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held. At this point the committee on resolutions presented the following report, which was adopted amid vociferous applause :


"Whereas, A band of armed traitors to the government of the United States have leagued together for the avowed purpose of overthrowing the constitution and laws of our beloved country, and to insult and strike down the ensign of our nation, which has given to the American citizen ample protection at home and abroad, and to our country consideration and dignity wherever its stars and stripes have been seen and known, and


"Whereas, In pursuance of such treasonable intent, those traitors have once struck down that glorious flag, and now threaten with a myrmidon host in arms to seize our national capital, to trail our nation's honor in the dust and transform this free government into a cruel monarchy ; therefore,


"Resolved, That whatever differences of opinion have divided us in the past, today we are united and are animated by one purpose, and that is an unyielding and undying devotion to the Union, and determination to stand by the government and the flag of our country. Living we stand shoulder to shoulder and fight in their defense; dying we bequeath this purpose to our children.


"Resolved, That in the present civil war so wantonly begun by traitors now in arms against our government the only issue presented to every American citizen is : Shall our constitutional government stand against the rebel and revolutionary force that now threatens its destruction? Or shall it yield to treason for a despotism to be erected upon its ruins. 'He that is not with us is against us.'


"Resolved, That as our revolutionary fathers, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence eventually pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for the purchase of these civil and religious liberties by them transmitted to us, and that we have so long enjoyed, we, their descendants, with a firm reliance upon the same Divine and all-protecting Power, mutually make the same sacred pledge to each other for the preservation and perpetuity of that inestimable inheritance by them bequeathed to us."


Upon the adoption of the foregoing resolution Judge Palmer addressed the meeting in an eloquent speech full of patriotic devotion. James M. Neibling was then called for and began by saying that fourteen years before, when only a boy, he shouldered his musket at the call of his country to assist in chastising Mexican arrogance, and he was ready to go again if his country's cause demanded his services. This declaration was received with unbounded applause. After some further remarks upon the necessity of union and immediate action he presented the roll of enlistment for volunteers, under the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men, issued three days before. In a very short time seventy-two names were down upon the roll, and the meeting then adjourned with cheers and expressions of loyalty to the flag. The volunteers were formed into line by Colonel Neibling and escorted by the band, marched down Main Street and disbanded to meet for another rally on Tuesday, April 23, which had been previously announced.


On that day people came from every part of the county, all seeming to be moved by the one prevailing sentiment of loyalty. Nothing was talked 0f but the defense and preservation of the Union. And in this great cause none were more deeply interested than the 0ld gray-headed veterans who had so l0ng enjoyed its blessings. Scores of pioneers publicly declared their readiness to shoulder a musket and march to the defense of their country. All seemed


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to be imbued with that same spirit of patriotic devotion and sacrifice which nerved the revolutionary fathers to win that glorious boon of liberty we now enjoy. Party prejudice was set aside and all labored together, hand in hand in that noble work of preserving the national honor.


By this time three companies of volunteers had been raised in Hancock County, which were afterwards mustered into the Twenty-first regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as Companies A, F, and G. In the afternoon companies A and F were each presented by the ladies of Findlay with a handsome flag. The presentation took place in front of the court house in the presence of the large assemblage which had come together on that day to attest their unswerving loyalty. Mrs. James Neibling made the presentation speech and the flags were respectively received by Captains Wilson and Walker on behalf of their companies.


The fair grounds, then located in East Findlay on the Mt. Blanchard road, was selected as a place of rendezvous for the volunteers and was dedicated as Camp "Neibling," in honor of the gallant Colonel James M. Neibling, who afterward commanded the Twenty-first regiment on many a bloody field. On the 25th of April Mrs. Mary Mungen on behalf of the ladies of Findlay presented a flag to company G. Before the following day a delegation of ladies from McComb put in an appearance at Camp Neibling and presented another flag to the same c0mpany, most of which command were from the n0rthwest part 0f the county. Miss Addie M. Price presented the beautiful banner and Captain Lovell received it and responded in appropriate terms.


A mass meeting was held at the c0urt house, April 27th, for the purpose of arranging for a more thorough military organization of the county. James M. Neibling was elected chairmnan and D. B. Beardsley secretary. Speeches were made by Messrs. James M. Neibling, Aaron Blackford and Abel F. Parker, advocating the proposed measure ; and committees were appointed in each township to carry the project into effect. Meetings were soon afterward held in nearly every township, military companies organized and the patriotic ardor of the people was unabated. Several companies of home guards were als0 formed, consisting of men over forty-five years of age ; but these organizations subsequently disbanded, because the term "Home Guard" soon became one of reproach and was flippantly used to designate the stay-at-homes or a class who were afraid to go into the army.


A vast amount of credit is due the various societies organized at divers times during the rebelli0n towards providing for the families of those who were willing to give their service and, if need be their lives for the cause of freedom. And especially is this true of the ladies, of these societies, who did a great amount of good in gathering and forwarding sanitary supplies to hospital camps. In fact, the patriotic women of the county did their full share toward crushing the mightiest rebellion in the history of the world, not only in helpful actions and deeds which relieved the soldiers in the field, but also by enduring the heart-aches and assuming the responsibility of both


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parents' duties in the care of the children while the fathers were absent at the front —many of them, alas, nevermore to return. When finally the news of the capture of Richmond announced the approaching close of the struggle, it created the most intense and joyous excitement. The citizens turned out en masse ; bells were rung and bonfires lighted in every town and village and an undercurrent of deep thankfulness pervaded the entire community. All hailed the good news as a harbinger of peace and happiness. With the fall of the rebel capital the war was virtually at an end ; and although Lee made desperate efforts to save his army its fate was sealed, and the 8th of April, 1865, he surrendered to Grant at Appomattox court house ; nine days afterward Johnston surrendered to Sherman.


The news of these glorious successes of the Union arms was received throughout the north with unbounded enthusiasm and heartfelt prayers were offered to the God of battles who in His infinite mercy had vouchsafed such a brilliant ending to the long turmoil of military strife. After four years of bloody war—after the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of gallant men and millions of treasure, the great rebellion was at an end, the government preserved, and freedom perpetuated. A grand celebration was held at Findlay, April 14, 1865, to rejoice over the dawn of a glorious peace. The day was bright and cheerful, and nature seemed to smile on the exalted happiness of the people. The exercises commenced at six o'clock in the morning with the ringing of bells, and the firing of a salute of thirty-six guns. As the day wore on, crowds of people came pouring into Findlay. At ten o'clock services were held in several of the churches and shortly after noon a large audience gathered at the court h0use where appropriate addresses were delivered by Revs. Rose and Wykes. In the evening there was a fine display of fireworks and every business house, as well as many of the private dwellings were brilliantly illuminated.


"This joy, however, was short lived and suddenly changed to deep mourning. About ten o'clock the news of President Lincoln's assassination reached Findlay, and fell like a pall on the hearts of her citizens. Everyone was horror-struck at the awful deed, and never was there so much feeling manifested by the true and loyal hearts of Hancock County. In a sh0rt time all of the business houses were closed and draped in mourning and the flags dressed in crepe and raised, at half-mast. In the afternoon a public meeting was held at the court house to express the sentiment of the people 0n the assassination of the president, and deep gloom filled every honest heart.


"Soon after the war ended, the Union armies were discharged and the soldiers still remaining returned to their homes, and once more joy reigned supreme around hundreds of firesides in Hancock County. To the survivors and their children has been vouchsafed the blessings to witness the grand results of all their sacrifices, in a reunited country pursuing a common destiny, while the names and fame of those who fell, either on the battlefield or in the line of duty, has been commemorated through the pages of hist0ry and on the beautiful monuments of marble and bronze prominent in city, t0wn and village all over this fair land


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of ours. They all went out with one common aim in view—to lay down their life, if necessary, to aid in the cause of freed0m. They went cheerfully, wherever duty called them. They never shirked duty and never flinched under fire. They never retreated unless ordered so to do. They endured all the hardships of marching, fighting, and of prisons and more than five hundred of them laid down their lives without a murmur, that the noble cause, for which they fought, might be sustained for the benefit of future generations. They left father, mother, brother, sister, wife, children, all that was near and dear to them in this life, well knowing that for the last time they might look at their families' loving faces, and into their aching hearts; and for four long and weary years, both those at home and those engaged in the fight f0r freedom endured the hardships of one of the most bloody and cruel wars on record."


SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.


Hancock County was represented in the Spanish-American War by some 162 soldiers, of whom 109 were members of Company A, 2d Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the rest being distributed mainly among other companies of the same regiment, with a few in various companies of other regiments.


COMPANY A, SECOND OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.


Company A was organized at Findlay as an independent military company in 1872, by Captain James Wilson, a veteran of the Mexican and Civil Wars; mustered into the National

Guard, December J0, 1874; assigned to the Eleventh Regiment as Company B, July 6, 1876; local designation, The Findlay Guards; letter changed to "A" upon the mustering out of the Columbus Grove Cadets in 1879; designation changed to Company A, Second Infantry in 1883; mustered out April 14, 1899; reorganized August 17, 1899, and designated as Company A, unattached Infantry; assigned to the reorganized Second Regiment as Company A, November 13, 1899. Active service: Cincinnati riots, 1884; Wheeling Creek, 1894. War with Spain: Organized for the Volunteer service at Findlay, April 25, 1898; mustered in at Columbus as Company A, Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, May 1o, 1898; mustered out at Macon, Ga., February 10, 1899. Officers (commissioned) : Tillman L. Lafferty, Captain; Ralph E. Barnd, First Lieutenant; Frank M. Biggs, Second Lieutenant.


Company K, Second 0. V. I., had nine Hancock County "boys ;" Company H, same regiment,

 six; Company B, two, and Company C, one. Company D. Sixth 0. V. I., had fifteen members from this county, including the captain, Frank P. Culp. The following companies also contained one or more members each from Hancock County; Company F, Eighth 0. V. I. ; Company — Ninth O. V. I.; Company B, Twenty-first O. V. I. ; Company —, Twenty-eighth I. V. L. A.; Troop C, First O. Cavalry; Company D, First Artillery; Company D, Second U. S.; Company E, Sixth U. S. Artillery; Company A, Eleventh U. S.; Company A, Seventeenth U. S.; Company B, Twenty-eighth U. S.; Twenty-eighth Bat. Art. Ind.; Company M, Thirty-fifth U. S.; Company H, 157th Ind.


CHAPTER IX.


THE BENCH AND BAR.


Early History—Famous Judges and Lawyers—Hancock County Bar Association—First Jail and Court-House.


It would not be commensurate with a historical sketch of the Bench and Bar of Hancock County to name all the judges who have presided on its bench, or to describe the numerous lawyers who have practiced before its courts yet it is thought best to refer to the organization of its several courts and to name some of the early judges who held them and the members of the bar who practiced before them, as well as the judges and lawyers who located here.


The first judicial system to be organized in that part of the United States which is now known as the State of Ohio, was that put in operation by the "Ordinance of 1787," by which the vast "territory northwest of the River Ohio" was set apart as a separate government, and a local judicial system given to it under said ordinance. The court was to consist of three judges, any two of whom could form and constitute a court. This court was to have common law jurisdiction and the judges must reside in the district and have therein a free hold estate of not less than five hundred acres of land during the time they held their office, and their commission was to continue in force during good behavior. These judges, with the governor of said territory were to select from the civil and criminal laws of the original states such laws as they thought suitable for the territory and they were authorized to promulgate and enforce the law, until amended or repealed by a general assembly which was to be later organized according to the terms of said Ordinance under which they were appointed.


In accordance with such provision of the Ordinance, Congress on the sixteenth day of October, 1787, elected as judges for the Northwest Territory, Samuel Wolden Parsons, John Armstrong and James Mitchell Varnam. Mr. Armstrong declined the appointment and on the nineteenth day of February, 1788, John Cleves Symmes was chosen in his place. The salary of the judges was fixed at eight hundred dollars per year. This organization of the court continued, with various changes which were made in the appointment of the judges, until the organization of the State of Ohio, in the year 1802.


Under the first constitution of Ohio, the number of supreme judges was three, with power vested in the General Assembly to authorize the selection of one additional judge.


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Their term of office was fixed at seven years and their salaries were not to exceed one thousand dollars per annum, each. These judges, under the constitution, were to be chosen by the General Assembly, and on the second day of April, 1803, they elected Samuel Huntington, Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., and William Spriggs, who composed the first Supreme Court of Ohio. Under this new constitution the first court was organized which concerned Hancock County directly. This was known as the Court of Common Pleas. The constitution of 1802 provided that the several Courts of Common Pleas should consist of a president judge and associate judges ; that the State should be divided by law into three circuits and that there should be appointed a president of the Courts, who during his continuance in office should reside therein ; that there should be appointed in each county not more than three nor less than two associate judges, who during their continuance in office should reside in the county, and the president in the circuit and the associate judges in the county should constitute the Court of Common Pleas, which court was to have common law and chancery jurisdiction. The several judges under this provision of the constitution were elected by the General Assembly.


The composition of this court was very often criticised and sometimes spoken of as "a court of one hundred judges,"—that is, one judge and two ciphers. In jury cases, undoubtedly the associate judges, who were not men skilled in the law, were practically ciphers, but in the trial of causes to the court they brought to the aid of the presiding judge good common sense and business knowledge, which was often an invaluable assistance and aided in making the finding of the court much more satisfactory than the verdict of a jury.


The president judge of the Common Pleas Court travelled from county to county in his circuit holding court. It was the custom of leading lawyers in those days to travel over the circuits of the several counties with the judges. Before the days of railroads, their ordinary mode of travel was on horseback, and usually each one owned his own horse. The court, bar, and friends journeyed together and generally put up at the same tavern. These leading and traveling lawyers had many partners, usually one in each county seat, who looked after the local business during the interim and was assisted in the trial of cases by the other, who by his constant attendance in court, became especially proficient in the trial of cases.


On horseback, therefore, with books, briefs and clothing stored in saddle-bags, which were thrown over the backs of the horses, the lawyers in merry parties traveled from court to' court over corduroy or mud roads. The legs of the riders were encased from the ankles to far above the knee in leggings of stout cloth, the material of which was soon unrecognizable, being encrusted with an inch or more of mud. The way was cheered by story and jest and the woods resounded with laughter and song. One favorite amusement of these lawyers was to bet on the politics of any rider they might see ahead of them in the woods. They would then overtake him and engage in conversation with him, thus deciding the wager. As the party neared a town, one of them was sent ahead to engage rooms and to order a good meal prepared. The coming of a court to town was an event in those days. In the evening judges and lawyers gathered


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around the huge fireplace of the tavern and told stories until a late hour.


When Hancock became a separate and distinct county, three of her citizens were honored with the appointment of Associate Judges, namely: Abraham Huff, Robert McKinnis and Ebenezer Wilson. We find the record of their first meeting, or the first court held in the county : "At a special court begun and held in the town of Findlay on the 14th of March, in the year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-eight, present, Honorables Abraham Huff, Robert McKinnis and Ebenezer Wilson, Judges of and for the county of Hancock, and State of Ohio, and proceeded to appoint a clerk, pro tern., and after consideration, appointed Wilson Vance, and gave him the following certificate of his appointment in the following words, to-wit : 'Know all men by these presents, that we, Abraham Huff, Robert McKinnis and Ebenezer Wilson, Associate Judges, in and for the county of Hancock, have this day met at the schoolhouse in the town of Findlay, in said county, and after consultation and deliberation, have proceeded to appoint by living voice, Wilson Vance, Esq., of said county, clerk protein., at Findlay, this 14th day of March, 1828.'

ABRAHAM HUFF,

ROBERT MCKINNIS,

EBENEZER WILSON,

Associate Judges.


"The vote stood, ayes two, nays one. Mr. Vance was sworn into office by Judge McKinnis."


The office of clerk, was held by Mr. Vance as clerk pro tern., under the provisions of Sec. 7, Art. 3, of the Constitution of 1802, which recited: "That each Court shall appoint its own Clerk, for the term of seven years, but no person shall be appointed Clerk except protempore, who shall not produce to the Court appointing him a certificate from a majority of the Judges of the Supreme Court, that they judge him to be well qualified to execute the duties of the office of Clerk to any Court of the same dignity, with that for which he offers himself."


The first judicial officers of the county deserve more than a passing notice, from their fidelity to business, their fairness in the discharge of their duties, and their unsullied character as men.


Judge Robert McKinnis was born in Butler County, Pennsylvania, and was of Scotch-Irish descent. He removed thence to Ross County, Ohio, and from thence, in 1822, he came to Hancock County, where he at once became one of the leading men. He married before his emigration to Ohio, and was surrounded by a grown up family when he came to this county. Not only was the Judge himself a noted man, but his sons, of whom there were four, Charles, Philip, James and John, were men who were trusted by the early settlers with positions of responsibility, which positions were always filled with intelligence and honesty. Charles was one of the first commissioners of the county, a position which at that time, was one of peculiar importance. The affairs of a new county were to be put in shape, all the conflicting interests of rival settlements to be harmonized, public buildings and public business were to be looked after. To. safely and successfully manage, and control all these with economy, and to the best interests of a poor struggling population, required discrimination, decision and patience. Mr. McKinnis did not fail in these


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qualifications. Judge McKinnis was the owner of a good farm in Liberty Township, on the south bank of the Blanchard, and lived to enjoy the fruits of his toil. Iris after life, and when quite advanced in years, he made several trips to the far west, some of his children having removed there, going and returning alone in his wagon. He died at a ripe old age, loved and respected by all who had his acquaintance.


Judge Ebenezer Wilson came to the county in 1826, and settled in Liberty Township, on a farm on which his son Joseph afterwards resided, where he continued his residence until his death. Of the Judge, it can be said that as a man, he enjoyed the respect and confidence of his neighbors to an unlimited extent. That he filled the office of Associate Judge, with intelligence and honesty, is evidenced by the fact that he held it for two terms—fourteen years—a greater length of time than did any other. The Judge was one of the pioneers of the Presbyterian church, and was noted for his exemplary life. He. had a large family of children, who like himself, were social, good natured people. The Judge lived long enough to reclaim from the wilderness, and enjoy the blessings of one of the handsomest farms in the county and to see those who had come into the wilds of the county with him, peaceably enjoy the fruit of their labor, and he had the good fortune to retain to the last the esteem and friendship of his old pioneer associates.


It is not known at just what time Judge Abraham Huff came to the county, but it was at a very early period in its history. There seems to be but little known of his history, except that he was an honorable, straight-forward man, of good strong common sense, and was an upright, intelligent Judge. He was a man of poor bodily health, and left the county at an early day, going to the State of Missouri, in hopes of regaining his health, in which he partially succeeded.


The following is a complete record of the term of the first Court of Common Pleas held in the county, which was the June term in 1828 :


At a Court of Common Pleas begun and held in the town of Findlay, in and for the county of Hancock, in the State of Ohio, on the third day of June, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and twenty-eight. Present, the Associate Judges, Abraham Huff, Robert McKinnis and Ebenezer Wilson, the Presiding Judge not being present.. Don Alonzo Hamlin, Sheriff, Wilson Vance, Clerk pro-tem, Anthony Casad was appointed by the Court to prosecute the Pleas in behalf of the State, for said county for the term of one year, and to be allowed forty dollars for his services."


"Elijah T. Davis was appointed Administrator on the effects of Thomas Wilson, late of Findlay Township, deceased. Joshua Hedges and Squire Carlin were accepted as his sureties, bonds given in the sum of Five Hundred dollars. Joshua Hedges, Jacob Poe and Charles McKinnis were appointed appraisers 0f said effects. On application ordered that the citizens of Welfare (now Delaware) Township have leave to elect one justice of the peace. One justice of the peace was appointed for Amanda Township. The Court app0inted Wilson Vance recorder of Hancock County for the term


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of seven years, and the Court adjourned without day.


ABRAHAM HUFF."


The first Grand Jury was composed of the following named persons : Josepy DeWitt, John P. Hamilton, Jacob Poe, Asa Lake, Charles McKinnis, Reuben Hales, Mordica Hammond, William Wade, John Boyd, Henry George, William Moreland, James McKinnis, William Taylor, Edwin S. Jones and John C. Wickham. The foreman was William Taylor.


The first Petit Jury summoned was as follows : John Beard, Joseph Johnson, John Huff, William Moreland, Jr., John Tullis, John J. Hendricks, Thomas Thompson, James Pettis, and there being no business for a Jury they were discharged without filling the panel. Rachel Wilson was appointed guardian of Rebecca and Jane Wilson, minor children of Thomas Wilson, deceased. Rebecca was eight and Jane one year old. When grown up Rebecca became the wife of John Reed, of Liberty Township, and Jane the wife of George L. Poe, of Allen Township.


On application, a license was granted to William Taylor to vend merchandise at his residence in Findlay, until the first day of April next, he to pay into the treasury two dollars and twenty-five cents for said license.


At the November term of the Court it "Appearing that there was no business before the Grand Jury, they were discharged." At the same term William Taylor was appointed Surveyor of the county, and the Clerk ordered to certify the same to the Governor. William Taylor, William Hackney and Mordica Hammond were appointed examiners of common schools. It was "ordered by the Court that there be allowed to the Clerk of the Court the sum of ten dollars each year, to be paid one half at each term of Court." Seven years Clerk of the Court for the magnificent sum of seventy dollars.


A special session of the court was held on the 19th day of March, 1829, for the purpose of granting letters of administration on the estate of John Patterson. William Taylor was appointed. Mr. Patterson was a brother of the wife of Mr. Taylor.


At the April term, 1829, Judges Huff, Wilson and McKinnis were present, also Sheriff John C. Wickham, Clerk Wilson Vance and Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Casad. The Grand Jury, the second one called and empaneled in the county was as f0llows : Robert Long, Amos Beard, Thomas Cole, John Shoemaker, Reuben W. Hamblin, Samuel Sargeant, William J. Greer, Robert Elder, John Hunter, Isaac Johnston, Nathan Frakes, Reuben Hales, Jacob Foster, William Moreland, Jr., Nathan Williams. The foreman was William J. Greer. Due notice having been. given, William Taylor was licensed to keep a tavern at his house in Findlay, by paying five dollars. The Grand Jury, at this session, found a bill of indictment —the first ever returned in the county.


The first case on the civil docket was that of Robert Elder and wife against Asa Lake and wife for slander. Damages claimed, five hundred dollars. The action was brought at the November term, 1828, Abel Rawson, plaintiff's Attorney. A judgment was rendered for the defendants, and the plaintiffs ordered to pay the costs, taxed at two dollars and twenty-two cents. Such a cost bill as that would not go very far towards paying the costs of a slander suit in these days, neither would it make the officers of the court either rich or happy.


The case of Henry McWhorter against Samuel Sargeant and Abraham Huff was tried at


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the April term, 1830, before Ebenezer Lane, President Judge, and Judges Wilson and McKinnis, associates. The action was upon note of hand, and amount claimed four hundred dollars, and one hundred dollars damages. "Now comes the plaintiff by Mr. Godman, his attorney, and the defendant being three times solemnly called came not, but made default. It is therefore considered that the plaintiff recover of said defendants the sum of $237.83, his debt aforesaid, together with his damages assessed by the court at one cent, and his costs of suit to be taxed at $3.30.


The case of the State of Ohio against Thomas Slight was tried before a jury composed of Joshua Hedges, Vanrensalear Hancock, John Elder, Seldon Blodgett, Sampson Dildine, James McKinnis, William DeWitt, Josiah Elder, Thomas F. Johnson, Asa M. Lake, Asa Lake and Mathew Reighly. Verdict, guilty. Second trial allowed, case finally dismissed.


Perhaps no cases tried in the county excited more interest at the time than those in which John P. Hamilton and Charles and Philip McKinnis figured. Charles McKinnis and John P. Hamilton were both county commissioners, and a petition had been presented to the Board, praying for the division of Findlay Township which then included all the western part of the county. To this proposition McKinnis, and perhaps his immediate constituency, were opposed, as it struck them off from Findlay. At the session in which the matter was to be determined, McKinnis after coming to town was attacked with the ague, and consequently was not able to meet with the Board. In his absence Hamilton and the other commissioner passed the act dividing the township. This was done no doubt without any intention of showing discourtesy to McKinnis, but it seems that McKinnis did not so regard it, for when the matter came to his ears, he was greatly enraged, as he believed they had purposely taken advantage of his absence to pass the obnoxious order. As soon as he was able to be on the street, meeting Hamilton, whom he considered as the prime mover in the matter, he attacked him and gave him a severe beating. Philip McKinnis happening to come to town and hearing that his brother Charles and Hamilton had been in a fight, and knowing that Charles was sick, took it for granted that his brother had been worsted in the fight. In his impetuous manner, he started out to find the man whom he supposed had taken an undue advantage and meeting Hamilton, without further ceremony pitched into him and repeated the dose which Charles had administered. Thus by mistake Hamilton got two beatings, for had Philip known that Charles had come out first best in the fight, or even that he had been the aggressor, and got whipped in a fair fight, he would not have interfered. The matter came before the courts and bills of indictments were found by the Grand Jury. The record says that to the indictment "the defendants say they are guilty, and threw themselves on the mercy of the court." The sentence pronounced by the court against Charles McKinnis was "that said McKinnis pay a fine of one dollar, and the costs of suit, taxed $2.24, and that he stand charged until the sentence of the court is complied with and be in mercy." The case against Philip was disposed of in the same way.

John P. Hamilton, in September, 1829, by T. C. Pow ell, his attorney, brought suit against Charles McKinnis for damages sustained by him in the assault and battery, claiming five hundred dollars damage. The case was tried


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to a jury composed as follows: Joshua Elder, Don Alonzo Hamblin, Robert L. Strother, Joseph Egbert, Joshua Powell, Nathan Williams, William Greer, John J. Hendrichs, Mordica Hammond, Peter George, Thomas Thompson and William Morehead. Verdict, guilty. Damages assessed at seventy-five dollars. Suit was also brought against Phillip McKinnis, and a judgment of thirty-five dollars was recovered.


Anthony Casad, of Bellefontaine, Ohio, was appointed prosecuting attorney of the county at the magnificent sum of forty dollars a year. Among the names of attorneys practicing in the courts in that day, and for many years subsequently, we find those of Casad, Godman, Powell, Goit, Hall, Bates, Morrison, O'Neal, Coffinberry, Patterson, May and Rawson. In 1835, Robert L. Strother and John W. Baldwin were appointed Associate judges, in place of Huff and McKinnis, Judge Wilson being reappointed. Judge Baldwin held the office but a short time, and upon his resignation, Major Bright was appointed.


In 1842, John Ewing, Mordica Hammond and William Roller were appointed, and they were succeeded by Michael Price, John Cooper and Gamaliel C. Brandel, and with them the race of associate judges became extinct, as the Constitution of 1851 abolished the office. The people of the county were very fortunate in the appointment of judges, as all were, at least, of the best citizens of the county.


Edson Goit, the first resident lawyer of Findlay, was born in Oswego County, New York, October 18, 1808. When he was quite small his father died, but, through improving every opportunity during his boyhood years he managed to obtain a fair education and taught school ere reaching his majority. In 1827 he left his early home and traveled across Ohio until arriving at the village of Fremont. Here he halted and subsequently taught school in Fremont and Tiffin. During this period Mr. Goit read law under Rudolphus Dickinson, of Fremont, and Abel Rawson, of Tiffin, and July 12, 1832, was admitted to practice. Learning that Findlay, the then new county seat of Hancock County, had no lawyer he at once concluded to come here and cast in his fortunes with the then hamlet. Traveling on foot from Tiffin, he reached Findlay on the third day of his journey and went to reside in the home of Dr. Rawson, a practicing physician of the village. This was in August, 1832, and in September he was appointed prosecuting attorney, which position he held until June, 1836. The office of prosecuting attorney, however, paid a very small salary during this period of the county's history, and for several months after settling in Findlay Mr. Goit patiently waited for clients that never came. Discouraged at the poor outlook, he at last made up his mind to leave the town, but ere he had carried out his intention the tide turned and he was engaged to teach a school, being thus guaranteed sufficient to pay his board. Clients soon began to consult him, hope took the place of despondency and he gave up the idea of leaving Findlay. While boarding at the tavern of William Taylor in 1835, he married Miss Jane Patterson, a sister of Mrs. Taylor, with whom she was living. In May, 1836, Mr. Goit was appointed audit0r, vice John C. Schnnon, deceased, and served till March, 1837. In April, 1837, he was again appointed prosecuting attorney, but


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resigned the office in October, 1838. The same month he was elected treasurer and filled that office tw0 successive terms. Besides attending to the duties of his profession he now launched out boldly into other pursuits. He accumulated a large amount of land and engaged extensively in mercantile business in Hancock, Allen and Putnam Counties. He, however, got too many irons in the fire ; his business was too complex for judicious management, and his large land interests finally became an incumbrance and proved his financial downfall. From January, 1858, to January, 1862, he again filled the office of prosecuting attorney and this finished his official career. Mr. Goit possessed unbounded energy and though a fair lawyer, did not devote sufficient attention to his profession to keep up with the times. He was a man of fine personal appearance and dignified carriage, and was regarded as a very strong jury lawyer. Though he lost the fruits of a lifetime of persevering industry he did not, however, "fail" as that term is commonly understood, but paid his creditors to the last penny, no man losing a cent by him, and his every promise being faithfully redeemed. Such was his sterling honesty that his principal solace at the hour of his death was the fact that he owed no man a dollar. His first wife died in the spring of 1863, leaving a family of three sons and one daughter. One of the sons was subsequently killed in the War of the Rebellion. Mr. Goit was afterwards married to Mrs. Sarah A. McConnell, of Van Buren, and in the fall of 1867 removed to Bowling Green, where he died May 29,. 1880. Two daughters were born of the second marriage, both of whom are dead. No man has ever lived in Findlay who is more kindly remembered than Edson Goit. He was charitable to a fault and every worthy public enterprise found in him a warm friend and generous support. Mr. Goit built while living in Findlay what was then the largest block in Findlay. The Karg Bros. meat-market bl0ck is a portion of the building he erected, although the entire structure was remodeled during the boom.


Arnold F. Merriam was the second lawyer to locate in Findlay. He was born in Brandon, Vt., December 17, 1811, and was there educated and began the study of law. In early manhood he rem0ved to Zanesville, Ohio, where he completed his law studies and was admitted to practice. He soon afterward started for Vinton County, where he intended to locate. During his journey he met Wilson Vance, who induced him to change his mind and come to Findlay. He arrived here in the spring of 1835 and entered into partnership with Edson Goit. In June, 1836, he was appointed prosecuting attorney, which office he filled till April, 1837, when he resigned. On the 27th of May, 1837, he married Miss Sarah A. Baldwin, who bore him one son and two daughters. In January, 1838, Mr. Merriam started the Hancock Republican, the first Whig paper published in the county, which he published about a year. He then removed to Mansfield, Ohio, sold the press and subsequently went to Kentucky where he died in July, 1844. His widow returned with her family to Findlay, and afterward married Judge Robert Strother. The lady lived here for some few


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years, the venerable Mrs. S. A. Strother, whom everybody loved and revered.


John H. Morrison, the third lawyer who came to Findlay, was one of the best known members of the pioneer bar. P. B. Morrison and the Misses Morrison of this city, one of whom is now dead, were son and daughters of the once celebrated lawyer. He was born in Uniontown, Penn., in 1802, but removed when quite young to Perry County, Ohio, where at the age of fifteen he lost his right arm by accident. Young Morrison received a good common school education, read law in the office of Philemon Beecher, of Lancaster, Ohio, began practice in Bucyrus, and afterwards filled the office of prosecuting attorney and treasurer of Crawford County. In the fall of 1836 he located in Findlay and soon became well known throughout northwestern Ohio. Mr. Morrison was married in Perry County, Ohio, to a Miss Henthorn, who died at Bucyrus without issue. He afterwards married in Perry County, Ohio, a Miss Henthorn, who died at Bucyrus, without issue. Subsequent to this second bereavement, he married Miss Nancy Williams, who reared a family of five children, two of whom still reside in Findlay. He died April 19, 1864.


Jacob Barnd was a bright, promising, young lawyer, who died in 1845. He was a native of Perry County, Ohio, and a son of Christian Barnd, a pioneer of 1831, in which year he removed with his parents to this county. In 1832 the family moved from the farm into Findlay where Jacob afterward studied law under Edson Goit. He was admitted to the bar in 1837 and in October, 1838, was appointed prosecuting attorney, but served only until the end of the term of court, which was October 9, 1838. He filled the recorder's office two terms, from October, 1838, to October, 1844, and it is probable that he did not practice much during that .period. He left two sons at his death.


Jude Hall came to Findlay about 1836, where he followed the carpenter's trade, and sometimes preached the gospel. He was a queer specimen of the genus homo and quite an eccentric character. He read law with Edson Goit and soon after his admission to the bar in 1838 he was elected prosecuting attorney, being re-elected in 1840. In 1843 he removed to Defiance and thence to Upper Sandusky, where further trace of him was lost.


Hon. Charles W. O'Neal comes next in the order of time. He was born in Middletown, Frederick County, Maryland, January 18, 1811, and in 1833 removed to Zanesville, Ohio, where the f0llowing year he was married to Miss Amy J. Baldwin. In July, 1835, he came to Findlay and began the study of law in the office of Goit and Merriam and in August, 1838, was admitted to practice. Mr. O'Neal was a practical surveyor and did a great deal of surveying in this county. He was also one of the pioneer school teachers of Findlay. In 1836 he was elected auditor serving one term, and he also represented this district in the State Senate from 1844 to 1846. He practiced his profession in Hancock County nearly forty years, retiring from active practice a few years prior to his death, and removing to Indiana, whence lie returned and died in Findlay, December 20, 1879. Mr. O'Neal, though a safe counsellor, was not an advocate and rarely ap-


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peared in that capacity in any important case. He was very methodical and dignified in his practice, terse and forcible in argument and always courteous to the opposing counsel. He was close and economical in his business habits and very successful in the accumulation of wealth, leaving to his descendants a handsome fortune.


Abel F. Parker was born in Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont, May 11, 1800, and died in Findlay, May 31, 1881, in his eighty-second year. In early manhood he settled in Genesee County, New York, where he removed with his family to Blanchard Township, this county, two years later locating in Findlay. He read law under Edson Goit and was admitted to the bar in 1842. The same year he was elected prosecuting attorney and served one term. In 1846 he was again elected prosecutor and re-elected in 1848, but resigned the office in 1849. Mr. Parker also filled the office of postmaster of Findlay. His first wife died in 1848, leaving a family of one son and two daughters. In 1852 Mr. Parker married Sarah A. Robinson, who bore him two sons and one daughter. His two daughters, Misses Julia and Dora, resided in this city many years, and his son, Judge Robert Parker, resided in Bowling Green. Though Mr. Parker lived to the ripe old age of more than four score years, he nevertheless continued in practice up to within a short period of his decease. He loved his profession and was highly respected by his associates of the bar.


Ezra Brown was born in Lown, Canada, August 4, 1814, and when about three years old removed with his parents to what is now the town of Albion, Orleans County, New York. There he resided till October, 1839, when he came to Findlay. Entering the law office of John H. Morrison, he was admitted to the bar in July, 1842. He formed a partnership with his preceptor and continued in practice until February, 1847, then removed to a farm in W0od County, near Fostoria. In the spring of 1852 Mr. Brown returned to Findlay, and resumed the practice of his profession. He remained in practice till the fall of 1880 and then retired from the active duties thereof. In the spring of 1885 Mr. Brown was elected justice of the peace, which office he held until his death, some time later. He was mayor of Findlay and a member of the council. On the 11th of November, 1845, he married Miss Jane E. Biglow, who died February 4, 1873, leaving a family of two daughters, Miss Metta, who was a teacher in the schools in Portland, Oregon, and Mrs. S. P. DeWolf, wife of the ex-county auditor and manager of the Findlay Morning

Republican. A son died at Memphis, Tenn., in 1863, while serving the Union Army.


Elijah Williams was also a student in the office of Mr. Morrison and was admitted with Ezra Brown in July, 1842. He practiced in Findlay about eight years, when he removed to Portland, Oregon, where he died a few years ago. He is remembered as a sharp, shrewd, but diffident lawyer.


Hon. Machias C. Whiteley was born May 24, 1822, and died several years previous to 1901. He came of Scotch-Irish parentage and was born at East New Market, Dorchester County, Md. His paternal grandfather was a patriot of the Revolution and his father served in the War of 1812 against the British. In


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1832 his parents, Willis and Elizabeth 'Whiteley, removed their family to Baltimore, Fairfield County, where the subject of this sketch worked on a farm and attended the common schools of the neighborhood. He subsequently learned the harness trade, which he followed until coming to Findlay in 1840. For two years he worked in the clerk's office, devoting his spare time to reading law with Goit & O'Neal and then returned to Fairfield County, where he continued his law studies with Medill & Whitman, of Lancaster. On the 4th of July, 1843, he was admitted to the bar at Tiffin and immediately opened a law office in Findlay where he gradually attained a lucrative practice. In 1847 Mr. Whiteley married Miss Sarah A. Henderson, a native of Wayne County, Ohio, and daughter of William L. Henderson, a leading surveyor of Hancock County, and one of its earliest settlers. Nine children were born to this union. In 1848 Mr. Whiteley was elected to the legislature and re-elected in 1849. While in the legislature he took part in the election of Salmon P. Chase to the United States Senate and secured the charter of the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and Chicago Railroad. In 1856 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention which nominated Buchanan and Breckenridge for president and vice-president of the United States. The same fall he was elected judge of the court of Cornmon Pleas, for the Third Subdivision of the Ninth Judicial District, and was re-elected in 1861, serving on the bench ten years. In 1864 Judge Whiteley was nominated on the Democratic ticket for supreme judge, but with the balance of the ticket was defeated, the state going largely Republican that year. Upon retiring from the bench in 1867 Judge Whiteley resumed practice in Findlay and continued in active practice almost up to the time of his death. He was one of the most prominent attorneys of northwestern Ohio and a Democrat of Democrats, but absolutely refused to vote when the registration law went into effect.


William M. Patterson was admitted to the bar at Tiffin July 4, 1843, on the same day as Mr. Whiteley. He was born in Harrison County, Ohio, March 24, 1812, and in the spring of 1834 came to Findlay with his parents, Major John and Elizabeth Patterson. He read law with Charles W. O'Neal and upon his admission began practice in Findlay. In 1844 he was elected prosecuting attorney and served one term. He was married in 1834 to Susan Amspoker and resided in Findlay till 1854, when, with his wife and four children, he removed to Kansas. He died in the spring of 1858 from the effects of an accident caused by a boiler explosion in the fall of 1855 in a saw-mill which he was then operating.


Hon. James M. Coffinberry became a member of the Findlay bar in the fall of 1845. He was born in Mansfield, Ohio, May 16, 1818, whence in 1836 his father, Andrew Coffinberry, removed to Perrysburg, Wood County. Here James M. read law in his father's office and in 1840 was admitted to the bar. His father, widely known as Count Coffinberry, was one of the leading attorneys of Northwestern Ohio and practiced in this portion of the state throughout the earlier years of its history. Soon after admission to the bar James M. opened a law office in Maumee City and subsequently served as prosecuting attorney of Lucas County. Late in the fall of 1845 he settled in Findlay where he purchased an interest and took editorial charge of the Findlay Herald, the local organ of the Whig party. In the spring of 1846 he became sole owner of the


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Herald, which he published about three years, and then sold out to Dr. David Patton. From the date of his coming to Findlay Judge Coffinberry took and retained a leading position at the Hancock County Bar and in 1852 was a prime mover in the establishment of the Findlay Bank, the first financial institution established in the county. Feeling the need of a large field for the full exercise of his maturer powers, he removed in 1855 to Cleveland, Ohio, where he held a high rank among the eminent lawyers of that city. In 1861 he was elected on the Union ticket Judge of the Common Pleas Court and served five years on the bench. Upon the expiration of his judicial term he resumed his professional duties and continued in the enjoyment of a large and lucrative practice till 1875 when he retired. He was one of the greatest lawyers Findlay ever had.


Charles S. Coffinberry, a younger brother of the Judge, practiced law in Findlay about three years. He was a native of Mansfield, Ohio, born February 1, 1824. He read law with his father at Perrysburg and came to Findlay in the spring of 1846, where he formed a partnership with John M. Morrison. In 1849, in company with others from this portion of Ohio, he went to California and was afterward appointed by President Filmore to take the first census of that state. In the discharge of this laborious undertaking, he was ably assisted by his father, who had followed him to the new Eldorado. He finally returned to Ohio and for a few months was associated with his brother in the practice of the law in Cleveland, but failing health compelled him to again relinquish his professional labors and he went to Oregon and New Mexico where he spent the later years of his life, dying of consumption about thirty miles south of Pueblo, December 17, 1873.


Aaron H. Biglow was a native of Vermont and a graduate of Middlebury College. He there read law and was admitted to practice. In July, 1841, he located in Findlay and for a few years was engaged in mercantile pursuits. He then began the practice of law, which he followed until 1856 when he gave up the profession and subsequently removed to Indiana, where he died. Mr. Biglow possessed a good education and was a fair speaker, but never acquired much practice.


John E. Rosette first located in Mt .Blanchard where he married. In 1848 he removed to Findlay and in April, 1849, he was appointed prosecuting attorney, vice Abel F. Parker, resigned. He was twice elected to the same position, serving until January, 1854. He was modest, quiet, and of studious habits, possessing good legal judgment but diffident and lacking self-reliance. Soon after the expiration of his last term as prosecutor he removed to Springfield, Ill., where he rapidly secured recognition as a sound, reliable lawyer. He was appointed by President Johnson United States district attorney for the southern district of Illinois. For some years before his death he enjoyed a wide reputation as a criminal lawyer and commanded the confidence of a bar embracing many distinguished men.


Henry Brown was one of the oldest and best known members of the bar. He was born in Albion, Orleans County, N. Y., November 25, 1826, and received a good literary and classical education at the Albion Academy. In May, 1844, he came to Ohio and engaged in school teaching near Fostoria, which vocation he followed three years. During this period he commenced the study of law under Hon. Warren P. Noble, of Tiffin, Ohio, and in the fall of 1848 he was admitted to practice. In January,


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1842, he located in Findlay as a member of the law firm of Goit, Biglow & Brown. In January, 1851, Mr. Brown bcame one of the editors and proprietors of the Hancock Courier, which he continued to publish until January, 1854. When he sold his interest to his partner Aaron Blackford, who had also been his law partner for the last two years. In January, 1855, he assumed entire editorial control of the Courier and carried on that paper until December 20, 1856. He was elected auditor in October, 1854, and served till March, 1857. Mr. Brown was then compelled by ill health to retire from active business. After a period of needed recuperation he resumed the practice of his profession and in November, 1862, was appointed prosecuting attorney to serve out the unexpired term of James A. Bope, resigned; was elected as his own successor, and re-elected to the same position. In 1868 he was the Democratic senatorial candidate for election in this district, and made a splendid race, reducing the previous Republican majority 1,973 votes, and being defeated by only 227 votes. Mr. Brown was again elected prosecutor in 1875 and reelected in 1877. In 1884 he was once more chosen to fill the same office and in 1887 was elected to the lower house of the legislature, succeeding himself in 1889. Fie died May 11, 1893, regretted by all who knew him.


William Gribben was one of the . brightest, brainiest members of the Findlay bar and might have risen very high if he had devoted his talents to his profession. He was born in Allegheny County, Penn., March II, 1825, and in the following autumn his parents removed to what is now Ashland County, Ohio, where Mr. Gribben grew to maturity and received a common school education. He read law with Johnson and Sloan of Ashland and was ad- mitted to the bar in the fall of 185o. The same autumn he located in Findlay and formed a partnership with John H. Morrison and subsequently with Judge Whiteley. In 1853 he was elected prosecuting attorney and was reelected in 1855. He served in the legislature from 1862 to 1864 and received the certificate of re-election but lost the seat on contest. This was during the most exciting period in the political history of the state, when Democrats were publicly branded as rebels and political passion ran high. Mr. Gribben followed his profession until his death, which occurred November 28, 1887.


Aaron Blackford was one of the oldest and most prominent members of the Hancock County bar, to which he had belonged nearly fifty years. He was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, February 8, 1827, and removed to Findlay with his parents, Price and Abigail Blackford, in October, 1834. He received his education in the public schools of Findlay and at Delaware College, Delaware, Ohio. He read law with Henry Brown, of Findlay, attended the Cincinnati Law School and was admitted to the bar in May, 1852. In January, 1851, he became associated with Henry Brown, of Findlay, in the publication of the Hancock Courier, which they jointly edited until January, 1854, when Mr. Blackford became sole editor. He conducted the paper about one year and then disposed of his interest to his former partner. During this period Mr. Blackford also practiced law, and with the passing years attained more than a state prominence in his profession. Mr. Blackford was the Nestor of the Findlay bar and accumulated great wealth. He had four sons, two of whom are now practicing attorneys in this city—Rollin dying a few years ago, the two still practicing


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here being Frank P. and Charles A. Blackford. Mr. Blackford died Dec. 7, 1904.


Hon. William Mungen was born in Baltimore, Md., May 12, 1821, and died September 9, 1887. He removed with his family in 1830 to Carroll County, Ohio, where he received a common school education and subsequently studied Latin, German and the physical sciences. He came to Findlay in October, 1842. In February, 1845, he took possession of the Hancock Farmer, and changed its name to the Hancock Democrat and on the first of July, 1845, he became the editor and proprietor of the Hancock Courier, consolidating the two papers. Excepting one year during which the office was rented to William M. Case, and a short period to B. F. Rosenberg, Mr. Mungen published the Courier until 1851, when he sold the establishment to Henry Brown and Aaron Blackford, two leading members of the bar. In 1846 Mr. Mungen was elected auditor of Hancock County and re-elected in 1848. In 1846 Mr. Mungen was chosen to represent this district in the state senate and declined a renomination, which was then equal to election. In the meantime he had been reading law during his spare moments and in 1852 was admitted to the bar and began practice. When the Rebellion broke out in 1861 Mr. Mungen was foremost in recruiting the Fifty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry and was commissioned colonel of that gallant regiment, which he commanded until April, 1863, when he resigned the commission. Colonel Mungen served as a Democrat two terms in Congress from 1867 to 1871. He is the only congressman Hancock County had then had. Mrs. Jacob H. Boger and Miss Effie Mungen of this city are his daughters. Mr. Mungen was a true patriot, a noble citizen, a great lawyer and a brave soldier, serving in any capacity in which his country's cause was prime motive.


Andrew Coffinberry was conspicuous among the old-time lawyers of the Maumee Valley, and though not a resident of Findlay until within a few years prior to his death, he practiced at this bar before the county possessed a single attorney. He was born at Martinsburg, Berkeley County, Virginia, August 20, 1788. In the spring of 1836 he removed with his family to Perrysburg, Wood County, Ohio, where he resided until 1849-5o. From Perrysburg he removed to Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio ; there he left his family and went to California. Upon the death of his wife, which occurred during his absence, his son James M. brought the family to Findlay, where their father joined them on his return from California. Here he continued in practice until his death, May 11, 1856. "Count" Coffinberry was not only a lawyer of ability but possessed considerable literary talent. "The Forest Ranges," a descriptive poem, was one of his productions. His sobriquet of "Count" was first playfully given him by his professional associates from some real or supposed resemblance to the illustrious German jurist and publicist Count Puffendorf. The title was recognized as being so appropriate to the man that it stuck to him through life, and thousands of those who knew him long and well never knew that it was not his real name.


John F. Caples came to Findlay from Fostoria in the fall of 1854 and practiced law here till the spring of 1858, when he removed to Warsaw, Indiana. He subsequently went to Portland, Oregon, and entered into the practice of his profession. "John F. Caples," said Judge Coffinberry, "is one of the best lawyers of his adopted


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state." During his life in Findlay he was recognized as a good speaker and a promising young lawyer.


Daniel B. Beardsley, one of the pioneers of Hancock County and a lawyer for many years in Findlay, was born in Licking County, Ohio, May 12, 1832, and was brought by his parents to Hancock County in 1834, where he resided until his death September 29, 1894. Mr. Beardsley was educated in the public schools of this county and taught school for a number of years. He read law with Walker & West, of Bellefontaine, and was there admitted to the bar in August, 1856. In March, 1857, he located in practice in Findlay and for thirty-seven years was a member of the local bar. In 1858 he was elected a justice of the peace of Findlay Township and was reelected eight times, serving continuously from the spring of 1858 to the spring of 1885, a period of twenty-seven years. Mr. Beardsley was prominent in the organization of "The Hancock County Pioneer and Historical Association" and an active member during its existence. His connection with this society prompted him to write a history of Hancock County which he published in 1881. Mr. Beardsley was also secretary of the Hancock County Agricultural Society for many years and he was a good one—an untiring worker and a genial courteous gentleman with friends in every nook and corner of the county.


William C. Bunts located in Findlay in the spring of 1858, whither he removed from Youngstown, Ohio. He graduated in 1854 from Allegheny College at Meadville, Penn., read law with Ridgeley P0wers, of Youngstown, and upon admission began practice with his preceptor. Mr. Bunts practiced law in Findlay till 186o and then returned to Youngstown and resumed partnership with Mr. Powers. He afterwards served in the Civil War, on the staff of General Rosecrans. He located at Nashville, Tenn., subsequently returning to Youngst0wn and thence going to Cleveland, where he filled the position of assistant United States district attorney and city solicitor, dying January 16, 1874.


Col. James A. Bope was a native of Ohio, having been born in Winchester, Adams County, on the 30th of November, 1833. His parents removed to Lancaster in 1838 and there he received his preliminary educational discipline, after which he was matriculated in Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1855. There was no element of vacillation in his nature, and thus it was to be expected that he w0uld early form definite plans as to his course in life. He began reading law in Lancaster, being a close and assiduous student and so rapidly advancing in his technical knowledge as to secure admission to the bar of the state in 1857. He served his novitiate as a practitioner in Lancaster, where he remained until 1859, when he came to Findlay. Here he subsequently maintained his home and by his life and services added to the dignity of the bar of the state.


In 1861 Colonel Bope had been elected prosecuting attorney of the county, but the responsibilities of this incumbency and the demands of his general practice did not deter him from promptly responding to the clarion call to arms when the dark shadow


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of Civil war obscured the National horizon. In July, 1862, he enlisted as a member of Company D, Ninety-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which he was made captain and in which he served until July 10, 1864, when he was appointed acting inspector general in the brigade commanded by Colonel P. T. Swaine. In the battle of Atlanta our subject was severely wounded and was sent home by General Schofield, presumably never to return to the front or even survive his injuries. He, however, recovered and rejoined his command in North Carolina. He was made lieutenant colonel and was placed in command of the Ninety-ninth and Fifteenth Consolidated Regiments of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which capacity he served until the close of the war, being mustered out in July, 1865. He was an active participant in all the engagements of his command from Perryville, Ky., to the end, including the battles of Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge, and from Dalton to Atlanta. He had received several minor wounds prior to being incapacitated by his injuries at Atlanta.


After being mustered out Colonel Bope returned to Findlay and resumed his interrupted professional work in which he gained a marked precedence and a representative clientage. For more than a decade he was retained as counsel for the Findlay city council and thereafter served for four years as city solicitor. He devoted his attention principally to corporation law, having nothing in the line of criminal cases in connection with his professional work, though he proved a strong advocate, versatile and thorough and learned in the minutia of the law. He was attorney for a number of imp0rtant corporations, including leading banking institutions, and attorney for the Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland and the Big Four Railroad and also for the Bowling Green & Southern Traction Company. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party of whose cause he was ever a stalwart supporter and advocate. In 1861 Colonel Rope was united in marriage to Miss Martha J. Meeks, a daughter of Rev. J. A. Meeks, and their home was ever a center of gracious hospitality. Colonel Bope died October 25, 1908.


Absalom P. Byall. Few, if any, of the men living in Hancock County today, have been so closely connected with the progress and official affairs of the county as has the Hon. Absolam P. Byall. Mr. Byall was born in Stark County, Ohio, on the 19th day of June, 1821, and moved with his father's family to Findlay, arriving on the 6th of September, 1833, when a lad of twelve years of age, and has been a continuous citizen of this county to the present day. The family settled on a forty-acre tract of land on the east side of Main Street, extending from Sandusky Street to Lima Street, building a house on the site of the grounds at present occupied by the fine residence of George P. Jones. At that date the land was covered by the primeval forest. Mr. Byall with the help of the subject of our sketch, cleared up this land, making for himself and family a comfortable home. In 1840 the father died, and Absalom being the oldest of five children, took upon himself the dutiful task of the support of his mother and the four younger children.


In September, 1845, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Youngkin, and to this


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union were born one son and three daughters, all of which are still living. Mrs. Byall died May 21, 1865, just at the close of the civil war. In 1867 Mr. Byall was again married to Miss Sallie Mavety, and to this marriage were born two children, a daughter, who at the age of two and a half years met with the sad fate of death from drowning by falling into a well, and a son George F. Byall, the well known and progressive agriculturist. His second wife died February 13, 1897, since which time Mr. Byall has remained single, living in his beautiful residence by the most handsome grove in the county, planted by his own hands. In his early life he cleared land, chopped cord wood and did farming, besides attending to different official services that fell to his lot.


In 1842, Elisha Brown of Amanda Township was elected sheriff of Hancock County, but the amount of business in the office not justifying Mr. Brown's removal to Findlay, he appointed A. P. Byall, then a young man of twenty-one, as his deputy, and the business of that office was ably and promptly attended to until the close of Mr. Brown's term. Owing to a split in the Democratic party in 1844, Elisha Brown failed of re-election, the opposite party taking the office; but in 1846, A. P. Byall was nominated and elected to the office of sheriff of Hancock County, which he held for about a year and a half when he resigned to accept an appointment as clerk of the court, as under the constitution of 1802 this was an appointive office by a president and three associate judges. Judge Good, of Shelby County, was president, and Hammond, Roller and Ewing were associates. The last three were residents of this county.


The new Constitution of 1851 terminated the appointment, and made it an elective office,

thus terminating Mr. Byall's term. At that time the duties of clerk of the court were not arduous, and Mr. Byall employed his spare time in reading law, with C. W. O'Neal and M. C. Whiteley, and was admitted to practice by Judge Thurman of the Supreme Court of Ohio, his office having terminated by Constitutional limitation in 1852. In 1857 he located on a farm north of town and for a time gave his entire attention to practical farming, in which, as in all other things he engaged in, he was successful, as he put his own hands to the plow and did not look back.


In 1860 he took the census of the west half of the county with the exception of Orange and Van Buren Townships. In 1861 he removed to Findlay for the purpose of better educating his children, and bought the property on the east side of Main Street north of Front Street, built in an early day by Wilson Vance, and now owned by Mrs. Wilhelmina Traucht, and occupied by her for a residence and milliner store. In 1868 he sold this property to Gen. M. B. Walker, and bought a farm on the Lima Road about a mile from Main Street, and after some years built a fine residence and embellished the grounds with groves and shrubbery, until it is one of the handsomest homes in Hancock County.


In 1847 while sheriff, he took a jury of six men along the route of the "Branch Road" from here to Carey, to appraise the lands in anticipation of the building of the railroad from Findlay to Carey, the first railroad built in this county. In 1872 he was elected Justice of the Peace, but finding that it interfered with the work of managing his farms, he resigned after holding the office for a year and a half. In 1873 he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention that convened in Colum-


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bus, O., and held sessions until the breaking out of cholera in August of 1873, when it adjourned and reassembled in Cincinnati December 1st of the same year, and remained there until the 15th of May, 1874.


He was President of the Hancock Agricultural Society for fifteen years, and the society grew strong and prosperous under his management. In 1883 he was elected as a member of the House of the Ohio Legislature, and was reelected in 1885. Here it was that Colonel Byall—for by that name was he known to the members of that body—displayed great strength of character, and many important measures were intrusted to his care in their passage through the House, not only from his own county but from others as well. His well known integrity and steadfastness called forth the confidence in his honesty and influence to carry a bill to a favorable termination in that body.


Col. Byall has a most wonderful memory of events that have occurred in his life, and those of a public nature, and his recital of them is both instructive and entertaining. Hour upon hour can be pleasantly spent in conversation with him at his splendid and commodious home on Lima Avenue. The beautiful "Byall Park," located on the southwest border of the town, at the head of Hurd Avenue, and used as a camp meeting ground, was largely the gift of Mr. Byall and embellished by the society who hold annual meetings is considered an attractive spot, and well deserves to be named in honor of so noble and charitable a gentleman.


Hon. John M. Palmer was born in Clinton County, New York, July 5, 1814, learned the cabinet maker's trade in Portland, Vt., and worked at it in that state. In 1837 he came to Ohio and attended Granville Seminary. He studied law with Hon. Henry Strausberry, of Cincinnati, and was there admitted to practice in 1841. In 1843 he was married at Lancaster, Ohio, to Miss Ellen Weaver, and located in practice at Somerset, Perry County. In 1846 he removed to Defiance, where he followed his profession until 1852 when he was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas. While still on the bench Judge Palmer removed to Putman County, in which county he had considerable land interests and a township of which was named in his honor. In June, 1858, he settled in Findlay, and resumed the practice of law in partnership with John Maston. From 1861 to 1863 he was a commissary in the army with the rank of captain, but resigning the office, remained in the south for some time. Returning to Findlay he again took up his practice and followed the profession up to the illness which resulted in his death November 29, 1876.


Elijah T. Dunn was born in Knox County, Ohio, June 20, 1840. His father was a farmer and tobacco grower. In 1844 he removed with his people to Wood County, Ohio, in what was then known as the "Black Swamp," where, with three terms of winter school, his early education was finished. At the age of thirteen he entered the office of the Herald of Freedom, at Wilmington and became an expert printer. He taught several terms of school in Clark and Hancock Counties, pursuing in the meantime the study of law. On the breaking out of the Rebellion he joined with the Union army, while yet a minor and did service for a short time as a member of the Twenty-first Ohio Volunteers. Becoming unable to perform duty as a soldier he held for a while a clerkship in the quarter-turning to Findlay he completed his law course master's department at Nashville, Tenn. Re-


HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY - 123


and on the 2nd of August, 1862, was admitted to the bar. He was then twenty-two years of age. He then settled down in Findlay and has ever since been creditably identified with the legal profession here.


The following is a list of the attorneys, who are practicing their profession in this city:


Axline & Betts, O. A. Ballard, Charles V. Bish, J. C. Bitler, Blackford & Blackford, E. V. Bope, W. F. Brickman, N. W. Bright, Burket & Burket, R. K. Carlin, W. L. Carlin, W. W. Chapman, J. J. Cole, R. D. Cole, R. Clint Cole, S. J. Williams, J. N. Doty, E. T. Dunn, B. L. Dunn, M. G. Foster, Franklin Franks, John Franks, A. G. Fuller, T. F. Gillespie, Alfred Graber, J. M. Harrison, C. E. Jordon, A. E. Kerns, T. W. Lang, Thomas Meehan, G. F. Pendleton, G. H. Phelps, Poe & Poe, J. E. Priddy, G. W. Ross, M. C. Shafer, John Sheridan, John D. Snyder, Hiram Van Campen, B. W. Waltermire, R. J. Wetherald, Albert Zugschwert.


HANCOCK COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION.


In pursuance to a call which had been circulated among the attorneys of Findlay, upwards of thirty members of the legal fraternity met at 4 o'clock Saturday afternoon, March I I, 1899, in the Circuit Court room. On motion Mr. Aaron Blackford was chosen chairman and Silas E. Hurin secretary. Mr. E. T. Dunn offered a motion to the effect that it was the sense of those present that a bar association should be formed. After remarks by several of the attorneys, Mr. Dunn's motion was adopted.


Mr. George W. Ross then moved that the chair appoint a committee of five to formulate a constitution and by-laws. The motion being carried, Messrs. J. A. Bope, E. T. Dunn, George W. Ross, Jason Blackford and Harlan F. Burket were named as the committee. A constitution and by-laws having been adopted, meetings were held from time to time, and today the association is one that will compare well in the matter of qualifications, clear-mindedness and capability, with any that can be produced in this state.


MURDERS AND MURDER TRIALS.


In 1846 a horse was stolen in Hardin County, and the thief was pursued through this county, several persons here joining in the chase. Amongst them was John Parish, wh0 resided in Williamst0wn, in this county. At Van Buren the thief was overtaken, and being hard pressed, left his horse and took to the fields about a mile beyond the village. Parish at once dismounted and pursued him. Overtaking him in the field, he closed with him, finally overpowering him. He then gave the signal for the others to approach, but while doing so, the thief pulled his revolver and shot Parish dead, making his escape. Afterward a man who gave his name as Benjamin F. Dulin, was arrested, charged with being the murderer. After an imprisonment of some months in the county jail, he had a preliminary hearing before the associate judges of the Common Pleas Court. A large number of witnesses were present from Lake and Geauga Counties, in the interest of the prisoner and he succeeded in proving an alibi and was discharged. It was, however, pretty generally believed that Dulin was the murderer. The prosecution was conducted by the late Abel F. Parker, who was prosecuting attorney, assisted by Aaron H. Bigelow. The prisoner was defended by Judge M. C. Whiteley and William M. Patterson. The


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real murderer, if Dulin was not, was never apprehended.


William Foster, a resident of Jackson Township, was indicted at the November term of court in 1856, for murder in the second degree, for the killing of his son, Andrew. Foster, it seems, was 0f a weak mind, irritable and easily influenced by others. He had married a second time, the mother of Andrew being dead. The boy was about fifteen years old, and he and his step-mother could not agree, and all misconduct, or supposed misconduct of the boy, was reported to his father, who became excited, and without inquiry would punish the boy severely. The boy was apparently possessed of a morbid appetite; his hunger was never appeased. He would even get up in the night and seek food. On one occasion, some food which had been prepared the evening before, was found to have been taken during the night. Its loss was charged to Andrew, and his father in a rage made an assault on him. The boy was afterwards found terribly bruised and injured in loins and back. From these wounds he afterwards died, and his father was arrested, indicted and tried for the killing. Judge Whiteley, who defended the prisoner, said afterwards that it did not certainly appear on the trial just who did inflict the wounds, as some evidence tended to show that the step-mother had also taken a part in the assault. Foster was tried at the April term in 1856. The verdict was man-'slaughter, and a sentence of five years in the penitentiary at hard labor was imposed. After serving about two years he died.


On the part of the State the trial was conducted by William Gribben. prosecut ing attorney, assisted by William Mungen; the defence by M. C. Whiteley and Andrew Coffinberry.


There lived in Findlay in 1868, a man by the name of Adam Conkle, who had a wife whose character was not above reproach, and it was alleged that she had been frequently visited by one James Winnell, a young man employed about the offices of the court house as copyist. He was almost a stranger, and but little known of him, but he was generally regarded as a dissipated rough. He was, however, a fine penman. His visits to Mrs. Conkle coming to the knowledge of her husband, the latter warned Winnell not to come near his house, nor to hold any communication whatever with his wife, on penalty of being killed. But Winnell, whilst on one of his sprees, in April, 1868, visited the residence of Conkle, who then resided on East Main Cross Street. Being apprised of Winne11's visit, Conkle immediately hurried home, and on ascending the stairs, found Winnell and his wife in a room together. He of course, being highly excited, commanded Winnell to leave, who no doubt being afraid of bodily harm, seized a cavalry saber which happened to be in the room, assaulted Conkle, drove him from the room, and made his escape down the stairway. Thereupon Conkle seized a loaded shotgun standing in the hall and gave pursuit. Winnell fled across the lot in the rear of the house, scaled the fence into what is known as Hyatt's Alley, and made his way westward toward Main Street, hotly pursued by Conkle. When about two hundred feet east of Main Street, Winnell being closely pressed, turned upon