USA > Missouri > Lincoln County > History of Lincoln County, Missouri, from the earliest time to the present > Part 31
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An act approved November 17, 1855, provided for the holding of two annual sessions of the supreme court "in the capitol, at the seat of government, on the second Monday in January and the first Monday in July," and also two sessions annually at the city of St. Louis, commencing on the third Mondays in March and October. Another act approved December 12, 1855, divided the State into sixteen judicial circuits, and made the third consist of the counties of Pike, Lincoln, St. Charles, Warren and Mont-
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gomery, and fixed the time for holding the sessions in Lincoln County, commencing on the second Mondays after the fourth Mondays of April and September of each year. In 1864 the law was amended so as to require two annual sessions of the supreme court to be held in the city of St. Joseph, commencing on the third Mondays of February and August. According to the revised statutes of 1866, the State was divided into six districts, in each of which a district court was established, the particulars of which are beyond the scope of this work. At the same time the State was divided into twenty judicial circuits, and the third was made to contain the counties of Pike, Lincoln, Montgomery, Warren and the Louisiana Court of Common Pleas. The time for holding the sessions in Lincoln County was fixed to commence on the second Monday of April and the fourth Monday in Septem- ber in each year.
According to the revised statutes in 1872 (Wagner's Stat- utes) the State was divided into twenty-nine judicial circuits, and the nineteenth was made to consist of the counties of Lin- coln, St. Charles and Warren, and the time for commencing the sessions in Lincoln County was fixed on the first Mondays after the fourth Mondays in March and September in each year. Afterward, by the revised statutes of 1879, the law was so amended as to make the nineteenth district consist of the coun- ties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren, and the time for commencing the terms of the court in Lincoln County was fixed on the first Monday after the fourth Monday in March, and on the second Monday in October. Subsequently, by an act of the Legislature approved March 18, 1881, the law was again amended so as to take Lincoln County out of the nineteenth judicial circuit, and make it constitute a part of the third again. By this act the third circuit was composed, as it now exists, of the counties of Audrain, Montgomery, Lincoln, Pike, and the Louisiana Court of Common Pleas. The time for commencing the terms of the Lincoln Circuit Court is now fixed on the first Monday after the fourth Monday in March, and on the third Monday in September of each year. A list of the judges of the circuit court can be seen elsewhere in this work.
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HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY.
THE COUNTY COURT.
The first term of the county court, as has already been stated, was held on the 15th day of January, 1821, the law pro- viding for its formation having been passed in 1820. It was composed of three justices of the county court, first appointed by the Governor and afterward elected by the people, and con- tinued to be thus composed until 1825, when by an act of the Legislature, approved January 7, it was made to consist of all of the justices of the peace within the county. This act provided that the justices of the peace, or a majority of them, should meet on the first Monday of March, 1825, and designate not less. than three nor more than seven of their number to serve as justices of the county court for the ensuing year, and that this designation should continue to be made at the first meeting of the justices of the peace in each year. The law also provided that there should be four terms of the county court held in each year, commencing on the first Mondays of February, May, August and November, and that each county should procure and keep & seal with such emblems and devices as it might desire. This method of composing the county court did not prove satisfactory, and the law being repealed, it did not continue later than 1830; after which the county court was composed of three justices of the county court as it was originally organized. An act approved March 7, 1835, provided that these justices should be elected for a term of four years, and that they should choose one of their number to act as president of the court.
The county court continued to be thus composed until it was reorganized under the new law of 1877. This law, entitled "An act to provide for a uniform system of county courts," approved April 27, 1877, provided that each county should be divided into two districts as nearly equal in population as possi- ble, without dividing municipal townships; and at the general election in 1880, and every two years thereafter, there should be elected in each district an associate justice of the county court, and that at the general election in 1882, and every four years thereafter, a presiding justice of the court should be elected at large. In accordance with this law the county court at its November term (1877) divided the county into districts, by an
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order, of which the following is a copy: "It is ordered by the court that the municipal townships of Hurricane, Burr Oak, Snow Hill, Union, Waverly and Millwood constitute election district No. 1 of the county of Lincoln, and that the municipal townships of Monroe, Clark, Bedford, Prairie and Nineveh con- stitute election district No. 2, of said county, for the election of judges of the county court." The law of 1877 continues in force, and under its provisions the county court has been, and continues to be, composed. A complete list of the officers of the county court, from its organization to the present writing (1888), appears elsewhere in this work.
TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.
An act of the General Assembly approved in March, 1872, provided that counties might, by a popular vote, adopt "township organization," under which the county court would consist of all the justices of the peace, similarly as it did under the law of 1825. In accordance with the provisions of this act, Alfred H. Cheneworth, and 114 other citizens of the county, presented a petition to the county court at its August term, 1872, praying the court to submit the question of township organization to the qualified electors of the county. The prayer of the petition was granted, and the question ordered to be submitted at the general election in November of that year. The question was submitted accordingly, and when the election returns were can- vassed by the court, it was found that a majority of the quali- fied voters were opposed to township organization.
PROBATE BUSINESS AND PROBATE COURT.
The circuit court exercised jurisdiction over all probate busi- ness until the county court was organized in 1821. The latter court then assumed probate jurisdiction, and held it until 1825, when, by act of January 7, the Legislature created a separate probate court, and authorized the Governor, "by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint and commission a competent person as judge of the probate court in each county of the State, to serve four years." Under this act Hon. Gabriel P. Nash was appointed and commissioned, and held his first term
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of the probate court in June of that year. The court being abolished, he held his last term in September of the following year. The county court then resumed jurisdiction of probate business, and exercised it until the close of the year 1870, when the probate court, as it now exists, was first established. The first term of the present probate court began January 9, 1871. [See elsewhere in this work for list of probate judges. ]
The first probate business transacted in Lincoln County was the granting of letters of administration to Dr. Benajah English, on the estate of Daniel Epps, May 10, 1819. The first petition for partition was presented in August, 1819, by Benjamin O'Fallon, B. G. Farrar, Samuel D. Holmes and Thomas Hempstead; and at its second term, August, 1819, when, upon petition of Benjamin O'Fallon, B. G. Farrar, Samuel D. Holmes, Thomas Hempstead and Charles S. Hempstead (all non-residents), for the partition of 3,056 arpents of land, being an undivided part of a tract of land, containing 7,056 arpents, granted to Augustus A. Chouteau, by Don Carlos Dehault De Lassus, late Governor of the Province of Upper Louisiana, and confirmed to said Chouteau, the Court appointed as commissioners to make such partition Prospect K. Robbins, Joseph McCoy, Joseph Cottle, E. Collard and David Bailey.
The first guardian appointed in Lincoln County was James Murdock, who was appointed, in April, 1820, as guardian of Dan- iel, Joseph, Hynes, Clever and William Lynn, heirs under four- teen years of age, of William Lynn, deceased. Murdock gave bond for the faithful performance of his duties in the premises, in the sum of $1,000, with Samuel H. Lewis, Zadock Woods and Jacob Groshong as sureties.
FIRST WILLS PROBATED.
The first record of wills found among the public records begins with 1825. The following is a list of the names of the first persons in the county dying testate, with the date of the probate of their wills annexed: Robert Robertson, June 8, 1825; James Paxton, November 5, 1827; Thomas McCoy, July 12, 1828; William Hammack, November 4, 1828; Daniel Moss, Jan- uary 21, 1829; Abraham Hoff, April 5, 1830; Cary A. Oakley,
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February 21, 1831; Littleton Davis, November 7, 1831; Joseph Sitton, February 10, 1832. According to this it is observed that the deaths of testators during the early existence of the county were not numerous.
CIVIL ACTIONS.
The first civil action ever brought in Lincoln County was filed in the circuit court at its second term, being in August, 1819. It was entitled " William Howdeshell vs. James White," pleas of debt for $200. The defendant filed his plea of payment, and the cause was continued to the next term, when it was sub- mitted to court, neither party requiring a jury, and judgment was rendered in favor of the plaintiff for $100.50 debt, and $6.432 damages.
FIRST CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.
At the term of court referred to the grand jury found and re- turned indictments against William Petty, Isham Petty, James Petty, John Petty, Alexander McNair, Robert McNair and Moses Oldham, for "hog-stealing;" Washington Jameson for stealing a bridle, and two against Zadock Woods, for assault and battery. At the next term of court the defendants charged with hog-steal- ing were arraigned and granted separate trials.
THE FIRST PETIT JURY.
The first petit jury in the Lincoln Circuit Court was thus empaneled: Ira Cottle, foreman; John Lindsey, Guyan Gibson, Jacob Williamson, George Jameson, Samuel Gibson, Robert Jameson, Sr., Thacker Vivion, Isaac Cannon, Ahijah Smith, Hugh Barnett and Andrew Cottle. Before this jury defendant Robert McNair was tried, and the following is a copy of the verdict: "We, the jurors, find the defendant not guilty of any of the charges against him in the indictment, and furthermore that the prosecutors pay the costs of suit." Accordingly, the prisoner was dismissed, and judgment for the costs was rendered to Chris- topher Clark and Jeremiah Groshong, the prosecutors. When the cases against the other defendants were called the prosecuting attorney dismissed them, there not being sufficient evidence to convict either one. In each case the costs were adjudged against
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the prosecutors, Clark and Groshong. Zadock Woods was then tried on one of the cases against him for assault and battery, and was acquitted. To the other case he plead guilty, and was fined $1 and costs. This was the first criminal conviction in the Lincoln Circuit Court.
At the next term of court, December, 1819, the grand jury returned presentments against the following parties for the fol- lowing violations of law, viz .: Joshua N. Robbins, for Sabbath- breaking; James McCoy, assault and battery (three cases) ; James McCain, immorality ; Zadock Woods and Alex. B. Faith, assault and battery; Seth Allen and Lee F. T. Cottle, selling liquor without license. It is not deemed necessary to follow the result of these cases. The early criminal cases were mostly, as they are now, for assault and battery, larceny, and selling liquor without license, the greater number being for the latter cause.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.
In January, 1822, the county court, under an act of the Leg- islature, pointing out the manner in which executions might be stayed, and how the sale of property under execution should be made, appointed the following persons to appraise all and every manner of property taken under execution in their respective townships: For Bedford - Christopher Clark, John Hunter and Andrew Cottle; Union-Samuel Gibson, Philip Sitton and Thomas Hammond; Hurricane-Francis Riffle, Jonathan Cottle and Elijah Myers; Monroe-Thomas Slayton, Samuel Bailey and William Talbert.
The first foreigner naturalized in Lincoln County was Eleazer Block, a late citizen of Germany, who, on the 6th day of Feb- ruary, 1827, appeared before the county court and declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and took the oath of allegiance. thereto.
Dram Shops .- At the November term, 1841, of the county court, licenses were granted to Bradford and Robert Thornhill, and Joseph Youngblut, to keep dram shops for a period of six months. The Thornhills were charged $15.50 for State purposes, and the same amount for county purposes; and Youngblut was charged $15.02} for State, and the same for county purposes.
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In searching the records, these appeared to be the first licenses granted for keeping dram shops; but licenses had, from the organization of the county, been granted to individuals to keep "tavern," which answered all the purposes for the accommoda- tion of "tipplers."
Criminals to Break Rocks .- At the May term, 1882, of the county court, the following order was made and entered of record: " Ordered that the sheriff of this county cause any person or persons, who have been convicted and sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction, for crime, the punishment of which is defined by law to be a fine, to break rocks for macadamizing pur- poses, and work out the full number of days for which they may be sentenced; and if the punishment is by fine, and the fine be not paid, then for every dollar so fined said prisoner or prisoners shall work one day." The sheriff was also ordered to furnish & supply of rocks in the jail yard for the purpose of keeping such prisoners employed.
CHAPTER X.
BENCH AND BAR.
Men of State and national reputation, and of the ablest legal talent in the country, have practiced at the Lincoln County Bar. The first attorney admitted to this bar, as shown by the record, was Peyton Hayden, who, at the August term of the court, in 1819, presented a deputation from John S. Brickey, the then circuit attorney of the Northwestern Circuit, authorizing him (Hayden) to officiate in his stead. At the same term, John Payne, William Smith and Robert McGavock were admitted to practice, and at the next term LaFayette Collins and Ezra Hunt were admitted. In April, 1820, James McCampbell and John S. Brickey were admitted. The latter lived at Potosi, in Washington County. The lawyers in those days, like Methodist preachers, were "circuit riders," it being the custom then to follow the Judge around through his judicial circuit so as to be present and
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ready to accept whatever business might be presented to them. In this way the bar of each county was composed of all the able lawyers in the whole circuit; hence each bar had a concentration of legal talent. That custom, however, was discontinued long ago, and now the lawyers do not go abroad to seek clients and busi- ness, but go only when employed by their clients.
ATTORNEYS IN LINCOLN COUNTY.
The following is a list of the names of the attorneys, in ad- dition to those already given, who served with the Lincoln County Bar prior to 1848, together with dates of admission so far as given on the roll of attorneys: Charles S. Hempstead, John C. Naylor, William Young, June, 1827; Charles Wheeler, George Shannon, Alfred W. Carr, John B. Gordon, Thomas A. Young, Francis K. Buford, L. Rogers, A. B. Chambers, Carty Wells, Samuel Moore, October, 1829; Thomas L. Anderson, February 15, 1831; John Anderson, William M. Campbell, Feb- ruary 15, 1831; Albert G. Harrison, September 20, 1831; Foster P. Wright, January 16, 1832; Thomas W. Cunningham, James F. Moore, May 20, 1833; William Porter, May 20, 1833, John Jameson, May 20, 1833; Henry L. Geyer, Bryan McMurphy, January 21, 1834; David Barton, September 15, 1834; George W. Huston and Joseph E. Wells, July 5, 1836; Beverly Allen, Urial Wright, Wilson Primm, Alonzo W. Manning and Alexan- der Hamilton, November 8, 1836; Gilchrist Porter, April 10, 1837; Henry Cave, August 8, 1837; Aylett H. Buckner and A. Backus Bacon, April 29, 1839; Victor Monroe, September 3, 1839; Garland C. Carr, November 30, 1840; W. V. Bouie and A. O. Forshey, October 20, 1841; James O. Broadhead, July, 1842; J. S. Samuels, August 18, 1842; Gustavus A. Bird, Novem- ber 6, 1843; G. W. Buchner, Smith S. Allen, Abraham H. John, Rufus Sanders, Abner Green, A. P. Minor, October 7, 1840; Charles E. Perkins, John Scott, William Murphy, October 9, 1844; T. G. C. Fagg and S. F. Murray, May 6, 1845; L. A. Welch, September 22, 1845; David W. Nowlin, A. W. Lamb, September 28, 1846; S. M. Bowman, R. H. Parks, James K. Shelby and Thomas L. Wells, May 4, 1847. Edward Bates was also an early practitioner of the bar, but neglected to sign
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the roll. Many of the foregoing were very able and prominent, and some of them, at some time during life, filled very impor- tant official positions, from a cabinet officer down to that of jus- tice of the peace. Some became judges and others congress- men. [See list of officers elsewhere in this work. ] The homes of these attorneys were scattered from the Iowa line down to and including Washington County. Among the late prominent attorneys of the local bar of Lincoln County were Archibald V. McKee, Jeptha Wells and Howard S. Parker, all of whom, after becoming prominent in the history of the county, have passed on to " that undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveler e'er returns."
The following is a list of the names of the resident members of the Lincoln County Bar at present: Richard H. Norton, Nat. C. Dryden, Charles Martin, Benjamin W. Wheeler, O. H. Avery, George T. Dunn, George W. Colbert, Joseph B. Allen, James M. Mclellan, J. W. Powell, E. B. Woolfolk, W. A. Dudley and John H. Murphy [see biographical department]. Benjamin W. Wheeler, being judge of the court, is not now in active prac- tice, and Joseph B. Allen and James M. Mclellan have retired from active practice. The bar, as a whole, compares favorably in point of ability with local bars of the State. Some of the older attorneys practice in all the higher courts of the States and in other counties. The professional lives of some of the most prominent of the former members of the Lincoln County Bar, and of the judges of the judicial circuit of which the county has formed a part, are worthy of record, as given below:
Judge Carty Wells, formerly a prominent member of the Lin- coln County Bar, was born in February, 1805, in Prince William County, Va. At the age of five he was taken to Shelby County, Ky., where he afterward received a good English education, and commenced the study of law. In 1827 he came to Missouri, finished his studies at St. Charles, where he was admitted to practice, and opened his office there in the autumn of 1828. Five or six years later, when Warren County was organized, he was appointed clerk of the circuit and county courts. After holding this office a few years, he resigned, and moved on a farm near Troy, Lincoln County, but continued to practice law. In 1840 he
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represented this county in the Legislature. From about 1843 to 1847 he resided at Palmyra, and while there served one term in the State Senate. He served as judge of the Lincoln Circuit Court from 1849 to 1857, and then returned to his farm. He was an able lawyer, genial in nature and had a host of friends. As an advocate he aimed not at oratory, but, with candor and logic, ap- pealed to the understanding of a jury and seldom failed of suc- cess. He died in Troy in 1860.
Judge Thomas J. C. Fagg was born July 15, 1822,in Albemarle County, Va. His father, John Fagg, was a farmer in that State, and when Burgoyne's army was sent as prisoners to Virginia, it occupied part of his farm. John Fagg married Elizabeth W. Oglesby, a relative of ex-Governor Richard J. Oglesby, of Illinois, and in 1836 moved with his family to this State, and settled in Pike County. Thomas was educated at Illinois College, at Jack- sonville, and there commenced reading law with Murray McCon- nell and James A. McDougal, and finished with Hon. Gilchrist Porter, then of Bowling Green, and was admitted to practice at Troy, this county, in April, 1845. Mr. Fagg opened an office at Bowling Green, and for some years was in company with the Hon. J. O. Broadhead, and afterward alone. In 1856 he moved to Louisiana in the same county, where he lived for more than a quarter of a century, and was in some public office much the larger part of the time. Before leaving Bowling Green he had become greatly interested in politics, being a Benton Democrat. As such, in August, 1850, he was a candidate for the Legislature, and was defeated. In November of the same year he was elected judge of probate, and established that court in Pike County. He was re-elected in 1854. At a special election in 1855 he was elected on the American ticket, in Pike County, to fill a vacancy in the Legislature. In 1856 Mr. Fagg was defeated on the State ticket as a candidate for commissioner of the board of public works. About this time he was appointed to the vacant office of judge of the court of common pleas, Louisiana being the seat where the court was held. In 1858 Judge Fagg was again sent to the Legislature, and in 1860 was the candidate for lieutenant- governor on the ticket headed by Hon. Sample Orr.
Though born and partly reared in a slave State, he was
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opposed to the spread of slavery, and when the civil war began he was an outspoken Union man. In July, 1861, he was appointed brigade inspector, and in that and the following months mustered many State troops into service. He was elected colonel of the Fifth Regiment of Missouri Home Guards, and served in the field in Northeast Missouri until February, 1862. In that month he was appointed judge of the Third Judicial Cir- cuit, of which Lincoln County composed a part, and in 1864 was elected to the same office for the full term of six years; but in September, 1866, he was appointed by Gov. Fletcher to a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Judge Lovelace, which position he held until the close of 1868. An old associate of his says, "Judge Fagg was always considered a good lawyer and an able advocate. On the bench he was cool, impartial and just, and left his judicial seat with an irreproachable character." On leaving the bench, Judge Fagg returned to the practice of his profession at Louisi- ana, and was in company with Col. Dyer, and later with others, until he removed to St. Louis, in 1882, where he resides at this time. In 1872 he was the Republican candidate for Congress in the Ninth District, and in 1878 in the Thirteenth, both strongly Democratic districts, and was defeated.
Judge William W. Edwards, a son of Henry and Sarah Ann (Waller) Edwards, was born in Henry County, Va., June 3, 1830. The Edwardses are of Welsh descent, and settled in Vir- ginia long before the American Revolution. When William was six years old the family came to Missouri and settled in St. Charles County. The subject of this sketch was reared at farm work, attending winter school, meantime, until eighteen years old, when he commenced teaching in Lincoln County. He read law in the office of Robert H. Parks, of St. Louis, and at the end of one year entered the law department of the University of Vir- ginia, at Charlottesville, and took a full course of lectures. Re- turning to Missouri, Mr. Edwards was admitted to the bar, and opened an office in St. Charles, where he soon proved his adapta- bility to his chosen profession. He was elected to the office of public administrator, and in 1858 to that of prosecuting attorney for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit. This he resigned in 1862
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to accept the appointment of United States district attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, from which office he was removed the next year for political purposes. In November, 1863, Mr. Edwards was elected judge of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, and held that office for a series of years. Afterward, from 1872 to 1881, he served as judge of the Lincoln Circuit Court, and aimed to have exact justice done in all cases. He was cool and impartial, and his kindness to the members of the bar bound them to him by ties of lasting friendship.
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