USA > Michigan > Oakland County > History of Oakland County, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories > Part 16
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March 6, 1827, Thomas Harrington sued Joshua S. Terry in an action of trespass, for that the defendant had taken a silver watch of the value of seventeen dollars, the property of the plaintiff. The defendant pleaded not guilty, and justi- fied under an execution as constable, and then moved the court for a non-suit, because the plaintiff should have brought his suit in trover, and the court granted the motion and mulcted the plaintiff for the costs, ninety-four cents.
Henry O. Bronson sued Nelson Hitchcock for one dollar, for horse-hire, and made oath that Hitchcock was a man of no family, and that he, the plaintiff, was in danger of loosing the said dollar unless he proceeded by warrant, where- upon a capias was issued and the body of the defendant produced in court. The defendant admitted he had the horse, but claimed the charge was too high for its use, and asked for a continuance till the 27th March, 1827, which was granted, Alexander Ostrander becoming surety for his appearance; but on the 24th the parties appeared in court, when the defendant paid the plaintiff the dollar and fifty cents for witnesses, and one dollar and eighty-eight cents for costs-of court,
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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
making three dollars and thirty-eight cents for his frolic; but then he got his name on the public records.
Thomas J. Drake sued the board of supervisors for a rejected claim of five dollars for attorney's fees in a criminal case, and Trowbridge, Jacob N. Voor- heis, and Mead were appointed by the board to defend the suit. They did so, and demanded a jury, and, from twenty-two men, obtained six to try the case, Hervey Parke being the foreman. The jury gave Drake his claim, and the costs were seven dollars and eighty-seven and one-half cents, which were paid at the end of an execution. Drake sued Edwin Edwards, March 6, 1828, on three notes, payable in buckskin gloves and mittens. Drake "got the mitten," so far as his quid pro quo was concerned; but he locked up the fellow who " mittened" him on a judgment of forty-six dollars and seventy-seven cents.
Justice Whittemore adjudicated one hundred and ninety-three cases during his first year of office, two hundred and five the second, and one hundred and seventy-eight the third. At the close of the record of each case, when the damages and costs had been paid, he wrote in large letters "DONE." The old docket is coverless, and made of unruled paper, now yellow with age. The sand with which the record was liberally dusted to absorb the ink, rubs off freely, and brings back vividly the memory of the days of the gray goose-quill, the sand-box, and the red wafer, which have given place to the steel pen, the blotting-pad, and mucilage.
THE BAR
of Oakland, in the early days of its history, was second to none in the Terri- tory, and afterwards State, of Michigan, unless that of Detroit be an exception. The members of the Detroit bar practiced in the Oakland courts, and their names occur frequently on the court records for many years after the organization of the State. Woodbridge, Sibley, Fletcher, Larned, Goodwin, O'Keefe, Coleman, and others of the City of the Straits were among the practitioners before the circuit court of Oakland; but they never resided in the county. The first resident lawyer in the county was Daniel Le Roy, who was admitted to practice in the county court, the first court held in the county, and on the first day of the first term thereof,-to wit, July 17, 1820. Mr. Le Roy was from Binghamton, New York, and was a regularly-admitted and practicing attorney in that State previous to his coming to Michigan. He was the prosecuting attorney of the county for some years, and chief justice of the county court from April, 1829, to the abol- ishment of the same in 1833. He was also the first attorney-general of the State, being appointed to that office by Governor Mason, in 1836. Judge Le Roy was a lawyer of ability, and ranked high in the bar of the State. He retired from practice late in life, and died at Fenton, Genesee county. A son of Judge Le Roy resides now in Fenton, and a daughter-Mrs. Francis Darrow-resides in Pontiac.
The next resident lawyer in the county appears by the record to have been William F. Mosely, who was admitted to practice before the county court at the February term, 1825; and was appointed by the court prosecuting attorney for the term. At the June term, 1826, the first term of that court held in the county, Mr. Mosely was admitted to practice before that court; and in 1828 was judge of probate. He removed from the county into Shiawassee county, where he died in 1860, while prosecuting attorney. He was from Connecticut.
At the same February term, 1825, of the county court, Thomas J. Drake was allowed to act as attorney for such parties as had given him powers of attor- ney for that purpose. Mr. Drake first came to Pontiac in 1822, when there were scarcely half a dozen houses in the township. He was a leading and prom- inent advocate for nearly two generations. Hon. A. C. Baldwin, judge of Sixth circuit, says of him, " He was connected as counsel with most of the leading cases in northern Michigan during a long term of years, and was always happy and in his element when advocating the interests of the people." He was a member of the third legislative council in 1828, and, with S. V. R. Trowbridge, represented the whole northern portion of the Territory. Mr. Drake was the ac- credited author of the liberal exemption laws of Michigan, he introducing them into the legislative council at a time when they were so unpopular not a single member, save himself, dared to vote for them. From 1828 to 1845 he was prominent in political matters, being a Whig in party affiliation and policy. He was elected in 1834 to the State senate to represent a district which extended from the base-line of the State to the head of Lake Superior, embracing two- thirds of the area of the State. He was president of that body. In 1840 he was one of the Whig presidential electors for Michigan at her first participation in the choice of a president and vice-president of the Republic. In 1828 he was register of probate for the county, and in 1827 prosecuting attorney, and was also the first prosecuting attorney elected in the county, and held the position from 1850 to 1852. In 1864, President Lincoln appointed Mr. Drake chief justice of the United States courts in Utah, which position he held for several years, discharging the duties thereof with signal ability and fidelity, and thereby
provoking the bitter hostility of Brigham Young and his cohorts. "The Mor- mons hated him as cordially as he hated their customs and practice." Judge Drake's associate justice in Utah said, " When once the judge made up his mind that he was right, no power under heaven could swerve him from the path of duty." He died in Pontiac, April 20, 1875. Judge Drake in 1842, or there- abouts, conducted the publication of a Whig newspaper in Flint, which in the winter of 1843-44 was removed to Pontiac, and established as the Gazette. He also built the Genesee House, in Flint, and resided there some years, doing much for the prosperity of the village.
The next attorney admitted to the bar in the Oakland courts who attained a " local habitation and a name" in the county was Origen D. Richardson, who, for nearly thirty years, was a leading and prominent member of the bar, and noted as well throughout the State. He was admitted at the July term, 1826, of the circuit court, having been a regularly practicing attorney in Vermont, from whence he came to Michigan in 1826. He began and completed his study of the law, preparatory to his admission to practice, with his brother-in-law, Israel P. Richardson, in Vermont. He was prosecuting attorney of the county in 1832, and was elected lieutenant-governor of Michigan in the fall of 1841, and again in 1843,-serving the State in that position during the years 1842-45. In the fall of 1854, Governor Richardson removed to Omaha, Nebraska,-a Territory then, -and, as a member of the first and second sessions of the legislature of the new State, " acted a prominent and useful part in framing some of the laws now on its statute books." He was one of the three commissioners to codify the laws of the State. He died at Omaha, November 29, 1876, at the advanced age of eighty- one years, of apoplexy ; and was followed by his almost equally aged wife and companion but a brief period subsequently, and with her was laid to rest in the same grave in Prospect hill cemetery, and on the same day.
Another prominent attorney and citizen of Oakland County, who was admitted to the practice of the law before the courts of the county at the same time as Governor Richardson, viz., February term, 1826, was Gideon O. Whittemore, Esq., who located at Pontiac, and was afterwards judge of probate, master in chancery, and prosecuting attorney. He was also a prominent justice of the peace; and removed to Tawas, in this State, where he died some years ago. Mr. Whittemore was one of the first regents of the university, in 1837.
The next attorney who located in the county was Robert P. Eldridge, who was admitted in the county court November, 1828. He read law with Governor Richardson, and removed early to Mount Clemens, where he is now in practice. He came from the State of New York to Michigan. He prides himself on his Indian blood, claiming to be a lineal descendant of Pocahontas. His son, who is also his legal partner, is the judge of probate of .Macomb county. Mr. Eldridge was prosecuting attorney of the court at the term of which he was admitted to the bar, and was secretary of State under Governor Barry from 1841 to 1846.
Seth A. L. Warner was the next attorney to receive a license to practice his profession, being admitted to the bar of the county court in March, 1830, and in the circuit court in April following. He located at Farmington, and came from Seneca county, New York, where he previously followed the practice of the law. He is now dead. P. Dean Warner, Esq., is a son, and who has been speaker of the House of Representatives of the State one term, and resides now in Farming- ton, and was for many years a prominent member of the board of supervisors.
Isaac Stetson was admitted in October, 1830, having practiced his profession previously in Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri.
In October, 1832, John Goodrich, known by the bar as " old" John Good- rich, in contradistinction to a younger man of the same name, was admitted to the practice of the legal profession, and died in September, 1838.
Henry S. Cole was admitted in October, 1833. At the same term William Draper, the father of Hon. Charles Draper, who succeeded to his practice, was admitted to the Oakland bar, he having been a regularly-admitted and practicing attorney previously in Massachusetts. Mr. Draper was a good lawyer, well read, and had an extensive practice. In 1838 he had over one hundred suits on the dockets of the courts. He was the president of the first Ann Arbor convention to act upon the Congressional terms imposed upon Michigan's admission into the Union. He was located in Pontiac, where he was buried, having died while on a pleasure trip to Mackinac, in July, 1858. Mr. Draper was a very sedate and dignified gentleman, and some of his ways were a little inclined to eccentricity. Several anecdotes are told by his old confrères which are too good to be lost, and we reproduce two or three of the best. He was a born sportsman, and, when the duties of his profession would allow, enjoyed most thoroughly the piscatorial pleasures afforded by the well-stocked lakes of Oakland. In order to facilitate such enjoyment he constructed a boat, and fitted it on the running-gear of a light wagon, with which he would on days too dark and dull for office-work, and “just dark enough for good fishing," drive to some one of the many beautiful sheets of water that spread their fair expanse in the openings of Oakland, and, unshipping
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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
his wagon-body, would launch the same upon the waves, and proceed to his pisca- torial delights with the same zest that he pursued larger fish in the meshes of the law. He kept his boat under the shed of the Congregational church, and in an adjoining stall the hearse of the village was also kept.
One day Mr. Draper concluded to try his usual sport, and sent his Milesian man of all work down to the shed for his turn-out. But Patrick, by some mis- take, hitched the old gray to the funeral-car instead of the Waltonian vehicle, and backed it up in front of the lawyer's residence. The sportsman soon made his appearance, equipped with rod and lines, and, stepping precisely down the walk, his eyes rested on the black-plumed carriage at his gate, whereupon he stopped suddenly, and, with his peculiar gesture of his forefinger and a sort of snort, said, with grim humor, "Patrick, take it back ! I'm not ready to ride in that carriage yet !"
Rufus Hosmer always was full of fun, and, though a nephew of Mr. Draper, called him, as did many others, " Father Draper ;" and he used to relate with great gusto the following anecdote : One day Mr. Draper and Hosmer were called to Farmington to attend a lawsuit, and, in going to the same, Rufus drove. On coming to the top of a hill of some considerable height, the old gray mare Mr. Draper drove for many years struck a brisk trot, and the somewhat careless driver did not strive to check her speed down the declivity ; but on arriving at the bot- tom a bridge, which traversed a small creek, was found to be unplanked. How- ever, it was too late to stop, and the old gray cleared it somehow, and the wheels, by the strangest fortuity, struck squarely the sleepers and passed in safety. Not a word was spoken until they arrived at the village, when the condition of the bridge was commented on calmly. After the trial was over the lawyers set out on their return, Mr. Draper taking the reins into his own hands. They stopped a few minutes at Birmingham, and just as they were seated in the buggy and Mr. Draper's hands, with a rein in each, planted on either knee and ready for a start, a Spanish jack, confined in the yard alongside the hotel by which they were standing, put his head over the high board-fence that separated him from the rest of the world, and lifted up his voice as only that animal can. Old Gray " shot" from her standing like an arrow, and tore down the pike on a swinging gallop, Mr. Draper sitting bolt upright, his fists firmly pressed on his knees, and Rufus cling- ing for dear life to the buggy-seat. Down the long smooth pike sped the gallant gray, not a word being spoken by the lawyers whom she carried. Past farm- houses the flying vehicle dashed with clattering noise, dogs barked, children hur- rahed, men stared, and wondered what had got into Father Draper. Dashing into Saginaw street with unchecked lope, the old mare made straight for her wonted stable, nor stopped nor stumbled until she bumped her nose against the gate she had left a few hours before. She gave a long breath and looked back, not at her drivers, but her followers ; and Mr. Draper, in solemn tones, first broke the silence that had been maintained throughout the entire seven miles' ride. Says he, " Rufus, what an awful noise that was !"
Among the prominent names of the Oakland bar Randolph Manning's shines conspicuously. He was admitted about 1828-30, and was a practicing attorney in New Jersey previously. He was an able though not a brilliant lawyer, con- scientious and sound, and a most excellent solicitor in chancery. He held the position of chancellor of the State, by appointment of Governor Barry, from 1842 to 1846, and was one of the judges of the supreme court of the State when his death, which was very sudden, occurred. He was secretary of State from 1838 to 1840, by appointment of Governor Woodbridge.
Philip A. McOmber, an attorney in the State of New York, was admitted to the Oakland bar in February, 1835. The same year John T. Raynor was ad- mitted, and located at Birmingham. He was district attorney in 1838, being the first appointment of Governor Mason. He was county clerk for four years, and was a most efficient officer. He held for several years an official position in Washington, and died in Lansing.
Morgan L. Drake, of Pontiac, was admitted in July, 1834, and became a lead- ing solicitor in chancery,-none better in the State. He was also well versed in railroad law. He died some years ago in Pontiac. He was a brother of Thos. J. Drake.
Edward P. Harris located at Rochester. He was circuit court commissioner in 1860, and was a collegiate of Vermont, where he was first licensed as an attorney. He died in Rochester some six years ago. He was an excellent lawyer.
Alfred Treadway was admitted somewhere about 1836, and was county clerk, clerk of the supreme court, register in chancery, and injunction master, and in after-years received an appointment as document clerk to the United States sen- ate, and is now holding an appointment under the present administration.
George A. C. Luce, of Rochester, was admitted to the bar May 2, 1837, and died at Troy, having been for many years in feeble health.
On the 9th of November, in the year last named, John P. Richardson was ad- mitted to the bar. He read law with Israel P. Richardson, and was first licensed
as an attorney in Vermont. He removed to Leavenworth, Kansas, from whence he was driven during the troublous times of 1853-56, but afterwards returned, and died there.
Charles Draper, the present Nestor of the bar of Oakland County, was admitted to the practice of his profession November 27, 1838. He and Rufus Hosmer, both of whom read law with Wm. Draper, were admitted at the same time. Mr. Draper is still engaged in an extensive practice, in which he is assisted by a son,-Warren N. Draper, Esq. Mr. Draper was the first clerk of the courts under the State constitution, and held the position two years,-to 1838. He was also prosecuting attorney, and has served the county in the State senate. He was in partnership for many years with his father, Wm. Draper, and has an extensive and valuable library, and ranks high in his profession in the State.
Mr. Hosmer was a native of Massachusetts, where he was thoroughly edu- cated. He was a cousin of Mr. Draper, and formed a copartnership with the Wisners soon after his admission to the bar, and subsequently went to Detroit to assume charge of the Detroit Advertiser. He was also State printer at Lansing for a time, and was appointed consul to the Netherlands, but died before going to his post of duty. He was a brilliant genius, most companionable, and always ready for a joke. The following good story is told at his expense: He was a very in- different scribe, and when the trial of his first case came on in the circuit court, at the very term of his admission to the bar, Thomas J. Drake, the opposing counsel, moved the court to quash the declaration in the case, because it was drawn in a foreign language. The court being struck with the point, asked to see the paper, and on examination granted the motion, and gave the young lawyer twenty-four hours to file a new narr.
George W. Wisner came from New York city to Pontiac in July, 1835. He was formerly editor and had a half proprietary interest in the New York Sun, which he disposed of in September of that year, and removed his family to Pon- tiac, and at once commenced the study of the law with William Draper, and was admitted in January, 1839, to the practice of his profession. He and Alfred Treadway were in partnership for a time, and succeeding that copartnership was one with his brother Moses and Rufus Hosmer, which was a strong one and successful. In 1837 he was a member of the first legislature of the State, and was prosecuting attorney for some years.
Politically, he was a Whig, with anti-slavery leanings. In the fall of 1847 he purchased, with Norman Rawson and H. H. Duncklee, the Detroit Advertiser, and managed the editorial columns so effectively that he was given the credit of largely influencing the Whig triumph in the spring of 1848 in that city. He died in September, 1849, young in years but ripe in experience. His widow survives him, and is a resident of Pontiac, and two sons, Oscar F. and Henry C. Wisner, are members of their father's profession, one at East Saginaw, and one-Henry-in Detroit, both in lucrative practice.
A touching incident is related in connection with Mr. Wisner and Morgan L. Drake. While riding through the woods to a distant circuit, on legal business intent, they stopped one night at a cabin to ask for shelter, and found the lonely hut inhabited by a man and wife, the latter just expired. They were miles away from another house, and the night was dark and the roads mere trails through the woods. Under these circumstances those who asked for ministrations of hospi- tality became the ministers of mercy to the stricken husband. They assisted him to prepare his dead for burial, and cheered him in his sorrow as best they could ; and when the morning dawned they dug a grave in the vicinity of the clearing, and, with as appropriate ceremonies as the occasion would admit, committed the remains to the earth, and rode away, leaving the grief-stricken mourner alone with his dead.
Alfred H. Hanscom, said to be the most eloquent advocate who ever lifted up his voice in defense of innocence and the maintenance of right at the Oakland bar, was admitted to the same in 1838. He was a native of Rochester, New York, from whence he came early to Macomb county, and thence removed to Troy, in Oakland County. He was educated in the eastern schools, and was, in 1842, speaker of the House of Representatives of the legislature of Michigan. He was the district attorney of the county of Oakland for some years, and re- moved to Ontonagon in 1850 or thereabouts. He died on his return from a visit to Pontiac, some twenty years ago, en route, on shipboard, between Marquette and his house.
Hon. Jacob Summers, familiarly known as " Uncle Jake," resident of Macomb county, and one of Judge Whipple's " right and left epaulets," as the side judges of the circuit court were sometimes called, once came to Mr. Hanscom to get his services in procuring a divorce. Summers was a man of strong natural parts, but uneducated, indolent, and slovenly. Hanscom inquired what his grounds for a divorce were, but Uncle Jake could not succeed in making the cause of his com- plaint quite clear to his counsel ; and, thereupon Mr. Hanscom took the statute and began to read the causes enumerated for which a divorce could be granted.
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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
" 1st. Adultery." " Pass on," said Uncle Jake. "Desertion," read the lawyer. " Pass on," quoth the client. " Cruelty," propounded the man of law. "Pass on," said the petitioner. " Impotency." "Hold on," broke in the injured hus- band, " that's it ! she is impudent as h-1 !"
Samuel G. Watson was admitted to the bar previous to 1838, and was prose- cuting attorney for a time. He subsequently removed to Detroit, and died there. Henry C. Knight was a member of the firm of Richardson (O. D.) & Knight. He removed to Detroit, where he resided several years, and died in that city.
James B. Hunt was admitted to the bar in 1840, in the Oakland courts, hav- ing been licensed as an attorney, in New York, in 1824. He was prosecuting attorney from 1841 to 1843, by appointment of Governor Barry, and in 1842 was elected to the lower house of Congress from the district then including Oak- land in its limits, and served therein two terms, 1843-47, and on the termination of his second term returned to his former home in New York, in ill health, and died there.
Ransom R. Belding was admitted in October, 1839. He was clerk of the courts for four years, and edited the Jacksonian for a time, during the politi- cal campaigns of 1840 and 1842. He is now deceased. Artemas Thayer, Jr., was admitted about the same time as Belding, and soon after removed to Flint, where he now resides.
Hon. Moses Wisner was one of the lawyers whose power and abilities reflected great credit on the Oakland bar. His father was a farmer residing near Auburn, New York, and Moses and his brother, George W., even in childhood, while toil- ing and drudging on the farm, evidently were bent on some other development in life's work, for they shirked the labor whenever they could, and turned their attention to the cultivation of their minds. George, as has been previously shown, went to New York into journalism, for a time, previous to his removal to Michi- gan, and Moses, after a time, came to the forests of Lapeer county, and began life in the, to him, unpromising line of an agriculturist, and after some months of incessant toil he one day stuck his axe into a tree, and said to himself, " There, if I cannot make a living at a more congenial employment I will starve !" and immediately turned his steps towards Pontiac, where his brother George had already gained something of a standing in the practice of the law, and entered his office as a student, and was admitted to the bar in 1841. He returned to Lapeer county, where he acted as prosecuting attorney for two or more years, and then returned to Pontiac and entered into copartnership with his brother and Rufus Hosmer. On the departure of George to Detroit, Moses continued the practice alone. In the noted case of the Tully boys, tried for the murder of their father, Mr. Wisner was associated with Judge Crofoot and Hon. Thomas J. Drake in the defense, and made a most searching analysis of the testimony.
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