STORY OF THE

MAUMEE VALLEY

TOLEDO

and

THE SANDUSKY REGION

CHARLES SUMNER VAN TASSEL

Author of the "Book of Ohio"—The Maumee Country

and the Old Northwest, and many other Historical Works.

Also special articles by able writers and Individual histories

of Northwestern Ohio Counties by well known authorities.

Volume II

CHICAGO

THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY

1929

CHAPTER LX

THE JUDICIARY SYSTEM

EARLY COURTS-BENCH AND BAR OF NORTHWESTERN OHIO-STORIES

AND INCIDENTS.

By the Honorable John M. Killits

It is difficult, for want of any concrete and informative records, to succinctly present a history of the institution and development of the state judicial systems, so far as Northwestern Ohio is concerned. Practically, it began with the Act of February 12, 1820, wherein the Ohio Legislature formed fourteen counties out of the territory acquired through a succession of treaties with the Indians, culminating with that of September 29, 1817, at a meeting or conference at the Rapids of the Maumee near the present site of the Village of Maumee. In Northwestern Ohio, where most of these new counties were located, names were given to them honoring Revolutionary and other heroes : Van Wert, Paulding and Williams, the patriots who captured Major Andre; Hancock; the distinguished Col. E. D. Wood of the War of 1812, the engineer who built Fort Meigs; General Mercer, and others. Some old names, theretofore applying to larger distributions of this territory at an earlier date, were retained for the time being and ultimately were given to smaller tracts more distant from that section of the state, of which Toledo is the metropolis, such as Wayne and Trumbull.

Everything starts with the celebrated Ordinance of 1787, creating the Northwest Territory, passed by the Congress of the Confederation, July 13th, 1787. That Act was followed by the division of a considerable portion of the present territory of Ohio into two counties; and 'thereby leaving a very large tract extending from the Ohio River to the lake and the present boundary of Michigan, and from the present boundary of Indiana to the line of the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers, as unorganized and practically uninhabited. The entire eastern section, east of the line of the Scioto to its source, and south of a line drawn in a general easterly direction from the source of the Scioto to the

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Tuscarawas; and thence in a direction north by west to the mouth of the Cuyahoga ; thence eastward to the Pennsylvania line, was organized as Washington County, with Marietta as the county seat. A much smaller tract lying between the Big and Little Miami rivers extending northward to a line drawn in a general westerly direction from the confluence of the Big Miami and Mad rivers, near the present city of Dayton, to the Little Miami, was made into Hamilton County, with Cincinnati as the county seat. These tracts included practically all of the territory of Ohio in which there were any fairly recognizable white settlements. Five years afterwards, Hamilton County was extended to the northward by parallel lines drawn from its northeast and northwest corners, extending on the east to the lake, and on the west straight north until it intersected Lake Huron near the Straits of Mackinac. The rest of the territory between that line and the present line of the State of Indiana, and containing what are now Hamilton and Butler counties, and substantially bisecting Miami,. Shelby, Auglaize, Allen, Putnam, Fulton, and a small section of Henry, including all of then Freebold and Stark (Indiana) and Mercer, Van Wert, Paulding, Defiance and Williams (Ohio) , was left unorganized, but designated as Knox County. The central part of the state, still separating Hamilton County from Wash, ington, was left without any county designation.

In 1796 all of the lower peninsula of Michigan and a corner of Indiana from the lower margin of Lake Michigan in a general southeasterly direction to the point on the present state line of Indiana where the River St. Marys crosses to the west, but bending slightly more to the southeast at the present site of the City of Fort Wayne, and from the Indiana line extending generally in an easterly direction to the Tuscarawas River; thence northward to Lake Erie, following the old western boundary of Washington County, was made Wayne County, with Detroit as its only' population center. There is no evidence that any courts were held in this territory, so far as that portion of it within the present boundaries of Ohio is concerned. This division of the present state continued. for three years, when Northeastern Ohio west of the Cuyahoga was set up as Jefferson County. Three years later, on Ohio's admission to the Union, six new counties were established, following the treaty of Greenville, which set up Northwestern Ohio as an Indian Reservation, reducing Wayne County, so far as that mere name designated any Ohio territory, by the erection into Trumbull County, that part of it included within

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the boundaries of Wayne County as established in 1796 and continued in 1799, and the so-called Firelands, whose western boundary was an almost true north and south line from a point four or five miles east of the present City of Sandusky. Wayne County, however, lost some of its southeast territory through the erection of Ross County in 1798, and Fairfield, in 1800, up to the Greenville treaty line. This County of Wayne, then, as the state was admitted, was roughly a pipe-shaped tract, with its stem end at the Tuscarawas River on the east. Out of this so-called Wayne County tract were formed all but three or four of the counties brought into being by the act of the Legislature referred to, in 1820.

The Ordinance of 1787 was a rather curious mixture of skeletal governmental machinery, legislation, and a statement of very important political and social principles. Section 1 provided for a temporary government. Section 2, in somewhat specific terms, provided for the descent of property in case of intestacy, providing there should be no distinction between the kindred of the whole and half blood, and saving the right of dower and the common law share of a widow in personal property; also providing for the execution of wills and for conveyancing of real property, and for the recording of deeds; but maintaining in force the customs of the French and Canadian inhabitants relative both to the descent and conveyance of property. A governor was provided whose term of office was fixed at three years, who should be a freeholder within the district; a secretary, prescribing his duties; and a court consisting of three judges who should have common law jurisdiction. As in the case of the governor, the secretary and the judges were required to be residents of the territory, and should be qualified as freeholders, in the case of the judges, to the extent of at least 500 acres of land within the district. The judges should hold office during good behavior. Section 5 of the Ordinance was the occasion of more or less dispute with Congress. It gave to the governor and the judges, or a majority of them, power to adopt and publish such laws of the original states, criminal and civil, as might be deemed best suited to the circumstances of the district, reporting the same to Congress; these laws to be enforced in the district until the organization of a general assembly, unless disapproved of by Congress. It was the practice of Congress, however, to disapprove of the acts of this temporary legislative authority.

Under this Ordinance the first judges for this territory were

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named by Congress. They were Samuel Holden Parsons, John Armstrong, and James Mitchell Varnum, residents and citizens, respectively, of Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. John Armstrong declined the appointment, which was given to John Cleves Symmes, of New Jersey. Before the newly appointed governor and judges arrived, however,. the colony, whose chief American interest centered in Marietta, feeling the need of some judicial authority, by common consent conferred it upon Col. Return Jonathan Meigs, Sr., who drafted a code of regulations, which was tacked up conspicuously on a large oak tree for general publication. In about two months the regularly appointed officers arrived. During this interval, however, Colonel Meigs was the de facto judge, and the first judicial officer for this with other sections of the Northwest Territory.

The judges appointed by Congress were understood to constitute the court of last resort. They assumed the right, probably conferred upon them by a broad interpretation of Section 5 of the Ordinance, to establish a court of first instance which, after the common law fashion, was called a court of common pleas. The first common pleas judges were Gens. Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, and Col. Archibald Clary, distinguished officers of the Revolutionary war. The first session of this court, having of course jurisdiction over the territory now known as Northwestern Ohio, was opened with much pomp at Marietta, on September 2, 1788. Everybody who had a uniform surviving the Revolutionary war wore it. The governor and two of the supreme judges attended. A procession was had which tremendously impressed the observing Indians who graced the occasion with their presence.

No action of this court was ever taken which affected any interest of Northwestern Ohio; but it may not be out of place to note, for its effect as a precedent, the occasion of the first person admitted to practice law in what is now this state. He was received by the new court of common pleas, and qualified by a certificate from Supreme Judge Varnum. He wrote out in his own hand the oath to which he subscribed, which is here quoted as a very succinct and entirely sufficient professional code of ethics which might well be incorporated in the oath of admittance now exacted of entrants into the bar of Ohio:

"I swear that I will do no falsehood nor consent to doing any in the courts of justice; and if I know of any intention to commit any I will give knowledge thereof to the justices of said court, or

TOLEDO AND THE SANDUSKY REGION - 1101

some of them, that it may be prevented. I will not willingly or wittingly promote or sue any false, groundless or unlawful suits, nor give aid or consent to the same, and I will conduct myself in the office of an attorney within the said courts according to the best of my knowledge and discretion, and with all good fidelity, as well to the courts as to my clients, so help me God."

The name of this first Ohio lawyer was Paul Fearing, a native of Massachusetts, a graduate of Harvard. He became a successful lawyer, and maintained a reputation of fidelity to this oath. He was a member of the First Territorial Legislature, and, later, of Congress. Afterwards he became a judge of probate, and, after the admission of the state, an associate judge.

When the constitution was adopted, the offices in question were vacated ipso facto, and the appointments thereto devolved upon the President, who continued in office the judges then acting by congressional selection.

About four years elapsed only before they were, in turn, superseded by a judiciary coming into being as the result of the admission of Ohio as a state, and the adoption of its constitution in 1803. This constitution was the fundamental law of Ohio until 1851; and consequently, the judicial organization for which it provided brought into being the courts which first administered the law in this northwestern part of the state. Article 3 of that charter vested the whole judicial power of the state in a Supreme Court, and Courts of Common Pleas for each county, and justices of the peace, and in such other courts as the Legislature might establish. The Supreme Court was to consist of three judges. It was given both original and appellate jurisdiction, with a provision that the General Assembly might increase the bench to four, after five years, in which case the judges might divide the state into circuits, within which any two judges might hold court. This provision gave rise to a good deal of confusion, for it happened that decisions in conflict were sometimes the result, one district having the law announced with different effect from that in another, upon a similar state of facts. A session of the Supreme Court was required to be held once a year in each county. The several Courts of Common Pleas were to consist of a president and not more than three nor less than two associate judges resident therein. In addition to having general common law and chancery jurisdiction, the Common Pleas Courts exercised all the duties now imposed upon Probate Courts. The state was ordered to be divided by law also into three circuits, in each of

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which should be appointed a president of the court, a resident within his circuit; but there seems to have been no prescription of his duties. These officers were selected by the Legislature for a term of seven years ; the judges of the Supreme Court and the presiding judges of the Common Pleas Courts were to receive' salaries. Apparently the associate justices, who were not necessarily lawyers, were to be compensated by the honor of the position. It is not within the province of this article to detail the establishment of these courts in the several counties included within the limitations of this publication. Those facts may be found elsewhere as part of the history of the locality specially affected.

The Constitutional Convention of 1850 found this system burdensome and ineffective, especially in view of the increase of the state in population and prosperity. In later years it had become almost prohibitive that a session of the Supreme Court should be held in each county. Positions on this bench became exceedingly burdensome, with primitive and sometimes impossible means of communication. The work of mere attendance became physically breaking. Judges and barristers on horseback, by canoe, by pirogue, and sometimes on foot, proceeded in companies from county seat to county seat under great difficulties. It was not, therefore, strange that a complete revision of the judicial system was brought into being by the Constitution of 1851.

In that document the judiciary was provided for by Article 4, providing for a Supreme Court of five judges, to hold at least one term in each year at the seat of government, and such other terms there, or elsewhere, as might be provided by law. The state was divided into nine Common Pleas districts, of which Hamilton County should constitute one. Outside of this most populous county, each of the districts consisting of three or more counties was to be subdivided into three parts of compact territory, bounded by county lines as nearly equal in population as practicable, in each of which one or more judges for the district should be elected in the subdivision wherein he should be a resident. Having been so elected, he became clothed with jurisdiction to hold court in any of the counties of the district. An intermediate appellate tribunal called the District Court was provided for, composed of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas for the district, and one judge of the Supreme Court, with three to constitute a quorum. This court was to be held in each county of the

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district at least once a year, unless it was found inexpedient to hold such court annually, in which case the General Assembly might provide for any district that annual sessions should be held therein in not less than three places. The District Court was given like original jurisdiction with the Supreme Court, and such appellate jurisdiction as the Legislature might provide. A Probate Court was provided for each county, with jurisdiction much as now enjoyed and as provided in the constitution of 1802. This constitution of 1851, as amended from time to time, and especially in 1912, respecting the judiciary, and the amendment of 1884 abolishing District Courts and erecting Circuit Courts, is the constitution now before us. The District Court fell into disrepute as the state became more densely populated, in that it appeared more and more plainly anomalous that associate Common Pleas judges in a district should be given appellate power in the consideration of the judgments of their fellows. The amendment of September, 1912, did not substantially change the jurisdiction of Circuit Courts. The name of this court, however, was changed from Circuit Court to Circuit Court of Appeals, a nomenclature which now is found to create some confusion, because it duplicates the title of the then, as now, existing intermediate Federal Court sitting for the same territory. The most significant provision of the amendment of 1912 was the abolition of Common Pleas districts and providing for one or more Common Pleas judges for each county, with provision by vote of the people of any county to abolish the Probate Court and to give its duties to the Court of Common Pleas.

The scope of this article does not permit a detailed consideration of the incumbents of these various offices. That is left, respecting the counties embraced within this history, to those articles which deal with the counties separately.

FEDERAL COURTS

When the state was admitted, of course it became a separate district for a Federal Court, and in March, 1803, Charles Welling Byrd entered his credentials as the first district judge, holding his first term in June of that year at the then capital of the state, Chillicothe. Judge Byrd served until his death, August 11, 1828. When Columbus was made the state capital the seat of the court was removed thither. Judge Byrd issued the injunction in Osborn v. Bank of United States, 9 Wheaton, 738, one of the series

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of cases employed by Chief Justice Marshall to so interpret the Constitution of the United States as to make of that instrument a practical compact to the building of a great nation.

William Creighton succeeded Judge Byrd. His was a recess appointment. Under it he held court in November and December, 1828. The Senate, at that time being politically hostile to President John Quincy Adams, Judge Creighton was not confirmed. Three days after his inauguration in 1829, President Jackson appointed John W. Campbell, who held this office for four years. At his death a recess appointment was given to Benjamin Tappan, a distinguished state judge and statesman, who also lost confirmation, and was permitted to hold court but three days, December 23, 24 and 25, 1833. For six months thereafter the office was vacant, when, in July, 1834, Judge Humphrey Leavitt entered upon the duties to which he had been appointed. He was then thirty-eight years old and served with great distinction for a period of thirty-seven years, retiring under the age provisions of the law. It was during Judge Leavitt's term that the state was divided into two districts, the north forty-eight counties being erected into the Northern District of Ohio. Judge Leavitt elected to remain in the Southern District; wherefore Hiram V. Wilson, of Cleveland, was appointed in March, 1855, judge of the Northern District. Judge Wilson was a very distinguished member of the Cleveland Bar, and it is a tradition that in every way he graced the bench. His health, however, was somewhat indifferent, and he died at the age of fifty-eight, November 11, 1866.

The first session of the court in this district was held in Cleveland, March 20, 1855, the first entry on the journal being the recording of Judge Wilson's commission, signed by President Franklin Pierce. The first entry in a case was the taking of the recognizance of a defendant charged with making, forging and counterfeiting coin of the United States. For over seventeen years Cleveland was the only place of holding court for the Northern District.

One of the most interesting lines of cases during the administration of Judge Wilson was that of the indictments under the fugitive slave law, involving, principally, defendants in and about Oberlin. Twenty-seven indictments were found December 8, 1858, involving thirty-seven persons, for their participation in the rescue of a slave named John, belonging to one Bacon of Kentucky, who was reclaimed by Bacon's agent and attorney at Oberlin. Two hundred other persons were named in the indict-

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ment, not included as defendants, but as associates of the defendants. Charles Langston and Simon Bushnell were separately tried and convicted, being given light jail sentences and fines of $100 and $600, respectively. Seven others pleaded nolle contendere, and against them, respectively, were rendered judgments of guilty with twenty-four hours in the County Jail and a fine of $20. The other cases were dismissed. Public sentiment ran strongly against the enforcement of this law, which accounts for the moderation of the sentences, and makes singularly appropriate a serious error in the indictments which were made to say that the defendants unlawfully, knowingly and willingly rescued the slave. Any one knowing the temper of the people who lived at Oberlin at that time, or in fact throughout the entire Western Reserve—and it might also be said Northwestern Ohio, as well—need not be disturbed by the singularity of the charge that they willingly rescued this unfortunate man.

The position was vacant from the death of Judge Wilson until, March, 1867, when Charles T. Sherman, son of the late Judge Sherman of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and a relative of Senator Sherman, was appointed district judge. He resigned November 28, 1873.

In 1870 an act was passed permitting, at the discretion of the judge, the holding of two terms annually of the District Court in Toledo, leaving Cleveland as the only place of holding the Circuit Court; the law dividing the country into Circuit Courts, composed of two or more states, to which was assigned one justice of the Supreme Court, and for which was appointed one circuit judge. Circuit Courts, however, could be held by the district judge. It was not, however, until 1872 that the first District Court sat in Toledo, in December, with Judge Sherman on the bench. The only business of this session was to impanel a grand Jury, which immediately returned one indictment for counterfeiting, the defendant being placed on trial the next day, was convicted, and sentenced to five years in the Ohio Penitentiary, and given a $1,000 fine; whereupon the court adjourned, to hold its next session on the 10th of the following June.

In 1878, by act of Congress, the Northern District was divided into the Eastern and Western

Divisions, naming the counties comprising each, and providing that causes of action and crimes, arising within the counties comprising the several divisions, should be prosecuted within those divisions and at their respective places of holding court, namely, Cleveland and Toledo. In 1880

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the Northern District lost the counties of Union, Delaware, Morrow, Knox, Coshocton, Harrison and Jefferson, by transfer to the Southern District, and, in 1891, the County of Logan, leaving the Northern District and the several divisions as they are now constituted. The Western Division is made up of the counties of Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Marion, Mercer, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood and Wyandot.

Upon the resignation of Judge Sherman, Martin Walker, of Wooster, was appointed district judge as of the date December 2, 1873, remaining in office until May 29, 1899, when he resigned under the retirement act as it then existed. He was succeeded by Augustus J. Ricks, of Massillon. The latter's health failing, and the work of the district getting into confusion in consequence, Francis J. Wing, of Cleveland, was appointed. January 30, 1901, as an additional judge by virtue of an act of Congress which provided that no successor to Judge Ricks should be appointed. Judge Ricks died December 2, 1906. January 31, 1905, Judge Wing resigned, succeeded on the 1st of February by Robert W. Taylor, a member of Congress from New Lisbon. Judge Taylor filled the position with very great acceptability until his sudden death, undoubtedly caused in some measure by the extraordinary burdens of the office, November 26, 1910.

It was long apparent that the Northern District was growing so in population and commercial importance that the work was altogether too heavy for one judge. Therefore, at the insistence of the bar and business interests of the district, Congress passed, February 24, 1910, an act creating an additional judgeship, to fill which position John M. Killits, of Bryan, then on the Common Pleas bench in the Third Judicial District of Ohio, the Northwestern District of the State, was named, June 24, 1910. From the sudden death of Judge Taylor in November, a vacancy existed until May 13, 1911, when William L. Day, then district attorney, was appointed. He continued in office until the 30th of April, 1914, resigning to enter practice because of the inadequacy of the salary of the position. July 21, 1914, John H. Clarke was appointed to succeed Judge Day, holding the position until his promotion to the Supreme Court of the United States, resigning as district judge, July 24, 1916. To succeed Judge Clarke, David C. Westenhaver, of Cleveland, was selected March 14, 1917.

The district's rapid growth in population and the extraordinary industrial expansion in both the divisions has given it

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rank in amount of business transacted, both in quantity and in importance, with the first four or five districts in the country. At present the district contains a population of approximately four million people.

In September, 1922, Congress provided for an additional judge for this district, to fill which position Paul Jones, then on the Common Pleas bench of Mahoning County, was appointed, March 2, 1923. For five years the District bench for the district consisted, therefore, of Judges Killits, Westenhaver and Jones. July 29, 1928, Judge Westenhaver died; and on October 6, 1928, Judge Killits, having attained the age of seventy, retired, under the act of Congress of February, 1919, giving judges having attained the age of seventy years, and having occupied the bench for more than ten years, the privilege of retiring, but still retaining their judicial competence, or resigning. December 13, 1928, the appointments of George P. Hahn, of Toledo, and Samuel H. West, of Cleveland, were confirmed by the Senate, to fill the existing vacancies. Judge Hahn assumed the duties of his office December 27, 1928, and Judge West, on the following day. At present the District bench for the Northern District of Ohio, each judge having jurisdiction in each division, consists of Judges Jones, Hahn, West, and Judge Killits, retired.

The first session of the Circuit Court in Northwestern Ohio was opened at Toledo in September, 1878, with Judge Walker on the bench. Thereafter, continuously, annual sessions of the District and Circuit Courts were held in Toledo until the Circuit Court went out of existence on the 31st of December, 1911. The act abolishing the Circuit Court distributed its nisi prius jurisdiction to the District Court, and its appellate work to a Circuit Court of Appeals. There are nine of such courts in the United States. That for this territory is known as the Sixth Judicial Circuit, embracing the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan, the present judges of which are Denison of Michigan, Moorman of Kentucky, Hicks of Tennessee, and Hickenlooper of Ohio. Its sessions are generally held at Cincinnati. Three persons, afterwards members of the Supreme Court of the United States, held positions on the Circuit Court and sat, from time to time, as Circuit judges in Northwestern Ohio, namely, Jackson, Lurton and Taft.

Continuing in more detail the story of the judiciary after the instructive review given by the Hon. Judge John M. Killits, and

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more especially pertaining to the Maumee and Sandusky country, the first attorney admitted to the bar under the constitution of 1802 was Lewis Cass, whose certificate bore the date of 1803, and whose history runs parallel with the development of this Northwest. He was a native of New Hampshire, born in 1782, and was not quite twenty-one years old at the time he became authorized to practice law. He was with General Hull's army in 1812, when the forces passed from Dayton to Detroit by way of Urbana and now Kenton, Findlay, Bowling Green, Ohio, and the Lower Maumee. The regiment of which Cass was colonel cut the road for the army through the wilderness from Fort Findlay to the Maumee River opposite the battle ground of Fallen Timbers, which passed through now Wood County. He was present at Hull's surrender and, rising to the rank of general, was in 1813 appointed Governor of Michigan Territory, which gave him control of Indian affairs. He amassed a fortune by shrewd land investments and was closely related with several characters of early Toledo. In 1831 he became secretary of war under President Jackson, and five years later became minister plenipotentiary to France, when he became closely recognized by Louis Philippe. He retired to private life upon the refusal of the President in 1860 to send reinforcements to Fort Sumter. He died June 17, 1866. He was the author of several works, including writings upon Indian affairs and upon the French government. The story of his experiences in the Northwestern Ohio wilderness would have been most interesting.

Samuel Huntington was the first official member of the State Supreme Court. When Governor Tiffin issued his commission, dated April 2nd, 1803, he referred to it as the "very first one issued in the name of and by the authority of the State of Ohio." Return Jonathan Meigs and William Spriggs were the next to receive their commissions on the first Supreme Court bench.

The five judges of the first Supreme Court provided under the constitution of 1851 were : Thomas Bartley, of Mansfield; William B. Caldwell, of Cincinnati; John A. Corwin, of Urbana; Rufus P. Ranney, of Cleveland; and Allen G. Thurman, of Chillicothe, later of Columbus.

The first Circuit judge who presided in this section after the organization of the counties of Northwestern Ohio in 1820 was George Todd, father of David Todd, one of Ohio's governors. The second was Ebenezer Lane, who was later elected to the Supreme

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bench. Lane's successor was David Higgins, who wrote in 1873 concerning the early courts as follows:

"I was elected by tie General Assembly Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit of Ohio in February, 1830. The Circuit lying in the northwest corner of the state included about one-fifth part of the territory of Ohio. The Indian title to a large portion of that territory had been recently extinguished by a treaty negotiated by Generals Cass and McArthur, and was then quite an unsettled wilderness. The counties which composed that Circuit at the time of my appointment were Huron, Richland, Delaware, Sandusky, Seneca, Crawford, Marion, Wood, Hancock, Henry, Williams, Putnam, Paulding and Van Wert. The counties of Henry, Paulding and Van Wert were unorganized and attached to adjacent counties. At the expiration of my term, Ozias Bowen was appointed my successor.

"Now as to a voyage in the good pirogue 'Jurisprudence.' There were no very noteworthy incidents in the voyage. We had been attending court at Finlay. Our Circuit route from that town was first to Defiance, and from there to Perrysburg. A countryman agreed to take our horses directly through the Black Swamp to Perrysburg, and we purchased a canoe, and taking with us our saddles, bridles and baggage, proposed to descend Blanchard's Fork and the Auglaize rivers to Defiance, and then to Perrysburg. Our company consisted of Rodolphus Dickinson, J. C. Spink, Count Coffinberry, myself and a countryman, whose name I forget. The voyage was a dismal one to Defiance, through an unsettled wilderness of some sixty miles. Its loneliness was only broken by the intervening Indian settlement at Ottawa Village, where we were hailed and cheered lustily by the Tahwa Indians, as would be a foreign warship in the port of New York. From Defiance we descended the Maumee to Perrysburg, where we found all well. In descending the Maumee, we came near running into the rapids, where we should probably have been swamped had we not been hailed from the shore and warned of our danger."

Judge Higgins is spoken of elsewhere in connection with a conflict he had as judge with the Ohio military authorities at Perrysburg, concerning the Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute. He says farther in his 1873 story :

"At the session of the General Assembly in 1838-39 an act was passed creating the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. This Circuit embraced ten counties, but out of the territory then exist-

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ing, three counties, namely, Defiance, Auglaize, and Fulton, have since been erected. The following counties embraced the Circuit as then established, namely, Lucas, Wood, Henry, Williams, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, Allen, Hardin, and Hancock. This territory, at the time, formed part of three Circuits—Alien, Putnam and Van Wert belonging to the Dayton Circuit, presided over by Hon. William L. Helfenstein; Hardin, belonging to the Columbus Circuit, presided over by Hon. Joseph R. Swan. Under the act creating this Circuit, Emery D. Potter was elected in February, 1839, presiding judge of the Circuit, and held the office until the winter of 1844, when he resigned, and took the seat in Congress, to which he had been elected in October, the year preceding. He was succeeded on the bench by Hon. Myron H. Tilden, who continued in office about eighteen months, when he also resigned, and was succeeded by E. B. Saddler, of Sandusky City.

"On the 19th of February, 1845, the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, embracing the counties of Shelby, Mercer, Allen, Hardin, Hancock, Putnam, Paulding, Van Wert and Williams, was erected, and Patrick G. Goode, of Sidney, elected presiding judge. A law of the 10th of March, 1845, attached the then newly erected county of Defiance to this Circuit. The same legislative session reorganized the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, and made it consist of the counties of Henry, Wood, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Huron, and Erie, and elected as presiding judge, Ebenezer B. Saddler.

"The several Common Pleas judges who served in subdivisions, embracing other counties in the valley, under the constitution of 1851, are here appended : In District No. 3, Subdivision 1, composed of the counties of Shelby, Auglaize, Allen, Hardin, Logan, Union, and Madison, Benjamin F. Metcalf was elected in October, 1851, and William Lawrence in 1856. This district and subdivision was changed by a legislative act so as to embrace only the counties of Logan, Union, Hardin, Marion, and Shelby, and Judge Lawrence was reelected in 1861, and resigned in 1864 (having been chosen to a seat in Congress), and Jacob S. Conklin was appointed his successor in October, 1864. At the election of the year following, Judge Conklin was elected to fill the unexpired term of Judge Lawrence, and reelected in 1866 for the full term. An act of the Legislature passed in 1868 transferred the County of Marion to another subdivision, and to the subdivision so changed, Philander B. Cole was elected in October, 1871.

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"In District No. 3, Subdivision 2, composed originally of the counties of Mercer, Van Wert, Putnam, Paulding, Defiance, Williams, Henry, and Fulton, John M. Palmer was elected in October, 1851, and Alexander S. Latty in October, 1856. The subdivision was changed by an act passed April 8th, 1858, and at the October election of that year, Benjamin F. Metcalf was elected an additional judge for the subdivision composed of the counties of Auglaize, Allen, Mercer, Van Wert and Putnam. Judge Metcalf was elected in October, 1863, and died in February, 1865. O. W. Rose was appointed March 6th, 1865, to fill temporarily the vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge Metcalf. James Mackenzie, at the October election of 1865, was chosen to fill the remainder of the unexpired term of Judge Metcalf, and in 1868 was reelected. In March, 1869, an additional judge was authorized in this subdivision, and Edwin M. Phelps was elected April 17th, 1869.

"In District 4, Subdivision 1, composed of the counties of Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Erie, and Huron, Lucius B. Otis was elected in 1851. An additional judge being authorized by law, John Fitch, in 1854, was elected, and reelected in 1859, and again in 1864. S. F. Taylor was elected in 1856, and reelected in 1861. Samuel T. Worcester was elected in 1858, and resigned, and in 1861 John L. Green was elected to fill the vacancy. Walter F. Stone was elected in 1866, and reelected in 1871; and (an additional judge being authorized) Charles E. Pennewell was elected in 1869. At the same election, William A. Collins was also elected as the successor to Judge Fitch. An act passed March 10th, 1871, authorizing an additional judge, Joshua R. Seney was elected. (Judge Finnefrock, of Fremont, in 1879 was succeeded by John H. Doyle, of Toledo).

"In the subdivision composed of the counties of Wood, Seneca, Hancock, Wyandot and Crawford, Lawrence W. Hall was elected in 1851, and M. C. Whitely in 1856, and reelected in 1861, in the subdivision then consisting of the counties of Wood, Hancock, and Putnam. George E. Seney, under an act passed April 8th, 1856, was elected an additional judge for the first mentioned subdivision, in October, 1856; Chester R. Mott, December 12th, 1866; James Pillars, April 18th, 1868; and Abner M. Jackson, in October, 1871.

"In the subdivision composed of the counties of Paulding, Defiance, Williams, Fulton, Henry, and Wood, Alexander S. Latty was elected in 1856, reelected in 1861, and again in 1866. Under

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the act of 1868, the County of Wood was transferred to another subdivision, and Judge Latty, in 1871, was again elected to the subdivision composed of the counties of Paulding, Defiance, Williams, Fulton, and Henry."

With the increase in population and additions and changes in the judiciary, this story would be too voluminous to follow the details.

CIRCUIT COURTS

Under the amended act of April 18, 1884, dividing Ohio into seven circuits, with three judges in each circuit, in the Sixth Circuit, composed of Cuyahoga, Erie, Huron, Lorain, Lucas, Medina, Sandusky, Ottawa and Summit, the first judges elected were : Charles C. Baldwin, of Cleveland; George R. Haynes, of Toledo; and William H. Upton, of Akron.

When it was proven that the Sixth Circuit was too large for practical functioning of the court, as has been noted, an eighth circuit was established by the act of March 21, 1887, which took the counties of Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina and Summit from the Sixth Circuit, and added in their places to this district were the counties of Wood, Williams, and Fulton. By this change Judges Baldwin and Upton were transferred to the Eighth District. Their places in the Sixth were taken by Charles H. Scribner, of Toledo, and Charles S. Bentley, of Bryan, who entered upon their duties February 9, 1888.

The Circuit Court as constituted, continued in existence until the adoption of the Ohio Constitution of 1912. To resume, the judges of the Sixth Circuit were as follows : William H. Upson, 1885, transferred with Summit County to the Eighth District; Charles C. Baldwin, 1885, transferred with Cuyahoga County to the Eighth ; George R. Haynes, 1885-1908, died in office January 22, 1909; Charles S. Bentley, 1885-1895, resigned; Charles H. Scribner, 1885-1897, died in office; Edmund B. King, 1895-1899, resigned ; Robert S. Parker, 1897-1909; Lin W. Hull, 1899-1905, died in office May 27, 1905; Samuel A. Wildman 1905-1913; Reynolds R. Kinkaid, 1908-1913, Appeals.

When the Court of Appeals took the place of the Circuit Court under the new 1912 State Constitution, in the Sixth Judicial District, composing the counties of Wood, Lucas, Erie, Sandusky, Ottawa, Huron, Fulton and Williams the judges under the new system were, Silas S. Richards, Reynolds R. Kinkaid, and Charles E. Chittenden. The present members of the Appellate bench of

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the Sixth District are :—Silas S. Richards, Clyde; Roy H. Williams, Sandusky; Harry W. Lloyd, Toledo.

Continuing the story of the evolution of the courts, by the Act of March 29, 1865, the Supreme Court justices were relieved from duty in the District Court for that year. During the next decade several laws relating to the state's judiciary system were enacted. By the act of April 4, 1870, it was provided that, if the supreme judges deemed best for the court to remain in bane, they should be exempt from the duty of serving as judges of the District Court. This act practically ended the service of the supreme justices as district judges.

The absence of a Supreme Court justice had a tendency to lessen the regard of lawyers for the opinions of a District Court composed entirely of common pleas judges. Another source of dissatisfaction with the intermediate court grew out of the fact that the common pleas judges were required to hold District Court without any extra compensation. The growth of population and the consequent increase in litigation crowded the dockets of the Common Pleas Courts and the judges cut short the terms of the District Courts. As time passed conditions grew worse instead of better. On July 8, 1880, a large number of lawyers met in Cleveland and organized the Ohio State Bar Association, the main purpose of which was to bring about an improvement in the judiciary system. At that meeting Rufus P. Ranney, one of the oldest and ablest lawyers in the state, said:

"The framers of our judicial system created an intermediate appellate court, called the district court, but they never contemplated that that court was going to be held exclusively by the very men who had tried the case in the first instance; that they were going to turn reviewers of themselves. It was an essential feature of their system, without which it never could have passed that convention, that a judge of the supreme court, with his knowledge and weight of character, should forever preside in the district court. What have we realized for years past in actual practice? That court is held by judges who decided in the first instance and common pleas judges, doing as well as they can, but in nowise meeting the expectation of the public of an appellate court; the consequence is that all, important litigation of the state finds its way right through this first Appellate Court into the Supreme Court."

The matter was referred to a "committee on judiciary and law reform." At a meeting of the committee in Columbus in

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December, 1881, through the chairman, Durbin Ward proposed a constitutional amendment. At another meeting of the association, held in Toledo in 1881, the committee reported that nothing definite had been accomplished and it was continued for another year. At Cincinnati in 1882 the committee reported a bill, Section 1 of which was as follows:

"The judicial power of the state is vested in a supreme court, circuit courts, courts of common pleas, courts of probate, justices of the peace, and such other courts inferior to the supreme court as the General Assembly may, from time to time, establish."

Section 2 fixed the number of supreme justices at five, "until otherwise provided by law," and defined their jurisdiction. Another section provided that : "The circuit court shall have like original jurisdiction with the supreme court, and such appellate jurisdiction as may be provided by law. Such courts shall be composed of such number of judges as may be provided by law,

and shall be held in each county, at least once in each year. The number of circuits and the boundaries thereof shall be prescribed by law." In the plan proposed by the State Bar Association is found the first mention of a Circuit Court.

The plan, in the form of a constitutional amendment, was submitted to the General Assembly in 1883, and that body adopted a joint resolution providing for its submission to the voters of the state at the next general election. It was carried by a substantial majority and became Sections 1, 2 and 6 of Article IV of the state constitution. To carry out the amendment, the General Assembly on April 18, 1884, passed an act dividing the state into seven circuits and providing for the election of three judges in each district, or circuit, as heretofore stated.

The counties comprising the Sixth Judicial Circuit and the judges selected therein following, have already been noted. The Third District was made up of the counties of Williams, Fulton, Henry, Putnam, Allen, Auglaize, Wood, Hancock, Hardin, Logan, Union, Seneca, Marion, Wyandot and Crawford. The first election was held on the second Tuesday of October, 1884. Three judges were elected for each district at a salary of $4,000 per year, and the question of serving for either two, four and six years respectively, was decided by the governor by lot, as the length of time each judge would hold. Thereafter the terms were to be six years. In the Third District the first judges elected were

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—Thomas Beer, Bucyrus; Henry W. Seney, Kenton; John J. Moore, Ottawa.

At the next session of the General Assembly the circuit courts were given further powers and their efficiency increased by enactment under date of February 7, 1885. This measure provided that the circuit judges should meet annually in Columbus to fix the terms of the circuit court for the next year, and to choose one of their number as chief justice. He was to preside at the annual meetings, have authority to transfer judges from one circuit to another as occasion arose, while another section granted the right of appeal from common pleas court in cases where the right to demand a jury trial did not exist, the lower court having original jurisdiction of the litigation. Appeals also were allowed from an interlocutory order dissolving an injunction in which the common pleas court had original jurisdiction, by causing notice to be entered on the record and giving a bond on appeal unless the party appealing was acting in a trust capacity and had given a bond to the state. Cases on appeal were heard on the same pleadings that were filed in common pleas court, unless they were amended on permission of the circuit judges. The circuit court was required to pass upon all errors alleged in the petition-in-error, and in every case where the judgment or order was reversed and the cause remanded for new trial, the circuit judges were required in their mandate to the court below to state the error or errors found in the record on which the reversal was made.

Judge Marshall Williams, of Washington Court House, was elected the first chief justice of the circuit courts at a meeting in Columbus on the 10th day of February, 1885.

The judges of the Appellate Court of the Third Judicial District under the new constitution, have been, Walter H. Kinder, Findlay; Michael Donnelly, Napoleon; T. T. Ansberry, Defiance; E. N. Warden, Napoleon ; Phil M. Crow, Kenton ; Kent W. Hughes, Lima;. James E. Robinson, Marysville. The members of the present Appellate bench of the Third District, in 1929, are, Phil M. Crow, Kenton ; Charles L. Justice, Marion, and Kent W. Hughes, Lima.

LUCAS COUNTY COURTS

As has already been noted in the story of the Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute, the first session of the Court of Common Pleas was held for Lucas County in Toledo, under rather dramatic

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circumstances. The date was September 7, 1835, at about 3 o'clock A. M., and the place, the old schoolhouse on Washington Street where it was intersected later by the canal. Jonathan H. Jerome, Senior Associate Judge presided and signed the "record" of the session, his colleagues as Associate Judges being Baxter Bowman and William Wilson. Doctor Horatio Conant was the "clerk of the court session," held to clinch the jurisdiction of Lucas County and Ohio to the disputed territory in controversy between Ohio and Michigan.

Lucas County was attached to the Second Judicial District. The story of Judge David Higgins, the presiding judge is told in the preceding pages of this chapter. He evidently did not attend. The first business was the impaneling of a grand jury, made up of Michigan Territory authorities. The second session of the court was held on Wednesday, April 27, 1836. The session was presided over by Judge Higgins, the Associate Judges in attendance were William Wilson, Baxter Bowman and Jonathan H. Jerome. The first business was the empaneling of a grand jury, made up as follows: Silas Barnes, Calvin Comstock, Willard J. Daniels, Allison De Mott, Henry Dilgart, Luke Draper, Jacob Gnagy, James John, Coleman I. Keeler, David Mills, Alonzo Noble, Samuel Searing, Dr. Oscar White, James M. Whitney and Cornelius Wiltse; Samuel Searing was made foreman.

Two indictments were returned by the grand jury against John Wilson for petty larceny and he was placed on trial before a petit jury composed of the following : John Baldwin, Henry A. Cooper, Edward Corser, Selah Divine, Ralph Farnsworth, Jarvis Gilbert, Willard Gunn, Samuel R. Jennings, William Martin, Hopkins S. Mills, John Pettinger and Amos Stow. Andrew Coffinbury, of Mansfield, was appointed prosecuting attorney. Wilson was found guilty on both indictments and in each case was assessed a small fine and sentenced to serve six days in jail, or twelve days in all. At the close of the term Coffinbury was allowed $15 for his services as prosecuting attorney.

During the session of two days, tavern licenses were granted to Mortimer H. Williams, of Toledo; John C. Allen, John Burdo, Benjamin D. Coffin and James John, of Maumee; an auctioneer's license was granted to Munson H. Daniels; ferry licenses were granted to Alva D. Wilkinson, of Toledo; Jonathan Wood, of Maumee ; and C. P. Johnson, of Manhattan.

The next session of the Common Pleas Court began on Monday, November 7, 1836. Judge Higgins again presided and the

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associate judges were the same, except that John Baldwin appeared in the place of Judge Wilson, whose death had occurred a short time before. Emery D. Potter had been elected prosecuting attorney in October, but when the court fixed his salary as $50 a year, he declined to serve, and John Fitch was appointed by the court. At this term Matthew Byrnes was convicted of voting in two townships at the election in October and was fined $50 and costs. Joseph R. Williams, of the Massachusetts Bar, was admitted to practice, and the record contains the following entry:

"In consideration of the fact that attorneys of Ohio are admitted to practice in the courts of Michigan, without formal admission to the bar of that state, Warner Wing and Robert McClelland, of Monroe, Michigan, are hereby granted like privilege at this court."

This is said to have been the first act indicating the restoration of good feeling between the two commonwealths after the boundary war. Several tavern licenses were granted during the term; Eli Hubbard and Julia Wilson were appointed administrators of the estate of William Wilson, deceased; the will of William Sibley was probated, with Horace Thacher and Rebecca Sibley as executor and executrix, respectively, and naturalization papers were issued to John Leybourne, a native of England, who was the first man to be naturalized in Lucas County.

Naturally to follow the story of the Court of Common Pleas of Lucas County in detail in connection with the balance of the circuit down through the years is not expedient. Judge Higgins has already told much of the happenings. After Higgins retired from the bench he engaged in the practice of law at Maumee until 1846, when he took a position in Washington, evidently in the Department of Justice, and remained in the service until his death in January, 1874.

Judge Higgins was succeeded by Ozias Bowen, who in turn was succeeded by Emery D. Potter, Toledo's first lawyer, who was born near Providence, R. I., in 1804. When he was about two years old his parents removed to Otsego County, New York, where he received a common school education. He then entered the law office of Dix & Cook, at Cooperstown, as a student. John A. Dix, the senior member of this firm, was afterward Governor of New York, United States senator from that state, secretary of the treasury under President Buchanan, and one of the prominent Union generals in the Civil war. Mr: Potter was admitted

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to the bar in New York, but soon afterward joined the tide of immigration to the West and late in the year 1834 landed in Toledo—the first lawyer to establish an office in the town. In 1836 he was appointed postmaster and held that position until elected Common Pleas judge in 1839.

In 1843 Judge Potter was nominated by the Democratic convention for representative in Congress. He overcame a Whig majority of 600 and was elected. While in Congress he was a member of the special committee that led to the founding of the Smithsonian Institution. He then served two terms as mayor of Toledo. In 1847 he was elected to represent Lucas County in the State Legislature, and the next year was again elected to Congress. At the opening of the next session of Congress he received seventy-eight votes for speaker of the House. As chairman of the committee on post offices and post roads, he was the author of the bill providing for 3-cent postage and the coinage of the 3-cent coin. At the expiration of his term he resumed the practice of law in Toledo.

In 1857 Judge Potter was appointed judge of the Territory of Utah, but declined on account of his business and professional interests in Toledo. Two years later he was appointed collector of customs at Toledo and held that position until 1861. From 1873 to 1875 he was a member of the Ohio State Senate.

Under the constitution of 1851, when the District Court took the place of the old Supreme Court, as has been stated, one term of the District Court was required to be held annually in each county, being successor on the circuit to the old Supreme Court. All suits pending in the latter court in the various counties were transferred to the District Court, and cases pending in the Supreme Court in bane were transferred to the new Supreme Court. This system continued for thirty-two years, and during that period a session of the District Court was held in Toledo every year. Most of these courts were held by the judges of the Common Pleas Court, under the provision authorizing them to act as district judges. On only eight occasions was a justice of the. Supreme Court present to act as the presiding judge, towit: Thomas W. Bartley, 1852; Jacob Brinkerhoff, 1860; William Sutliff, 1862; Josiah Scott, 1863; William White, 1864; Jacob Brinkerhoff, 1866; Luther Day, 1867; John Welch; 1869.

The list of Common Pleas judges who occupy the bench in 1929, in the various counties of Northwestern Ohio, follows :

Toledo Municipal Judges

The names of the Municipal Court judges of Toledo, 1929, are : Homer Ramey, Ira Cole, Len Donovan and John Wynn.

PROBATE COURT

Under the constitution of 1851 a Probate Court, with one judge, in each county of the state was provided for. Closely identified with the intimate interests of the people, its proper administration is of vital importance. It has jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to the settlement of estates, the appointment of guardians for minor heirs, etc., and in counties where juvenile courts have been established, the probate judge is also judge of such court. Lucas County has been singularly fortunate in the selection of probate judges, as all who have filled the position have been men of integrity, and a few have been lawyers of pronounced ability.

Charles I. Scott, the first probate judge, was not a lawyer, but his general good judgment and character recommend him for the office. He was one of the pioneers of Toledo, was an active Democratic worker, frequently serving as delegate to conventions, and was the editor of the first Democratic paper published in Lucas County—the Toledo Register, which was started in September, 1841.

Thomas Dunlap, who was probate judge from 1858 to 1861, was one of the early Toledo lawyers. In 1843, when the city council levied a tax on lawyers and physicians, the records show that he paid his tax of one dollar. From 1845 to 1847 he was prose-

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cuting attorney, after which he was engaged in the real estate business in connection with his law practice for several years.

Fred A. Jones, who succeeded Judge Dunlap, was born at Grafton, Lorain County, Ohio, October 10, 1823. He was educated at Norwalk, Oberlin and Granville, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1849. For some time after that he taught school in Mississippi, but returnd to Ohio and practiced law at Granville and later with J. M. Ritchie as partner in the practice of his profession. In 1860 he was elected probate judge and held the office from that time until his death on February 8, 1873. In the old Welsh Hills burying ground near Granville, lies "Tom" T. Jones, the memorable sculptor, one of the Jones family, with a remarkable history.

Irwin I. Millard, father of George Millard, Toledo attorney, was born in Richland County, Ohio, December 9, 1838. His grandfather, Rev. Thomas Millard, came from Pennsylvania in 1831, and was one of the pioneer Methodist preachers of Richland County. Joseph Millard, the father of the judge, built the first flour mill in that section of the state. Judge Millard was educated at the Fredericksburg Academy and afterward taught school. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Fifteenth Ohio Infantry, and served a few months, when he was discharged for disability. Upon regaining his health he located in Toledo and for about a year was deputy recorder of Lucas County. He was then employed in the office of the Erie Railroad for a similar period of time. In the spring of 1865 he began the study of law with Bissell & Gorrill and in 1867 he was admitted to practice. He immediately became a member of the firm with which he had studied and the partnership lasted until 1890, when Mr. Millard was elected probate judge. This office he held until 1903, with notable ability.

Judge Obrien O'Donnell, present incumbent of the probate office, (1929) has held that position continuously, since his first election in 1908. His ability, untiring interest and care in connection with the handling of estates, his penetrating insight into the needs of the juvenile department of his court has brought to the people recognized and inestimable service. He is a man with a heart and understanding and withal a valued citizen. Judge O'Donnell was born in St. Clair County, Michigan; studied law in the Detroit Law School and the University of Michigan; was admitted to the bar in 1896, when he located at Toledo.

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TOLEDO BAR ASSOCIATION

The Toledo Bar Association was organized in December,, 1878, but the records of the organization prior to July 11, 1896, have been lost or destroyed. On the latter date a meeting of the association was held and the minutes were signed by W. H. A. Read as president and Edward J. Durbin as secretary. Mr. Read was again elected president at the annual meeting in December, 1896, and Judge Louis H. Pike was president during the years 1898 and 1899.

At the annual meeting on December 30, 1899, the association was reorganized by the adoption of a new constitution. The presidents under this constitution during the next ten years were as follows: Isaac N. Huntsberger, 1900; E. H. Rhoades, 1901-02; Samuel Kohn, 1903-04 ; Rufus H. Baker, 1905-06 ; Charles H. Northrup, 1907-08; Elmer E. Davis, 1909-10. From 1910 to 1916 the minute books of the association are again missing. George B. Orwig was elected president in 1916; Frank H. Geer was president during 1917-18; Stephen Brophy, 1919; George P. Hahn, 1920-21, and Albert H. Miller, 1921-22. Frank E. Calkins was elected at the annual meeting in December, 1922, for the ensuing year. All officers are elected at the annual meeting in December. The present officers (1929) are : President, Amos L. Conn; vice president, P. R. Taylor; secretary, J. H. Beatty; treasurer, George N. Fall.

Special meetings are held upon the call of the president to adopt memorial resolutions upon the death of a member, or to consider some extraordinary subject connected with the practice of law. Through the Committee on Law Reform, one of the standing committees, the association has been influential in shaping legislation to secure the better administration of justice.

When the United States declared war against the German Government in April, 1917, the association indorsed the action of Congress and the members agreed to volunteer their services to aid in carrying out the provisions of the selective draft act. This they did, both by advising the local draft boards regarding the meaning of the provisions of the law, and assisting young men in preparing their answers to questionnaires, etc. In order that this work might be done in a systematic way, a committee of three was chosen to work with each of the draft boards. Each of these committees was afterward increased to seven members. Practically every member of the Toledo Bar Association was an active participant in the various Liberty Loan drives and other war work.

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TOLEDO BAR

To mention all the members of the Toledo Bar worthy of a place in this story is, regretably, an impossibility. The name of Samuel M. Young appears all through this story of the Lower Maumee. He was located in practice at Maumee, must have been well grounded in law, for he was the preceptor of M. R. Waite who became Chief Justice, and they were partners in law in Toledo. Of sterling character, while better known as a business man and a banker, his knowledge of law always served him to good purpose.

Morrison Remick Waite was born at Lyme, Connecticut, November 29, 1816. His father, Henry M. Waite, was a graduate of Yale College (now University), practiced law at Lyme and was for many years a justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. Morrison R. Waite graduated at Yale in 1837 in a class that included William M. Evarts, Samuel J. Tilden, and others who afterward became prominent in legal and political affairs. He then began the study of law with his father, but in the fall of 1838 decided to seek his fortune in the Maumee Valley. Entering the office of Samuel M. Young, then practicing at Maumee City, he completed his legal preparation for the bar and in 1839 was admitted to practice. In 1850 he located in Toledo, where the firm of Young & Waite opened an office, and continued to practice there until the retirement of Mr. Young in 1856. The firm of M. R. & R. Waite was then formed, Richard Waite, a younger brother, becoming the junior member of the firm, which continued eighteen years.

Politically a Whig, Mr. Waite followed the fortunes of that party until it was merged with the new Republican organization in 1856. He was nominated by the Whigs for Congress in 1846, at the convention held at Swanton, but failed of election, although Lucas County gave him a large vote. Three years later, however, he was elected to the Ohio Legislature, and served with distinction. In 1852, he was a member of the Toledo Board of Aldermen. On August 11th of that year, Alderman M. R. Waite introduced "an ordinance requiring each place in which liquors were sold to be closed on Sunday," which regulation was unanimously passed by that body.

In 1862 occurred one of the most notable political campaigns in Northwestern Ohio. It was in the second year of the Rebellion, and the chief cause of special interest was a division in senti-

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ment in regard to the war policy of the Government with respect to slavery. One aggressive faction advocated that the abolition of slavery should be made an end to be sought in the prosecution of the war. The other faction, composed of Republicans and war Democrats, believed that the only proper aim should be to defend the Union from disintegration by the suppression of the Rebellion, leaving slavery to take its chances with the political exigencies and natural results of the war. As an exponent of the latter view, Mr. Waite accepted the nomination in opposition to James M. Ashley, the latter being elected. In Toledo, Mr. Waite received a large majority of the votes, and in the county his plurality was considerable, so that he was given a large popular endorsement. Upon the refusal of Hocking H. Hunter, who had been nominated for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Bench in 1863, to accept the tender, Governor Brough offered the position to Mr. Waite, by whom it was also declined.

President Grant, in December, 1871, selected him as one of the counsel for the United States in the arbitration at Geneva, Switzerland, which was called to settle what was known as the "Alabama Claims" of this Government against Great Britain. Because of his special qualities of unwearying industry and unusual ability in research and argument, his presentations of the question of Great Britain's liability in permitting Confederate war steamers to obtain supplies in British ports for hostilities against American shipping, commanded such marked attention, both from that tribunal and from the world, the close of this trial found his reputation established. The "Geneva Award" was largely due to his efforts.

On the 5th of November, 1872, Mr. Waite landed at New York, on his return home from his mission. A committee, in anticipation of his arrival, had been sent forward to meet him in New York, and escort him to his home. The party reached Toledo on Saturday, November 9, and the reception ceremonies were published in the Toledo Blade, of that date, and are here copied :

"This morning, under a clear, beautiful sky, our city presented an appearance similar to that of a holiday, and flags and decorations streamed from many of the buildings on Summit Street. The eleven o'clock train from the East, as if to tone down the enthusiasm of the people, kept the reception waiting some twenty minutes, but the delay was not a serious one. As was anticipated, the train bore the Hon. M. R. Waite and wife, with

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the escorting committee appointed to meet them in New York. Mr. Waite was at once conducted to an open carriage, in which he was placed with his honor, Mayor W. W. Jones, Mr. Samuel M. Young, his former law partner in business, and Jesup W. Scott. Several other carriages were filled with the committees of escort and reception, the committee appointed by the Board of Trade, and the remainder of the party from New York. They were preceded by the Walbridge Zouaves, and Toledo Cadets, headed by Milverstedt's Band, and on reaching the Boody House, the columns of military faced inward, and presented arms as Mr. Waite's carriage passed between the lines.

"Mr. Waite was at once escorted to the St. Clair Street balcony of the Boody House, from which the party looked down on a vast concourse of people, who had assembled in the streets below. The assembly was then called to order by General Lee, who announced the order of exercises, and requested the quiet attention of the audience, 'except when they felt like shouting, when they were to shout !'

"Mayor Jones then presented himself, and spoke as follows:

" 'Mr. Waite : In the name and on behalf of all the citizens of Toledo, I extend to you a cordial welcome home.

" 'A little less than a year ago, when it was announced that you, sir, a citizen of our city, had been selected as one of three distinguished counsel to present our long disputed claim against Great Britain for arbitrament before one of the most learned and august tribunals the world had ever seen, we naturally felt a just pride in so distinguished an honor. If, sir, we were proud of the selection, with how much greater satisfaction do we hail the achievements which you and your illustrious associates have won in that great trial for the honor and glory of our country, and the cause of human peace everywhere.

" 'The proceedings of that great tribunal have attracted the attention of the whole civilized world, and constitute an epoch in history; and we believe that it will exercise a potent influence for good in all coming time, in substituting reason against force, peace against war. This conflict, in which you have borne so distinguished a part, will become one of the landmarks of our Christian civilization, and we may safely leave the verdict to the impartial judgment of mankind.

" 'Our city is justly proud of the intellectual achievements which you, as one of her sons, have gained in that great contest,

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and again, in her behalf, I bid you welcome back among your old friends and neighbors. Thrice welcome home!'

"As soon as the applause which greeted Mr. Waite, as he stepped forward, had subsided, he replied briefly to the Mayor's address of welcome. The following is a synopsis :

"He thanked them for their kind reception. A little less than a year ago, they had bidden him God speed on the mission he had then undertaken. More than once, since that time, he had asked himself, 'will the friends I left, be my friends when I return?' This demonstration convinced him that his friends were still here, and that they had by no means forgotten him.

"It was not expected that he would enter into any detailed statement of the proceedings at Geneva. The Tribunal there assembled had rendered an honest judgment, which had been reached after a patient and careful examination of the facts, by men willing and anxious to do right. In time, Great Britain herself would acknowledge its justice. It was not surprising that she should now manifest impatience. She had been charged with a neglect of her international obligations, and upon the trial it had been found that the charge was true.

"He believed that a great step had been taken towards the settlement of national disputes by arbitration; a long stride towards the era of universal peace. We might not live to see the day when there would be no more war, but he thought we might witness the time when, before resorting to the power of the sword, nations would at least attempt to settle their disputes by peaceful arbitration. Great Britain was the first to consent to be tried by such a tribunal, upon a charge of neglect in the performance of her duties as one of the family of nations, and the United States the first to seek redress in this way for such a wrong. The world would give them each full credit for the example which they, in the midst of their power, had thus put forth for the imitation of others.

"After giving expression to the satisfaction he felt in being once more with his neighbors and friends, and again thanking them for the cordial reception given him, Mr. Waite withdrew inside the hotel, where a lengthy season of hand-shaking closed the proceedings.

"Mr. Waite is now in the prime of life, and of useful activity; and it may be reasonably assumed that higher honors than even those he has yet attained, await him in the line of his profession."

Mr. Waite was elected without opposition as a member of the

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Constitutional Convention of 1873, and was made its president. It was while this convention was in session January, 1874, at Cincinnati that the name of Mr. Waite was sent to the United States Senate by President Grant, naming him for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to succeed Salmon P. Chase. His nomination was unanimously approved. This happened just a year after his own admission to the practice in that distinguished tribunal. His selection was received by the members of the convention and by the citizens of Toledo with marks of unusual approval, both the bar and laity of his home city expressing their gratification at his appointment. He left Toledo on the 13th of February, and assumed his office on the 4th of March following. The excessive labor demanded by his position in research and study of authorities and principles was met by him with energy and ability, and his services received general approbation. The words of a member of that court, after his own resignation from that tribunal, are herewith quoted :

"From the day of his entrance into office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he has been indefatigable in the discharge of its great duties; patient, industrious, and able. His administrative ability is remarkable. None of his predecessors more steadily and wisely superintended the Court, or more carefully observed all that is necessary to its working. Nothing under his administration has been neglected or overlooked. He has written many of the most important decisions of the Court."

At one time Chief Justice Waite was talked of for the presidency, but he discouraged all such suggestions. He served as Chief Justice a little more than fourteen years, and died at Washington on the 23d of March, 1888, almost a half century after his admission to the Bar of Ohio.

Concerning Daniel 0. Morton, an able attorney of early Toledo, and who was on the commission that codified the laws of Ohio under the constitution of 1851, the late Judge Doyle who in his boyhood knew Morton well, told this: Daniel S. Price another Toledo lawyer and Morton were in the habit of closing their offices on Saturday afternoons and meeting at a bowling alley on the west side of Summit Street between Adams and Madison, kept by one Ozro Collins. Mr. Morton would employ young Doyle, whom he always called "Johnny," to set up the pins for him, saying: "Now, Johnny, I want you to set up the pins for me; if I lose I will give you ten cents, but if I win I will give

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you a quarter." Johnny learned to set the pins so that he usually got his quarter.

William Baker was born in Norwalk, Ohio, February 5, 1822; was educated at the Norwalk Academy and Granville College (now Denison University) ; studied law with Goddard & Converse, of Zanesville; graduated at the Harvard Law School in 1844, and the same year located in Toledo. In 1847 he formed a partnership with Myron H. Tilden, which lasted until Judge Tilden removed to Cincinnati in 1850. In 1857 he entered into partnership with William A. Collins. Mr. Collins was elected common pleas judge in 1870 and a few years later Rufus H. Baker became a partner. Barton Smith entered the firm a little later and the name of Baker, Smith & Baker was adopted. For thirty-five years William Baker was one of the prominent trial lawyers of Toledo. Most of his practice was in real estate, equity and commercial litigation. He died at Toledo on November 17, 1894. The firm of Baker, Smith & Baker still has a continuity in Toledo.

There is a coincidence in the lives of William Baker and Edward Bissell. The latter was born at Geneseo, New York, September 24, 1824, and at an early age came with his parents to Toledo. He graduated at Yale in 1844 and two years later he graduated in law at Harvard. He then served in the Mexican war as a private soldier in the Texas Riflemen, coming to Toledo in July, 1847, just about the time the law firm of Tilden & Baker was organized. Mr. Bissell studied in that office for a few months and was then admitted to the bar. He then spent some time in the South, returning to Toledo in 1856 and beginning the practice of his profession. In March, 1863, he became the senior member of the firm of Bissell & Gorrill, his partner being William H. Gorrill. In connection with their law practice, the firm also conducted an abstract business and was also interested in real estate operations. Their office was over the old First National Bank on Summit Street.

On December 24, 1863, Mr. Bissell married Miss Sarah A. Secor, of Toledo. Five children were born to this union, some of whom still live in the city. Mr. Bissell died on November 23, 1894, only six days after the death of William Baker, also an alumnus of the Harvard Law School, sometimes an opponent in the trial of cases, but always a close friend.

Frank H. Hurd although a prominent member of the Toledo Bar, was better known for his political career, and his championship of "Free Trade." He was a son of Judge Rollin C. Hurd

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of Mt. Vernon, O., was born at that place December 25, 1840, and graduated at Kenyon College, class of 1858. After his admission to the bar in 1861, he was in 1863 elected prosecuting attorney of Knox County. In 1866 he was chosen to the Ohio Senate and prepared the "Code of Criminal Procedure," which was afterwards made the law by the Ohio Legislature. In 1869, Mr. Hurd located in Toledo and formed a partnership with Charles H. Scribner—Scribner & Hurd, and later Scribner, Hurd & Scribner; Harvey Scribner, the judge's son, being the junior member of the firm.

Mr. Hurd was elected city solicitor of Toledo in 1871 and was reelected in 1873. In 1874 he was the democratic candidate for Congress. During the campaign he pledged himself, if elected, to use his influence to secure a new post office building for Toledo, to cost not less than $500,000. He was elected and succeeded in getting an appropriation for the building still standing in 1929 on the corner of Madison Avenue and St. Clair Street. He also secured an appropriation of $75,000 for improving the channel of the Maumee River—the largest appropriation that had been made for that purpose up to that time. He was elected a second time to Congress in 1878, and a third time in 1882. From the time he retired from Congress in 1885, when he was defeated by Jacob Romeis, republican, down to his death on July 10, 1896, he gave all his time to the practice of his profession. At the time of his death he was the senior member of the firm of Hurd, Brumback & Thatcher, which had been organized on January 1, 1894. The other members of this firm were Orville S. Brumback and Charles A. Thatcher, both of whom were still practicing law in Toledo in 1929.

Joseph D. Ford (Joe Ford) was a notable and versatile lawyer, strong in criminal trials for the defense. He studied law with the firm of Baker & Collins and was admitted to practice in 1867. He died in a hotel in Cincinnati, in June 1894.

Charles Kent was leader at the bar. Henry H. Commager was a prominent early attorney and David H. Commager, his son, is still remembered in the courts of Toledo. Also the Hon. James M. Ritchie, father of the lamented Judge Byron F. Ritchie of the Common Pleas Bench, both once in Congress; John F. Kumler and E. W. Tolerton. I. P. Pugsley was one of the ablest of the Common Pleas judges; and there were Judge Charles Pratt, Rufus H. Baker, David R. Austin, Clayton W. Everett, James M. Heuston, Judge Reuben C. Lemon, Judge Louis H.

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Pike, and A. W. Scott. Clarence Brown, J. Kent Hamilton, and still later Charles T. Lewis, were all able jurists, and most successful in their profession and in business. And there was James H. Southard, also, long a member of Congress. The firm of Swayne, Swayne, Heyes & Tyler is well remembered as having the finest offices in this section and one of the best law libraries in Ohio. Noah H. Swayne has left his imprint on Toledo. Of the latest who have passed on are Judge Curtis Johnson and his brother Ben W. Johnson and Judge John P. Manton.

John H. Doyle, lawyer and of the Common Pleas and Supreme Court bench, was born in. Perry County, Ohio, April 22, 1844. He was Irish. He received his education in the Toledo public schools and at Denison University, Granville, Ohio. He was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one years and became a member of the law firm of Bissell & Gorrill, and the abstracting firm of Bissell, Gleason & Company. Wesley S. Thurstin was a member of the law firm also. Among Judge Doyle's famous cases was the "River Tract Case" where he successfully defended the title of the residents of River Tract, No. 6. Another celebrated case was that of Comptore vs. The Wabash Railroad Company, where, after thirty years of litigation, Doyle's client collected over $900,000 on bonds, not secured by mortgage. His term on the Common Pleas bench in the Sixth Judicial District, began in 1880. He was appointed on the Ohio Supreme Court bench by Governor Foster in 1882. Twice he was nominated for the same position by the republican party, but both occasions being "Democratic years," he was defeated. The position of judge of the United States District Court was offered him by both Presidents McKinley and Taft, but declined. He was at the head of the firm of Doyle & Lewis, attorneys, at the time of his death on March 24, 1919.

WOOD COUNTY COURTS

With the "traveling the Circuit" an epoch of the long past; the genial, merry-making days of the bench and bar, the happy Bohemianism has been replaced somewhat by the more formal business methods, although the social qualities are not entirely a lost art.

When the Legislature on February 20, 1820, carol fourteen new counties out of the territory of Northwestern Ohio, purchased not long before from the Indians, the act provided for the organization of only two counties—Wood and Sandusky.

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Maumee was named in the law as the temporary county seat of Wood County, and April 1 following was designated as the time for the voters to meet at their usual place of holding elections to select county officers. The law also provided that justices of the peace and constables previously elected under the jurisdiction of Logan County, which county had held jurisdiction, such as it was, over this section, should fill out their unexpired terms of office. As stated elsewhere, the unorganized counties of Hancock, Henry, Putnam, Paulding and Williams, under this law were to be attached to Wood for civil purposes, until provided by further legislation. Thus, Wood County at that time had jurisdiction over the territory now comprising the original six counties named, from which have at various times since, as indicated in the chapter on the "Evolution of Ohio Counties," been formed the additional counties of Lucas, Fulton and Defiance. Collister Haskins, who in 1824 settled where is now Portage, Wood County, was present as one of the grand jurors at this first court opening of Wood County at Maumee, evidently in Almon Gibbs' store, and he tells the story as follows :

There is no bell ringing in the lofty tower to call the jurors, attorneys, and witnesses together. The clerk and his deputies are not hurrying to the courtroom with arms full of heavy court records. There is no clerk, and there are no record books. The attorneys are not edging up quietly to the sheriff's desk to learn if important witnesses have been notified and are likely to be present.

Curious as it may seem to those conversant with later judicial history, lawyers were scarce at that first court. The event had not got noised about very far; but they soon, began to come. Before court had been in session long, three arrived, showed their credentials, and asked leave to practice. Where lawyers are found, there are certain to be clients. But if lawyers were a little scarce, the court was "numerous."

George Tod was president judge at this first court, and his associates were Samuel Vance, Horatio Conant, and Peter G. Oliver. Four judges are considered, even now, as quite an imposing "bench ;" and no doubt the proud dwellers in the new county seat felt, and justly, too, that quite an added dignity and prestige attached to their ambitious little city because of its court honors. David Hull was the name of the first sheriff who rapped on the table and opened the Common Pleas Court. The first official act was to appoint Thomas R. McKnight clerk. While McKnight

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was hunting up suitable stationery and a record book, C. J. McCurdy was appointed prosecutor for the state.

This completed the organization of the court, and they were now ready for business. Many duties attached to the Common Pleas Court then that do not belong to it now. All probate work belonged to it; such as the appointment of guardians, granting administration, recording wills, taking bonds, etc. Besides this, the court granted all licenses. Every business paid license then : Taverns, stores, ferries, bridges, warehouses, all had to pay rates fixed by the court. Thus, it will be seen that the Common Pleas Court embraced in its scope of work some of the most important functions of government in this new settlement—even the vital one of creating revenue; and the records, happily yet in a good state of preservation, afford us an insight into many interesting facts not elsewhere to be found.

Passing over many interesting details, the last session of the Wood County Common Pleas Court, held at Maumee, was on February 12, 1823. Walter Colton, William Pratt and John Hollister, associate judges, presided. When the county seat of Wood was changed to Perrysburg, the first court session held there was on March 27, the same year, with the same associate judges presiding. In May following, Judge Tod arrived at Perrysburg to hold court, but finding no suitable place for the session, he solemnly "adjourned court" to the house of John Hollister, who then lived at Orleans, at the foot of Fort Meigs, where he finished the session. Hezekiah L. Hosmer told this of a noted trial at Perrysburg :

"John Knowles, an old citizen of Perrysburg, died from poison in 1839, under circumstances creating strong suspicions that he had been murdered by his wife. Knowles was considerably ad-

vanced in years, and the possessor of a comfortable estate—the fruit of hard labor and economical habits. A year or two prior to his death he married a young, attractive looking girl, who had been for some time a house-maid in several families in the town. Very soon after their union, his life was rendered miserable by her violent temper and extravagant habits. Anxious to sever the tie which caused his misery, he, on several occasions, came to our office for legal advice; but divorces were not so easily obtained then as now, and we could offer him no better consolation than to advise kindness and indulgence. His health was failing and he was frequently attacked with severe spasms. On one occasion he intimated that he believed he had been poisoned.

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"In one of these attacks he died, and a post mortem examination confirmed his suspicions. Arsenic in considerable quantity was found in the stomach. The wife was arrested, indicted and tried for murder upon evidence which would have been ample to convict a man. Her sex saved her. The trial was very interesting—the Count and Spink conducting the prosecution, against Willis Silliman and Stowell. I thought, at the time, that the argument of the Count to the jury was irresistible, and fastened the guilt so strongly upon the defendant that escape would be impossible. Silliman, who enjoyed a good reputation as an advocate, was adroit and eloquent, and received credit for a successful defense; but, really, nothing but the fact that Mrs. Knowles was a young and rather good-looking woman saved her."

In 1869-1870 the county seat of Wood was removed to Bowling Green. Among the old attorneys still remembered at the Wood County Bar were Edson Goit, Asher Cook, S. W. Clay, Judge H. H. Dodge, John A. Shannon, D. W. H. Day, Francis Hollenbeck, and D. K. Hollenbeck, his son; John H. Reid, John W. Canary, W: A. Benschoter, Jasher Pillars, J. R. Swigart, and later, J. 0. Troup, Robert Dunn, Judge Guy C. Nearing, S. P. Harrison, and, of course, many others.

Frank A. Baldwin, one of the ablest judges on the Common Pleas bench, was the last judge elected in this subdivision under the old system and held over under the new regime. Elmer G. McClelland was the first Common Pleas judge of Wood County, elected under the new law, and at this writing, in 1929, was the incumbent.

SANDUSKY COUNTY COURTS

One of the best informed men upon the courts of Sandusky County was the late Basil Meek, who wrote a most valuable history of that county, and from his writings is taken a large part of the information upon the subject of Sandusky County courts.

The first term of Common Pleas Court held in the county was on May 8, 1820, and was opened by proclamation of Sheriff Willis E. Brown. Present, Hon. George Tod, president judge; Israel Harrington, David Harold and Alexander Morrison, associate judges; and Jacob Parker, of Richland County, prosecuting attorney.

On the return of the venire for the grand jury, it being found that the same had not been issued( the length of time required by

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law, the proceedings were challenged, and the panel quashed, and thereupon the sheriff was ordered to select a new grand jury from the bystanders, which was accordingly done. The following were selected :

Joshua Davis, Elijah Brayton, Charles B. Fitch, Reuben Bristol, Elisha W. Howland, Jonathan H. Jerome, William Morrison, Josiah Rumery, Nicholas Whitinger, William Andrews, Ruel Loomis, James Montgomery, Caleb Rice, Robert Harvey, Thomas Webb; whereupon Charles B. Fitch was appointed foreman and took the oath prescribed by law, and his fellow jurors, after having taken the same oath, received a solemn charge from the court and retired.

These grand jurors seem to have been diligent, for the next day closed their labors for the term, by returning seven indictments, three of which were against persons for selling liquor to Indians.

Among the other four was one against one Almeron Sands for assault and battery on the body of Calvin Leesen. Leesen, the person assaulted, was one of the parties indicted for selling whiskey to the Indians. Sands was immediately arraigned, and entering a plea of guilty, was sentenced to pay a fine of $15. This was the first indictment returned and the first judgment ever entered in this court.

At the opening of the May term, 1822, Judge Tod presiding, with associates Israel Harrington and Jeremiah Everett, the report of Charles R. Sherman, Nehemiah King and Edward Payne, the commissioners, theretofore appointed to locate the seat of justice, was made and filed, establishing the same at the "Town of Sandusky" (Fremont). The journal of the proceedings shows that thereupon court adjourned, to be held at the schoolhouse in said Town of Sandusky, and accordingly met pur- suant to such adjournment the same day, May 23, in said schoolhouse. This was a hewed log structure, standing near the spot on which the present old Central School building (Fremont), at the corner of Croghan Street and Park Avenue, now stands, the courts being held there for three or four years.

Among the proceedings of this term appears the report of the commissioners appointed by the Legislature to locate the seat of justice of Seneca County, fixing the same at the Town of Tiffin. It will be remembered that at its erection in 1820, Seneca County, for judicial purposes, was attached to Sandusky, and so remained

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till January 22, 1824, and its judicial proceedings were during that period held and recorded in Sandusky County.

The first jury trial in Sandusky Common Pleas was at this term, being a prosecution for arson, against a woman by the name of Sally Wolcott, charged with burning a building owned by one Moses Nicholas. The jury found her not guilty.

The first term of the Supreme Court of Sandusky County was held in the schoolhouse mentioned, on July 30, 1823. Charles R. Sherman and Jacob Burnet, judges; both distinguished for learning and ability as jurists. The latter had been United States senator, as the successor of William Henry Harrison. Yearly terms were thereafter held in the county by Supreme Judges Sherman, Burnet, Hitchcock, Collett, Brush, Wright, Lane, Wood, Grimke, Birchard, Reed, Avery, Spaulding and Caldwell, two of them being present at each of the several terms, all of whose names appear from year to year in the Supreme Court journal of the county.

At the August term, 1845, of this court, Stanley Matthews, who a third of a century later became associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, was admitted to the bar. Rutherford B. Hayes was a member of the committee who examined him as to his qualifications .for admission, and as President of the United States appointed him to the Supreme bench.

At the May term, 1824, of the Common Pleas, the case of Nimble Jim, an Indian, against John Chena, a white man, was tried. This was a case in replevin to recover possession of an Indian pony. Elutherus Cook, of Sandusky City, was attorney for the Indian, and ex-Judge Parish, of Columbus, appeared for the white man. The Indian's statement was: That he had raised the pony from a colt, and that he was three years old only; and having been put out a few miles from where the white man lived, on a hunting excursion, the pony left him and was making his way home to the Seneca Reserve, and was taken up by the white man, who refused to give it up, claiming that he had raised it from a colt and that it was four years old.

To prove that the horse was raised by the Indian, there were four Seneca Indians called as witnesses, the first being George, the chief. The question arose, by what form were savage Indians to be sworn to tell the truth. Judge Lane, through an interpreter, put this question to George :

"Do you believe the Great Spirit will punish you if you tell a lie about the horse?"

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George replied to the interpreter that he would not tell a lie for any man's horse.

The judge then ordered them, through the interpreter, to hold up their right hands, and put the following oath to them : "You, and each of you, do believe that the Great Spirit will punish you —each one—if you tell a lie about the ownership of the horse now in dispute between the Indian and white man?"

The white man brought four witnesses into court who testified that he had raised the pony and that he was four years old the last spring.

Judge Lane thereupon ordered the sheriff to find three men who professed to know the age of a horse by examining his mouth. The sheriff found three men, who examined the mouth of the horse, after which they testified that the pony was but three years old that spring. The Indians all testified that the pony was but three years old. The jury, however, to the surprise of all, awarded the pony to the white man. The Indians present showed their resentment, and the white men attending court, to pacify the Indians, made up a purse of money and bought the pony of the white man and gave it to the clearly rightful owner, the Seneca Indian, and that satisfied the Indians.

February 10, 1824, a reorganization of the judicial circuits placed Sandusky County in the Second Circuit with the counties of Union, Delaware, Marion, Wood, Williams, Huron and Richland, with Hon. Ebenezer Lane, of Huron County, president judge, who continued to hold court in Sandusky until he was elected to the Supreme bench in 1830. He was succeeded by Hon. David Higgins, 1831, of Huron County. Judge Higgins was succeeded by Hon. Ozias Bowen, 1838, of Marion County, who afterwards became a Supreme judge in 1856 under the new constitution. The circuits from time to time underwent changes, and Lucas and Erie counties, with others, were in the same circuit with Sandusky, and Myron H. Tilden, 1845, then of Lucas, became president judge. He afterwards moved to Cincinnati and became a judge of the Superior Court there. He was succeeded as Common Pleas judge by Hon. E. B. Saddler, 1847, of Erie County, who held courts till the close of the old system.

All these have passed from earth, leaving unblemished records as able, just and upright judges : Israel Harrington, David Harold, Alexander Morrison, Charles B. Fitch, Jeremiah Everett (father of Homer Everett), Jacques Hulburt, Morris A. Newman, Joel Strawen, James Justice (father of Mesdames Dr. Wilson,

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Dr. Failing and Homer Everett), Elisha W. Howland, Luther Potter, Jacob Nyce, Isaac Knapp, George Overmyer Sr., Alpheus McIntyre, Jesse S. Olmstead (father of Mrs. Charles Foster), Frederick Chapman, Samuel Hufford.

The first courthouse, a frame two-story building 24 by 36, with offices below and courtroom above, was ordered erected April 23, 1823, and is still standing on the spot where completed, opposite Fort Stephenson Park, north, on point of hill west of Arch, between Croghan and State streets. A log jail was built on the same grounds, and in it were imprisoned the murderers, Sperry and Thompson, and here Sperry committed suicide, and from it Thompson escaped, but was recaptured.

Among the old members of the Sandusky County Bar were: Harvey J. Harmon, Rudolphus Dickinson, Samuel Treat, William W. Culver, Ralph P. Buckland, John L. Greene Sr., Lucius B. Otis, Rutherford B. Hayes, Homer Everett, Cooper K. Watson, A. B. Lindsey, George W. Glick, Thomas R. Finefrock, and Edward F. Dickinson. George R. Haynes was Common Pleas judge in 1883, and judge of the Circuit Court from its organization, February 9, 1885, to his death.

SENECA COUNTY COURTS

The first court for Seneca County was held at Tiffin, April 12, 1824, in the old Hedges Building, on Virgin Alley. Ebenezer Lane was the presiding judge, as in the other new Northwestern Ohio counties. The associate judges sitting with him were William Cornell, Jacques Hulburt and Matthew Clark. Agreen Ingraham was the sheriff, and Neal McGuffey clerk of courts. For lack of business the session lasted but half an hour. Judge Lane held the sessions following, and then came Ozias Bowen of Marion. The first session of the Supreme Court, where they visited each county, was held at Tiffin, July 28, 1826. Judges Charles R. Sherman and Jacob Burnet were on the bench. R. Dickinson was the first attorney who settled at Fort Ball the year the county was organized. The second lawyer was Able Rawson, who first visited Tiffin in 1825. There were only a dozen families in the village then. His law library consisted of "Swift's Digest" and "Chitty's Pleadings." Dickinson was the first prosecuting attorney. He later located at Lower Sandusky (Fremont).

One of the most prominent of the early lawyers of Tiffin was Joshua Seney, who also served as clerk of the Supreme Court and as treasurer of Seneca County. His three sons, George E., Joshua

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and Henry, followed him in the profession. George E. remained in Tiffin, Joshua took up his law practice in Toledo, being the father of the later George Seney of Toledo, while Henry Seney began his law career in Kenton and later was on the old Circuit Court bench. He was the father of Attorney Allen Seney of Toledo. George E. Seney of Tiffin studied law in the office of Luther A. Hall there ; at the age of twenty-six he was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Morrison R. Waite, later chief justice, was the first lawyer to argue a case before him. He wrote and published "Seney's Ohio Code," was active in the Civil war and was in Congress from 1883 to 1891, and held many other responsible positions.

Seneca County has always been noted for its able list of the legal profession. There were Warren P. Noble, Judge John McCauley, and many others. On the Courthouse Square, Tiffin, stands a monument erected to the memory of Gen. William Harvey Gibson, spoken of in the article on the Civil war.

Of the nine judicial districts formed under the Constitution of 1850, the First embraced Seneca, and it was redistricted in 1853, when this county, with Wood, Hancock, Wyandot and Crawford, was placed in the third subdivision of the Third Judicial, with Lawrence W. Hall judge of the district. Judge N. C. Whiteley was elected in October, 1856. In April, 1857, an act was passed providing for the election of an additional judge for this district, and in the fall of that year George E. Seney was elected judge of Common Pleas Court.

Josiah S. Plants was elected in the second subdivision in October, 1858. In 1866 Charles R. Mott was elected. A. M. Jackman was chosen in 1871. When Judge Jackman resigned, Judge Thomas Beer was elected. James Pillar was elected without opposition in 1872; Thomas Beer defeated Josiah Scott in 1874; and he was reelected without opposition in 1876. Henry Dodge was elected in 1877, and John McCauley was one of the judges of the first subdivision of the Tenth District. In 1882 Judge Henry Dodge was elected, and in 1883 George F. Pendleton was chosen, and he was reelected in 1884. George E. Schroth was on the Common Pleas bench from 1893 to 1899, and was an able judge.

HANCOCK COUNTY

Although Hancock County was formed in 1820, it was under the jurisdiction of Wood County until 1828, when it was organ-

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ized with its own government. Hence, it had no courts until the latter date, when three of its citizens, Robert McKinnis, Abraham Huff and Ebenezer Wilson were made associate judges, and at a meeting of these associates, William Vance was, on March 14, 1828, made clerk pro tem. However, it seems that there was no regular court session until in November, 1829, when the first term of Common Pleas of Hancock County was held, with Ebenezer Lane presiding and the above named three in attendance as associates. Even then there was only one case up for trial.

Judge McKinnis arrived in Hancock County in 1822, and Judge Wilson in 1826, and filled the position of associate judge for fourteen years. Anthony Casade of Bellefontaine was the first prosecuting attorney. His first year's salary was $40. The first grand jury was made up as follows : Jacob Poe, Joseph De Witt, John P. Hamilton, Asa Lake, Charles McKinnis (son of the judge), Reuben Hales, Mordecai Hammond, William Wade, John Boyd, Henry George, William Moreland, James McKinnis (another son of the judge) , William Taylor, Edwin S. Jones, and John C. Wickham. The first petit jury summoned, or that answered their summons, were : Joseph Johnson, John Beard, John Huff, William Moreland Jr., John Tullis, John J. Hendricks, Thomas Thompson and James Pettis. Either there were not enough citizens to make a complete jury or there was no business, for the jury was discharged without completing the panel. The first case tried was a damage suit of Robert Elder and wife against Asa Lake and wife, in which the plaintiffs secured a judgment with costs of $2.22.

Edson Goit, who later moved to Bowling Green, was the first resident lawyer of Findlay. He first stopped at Lower Sandusky on his way west through Ohio, in 1827, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar. Hearing that Findlay had no lawyer, he struck out for the new county seat of Hancock, by the way of Tiffin, and arrived at Findlay on foot after a three days' journey. The same month of August, 1832, he was made prosecuting attorney. The second lawyer to establish himself in Findlay was Arnold Morrison, who came in 1835, but remained only a few years. John H. Morrison, one of the best known members of the pioneer bar, located in Findlay in the fall of 1836, coming from Bucyrus, where he had been prosecuting attorney of Crawford County. Other members of the bar following were Judge Hall, Jacob Barnd, Charles W. O'Neal and Abel Parker. Two others

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were James M. and Charles S. Coffinberry, sons of the old "Count" Coffinberry.

Hancock County has had many able lawyers. Among those of a later date were Aaron and Jason Blackford, both noted jurists in their way, but of different temperament. And there was John Poe, father of Attorney Merle Poe. The Hon. Jacob F. Burket, father of Harlan F. Burket, was for many years one of the leaders of the Findlay Bar and was an able member of the Ohio Supreme Court. Judge Bope, father of Attorney Ed Bope, was another conspicuous personage among Findlay and Northwestern Ohio lawyers.

At this writing, in 1929, the Findlay Bar has the distinction of having as one of its members, one of the oldest lawyers still active in practice in the country, and the oldest practicing attorney at the bar in the Maumee and Sandusky valleys. Elijah T. Dann was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio, June 20th, 1840. He received his early education in the old log schoolhouse in the Black Swamp of Wood County, was in his younger years a printer, and then a school teacher. In the Civil war he enlisted in the Twenty-first Ohio Volunteers. At the close of hostilities he began the practice of law at Findlay in 1866 and has been active in the profession continuously for the sixty-three years since that date. He is president of the Hancock County Bar Association and at the time this was written had just retired as the commander of the local Grand Army post. His early years at the bar were spent primarily in the trial of criminal cases, and he has tried some five hundred or more felony cases and nearly sixty homicide cases.

WYANDOT COUNTY

By Charles U. Read

The first court in Wyandot County was held April 8, 1845, by Abel Renick, William Brown and George W. Leith, associate judges. The only business was the appointment of Guy C. Worth as clerk of courts. Soon afterward the judges met again to admit to probate the last will and testament of Adam Weininger. They also appointed Moses H. Kirby, Dr. Joseph Mason and John D. Sears as the first school examiners.

The first case to be heard was that of Peter B. Beidler vs. Azariah Root, contesting the election for surveyor. The sheriff summoned fifteen "good, true and lawful men" to hear the case.

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They decided that Mr. Beidler was entitled to the office. Other cases heard during the term were against persons keeping taverns, gaming houses and nine-pin alleys without licenses.

The first murder case was that of Henry Gammell in 1849. In a hand-to-hand struggle following a dispute at cards, at Crawford, Gammell killed a man named McMullen. He was acquitted on a plea of self-defense. From that time to the present Wyandot County has had its share of civil cases, but the criminal cases have been comparatively few and mostly of a trivial nature.

The county officials in 1928 are: Earl B. Carter, Common Pleas judge ; Charles F. Frey, Z. G. Murray, and O. P. Kraft, county commissioners; H. H. Ritterspach, clerk of courts; H. B. Stansbery, sheriff; B. C. Harman, auditor; Charles A. Wentz, treasurer; R. C. Boucher, recorder; Orry R. Fox, surveyor; A. E. Walton, prosecuting attorney.

An old writer ably said, "The business of the lawyer is to deal with the daily affairs of men, which constantly become more complex. Change follows change in modern society without intermission. The true lawyer is the man of the hour, and upon his ability and integrity society is largely dependent."

When it comes to the bench and bar, Wyandot County has always been distinguished and her citizens have filled a prominent place in the profession of law in Ohio. From 1845 until 1851 the higher courts held at "dusky were designated as Supreme Courts of the State of Ohio. Judges who officiated here during that period were Reuben Wood, Matthew Birchard, Edward Avery, Nathaniel C. Reed, Peter Hitchcock, William P. Caldwell and Rufus P. Spalding.

With the adoption of the State Constitution in 1851, District Courts were established. Wyandot County was placed in the Third Common Pleas District, where it remained for many years, later being transferred to the second subdivision of the Tenth Judicial District. The county now has its own Common Pleas judge, who is also the head of the probate division.

Judge Ozias Bowen, of Marion, presided over what was known as the Common Pleas Courts of Wyandot County from July 1, 1845, to November, 1851. He was succeeded by Judge Lawrence

W. Hall. Other early judges were William Lawrence, Bellefontaine; Machias C. Whitley, Findlay; George E. Seney and Josiah S. Plants, Bucyrus; Jacob S. Conklin, Sidney; Chester R. Mott, Upper Sandusky; Abner M. Jackson and Thomas Beer, Bucyrus.

Judge Hall was the first resident attorney, coming to Upper

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Sandusky in 1843. He often became grandiloquent and held the jurors awe-stricken with his fiery oratory. He is said to have used these words in belittling the testimony of an adverse witness in a hog-stealing case : "Gentlemen of the jury, you may put one foot upon Mars, and the other upon Jupiter, and lay your telescope astraddle of the sun, and gaze over this wide creation, and you can't find a man as mean as John Smith."

Chester R. Mott was born in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, July 15, 1813, and after gaining a common school and academic education he engaged in teaching. Subsequently he studied law and was admitted to practice in 1827. He came to Upper Sandusky in 1844, assisted in the organization of the county and was the first prosecuting attorney. He was elected county auditor in 1849 and again in 1851. In 1857 he represented Hardin and Wyandot counties in the State Legislature. He was again elected prosecutor in 1865, and the following year was chosen judge, serving five years. He was also mayor of Upper Sandusky at one time.

Moses H. Kirby was born in Halifax County, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1798. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1820, and three years afterward was admitted to practice. After serving as prosecutor in Highland County and member of the Legislature from there, he was elected Secretary of State. He next served as prosecuting attorney of Franklin County. In 1842 he was appointed by President Tyler receiver of the Land Office at Lima. The office was moved to Upper Sandusky in 1843. He served as prosecutor of Wyandot County for twenty years at various times and was also probate judge and state senator.

John D. Sears was born in Delaware County, New York, February 2, 1821, and became a resident of Crawford County in 1836. He attended Ohio University and later studied law at Bucyrus. He came to Upper Sandusky March 3, 1845, and took a large part in promoting the civic progress of the village. He served as a member of the Third Constitutional Convention in 1873. He also was mayor of Upper Sandusky.

There were several other legal lights connected with the pioneer history of Upper Sandusky. Among them were the following: Robert McKelly was the first probate judge in 1851. He was director and president of the Ohio & Indiana Railroad before it became a part of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago, now a portion of the great Pennsylvania System. Capt. Peter A.

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Tyler came to Upper Sandusky in 1852. He recruited a company of Wyandot County men and joined the Fifteenth Regiment, 0. V. I., in the Civil war. George W. Beery became a resident of Upper Sandusky in 1847 and was appointed internal revenue assessor of the Fifth Congressional District by Abraham Lincoln. He subsequently organized the Wyandot County Bank.

B. P. Smith, for some years a resident of Carey, was a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1850. Henry Maddux practiced law for a number of years in Upper Sandusky, and in 1870 was elected prosecuting attorney. Nelson W. Dennison, an early lawyer, published the Democratic Vindicator for a time. Col. Cyrus Sears practiced law a few years with his brother, John D. Sears.

John Berry served both as prosecuting attorney and as mayor of Upper Sandusky. Curtis Berry, Jr., served three terms as clerk of courts and was state senator for two terms. He resided in the building part of which is now the Elks' home, near the site of Fort Ferree and at the spring made famous by Dickens and where Colonel Crawford's men stopped to quench their thirst.

Thomas E. Grissell engaged proficiently in the practice of law and also served as clerk of courts. Elza Carter was a prominent member of the Wyandot County Bar and served as state senator. Darius D. Hare was clerk at the headquarters of General Sheridan, at New Orleans, in the War of the Rebellion. He was an able attorney and served as mayor of Upper Sandusky. He also sat in the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses.

Allen Smalley was with Commodore Farragut's fleet, at Mobile, Ala., in the Civil war. In 1874 he began the practice of law in Upper Sandusky and was well known in legal circles for many years. He was superintendent of the Upper Sandusky schools for a short time and in 1890 was elected Common Pleas judge, serving for ten years. Peter B. Beidler, admitted to the bar in 1874, was Probate judge for nine years and also Mayor of Upper Sandusky. Joel W. Gibson, admitted to the bar in 1875, served as revenue collector, Probate judge and mayor of Upper Sandusky, in spite of the handicap of crutches, his right leg having been amputated after he was wounded at Winchester in 1863. Darius D. Clayton followed the practice of law for a number of years and was also prosecuting attorney. Robert Carey was admitted to practice in 1880. He served many years as referee in bankruptcy in this district, being first appointed in 1898. He was also Mayor of Upper Sandusky.

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James T. Close was admitted to the practice of law in Virginia and the District of Columbia in 1877. He became a resident of Upper Sandusky in 1882. Besides serving two terms as prosecuting attorney, he was official court stenographer of the district for many years, his ability in that line coming in for high commendation.

The above mentioned attorneys have all passed into the shadow of the great beyond, as have also T. D. Lanker, Benjamin Meek, George Goodrich, David C. Parker and other worthy members of the Wyandot County Bar. In several instances the progeny of these men of law have successfully followed in their footsteps. Thomas M. Kirby, grandson of Moses H. Kirby, is now a well known attorney of Cleveland. Earl B. Carter, son of Elza Carter, is Common Pleas judge of Wyandot County. W. C. Hare, son of Darius D. Hare, is a successful attorney in Upper Sandusky. John T. Carey, now residing in Arizona, son of Robert Carey, was for years an attorney of note in Upper Sandusky and also served the town as mayor. Charles F. Close, brilliant son of James T. Close, was for a number of years Common Pleas judge of Wyandot County, when elected being the youngest judge in the state. Previous to that he had served as prosecuting attorney. He resigned as judge to join the legal staff of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, in Cleveland, with which legal firm he is still associated.

Wyandot County attorneys in 1928, other than those previously mentioned, include Franklin J. Stalter, who was prosecuting attorney, mayor of Upper Sandusky and a member of the 1912 Constitutional Convention; W. P. Rowland, who served as Probate judge; L. M. Bowers, who was Probate judge; A. K. Hall, a leading practitioner who has held the position of prosecuting attorney; A. E. Walton, present prosecuting attorney; George J. Stecher, whose son, Day, was admitted to the bar in 1928; Russell H. Kear, state representative, and David Greger, all of whom practice in Upper Sandusky; H. G. Chambers, who has served as mayor of Carey, and Rufus R. Kurtz, Sycamore. J. S. Hare, who was reared in Upper Sandusky and formerly practiced law here, is now mayor of Dennison.

DEFIANCE COUNTY

By J. A. Deindoerfer, Sr.

So far as known, James L. Gage was the first attorney in the Village of Defiance. He himself wrote, under date of March 24,

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1862: "In the winter of 1826 I opened a law office in Defiance, then in Williams County. I think it was the first in the county. It was in an upper room in the inn of Benjamin Leavell, an upright man, in whose family I boarded. My office was also my bedroom, and on public days it was also the bedroom of many others." However, Mr. Gage did not remain long in Defiance, but moved from place to place, finally settling permanently at McConnellsville, Ohio. Most likely Horace Sessions, who came to Defiance in 1833 from Painesville, Ohio, was the first permanent attorney. He practiced here for many years and died at Adrian, Mich., June 6, 1868. In 1835 William Seamans was admitted to the bar at Defiance, after having served as auditor of Williams County and also as justice of the peace. It was he who built the first brick residence in Defiance. In 1838 he entered into a partnership with his brother John B. Seamans, who came to Defiance from Lafayette, Ind. Owing to ill health, William Seamans soon withdrew from the practice of law, and in 1846 built the flouring mill at the upper lock, with his brother-in-law, Frederick Stevens. A year later he resumed the practice of law, but soon thereafter moved to Lafayette, Ind., and still later to Leavenworth, Kans., where he died September 15, 1860. His brother, John B. Seamans, returned to Lafayette, Ind., and there, in addition to practicing law, published the Journal. He passed to the great beyond August 22, 1853. Other early practicing attorneys were George W. B. Evans, who assisted in organizing Defiance County and later followed the lure of gold to California; John M. Stilwell, who also served for a number of years as justice of the peace and later located at Bloomington, Ill.; Woolsey Wells, who came to Defiance as commissioner for the sale of Western Reserve school lands and after practicing law here for several years moved to Fort Dodge, Iowa. George B. Way and William Sheffield, who were for quite a number of years successful practitioners; David Taylor, who came to Defiance in 1852 and during the Civil war served as a paymaster in the Union Army. Other and in most instances later prominent attorneys in Defiance were Samuel H. Greenlee, Eastman H. Leland, Gilbert L. Myers, Samuel A. Strong, Thomas F. Cowan, William Carter, B. F. Enos, S. T. Sutphen, Henry Hardy, N. G. Johnston, Henry B. Harris, John P. Cameron, Alexander S. Latty, James B. Woods, W. H. Hubbard, K. V. Haymaker, John W. Winn, L. B. Peaslee, Henry Newbegin, B. B. Kingsbury and John W. Slough. S. T. Sutphen served as mayor, prosecuting

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attorney and Common Pleas judge; B. F. Enos as city solicitor and prosecuting attorney; Henry Hardy as recorder and member of the Legislature; N. G. Johnston as city solicitor; W. H. Hubbard as city solicitor and Common Pleas judge ; John P. Cameron as mayor, clerk of the courts and Common Pleas judge ; William Carter and Thomas F. Cowan as mayors ; Alexander S. Latty as Common Pleas judge for twenty years; John W. Winn as prosecuting attorney, member of the Legislature and member of the 1912 Constitutional Convention; James B. Woods as prosecuting attorney; W. D. Hill as city solicitor, mayor, member of the Legislature and member of Congress ; B. B. Kingsbury as a member of the City Council and school board, and John W. Slough as mayor, sheriff and prosecuting attorney (by appointment). The present bar consists of John P. Cameron, E. W. Costello, R. H. Sutphen, Harry B. Brattain, M. A. Goller, Victor L. Mansfield, C. W. Palmer, H. B. Muliholand, Tellis T. Shaw and Edwin S. Diehl.

Patrick Goode was the first occupant of the judicial bench in Defiance County. His successor according to the best obtainable information was Pierce Evans. Very few people remember these first two judges. Not so Alexander S. Latty, who occupied the bench from 1857 to 1877 and whose reputation as an able jurist and fair and impartial judge still lives in the memory of the older inhabitants in this entire section. Well remembered to this day is also Selwyn N. Owen, who succeeded Judge Latty on the bench. He resigned before the expiration of his term, having been elected as a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio. A fine gentleman of more than ordinary scholarly attainments was Judge Owen and one of the outstanding jurists of all times in the Buckeye State. Silas T. Sutphen succeeded Judge Owen, and he in turn made way for Wilson H. Snook. W. H. Hubbard then served as judge from 1897 to 1907. His successor was John P. Cameron for one term, he refusing to be a candidate for another term. Since the expiration of his tenure of office Fred L. Hay has occupied the bench and is generally recognized as a man of thorough knowledge and excellent judgment.

OTTAWA COUNTY

The first term of court for Ottawa County which was not formed until in March, 1840, was held at Port Clinton on April 5, following. The judge presiding was Samuel Hollinshead, with Roger Kirk and Samuel and Galbraith Stewart associates. The

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clerk was Stanton H. Brown. With many French and German settlers arriving, the major portion of the court's business was granting naturalization papers. Most of the attorneys who attended the early court sessions at Port Clinton were from Sandusky and Fremont. On the dockets of Ottawa County are found the names of such men as Judge John L. Greene, Ralph P. Buckland, W. F. Sloan, Spink & Hosmer, Charles L. Boalt, Joseph W. Root, George Reber, William W. Ainer, Parish & Saddler, J. H. Magruder, Lucas S. Beecher, Pitt Cooke and Homer Everett. Among the prominent attorneys of Port Clinton now are George. A. True, and Ruel Crawford (True & Crawford) and Alfred L. Duff, of the one-time firm of Graves, Stahl & Duff. Judge Scott Stahl now of Toledo, was appointed to the Common Pleas bench by Governor Harmon in 1911 and in 1912 was elected to that position for the six years' term but resigned in 1914.

An historical law case tried at Port Clinton during the Civil war involved the question of recognition of the Confederate States as a government de facto. It resulted from the arrest of Bennet G. Burley. Burley was tried in the Common Pleas Court on the charge of robbery in forcibly taking the watch of W. 0. Ashley, the clerk of the steamer Philo Parsons. In bar of these proceedings was pleaded the fact that the defendant was the authorized agent and acting under the direction of the Confederate Government in all that he did, and that he did nothing not warranted by the laws and usages of war. Judge John Fitch, presiding, held that the Confederate States were, at the time named, a government de facto, exercising sovereignty; being in a state of war with the Federal Government, the defendant could not be held amenable under the civil laws for acts performed under the authority of the Confederate Government. The court, however, held that in case the jury should believe that the taking of Ashley's watch was for the personal benefit of the defendant, and not in the interest of the Confederate Government, he was punishable under the state laws. The result was a disagreement of the jury, which stood eight for guilty and four for his discharge.

Burley escaped from the jail after the disagreement of the jury. James P. Latimore was, at that time, sheriff of the county, and he was unable to retake his prisoner. Burley stayed for a few days with a farmer living in Bay township, a few miles west of Port Clinton. This farmer, whose name was William