History of Yates County, N.Y. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers, Part 15

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 754


USA > New York > Yates County > History of Yates County, N.Y. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 15


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Lieutenant- Colonel Doty, who had been wounded and absent in con- sequence for sixty days, rejoined his command August 23d. Compa- nies H, I, and K reached the regiment at Park's Station in September. On the 30th of that month the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth took part in the engagement at Poplar Springs Church, in which Lieut. James Booker, of Company K, acting adjutant, was mortally wounded. The next engagement, in which the losses were very slight, occurred Oc- tober 27th at Hatcher's Run. After this the regiment was generally in the trenches until April, 1865, occasionally changing positions from Fort Welsh to Fort Davis. The One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment having now reached its maximum number Col. William M. Gregg. about the Ist of October, 1864, was mustered in and took command.


During the first part of December, at the time of the celebrated raid of the Fifth Corps to the Notaway River, the Second Division to which the regiment was attached was sent out in pursuit and to give support if required. It performed a forced march of twenty miles and back within twenty-four hours. On the night of April 1, 1865, the One Hundred and Seventy- ninth Regiment alone, by a splendid flank move- ment, assaulted the whole picket line on its brigade front, capturing about four times its number with only slight losses, and held its posi- tion until morning. It then took position on the front line for a gen- eral assault on the enemy's works, which were subsequently taken with an overwhelming victory that completely broke up the Confederate lines of fortifications. Colonel Gregg in this assault received a scalp wound from the fragment of a shell, which rendered him senseless for some time, and disabled him for one week from commanding. The lamented Lieutenant-Colonel Doty fell shot through the lungs and sur- vived only two days. As an officer, a courteous gentleman, a brave soldier, among the bravest of the brave, he had few equals. Captains Albert A. Pierson of Company D and Giles H. Holden of Company F,


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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.


and Lieutenants Samuel G. H. Musgrove of Company H and Stephen Compton of Company A, were wounded, Captain Pierson severely through the left leg and the rest slightly.


The One Hundred and Seventy-ninth participated in the pursuit of Lee as far as Burkesville and after his surrender it returned to City Point, from which place it went by transport to Alexandria and near there encamped. On the 23d of May the regiment took part along with the rest of the ever renowned Army of the Potomac in the grand re- view at Washington. No words can adequately describe the grandeur of this parade. Over 200,000 veterans-the heroes of many a fierce battle-marched in an apparently endless stream up Pennsylvania ave- nue and past the Presidential mansion, while the air was filled with strains of music and the acclamations of innumerable spectators, the whole forming a scene of unparalleled splendor, of which the partici- pants still speak with enthusiasm. General Grant expressed it as "a sight varied and grand," but it was more so; it was a sight but once seen in a lifetime, and in one respect a magnificent exhibition of the tremen- dous power of our arms.


"Yet sublime as was this spectacle," says the celebrated historian, J. T. Headley, "it sunk into insignificance before the grandeur of the one pre- sented a few days after, when this army, strong enough to conquer a hem- isphere, melted suddenly away into the mass of the people and was seen no more. Its deeds of renown had filled the civilized world and Euro- pean statesmen looked on and wondered what disposition could be made of it, and where it would choose to go or what it would do. It was one of the grandest armies that ever bore on its bayonet points the destinies of a king or a nation-a consolidation and embodiment of power seldom witnessed; and yet, while the gaze of the world was fixed upon it, it dis- appeared like a vision, and when one looked for it he saw only peaceful citizens engaged in their usual occupations. The major- general, whose martial achievements had been repeated in almost every language under the sun, was seen among his papers in his old law office, which he had left at the call of his country; the brave colonel, who had led many a gallant charge, was in his counting-house acting as though he had been absent only a few days on business; while the veterans of the rank and file, whose battle shout had rung over scores of bloody fields, could only be


159


ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-NINTH N. Y. V.


found by name, as one bent over his saw and plane and another swung his scythe in the harvest-field or plied his humble toil along the streets. It was a marvelous sight, the grandest the world ever saw. It had been the people's war-the people had carried it on, and, having finished their own work, quietly laid aside the instruments with which they had accomplished it and again took up those of peaceful industry. Never did a government on earth exhibit such stability and assert its superi- ority over all other forms as did this republican government of ours in the way its armies disappeared when the struggle was over."


The One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment was mustered out at its place of encampment near Alexandria on June 8, 1865, by special order of the War Department. Going by way of Washington the regi- ment proceeded to Elmira, which it reached on Sunday morning the IIth. It was met at the depot by prominent citizens and the commit- tee of arrangements, and escorted to the William Street Hospital build- ing, where a warm breakfast was served to the members of the command. After breakfast the veterans marched down toward the foot of Church street and encamped on a vacant lot on the south side near the stone- ware factory. Here they remained until the 22d and 23d of June, when they received final payment and discharge.


Inscribed on the banners of the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth are the names of noted battles in which the regiment took a most noble part, viz .: "Petersburg, June 17th and July 30, 1864; Weldon Railroad; Poplar Springs Church ; Hatcher's Run; and Petersburg on April Ist and 2d, 1865." On account of the great bravery evinced in capturing the enemy's picket line and in the final assault before Petersburg Col. William M. Gregg was afterward promoted to brevet brigadier-general and Capt. Samuel G. H. Musgrove to brevet-major.


The following is the roster of the regimental and line officers at the time of the mustering out of the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment :


Officers .-- Colonel, William M. Gregg; lieutenant-colonel, Albert A. Terrill; major, Giles H. Holden ; adjutant, George W. Cook; quartermaster, Nathaniel P. T. Finch : surgeon, Joseph W. Robinson ; assistant-surgeon, Phineas S. Rose ; chaplain, Edwin A. Taft.


Line Officers .-- Company A : Captain, George D. Carpenter; first lieutenant, James A. Farr ; second lieutenant, Stephen Compton. Company B : Captain, Martin V. Doty ; first lieutenant, Edward Lounsbury. Company C: Captain, Levi Force; second lieu-


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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.


tenant, Thomas C. Smith. Company D : Captain, Albert A. Pierson ; first lieutenant, John T. Andrews, 2d; second lieutenant, Henry Mapes. Company E : Captain, Sam- uel G. H. Musgrove ; first lieutenant, Charles Carr ; second lieutenant, James Prevost. Company F: Captain, James Griswold ; first lieutenant, David A. Bradley'; second lieu- tenant, Charles F. Hager. Company G : Captain, Henry Messing; second lieutenant, James Lewis. Company H : First lieutenant, Fitz E. Calver, second lieutenant, Henry Spreese. Company I: Captain, Edwin C. Bowen; first lieutenant, Charles Blackmar ; second lieutenant, Oscar Jennings. Company K : Captain, Moses M. Van Benschotten ; first lieutenant, Robert Hooper ; second lieutenant, William C. Foster.


Muster-in roll of Company F of the One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Regiment :


Company F .-- Allen T. Farwell, captain ; David A. Bradley, first lieutenant; Giles H. Holden, second lieutenant. Privates : Joseph Brown, Eleazer Baldwin, jr., Albert Ben- nett, Amos J. Bonney, Daniel R. Bacon, Josiah C. Baker, Charles Baker, John Banks, John H. Carley, Orlando V. Crans, Julius F. Cotton, Francis M. Campfield, Festus Demorest, Tuthill Dense, Edward S. Dunn, John W. Durham, James Decker, Thomas Dannaby, John Day, John Felan, Karl Frederick, Richard Fitzgerald, Daniel Guinea, Abram O. Gray, George W. Green, Andrew Hurd, Samuel B. Hyatt, Martin Hope, George W. Heck, John Hall, Frederick Harris, James A. James, David Kennedy, John Kelly, Edwin Knapp, John Kennedy, Carmi Loveless, William B. Larzelere, Lewis R. Little, William Lounsbury, Charles Lounsbury, James B. Luce, Andrew McConnell, Michael McCarty, John Martin, John McCann, Varnum J. Northup, Ezra M. Northup, William L. Norton, Charles C. Owen, John Oakley, John Post, James Patterson, John B. Patrick, Ransom O. Remer, Daniel P. Rigby, Charles E. Releyea, George M. Releyea, John Riley, Timothy Shaw, Newton B. Spencer, Henry C. Scofield, David Sherman, Norton A. Sage, Aaron R. Sherman, William Stephens, Patrick Stapleton, Wilbert Simmons, Michael Shanahan, James Story, Robert Thompson, George Wilson, Robert P. Walker, Daniel Weldon, George Williams, Abel Webb, Martin Wilkin, George White, Frederick F. Winangle, George W. West.


ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT N. Y. V.


Company B .-- Privates : Judson C. Albright, Thomas V. Brown, Charles Donnelly, Wellington Graham, Charles W. Haverly, Edward F. Jones, Joseph R. Potter, Serel- low Travis, Samuel Van Dyke.


Company C .-- Privates : William Burke, Charles Beeman, Rice Barker, John M. Bennett, Hiram Ellis, John Everett, Danford Ellsworth, Adelbert Genung, Charles F. Grenall, Theodore D. Gillett, Nelson Hunt, Matthew Kennedy, David Kennedy, Smith McLoud, William Mahan, Edward P. Porter, Niram B. Squires, Horace Stoddard, Michael Wallace.


Company E .-- Privates : Zenas G. Bullock, Newton Colgrove, Ebenezer B. Clark, An- drew A. Granger, William F. Harkness, Henry Pitt, Charles H. Spencer,


Company F .-- Privates: Albert Van Dusen, Norman Wyant.


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OTHER REGIMENTS.


Company G .- Privates : Percival A. Conklin, Cornelius Demorest, Charles S. Dailey Alexander Eastman, William W. French, Mark Hazen, William W. Hoyt, William F. Kelsey, Uzel Marlett, Philip McGinnis, David S. Miller, Trumbull Magee, Philip Packard, Reuben Rockwell, Daniel Rockwell, James Soles, John H. Siminons, John T. Smith, Ira M. Smith, Robert Shedden, Luther Smith, Joseph Scott, Elijah Scott, John Scott. Ezra Tyler, William Wolverton, Horace H. Watrous, George Wooden.


FIFTIETH REGIMENT NEW YORK ENGINEERS.


Company A .-- James L. Robbins, second lieutenant ; Francis M. Halloran, sergeant ; Daniel M. Hulse, sergeant; Joseph Campbell, corporal ; John H. Harrison, corporal. Privates : Mortimer Adams, James P. Ansley, George Beeman, Kingsbury M. Bennett, John Brown, John Burns, John A. Butler, Orrin A. Burrill, John Campbell, Rowland Champlain, Roswell S. Clark, Robert N. Coons, Theodore Criscadon, Hugh Criscadon, William C. Davenport, James Dunham, James H. Dunham, Thomas Evans, Daniel J. Fitzer, Abram Fredenburg, Sylvester Fredenburg, Charles G. Gottfried, Michael Hal- loran, Zachariah S. Helm, Witsall M. Henderson, James H. Kelly, James F. Lake, Ed- ward Lewis, Philip Loder, Jesse Lott, Alonzo T. Lyon, James Mace, Nelson Madison, John W. McFarland, Stephen Matterson, Thomas Miller, James M. Miller, Edwin Mil- ler, Asa C. Phelps, William Poyneer, John R. Robinson, Joel Tomer, Richard M. Turner, John Turner, Henry Turner, Cornelius Van Huysen, Joseph Watkins, R. Wesley Welch, Leander S. Whiteborn, Henry Williams, Joseph W. Worden, Charles Wright.


Company E .-- Privates : John H. Brewer, Andrew H. Carr, Arnold Dawes, Hiram W. Lawhead.


Company G .-- Melville D. Miller, private.


ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY- FOURTH REGIMENT N. Y. V.


Company D .- Richard B. Mahar, captain ; Charles Stark, first lieutenant; Theodore G. Ross, second lieutenant. Privates : Henry N. Ashby, Henry J. Ackley, George W. Austin, George S. Ackley, James A. Briggs, Hugh Bulger, George H. Beamish, Charles Britton, John F. Beebe, Abram Brown, Coradon H. Beebe, Eli Barrett, John W. Boothe, John Baker, Wolcott Cole, Lewis Clark, Lester Crandall, Edward Courtney, Edwin L. Corey, Thomas Creed, Jerome H. Carey, Edgar D. Carey, George Davis, Charles A. Darrow, Roderick Dingman, Dwight W. Dickinson, Timothy Driscoll, Leonard E. Du- fur, George A. Durham, Lucas Enos, David H. Fitzwater, Elijah Fowler, Patrick Gill, Mordecai Goodwin, Moses R. Gage, William A. Gray, Mortimer Hotchkiss, Daniel Houghtailing, Lewis Halstead, Delos C. Hubbard, Joseph Ham, Thomas Harland, Thomas Hackett, John Homer, William H. Hand, George Hennery, John Hall, Jaines Hough- tailing, Hervey Jero, Lyman P. Johnson, Frank M. Lacy, Josiah B. Lyon, John Lenhart, Michael McAlpine, William Mitchell, John H. Parsons, Orrin W. Place, Whitfield H. Peck, George Peck, Wallace Polmanteer, John H. Ryall, Joseph Steele, James Steele, Albert W. Small, Philip Slater, Richard Sutfin, Edward Salsbury, Simeon Spink, Thomas Tunney, John Theis, Henry Tomyon, Smith Tupper, David O. Tears, Charles


21


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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.


G. Watkins, Cornelius Webber, John P. Williams, Charles Wright, Bertram A. Whit- more, Samuel C. Wales.


Company B .- Private, George W. Randall.


Company C .- Private, George B. Barden.


FIRST UNITED STATES SHARPSHOOTERS.


Officers .- Colonel, H. Berdan ; adjutant, J. Smith Brown.


Company B .- William Elmendorf, second lieutenant; William Chidsey, orderly-ser- geant. Privates: George Barber, Nelson Bennett, Charles Bogart, Robert Bogart, Ervin Chidsey, Harrison De Long, James Densmore, George Downing, Gideon Draper, Frank Elwin, Lewis Gage, John Gannon, Henry Gannon, David Gannon, George Gris- wold, Michael Hallon, Frank Kellogg, Lewis Ketchum, David Philbrook, John Phil- brook, Nelson Rector, James Robinson, George Russell, William Stapleton, William Stokes, Benjamin F. Warner, James Warner.


EIGHTY-FIFTH REGIMENT N. Y. V.


Company G .- George W. Morgan, first lieutenant ; Alonzo S. Miller, first sergeant; Charles H. Hayes, John H. Lafler, and Dewitt C. Farrington, sergeants; George Haines, John G. Watkins, and Joseph Tinney, corporals; Ebenezer Inscho, wagoner. Privates : Aaron Beard, Robert Briggs, George Barnes, Hiram Corey, Joseph S. Crouse, Alexan- der P. Campbell, Martin Davis, Franklin Daines, Ebenezer Finch, John W. Green, Au- gustus Gordon, D. Martin Inscho, Amos Jones, Hazard Jones, Samuel Lurch, Nelson Matthews, James Sherman, George S. Wells.


MISCELLANEOUS REGIMENTS.


Company B, Third Regiment Artillery N. Y. V .- Delos C. Hubbard, corporal. Pri- vates : Lee Bookstaver, Warren Brenensthul, James H. Eckerson, William F. Edgett, Nelson Elliot, Michael Farrell. David Fingar, Harlow Fingar, James H. Greening, George J. Greening, Thomas Griswold, Aaron Griswold, Johnson Henryes, Albert Hen- ryes, John Hughes, Patrick Lahan, E. M. Lester, John Light, Andrew J. Matthews, Darius Matthews, Edward Matthews, Vosburgh Mclaughlin, George H. Mclaughlin, Warren Miller, William H. Miller, John G. Phelps, John F. Robinson, James M. Smith, Albert Travis, Edward A. Travis, John Travis, Robert H. Wilson. Company E .- Pri- vate, Charles Hammond.


Company G, One Hundred and Forty-fourth Regiment Artillery N. Y. V .-- Privates : Samuel Andrews, James E. Almy, George H. Blakesley, Dewitt C. Bassett, Levi Bassett, John A.Bailey, Lee Bookstaver, Robert Bell, George W. Carr, Daniel Daily, George Davis, James A. Dayton, Llewellyn Dunn, George B. Dunn, William Fowler, George N. Ford, Adelbert Haight, Michael Holland, John Hunter, Mason Lang, Amos Mclaughlin, Michael Mahar, John M. Mahar, Matthew Maddox, C. L. Paris, Patrick Quinan, Benja- min Rhodes, George Reynolds, George Sprague, Charles Shuter, Eugene L. Smith, Mar- tin Schiem, Seymour H. Shultz, Jeremiah Sprague, Lee Thomas, Oliver Wyman, Haz- ard Wheeler.


163


THE BENCH AND BAR.


Company A, Seventy-sixth Regiment N. Y. V .-- Hershel W. Pierce, second lieutenant. Privates : George A. Allen, Theodore Beach, Marvin Bejington, William Condon, Ly- man Culver, Benjamin F. Carpenter, Martin P. Campbell, Samuel Higgins, Alonzo Har- ris, Albert L. Hilton, Jesse Houghtailing, Charles E. Stamp.


Company H, One Hundred and Second Regiment N. Y. V .-- Peter K. Deyo, first lieu- tenant; Aaron C. Frost, first sergeant; Charles L. Nichols, second sergeant. Privates : Morris Bartlett, Edward Beardsley, James J. Fox, Larimore Graham, Anson Matthews, James Sander, Charles H. Wheeler.


Company I, Fifteenth Engineers .-- Privates : Barrett A. Boyd, John L. Bronson, Harlan P. Bush, Joseph E. Lewis, Asa Phelps, James Spencer, Albert T. Wilson. Company K. -Privates : Able Briggs, J. M. Connolly, Joseph Eaves, S. B. Parshall, James Warner.


Company L, Fourteenth Regiment Artillery N. Y. V .-- Privates : Nathaniel S. Briggs, Stanford Bigelow, Dewitt C. Bell, Patrick Barrett, Henry O. Briggs, Isaiah Brockway, John S. Constantin, John Coovert, Henry Carey, Charles E.Downing, Andrew Dunn, John B. Dunn, George Hunter, Thomas Hunter, George A. Jamison, Darwin King, John Kill- cullen, Robert B. Lewis, George McDonald, George D. Moore, John Moxcey, jr., Melvin Perry, John C. St. John, Gideon C. Skink, William D. Semans, Samuel O. Wheaton, John W. Woodruff, Joseph Woolf. Company M .-- George Brennan, first lieutenant.


Company G, Sixteenth Artillery N. Y. V .-- Morris F. Sheppard, captain.


Company A, Twenty-second Cavalry N. Y. V .-- Henry P. Starr, second lieutenant ; Amos E. Wheeler, corporal. Privates : George Barrett, Frederick Eaves, Joseph Ham, Miles B. Hodge, Truman Slater, Miles A. Terrill.


Company F, Twenty-third Regiment N. Y. V. -- Privates : William H. Dunn, Charles Lewis, Oscar Nelson.


Company I, Thirty-fourth Regiment N. Y. V .-- John Finegan, sergeant; Samuel C. Benham, sergeant. Privates: Harrison Clark, Orlando M. Crofoot, David Finegan, George Leddick, James E. Northup, James A. McCarrick, Frederick B. St. John, Jacob Speers.


CHAPTER XII.


THE BENCH AND BAR OF YATES COUNTY.


T HE sentiment has been commonly expressed that the judicial sys- tem of the State of New York is largely copied or derived from the common law of England and slightly from the civil law of the Con- tinent. This is true in many respects, and resemblances may be traced therein. There are certain changeless principles running throughout the laws of every nation and people from Moses to Victoria. But these


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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.


principles are few and often obscured by the varying manifestations given to them by different law-makers ; and although a close study of the laws and judicial practice in this State will disclose the possession of some principles in common with English and Continental laws, yet the same study will reveal the fact that in spirit and form the judicial system of the State of New York is an original growth and radically differs from the old system of Europe. The difference in the germinal idea which underlies and gives character to the systems is strikingly manifested in the simple act of entitling a criminal writ. It this State it is The People versus the Criminal ; in England it is Rex versus The Criminal. In the genius of the one the requirement is an independent judiciary responsible directly to the people only; in the other it is a court subservient to the king. But this great idea of the sovereignty of the people, even over the laws, has had a slow, conservative, yet pro- gressive and systematic unfolding of the germ into organism. In the early history of the State the governor was in effect the maker, inter- preter, and enforcer of the laws. He could veto any enactment of the legislature. He was the chief judge of the court of final resort and those who sat in council with him were generally his obedient follow- ers. The execution of the English and Colonial statutes rested with him as did the exercise of the royal authority and wishes in the colony.


It was not until the first constitution in 1777 that the governor ceased to contend for these prerogatives and to act as though the only func - tions of the courts and councillors were to do his bidding as servants and helpers, and the legislature to aid in preparing such laws as he approved. By that constitution he was entirely stripped of the judicial power which he possessed under the Colonial rule, and such power was vested in the lieutenant-governor and Senate, the chancellor and justices of the Su- preme Court, the former to be elected by the people and the latter appointed by the Council. But even this restriction was soon felt to be incompatible. With the spirit of the Commonwealth and by the con- stitution of 1846 the last connection between the purely political and judicial parts of the State government was abolished, and with it disap- peared the last remaining relic of the Colonial period. From this time on the judiciary became more directly representative of the people in the election. The development of the idea of the responsibility of the


165


THE COURT OF APPEALS.


courts to the people, from the time when all their members were at the beck and nod of one well nigh irresponsible master to the time when all judges, even of the court of final resort, are voted for directly by the people, has been remarkable. Yet through all this change the idea of one ultimate tribunal from whose decision there can be no appeal has prevailed.


Let us look at the present arrangement and power of the courts of the State and then at the elements from which they have grown. The whole scheme is involved in the idea of first a trial before a magistrate and jury, arbiters respectively of law and fact, and then a review by a higher tribunal of the facts and law, and ultimately of the law by a court of last resort. To accomplish the purpose of this scheme there have been devised and established, first, the present Court of Appeals, the ultimate tribunal of the State, perfected in its present form by the con- ventions of 1867 and 1868 and ratified by the people in 1866, and taking the place of the old court for the trial of impeachments and the correc- tion of errors to the extent of correcting errors of law. As first organ- ized under the constitution of 1846 the Court of Appeals was composed of eight judges, four elected by the people and the remainder chosen from the justices of the Supreme Court and having the shortest time to serve. The chief judge was he who was elected by the people and had the shortest time to serve. As re-organized in 1869 and now ex- isting the court consists of a chief judge and six associate judges, who hold office for the term of fourteen years from the first day of January after their election. Under this arrangement the first judges were chosen at a special election held in April, 1870. This court has power to correct or reverse the decisions of all inferior courts when properly before it for review. Five judges form a quorum and four must concur to render judgment. Four not concurring after two re-hearings the judgment of the court below must stand affirmed. The legislature has provided how and when the proceedings and decisions of inferior tri- bunals may be reviewed in the Court of Appeals, and may in its dis- cretion alter and amend the same. The judges are prohibited from holding any other office or place of public trust, or exercising any power of appointment to such place, from practicing as attorney, or acting as referee. They are removable by concurrent resolution of both Houses


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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.


of the legislature upon a two-thirds vote of each House. Judges of the Court of Appeals and of the Supreme Court can hold office only till seventy years of age.


Second to the Court of Appeals in rank and jurisdiction stands the Supreme Court, which, as it now exists, is made up of many and widely different elements. It was originally created by legislative enactment May 6, 1691, and finally by ordinance of the Governor and Council, May 15, 1699, and empowered to try all issues, civil, criminal, or mixed, to the same extent as the English Courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, except in the exercise of equity powers. It had jurisdiction in actions involving $100 or upwards, and to reverse and correct the decisions of inferior courts. An appeal lay from it to the Governor and Council. The judges annually made a circuit of the counties under a commission issued by the governor, and giving them nisi prius, oyer and terminer, and jail delivering powers. At first there were five judges. The court was re-organized by the constitution of 1777, under which the judges were to be named by the Council of Ap- pointment and the term of their office was limited to the age of sixty years. All proceedings were directed to be entitled in the name of the people instead of that of the king. In 1786 a law was passed requiring the court to try all causes in the county where they arose, unless they should be ordered to be tried at the bar of the court. The constitution of 1821 made many and important changes in the character and meth- ods of the court. The judges were reduced to three and appointed by the governor, with the consent of the Senate, to hold during good be- havior or until sixty years of age. They could be removed upon a two thirds vote of the Assembly and a majority of the Senate. The judges were exempt from military duty, could hold no other office, could receive no fees, could not practice as attorney or counselor, and could not sit in any case where they were interested or take part in the review of a case passed upon by them in any other court. Four times a year the full court sat in review of their decisions upon questions of law.




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