Adams County, Ohio - Chapter 14: County Affair3, 1900

Chapter 14: County Affair3

There never were any county buildings erected at Manchester, although it was the first seat of justice in Adams County, the first session of the Court of Quarter Session having convened there September 12, 1797.

At this time there was great rivalry among the new towns for the location of the county seat, and the Adamsville people, led by John S. Wills, succeeded in having the seat of justice removed from Manchester to that place, where the court convened at the following December session. This place was near the site of the present village of Rome, and remained the seat of justice for Adams County just one year. There is no record of there having been a court house built there, but that one was provided from some source is shown by the fact that John Reed of that vicinity had Noble Grimes indicted by the grand jury, June, 1799, for "wilfully and feloniously taking plank from the court house in Adamsville to the value of five dollars." The Court of Common Pleas had approved plans for a jail there, and the Board of County Commissioners on June 28. 1798. had made a levy on the county to raise funds to put up the structure, but the county seat soon thereafter being removed to Washington at the mouth of Ohio Brush Creek, the jail was erected there. This was a log structure and was erected in the spring of 1799. On the night of December 27, of that year, this jail was burned bv an incendiarv. The Board of Countv Commissioners at their March session, 1800, offered a reward of $200 for the apprehension of the person who committed this crime, but he was never discovered.

From the records it appears that Xoble Grimes furnished a house for the use of the Courts and the County Commissioners until the latter part of the year 1802, when a log court house was erected on grounds afterwards donated to the county by Thomas Grimes and his wife. We find that "Noble Gnmes was allowed $50 for house rent, wood, candles, etc.. for use of the Courts up to December 12, 1799." a period of one year. And as late as December 10, 1803, there is an entry on the journal of the County Commissioners stating that "Noble Grimes is alii 33)

It ib stated in tlie Adams Countx' atlas that there H-as a larg^e hewed log court house, at Washington, with a jail in the lower Btor>-. This house could not liave been built earlier than the autumn of 1802. There is an entry on tlie <:ofurt records apjwovinj^ an account oC Richard Crimes for 4>iie thousand feet of j^lank for the court house at Washington. And aj^>tlier on connnissi<^iers' journal allowing an item of five dollars to Noble Grinieb f^>r repairs on court house. It would appear from a search of the reo>r4i> tJiat the jail at W'ashin^on was a separate buildijig froiJJ tlie c<>urt house and tliat tlie statement in the Adams County atlaij is erroJMious. In j8o6, after the removal of the county seat to West l.'nioij, Th^nas Grimes and his wife Pollv deeded to the County (*^^nnjissi4>ners '*f<>r the use and l>ehoof of the countv." inlots nimibers 41, 42, 44, 45, 56, 57, 58, and 59. on which the public btiilding^s in the t/>wn of Washington ^UnA. And the said Commissioners "ordered that the aforesaid lots, the *court house, and the iron of the jail be sold at public sale im the first Tuesday of Auj^nst next, giving eighteen months' rredit. 'I'lie lots prol/ablv included what was known as the "jail bounds" 1,11 which the "stray pen" wa£ situated and where certain classes of prisriuers had the privilege of exercising. At March session of the Court \\\ (JiiarUr Sessions, the prison bounds were altered as follows: "Beginning al the northeast corner rjf the public grounds: thence with the said publir grounds and course west thirty-5vix poles; thence south to the river ( )liio al wal^M's t^i\^e\ thence up it to the bank of Brush Creek at water's* edge; ihen fnnn the beginning cast forty poles: thence south to the hank of lirush Creek at water's edge and down it to the river bank at water's edge." These bounds of the jail included several acres of land lying ui the angle formed bv the junction of Brush Creek with the 1 Hiio River, and besides the uses above named afforded a field of labor tor indigent priaciuera.

West l^\iou because the county seat in 1804. The towTi was laid ott the week begint\ing Moiidav, March iQth. There was then but one huiUhuiL;, a log cabin, cvn the town plat. It had been erected by Robert McCMauahan but not occupied a short time ^>efore the platting of the iv \NU. It stkAxl on lot 46, afterwards known as the Lee comer on Main Stivct to the one erected by Foster and known as the "old log court house." The order for Joseph Darlinton to sell court house could not have referred to the one at Washington for the credit fixed for that sale was eighteen months, and the "removal" of the building was for the purpose of clearing the square for the structure erected by Mr. Foster. :

"West Union, July 2, 1805. "Ordered that Joseph Darlinton sell to the highest bidder on the thirteenth inst., the old court house, giving six months' credit, on the purchaser giving bond and security. Ordered also that the purchaser of the said court house shall remove the same off the public grounds in thirty days from the purchase."

The First Court House was erected in 1805. The contract was let to William Foster at his bid of $709, with Benjamin Sutton, Needham Perry, and John Thomas as sureties on his bond. The structure was erected on lot 63 in the Public Square, with the side facing Main Street five poles from it, and the east end adjoining Market Street. It was thirty feet long, twenty-four feet wide and two stories high. It was specified that it should be built of oak, poplar, walnut, or blue ash logs, eight inches thick and none less than twelve inches on face. There was an outside stone chimney with fireplace four and one-half feet wide below and above, on the north side, and seven feet from the inside of northwest comer. The lower story was twelve feet in the clear and the upper eight feet, with a banistered stairway on the north side leading up to it. A door three and one-half feet wide was in the east end fronting Market Street, and the bench for the Court was on an elevated platform on the south side of the lower room. In this room were four windows, two on the south side, one of which was in the center between the bar and bench, and two in the west end equal distance from each other. There were four windows above, two in south side, one in the north side near northeast corner, and one in the west end near northwest corner suiting the two rooms in the upper story. Tlie lower windows each had twenty lights of glass and the upper ones twelve each. The windows in court room had double shutters fastened with iron bolts and bars. The contract specified that the lower story should be finished by the twenty-fourth day of August, and the upper one by the fourth of October, 1805. Some of the logs of this building are now in a dwelling occupied by John Knox just south of the Presbyterian Church in West Union, on the Beasley Fork pike.

The First Jail at West Union stood on lot 67, now the site of the brick dwelling of Miss vSarah Boyle. It stood three rods north from Main Street with the end fronting Cherry Street and the old Bradford Hotel. It was a most remarkable structure, of hewed logs, eighteen by twenty-four feet, and two stories in height. It was constructed of two walls, one within the other, and the space between was filled in with upright hewed logs each one foot square. Both the upper and the lower floors were laid with hewed logs one foot thick, and the partitions between the rooms of which there were four, two above and two below, were of logs of that dimension. The door in the east end was made from two-inch oak plank with upright and cross-bars of heavy iron laid over it. The windows, of which there were four, were each two feet square and heavily screened with iron cross-bars. It was erected in one-half acres were purchased for a new site from James McClanahan in Liberty Township. This IcAcatiom not being satisfactory, the land was exchanged with George S. Kirker for sixty-six and two-thirds acres now ocupied by the infirmary buildings near West Union.

The infirmary building is of brick and in its day was substantial and commodious. The building was completed in 1859 by A. W. Ramsay, the contractor, at a cost of $7,833. William McNeilan was the first superintendent here and William Shuster is the present incumbent. George L. Campton was the superintendent from the establishment of the Infirmary on Poplar Ridge till its location at the present site.

A story used to be related of McNeilan who was a Scotch- Irishman with a deep brogue, that, at one of his settlements with the Board of Directors, some of his charges were objected to, one item of $5, in his account not being clearly specified. After some reflection the superintendent explained that the item in question was for "foive days seekin' hogs and foindin' none."

The Wilson Children's Home is located about one-half mile east of the court house, on the corporation line of the town of West Union, on the south side of the Cedar Mills turnpike, at its junction with the West Union and Locust Grove turnpike. The site is a most pleasing one, affording a fine view of the town of West Union, and of the surrounding country. The sanitary conditions are unexcelled, the drainage being perfect, and abundance of pure water easily accessible. The building constructed of brick and native limestone is of modern architecture and is supplied with every convenience as to heat, light and ventilation. The grounds, consisting of twenty-five acres* of fine farm land, were donated by the citizens of the town of West Union. The outbuildings in connection with the house are a laundry, workshop, bam. ice house, and other domestic buildings pleasantly surrounded by fine fruit orchards and vegetable gardens. The ITome was erected in the years 1883 and 1884 through the beneficence of Hon. John T. -Wilson, a wealthy citizen of the county, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume. The present value of the premises and appurtenances, $75,000. Number of inmates, 80.

Gentlemen : - It is sometimes better for a man to do in his lifetime that which he may contemplate having done after his death. Hence, for the purpose of establishing, or aiding the establishment and maintenance of a Childrens' Home, on a permanent basis, under the laws of Ohio, I propose to give to the county of Adams, fifty thousand dollars, less the sum T have already unjustly paid into the county treasury, under protest, with interest thereon, together with any further sum I may yet have to pay at the final termination of a suit now j)en(ling in the Supreme Court of Ohio, for taxes claimed on account of Indiana assets, together with costs of attorneys' fees and incidental expenses ; thirty thousand dollars, to be paid on the acceptance of this proposal, or as soon thereafter as it mav be needed.

The remaining twenty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be left to be paid, when I get through resisting the unjust, and, as I believe, illegal demands of former county officers. It is not my purpose that any expense shall accrue to the county until the donation herein named shall first be fully expended.

On the tenth of March, W. S. Bottleman and J. R. Zile, members of the Board of County Commissioners, together with Ex-Sheriff Capt. John Taylor and J. W. Shinn, County Auditor, by agreement, went to the little hamlet of Tranquillity for the purpose of consulting Mr. Wilson as to his proposed benefit for the orphan children of Adams County. After fully discussing the matter, it was finally determined to accept and use said proposed gift for the erection and support of an Orphan Asylum and Children's Home.

In March of the year following, the Commissioners took up the proposition to select a site for the Home. The chief competing points were Winchester, West Union, and Manchester. Mr. W. S. Bottleman, who resided near the village of Winchester, voted at each ballot for the site to be near that village. Mr. J. R. Zile, whose residence was near Locust Grove, in the northern portion of the county, voted as a mattei of courtesy, at first ballot, for Manchester, and Mr. William McGovney, whose home was in Sprigg Township, about half way between West Union and Manchester, voted at each ballot for West Union; so that upon taking the second ballot, Zile and McGovney voted for West Union, and thus fixed the location of the Home at that point.

At this meeting W. A. Blair, business associate of Mr. Wilson, was appointed a Trustee of the Home for one year, from the first Monday in March, 1883 ; John A. Laughridge for the term of two years, and Samuel E. Pearson for three years from that date. The Commissioners then adjourned to meet the Board of Trustees at the Auditor's office, March 15th. On this day W. A. Blair and S. E. Pearson appeared and accepted their said trusteeships. John A. Laughridge failing to appear in person or by letter, Hon. John P. Lecdom was then selected as one of the Board of Trustees.

On the eighth of May, 1883 ,the County Commissioners and Board of Trustees of the Home adopted the plans submitted by J. W. Yost for the construction of the Home, and Mr. Yost was employed as architect, to receive $500 for the plans and draughts in detail, and twenty dollars for each trip necessary from his office in Portsmouth, Ohio, to West Union, during the building of the Home. About this time Captain John Taylor and Auditor J. W. Shinn were appointed to collect the subscriptions of the citizens of West L^nion for the purchase of the site of the Home.

W. T. Wetmore being the lowest responsible bidder was awarded the contract. It was stipulated in the contract that the foundation of the main walls of the structure should be bedded upon solid rock found at a depth of from five to twelve feet below the surface at the site of the Home.

On July 28, 1883, Mr. I. G. Brown was appointed by the Joint Boards of Commissioners and Trustees, superintendent of the work of building the Home, at a salary of three dollars per diem for actual time.

December 14, 1883, the contract for gas fittings and steam heating, plumbing, etc., was let to Wetmore and Gallegher at $5,600, to be completed by November i, 1884.

The building complete was given in charge of the Trustees of the Home by the County Commissioners, December 5, 1884, and on the fifteenth of February, 1885, Col. W. L. Shaw and his wife, Mrs. R. J. Shaw, were appointed Superintendent and Matron, respectively, of the Home, and on the ninth of March following, the first installment of children was received from the County Infirmary.

Charles T. Downing and wife were elected Superintendent and Matron, succeeding Col. Shaw, January 16, 1886, and took possession March 9, of that year. They were re-elected January 5, 1887, for a term of one year.

W. W. Baird and wife were employed as Superintendent and Matron, February i, 1888, for the year beginning March 9, 1888. They tendered their resignations October i, 1888, to take effect from that date, and W. H. Jordan was appointed until further action thereon by the Board of Trustees.

December 5, 1888, J. T. Little and wife were employed as Superintendent and Matron, respectively, to fill the unexpired term made vacant by the resignation of W. W. Baird and wife.

On March 6, 1889, Thomas W. Ellison and wife, of West Union, were elected Superintendent and Matron for a term of one year, from March 9, and they have been retained by the Board of Trustees to the present time.

Besides the Superintendent and Matron, there are employed at the Home one physician, one teacher, two governesses, one seamstress, two cooks, one dining-room girl, one engineer, and one teamster.

Since the opening of the Home there have been 382 children admitted and cared for by the institution, and fifty-eight placed in private homes, making a total of 440 children cared for by the institution.

James Scott. Henry Massie, Joseph Darlinton, all appointed by Court of Quarter Sessions. March, 1798. First Clerk of Board. Joseph Darlinton. First meeting held at Adamsville, June 13, 1798.

*The ilateR iriven herein are the dates of the flist meeting at which the Comminionera-elect served. In t u-o or three places the Commissioners-elect arc not friven every year for the reason that the journals jfive no entry of their taking their office by reason of their taaTtnc been reelected and still serving continuon«ily on the Board.

First Board elected and qualified June 11, 1804: Moses Baird, long term; Robert Simpson, two years; Nathaniel Beasley, short term. Joseph Darlinton appointed sixth clerk.

James Parker, November 9, 181 6, was struck off into Brown County, created by Legislature, 1818. Gabe D. Darlinton appointed seventh Clerk of Board.

R. H. Oursler, appointed June, 1^8, to fill vacancy to November election, 1898. By contest of election of M. H. Newman, Common Pleas Court declared neither elected.

The Clerks of the Courts under the Constitution of 1802, were appointed by the Courts for a term of seven years, but before his appointment, except pro tempore, the applicant was required to produce a certificate from a majority of the Judges of the Supreme Court that he was well qualified to execute the duties of the office. If a vacancy occurred at any time, the appointment was made pro tempore until the proper certificate could be procured and filed. The journals show that Gen. Darlinton was appointed pro tempore several times. This was because when his term had expired, he had not secured the necessary certificate to be filed before his reappointment, and he could not receive the appointment for the full term until the certificate was filed. As to the clerkship of the Supreme Court of Adams County, Gen Joseph Darlinton was the only one who ever held the office. He was appointed at the first term of the Court in Adams County in 1803, and held it by successive appointments until his death on August 2, 185 1. As the Court expired September i, 1851, no one w?is appointed for the twenty-nine days elapsing between his death and the time when the Constitution of 185 1 took effect. As to the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, he was appointed its first clerk, August 5, 1803. At December term, 1810, he was appointed pro tempore till the next term, but before the term closed, his certificate came to hand, and he was appointed for seven years. At the December term, 1817, he was appointed pro tempore until March i, followmg. At the March term, 1818, it is recited on the journal that he had produced his certificate from all the Judges of the Supreme Court, and that he was appointed for seven years. At April term, 1825, April 18, he was reappointed for seven years. At Marcli term, 1838, he did not have his certificate ready and was appointed pro tempore. On August 7, 1832, he was appointed for seven years. August 6, 1839, he was appointed for seven years. On August 7, 1846, his time having expired, John M. Smith was appointed pro tempore till the next term. At September term, 1846, Joseph R. Cockerill was appointed pro tempore till the next term. On February 3, 1847, Joseph R. Cockerill was appointed for the full term of seven years and served until September 2^, 185 1, when he resigned. James N. Hook was appointed in his place and served until February 9, 1852, when he took the office by election. The roster is :

Alexander Robe died November 14, 1858. His successor, W^m. E. Hopkins, was appointed Xovember 16, 1858, and served until December 5. 1859. He was elected in October, 1859, for a full term.

Arthur St. Clair, Jr., son of the Governor, who received his appointment from his father, was the first Territorial Prosecutor. Someone, as Jacob Burnett, William McMillan, Francis Taylor, or John S. Wills, usually prosecuted the many petty offenses, for St. Clair, as the records show. William Creighton, M. Baldwin. William Sprigg. Thomas Scott, Levin Belt and others acted as prosecutors by appointment from the years 1800 to 1803, receiving for their services $15 per term.

The Prosecuting Attorneys were afterwards appointed by the Court of Common Pleas. The appointments were made during the pleasure of the Court. The law of April 13, 1803, gave the appointing power to the Supreme Court. The act of February 21, 1805, restored it to the Common Pleas. The law of December 29, 1825, gave the power of apix)inting the Prosecuting Attorney to the Common Pleas Court. The act of January 29, 1833, made the office elective for a term of two years, and that law continued in full force until 1881. when under the act of April 20, Vol. 78, Ohio Laws, page 260, the term was changed to three years. The incumbents, prior to 1833, can only be gathered from the court journals, and these are in some places obscure. The first elected Prosecuting Attorney was Samuel Brush, who was elected in October, 1833. As long as the office was appointive by the Court, the allowance for services was made each term by the Court. Prior to 1808, the duties of PVosecuting Attorney were in all probabilitv discharged by some attorney nonresident of the county who traveled the circuit following the courts. At November term, 1808, John W. Campbell was allowed $30 for senices as Prosecuting Attorney. He continued to act until December term, 1810. when Jessup M. Couch was allowed $25 for services for prosecuting. With this exception John W. Campbell continued to discharge the duties of the office until the June term, 18 17, when Samuel Treat was appointed. Campbell was usually allowed $25 per term for his services, sometimes it was more, but never over $45. At this same term, June, 1817, John W. Thompson was allowed $15 for prosecuting in the* Supreme Courts. Samuel Treat was usually allowed $45 per term for his services, there being three terms each year as now. Treat served until August term, 1820, when Geo. R. Fitzgerald was appointed. He resigned August term, 1820, and in 1821 Richard Collins was appointed in his place. August term, 1822, Richard Collins resigned and Daniel P. Wilkins was appointed. He served until June term, 1826, when George CoUings was appointed, and the salary made $100 per annum. So far as the record shows he continued to act until 1833, when Samuel Brush was elected. The roster is:

1843, March term, Joseph McCormick was appointed in place of Norris who had removed to Clermont County. He served until 1845, ivhen Thomas McClausen was elected.

Laws were passed under the Territorial Government, December 21, 1788, and July 16, 1795, creating the office of Coroner and defining his duties. Andrew Ellison was the first Coroner of Adams County.

Coroners Under The Constitution

This office was created by section i, Article VI, of the Constitution of 1802, and the office was elective for tAvo years. Hence a Coroner was elected every two years from 1803 to 1852. The list of Coronen in Adan^ County since 1851 is as follows:

David Bradford, appointed for a year each time from July 6, 1800, to June 6, 1832. June 4, 1828, he took the office by election for the term of two years.

This office was created by act of April 15, 1803, Chase, Vol. i, Page 368, authorizing the Court of Common Pleas to appoint Surveyors. This continued the law until March 7, 183 1, when the office became elective, triennially. (Chase Statutes, Vol. iii, Page 863.) The list is as follows :

R. N. Edgington N. Kimble James Truitt L. L. Connor James Hamer Isaac Parker James Truitt William H. Bryan Robert Tucker James Hamer Robert Tucker Denton Tolle Alfred Pence M. A. Scott Denton Tolle Alfred Pence S. J. Lawwill Alexander Stewart Denton Tolle Harvey Connor M. A. Scott Alexander Stewart Philip Howell M. A. Scott J. N. Case Denton Tolle M. A. Scott J. N. Case Denton Tolle M. A. Scott J. N. Case A. V. Hutson W. T. Warner W. H. Vane W. H. Vane W. T. Warner Joseph A. Stewart Joseph A. Stewart C. H. Thompson

Wm. P. Newman J. W. Tillotson S. A. Chapman David Nixon John CHne S. A. Chapman J. C. Chapman S. A. Chapman Dynes Tener J. C. Foster S. A. Chapman

. L. Howell Wm. M. Smith Henry Phillips Wm. M. Smith A. D. Fry Joseph F. Mitchell A. D. Fry Wm. M. Smith E. R. Cummings A. D. Fry John C. Baldwin

Whbn Qualitzbd

Wni. E. Kirkpatrick Isaac Washburn Wm. H. Kirkpatrick A. W. Kincaid Isaac Washburn \A'm. H. Kirkpatrick John R. Mehaffey Samuel Jackson Ezckial Pittenger Isaac Washburn J. R. Mehaffey A. H. Mehaffey John V. Kincaid A. H. Mehaffey H. D. Robuck A. H. Mehaffey H. D. Robuck Carev Patton A. H. Mehaffey John V. Kincaid Care\' Patton Jcftin V. Kincaid G. A. McColm Carev Patton 0. H. Emerv

Wbbn Bxpibkd

Paid Joseph Darliuton, Esq., by order of court, under the act regulating fees of civil officers for services when the state fails, etc., at 60 dollars

Paid John McDaied.Bsq., sheriff of Adams county under the act regulating the fees of civil officers, agreeable to an order of court, at 60 dollars per annum, from the 11th of November, 1823, to the 1st ol June,

Paid Joseph Darlinton for drawing a deed from the trustee of the town of West Union, and for receiving and filing the sheriff's receipt to the judges of the Presidential election and giving certificates therefor 1 00