USA > Ohio > Champaign County > The history of Champaign county, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; history of the Northwest territory etc > Part 36
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325
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
Joseph C. Vance, father of Joseph Vance, who afterward served many years in Congress, and was subsequently Governor of the State, was appointed Clerk of the Court, which office he filled until he died, in 1809. In 1806, the inn of George Fithian was changed into a "store," the first in the place, by Mr. Samuel McCord. The cabin was afterward enlarged and weather-boarded, and occupied for many years as a residence and jewelry store, by William Thomas, and, more recently, as a dwelling-house, by Warren Holding. In 1878, it passed into the hands of the Society of the Second Methodist Episcopal Church, and its razing was watched by a large crowd with great interest, as the removal of one of the old landmarks. The generations since the days of Thomas the Clockmaker had supposed the building to be only a weather- boarded "frame " or "balloon " structure, and were surprised to see, beneath the " veneering " of the poplar sheeting, the well-hewed log house. As the work of destruction went on, a by-stander, one of the "oldest settlers," remarked that on the north side would be found an open space, made by the removal of part of one of the logs, for the purpose of light, and afterward used as a shelf, on which the " bottles of corn-juice " called for at the bar were kept. The open space was soon made visible, but not a drop of " Old Monon- gahela " had been left as a memento of the old tavern and store, or as a sam- ple of the "drink " of our forefathers. On the site of the old tavern now stands a beautiful church.
In the coming century, when progress shall declare the structure of to-day too straitened in its proportions, and luxury, smiling at the "simplicity " of the past, shall tear down, to build up a nobler temple of worship, curious crowds will again gather around to speculate on what may be found, and weary in seeking to decipher the almost obliterated papers and manuscripts beneath the corner-stone.
The first Methodist Episcopal Church was on Inlot No. 207, on the corner of Locust and Ward streets, where James Hendley now lives.
The first schoolhouse was a log cabin on the knoll on the north side of Scioto street, about forty rods east of the corner of East Lawn avenue, and was known as " College Hill." The cabin was built by Thomas Pearce, for a family resi- dence, in 1804. The teachers in this cabin were Peter Oliver and William Stephens.
Fabian Engle opened the first store on the Springfield road, at about half- way between the present dwellings on the Newell and Dallas farms.
John Reynolds and William Ward erected the first grist-mill in 1814, con- necting with it carding and fulling, which was the foundation of the present woolen factory of Messrs. Henry Fox & Co.
The first marriage license was issued to Daniel Harr and Elizabeth Ross, - dated May 28, 1805. Both lived to an honored old age, and saw their chil- dren's children to the third generation.
The first deed recorded was executed by Samuel Wheeler to Timothy Woods, in Mad River Township, March 2, 1805, and was recorded by Joseph C. Vance, September 30, 1805.
The first frame house built in Urbana was by John Reynolds, on the north- east corner of what is now called the " Weaver House," and subsequently the frame building on the southeast side of the public square, adjoining the brick store-house of Messrs. Hitt, White & Mitchell, and now occupied as photograph rooms and grocery. Mr. Reynolds used the building for his dwelling-house and had a store-room on the corner.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
Christopher McGill was born in 1802, in a cabin on the farm of John H. Young, now within the city limits, and J. H. Patrick, in 1811, in a cabin near the place where Mrs. Keller's residence now stands. Dr. E. P. Fyffe was the first child born in town.
Among the first settlers in the village, in addition to those mentioned, were Samuel McCord, Zephaniah Luce, William H. Fyffe, William and John Glenn, Frederick Ambrose, John Reynolds, Edward W. Pearce, and others. In 1811, the population of the town comprised forty-five families. Among these were, besides the above, Benjamin Doolittle, Joseph Hedges, Mrs. Fitch, Dr. David- son, Alex. Doke, George Hite, Job Gard, Alex. McComsey, John Shryach, Randel Sargent, N. Carpenter, John Frizzle, Joseph Vance, Frederic Gump, David Vance, David Parkison, Lawrence Niles, James Fithian, Wilson Thomas (colored), Toney (colored), Peter Carter (colored), Daniel Helmick, Nathaniel Pickard, Isaac Robinson, John Gilmore, Anthony Patrick, Jacob Thorp, William
. Powell, - Stout, Samuel Trewett, John Huston, Daniel Harr and Henry Bacon. The names of a number of these men will probably recur again in our sketch.
The first court met in the house of George Fithian, in Springfield ; Francis Dunlevy, President Judge, and John Reynolds, Samuel McCulloch and John Runyon, Associate Judges ; Arthur St. Clair, Prosecuting Attorney ; John Daugherty, Sheriff; Joseph C. Vance, Clerk. One of the incidents connected with the first court, was the return of the Sheriff on a writ of capias, issued against Philip Jarbo and Simon Kenton, for the recovery of a debt for which Kenton had become surety. The return of the Sheriff on the writ was : " Found Philip Jarbo, and have his body in court ; found Simon Kenton, but he refuses to be arrested,"-and he was not arrested. We can readily believe that the high regard in which Kenton was held by the court and officers suffi- ciently explains why he was not punished for his contumacy.
The first jail was on Market street, east of South Main street. Simon Kenton was the jailor about the year 1811, and was at the same time on the jail bonds for a surety debt, and was therefore his own jailor.
The first municipal election was held in 1816, Simon Kenton, Anthony Patrick and George Hite being the judges.
The house on Court street, before mentioned, continued to be occupied as a court house until a new one was built in the public square in 1814. The new court house was constructed of brick, and at that time was considered a spacious building. The main, or rather the only, entrance faced the south. The court- room was on the first floor, on the north part of the building. A hall led from the main entrance into the court-room, and on each side of this hall were the Clerk and Recorder's offices. The other county offices were in the second story, part of which was also used as a Masonic lodge. Although perhaps the most pretentious house in the village, the rooms were, in fact, small, dingy and unsafe, and the walls, more especially of the ante-room or main entrance and stairway, sadly defaced by the scrawls, marks and "flourishes " of "young America." The court-room was also used as a city hall, and was the place of all public and political meetings, and for the town and township elections. As no fence surrounded the building, and the main entrance always open, access to the stairway and belfry was easy and free to all, and the bell rope, reaching to the lower floor, was made to do service for all public meetings, and was rung to convene the court, for political meetings, for church, school and fires. In the belfry a heavy club was kept to be used in giving an alarm of fire, or to "toll "
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
when a death happened. The last time the bell was tolled for a funeral, was on the occasion of the burial of " Old Squire Thomas, " as he was commonly called and known, of Salem Township. The practice had been growing into disuse, but a party of boys were in the belfry at the time spoken of, when one of them struck the bell with the heavy beetle. This was repeated a few times, and then being too late to cease, the tolling was continued until the grave was closed. The old bell was broken in taking down the house, and was replaced by the bell which now swings in the new court house on the corner of Court and North Main, of about the same tone and caliber.
The old structure was removed in 1840, about the time of the completion of the court house on the site and forming part of the present building. The old house had one quality-so rare in these later days as to make one suspect it to be one of the lost arts-a first-class job of brick work and masonry. The walls were evidently made "to stay," and the bricks were held so tenaciously by the cement, that each particular brick had to be broken loose and dressed . with the trowel. A section of one of the walls being thrown down, remained unbroken, and came down with a " thud " like a dead-fall. We may be the more surprised at this, as the formula in use with masons when the old house was built, and for many years afterward, was one-third each of sand, lime and clay. When the house was erected, Judge William Patrick carried the first hod of brick to begin the work, and when it was being torn down carried the first hod-load away.
The house in the public square was superseded, in 1840, by a brick building on the northwest corner of Court and North Main streets, on the site of the present structure, of which it forms a material part. This building at the time of its erection, was deemed amply sufficient for all purposes incident to a court house, for many years ; but no long experience clearly indicated the house to be not only unsafe from fire, but too small for the increasing business of the county. The question of tearing down and rebuilding a house, convenient in ar- rangement, ample in size for present and future requirements, secure from waste by fire and creditable to the county, was discussed at some length and with con- siderable warmth, and was finally submitted to a vote of the people, and rejected. With the rebuilding of a court house, the construction of another jail was closely connected. For many years, the old jail, located on the same premises'as the court house, had been declared by nearly every grand jury as discreditable to the humanity of the age, badly ventilated, dark, verminous, unhealthy and oftentimes crowded. Such being the admitted facts, the result of the election gave general surprise in the city ; but the further fact was that the "rural districts " were in no humor for an expensive house. It was currently believed, that back of the proposed improvements were radical changes, involving heavy expenditures without corresponding benefits, the sale or exchange of the pres- ent premises for others, on the plea of more spacious grounds, and an unbroken front of mercantile establishments, a sale uncalled for and unnecessary, a proj- ect worked up by some one who had " corner lots " for sale, and that the law empowered the Commissioners of the county to invest a sum of money in alter- ations and repairs, amply sufficient to meet the requirements of the case, with- out the sanction of a popular vote. The above explains the reason of the vote on the proposition submitted to the people by the Commissioners. Accepting the vote as final, the latter remodeled and enlarged the building in 1880, mak- ing it substantially fire-proof, and containing all the supposed necessary room and facilities for the transaction of the official business of the county for the next
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
hundred years. The exterior of the altered house was a model of architectural proportions, the portico supported by Ionic columns of rare merit, and the build- ing modeled after the style of Grecian art, a kind of architecture which has singularly marked the public buildings of modern Republics. The remodeled building had in view space, comfort, convenience and safety, without regard to style of architecture. While these are said to be fully secured, though the building can hardly be called hideous as an object of art, it can with as little propriety lay claim to architectural beauty.
The "iron-handled " pump, on the north side of the house in the " square," before mentioned, a kind of public property, in which the teamsters of the county claimed a prescriptive right, was preserved and kept in use long after the building was removed. But the "town pump," in the progress of events, was made to give way to the changed order of things. What should be done to relieve the blankness of the open space, was long a mooted question.
"Long time ago," a liberty pole, surmounted with a brush, did impartial justice in flaunting the bunting of rival parties, and, on the "glorious Fourth," " flung out the star-spangled banner to the breeze." Beneath its shade, the traveling peddler cracked his jokes and sold his lotions and patent pills. Here the politician, on a platform improvised from a neighboring store-box, ha- rangued the multitude and " saved the country," and here the " boys," when the election returns came in, brought out the cannon and the big drum, and with the smoke and smell of tar barrel and pine box, and unearthly yell, made night. hideous in honor of the occasion. Here the "holiday " soldiers held their dress parade, " trailed arms, carried arms, and charged the bayonet." But all would not do.
The open place still had its unfinished appearance, and the feasibility of bringing the springs from "Buckeye " White's hill to grace the "square " with a living fountain, was freely entertained. But in this, as in other things, the old adage was verified, that " the business of everybody is nobody's business," and the project ended in talk. That was the time before the Holly Works were thought of. In the meantime, the civil war was inaugurated and ended, and Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg and the March to the Sea made part of the record of the citizen-soldiers of Champaign in the contest. To commemorate the result, private subscription erected a granite monument, surmounted by a bronze figure, representing a returned soldier looking down on the graves of his comrades who lost their lives in the slaveholder's rebellion. By common con- sent, the term "Public Square," has been superseded by the significant and more appropriate "Monument Square."
It may not here be inappropriate to recall the names of the Judges of the court who sat in the "old temple " and the new, and dispensed justice with impartial hand, and of the bar, who, with " silver tongue of ready utterance," sought to make the wrong appear the better reason, or with honest purpose and manly courage maintained their client's cause. Material changes have been made since that day, both in the organization of the court and in the general practice of attorneys. The Justices' bench was composed of one President Judge, supposed to be learned in the law, and three Associate Justices, taken from the body of the county, and selected for their good sense and integrity rather than for their legal acquirements. The office of Judge was one of appointment, which was superseded afterward by election by the people, and the office of Associate Judge legislated out of existence, in 1852. Occasionally, the President Judge, when the cases involving questions of law were disposed of,
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
would leave the unfinished business, which was more of the character of the work that now comes before the County. Commissioners or Probate Judge, for disposition by his Associates. The latter naturally deferred to the opinion of the Chief Justice. We shall not attempt to give the names of all the Judges and attorneys who played their little part in the two halls of justice, but among them were men of rare ability and character. Among these were Joseph R. Swan, of Columbus, who for many years presided over this judicial district with great distinction and honor, and better known throughout the State for his invaluable " Treatise " touching the laws, duties and forms, appertaining to the office of Justice of the Peace. His legal knowledge and judicial integrity are too well remembered to require comment, and the younger members of the bar remem- ber with grateful pleasure his patient courtesy and kindly suggestions in cases of embarrassment and hesitancy, and his readiness to show fair play between the supercilious and snubbing old practitioner and the unskilled novice at the bar. He retired from the bench about the year 1846, when the office was made elective, and continued his residence in Columbus, where he still lives, in an honored old age, revered by all who know him, and we reflect the common sen- timent in saying that Ohio never had an abler or a better man. At the time he was on the bench he was a man of good size, of rounded and full form, a little stoop-shouldered ; a well-defined and strongly marked face, with a cast of the mouth, nose and marks in the forehead which indicated, to a stranger, severity. On the bench, it bore the impress of serious business, which proba- bly gave this cast to his face. The voice was pleasant, though a little nasal in its tone, and just loud enough to be heard. He entered the court-room and upon his duties quietly, totally free from any self-consciousness, spoke a pleas- ant word to those about him, as he took his seat, and, by his quiet dignity, com- manded a decorum and stillness in the court-room which were enforced in after days by specific rulings.
After the court was removed to its present location, he "put up " during the session at the Hamilton House, a temperance inn kept by John Hamilton, the two-story brick tavern still bearing the name, and opposite the court house. His custom was, every morning before the opening of the court, and sometimes in the evening, to walk as far as the "Nutwood " farm of William Ward, now the property of Ab C. Jennings, and, in these morning walks, the writer of this paper was not infrequently invited to accompany him. The talk was gen- erally rambling, but in which " the law " or legal questions had no part. On one occasion, the talk was of a very able effort made in the court-room on the previous day, by a young attorney, when he added to the comments, "I have heard him many times, and never heard him say a foolish thing." Rather a hard hit at the tyros generally, but the same young man has since become one of the most brilliant and successful lawyers in Ohio. On another occasion, the talk ran on the first sermon preached the evening before, by Thomas Cole- man, a young clerk of town, who had been licensed to preach in the Methodist Episcopal Church. " Tom " had been a little wild, was not a man of learning, had a showy way of presenting a thought, and was a very clever imitator of the voice, gestures and mannerism of William B. Christie. The discourse was criticised with some little severity, and, when it was ended, he replied, “ There was also another side to be looked at," and reviewed the discourse with impartial justice. It was then thought to be intended as a gentle rebuke of an ungener- vus criticism, but a better acquaintance gave assurrance that it was simply his habit of looking at a subject on all sides, and seeing the strong and weak points of the subject matter presented to his thoughts.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
The Associate Justices during the administration of Judge Swan were James Dallas, James Smith (who was succeeded by John Taylor) and Elisha Berry. These all were men of sterling sense and integrity. Judge Dallas was a Prot- estant Irishman of superior common sense, and a man of positive convictions, and who did not hesitate to express them as positively. Judge Smith came to Champaign in 1813, and lived one miles west of town. Judge Berry was quiet and unassuming, a good citizen, neighbor and friend. Judge Taylor still survives, at the ripe old age of eighty-five, and now lives in Defiance County. He afterward represented Defiance County in the Senate of Ohio. Judge Tay- lor was " fornenst " the popular sentiment in politics, and made himself obnox- ious by his uncompromising Democracy and his hostility to Whigism. In the readjustment of parties growing out of the secession doctrines, he joined the Republican ranks with the same enthusiasm he once labored for the Democ- racy. He boasts of having shaken hands with every Governor of Ohio.
Judge Swan was succeeded by Judge Torbert, of Springfield, who died after a few years of service on the bench, the associates being Judge William Patrick, Edward L. Morgan and Elisha C. Berry. They were all "old settlers." Judge Morgan resided in Salem Township, and was an active citizen in all matters relating to the public interests, and universally held in high esteem for his intrinsic virtues. Judge Patrick was the son of Anthony Patrick, who emi- grated into Champaign among the first pioneers. He alone survives of the number, and is one of the very few links remaining to connect the present with the early settlement of the State. His vigorous pen has repeatedly done good service in behalf of questions of public interest. When Mayor of the city of Urbana, he was instrumental in having the road to the cemetery shaded on either side by trees, and with pardonable pride watches the growth and safety of the maples and forest trees that line the streets-the glory and beauty of the city.
When the " old house " was new, the modes of travel were vastly different from what they are now. The stage-coach was too uncertain ; buggies were not common, and horseback-riding was the ordinary mode of travel from one town to another. In traveling the circuit, Judge Swan usually traveled in a kind of sulky, drawn by a pied horse-not a very handsome beast, whatever its merits as to horse-flesh. The members of the bar generally traveled on horseback, carrying saddlebags, an overcoat rolled up and strapped on behind the saddle, and with a piece of cloth about three-fourths of a yard square buttoned around the lower part of the leg and tied with a string below the knee. These were called " leggings," and were commonly well spattered with mud. The profes- sion about equally divided their favors between the Exchange and the Hamil- ton House, and were received with a deference and treated with ceremonious consideration not altogether in harmony with the "Fifteenth Amendment." The law practice has greatly changed since that day. The names of Edward W. Pierce and Henry Bacon have already been mentioned. Bacon and C. P. Holcomb were resident attorneys for a time only. Pierce was said to be a man of learning and talents, but given to melancholy, and, in the winter of 1816, was found dead in the woods between Urbana and Springfield. The resident lawyers who practiced in the former house were Moses B. Corwin, James Cooley, William Bayles, Daniel S. Bell, John H. James, Israel Hamilton, Rich- ard McNamar, George B. Way, Samuel V. Baldwin and John H. Young. Pos- sibly, here John A. Corwin made his first law argument. McNamar, Way, Baldwin and Young, also, could not have been longer than a year or two. They
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
all carried their green bags and cases into the house of 1840. Then the law- yers traveled the circuit, going from one court to another, as business, or the hopes of business, called. Logan County sent Anthony Casad, Hiram McCart- ney, Richard S. Canby, Benjamin Stanton and William Lawrence; Clarke fur- nished William A. Rodgers, Charles Anthony and Samson Mason. John W. Andrews came occasionally from Franklin ; and Mercer, Union and Miami each had a representative. They had jolly times then among the lawyers, and the best story-teller always had an appreciative audience. A majority of these were young men, just pushing their way into public recognition, and, with the excep- tion, perhaps, of Charles Anthony and Samson Mason, none had reached their prime. Such an array of legal ability is not often found. It is not our pur- pose to go outside of Champaign County, but we cannot forbear our tribute to the memory of William A. Rodgers, who died shortly afterward-the quiet, unassuming gentleman, the scholarly lawyer, whose opinion settled legal doubts. He was always cheerful, pleasant and communicative, but usually sat back, with eyes half closed, apparently inattentive to what was going on, but catching and remembering every word, and to whose legal opinion the oldest lawyers deferred. In his arguments to the court, he spoke rapidly, without gesticulation and with- out effort, in an earnest and somewhat conversational tone, but the casual observer saw at once that he was no common man.
Of the resident attorneys of forty years ago, not many remain to-day. James Cooley accepted a mission of Charge d'Affaires from the United States to Chili, where he died in 1828. His contemporaries speak in high terms of his abili- ties, and the promise he had given of a brilliant and successful future.
Moses B. Corwin was one of the first lawyers to locate in Urbana, and lived to an advanced age, but many years before his death dropped out of the profes- sion. He was no great lawyer, but he had a fund of anecdote, which he nar- rated with " great unction."
With the new building came new aspirants for legal honors. Law offices formed partnerships, among which were Moses B. and John A. Corwin, who occupied what was afterward the Commissioners' room in the court house ; John H. James and Richard McNemar, who had an office in a building adjoining Weaver's present hardware store, on Scioto street ; Israel Hamilton and John H. Young, whose office was in a frame building on West Court street, between the Presbyterian Church and the brick house on the adjoining lot, where Ham- ilton lived. These three firms graduated a large number of students, some of whom became men of character and force, in no way discreditable to their early instructors, while a few cared little whether they ever had a single brief. George B. Way and Sam V. Baldwin had an office in a brick building on the west side of North Main, not far from the National Bank. This firm did not long continue. Baldwin was afterward elected Probate Judge for many years, and Way located in Washington City.
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