350 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. The present officers are: Grand Officers—George A. Lautermilch, D. D. G. A. Representative—Joseph Meyer. Officers of Humbolt Grove No. 15, U. A. O. D.: N. A.—Christ. Trothe. W. A.—Frederick Schrikel. Secretary—Charles Yung. Treasurer—J. U. Moeshinger. Inner Guard—August Dressel. Outer Guard—Mathias Pfeifer. Trustees—Balthasar Waelfling, Henry Lemp, John Reif. CHAPTER XXII. THE BENCH AND BAR. WHEN the Hon. Ebenezer Lane was president judge and lived in Norwalk, his circuit embraced the entire northwestern portion of Ohio, including Huron, which extended north to Lake Erie, The first court was held in Tiffin, on the 12th day of April, 1824. Present: E. Lane, President Judge; William Cornell, Jacques Hulburt, Matthew Clark, Associate Judges; Neal McGaffey, Clerk; Agreen Ingraham, Sheriff. Under the old constitution of Ohio clerks of the supreme and circuit court were appointed by the judges thereof. The judges themselves were elected by the legislature for seven years. The first lawyer who settled in Fort Ball was Mr. R. Dickinson, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere. Mr. A. Rawson was the second lawyer who made his home here. Mr. Dickinson remained but a short time in Tiffin, from whence he moved to Lower Sandusky. Mr. Rawson remained here the rest of his life. The first session of the supreme, court began here on the 28th day of July, 1826, before Jacob Burnett and Charles R. Sherman, supreme judges. The next term was held by Judges Calvin Pease and Charles R. Sherman. The judges holding these courts generally traveled their circuits on horseback, and the pioneer lawyers traveled with them in the same manner; all with large saddle-bags on their saddles, with law books and briefs, etc., in one end and refreshments in the other. Among the foreign lawyers who attended court here at that time were many distinguished gentlemen of marked character. Andrew Coffinberry, John C. Spink, John M. May, 0. Parish, Frank Parish, James Purdy, were all able and distinguished lawyers. There was also Charles Olcott, and later came Charles L. Bolt, Ezra Stone, Mr. Beecher and others. My venerable old friend, Mr. James Purdy, of Mansfield, is the only survivor of all these foreign lawyers. He has promised to send a sketch 352 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. of his early recollections of frontier practice, but said in a note of the Toth of February, 188o, to the writer: At the age of 87 my me mory is not retentive, but I will comply with your request as best I can in due time; at present my whole time is occupied with business: J. PURDY." The record of the lives of these gentlemen, their practice, and incidents connected therewith, the scenes they participated in, and the events that transpired in their time would make a highly interesting book, and the writer had intended to write out sketches of some of them, but to keep this book within the limits marked out for it, he must abstain. I will say, however, that Mr. Coffinberry (Count Coffinberry as he was familiarly called) was the most remarkable figure of them all. In appearance he was the very image of Oliver Goldsmith. He had large features and a very striking appearance; he shave d smooth and his face carried a smile mixed with sarcasm. He was learned and witty, a good historian and exceedingly entertaining n conversation. He was a natural poet and published one of his poems called " The Forest Ranger " in book form. Selah Chapin settled here in the law practice at an early day; also Mr. Curtis Bates and Mr. Joshua Seney, Sidney Smith, William W. Culver, John J. Steiner and others. John K. Gibson, a promising young man, and older brother of General Gibson, was the first law student in Mr. Rawson's office in Tiffin. He died before he was admitted to practice. The writer became associated with the profession when he commenced reading law in Tiffin, in 1840, and having, for forty years, been in daily intercourse with legal gentlemen, and amongst whom he counts his warmest and best friends, it would be a very great pleasure to remember them all and make. a pen-picture of each one; but for the r easons already assigned a few only are sketched to any length. During a number of years, when Judge Lane and Judge Reuben Wood were on the supreme bench together, they took for their part of the work the northwestern part of Ohio. They formed a wonderful contrast on the bench. Judge Lane was a very short, compactly built man; was near-sighted, had small black eyes, wore spectacles, had black hair, which he brushed straight down over his forehead, and when he read he held the book or paper close to his nose. He was a rapid talker and exceedingly active. Judge Wood was a six footer; very straight; had large forehead, light brown hair, brushed over to t he right side; had large blue eyes, a large fleshy nose, clenched lips, deep and sonorous voice; spoke slowly and very impressively; thus they formed a striking contrast in their personal appearance on the bench. THE BENCH AND BAR - 353 They were both on the bench in Lower Sandusky, on the 25th of July, 1842, when Judge Lane administered the oath to the writer, admitting him to practice law. These two judges seemed to have their work divided by the decisions they delivered. Judge Wood decided all or nearly all the criminal matters, while Judge Lane decided chancery cases, as a general thing. There was a certain degree of awe, importance and dignity attached to the bench in those days, that has vanished, to a very great extent, since the judges are elected 'by the people,. and the office has become, at least, quasi-political. The Hon. David Higgins succeeded Judge Lane on the common pleas: bench and his jurisdiction at first extended all over the northwest of Ohio. He was succeeded by the Hon. Ozias Bowen, of Marion, who, held his first court in Tiffin, on the 2d of April, 1838. 'His judicial. district was then composed of the counties of Marion, Crawford, Huron, Seneca, Sandusky, Erie, and later, Wyandot. Judge Bowen's time expired with the old constitution. The first legislature' under the new and present constitution, which divided the state into judicial districts, fixed upon nine as the number and designated them. These were then divided into five judicial circuits, the following counties constituting the first circuit, viz: Butler,. treble, Darke, Montgomery, Miami, Champaign, Warren, Clinton,. Greene, Clark, Shelby, Auglaize; Allen, Hardin, Logan, Union, Marion. Mercer, Van Wert, Putnam, Paulding, Defiance, Williams, Henry,. Fulton, Wood, Seneca, Hancock, Wyandot and Crawford. The five,. circuits made one for each supreme judge. Some fourteen years there after the supreme judges were by law excused from attending upon the circuits. In 1853 the nine judicial districts were again changed and Seneca. was put into the third sub-division of the third judicial district. .This third sub-division was composed of the counties of Wood, Seneca,. Hancock, Wyandot and Crawford. L. W. Hall was the first judge. elected under the new constitution in this sub-division. The regular succession of judges hitherto is as follows: Hall, Whitely, Mott, Jackson, Beer. The following are the additional judges elected in the following order, viz: Plants, Seney, Pillars, Dodge, McCauley. The legislature ,:hanged the sub-district and the succession of the judges as follows: On the 17th day of April, 1857, an act was passed providing for an election of an additional judge for the third sub-division of the third judicial district, composed of the counties of Seneca, Crawford, Wyandot, Hancock and Wood, and in the fall of the same year George E.. - 23 - 354 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. Seney was elected judge, and about the time his term expired, the legislature changed the district. On the 8th of April, 1858, an act was passed creating the tenth judicial district and changing the sub-division, of which Seneca was a part. By this act the tenth judicial district was composed of the counties of Lucas, Wood, Seneca, Crawford, Hancock, Wyandot and Putnam. The counties of Seneca, Crawford and Wyandot were made the third division. Four days thereafter another act was passed attaching Lucas to the fourth district and making Seneca county the first sub-division of the tenth district, Wyandot and Crawford the second and Hancock, Wood and Putnam the third sub-division, leaving Judge Seney in this county, Seneca being then a sub-division. Judge Whitely's time expired in 1861 and he was re-elected in the then third sub-division. Josiah S. Plants was elected in the second sub-division in the fall of 1858. In the fall of 1863, Judge Plants, while out in Indiana hunting prairie chickens, was mortally wounded by the accidental discharge of a gun. He was brought home to die; and Ohio lost one of her brightest, best and most promising young men. Judge Plant's term had nearly expired when he died. Nobody was appointed to fill his place. In the fall of 1862, and shortly before the expiration of his term of office, Judge Seney went to war with the 101st regiment O. V. I. as its quartermaster. On the 1st day of May, 1862, another act was passed abolishing the tenth district and re-organizing the third district thus, viz: first subdivision, Logan, Union, Marion; second sub-division, Auglaize, Allen, Mercer, Van Wert, Putnam; third sub-division, Paulding, Defiance, Williams, Fulton, Henry and Wood; fourth sub-division, Seneca, Hancock, Wyandot, Crawford. Under this act Whitely remained in this fourth sub-division, and Plants also, up to his death; so that now, and under this act, Whitely, Metcalf, Latta, Lawrence and Plants were the judges in 1863, Whitely serving in the second term. This last named act provides for an election to be held in this fourth sub-division for a judge in 1866. At this time Judge Whitely's term expired, and Chester R. Mott was elected. He was succeeded by A. M. Jackson, who resigned his office, and Thomas Beer was appointed by the Governor to fill the unexpired term of Jackson, and at the expiration of that time (1876) was elected and is on the bench now. So far we have traced the time of the election of the judges in regular succession. THE BENCH AND BAR - 355 On the 21st of February, 1868, another act was passed adding the county of Marion to this fourth sub-division and authorizing the election of an additiopal judge therein at the April election, 1868. James `Pillars was- elected judge under this act; re-elected in 1873, and was succeeded by Judge H. H. Dodge in 1877. To recapitulate in short: Hall was elected in 185r, Whitely, in 1856; re-elected in 1861; Seney in 1857 and Plants in 1858; Mott in 1866; Jackson in 1871; Beer in 1876; Pillars in 1868, re-elected in 1873; Dodge in 187'7; McCauley in 1879. On the 7th day of June, 1879, the " combined wisdom of Ohio " passed an act establishing a new district, number ten, again, and to be composed of the counties of Wood, Hancock, Seneca and Hardin, to be the first sub-division; Crawford, Marion and Wyandot to be the second sub-division, and Union and Logan to be the third sub-division of the tenth district. The act authorized an election of a judge in the first sub-division, and in October, 1879, John McCauley, of Tiffin, was elected under this act the first judge of the new sub-division. INTRODUCTORY NOTE. An individual of low extraction, without notable excellence or ancestral distinction, may, by rashness or the caprice of fortune, gain magnificent achievements and temporarily acquire an eminent position in society. His success, like the transit of a cornet, may dazzle the vision by the rapidity and intensity of its brilliancy; and yet, leave little or no durable impress for the gratification of his descendants or the social advancement of mankind. Such history is generally exceptional, and constitutes no reliable basis for progressive imitation. But when an individual of humble origin, and perhaps the subject of some permanent bodily infirmity, without the prestige of wealth or influential relatives, by patient toil against long continued adversity, secures the esteem and confidence of the community around him, it is quite natural to seek the co-operatives which have produced these auspicious results. In whatever sphere he may have moved or whatever may have been his vocation, whether elevated or lowly and unpretentious, it will generally appear that he has been true to its requirements. At all events, the example will be impressive and instructive. Again, where under the influence of free institutions, like those of the United States, inducements for success and social progress are open to all, the hopeful expectation of future respectability, if not of eminence, will naturally invite every considerate, ambitious young man to prepare himself for and seek some honorable occupation and com- 356 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. mendable position in society and the attainment of moral, intellectual, and religious habits. He early appreciates the necessity of self-reliance and self-exertion, assured that a praiseworthy. notoriety and an approving conscience can be acquired and perpetuated only by securing the respect and confidence of the good. Therefore, stimulated by a laudable ambition, and hopeful of success, he cheerfully combats adversity, and ultimately acquires and retains the good opinion of the community, the basis of his usefulness and goal of his ambition. Influenced by the tenacity of his purposes and stimulated by his example, others, and especially his descendants, will be naturally, and yet, perhaps, unconsciously, induced to eschew the illusions of evil on the one hand, and cultivate, on the other, with patient assiduity, the love and practice of virtue as the only thornless pathway to happiness, distinction and success. LIFE OF ABEL RAWSON. [Abridged from notes written by himself,] Abel Rawson was born at Warwick, Massachusetts, May 11, 1798: the third son of Lemuel Rawson and Sarah Barrus, who were married September 8, 1791. Abel was a lineal descendant of the sixth generation from Edward Rawson, who emigrated from England as early as 1637, and acted as secretary of the colony of Massachusetts Bay from May, 1650 to 1686. When less than four years old he was seized with fever followed by disease of the tibia of the left leg, which, after years of intense suffering, resulted in the loss of the bone and deformity of the ankle and foot which ever afterwards remained. At the age of sixteen, the crippled son was advised to secure sufficient education to prepare himself for a teacher. The parents could give their children a common school education, but, as Abel inclined to the legal profession, they agreed to furnish him with such clothing as could be manufactured in the family, while he must earn the expense required for tuition and board at the academy or at college and to obtain his profession. The offer made by his parents was accepted by Abel, and he resumed his place in New Salem Academy, and during two or more ensuing years taught school in the winters for educational support. Thereupon he was admitted to the Dartmouth University, at Hanover, New Hampshire, and remained until the middle of his junior year, when the decision of the " Dartmouth College case," by the United States supreme court, in February, 1819, closed the institution. In view of these adverse circumstances, Mr. Rawson decided to enter upon his legal studies, and during two years remained with Messrs. Gregg and Smith, at New Salem, Massachusetts, but completed his course with S. C. Allen and John Nevers, of Northfield, in 1822. He was examined in May, 1823, and admitted to the bar at the term of court in August following, and during the fall and winter of 1823-4 opened an office at New Salem. March 24, 1824, Mr. Rawson took the stage coach for Albany and thence to Buffalo, New York, being six days and nights on the road. He came to THE BENCH AND BAR - 357 Newberry,. Geauga county, Ohio, and soon after went to Steubenville, but met with disappointment and returned to Newberry. He taught school for several months in Dover, Wayne county, Ohio, and in November, 1824, removed to Norwalk, in Huron county, where he taught school during the ensuing winter, and in March, 1825, obtained employment in the clerk's office. At the August term of the supreme court, in 1825, he was admitted to the bar, the Hon. Elisha Whittlesey being chairman of the examining committee. In June, 1825, Mr. Rawson visited Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio, for the first time. He passed through Bellevue, where stood but a single cabin. and thence through a dense forest to Tiffin. The territory was then occupies by the Seneca tribe of Indians. Tiffin consisted of about a dozen families dwelling in rude cabins. The timber had been mostly removed on Washington street, south from the Sandusky river to Market street. There was no hotel in Tiffin, so Mr. Rawson forded the river and stopped at a tavern kept by one Elisha Smith, at Fort Ball, where he remained over one day. Seneca county could give then but 300 votes. Tiffin had abundant water power, unimproved except by a primitive grist and saw mill, erected by Josiah Hedges, and everything appeared prospective and disheartening to aspirations for even the current expenses of Mr. Rawson. He returned to Norwalk unassured, and finally went to a brother in Richfield, now in Summit county, in September, 1825. After a crisis of mental anxiety, he started again for Seneca county, in February, 1826, and on the 15th he arrived in Fort Ball with less than ten dollars in money and a law library of the first volume of Swift's Digest and of Chitty's Pleading. He opened an office in a small brick building, 14x16 feet and one story high, and still (1880) standing on the west side of Sandusky street, in the second ward of Tiffin, being the first brick building erected in the county, and also occupied by Dr. Eli Dresbach. At the May term of the court of common pleas, May 5th, 1826, Mr. Rawson was appointed prosecuting attorney, to succeed Rodolphus Dickinson, in which position he was retained until October, 1833. During eight or ten years after Mr. Rawson opened his office, the president judge and members of the bar were entertained at Fort Ball for want of accommodations at Tiffin, and twenty-four to twenty-five attorneys from Columbus, Marion, Delaware, Mansfield,' Norwalk, Sandusky City and Lower Sandusky (now Fremont) made frequent excursions in attendance upon court at Tiffin, attended by privation and exposure which now appears incredible. About this time Fort Ball and Tiffin were bitterly contesting the question of the county seat, and many law suits were brought against Josiah Hedges, the proprietor of Tiffin, in regard to the extent of his right to the bed of the Sandusky river. Mr. Rawson was urged to take part in this litigation but declined, and finally the suits. died away. During 1828 Mr. Hedges retained Mr. Rawson to manage his legal business, which agreement continued nearly, twenty years. In March, 1828, Mr. Rawson was appointed by Platt Brush his deputy to 358 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. take charge of the United States land office for the Delaware district about to be removed to Tiffin. There was no bridge across the Sandusky river, and in April, 1828, Mr. Rawson left Fort Ball and opened his law office in Tiffin. Mr. Rawson was then postmaster at Fort Ball, and Milton McNeal his deputy. During a temporary absence of Mr. Rawson, one Neal McGaffey made an attempt to have him removed for the reason that Mr. Rawson's office was in Tiffin, which place was supplied from Fort Ball, and the highway and mail route from Columbus to Lower Sandusky (Fremont) was on the west side of the river. After many shameless expedients made by McGaffey, John McLean, then postmaster-general, informed Mr. Rawson that he should be no more annoyed. Soon after McGaffey was dismissed from the offices of clerk and of recorder by the court of common pleas, and Joseph Howard was appointed their clerk, and Mr. Rawson recorder. September 28, 1828, Mr. Rawson was married to Miss Sarah Ann Clark, at Royalton, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and they returned to Tiffin about the middle of October following. Miss Clark was born February 14, 1806, at Hancock, in Addison county, Vermont. She had been well educated, but was mainly dependent upon her own exertions for support. This union contributed largely to the assistance and happiness of Mr. Rawson. Governor McArthur issued his commission to Mr. Rawson, dated June 12;1832, as notary public for three years, but he declined to qualify. At that period he rose at or before 5 o'clock in the, morning, chopped his own wood before breakfast, which was at 6 o'clock, and also prepared fuel for his office. Amid other cares, Mr. Rawson acted as school examiner for more than ten years, without compensation. In the spring of 1834 Joseph Howard resigned his offices of clerk of the supreme, court and court of common pleas, and a certificate for those offices was issued to Mr. Rawson from Judges 'Wright, Lane and Collett, of the supreme court, dated April 24th, 1834,. with that of the court of common pleas, but he declined, and in union with others recommended Luther A . Hall, a young man well qualified, who succeeded to the office and -held it with credit during the ensuing seven years. March 4th, 1828, congress granted 500,000 acres of land in Ohio to aid in the construction of her canals. February 12th, 1829, one land office was located at Tiffin, and on December 19th, 1830, Mr. Rawson was appointed register by joint resolution of the legislature, which position lie retained more than six years. The office was removed to Maumee City in the spring of 1837, and John Brough (since governor) was elected receiver. •Mr. Rawson was reappointed register by Governor Vance, and commissioned April 15th, 1837, but declined. January 5th, 1832, the Mad River and Lake Erie railroad company was incorporated by the legislature of Ohio, and in the following spring the company was organized and Josiah Hedges elected one of its directors., The road was constructed to Bellevue prior to 1836, but then suspended until 1839. Meantime the depot was established in Fort Ball, which aroused severe vituperation against Mr. Hedges, a director, and Mr. Rawson, the attorney for the road, and led to several suits at law before the excitement abated. THE BENCH AND BAR - 359 January 11th, 1836, Mr. Rawson was re-appointed recorder until the next annual election. Contrary to his wishes, he permitted the announcement of his name as an independent candidate for recorder, but which lie had cause to regret, since it was the means adopted by Joseph Howard for his own election to the state senate. The election was held October nth, 1836, wherein Mr. Howard was defeated; Mr. Rawson received 684 votes; Marcus Y. Groff, the Whig nominee, received 236 votes; Daniel Dildine, Jr., the Democratic nominee, received 592 votes, and Gabriel Keen, a Democrat, but independent candidate, received 150 votes, leaving Mr. Rawson elected by a plurality of ninety-two votes. In the spring of 1834, Mr. Rawson purchased the Seneca Patriot, an old printing establishment, in aid of his brother Alonzo, who, for the ensuing two years, published the Independent Chronicle, of which the first number was issued April 26th, 1834. The autumn of 1836 and the year 1837 witnessed an unprecedented monetary pressure and crisis which prevailed through several years. The reputation of Mr. Rawson insured him an immense amount of business, which extended to almost every Atlantic city from Bangor to New Orleans, and convinced him of the necessity. of a partner. Early in 1838 he took Manly Chapin into partnership, which lasted two years. Robert G. Pennington succeeded Mr. Chapin, and continued as partner until Mr. Rawson retired from business. Prior to 1842 several young men had studied law under the tuition of Mr. Rawson; . John P. Connell, R. G. Pennington, W. H. Gibson, Warren P. Noble-, and afterwards, Edson Gott, Frederick Lord, Luther A. Hail, John K. Gibson with others. In the spring of 1844 Mr. Rawson felt the necessity of relaxation, and, at the Whig convention held at Baltimore May 4th, 1844; which nominated Henry Clay and Mr. Frelinghuysen, was delegate from the 9th district of Ohio; and in the same year was nominated for congress, but after an excited contest was defeated. April 19th, 1847, Samuel Waggoner, Alfred Johnson, Benjamin Tomb, R. G. Pennington, with others, prepared their certificate for the Seneca county branch of the State Bank of Ohio, to be located at Tiffin, with a capital of $100,000; and recorded May 4th, 1847, in Seneca county records. June 26th, 1847, Rezin W. Shawhan, A. Tuller, W. N. Montgomery, Jesse Stern, R. M. Shoemaker, and others, prepared their certificate for the Bank of Tiffin as a branch of the State Bank of Ohio, and recorded June 28th, 1847. These proceedings led to an unenvious strife, in which Mr. Rawson was unwittingly implicated. July 12th, 1847, the application for the Seneca county branch was withdrawn, and a certificate recorded July 15th, 1847, for the Seneca County Bank of Tiffin, with a capital. of $50,000, as an independent bank. This was followed July 20th, 1847, by similar action on the part of the Bank of Tiffin, as an independent bank, with a capital of $100,000. August 2d, 1847, the stock of the Seneca County Bank of Tiffin was increased to $100,000, which was followed August 7th by an increase in the stock of the Bank of Tiffin to $120,000. Mr. Rawson was substituted for Hon. E. Lane as bank examiner, July 360 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. 16th, 1847, without his knowledge, which led to violent opposition and. an attempt was made to impeach his report by the Bank of Tiffin. The final result fully sustained Mr. Rawson, and the Seneca County Bank of Tiffin was chartered August 9th, 1847. February 8th, 1848, B. Tomb resigned as president and Mr. Rawson was appointed to fill the vacancy, but on May 26th, 1848, he also resigned. The death of an only daughter, Aurinia H., February 10th, 1848, was a severe blow to an invalid mother, and on June 6th, 1849, Mrs. Rawson suddenly expired. Thereupon Mr. Rawson abandoned his profession, and for several years devoted himself to out-door pursuits and the improvement of real estate. In 1850 Mr. Rawson consented to become a candidate as a member for Seneca county of the convention to revise the state constitution, the election being on the first day of April. Excepting a printed address, Mr. Rawson took little interest in the canvass, and was defeated by E. T. Stickney with a majority of eighty-two votes. In October, 1851, his name was used in the canvass for state senate during his absence in Iowa, of which, with his defeat, he was ignorant until his return; and also, in 1858, he was urged to accept the nomination for judge of common pleas, and in 1860 that for state senate, both of which he declined. During this period Mr. Rawson devoted much of his time to closing professional business, and also to the education of his two sons, Allen A. and Homer C. Rawson, both of whom graduated at Rush Medical College, in Chicago, Illinois, in the spring of 1855, and in the following autumn and Spring, settled in Adams county, Iowa, where they still reside (1880). September 25th, 1856, Mr. Rawson married Mrs. Maria McNeal, widow of Milton McNeal, who had died in September, 1834, with whom he afterwards enjoyed domestic quiet in declining years. Especially during the last three or four years of his life did Mr. Rawson feel that his physical nature was yielding to the infirmities of age. This did not interfere with his cheerful recollections of the past, and regard for the friendly ties of the present, nor with his bright view of futurity. Conscious of a life of integrity and of honor, he said: "Let us always seek and abide the right, leaving consequences to the dispensations of Providence." As the evening of Thursday, August 24th, 1871, was drawing a life of seventy-three years to a close, peacefully and gently the soul of Abel Rawson ,departed to the endless visions of eternity. JOSHUA SENEY. James Nicholson was a commodore of the United States navy in 1775, when he had command of the Trumbull, a frigate of thirty guns, and fought in her an action with the British man-of-war Wyatt, which, next to that of Paul Jones, with the Serapis, was the most desperate of the war. Eighteen members of the. Nicholson family served in the navy of the United States. Commodore Nicholson had four daughters, who were all famous for their beauty and their accomplishments in both Washington and New York societies. Mr. Albert Gallatin, while a THIS BENCH AND BAR - 361 member of congress, married one of the girls; the second daughter became the wife of Colonel Few, the first senator from Georgia; the third married John Montgomery, a member of Congress from Maryland and mayor of Baltimore. Frances married Joshua Seney, a member of congress from Maryland also. This Seney family had two sons: Joshua was born November 10, 1793, in New York City, where he was raised and educated. He was A graduate of Columbia College and the University Law School. Before he entered upon the practice of law he was the private secretary of his uncle, Albert Gallatin (who in his day filled so conspicuous a place in the public esteem), for more than one year in Washington, where he mingled with the first men of the country who frequented the house of his uncle, and grandfather, Nicholson. At a visit to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, he made the acquaintance of his wife, as noticed in a sketch of her life. He then practiced law in Uniontown ten years, when in 1831 he moved with his family to Tiffin, where he spent the rest of his days, and raised a large and highly respectable family. Mr. Seney was one of the pioneer lawyers of Tiffin, and if his industry had been equal to his capacity, he would have been very successful as a practitioner. He had a natural aversion to anything that looked like labor. He was all politician, however, and a more shrewd, more calculating and far-seeing politician than Mr. Seney, Seneca county never had in any party. He was not selfish, nor sought office for himself. When he liked a person that aspired to office; he would do all in his power to aid him. He was severe on a political opponent. He enjoyed political agitations. Raised in the lap of wealth and luxury, he knew nothing about labor nor the value of money. He had very little taste for or appreciation of the practical part of life. His language was chaste and polished;. but his manners were peculiarly his own. He often would pass his best friends on the street without noticing them; when at other times he was affable and friendly to everybody. He was perfectly at home in an office, however, and discharged every trust with ability and fidelity. He was clerk of the supreme court and treasurer of Seneca county. In 1 840 he was one of the electors on the Democratic ticket of Ohio. He wrote the finest hand of any lawyer that ever lived in Tiffin, and his records shame every clerk that has succeeded him. Mr. Seney was of medium height,. but somewhat corpulent and compactly built. He had a large, well developed head, an expressive countenance,, a piercing black eye, and a pleasant voice. He had the smallest hand of any 362 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. man of his size that ever was known, and it was noticed by everybody that saw him. During the last few years of his life he had several attacks of heart disease that troubled him for a short time. One night he got out of bed, walked to the window and opened it, to let fresh air into the room, and, returning towards the bed, fell dead on the floor. This was on the night following the l0th day of February, 1854. Mr. Seney was fifty-nine years, two months and ten days old when he died. His three sons are lawyers of note: George. E. Seney. and Joshua Seney, the former in Tiffin and the other in Toledo, and both common pleas judges, and Henry Seney is in the practice at Kenton, Ohio, and when Judge McCauley was nominated for judge, Henry Seney gave him a very close chase for the nomination. LUTHER A. HALL Was born August 30th, 1813, in the township of Spafford, in Onondaga county, state of New York. He is the son of Luther Hall, who was a farmer by occupation, .a native of Berkshire county, state of Massachusetts, and who died in 1849, at Freeport, Illinois. Luther A. Hall was raised on a farm, working during the summer and attending district school during the winter until he was fourteen, years old, when he became a pupil in a select school kept by Mr. Thomas W. Allis, at Skaneateles, where he remained two years. He then engaged as a clerk in a store and served in that capacity some three years. In the spring of 1833 he started on a trip to Ohio with a small stock of goods in a one horse wagon, from the sale of which he paid his expenses as he went along. He arrived in Tiffin on the 5th day of May, in the same year, and was first employed as clerk in the recorder's, office at fifty. cents per day, boarding himself. Soon after he entered the store of John Park as clerk, where he received ten dollars per month and boarding. The old settlers will remember the two-story brick. building, fronting ,west, that stood on the corner of Washington and Market streets, where the National Exchange bank now stands; that was Park's store. During the time Mr. Hall was clerk for Mr. Park, he was appointed clerk of the supreme court of Seneca county and of the court of common pleas pro tem., to which position he was appointed first as deputy in 1833, and permanently in 1834, May 5th. In 1835 he, in company with Josiah Hedges, engaged in the mercantile business, which was carried on until 1837, when the financial storm induced them to discontinue the business. The stock was closed out, the good debts collected, and liabilities paid. There were many kisses from bad debts, THE BENCH AND BAR - 363 but something was left when the final settlement was made. While Mr. Hall was clerk of the courts he read law with Mr. Rawson, when in the fall of 1840 he entered the Cincinnati Law college and graduated in 184I. In the same year he resigned the office of clerk of the courts, and entered upon the practice of his profession, and in which he is still engaged. In 1856 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Seneca county. In 1858, at the expiration of his office, he formed a copartnership with Mr. John H. Pittenger, of Tiffin. The firm of Hall and Pittenger is still doing business, and is the oldest law firm in the county. In 1862 Mr.. Hall was appointed assessor of the revenues, by Mr. Lincoln, for the ninth district of Ohio. This office he held until he was removed by President Johnson in 1865. In i868 he was the presidential elector for the ninth district of Ohio, and cast,his vote in the electoral college for Grant and Colfax. In 1.867 he was one of the incorporators of the Toledo, Tiffin and Eastern railroad, and was elected president of the company, and served in that capacity until the road was completed, contributing largely to the success of the enterprise. Mr. Hall was married to Miss Cynthia A., daughter of Josiah Hedges, on the 7th day of April, 1835. He is the father of four sons, who are all still living. Mr. Hall is a little below medium size in stature, weighs about 135 pounds; he has a heavy head of sandy hair and sandy beard, now beginning to show the effects of many frosts; prominent nose, large blue eye, regular features, and a clear melodious voice. He is a careful pleader and a close reasoner. A lawyer of the old school, and loves the code, because—because it is the code. [NOTE.—June 16, 1880—Mr. Hall died this afternoon at two o'clock, aged sixty-six years, ten months and sixteen days. When the foregoing sketch of his life was written, Mr. Hall was in the full enjoyment of his health, as usual. He was never a very stout, robust man, but always was well enough to be about his business. During the last winter and spring especially, he seemed to enjoy better health than for many years. He attended court, which is now in session, every day, until last Saturday, and but very few members of the bar knew that he was complaining. When the news of his death reached the "court room, there was a silence in court, a sadness imprinted on every countenance, a scene the like of which the writer had never experienced in the court room, where for forty years he attended every session. Friend Hall took great interest in the production of this book, and assisted me very much with his clear recollection of past events, and his 364 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. fluent and forcible way of relating them. He is gone, and another tie of friendship that has lasted forty-seven years is broken; an old heart left to mourn.] OLIVER COWDERY. Near the end of the Mormon Bible is added the testimony of Oliver Cowdery as to the " Golden Plates." He was one of the brightest minds amongst the leaders of the Mormons, and the history of the order would have been a better one had his counsel and advice prevailed. Mr. Cowdery was born in the state of Vermont, on the 3d day of October, 1804. After he had acquired a gOod common school education, he applied himself with great industry to the study of the dead languages and became very proficient in the Greek and Chaldee. He came to Ohio when he was a young man and entered the law office of Judge Bissel, a very distinguished lawyer in Painesville, Lake county, as a student, and was admitted to practice after having read the requisite length of time and passed an examination. His unfortunate association with the Mormons blasted the high hopes and bright prospects of an otherwise promising career, and planted a thousand thorns along the wayside of a life that was as pure and undefiled as that of the best of men. Cowdery had more to do with the production of the Mormon Bible than its history had ever given him credit for. He was the best scholar among the leaders. While others advocated the doctrine of polygamy, Cowdery opposed it, not only on moral grounds, but also, and principally because it was contrary to the great principles of christianity, and above all, because it was opposed not only to the great demands of civilization but to the spirit of the free institutions of our country. This opposition to polygamy brought Cowdery into conflict with the other leaders, and especially with Joe Smith; and while Cowdery gathered around himself the better and most intellectual element among the Mormons, Joe Smith became the leader of the coarser forces, with whom his great force of character soon made him very popular. The conflict came and Cowdery had to flee for his life, leaving his wife and two children behind him. Mrs. Cowdery's maiden name was Whitmer, and a sister of one of the Whitmer's who figured as a leader. She was a beautiful woman, whose quiet nature, sweet temper and kind disposition won her friends wherever she was known. Mr. Cowdery came back to Kirtland. In the spring of 1840, on the 12th day of May, he addressed a large Democratic gathering in the street, between the German Reformed church of Tiffin and the present THE BENCH AND BAR - 365 residence of Hez. Graff. He was then on a tour of exploration for a location to pursue his profession as a lawyer, having entirely abandoned and broken away from all his connections with the Mormons. In the fall of the same year he moved with his family to Tiffin and opened a law office on Market street. Mr. Cowdery was an able lawyer and a great advocate. His manners were easy and gentlemanly; he was polite, dignified, yet courteous. He had an open countenance, high forehead, dark brown eye, Roman nose, clenched lips and prominent lower jaw. He shaved smooth and was neat and cleanly in his person. He was of light stature, about five feet, five inches high, and had a loose, easy walk. With all his kind and friendly disposition, there was a certain degree of sadness that seemed to pervade his whole being. His association with others was marked by the great amount of information his conversation conveyed and the beauty of his musical voice. His addresses to the court and jury were characterized by a high order of oratory, with brilliant and forensic force. He was modest and reserved, never spoke ill of any one, never complained. He left Tiffin with his family for Elkhorn, in Wisconsin, in 1847, where he remained but a short time, and then moved to Missouri, where he died in 1848. The writer read law with Mr. Cowdery in Tiffin, and was intimately acquainted with him, from the time he came here until he left, which afforded me every opportunity to study and love his noble and true manhood. CHAPTER XXIII. THE BENCH AND BAR CONTINUED. SIDNEY SEA. THE subject of this sketch was the most remarkable character that was ever associated with the Tiffin bar. He was unlike other lawyers in almost every thing, and seemed to avoid assimilation on purpose. In 1833 he had his office in the frame building on the south side of Market street, on in-lot No. 71, now occupied as a saloon. When the writer became acquainted with him he was known by the name of Sidney Smith. It is said that he was a graduate of the New Haven Law school, and that formerly he was a shoemaker by trade. He was married when he moved from Portage county to Tiffin, in 1832, and very soon secured a very good practice: He bought a farm in Scipio township, and laid out the larger portion of Republic. In June, 1836, he published a notice in the Tiffin Gazette, that he would sell his lots in Republic, a valuable farm close by, another farm six miles from Tiffin, and one and one-half lots between the court house and the free bridge, because he wanted to go to some southern latitude. Two years thereafter he gave notice that he had left his property in the hands of Mr. Chapin to sell for him, and moved to Cincinnati, where he opened a law office. It is said that he there wore his pants in his boots. The boots had large red tops, on which were painted in gilt letters, " Sidney Smith, attorney-at-law." About the latter part of 1840 he came back to Republic and opened a law office again in the name of Smith. He took a very active part in the presidential campaign, and made the first speech when the Whigs raised their log cabin on the lot where the Commercial bank now stands. In his political harangue on that day he was exceedingly personal and bitter. This was on the 3d day of June, 1840. He made many more speeches throughout Seneca county that summer and fall, but became so boisterous and abusive that the Whig central committee finally refused to make any further appointments for him. THE BENCH AND BAR - 367 The Whigs carried the day, as is well known, and whatever may have been the moving cause, other than that expressed in the petition itself, when the legislature met in Columbus, the following December, Mr Smith sent a petition to that body, praying for the passage, of a law to change his name from Sidney Smith to Sidney Sea. The petition was all poetry, of his own manufacture, and being so utterly void of all reason, it was defeated in the senate, and on the 15th of January, 1841, on motion of Senator Hasletine, it was reconsidered, laid on the table, and finally passed on the 16th day of March, 1841. The reason assigned in this poetic petition by Mr. Smith was: "That when Adam stood up in Paradise in obedience with the command of the Creator, to name all things, and all the living things had passed before Him receiving names in order, it got to be late in the afternoon, and poor Adam's vocabulary failed to hold out. Then Adam held his hands up to shade his eyes, and saw in a corner of the garden an infamously looking mob of humanity. He called them up, looked at them awhile, and being half angry and half provoked, called them all Smith." He wanted to get away from that crowd, he said, and the general assembly let him out. About two years thereafter he was made brigadier general of this brigade, and when in uniform and on a fine horse, he was in his true element. The writer has seen large portions of the army of Bavaria and France, and many soldiers in this country, but never a man that looked more furious and brave on a horse than General Sea (as we shall now call him). He was indeed valliant as long as he was not opposed by anybody, but " caved in " when confronted; his acts often bordering on cowardice. About this time an independent company, called Osceolas, had been organized in Tiffin, and by the kindness of General Nighswander, O. M. General of Ohio, had procured flint-lock rifles, with which they appeared on parade from time to time. It seems that General Sea and others had made efforts to procure arms for the several militia companies in this county and failed. Now to see these Osceolas parade the streets in Tiffin with their clean guns, and General Sea's men attend muster without arms, was too much for the General, and his poetic genius again took possession of him. One morning a lot of posters were stuck up all over Tiffin and copies sent all over the county calling a meeting of the " Grand Militaire " of the county at Tiffin, as follows: 368 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. ATTENTION MILITARY MEN OF SENECA COUNTY INJUSTICE IN THE CAMP ! EVERY MAN TO HIS POST! Blow ye the trumpet, blow, and sound the drum, Send round the hand-bills, let the freemen come; For equal rights the standard let us raise, And let the Tiffin Junto foam and gaze. Eight companies have we, old, faithful and true, Whose rights are trampled on to bless the new. Your old and patient prayers thrown in your face, And Oceolas born to partial grace. The quartermaster deals you pelting storms, But takes the Oceolas to his arms; He gives them guns, the brightest and the best, Let's your old beards petition and be cursed. Here, you can see, the Tiffrn Junto reigns,  While you submit to penalties and pains. Shall Oceolas flaunt their glittering steel, And can the older brothers fail to feel? Behold their sheen displaying to the sun, And trudge your sober face and wooden gun. Hear ye, brave spirits of our fathers gone, And let your children put their reason on. High soars the eagle out of mortal. sight, But why should justice tower a greater height? The eagle sometimes stoops to mortal kin, Then why not justice sometimes dwell with man. If you arise and meet in Tiffin, on Saturday, the 14th inst., at 10 o'clock precisely, and peaceably, with united voice, proclaim your wrongs to the legislature, I think you may procure your rights, and arms enough of different description to make our brigade respectable, and I promise my feeble aid on the side of impartial justice. Why should a miserable faction rule the whole county? I hope and trust that our well-beloved brethren, the Oceolas, when they find that their older brothers are men, too, will be more anxious to give justice than to take wrong. You've set me as a watchman on the wall. I see the poison hissing in the camp. I blow the horn. Let's peaceably extract the venomous teeth and let the reptiles live. SIDNEY SEA, Brigadier General. THE BENCH AND BAR - 369 Let its all come up to the meeting and investigate the whole affair. ASA WAY, Colonel. G. M. OGDEN, Lieutenant Colonel, HENRY METZGER, Adjutant, JOSIAH ROOP, Quartermaster, E. T. STICKNEY, Captain, D. METZGER, Captain, J. S.. SPARKS, Captain, PAUL DEWITT, 1st Lieutenant, W. BURROWS, 2d Lieutenant. REPUBLIC, January 3, 1843. These indorsers all lived in Republic, or near by, and were easily induced to sign anything against Tiffin. After the burning of the court house, great efforts were made to remove the county seat to Republic, and build a new court house there, but they failed, and the grudge had not died. away yet. The Tiffin Junto was nothing but the little independent military company, the most of whom lived in the country. These " reptiles " wronged nobody when they secured guns for themselves. The meeting came off in the little old school house on Market street. The Osceolas were there in full force, and but few of the militia. General Sea came in, and taking the chair, called the meeting to order, and administered one of his usual reprimands to the Osceolas for not taking their turbans off. Colonel Gibson, who was invited to attend by Captain Poorman, of the Osceolas, being present, and the writer, who procured the guns, 'having explained .to the meeting the manner of our organization, and the mode of procuring our guns, the meeting adjourned and " The Duke of Brunswick, with his mighty men, Marched up the hill and—then marched down again." It is probable that the quartermaster-general of Ohio demanded security for arms that were distributed among the militia. On one of the September muster-days, the " grand army " was drawn up in line from the river to Madison street, on Washington street, facing to the east. General Sea was on his high horse, in full uniform, and in his glory. George W. Black had a bakery and small beer-shop, nearly opposite the National hall. While the General was up street, a man slipped out of the ranks into Black's, and, securing a section of ginger cake, stepped into line again. Now came the General in full gallop, with his feathers flying in air and the yellow cuffs of his gloves up to his elbow, and noticing the man with his big ginger cake, stopped short, wheeled his horse facing the men,. and shouted, " Attention ! Great God ! Look at this ! A free born American citizen soldier, in the service of his country, eating ginger bread in the ranks !" The man wilted. - 24 - 370 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. About the year 1843 General Sea left Republic and moved to Tiffin again, when he and Mr. L. A. Hall became partners in the law firm of Hall & Sea. They soon had a large practice, and while Sea was the better advocate, Hall was the better pleader. Mr. Sea's striking appearance and forcible address gave him great influence with a jury. He was quick and ready to catch a point,. and unsparing in pressing it. This partnership lasted only about two years, and both continued in the practice in Tiffin. General Sea was ambitious and used all the means at his command to get General John Bell, of Lower Sandusky, who was major-general of the 17th division O. M., out of office, with a view of filling it himself. General Bell was a most estimable gentleman and highly esteemed citizen, but he sometimes appeared on parade with a straw hat on his head; put on no style, and in 1838, while the Canadian or patriot war was. raging, a lot of arms were stolen out of General Bell's warehouse, in Lower Sandusky. These two circumstances served General Sea's purpose, and he drew up charges against General Bell for the purpose of having him tried and court-martialed. He had his law partner, Mr. Hall, to copy the charges, and they were sent to Governor Shannon. Governor Shannon thereupon caused the following order to be issued, which convened the most distinguished, august and talented military men that ever formed a court-martial in Ohio, viz: ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE,} COLUMBUS, OHIO, February 3, 1844. j A court-martial, to consist of seven persons, will assemble at the city of Columbus, state of Ohio, on Monday, the 19th inst., at 10 o'clock A. M., for the hearing and determining of charges preferred against Major-General John Bell, of the 17th division of Ohio militia. The court will consist of: Major-General John Snider, of the 1st division, president. Major-General C. B. Goddard, of the 15th division, judge advocate. Major-General George Rowe, of the 13th division. Brigadier-General M. S. Wade, of the 3d brigade, 1st division. Brigadier-General George Gephart, of the 7th division. Brigadier-General Thomas Stockton; of the 2d brigade, 7th division. Brigadier-General Sidney Sea, of the 17th division. General W. F. Sanderson, provost marshal. William Lang, Esq., assistant marshal. By order of WILSON SHANNON, Commander-in-Chief Ohio Militia. E. GALE, Adjutant-General. At the trial, which was held in the old United States court room, the Hon. Gustavus Swan, as counsel for General Bell, objected to General THE BENCH AND BAR - 371 Sea, and alleged that Sea himself had drawn up the charges and was therefore disqualified to sit and try the case. Witnesses were examined and the facts clearly established. Mr. L. A. Hall testified, that General Sea had drawn the charges, and he (Hall) had copied them. The court, upon deliberation without Sea, decided that he could not sit. On the meeting of the court after dinner, this fact was made known to General Sea by the president, and he was politely requested tO withdraw, but there he sat and allowed himself to be invited to leave the second time. He still refused to go, when General Goddard ordered the writer to take General Sea out of the room instanter. The order was obeyed slowly and reluctantly by both of us. No matter what became of the case. It is referred to here only to show the shrewdness and head-strong, stubborn character of General Sea. Suffice it to say that General Bell had to pay a fine fur allowing the arms to be stolen from him. Now General Sea was alone in the practice, and Mr. Jeremiah Carpenter, of Venice township, having an estate coming to him in Kentucky, employed the General to collect it for him. The General went to Kentucky, and after an absence of several months, returned with a beautiful horse he called Mazeppa. Mr. Carpenter claimed that he did not get all of the estate that was coming to him, and brought suit against General Sea. A long, sad, costly and angry litigation followed. Carpenter obtained judgment against Sea, and for want of goods and chattels, a writ of ne exeat was sued out, and under which General Sea refused to give security, simply that he would not leave the county, and preferred to go to jail. Whether the proceedings were right or wrong will not be discussed; but the case excited general notice and was the theme of gossip a long time. While here in jail, General Sea, who always was a very voluminous pleader, prepared a petition against Judge Bowen and the associate judges for false imprisonment. It covered about two reams of paper, written on both sides. Judge Bowen offered $100 to any person that would make for him a copy of it. The case was never tried. After he had lain in the stone jail some three months or more, Messrs. R. G. Pennington and Oliver Cowdery, as the attorneys of General Sea, applied to Judge Reuben Wood, of the supreme court, for a writ of habeas corpus to get the General out of jail. The writ was issued and Judge Wood came from Cleveland to Tiffin to hear the case on the 5th day of February, 1847. General Sea was discharged. This was the last official act of Judge Wood, for his term expired on the next day. The 372 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. court house was crowded to overflowing during the trial, and on the following night the brass band, with a large crowd of citizens, gave General Sea a serenade. Much sympathy was enlisted in his favor by this time. In 1848 General Sea, with. his family, moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, since which time the writer has heard but little of him. He was a most wonderful combination of mental force; shrewd, cunning, able, reckless, daring, crouching, vindictive, ambitious. An able orator, a forcible advocate, but unsocial and cold. He was reckless in his adventures, as well as in the abandonment of a good purpose. " Pity he loved an adventurous life's variety, He was so great a loss to good society." COOPER K. WATSON. In the fall of 1879, while Judge Watson was visiting his daughter, Mrs. John D. Loomis, at Tiffin, he promised to write a short sketch of his life for publication in this book, but being very closely occupied on the bench and his health failing, the promise was never complied with. The following is from the Tiffin Tribune of May 27th, 188o, and while it is very incomplete, it is perhaps the best that ban now be obtained as a substitute for a sketch of his life: Cooper K. Watson died in Sandusky, Ohio, Thursday, May 20th, 1880, aged about seventy years, after an illness of several weeks. We take from the Sandusky Register the following obituary, and desire to add, that after he moved to Norwalk, he was elected a member of the constitutional convention : " The deceased jurist was born in Jefferson county, Kentucky, on the 18th day of June, 1810, and was therefore a month of reaching the.full allotted measure of man's life. In boyhood he was apprenticed to a merchant tailor, and worked at his trade a short time. He turned his attention, however, to the law, soon after reaching manhood. He began his study at Newark, and was admitted to the bar at Columbus. He practiced at Newark for two years, then moved to Delaware, where he remained four years ; then went to Marion, where he lived five years, four of which he served as prosecutor of the county. He then moved to Fremont, where he lived eight years. While a resident of Fremont he became an intimate friend of the late Sardis. Berchard, an uncle and patron.of President R. B. Hayes. About 1850 he took up his residence at Tiffin, and in 1854 was the Free Soil (K.' N.) candidate for Congress, and was elected.. He entered the house of representatives with John Sherman, and soon took rank as an ardent friend of liberty, and an uncompromising foe of the slave power. He was not reelected, and at the close of his term returned to the practice of the law. In 1870 he moved to Norwalk, where lie remained until he made this city his home in 1874. THE BENCH AND BAR - 373 Although he changed his place of residence several times, he always took. the front rank at the bar, and secured not only an extensive acquaintance in the central part of the state, but a wide reputation as an able and successful lawyer, his practice extending throughout central and western Ohio and into the district and supreme courts. Before a jury he was clear, positive and convincing, and in the examination of witnesses, more especially ,in criminal cases, he was singularly successful ; to cross-examine medical experts was his special delight, and few of them but left his hands with the disagreeable conviction that the lawyer knew more than the doctor. In the practice of the law he was rigidly honest, far above the small tricks of the profession, and free froM the vices by which lawyers gain a cheap notoriety and. pile up money. Personally he was warm in his friendship, sociable and companionable with his friends, and tolerant of honest differences of opinion in religion or politics. He was sincere himself, and admired sincerity in others, and his earnestness in this regard led him to abhor shams and despise humbugs. When in the full vigor of his mental powers he was a strong man on the bench, and had he been elevated to the bench twenty-five years ago instead of being sent to congress, he would unquestionably have attained the highest judicial honors. In one aspect his career was a 'happy example to young members of the bar. While he had great natural abilities, the real secret of his success was his devotion to his books. He read constantly, patiently and understandly, and his law library is by far the largest and most complete in this section of the state. He was greatly admired by such men as Judge Raney, Judge White and Judge Welch, and had a very warm personal friend in General Hayes, who, as governor of the state, appointed him judge to fill the vacancy caused by the death. of Judge Lane. In 1830 he married Miss Caroline S. Durkee, of Zanesville, who survives him. He, leaves four children: Mrs. Eleanor Loomis, of Tiffin; Mrs. Caroline Willard, of Monroe, Michigan ; Mrs. Nettie Gilbert, and Charles B. Watson." JOSEPH HOWARD Was one of the pioneer lawyers of Tiffin. He was a fair pleader, but no advocate; more politician than lawyer. He was a very gentlemanly man and always dressed neatly. There was a great deal of what was then called " aristocracy" about his house. When, in 183o, the judges of the court appointed him clerk, Mr. Neil McGaffey, his predecessor, was so much surprised at the change that he sued out, a writ of quo warrant̊ against Mr. Howard, but the case was never tried, and Mr. Howard officiated as clerk some four years. Under the administration of President Taylor he secured a clerkship in some department in Washington city, where he died. 374 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. ROBERT G. PENNINGTON, One of the oldest lawyers in Tiffin, was born in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, in December, 1816, of Quaker parents, Joseph and Sarah Pennington, who were also natives of the same state. He was a descendant of Isaac Pennington, of Chalfort, England, who, with George Fox, Thomas Elwood, Robert Barclay and William Penn founded the Society of Friends, in England, about the middle of the sixteenth century. One of Is'aac's daughters, Gulielma, was the wife of William Penn, and his son, Edward Pennington, came with him to America and married the daughter of Samuel Jennings, the then governor of New Jersey, and from whom the Penningtons, of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, were descended. In 1825 Joseph Pennington and, family removed to Cayuga county, New York, where they lived until. the spring of 1834, when they started for the west, expecting to purchase laud and settle in the reservation in this county. They came to Buffalo by the New York and Erie canal and then up the lake in the old steamboat Enterprise, landing at Huron, thence by wagons to Tiffin, arriving on the 24th of May. The cholera breaking out in town, the people chiefly scattered to the country, and the Pennington family took up quarters in the southeast corner of Clinton township, where Joseph Pennington soon after bought a new farm, but subsequently purchased other lands and settled in Bloom township, where the family resided many years. In 1837 Robert G. Pennington entered the Huron Institute, at Milan, Ohio, and after completing an academic course there, in the fall of 1839 began the study of law with Abel Rawson, Esq., then the principal lawyer in the county, having for a room-mate and fellow-student, John K. Gibson, a brilliant, noble young man, who died in 1841, before admission to the bar. Mr. R. G. Pennington was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1842, at Columbus, Ohio, in a class with Jesse Stem, Edward Smith, Homer Everett and Geo. W. Thompson, and commenced and continued the partnership with Mr. Rawson until the latter retired from active business. In February, 1842, Mr. Pennington married Caroline C. Kuhn, daughter of Captain Joseph L. Kuhn, late of the United States navy, and grand daughter of Lewis Chadwick Hargrace, British consul general of the Balearic island, belonging to Spain, and who was born at Port Mahon, on the island Menerca, one of the group, in 1821. Three daughters are the fruit of this union: Eugenia Hargrace, wife