USA > Michigan > Eaton County > History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan > Part 89
USA > Michigan > Ingham County > History of Ingham and Eaton counties, Michigan > Part 89
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and jail combined, hut was a small building, and was used until it was entirely unfit for its purpose. Thomas Currey was the builder.
359
THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE.
each child ; class two, three dollars to head of family and one and a half dollars to each child ; class three, two dollars to head of family and one dollar to each child ; class four, one dollar to head of family and half a dollar to each child. Able- bodied children, male or female, over sixteen years of age were not to be considered as proper subjects for support, un- less their services were in absolute demand in their families. The sum apportioned from the taxes for 1864 to the Vol- unteer Relief Fund was $17,000, voted in October, 1863. A year later it was resolved that the fund should be $21,000. In February, 1865, it was resolved to issue bonds in the sums of $50 and $100 each, for the payment of bounties to volunteers, agreeable to an act of Feb. 4, 1865, entitled " An act to provide for the payment of volunteers in the military and naval service of the United States." The board also passed a resolution requesting the Legisla- ture to so amend this act that the bounties could be paid to persons furnishing substitutes under the last call, and so that said local and State bounties could be paid to drafted persons who should afterwards enlist to the credit of their respective townships. In October, 1865, the supervisors authorized that the sum of $13,695.13 should be appro- priated from the tax next to be raised in the county for the Soldiers' Relief Fund, and in October, 1866, the sum of $300 only was appropriated, with directions that no super- visor should furnish relief to the family of any deceased soldier after the 1st day of January, 1867.
The following is a statement of the valuation of the real and personal property in the several townships of the county of Eaton in the year 1867, both as assessed and as equalized by the board of supervisors October 14th of that year.
Townships.
Real Estate.
Personal Estate.
Equalized Valuation. Real and Personat.
Bellevue
$202,235
$59,934
$275,277.45
Benton !.
140,720
18,770
169,059.40
Brookfield
113,340
26,780
131,712.80
Carmel
258,810
50,480
340,219.00
Chester.
144,445
24,760
179,357.30
Delta
140,620
28,930
169,550.00
Eaton.
260,460
51,520
333,818.60
Eaton Rapids.
577,290
179,600
666,063.20
Kalamo.
146,710
37,910
192,004.80
Oneida,
158,105
42,525
216,680.40
Roxand
105,410
19,145
124,555.00
Sunfield
88,700
15,675
104,375.00
Vermontville ...
159,550
42,060
189,513.40
Walton.
174,670
35,260
201,532.80
Windsor
142,096
17,473
169,143.14
Totals .. $2,813,161
$650,822
$3,462,862.29
Upon this valuation the following tax was raised :
Townships.
State Tax.
County Tax.
Bellevue.
$1,015.75
$1,651.66
Benton
623.80
1,014.36
Brook field
486.00
790.28
Carmel.
1,255.37
2,041.31
Chester
661.79
1,076.14
Delta
625.60
1,017.30
Eaton
1,231.76
2,002.91
Eaton Rapids
2,457.73
3,996.38
Kalamo
708.46
1,152.03
Ooeida.
799.52
1,300.08
Roxand
459,57
747.33
Sunfield
385.11
626.25
Vermontville.
699.27
1,137.08
Walton
743.62
1,209.20
Windsor.
624.10
1,014.86
Totals
$12,777.45
$20,777.17
Add ditch tax, $3235.42, and rejected tax, $222.14, and the total is $37,012.80.
The valuation of property in the county has since steadily
increased, and in 1879 was equalized on a basis of $5,000,- 000. The growth of the county in population and wealth has been constant, and the business transacted by the board of supervisors at their latest sessions was of a magnitude with which that of their earliest sessions would scarcely compare. The following table exhibits the assessed and equalized valuation of the property in the county in 1879 :
Townships.
Real Estate (assessed).
Real Estate (equalized).
Personal Estate.
Totals.
Benton
$334,810
$254,925
$32,580
$287,505
BrookGeld
222,390
167,460
22,550
190,010
Bellevue ..
322,020
273,653
38,830
312,483
Charlotte City
330,430
292,431
122,540
414,971
Carmel
345,845
247,868
27,155
275,023
Chester
338,450
216,270
33,730
250,000
Delta ...
224,945
234,752
25,235
259,987
Eaton Rapids.
494,595
343,398
89,105
432,503
Eaton .
280,170
218,925
31,080
250,005
lIamlin
406,640
331,819
45,710
377,529
Kalamo
276,835
242,757
27.250
270,007
Oneida
390,290
333.737
78,740
412,477
Roxand
230,615
176,813
28,195
205,008
Sunfield
593,940
116,235
83,770
200,005
Vermontville.
364,680
264,941
47,565
312,506
Walton
334,360
247,895
52,110
300,005
Windsor ..
749,330
161,256
88,780
250,036
Totals.
$6,240,345
$4,125,135
$874,925
$5,000,060
Upon this a total tax of $76,916.22 was authorized to be raised, divided among the several townships as follows :
Townships.
State Tax.
County Tax.
Bellevue
$1,369.05
$3,437.30
Benton
1,259.58
3,162.50
Brookfield.
832.47
2,990.10
Carmel
1,204.95
3,025.20
Charlotte City
1,818.10
4,564.65
Chester
1,095.25
2,750.00
Delta
1,139.05
2,859.80
Eatoo ..
1,095.32
2,750.00
Eaton Rapids
1,894,90
4,757.50
Ilamlin
1,654.08
4,152.80
Kalamo
1,182.92
2,970.05
Oneida
1,807.17
4,537.20
Roxand.
898.19
2,255.05
SunGeld.
876.27
2,200,03
Vermontville.
1,369.15
3,437.50
Walton
1,314.37
3,300.02
Windsor.
1,095.40
2,750.30
Totals
$21,906.22
$55,000.00
The recent law requiring property to be assessed at its true cash value will make a decided change at the next showing of Eaton County property, as the board, in Jan- uary, 1880, expressed a unanimous opinion in favor of assessing according to such law.
COUNTY POOR AND FARM.
The manner in which the poor of the county should be cared for was for a number of years a matter of' considerable discussion, and preliminary steps towards purchasing a farm to be used as a county poor-farm were taken on numerous occasions. The first legislation of this nature appears in the minutes of the session of the board of supervisors in October, 1847, at which time the county superintendents of the poor were directed to ascertain the expense of pur- chasing a farm, and of providing for the support of the county poor with or without a farm. Their report was made a year later, but it was thought impracticable to build a poor-house at that time, and the sum of $125 was voted for the support of the poor. Agreeable to an act passed March 1, 1849, the board in that year, by a two-thirds vote, reinstated the rule for the maintenance of the poor as it existed Feb. 28, 1846. In January, 1852, it was re-
-Assessed Valuation .-
360
HISTORY OF EATON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
solved to appropriate $700, out of moneys due from the State, to purchase a county farm and erect buildings thereon ; but it seems this also shared the fate of previous efforts, for in June, 1856, a committee was appointed to "examine the terms, price, and location of a wild eighty-acre lot for the purposes of a county farm for the benefit and uses of the county poor," and report at the next session of the board. No purchase was yet made, but $800 were raised towards supporting the poor. In January, 1857, Henry Williams was appointed a committee to purchase for the county a farm containing from 80 to 160 acres, and pay ten dollars per acre for the same, but there is no record of such a pur- chase having been made. In January, 1858, a motion to indefinitely postpone all further action concerning a poor- farm was lost, and another committee was appointed with a similar object, and the farm they should purchase must have not less than twenty acres improved. Again the project failed, but finally, in January, 1859, a final com- mittee was intrusted with the business, and the result was the purchase of 160 acres in the township of Chester (south- west quarter of section 36), from John Turner and wife, for $4000 .* In October following the sum of $800 was appropriated to erect and furnish a suitable building on the poor-farm .; In October, 1863, the board of supervisors appropriated $600 with which to construct a suitable addi- tion to the poor-house, in which to keep insane persons de- pendent upon the county, and in October, 1878, a further sum of $300 was appropriated to build hog-pens, boiler- room, ice-house, etc.
The following is a list of the superintendents of the poor for Eaton County since 1842, as shown by the records of the hoard of supervisors, by which body they are ap- pointed :
1842-43, William Stoddard ;¿ 1844, H. H. Gale, William Stoddard, Daniel Rand; 1845, William Stoddard, II. Il. Gale, S. S. Church ; 1846-18, William Stoddard, II. II. Gale, Bezaleel Taft ; 1849-51, William Stoddard, II. II. Gale, Thomas Curry ; 1852, William Stoddard, A. D. Shaw, Hosey Hovey; 1853, T. D. Green, S. E. Millett, Hosey Ilovey ; 1854, II. Robinson, A. D. Shaw, J. II. Corbin ; 1855, Henry Robinson, A. D. Shaw, William Stoddard; 1856, llenry Robinson, A. D. Shaw, Lewis Noble; same year, HI. Robinson, A. D. Shaw, Harvey Williams; 1857-59, E. D. Lacey, E. Hayden, John Morris; 1860, E. D. Lacey, Jobn Morris, Iliram Ilutchiags ; 1861, E. D. Lacey, L. II. Ion, Iliram Ilutchiags; 1862, E. D. Lacey, lliram Hutchings, E. A. Foote ; 1863, E. D. Lacey,¿ Hiram Hutchings, L. II. Ion ; 1864, L. II. Ion, three years; Iliram Ilutchings, two years; A. D. Shaw, one year; 1865, Hiram Ilutehings, three years; A. D. Shaw, two years; 1866, L. II. Ioa, three years; 1867, A. D. Shaw, three years; 1868; T. D. Green, three years; 1869, Hiram Hutchings, one year; T. D. Greco, two years ; G. T. Rand, three years; 1870, Iliram Hutchings, three years; 1871, T. D. Greco, three years; 1872, - ; 1873, Hiram Hutch-
* Deed given by John Turner and wife to the "Superintendents of the Poor of the County of Eaton and Stato of Michigan." See Liber 23, of Deed Records, page 181.
t The contract fur erecting the building was let to Stephen Tuttle, of Charlotte, in December, 1859, fur $600, and the house was com- pleted in June, 1860. A tax of $8000 was voted in 1873 to erect a new poor-house, and it was accordingly built the next year. It is three stories in height, including basement, the material of which it is constructed being brick. It is a fine building and a eredit to the county.
# Appointed in place of Mr. Smith, who did not quelify.
¿ SIr. Lacey died, end Luman Foote was appointed to fill vacancy.
ings, three years; 1874, T. D. Green, three years ; 1875, G. T. RanI, three years; 1876, Charles A. Merritt, three years; 1877, George W. Knight, three years ; 1878, D. B. Hale, | G. T. Rand, three years; 1879, C. A. Merritt.
CENSUS STATISTICS.
The census of Eaton County in 1845 was 4783, consist- ing of 2426 males and 2357 females, apportioned by town- ships as follows :
Townships.
Males.
Females.
Totals.
Tyler ...
345
335
680
Brookfield
79
68
147
Waltoa ...
136
150
286
Bellevue.
360
293
653
Kalamo.
134
122
256
Carmel
144
144
288
Eaton
209
288
497
Eaton Rapids
239
288
527
Windsor
65
57
122
Benton
104
82
186
Chester.
98
103
201
Vermontville
152
120
272
Sunfield
65
47
112
Roxand.
93
73
166
Oneida
115
135
280
Delta
58
52
110
Totals
2426
2357
4783
The census of 1874 presents the following figures regard- ing Eaton County :
Townships.
Males.
Females.
Totals.
Bellevue
952
947
1899
Benton.
737
705
1442
Brookfield.
578
526
1104
Carmel
569
444
1013
Charlotte City
1260
1371
2631
Chester
639
564
1203
Delta.
720
634
1354
Eaton ..
561
502
1063
Eaton Rapids
1140
1080
2220
Hamlia
850
800
1650
Kalamo.
741
660
1401
Oneida
1244
1155
2399
Roxand
690
664
1354
Sunfield
645
603
1248
Vermontville
869
849
1718
Walton.
926
849
1775
Windsor.
754
679
1433
Totals ...
13,875
12,032
26,907
Statistics, aside from population, were as follows :
Number of acres of taxable land in county.
356,950.76
uals and companies land owned by individ-
358,270.58
Number of acres of improved land ... .....
139,818
" land exempt from tax-
ation .
Value of same, including improvements ..
Number of acres ia sebool-bouse sites .. ...
church and parsonage
30.75
Number of aeres in barying-grounds ........ = railroad right of way
147
and depot grounds .. ..
688.32
Number of aeres in public parks and fair- grounds ... ...
35
Number of aeres in property intended for other public improvements.
175
Number of acres ia sites for institutions ...
13
3,680
" of acres in farms ..
285,602
Average number of acres in farms ..
77.60
Number of acres of wheat raised ia 1874 ..
=
1873 ..
..
of bushels of wheat raised in
432,559
Number of bushels of corn raised in IS73 ..
649,043
ia 1873 ..
482,393
Number of bushels of potatoes raised in 1873
109,473
Number of tons of hay cut in 1873.
27,714
| To fill unexpired term of G. W. Knight, deceased.
32,89I
26,581
corn
25,808
1873.
of all othor grain raised
1,319.82 $395,295 - 72.50
sites.
of farms in county
361
THE COURTS-COUNTY CIVIL LIST.
CENSUS STATISTICS .- Continued.
CENSUS OF EATON COUNTY FROM 1840 TO 1880.
Towns.
1840,
1850.
1854.
1860.
1804.
1870.
1874.
1880.
Bellevue
529
769
1,105
1,551 1,55 3
1,985
1,899
2.061
Benton ..
344
516
755
733
1,355
1,442
1,880
Brook field
255
464
821
717
1,057
1,104
1,488
Carmel.
85
566
863
1,363
1,453
2,504
1,013
1,143
Charlotte City*
Chester.
195
380
499
790
736
1,117
1,203
1,496
Delta
Eaton
868
539
992
1,267
1,259
2,035
1,063
1,186
Eaton Rapids
1,525
2,159
2,887
2,651
3,036
2,220
3,116 1,352
Kalamo.
139
429
703
1,018
1,126
1,363
1,401
1,520
Oneida.
265
490
937
1,382
1,308
2,047
2,299
2,575
Roxand
553
531
790
880
1,144
1,354
1,599
Sunfield
122
224
507
525
1,106
1,248
1,595
Vermontville.
182
324
445
875
933
1.801
1,718
2.015
Walton
116
464
740
1,004
1,105
1.645
1.775
1.874
Windsor.
495
421
820
816
1,229
1,433
1,748
Number of bushels of pears raised in 1872 ..
612
602
66 of cherries raised in 1872
2,844
Number of bushels of cherries raised in 1873
3,064
Number of bushels of grapes raised in 1872
225
Number of bushels uf grapes raised in 1873.
146
Number of bushels of strawberries raisod in 1872
355
Number of bushels of strawberries raised in 1873
292
Number of bushels of currants and gouse- berries raised in 1872.
1,793
Numbor of bushels of currants and goose- berries raised in 1873 ..
1,981
Number of bushels of melons and garden vegetables raised in 1872.
19,040
Number of busbels of melons and garden vegetables raised in 1873
24,28
Value of fruit and garden vegetables raised in 1872.
$89,439
Value of fruit and garden vegetables raised in 1873.
66,026
Number of horses one year old and over owned in 1874.
7,650
Number of mules in 1874.
78
of work oxen in 1874.
1,278
of milch cows in 1874.
10,272
" of nent cattle one year old and over, other tono oxen and cows, in 1874 ..
10,335
Number of swine over six mooths old in 1874.
10,979
Number of sheep over six months old. sheep sheared in 1873
43,634
flouring-millst in the county,
12
Number of persons employed in same ..
28
Amount of capital invested.
$120,000
Number of runs of stone
31
barrels of flour made in 1873
26,940
Value of products.
$236,510
Number uf saw-millst in county, 1873. ...
42
persons employed in same ..
46
Amount of capital invested
$55,700
Number of feet of lubiber sawed
5,838,000
Value of products.
$79,469
Courte regularly held in the County-First Court in the County-First Court at the County-Seat-Complete List of Circuit Judges and County Officers.
CIRCUIT COURT.
THE issue of the Eaton Bugle for April 1, 1846, con- tained an account of the first courts held in the county, from which considerable of the following information was obtained.
The first court held in and for Eaton County was a ses- sion of the Circuit Court, which convened at Bellevue at five o'clock P.M., on the 31st of May, 1838. A quorum of judges not being present, S. S. Church, one of the asso- ciate judges (familiarly known as epaulettes), adjourned the court until ten o'clock in the forenoon of the following day, at which timo Hon, Epaphroditus Ransom, of Kalamazoo, circuit judge, was present, and the court proceeded to busi- ness. The following were the members of the first grand jury : James W. Hickok, Eliel Bond, Ruloff Butler, Samuel Higgins, Reuben Haskell, Reuben Fitzgerald, Andrew W.
# Eaton County made nearly twice as much maple-sugar in 1874 ns any other county in the State, Barry being second, with 372,177 pounds.
+ Three of these operated by steam and nine by water.
# Twenty-seven operated by steam and fifteen by water.
¿ Located in the townships of Chester, Sunfield, and Vermontville. 46
* Charlotte City taken mostly from Carmel, partly from Eaton.
+ Ilamlin organized from Eaton Rapids, 1869. This township was organized A8 Tyler in 1841, and united with Eaton Rapids in 1850. Discrepancies and variations are accounted for by changes in territory. The population of the county in 1837 was 913. The figures are from official census returns.
The figures given for 1880 include also the population of the several villages of the county. These, given sepa- rately, are as follows :
Potterville, in Benton township .. .....
477
Bellevue, in Bellevue
607
Eaton Rapids, in Eaton Rapids township.
1776
Grand Ledge, in Oneida
1378
Vermontville, in Vermontville
623
Olivet, in Walton
520
Dimondale, in Windsor
308
Total
5689
Aside from these there are several smaller villages of which separate returns have not been made, as Hoytville, in Roxand; Grand River City, in Delta; West Windsor, in Windsor; Chester and Maxson's Corners, in Chester ; Kalamo and Carlisle, in Kalamo; Spicerville, in Hamlin.
CHAPTER IV.
THE COURTS-COUNTY CIVIL LIST.
Among the other manufactories in the county were 2 shingle-mills, 12 planing- and turning-mills, 5 foundries and machine-shops, 4 agricultural implement works, 3 wagon-, carriage-, and sleigh-factories, 1 fanning mill factory, 1 furniture- and chair-factory, 2 stave-, heading-, and hoop- factories, 1 barrel- and keg-factory, 1 oar-factory, 1 axe- and edge-tool factory, 1 brewery, 1 woolen-factory, 3 cheese- and butter-factories,§ 2 marble-works, 4 lime-kilns. In these establishments $308,800 was invested ; employment was fur- nished to 291 persons ; total value of products, $683,700.
... 194,393
Number of pounds of pork marketed in 1873.
1,123,936
Number of pounds of cheese made in 1873.
184,468
1873.
910,554
in 1873
52,687
Number of pounds of maple-sugar# made in 1874 ...
644,384
Number of acres in orchards, 1874 ....
6,934
1872 of bushels of apples raised in
232,925
Number of bushels of apples raised in 1873
137,779
Number of bushels of penches raised in 1872
1,185 Number of bushels of peaches raised in 1873.
32
" " 1873 ..
2,379
7,255
10,965
16,454 16,497
27,431
26,807
31,182
...
366
618
702
1,154
1,354
1,594
Hamlint.
1,650
2,253
2,631
2,940
Total.
butter
fruit dried for market
Number of pounds of wool sbeared in 1873
43,090
1874.
362
HISTORY OF EATON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Rogers, George S. Browning, Wait J. Squier, John T. Ellis, Ephraim Follett, David Judson, Isaac Du Bois, Na- than G. Hedges, James Kimberly, Aaron White, John B. Crary, Timothy Haskell, Norman S. Booth, Charles IIun- siker, Christopher Parsons, Bezaleel Taft, Abner Carpenter. Reuben Fitzgerald was appointed foreman. The jury found two indictments. During this term of the court but one case was on the docket for trial, and in that the plaintiff was non-suited because he was not present to prosecute his eanse. Stephen II. Preston was appointed district attorney for the term.
The next term was also held at Bellevue, with Judge Ransom presiding, and S. S. Church and Amos Spicer, associates. This was Nov. 29, 1838. George C. Gibbs was appointed district attorney. The grand jury found one bill of indictment. During this term there were two trials for selling liquor to the Indians, two for trespass on the case for promises, and one for obtaining property under false pretenses. The May and November terms for 1839 were held at Bellevue, no special cases occurring.
The Circuit Court first convened at Charlotte, May 19, 1840, in the block-tavern kept by William Stoddard. Rooms had been fitted up in that building for the use of the county, and it became known as the " Court-IIouse." It was used for all conceivable purposes in the early days of the place. Hon. Epaphroditus Ransom presided at the first term held at Charlotte, with Simeon S. Church and Amos Spicer, associate judges. The grand jurors were : O. Rowland, Roger W. Griswold, Alonzo Baker, Asa Fuller, John Brown, Bezaleel Taft, Simeon Harding, R. T. Cogs- well, John Smith, Samuel S. Hoyt, Oramel D. Skinner, Phineas S. Spaulding, Merrills Freeman, Truman B. Barr, Aaron Bouton, Zebulon Wheaton, Luther Blodgett, Jr., Josiah Pinson, Sheldon Pinson, George Y. Cowan, David Barr, and Charles Imar, " all good and lawful men of the county of Eaton"-so say the records. At this term, which continued two days, twenty-two cases were disposed of, none of them being of great importance.
At the term of the Circuit Court for November, 1840, the grand jury found no indictments, and was discharged. A number of cases came before the petit jury. At the November term, in 1841, an indictment was found against John Miller for an assault on Calvin Phelps with intent to commit murder. Miller was bound over to the next term of the court in the sum of $500. Miller was also indicted for perjury, but upon a plea of insanity was found not guilty of that charge. A nolle prosequi was entered on the main in- dictment, but it was subsequently ordered that Miller be rccommitted to prison, as it was considered dangerous to allow him liberty.
At a term of the court in September, 1843, Jobn Barrett and William Johnson, upon their application, affidavits of sufficient previous residence, and taking the oath, were admitted to United States citizenship. Barrett had come from England in 1833, and was an inhabitant of Eaton County in 1841. William Johnson had resided in the State three years. Jarnes Young, who settled in the State in 1840, was admitted to citizenship in 1844.
Many of the prominent citizens of the county in its earlier years became entangled in the meshes of the law in cases of
various descriptions, and merchants, lawyers, mechanics, school districts, ete., had their deeds spread upon the court- records not always with credit to themselves.
In October, 1844, the associate judges, S. S. Church and James McQueen, held a special session of the court and transacted a small amount of business. In March, 1845, the associate judges, Oramel D. Skinner and Phineas S. Spankling, convened the Circuit Court at the "eourt- house," but, " in consequence of sickness in the family residing in the court-house, the court adjourned to the school-house in Charlotte, in said county," and there dis- posed of the business in hand. The session lasted four days, the presiding judge not being present.
At the October term in 1845 indictments were found for arson and for destroying private property. The defendant in the former case was named Charles Lamb. Thus it is that the names of eminent men are sometimes brought into disrepute. An indictment for murder was found at the same time against William Butler. The case was con- tinued until April 1847, when the defendant was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years' hard labor in the State prison. He was pardoned by the Gov- ernor Sept 1, 1853. The erime for which he was eon- vieted was that of killing a man with a hoe in an altercation in a corn-field.
In June, 1856, Mary Brooks, of Kalamo, was con- victed of murder in the first degree and sentenced to hard labor in the Jackson penitentiary for life. After a number of years, however, she was pardoned. This case was espe- cially revolting. Her husband was much older than her- self, and she administered poison to him in quantities insuf- ficient to produce immediate death, but which resulted in his demise after a long season of slow torture. Physicians were unable to determine the nature of his disease, and the guilty wife, while taking care of him, was constantly at work reducing him, and her work finally resulted in his death, as stated. She was young and unwilling to be held by the bonds which united her to her victim. The case was worked up in a very able manner by John Van Arman, of Marshall, who practiced considerably in the Eaton Cir- cuit Court. Ile is now one of the most prominent lawyers of the city of Chicago, and has won notoriety in numerous well-known eases.
The following is a list of the judges who have presided over the Eaton Circuit Court since 1838:
1838-43, Epaphroditus Ransom, of Kalamazoo; 1843-45, Alpheus Felch, of Washtenaw County ; 1846, Warner Wing; 1847, George Miles ; 1848-50, Edward Mundy ; 1851, George Martin ; 1852- 56, Abner Pratt; 1857 (spring), Edward H. C. Wilson; 1857 (fall), 1858, Benjamin F. Graves ; 1858, Flavius J. Littlejohn,* of Allegan; 1859-66, Benjamin F. Graves; 1866-75, George Woodruff; 1876-77, Philip T. Van Zile; 1878-80, Frank A. Hooker.
COUNTY COURT.
County Courts were held for Eaton County from 1847 to 1851. At the first session, beginning June 7, 1847, -N. S. Booth presiding,-several suits were tried which had been appealed from justices' courts. The latest record of this eourt is dated Nov. 12, 1851, after which the
* Deceased in spring of 1880.
363
THE COURTS-COUNTY CIVIL LIST.
County Court was discontinued. At the last session a cer- tain well-known attorney remarked, " I will pay the court for sitting here if he thinks he is not paid already." This was in answer to a remark of the court, who imposed a fine of five dollars upou the lawyer for using " contemptuous language." "Fine and be d-d!" retorted the man of law, and the court immediately ordered that he be confined for five days in the common jail of the county. This is the only incident of a spicy nature recorded during all the sessions of the County Court. The attorney, who was not afraid to speak his mind, is still practicing in the county and will doubtless smile at the recollection of the occasion when this page meets his eye.
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