Johnson County, Indiana - Chapter 13: The Early Bar of Johnson County, 1881

Johnson County, at the time of its organization, was attached to the Fifth Judicial Circuit, and provision was made for two terms of court each year. The Circuit Court was then, as now, the most important court to the people in the State. All causes of any magnitude whatever, were taken there for trial.

Three Judges were provided for by constitutional enactment, a President Judge and two Associate Judges. This last feature in the constitution of the court testifies to the feeling of widespread jealousy in the minds of the people, not only of professional men, but of their own rights. While the law did not require that a lawyer should be elevated to the chief place on the bench, yet it was a rare thing to find any other than a lawyer occupying that place. We do not call to mind at this time any instance in Indiana of a layman being elected by legislature or the people to the office of President Judge of the Circuit Court. The law of " natural selection " controlled in this matter.

And yet, while professional learning was in demand, the people demanded that representatives from their own ranks should have a seat upon the bench, and that these representatives should have the power to override the decisions of the chief Judge. Two Associate Judges were accordingly provided for, and, from the organization of the State up to the adoption of our present constitution in 1850, in every county in the State, two ''Associate Judges " were chosen, whose duty it was to conduct the court in the absence of the President Judge, and to aid him in the discharge of his duties when he was present. In the event they deemed him to be mistaken in his opinions as to questions of law or fact, or that he was acting from any wrong or improper motive, they could modify or overrule his judgments, and enforce their own as the judgment of the court.

At the time Johnson County became a part of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, William Watson Wick was the President Judge, and, as Judge Wick was so long identified with the people of this county, not only as a jurist but as a politician, he deserves more than the mere mention of his name.

Judge Wick sprang from a Dutch, English and Scotch ancestry. His father, William Watson Wick, represented the first two nationalities mentioned, and was a sober, serious, pious man, while his mother was pure Scotch, and, while equally pious, was vivacious and witty. They were married in 1790 or 1791, and the young husband was a house-carpenter by trade, but soon after he laid aside his hammer and handsaw, and fitted himself for the ministry in the Presbyterian Church. In due time he was licensed to preach, and soon after moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where he performed missionary labor. There he remained until his death, which occurred about 1812.

William Watson, the second child of the foregoing, was born on the 22d day of February, 1794, in Western Pennsylvania. His early years were spent on his father's farm, but showing a greater love for books than did his brothers, he was sent to college, and, although he did not graduate, he nevertheless acquired a good academic education.

At his father's death, he left college and set out in the world in quest of his own fortune. The study of medicine first engaged his attention, but, after some time spent at this, he entered the law office of the late Hon. Thomas Corwin, in Lebanon, Ohio, and studied law. How long he remained in Corwin's office is not remembered, but we may surmise that he was there some time, for, in after years, he proved to the world that he was a well-read lawyer, and especially well grounded in the principles of equity jurisprudence.

Some time in 1820 he came to Connersville, in Fayette County, but soon after moved to Centerville. Shortly after he came to the State he was elected Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, and, in February, 1822, moved to Indianapolis. A short time before that he was married to Miss Alice Finch, a daughter of Judge J. Finch.

Judge Wick, in his early life, was full six feet tall, well formed, athletic ; had dark hair, a full eye, a mouth full of sound teeth ; had a round head, a broad forehead, shaggy eye-brows, and, taken all in all, was a fine specimen of manly beauty. He was a good lawyer and made an excellent Judge. It is remembered that he was not garrulous when on the bench, heard counsel patiently, decided all questions promptly, and seldom gave any reasons for his decisions. He wrote all bills of exceptions, and did it with fairness to all.

He was a very tender-hearted man, and always gave the accused the benefit of the doubt. This brought unfriendly criticism sometimes, but it did not change his course.

He was cool and deliberate while on the bench ; he seldom or never showed temper. He was kind to young lawyers, was respectful to the old, and never suffered any one to go beyond the bounds of professional courtesy in their treatment of himself.

Of his Associate Judges in Johnson County, Daniel Boaz and Israel Watts, it may be said as of all their successors, they were honest, fair-minded men, who made no pretensions to any particular knowledge of the law.

Judge Wick resigned the office of Judge at the close of 1824, to take the office of Secretary of State, when Bethuel F. Morris was appointed by Gov. Hendricks, and he served for about ten years. Judge Morris was a slow man - slow in thought and slow in speech. He was not considered by the bar as a wellread lawyer, but he was a conscientious and painstaking worker. He paid great attention to the arguments of counsel, and usually gave satisfactory judgments. He seldom or never gave a reason for his judgments, but frequently said, " It is a good deal easier to give a good judgment than a good reason for it." A few months before his commission expired, he resigned and took an office in the State Bank. He has long been dead.

In 1834, Wick was re-elected, and served to 1840, when his term expiring, James Morrison was chosen. Judge Morrison was a good lawyer and an able Judge. His mind was clear ; he saw a point stripped of all its surroundings, and seldom made a mistake in his decisions. He was born in Scotland in 1796, and died in 1869.

After two years' service, Judge Morrison resigned, and Gov. Bigger then appointed Fabius M. Finch, of the Johnson bar, to the office, who held it one year, when he gave place to William J. Peaslee, who served a term of seven years. Judge Peaslee was an Eastern man, and not much seems to be remembered of him.

Wick succeeded Peaslee in 1850, and, in 1857, Stephen Major succeeded Wick, but he resigned in little less than two years, when Wick was re-appointed by Gov. Willard, and served up to the fall of 1859, making a total of about fifteen years he served in all, when Judge Finch was elected, and held the office for a term of six years. On the expiration of his term, John Cobum was elected, but he resigned at the end of a year, when Cyrus C. Hines was elected, and served as Judge up to the re-districting of the State in 1868-69, when Johnson County became a part of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, which was composed of the counties of Shelby. Bartholomew, Brown and Johnson. When that was done, Samuel P. Oyler was appointed by Gov. Baker, and served up to 1870, when David D. Banta was elected, and held it up to 1876, when the present incumbent, Kendall M. Hord was elected.

of the constitution of 1850. The Judges of this court were all laymen, and their names and order of service were as follows : John Smiley, Bartholomew Applegate and Peter Voris.

With the adoption of the Code of 1852, the Common Pleas Court was inaugurated, and this was maintained up to 1871-72, when it was abolished, and all the legal business centered in the Circuit Court as at the beginning. In 1871-72, on the abolition of the Common Pleas Court, the circuit was still further reduced, and since then has consisted of Johnson and Shelby Counties. Franklin Hardin was the first Common Pleas Judge, and he served up to 1860, when his last term having expired, and the Common Pleas district being enlarged so as to include Monroe, Morgan, Brown, Shelby and Johnson Counties, George A. Buskirk, of Monroe, was elected Judge, and served as such a term of four years, when Oliver J. Glessner, of Morgan, was chosen. On the expiration of his term, Thomas W. Woollen, of Johnson, was elected, and in 1870, he resigned, when Richard L. Coffey, of Brown, was chosen, and he held the office until the court was abolished.

Johnson County has always been noted for the absence of the litigious element among its people. This is due in some extent to their conservative character, but to the bar of the county, we think, more is due. The members of any bar may, if they see fit, encourage litigation with such a degree of earnestness as to keep the soberest community in an uproar ; or they may, on the other hand, advise conciliation and compromise with so much zeal as to repress the greater part of all litigation that is of a trivial and merely harassing nature. From whatever cause, it is, and always has been, a noticeable fact that litigation in Johnson County is less resorted to in the settlement of difficulties than in any of the neighboring counties of equal population and wealth.

In the beginning, the courts had but little to do. For thirty years after the county was organized it was seldom that a term of Circuit Court occupied more than a week. But business was more rapidly dispatched then than now. The old lawyers were not so tedious in the examination of witnesses as the modern, and it was a rare thing indeed for the evidence of witnesses to be taken down. There were but few law-books in comparison to the number now, and lawyers argued questions from principle rather than authority, and this gave greater haste. There are law libraries in Franklin to-day containing a thousand volumes, while Gilderoy Hicks, a leading member of the bar in his day, never owned over twelve or fifteen law-books. One of the most important causes tried in the county, under the old judicial sys- tern, was the " Woodruff Will Case," which involved title to about $50,000 worth of property, and this case occupied only three days in the trial, and that was thought to have been a very long time. In that justly celebrated case of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, vs Edward C. Wilkinson and others, tried at Ilerrodsburg, Ky., in 1839, forty witnesses were examined and several speeches were made by counsel to the jury, among which counsel may be mentioned the names of Sargent S. Prentiss, Benjamin Hardin and Judge Rowan, and only six days were consumed in the entire trial.

Up to about 1830, there was not a resident lawyer in the county. Daniel B. Wick, the Judge's brother, Harvey Gregg, Philip Sweetser, Hiram Brown, Calvin Fletcher, William Quarles, John H. Bradley, William Herrod and some other lawyers who " rode the circuit " in those primitive days, attended the courts here and looked after the interests of the few litigants of the county.

About that time (1830), a lawyer located in Franklin by the the name of Winchell. Where he was from or whither he went is not now remembered. His name is not found in the old records, and but for the fact that he was the first lawyer to locate in the county, his name would not now be mentioned.

During the last days of August, 1831, Fabius Maximus Finch, a beardless boy, fresh from the law office of Judge Wick, came to Franklin and announced himself as a lawyer of the place. He was born in Livingston County, N. Y., in 1811, and when three years of age, his father, John Finch, moved to Hamilton County, Ohio, where he remained till 1818, when he moved to Hamilton County, Ind. John Finch had a large family of children, and their educational advantages were necessarily limited. His son Fabius M. attended the common schools of the neighborhood, as did his brothers, but he made such headway with his studies that his father, who had become an Associate Judge of his county, was not displeased when he learned of the boy's purpose of studying law. In 1827, being at the time about sixteen years old, he went to Indianapolis and entered the law office of his brother-in-law, Judge Wick, and commenced reading. After going through the prescribed course, he was examined and admitted to the bar, and, in 1831, being a little over twenty years old, he came to Franklin and opened an office.

There was not much for a lawyer to do in Franklin in those days at the legitimate practice of the law. There was not only little to do, but the people were poor and had but little money with which to pay for legal business. It was a prevailing cus- torn for lawyers to take the promissory notes of their clients for services rendered, and the non-resident lawyers generally exchanged such of their notes as had any exchangeable value with the merchants of the county where the payers lived, for dry goods and even groceries. It was no uncommon thing in the early day to see Hiram Brown, Philip Sweetser and other lawyers riding out of Franklin with calicoes, muslins, jeans and other articles tied to their saddles, the product of such exchanges.

When Finch came to the town, Samuel Herriott was Clerk of the Circuit Court, and kept his office in a little room in the rear of his storeroom, standing on the northwest corner of the square. His records were very much behind, and it coming to his' knowledge that Finch wrote a good hand, he at once made him his Deputy.

William Shaffer, an honest old carpenter, who could make a wooden pin better than he could a quill pen, was at the same time County Recorder, and he too sought the young man's help, and, between the Clerk's office and the Recorder's, Finch found profitable employment, profitable to himself, we may hope, and certainly profitable to the people of Johnson County, for the records made by him are among the best that have ever been made in the county.

After some time, Pierson Murphy, a physician of the town, was elected to the office of School Commissioner, and, appointing Finch as his Deputy, he discharged the duties of that office.

For many years after Johnson County was organized, the Whigs held the better county offices, and Fabius M. Finch being a Whig, the office-holders quite naturally gave him their countenance and support.

But he did not make himself known to the people as a Deputy Clerk or Deputy Recorder only. He had a higher ambition, and that was to be known as a lawyer, and he succeeded. Clients came to him one by one, and his business so increased, and he managed it in such a manner as to make himself known and felt as one among the best lawyers in the circuit.

In 1839, he was elected as a Whig candidate to the Legislature and served during the twenty-fourth session. In 1842, Judge Morrison, having resigned his office as Circuit Judge, Gov. Bigger appointed Fabius M. Finch to the place, and he served until the ensuing election.

At the close of his term, he returned to the practice of the law, and followed it with profit to himself and clients up to 1859, when he was a candidate for Circuit Judge before the people against his old preceptor, Judge Wick, and was elected. He served his full term on the bench, but before its close he move<l to Indianapolis, and ceased to be an active member of the Johnson bar. He is still in active practice in that city in connection with his son, John A. Finch.

In 1832 or 1833, William 0. Ross moved to the town and opened a law office, but he did not remain long. It is remembered that he got some business, but he had a large family, and his fees falling short of their support, he moved away in a year or two. Nothing more is known of him.

The third lawver to locate in Franklin and the second to stay, was Gilderoy Hicks. He was born in Rutland, Vt., Jan. 3, 1804, and when he was quite young, his father moved to Onondaga, N. Y.. and, after a few years, he moved to Marietta. Ohio, where he remained two years, after which he moved again, and this time landed at Patriot, in Switzerland County, Ind. There he opened a farm, and Gilderoy did his share of the farm work. In the common schools he received the rudiments of an English education, and no better schools were ever opened to him. He followed teaching for a time during the winter seasons during his early manhood, and, owing to his naturally weak constitution and a natural love for books, he entered the law office of John Dumont, of Vevay, a noted lawyer of the early day, and prepared himself for the practice of the law.

Mr. Hicks was in humble circumstances when he came, and had a young and growing family to support during the early years of his life, and, when we remember the sparseness of business, and, above all, the insignificant fees he charged for his services, it is a matter of wonder as to how he managed to maintain himself and gain a permanent foothold. The necessaries of life, it is true, could be had at extremely low prices in that early day in comparison to the present, and it is to this circumstance, like all other lawyers of that early day, he owed his ability to make his living, more than to the lucrative character of his practice.

Gilderoy Hicks adhered to the faith of the Whig party, as did his professional brother, Finch, but the latter, as we have seen, received the aid and influence of Samuel Herriott and, gen- < r.illy, of the other leading Whig men of the town and county. To this circumstance Finch owed his early success more than to any other.

Samuel Herriott. In addition to carrying on the business of farming, he was selling town lots, was merchandising, and, at one time, Postmaster. Controversies requiring the interposition of the courts were liable to arise at any time between the two men, and the advent of a second lawyer was a welcome one to King. Hicks at once received his countenance and support, and, although a Whig, he received far more than a full share of the Democratic patronage of the county. To this circumstance he owed his early success.

It would be of little interest to compile tables of cases showing the limited and light character of the legal business transacted in Johnson County from its organization up to 1850. There was, of course, growth, but it was barely appreciable. During all of that time, lawyers managed to live, but while farmers and others, no more prudent than they, were not only supporting their families, they were at the same time clearing out their farms and becoming wealthy men through the enhanced price of their lands. It was not so with the early lawyers. The large majority died poor, and, of the few who accumulated property, it was through fortunate investments of legacies left by their fathers, or of such small sums as were saved from scanty fees.

Gilderoy Hicks had some elements of character which are sometimes fortunate elements to the man who aspires to political life. He was eminently an even-tempered man, was conciliatory in his views, and was careful to give offense to no man. He was a Whig, as we have seen, but his business and even social affiliations were, by force of circumstances, Democratic. And so, when, in 1848, he announced himself as a candidate for the Legislature, although his party was largely in the minority, yet he received enough Democratic votes to elect him by a plurality of thirtynine votes over Dr. James Ritchey, the Democratic nominee.

But, though successful as a Whig candidate, he failed to give satisfaction to his party. In a letter addressed " To the citizens of Johnson County," and printed in the Franklin Examiner of the 8th of June, 1847, he speaks with some bitterness of the " wide-spread reports " concerning his political opinions. An effort was made that year, he says in his communication, " by many persons of both political parties," to bring him out as a candidate for reelection to the Legislature, but upon his declaration that he " would vote for a Democrat to the United States Senate if elected," he was given to understand that his ;' Whig friends were not pleased." But they seem to have questioned him further, and "in reply to which," he says, "I expressed ignorance as to Whig policy;" and in turn he questioned his questioners by asking them "whether a United States Bank, a highly protective tariff, and a distribution, under present circumstances, were desirable?" The answer came, "as he half-suspected it would," that " Whig policy was opposition to Democratic policy." The next day, he says, that he " found himself reported far and wide as having turned Democrat," and before he closes his address he admits, with some indirectness, the report to be true, and winds up by declining to be a candidate " to avoid the charge of venality."

At the next Democratic County Convention, Mr. Hicks made a profession of Democratic faith, and was formally received into the membership of that party. And he was not neglected by his new party associates after his change. In 1848, he was nominated for the Legislature and elected over Hume Sturgeon, who ran as an independent candidate, receiving 993 votes to Sturgeon's 264. In 1849, he was again nominated, and elected over Dr. John McCorkle by 460 majority. In 1851, he was nominated for the Senate, and elected over J. B. Hart, an Independent Democrat, by 792 majority ; and with the close of his Senatorial term his official life ceased. On the rise of the Know- Nothing party, he cast his fortunes with it, and when the Republican came into existence he went with it.

In 1850, in company with Robert Hamilton, he ventured into a land speculation which resulted in great profit to him. In 1846, he and John Beard, Sr., had bought land of George King, and laid off an addition to the town, and the venture had brought him $2,000, and with this money as his contribution to the joint enterprise, he and Hamilton purchased a tract of fifty-five acres, at $100 per acre, and out of the tract they platted Additions 8, 9 and 10, and from the sale of the lots, Hicks realized a little over $11,000.

In 1857, his health failed, and he retired from the practice of his profession and from all active business, and on December 23 of that year, he died. In his religious views he was a Universalist.

Gilderoy Hicks was not a well-read lawyer nor was he a skillful practitioner. But he was, nevertheless, a useful and successful lawyer. He knew wherein he was lacking as a lawyer better than any one else, and, like the careful, prudent man that he was, he was slow to advise a client into doubtful litigation. He ever hesitated to lead the charge for a belligerent client, and was always ready to consider terms of compromise. He seldom undertook the management of an intricate cause without having assistance. Some of those who knew him best ascribe to him the assumption of a humility which he did not feel ; but we are inclined to think they misjudge him. He was not a " humble " man in the offensive sense of that word, but he lacked confidence in himself and habitually put a low estimate on his own ability. He did not affect much learning ; he did not pretend to be skillful in the management of causes ; he did not claim to have power over juries ; but he knew from experience that he could persuade men into the compromise of their difficulties and save his clients from loss more easily than he could by a legal fight in the court room, and so he adopted that as his rule of professional life.

It is said of Hicks that he could " never look a man in the face and charge him a fee;" and there was probably some reason for the saying. But it was due, no doubt, to the distrust of himself. He never rated his own services as high as his clients did. He would write a deed or a mortgage or a contract for 25 cents. He would make a guardian's or an administrator's report for $1, and sometimes charge no more than 50 cents. He would ride to the outermost parts of the county and attend to a trial before a Justice for $5, and sometimes for $3. He would prosecute a cause in the Circuit Court for $5, and sometimes for less.

But it must not be thought that Hicks was powerless in the court room. When his cause came to trial, he utilized his very weaknesses. He was quiet and deliberate in his movements ; he never became excited ; his language was smooth and conciliatory, and he nearly always managed to impress upon the jury that he stood in need of their sympathy. While not coming up to the level of a good speaker, he was nevertheless a shrewd one. He talked to his juries ; he talked soberly and quietly, and he talked ingeniously. He was adroit in stating to the jury what the opposite side conceived to be the strong point in his case in such a manner as the jury would conclude that it had no merit.

Gilderoy Hicks was a just man himself, and quick to see where the wrong lay between two contending neighbors, and always ready to point out to them the line of right, and help them to it. And, indeed, he relied more on what seemed to him to be the fair thing between man and man than upon his judgment of the law applicable to their cause.

And the people believed in him. A large clientage accepted Hicks' suggestions of right as the final arbitraments of their disputes. And they had the utmost confidence in his integrity. He was the friend of the widow and the orphan, and was very frequently trusted with the settlement, as administrator, of important estates in the county, and, so far as the writer has heard, no hint of unfair dealing was ever charged against him.

Gilderoy Hicks was a very attentive man to his business. He was constant in his attendance at his office. He never went abroad to practice his profession. Among strangers he would have been at a disadvantage, and he knew it. He was not only attentive to business, but he was careful to see that he had it. A woman, or even a child, entering the court room alone, with the anxious business look of one in an unaccustomed place, was very apt to be accosted by Hicks, and that in such a quiet, persuasive manner, that if there was any business to be had, Hicks was quite sure to get the benefit of it.

In December, 1839, a lawyer by the name of Newman came to Franklin, and announced his intention of making this his permanent home. He was from Lebanon, Ohio, was educated at the Miami University, and studied law in the Hon. Thomas Corwin's office. Newman, whose Christian name is forgotten, was a man of pleasing manners, rather good looking, dressed well, was a good speaker, and, but for his intemperate habits, might have become a successful lawyer. He failed, however, to get the confidence of the people, and in about eighteen months he went to Edinburg, where he remained a short time, since which there is no account of him.

In the month of February, 1841, Robert McKinney came to Franklin, and entered the arena as a lawyer. He was born in Brown County, Ohio, and was educated at Hanover College, in Indiana. Up to that time, he was the best educated lawyer in the county. He was a man of a good deal of talent, but he made the fatal mistake of attempting the practice without sufficient preparation, and when business came to him he sometimes found himself at a great loss to know how to manage it. Robert McXinney's personal appearance was against him. He was tall, raw boned, long-necked, slouchy, and had broad, projecting teeth. In his dress he was noticeably old-fashioned, and he lacked that suavity of manner so essential to the formation of acquaintances in an agricultural community.

In the fall of 1841, he was married, but he soon found that his business failed to bring a living for himself and wife. And then he became discouraged. There was a county library in the town at the time ; and, in his strait, he took to this library and, it is said, read every book in it. In the fall of 1844, his wife returned to her father, and he went to Greenwood, where he taught a school. The following spring he moved to Nauvoo, the seat of the Mormon hierarchy in Illinois. But no greater success attended his efforts at the law in his new home than had in his old. He wrote a very interesting and instructive account of the Mormons, however, which was published in an Eastern review, and which is still quoted as an authority on the Mormon question. He has long since been dead.

About 1843, Royal S. Hicks, a nephew of Gilderoy Hicks, was admitted to the bar. But he practiced so little as to scarcely have identified himself as a lawyer of the county. He wrote an excellent hand, and was long a Deputy in the Clerk's Office, and held the place by appointment for several months after the death of Capt. Allen. He was familiarly known as "Boss" Hicks, for the reason that he "bossed " it over the Clerk's office for so long a time.

In 1852, he was elected by the Democrats to the State Legislature, and after he had served his term he moved to Spencer County, where he has ever since resided.

In March, 1847, Gabriel M. Overstreet, a resident of the town, was admitted to the Johnson County bar. Mr. Overstreet was born in Oldham County, Ky., on the 21st day of May, 1819. His father, Samuel Overstreet, was a farmer in moderate circumstances, and, in 1834, he moved to Indiana, and his son, then in his sixteenth year, came with him.

The family settled in the country, about three miles northeast of Franklin, and young Overstreet performed his share of labor in clearing out his father's farm. During the winter, he attended the neighborhood schools, and in the summer he engaged in farm labor. When he was twenty years of age, Samuel Overstreet, who had a large family of children and was growing old, made a distribution of his property among them, and the subject of this sketch invested his share - $600 - in an education. Entering the Franklin Labor Institute as a student, he spent nine months therein, and, in May, 1840, he entered the Indiana University at Bloomington and remained there for four years, when he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts.

During his collegiate life, he was compelled not only to practice the most rigid economy, but to devote his vacations to some moneymaking employment. One vacation he undertook a contract to clear land, for which he received the sum of $40. On leaving college he entered the law office of Gilderoy Hicks, Esq., as a law student, and read law for a year. The winter of 1846-47 he attended law lectures at the Indiana University under Judge McDonald, and, in the spring of 1847, he was licensed to practice law.

Returning to Franklin, he kept up his reading and at the same time assisted his brother, William H. Overstreet, a leading merchant of the town, in the management of his business. Hav-

In February, 1849, he entered into partnership with Anderson B. Hunter, a partnership which is yet in existence, and which has been eminently successful in the practice of the law. It is the oldest legal partnership in the State.

One year after the admission of Overstreet - March, 1848 - Anderson B. Hunter was admitted. Mr. Hunter was born in Oldham County, Ky., on the 1st day of October, 1826. His father, Ralsamon Hunter, emigrated to Johnson County in 1840, and settled in Hensley Township, where he subsequently died.

Anderson B. Hunter was an undersized boy as he is man, but as a boy he enjoyed fairly good health, while as a man,' and especially during his later years, he has had more than the average share of sickness. His undersize brought him certain privileges while a boy of which he was quick to take advantage. Somewhat precocious, he showed a greater love for books than was usual for one of his years, and instead of the schoolroom being an irksome place to him, he found it to be the place of all others he loved the best. The schools of those davs were none of the best, but a quick-witted and studious boy was sure to find much to study that was interesting to him at the time, and that would prove of use to him in after years.

But young Hunter did not spend all his time at school. The winter schools, lasting for three months, during the years that he was a schoolboy, were all there was of school for him. During the spring, summer and fall months he was engaged upon his father's farm. In addition to his undersize. his eyesight was defective, and it may well be inferred that he did not make a firstclass farm hand. But, as he has been heard to say himself, " he did the best he could, and generally managed to keep pretty well up."

He was fourteen years old when his father moved from Kentucky, and received but one quarter's schooling after that time. For the times, he was considered quite a scholar, and, when he had reached his eighteenth year, he went to the work of teaching, as nearly all American young men have been and still are in the habit of doing. His first school was taught in a smoke-house, repaired for the purpose, in the late Burgess Waggoner's dooryard, in Nineveh Township, and for the next two years he spent the greater part of the time in the schoolroom as a teacher.

In the spring of 1846, lie made up his mind to the study of the law, and with that purpose he made arrangements for the use of Gilderoy Hicks' law books. For one year he studied in his father's house, going to recite to Mr. Hicks every fortnight.

In the spring of 1847, he left home and entered Hicks' office as a student, but he soon took sick and had to go home. In November, he went to Bloomington and attended the Law School in the Indiana University, under Judges McDonald and Otto. At the close of the law term, he was licensed to practice law in the courts of the State, and he then returned to his home where he remained till the 4th day of July, 1848, when he went back to Franklin, and has made that his home ever since.

For a time he was in the office of William Bridges, then the County Treasurer. In December, Gilderoy Hicks went to Indianapolis to attend the Legislature, and, on the invitation of Mr. Hicks, Mr. Hunter entered his office, where he remained up to the following February when Hicks returned. Mr. Overstreet and himself rented an office together and moved into it without any thought of uniting their fortunes in a business venture. But, within a few days, the thought came to them that such a venture might prove beneficial to both, and, on the 21st of February, 1849, a partnership was formed which has never been dissolved, and has been profitable to both parties to it.

A short time after the admission of Overstreet and Hunter, Capt. John Slater was admitted and became a resident lawyer. The first known of this eccentric man was in 1845 or 1846. He was a Canadian by birth, and came to Franklin, from Dearborn County, as a student to Franklin College ; but, after a short time he left school and became a student of law in the office of Judge Finch. From the first he quarreled with Blackstone ; he disliked his quaint style, and took no interest in tracing the law to its sources. But Kent's Commentaries, Slater claimed, were the equal in interest of any novel, and he read those books with avidity.

When the Mexican war broke out, and there came a call in September, 1845, for volunteers, he was among the first to enlist from Johnson County, and he went to Mexico as a private soldier. He proved himself to be so good a soldier, and was so well liked by his comrades, that, on the death of Capt. David Allen, in January, 1847, he received a Captain's commission, and remained at the head of his company until the troops were discharged. He served in the war with great honor and credit to himself.

On his return to Franklin, he and Judge Finch at once formed a partnership which continued for five or six years, after which he practiced law alone so long as he remained in the county.

John Slater was a noticeable man. He was very tall, was straight as an arrow, had dark hair', a thin visage, a rubicund face ; was slow and deliberate in his motions and grave in his demeanor. His mind was cast in a peculiar mold. He had an excellent memory ; he wrote well, as his many letters printed in the Franklin Examiner, while a soldier in Mexico, go to show, and, on occasion, he courted the muses. He was rather fond of miscellaneous reading ; he had good perceptive faculties and was full of resources in trying moments. He had a high sense of humor, was rather witty, and loved argumentation more than anything else in the world except himself. He was an indolent man, and never burdened himself with the labor of hunting for authorities. He trusted to luck in the trial of his causes, saying that "Books cramped a man's genius, anyhow," but he seldom mistook the point on which his case rested. He was a store-box lounger. Thirty and forty yeai's ago, the business men of Franklin were less attentive to business than now. It was not uncommon, at that time, for the merchants and others to spend a good portion of the spring and summer days, when the farmers were too busy to come to town, pitching quoits, playing chess and dominoes, or in telling stories. This hum-drum life suited John Slater, except that he spent his time sitting on store-boxes, in shady places, arguing upon law, theology, medicine, phrenology, mesmerism, Democracy, Whiggery, Abolitionism, temperance, or any other theme that would serve to furnish him an antagonist; or in telling humorous stories to whomsoever would listen. Nor did it make any difference to him which side he chose in his arguments. One of his great misfortunes was his utter want of convictions. He was an infidel in both politics and religion. To him life was a jest, and the beliefs of men were mere puppets to afford amusement for the hour. No subject was serious enough to escape his levity. He affirmed, disputed, laughed at, any side of any proposition, according as the humor struck him. Whatever the person who would deign to argue with him believed, was the thinghe did not believe - for the time being.

This want of sincerity was a serious drawback to his professional success. His controversial habit came to be known to both Judge and jurymen, and how could they know whether he was sincere in his arguments or not ?

Slater carried into politics the same characteristics of mind that marred his professional life. He claimed to be a Democrat, and it is fair to presume, that, if he had any political convictions whatever, he was a Democrat. But he was more apt to be arrayed against his party than with it. He was cursed with a greed for office, and would go into convention as a candidate, and, when defeated, as usually happened, would run the race, anyhow. In 1856, he succeeded in carrying a nomination for State Senator, and was elected : before his term expired he left the country, and this was the only civil office he ever held.

*He was a man of bad morals, and indifferent to public censure. He made a boast of his immoralities, and laughed at the criticisms of his neighbors. Indeed, he found great satisfaction in the thought that the people believed him to be a profligate. Nor was he money wise. He spent faster than he made, and, wdien he left the State, he left numerous creditors behind.

In 1856, he was elected to the Senate and served one term. For three or four years his intemperate habits had been growing upon him, and, when he became a Senator, he gave full swing to his depraved appetites. At the close of the Senatorial term he secretly left the State and has never returned. Whence he went, or in what he engaged, was for a long while uncertain. He was known to have visited Des Moines, Iowa, and it was said that he kept a saloon in Southern Illinois. During the war he was met in or about Nashville, Tenn. He was at that time a gardener, and, from a letter printed in one of the county papers some vears ago, it seems that he had followed that business to his death, which occurred not long before the letter was printed.

In 1851, Samuel P. Oyler first offered his services to the people of Johnson County as a lawyer, but as a sketch of his life appears elsewhere, it would be needless to repeat the facts there stated.

In the same year, or the following, Daniel McKinney, who had taught school a year in Bartholomew County, came to Franklin, and after spending about six months finishing a course in law reading, he opened a law office and solicited business.

McKinney was a native of Ohio, and had been educated at Oxford, in that State. He was a tall, erect, dark-eyed man, and not bad looking. Neat in his appearance, agreeable in his manners, and, to all outward appearances, being a man of pure morals, he was calculated to push his way in the world and achieve success. Henry Fox was at the time County Treasurer, and McKinney secured a deputyship under him. He was also a trusted Odd Fellow, and was Treasurer of that order. But a cloud hung over him He had been compelled to marry a girl in Ohio against his will, and had abandoned her as soon as the ceremony was over. A desire to marry overcame him while in Franklin, and he commenced proceedings for a divorce. But his Ohio wife learning of his purpose, wrote to Overstreet & Hunter, and employed them to make defense. Depositions were accordingly taken, and the facts brought out disclosed a state of circumstances discreditable to McKinney, who soon after left the place and has never been heard of since. But before he left, he managed to embezzle quite a sum of money belonging to the County Treasury, and he also carried away all the money in the Odd Fellows' treasury.

Gilderoy Hicks had one son, Duane Hicks. Duanewas educated in the town schools, and was a fair English scholar. Before grown, he served an apprenticeship at the saddler's trade, after which he studied law in his father's office. About 1851, he was admitted to the practice and followed the profession up to the fall of 1857, when his declining health prevented his further sedentary life. Purchasing a small tract of land near town, he moved to the country and tried farm life. But he soon found himself unfitted for that pursuit, and selling his land he returned to Franklin, and went into the furniture business. But this failed to bring returning health, and he next sought relief as a cavalryman in the army ; but in vain. He had the consumption, and death had placed its seal upon him. After a short service he was discharged, and in 1863 he died in the thirty-sixth year of his age.

Duane Hicks had been a painstaking student, and was a fair theoretical lawyer. He studied his cases with care, and prepared them well for trial. But he failed in the time of trial. He was slow, lacked vim, and could neither persuade nor drive.

In 1853, Joseph Thompson came to the bar, and remained for about three years. He was a young man who failed to get legal business of any consequence. He married in the town, and afterward moved to McComb, 111., where he now ranks as a good lawyer.

About 1852, H. H. Hatch came to Edinburg, and opened a lawyer'a office. He also published a newspaper in that town. He was said to have been a fair lawyer, but he soon moved to the West.

About the time Hatch came to Edinburg, Joseph King located in the same place. In 1853, he was nominated by the Democrats for the Legislature, and made the race against Gabriel M. Overstreet, Esq., whom he defeated. After serving his legislative term, he, too, moved to the West.

About 1856, Richard M. Kelly was admitted as an Edinburg lawyer. Mr. Kelly was from Jackson County ; and for the first six or eight years of his professional life, he was a close student, and tried his cases with a good deal of skill. He served in the Mexican war, and when the war of the rebellion broke out he raised a company and went into the service with a Captain's commission. In his later years, Capt. Kelly became dissipated and lost his prestige at the bar. He died in 1878.

About 1856, Jonathan H. Williams was licensed to practice law in Johnson County. Mr. Williams came to Franklin while quite a young man, and learned the tailor's trade. When the Mexican war broke out, he volunteered and went into the army, but did not remain long. In 1852, he became the owner of the Franklin Examiner, and published that for a year. In the same year he was elected County Auditor, and served four years. During the time, he studied law, and after being admitted was elected to the office of District Attorney, which he held for two years.

When the war of the rebellion came on, he raised a company, and was commissioned its Captain. He made a good soldier, and was given a Major's commission for meritorious conduct. In a Shenandoah Valley battle he was killed, and his remains lie in the Franklin Cemetery, without a suitable monument to mark his last resting-place. Jonathan H. Williams never met with much success as a lawyer.

Many others have been admitted to the Johnson County bar since those whose names are mentioned, but they are all living and belong to a younger generation than those. It will be time enough to write of them when the next historical sketch of the bar of Johnson County is written.