USA > Ohio > Darke County > History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume I > Part 40
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In 1823, this state of things opened the door for a transaction that gave rise to much excitement, ill-blood and evil speaking, that for several years laid on the shelf a hitherto popular man, then in place as public officer, although in after years he was acquitted by the people of blame in the matter, save negli- gence of duty, the fraud mixed up with it being laid to other account.
On the annual settlement with the county treasurer. the county orders redeemed by him were delivered to the com- missioners and auditor, and he was credited therefor, and the law then required that they should be burned in the presence of those officials. No schedule of their number, amount or payee was made or kept, but only the aggregate to be inserted in the credit to the treasurer; at the settlement of the year mentioned, when the bundle of orders were turned over there was no fire handy to carry out the behest of the law, and fric- tion matches had not yet been seen or known. The bundle was left in the auditor's care, who was to fulfill the omitted duty when he had a fire or lighted candle in his office, and nothing more was thought of it.
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Some months afterwards, several of these orders, distinctly remembered by the treasurer, collector and commissioners to be of those previously redeemed, were found in circulation. How they again got out was never definitely proved or known, nor was it ever ascertained what amount had been fraudulently reissued. No accurate investigation ever took place, for the system of keeping books then in vogue in Darke county afforded no means of making an accurate investiga- tion. Some of the orders were tracked very near, but not quite to the auditor. That officer was many years later placed in a position of trust, in which his securities paid heavily for . his default. His name is omitted, and the matter, only re- membered after a lapse of nearly four score years by less than a dozen persons now living, is only adverted to here, because in the ensuing session of the general assembly, it gave rise to an enactment, ever since in force, that on the redemption of a county order. the treasurer should either plainly write or print across the face of it "redeemed," with the date of its redemption and subscribe to the statement his name officially. It may as well be further stated here that one of those sure- ties, by reason of public sympathy for his loss, was some years after chosen to the same position of trust to which his busi- ness attainments was not equal, and he had to entrust his duties to subordinates whose rascality in turn made him a public defaulter, and he was sued on his bond. It is not an agreeable duty to the writer to narrate some of these oc- curences, but truth requires that history record facts, even if they are unpleasant.
It is always of interest to peruse the first records of any association or corporation, as by them we are enabled to learn the ability and character of the men chosen to lead in civil affairs and by comparison with the acts of later year, form an estimate of the growth of improvements, increased weaith, and, in some instances, disproportionate cost. These retro- spective pages are generally favorable to the pioneers since they seem to have acted with decision, economy and prudence. To this end, we copy verbatim the record of the first session of the court of common pleas for this county :
"Darke county organized March 1. 1817. Court of common pleas of Darke county, aforesaid, March 15, 1817. Before ses- sion, to appoint a clerk pro tem. and recorder, Enos Terry, John Purviance and James Rush, Esquires, associate judges, as appears by their commissions. John Beers was appointed
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clerk pro tem., to give bond 7th of April next. The appoint- ment of recorder was postponed till 7th of April next. Court adjourned until April 7, to meet at the home of Moses Scott, at Greenville. Signed, Enos Terry."
These few lines, brief as they are, present the minutes, in full, of the first special term, and are a marked contrast, in simplicity, with the verbiage of later special terms.
The next session was held, pursuant to adjournment, as shown by the following complete transcript of the proceed- ings :
"Common pleas met agreeable to adjournment. The same judges as on the 15th of March last. John Beers resigned his appointment of clerk pro tempore and Linus Bascom was appointed clerk pro tempore, in his room. Abraham Scribner appointed recorder. Court adjourned without day. Signed, Enos Terry."
The first regular term of the court of common pleas was in June, 1817. Joseph H. Crane, of Dayton, was the first presid- ing judge, with the associates above named. They all pro- duced commissions, signed by Thomas Worthington, gover- nor of Ohio, and at once entered upon the performance of their duties. The records show no grand jury in attendance at this first term, for the good reason, as the minutes show, that there was "no sheriff, coroner or other officer qualified to serve and return process," and that there had been "110 venire facias for a grand jury served and returned." These facts having been officially made known to the court, it was "ordered that a venire facias issue, directed to Moses Scott," who was especially authorized and empowered to serve and return, commanding him to summon fifteen good and lawful men of the county, to appear forthwith, at our court house in Greenville, to serve as grand jurors; upon which writ the said Moses Scott returned that he had summoned John Lor- ing, John Andrews, James Cloyd, Daniel Potter, Robert Douglas, Abraham Miller, Filder G. Lenham, Daniel Holley, Joseph Townsend, James Williamson. John Rverson. David Briggs, Levi Elston, Martin Ruple and Peter Rush. who, be- ing chosen and sworn and charged, retired to their room.' Few are left who had a personal acquaintance with these men : and they, the first Darke county grand jurymen ever impan- eled, have long since passed away. The latest survivor was James Clovd, who was a resident of German township, and died at a ripe old age, a few years before the civil war.
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On June 3, 1817, the court appointed Henry Bacon, of Day- ton, to act as prosecutor, on behalf of the state of Ohio, for the county of Darke, until the further order of the court thereon. The grand jury found several indictments at this term. Among others, there was one against Robert Hood, for "selling whisky to the Indians." Another indictment was found against William R. Jones, for assault and battery, it being alleged and proved that he had flogged an eavesdropper for peeping through the cracks of the log cabin at the grand jury, while they were holding their session. The constable was convicted and fined $8 and costs. This may have been right, but the fellow deserved what he got, and the constable was not wanting in the discharge of his duty. His ignorance of legal technicalities and his zeal outran his discretion, and his punishment by fine and dismissal was severe.
The various defendants to several indictments found were duly arraigned, and, as a matter of course, entered a plea of "not guilty." Matters were now brought to a dead halt, as a reference to the record showed "no persons returned to serve as petit jurors." Acting Sheriff Scott was, therefore, at once ordered to "summon twelve good and lawful men of said county to serve as petit jurors," upon which writ the said Moses Scott returned that he had summoned Charles Sump- tion. John McFarlin, James Williamson, John Break, Charles Reed, Jacob Miller, William Montgomery, Robert McIntyre. James Perry, Aaron Dean, Alexander Smith and Zachariah Hole." Of these, the first petit jury ever impaneled in Darke county, none were known to be living in 1880. The last sur- vivor, so far as ascertained, was John McFarlin, of the town- ship of Jackson. At the close of this term. the following entry was placed on record: "The court allows Henry Bacon. prosecutor for Darke county, $10 for services at this term."
On the second Monday of August, 1817, Moses Scott pre- sented his commission from the governor, as sheriff, and gave a bond of $4,000. On the same day. William Montgomery presented his commission as coroner, and gave a bond for $2,000. There were two courts a year. Each term lasted but one or two days. It took a ride over nearly the entire county to summons men enough to make up the two juries. The grand jury rarely sat more than one day. Services were paid for in county orders. which were current in exchanges, at about fifty cents cash on the dollar, as there was no money in treasury. The allowance to each grand juror was seventy-five
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cents per day ; the petit juror was paid but half a dollar, but received this on each trial, and this was paid by the winning party.
The first court had been held in the bar room of Azor Scrib- ner and as was just and fair, the second was appointed for the 14th of November, 1817, in the bar room of Scott's Tavern. The first case called was an action for debt, in which Anthony Ricard appeared as defendant. The clerk's fees were $2.50, those of the sheriff were $1.17 and of the attorney $5, making a total of $8.67. At this time, William, son of Moses Scott, had been elected sheriff. The tavern in those days was the place for assembly to exchange items of news, join in a so- ciable glass and partake perhaps of the plain but abundant fare offered.
The event of a court was a novelty, and a number of the settlers gathered about and curiously observed the proceed- ings. A panel of grand jurors, among whom was John S. Hiller, was sworn in, as a matter of course, and received the charge from Judge Crane, then on the circuit. General James Mills was foreman, and the party was conducted to Azor Scrib- ner's bar room, and duly furnished by the hospitable inn- keeper with a bottle of good whisky and a pitcher of water. Soon a man was admitted who testified that he had been as- saulted, wounded, beat and otherwise ill-treated. On his re- tirement, another entered, who witnessed that his predecessor before the jury had committed a like offense upon him. The case was by no means a clear one. The foreman was about to take the sense of the jury, when he announced that "it had been-rulable in Butler county, where he came from, to require the youngest juryman to vote first." This chanced to be Hiller, who naturally entered an objection, saying that as this was his first experience on a jury, he did not wish to be forward in giving an opinion. The bottle was then brought into requisition, and after disposing of the liquor to general satisfaction, the case was formally decided. At the close of the day, the jury was discharged and court adjourned sine die.
Seven years later Rush and Terry were reappointed asso- ciate justices and John Briggs added to take the place of John Purviance. Two years later in 1826 David Purviance was added to fill a vacancy and the following year George Adams was appointed. Adams had been a drummer boy in the Revo- lution and served with Harmar, being badly wounded in the
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latter's defeat. His life was despaired of, and on the retreat of the army to Fort Washington, he was carried on a litter between two horses to Cincinnati, although on the way a grave was dug for him three evenings in succession. Adams recovered sufficiently to join St. Clair's army and was one of those fortunate enough to escape massacre at Fort Recovery. Adams was also a spy under Wayne in 1794, was a major of the Ohio militia in the war of 1812 and commandant of Fort Greenville. Later he erected a mill in Adams township and was one of the most prominent persons in the early history of Darke county. Major Adams lies buried in the Martin cemetery near Greenville and in his grave are doubtless a number of bullets which the surgical skill of those days could not remove.
In 1831 the legislature reappointed James Rush an asso- ciate judge, from which it would appear that he must have served in that capacity more than fourteen years. No further record of the early justices was found until 1840, when George Adams, Jr., James Hayes and Newberry Yorke were appointed by the legislature. In 1847 the appointees were John Armstrong, Josiah D. Farrer and Thomas C. Brawley. The last appointment for this county was Judson Jacqua in 1851.
We have now given the names of all the associate judges appointed from Darke county, who served as advisors to the respective president judges from 1817 to 1850. We have no means of knowing at this date to what extent these men in- fluenced the decisions of the court. They were not men learned in the law and we presume the main burden rested upon the president judge.
As stated on preceding pages, in the account of the first court the first president judge was Joseph H. Crane, who was elected January 18, 1813, and whose associates were John Pur- viance, James Rush and Enos Terry. Judge Crane was at that time regarded as the father of the Montgomery county bar, not only for his age, but for his ripe and profound learn- ing in his profession. Outside of mere professional and tech- nical learning, he was a man of wide and varied reading, and prodigious memory, especially familiar with English history and the English classics and poets. Judge Crane came from a family identified with the heroic struggle for American inde- pendence. From 1813 to 1816 Crane acted as prosecuting at- torney for Montgomery county and was elected to the judge-
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ship in 1817 when Darke county was organized. In this ca- pacity he rendered valuable and satisfactory service until the year 1828, when he was elected to congress, where he served eight years, at the expiration of which period he withdrew from public life and resumed the practice of his profession in Dayton. Judge Crane was regarded as the best type of the early American lawyer and left an indelible impression upon the tone of the bar, which has been perpetuated, it may be truthfully said, to a large extent through its membership down to the present hour.
The next judge to hold court here was George B. Holt, whose term of office began in 1829. Judge Holt was a native of Connecticut. where he had been admitted to the bar and came to Dayton in 1819. He served acceptably his first seven years term on the bench up to 1836, and afterwards in 1842 to 1843, and was again elected judge the last term expiring in 1849. In 1850 Holt and C. L. Valandigham were rival candi- dates for the state convention, called to adopt a new state constitution for Ohio. After his election Judge Holt took part in the labor of the constitutional convention, which was composed of many of the ablest men of the state. Later he retired from active professional and political life, was a strong supporter of the union during the rebellion and died at Day- ton at the age of eighty-two.
The next president judge to hold court with Darke county associate judges was William L. Helfenstein, who served from 1836 up to 1842 when Judge Holt again resumed the bench, as heretofore stated.
John Beers of Darke county was then presiding judge for a short time and was succeeded by Ralph S. Hart.
The constitution of 1851 contained the following provisions by which the state was permanently subdivided into common pleas districts, and these again divided into three subdistricts each, and the election of the judges of these courts vested in the people of the subdivision instead of in the general assem- bly as heretofore.
"Article 4, Section 3. The state shall be divided into nine common pleas districts, of which the county of Hamilton shall constitute one, of compact territory, and bounded by county lines, and each of said districts, consisting of three or more counties, shall be divided into three parts of compact terri- tory : and bounded by county lines, and as nearly equal in population as practicable, in each of which one judge of the
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court of common pleas for said district, and residing therein, shall be elected by the electors of said subdivision. Courts of common pleas shall be held by one or more of these judges in every county in the district, as often as may be provided by law ; and more than one court, or sitting thereof, may be held at the same time in each district.
"Article 4, Section 4. The jurisdiction of the courts of common pleas, and of the judges thereof, shall be fixed by law."
Under this new arrangement three judges of a district to- gether constituted a district court, they succeeded to the func- tions of the old supreme court in their respective counties, and the new common pleas court succeeded to the old common pleas court except in probate jurisdiction, for which probate judges were provided to be elected, one in each county.
In 1852 an act of the legislature divided the state into five circuits for the district court and a judge of the supreme court was required to preside, and the district court was made a court of appeals from the common pleas court. This prac- tice continued until the supreme judges were relieved of this duty in 1865, after which the common pleas judges of the dis- trict court were authorized to consider appeals from their own judges. This undesirable condition of things was removed in October, 1883, by the adoption of an amendment to the con- stitution, authorizing the creation of a circuit court and abol- ishing the district court but leaving the common pleas judges and courts undisturbed.
The first election for judge under the new constitution was held on the second Tuesday of October. 1851. The term of the old judge having been extended to the second Monday of February, 1852, the new judges began their term of office at that time. Butler, Preble and Darke formed the first sub- division of the second district. Subsequent judges other than citizens of Darke county were Abner Haynes, James Clark, William J. Gilmore, Alex. F. Hume and Ichabod Corwin.
William M. Wilson, lawyer, judge and legislator, was born near Mifflin, Juaniata county, Pennsylvania, March 11, 1808. and died in Greenville, Ohio, June 15, 1864. His parents were Thomas Wilson and Jane Martin and in 1811 they came to Ohio, passed about a year in Fairfield county and in 1812 settled in Butler county where Mr. Wilson was reared. He was educated in Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, studied law with the late Hon. Jesse Corwin, of Hamilton, Ohio, was (30)
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admitted to the bar in 1832 and then began practice in that place. In the fall of 1835 he located in Greenville and at once took a leading position as lawyer. For a number of years he served as prosecuting attorney of Darke county. On September 19, 1837, he married Miss Louise Dorsey, of Green- ville, Ohio. She was born in Butler county, April 23, 1815, and died August 2, 1856. In December, 1837, he started the Darke County Advocate, which, with a change of name. is now the Greenville Journal. In October, 1840, he was elected auditor of Darke county and was twice re-elected, thus serving six years. In the fall of 1846 he was elected to the Ohio Sen- ate from the district composed of the counties of Darke, Miami, Mercer and Shelby and held the seat two years, during which time he rose to very prominent position in that body and came within one vote of being elected state auditor, having already gained the reputation of being one of the most effi- cient county auditors in the state. This one lacking vote he could have supplied by voting for himself, a thing which his manly modesty forbade. In the fall of 1856 he was appointed by Governor Chase as common pleas judge of the first sub- division of the second judicial district of Ohio to fill a va- cancy. His decisions were distinguished for great research and ability. Being too old to enter the service during the war for the union he was, nevertheless, as member of the military com- mittee of his district, an active and earnest supporter o' gov- ernment. He stood for many years at the head of the Green- ville bar, and was regarded as one of the best jurists in Ohio, and by his moral worth gave a higher character to the profes- sion. He was a man of unusually quiet and retiring disposi- tion : his words were few, but well chosen, and his sarcasm and repartee were like a flash of lightning on an opponent. At the same time he bore a heart of the warmest and tenderest sympathies. For a number of years he held the office of elder in the Presbyterian church of Greenville. He lived and died an honest, upright man, in whom, as friend, neighbor and citizen, the community had the fullest confidence.
In 1861 David L. Meeker was elected common pleas judge of this district but resigned in 1866. Upon the resignation of Judge Meeker, in January, 1866, he was succeeded by Wmn. Allen.
William Allen was born in Butler county, Ohio. August 13, 1827. His father, John Allen, was born in Ireland, and emigrated to America in 1812; after residing six years in the
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state of New York, he moved to Butler county, Ohio, in 1818; he moved his family into the woods of Darke county, in 1838, his dwelling being a log cabin with puncheon floors and a mud and stick chimney : in the latter part of his life he was a preacher in the United Brethren church. Our subject was favored with no educational advantages, except those af- forded by the common schools of the day, yet by making most of these, he was able to teach at the age of fifteen, and for several years followed that vocation ; at the age of nine- teen, he commenced the study of law, under the late Felix March, of Eaton, Ohio ; was admitted to the bar in 1849, and in the same year commenced practice in Greenville; in 1850 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Darke county, and re- elected in 1852; in the fall of 1858 he was elected to congress, from the Fourth District, comprising the counties of Darke, Shelby, Mercer, Auglaize and Allen, and re-elected in 1860, thus serving in the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congress ; in the winter of 1865 he was appointed by Governor Cox as judge of the court of common pleas of the first subdivi- sion of the second judicial district of Ohio, composed of the counties of Butler, Darke and Preble, to fill a vacancy made by the resignation of Judge D. L. Meeker ; in 1878, Judge Allen was nominated for Congress, by the Republicans of the fifth district, but he declined. In 1851 he married Miss Priscilla Wallace, whose father settled in Darke county in 1834; the issue of this marriage was four sons and four daughters, of whom only one son survives. Four of his chil- dren died with diphtheria under the most affecting circum- stances, in the space of as many weeks : this was in the winter of 1861, when he was summoned from Washington City to a despoiled home. Mr. Allen, although he had risen from poverty to affluence by his own unaided exertions, was one of the most charitable of our citizens and his integrity has never been questioned : his positive character while he won friends true as steel. also made enemies, but even his enemies con- ceded to him great ability and unflinching honesty of purpose ; he was vice-president of the Greenville Bank, and died presi- dent of the Greenville Gas Company.
From May, 1868, to October, 1872, the common pleas judge for this sub-division was John C. McKemy. He was a son of William and Elizabeth (Kirkpatrick) McKemy, the Mc- Kemys being Irish and the Kirkpatricks, Scotch. Judge McKemy was reared on his father's farm in Rockbridge
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county, Virginia, receiving such education as was afforded in that country at that time. Coming to Darke county, before the Civil War, he lived near Wiley Station and was a mer- chant before he took up the practice of law. He removed to Greenville, in 1865, and began practicing law, just prior to being elected probate judge, in which capacity he served from February, 1867, until he took his seat on the common pleas bench, in May, 1868. Judge McKemy was a man of bright, active mind, resourceful, very ambitious, of genial dis- position, and popular manners. Resigning before the end of his term, he resumed the practice of his profession, in Dayton, and later moved to Hamilton, Ohio, to practice law, where he continued until his decease in 1889.
Upon the resignation of Judge McKemy, he was suc- ceeded by David L. Meeker, who was appointed by Gover- nor Noyes to fill the vacancy. Judge Meeker was born in Darke county, Ohio, on the 18th day of July, 1827. a son of David M. and Nancy Ann (Miller) Meeker; the former a native of Newark, New Jersey, came to Ohio in 1802 when about ten years of age. Upon his father's farm Judge Meeker spent his boyhood, becoming familiar with all of the hard work and discomfort of clearing the land and culticat- ing the soil when the financial reward of agriculture was scarcely greater than the advantages offered for education. The privations of pioneer life were more than offset by the helpfulness of neighbors and the genuine, unpretentious hospi- tality characteristic of the occupants of log cabins in pioneer times. After teaching district school for several winters, he read law with the late Judge Ebenezer Parsons, of Mi- ami county, and was admitted to the bar in 1851, opening an office in Greenville in May 1853. He was elected prosecu- ting attorney in 1856 and re-elected two years later, serving four years. His preference for the practice of law rather than the duties of public office was so pronounced that he yielded reluctantly to the solicitation of friends to accept even the judgeship. As hereinbefore stated, he served four years as common pleas judge from 1862 to 1866.
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