USA > Ohio > Darke County > History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume I > Part 41
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His appointement by Governor Noyes, for the unexpired portion of the term to which Judge McKemy had been elected, was on the unanimous recommendation and petition of the bar in every county of the judicial district. Judge Meeker's service on the bench was so acceptable to all the people that he was chosen at the next election for the posi-
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tion without opposition. Both of the leading political par- ties nominated him, and the members of the bar without dissent recommended his election. After this he was re- elected for two terms and declined a third because of fail- ing health. Judge Meeker filled a place in the history of this judicial district that is creditable to himself and honor- able to the profession. A judge for a period of almost twenty- one years, he retired from the bench with the highest re- spect of the profession and admiration of the public. He was always a close student and when in practice was known as a hard working lawyer, and likewise a successful one. His greatest reputation, however, will rest on his work as a judge. In his decisions he was almost unerring. He pos- sessed what is termed a legal mind; understood thoroughly the principles of the law; was painstaking in his investiga- tions and accurate in his decisions. One of the sources of his popularity was undoubtedly his unassuming manners, unfeigned cordiality and readiness to help his fellow men.
Judge Meeker died suddenly, September 5, 1896, at his home in Greenville, and the tributes to his character and worthiness, expressed in a memorial meeting of the bar, and in the funeral services, were hearty and sincere.
Upon the expiration of the term of Judge Meeker he was succeeded, in 1883, by John W. Sater, who as Judge Clark said was the bull dog of the bar. He was born on July 9, 1839, in Maryland. He was large, well formed, weighed over 200 pounds, with light complexion and dark hair, be- ing always a good dresser.
Judge Sater was admitted to the practice of law by the supreme court of Ohio in December 1862, after having served in the Civil War, and began the practice of law in Green- ville, in January, 1863. He served one term as prosecuting attorney of the county and was a good pleader and most thorough in the preparation of his causes. He was connect- ed with many of the most important cases, tried at the bar, while he was in practice. John W. Sater was judge of the court of common pleas of the first sub-division of the second judicial district of Ohio, for five years, ending May 1888. In those days there were few court stenographers and the only way to preserve testimony was by memory or for the lawyers and the court to take notice of the testimony of the witnesses. Judge Sater always took full notes of the testi- mony. J. W. Sater, it is written "while on the bench, had
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the well deserved reputation of being one of the most able judges who ever held court in this district." He died March 22, 1897.
Upon the completion of another term of five years of Judge Meeker in May 1893, he was succeeded by John C. Clark, whose term of service was for five years until May 1898. Mr. Clark was born in a log cabin in Washington township, Darke county, on the 17th of January, 1849, a son of Benjamin H. and Mary (Martin) Clark. His father was of English and Ger- man extraction and his mother was of German and Irish lineage. Upon the family homestead John C. Clark was rear- ed, working in the fields through the summer months while in the winter, until eighteen years of age, he pursued such studies as formed the curriculum in the district school of the neighborhood .. Early becoming imbued with a desire to make the practice of law his life work, he began reading law with Judge A. R. Calderwood and H. M. Cole in October 1875. At the time Mr. Clark was a student, Ed. Breaden was also reading law in the same office, and in 1878 these two young men commenced the practice of law together, under the firm name of Breaden & Clark. The partnership was dissolved three years later and in 1885 Mr. Clark formed a law partner- ship with General Anderson and Mr. Chenoweth and their practice was very remunerative. From January, 1881, for a period of five years, Judge Clark served Darke county as prosecuting attorney.
On the bench Judge Clark was most fair and impartial in his rulings and his decisions were models of judicial sound- ness. At a bar banquet held at the Turpen house on January 9, 1909, Judge Clark delivered an interesting toast "Reminis- censes," wherein he spoke of the many attorneys with and against whom he had practiced law during a period of thirty- five years. Judge Clark died June 23, 1912, commanding that uniform regard which is everywhere given to true worth of character.
The judicial district having been changed and there now be- ing a republican majority, Henry M. Cole was elected in 1897 for a term of five years and began his service in May, 1898. Henry M. Cole was born upon a farm in this county in March, 1845, a son of Samuel Cole, who was born in Washington township, Darke county on the old family homestead, in 1821. Not content to follow the plow, his preference being for pro- fessional life, he read law under the direction of the firm of
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Knox & Sater of Greenville and later attended the law school in Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated in the class of 1869. During the first eleven years in the profession, he practiced in partnership with Judge A. R. Calderwood. During the war of the Rebellion he had manifested his loyalty to his country by enlisting in an Ohio regiment, in which he served faithfully and well until the close of hostilities when he was honorably discharged.
While practicing at the bar Judge Cole applied himself dil- igently to the preparation and trial of cases and to the hand- ling of the legal matters entrusted to his care. Judge Cole attended to his judicial duties with careful attention to de- tails and a disregard for self, seeming to be animated only by a desire to discharge his duty with fairness and impartiality. Judge Cole died February 16, 1909, universally esteemed.
Judge Cole was succeeded in 1903 by James I. Allread who has long figured prominently in connection with political and professional interests in Darke county and whose reputation and acquaintance are by no means limited to the confines of the county. He was born upon his father's farm in Twin township in September, 1858: his paternal great-grandfather being one of the heroes of the Revolutionary war, who under command of General Wayne aided the colonists in their strug- gle for independence. James I. Allread spent his boyhood days upon the home farm in Twin township and continued his education in Greenville under the instruction of Prof. J. T. Martz and Professor Seitz. At nineteen years of age he began reading law in the ffice and under the direction of Wil- liam Allen of Greenville, being admitted to the bar before the supreme court in October, 1880. He then established an office in Greenville, where he practiced for a period of over twenty consecutive years with the exception of a short interval dur- ing which he served as judge of the circuit court, having been appointed by Governor Mckinley in 1894 to fill out the unex- pired term of Judge Shauck, who was advanced to a seat on the supreme bench of this state.
When the term was ended Mr. Allread resumed the private practice of the law as a member of the firm of Allread, Tee- garden & Harrison and was connected with important litiga- tion in all of the courts, local, state and federal. In 1898 he was a member of the republican state executive committee and his labors were effective in promoting the success of his
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party, and in 1901 he was chief clerk in the department of state of Columbus.
Judge Allread occupied the bench for five years until 1909 and was generally recognized as one of the ablest judges in the second district being elected in 1908 to the circuit bench for a period of six years, and was a republican nominee for election to the supreme court of Ohio in 1912.
The judge of the common pleas court since January 1, 1909, is William W. Teegarden, who was born in July, 1862 and is a representative of one of the oldest pioneer families of Darke county. The family history in this country antedates the period of the American Revolution, the place of original set- tlement being in southwestern Pennsylvania. Judge Tee- garden was born in Brown township, where he remained un- til he was eighteen years of age and assisted in the work of the farm. After acquiring sufficient education to obtain a county teachers' certificate, he gained his first experience as a teacher in his home district at Woodington. Working his way rapidly to the front of the profession, he acquired suffi- cient means to enable him to spend part of two years as a stu- dent in the Northwestern Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio. While teaching he began the study of law under the direction of the firm of Knox, Martz & Rupe, of Greenville, Ohio, and in June, 1893, passed a successful examination be- fore the supreme court at Columbus and was admitted to the bar. He removed to Greenville in the autumn of that year and began to practice at his chosen profession in partnership with D. W. Younker. This business connection continued until February, 1896, when it was dissolved and Mr. Teegar- den associated himself with Judge J. I. Allread. He was a member of the city board of school examiners and as a repub- lican has always been actively identified wtih the interests of his party, which he has served in various capacities. Since his elevation to the bench in 1909, Judge Teegarden has ably upheld the dignity of the bench and has been painstaking and conscientious in the discharge of his duty to the state. He has been careful and accurate in his application of law prin- ciples to the points in litigation and his efforts have met with the approval of the bar and the people.
Under the new constitution of 1912 the judges of the court of common pleas shall, while in office, reside in the couunty for which they are elected; and their term of office shall be for six years.
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It is said that popular elections, short terms, and small sal- aries are sufficient to lower the character of the judiciary. Popular elections throw the choice into the hands of political parties, that is to say of knots of wire-pullers inclined to use every office as a means of rewarding political service, while short terms oblige the judge to remember in whose hands his fortunes lie, thus inducing timidity and discouraging inde- pendence. Small salaries prevent able men from offering themselves for places, whose income is less than a leading lawyer can make by private practice.
In fairness to the men who have so ably occupied the bench in Darke county, it must be said that none of these causes have operated to lower the bench of this county and that the judiciary of Darke county compares favorably with any in the state.
Quoting attorney D. W. Bowman from a toast at a bar banquet in Union City : "It is possible to achieve the ideal, but to do so, the most commanding abilities and the most un- sullied private and public character should be demanded of every man who aspires to be a judge. Wisdom, learning, in- tegrity, independence and firmness should be the cardinal vir- tues, and the politician, the trickster, the demagogue, the nar- row minded practitioner, wise in his own conceit, should have no place on the bench. Men of strength, of unspotted lives, whom power can not corrupt, or influence intimate or affec- tion swerve; men of exalted ideas of duty and honor, and who do not run after but whom the office seeks, are alone fit to be entrusted with the tremendous power of sitting in judgment upon the rights of sovereign states, and the rights and liber- ties of the inhabitants thereof."
Probate Judges.
Many people never find it necessary to appear in the com- mon pleas court either as plaintiff or defendant but there are few people who do not at some time in life enter into close relation with the probate court. Licenses to enter into matri- mony are issued by this court, and in the settlement of estates this court comes very near to the people. Under the constitution of the state of Ohio of 1802, article 3, section 5, the court of common pleas, had jurisdiction of all probate and testamentary matters, granting administration and the ap- pointment of guardians but under the constitution of 1851 the
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probate court was created and given jurisdiction in probate and testamentary matters, the appointment of administrators and guardians, the settlement of the accounts of executors and guardians and such jurisdiction in habeas corpus, the issuing of marriage licenses and for the sale of land by executors, ad- ministrators and guardians as may be provided by law.
The revised constitution of Ohio with amendments ap- proved by the people September 3, 1912, provides for the con- tinuance in each county of a probate court, which shall be a court of record, open at all times, and holden by one judge. elected by the electors of the county, who shall hold his office for the term of four years.
The first probate judge of Darke county was John Wharry. born in Pennsylvania, 1809, and coming to Greenville at the age of fifteen years. After clerking for several years in a store he assisted at the work of surveying and by personal applica- tion, he obtained sufficient knowledge to become a practical surveyor. He engaged in this business from 1831 to 1851 during most of which time he filled the position of county surveyor. In the fall of 1851, he was elected probate judge of Darke county and served three years, being subsequently ad- mitted to the practice of law. He was one of the best drafts- men in the county and an excellent pennan, and contributed about forty pages of valuable historical matter to the first his- tory of Darke county printed in 1880, some of which is being used in this article.
He was succeeded in 1854 by Andrew Robeson Calderwood, born in Montgomery county, November 14, 1818. He was employed in early life upon a farm, digging ditches, mauling rails, etc. His early education was meagre, but being called upon to serve as juror, he was so inspired by the eloquence of some of the attorneys in the case, that he resolved to be- come a lawyer, and was admitted to the bar in 1851. After serving three years as probate judge, he resumed the prac- tice of law and later entered the union army as second lieu- tenant, being later promoted to captain of Company I. For- tieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. At the close of the war, he resumed the practice of law and December, 1876, he assumed editorial control of the Sunday Courier, a leading organ of the Republican party of Darke county. He was three times elected mayor of Greenville, and in 1868. the republicans of Darke county presented his name in the fourth congressional district of Ohio, but his competitor was nominated for con-
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gress by a small majority. He had a liberal share of the prac- tice in this county and enjoyed somewhat more than a local reputation as a criminal lawyer.
The third Probate Judge of Darke county was D. H. R. Jobes, born in Montgomery county, September 14, 1829. His parents being poor, he was early thrown upon his own re- sources, but by faithful improvement of limited privileges obtained a good education and for a number of years followed the occupation of a teacher. In October, 1857, he was elected probate judge of Darke county and served until February, 1867, during which time he devoted his spare time to reading law under the direction of D. L. Meeker and was admitted to practice in January, 1867. He formed a partnership with his preceptor and so continuued until 1872. On January 1, 1875, he formed a law partnership with C. M. Anderson, of Green- ville, which was dissolved by the death of Mr. Jobes, Janu- ary 13, 1877. On the occasion of his funeral, among other remarks by members of the bar, J. R. Knox, Esq., said: "Dur- ing the nine years of service as probate judge, I had frequent occasion to appear before him and observe his conduct in that capacity and I take pleasure in this solemn hour as I have always done, to say, that as by law recognized next friend of the widow and guardian of the orphan the highest and most sacred trust, which the law imposes upon that officer, and in the various duties of his position, he was a careful, impartial and vigilant accountant, and deserving the honored name of a just and upright judge."
From 1867 to 1868 John C. McKemy was probate judge, serving until April, 1868 when he resigned to take his seat on the common pleas bench. A fuller account of him can be found on preceding pages under my account of the common pleas judges.
A. T. Bodle was appointed to serve from April, 1868 to No- vember of that year. Judge Bodle came to Darke county in 1845 and taught school for some years afterwards. He was a man of strong mind, a ripe scholar, and a good reasoner. His knowledge of the law was fair and his pleadings generally pre- cise. He removed to Kansas in 1884 and died there recently.
The next probate judge was James T. Meeker, who was born in Darke county in 1831 and was a school teacher in his younger days. He read law, but made no application for ad- mission to the bar until 1873, at which time he held the office of probate judge. After filling a part of the term in 1868 he
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was elected for a term of three years and then re-elected, serving until 1876 or about seven years altogether. At the completion of his term he formed a partnership with J. K. Riffle, and engaged in the active practice of law. He was an officer in the Greenville bank, a stockholder in the gas com- pany and was for some years a member of the school board. He died September 19, 1881.
In 1875 Dr. John A. Jobes, a republican, a brother of D. H. R. Jobes was elected probate judge. He was born in Union, Montgomery county, Ohio, April 28, 1828. He studied medi- cine in his youth under Dr. Curtis Otwell and also taught school. He was a graduate of a Cincinnati commercial col- lege, and was a graduate from the Cleveland Medical College, the Ohio Medical College of Cincinnati, and Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York, completing his course at the later college in 1871. He was a physician and a surgeon in the One Hundred and Fifty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry and was mustered out with the regiment in 1864, whereupon he resumed the practice of medicine, which he continued until February, 1876, when he was sworn in as probate judge. He was re-elected in 1878 for an additional term of three years, serving until 1882, after which he retired and later was dep- utty probate judge 1900-1903, under his son, George A. Jobes. He died in 1903, aged seventy-five years.
Hereupon a democrat was again elected, Judge Samuel L. Kolp beginning his term in February, 1882, and serving for a period of six years. Judge Kolp was born in Pennsylvania in 1832, of German parentage and while a young man emigrated to Ohio and came to Yellow Springs, Greene county, where he followed his occupation of tailor. He removed later to Miami county, thence to Darke. following the occupation of farming. Later he removed to Greenville and resumed tailor- ing until he entered the office of deputy probate judge under James T. Meeker, in which capacity he also served until Dr. J. A. Jobes until he succeeded him in 1882. During this time he was a member of this city school board and later removed to Union City, where he died.
In 1887 Dr. Lewis C. Anderson was elected probate judge and served for a period of six years. He was born on a farm in Montgomery county, moved to Ansonia at the age of twen- ty-seven, after having attended National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio. He taught school several winters, then took up the study of medicine and graduated from the Miami
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Medical College in the spring of 1874 and pursued the prac- tice of medicine at his home in Ansonia for fourteen years. Judge Anderson served his party as central committeeman and on the county executive committee during several cam- paigns. At the expiration of his term of office in 1894 he took up the practice of medicine in the city of Greenville, enjoying a lucrative practice until his death in July, 1908.
The next incumbent of the office of probate judge was Joseph M. Bickel, who was born in Darke county, December 2, 1852. His grandfather, Andrew Bickel, was a native of Germany, whence he crossed the Atlantic to the new world, and the father of Judge Bickel, Tobias Bickel, was born in Pennsylvania in 1811. Joseph M. Bickel spent his early days on the home farm, later attending the normal school at Ada, where he prepared for teaching. From his eighteenth to his thirtieth year, he taught school in Darke county and later came to Greenville, reading law in the office of Hon. David L. Meeker, being admitted to the bar in June, 1885. He entered into partnership with Hon. M. T. Allen and Judge James I. Allread, which connection was continued until Mr. Allen's re- moval to California, when the firm name was changed to All- read & Bickel ; that partnership was continued until the junior member was elected probate judge. He proved a very com- petent and reliable official and at the expiration of his term he resumed the practice of law and entered into a partnership with Guy C. Baker, under the firm name of Bickel and Baker.
The record of Democratic successes in Darke county was again broken in the fall election of 1899 when George A. Jobes was elected to succeed Judge Bickel. George A. Jobes was born at Palestine, Darke county, Ohio, and was a son of Dr. John A. Jobes, who had been probate judge from 1876 to 1882. He graduated from the Greenville high school in June, 1882, and attended the Cincinnati Law School graduating from that institution in 1887 and being admitted to the bar of Ohio in the same year. Judge Jobes served only three years, being defeated in 1902 by his former opponent, D. Robeson. After liis retirement, Judge Jobes resumed the practice of law for a number of years, but is now traveling immigration agent of the Northern Pacific Railway Co.
For a period of six years from February, 1903 to 1909, Dr. Donavan Robeson served as probate judge of Darke county to the satisfaction of the people. His parents were Andrew Robeson and Elizabeth (Reed) Robeson, who were both
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reared in Darke county. Donavan Robeson's boyhood days were occupied with limited schooling and unlimited hard work, but he made the most of the opportunity at hand. After teaching school several years alternating as was the custom with farm work in summer, he took up the study of medicine, completing a course at the Ohio Medical College and later a year's study at Bellevue Medical College, New York City. In May, 1895, he removed his office from Arcanum to Green- ville and continued the practice of medicine with Dr. L. C. Anderson. Always an active worker in the democratic party, Dr. Robeson was recognized for his party service by election to the office of probate judge for two full terms. His service in this office were marked by firmness and courage to admin- ister the law for the public interest and welfare.
The present probate judge is James B. Kolp, who was born in Greene county, Ohio, September 3, 1857, removing a few years later with his parents to Butler township, Darke county. At the age of seventeen he was a school teacher, which occu- pation he pursued until he entered the office of his father, the late Judge Samuel L. Kolp, who had, as hereinbe ore stated, been elected probate judge in 1881. He served as a deputy under his father for six years and later served one year with Judge Anderson and six years with Judge Robeson, thus hav- ing thirteen years' practical experience in the office before his election as probate judge in 1908. Judge Kolp was elected by seventeen hundred and seventy-six majority, the largest ever given a candidate for that or any other office in Darke county. He was re-elected to succeed himself in 1912 and has always administered his office in a fair and impartial manner. His term will expire February 8, 1917.
In concluding this review of the successive judges of the probate court in Darke county, we have no hesitancy in say- ing that not only has the law governing decedents estates and minors thrown every possible safeguard about their interests, but the judges of Darke county have in addition faithfully and impartially endeavored to discharge their duties. While it seems to be human nature for heirs and distributees to believe and sometimes to assert that someone else has obtained a greater share or been unduly favored. it is nevertheless true that such charges are rarely, if ever, well founded.
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