USA > Ohio > Allen County > A standard history of Allen county, Ohio : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development > Part 33
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
On the threshold of their new life, Allen County women were told by an Ohio campaigner that they had made an excellent showing, and the "wheel horses" of the different parties were rejoiced about it. The pickets had discharged their whole duty; while handling the ballot had hitherto been regarded as a man's job, the women did it with efficiency. While they may find it necessary to vote for women and measures, their first vote was cast for men in their determination to save the country. "Votes for women," had always inspired mirth, but in 1920, it became a reality. Tariff versus free trade was not the issue, and some one remarked that women did dress warmer after having the ballot. There have always been free silver republicans, and gold standard democrats, and wets and drys have not been confined to a single political party, and why should first voters commit themselves? The League of Nations seemed to be the party issue, and the women were divided on the ques- tion. Allen County was a political storm center, and all of the winds were blowing-pitiless publicity being assured, and in the face of the franchise for women the platform orators no longer appeal to the "plain pee-pul."
Why should not the women of Allen County be styled young when they were casting their first ballot? In addressing voters and voteresses -citizens and citizenesses-the spell-binders have all said I, thou, he, she, it, we and they in an effort to befog the issue, and sometimes the "pettifoggers" succeeded in doing it. It was urged that the feminist did not wish to think along sex lines only, and when women entered politics they demanded from the men the same welcome they had always extended "mere men" in their research clubs; the average woman desires true equality with menfolk and she is inclined to investigate, and to vote with an understanding ; she wishes to mingle with men on a basis of mentality rather than sex. One suffragette declared that women would foster edu- cation as well as promote legislation, the illiteracy reports from the war having aroused the womanhood of the country. While compulsory educa- tion may result from the franchise of women, they will retain their womanly graces while exercising the prerogatives of citizenship. Equal suffrage disclosed the fact that in many instances, from time out of mind, women had influenced the family vote, although in Allen County some houses were divided-there had been no precedent, and all was uncer- tainty about it.
In some precincts it was simply more ballots without changed results ; the ward-heelers did not know where to fortify; there were republican women married to democrat husbands, and there were republican men married to democrat wives-one group seemingly offsetting the other. One man attending a democratic meeting said it was not his wife's day, and he was not an isolated example at all. Article 10 in the League of Nations was analyzed in every political meeting, and there were few parades in the 1920 campaign .. Older voters remember the delegation wagons of fifty years ago, when flag poles and torch-light processions made everything spectacular; there were bands leading the processions, and every campaign has had its distinguishing characteristics. The use .of intoxicating liquor was eliminated from the 1920 campaign in Allen County.
CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN ALLEN COUNTY
It is understood that the judge and the prosecuting attorney are the terrors of evil-doers in any community. However, the judgeship is regarded as the honorary elective position in county history. Under the provision of the first Ohio Constitution, 1802, the Allen County judges
SHERIFF'S RESIDENCE AND ALLEN COUNTY COURTHOUSE (1882)
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of Common Pleas Court were: George B. Holt of Montgomery County, who held the first court of common pleas in Allen County, sitting as pres- ident of the probate or associate judges, the session in the cabin home of James S. Daniels who was a member of the first Allen County Board of Commissioners ; Judge Holt met with them in May, 1833; he was assisted by Christopher Wood, James Crozier and William Watt-the combination conscientiously upholding the necessary dignity of the law.
. Judge Holt served till 1836; Judge William L. Halfenstein, also from Montgomery County, served until 1839; Judge Emory D. Potter from Lucas County until 1844; Judge Myron H. Tilden from Lucas County until 1845, and Judge Patrick G. Goode of Shelby County was the last judge under the old constitution, serving until 1851, when there was a reorganization of the district, the jurisdiction covering Allen, Hardin, Shelby, Auglaize, Marion, Union and Logan counties. Judge Benjamin F. Metcalf of Allen, who was the first common pleas judge under the new constitution, served until 1857; Judge William Lawrence of Logan County until 1864; Judge Jacob S. Conklin of Shelby County until 1872; in 1858, the district was changed again, including Allen, Auglaize, Mercer, Van Wert and Putnam; Judge Metcalf remaining incumbent through it all until his death in 1865 (who will reconcile some statements taken from the older histories?) ; Judge Metcalf died in March and Judge O. W. Rose of Lima served until November; Judge James Mackenzie of Allen until 1879; in 1869, Judge Edwin M. Phelps of Mercer County was elected under an act creating an additional judge for Sub-division No. 1; in 1879, the district again reorganized, dropping Putnam and add- ing Shelby County : Allen, Auglaize, Van Wert, Mercer and Shelby. Upon the reorganization of the Judicial District Subdivision, Judge Charles M. Hughes of Allen County served until 1889; then followed Judge John E. Richie of Allen County; Judge James H. Day of Mercer ; Judge Hiram C. Glenn of Van Wert; Judge W. T. Mooney of Mercer ; Judge William D. Davis of Shelby, succeeded by Judge Glenn who resigned to become a judge of the circuit court; Judge S. A. Armstrong of Mercer, and Judge Hugh T. Mathers; in 1898, Judge W. H. Cunning- ham was elected, and in November, 1906, he died, and Governor Harris appointed George H. Quail to the vacancy till the general election in 1908, when M. L. Becker was elected to finish the term; in 1908, William Klinger was elected for the succeeding term and in 1920, Fred C. Becker was elected and has just begun his term of service.
COURT OF APPEALS-The Allen County Court of Appeals has only been in existence since the 1912 change in the Ohio constitution; it was organized in 1913, and is associated with a group of sixteen counties and is known as the Third Ohio District Court; the Third Ohio includes Allen, Auglaize, Paulding, Van Wert, Mercer, Henry, Putnam, Defiance, Logan, Union, Marion, Hardin, Hancock, Seneca, Wyandotte and Craw- ford counties. There are three judges, only Judge Kent W. Hughes liv- ing in Allen County ; his father, Judge Charles M. Hughes, was the only Allen County man ever elected circuit judge. While the majority of the business in the Third Ohio District Court of Appeals is transacted in Lima, the court is in session twice a year in each county. Being the largest town in the Third Ohio District Lima is favored in the matter of court sessions. The Court of Appeals attracts many people from all over the district to Lima.
PROBATE JUDGES-Under the first constitution of Ohio, 1802, the asso- ciate judges of the Court of Common Pleas in each county had jurisdic- tion in matters of probate, according to Section 5, Article 3, of the Con- stitution, and the Allen County incumbents have been Christopher Wood,
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James Crozier and William Watt; their term of service beginning in 1831, with the organization of the county; they served until 1837; Charles Levering, Joseph Hover and John Jamieson till 1841; John Elliott and George B. Shriner until 1845; Charles W. Adgate and John B. Fay until 1851, when under the new constitution there was a change in arrangements. Under the Constitution of 1851, a Probate Court was established in each county, according to Section 7, Article 4, and the Allen County incumbents are : William S. Rose, who resigned, and whose term was finished by Michael Leatherman till 1854; Thomas M. Robb, 1857; Charles M. Hughes, 1863; Luther M. Meily, 1869; George W. Overmeyer, 1875; Samuel S. Yoder, 1881; John F. Lindemann, 1886; Theodore D. Robb, 1893; A. D. Miller, 1899; J. N. Hutchinson, 1905; Fred C. Becker, 1911, and Jesse H. Hamilton, 1920.
While the construction placed upon the statutes sometimes seems to be a matter of personal opinion by some particular officer, taken as a whole the official roster of Allen County is made up from good, honest citizens. Sometimes the fault may be in the law itself, and yet efficiency prevails in the administration of local affairs. While the manner of transacting business is not specified in the constitution, some things of an administrative character are implied, and men elected to official posi- tion have little difficulty in construing the law governing the conduct of their particular offices. The Board of Commissioners is the real govern- ing body, and was the first organized in the history of Allen County. The Allen County Juvenile Court is under the supervision of the probate judge; it was organized in 1906, as a safeguard for youthful offenders who may thus be spared further careers in crime; the 1920 probation officer is J. H. Callihan with Mrs. Nettie Miller as assistant; they visit the homes of delinquents and exercise a parental influence when neces- sary; their supervision is in secret, and youthful offenders are never associated with those steeped in crime; the department is amenable to the State Board of Charities, and juvenile records are frequently sup- pressed in the interest of future prospects. The Juvenile Court sentences offenders to the Boys' Industrial School at Lancaster, and to the Mans- field Reformatory. Females are sent to the Girls' Industrial School at Delaware, and to the Woman's Reform School at Marysville. The Juvenile Court has charge of offenders under the age of eighteen years. There is an Ohio Council of Child Welfare, and there are local charities promoting child welfare.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY -- Intimately associated with the judge of the court is the prosecuting attorney ; in order to hold court he is a necessity. Until 1835, prosecuting attorneys in Ohio were appointed by the state; since then they are elected by the people, and those who have served Allen County are : Aaron T. Miller, appointed in August, 1831 ; Patrick G. Goode, appointed in 1833; Hamilton Davison, 1834; Loren Kennedy, 1837 ; George W. Andrews, 1845; Lester Bliss, 1847 ; Mathias H. Nichols, 1851 (who resigned in 1852 to enter Congress) ; Jasper N. Guthridge, 1859; James Mackenzie, 1861; Isaiah S. Pillars, 1865; John F. Brother- ton, 1867; Ed A. Ballard, 1871; Charles M. Hughes, 1873; Hinchman S. Prophett, 1877; James P. Townsend, 1881; Isaac S. Motter, 1887; Jacob C. Ridenour, 1893; William Klinger, 1901; B. F. Welty, 1905; James J. Weadock, 1910; Ortha O. Barr, 1914; John L. Cable, 1916; Eugene Lippincott, 1920.
CLERK OF THE COURT -- The clerk of the Allen County court is required to keep the docket, and to enter all proceedings in books pro- vided for such purposes ; in the order of succession they are : John Ward, 1831; John Alexander, Jr., 1842; Richard Metheany, 1849; Joseph H.
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Richardson, 1851; James Cunningham, Sr., 1854; John M. Meily, 1857; Ormund E. Griffith, 1863; Robert Mehaffey, 1869; Daniel L. Crites, 1875; Eugene C. Mackenzie, 1881 ; David H. Tolan, 1887; U. M. Shap- pell, 1893; M. J. Sullivan, 1899; C. A. Graham, 1908; D. A. Bowsher, 1912; I. F. Clem, 1916; John T. Cotner, 1920.
COUNTY SHERIFF-The sheriff is the chief executor and peace officer of Allen County; he is provided with a domicile in connection with the bastile, and it becomes his duty to prevent lynchings, riots and all violent disorders. He must pursue and capture felons, and those guilty of mis- demeanors. The incumbents in Allen County are: Henry Lippencott, 1831; John Keller, 1835; Alexander Beatty, 1839; John Keller, 1843; Charles H. Williams, 1845; Hiram Stotts, 1849; Mathias Ridenour, 1853; William Tingle, 1855; Samuel R. Buckmaster, 1857; Samuel Collins, 1861; Isaac Bailey, 1865; James A. Colbath, 1869; William Miller, 1873; John Franks, 1877; William H. Harter, 1881; M. P. Hoagland, 1885; Lawrence O'Neill, 1889; Aaron Fisher, 1893; Elias A. Bogart, 1898; Eugene Barr, 1902; Henry Van Sunten, 1906; F. M. Watt, 1910; Sher- man E. Eley, 1914; C. W. Baxter, 1918. While one requirement of the sheriff is that he prevent lynchings, it is not such an easy matter when the mob is organized to take him, an experience that came August 30, 1916, to Sheriff Sherman Eley.
It seems that at one time Sheriff Eley had appealed to the State Militia to suppress a prize fight that was to be staged in Lima, and the feeling of indignation asserted itself against him in 1916, in connection with the wet and dry issue that was then stirring the community. The sporting element was defeated in connection with the proposed prize fight, and the feeling of smoldering hatred burst into flame when the sheriff extended protection to a negro prisoner-Charles Daniels. Sheriff Eley had been elected by the dry vote of Allen County, and the outlaws in the community held that fact against him. When the mob appeared at the Allen County jail and demanded the negro, the sheriff removed him and concealed the hiding place-simply discharging his duty as an officer of the law. When they were unable to force from the lips of the sheriff the secret, a rope was fastened about his neck and the frenzied mob was about suspending him from a lamppost when there was friendly intervention-but Sheriff Eley required hospital attention ; the negro was later sent to the penitentiary, but the Allen County sheriff had a narrow escape with his own life while protecting the prisoner while in the dis- charge of his sworn duty. The mob did not represent Allen County in its attitude toward an officer in the discharge of duty. Sheriff Eley was later the recipient of a medal given him in recognition of his bravery. Only the iron nerve of the officer saved the day.
THE EXECUTION OF BRENTLINGER
There has been a near-lynching, and there has been a hangman's day in the Allen County jail. There is a bit of rope hanging in the office of Sheriff Baxter that was used in the execution of Andrew Brentlinger, Friday, April 7 or 15, 1872-there being conflicting reports about it. Brentlinger was a resident of historic Shawnee-although a disgrace to the community. He killed his second wife, October 24, 1871, stabbing her to death; he was a man of fifty while she was a woman of twenty- seven ; he made her grave a short distance from the house; he plowed and harrowed the ground in order to conceal it; when his children finally gave the alarm, the murderer was found concealed in his garret; while he had swallowed poison, medical assistance saved his life; his trial of
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
ten days in duration was before Judge Mackenzie; the verdict was guilty, and he was sentenced to be hanged January 20, 1872, but Governor Rutherford B. Hayes granted a reprieve of 100 days.
Prisoner Brentlinger was confined to a cell in the basement of the second courthouse in Allen County ; there were so many curious visitors that it was very annoying to the sheriff who was his custodian; the com- missioners had ordered the high board fence enclosure in readiness for the out-of-door execution in January; because of the reprieve of 100 days, the prisoner was removed to the new jail in advance of the execu- tion, the delay in accordance with Legislative enactment. On Wednes- day before Black Friday-hangman's day-the Brentlinger children and
ISAIAH PILLARS
grandchildren called at the jail and the condemned father was the least affected of all; the aged father and brothers did not visit him. On Thursday his counsel, Isaiah S. Pillars and C. M. Hughes, visited him. With them went T. E. Cunningham, who had assisted in the prosecution. The prisoner heard the sound of the saws and the hammers when the scaffold was being built for him. He heard the talk of a threatened mob, and fifty men assembled that night to guard the jail. The light of the lanterns and the glitter of the muskets held the mob spirit under subjection, and members of the local press witnessed the condemned man prepare himself for the night with as little concern as if nothing awaited him the next day.
Andrew Brentlinger arose early the morning of the execution, had a hearty breakfast and was visited by the Lutheran minister, Reverend
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Bartholomew, who offered prayer and read to him from the Bible. He was unmoved through it all. D. H. Tolan, who related the incident, may be the last living witness of the Brentlinger execution. He was publish- ing a newspaper in Delphos. Sheriff James A. Colbath had invited all Allen County publishers to witness the execution. After Mr. Tolan had reached Lima, his courage almost failed him; Edward Walkup was another Delphos newspaper man; D. S. Fisher represented the Lima Democrat ; Cornelius Parmenter the Gazette, and the Cincinnati Enquirer had a representative present. They were there to herald the story to the world. The memory of the occasion has never left Mr. Tolan.
Editor Walkup of Delphos assisted Sheriff Colbath in conducting the prisoner to the scaffold; it was built in the corridor of the jail, and the prisoner stepped from the landing of the stairway onto the death trap; all other spectators remained on the main floor. Sheriff Colbath trembled while reading the death warrant, knowing it was his next duty to launch the man into eternity. When asked for a final statement, Brentlinger said nothing. An old account says: "After the black cap was adjusted, Sheriff Colbath asked, 'Andrew Brentlinger, have you anything to say ?'" The answer: "I have nothing to say." Reverend Bartholomew sang the hymn: "Eternity is waiting," and the scaffold disappeared from under the man. A traveling show was staged in Lima that day, and the living skeleton, the fat woman and the wonderful dwarfs attracted the crowd. Lima was full of visitors. Brentlinger's body was prepared for burial, and his bier stood on the street where all might see him. He was not sensitive in life, and why should he be shielded in death?
There has been one execution in the Allen County jail, and two found resting places within the county, whose death was from electrocution in the Ohio State Penitentiary. The misdemeanor and sentence is a mat- ter of record in Lucas County. They were brothers, Isaac and Benja- min Wade; their heads were shaved, and visitors who saw them in a local morgue will always remember it. The sheriff has more of adven- ture in the discharge of his official duty than any other custodian of county welfare. Some of the foregoing data was obtained from persons in waiting there. The mob struck terror to all who knew about it. There have been suicides-those who died at their own hand, but not as a pun- ishment inflicted under the law.,
COUNTY RECORDER-The Allen County recorder is charged with the safe-keeping of all records, deeds, mortgages, and other instruments affecting the title to lands; the incumbents of the office are: Nathan Daniels, 1831; John Ward, 1835; John Alexander, Jr., 1840; John M. Anderson, 1843; John B. Wamsley, 1844; Horatio N. McGuire, 1846; Edmund S. Linn, 1848 (appointed in January vice H. N. McGuire) ; John B. Wamsley, 1847; John W. Thomas, 1850; John B. Wamsley, 1854; John G. Ridenour, 1857; Jacob M. Haller, 1863; Albertus R. Krebs, 1869; Henry H. Heman, 1875; William Timberlake, 1881; George Mon- roe, 1887; Abram Harrod, 1893; P. T. Mell, 1899; Fred Zeits, 1905; F. A. Stephen, 1910; Emmet E. Fisher, 1914, and Guy Custer, 1920; Mr. Wamsley repeated himself.
COUNTY AUDITOR-The Allen County auditor keeps all the accounts of the Allen County Commissioners, and he prepares the annual tax duplicate from the transfer books; the auditor is the Allen County book- keeper, and a warrant or order from him is necessary before the county treasurer pays out any funds at all. In their turn the Allen County auditors are : William G. Woods, 1831; Samuel Black, 1835; H. D. V. Williams, 1838; John W. Thomas, 1841; Joseph H. Richardson, 1845; David Dalzell, 1849; William Dowling, 1853; Richard Matheany, 1855; George W. Overmeyer, 1859; John B. Haller, 1861; William Dowling,
Vol. 1-17
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
1865; Sylvester J. Brand, 1869; Nelson McBride, 1874; Samuel D. Chambers, 1878; William D. Polling, 1881; Cyrus D. Crites, 1887; Philip Walter, 1893; George Feltz, 1899; Edwin C. Akerman, 1905; J. W. Douglas, H. J. Lawler, 1910; T. A. Welsh, 1914, and C. R. Phil- lips, 1918 at present the county auditor.
COUNTY TREASURER-The Allen County treasurer receives all taxes paid for the support of the state, county and township, and he is held to a strict account for the safety and proper application of such funds. The incumbents to date are: Adam White, 1831; Dr. William Cunning- ham, 1833; Charles Baker, 1835; Col. James Cunningham, 1837; Thomas K. Jacobs, 1841; Alexander Beatty, 1845; Thomas K. Jacobs, by appoint- ment, 1847; T. K. Jacobs, 1849; William Armstrong, 1853; George W. Fickle, 1855; William Armstrong, 1857; Shelby Taylor, 1859; Miles W. Vance, 1861; Emanuel Fisher, 1865; Washington R. Partello, 1867 ; Richard T. Hughes, 1871; David East, 1875; James Armstrong, 1879; David M. Fisher, 1881; Jacob B. Sunderland, 1885; Edward Holman, 1889; Amos Young, 1893; August C. Lutz, 1897; John W. Gensel, 1901; Thomas H. Jones, 1905; H. N. Lamberton, 1909; W. E. Tussing, 1913; Lehr E. Miller, 1917 ; Henry E. Botkins, 1921 ; a number of men having repeated themselves.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS-While the Allen County Board of County Commissioners is the real governing body, their duties are numerous and of much importance to the taxpayers. They have control of all public property, and if they see fit they may even sell the courthouse. While all other county officers have their duties outlined by statute, the county commissioners have latitude. They may use their own discretion in many things. The county auditor is ex-officio member of the board, and he, keeps a record of its proceedings; the sheriff preserves order. The Allen county commissioners are : James S. Daniels, John G. Wood and Samuel Stewart, already mentioned, and upon this board devolved the beginning of things-the building of the first courthouse and the organization of the county. The old rosters have shown the organiza- tion of the commissioners' court from year to year, naming the presi- dent of the board first, and it seems that there has sometimes been reor- ganization when there has not been an election. Sometimes vacancies have occurred and such must have been the case in the first board, as the name of Morgan Lippencott supplants the name of Samuel Stewart.
Without further effort to show their time of service, the Allen County commissioners' roster is: Griffith John, James C. Coleman, James A. Anderson, Henry B. Thorn, John Brand, Michael Leatherman, John Schooler, John M. Wilson, Henry B. Thorn (when a name has been omitted and appears again, as in the case of Mr. Thorn, it means commissioner at another election), Shadrach Montgomery, Charles H. Williams, Charles C. Marshall, Matthew Dobbins, Nicholas Zanglenn, Jacob B. Haller, Samuel B. Walker, William Ackerman, Samuel Rock- hill, Burgess Dickey, Christian Steman, Moses Patterson, Horace Bix- bey, Joseph Griffith, Cadwallader W. Jacobs, Freeman Bell, Almon E. Hadsell, C. W. Jacobs, Horace Bixbey, A. E. Hadsell, Samuel Ice, Freeman Bell, George W. Goble, Johnzy Keeth, James McBeth, Ber- nard Esch, William Ackerman, W. W. Williams, Jacob Crites, Francis M. Clum, Joseph A. States, Abraham Crider, C. C. Marshall, Albert Shenk, John Ackerman, William Bice, John Amstutz, George D. Kanawl, James A. Jacobs, Aaron J. Osman, Samuel T. Winegardner, Thomas C. Burns, G. D. Kanawl, Albert Hefner, Samuel W. Wright, Alexander L. Conrad, Charles W. Johnston, A. L. Fry, S. H. Arnold, A. L. Fisher, Beech Graham, Enos Huffer J. L. Heath, W. W. Craig, F. C. Wright, J. I. Lugunbuhl, J. A. Miller, Joseph Haunhorst, J. L.
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
Heath, M. C. Crossley, A. J. Gray, James G. Mackenzie, W. W. Craig, A. J. Gray and J. W. Thompson. In the 1920 election the short term expiring January 21, 1923, fell to Mr. Craig, Gray and Thompson filling the terms expiring two years later; however, Mr. Craig took exception to the election returns, claiming that he received more votes than either of the others, entitling him to the long term of service. He has since been awarded one of the long terms and Mr. Gray the short term.
COUNTY CORONER : The coroner of Allen County is a conservator of the peace. While the office is usually filled by medical doctors, it is one political preferment that always seeks the man. Some times coro- ners are elected who do not qualify and court bailiffs or any other available persons may be sworn in temporarily to perform urgent duties. The powers and duties of the county coroner are identical with those of the sheriff when it is necessary to suppress riots and arrest offenders, and under certain conditions the coroner may take charge of the county jail and imprison the sheriff himself. The prime requisite of the coro- ner, however, is to hold inquests where deaths result from unnatural causes, or where the cause of death is unknown. The coroner takes charge of all money or valuables found on the body of such person, disposing of them according to law. The incumbents are: H. Clip- pinger, Mathias Ridenour, Jacob S. Baker, William Myers, Samuel Sanford, William Sullivan, Samuel Sanford, Charles Metzger, Gustavus Feiss, Elijah Curtiss, Tobias H. Foltz, Peter H. Brooks, Levi Reichel- derfer, John C. Convery, S. S. Herman, Louis G. Steuber, Enos G. Burton, Andrew W. Bice, Oliver Steiner, Albert Pfeiffer, E. J. Curtis, V. K. Hay, D. T. McGriff and A. J. Adams. While most county offices were established when Allen County was organized, there was no county coroner until 1844, and at times since then the coroner-elect has failed to qualify. In an emergency it is the most important office in the county.
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