USA > Ohio > Trumbull County > A twentieth century history of Trumbull County, Ohio; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 15
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James Hillman, who knew and understood the Indians as well as he did the whites, acted as peace maker, and finally per- snaded the Indians to take up their hunting, and the whites who had gathered at Quinby's to go back to their homes, and there was no further trouble. In September these men were tried at
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Youngstown before Justice Huntington. Return J. Meigs and Governor St. Clair attended. George Tod acted as prosecutor, while MeMahon was defended by John S. Edwards, Benjamin Tappan, who was the first attorney in the territory now known as Portage county, Ravenna, and Mr. Sample, of Pittsburg. McMahon was not found guilty. This was the first case of any importance tried in old Trumbull County. The stories told by diaries, letters and word of mouth differ somewhat. We have rather been taught to think that MeMahon should have been hung. Leonard Case says :
"The writer has heard that (McMahon's) verdiet se- verely criticised, but he has no doubt that it was in ac- cordance with the law as generally applied to murders-the evidence being as there given. Moreover, those jurors would have compared favorably with the jurors selected to try like cases at the present day. Joseph and John Filles, two young men, who were at the Salt Springs during the fracas, some three days afterwards stayed at the house of the father of the writer. They both made a statement to us, which was never given in evidence, which would have been material to show George's motive. It was this. During the drunken serape George several times said that he had killed nineteen white men and wanted to kill one more to make an even num- ber. But the Filles left for the Ohio, and were not at the MeMahon trial."
Storer was acquitted. Thus the first important trial on the Western Reserve, like the last one, created differences of opinion among the residents of the community, and judges were accused of unfairness.
Among the early lawyers most familiar with the Western Reserve was Samuel Huntington. He was the nephew and adopted son of Gov. Samuel Huntington, a signer of the Declara- tion of Independence. Like most of the first lawyers of the new country, he was a graduate of Yale, and had been admitted to the practice of law in his native state. In 1800 he came to Ohio and lived at different times in Youngstown, Cleveland and Painesville. He held numerous offices, was a state senator from Trumbull County, judge of the supreme court and governor of the state. In 1801 he removed from Youngstown to Cleveland, although he was obliged to come to Warren through the woods
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to attend court. He was perhaps the most fortunate in a finan- cial way of any of the lawyers of his time. His house, built at Cleveland, was the most spacious and comfortable of any of the homes on the Reserve. He kept servants and had a governess for his children. He was finely educated in other directions than law, speaking French fluently. He had had advantage of travel and foreign study. He was a member of the convention which formed the state constitution, and for nearly half the session he was the only representative that Trumbull County had in that body. In spite of all these advantages, he still had to endure the hardships of the ordinary frontiersman. He rode his horse through swamps, swimming streams, carrying his law books with him. When these early lawyers went in some directions they were obliged to take an extra horse upon which they packed not only their books, their clothing, but provisions for themselves and their horses as well, because the Indians could not be de- pended upon to provide even horse feed. As there were no bridges, and as the streams were much fuller in those days than now, all early ministers and lawyers, in buying horses, had to be assured that the animals were good swimmers. Many of these early professional men ran great danger from flood, Indians and wild animals. Judge Huntington once fought a pack of wolves within what is now the residence portion of Cleveland with an umbrella, and owed his deliverance to this implement and to the fleetness of his horse. A great portion of his life was spent in Trumbull County.
It will be remembered that next to Angustus Porter, the ranking surveyor and the only astronomer who accompanied Moses Cleaveland's party was Seth Pease. His reports are in the possession of the Western Reserve Historical Society. and much of the valuable information which we have came from him. He did not settle permanently in New Connecticut. His brother Calvin, who was born in 1776 and came west in 1800, was one of the best beloved and able attorneys of that time. There is no record that he received a college education, as did most of his associates, but Gideon Granger, who was postmaster general under Jefferson, married his sister, and he was a student in Granger's office. Although he was not admitted to the bar until October, he was appointed first clerk of the court of quarter ses- sions held in August in Warren. He was elected president-judge of the court of common pleas of the third cireuit, which included Washington. Belmont, Jefferson, Columbiana and Trumbull
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counties. He was not quite twenty-seven when he was elected, yet he jndieiously discharged the duties of his office. In 1816 he entered upon his duty as a judge of the supreme court. At one time the legislature passed an act providing that " justices of the peace should have jurisdiction in civil cases to the amount of $50. without the right of trial by jury." The supreme court held that this was in conflict with the constitution of the United States, which declared "in suits of common law when the value in controversy shall exceed $20, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved." and also of the state constitution, which declares "the right of trial by jury shall be inviolate." This decision created a great deal of discussion, and so incensed were the mem- bers of the legislature that charges for impeachment were bionght against Pease and Tod. There were three connts against Pease. The trial was bad in the senate chamber of the capitol, eminent attorneys serving, and the judges were acquitted. From that day the right of the supreme court to pass on the constitu- tionality of laws has seldom been even questioned. Judge Pease was a senator in 1812. He was full of wit and humor, and when attending conrt, as well as at home, was playing pranks on his follow lawyers. It is said that he used to take the crutch of Thomas D. Webb, when the lawyers were away from home at court. and in the night hobble into the rooms of the other attor- neys, play pranks of all sorts in such a way that the persons teased believed Webb to be the aggressor. In spite of this vein of humor, he was exceedingly dignified on the bench. Judge Thurman says of him:
"One of the finest specimens of manhood I ever saw was Calvin Pease, then chief judge of the supreme court, dressed in a way that would make a dude faint. the most perfect dress I ever saw on a man, and the nicest ruffles on his shirt bosom, looking the very beau-ideal of a gentleman of the olden times. By his side sat Peter Hitchcock. Now what a team was that! Woe unto that man who had a bad canse and tried to pahn it off onto them. What great men they were! Hitchcock was on the bench much longer than Pease. thongh Pease achieved a wonderful reputation and a de- served one, so much so that Thomas Ewing once said to me, that of all the judges he had ever appeared before, in his opinion Calvin Pease was the greatest."
"When Gen. Simon Perkins was wanting a name for
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his new town, which was set upon a hill, he appealed to Mr. Olcott for one that should be significant, but upon which Judge Pease could not pun. 'Call it Akron, since it is on a summit' said Mr. Olcott, and the suggestion was accepted. Later General Perkins langhingly boasted to Judge Pease that his town had a name that could not be punned upon, namely, Akron. 'Akron, Akron,' said Judge Pease. 'Oh, Acheron!' Now, Acheron in heathen mythology is the name of a river in hell."
Virginia Reid, a great-granddaughter of Elisha Whittlesey, prepared the following at the request of the author :
Elisha Whittlesey was born October 19, 1783, in Washing- ton, Connecticut. His father was a descendant of John Whit- tlesey, who came to this country from England about 1630.
In Elisha's early boyhood he worked on his father's farm and attended the district school. One of his early teachers was the Rev. Jeremiah Day, who was afterward president of Yale College.
In 1792 the father of Elisha sold his farm and bought an- other in Salisbury, distant about 30 miles. This was a long journey in those days, and the thought of such a separation was so painful to both the Whittleseys and their friends that special services were held in the church, and on the day of their, depar- ture the "Farewell Anthem" was sung by a weeping crowd, as the wagons were about to start.
While Elisha was still quite a young boy he was sent to Danbury to stay in the family of his older brother Matthew and go to school. The day he reached Danbury was wet and gloomy, and, wet with the rain and spattered with mud, he says he was homesick for the first and only time in his life.
At this time Mr. Comfort Mygatt lived in Danbury and was the father of a very charming little daughter, Polly. One day Polly was coming home from school in her father's sleigh when she saw Elisha struggling along through the snow. She per- suaded the man who was driving to stop and take him in. Mr. Whittlesey said to the end of his life that he fell in love with Polly at that moment, and it is certain that the boy and girl friendship thus formed ripened in after years into a very happy marriage.
In 1803 Elisha commenced the study of law, and in the March term of 1805 he was admitted to the bar. Ilis first practice
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was in New Milford, and was of short duration, for at that period he met two gentlemen from Canfield, Ohio, and upon con- versation with them the young lawyer decided to cross the Al- leghanies and establish himself upon the borders of the great west. This at that time meant a long and difficult journey, and before he left he persuaded Polly Mygatt that this would make a new and unusual wedding trip. They were married on the 5th of January, 1806, although Polly's father had some doubts as to the wisdom of trusting his daughter to Elisha Whittlesey, who, . he felt sure, would never amount to much.
They set out on their journey the 3rd of June, 1807, and reached Canfield, Ohio, the 27th of the same month. The record of the trip, written afterward by Mr. Whittlesey, presents a most natural and life-like picture of the country and the manner and custom of the people. He conelndes with this sentence : "The journey was ended on the 27th of June, in a clear day, and the sun set as regularly in the west as at Danbury."
Miss Jessie Bostwick accompanied them, and when they were within a short distance of Canfield she and Mrs. Whittlesey insisted on stopping for a little while that they might arrange their hair and put on their new bonnets, brought with them from Connecticut for that purpose. They wished to enter the town in state, and were much surprised to find that it consisted only of a little group of log houses, with but very few people to witness their impressive entry.
For the first year the young couple lived in the same house with Mr. and Mrs. Cook Fitch, and so limited were their supplies that they had only four chairs for the two households, so that it required some management to seat guests.
On one occasion, after the birth of Mrs. Whittlesey's first child, she and Mrs. Fitch were alone in the house, each with her baby in her arms, when a party of drunken Indians came and demanded food. Neither woman dared to be left alone with the Indians, nor to lay down her child, so they went back and forth together, carrying the babies and bringing food until their dis- agreeable guests were satisfied. After the Indians left Mrs. Whittlesey was still more anxious, for they took the road toward Warren, and she knew her husband must be returning home that way. Fortunately, however, they did not meet, and he reached Canfield in safety.
Mr. Whittlesey was admitted to the bar of Ohio by the supreme court, then sitting at Warren, in what was called the
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Graeter House. He practiced his profession with great energy from that date until he went to Washington in 1841. He attended to his farm also, taught the district school for several years and at a later period received a number of law students into his office, some of whom have since been among the most distin- guished of our publie men.
In 1810 General Elijah Wadsworth appointed him his aide- de-camp, and in 1812 he entered into the service of the United States in the war with Great Britain. He was later appointed brigade major and inspector under General Perkins, and re- mained in this position until the troops were discharged in 1813.
The first civil office held by Mr. Whittlesey was that of dis- triet or prosecuting attorney for the county of Trumbull. He had many amusing experiences in his rides about the country, and that those were not the days of race suicide is proven by the fact that one morning when he stopped at a farm home he was greeted by the news that the mistress of the house had just pre- sented her husband with her twenty-first child. Mr. Whittlesey himself became the father of ten children, all but one of whom survived him.
In 1820 and 1821 he was elected representative in the state legislature.
lle was first elected to the Congress of the United States in 1822, and was seven times thereafter returned to his seat by his constituents, until in 1837 he resigned. During a great part of this time he was chairman of the committee on claims. This committee was one of the most important of all the committees of the house, requiring a clear head, a deep sense of equity, the strictest probity and the most patient industry.
In 1822 he formed a law partnership with Eben Newton. which continued imtil he was appointed by President Harrison anditor of the treasury for the postoffice department. He did much good work in this office, which he held until 1843.
In 1847 he was appointed general agent of the Washington Momment Association, which office he resigned in 1849, when he was appointed by President Taylor first comptroller of the treas- my. Ile held this office through the Taylor and Fillmore admin- istrations, but resigned when President Pierce was elected, as they were of opposing political parties; but the president was so strongly impressed with the value of his services that he in- sisted on his remaining in office. Upon the election of President
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Bnehanan he again presented his resignation, which was ac cepted.
In May, 1861. he was again appointed comptroller by Presi- dent Lincoln, and on this occasion mauy commendations were issned by the public press, in one of which the writer says :
"The President of the United States has recalled to the office of comptroller of the treasury the Hon. Elisha Whittlesey of Ohio, and that distinguished scholar and statesman has accepted the post of honor and responsibility assigned to him. He is a remarkable and most wonderful man. It was he who redeemed the postoffice department from absolute chaos. He is endowed with talents which most admirably fit him for the office of comptroller, through whose hands every claim against the government of the United States, real or unfounded, must pass. No just claim was ever rejected by him and no unjust one ever succeeded in obtaining access to the national treasury. Even the fa- mous Gardiner claim was not allowed by him, and only sue- ceeded for a time because of the interference of a congres- sional commission. If he had remained in his place during the fast administration he would have unquestionably have saved the country many millions of dollars which were stolen by the desperadoes who had found their way into the «abinet."
"And the very highest compliment," says another writer, "was paid to him in the fact that those of more lax and careless political and financial ethics long derisively styled him the 'watch dog of the Treasury.'"
In 1855 Mr. Whittlesey suffered a great loss in the death of his beloved wife, who had been his constant and devoted com- panion, so during his later years he was a lonely man.
On January 7, 1863, he attended to business as usual, had an interview with the President, went to Georgetown to attend to some affairs there, and returned feeling somewhat fatigued, as he had not been in his nsnal health for a few days. As was his custom, he wrote in his diary before retiring for the night, and as he laid aside the pen he was seized with an attack of apoplexy. A servant hearing a slight sound in his room went to his assistance, but he was past mortal help. His son reached him in a few moments, but so brief was the time of his passing
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that the ink was not yet dry on the last words he had written when all was over.
In the patriotic devotion of his life no man of his generation surpassed him. He loved the church, he loved his country and gloried as a Christian statesman in all the triumphs of one and in all the prosperity of the other. His name shall not be alto- gether forgotten. "The memory of the just is blessed, and the righteous shall be held in everlasting remembrance."
Although Judge Mathew Birchard was born in Massachu- setts, his father settled in Windham when he was only eight years old. He had academical advantages, and studied with Roswell Stone. He was admitted to the bar in 1817, and formed a partnership with David Tod. He was appointed postmaster in 1829, was president-judge of the court of common pleas, resign- ing in 1836. Hle served three years as solicitor in the general land office at Washington, having been appointed by Jackson. Van Buren promoted him to the office of solicitor of the treasury, which place he held until 1841. He was elected to the supreme bench in 1842, two years of which time he was chief justice. In 1853 he was elected by the Democrats as a representative to the general assembly. A contemporary says that his knowledge of law was very clear, that he prepared his cases with great care. and seemed to have the qualities which particularly adapted him for judicial life. As he lived in a strong Whig community, he had to overcome some prejudice, and labored under some dis- advantages.
Hon. Milton Sutliff was the first man elected to the supreme bench who was born in Trumbull County. Vernon was his home, and he was born in the year 1806. Ile, too, was connected with Gideon Granger, his mother being a cousin. She was a woman of strong sense, resolution, and had a remarkable memory. She was a great reader, as was also his father. Milton completed the college course at Western Reserve in two years. He had a magnificent constitution. As a young man he taught in the south and became very much impressed with the slavery question. He was admitted to the bar in 1824, and immediately began prac- ticing. He was elected to the Ohio senate in 1850. Here he had a chance to do much good work for the anti-slavery committee. In 1857 he was elected to the supreme bench of this state. He was a life-long student, a man of extraordinary oratorical powers, and a good citizen. At the close of his judicial life he
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began practicing his profession in Warren, and continued this until his death. In his will he left a sum of money to the youth of Warren, to be used for a place of amusement. The wording of this clause of his will showed clearly that he intended this to benefit both girls and boys. For many years this money was not used, because it did not seem possible to establish a social hall such as the will called for. It was not nuderstood exactly what was meant. Finally it was combined with the Carnegie Fund and used in ereeting a library. The lower room in this library is known as Sntliff Hall, and as this is being written, is used by the young men of the city as a gymnasium. So, thirty- one years after the will of Milton Sutliff, conditions are such as to make it possible to carry out in part the provisions of the will.
Trumbull County has had upon the supreme bench of Ohio Samuel Huntington. George Tod, Calvin Pease, Mathew Birchard, Milton Sutliff and Wm. T. Spear.
One of the most picturesque personalities of the Trumbull Bar wa> Gen. John Crowell. He was born in 1801 and, like most of the attorneys who began practice in the '20s and '30s, he was poor and self-educated. His father was a carpenter living in Ashtabula county. lle worked on the farm most of the year, attending school a little while each winter. When he was twenty- two he walked to Warren from Rome to attend the acad- emy at Warren. of which E. R. Thompson was teacher. Here he studied irregularly until 1825, when he read law in the office of Hon. T. D. Webb. During this time he was a teacher in this same academy. He began the practice of his profession immediately upon his admittance, 1827. lle also went into part- nership with George Hapgood, in the Western Reserve Chron- icle, and wrote most of the editorials and like artieles. He was a successful debater, and greatly enjoyed it. He was elected to the senate in 1840, and to Congress in 1846-48. In 1852 he re- moved to Cleveland. and the rest of his life. which was very successful, was passed in Cuyahoga county. He married Eliza B. Estabrook, aunt of Miss Mary Estabrook, now residing in Warren. His children were a credit to him; one of them, Julia Crowell. was always more or less attached to her Warren friends, and visited here occasionally as long as she lived. Al- though Gen. Crowell saw hard times in his youth, as he grew older and more successful he was somewhat pompous. He had the old-fashioned oratory. and one time in addressing a jury he qnoted Latin as follows: "Proeul, procul, esto profani." Gen.
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Lucius V. Bierce, who was an attorney on the other side of the case, taking a piece of paper, wrote the following:
"Procul, procul, esto profani," Cried Gen. John Crowell, with uplifted mani.
" Procul, procul, esto profani,
If I'm not a damn fool, pray tell me what am I."
This was passed around among the lawyers, and when the General turned from the jury to address the judge, he was greatly confused to see the entire bar in laughter. We do not know whether he ever knew the cause of this merriment.
Charles W. Smith, born in New York in 1821, removed to Bazetta in 1835, was a successful lawyer of his day. He, like his cotemporaries, worked and studied in the common schools as he had opportunity, later teaching and reading law. He com- pleted his law studies in Medina county, and was admitted to the bar in 1846. He married Rachel Anne Park, a sister of S. W. Park, of Weathersfield. He practiced law in Niles for three years, removed to Warren in 1850, was elected prosecuting attor- ney, and was twice mayor of the city of Warren. He was a cap- tain in the war of the rebellion, and at its close moved to Charles- ton, West Virginia. He was a member of the upper house of that state, and practiced there until his death, in 1878. His oldest daughter, Sophie, who married Charles A. Harrington, was his companion and helper during his life. We often see this close companionship between father and daughter, and this was one of the strongest. His youngest daughter, Angie, married a nephew of Senator Mahone of Virginia.
Thomas D. Webb was a native of Windham, Connecticut. born in 1784. Mr. Webb, like most of the early Connecticut men who were lawyers and leaders, in early Trumbull County, was a college man, graduating from Brown in 1805. He studied law with Hon. Zephaniah Swift, who afterwards became chief justice. Mr. Webb was admitted to the bar in Connecticut, and came to Trumbull County in 1807, settling in Warren. Here he prac- ticed law for fifty years. His practice was largely in connection with land claims. He established the first newspaper of Trum- bull county. The Trump of Fame. Hon. Asa Jones of Hartford, Trumbull County, has a bound copy of this paper. In 1813 he bought the house from the widow of John Edwards situated on South street and supposed to be the oldest house in the city, and there he spent the remainder of his life. His office was, as were
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most of the offices of the lawyers of that time, on his place. In 1813 he was appointed collector of internal duties for the eighth district of Ohio. The taxes displeased the residents, and one night the citizens gathered about his house demanding his ap- pearance, saying if he did not come out they would tear down the residence. Being convinced he was not at home, they de- parted without doing any damage. He was twice elected to the state senate. He served, however, only two years, refusing to take the other term. Ile ran for Congress against Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, and was defeated only by a small majority. In 1811. while helping to raise a building in Howland, he injured his leg, and it was amputated above the knee. He died in 1865.
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