USA > Wisconsin > History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin, Vol. II > Part 15
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During all this period, which would have been considered sufficiently crowded with duties by the average young man, Mr. Wattawa was giv- ing every spare moment to the study of the profession with whose pos- sibilities he had already been long impressed. He had pursued a regu- lar course of reading and study in the offices of Timlin & Mansean and George B. Byron, and in July, 1887, passed a brilliant examination before the state board of examiners at Milwaukee. Returning to Ke- waunee, he entered practice in the fall of that year, and his energy, ability, straightforward dealing and popular traits of character have been the means of building up a legal. business which is second to none in the county. During this period he has been in partnership with W. F. Shea, now of Ashland, and John H. Brennan, now of Stevens Point. Among the prominent cases in which he has been engaged was that in connection with Mary Sindelars, in 1895, charged with the murder of her husband, and whom he successfully defended.
Mr. Wattawa is an active democratic leader in local, state and na- tional politics. In 1881 he was elected village justice of the city of Kewaunee and in 1888 and 1889 served as city attorney. In 1889, 1890 and 1891 he was a member of the Kewaunee county board and in the latter year was elected its chairman. In 1892 he was chosen mayor of the city of Kewaunee, and in 1893 was re-elected to the same office. He then declined to further serve in this capacity; notwithstanding which,
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he was again chosen in 1897 and 1898. Mr. Wattawa was graduated to a broader field, when he became a member of the democratic state cen- tral committee in 1894 and a presidential elector on the democratic ticket in Wisconsin in 1892. He was one of the two delegates from the eighth congressional district to the national democratic convention held at Chicago in 1896. His vote in the national convention was cast for Grover Cleveland and against the silver plank of the platform, but upon the nomination of Bryan he accepted the dictum of the majority and supported the regular party policy.
Mr. Wattawa has been a member of the Kewaunee school board for the past ten years and served for several years as alderman in the city council of Kewaunee; being a delegate to the democratic state conven- tion in 1894 and in 1892. He was president of the Young Men's Democratic club of Kewaunee in 1888 and was at the head of the city council of Kewaunee for two years. From the above record it will be seen that there are few men of his years in Wisconsin who have been so continuously honored by their fellow-citizens as Mr. Wattawa.
Outside of his profession and his public and political duties, Mr. Wattawa has also important and varied business interests. He organ- ized the Kewaunee Furniture company in 1893 and the Kewaunee Bo- hemian Printing company in 1892.
On January 8, 1887, he was married to Miss Kate Walsh, daughter of Felix and Bridget Walsh, of Two Rivers. They have four children.
DAVID E. WOOD.
Mr. Wood was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in 1823; he was a college graduate and had practiced law before he came to Wiscon- sin, about 1848. His first location was at Manchester (Brothertown), Calumet county ; he was a member of the assembly in 1850. The next year he removed to Fond du Lac, where he practiced law about ten years. "He maintained a respectable practice without, however, at- taining the highest rank in the profession. He was a man of eminent scholarly attainments and good professional ability. He had a fine, full physique and presence; was a perfect gentleman, with a strong dash of the 'chivalrous' in his nature and bearing, though quite sensitive
Vol. II .- 10.
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and retiring in habit. Though of no religious profession or church membership, and mingling freely in the somewhat convivial, free and · easy society of his day, no one ever heard from him an oath or slang word or smutty story or joke. There was nothing vulgar or low about him." He served as judge of Fond du Lac county in 1854-57. In the fall of 1861 he became colonel of the fourteenth regiment Wiscon- sin infantry, went to the front, contracted disease, returned home and died June 17, 1862.
CHAPTER XX.
THE FIFTH CIRCUIT, ITS JUDGES AND LAWYERS.
The fifth judicial circuit is now composed of the counties of Rich- land, Crawford, Grant, Iowa and La Fayette, and includes within its borders a large and important part of the "lead region" of the north- west.
What is now southwest Wisconsin had become, prior to 1830, the seat of a considerable population, drawn thither chiefly by the discovery of the rich mineral resources of the soil. During the years 1825 and 1826 a rush of immigration to the upper Mississippi mines occurred which in extent is unparalleled in the entire history of the United States, unless it be by the flood that poured into California a quarter century later. Parts of the present counties of Grant, Iowa and La Fayette were, before the detachment of Wisconsin from Michigan in 1836, more densely populated than any other portions of the latter territory, with the possible exceptions of Milwaukee and Green Bay.
At Prairie du Chien and vicinity there also existed in the early years of the century a growing settlement. Long before the discovery of the lead mines the area about the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers had been the field of a large Indian trade, the Astor Fur Company had established a branch at the point, and in 1814 a fort, or rather stockade, had been erected. The fort was soon captured by Colonel McKay with a few troops and Indian allies and was held by the British until the conclusion of peace in 1815. Fort Crawford was then erected and was garrisoned by United States troops until 1856.
Among the early settlers in the lead region were many lawless ad- venturers, characters such as invariably attend the development of a new and particularly a mining country. With them, however, came men of ability and integrity, who took a prominent part in territorial affairs and who subsequently sustained important roles in the history of the state. Among these were a number of lawyers whose names are
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intimately associated with the progress of order and education and the upbuilding of the commonwealth. Such men as Charles Dunn, Moses M. Strong, M. M. Cothren, Amasa Cobb and C. C. Washburn, of Min- eral Point; Orsamus Cole, of Potosi; Ben C. Eastman, of Platteville; Nelson Dewey, J. Allen Barber and J. T. Mills, of Lancaster; Thomas P. Burnett, of Prairie du Chien, afterwards of Grant county, consti- tuted a bar unequaled in those days, and perhaps never since in the history of Wisconsin surpassed for force, resource and rounded attain- ment. The part that these and others of the pioneer attorneys of southwest Wisconsin, many of whom had attained prominence in their profession in the south and east, took in the reduction of early chaos to system and order, in which freedom shook off license, and enduring foundations of the future state were laid, will be more particularly con- sidered in the biographical sketches in this work. In those days they belonged not alone to the particular community in which they resided,. but to the whole vast territory. So their professional activities were not. confined, as is now usually the case, to the narrow limits of a city or county; they extended throughout the entire region wherever courts. were held, and where legal tribunals did not exist exerted a restraining, and salutary influence upon customs and morals of immeasurable value to a crude and restless civilization.
From May 7th, 1800, to January 11th, 1805, jurisdiction over the domain of the present state of Wisconsin was vested in and exercised by the territory of Indiana.
From January 1Ith, 1805, until February 3d, 1809, by the territory: of Michigan.
: From February 3d. 1809, until December 3d, 1818, by the territory of Illinois.
On December 3d, 1818, Illinois was admitted into the Union, and that portion of the territory north of the new state was remanded to the jurisdiction of Michigan territory. In the same year Governor Cass laid out that portion of Michigan territory lying west of Lake Michigan into three counties, viz .: Michilimackinac, Brown and Crawford. The. southern boundary of the county of Michilimackinac was designated. as "the dividing ground between the rivers which flow into Lake Su-
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perior and those which flow south," while all of the territory south and west of the county of Michilimackinac was divided into two counties which were separated "by a line drawn due north from the northern boundary of the state of Illinois through the middle of the portage be- tween the Fox river and Ouissin (Wisconsin) river, to the county of Michilimackinac." The eastern county was called "Brown," in honor of the commanding general of the army; the other was called "Craw- ford," in compliment to the then secretary of war.
All of the present fifth circuit was therefore included in the county of Crawford.
By an act of the governor and judges of Michigan territory adopted on the 21st of December, 1820, the county system of jurisprudence theretofore existing was reorganized and revised. It was provided that a court should be established in every county of the territory to consist of a chief justice and two associate justices, any two of whom should constitute a quorum. It had original jurisdiction in all civil cases where the matter in controversy was not within the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace and did not exceed the sum of $1,000; and appellate jurisdic- tion from any judgment or decision of a justice of the peace. It also had concurrent jurisdiction with the supreme court in the cognizance of all but capital crimes and offenses. Clerks of the county court were appointed by the governor, and terms of court were limited to two weeks. The act also contained minute provisions in regard to plead- ing and practice, the appointment of sheriffs, marshals, attorneys, etc. By its terms justices of the peace were to exercise jurisdiction where the matter in controversy did not exceed $100. The probate courts were to consist of a judge in each county.
By an act approved June 18th, 1828, all civil and criminal jurisdic- tion of the county courts of the counties of Michilimackinac, Brown and Crawford was transferred to the circuit court of the United States to be held in each of said counties, but this jurisdiction was restored to the county of Crawford by an act passed July 31st, 1830.
The supreme court consisted of three judges appointed by the President of the United States. Its place was taken in the counties of Michilimackinac, Brown and Crawford by the additional judge provided
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for by act of Congress of January 30th, 1823. This act was to take effect from and after the following March. The judge thus appointed was to "possess and exercise within the counties (aforesaid) the jurisdic- tion and powers possessed and exercised by the supreme court of said territory (Michigan) and by the county courts of said counties, re- spectively, and to the exclusion of the original jurisdiction of said su- preme court." Appeals were allowed from the county court to the court established by this act, and writs of error to this court, from the supreme court, and appeals in equity suits. The court was required to hold one term annually in each county; at Prairie du Chien on the second Monday in May, at Green Bay on the second Monday in June, and at Mackinaw on the third Monday in July.
The act required the judge to reside in one of the counties, and he. was paid the same salary and in the same manner as the judges of the supreme court.
The settlement of that part of Michigan territory known as the "lead mines" had so increased by 1830 that an act of Congress was passed on April 2d of that year which provided "that the term of the court ap- pointed to be held annually on the second Monday of May at the village of Prairie du Chien, by the additional judge of the United States for the territory of Michigan, shall be held on the first Monday of October, annually, at Mineral Point, in the county of Iowa."
The first judge appointed under this act was James D. Doty, at the time of his appointment only twenty-four years of age. He first resided at Prairie du Chien for a short time, and afterwards lived permanently at Green Bay. He was succeeded by David Irvin in 1832, who con- tinued to hold office until the organization of the territory of Wiscon- sin in 1836, when he was appointed one of the three judges of the su- preme court.
When Judge Doty went to Prairie du Chien in 1823 to hold his first term of court there were no lawyers at the place. To supply the de- ficiency the judge induced James H. Lockwood, who had studied law for a year in his youth and who had been located as a trader and mer- chant at the Prairie since 1816, to commence the practice. Mr. Lock- wood's principal occupation, however, continued to be that of a trader,
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though he occupied many public positions, among them being that of a judge of the county court, to which he was appointed in 1830.
The first term of the county court of Crawford county was held at Prairie du Chien, May 12th, 1823, Francis Bouthillier and Joseph Rolette, judges. The court, composed of the same judges, met again the following year. No term was held in 1825, nor from May, 1826, again until November, 1830, at which time Thomas P. Burnett, a law- yer from Kentucky, was admitted to practice. At this term James B. Dollman was appointed prosecuting attorney.
In 1831 the court consisted of Thomas P. Street, chief justice, and Jean Brunet and James H. Lockwood, associate justices. Thomas P. Burnett was prosecuting attorney. At the November term, 1831, Col. James N. Stroud was admitted to practice as an attorney. On the third day of the term, in the case of John Jacob Astor, Robert Stuart and Joseph Rolette, trading under the name and style of the American Fur company, vs. William R. Jewett and Jefferson Nail, Zachary Taylor (then Col. Taylor, afterwards President of the United States) and James W. King entered into recognizance of special bail for the de- fendants.
There were a great many criminal and civil cases, some apparently of great importance, disposed of during 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834 and 1835. The record shows that the dockets must have been very large during these years. There is no record of any court being held in 1836, the year of the establishment of Wisconsin as a separate territory.
The county of Iowa was organized by act of October 9th, 1829. The boundaries prescribed by this act were: "Beginning at the mouth of the Ouisconsin river and following the course of the same so as to include all the islands in said river to the portage between the said Ouisconsin and the Fox river; thence east until it intersects the line between the counties of Brown and Crawford, as established by the proclamation of the governor of this territory, bearing date the 26th day of October, 1818; thence south with said line to the northern boundary of Illinois; thence west with said boundary of this territory to the place of beginning." The county seat was fixed at Mineral Point, and the act provided that there should be two terms of the
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county court of said county, annually, on the first Mondays of June and December.
Wisconsin became a territory on July 4th, 1836. A few months previously Andrew Jackson had commissioned Henry Dodge, gov- ernor, and, among other officers, Charles Dunn, chief justice, and David Irvin and William C. Frazer, associate justices.
Among other acts of the first territorial legislature was the setting off of fifteen counties east of the Mississippi river, including the county of Grant.
The act of Congress establishing Wisconsin territory required its division into three judicial districts. The counties of Crawford and Iowa were constituted by the legislature the first district, to which was assigned Chief Justice Dunn. The first term of the territorial supreme court was held at Belmont, in the present county of La Fayette, then in Iowa county, Dec. 8th, 1836 (where was also held the first session of the legislature). There were present Chief Justice Dunn and Asso- ciate Justice Irvin.
In 1840 St. Croix county (with more extended boundaries than it now has) was organized out of the territory of Crawford county, but was attached to the latter county for judicial purposes until 1847. In the year last named La Fayette county was cut off from Iowa county. In 1842 Richland county was created, but was not organized for ju- dicial purposes until 1850. The boundaries of the counties of Grant, Iowa, Richland and La Fayette were the same when Wisconsin became a state as they are now, but Crawford county was not reduced to its present size until some years after.
The revised statutes of 1849 divided the state into five judicial cir- cuits, the fifth circuit being comprised of the counties of Iowa, La Fay- ette, Grant, Crawford and St. Croix.' For judicial purposes the county of La Pointe was attached to the county of St. Croix, the county of Chippewa to the county of Crawford, and the county of Richland to the county of Iowa.
In 1850 the sixth judicial circuit was organized, composed of the counties of Crawford, Chippewa, Bad Axe, Black River, St. Croix, and La Pointe, leaving the four counties of Grant, Iowa, La Fayette and
HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF WISCONSIN: 153
Richland constituting the fifth circuit. In 1861 Richland county was attached to the sixth circuit, leaving but three counties in the fifth; but in 1864 the counties of Richland and Crawford were again attached to the fifth circuit, and from that time to this the circuit has remained unchanged.
Mortimer M. Jackson, of Mineral Point, who had been attorney general of the territory, was the first judge of the fifth circuit. He was elected in August, 1848, and continued to be circuit judge and ex officio judge of the supreme court until 1853. He was then succeeded by M. M. Cothren, who occupied the bench until 1865. From that date until January, 1877, J. T. Mills was judge. From January, 1877, to 1883 M. M. Cothren was again upon this bench, and in January, 1883, George Clementson took his place.
Among the attorneys of the supreme court of the territory of Wis- consin (as given in I Pinney) are to be found the following names of lawyers living within the fifth circuit as now constituted and bounded:
Daniel G. Fenton Prairie du Chien.
James B. Dallam. Prairie du Chien.
James H. Lockwood. Prairie du Chien.
Wiram Knowlton. Prairie du Chien.
Charles J. Learned . Prairie du Chien.
Thomas P. Burnett . . Hermitage (Mt. Hope, Grant county). Platteville.
William W. Chapman
Ben C. Eastman Platteville.
William R. Smith Mineral Point.
Parley Eaton
Mineral Point.
William H. Banks Mineral Point.
F. J. Dunn . Mineral Point.
Mortimer M. Jackson
Mineral Point.
Moses M. Strong
Mineral Point.
Samuel Crawford
Mineral Point.
F. J. Munger®
Potosi.
The following poetic effusion, though fragmentary, is interesting as giving a list of many members of the bar of southwest Wisconsin in 1840, together with some little estimate of the ability of the attorneys mentioned in the lines, and a partial portrayal of their traits and char- acteristics. It was evidently the author's intention to "write up" each
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member of the bar in attendance at some term of court held at Lan- caster, the muse either failing or business preventing the completion of the task. The manuscript was recently found by J. M. Smith, of Min- eral Point, among the papers of his father, William R. Smith, who was a pioneer attorney of this section of the state, and in whose hand it ap- pears. Enclosed in the folded manuscript was a slip containing the names of the "Members of the Grant county bar in 1840," as follows: "Burnett, Strong, Eastman, Goodhue, Barber, Dewey, F. J. Dunn, Lord, Hull, Emerson, Knowlton, Latimer, Bevans, Fillebrown, Cheno- with, McAuley, Harvey, Sutherland, Paine, Lakin, Noble, Jackson, Eaton, Washburn, Dodge, Anderson, Divine.
I sing of laws, of Lawyers, Courts and Jail, And first invoke the Muse,-Great Themis, hail! On thee I call, thy fire, thy aid I want To write the prowess of the Bar of Grant. Not Granta, famed for scientific lore From cloistered Monks and Priests in times of yore, Down to the Fellows of more modern days,
The seat of learning and the theme of praise; But Grant, Wisconsin's farthest western pride, Bluffly reposed on Mississippi's side; Rich in her soil, her prairies, woods and waters, Industrious, hardy sons, and blooming daughters; Rich in the genial food of legal strife, Disputes and feuds that wait on civil life: In mines prolific, rich in native lead, (May heaven avert the omen from my head. Let me not feel in this my chosen toil, The weighty influence of a mineral soil.)
Now see the Bar approach,-they straggling come, Not martialed by the spirit-stirring drum, Or fife, or Trump :- but through the streets they pour, And wend their footsteps to the Court-house door; For hark those sounds! aloft the tolling bell, (To many a client's cause a doleful knell,) Proclaims that now the Judge his seat has taken, And all Defaulters must "protect their bacon." The Office, Tavern, Grocery, now deserted, Feel all the glory of their hour departed. A general leads the van,-not great in stature, But large in much that dignifies our nature; Good sense, good humor, with a legal mind; A spice of love to all the human kind,-
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Brisk in his motions, though a little lame,- Ready to take a hand at any game, --- Enough ambition to desire a seat in The Congress Hall, and try again when beaten; By modern democrats a while discarded, He waits till Principles shall be rewarded.
His big black bag with clients' briefs well filled- His Patch Grove farm well stocked, well fenced, well tilled --- His horse the best the country can produce,
Whether for saddle or for buggy use. Then suitors, come! although your cause be sure, 'Tis safest still his service to secure. The Scale is doubtful,-if you wish to turn it, Untie your purse-strings and apply to Burnett.
The next, emerging from the legal throng, With Cane in hand, comes Moses Mighty Strong; Learned in the law,-in politics as great; Skilful to lead a Case, or guide the State- True to his cause, involving debt or crime; Firm to his ticket at election time; By loss not scared, by victory not elated; Unawed in Council when by Doty baited; Shield of Wisconsin, when her soil was bartered, And Webster treaties have her rights unchartered :--- Industrious Strong,-Surveyor, Farmer, Pleader, In Democratic ranks an active leader,- Member of Council, and who hast the care Of Pigeon Creek and Kaministequair, Of old "Snake Hollow," (called by one who knows ye). United now, and dignified "Potosi," Ravine of Villages,-Paris, Van Buren, Jacksonville, La Fayette, Thy threaded mazes no one can forget, Down from the prairie heights a devious way Until we reach the promised shipping quay.
Who, laden, hither wends his weary way? 'Tis some one, sure, who needs an empty dray. With many a ponderous Tome see Knowlton come, The Bar, astonished, move to give him room- He reads authorities enough to tire 'em, But still he quotes, 'tis all the same to Wyram.
"Nobles and Lords may flourish or may fade," (I call on Goldsmith for a Poet's aid)
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Our Lords and Nobles ask no title higher Than "member of the Bar and eke Esquire." The youthful Noble waits his "practice hour" The justice, Lord here learns a Judge's power.
Warm from the South, of generous feeling full, Not chilled by northern climes, comes youthful Hull With spirits buoyant as surrounding air, With step denoting Mind devoid of care- Ripe for the merry dance, the song, the sport,
Eager to show his legal tact in court; In Classic School well trained, his mind well stored, The Muse delights such promise to record. Then let not. Hull, this little meed of praise Check all the energies of future days, Oh! may no blight thy opening prospects mar- Pursue thy path, and ornament the Bar.
With smiles and bows exceedingly polite Attorney General Jackson swings in sight .--- Behold approaching now a reverend band, Longtime the watchman o'er a wicked land, Exhorting sinners to sincere repentance, Now striving to protect them from a sentence, Pointing of old the surest path of Heaven, Now panting for a little worldly leaven,- See Bevans, Harvey, Chenowith, McAuley- (Oh for a rhyme! my Muse, these names will stall ye)
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