Hancock County, Indiana - Chapter 24: Courts, Jails, Exemption Laws, Etc, 1882

Chapter 24: Courts, Jails, Exemption Laws, Etc

The First Court - Of an}- kind or character in Hancock county was a commissioners' court, held early in the year 1828, and composed of three commissioners, viz : Elisha Chapman, Samuel Vangilder and John Hunter. This court is still in existence, having met four times a year ever since, and never having undergone any great or material change, except that its duties have been enlarged and its jurisdiction somewhat extended, as the State has advanced in years and laws have multiplied on the statute

The First Circuit Court - In Hancock county was organized in March, 1828, at the private residence of Samuel B. Jackson, in a log house east of Greenfield, in the bottom on Brandy wine, south of the National road, near the flax factory. This county was then in the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

The First Officers - Of said court were Bethuel F. Morris, Presiding Judge ; Jacob Jones and James Stevens. Associate Judges ;* James Whitcomb, Prosecuting Attorney ; Lewis Tyner, Clerk, and John Foster, Sheriff.

-For about twenty-lour years of the first liistory of Hancock county the Circuit Court was presided over by three Judges, a Presiding Judge and two Associate Judges. The functions of the Presiding Judge were similar to those of the Juige of the Circuit Court in Indiana at this date. lie had liis circuit prescribed bj- law, and traveled from county to county. The Associate Judges were county officers, each county having her own. Instead of one Judge, as at present, three then sat upon tlie bench at the same time, the Presiding Judge being the center man.

Jcrm, 1828. - At a Circuit Court, be<^an and held at the house of Samuel B. Jackson, in the count}' of Hancock, on the 22d of September, 1828, it being the fourth Monday of September, Hiram Brown and James F. Brown were admitted attorneys."

The First Grand yurors - Were George W. Hinton, James McKinsey, Benjamin Gordon, Meredith Gosnev. Jeremiah Meek, Samuel Thompson, Robert Snodgrass, David Templeton, Ladock Stephenson, Richard Guymon, Jacob Tague, Moses McCall, Samuel Martin, Basil Meek, Owen Griffith and John Osborn ; twelve sturdy men, of good judgment and clean characters. Meredith Gosney was appointed foreman.

The First Bill Found - By said grand jury was against Washington Williams, for assault and battery. He was arraigned, tried and found guilty, and a fine of $1 assessed against him. Several other bills were found by said grand jury, most of which resulted in$i fines. The most singular and unexpected bill, however, was against Lewis Tyner, Clerk of the aforesaid Circuit Court, for neglecting to post up, in accordance with the requirements of law, a list of his legal fees, which resulted in his being fined $1 and costs.

The First Petit 'Jury - Empanneled in this countv was composed of the following twelve reputable men and prominent citizens at that date, viz. : Henry Watts, John Kauble, Peter Beller\', Benjamin Miller, George Baitv, William Chapman, William Booth, David Smith, John Henlev, James Goodwin, Samuel Vangilder and Elihu Chapman.

The First CoDunissioners' Court in Greenfield. - In May, 1829, the Commissioners of the count\' adjourned to the town of Greenfield, the seat of justice, from the house of Samuel B. Jackson to the place appointed by the Legislature of Indiana in which the courts of said county should

*It will be observed that the first term of court was held in March and the second in September, beinfj six months apart, which is accounted for by the fact that in the carlv history of the county and until 1872 there were but two terms of the Circuit Court per

The First Court House. - In the winter of 1829-30 the Commissioners contracted with Amos Dickerson and John Hays to build a two-story brick Court House on the public square, at a cost of about $3,000. This building was promptly erected, in accordance with contract, and courts were held therein, in the lower rooms, until 185 1, at which time it was tojn down.

Courts in Churches and Seminary. - In December, 1851, the Trustees of the M. E. Church, on South State street, rented their church building to the County Commissioners, to be used as a place for holding the courts. Said building was a roomy one-story frame, still standing, located in the south part of the city on the west side of South State street. Early in 1853 the court was moved to the old Seminary, and remained there until the June term, 1855, when the court was ordered to be mov^ed to the Christian Church building, still standing, and located just north of our present jail and east of the public square. The conditions of said renting were that the house should not be damaged, and if not injured it should be free to the county until the new Court House should be completed.

The Present Court House.* - In 1854, Nathan Crawford, father of Freeman H. Crawford, druggist in our city, contracted to erect a new brick Court House, two stories high, commodious and substantial, on the public square, at a cost of $14,400, which contract he tilled promptly and full}', in accordance with the plans and specifications. This contract did not include the bell and irons for suspending thereof; but for these he was allowed the sum of $268. Said Crawford was ordered to buy ten stoves and ditVerent locks and keys for said Court House ; and it was further ordered by the Commissioners that the county officers receive their rooms unfinished, and that they have their respective rooms finished to suit themselves by the car- penter or carpenters employed by the county. The courts were to occupy the Upper rooms, and the county officers the lower. The house was completed and brought into use early in 1856. There has been, from time to time, several changes made in the court rooms above, and in the arrangement of the officers' rooms below.

Circuit Court Twice a Tear. - Prior to 1872, Circuit Court was held in this county twice a year. Since that time quarter sessions have been regularly held.

Circuit and Associate Judges. - From the organization of the county, in 1828 until 1852, the date of the adoption of the Constitution, there was one Circuit Judge and two Associate Judges (one on either side) on the bench. In 1852 the law providing for Associate Judges was aboHshed, since which time we have had but the one Judge.

T/ie ^^aines of the Circuit Judges - In Hancock county, from the date of the organization thereof to the present, with the date of their appointment or election, are as follows, to-wit :

Remarks : It will be observed that Bethuel F. Morris was the first Circuit Judge in the county. William W. Wick, who came on the bench in 1835, was one of the early judges in Indiana. It was he that presided at Pendleton, in Madison county, in 1824, at the trial of the whites for ,the murder of the 'Indians on Fall creek. He also presided at the organization of the first court in Rush county, in April, 1822. He was the Judge on the bencli in the Fifth District at the time when Sherift' John Hays, of Rush count}^ became insane and wandered out to this phice, and was burned up in the old jail, as heretofore mentioned. Judges Morrison, Peasley and Major were in office respectively three, seven and six 3'ears, and were known to our older attorneys, David M. C. Lane, David S. Gooding, J. H. Williams', T. D. Walpole, George W. Julian, ct al. Judges Buckles and Mellett have exchanged the bench for the bar, and are holding forth respectively at Anderson and New Castle. Robert L. Polk, Judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit for five years, died at his home in New Castle, Saturday, May 7, 1881, at the early age of thirty-nine. Hon. Mark E. Forkner was appointed b}- Governor Porter to fill the unexpired term of the late lamented Judge Polk, and is the presiding Judge at this date.

Remarks: Jacob Jones and James Stevens, it will be observed, were the first Associate Judges in the county. John Ogg, fiither of A. L. Ogg, and Robert McCorkhill, a prominent citizen, came next ; then followed in order Nathan Crawford, contractor of the court-house, George Henry, father of Attorney Charles Henry, of Anderson. Hector II. Hall, now of Indianapolis, from whom we have a letter on page 139, George Tague, father of G. G. and Jonathan Tague, Owen Jarrett, ancestor of the Green township Jarretts, Andrew F. Hatfield and P. II. Foy, the last two of whom were on the bench at the time of the adoption of the new Constitution.

Courts, Jaii.S, Exemption Laws, Etc

The Probate Court. - In 1829 there was a Probate Court organized in the county, with power to adjust estates of deceased persons, or, as the name indicates, adjudicate probate business only. This court continued until 1852, when the law providing for it was abolished, and the business was turned over to the Common Pleas Court, which was then provided for. The first Probate ' Judge was Jeremiah Meek, who served till 1836. The second was

John Ogg, who presided till 1850. The third and last was Samuel Ilotde, who held forth till 1852. The Probate Court, during the time it. was sustained as a separate and distinct court, set twice a year onlv. After the probate lousiness was turned over to the Common Pleas Court, probate matters c(nild be adjudicated four times a vear.

Remarks : The iirst will recorded in the countv was that of Samuel Pierson on the 24th of September, 1829. The first inventory of personal property- was on the loth of October, 1829.

The Couimon Pleas Court - Was organized by an act approved May 14, 1852, to be presided over by one Judge, elected by the voters of the district, at the annual election in October, 1852, and every four years thereafter, who should hold his office for the term of four years, if he should so long behave well, and until his successor should be elected and qualified. And in case of a vacancy by death or otherwise, the Governor w^as to hll the vacancy bv appointment until the next general election. The Common Pleas Court, as to jurisdiction, was virtually a probate court, at least as to all matters in which it had exclusive jurisdiction ; but there were certain matters in which it had c^;/c«rrf;/^ jurisdiction with the Circuit Court. Section five of the act of May 14, 1852, providing for the establishment of Courts of Common Pleas, and defining the duties and jurisdiction thereof, read as follows, to-wit : ''The Circuit and Common Pleas Courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction in all actions against heirs, devisees and sureties of executors, administrators and guardians, in the partition of real estate, assignment of dowers, and the appointment of a commissioner to execute a deed on any title bond given by deceased." Although it would seem trom the section just quoted, that the Circuit and Common Pleas Courts had concurrent jurisdiction in all actions against the sureties of executors, administrators and guardians, yet the Supreme Court held in lOth Indiana, page 411, that Courts of Common Pleas have no jurisdiction of suits on the bonds of administrators, when the damages are laid at $1,000 or upward. But to be brief, without entering into details, the Common Pleas Courts, which were sustained for twenty years in this and other counties of Indiana, were virtually probate courts, presided over by judges elected quadrennially, and did the business, slightly modified, of the old probate courts, which met semi-annually. It was an infe- rior court to the Circuit Court. The Judges of the Common Pleas Court of Hancock county, for the time aforesaid, and the dates of their election were as follows, to-wit :

This court was abolished by an act of the Legislature approved March 6, 1873, which act also provided for the redistricting of the State for judicial purposes into thirtyeight* circuits, and fixed the time of holding courts therein, and transferred the business of the Common Pleas to the Circuit Courts. Under this act a]l matters and business pending in the Courts of Common Pleas were to be transferred and disposed of by the new Circuit Court.

The Present Ci>'ctu't CoiirL - The new Circuit Court, bv the act of March 6, 1873, had her jurisdiction greatly extended, and in addition to the jurisdiction previously exercised, was to have jurisdiction over all matters which had been previously considered by the Common Pleas Courts, and all laws and parts of laws concerning said Courts of Common Pleas were to be construed to mean and apply to said Circuit Courts, and the old offices of Common Pleas Judge and District Attorney were abolished. This act also provided for the election ot Judges and Prosecuting Attorneys, on the second Tuesday of October, 1873, to lill the places of such Judges and Prosecuting Attorneys as were then holding their office by virtue of an appointment In- the Governor, since which time we have had a Prosecuting Attorney, and the counties of Henry and Hancock have constituted the i8th Judicial Circuit. The courts in this county convene on the Monday following the close of the term of the Henry county court. The courts in Henrv are held on the first Monday in February, fourth Monday in April, first Monday in September, and third Monday of

* Three additional circuits have .since been added. The 41st and last circuit is composed of Marshall and Fulton counties, as provided for by the acts of 1S75, pajje 47.

November in each year. The courts in Henry continue six weeks, and in Hancock four weeks, if the business require it. And there has since been but two courts in the county, viz. : The Commissioners Court, which was the first in the county, and the Circuit Court, whicli now has jurisdiction of all probate matters, civil and criminal business, and consequently performs the duties heretofore devolving upon the Probate, Common Pleas and Circuit Courts.

Courts of Conciliation. - There was still another court, though little resorted to, termed a Court of Conciliation, which was provided for by an act entitled an act to establish courts of conciliation ; to prescribe rules and proceedings therein, and compensation of Judges thereof, approved June II, 1852. This court might take cognizance of all cases in which anv person claimed to have a cause of action against another for libel, slander, malicious prosecution, assault and battery, or false imprisonment. This law was, in many respects, similar to our present law relative to arbitrations and umpirages, approved February 3, 1875. ^^ case a reconciliation between the parties was had, a memorandum thereof stating the nature of the controversy, or thfe alleged cause of action, the appearance of the parties, and the fact of the reconciliation, without specifying the terms thereof, unless it be agreed by the parties to do so, was to be entered upon a book of record, kept by the Judge, and signed by the respective parties. The reconciliation thus effected was a complete bar to any future action in reference to either party in respect thereto. In case of a final adjustment ot the matter in controversy, the Judge was entitled to a fee of $5, to be paid half by each party ; but in case of no reconciliation, no fee whatever could be received by the Judge for any services rendered. This court was a kind of equity criminal court, and the act specially provided that every controversy submitted to it for settlement was to be decided according to conscience and right, without regard to technical rules. These courts of conciliation should have been considered useful to the people in saving costs and the bitter feelings resulting from loner and tedious lawsuits, but an examination of the records of our courts develops the fact that the people did not seem to take kindly to its pacific provisions, being considered by them of little importance.

The first jail in Hancock county was a wooden structure, erected soon after the organization of the county, located on the south part of the public square, and burned down in 1833 by John Hays, the only inmate at the time.* In 1835 Cornwell Meek erected, at a cost of $2,200, a hewed log jail building, two stories high, with two rooms below for the jailer's residence and two above for the convicts. The east one was called the debtor's room, and was provided with two windows, and used for the confinement of lawfully adjudged debtors, under the law of Indiana providing for imprisonment for debt, which prevailed prior to 1838. The west room was less attractive, having but one small window, and was used for the confinement of the regular criminals. This building remained and was used by the county until the erection of the present jail, in the year 1871, at a contract price of $32,900,! located on the south-east corner of the public square.

The old Constitution of the State of Indiana declared that " the privilege of the debtor to enjoy the necessary comforts of life shall be recognized by wholesome laws, exempting a reasonable amount of property from seizure or sale for the payment of any debt or liability hereafter contracted." Observe that the constitutional provision for an exemption is restricted to contracts alone. Under an act of 1843, an execution defendant could claim an ex- emption iVom execution, at any time before the sale, any personal property levied on, not exceeding in value $125. The Constitution of 1852 retains the old exemption section of the original Constitution, with an additional clause prohibiting imprisonment for debt, except in case of fraud. Under this constitutional provision, an act to exempt propertv from sale in certain cases, approved February 15. 1852, provided that an amount of property not exceeding in value $300, owned b}' any resident householder, should not be liable to sale on execution, or any other final process from a court, for any debt growing out of or founded upon a contract, express or implied, after the 4th day of July, 1852. This law exempting $300 remained in full force and effect until it was superseded by the act of March 29, 1879, which provides for the exemption of an amount of property not exceeding in value $600, owned by any resident householder, such exemption being for any debt growing out of or founded upon a contract, express or implied, after the taking effect of said act. The same Legislature, in an act concerning married women, approved March 25, 1879, exempts from execution wearing apparel and articles of personal adornment purchased by her, to the amount of $200 ; and exempts all presents of jewelry, books, w^orks of art, &c., and provides that she shall further hold as exempt, except for the purchase money therefor, other property to the amount of $300, making a total exemption to married women of $500 in addition to her presents.