RUSH COUNTY, INDIANA
HISTORY
BENCH AND BAR
The act of the state legislature
providing for the organization of Rush county outlined a plan by which
justice should be administered in the new county. Section 4 of the
enabling act provided that not only the circuit court but all other
courts should be held in the house of Stephen Sims until suitable
accommodations could be had at the seat of justice, Rushville, and that
this act should become effective April 1, 1822. The house of Stephen
Sims stood on the west "eighty" of the farm later owned by Aaron
Frazee, south of and adjoining Rushville, and here it was, on
Thursday, April 4, 1822, the circuit court was organized.
Hon. William W. Wick, judge of the
Fifth circuit, was presiding judge, and Elias Poston and North Parker
were associates. Robert Thompson held a commission
from Governor Jonathan Jennings as clerk of the circuit court, and this
he presented on the morning of April 4, together with a
crude seal which, though somewhat lacking in artistic beauty, was
adopted as the seal of the county, and an impression of it was put upon
the records. Court having been organized and the matter of the seal
disposed of, the court adjourned to meet at 2 p. m. at the house of
Jehu Perkins, about five miles southeast of Rushville. At
this afternoon session, Hiram M. Curry made application and was
admitted to the bar as an attorney, was appointed prosecuting attorney,
and
immediately sworn into office. John Hays, the first
sheriff of Rush county, then reported his panel of grand jurors, viz.,
William Junken, foreman; Jehu Perkins, Ute Perkins, Christian Clymer,
John Walker, Powell Priest, Garret Derlin, John Lower, Jacob Reed, John
Hale, Richard Hackleman, Benjamin Sailors, and Peter H.
Patterson, thirteen, who were sworn in and charged by the court. On the
same afternoon, this grand jury returned into court and reported that
they had found no bills of indictment or presentment, and they were
then discharged and allowed 75 cents each for his day's services. The
court then adjourned until the meeting at the regular term, which was
held at the home of John Lower, on his farm some three miles southwest
of Rush-ville, on Thursday, October 3, 1822. Judge Wick, the presiding
judge was absent from this term of court, and the associate judges,
Poston and Parker, held the court. In the interim between the first and
second terms of court, the sheriff, John Hays, had lost his mind, and
having wandered into Hancock county was placed in jail at Greenfield
and perished when he set fire to the jail. It being necessary to have a
sheriff, Richard Hackleman, the coroner of the county, was deputized to
act for Hays, and he brought in a grand jury composed of the following
men: Edward I. Swanson, foreman; Andrew Tharp, Michael Hittle, Henry
Lyon, George Shappell, Samuel Gruell, Daniel Overlease, Joseph Owen,
Peter Looney, William Pogue, Isaac Jessup, James Fordice, Thomas Nash,
and George Hittle, fourteen, who were sworn and charged. It is to be
noted that the foreman of this grand jury, Edward I. Swanson, was about
seven years later tried for the coldblooded murder of Elisha Clark,
found guilty and executed. Several attorneys were admitted to the bar
at this term of court, Charles H. Test (later judge of the criminal
court at Indianapolis), Martin M. Ray, Joseph A. Hopkins, James Noble
(afterward United States senator), James Rariden (afterward
representative in Congress), and Charles H. Veeder, the first
postmaster at Rushville and second recorder of Rush county.
FIRST CAUSE A DIVORCE CASE
At this term the first cause
for
trial was placed on the docket, Thomas Colbert vs. Rachel Colbert, alias Jones, for divorce. The bill itself
has disappeared so it is impossible to know on what grounds divorce was
sought, but at the next term of court divorce was granted by Judges
Poston and Parker, Rachel, a nonresident of the state, having failed to
take notice of the publication of the case in the Brookville Enquirer,
a weekly paper. On the second day of this second term, the grand jury
brought in several bills of indictment, one of which was "The State of
Indiana vs. John Ray," an indictment for larceny and hog-marking.
In this case the defendant demanded a
jury, having pleaded not guilty, the deputy sheriff called a jury of
"good and lawful men, and discreet householders of his bailiwick," and
when all the evidence had been heard the defendant's counsel showed his
legal shrewdness by moving the court to dismiss the case for want of
jurisdiction. Judges Poston and Parker sustained the motion, "on
the ground that the offense was committed before the law took effect
organizing this county."
On October 5, 1822, the court, Poston
and Parker, fixed the rate of tavern license at $10, and Richard
Thorn-berry and Jehu Perkins were both granted license to keep taverns.
Then, after allowing themselves each $2 per day for their services and
the grand jurors each 75 cents per day, the judges adjourned the court
to meet again at the regular term, at the house of Robert
Thompson, in Rushville. For the sake of comparison it is
interesting to note the amount necessary to run the circuit court
in the first year of the county.
| Petit jury, one day |
9.00 |
| Two judges |
12.00 |
| Clerk |
6.00 |
| Sheriff |
6.00 |
| Prosecuting attorney |
5.00 |
| Bailiff to grand jury |
2.00 |
| Grand total |
$61.00 |
It is unfortunate that the names of
the men who comprised the first petit jury of the circuit court of the
county were omitted from the records by the clerk, as it would be
interesting to know who these men were. But through inexperience on the
part of clerk and judges, who were probably at best unfamiliar with
legal forms, this list is lost to us.
The April term of 1823 was held at
the house of Robert Thompson, near the foot of Main street where the
Scanlan hotel now stands. The fall term of 1823 was held in the house
of Reu Pugh, who kept a tavern situated near the present site of the
Rushville National Bank, and from this time until October, 1826, all
sessions were held in the house of Robert Thompson with the exception
of one held at the house of Christian Clymer. At the April term of
1823, Hiram M. Curry resigned as prosecuting attorney, and Charles H.
Test was appointed in his place. Nathaniel Marks was sheriff, and the
associate judges, Poston and Parker, conducted the business of the
court, no circuit judge being present. On April 24,1823, Oliver H.
Smith was admitted to the Rush county bar. He afterward became
distinguished as a lawyer and politician, being elected in 1837 to the
United States Senate, where he served with much credit to Indiana. When
he had abandoned politics but was still engaged in the practice of law
he published a series of very engrossing sketches of the early trials
in Indiana. Some of these are incident to Rush county, and the more
interesting appear elsewhere in this section.
FIRST NATURALIZATION PAPERS GRANTED
At this same term of court,
Aaron
Anderson, an Irishman, made application for citizenship under the
naturalization laws of the country, the first to become naturalized in
Rush county. Also, the court convicted Daniel Lauman of selling liquor
without license, upon his own admission, and fined him $2 in each of
two cases.This was the first
conviction for
this offense in Rush county, an offense committed all too often
throughout the subsequent history of justice here. Before adjourning,
the court appointed John Julian county commissioner.
Violations of the liquor laws
of the
state and several assault and battery cases engaged the attention of
the court throughout most of the August term of 1823. In November of
the same year, it assembled again, and tried the case of the State of
Indiana vs. Albin Shaw for adultery and fornication. He pleaded not
guilty, and a jury was empaneled to try the case, viz., Andrew Gilson,
Richard Thornberry, James Abbott, William Dill, Adam Conde, William
Alexander, Sampson Cassady, Amos Baldwin, Amos Dickerson, James Walker,
David Morris, and John Nash, who returned a verdict of not guilty.
According to the records, this was the first petit jury that found a
verdict in the Rush Circuit Court, and this the first case decided by a
jury in that court.
In the April term, 1824, the
following men were admitted to the bar: Joseph Cox, Philip Sweetser and
Calvin Fletcher, all of whom became distinguished at the bar in later
years. James Grier, at this term of court, was the first man to be
found guilty of contempt of court. He was fined $1. but even this small
amount was afterward remitted. The grand jury, before adjourning,
inspected the new jail, then just completed, and reported that it had
been built in accordance with the specifications, and was in good
condition and ready for the reception of any who might be consigned to
it. This was the first grand jury inquest as to the condition of the
county jail. The first petition of a guardian, for any purpose, was
filed in this court by Isaac Fleener, praying for an order to invest
his ward's money in land; this was granted. And for the first time,
Judge Wick, in the performance of his duties as required by law, made
an examination of the clerk's office. He reported that the duty never
before having been performed since the organization of the county, he
was compelled to go over the entire record, and that "the final record and order-book furnish
evidence of industry and care." It was very certain that the people of
Rush county were satisfied with Robert Thompson as their clerk, because
they kept him. in office twenty-one years, and it was only by a hard
and close contest that he was defeated by John L. Robinson in 1841. He
left the county in disgust, esteeming himself an ill-used man. At this
same term of the court the prison limits of Rush county were defined by
order of the court to be "at the limits of the town plat of Rushville.,
as recorded in the Recorder's office." This is the first official
mention we have of prison limits in our county. Imprisonment for debt
was then possible, and these limits were for the benefit of unfortunate
debtors. The first settlement of an executor in Rush county was made at
this term by David Morris, executor of Joseph Morris, deceased.
The next term was held in Rushville,
at the house of Christian Clymer, on April 7, 1825. Bethuel F. Morris
was presiding judge, succeeding Judge William W. Wick, who had been
made secretary of state. Now was tried the first slander suit, in which
John Newan was awarded $808 damages from Thomas Wilson, the defendant.
The October term of 1826 was held in
the new court house, a brick building, forty feet square with thirteen
and eighteen inch walls. The court room was on the first floor, the
four county offices on the second, and the whole building surmounted by
a cupola embellished by two or three gilded balls. It was erected by
Reynold Cory at a cost of $2,500, and required three years for its
completion.
COUNTY'S FIRST MURDER CASE
The October term of the following
year was opened by Hon. Bethuel F. Morris, who tried the county's first
murder case, the State of Indiana vs. Andrew Young. James Whitcomb and
Oliver H. Smith were employed for the state, and James Rariden, James
T. Brown, and Charles H. Test for the defense. The account of
this trial is entertainingly
told by Oliver H.
Smith in his "Reminiscences" and is here quoted.
"let me present
the great and exciting trial
of Alexander Young for killing John
Points, in the Rush Circuit Court. The case was prosecuted
by James Whit-comb and myself for the state, and defended by Charles H.
Test, James Rariden and James T. Brown for the prisoner. The facts of
the case were these: Young was a justice of the
peace of Rush county, who had a beautiful and beloved daughter, about
seventeen years of age. Points was a fine-looking young farmer, the son
of a respectable man in the neighborhood, but somewhat wild and
reckless. He had for some time been attached to the
Squire's daughter and had asked the consent of the father to their
marriage; but was rejected and denied the privilege of longer
visiting the house. The young couple then arranged for an
elopement, to get married at a neighboring village; the father got
wind of their intentions and determined at all hazards to prevent
it. He loaded his rifle and hung it up at a convenient
place, to be taken down at a moment's notice of the approach of young
Points. The Squire was absent one morning from his house,
when Points rode up on horseback; the daughter was ready, stepped to
the block and sprang up behind him, and off they bounded on a
circuitous path round the fields to the public road leading to the
village where they were to be married, and their earthly joys to
commence for life. They left the house full of life, with bright hopes
of the future, and the ultimate reconciliation of the parents, as they
had been readers of romance, and imagined this was to be a noted
adventure, like escaping from a castle by young lovers. But
alas for their dreams! The Squire returned a few moments
after they had left, and seizing his rifle ran across the fields to the
road, and took his position near the roadside, behind some trees, where
the young couple had to pass. They soon approached at a
rapid pace, wholly unconscious of impending harm. As they were directly opposite the tree,
where the Squire was concealed, he raised the rifle. The crack was
heard at the house by the mother. The ball grazed the head of the
daughter, and young Points fell from his seat a corpse, leaving the
intended bride in her seat on the horse. She returned to the house with
her father, and was the principal witness against him on the trial.
"The case created great excitement
throughout the whole country. The coroner's inquest charged Young with
the murder of Points. The Squire was arrested and confined in the jail
of Rush county. The grand jury found a bill of indictment for murder in
the first degree. The clergy visited him in his cell repeatedly. He
expressed the most poignant regret, and the deepest sorrow, so as to
make a profound and lasting impression upon all who visited him, among
the rest, upon my venerable friend, the Rev. James Havens, who
took a deep interest in the trial. The court house was crowded, and
surrounded at every window, during the trial, with the most anxious
countenances I ever saw on any occasion; and while the daughter
testified, the crowd seemed almost to cease breathing, such was the
silence that surrounded us. The daughter related the whole facts and
circumstances of the case briefly and calmly, but evidently with
great feeling, and so far as we could judge, without any disposition to
withhold anything material because her father was on trial. However,
the tragedy proved too much for her strength. She gradually sank into a
state of partial alienation of mind, from which she was never relieved.
"The case was argued with all
the
ability the eminent counsel on both sides could bring to bear upon it.
Mr. Whitcomb for the state and Mr. Charles H. Test for the prisoner
especially distinguished themselves. The appeals to the sympathy of the
jury were not in vain. A verdict of manslaughter, two years in the
state prison, and a pardon from the governor, were the final result,
but I learned that Alexander Young never smiled afterward."
STORY OF THE SWANSON CASE
From this time forward the
courts
attended to their usual routine business, with no case of great general
interest until the murder of Elisha Clark by Edward I. Swanson in
the early part of October, 1828. Dr. John Arnold was an important
witness of this murder and in his "Reminiscences of an Old Settler"
gave an accurate description of this case which resulted in the only
hanging which has occurred in the county.
"I think it was on the 4th of October
that the muster was held at my father's store, and as was customary on
such occasions, the company indulged pretty freely in drinking old
Monongahela whiskey (Bourbon had not then attained its high
reputation).
In the evening after the rest had gone home, Elisha and Lewis Clark and
Richard Blackledge still remained in the store. My father was
tired and wished to shut up, had gone back into his residence
thinking that they would soon retire. I remained until they finally
went out of the store and turned their course to the west. When they
passed out I also went out on the porch and walked to its west end. The
three men were walking abreast, Elisha Clark in the middle; just then
the gate opened and Swanson advanced three or four steps and in an
instant presented and fired his rifle. Clark fell, and Lewis Clark and
Blackledge sprang upon Swanson and a fierce struggle ensued, the men
rolling over on a pile of lumber that lay there. At this moment Mrs.
Swanson, Mrs. Cruzan and Polly Swanson, a stout girl of eighteen,
rushed to the rescue and instantly freed Swanson from the hand of Clark
and Blackledge. He picked up his gun and returned through the same
gate. My father and two men took up the murdered man and laid him on a
long table in our kitchen. He gave one or two convulsive gasps after
they took hold of him and all was over. The ball had passed
through his heart.''
The cause for discord which led to
the murder of Clark is alluded to by Dr. Arnold thus: "The
Swanson family were on terms
of most friendly
relations with Robert Cruzan's family. Mrs. Cruzan was a fine-looking
woman and a good neighbor, but it seemed that years previous to her
marriage, there had been in circulation reports most damaging to her
character. Clark had revived and circulated these reports through the
neighborhood, thereby exciting the intense indignation of the
subject of them. She made her husband fight Clark, but the result was
not decisive, and he refused to try it again. Swanson and family
strongly sympathized with the Cruzans and severely denounced Clark;
this led to a bitter quarrel between the parties, which ultimately
culminated in the slaying of Clark.
Swanson was taken some time
later,
and brought to trial in April, 1829, in the circuit court. He was ably
defended by Charles H. Test, but his conviction was almost certain from
the start of the trial, and he was condemned to death by hanging. His
execution took place on May 11,1829, between 10 a. m. and 4 p. m. on
Fourth street about midway between Main and Morgan. The following
redundant indictment is a copy of the original document in this case.
A COURT DOCUMENT OF OTHER DAYS
"State of Indiana, Rush
county, in
the Rush Circuit Court, of the term of October, in the year of our Lord
one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight.
"Rush County, Rush Circuit, ss.
"The grand jurors for the said state
of Indiana, empaneled, sworn and charged in the said Rush Circuit
Court, to inquire in and for the body of the same county of Rush, upon
their oath present that Edward I. Swanson, late of the said county of
Rush, yeoman, a person of sound memory and discretion, not having the
fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and instigated by the
devil, on the fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, about
the hour of six o'clock in the
afternoon of the same day, with force and arms, at and in the county of
Rush, aforesaid, in and upon one Elisha Clark, a reasonable
creature, in and under the peace of God and the state of Indiana then
and there being, did then and there unlawfully, feloniously, and
of his malice aforethought, make an assault, and that he, the said
Edward I. Swanson, a certain rifle gun of the value of ten dollars,
then and there loaded and charged with gunpowder and one leaden bullet,
which said rifle gun, he, the said Edward I. Swanson then and there in
both hands had and held, then and there unlawfully, feloniously
and of his malice aforethought, did discharge and shoot off to, against
and upon the said Elisha Clark, and that the said Edward I. Swanson
with the leaden bullet aforesaid, out of the rifle gun aforesaid, then
and there by the force of the gunpowder aforesaid, by the said Edward
I. Swanson discharged and shot off aforesaid, then and there
unlawfully, feloniously, willfully and of his malice aforethought
did strike, penetrate and wound, the said Elisha Clark, between the
lower end of the left shoulder blade and the spine of the said Elisha
Clark, then and there with the bullet aforesaid so as afore¬said
shot off and discharged by him the said Edward I. Swanson, out of said
rifle gun as aforesaid, by force of the gunpowder aforesaid in and upon
the back of him the said Elisha Clark, between the lower end of the
left shoulder blade and the spine of the said Elisha Clark, and near
the spine of the said Elisha Clark, one mortal wound of the depth of
seven inches and of the breadth of one inch, of which mortal wound, the
said Elisha Clark on and from the hour of six o'clock of the afternoon
of the fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand
eight hundred and twenty-eight, aforesaid, until the hour of seven
o'clock on the same afternoon of the fourth day of October in the year
of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight aforesaid, in
the county of Rush, aforesaid, did languish and languishingly did live,
on
which said fourth day of October in the year of our Lord, one thousand
eight hundred and twenty-eight, about the hour of seven o'clock of the
same after-noon, of the same day as aforesaid, the said Elisha Clark,
at and in the county of Rush aforesaid, of the mortal wound aforesaid,
died; and so the said jurors aforesaid, do say that the said Edward I,
Swanson herein the said Elisha Clark, in the manner and by the means
aforesaid, unlawfully, feloniously and of his malice aforethought did
kill and murder, contrary to the form of the statute in such cases
made- and provided against the peace and dignity of the state of
Indiana.
JAMES WHITCOMB
"Attorney prosecuting for said
state
for the fifth judicial circuit thereof."
COMPOSITION OF THE COURT
The Third Judicial Circuit
included
what was then known as the Whitewater country, and extended from the
county of Jefferson north, to the state of Michigan, some two hundred
miles in length, and from the Ohio line on the east, to White river,
some seventy-five miles west. The country was new, sparsely settled,
and being on the western frontier, the towns and villages were
filled with Indians, trading their peltries, wild game and
moccasins, ornamented with the quills of the porcupine, with the
settlers, for calicoes, whiskey, powder, lead, beads and such
articles as met their fancy. The population of the country embraced by
the circuit, was a hardy, fearless and generally honest, but more
or less reckless people, such as are usually to be found advancing
frontiers from more civilized life, and consequently there were more
collisions among them, more crimes committed calling for the action of
the criminal courts, than in common in older settled parts of the older
states.
The judiciary system at the time
referred to was, like the country, in its infancy. The
circuit court was composed of
a president judge,
elected by the legislature, who presided in all the courts in the
circuit, and two associate judges, elected in each county by the
people. These "side judges," as they were then called, made no
pretensions to any particular knowledge of the law, but still they
had the power to overrule the presiding judge, and give the opinion of
the court, and sometimes they even "outguessed" the president,
giving the most preposterous reasons imaginable for their decisions,
as, in one instance, that a writ of scire
facias to revive a judgment,
would not lie, unless it was sued out within a year and a day. The
decision of the associates was affirmed in the supreme court, for other
reasons of course. The court houses were either frame or log buildings,
arranged to hold the court in one end, and the grand jury in the other.
The petit jury was accommodated in some neighboring outbuilding, used
as a kitchen of the neighboring inn, during vacation. The clerks
had very few qualifications for their duties. Still they were honest,
and the most of them could write more legibly than many a United States
senator. The sheriffs were elected by the people, as they are now, and
seemed to have been selected as candidates on account of their fine
voices to call the jurors and witnesses from the woods, from the door
of the court building, and their ability to run down and catch
offenders. The most important personages in the country, however,
were the young lawyers, universally called "squires" by old and young,
male and female. Queues were much in fashion, and nothing was more
common than to see one of these young "squires," with a wilted hat that
had once been stiffened with glue in its better days, upon a head, from
the back part of which hung a queue three feet long, tied from head to
tip with an eelskin, walking in evident superiority, in his own
estimation, among the people in the court yard, sounding the public
mind as to his prospects as a candidate for the legislature. There
were no caucuses or conventions then. Every candidate
brought himself out, and ran upon his own hook. If he got beat, as most
of them did, he had nobody to blame but himself for becoming a
candidate; still he generally charged it upon his friends for not
voting for him, and the next season, found him once more upon the
track, sounding his own praises.
LIFE OF THE TRAVELING ATTORNEY
The court rooms in those days
were
prepared and furnished with much simplicity, and yet they seemed to
answer all the purposes absolutely necessary to the due administration
of justice. The building generally contained two rooms, the court room
being the larger, at one end of which there was a platform elevated
some
three feet, for the judges, with a long bench to seat them. The bar had
their benches near the table of the clerk, and the crowd was kept back
by a long pole fastened with withes at the ends. The "crowds" at that
day thought the holding of a court a great affair. The people came from
miles about to see the judges, and hear the lawyers " plead," as they
called it.
The great variety of trials
and
incidents on the circuit gave to the life of a traveling attorney an
interest that they all relished exceedingly. There was none of the
green-bag city monotony, no dyspepsia, no gout, no ennui, rheumatism or
neuralgia; consumption was a stranger among them. An occasional jump of
the toothache, relieved by the "turnkey" of the first doctor they came
to, was the worst. All was fun, good humor, fine jokes well received,
good appetites and sound sleeping, cheerful landlords and good-natured
landladies at the head of the table. They all rode good horses, good
travelers, trained to the cross-pole mud roads and to swimming. The
counties furnished too little practice for the resident attorney, so
all looked to a circuit practice. Some rode the whole circuit, and
others but a few counties.
Some of the trials which were
brought
into court in the early days of the county are of present interest as
serving as a study in the
effect of
the changing times on our judicial and legal system, and are here
reproduced from the "Reminiscences" of Oliver H. Smith, heretofore
referred to.
AN "AGGRAVATED" SLANDER CASE
"As I was on my return home
from
Indianapolis, accompanied by my friend, the late George H. Dunn, we
stopped at a little shanty tavern in the woods between Big Blue river
and Rushville, to stay for the night. The landlord, I call Perry Laden.
We had a good open log fire, a tolerable supper, and took our seats. We
were evidently strangers at the inn. The landlord, who was a small,
frisky, run-about fellow, eyed us for some time, and at last drew up
his 'splint-bottomed chair' and commenced: 'Are either of you lawyers?'
'Yes, both of us.' 'Then you are the very men I want to see, I have a
lawsuit for you.' 'What about?' 'The man that keeps the tavern in sight
down the road [whom I call Elzy C. Lee] has slandered me the worst
kind.' 'Indeed, what did he say of you1?' 'He said that I fed my
travelers on stolen pork.' 'Perhaps he was only in fun.' 'Not he, it
was all done to get the traveling custom to his tavern.' This looked
plausible, and as I practiced in the Rush Circuit Court, the matter
began to assume a serious, business-like character, as I thought myself
somebody in slander cases, although 'Starkie on Slander,' in two
volumes, had not then met the eye of the profession. We generally
carried with us on the circuit, 'Espinasse's Nisi Prius' and 'Peak's
Evidence' with dog ears turned down at each heading. Judge Dunn was my
senior in practice, and had some experience in the difficulties that
sometimes embarrass counsel upon the trial, when, for the first time
they learn that their clients only told the truth as far as they went,
but forgot to tell the whole truth, which alone would enable them to
meet the true state of the case before the court. 'One
question more Mr. Laden,' said Judge Dunn, 'did you ever kill any body's
hogs by accident and bring them home, out of which your neighbor might
have made up this story against you?' 'Never! I never killed a hog in
the woods in my life; besides I can prove my character from a boy, by
Captain Bracken.' This settled the matter in favor of the action. Judge
Dunn, living at Lawrenceburg, and not practicing in Rushville, the case
was given up to me; the fee agreed upon, $20 certain, and one-half the
damages contingent. The case was brought at the next term of the.
court, and Captain Bracken subpoenaed to prove the good character from
infancy of my client. My expectations were high of the large damages
that I was to divide with my client; I had read of $20,000, $10,000,
$5,000, and such verdicts in aggravated cases of slander. The court
came on, my case was called. 'A rule for a plea,' says I. ' Plead
instanter,' says James Rariden for defendant. 'Hand the plea to me, Mr.
Clerk,' says I. The clerk handed over the plea. A single glance
satisfied me that there was trouble ahead. The plea was a
'justification' of the words, and charging the stealing of two
hogs by my client, the property of some one unknown. I told my client
the substance of the plea. 'It is all a lie, they can't prove it, and
if they do Captain Bracken will clear up my character.' Of course I
took issue upon the plea. A jury was called, and Mr. Rariden and Chas.
H. Test called to the witness stand and a girl that had lived with my
client at one time, but had been discharged some time before the trial.
She swore positively that my client had killed two hogs in the woods,
skinned them, cut off their heads and brought them home before daylight
on a sled; and said that he could kill enough for his winter's meat for
the whole family. 'How is this,' I whispered in his ear. 'Ask her what
I said when I came home.' I put the question. 'He said as he had cut
off the heads and legs of the hogs, and had skinned them; nobody could
tell whether they were deer or hogs.' My client seemed pleased with the
answer to his question. 'Now call up Captain Bracken, and
he will give my character.' 'Captain Bracken, stand up and be sworn.
Are you acquainted with the plaintiff, and how long have you known him
V 'I have known him from a boy.' ' What is his character?' 'Well, he
always dealt fair enough with me.' 'But for his honesty; you never
heard anything against him for honesty?' 'Well, I can't exactly say
that; he stole a fine hog from me that I had killed and hung up in the
smoke house; I tracked him the next morning, and found the hog at his
house, and he paid me for it.' Rariden laughed aloud, and my head fell
at least forty degrees. The case was closed before the jury. The proof
was positive. I sprang to my feet, and addressing the court, 'I ask the
court to instruct the jury, that before they can find for the defendant
the evidence must be so strong that if the plaintiff was on trial for
stealing the hogs, they would send him to the penitentiary.' 'I admit
that to be the law; let the jury take the case,' said Mr. Rariden. The
jury retired to their room, and the court adjourned. I walked silently
to the tavern, amid the jeers of the lawyers, and the exultation of my
competitor for the verdict. The jury was out all night, and just as the
court met in the morning, returned with a verdict of 'one cent damages
for the plaintiff.' The defendant rushed up to me and tendered the
cent. Mr. Rariden most indignantly stepped up to the foreman, 'How
could you find such a verdict?' 'Upon your own admissions.' 'What did I
admit ?' ' Mr. Smith said if we found for the defendant, we must
send the plaintiff to the penitentiary, and you admitted that to be the
law; so we could not think of sending a man well off, and with a good
tavern stand, to the penitentiary, for stealing two little hogs, and
poor at that.' Judgment was rendered for one cent in damages, and over
$300 costs. All my imaginary income from the verdict vanished, and the
next time I heard from the parties, the tavern of the defendant was
advertised by the sheriff to pay the costs. This case has
occupied more space than I would have liked, but it contains a
professional moral worth remembering."
TEETH IN TESTIMONY
"In an interesting trial at
Rushville, in which I was engaged as counsel, my principal witness to
sustain the case was a woman by the name of Elizabeth Blackstone. She
had sworn positively to the facts of the case. Messrs. Test and
Rariden, the counsel on the opposite side, saw that the case was with
me unless they could impeach her testimony. She was a stranger, and
none knew her character, good or bad. She had testified, however, that
she was in the state of Ohio at a particular time. This was taken down
by the counsel, and upon that point they expected to contradict and
discredit her. After she left the stand, they called a witness that
resided in Illinois to prove that at the time she stated she was in
Ohio she was in fact at a dance in Illinois, where the witness was.
Elizabeth wore a beautiful set of artificial teeth, a mouth full. She
was at some distance back from the witness stand. The witness from
Illinois swore positively to her person, and that she was at the dance
in Illinois at the time, directly contradicting her. The counsel gave
over the witness to me. Elizabeth whispered in my ear: 'Let me ask him
a question.' ' Certainly.' She turned her head from the witness,
slipped out her false teeth and wrapped them in her handkerchief,
stepped quickly up to the witness, looked him full in the face, opened
her mouth wide exhibiting a few rotten snags: 'Did you ever see me
before?' 'No, I can swear I never did. You looked some like the lady I
saw, but I see you are not the same woman. She had beautiful natural
teeth.' The triumph of 'art' in Elizabeth was complete. I afterwards
learned that she was at the ball, and the first impression of the
Illinois witness was correct."
A MALPRACTICE CASE—A LEARNED WITNESS
"At a term of the Rush Circuit
Court,
came on for trial an important case against Dr. Sexton for malpractice, in failing to cure a case of
whitlow on the plaintiff's finger. The doctor was one of the first
surgeons in the state. I was employed to assist my young friend,
Charles H. Test, in the defense; Amos Lane and James T. Brown for the
plaintiff; damages claimed $10,000; Bethuel R Morris and his 'side
judges' on the bench. It was admitted that the fingers of the hand in
question were drawn to the palm, and entirely stiff, when Dr. Sexton
was first called. Preparatory to the trial, the doctor had placed in my
hands 'Bell on Surgery,' giving me an opportunity to understand
his case. The prosecuting witness was a little pox-marked Irish doctor,
whom I call by the uncommon name of Smith. He had been but a few years
from the Emerald Isle, with a 'rich brogue' upon his tongue, and a good
spice of the blarney, and with a very laudable ambition to become the
competitor of Dr. Sexton. Like death he chose a shining mark.' He
professed to be a regular graduate from a college in Cork, and with the
most significant look would draw from his pocket a round silver medal,
upon which was stamped 'Dr. Smith, diploma,' and exhibit it to the gaze
of the people. The doctor would have succeeded well had he confined
himself to a country practice, and, as my ancient friend, Jeremiah Cox,
of Richmond, said in the senate, to 'common doctoring with pills
and powders, and let surgenary alone.' It seemed that he had heard of
this whitlow case, had got up the prosecution against Dr. Sexton, and
now stood upon the witness stand as the main, and indeed only witness
for the plaintiff. He clearly testified to the malpractice of Dr.
Sexton, and most triumphantly pointed to the stiff fingers. 'What more
do you want but the hand ye seel' The plaintiff rested, and my duty of
cross-questioning the doctor commenced. 'Doctor, you say this was
malpractice.' 'I do, sir.' 'Are you a regular surgeon?' 'I suppose I
am.' 'Have you a diploma?' 'I have, sir.' 'Will you let me see it?' 'I
will not, sir.' 'It is in your pocket, is it not?'
'It is, sir.' 'Then hand it out.' Counsel for
plaintiff, 'We object; it is a private document, and no notice has been
give to produce it, nor has subpoena duces te cum been issued.' The
Court, Objection sustained.' ' Well, Doctor, is not your diploma
silver, about the size of a dollar?' 'Suppose it is, what's that to
you.' 'You swear that this was malpractice; do you understand that the
muscles were contracted and the fingers stiff; with the ends drawn into
the palm of the hand, when Dr. Sexton first called?' 'I understand so.'
'Do you think you could have straightened the fingers and given
elasticity to the joints in that state?' 'Certainly.' 'What would
you have applied to the case?' 'A poultice of slippery-elm bark.'
'Doctor, what character of whitlow is this? Was it seated under
the cuticle near the root or side of the nail, or in the cellular
membrane under the cuticle, or in the theca or sheath of the
flexor tendons, or in the periosteum?' It was evident that this
question struck the doctor all aback. It was, in the language of my
facetious friend, Jas. T. Brown, on another occasion, 'all Greek and
turkey tracks/ to the witness. Witness greatly confused, large drops of
perspiration falling from his chin, and looking imploringly at the
court. 'Must I answer such questions? I did not come here to be
examined as if I was before a college of physicians asking a diploma!'
Judge Morris, ' The question is proper, the witness must answer.'
'I shan't answer, the court may send me to jail.' It was apparent to me
that the doctor thought he could not make his position worse than
it was becoming on the stand, and that going to jail would be a
fortunate escape. 'You could answer if you would, Doctor?' 'Certainly I
could, in a moment of time.' 'But you won't do it?' 'Not I.' ' Doctor,
do you think this was a case of paronychia ?' Of what did you say?' 'Of
paronychia.' 'I shan't answer.' 'You could answer if you would,
Doctor?' 'Surely I could,' stepping about the floor, and becoming more
agitated. 'Doctor, might not this have been a case of onychia maligna?'
'I shall answer no such questions.' ' You could answer if you would '
' In a minute.' ' Don't some of the authors that you have read, speak
of the disease under the divisions I have named?' 'I believe they do.'
'Which of them, Doctor?' 'I shan't answer.' 'You could tell me if you
would?' 'Yes sir, I could name fifty of them.' 'Please name one?' 'I
shan't do it' 'Doctor, do not some of the authors you have read, say
that in certain stages of the disease, it is proper to use lunar
caustic and other escharotics?' 'I tell you I shall answer no such
questions.' ' You could give me the names of the authors if you would.
Doctor V 'Indeed could I, as long as your arm.' Here the counsel for
the plaintiff rescued the doctor. 'May it please the court, we will
press this case for the plaintiff no further; let the jury find for the
defendant in the box.' Verdict and judgment accordingly."
THE MEGEE WILL CASE
The case which was perhaps
more
far-reaching in its effect on subsequent judicial decisions of a
similar nature than any other ever tried in the state, was the Megee
will case. The suit, Peter W. Rush et al, vs. Mary Megee et al, was
brought in May, 1867, to contest the will of John Megee, deceased. The
defendants asked a change of venue and Judge Jeremiah M. Wilson of the
Fourth Judicial Circuit was appointed to hold this special term.
Much exceptionally fine legal talent was employed on both sides, B. F.
Claypool, D. W. Voorhees, and W. A. Cullen by the plaintiffs; Leonidas
Sexton, T. A. Hendricks, 0. B. Hord, and A. W. Hendricks for the
defendants. The will was contested on the grounds that the
testator was of unsound mind at the time of the making of the will, and
the answer was a general denial. Megee had become obsessed with the
idea that two of his relatives, Dr. Rush and Mr. Link, were in a
conspiracy to poison him, and thus share in his estate. The evidence
showed that he had mysteriously left his home without the knowledge of
his family, had gone to Kentucky where he remained for some time, and
while there had shot himself. It was held that every man is presumed to
be of sound mind until the contrary is made to appear by evidence, and
the jury found for the defendants, the court charging them with the
costs of the trial. A motion for a new trial was overruled, and
exceptions were properly taken by the defense, an appeal to the supreme
court being allowed upon the filing of bond in the sum of $1,000. The
case came up for trial in the supreme court in the May term of 1871.
The evidence was voluminous, covering 200 pages. Briefly, the
question was this: If Megee was afflicted with delusions which related
to Ms sons-in-law, Dr. Rush and Mr. Link, which were entertained at the
time of the execution of the will, and believed that they designed to
poison him, and persisted in that belief without reason, and against
all evidence or probability, and if such delusion affected his judgment
in disposing of his property among the members of his family just
alluded to, such a disposition could not be maintained. But if,
notwithstanding he entertained such delusions in regard to Dr. Rush and
Mr. Link, he did not permit them to affect his judgment as to the
members of his family,, and his mind was not influenced by them, his
will would be valid. The vital question then became, "What was the
condition of his mind at the time of making the will?
The judgment of the Rush county court
was reversed at the costs of the appellees, and the cause remanded for
further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. A petition for
rehearing was overruled. The opinion of the supreme court cleared up
many points of law, and established precedent for all time in cases
of a like nature.
OTHER COURTS OF THE COUNTY
Besides the circuit court,
business
was transacted in the court of common pleas, the probate court,
commissioners court and for one year the duties of the last named
were discharged by a court of justices, composed of one justice from each township. The
probate court was abolished in 1853, its jurisdiction being transferred
to the court of common pleas, and those presiding as judge of this
court were: Elias Poston and North Parker, the associate judges from
1822; Elias Poston, 1829; Turner A. Knox, 1836; Pleasant A. Hackleman,
1837; Alexander Walker, 1841; and James Hinchman, 1848. The court of
common pleas was established in the year 1853, and was designed to have
jurisdiction over probate matters, and over all offenses which were
less than felonies and not allotted to the special jurisdiction of
justices of the peace. This was a very popular court, and much
objection was raised to its abolition in 1872. Its jurisdiction was, in
most cases, concurrent with the circuit court, and for a time appeals
could be taken from it to that court, but this provision was abandoned,
appeals being taken directly to the supreme court of the state. The
clerk and sheriff of the circuit court were the officers of the court
of common pleas, and while it was in existence the office of judge was
filled by Royal P. Cobb, 1853; Samuel A. Bonner, 1857; William Grose,
1861; David S. Gooding, 1862; William R. West, 1865; William A. Cullen,
1867; and William A. Moore, 1871.
The office of judge of the Rush
Circuit Court has been held as follows in the order named: William W.
Wick, Miles C. Eggleston, Bethuel R Morris, Charles H. Test, Samuel
Bigger, James Perry, Jehu T. Elliott, Oliver P. Morton, William M.
McCarty, Reuben D. Logan, Jeremiah M. Wilson, William A. Cullen,
Samuel A. Bonner, John W. Study, James K. Ewing, John D. Miller (died
in office), David A. Myers, Douglas Morris, Will M. Sparks, Alonzo
Blair, John D. Megee (appointed when Rush county was made a circuit by
itself) and Will M. Sparks (re-elected in 1920).
OTHER OFFICERS OF THE COURT
The prosecuting attorneys of
the Rush
Circuit Court have been: Hiram M. Curry, 1822; Charles H. Test,
1823;James Whitcomb, 1826;
James Perry,
1830; William J. Brown, 1832; Samuel W. Parker, 1837; David Macy, 1839;
Martin M. Ray, 1841; Jehu T. Elliott, 1843; Jacob B. Julian, 1844;
JohnB. Still, 1846; P. Y. Wilson, 1848; Benjamin F. Johnson, 1850;
Joshua H. Mellett, 1851; Oscar B. Hord, 1853; William Patterson, 1856;
Henry C. Hanna, 1859; Milton H. Cullum, 1861; Samuel S. Harrell, 1863;
Creighton Dandy, 1865; Kendall M. Hord, 1867; Alexander B. Campbell,
3869; Elias R. Monforth, 1873; Orlando B. Scoby, 1874; John L. Bracken,
1879; Richard A. Durnan, 1880; Marine D. Tackett, 1881; George W.
Campbell, 1886; Daniel F. Shields, 1890; David A. Myers, 1892; George
W. Young, 1894; Elmer E. Roland, 1896; Ned Abercrombie, 1898; George H.
Meiks, 1900; James V. Young, 1902; Elmer Bassett, 1904; J. Oscar Hall,
1908; Wilbur W. Israel, 1910; John C. Cheney, 1912; Albert C. Stevens,
1914, the present incumbent.
The clerks of Rush county have been:
Robert Thompson, 1822; John L. Robinson, 1843; Pleasant A. Hackleman,
1847; George Hibben, 1856; John S. Campbell, I860; Benjamin F.
Tingley, 1864; James W. Brown, 1872; Jetson Smith, 1875; James W.
Brown, 1879; James M. Hildreth, 1885; Thomas M. Green, 1892; Sanford M.
Poston, 1900; William A. Posey, 1904; Verne W. Norris, 1908; Arie M.
Taylor, 1912; George B. Moore, Jr., 1916: Loren Martin, appointed
August, 1919, elected November, 1920.
The sheriffs of Rush county
have
been: John Hays. 1822; N. W. Marks, 1823; William Bussell, 1826; Alfred
Posey, 1830; Greenberry Rush, 1834; George W. Brann, 1836; Alvin N.
Blacklidge, 1838 Jehemiah Hayden, 1842; Walter Brown, 1844; Harmony
Laughlin, 1848; Nehe-miah Hayden, 1850; James M. Caldwell, 1852;
Harmony Laughlin, 1854; Samuel Caskey, 1856; Harmony Laughlin,
1858; Samuel S. McBride, 1864; Alexander McBride, 1866; J. H. Cook,
1868; J. K. Gowdy, 1872; George W. Hall, 1874; Harrison S. Carney,
1876; George W. Wilson,1880;
John W. Tompkins, 1884; Francis
M. Redman, 1888; Benjamin L. McFarlan, 1892; William L. Price, 1896;
William M. Bainbridge, 1900; William King, 1904; Clata L. Bebout, 1908;
Voorhees Cavitt, 1912; E. M. Jones, 1916; and S. L. Hunt,
sheriff-elect, 1921.
SOME NOTABLE FIGURES AT THE BAR
Many attorneys who have
practiced in
the Rush county charts have been known prominently, not only as
attorneys, but have also occupied important judicial and political
positions, both state and national. Among the foremost men at the bar
in the early days was Judge Charles H. Test, a son of the Hon. John
Test. He was a young man of fine talents and great energy of character,
at an early age taking a high position among the notables of the
profession. In person he was slender, about the medium height, had a
small head, high forehead and projecting teeth. It is said of him
that "he was not a very handsome man, and yet his countenance lit up so
well when speaking that he passed without particular comment." The
forte of the judge was before the jury on facts. He made a strong
argument and his sympathetic appeals were unsurpassed. His habits were
strictly temperate. He held the offices of president judge of the
circuit, judge of the criminal court in Indianapolis, and after several
years as secretary of state, returned to the practice in Wayne County.
Samuel Bigger, judge of the circuit court, later became Governor of
Indiana. Hugh B. Eggleston practiced here and then removed to New
Orleans, where he took a commanding position at the bar. W. J. Brown,
who became a member of Congress, secretary of state of Indiana, and
assistant postmaster general in the cabinet of President James K. Polk,
served as prosecutor in this circuit, George B. Tingley once
represented Rush county in the state legislature, and was known as an
astute lawyer. Finley Bigger was registrar of the United States
treasury during the administrations of Pierce and Buchanan, and
thereafter became a member of the Rushville bar. Pleasant A. Haekleman,
though not particularly talented as a lawyer, was a brilliant orator.
His forte was politics, and during the Civil War he rose to the rank of
brigadier-general and was killed at the battle of Corinth, Indiana's
only general to meet death in action. Leonidas Sexton was admitted to
the Rush county bar in 1847, and in addition to being an able lawyer,
was a keen politician. He was a member of the state legislature,
was lieutenant governor of Indiana, and a member of Congress from this
district. George B. Sleeth, one of the most brilliant orators ever
gracing the local bar, came to this county from Pennsylvania, worked on
a farm, borrowed money from his employer to obtain an education at
Farmers' College, near Cincinnati, studied law under Leonidas Sexton,
and took a commanding place among the members of the profession. He was
elected state senator from the district of Rush and Decatur counties,
and in 1878, representative from Rush county. George Puntenney was a
native of Rush county, having been born here in 1832. He received his
education in the common schools of the day and at Fairview Academy and
Richland Academy. He served in the Union army during the Civil war and
was admitted to the bar in 1867 where he became distinguished. He was a
newspaper man of ability and for many years edited the Rushville
Jacksonian. Ben L. Smith was one of the most successful members
of the
local bar, where he practiced most of his life. He became widely known
throughout the state and was selected as a trustee of the Knightstown
Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home. Jesse J. Spann, a member of the
bar for sixteen years, from 1871 to his death in 1887, was during the
period one of the leaders of his profession. He was an able advocate
and trial lawyer, although his legal knowledge was not so great as that
of either Sleeth or Sexton. He was a member of the state senate where
he made for himself an enviable reputation. Judge William A. Cullen, David S. Morgan
and many others have by their achievements made bright pages in the
history of the legal profession. Senator James E. Watson, who was
engaged in practice here for a short time prior to his entrance into
politics, was born in Winchester, Ind., and was admitted to the bar in
that city in 1886. In 1893 he removed to Rushville, and almost
immediately entered the political arena as a candidate for election to
the United States Congress. He was elected to the 54th Congress
(1895-7). He was also a member of the 56th-60th Congresses (1899-1909)
from the Sixth Indiana district. Mr. Watson was Republican nominee for
governor of the state in 1908, but was defeated in the election by
Thomas R. Marshall. In 1916, he took his seat in the United States
Senate to fill the unexpired term of Benjamin F. Shively
(deceased) from 1916-21 and in 1920 was re-elected to the Senate.
Douglas Morris, a present member of the bar, was judge of the Rush
Circuit Court for six years and for a like period (1911-16) was a
justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. The venerable Frank J. Hall,
present acknowledged dean of the bar of the Rush Circuit Court, was
lieutenant governor of Indiana during the Marshall administration,
1909-13. Mr. Hall is a native of Rush county, a son of Squire William
S. Hall, whose strong personal influence in behalf of better schools
here in his generation has rendered his memory an enduring one in
Rush county. There are two woman members of the bar, Miss Anna L.
Bohannon, junior member of the law firm of Gary & Bohannon, who was
admitted in 1919. and Miss Hannah S. Morris, admitted in 1921, who is
practicing in association with her father, Douglas Morris.
NOTABLES FROM NEIGHBORING CIRCUITS
Among the practitioners at the
Rushville bar during the past century there have been many from
surrounding counties who have been recognized for their ability in both
the practice of the legal profession and in political positions. A few of these have been:
Oliver H. Smith, afterward a member of the United States Senate; James
Rariden, afterward a member of Congress; James T. Brown, of Dearborn
county, a profound lawyer with a keenness of sarcasm seldom equaled;
Caleb B. Smith, afterward representative in Congress, and secretary of
the interior under President Lincoln.
Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton,
the fourth son of James Throck and Sarah T. (second wife) Morton, was
born August 4, 1823, in a two-story frame house in Salisbury, Wayne
county. Indiana, then kept by his father as a tavern. The Mortons were
descended from an old English family, the Throckmortons, but changed
the name soon after coming to this country, many of its members using
Throck as a given name. At his mother's death in 1826, Oliver, who was
then three years old, went to live with his maternal grandfather, John
Miller, of Springfield (now Springdale), Ohio. In this family of stern
Scotch Presbyterians he lived until he was fifteen, when, at his
grandfather's death, he became a druggist's clerk in Centerville. He
soon came to a misunderstanding with his employer, however, and he was
then "bound out" for four years to his brother William to learn the
hatter's trade. During this period his fondness for music asserted
itself and he played in the village band on the cornet, clarinet and
flute. Six months before the end of his apprenticeship, in 1843, he
left his brother's establishment, and entered Miami University at
Oxford, Ohio. He had a splendid physique, and his sociable disposition
made him a favorite with his fellow students. Although an "irregular,"
he stood high in his classes, and attained some distinction as a
debater. After leaving Oxford in the spring of 1845, he began the study
of law in the office of John S. Newman, of Centerville, then a leader
at the Wayne county bar. He said of Morton that he was "laborious in
his studies, strictly temperate in his habits, and genial in his
manners." Shortly after he had begun his studies with Newman he married
Lucinda M. Burbank, of Centerville, Ohio, and to this happy marriage
five children were born: John Miller, Mary Elizabeth, Sarah Lilas,
Walter Scott, and Oliver Throck.
In the fall of 1845 Mr. Morton bought
$200 worth of books from his preceptor, and entered the practice of the
profession as his partner. This partnership continued for something
over a year, and in the spring of 1847 he formed an association with
Charles H. Test. In 1849 he practiced alone, and in 1850 with Nimrod H.
Johnson, formed the law firm of Morton & Johnson. In 1853, he was
elected judge of the Sixth circuit, but in the summer of the same year
traded circuits with Judge W. W. Wick. of Marion county. He presided at
the Rush Circuit Court, and his signature may be seen on some of the
records in the clerk's office at Rushville today. But this calling was
not to his liking, he longed for the battle of wits that comes to the
attorney, and in the fall of 1852. having been a judge altogether less
than eight months, he went to the Cincinnati Law School where he was a
student for six months. In 1853 he formed a partnership with John F.
Kibbey, under the firm name of Morton & Kibbey, at Centerville, and
this partnership continued until Morton's election as governor of
Indiana in 1860.
Although in his earlier life Mr.
Morton had been a Democrat, he was elected on the Republican ticket,
and then for two terms as governor, during the trying Civil war days,
he distinguished himself as an executive. It was while he was governor
of the state that he became partially paralyzed, and ever thereafter
was forced to go about in a wheel-chair. In 1868, he was elected to the
United States Senate, and almost immediately was recognized as
perhaps the ablest man in the upper house of Congress. He was returned
for a second term, but before the expiration of this, the fighting
career of Oliver Perry Morton was brought to a close, his death
occurring at his home in Indianapolis on November 1, 1877.
Thomas A. Hendricks, later
vice-president of the United States; Judge Jeremiah M. Wilson, who
later became one of the leading lawyers of the country while practicing
at Washington; and others of renown have at one time or other practiced
in this county.
ROSTER OF THE RUSH CIRCUIT BAR
The present (1921) active
members of
the bar of the Rush Circuit Court are J. Thomas Arbuckle, Howard E.
Barrett, Anna L. Bohannon, George W. Campbell, Chauncey W. Duncan,
Abraham L. Gary, Thomas M. Green, Frank J. Hall, Samuel L. Innis, John
F. Joyce, Gates Ketchum, John D. Megee, Benjamin F. Miller, Wallace G.
Morgan, Douglas Morris, Hannah S. Morris, William L. Newbold, Donald L.
Smith, John Q. Thomas. John A. Titsworth, Samuel L. Trabue, George W.
Young and James V. Young.
In Chronological Order, In the
order
of their admission the following lawyers who resided in this
county at the time of admission have practiced at the bar of the Rush
Circuit Court: Hiram M. Curry, admitted in 1822: Charles H. Test,
1822.; Charles H. Veeder, 1822; William J. Brown, 1830; John McPike,
1831; John Alley, 1831.; George B. Tingley, 1835; Samuel Bigger, 1835;
Finley Bigger, 1836; Robert S. Cox, 1836; Pleasant A. Hackleman,
1837;A. W. Hubbard, 1840 Phineas Cassady, 1840; Reuben D. Logan,
1843, George C. Clark, 1844; Leonidas Sexton, 1847; Robert's. Sproull,.
1847; Benjamin F. Johnson, 1849; W. Robinson, 1849; Lewis H. Thomas,
1852; Thomas C. Galpin, 1856; Samuel B. Garrett, 1856; Ben L. Smith,
1857; William A. Cullen, 1857; William Cassady, 1857; Isaac H. Stewart,
1858; William 0. Sexton, 1858; Rodman Davis, 1859; William H. Pugh,
1859; Jefferson Helm, Jr., 1859; John R. Mitchell, 1863; George B.
Sleeth, 1866; Alexander B. Campbell, 1866; Hugh M. Spalding, 1866;
Davis S. Morgan, 1867; George W. Bates, 1867; George H. Puntenney,
1867; Frank J. Thomas A.
Hendricks, later
vice-president of the United States; Judge Jeremiah M. Wilson, who
later became one of the leading lawyers of the country while practicing
at Washington; and others of renown have at one time or other practiced
in this county.