USA > West Virginia > Upshur County > The history of Upshur county, West Virginia, from its earliest exploration and settlement to the present time > Part 29
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234
FORMATION OF UPSHUR COUNTY.
tree stands ; thence with the top of said mountain until where it comes to the Preston county line; thence with the Preston-Randolph line to the beginning. From these acts it is plain that the territory now embraced in Upshur county was parts of three counties-east of the Buckhannon river belonging to Randolph, west of the river to Lewis and the northern part to Barbour.
The first petitioned legal effort for the establishment of the new county, which was afterwards called Upshur, was made in the year 1848, when, pursuant to sections one, two and three of chapter fifty-seven, page fifty-five, of the Virginia code of 1846-47, a vote was taken. It will be recalled that the time of holding an election upon the intention of parties to petition the general assembly to create a new county was the same as for the election of delegates-the fourth Thursday of April of every year. So at the regular election of the spring of 1848 proper books were made in due form, with the caption stating the counties from which the new county is supposed to be formed, the seat of justice, and with the two columns on opposite sides of the same page, bearing at the head of one: "For the new county," at the head of the other, "Against he new county."
Authentic copies of these poll books, at the voting precincts of Buckhannon town and Beech Town, now Frenchton, are here given to indicate the strength of the movement at these respective points, which were the only places in the present bounds of Upshur where elections were held.
Poll at Buckhannon for and against a new county out of parts Lewis, Har- rison, Randolph and Barbour, with the county seat at Buckhannon Town :
FOR THE COUNTY
Elmore Brake
Geo. W. Miller
Wm. W. Jackson
Nicholas McVaney
w. C. Carper
Benj. Rohrbough
Benjamin Radabaugh
Henry Reger
Archibald Hinkle
Wm. L. Anderson
Thom. Farnsworth
E. J. Burr
Elijah Hyre
Robert Pritt
Thos. Deen Jac Clark
Abram Post, Jr.
Leonard Crites
Wm. Mick Amos C. Pringle
Joel Pringle
Wm. Bennett
John H. Rohrbough
Nathan Leggett, alive
David Curtis
E. J. Colerider
Jas. M. Wolf
C. W. McNulty
Geo. Post
John Ireland
D. J. Casto
Melvel Brake
D. M. Bennett
C. D. Tremble
Sam'l C. Tenney
Isaac Brake Jac Paugh
Lair Dean Peter Hyer
Jno. N. Londin
James Dicks
Sam'l Spitler
Isaac Casto
O. B. LoudIn
John Strader
Lot Cutright
John O. Core
Jacob S. Strader
Isaac Reger
Wm. R. Starcher
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FORMATION OF UPSHUR COUNTY.
FOR THE COUNTY-CONTINUED.
Goodwin Reger Jac Strader, jr. Abel Strader Charles Mick David D. Casto
Jac Owens Benj. Archer, brother-in-law law of M. J. Jackson.
Washington Ratcliff, alive
Biven Abbott
Anthony Strader
Nimrod Reger
Stewart Bennett M. J. Jackson, Geo. Cutright
Martin Casto, coffee Martin
John R. Abbott Wm. S. Sumner
Daniel Spitler
Teter Lewis J. D. Rapp
Jacob Cutright Perry Lorentz
Wm. R. Weatherholt
Simon Rohrbrough
Isaac Owens
Wm. Cutright
L. L. D. Loudin
Elias Heavner
John Reger, sr.
Edw'd Wertinbaker
Isaac Cutright
J. L. Smith
Wm. Sexton
Joel Casto
Jacob Lorentz
Wm. Goodwin
Geo. Hurshman
John Brown Job Hinkle
Isaac Dix
Isaac W. Simnon
C. Kiner John Deen
D. D. T. Farnsworth
Silas Bennett
Jacob Stealty
Wm. Beesley
Josiah Abbott
Peter Hyre Salathiel Cutright
Jacob A. Hyre
John G. Jackson
John M. Rohrhough
Gideon Martin Geo. C. Moore Daniel Carper
Jacob Crites Martin Strader
Geo. Clark Walter Loudin James Griffith
C. Cutright
John L. Boggess
Nathaniel Farnsworth
Daniel Night
Abram Crites
Isaac Strader
Joseph Liggett
Absolem Shrieve
Isaac Strader
John W. Abbott
Nelson Robinson
Isaac Post
Thom. Lonchie
A. C. Queen
John Hurst
James Mullins, father of Jennie Mullins
A. R. Ireland, father of Mrs. D. D. T. Farnsworth Henry C. Middleton
C. J. Dickinson Geo. Alman
Enoch Cutright
Henry Colerider
Ebenezer Leonard Anthony Reger Jac L. Crites Jno. D. Hyre H. M. Rollins
H. G. Pinnell Solomon Suder, alive Swamp Run
Jesse Lemmon Jacob M. Hyre
236
FORMATION OF UPSHUR COUNTY.
FOR THE COUNTY-CONTINUED.
Jeremiah Conley, Roane Co.
Jonas Martin
Isaac Martin
A. W. C. Lemmon
Nathaniel Cutright
Geo. Warner
Adam Carper
M. J. Fogg
Lemuel Brake
C. G. Miller
Geo. Nicholas
Asahel Cutright
Nathan Hefner
John Maxwell
Isaac White
Abram Strader
Henry O. Middleton
Elisha Tinney
Richard Fretwell
A. G. Reader
A. Poundstone
Elias Bennett
K. Hopkins
Elijah Johnson
Daniel Phipps
M. T. Humpfries
Geo. Basstable
Ezra Morgan
Levi Black
G. T. Gould
Watson Westfall
Washington Summers
Festus Young
Marshall Lorentz
Wm. Warner
Adam Spitler, physician, married Miss Jennie
Valentine Strader
A. T. Howe
Eli F. Westfall
John B. Longette
Geo. W. Houcher, carpenter
Bushrod Rust, physician
John Ours
Daniel Sumner, father-in- law of Capt. S. B. Phillip
H. F. Westfall
Jas. Lemmons
Thos. O. Staten
Abijah Hinkel
Abram Reger.
Jacob Rohrbough
John J. Burr
John Davis, blacksmith
AGAINST THE COUNTY
Wm. Rude
A. Morgan
John Philips
C. W. Morgan
Walter Wilson -
John Key
Jasper N. Lorentz
Wm. Linger
Sam'I Meakan
Isaac A. Morgan
Wm. Holland
L. W. Ferrell
Joshua Morgan
E. D. Rude
D. B. Goutel
John S. Thomas
John B. Henderson
Jacob Crites
Martin Burr
Joseph Flint
Wm. A. Gould
Wm. Hurshman
Geo. W. Lorentz
Jonas Smith
James Hirshman
Wm. S. Higginbotham
Coonrad Shoulder
Mifflin Lorentz
We, John Lorentz, deputy for Jacob Lorentz, Sheriff of Lewis county, Adam Carper, A. R. Ireland and Henry F. Westfall, superintendents having been duly
Richard Philips, father of
S. B. Philips
237
FORMATION OF UPSHUR COUNTY.
sworn according to law, certify that the foregoing poll, taken at the separate elec- tion at Buckhannon on the 4th Thursday in April, 1848, for and against a new county, with the county seat at Buckhannon Town, is correct. Given under our hands this 27th day of April, 1848.
JOHN LORENTZ, D. S. for J. Lorentz, S. L. C. ADAM CARPER, A. R. IRELAND, HENRY F. WESTFALL.
I, Watson Westfall, appointed by John Lorentz, deputy for Jacob Lorentz, sheriff of Lewis county, and being duly sworn by him according to law, certify that the foregoing poll, taken at the separate election at Buckhannon Town, for and against a new county, as above described, with the county seat at Buckhannon Town, on the 4th Thursday of April, 1848. Given under my hand, etc.,
A Copy Teste :
WATSON WESTFALL, John Morrow, Clk. L. C. C.
BEECH TOWN.
For and against the new county out parts of Lewis. Harrison and Randolph, with the county seat at Buckhannon Town :
FOR THEM LIVING WITHIN THE BOUNDS: AGAINST THE COUNTY
Ebenezer Leonard, Jr.
George Armstrong
John Pringle
Jonathan Heafner
David Bennett
Thomas Rexroad
Elijah Phillips
John T. Vincient
John Smith
William Propts
Gillett Young
Jothan Bell Israel P. Young
George Lowden
George H. Wilson
Taylor Townsend
George H. Anderson
James Mcavoy -
Anson Young
Amos Brooks
Harrison Wingrove, alive
Noah Winemiller
Simon P. Young
L. T. Rude
Adam P. Rusmisel
Jared M. Armstrong
John Duglass
George Talbert
Thomas W. Vincent
Isaac Wilson ยท
Ezekiel Townsend ..
John Armstrong
Jasen Loomis, alive, Dia- mond Springs, Kan.
John Wilson "
David Waggy
Caleb Smith
Henry Jones
Nimrod S. Brake
John McCoy
David T. Tolbert
Franklin Philips
John D. Simons James Curry, sr. .
Robert McAvoy -
William Henderson
Edwin Philips
Rice W. Vincent
Peter Flesher
Henry Winemlller
Benjamin Gould
Peter L. Smith
Benjamin Mills
George Dean
238
FORMATION OF UPSHUR COUNTY.
FOR THE COUNTY
Samuel T. Talbert Elbridge Burr David S. Haselden
Alfeus H. Upton William M. Childers
THOSE THAT RESIDE OUT OF THE PROPOSED NEW COUNTY :
AGAINST THE COUNTY
Henry D. Hardman
John Wilson .
Peter Harper Abraham R. Hall -
John S. Hall David Hall
Nicholas Linger
Robert Johns
FOR THE COUNTY
Charles West
We, Alonzo A. Lorentz, deputy for Jacob Lorentz, sheriff of Lewis county, and Amos Brooks and Taylor Townsend, superintendents having been duly sworn according to law, certify that the foregoing poll, taken at the separate election at Beech Town on the 4th Thursday in April, 1848, for and against the new county, is correct and true. Given under our hands this 27th day of April, 1848.
A. A. LORENTZ, D. S. for J. Lorentz, S. L. C.
AMOS BROOKS.
I, L. T. Rude, apointed by Alonzo A. Lorentz, deputy for Jacob Lorentz. sheriff of Lewis county, and duly sworn by him according to law, certify that the foregoing poll taken at Back Town for and against the new county, on the 4th L. T. RUDE. JOHN MORROW, CIK. Thursday in April, 1848, is just and true. Given under my hand this 27th day of April, 1848. A Copy Teste :
The law governing the voting, one of the preliminary antecedents to peti- tioning the General Assembly, being complied with, four separate petitions were prepared and circulated, were generally signed and sent to Jonathan M. Bennett, delegate-elect of Lewis county, to present to the annual session of the General Assembly. On December 20, 1849, Mr. Bennett presented the first petition, which was renewed by another of January 3, 1850, and another of January 8, 1850, and still another on January 24, 1850. With the introduction of these petitions Mr. Bennett immediately received letters from his neighbors at home protesting against his action toward the formation of the new county, and in order to hold his friends, on January 26, 1850, he introduced into the General Assembly a strong memorial of the citizens of the county of Lewis, principally of the town of Weston, remonstrating against the formation of the new county out of parts of Lewis, Barbour and Randolph. This remonstrance prayer or pe- tition, on motion of Mr. Bennett, was then and there laid on the table.
In the senate the petitions for the new county were placed in the hands of Mr. Jones of Chesterfield, who presented them to that body on January 21, 1850, and asked for an immediate report to the senate from the committee to which it was referred. One month and four days afterwards the committee on proposi-
239
FORMATION OF UPSHUR COUNTY.
tions and grievances of the senate made its report, which said: "That they have, according to order, had under consideration the petitions and documents of citi- zens of the counties of Lewis, Randolph and Barbour, to them referred, praying the establishment of a new county of a portion of each of said counties, accord- ing to certain boundary lines in said petition described with the seat of justice in Buckhannon Town in the county of Lewis ; whereupon, Resolved, as the opin- ion of this committee, That the prayer of said petitioners be rejected for irreg- ularity in proceedings and insufficiency of notice."
The insufficiency of notice here meant was the violation of the staute which requires a notice of at least sixty days next preceding the annual election to be posted at the front door of court house of the counties from which the new county is proposed to be formed, which notice shall set forth the names of such counties, the metes and bounds proposed for the new county, and the place at which it is proposed to establish the seat of justice. It also lacked the affidavit of such notice, and its posting, which was required to be made to the sheriff of every county from which the new county is proposed to be formed. Another reason for the rejection of the petition was the irregularity, that the caption of the poll books did not contain the metes and bounds which was required by the third section of this chapter of the Virginia code. Thus the first attempt to form the new county was destined to defeat, and was disposed of regularly and by par- limentary usages on March 15, 1850, by a motion from Mr. Bennett in the house, bringing up the question and insisting upon a vote, which was taken-the deter- mination being negatively.
Hope was only deferred by this action, for at the regular annual election of the delegate on the fourth Thursday of April, 1850, those citizens favorable to the new county supported with might and main Samuel Hays, who was in sym- pathy with their efforts. Mr. Hays was elected.
The first Monday in December being the day fixed by law for the opening of the annual session of the General Assembly of Virginia, that day in the year 1850 was December second, and as usual in legislative bodies the first day was taken up with the organization of the two houses-no other business was done. At the morning session of the third of December Mr. Hays began to make good his promise by presenting petitions of citizens of Barbour, Lewis and Randolph for the formation of a new county. Nothing more was heard of the new county movement until after the holiday vacation.
Meanwhile the enthusiastic supporters of the new county around Buck- hannon Town had a public meeting and decided to send a helper, more properly called a lobbyist, to Richmond. Clinton G. Miller, lately a resident of Buck- hannon Town, formerly of Augusta county, Virginia, on account of his wide acquaintance and thorough knowledge of the public men at the State House in Richmond, was chosen and ordered in behalf of the petitioners to go to Richmond and assist Mr. Hays in getting immediate action of the General Assembly on the act for the formation of the new county. No doubt some money was pro- vided for Mr. Miller's expenses by the people who sent him there, and we are told that a Mr. Joe Houser, as part of his contribution, furnished the horse which was to carry Mr. Miller to Richmond and back.
Mr. Jones on January 28, 1851, introduced into the senate a bill to create Upshur county. This bill was the same as that introduced into the lower house by Mr. Hays. The act of the General Assembly establishing Upshur county, as passed by the senate March 26, 1851, is as follows:
240
FORMATION OF UPSHUR COUNTY.
CHAPTER 36 .- An act to establish the county of Upshur out of parts of the counties of Randolph, Barbour and Lewis.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That so much of the counties of Randolph, Barbour and Lewis as is contained within the following boundary lines, to-wit : Beginning at a rock or milestone on the Staunton and Parkersburg turnpike road, ten miles east of Weston, in Lewis county, running thence a straight line to the head of Saul's Run, a branch of Finks' Run; thence to the mouth of Pringle's fork of Stone Coal creek; thence up said fork to the forks of said fork; thence with the ridge dividing the waters of said forks to their headwaters, and with said ridge to the head of French creek above Taylor Town- send's farm; thence to the mouth of Cherry camp fork of the little Kanawha river, thence to the mouth of the Buffalo fork of said river to the Braxton county line, and with said line to the head of the right hand fork of said river; thence to the three forks of the right hand fork of Buckhannon river; thence to the head nearest branch of Middle Fork river ; thence down said river to the fording where the road leading from Teter's on the Valley river to House's mill on the Buckhannon river, crosses said Middle Fork; thence to the fording of the Buck- hannon river, at or near Henry Jackson's ; thence to Michael Strader's on Peck's Run, including said Strader's; thence with the ridge dividing the waters of the main Peck's Run from the waters of the branch on which Colonel John Reger now resides; thence with said ridge so as to divide the waters of Peck's Run from Big Run to Gnatty Creek mountain ; thence to the mouth of the run on which John Low resides, so as to include all the waters of said run to Peel Tree mountain, thence running west to the Harrison county line; thence with said line to a stone standing on the line of Lewis and Harrison counties and on the dividing line between Lost creek, Rooting creek and Jesse's Run; thence a straight line to the mouth of Rover's Run, a branch of Hacker's creek and thence to the beginning shall form one distinct and new county, and be called and known by the name of Upshur county.
Second-The boundary line of said county of Upshur as above designated shall be run and in pursuance of the 47th chapter and 7th section of the Code of Virginia, and the surveyors shall proceed to run and mark said boundary lines within one month after the court of said Upshur county shall have appointed a :surveyor.
Third-The powers and duties of the courts and officers of the counties of Randolph, Barbour and Lewis, from which the said county of Upshur is formed, shall discharge all the respective duties in said counties as is provided for in the 9th, Ioth and 11th sections of the 47th chapter of Code of Virginia ; Provided, that nothing therein shall be so construed as to authorize the courts or officers of the several counties aforesaid to lay or collect any county levy or other public dues for the present year within the prescribed boundaries of said new county.
Fourth-The governor shall commission as justices of peace twelve persons in and for the said county of Upshur, all of whom shall, before entering upon and exercising any of the duties of said office, take the several oaths now re- quired by law of persons commissioned as justices of peace, which oaths may be administered by any justice of peace remaining in commission in and for either of the counties of Randolph, Barbour and Lewis, who shall grant a certifi- cate to the justice qualified, to be recorded in the clerk's office of the county of Upshur.
241
FORMATION OF UPSHUR COUNTY.
Fifth-The court for the county of Upshur shall be holden on the first Thursday after the third Monday of every month, and the court of quarterly sessions shall be holden in the months of March, June, August and November in each year, and the permanent place for holding the courts of said county shall be in the town of Buckhannon.
The justices of the peace commissioned and qualified as aforesaid shall meet at the house, now the residence of Andrew Poundstone, in the town of Buckhan- non, on the first Thursday after the third Monday in April next, and, a majority of them being present, shall proceed to appoint a clerk of the county court, and such other officers as are now required by law, shall nominate suitable persons as sheriff and coroner, to be commissioned as such by the governor, and shall fix upon a place in said town for holding the courts until the public buildings shall be erected.
Seventh-The county court of the county of Upshur, at its first meeting, shall make an order summoning all the justices of the peace in and for said county to meet at the succeeding term for the purpose of procuring a lot of land in the town of Buckhannon on which to erect the public buildings, as required by the first section of the fifteen chapter of the Code of Virginia.
Eighth-The superior court of the county of Upshur shall be holden on the seventeenth day of June and the seventeenth day of November in each year, and shall be attached to the same judicial circuit as the county of Lewis.
Ninth-The county of Upshur for all purposes of representation, shall be attached to the same district as the county of Lewis, and also to the regiment in the said county.
Tenth-The treasurers of the school commissioners in the several counties out of which the county of Upshur is formed are required to pay to the com- missioners of said county such sums of money arising out of the school quota agreeably to the respective numbers of whites tithables takes from each.
Eleventh-This act shall be in force from its passage.
The incident of naming the new county was peculiarly a political movement, arising out of the necessity for more votes to pass the act. Mr. Hays and Mr. Jones, the champions of the bill in the lower and upper houses, were conscious of the great hold that the lamented Abel P. Upshur had upon the people of lower Virginia. Many indifferent delegates and senators were warm friends of his and would do anything honorable tending to perpetuate his name. So as to make the new county movement stronger and more popular the name Upshur was inserted in the bill. This action caught his life-long friends, who regarded their support then as a compliment to this excellent neighbor, friend and states- man, and made them think that the establishment of the county would be a mon- ument to his life.
BIOGRAPHY OF ABEL P. UPSHUR.
He was born in Northampton county, Virginia, on the 17th day of June, 1790, was educated at the College of New Jersey, read law in the office of William Wirt, in the city of Richmond, where, in the year 1810, at the age of twenty years, he was admitted to the bar. Here he successfully practiced his profession until 1824, when he returned to his native county, which, in 1826, he had the honor to represent in the General Assembly.
The same year he was appointed a judge of the general court of Virginia, and in 1829 was made a member of the convention which framed the celebrated
242
FORMATION OF UPSHUR COUNTY.
constitution of 1830. Under it he sat upon the Supreme bench until 1841, when he entered the cabinet of President Harrison as Secretary of the Navy. In 1843, John Tyler, who had succeeded to the presidency upon the death of Har- rison, transferred him to the Department of State, and in his stead, in the Navy Department, placed Thomas W. Gilmer, of Virginia.
It was on the 28th day of February, 1844, that an excursion from Wash- ington to Mount Vernon took place. The steamer was the Princeton, one of the finest vessels in the American navy. She had just arrived home from an extended cruise in foreign waters, and was armed with the celebrated Paixhan guns. About noon, having on board the President, his cabinet, many members of Congress, and others, to the number of five hundred, she steamed down the Potomac to the place of destination, where after a few hours sojourn amid the beautiful scenery, the party re-embarked. The big gun on the forecastle was heavily loaded to give a parting salute to the shades of the illustrious dead repos- ing there. The Secretary of the Navy gave the order to discharge the gun, the match was applied and the gun burst into a thousand fragments. The report died away in long echoes along the shores of the Potomac, the smoke was wafted along by the breeze, and Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of State; Thomas W. Gil- mer, Secretary of the Navy; Virgil Maxey, late United States Minister to Bel- gium; Colonel Gardener, member of Congress from New York; Commander Kennon, and several others, were still in death. Thomas H. Benton, United States Senator from Missouri, and Captain Stockton were severely wounded.
It will be noticed that the second section of the aforesaid act provides for a survey of the new county of Upshur. The chapter and section of the code of Virginia herein mentioned deals with the manner in which said survey shall be made. According to the law of the code of Virginia the commission of sur- veyors shall consist of the surveyor of each county out of which the new county is formed, and the surveyor of the new county of Upshur. A Mr. Wilson, county - survey of Barbour county ; a Mr. Logan, county surveyor of Randolph county, and James Bennett, county surveyor of Lewis county, and L. L. D. Loudin, the surveyor appointed by the court of Upshur county for the new county of Upshur, composed the commission of surveyors. This commission did its work in 1851 or 1852. The only known living member of this surveying party is Honorable O. B. Loudin, who now lives on the head waters of Sugar Creek of Turkey Run. He informs us that he was employed as a helper and subordinate, and knows that the work was done in one of these years. In compliance with the third section, the Governor commissioned in and for the said county of Upshur the following Justices of Peace : Adam Spitler, Simon Rohrbough, George Bastable, James T. Hardman, Jacob Lorentz, Daniel Bennett, K. Hopkins, George Clark and John W. Marple. These gentlemen, in their official capacity, met at the house of Andrew Poundstone, in the town of Buckhannon, on the first Thursday after the third Monday in April, 1851. They appointed as clerk of the court, Miflin Lorentz. John Reger was then recommended to his excellency, the Governor, as a very suitable person to be commissioned High Sheriff of the county, and Stewart Bennett was nominated as Commissioner of the Revenue. Then and there the county court proceeded to comply with that section of the act which required them to fix upon a place, in said town of Buckhannon, for holding the courts until the public building can be erected. A committee of three, con- sisting of Messrs. Spitler, Rohrbough, and Bastable were appointed as a com- mittee to secure a suitable lot upon which to erect the public building. After the
243
FORMATION OF UPSHUR COUNTY.
transaction of miscellaneous business, incident to the formation of a new county, the court adjourned.
CIRCUIT COURT PROCEEDINGS.
The first Circuit Court for Upshur county was held on the seventeenth day of June, 1851. The temple of justice was the dwelling house of Andrew Pound- stone, in the town of Buckhannon, it having been designated by the court as the place for holding its sessions until the erection of the county building. High Sheriff John Reger opened the court with the usual audible proclamation, with Hon. George H. Lee, judge of the twenty-second circuit of Virginia, on the bench. The first entries in the records of the term are as follows: "The Court doth appoint George W. Miller clerk of this Court to perform all the duties of said office according to law, and t otake all the fees and emoluments thereof, and by law provided." Mr. Miller now appeared in court, and together with his neighbors, A. M. Bastable, William Sexton, Leonard L. D. Loudin, Clinton G. Miller, D. D. T. Farnsworth, David Bennett, and Miflin Lorentz as his bondsmen, "entered into a bond in the penalty of $8,000, condition as law directs." Judge Lee appointed Matthew Edmiston, of Lewis ounty, father of Honorable Andrew Edmiston, of the same county, State's Attorney for the time being. William A. Harrison, Caleb Boggess, Jr., Matthew Edmiston, John McWhorter, William D. Williams, Benjamin Wilson, George W. Berlin, Richard L. Brown, Samuel - Crane, Uriah M. Turner and Robert Irvine were admitted to practice in this court. The first commissioners of chancery of Upshur county Circuit Court were Alvin M. Bastable and Richard L. Brown. They were appointed by the court at this term. Gibson J. Butcher, on motion of Chief Circuit Clerk George W. Miller, was permitted to qualify as deputy circuit clerk.
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