USA > Michigan > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph County, Michigan; Volume I > Part 26
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George Martin, who was elected to the supreme bench under the constitution of 1835, also served for seventeen years as chief justice, under the constitution of 1850, dying in office on the 15th of December, 1867.
An epitome of the changes in the personnel of the state su- preme court, under the constitution of 1850, as modified by the law of 1857, is given in "Reed's Bench and Bar of Michigan," as follows: "Judge Manning died in 1864 and was succeeded by Thomas M. Cooley, who was first appointed to fill the vacancy and then elected in 1865 for the remainder of the term, being re- elected twice and serving continuously until May, 1885, when he resigned to accept the chairmanship of the Interstate Commerce Vol. I-19
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Commission. Judge Campbell was re-elected three times, serv- ing twenty-two years and dying in office, March, 1890. Edward Cahill, of Lansing, was appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by Judge Campbell's death and served from March to December 31, 1890. Judge Christiancy was re-elected twice and resigned in February, 1875, to accept the office of senator of the United States. Isaac Marston was appointed to fill the vacancy and elected for the residue of the term. He was then re-elected as his own successor for a full term, which expired December 31, 1889. He resigned in February, 1883, and Thomas R. Sherwood was appointed and then elected to fill the unexpired portion of the term. John W. Champlin, of Grand Rapids, was elected in 1883, and served one term of eight years, which expired December 31, 1891. Allen B. Morse, of Ionia, was appointed for the residue of Judge Cooley's term. He had already been elected for the term beginning January 1, 1886. His service on the bench continued until August 30, 1892, when he resigned. Charles D. Long was elected in 1887 for a term of ten years beginning January 1, 1888. John W. McGrath, of Detroit, was elected in 1890 for the residue of Judge Campbell's term, and served from January 1, 1891, to December 31, 1895. Claudius B. Grant, of Marquette, was elected in 1890 for a full term of ten years, and Robert M. Montgomery was also elected in 1892 for a full term. George H. Durand, of Flint, was appointed in 1892 to fill a vacancy for a few months, occasioned by the resignation of Judge Morse. Frank A. Hooker was elected first in November, 1892, for the residue of the term of Judge Morse, and was elected in 1894 for a full term beginning January 1, 1895. Joseph B. Moore was elected in 1895 for the term beginning January 1, 1896."
Under the present law, circuit judges are elected for a term of six years, their courts having original jurisdiction over all civil or criminal matters not excepted by the constitution or the statutes, as well as appellate jurisdiction over all inferior tribu- nals. Probate courts have jurisdiction over wills, estates, etc., and the four justices in each township retain their old-time func- tions. Formerly the compensation of the probate judge was con- tingent upon his fees alone, but since 1873 the legislature has allowed him a salary of $1,500 per annum, and the only fees al- lowed him are for the examination of records and papers and the drafting of petitions and bonds. This change is believed to
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greatly benefit those in moderate circumstances who are obliged to probate estates of deceased relatives.
CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES.
The following have been the presiding judges of the circuit court embracing St. Joseph county since the adoption of the con- stitution of 1835: Epaphroditus Ransom, 1836-48; Charles W. Whipple, 1848-54; Nathaniel Bacon, 1854-64; Perrin M. Smith, 1864-6; Nathaniel Bacon, 1866-7; R. W. Melendy, 1867-9; Charles Upson, 1869-73; Richmond W. Melendy, 1873; Edwin W. Keightly, 1874-6; David Thompson, from April, 1877, to January 1, 1879; John B. Shipman, from January 1, 1879, to January 1, 1882; Russell R. Pealer, January 1, 1882, to January 1, 1888; John B. Shipman, January 1, 1888, to January 1, 1894; George L. Yaple, since January 1, 1894.
In 1829 Luther Newton and John Sturgis were appointed associate justices of the circuit court for St. Joseph county, Will- iam Meek succeeding Judge Newton in 1831. Hart L. Stewart took his seat on the bench with Judges Meek and Sturgis at the December term of 1832, and in 1836 Judge Sturgis and Charles B. Fitch were elected. Melancthon Judson and Isaac B. Dunkin were elected the associates of the circuit judge, in 1840, and Judge Judson and James Parker were his seconds in 1844. In 1845 Nathan Osborn was chosen to fill a vacancy, and in 1846 Judge Osborn was elected to preside over the new county court, with Chauncey May as second judge. In 1847 Cyrus Schellhous was elected second judge, being re-elected in 1850, when William Savier was elected to the county judgeship. This was the last election of associate judges, the circuit court commissioners tak- ing their place. As stated, the county court was finally abolished in 1853.
JUDGE OSBORN.
Hon. Nathan Osborn, who, in 1845-6, served as a connecting link between the old circuit and the new county court, was a man of note in the early progress of St. Joseph county. He was a native of New York and was a man of versatile, but practical accom- plishments, before he settled in the county. First educated in the fundamentals in the district schools of Catskill, New York, later he mastered surveying, under Surveyor General Campbell, of
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Otsego county; then he engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods for several years, and finally read law in the offices of James Brackett, of Cherry Valley, and Judge Baldwin, of Hornells- ville. He was admitted to the bar of Steuben county in 1836, and two years afterward moved to St. Joseph county with his father, Rev. Enos Osborn, a Methodist minister, who, although then in his sixty-fifth year, preached several years afterward and lived in the county for four decades. Judge Osborn first settled on section 16, Florence township, and devoted several years to in- dustrious and careful farming. He moved to Park township, in 1842, and in the same year was elected county surveyor. As stated, his judicial service commenced in 1845, and ended in the following year. Judge Osborn never practiced his profession in St. Joseph county, but was widely known for his interest in county affairs and as an ardent Jacksonian Democrat. He was twice married, James D., one of his sons by the first union, be- coming a leading lawyer of Goshen, Indiana, and a circuit judge of that state.
PROBATE COURT JUDGES.
The judges of the probate court of St. Joseph county have been as follows: Dr. Hubbel Loomis, January, 1830, to May, 1833; John S. Barry, 1833-5; Digby V. Bell, 1835-6; William Connor, 1836-7; Dr. Cyrus Ingerson, 1837-44 (until his death) ; Benjamin Osgood, 1844-57; Charles L. Miller, 1857-61; J. Eastman Johnson, 1861-72; William H. Cross, January 1, 1872, to January 1, 1885; David M. Bateman, January 1, 1885, to January 1, 1901; C. A. Dockstader, January 1, 1901, to January 1, 1905; Wilbur F. Thomas since January 1, 1905.
JUDGE BARRY.
Hon. John S. Barry, the second probate judge of St. Joseph county, was elected governor of Michigan five years after his term expired, and was re-elected in 1843 and 1847. When called to the gubernatorial chair he was a state senator, and had been state treasurer. His great work as governor was in establishing the finances of the state on a sound basis; he found them as un- stable as can be conceived, except by those of the veteran genera- tion who have had experience in the Wild Cat banking and cur- rency of those days. Governor Barry lived in Constantine from
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1835 until the day of his death, January 14, 1870. A lawyer by profession, he never was active in practice, but engaged with credit and success in mercantile pursuits.
It is said of him, that when he was state treasurer, he caused the state capitol grounds to be mowed, and the grass cured for hay, and that the crop was sold for $3.65 and the money turned into the state treasury. This story was circulated over the state and did much toward making him governor. Another story has been told of him, and it was this "that he was so close that when traveling he always took a seat in the rear car (and in the last seat) so as to keep his money as long as possible."
JUDGE CROSS.
There is no doubt as to the firm and warm place which Judge William H. Cross held in the minds and hearts of the lawyers, widows and orphans who resorted to the probate court from the early seventies to the early eighties. He came of patriotic Irish stock, his parents settling in Newburg, Orange county, New York, where his elder brother, Robert J., was born in 1804. The family moved to Bethel, Sullivan county, in 1806, and William H. was born there in the following year. In 1824 the father died in Canada, and in the following year the family was disrupted, the two sons locating on a farm near Tecumseh, Michigan, in 1826. For a year and a half their cabin stood alone on the banks of the Raisin river. In 1829, William Cross hauled a load of goods to Mottville, consigned to the old trader, Elias Taylor. This load, hauled by two yoke of oxen, consisted mostly of wet goods (whiskey), and the view which Brother William obtained of Sturgis and White Pigeon prairies was so enticing that he in- duced Brother Robert to sell his share of their lands on the Raisin. In September, 1830, they selected farms near the present Cold- water, Branch county, and they put up various log cabins, which they shared in bachelor style until Judge Cross's marriage in 1832. He served in the Black Hawk war, and both brothers sold their farms in 1835, Robert going to Illinois and William con- tinuing to reside at Coldwater. There, as well as at Hillsdale, he engaged in mercantile pursuits; was a railroad and a canal con- tractor, and in 1845 moved to Leonidas, St. Joseph county, again engaging in mercantile trade. He built the first dam ever thrown across the St. Joseph river in Michigan, during 1847, and from
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1851 to 1858 made futile attempts to wrest a fortune from the California mines. Judge Cross had served as supervisor for five years before leaving for the Pacific coast, and after his return was elected to the same position. Subsequently he entered the employ of the general government and was also in railway serv- ice, the discharge of these duties occupying his time until he was first chosen to the probate judgeship, in 1872.
The warm and manly traits which characterized Judge Cross on the probate bench are well remembered by the writer and are described in the following: "The tender and sympathizing nature of Judge Cross eminently fit him for the discharge of the delicate and arduous duties of his position, which brings him in contact with the widow and orphan, and charges him with the settlement of their estates and interests; and it is currently stated that Judge Cross' tribunal is less a court for legal adjudication than an arbi- tration for the reconcilement of differences and difficulties be- tween heirs. His success in that direction is most satisfactory to the parties who appear before him, as well as to himself.
"A single incident will illustrate his manner of dealing with questions, for which, by a technical construction, there is no warrant in law. A lady dying, expressed a wish that a small portion of her estate might be appropriated by her administrator for a certain object, but left no will or written instructions to that effect. When the estate was settled, the administrator asked Judge Cross what he ought to do in the premises. The judge quietly said, 'What would you wish to have done if you were in her position and she in yours?' 'Why, I should want my wishes carried out,' replied the administrator. 'Then, as you would have others do for you, so do you do for her,' responded the judge; and the matter was ended. His decisions, however, are good; for, with a single exception, not one of them has ever been reversed on appeal to the circuit or supreme court."
PIONEER PROBATE MATTERS.
Five months after St. Joseph county was organized, Judge Loomis held its first court of record at the office of the register of probate, John W. Anderson, in White Pigeon village, Friday, March 26, 1830. It is known that this was the date, because there is still extant a record showing that at that date the probate court granted letters of administration to Elizabeth Thurston, on the
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estate of Amos Cornor, deceased, of whom she was formerly the widow. This first paper to be recorded in the judicial annals of the county reads as follows :
TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN, COUNTY OF ST. JOSEPH .- By the Hon. Hubbel Loomis Esq Judge of the Probate of Wills and for granting Letters of Administration on the estate of persons de- ceased, having goods, chattels, rights or credits in the county of St. Joseph within the territory aforesaid
To Elizabeth Thurston, of the county aforesaid, Greeting
Whereas Amos Cornor of sd county deceased had while he lived & at the time of his decease goods, chattels, rights, or credits in the county aforesaid, lately died intestate whereby the power of committing administration and full disposition of all and sin- gular the goods, chattels & credits of the sd deceased and also the hearing examining & allowing the account of such administration doth appertain unto me
Trusting therefore in your care and fidelity I do by these presents commit unto you full power to administer all and singu- lar the goods, chattels, rights and credits of the sd Deceased, and well and faithfully to dispose of the same according to law, & also to ask gather Levy recover & receive all and whatsoever, credits of the sd Dec which to him while he lived and at the time of his death did appertain and to pay all Debts into which the sd De- ceased stood bound so far as his goods, chattels, rights & credits did extend according to the value thereof
And to make a true and perfect inventory of all and singular the goods chattels, rights & credits and to exhibit the same into the Registry of the court of probate for the county aforesaid at or before the twenty six day of June next insuing and to render a plain and true account of your sd Administration upon oath at or before the twenty six day of March in the year of our Lord one Thousand eight Hundred and Thirty one
And I do hereby ordain, constitute and appoint you Admin- istratrix of all and singular the goods, chattels rights and credits aforesaid
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of the sd court of probate Dated at White Pigeon the twenty six day of March in the year of our lord one Thousand eight hundred and Thirty
John W. Anderson Attest Register of Probate
HUBBEL LOOMIS Judge of Probate
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TERRITORY OF MICHIGAN, COUNTY OF ST. JOSEPH .- Office of the Register of Probate, White Pigeon, March 26, 1830
Received for record March 26, 1830, at 11 o'clock A M and Recorded in Liber A Page
John W. Anderson, Regr of Probate County of St. Joseph Ty of M.
On the 23rd of August, 1830, the first will was presented for probate in the county (that of John Baumdee), and it was proven and admitted to record September 6th, Hart L. Stewart, Abraham Reichart and John Baer being appointed appraisers of the estate.
FIRST REGULAR COURT ROOM.
The seat of justice was located at Centerville in 1831, but the first probate court was not held at the county seat until October 24, 1834, when orders were entered in the estates of William John- son, Robinson S. Hazard, Amos Cornor, Rufus Downing and Am- brose S. Weeks. Judge Barry, who presided over the probate court until the following May, held his sessions alternately at Centerville and White Pigeon. On May 24, 1832, the legislative council had ordered the courts of the county to be held at the academy in White Pigeon, or other place in the village, until suitable quarters could be provided at the county seat. It is said that after Governor Porter issued his proclamation (January, 1833) directing the courts to be held at "the court house at the county seat" that the new officials were thrown somewhat into a panic. They at once leased the upper room of the only frame building in Centerville, on the northwest corner of Main and Clark streets. It was twenty by thirty feet, had been built by Thomas W. Langley in 1832, and was afterward purchased by the county ; about ten years later, after the county had completed the court house in the public square, the old court room was occu- pied by a grange. It was in this little room that the first probate court held at the county seat commenced its session in October, 1834.
THE OLD COUNTY COURT.
The old county court of St. Joseph county had a rather un- eventful career of a little over two years-from December, 1830, to the winter of 1832-3. Its first term was held at White Pigeon
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(Savery's tavern) and commenced December 7, 1830, with Luther Newton and John Sturgis occupying the bench; D. Page, clerk ; Daniel Murray, crier; Jesse Baum, bailiff. The grand jury im- paneled comprised Hart L. Stewart, foreman; Ephraim Bears, Sylvester Brockway, W. W. Bliss, Jason Thurston, Blakeley Thurston, Alanson C. Stewart, I. J. Ullman, William Hunter, Philander Paine, Nathaniel Syas, Joshua Gale, William Thomas, John McNeal, William Meek, Daniel Lyon, Jr., William C. Knaggs, William Stevens and Henry M. Paine. The day during which they were in session resulted in the indictment of John Knapp for shooting a mare, property of Frederick Sedorus.
Court again convened June 7, 1831, at the same place and with the same judges presiding, but adjourned to the White Pigeon Academy, which was considered a more desirable meet -. ing place. The mare stealing case was continued, as John Knapp, the defendant, had not been able to haul into court one of his most material witnesses; but as he was not able to furnish the required bail of $350 in twenty minutes, the case against him was tried by jury and he was found guilty. Knapp's punishment was a fine of twenty dollars and costs, to be paid into the county treasury, and one hundred and eighty dollars, to the owner of the mare (treble her value), the defendant to stand committed until the fine was paid. In those days, to steal or kill a horse was considered one of the rankest crimes on the calendar, and justice was prompt and, in the eyes of today, rather severe; but if one can place himself in an imaginary wilderness, bereft of all means of transportation and relief except his horse, it is not diffi- cult to realize what the possession of that animal would mean to him.
At the same term of court which dealt with the mare killer in such a prompt and summary manner, ferry rates were estab- lished for the grand traverse of the St. Joseph river (Mottville), and a county seal adopted with the following device: A sheaf of wheat, a sheep (merino) and a pair of scales.
The third term of the county court was held by Judges Meek and Sturgis at the White Pigeon Academy, with John W. Ander- son as foreman of the grand jury. As the credentials of Rev. Reuben Sears, Presbyterian minister, were satisfactory, he was allowed to celebrate marriages within St. Joseph county, accord- ing to the laws of the territory. And this was about all that was done, the weather being so severe that most of the jurors im-
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paneled could not reach court. In the June term of 1832, a num- ber of new settlers applied for naturalization papers, and in December Hart S. Stewart took his seat with Judges Meek and Sturgis, constituting a full bench. Eight delinquent jurors were ordered to purge themselves of contempt at the next term of court (having failed to appear), but were not obliged to bring their excuses as the court was abolished in the following winter.
FIRST LAWYER ADMITTED TO BAR.
Savery's tavern was also the scene of meeting of the first cir- cuit court which assembled August 17, 1830, with the following present : Hon. William Woodbridge, circuit judge; Henry Chip- man, associate; E. B. Sherman, district attorney ; D. Page, clerk; Daniel Murray, crier, and David Winchell, bailiff. Neal McGaf- fey was admitted to practice at the first attorney to be thus hon- ored in the county, a grand jury was impaneled, and William Johnson, of Berkshire, England, renounced his fealty to William IV and was the first foreign born resident to be admitted to Amer- ican citizenship in St. Joseph county.
Judges Woodbridge and Sibley held the next term of court, at Savery's tavern, the session commencing August 16, 1831. John Knapp, who was indicted at the first term for assault and battery, was fined twenty dollars and costs. Clearly, he was a bad citizen; he had already been more heavily fined, in the county court, for killing a mare. The earliest sessions of the courts held in St. Joseph county are therefore somewhat indebted to Mr. Knapp for business. Defaulting jurors were also cited to appear at the next term and show cause why they should not be pun- ished for contempt. Every lawyer and judge of today knows that it is comparatively easy to escape jury service; but Yesterday, in the far western wildernesses of the early thirties, the excuses for non-attendance were usually valid, and there is yet to be cited a case in which the pioneer did not readily "purge himself of con- tempt."
The third term of the circuit court was held at the White Pig- eon Academy, by Judges Sibley and Morell, in August, 1832, and Columbia Lancaster was sworn in as the new district attorney and the following admitted to practice: Cyrus Lovell, John S. Barry, Cogswell K. Green and Alexander H. Redfield. The ex- amining committee consisted of Messrs. E. B. Sherman, William
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H. Welch and L. I. Daniels. Two cases of assault and battery were disposed of, by the assessment of costs against the defendants.
The fourth term of the circuit court was held in the tempo- rary court house at Centerville, after the abolishment of the county court (whose functions had been assumed). William A. Fletcher, the circuit judge, had as his associate, William Meek and Hart L. Stewart, formerly of the county court. The session convened October 24, 1833, with Isaac W. Willard, clerk, Isaac I. Ulman, foreman of grand jury, and E. Taylor, sheriff. A synopsis of the proceedings shows the following: Five suits dismissed, one con- tinued and one nolle prossed; rules of practice and pleadings adopted; George Woodward, a Yorkshireman, admitted to citizen- ship; two judgments rendered by default for $384.85; and Isaac O. Adams obtained an order for sale of certain live-stock and produce belonging to Frederick Tobey, upon which he had levied on attachment.
FIRST DIVORCE CASE.
Nothing of especial interest occurred at the April term of 1834, but at the October term was presented the first prayer for divorce ever considered by the courts of the county. Aurora Amu- let charged desertion against David B., and through the court which met in the following April she was enabled to legally re- sume her maiden name. A number of citizens of St. Joseph county were convicted of selling liquor to Pottawatomie Indians in the October term of 1835, and in 1837 the docket of the circuit court commenced to show some of the effects of the prevailing Wild Cat currency. At the October term of that year the first of the innumerable bank suits appeared. It also appears that Charles E. Harrison and Jonathan Vickers of St. Joseph county had been taken with counterfeit money in their possession, and that Prosecuting Attorney Lancaster was eager to bring their cases to trial. That official was so eager that he asked the court to order Sheriff Trumbull to produce the bodies of Messrs. Harri- son and Vickers instantly in court, or be fined $100 and $200, re- spectively. But Judge Ransom declined to enter the rule, on the ground that it would be too peremptory; whereupon, the prosecu- tor declined any further service for that term and J. Eastman Johnson was appointed in his stead. At the next term Mr. John- son appeared as the regular appointee.
Ever since the final discontinuance of the County court, in 1853, the Circuit court has been the great trial body of St. Joseph
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county, and divides with the Probate court its importance as a court of record. Its working machinery is in the hands of the cir- cuit judge and two commissioners.
PERSONNEL OF PIONEER LAWYERS.
The commencement of the history of St. Joseph's bar has al- ready been recorded in the admission of Neal McGaffey, of White Pigeon, to practice in its courts. His name was entered upon the roll on August 17, 1830-on the first day of the first term of the circuit court-and he was admitted to the bar on motion of E. B. Sherman, prosecuting attorney; being sworn in as an attorney and "solicitor in chancery" by William Woodbridge, presiding judge of the circuit.
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