USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 1 > Part 88
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
The successive presiding officers of the Coun- cil during this time were: Jesse Hunt ( 1819-20), William Oliver (1821), Samuel Perry (1822- 23), Calvin Fletcher ( 1824-25), and Lewis How- ell ( 1826-28). The Council met in the brick Town House on the common until 1824, at which time quarters were rented in Francis Carr's brick building at the northwest corner of Third and Hammond streets. Here were the city offices, including the mayor's office, until 1828. (Hen- derson's Council, p. 33; City Hall, p. 6.) Pre- vious to that time the mayor's office had been at Mayor Burnet's private office on Water street between Walnut and Vine, although he also as indicated by the Directory of 1819 had an office in the City Hall.
THE FIRST CITY MAYOR.
The mayor, Isaac G. Burnet, a son of Dr. Wil- liamı Burnet and brother of Jacob Burnet, was born in New Jersey, July 7, 1784. He moved to Cincinnati about the year 1804 where he studied law with his brother. In 1807 he mar- ried the daughter of Capt. George Gordon and moved to Dayton where for a time he practiced law. Nine years later he returned to Cincinnati and entered into partnership with Nicholas Long- worth. He for a time edited Liberty Hall, retir- ing at the end of 1822. In 1819 he was elected the first mayor of the city of Cincinnati and re- .elected until the spring of 1831, when he declined to be a candidate. During a part of his term, in addition to the ordinary executive duties, he with certain aldermen constituted the City Court and he was obliged to act in his judicial capacity in most of the minor litigations of the community. In 1833 he was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court of Hamilton County and held this office
until the adoption of the constitution in 1851. Ile died March 11, 1856.
Mayor Burnet was for many years a cripple as a result of which he was obliged to use crutches. Although physically weak, he was pos- sessed of great force of character, and did not hesitate to display the firmness required by the duties of his position. It was his presence of mind and great courage that saved the city from serious riots on more than one occasion.
By an act passed February 25, 1820 ( 18 0). 1 .. L. 96), it was made unlawful for the Council to emit or authorize any notes or bills of credit and the members were made personally responsible for any notes so issued. Certain alterations were made in the jurisdiction of the City Court.
Another act providing for the election of members of the City Council and the appointment of treasurer and clerk and prescribing the duties of the marshal in certain cases providing for the selection of grand and petit jurors was passed January 29, 1821. (19 O. L. 106.)
An act of December 27, 1824 (23 O. L. 1 .. 14), divided the city and township into four election districts corresponding to the four wards and made provision for the holding of elections.
By an act of January 31, 1826, all previous acts of incorporation were repealed and a new scheme of government was devised to be submitted to the voters on the Ist of March of that year. ( 24 (). 1. 25.) The voters however rejected the charter, whereupon it was passed by the Legis- lature of the following year and as such consti- tuted the second charter of the city.
The writer of the "Americans As They Are," who was in Cincinnati in 1827, describes the voting on a matter of public interest : "During my stay, on the twenty-fifth of October, a ques- tion of some importance for the inhabitants of Cincinnati was to be decided. It was concerning a stricter police and its necessary regulations. The City Council, with the wealthier class of inhabitants, had been for some time, previous to the decision, engaged in preparing and gaining over the multitude. I went to the Court House in company with Mr. Brama, a wholesale mer- chant, and several gentlemen, to hear the speeches delivered on both sides, and the result of the motion. It was four o'clock when we ar- rived, and about 600 persons were assembled in and outside of the Court House. The noise, how- ever, was such, that it was impossible to hear more than detached periods. At eiglit o'clock. When almost dark, they had gone through the business, and the poll was about to commence.
509
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
The party for abridging public liberty was or- dered to go out on the left :- those who insisted on the preservation of the present order of things, were to draw off to the right. On arriving before the Court House, they ranged themselves in two separate ranks, each of which was counted by the presiding judge. There was a majority of 72 votes in favour of the party which upheld the present system, and the question was, therefore, decided in favour of popular liberty. I found here, as well as everywhere else, that the freedom of a community is nowhere more exposed to en- croachments than in large towns, where dissipa- tion and occupations of every kind are likely to en- gross the attention of the people, who leave the magistrates to do what they please. The City Council were on the point of obtaining the major- ity, had it not been for the farmers whom the market-day had drawn to town. These, of course, did not fail to open the eyes of the honest burghers; and the question was accordingly negatived." (Americans As They Are, p. 7.)
THE CITY CHARTER OF 1827.
The second act incorporating the city of Cin- cinnati, passed January 26, 1827, repealed the previous acts. By this the limits of the corpora- tion were as follows: Beginning on the Ohio River, at the east corner of fractional section No. 12, and running west with the township line of Cincinnati, to Mill creek, thence down Mill creek with its meanders to the Ohio River, thence east- wardly up said river with the southern boundary of the State of Ohio to the place of beginning.
. The administrative officers designated were a mayor and a board of trustees consisting of three members from cach ward to be known as the City Council, all to be elected by the people. The city consisted of four wards divided by Third and Main streets, the First Ward being the northeastern, the Second the northwestern, the Third the southeastern and the Fourth the south- western one. Provision was also made for the election of a city marshal, treasurer and three city aldermen for terms of two years, and for the establishment of the City Court, having original concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Com- mon Pleas of crimes, misdemeanors and offenses, the punishment of which was not capital or peni- tentiary confinement when committed within the city and of civil causes where both parties were residents of the city, and appellate jurisdiction of all judgments of the mayor. This court was composed of the mayor and the three aldermen,
and was empowered to appoint its own clerk and the public presecutor for the city.
The mayor was to be elected biennially by the people. In addition to the ordinary executive duties of such an officer in his judicial capacity, lie had exclusive original jurisdiction of violations. of the ordinances and such other jurisdiction as was given to justices of the peace; the right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas and to the City Court was of course reserved. The trustees were to be elected three from each ward and must have been residents of the city three years and frecholders or householders for one year. They constituted the City Council and selected from their number a president and a recorder. They were given the custody and control of the city property with the power to purchase and sell, except in the case of the Public Landing which could not be sold without a vote of the majority of the citizens. They were given power to pass ordinances to secure the city against fire, thieves, robbery, burglars and persons violating the pub- lic peace and also to establish a board of health, a city watch under the general superintendence of the city marshal, to establish fire companies and to regulate the erection of wooden buildings, to license taverns, ale houses and the like, to abate nuisances and appropriate lands for streets, alleys, market places, etc., and appoint super- visors of the highways and regulate cattle run- ning at large, license public shows, auctions and vehicles and inspect articles of produce or manu- facture. The limit of the tax levy in any one year was one-fifth of one per cent of the aggregate value of the taxable property of the city. Each and every white male inhabitant above the age of 21 years having the qualification of an elector tor members of the General Assembly, who had resided in the city for one year prior to the elec- tion, was entitled to vote under this act. This was the first act which gave manhood suffrage to the people without restriction as to property qual- ifications. There was no referendum clause in this charter and the act took effect by its terms March 1, 1827. (25 O. L. 40.)
Under the provisions of this charter, Isaac G. Burnet was again elected mayor and served four years (two terms) until Elisha Hotchkiss, who had been repeatedly a candidate for the office of mayor, finally succeeded in attaining that posi- tion in the election of 1831. Mr. Hotchkiss was an Englishman by birth and a lawyer by profes- sion and was regarded as a genial, kind-hearted man of fine personal appearance. He served but one 'term, being succeeded in 1833 by the well
.
*
-
510
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
known citizen, Samuel W. Davies, whose service lasted 10 years. In the city's first quarter cen- tury there were but three mayors.
Davies it will be remembered was the last president of the Council under the charter of 1802. The presiding officers of the Council up to the end of Cincinnati's first half century were Daniel Stone, who succeeded Lewis. Howell in 1829, succeeded in turn by E. S. Haines ( 1831), Nathaniel G. Pendleton ( 1832-33), E. S. Haines (1834-35), and George W. Neff ( 1836-38).
On June 18, 1828, the city offices with the ex- ception of those of the mayor and marshal, were moved from Carr's Building to a new City Build- ing erected on the north side of Fourth street between Main and Walnut on a lot owned by the First Presbyterian Society. Here they remained for 18 years. The office of the mayor remained in Carr's Building for more than 10 years longer.
In accordance with the authority given by the charter, the Council on March 7, 1827, passed an ordinance dividing the Second Ward by an east and west line beginning at Main street and running through Sixth street westwardly to the corporation line. The part north of Sixth street and west of Main street became the Fifth Ward and the part of the old Second Ward south of Sixth street remained the Second Ward. Two weeks later, on March 21, 1827, an alteration was made in the boundaries of the First and Third wards by which that part of the First Ward lying south of Symmes street and of the range of hills cast of Dcer creek bridge was attached to the Third Ward. As a result, the east and west dividing line between the First and Third wards began on Main street at the in- tersection of Third and ran castwardly along the center of Third to Ludlow street, thence eastwardly along the center of Symmes street to High street and along the center of High street eastwardly to a point on the street bearing north 16 degrees cast from the center of the cupola of David Kilgour's house near the reservoir and by said line north 19 degrees cast to the northern boundary of the city. The part north of this line composed the First Ward and that south, the Third. What would have happened if David Kilgour's cupola had been destroyed can only be left to conjecture ; fortunately no such disaster happened during the time this cupola was called upon to serve this important purpose. This division of wards con- tinued until 1839.
On February 12, 1829, was passed another
act (27 O). L. 33), which authorized the City Council to provide for the support of the common schools and for such purpose to divide the city into 10 school districts (two for each ward), to purchase suitable lots and erect a school house in each district and for that pur- pose to levy a tax of one mill on a dollar. Black or inulatto persons were not permitted to attend these schools but all taxes assessed on their property were expended alone for. the education of black and mulattoes. The voters were di- rected to elect from each ward a trustee and vis- itor of the common schools who were to have general superintendence of the common schools of the city and who were in turn to select six persons as examiners and inspectors who should examine and inspect the schools. Other pro- visions of the act abolished the City Court and transferred its business to the Court of Com- mon Pleas. (See Act of January 3, 1828.)
TIIE CITY CHIARTER OF 1834.
On March 1, 1834, was passed "an act to in- corporate and establish the city of Cincinnati, and for revising and repealing all laws and parts of laws heretofore enacted on that subject." The government was vested in a mayor, and a board of trustees consisting of three members of each ward to be denominated as the City Council. The mayor was to be elected by the people every two years and trustees every three years, the lat- ter from the freeholders or householders. The Council was given the usual powers with very much the same limitations as those contained in former acts. One limitation however provided that no person confined at hard labor in the city prison should be fed on bread and water only nor fined and kept on bread and water only, nor should any person be punished by confinement to hard labor or kept on bread and water only, for any offense not evil in itself. Other officers provided for were marshal and treasurer. The election of constables for Cincinnati township, in the county of Hamilton, was abandoned as the township and city were coextensive and the se- lection of these officers and justices of the peace was left to be provided for by the City Council. The act also incorporated the school law passed a few years before. The mayor in his judicial capacity liad exclusive original jurisdiction in cases of violations of ordinances and the criminal jurisdiction of a justice of the peace. The Count- cil selected from their own body a president and a recorder, and a city clerk was also provided for.
511
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
This act superseding as it did the charter of 1827, although amended quite frequently, re- mained the fundamental law of the city, until the adoption of the new State constitution in 1851.
By an act passed March 19, 1838 (36 O. L. L. 219), provision was made for the addition of a tract north of Liberty street to the corporate limits of the city. The territory added is that contained within the following limits : "Beginning at Mill creek where the section line crosses the same about one mile north of the present north boundary line of the city of Cin- cinnati; running thence east parallel with the said north boundary line of Cincinnati to the west boundary line of Fulton township in said county ; thence southwestwardly along said west boundary line of Fulton township to the said north bound- ary line of Cincinnati; thence westwardly along said north boundary line of Cincinnati to Mill creek ; thence up said Mill creek with its meanders to the place of beginning." This constituted the Eighth Ward of the city. The annexation was passed by a vote of both the city and the dis- trict to be annexed.
THE COURTS.
At the election in 1818 Judge Ethan Allen Brown was more successful in his candidacy for the governorship than two years before and dc- fcated his antagonist, James Dunlap, by a plural- ity of 22,000 out of 38,000 votes. He resigned his position on the Supreme bench just before he was inaugurated Governor and Peter Hitch- cock, one of the most distinguished of Ohio's judges who had been a member of the House of Representatives and of the Senate and a mem- ber of Congress, was elected from Geauga Coun- ty, beginning his service of 28 years on the bench, 21 of which he was chief justice. As a result the four judges of the Supreme Court at the time Cincinnati became a city were Couch, McLean, Pcase and Hitchcock. Judge Couch died in 1821 and on December 24th Jacob Burnet who had been appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy was elected for the full term. During the following year John McLean resigned to ac- cept the commissionership of the General Land Office and begin the career in the national ser- vice which ended with a Supreme Court jus- ticeship. Charles R. Sherman of Fairfield Coun- ty, the father of General and Senator Sherman, was elected to succeed him on January 11, 1823, at which time also was reelected Calvin Pease. For seven years the court remained unchanged. Judge Burnet resigned in December, 1828, to accept the United States senatorship to which
he was elected without opposition as a succes- sor of William H. Harrison and Joshua Collett of Warren County was elected to succeed him. Sherman died at Lebanon just before the expira- tion of his term and Gustavus Swan was appoint- ed by the Governor to fill the unexpired term. In 1830, as the terms of Judges Pease and Sherman had expired, Elijah Hayward of Cincinnati and John M. Goodenow were elected to succeed them. The court during this summer was divided into two sections; that in which was located Hamil- ton County was assigned to Judges Goodenow and Hayward. Ill health however prevented either of these judges from acting and as a result no court was held for that year. Both judges resigned in 1830 and Henry Brush was appoint- ed by the Governor to succeed Goodenow. As Hayward's resignation was received just prior to the meeting of the General Assembly, the vacancy was not filled until . December, 1830, when the Legislature elected Ebenezer Lane of Huron County to succeed Hayward and John C. Wright of Jefferson County to succeed Brush who refused to be a candidate. Hitchcock's term expired in 1832 and the election of a successor re- sulted in a lively contest which lasted two days and through 19 ballots at the end of which Reu- ben Wood of Cleveland was elected over Judge Hitchcock and Benjamin Tappin. Two years later Judge Wright resigned and on February 28. 1835, Judge Hitchcock at that time President of the Senate was elected to succeed him. Judge Collett's term expired in 1836 and on January 30th of that year Frederick Grimke was elected to succeed him. Two years later Judge Lane was reelected so that the court from 1836 to 1842 eon- sisted of Hitchcock, Lane, Wood and Grimke.
The records of the Legislature show the elec- tion on February 6, 1819, of George P. Torrence as president judge of the Ninth Cireuit in which at that time was included Hamilton County. Judge Torrence was reelected for a full term on January 27, 1826, and served out his term. He was succeeded in 1833 by John M. Goodenow, who had been a member of Congress and a judge of the Supreme Court. Upon his resignation as stated hereafter, David K. Este was chosen in 1835. Judge Este served until the organization of the Superior Court of Cincinnati by act of March 15, 1838. He was elected by tlie Legis- lature as the first judge of this court for a ter111 of seven years. The jurisdiction of this court which lasted down to the time of the adoption of the constitution of 1851 was largely concurrent wMl that of the Common Pleas Court. It is
1
512
CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF CINCINNATI
usually referred to as the "Old Superior Court" to distinguish it from the present court of that name. Este was succeeded as president judge by Oliver M. Spencer, appointed by the Governor to act until the following session of the Legis- lature at which time Nathaniel C. Read was elected. The Directory of 1819, which appeared in October of that year, gives the associate judges as Othniel Looker, James Silvers and John C. Short. Short does not appear to have been elected by the Legislature. That body during the period from 1820 to 1838 selected the following asso- ciate judges : Peter Bell ( 1820), Samuel R. Miller (1823), Patrick Smith ( 1824), Benja- min M. Piatt (1825), Enos Woodruff ( 1827), Peter Bell (1828), John Burgoyne ( 1834) and Henry Moore (1838). Another name, that of John Jolley, is given in the Directory of 1825 as associated with Bell and Smith. In 1829 Enos Woodruff was associated with Bell and Smith. In 1831 appeared two names not given in the list of those elected by the General Assembly, -- Samuel Rees and Thomas Henderson sitting with Enos Woodruff. Three years later the court is almost altogether a new one. John M. Goodenow presided and the associate judges were Thomas Henderson, Jonathan Cilley and John Burgoyne. Two years later ( 1836) the only change in the court is in the president judge, Este having succeeded Goodenow.
Among the judges of these days, which were the early days of the "Old Court House," were included many whose names still stand among those considered at the head of the profession. The president judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1819 to 1832 was a man of great distinction in the community, although his ap- pointment aroused much controversy. At the time that he was appointed to the office by the Legislature he was a member of that body which had just created the Ninth Circuit, that of Ham- ilton County. It is claimed that his appointment was in violation of the constitutional provision forbidding the appointment of a Senator or Representative during the term for which he was elected to any office created during the term. The matter was taken to the Supreme Court without any conclusive result. The Legislature was called upon to abolish the circuit and the Senate passed a bill for that purpose but the House refused to concur. During the contro- versy Judge Torrence, in the language of Judge Thew Wright, held on to his office with an ag- gravating persistency and a serene indifference to fate that was a discomfiture to the evil minded.
Judge Torrence was a man of dignity and of great personal charm and many interesting stories are told with relation to practice. before him. Judge Carter's book the "Old Court House" has several fine anecdotes concerning the period and judge Torrence plays his part in the stories re- cited.
The court in those days consisted of four niem- bers, a president and three associates. The president was supposed to be a lawyer but no such requirement was made as to the associates. As a natural result of this peculiar arrangement, there was at times considerable confusion. All anecdote of James W. Gazlay, a prominent mem- ber of the bar who attained celebrity by defeating William Henry Harrison for Congress in 1824, explains the origin of the term "Demarara team" which was applied for so many years to the old court.
Torrence was succeeded by John M. Goodenow who held the position for three years. An epi- sode of his incumbency grew out of the appoint- ment of a clerk of the court to succeed Daniel Gano. The judges failed to agree and for about a year no appointment was made. Finally in December, 1833, the bar as a body took up the matter and insisted upon the appointment being made, whereupon Goodenow and two of his as- sociates, John Burgoyne and Jonathan Cilley, agreed upon an appointment which was regarded as an improper one by the bar who held a meet- ing and protested against it. The objection made was on the ground of bribery and corruption. The fourth judge, Enos Woodruff, stated pub- licly that the brother of the appointee had of- fered him $1,000 to vote for the appointment. As a result the vacancy was not filled for some time longer. Finally two of the judges made an entry in the journal of the court, appointing Gen. William H. Harrison as clerk, which ap- pointment although apparently not made with the consent of the court was satisfactory to the community and held good. As a result of this, Judge Goodenow resigned his position, feeling that he had been affronted by his associates. He was succeeded by Judge David K. Este who retained the position until the time of the organi- zation of the Superior Court of Cincinnati in 1838.
The City' Court, which was made up of the mayor and three aldermen, was presided over by some distinguished men. Isaac G. Burnet was mayor during the life of this court. The first three 'aldermen were David E. Wade, William Burke and Francis Carr, all able men. Carr
513
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
was succeeded in 1822 by James W. Gazlay, a leading citizen of his time. In 1825 the alder- men were Philander Allen, Benjamin Basset and Benjamin M. Piatt, who soon went on the Com- mon Pleas bench. William Greene, Samuel F. Ilunt and Morgan Neville were elected in 1827.
David K. Este was a prominent figure in Cin- cinnati life from the date of his arrival in the town about 1800 until his death almost 70 years later. He was born in New Jersey in 1785 and was educated at Nassau Hall ( Princeton) of which he was at the time of his death the oldest living graduate. After his arrival in Cincin- nati he lived for a time at Hamilton but in 1814 permanently established himself here with an office at the corner of Fifth and Main. From :817 to 1821 he was in partnership with Bel- lamy Storer and from 1830 to 1835 with Ezekiel Haines. In the latter year he was appointed pres- ident judge of Hamilton County and subsequently upon the organization of the Superior Court he became its first judge in 1838, serving until 1845. Upon the expiration of his term in 1845, he re- tired from professional life although he remained a prominent citizen of the city until his death more than 30 years later in his gist year. His career at the bar and on the bench was a dis- tinguished one. He was regarded as a good lawyer and was especially "distinguished for courtesy of manners, propriety of conduct and success in business. Like Burnet he was one of those cool and careful temperaments, who are incapable of being excited beyond a certain point and who never commit themselves out of the way." ( Mansfield's Memories, p. 161.) He had great faith in the value of Cincinnati real estate and at various times owned considerable prop- erty in different parts of the city. His residence at the corner of Ninth and Main was for many years among the most palatial in the city and a center of social life. Ile subsequently erected 18 buildings on Main, Ninth, Sycamore and Fourth streets. In 1858 he built the fine stone residence on West Fourth street which he occupied until the time of his death. It subsequently was known as the Shoemaker residence and is now owned by Michael M. Shoemaker. Judge Este married a daughter of General Harrison in 1819, who died in 1826. One daughter the result of this mar,- riage lived to womanhood, dying some years be- fore her father. In 1829 he married a daughter of Judge William Miller by whom he had seven children, four of whom reached maturity. The Judge is one of those members of the bar who figure in Judge Carter's reminiscences.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.