Paulding County, Ohio - Chapter 11: Bench and Bar, 1892

Chapter 11: Bench and Bar

BENCH AND BAR. HE organization of Paulding county took place in 1839, and its first associate judges, Nathan Eaton, Gilman C. Mudgett and John Hudson, met in the fall of that year and appointed H. N. Curtis, clerk, pro tem., and Andrew J. Smith, sheriff. The first court was held in the spring of 1840, at New Rochester, with Hon. Emery D. Potter as presiding judge. It was held in a room over Gen. H. N. Curtis' store. There being no lawyers residing in the county at that time, Edwin Phelps, of Defiance, was appointed prosecuting attorney. We have no means of giving a synopsis of the proceedings of this court, as the records have not been preserved. In those days it was customary for lawyers to travel with the judges from county to county throughout the entire circuit in which courts were held; and lawyers from as far east as Mansfield attended the courts held in Paulding and Defiance counties. They traveled on horseback and carried their volumes of legal lore in saddle-bags. The Hon. Thomas E. Powell, of Delaware, in a letter to W. C. Holgate, in 1878, says: "It is now upward of fifty-five years since I attended court at Defiance, with Judge Lane on the bench. I so attended it for five or six successive years." Mr. Powell was then a citizen of Perrysburg, having located in that village in 1820, and remaining there in the practice of law until 1830.

From New Rochester the court and county business was transferred to Charloe in 1841, that village having been made the county seat. John H. Palmer, S. Briggs and Patrick C. Good were the common pleas judges at this place; and H. N. Curtis, Christian Shroufe, John Hudson and Robert Shirley some of the associate judges. Shortly after the location of the county seat at Charloe, D. U. Harrington, John W. Ayres, John D. Carlton and A. S. Latty became resident attorneys of that village. By a special act of the legislature the county seat was located at Paulding in 1851, and the county business removed there from Charloe in the spring of that year. The first court held in Paulding was in a log cabin which stood on the corner of Water and Jackson streets, the site being now occupied by Dr. Flavien's residence. The associate judges were men chosen for their sterling worth, honesty and moral integrity, rather than for their knowledge of the law, for but few of them possessed any legal ability. Regarding this fact, an amusing incident is told as follows: Robert McCreary, or " Bob" McCreary, as he was familiarly called, a waggish sort of a genius who resided in Paulding, attended the court room one morning in the early fifties, and looking up to where the presiding judge and the three associates sat, he shrugged his shoulders and smilingly said: "Ah, a thousand judges op the bench this morning!" "Why, how is that, Bob?" some one said. "Why, one and three cyphers, doesh't that make a thousand?" 'The point was quickly seen and a general titter ran through the court room as the result of witticism. Poor Bob! he has long since been summoned to stand before that Great High Court, where alike the living and the dead are judged. By an act of the legislature in 1855 the office of probate judge was created, and that of associate judge abolished. Alexander S. Latty was the first common pleas judge to sit on the bench in the county after the abandonment of the associate judges; being elected in 1856 and continuing in the office for twenty years or four consecutive terms. He was a resident of Paulding when first elected and remained there until about the year of 1860, when he removed to Defiance, where he yet resides. He was a wise and upright judge, and retired from the bench only by his own choosing. The following brief sketch of his life is taken from the Toledo Duily Bee of August 17, 1891:

"One of the old land-marks of the Maumee valley who has been for more than half a century prominently identified with the development of northwestern Ohio is Judge A. Latty, of Defiance. The active career of Judge Latty was contemporaneous with that of Hon. A. P. Edgerton, Hugh McCullough, P. A. Randall, and other remarkable men who were leaders in the pioneer days in the great black swamp region. But few besides Judge Latty have lived to see the tangled wilderness transformed as if by magic into a veritable garden. Born in the west of Ireland about the time of the decline and fall of the empire of the First Napoleon, Judge Latty emigrated to America at an early age, settling first at Montreal, but coming later to New York state. His residence in the latter place was very brief, as in a short time young Latty turned his face to the westward and sought the forest fastness of north-

1837, and at that time the entire section was an unbroken wilderness, save for an occasional settlement. He soon became prominent in the new region by reason of his indefatigable energy and superior talents, and in a short time was a recognized leader. He was elected to several positions of trust, and served for twenty years as common pleas judge in the district then composed of Defiance, Williams, Paulding, Henry and Fulton counties. Since his voluntary retirement from the bench, he has given himself over entirely to the management of his large landed interests in Defiance and Paulding counties. In one township in the latter county, which bears his name, he at one time owned a large portion of the land, but of late years he has disposed of much of it. The closing years of his eventful career being spent quietly at his home in Defianve. He is in many respects a most remarkable man, full of learning, of infinite research, and as clever and interesting a conversationalist as can be found in the entire country."

In 1876, Selwyn N. Owen, of Bryan, was elected to succeed Judge Latty. He was a very popular and able judge, and was re-elected to a second term; but at the expiration of two years he resigned, in 1883, to accept a seat on the bench of the supreme court of Ohio, to which he had been elected. Having finished his term on the supreme bench, he remained in Columbus and engaged in the practice of law. On his resignation as common pleas judge, his place was filled, by appointment, by. C. A. Bowersox, until the next general election. Mr. Bowersox was a learned and polished gentleman, and sat upon the bench with honor and dignity until the fall of 1884, when Silas T. Sutphen, of Defiance, was chosen to succeed him, and to fill the remainder of Judge Owen's term. In 1886, Judge Sutphen was elected to a full term, which he is now serving. On the 27th of August, 1891, he was re-nominated for a second full term. He is exceedingly popular with the bar, and an able and dignified judge, as well as a genial and social gentleman. The following pen picture of him is given by the Paulding News of September 3, 1891:

"Silas T. Sutphen was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, August 28, 1838. At the age of ten he removed with his parents on a farm in the village of Baltimore in the same county, where the succeeding ten years were spent in assisting his father and brothers in the arduous labor of the farm. During the winter months he regularly attended school, and by diligent application completed the course of study and entered Heidelberg college in the spring of 1859. He graduated in 1862 with the second honors of the class, and as a reward for his deportment and efficiency, he was awarded the valedictory address. Immediately thereafter he began the study of law with Judge James Pillars, at Tiffin. He was admitted to the bar in the district court at Fremont in 1862, and moved to Defiance in 1863. He entered the practice, and in 1864 was elected mayor of the city, serving in that capacity two years. He was chosen prosecuting attorney in 1867, and held that office six years. In 1884 he was elected to the common pleas judgeship to fill the vacancy created by the cleetion of Judge Owen to the supreme bench."

With three exceptions the attorneys of Paulding county are located at Paulding. Hon. L. S. Gordon and D. W. Curtis are located at Antwerp, and M. B. Everett, at Payne. Mr. Gordon has been an attorney in the county since 1858. Mr. Curtis has, in connection with his other legal business, an extensive pension practice. Mr. Everett isa rising young attorney. Prominent among the Paulding lawyers is T. B. Holland. By his success in defending persons charged with crime, he has gained the reputation of being one of the best criminal lawyers in northwestern

Ohio. He was born in Allen county, Ohio, March 1, 1845, and removed to Paulding about the year 1873. He was prosecuting attorney of the county from 1875 to 1877. He is now the senior member of the firm of Holland & Lamb, John D. Lamb being his partner, also a resident of Paulding. Snook & Snook is another leading law firm of Paulding. W. H. Snook is the ex-prosecuting attorney of the county, having served two term; and John S. Snook, his cousin, is the other member of the firm. They were both born in Carryall township and formerly practiced in Antwerp. T. W. Shotwell and W. H. Phipps compose the firm of Shotwell & Phipps. The former came from Bucyrus and the latter from Noble county, Ohio. R. W. Pickering and F. P. Spriggs formed a partnership in the law profession in 1890, and are now doing a successful business. K. E. Shuster has practiced law in Paulding since 1883, and has built ùp a large practice. He was formerly a resident of Ada, Ohio. E. B. DeWitt hung out his first law sign in Pauluing in 1872, and has from that time been engaged in the legal profession. He was elected, in 1891, as the first state representative from the county. Arthur L. Knapp, formerly of Meadville, Penn., located in Paulding in 1889, and opened a successful law practice. He was chosen mayor of the village in the spring of 1890, and is still an incumbent of that office. P. W. Stumm began the practice of law in Paulding about the year 1885. He is an old soldier, and makes a speciality of procuring pensions for comrades. Attorney C. W. Baughman has practiced law in Paulding He is a native of Cincinnati, and was born in 1844. George I.

opened a law office, and is yet one of the legal lights of the county seat. J. B. Brodnix and his son, Vance, are gentlemen of the legal profession. The younger Brodnix was probate judge of the county from 1888 until 1890, serving two years of a term made vacant by Judge Lee's death.

Paulding, Ohio, form the exceedingly rare instance where the husband and wife are in partnership in the law practice. Mrs. Seiders is the only lady lawyer in the county; is well versed in the profession, and able member of the firm. She read law at Tiffin, Ohio, in the office of

Colonel Samuel R. Mott came to Paulding in September, 1874, and has He was born in Knox county, Ohio, January 12, 1832, and served over four years in the war of the rebellion, enlisting as a private in the fifteenth Ohio volunteers, and mustered out as lieutenant-colonel of the Fifty-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, with brevet rank of brigadier-general. On his return home he completed the study of law and was admitted in 1869. He served two terms in the Ohio house of representatives from Auglaize county, but was defeated in the fall of 1891 as nominee of the democrat party for prosecuting attorney of this county. Fielding S. Cable commenced the practice of law in Paulding, in 1858. He was elected probate judge in 1860, and held that office until his death in 1870. Bennet Savage is another of the old-time lawyers of Paulding. Alonzo H. Seldon practiced for a few years in the early seventies in Paulding, and removed to Kansas, where he died a few years after. Thomas Emery was a Paulding

Lewis H. Plattor, of Defiance, removed to Paulding in 1878, and began the practice of his chosen profession. In 1883 he was elected prosecuting attorney, and held the office one term. In 1886 he removed to Spokane Falls, Wash., and was shortly after elected prosecuting attorney of Spokane county. In 1888 he was the democratic nominee for lieutenant-governor of the state of Washington, but was defeated. Mark D. Baldwin came to Paulding in 1883, and formed a law partnership with T. B. Holland, but in 1885, under the Cleveland administration, received the appointment of Indian agent to the Blackfeet Indians, and removed to the agency, at Piegan, Montana, where he remained until removed from office by a change of administration, in 1889. He is at present a resident of Grand was for many years a leading attorney of the county and located at Antwerp. Heenlisted in the late Civil war, became lieutenant-colonel of the Sixty-eight regiment, Ohio volunteers, and was killed at the battle T. J. Jones, David N. Osborn and C, A. Calhoun were former attorneys at Antwerp. Mr. Osborn and Mr. Jones died in that village, and Mr. Calhoun removed to some other location.

George W. Potter engaged in the legal profession at Paulding prior to his death in 1887. He was born in Wayne county, New York, September 11, 1826. G. F. Hargo enjoys the distinction of being the only colored attorney ever located in Paulding. He practiced in the county about the year of 1875, and was also a teacher of the colored schools. G. W. Cox was a former attorney in the Paulding court. M. D. Mann and A. B. McMillen were for some years an excellent law firm in Paulding; but Mr. Mann removed to Colorado in 1889, and Mr. McMillen to Los Gatos, Cal., in 1891. Willis B. Corbett, a bright young attorney of Tiffin, Ohio, located in Paulding in 1887. He is the present prosecuting attorney of the county, and is a republican. J. Holly was associated with T. B. Holland in 1875, in the practice of law. B. E. Ogle practiced law in Paulding in partnership with F. B. DeWitt for a year or two prior to 1879. W. A. Strong was at one time a lawyer in Paulding, but soon removed back to his native town, Kenton, Ohio. He compiled the first map of Paulding county. A. Calderwood, of Greenville, Ohio, opened a law office in Paulding in 1882, but remained only a few months. Hon. P. W. Hardesty was formerly a lawyer of Paulding and Payne, but now resides on a farm near Worstville. His son, Frank, also formerly practiced in the county, but removed to Indiana and embarked in the newspaper business. F. M. Rummell was at one time a Paulding attorney, but removed to Napoleon, and is now located in Defiance. Hon. Robert E. Reese and K. E. Fritter came to Paulding from Lancaster, Ohio, in 1882, and opened a law office in partnership. Mr. Fritter returned to Lancaster in 1883 and soon after died. Mr. Reese remained in Paulding until the year of 1887, when he went west and died at Seattle, Wash., July 1, 1891. He had served two terms in the state senate from the Hocking county district before coming to Paulding. Along inthe fifties Lysander Williams practiced at Junction. He died in that village in the fall of 1867. G. W. Crosby opened an office in the spring of 1891. Formerly much of the legal business of the county was entrusted to foreign attorneys, but the high standard of excellence which the Paulding bar has maintained the past several years has led tothe employment of home talent.

Newspaper History

ULLY realizing the invaluable aid which the press has rendered to the writer in compiling these pages, a history of the county newspapers is now given as follows: The first newspaper of the county was established in 1853. It was named the Aye of Proyress, and published in the village of Paulding by Hon. P. W. Hardesty. In its columns were published the first delinquent tax and forfeited land lists of the county. It survived but for a few months, when its material was sold to Hon. A.S. Latty, who began the publishing of a paper named The Democrat. This paper was published for a year or two, and then sold to J. D. Baker, who changed it to the Republican, and after publishing it about a year in the county, removed it to Defiance. In the summer of 1856, John W. Ayres and Ezra J. Smith bought the material for a printing office, and began publishing the Paulding Eagle, with Fielding S. Cable as editor. It was afterward sold to Joseph O. Shannon, who conducted the paper until the fall of 1859, when the Eagle folded its pinions and sank down to rest upon its laurels. With its stock, and in the same office, S. R. Brown began the publication of the Paulding Independent, the first copy of which was issued November 10, 1859. The Independent continued to be published by Mr. Brown until the tenth of October, 1863, when its valedictory number was issued. The material of the office was sold to Dr. Daniel W. Hixson and Fielding S. Cable, who issued the first copy of the Paulding Press the next week after the demise of the Independent. The Press was published for a time, when the office passed into the hands of Thomas Melia, who changed its name to the Rural Ohioan. The paper was again purchased by Fielding S. Cable, who published it under the same name until his death in 1870. With the material of the Rural Ohioan Thomas Emery and Wesley A. Savage founded the Paulding Plain Dealer, issuing the first number June 30, 1870. The firm continued to publish that paper until June 10, 1873, when Mr. Emery issued his valedictory. Mr. Savage remained with the paper one weck longer, then sold it to J. D. Baker. who, without changing its name, continued to issue it until March 26, 1874, when he removed it to some point in Wood county, Ohio. In the year 1869, Hon. Joseph Cable began the publication of the Review, in Antwerp, but soon after removed it to Paulding. In 1872 he sold it to Messrs. Hammond & DeWitt, who began publishing the Pauld- ing Journal. Mr. Hammond soon retired from the firm, and C. C. Scott was associated in his stead. Upon the retirement of Mr. Scott, the paper passed into the full control of Francis B. DeWitt, as editor and proprietor, and so continued until the spring of 1874, when it was sold to George W. Potter, who, with its material, founded the present Paulding Democrat, April 9, 1874. In the spring of 1876, Mr. Potter sold the paper to George P. Hardy and Peter Becker, In four weeks after the purchase Mr. Becker sold his interest to Robert Temple, who remained a partner only two months, when he sold his interest to Mr. Hardy. In April, 1877, it was re-bought by Mr. Potter, and in the following autumn was sold to D. J. Stalter and George P. Hardy. In the early part of 1878, it passed into the hands of the Mains Brothers, who conducted the paper nearly one year, and sold it to Ralph D. Webster in January, 1879. Mr. Webster continued its editor and proprietor until the fall of 1884, when, having been elected county auditor, he leased the office to his brother, Nelson R. Webster, who conducted it with E. A. Budd as editor. Mr. Budd continued to edit the paper until the 6th of February, 1887, at which time the publisher also assumed the editorial management. In March, 1889, the proprietor, R. D. Webster, again took charge of the paper and published it until sold to Frank J. Mains, in the spring of 1890, In January, 1891, the office was purchased by Frank Windiate, who, with C. W. Mains as editor, continued the publication of the papar for three weoks, and then sold it to Nial R. Hysell, then speaker of the Ohio house of representatives. Hon. M.G. Eggerman shortly after purchased a one-third interest in the office, and the owners became Hysell & Eggerman, with M. A. Kirchner as managing editor. In August, 1891, Mr. Eggerman sold his interest to his partner, Nial R. Hysell, who, in October, 1891, sold to Nicholls & Dickinson. Owing to its having received the bulk of the county public printing forthe past few years, the Democrat is the most prosperous newspaper plant in the county.

The publication of the Paulding Register began in the early part of 1876, Messrs. Fisher and Keller being the editors and proprietors. Mr. Fisher soon retired from the paper, and Mr. Keller assumed control and published it about one year, when it was suspended. Its material was purchased, in 1877, by George P. Hardy and merged into the Democrat office,

What is now the Paulding County Republican was founded in Antwerp, April 25, 1866, by Will E. Osborn. It was then called the Antwerp Gazette, and was published in that village until the fall of 1878, when Mr. Osborn removed it to Paulding, changed its name to the Paulding County Gazette, issuing the first copy thereof November 25, of the above named year, In September of 1882, the office was purchased by James R, Conner, who conducted the same until December, 1883, when he sold it to the firm of Durfey & Moore. In the summer of 1885 it was purchased by A. C. Banks, who published it until the fall of 1887, when the office passed into the hands of an assignee. The Mr. C. A. Seiders, published it, with S., I. French as editor, until the spring of 1888, when A. W. Search became its editor and proprietor. Mr. Search published it about ten months and sold it to Andrew Durfey. Mr. Durfey changed its name to the Paulding County Republican, and remained with the paper about one year, and sold it to J. R. Ross, who is the present publisher. The Republican office is one of the best equipped in the county; and its presses, and those of the Democrat, are the only ones run by steam power in the county.

The Antwerp Banner was started in that village in the early part of 1879, by R. S. Murphy, who employed H. W. Spague to conduct the paper. It suspended publication September 1, 1881, by reason of its material being sold*to Will J. Conant, who moved it to Dickson, Tenn., and started the Dickson County Press,

In the autumn of 1882, a man named Williamson began publishing the Antwerp Standard, but sold it the following winter to B. B. Banks and A. N. Smith. Mr. Smith soon retired from the firm, and Mr. Banks continued the publication of the paper until May 1, 1883, when he sold it to W.E. Osborn. With the material of the Standard office Mr. Osborn issued the first number of the Antwerp Argus, July 19, 1883, with E. A. Budd as associate editor. Mr. Budd remained with the paper until June, 1884, at which time he retired, and its editorial department passed into the charge of W. E. & N. H. Osborn. In the spring of 1889, the plant was leased to John F. Lusk, who purchased it in the fall of 1890, and is the present editor and proprietor.

The first number of the Oakwood: Sentinel was issued February 28, 1889, by C. T. Carey, who, a few weeks later, sold an interest to Frank A. Hakes. Soon after Mr. Hakes became sole proprietor and continued to publish the paper until July 4, 1890, when he shipped the material to Houston, Mo., and founded the Texas County Sentinel. The following week Mr. Carey, having purchased new material, continued the publication of the Oakwood Sentinel, until April, 1891, when he sold it to a Mr. Martin, who remained with it only two or three weeks, when it was re-purchased by C. T. Carey,who, in turn, sold, September 17, 1891, to J. L. Lomer.

The Paulding News was founded in the winter of 1891, by Fred. W. French and James R. Thomas, who, with a new and elegantly equipped office, issued the first number February 12, 1891, under the firm name of French & Thomas, which firm continues to publish at present. It isa neat six-column folio, and bids fair to become a prosperous plant. The Free Press, the only German paper ever published in the county, is issued from the News office, under the editorial management of a Mr. Silberberg. During the fall of 1891, French & Thomas sold the Free Press to Joseph Silberberg, who is now owner and editor, and is loeated in the Democrat office.

In the summer of 1890 Sherman Mott began the publication of the Scott Messenger, in the village of Scott. In December of the same year, he sold to Charles O. Grimm, who published it until July, 1891, when he leased it to M. A. Kirchner, the present publisher.

The Star, Independent and Review, are the names of papers which have been published in Payne. Their histories will be found in the special history of Payne village. The Review office was leased in August, 1891, to Messrs. Hamilton & Underwood, who are the present publishers of the paper.

The latest newspaper venture in the county is The Judge, published at Melrose, by E. H. Battles and C. H. Yeagley. Its initial number was issued August 28, 1891.