History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan, Part 22

Author: Durant, Samuel W. cn
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia : D.W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 772

USA > Michigan > Eaton County > History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan > Part 22
USA > Michigan > Ingham County > History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan > Part 22

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Business meetings are held annually at Lansing on the first Wednesday of February, and other meetings when ne- cessary. The society has rooms in the Capitol, and its collections are deposited in one of the alcoves of the State library. Two volumes of pioncer collections have been published, and they will probably be continued at such intervals as the accumulation of materials may require. Valuable papers have been contributed by able writers, and a general interest has been awakened throughout the State, which promises well for the future.

CHAPTER XI.

THE COURTS-GENERAL.

Résumé of the Early Courts-Changes ef Jurisdiction-Territorial and State Courts.

THE present excellent system of judicature of Michigan has been gradually developed through a long and devious way. The people, since the first permanent settlement by the French, in 1701, have lived under many forms of gov- ernment,-edicts of kings, orders of military commanders, decrees of imperial parliaments and provincial Governors, or- dinances of national Congresses, enactments of Territorial Governors and Councils, provisions of State constitutions, and laws of State Legislatures. From the Coutume de Paris to the last State constitution and enactments of the last Legislature, the changes of 179 years have left their impress along the way.

The following paragraphs from Judge A. D. Frazer's admirable introduction to the " Territorial Laws of Michi- gan" give an excellent summary of the various forms of legislation in operation previous to the organization of the Territorial government in 1805 :

" The customs of Paris and the ordinances of the kingdom were introduced by the French into Canada at a very early period. These, with certain arrets and decrees of the French Governor and other au- therities ef the province, constituted the rules ef civil eonduet in that extensive region ef country. The administration of justice, however, seems to have been limited to the densest settled portions of the country. There, only, courts of justice were established.

" The only eivil officer located at any of the northern posts was a notary public, duly commissioned by the Governor. He was always an educated man, well versed in the Coutume de Paris, and a very important official, in view ef the duties cast upon him by law, being required to keep a register of all the legal instruments he drew, as also the original documents, certified copies being furnished inter- ested parties. In all matters ef controversy between the inhabitants, justice was meted out by the commandant ef the post in a suinmary manner. The party complaining obtained a notification from him to his adversary of his complaint, accompanied by a command to render justice. If this had no effect he was notified to appear hefere the com- mandant on a partienlar dny and answer the complaint; and if the Inst notice was neglected, a sergeant and file of men were sent to bring him in,-ne sheriff, no taxation, no costs. The recusant was fined and kept in prison until he did his adversary justice.

"Such was the condition of things in the early settlements, pro- tected by the northern forts, up to the very time that Franee trans- ferred Canada and her other possessions in the country te the Crown of Great Britain, in 1763. The laws of England, civil and eriminal, were introduced into the four separate and distinct guvornments,-

THE COURTS-GENERAL.

Quebec, East and West Florida, and Canada, -but neither Michigan, nor any other part of tho territory north of the Ohio, was embraced in the limits of either of these provinces, and for eleven years the country continned to be withont the pale of civil government. At length a bill was introduced into the British Parliament to 'make more effectual provision for the government of Quebec, in North America;' and, upon the motion of Burke, amended so as to embrace the whole of the Northwest Territory, the bill became a law, Michi- gan and the Northwest being embraced in the province of Qnchec.

" By the provisions of the act ' Canadian subjects were to hold and enjoy their property and possessions, with all customs and nsages relative thereto,' and all their civil rights were guaranteed them, the same as under the French authority; and in all matters of contro- versy relative to property and civil rights, the laws of Canada were to be the role of decisions. The criminal law of England was to he continued in force in the province.

" Notwithstanding the adoption of this act, the inhabitants of Michigan did not at once realize the benefits of a civil government, a few justiees of the peace, only, being commissioned ; but, in 1776, a flagrant case occurred in Detroit, which terminated tragically, and brought about an improvement in the administration of justice. Two persons were accused of theft, and the commandant of the post directed a justice of the peace (Dejean) to try them by a jury, which was done, and the culprits convicted, sentenced to be executed, and necordiagly put to death. The whole proceedings were a mockery aod a gross violation of law, and warrants arrived in Detroit for the arrest of the commandant and justice, but they escaped."

Tired of administering justice, the Governor, in 1779, proposed to the merchants to establish a " court of trus- tees," withi jurisdiction extending to cases involving the amount of ten pounds, Halifax currency. This met the approval of the merchants, and eighteen of the most promi- nent of them entered into bonds that three of their num- ber should constitute a weekly court in rotation, and that they would defend any case which might be appealed from their decision. They were empowered to render judgment, issue executions, and imprison the defendant in the guard- house.

The people gained little by change of rulers or of laws. No regular courts were established by either, and no judges appointed or prisons erected, other than the military guard- house. At length the province of Quebec was subdivided into districts by the governor-general, Lord Dorchester, in 1788, the one which included Michigan being called " Hesse."

On the 25th of September, 1790, the imperial Parlia- ment passed an act by which the province of Quebec, which had included the whole of Canada, was divided into two provinces, designated " Upper" and " Lower" Canada, the dividing-line being the Ottawa River and the boundary between Canada and New York and New England. Each of the newly-organized provinces was granted a Legislative Council and General Assembly, upon which was bestowed the power to make all laws necessary for its government not repugnant to the provisions of the organic act. All laws enacted werc to be subject to the approval of the king and governor-general.

The Governor and executive council, to be appointed by the king, were created a court of civil jurisdiction for hear- ing and determining appeals. On the 15th of October, 1792, the Legislature of Upper Canada, to which Michi- gan was attached, repealed the existing laws of Canada as a rule of decision, but reserved all rights which had accrued under the same, and declared the laws of England to be the rule of decision in all matters of legal controversy.

Subsequent legislation introduced jury trials, established a court in cach district, and made provision for the crection of conrt-houses and jails.

In the absence of Protestant clergymen marriages had been solemnized by various military and civil officers, and in 1793 these were legalized by a public act.

In the latter year Courts of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace were also established, with the time and places of holding them. The further introduction of slaves was also prohibited, and a Surrogate and a Probate Court were established in cach district. During the same year acts were passed minutely regulating juries, establishing a su- perior court of civil and criminal jurisdiction, and regula- ting the Court of Appeal. An act was also passed estab- lishing an inferior court for the cognizance of small causes, and by the same " The Court for the Western District is required to be holden in the town of Detroit."

The last term of the District Court, under British rule, was held at Detroit on the 20th of January, 1796, and an execution issued on a judgment then obtained was made returnable to the court on the 1st day of September there- after ; but in the month of July, of the same year, the posts of Detroit and Mackinac were surrendered by the British government to the United States in accordance with the terms of Jay's treaty.

On the 15th day of July, in the same year, the county of Wayne was established by proclamation of Governor St. Clair, then Governor of the Northwest Territory, of which Michigan became a part. The new county embraced the lower peninsula, a small portion of North western Ohio,* and a strip of Northern Indiana, over which were then introduced the laws governing the Northwest Territory. At the same time the laws of Canada became a dead letter and inoperative. They were formally repealed Sept. 16, 1810. No special inconvenience resulted from this sudden change in legal jurisdiction. The Territorial Courts were held at Detroit as the seat of justice of Wayne County.

In 1800, Indiana Territory was organized and the west half of Michigan became a part of the same, while the east half continued a portion of the Northwest Territory until December, 1802, when, upon the admission of Ohio into the Union, the whole of it fell under the jurisdiction of Indiana Territory, and so continued until 1805, when Michigan was organized as a separate Territory. The Gov- ernor and judges then became the law-making power, and so continued until the establishment of the Legislative Council in 1823. This latter continued until the adoption of a State constitution in 1835. The State was admitted in 1837, when the new constitution became the organic law. It was revised in 1850, and with some modifications remains the law of the State.

SUPREME COURT.

The first court established in the Territory of Michigan was the Supreme Court, consisting of one supreme judge and two associates, appointed by the President and confirmed

# The disputed territory of 1835-36. It included a strip of country extending from what is now the Indiana line to Lake Erie at Toledo, about ten miles wide from north to sonth. It also embraced the strip lying north of the same line (ordnance of 1787) in Indiana.

HISTORY OF INGIIAM AND EATON COUNTIES, MICHIGAN.

by the Senate of the United States. This court was origin- ally organized by Governor IIull and Judges Woodward and Bates, July 24, 1805 .* It had original and exclusive jurisdiction of all cases, both in law and equity, when the title of land was involved, and original and concurrent jurisdiction in all cases where the matter or sum in dispute exceeded 8200; appellate jurisdiction in all cases whatsoever ; and original and exclusive jurisdiction in all criminal cases where the punishment was capital, and in cases of divorce and alimony.t

DISTRICT COURTS.

These were created by the same authority on the 25th of July, 1805, and the Territory was divided into four judicial districts,-viz., Erie, Detroit, Huron, and Michili- mackinac. The juristiction of those courts was " over all persons, causes, matters, or things which shall exceed the value of twenty dollars, whether brought before them by original process or by any legal ways or means whatsoever, except in cases exclusively vested in some other court." Justices of the peace were given cognizanee of all actions where the amount in dispute or the penalty to be inflicted did not exceed twenty dollars, and the marshal of the Terri- tory and his deputies were the executors of the processes of the courts and justices.

The judges of the Territory of Michigan were required to hold the District Courts on their first creation, but on the 2d of April, 1807, the act creating them was amended, and the Governor was empowered to appoint for each district one chief judge and two associates, " persons of integrity, experience, and legal knowledge," residents of the district in which the court was held, to hold their offices during good behavior, and to appoint their own clerk. They were also empowered to levy and collect the district taxes for court charges. No new counties were organized during Governor's Hull's term of office. The subdivisions were the four judicial districts.

After a brief existence the District Courts were abolished on the 16th day of September, 1810, but all rights acquired between June 2, 1807, and Sept. 1, 1810, were reserved. All unfinished business on their respective dockets was transferred to the Supreme Court and the courts of jus- tices of the peace, according to the respective jurisdie- tion of each, that of the latter being extended to sums not exceeding $100 ; that of the former to all sums and matters exceeding $100, and to the probate of wills.

During the period of British occupation the machinery of the courts was continued in operation by proclamation of Proctor, the British Military Governor, who also assumed the office of civil magistrate, and appointed Judge Woodward secretary. Little or no judicial business was done under this occupation. With the return of peace and the reoceu- pation of the country by the Americans, the ante bellum status was restored.

* The persons named by the President and confirmed by the Senate as judges of the Territory were Augustus Brevoort Woodward, Samuel Huntington, and Frederick Bates. Mr. Huntington declined the office, and in 1806 his place was filled by John Griffin .- Campbell.

t The first code of laws for the Territory was framed and adopted within three months after the appointment of the judges. The State Supreme Court holds four terms annually at Lansing, commencing on the first Tuesdays in January, April, June, and October.

COUNTY COURTS.

County Courts were established by aet of the Governor and judges on the 24th of October, 1815. They were to be held by one chief justice and two associate justices, and were given original and exclusive jurisdiction in all civil matters, both in law and equity, where the matter in dispute exceeded the jurisdiction of justices of the peace and did not execed $1000, but had no jurisdiction in cases of ejeetment. These courts, also, had exclusive cognizance of all offenses the punishment of which was not capital, and had the same power to issue remedial and other pro- eesses (writs of error and mandamus excepted) as the Supreme Court. They were intermediate courts, with powers and constitution similar to the former District Courts. They had appellate powers of justices of the peace, whose jurisdiction extended to matters not exceed- ing twenty dollars, unless the person voluntarily confessed judgment, in which case their jurisdiction was enlarged to cases involving $100. The judges of the County Courts were appointed by the Governor.

Judgment could be rendered against the plaintiff if he was found culpable or indebted. Execution included the body, unless sufficient property was found to satisfy it. The law exempted from seizure one sheep, one hog, and the apparel, bedding, and tools of the defeated party.

The grand-jury system was established for the Supreme Court in 1805, and the provisions of the aet were extended to the County Courts in December, 1837. Upon the or- ganization of the County Courts, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court was confined to all matters where the amount in dispute exceeded $1000, except in actions of ejeetment, over which it had exclusive jurisdiction.

The powers of a Chaneery Court were extended to the County Courts on the 13th of June, 1818, and the Supreme Court was given concurrent jurisdiction with, and appellate powers over, the County Courts, and the Governor was authorized to appoint a master commissioner in chancery for either court.

CIRCUIT COURTS.

Cireuit Courts for the counties of the Territory were created by the Legislative Council in August, 1824, and reaffirmed in April, 1825, the aet to take effect in Septem- ber of the same year. These courts were held in each of the organized counties by justices of the Supreme Court. They had original jurisdiction, within their respective eir- cuits, in all civil actions at law where the amount due or demanded exceeded the sum of $1000, and concurrent jurisdiction within the County Courts in all civil actions where justices of the peace had not jurisdiction, and of all actions of ejectment and capital criminal cases, and appellant powers over the County Courts.

The Circuit Court of the Territory of Michigan was created on the 15th of April, 1833, and all the organized counties of the Territory were constituted one circuit. The presiding judge, who was appointed by the Governor, was styled the " circuit judge," and was required to be a person learned in the law. Ile was appointed for four years. As- sociated with him were two judges, appointed in each county, who held their offices for two years. Any two of the judges

THE COURTS-GENERAL.

might form a quorum for the transaction of ordinary busi- ness, but no flagrant crime could be tried in the absence of the circuit judge unless the person charged therewith consented to a trial.

These courts possessed chancery and common-law juris- diction, original in all civil cases where justices had not jurisdiction, and had cognizance of all offenses not similarly cognizable by justices, and appellate powers over justices.

The Circuit Courts existing at the date of the passage of the act were denominated by it " the Superior Circuit Courts of Michigan," but the business on their dockets was trans- ferred to the new tribunal.

The State constitution of 1835 provided for a Supreme Court, and as many others as the Legislature should choose to provide, including a Probate Court in each county.

The Supreme Court was to consist of one chief and three associate justices, appointed by the Governor, on nomination of the Senate, to serve for seven years.

In 1837 the Legislature divided the State into four judicial circuits, the justices of the Supreme Court holding the courts in the several counties. The jurisdiction of the courts remained the same as under the Territorial organi- zation, except in chancery cases. Two associate judges were to be chosen in each county, one of whom was required to sit with the presiding judge.

A change was made in the courts in April, 1848, by the State Legislature. The Supreme Court was reorganized, and made to consist of one chief and four associate justices, and the State was divided into five judicial circuits. The supreme justices were each to hold at least two terms in each county in the circuits assigned them, and in the exe- cution of that duty to be styled circuit judges.

The constitution of 1850 vested the judicial powers of the State in one Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, Probate Courts, and justices of the peace. Municipal Courts were to be provided at the will of the Legislature.

The judges of the Circuit Court in each of the eight circuits of the State were to form, for the next six years, the Supreme Court of the State, after which period 'the Legislature was to provide for a reorganization of the latter court by the election of one chief and three associate jus- tices for terms of eight years, the term of one to close every alternate year,-the Legislature to change the limits and increase the number of circuits,-and the courts had original jurisdiction in all matters, civil or criminal, not excepted by the constitution or prohibited by law, and appellate an'd supervisory over all inferior tribunals. The county clerks are clerks of the court .*

COURT OF CHANCERY.

This court was provided for by the constitution of 1835 and created in 1837, and its earlier sessions were held at Detroit until the year 1840. Its powers were similar to those of the chancery courts of England. The presiding judge was called a chancellor, and was appointed by the President of the United States. Registers were appointed

for each district. In 1839 this court was given cognizance of the banks, and in 1841 the power was extended to par- tition and sale of lands, concurrent with the Circuit Court. The Supreme Court possessed appellate powers over this court.

PROBATE COURT.

Under the ordinance of 1787, established for the govern- ment of the Northwest Territory, provisions were made for regulating the line of descent and for administering upon estates and wills. The widow's right of dower was made inviolate, and wills were to be attested by three witnesses, and when proven were to be recorded within one year in the offices provided for such purposes. On the 31st of August, 1805, Governor Hull and Judges Woodward and Bates passed an act providing for the probate of wills and the administration upon intestate estates in the Territory of Michigan. Wills were to be recorded in the office of the clerk of the District Court.

In January, 1809, this act was materially amended, and in 1810 wholly repealed. In January, 1811, a new pro- bate law was enacted, and a register provided for, with the authority of a judge in the probate of wills, and in granting administration upon intestate estates, and wills were re- corded in his office. A register was provided for each judicial district. Power to compel specific performance on contracts of decedents for conveyance of land was vested in the register, and also the power to decree the sale of lands to pay the debts of decedents.

On the 27th of July, 1813, the Governor and judges passed an act creating a Probate Court in each organized county, to be held by a judge appointed by the Governor. A register of wills was also appointed by the same author- ity, who was also register of deeds until 1835.

The Probate Court had full cognizance of mortuary mat- ters, and the Supreme Court had appellate jurisdiction over the same. The probate law was amended, from time to time, by the Territorial authority, and by State authority since its admission into the Union, until at the present time the administration of estates is become very simple and almost free from costs of court, the judge receiving an annual salary and keeping his own records. Litigation, of course, entails its own expense.

In 1837 the power to sell real estate for the payment of debts was given the Probate Court, concurrently with the Circuit and Chancery Courts.

Michigan belongs to the Sixth Circuit of the United States, comprising, besides Michigan, the States of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

The State is divided into two districts, called Eastern and Western, Ingham County being in the Eastern and Eaton in the Western District. These districts are subdivided, and courts are held at Detroit and Port Huron in the Eastern, and at Grand Rapids and Marquette in the Western, District.

# There are twenty-three circuits in the State. The Fourth is made up of the counties of Washtenaw, Jackson, and Ingham; the Fifth of Calhoun, Barry, and Eaton.

HISTORY OF INGHAM AND EATON COUNTIES, MICHIGAN.

CHAPTER XII.

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

Indian Trails-Early Roads-State Roads-Plank-Roads-Railways.

WE cannot go back to prehistoric times and restore the ancient highways, if, indeed, any such ever existed in Michigan. How far the unknown people who built the great mounds of the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, who worked the copper deposits of Lake Superior and cultivated the " Garden Beds" of Southwestern Michigan, extended their settlements and improvements towards the centre of the peninsula, we have little means of determining. The strong probability is that in their day, which some place as far back as 2500 years ago, or more than 600 years prior to the Christian era, the lower peninsula of Michigan was not in a favorable condition for the occupation of human beings. At all events, they have left no indications of any enduring system of highways, such as the Spaniards found in Mexico and Southern America.

The Indian race which succeeded them never attempted to introduce any artificial system of roads in any part of the country. They were content to follow the narrow footpath which has been called by the whites a trail, and over such primitive roads many a war-party has passed to and fro. In most parts of the country they made use of the numer- ous streams and lakes, and ou these, in their light, easily- handled canoes, made of bark or wrought from the bodies of forest-trees, they traversed the country in pursuit of game, or of their hereditary enemies, as silently as the wild fowl, which covered the quiet waters.

The lower peninsula of Michigan is wonderfully adapted to canoe navigation. A complete network of streams and small lakes permeates it in every direction, and by short portages from the head of one stream to another, and be- tween the innumerable lakes, they could pass from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron, and from the Maumee and St. Joseph Rivers to the Straits of Mackinac.

Their numerous trails centred at various prominent points, as Detroit, St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, etc., but there seem never to have been any im- portant converging points in either Ingham or Eaton County. A considerable trail followed Grand River, and less impor- tant ones probably traversed the valleys of its principal branches.

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History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan, Part 22

Author: Durant, Samuel W. cn Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia : D.W. Ensign & Co. Number of Pages: 772

Author: Durant, Samuel W. cn
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia : D.W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 772