History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume I, Part 76

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1202

USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume I > Part 76

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581

THE SCHOOLS. II.

Colton, Alice Comstoek, Emma Criswell, Edith L. Dann, Nellie E. Davis, Mertie I. Davis, Bertha Dille, Abigail Donovan, Katherine L. Doren, Estelle Dubois, Carrie L. Earnest, Mary Eisenbise, Laura H. Eswein, Fannie O. Fassig, Martha J. Fisher, Maud A. Fowler, Oscar R. Flynn, Francis E. Gill, Joseph C. Goodman, Mand E. Graham, Jessie C. Graves, Mary Green, Jeannette B. Hall, Charles Hiell, Lulu P. Henry, Ida Hoffman, Chester Hardy, Mary L. Hull, Holmes Hubbell, Gracie M. Jamison, Ida M. Jones, Rachel E. Jones, Adeline Kaefer, Edward Kaemmerer, Flora Kercher Anna S. Kilroy, Blanche A. Kroesen, Leanora M. Krumm, Gertude A. Leport, Elizabeth M. Lisle, Mamie L. Loewenstein, Bertha Maddox, May McClane, Grace E. Martin, Clara J. Miller, Helen E. Ziegler, Mary G. Miller, Charlotte E. Moore, Amelia Moritz, Kate L. Neereamer, Edith B. Newman, Albert Nickens, August Odebrecht, Elizabeth H. O'Harra Elsie M. Phaler, Anna L. Phelps, Clara Pfeifer, Maud L. Platt, Lewellyn E. Pratt, Mary Pumpelly, Maud Ray, Minnie Ray, Anna L. Riekel, Susan A. Ritter, Charles A. Roedelheimer, Kate V. Sands, Charles Swan, Annie Sheppard, Alice G. Shilling, Josie P. Slemmons, Ida Steinhauser, Ethel M. Steward, Lily M. Thomas, Helen M. Tippett, Mary G. Twigg, Tessa Wharton, H. O. Williams, Elva H. Young, Harriet A. Ziegler.

1891. Nellie Bachtel!, Jessie Barber, Lulu Barton, Emma Blesch, Edith Benbow, Mabel Booth, Nellie Bradford, Daisy M. Brooke, Grace Conaway, Estella Conklin, Mary E. Conwell, Grace Crawford, Phena Davis, Emma Drake, Rica Hyneman, Leona D. Humphreys, lda . Jones Emma Leutz, Mand Jeffrey, Clara Kaiser, Katherine Kiser, Lillian L. Krumm, Daisy Löwenstein, Lena Lockhart, Cora Livingston, Ida Ines Martin, Gertrude Owen, Lida Park, Nellie N. Smith, Effie L. Stewart, Grace Thompson, Lucy Thomas, Daisy Tootle, Daisy Tyhurst, Edith M. Twiss, Clara Volk, Mary Walker, Nellie Webster, Hattie Wilcox, Grace Williams, Christine Wood, Harry Alexander, Cora Eichhorn, Mary E. Ewing, Georgietta Fisher, Clara Garner, Clara German, Mand Gillespie, Delia Gunning, Helen M. Ilagne, Rose Haviland, Nellie Herrick, Retta Howell, Maria H. Peters, Edith Prall, Florence Pritchard, Mary Pyne, Fannie Riggs, Grace D. Saviers, Lena Sehenck, Alice Schroek, Abbie E. Simpson, Blanche Smith, George H. Calkins, W. C. Cole, Harry Frost, Charles Herbert, Newton Jenkins, Otto H. Magley, William A. Marsh, Perry L. Miles, George A. O'Bryan, Marcus Simonton, Anna N. Coady, Edna P. Collins, Jessie Crane, Lillie Howle, Sarah Shay, Bessie Shields, Lulu Townsend, William Beitel, Frank J. Dawson, Oscar A. Newfang.

CHAPTER XXXI.

BENCH AND BAR.

BY HON. LEANDER J. CRITCHFIELD.

Within the proper limits of a single chapter no more than a mere outline his- tory of the Bench and Bar of the City of Columbus can be given. The purpose of this chapter is not biography, but general notice will be taken of the courts held in this locality as parts of a judicial system, and of the nature and conduct of business in the courts, and of the relation of the judiciary to the community and the government, omitting details and individual names with few exceptions.

Charles Dickens says: "The administration of justice is the noblest duty of social man."

The history of organized society, whether of a state or a lesser political sub- division, cannot be completely written or properly understood without consider- ing the place and influence of the bench and bar in its organization. The judicial function in government is essential to the preservation of public order and the protection of individual rights. The immemorial existence and exereise of the judicial office in all forms of government, whether a despotism, an oligarchy, a monarchy or a republic, proves its necessity. In the ruder state of society the judicial power was usually vested in the executive ; but in more advanced civiliza- tions, in independent judicial courts established by the sovereign authority and representing it. The advance in civilization is at once marked and measured by the learning and independence of the judicial magistrates.

As the bench is indispensable to the State, so is the bar indispensable to the bench. As officers of the court the members of the bar, in an important sense, conduct the business of the courts in representing the litigant parties and in pre- senting their canses for adjudication upon reason and authority. In the elegant though florid language of D'Aguesseau, the profession of the advocate is " as ancient as magistracy, as noble as truth, and as necessary as justice." In the most enlightened and powerful nations of ancient and of modern times, lawyers, as a body, have been held in high honor for the learning of their profession, the responsibility and dignity of their employment, and the importance of their serv- ices in the vindieation of personal rights and the promotion of the public welfare. From the bar the bench must be supplied and largely assisted in its work. They act and reaet upon each other. A learned and pure body of lawyers will

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BENCH AND BAR.

furnish learned and pure judges. An elevated bench will draw the bar up to its level. They both come to their best estate under free institutions and popular government, and, in turn, are their surest guaranty. The founders of our govern- ment, national and state, have wisely provided in our constitutions and legislation for the administration of justice as indispensable to the permanency of the govern- ment itself.

The judicial history of Ohio Territory covers a period of over one hundred years, embracing, as it does, the provisions relating to the courts and the adminis- tration of justice found in the Ordinance of 1787 for the government of the ter- ritory northwest of the Ohio River, and in the laws adopted by the Governor and Judges under the authority of that instrument; in the subsequent enactments of the territorial legislatures; in the first and second constitutions of this State; in the enactments of the state legislatures, and in the practical administration of the laws by the several courts established for that purpose. Each county subdivision furnishes part of that history. The parts furnished are alike in character. The unity of the general plan of our judicial systems appears in their continuity, in the territorial ordinance and statutes, and in the state constitutions and statutes. The several changes made in the last century have been largely in matters of jurisdic- tion and modes of practice, and not, to any great extent, in the plan of distribution of judicial powers. The territorial courts are prototypes of those under the state government, as are the courts under the first state constitution prototypes of those under the second. That it should be so is natural. Many of the men who administered or were familiar with the territorial government and its judicial system were framers of the Constitution of 1802, and the system under that instrument became familiar to the people and was followed in framing the Con- stitution of 1851. The General or Supreme Court of the Territory is the prototype of the State Supreme Court in Banc and on the Cirenit. The Circuit Court of the Territory may be likened to the State Supreme Court on the Circuit, or the later District Court, or the present Circuit Court. The territorial Court of Com- mon Pleas and the court of that name under the state constitution are substan- tially identical. The Court of Quarter Sessions of the peace of the Territory with criminal jurisdiction is the later criminal court established from time to time in certain counties or cities of the State; the Probate Court, and later, the Orphans' Court of the Territory, are like our present Probate Court; and courts of justices of the peace in the townships are common to the territorial and state gov- ernments.

U'pon the establishment of the state government provision was made by legis- lation for the transfer of the business pending in the courts of the Territory to like courts of the State. The transition from the first to the second state consti- tution did not radically change the judicial plan. The Supreme Court on the cir- cuit, under the first constitution, was succeeded under the second by the District Court, now the Circuit Court. The probate jurisdiction of the Orphans' Court under the territorial system was vested in the Court of Common Pleas under the Constitution of 1802, and divested, under the Constitution of 1851, and vested in our present Probate Court.

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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

This unity and continuity in the judicial plan show the present courts in any county to be related to the systems of the past, and likely to be parts of any future system. A history of local courts is connected with the larger history of the system of which they are parts.

This locality having been within the jurisdiction of the General or Supreme Court of the territory northwest of the Ohio River under the Ordinance of 1787, a passing reference is here made to that court and its judges. The Ordinance of 1787 provided for " a court to consist of three judges any two of whom to form a quorum who shall have a common law jurisdiction." That jurisdiction was both original and appellate in civil and criminal cases and exclusive in cases for divoree and alimony. The decisions of the court were final. No reports of them were made in any permanent form. As to the routine business of the court par- tieulars are not desirable, and could not be ascertained for want of records. Those that were made have probably perished in the ruins of time. The general character of the causes that came before the court for adjudication may be inferred from its jurisdiction and the condition of civilization and the occupations of the people in the Territory.

The judges and lawyers who went to the Territory took with them the ordinance for its government and the principles of the common law, and very little additional aid iu establishing a system of courts and practice. The Governor and Judges were empowered by the ordinance to adopt such laws, criminal and civil, of the original States, as the necessities and circumstances of the Territory and people required. They exercised that power and exceeded it also by enacting laws of their own framing. The task of building up a satisfactory judicial system was not very well accomplished within the time of the territorial government, but the work was left to be improved upon under the state government.

The General Court was held at Cincinnati, Marietta and Detroit, at fixed terms, and in other counties in the territory as the business demanded. The first Territorial Judges were Samuel Holden Parsous, James Mitchell Varnum and John Armstrong. They were appointed by the Congress of the Confederation. Armstrong declined, and John Cleves Symmes was appointed in his place. After the National Constitution was adopted, President Washington reappointed Judges Parsons and Symmes, as judges of the General Court of the Territory. William Barton was appointed to the same bench at the same time but declined, and George Turner was appointed to the vacancy. Judge Parsons died soon after his last appointment and Rufus Putnam was appointed in his place. After a short serviee Putnam resigned, and Joseph Gillman was appointed to the vacancy. Judge Turner resigned and Return Jonathan Meigs was appointed in his place. Judges Symmes, Gillman and Meigs were in commission in 1802, when the terri- torial government was superseded by the state government of Ohio established in the eastern division of the Territory.

It would not be in keeping with the limited scope and purposes of this chap- ter to give any extended review of the judicial systems of the constitutions of 1802 and 1851; but it may be briefly stated that from the beginning we have had a Supreme Court at the seat of government; a court in the counties superior to the

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BENCH AND BAR.

Court of Common Pleas, being, under the Constitution of 1802, the Supreme Court on the circuit, and, under the Constitution of 1851, originally the District Court, consisting of two or more common pleas judges of the district and one judge of the Supreme Court, and later, under the amendment of 1883, of the constitution, the present Circuit Court, consisting of three judges ; a court of Common Pleas in each county, consisting, under the Constitution of 1802, of a president judge and not more than three nor less than two associate judges, and under the Constitution of 1851, of one judge ; a Probate Court under the Constitution of 1851, consisting of one judge; and both constitutions provided for "a competent number of justices of the peace " in each township, as did the Ordinance of 1787.

A most important provision of the Constitution of 1851, is the one for the appointment of three commissioners to revise, reform, simplify and abridge the practice, pleadings, forms and proceedings of the courts of record, and for abolish- ing the distinct forms of actions at law then in use, and for the administration of justice by a uniform mode of proceeding without reference to any distinction between law and equity. In obedience to this provision of the constitution the Code Commissioners were appointed, and their work was the beginning of the reformed procedure now prevalent in this State.

The territory now within the limits of Franklin County was first settled in 1797, then being a part of the county of Ross, and was under the territorial gov- ernment. In other chapters the history of that first settlement is given, detailing the work of Lucas Sullivant, a young civil engineer of Kentucky, with his corps of assistants, in making surveys and locating land warrants in the Virginia Mili- tary District west of the Scioto River. In August, 1797, he laid out the town of Franklinton, subsequently the first seat of justice of Franklin County, designated as such by a legislative commission as hereinafter stated. Under the act of March 30, 1803, the county of Franklin was carved out of the county of Ross and organ- ized. It was bounded on the cast nearly as it is now ; on the south by a line near the middle of the present county of Pickaway ; on the west by Greene County, and on the north by Lake Erie. The creation of numerous new counties out of this extended territory, including Delaware, Pickaway, Madison and Union, and some subsequent changes in lines, and some additions from Licking and Fairfield, left the county of Franklin bounded as it is at present. Under the act of March 28, 1803, " establishing seats of justice," Jeremiah McLene, James Ferguson and Wil- liam Creighton having been appointed commissioners by the legislature to fix the permanent seat of justice of Franklin County, on June 20, 1803, selected " the town of Franklinton on the Scioto River, in the county of Franklin aforesaid, as the most suitable place for the seat of justice and holding the courts for said county." Franklinton remained the countyseat until 1824, when Columbus, the capital of the State, was made the seat of justice of the county of Franklin.

The Courthouse in Franklinton was not erected until 1807-8. At what partic- ular places in Franklinton the courts were held previous to that date the record does not inform us, except that the March term of the Court of Common Pleas in 1805 was held at the house of Joseph Parks, and the July term of that year at the house of Robert Armstrong. The precise location of these houses is not known to

586

HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

the present generation. They were probably built of logs obtained on or near the spot. The change of place of holding the courts indicates, what we may well sup- pose, a difficulty in securing either a suitable or a permanent room for the purpose. The first public building erected was a jail. The houses obtainable were probably not strong enough to hold offenders against the peace and dignity of the State. At the January term of the Court of Common Pleas in 1804 the erection of a jail was provided for, as stated in a preceding chapter. The specifications of this "prison house," primitive as it was, are certainly artistically drawn, showing the hand of a master, probably that of Lucas Sullivant, Clerk of the Court and civil engineer. As the order that this log jail be "built immediately " was urgent, no doubt a full force of builders was put to work without delay. The logs were prob- ably obtained in the forest near by, and forest echoes awakened by the felling of the trees. The building was completed within a few weeks, for, at a session of the Associate Judges held on March 24, 1804, it was "ordered that there be paid unto John Dill, Esq., eight dollars out of the county treasury cash by him advanced to purchase a lock for the jail of Franklin County."

The brick Courthouse built in 1807-8 was located in Franklinton, fronting on the north side of what is now known as West Broad Street, on the site of the present new public school building, and was itself used as a schoolhouse for many years. The log jail built in 1804 was superseded by a new brick jail erected at about the same time as the Courthouse, and a few rods northeast of it. All trace of these public buildings has now disappeared. They answered their purpose until they were abandoned on the removal of the countyseat in 1824 from Frank- linton to Columbus. The first courthouse erected in Columbus was a brick build- ing located on the Statehouse Square nearly opposite the present main entrance of the Neil House. In this building the United States courts were held until they were removed to Cincinnati and Cleveland on the division of the district. It con- tinued to be used as the county courthouse until the erection of the next new one in 1840 at the southeast corner of High and Mound streets, where the present ele- gant courthouse now stands.1

The first county jail in Columbus was a brick structure located on the south side of East Gay Street, and is now part of a tenement house. It was used as the jail until 1840, when a new one was erected about the same time the courthouse was. This jail, subsequently remodeled and enlarged, continued in use until the completion of the present one, erected on the lot fronting on Fulton Street.

These progressive improvements to accommodate the courts were in harmony with the general progress of the country, and the increasing demands of business. It may not be said that equal improvement has been made in the administration of justice. That was not to be expected. Some advance, no doubt, has been made in methods of practice, but legal principles are not subject to change, nor, perhaps, does the human intellect improve in any general sense as the medium for their application. The principles of law announced in the great decisions of Chief Justice Marshall and his clear and strong intellectual processes have not been improved upon and are not likely to be in all coming time.

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BENCH AND BAR.

By the Ordinance of 1787 the Governor of the Territory was required to appoint such magistrates in each township as he should " find necessary for the preservation of the peace and good order in the same." From an inspection of their powers and duties as defined by acts adopted by the Governor and Judges of the Territory and enacted by its legislature, it is seen that justices of the peace were deemed very important officials in the Territory, as they have been in the State, both in civil and in criminal administration. These township courts, acces- sible to the people in their own immediate neighborhoods, and comparatively inex- pensive and speedy in the disposition of business, have ever been and are likely to continue to be regarded as indispensable in any adequate judicial system.

On May 10, 1803, in obedience to an act of the legislature "to regulate the election of justices of the peace and for other purposes" the Associate Judges of Franklin County met at the place of holding courts and proceeded " to lay out the county into a convenient number of townships, and appoint to each township a proper number of justices of the peace." They subdivided the county into four townships, as narrated in a previous chapter, and provided for the election of justices. The election was held June 1, 1803, and thus the first township courts in Franklin County were inaugurated. It is not practicable and would not be profita- ble to name the successive justices of the peace in the several townships of Frank- lin County from its beginning to the present, but a few of those who served in the townships in which the countyseat was located may be mentioned. Franklin township was organized in 1803, and Montgomery in 1807. William Shaw, the first justice of the peace in Montgomery township, was elected in 1807; Michael Fisher was elected in the same township in 1808 ..

Arthur O'Harra, elected a justice of the peace in Franklin Township in 1809 and reelected in 1812, 1854 and 1858, was a man of prominence and usefulness for more than half a century. In 1814 he was appointed an associate judge of the Court of Common Pleas of this county.

Jacob Grubb, elected justice of the peace for Franklin Township in 1820, was likewise a man in whom the early settlers had great confidence. He was reelected in 1823, 1826, 1829, 1832, and 1835. During much of this time he was also Treasurer of Franklin County, to which office he was appointed by the Associate Judges in 1803 and reappointed for successive terms until 1827.

William Henderson was elected a justice of the peace in Franklin Township in 1841. Ilis official career became noted in connection with the Jerry Finney kidnapping case referred to in a subsequent part of this chapter.

William T. Martin was elected a justice of the peace in Montgomery Town- ship in 1820, and reelected in 1826, 1830, 1833, 1839, 1842, 1845, and in 1848. Ile declined reelection in 1829. His long continuance in service is a signal proof of his ability and fidelity. His stately presence, dignified appearance, elegant manners and general culture and intelligence are remembered by the older citizens of the present day. In 1831 he was elected County Recorder, and was reelected for suc- cessive terms of three years each until 1846. In 1851 he was elected an associate judge of the Court of Common Pleas

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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

David W. Deshler was elected a justice of the peace in Montgomery Town- ship in 1822, reelected in 1825 and resigned in 1826. The City of Columbus never had a more excellent citizen. In accepting the office of justice and serving the public for four years in that capacity he exhibited his appreciation of duty to the community in which he lived. He was a man of very superior mental powers, and could have excelled in any other profession, as he did in banking and other business. His intellectual qualities were equaled by his kindness of heart, elegance of manners and fidelity to every trust.

See note

John P. Bruck was elected a justice of the peace of Montgomery Township in 1842, and was reelected in 1845 and 1849. He is remembered as a German gentle- man of ability and integrity, and a most excellent magistrate. In the list of causes which appear on his docket was an unusual one thus entitled : " Frederick Douglas v. The Ohio Stage Company." On July 16, 1850, Frederick Douglas, the distinguished colored orator, paid to the Stage Company the sum of three dollars, which was the regular stage fare, for his passage from Columbus to Zanes- ville. When the stage called for him in its rounds for passengers he took a seat inside in company with a lady who had delayed her journey for a day or two for the benefit of his protection, but on their arrival at the Stage Office Douglas was ordered out of the coach by Hooker, the agent. Being in poor health and disin- clined to contend with the agent, Mr. Douglas got out and was then ordered to take a seat on the top of the stage. He declined to do that, and demanded his money back. This being refused he brought this suit to recover it. Joshua R. Giddings was his attorney. The case did not come to trial, but was settled, the company paying the plaintiff thirteen dollars and liquidating the costs of the suit.>

John G. Miller was elected a justice of the peace in Montgomery Township in 1854, and was reelected in 1857. He is remembered as a courtly Virginia gentle- man of the old school, possessing a good legal education and great dignity and urbanity of deportment. He was commonly spoken of as Chief Justice, and in his court not only were the principles of the common and statute law duly adminis- tered, but the principles of equity were freely applied whenever occasion and justice seemed to require it.

Many other township magistrates are deserving of special mention which the scope of this chapter does not permit. Let one other name close the list. The venerable Lot L. Smith, whose recent and sudden death in office, on March 8, 1892, brings his many rare virtues as a citizen and magistrate of Montgomery Township into special prominence, served as justice for an aggregate term of nine years lacking one month. First elected to the office in 1878 he was reelected in 1881, and finally in 1889, each time for a term of three years. His legal learning, rare intellectual endowments, good sense and sterling honesty especially qualified him for the important duties of a magistrate, which he discharged with ability, firmness and kindness, and to the general satisfaction of the public. As a man and citizen he will long be remembered for his amiability, integrity and generous traits of character.

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History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume I, Part 76

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1202

Author: Lee, Alfred Emory, 1838-; W. W. Munsell & Co
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York and Chicago : Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1202