It was abolished in 1878.
Regarding the establishment of the county seat, there seems to be a difference of opinion. The best authorities, however, state that Holman and Addington, appointed by the Act of the legis- lature in 1810 to locate the county seat, designated a quarter-sec- tion about three-fourths of a mile north of the present town of Centerville, as being nearest the geographical center of the county. John Cox, the third member, dissented on the grounds that this land had not yet been sold by the Government and therefore could not be legally used. The Court sustained the view of Cox and ap- pointed Saniuel Walker, Richard Maxwell, and Benjamin Harris to act in their place. These commissioners reported in favor of establishing "the permanent seat of justice on the donation of Samuel Woods, of sixty-five acres, in township thirteen (13), range three (3), with a small reserve." This report was accepted and the court ordered, "That the town in Wayne, or the seat of justice, shall be called Salisbury."
A log court house for temporary use and a rude jail of hewed, square logs, were built, but these were soon supplanted by brick structures. It is interesting to note that the cost of this first temple of justice in Wayne county was $229.99. The growth of Salisbury was rapid, and it was at one time not only the most flourishing town in Wayne county, but in the State. It was here, on this spot, long since obliterated by the plow, that we find the real beginnings of the Wayne County Bar. In Order Book No. 1 of the Wayne Circuit Court we find the following entry made : "Monday, the 3rd day of October, A. D., 1814, this being the day fixed by law for the setting of the Wayne Circuit Court ; no judge appearing but the Hon. Elijah Sparks, Presiding Judge of said Court, and it appearing that although George Hunt was appointed and commissioned as Clerk of said Court, he had not taken the necessary oaths of office, nor was there any person present author- ized to administer the said oaths;
"WHEREFORE, because the said clerk was not duly author- ized (agreeably to the laws in such cases made and provided ) to swear jurors. the said Wayne Circuit Court was adjourned until court in course.
"And now at this day, to-wit: On the first Monday in March.
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being the sixth day of March, A. D., 1815, a Wayne Circuit Court begun and held in and for the County of Wayne, in the Third Cir- cuit of Indiana Territory; present the Hon. Elijah Sparks, Esq., Presiding Judge, and the Ilon. Aaron Martin and Peter Fleming, Associate Judges, as also George Hunt, Clerk of the Court.
"John Turner, Esq., returned into court the following panel of jury," etc. "On motion ordered that Amos Lane, John Law- rence, John Test, James Dill, William Hendricks, and James Noble are admitted to practice as Counsellors and Attorneys-at-Law in this court, also Edmund F. Vawter is admitted in like manner."
On this date also the first rules of practice were adopted, as follows :
RULES OF PRACTICE TO GOVERN THE COURTS IN THE THIRD CIRCUIT.
1. The attorneys in managing business shall keep themselves within the Bar.
2. The motion shall be made in the morning before enter- ing upon the docket, and not afterwards, except such as neces- sarily arise out of the opening or the progress of a cause.
3. No more than two counsel on each side will be heard in argument on any motion.
4. No more than three counsel will be permitted to argue a cause to the Jury, except the same shall appear to be of more than ordinary importance.
5. All motions for continuances shall be supported by affi- davit and decided without argument.
6. When a cause is called regularly and postponed by consent of parties, the same shall not be called again until the Docket is gone through and on second calling shall not be continued.
7. No time will be given to draw a plea after the cause is called for trial, provided the declaration was on file in sufficient time for putting in plea upon the rules.
8. No agreement of the bar will be regarded by the Court, unless the same is upon record or assented to by each party.
9. Each cause when called in order must be immediately en- tered upon for trial, continued and postponed by the consent of the parties, or placed at the foot of the Docket by the plaintiff.
IO. That in all cases in arrest of judgment and for a new trial, notice of motion shall be given on tendering the verdict, and made within three days thereafter.
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II. In no case shall more than one attorney be permitted to speak on the closing argument, unless by the consent of the Court.
Regarding the carly disciples of Blackstone, accounts are very meagre. In 1811, Gen. William Henry Harrison, governor of In- diana Territory, appointed James Dill and James Noble as prose- cuting attorneys for this part of Indiana Territory. James Noble was, in 1815, appointed judge of the Wayne Circuit Court, which office he held one year, resigning in 1816 to serve his State in the United States Senate, a position which he held till 1831, serving his State with fidelity and honor. John Test and Amos Lane both served several terms in the United States Congress. John Test was judge of the Wayne Circuit Court from 1817 to 1819.
Jesse L. Holman was a lawyer of more than ordinary ability. He was judge of the Circuit Court in 1816, and in the same year was appointed judge of the Supreme Court of Indiana, a position which he filled until 1831.
William Hendricks was also a man of great ability. He served in Congress from 1816 to 1822, when he was elected gover- nor of Indiana. As governor of Indiana he served his State faith- fully and well, and, in 1825, was chosen as United States Senator, which position he filled until 1837.
Stephen C. Stephens was admitted as attorney and counsellor in October, 1815, and in 1817 was appointed as prosecuting attor- ney for the district.
Miles C. Eggleston, Addison Smith, and James Rariden, were duly qualified and admitted in March, 1818. The first named was a lawyer of no mean ability and acted as judge of the Wayne Cir- cuit Court from 1820 to 1830.
James Rariden was one of the early settlers who served his State ably and well through the practice of his chosen profession. He was a native of Kentucky who came to Salisbury when a young man. Here he first studied Blackstone, and was deputy clerk of the court under David Hoover. Ile next served as prosecuting at- torney, from 1822 to 1825, when he was elected to the State legis- lature from Wayne county. Here he served until 1837, when he was elected to the Congress of the United States, representing the district there until 1841. As a public servant he was faithful and efficient and, although his manner was somewhat rough, his sound judgment and ever ready wit rendered him as worthy as any law- yer at the bar at that time. Hon Oliver H. Smith relates the fol- lowing anecdote of him, showing his ready wit: "While Rariden was in the House of Representatives it became necessary for the
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Secretary of State to designate two newspapers in Rariden's dis- triet to publish the laws of the United States. Mr. Forsyth, the secretary of state, wrote to Kariden, asking him to select two papers "that inculcated correct doctrine.' Mr. Kariden asked, 'Would the Secretary consider a paper that supported General Har- rison as inculcating correct doctrine?' 'I would not" replied Mr. Forsyth. 'Then I have no recommendations to make,' replied Rariden."
D. J. Casewell was admitted in June, 1818; William W. Wick, Nathaniel French, and James B. Ray, were a trio admitted in 1819. and who were destined to win fame in later years.
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