USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 42
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The petit jury impaneled for the same term was composed of Andrew Young, F. Caulkins, Taylor G. Goodwill, George Mills, S. A. Lewis, Orrin Rhodes, Anselum Arnold, William Moore, Thomas Hungate, P. G. Cooper, Jesse Shoe- maker, O. B. Selden, Jesse Reeves, R. Shields and James Gow. The last named failed to appear and Alfred D. Jones was drawn as a juror in his place.
Most of the litigation during the territorial days was over titles to real estate and grew out of the actions of the Omaha Claim Club, or kindred associations. A large number of cases went through the courts of the territory, as well as through the courts of the state in later years, involving the history and action of the claim club, and at least two notable cases were carried to the Supreme Court of the United States, viz .: Pierce vs. Brown, and Alexander H. Baker vs. William S. T. Morrison, et al. In these cases the titles of Brown and Baker
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were finally held to be valid, though neither was a member of the claim club, while Pierce and Morrison were members of that organization.
Nebraska was admitted as a state on March 1, 1867. The constitution, which was ratified by the people in 1866, made no provision for district courts. William A. Little was elected chief justice and George B. Lake and Lorenzo Crounse associate justices. Mr. Little's death occurred before he had qualified for the office and Gov. David Butler appointed O. P. Mason, of Nebraska City, to fill the vacancy. The state was divided into three districts. Judge Mason was assigned to the first district, Judge Lake to the second, and Judge Crounse to the third. Twice a year the three met as a Supreme Court to hear appeals, the judge from whom the appeal was taken not sitting as a member of the appellate court. This system continued until the adoption of the constitution of 1875.
Under the new constitution Douglas County was made a part of the Fourth Judicial District and on October 12, 1875, James W. Savage was elected district judge for a term of four years. In 1879 he was reelected. Judge Savage was born in Bedford, N. H., February 2, 1826. His father, Rev. Thomas Savage, was pastor of the Bedford Presbyterian Church for forty years and died in that city in 1866. In the fall of 1841 James W. Savage entered Phillips Andover Academy, where he prepared for college, and two years later became a student in Harvard University. He was graduated in 1847 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In September. 1848, he commenced the study of law with O. S. Seymour at Litchfield, Connecticut, but went to New York City, where he completed his legal studies under George Wood and on February 12, 1850, was admitted to the bar. In July, 1861, he was commissioned captain in the regular army and assigned to duty as an aide-de-camp on the staff of Gen. John C. Fremont. He was promoted to major and lieutenant-colonel in the regulars, but in December, 1863, he resigned his commission to become colonel of the Twelfth New York Cavalry. On August 5. 1865, he was mustered out and then spent a year in travel. In the spring of 1867 he came to the new State of Nebraska, located at Omaha and began anew the practice of his profession. In 1869 he formed a partnership with Charles F. Manderson, afterward United States senator, under the firm name of Savage & Manderson. The next year he was nominated by the democrats for representative in Congress, but was defeated by Lorenzo Crounse. In November, 1875. he was elected judge of the Third Judicial District, which office he resigned in 1883 to become a candidate for judge of the Supreme Court. He was defeated for that office, though he received more votes than any candidate upon the democratic ticket. Hle then became the senior member of the law firm of Savage, Morris & Davis and continued in practice until a short time before his death, which occurred on November 22, 1890. Judge Savage took a keen interest in every movement for the promotion of his adopted state and city. He served as regent of the State University prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1875; was appointed by President Cleveland, in July, 1885, a government director of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, a position he held until his death; was at the time of his decease president of the State Historical Society, one of the trustees of the Omaha Public Library, and a trustee of Bellevue College.
Section 11, Article VI, of the constitution of 1875 provides: "The Legisla- ture, whenever two-thirds of the members elected to each house shall concur
JAMES W. SAVAGE
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therein, may, in or after the year of 1880, and not oftener than once in every four years, increase the number of judges of the district courts, and the judicial districts of the state. Such districts shall be formed of compact territory and bounded by county lines ; and such increase, or any change in the boundaries of a district, shall not vacate the office of any judge."
Under this provision, the Legislature of 1883 created four new districts and gave an additional judge to the Third District. In March, 1883, Judge Savage having resigned, Governor Dawes appointed James Neville and Eleazer Wakeley. At the election in the following autumn both were elected for a full term of four years. The business of the court increased to such an extent during the next three years that the judges fell "behind the docket," and in 1887 an act providing for two additional judges was passed by the Legislature. Governor Thayer appointed Lewis A. Groff, of Omaha, and M. R. Hopewell, of Tekamah. At the election of 1887 the judges chosen were: Eleazer Wakeley, Lewis A. Groff, M. R. Hopewell and George W. Doane. In September, 1889, Judge Groff resigned to become commissioner of the United States general land office, a posi- tion to which he was appointed by President Harrison, and Joseph R. Clarkson was elected to fill the vacancy.
The election of 1891 was for seven judges and resulted in the choice of the following: George W. Doane, M. R. Hopewell, C. R. Scott, Frank Irvine, Arthur N. Ferguson, W. W. Keysor and Herbert J. Davis. Messrs. Davis, Fer- guson, Irvine and Lee S. Estelle had been appointed by Governor Boyd on the last day of March, 1891, to comply with the provisions of an act authorizing seven judges for the district, and one to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Clarkson.
In 1895 the judicial ticket was made up of Benjamin S. Baker, Charles T. Dickinson, Jacob Fawcett, W. W. Keysor, C. R. Scott, Clinton N. Powell and W. WV. Slabaugh. At the expiration of the term Baker, Fawcett, Dickinson, Keysor and Slabaugh were reelected and the other two judges elected in 1899 were Lee S. Estelle and Irving F. Baxter. At the election on November 4, 1902, George .1. Day and Guy R. C. Read were elected to fill vacancies on the bench.
At the election of 1903 the judges chosen were: George A. Day, William A. Redick, Lee S. Estelle, Abraham L. Sutton, Alexander C. Troup, Howard Kennedy, Jr., and Willis G. Sears. All were reelected in 1907.
The judicial election in 1911 resulted in the choice of Lee S. Estelle, George .1. Day, Howard Kennedy, Jr., Charles Leslie, Abraham L. Sutton, Alexander C. Troup and Willis G. Sears. Judge Kennedy resigned in 1913 to become a member of the newly created state board of control and Governor Morehead appointed James P. English to the vacancy. Judge English died on February 20, 1916. He was born in Kenosha, Wis., where he received a common school education, after which he studied law at Racine, Wis., where he was admitted to the bar. He came to Omaha in 1880 and was for a time associated with James M. Woolworth, one of the city's veteran attorneys. Later he became a member of the firm of Hall, McCulloch & English. In 1904 he was elected county attorney and served for two years. He was again elected to that office in 1908 and served two consecutive terms. Upon his death the governor appointed Arthur C. Wakeley to fill out the unexpired term as district judge.
A recent act of the Legislature (Section 1951 of the Revised Statutes of 1913 )
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provides that "District judges shall be elected in 1916 and every four years there- after," so that a full bench of seven members will be chosen by the people at the general election in November, 1916, the judges now in office serving until their successors are elected.
COUNTY COURTS
Article VI of the constitution of 1875 makes provisions for county courts as follows :
"Section 15, There shall be elected in and for each organized county one judge, who shall be the judge of the county court of such county, and whose term of office shall be two years.
"Section 16, County courts shall be courts of record and shall have original jurisdiction in all matters of probate, settlements of estates of deceased persons, appointments of guardians and settlement of their accounts; in all matters relat- ing to apprentices, and such other jurisdiction as may be given by the general law."
The county court has no jurisdiction in criminal cases where the penalty is more than $500 fine or imprisonment for a longer term than six months, nor in actions to recover title to real estate or relating to mortgages. Appeals from the county court to the district court may be taken in all cases.
Prior to the adoption of the constitution there was a judge known as the "probate judge," who discharged practically the same functions as the present county court. Following is a list of the probate and county judges of Douglas County with the year in which each entered upon the duties of office: William Scott, 1855; Clinton Briggs, 1857; George Armstrong, 1859; Hiram M. Dickin- son, 1862; Isaac S. Hascall, 1865; R. J. Stuck, 1867; J. R. Hyde, 1868; L. B. Gibson, 1869; Robert Townsend, 1871; William L. Peabody, 1873; C. H. Sedge- wick, 1875; William O. Bartholomew, 1877 (resigned before the expiration of his term and Howard B. Smith appointed) ; A. M. Chadwick, 1881 (died in office and J. H. McCulloch appointed) ; J. H. McCulloch, 1885; George W. Shields, 1887; J. W. Eller, 1891 ; Irving F. Baxter, 1893; Duncan M. Vinsonhaler, 1899; Charles Leslie, 1905; Bryce Crawford, 19II.
County Attorneys-Before the admission of Nebraska as a state, the county attorneys were also prosecuting attorneys. After the state was admitted Judge Lake appointed Experience Estabrook to serve until the first general election in the fall of 1868. Since then the county attorneys have been as follows: John C. Cowin, 1868; William J. Connell, 1873; E. H. Buckingham, 1877 (died soon after taking office and Charles J. Greene appointed) ; Arthur N. Ferguson, 1878; Nathan J. Burnham, 1881 ; Park Godwin, 1883 ; Lee S. Estelle, 1885; Edward W. Simeral, 1887; T. J. Mahoney, 1889; Jacob L. Kaley, 1892; Howard H. Baldrige, 1894; George W. Shields, 1898; Albert W. Jefferies, 1902; James P. English, 1904; W. W. Slabaugh, 1906; James P. English, 1908: George A. Magney, 1914.
MUNICIPAL COURT
On March 18, 1915, the governor approved an act of the Legislature author- izing the establishment "in each city of the metropolitan class, and each city of the
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first class having more than twenty-five and less than forty thousand inhabitants, in Nebraska, a municipal court," etc.
Section 2 of the act provides: "Judges of the municipal court within and coextensive with the cities within which they are elected, shall have and exercise. the ordinary powers and jurisdiction of the justices of the peace, and shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the district court in all civil cases in any sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, exclusive of costs, and in actions of replevin where the appraised value of the property does not exceed that sum."
Section 3 provides that "In each city of the metropolitan class there shall be clected three judges of the municipal court. Any vacancy in the office of the judge of the municipal court shall be filled by appointment in the same manner . as judges of the district court." This provision applies only to the City of Omaha, which is the only city of the metropolitan class in the state.
The municipal court has no jurisdiction in actions for malicious prosecution ; against public officials for misconduct in office ; for slander or libel; upon contracts for the sale of real estate, or in any case where the title or boundary of land is in dispute. The objects of the court are to correct some of the abuses of the justice court system and to relieve the county and district courts of much litigation in cases where the amount involved is one thousand dollars or less. Soon after the passage of the act, Governor Morehead appointed R. W. Patrick, A. H. Murdock and R. C. Hunter as judges of the Omaha Municipal Court. to serve until January 1, 1917, when they were to be succeeded by three judges elected by the people at the election in November, 1916. Before the new judges assumed their duties a question as to the constitutionality of the act arose, which the Supreme Court was called upon to decide. On March 4, 1916, that tribunal handed down an opinion that the law conformed to all the requirements of the constitution. The municipal judges then qualified and held their first session on March 7, 1916.
THE BAR
Looking backward to that "third Monday of February, 1855," when the first term of the Territorial Supreme Court was convened at Omaha, it is worthy of note that during the three score years of Nebraska's history the Douglas County bar has occupied a prominent place in the legal annals of the territory and state. Samuel F. Miller, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, while holding a session of the Circuit Court at Omaha in the early '70s, remarked that nowhere in the eight states constituting the circuit was there an abler bar than in Omaha. Quite a number of the lawyers who practiced here during the early days, and several in more modern times, made a reputation that extended beyond the state boundaries. It would be almost impossible-and it would certainly be inexpedient-to attempt to give extended accounts of all the attorneys who have left their impress upon the legal history of Douglas County, but a chapter upon the Bench and Bar would be incomplete without some mention of representative lawyers who helped to establish the courts and worked for the elevation of their profession, as well as to secure the administration of justice.
The first of these was Experience Estabrook, the first United States attorney for the Territory of Nebraska. He was born at Lebanon, N. H., April 30, 1813. and went with his parents to Erie County, New York, in 1822. Vol. 1-21
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After receiving a common school education, he attended Dickinson College, Carlisle, Penn. In 1839 he graduated at the Chambersburg (Pennsyl- vania ) Law School and the same year was admitted to the bar. For a few mont , he clerked in the navy yard at Brooklyn, N. Y. He then went to the C., of Buffalo, where he began practice. Concluding that the West offered be.ter opportunities to the young attorney, he went to Lake Geneva, Wis., in he early summer of 1840 and was present at the first term of court ever hel. 'n Walworth County. In 1849 he was elected a member of the Wisconsin Le. ,- lature and in 1851 was elected attorney-general of that state, an office he held for two years. When the Territory of Nebraska was organized in 1854 he was appointed United States attorney by President Pierce. He arrived at Omaha on January 23, 1855, by walking across the Missouri River on the ice from Council Bluffs. Soon after his arrival in the territory he assisted Gen. Samuel R. Curtis in the preparation of the first bill for a Pacific Railroad charter, which bill was passed by the Nebraska Legislature in February, 1855. The Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company retained him as counsel and gave him, as part of his fees, the block of land in Omaha bounded by Chicago, Sixteenth, Cass and Seventeenth streets, where he resided for many years. The land in that block is now worth approximately half a million dollars. In 1859 he was elected delegate to Congress, but his seat was contested by Samuel G. Daily, who finally won the contest, though Mr. Estabrook held the office until in June, 1860. When Nebraska was admitted in 1867, Mr. Estabrook was appointed prosecuting attorney by Judge Lake and held the office until the fall of 1868. Previous to that appointment, he was selected by the governor in 1866 to codify the laws, and while engaged in that work published a little work entitled "Estabrook's Forms," which was widely used and considered good authority by the attorneys of that period. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1871 and was Governor Butler's attorney in the impeachment proceedings against that official. He was a lawyer of decided ability and was endowed with a fine sense of humor, as may be seen from his verses on the "Pawnee Campaign" in another chapter of this work. His son, Henry D. Estabrook, now a brilliant lawyer of the New York Bar, practiced in Omaha for some years before going east.
Andrew J. Poppleton came to Omaha before Mr. Estabrook, but as no courts had as yet been established there was not much for him to do during the first year of his residence in the city. Mr. Poppleton was born in Oakland County, Mich- igan, July 24, 1830, and traces his ancestors back to the days of Cromwell in the Seventeenth Century. His early life was spent upon his father's farm and he attended the district schools until about fourteen years of age. At Romeo Academy, near his birthplace, he prepared for college and in 1847 entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. In the fall of 1850 he left that institution to become a student in Union College at Schenectady. N. Y .. where he was graduated in July, 1851. He then studied law in the office of Walker & Walker at Detroit, Mich., and was admitted on October 22, 1852. In 1854 he started for California, but upon arriving at Omaha on the 13th of October, he decided to locate there. He was elected a member of the lower house in the first Territorial Legislature, which convened on January 16, 1855, and was again elected to the house in 1857, when part of the members "seceded" and undertook to remove the sessions of the Legislature to Florence. In 1858 he was elected mayor of Omaha,
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being the second man to be elected to that office. When ground was broken for the Union Pacific Railroad at Omaha on December 2, 1863, Mr. Poppleton this one of the speakers and the next day was appointed attorney for the railroad company. He retained his connection with the company until 1888, when he resigned on account of his health, but about a year later, at the urgent request of Mayor Cushing, he accepted the position of city attorney of Omaha. In 1879 M.L. Poppleton's name became known to lawyers all over the land through his ce nection with the famous habeas corpus case of the Ponca Indians, in which he and his associate, John L. Webster, succeeded in placing the Indians upon a higher plane with respect to their relations with the government than they had ever before occupied. Early in 1892 his eyesight began to fail and in a few months he was totally blind, remaining so until his death. Besides being con- nected with important cases in the courts of Nebraska and other western states, Mr. Poppleton was identified with a number of enterprises and institutions. He was one of the directors of the Omaha Public Library; was a stockholder and director in the old First National Bank; was one of the organizers of the Omaha Board of Trade, and in 1890 was elected a trustee of his Alma Mater, Union College. He was a most eloquent and fascinating public speaker ; an uncompro- mising democrat in his political affiliations, and was the nominee of that party for Congress in 1868, but was defeated, the republican majority in the district being too large to overcome.
Origen D. Richardson, who came to Omaha in September, 1854, and was admitted to the bar early in 1855, was born at Woodstock, Vt., in 1796. In the War of 1812 he served as a private in the Vermont volunteers and took part in the battle of Plattsburg, N. Y., September 1I, 1814. He was admitted to the bar in 1824 in his native state and five years later removed to Michigan, where he practiced law and became active in politics. In 1844 he was elected lieutenant-governor of that state and held the office for four years. He was elected as one of the councilmen from Douglas County in the first Territorial Legislature, which met on January 16, 1855. His experience as a legislator in Michigan, where he had served in both branches of the General Assembly, gave him the qualifications of a leader and he played an important part in shaping much of Nebraska's early legislation. He assisted in the preparation of the Revised Statutes of 1867, the first revision after Nebraska became a state. Associated with him in this work were J. S. Sharp and A. J. Poppleton. His style of oratory was both pleasing and convincing, with an undercurrent of humor. . \s he was fifty-eight years of age when he came to Nebraska, he cheerfully gave young lawyers the benefit of his experience and befriended them in their early struggles. He died in 1878. His son, Lyman D. Richardson, was the first register of deeds of Douglas County and was prominently identified with Omaha business affairs for years. He read law with Judge Lake and was admitted to the bar in 1858, but gave up the law for journalism.
Silas A. Strickland, who came to Bellevue in October, 1854, was a native of New York State, having been born at Rochester in 1831. His grandfather was a cousin of Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame, and his grandmother was an aunt of Millard Fillmore, who was at one time President of the United States. His father died in 1832 and when about seven years of age Silas went to live with a brother-in-law in Rochester, where he attended the common schools until
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he was thirteen. He then went to live with an uncle, a Methodist minister, at Gaines. During the summer seasons he worked on a farm at six dollars per month and attended school in winter. At the end of three years of this life his mother married a well-to-do farmer and he went to live with them. After a year in the Rochester Collegiate Institute and a few terms at the Scipio Academy, he took up the study of law in the office of Fillmore, Hall & Haren at Buffalo. In 1850 he was admitted to the bar, before he had attained to his majority, and then spent about three years in railroad construction. In March, 1855, he was admitted to practice by the first circuit court in Douglas County and soon after- ward formed a partnership with L. L. Bowen-the first law firm at Bellevue. Mr. Strickland was a member of the house, in the third Territorial Legislature, from Douglas County, and in the next Legislature from Sarpy County. In 1861 he removed to Omaha and enlisted soon afterward as a private in the First Nebraska Regiment. He was made second lieutenant, but after the battle of Shiloh in April, 1862, he resigned his commission and went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was made lieutenant-colonel of the Fiftieth Ohio Infantry. During the greater part of his service from this time he commanded a brigade and in May, 1865, was brevetted brigadier-general. After being mustered out he returned to Omaha and in 1867 was appointed United States district attorney, which office he held for four years. He was one of the founders of the Grand Army of the Republic. His death occurred at Omaha on March 31, 1878.
Clinton Briggs, whose name is still well remembered by the older members of the Omaha Bar, came to Nebraska about the middle of November, 1855. He was born in Washtenaw County, Michigan, September 9, 1828, read law with Lathrop & Duffield at Detroit, and was admitted to the bar in 1853. He then went into the office of William H. Seward, Auburn, N. Y., and the following year was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of that state. Soon after coming to Omaha he was elected county judge for a term of two years, before the expiration of which he was chosen as one of Douglas County's representatives in the Legislature. In 1860 he was elected mayor of Omaha on the republican ticket. While he was mayor, telegraphic communications were established between New York and San Francisco, via Omaha, and Mayor Briggs had the honor of sending the first congratulatory messages to those cities. Upon retiring from the mayor's office he engaged in practice and during the next decade built up an extensive law business, frequently appearing in the Supreme Court of Nebraska and the Federal courts. In 1875 he was a member of the convention that framed the present constitution of Nebraska. Two years later he was a candidate for United States senator, but was unsuccessful in his aspirations. He then traveled in Europe for some time in the hope of regaining his health, but without receiving any permanent benefit. His death occurred on December 16. 1882. One who knew him well says: "He was not what is ordinarily termed an eloquent man, nor was he fond of addressing juries; but when he did so, his character as a fair, honest and impartial man was frequently quite as effective as the most impassioned oratory would have been. He had a way of stating his opponent's case in what appeared to be the most disinterested manner, giving him the benefit of all doubtful testimony, and then demolishing the fabric he had erected, which was at once ingenious and successful. But it was in courts of equity and before appellate tribunals that his abilities were most manifest. For
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