Randolph County, Indiana - Chapter 6, 1882

Bate Court Early Records

HARLES CONWAY was for the first twenty years Clerk, Recorder and Auditor (i. e., he did the business which the Auditor now performs), all three at once. The three together 'must have made but a poor living for even one man. The Recorder's book shows the following facts, viz. : From September, 1818, to December 31, 1822 (four years and four months), fifty-six instruments in all were put on record. In 1823, thirty-two instruments; 1824, twenty-two; 1825, thirty-eight; 1826, twenty-one; 1827, fifty-two; 1828, fortyeight. : By the close of 1828 (about ten years), 262 pages had been filled by the Recorder, including all kinds: deeds, bonds, mortgages, bills of sale or chattel mortgages, official bonds, etc., or

First bond for deed - Paul W. Way, County agent, to James McCoole, for Lot 1, west front, Winchester; deed to be given on or before the year 1825, on what conditions precedent to be fulfilled does not appear.

Second and third patents (5,967 and 6,105) to Charles Conway, dated August 15, 1817, and May 5, 1818, signed by James Monroe, President. Recorded February 10, 1820.

Fourth warrantee deed - From Paul W. Way, agent, to Isaac Wright, of Clinton County, Ohio, for north half of Lot 6, south front, Winchester; price, $30. Date of deed, December 14, 1819; date of record, March 7, 1820.

Seventh deed - A curious instrument; purport as follows: First. John Elzroth has sold sixty acres of land to Jacob Roths (Roads) on south side of Section 33, Town 20, Range 14. Second. Elzroth agrees to take in payment the share of Polly (Elzroth) Roths in the estate of Nicholas Elzroth (her father), provided said legacy amounts to $150 or more. Third. If said legacy falls short of $150, John Roths agrees to pay to John Elzroth the deficit. Recorded April 6, 1820. .

Tenth deed - P. W. Way, agent, to Hiram Bailey, Clinton County, Ohio; Lot 6, south front, Winchester; price $380. Dated December 14, 1819; recorded February 5, 1820.

Eleventh deed (by donation) - Charles Conway to Paul W. Way, County Agent, sixty acres, Section 20, Town 20, Range 14, for town plat (in part) of Winchester. Deed made September 80, 1819; recorded September 4, 1820.

LO CBLV EAL ORT veo cceanninscilaaseaislensealovsnecatscawenieacsances curs 10 00 Seventy Mogs (ht Pouenccnasccsvnedscaesyccrcsvonsseovnccsnserassicisaes 210 00 TWO WAQZODE.....cccececcascnccscasccesccscccrcescsccsecevccres, secees 200 00 Four nse 12 00

One seven-gal. kettle, onelarge pot, one stew pan, one grate iron, one bake oven, one griddle, one small pot, one toasting iron, one dish kettle, one spider, one

If the above marked prices were a fair estimate for the time, the schedule furnishes a noteworthy exhibition of the comparative value of commodities of various kinds at that date.

Thirteenth deed (mortgage) - James Oldham to Paul W. Way, agent of Outlot No. 2, southeast square, Winchester, $150, given as security for the payment of two promissory notes given by Oldham to Way (doubtless for the land itself), and due in one and two years from date, with interest. Notes dated September 30, 1819; acknowledged September 27, 1820; recorded January 6, 1821.

In 1821, nineteen instruments were recorded. Twelve deeds in fee, two deeds of gift, two mortgages, one bond for deed, one Sheriff's bond, one bill of sale.

It is refreshing to those who complain in these latter days of exorbitant fees to bloated officials, to learn that 'Charlie' Conway's fee-bill for recording instruments of writing for the worthy citizens of Randolph County from September 2, 1826, to January 11, 1827, amounted to $6.75, or exactly $1.50 per month. This princely sum was not all, however. He had, besides his fees as Clerk of the Court (including Cireuit and Probate business), his fees for issuing marriage licenses, and then the fees for serving as clerk of the Commissioners' Court, which would doubtless raise his monthly salary to $5, possibly $7.50 per month.

Our good friend, Conway, must have got even more than that, for the record frequently shows that he was in the habit, as often as he could get the chance, of taking acknowledgments, solemnizing marriages and similar things. And the entire avails of his official labor may possibly have swelled to the amount of $10 per month. And think what a vast sum, honest man as Judge Smith reckons him to be, he wrested from the pockets of the hardhanded yeomanry of Randolph during his almost life-long continuance in office.

Twenty-one years make 252 months, and ten times 252 are 2,520, and so many dollars, and how many more no mortal knows, that gray-haired official took in pretended compensation for work performed in official station, from the tax-payers and business men of that over-burdened community.

The first deed on record seems to be one made by Charles Conway (as Recorder) to Paul W. Way, agent, of sixty acres of land, being the tract donated by the said Conway to the county for the location of the county seat. The date of the deed is September 30, 1819.

Another deed is founded on notes that bear the same date, September 30, 1819, though the deed itself was acknowledged nearly a year later, September 27, 1820, and recorded January 6, 1821. It was from James.Oldham to Paul W. Way, agent, for outlot No. 2, southeast square, Winchester, to secure the payment of two promissory notes for $75 each, due in one and two years from date. ?

The next deed in order is dated the next day, October 1, 1819, made by William Jones to Paul W. Way, agent, for Lot No. 14, southwest square, Winchester. It is a mortgage to secure payof two notes $31.28 each, due in one and two years.

The transaction hardly seems clear, but probably Way had conveyed the lot to Jones in some way, as agent for the county, and then Jones had mortgaged it back to Way to secure the payment of the purchase money. No account of such a transaction, however, has been found, and the actual deed on record, made by Way, as agent, conveying the lot in question to Jones, is dated in 1822 (probably), at any rate after the time for payment of the notes.

[ Norz. - Daniel Lasley, County Superintendent of Education, found amid the rubbish of the Recorder's office (where it had lain for more than sixty years, the original of the above document. He rescued it from its hiding place, mounted it in a neat frame, and it now serves to assist in decorating the walls of his office in the court house. Two or three other instruments (not so old as that, however), are in the back of the frame].

On page 283, Book B. is found the record of the indentures of Cornelia Ann Jackson, a poor child of the age of five years and nine months. She is to be taught the ''business and mystery of housekeeping," to have fifteen months' schooling (sixty-five days for three months, or 325 days on the whole) three months thereof to be when she is between the ages of fifteen and eighteen years; and at her majority she is to have as follows:

"One good feather bed with bedding, bedsteads and cord, such as are common among respectable farmers; one good spinning (flax) wheel; two good suits of warm clothing, such as good home-made flannel; two pair of new shoes, and two pair of new stockings."

On page 202, Book B, is found another record of apprenticeship, of a lad named Logan M. Jackson, to Francis Frazier. He is to have eighteen months' schooling (sixty-five days for three months), three months to be when he is between nineteen and twenty-one. Heis to have $50 (in land, or otherwise under the direction of his guardian), two good home-made suits, two pair of shoes, two pair of stockings and one fur hat.

Sheriff'S Deed

The first Sheriffs deed that is found is made by Solomon Wright, Sheriff, of Lot No. 6. southeast square, Winchester, under a writ, '' alas plures fiert facias," against Thomas Hutson and Jacob B. Hornish. Date of deed, April 12, 1823. Recorded, June 29, 1824.

The first mention in- the record of a Notary Public appears under date of October 15, 1834. The deed was made by N. Longworth, of Cincinnati, and acknowledged by him at the date above mentioned, before James Foster, of Hamilton County, Ohio, who was a Notary Public.

A curiosity is to be seen under date of August 4, 1834. It consists of the '' Free Papers"' of Ezekiel Lewis, an enterprising colored man, who was one of the pioneers of the Greenville settlement, northeast of Spartansburg. We give the document entire:

State Of Virginia

To wit: Registered in the office according to law, October 19, 1820. Ezekiel Lewis, a free man of color, about twentytwo years on the fifth day of March, 1829, as appears by his indenture, he having been bound by the overseers of Rockingham County, to John Koontz, to learn the tanning business. by order of the court of said county at the January court, 1818. He is about five feet ten and one-half inches high, has a scar on his forehead, which is not perceivable when his hat is on; he is stout built, and follows his trade, and is very dark.

The foregoing register was compared by the County Court of Rockingham County, with the said Ezekiel Lewis, and found to be duly made, and a copy thereof was ordered to be furnished him as the law directs. Done at October court, 1820.

In witness whereof I have delivered him this copy, and hereunto affixed the seal of my said county this 24¥th day of November, 1834, in the forty-ninth year of our commonwealth.

Kinds Of Records Kept

For many years, all records belonging to the Recorder's office, were kept in the same set of books. But, after some years, different sets were provided, and there are now .eighteen distinct sets of books in that office alone. : the chattel mortgages are in three books; the school fund mortgages comprise two books; tax titles are in two books; Sheriff's deeds have been recorded in two books; mechanic liens are all in one book; record of executions, one book; record of decrees, one book; record of fee bills, one book; indexes of deeds, twelve books; indexes of mortgages, seven books; entry of deeds, three books; entry of mortgages, three books; partition records, one book; soldiers' discharges, one book; town plats, one book; miscellaneous records, five books. Each book contains from 400 to 700 pages.

The whole number, as before stated, is 142, several of which are in the process of being filled. The contrast is indeed sharp and striking, in the Recorder's office, between the business in early years and at the present time. The first four years and four months have less than sixty entries, covering about sixty pages. The last four years include several thousand pages. For some years past a memorandum has been taken of the mortgages recorded, and also of those which have been canceled during the same time. The gratifying fact appears that the amount canceled far exceeds that of those entered upon record during the time in question, though the exact sums cannot now be stated.

This very important business was undertaken about 1875, by William Harris. Daniel Lesley bought half interest, and, in about a year, he purchased the whole. The work is immense, having taken thus far about six years, and requiring several months yet to complete the labor.

The books are as follows: The books of general abstract, 240 and 464, immense double folio pages; one book, maps of sections, 169 large double pages; two books, towns, 240 and 319 large double pages. The abstractor at present has his office in that of the Recorder. The enterprise is of great and constantly increasing importance to the real estate interests of the county.

A very ancient authority has declared that it ''is not good for man to be alone,"' and for all the ages since that primitive era, the search has been unceasing by each individual man to find his mate.

This universal '' race for a wife'' was not stopped, perhaps not even checked by the process of emigration. The boys went on courting the girls in the western woods, even as they used to do, and their fathers before them had done, in their far-off Eastern or Southern homes. And hence it came to pass, ere a long time had lapsed, that the Clerk of the Court was called on for a " marriage license," and the services of the squire or parson were had in requisition, and the log cabin beneath the shadow of the beeches was the center of a gay and joyous festal scene, in the shape of a country wedding. And the young people of Randolph were no exception to the general rule in:this respect. And so the record of marriages, as kept in the Clerk's office,"begins at the very first, and keeps equal step through the lapsing years with the ceaseless whirl and turmoil of business and of pleasure.

That record, though faithful and true, doubtless, for the most part, to the facts of marriage, at any rate to the number seeking marriage in the county, yet fails to show the whole number of the residents of the county who, in those early years, took unto themselves wives of the daughters of the land.

It very often happens, almost of necessity, in fact, that the young men, hale, strong and personable, would come into the wilds and select for themselves a home, and after remaining long enough to clear a patch and erect a cabin, would return to the land of their nativity, marry the lovely lass who had long been the girl of their choice, and wend their cheerful way, sometimes on horseback, man and wife, possibly two upon the same horse, to the Western paradise, and settle down in their new home to fight life's rough battle in earnest together. One couple came on horseback, and the bride stuck her riding whip into the ground on réaching the place of their destination, and it stands there yet, now 'grown a giant tree, to commemorate their early arrival. The lady died many years ago, but the groom, then hale and young in 1822, lived until the spring of 1881 in the county, almost sixty years a denizen of Randolph, between eighty and ninety years old. And many found their mates among the damsels dwelling in the older settlements, outside of Randolph.

Two of the very first pioneers on White River went out from the places of their selection, and found their way down into Wayne County, the very first winter of their tarry in this region, and, when they returned, each had a wife to share his labors and his pleasures. And, moreover, as the number of settlers multiplied, there were swarms of boys and girls everywhere, for the old pioneer families were wondrous for their numbers. Ten, twelve, fourteen, eighteen, twenty-two, and even twenty-four children have been found to be reckoned in a single household. Some families there were who moved into the Western wilderness with fourteen children. One family in this region of the State numbered eighteen children, nine sons and nine daughters; and, when the youngest was twenty-three years of age, the whole eighteen were grown, married and still living, as also the father of this immense company of descendants; and now, when the youngest is forty-four years old, twelve of the eighteen yet behold the glorious sun, and still breathe the vital air. There is a citizen now residing in the county, who has eleven sons now alive, all farmers but two, and every one Republicans, so that (with his own vote) he turned an even dozen for the successful candidate in 1880. No wonder that Randolph gave 2,200 majority for Garfield.

The first license for marriage in Randolph County was issued to Jacob Wright and Sally Wright, February 1, 1819; and they were married February 2, 1819, by Rev. John Gibson, M. E. preacher.

The license was dated June 7, 1819, and the marriage took place June 10, 1819, the nuptial ceremony being performed by John Wright, Justice of the Peace.

The third marriage license was to Samuel Frazier and Mary Cook, dated June 21, 1819. The marriage was performed by Ephraim Bowen, Justice of Peace, August 3, 1819, six weeks after the license was issued.

From February, 1819, to April, 1830, 290 marriage licenses were issued by the County Clerk; up to August, 1837, 271; to September, 1847, 9073 to July, 1852, 686; to June, 1858, 1,- 164 ; to October, 1865, 1,272; to February, 1870, 1,109; January, 1875, 1,208; to January, 1879, 1,117; to February, 1881, 593. Making a total in sixty-two years of marriage licenses issued by the County Clerk of Randolph County of 8,678 couples, waiting to be joined in the bonds of holy wedlock. Probably, including those happy Randolph swains, who were so fortunate as to find their fair dulcineas in other counties or other States, the whole number would reach 9,000.

Who and how many of this immense multitude still remain alive; how many yet are residents of Randolph County; how many have removed to other regions of our widespread land; how many have gone to that clime where they " neither marry nor are given in marriage;'' how many descendants have sprung trom these marriage unions; how many have been separated by the remorseless hand of death; how many of the whole vast number have been second, third, or even fourth marriages, and how many now remain in the loneliness of their desolation, waiting in patient resignation the hour when they shall be summoned to join the pale nations of the dead are known only to Him who dwells in the light of omniscience ! This statement of the marriage licenses issued does not em- in this county, where, almost from the very beginning, there have been six or eight " preparative meetings of Friends'' in constant and prosperous existence, must have been a considerable number. How many, however, have thus been joined in the bonds of holy wedlock, the means of determining are not now at hand.

Amount of record. Up to April, 1838, not quite twenty years, there had been made in all about 500 pages of record for the business of the Circuit Court, an average of about twenty-five pages for each year. The first twenty-four terms, one hundred and twenty-one pages of record were filled in the '' Order Book,"' making an average of five pages per term, or ten pages per year.

Besides all this there is an immense amount of Probate Record and of Vacation Record, etc., concerning which we have made no account. Statements concerning the marriage license record may be found elsewhere.

We have already stated the '' Books of Record'' in the Recorder's office to be 147 (including those pertaining to the " abstract of title ).

In the Clerk's office are about 340 books; in the Auditor's office are about 240 books; in the Treasurer's office are about 250 books. The whole mass of "record"' includes about 1,000 books, most of them, large, with from 300 to 700 pages each, and some of them of immense size.

Besides all these, the " papers'' belonging to every case that has ever been before the courts are supposed to be on file, and every report made to the Commissioners and everything else is (in theory) preserved (in one office or another) for ready and convenient reference. In the Auditor's office "' pigeon holes"' are made to suffice for the '' stowing away "' of these endless "' papers ;"' but in the Clerk's office, through the painstaking ingenuity of the late Circuit Clerk, John W. Macy, Esq., a system of tin ''boxes'' has been put into use, in which all the "cases" that could be found in the office are deposited in regular detailed order.

The whole number of boxes is 1,685. Only 1,047 of them are yetinuse. Each box containes a greater or less number of 'cases.' Some have in them as many as twenty "cases."" Each "case '' is in a strong, firm envelope, the envelope being numbered to show the "box" to which it belongs and also its own number in the box.

The ''cases'' are ''indexed'' in the "order books"' so as to show the number of the '"'box"' and of the "'case"' in each box. The system is ingenious, simple, perfect and capable of indefinite expansion in application to years or even centuries to come; and its successful establishment in the Clerk's office is of incalculable advantage to the public business.

These statements include only the 'order books,"' so called, besides which there are the ''fee books,' '"'index books"' and various other kinds, familiar indeed to the incumbent of the office, but a fathomless mystery to the '' outsider."

In looking over the books containing the records of the Circuit Court, various items of interest have been gleaned, some of which are given below:

August, 1826, Daniel Shoemaker was fined $1 for disturbing the court by crowding on the window. The next day the fine was remitted and paid back to the delinquent.

August, 1827, the grand jury report concerning the jail, that it is clean but not strong, that the trap-door is not sufficient and that the hinges on the outside door are not strong enough.

February, 1828, Thomas Shaylor was indicted for an assault and battery. He pleaded guilty, and was fined $1 and costs, and was to stand committed until paid.

Same court - Slander trial. John Irvin vs. Richard Tharp. Defendent adjudged guilty, and damages set at $17.52,3 (not another mill) and costs. It would be interesting to learn by what process the jury were able to attain such marvelous exactness, even to the twelfth part ofa cent, but that will probably never be forthcoming. That degree of exactness would be invaluable at the present time, both to juries and otherwise.

August, 1828, grand jury report " the jail is sufficiently strong but not sufficiently clean. It needs an inside door-shutter, and a lock for the accommodation of both sexes."'

If we could only find so accommoduting a Sheriff now-a-days ! But alas! tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur cum illis. Times change and we change with them.

February, 1829, Paul M. Way indicted for retailing liquors without license. The defendent pleaded guilty, was fined $2 and costs, and paid the fine to the clerk forthwith. Not many years afterward, the same Paul Way was an active, thoroughgoing temperance man. And the exact why of the case does not appear in the record.

Edward Mason was indicted for '' vending foreign merchandise without license.'' Pleaded guilty and was fined $1 and costs, and it is to be presumed he paid up like a little man, "though nothing is said about it in the records. " ward McKew. Charge - trespass wi et armis. lLewallyn adjudged guilty and fined $18, McKew cleared and authorized to recover costs of plaintiff.

First Ward, northeast square, Elias Kizer; Second Ward, north front and northwest square, Nathan Garrett ; Third Ward, west front and southwest square, Jeremiah Smith ; Fourth Ward, south front and southeast square, John D. Stewart ; Fifth Ward, east front, Jesse Way.

October, 1839, eleven indictments were found against one person for selling liquor. He was found guilty and fined $2 in each case, and the costs also were assessed against him.

On file in the '' pigeon holes" are found immense quantities of all sorts of things. Among them are great numbers of old "bonds." From these were selected the following ''grocers' bonds,' given at various times :

Thornton Alexander is probably the one who was afterward elected Sheriff, became .a sot, and finally died some years afterward with delirium tremens; and from his desolate dwelling while his lifeless corpse lay stiff and gaunt therein, the ladies of Winchester, headed by the widow of the wretched man, marched in long and grim procession to the groggery of William Page, and, knocking in the heads of his barrels and what-not, spilled the abominable, murderous stuff into the street, out of which startling transaction grew the noted '" Page Liquor Case," so famous twenty-five years ago. And the same terrible demon of the drink traffic raises still its devilish head, and eagerly goesabout to destroy everything fair and lovely and of good report.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of indictments have been effected against liquor sellers in Randolph County, and scores of men have been fined for selling strong drink 'contrary to law."' Yet men are to be found who, for money, will carry on the mischievous traffic, and law-makers will still play with the wild beast, Alcohol, as though it were a merry, gamboling kitten to be petted and cuddled, instead of being, as it is, a fierce and ruthless monster to be throttled and siain, with its horrid carcass burned to ashes and scattered to the four winds.

Curious Cases

CURIOUS CASES. In 1842, Philip Kabel, a wool-carder, sued one Jonathan Frier for slander. The complainant charges that Frier had said publicly of Kabel, '' He spoiled my wool," "' he stole ten pounds out of sixty, and that before my eyes.' After a severe quarrel, the matter was settled apparently; Frier agreed to haul a load of wheat to Lawrenceburg for Kabel andto take him and his family on a visit into Wayne County, Ind.; and on this promise from Frier, Kabel withdrew the slander charge from court.

It would seem, however, that Frier broke his agreement. At any rate Kabel sued Frier for damages for breach of contract and recovered $4. rier appealed to the court and a judgment was rendered against Frier, but only for $3. Whether that was the end, and how much was the cost we do not know. It must have been considerable, and, moreover, must have been somewhat equally divided. Frier would have to pay the first costs, since he was beaten, and Kabel would have to pay the second since the amount was lowered in the court above. But what a comment on the folly and passion of men!

Another Case

A father was a farmer, his son was a blacksmith. They dealt and kept accounts; on a petty disagreement as to items of account, one sued the other before a Justice, and the beaten one appealed to court. When the case was decided the parties provoked each other into a fight in the court yard, and a severe battle took place; suits followed, and so on until both were broken up after years of bitter hostility and estrangement, and hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars expense.

Cases In Court

Fey, for killing Heltz, his son-in-law, in 1845, convicted of murder, sentenced to be hanged, commuted to imprisonment for life, hung himself in prison soon after entering penitentiary.

Calvin Bunch, for poisoning his wife near Bartonia in 1863, convicted of murder in first degree and sentenced to imprisonment for life; pardoned by Gov. Gray in 1880.

Case of John H. Lewis and son, for killing young Lumpkin in 1879. A terrible case of passion; one man killed and two badly wounded, concerning a ditch across a pike.

The public mind was greatly aroused, and many thought it a clear case of willful murder; the result, however, as tried in Jay County, was a verdict of acquittal, which ending was, to say the least, entirely unlooked for and, to many, utterly unaccountable.

Case of State vs. Woodbury was a remarkable one, in which a sister undertook to fasten upon another sister the charge of having set a barn on fire to spite herself against a suitor for giving attentions to another. The trial occurred seven years after the burning of the barn charged upon the young woman. The result was a verdict of acquittal, which is thought to have been in accord with the general sentiment.

A very curious case was tried in the Circuit Court, in the fall of 1880. Hartzell vs. Hartzell, in which both man and wife sued mutually for divorce, but the judge denied them both, so that in law they are still one, although in fact distinctly and decidedly two.

Case In Probate Court

In the time of Judge George Debolt, a jury was trying a case which had already taken a week and was likely to take two weeks more. The wages of the jury were 25 cents a case. Some of the jury were Asahel Stone, W. W. Smith, Elias Kizer, Pearson, etc. Pearson had lost a child and was nearly crazy with grief, and the jury finally agreed out of consideration for him. But during the progress of the case, after a week's sitting as above stated, the jury rebelled, and informed the Judge that they must have pay or they would refuse to continue. The Jadge was surprised, and said to them: 'Do you know it will be my duty to send you to prison for contempt of court?" '" We do, and we shall not resist your order if you make it." The worthy Judge was nonplussed, but the parties to the suit came tothe rescue and agreed to pay the jury per diem till the trial 'was ended, which was some three weeks or more.

The courts-in their various forms furnish sad commentaries upon the failings and crimes of the human race, as also upon the curious and strange ''tangle" into which, often, in spite of everything, business will manage tu fall. He that knows enough to keep "clear of law'' is indeed an exceedingly wise and wonderfully fortunate man.

In old times, a landlord who had been engaged for years in a wearisome and expensive lawsuit, upon the decision of the case, painted a new sign for his hotel, having on one side a man clothed in rags, and on the other a man with no clothes -at all. When asked the reason for such a freak, he replied, 'The man in rags is the successful party in a lawsuit, and the man in purzs naturalibus is the one who is beaten."

May, 1819, George Bowles appointed Lister (Assessor) ; cost of assessing the county, $10; county tax was 25 cents on each "horse beast;'' three pages of record. Commissioners' wages, $2 per day.

August, 1820, Ward Township created, whole north part of the county ; Wayne Township also, extending indefinitely northward to Fort Wayne, etc. [Records missing up to Nov., 1825, ]

January, 1826, Robert Way was allowed $5.25 " for ' blazing lines' through the woods for streets in the town of Winchester,"' six days' work, 874 cents per day ; four pages record.

May, 1826, Joshua Foster, who had been Commissioner of Greenville & Winchester State road, had removed fwom the region, and John Nelson was elected in his room.

Road laid out from Hockett's road three-quarters of a mile north of 'Gass'"' in an irregular direction to the State road at Vernon." [Where is that? Perhaps Sampletown - No one now seems to know.] Eleven pages of record. David Vestal was paid $5 for assessing Liberty Township (Delaware County.)

September, 1826, David Wysong had contracted for building a new court house; the price does not appear. He is allowed $225 extra for rock foundation instead of brick ; four pages.

July, 1827, bounty offered for wolf scalps; 12} cents over six months old, 6} cents under that age, except old prairie wolves. Stony Creek was laid off, comprising Townships 19, 20 and 21, Range 12; two pages record.

September, 1827, Albert Banta was acquitted of 13 cents tax on town lot; John Coates, 16 cents for the same, which doubtless made them feel better; William Smith was allowed $6 for keeping Judith Ray, an infant pauper, three months; Curtis Cleny was allowed $11.44 for keeping Levi Hale, a pauper, three months; three and a half pages.

November, 1827, road laid out leading from Winchester toward Richmond, between Obadiah Harris and John Moorman, by William Connor's, Hezekiah Hockett's and the meeting house near William Hunt's; two pages. January, 1828, one and a half pages; March, 1828, 5 pages. Inside work of court house let. May, 1828, twelve pages; July, 1828, two pages; September. 1828, five puges; November, 1828, Paul W. Way was allowed $189.90 for work on court house. January, 1829, Solomon Wright was allowed $112.50 for work on court house. David Heaston, allowed for same, $109.67 ; Abraham Kerne acquitted of 4} cents tax; Elijah Arnold adjudged a resident ; three pages. March, 1829, four pages; May, 1829, fine reported by Justice assessed against John Stevenson for swearing ten oaths, $10; allowance made for keeping pauper six months, $12; twelve pages. July, 1829, three pages.

September, 1829, Ezekiel Williams is reported as fined for swearing ten oaths, $10; for something else, $2; total, $12. Joseph Crown is allowed to work at his trade in the west room of the court house; seven pages.

January, 1830, road is laid "from the west end of Hezekiah Hockett's lane to the Wayne County line, at the southeast corner of Martindale's deadening.'"' Surveyors now might have some trouble in locating*that road; Surveyor Jaqua would better be set to find the route. But the parties then knew where the road was to be and the Commissioners thought that was enough.

December, 31, 1829, John Mann fined for working on Sunday in his clearing, $1; no costs charged, David Semans, J. P.; four pages; March, 1830, five pages. May, 1830, Travis Adcock is allowed $1.50 for three days' time spent in attending to a pauper. Philip Storms then lived in the county since he is appointed supervisor in place of Charles Simmons; thirteen pages.

September, 1830, four pages; November, 1830, two pages, William Hunt, President; January, 1831, John Odel, County Treasurer, four pages; Treasurer's Report for 1830, $869.24 ; Treasurer's Commission, $25.90.

Joel Ward is engaged to do work at his own price; if he and the county do not agree, a committee of workmen are to settle the dispute, and he may draw at any time for $50. May, 1831, four pages.

Road laid from southwest corner of Samuel Smith's fence to the crossing south of Jackson's, thence to new road at the north end of William Smith's lane. Charmingly accurate and clear description, only '"' Samuel Smith's fence," southwest corner and all, is probably gone long ago.

districts: First District, east of line dividing Townships 15 and 16, Range 14. Second District, west of said line to the line between Townships 15 and 16, Range 13. Third District, west of said last line.

November, 1831, five pages; January, 1832, report of Paul W. Way, agent, in settlement; total receipts, $2,679.02}, settled in full; eight pages.

May, 1832, JereSmith appointed Commiss:oner of the " three per cent fund.'' Ordered as follows (of that fund): $50 to the bridge over White River east of Winchester, $30 to the bridge over Sugar Creek, $500 upon the road from Winchester to Newcastle. S. R. Shaylor, J. P., reports: Three men fined for swearing, $3 ; fine for assault, $1; fine for disturbing religious meeting, $1; eighteen pages.

September, 1832, State road from Winchester to Newcastle located shortly before ; expenses of location through Randolph paid by Commissioners ; length of road in Randolph 17 miles, 28 chains, 47 links; November, 1832, seven pages; January, 1833, County receipts, $796.13; March, 1833, John Odle, 'I'reasurer, reports: Receipts, $2.50 ; expenditures, $1.50; balance on hand, $1. Jeremiah Smith appointed Treasurer one year.

May, 1833, Jere Smith, Surveyor, makes reports of the location of the following roads: State road from Richmond to Fort Wayne; State road from Winchester to Newcastle; State road from Greenville (via Ridgeville and Fairview) to Saunders' in Delaware County.

September, 1833, Andrew Aker is appointed Commissioner of the three per cent fund, the avails from which fund are said to be $500. Paul W. Way is put in charge of road from Winchester toward Fort Wayne to expend $150. David Heaston is to expend $150 on the Greenville road; David Frazier is to apply $90 on the road toward Richmond, and $70 toward Newcastle.

January, 1834, Green laid out, present limits and two and a half miles of what is now the north end of Monroe; Treasurer's receipts, $759.19 ; taxes laid - license for capital in trade, $1,000, or less, $10; license for each addition thousand, $5; license for grocery, $10; license for selling wooden clocks, $10; license for tavern, $10; license for covering horses, one price per season ; horses, 874; oxen, 874; watches, 874; carriages, four wheels, $1; carriages, two wheels, 50; brass clocks, $1; town lots, two per cent; first rate land, 1 cent per acre; second rate do, 2 cent; third rate do, 4 cent; Treasurer's report, $221.42.

September, 1834, half a mile taken from Greensfork and added to Washington, Andrew Aker appointed Treasurer; receipts for the year, $1,070.94}; Joel Ward's work viewed by referees and adjudged to be worth $188.00 (moral, agree upon the price beforehand); Salamonie Township (Jay County) erected.

January, 1835, Nettle Creek, created with one mile also that now belongs to Stony Creek. West River arranged seven miles long and four miles wide (east line one mile west of present line).

May, 1835, Madison Township laid off in what is now Jay County, five miles wide on the east side of Jay County ; meeting advertised by the Sheriff for the formation of an agricultural society to be held on the last Saturday in May, 1835.

September, 1835, two paupers farmed out at $30 per year; road laid beginning at the southwest corner of Robert Bunker's door yard; nice place to begin at.

March, 1836 - Building an office for the Clerk and Recorder. Ordered to be let by Jere Smith. It seems from subsequent entries that David Heaston took the contract.

March, 18838 - Union Township, four miles square laid off, embracing the north end of West River Township. Edmund B. Goodrich and Jere Smith appear as Commissioners of the Seminary fund.

May Term, 1839 - Court house not done. Paul W. Way directed to relet the job of completing it. It had been let to David Heaston, but he would not fulfill the conditions of the contract.

That second court house would seem to be almost as long in building as Herod's Temple in Jerusalem. '' Forty and seven years was this temple in building, and wilt thou destroy it in three days ?"'

March, 1845 - Roads located. State road from Huntsville via Unionsport, Macksville, and Fairview into Jay County, nineteen and three-quarter miles in Randolph County.

County Agent

It would seem from the ''record"' that the business of County Agent, beginning at the first establishment of the county, continued a long time.

Paul W. Way was appointed County Agent in 1818, to sell lots in the county seat, etc., and in June, 1852, thirty-four years after his appointment, he reports business as follows: Moneys received since February, 1847, $497.79, with vouchers for the

It would appear that the second court house of 1826 was a "poor job" and became worthless so as to be abandoned. These buildings as above were erected for county offices, jail and Sheriff's residence, coupled with halls for secret societies in rooms above, and the courts were held for years in what is now Ward's Hall, north of the public square.

Probate Court

At first and up to 1834, the Associate Judges acted as a Probate Court. From 1834 to 1852, there. was a distinct Probate Court presided over by a separate Judge.

The first to administer the affairs of Probate for Randolph County were Hons. John Wright and William Edwards, Associate Judges for the county, elected August, 1818.

The first court seems to have been held May 3, 1819. At that time Antony Way (son of "' Huldy" Way ), aged ten years, nine months, was bound to Thomas Frazier to learn '' farming." He was to receive eighteen months in all, schooling, and at his majority $100 in a horse, saddle and bridle, and one good suit of new cloth clothes. Thinking that a veritable '' bond of Apprenticeship " "all of the olden time" would be a ''curiosity'' to the present generation, we subjoin the ''bond"' by which Thomas Frazier, master, and Antony Way, apprentice, were mutually obligated to care and instruction and service :

This Indenture, made this third day of May, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, Witnesseth: That Antony Way, son of '«Huldy'' Way, aged ten years nine months and five days, by and with the consent of his guardian, Jonathan Ozburn, hath, of his own free will, placed and bound himself to Thomas Frazier, to learn the art of labor or husbandry, an' with him the said Thomas Frazier to dwell, continue, and serve from the day of date hereof until the said Antony Way shall accomplish and arrive at the full age of 21 years; during all which term of years the said Antony Way his said master shall well and faithfully serve, his secrets keep, his lawful commands gladly do and obey; hurt to his master he shall not do, nor willfully suffer it to be done by others, but of the same to the utmost of his power shall give notice forthwith to his gaid master; the goods of his said master he shall not embezzle nor waste, nor them lend without his consent to any; at cards, dice, nor any other unlawful games he shall not play; taverns nor ale houses he shall not frequent, * * * * * * * matrimony he shall not contract, f.om the service of his said master he shall not absent himself without his master's consent; but in all things as a good and faithful servant shall and will demean und behave himself toward his said master and all his during his said term. And the said master his said servant in the art of husbandry will teach and instruct or cause to be well and sufficiently instructed after the best way and manner he can; and shall and will find and allow to his said servant meat, drinks, lodging, and ''apperrill.'' both linen and woolens and all other necessaries fit and convenient for said servant during the term aforesaid; and also shall, for the space of one year between the date hereof and the time when the said Antony Way shall come to be fifteen years of age, put the said Antony to some good English school to be instructed in reading and writing and arithmetic, and also six months when the said Antony is between the age of 18 and 20, to be instructed as aforesaid; and at the expiration of the said term of servitude for the said Antony the said Thoms Frazier shall pay to the said Antony the sum of $100, to be discharged in a horse, saddle and bridle, and also one good suit of new cloth clothes. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals the day and year first above written. his Antony X Way,

Under date of March, 1821, stands an inventory of goods belonging to Isaac Burnett, a deceased Indian trader, who had been located at Fort Wayne, then and for some years longer in Randolph County.

First Will

7. Give to Jonathan Ozburn sixty acres, the rest of the 160 acres (left after the one hundred acres on the north side has been taken by John Ozburn) upon payment of $80.

10. To my beloved wife, Sarah Ozburn, all my movable property during her widowhood, then to return to John Ozburn, to be his forever, except her wheel and bed; she to have possession of the one hundred acres willed to John Ozburn, and support therefrom during widowhood.

First Administration Case First Girl Apprentice

April 8, 1822, Mary Moore, four years ten months, Solomon Wright, guardian, bound to James Massey till eighteen; to have schooling one year, and, at majority, one suit of clothes, one feather bed and furniture, and one cow and calf.

July, 1822, Samuel Hanna, administrator of Isaac Burnett, of Fort Wayne. deceased, returns inventory and Dill of sale, containing among other things, as follows :

Sixty-seven deer skins at 13 cents, $8.71; twenty-six coon skins at 27} cents, $5.33; thirty cight dressed deer skins at 36 cents, $13.68 ; seventeen muskrat skins at 16 cents, $2.72; reporting the debts to be $5,469.18. The estate was declared bankrupt, and an order issued to sell two sections of land belonging to the said decedent. The land had been granted to him at the treaty of St. Mary's in 1818, in connection with the Pottawatomies. Permission of the President of the United States for the sale had to be obtained, which was granted by James Monroe, and the land was sold.

Also his undivided interest in six sections granted to his children which he had by an Indian woman, Cakama, a Pottawatomie, sister of Toppemba, principal chicf of the nation. The land was appraised at 68? and 50 cents per acre.

Will Of Jeremiah Cox, Recorded March 29, 1830

"A right of hogs not 'appraist,' running in the woods, and wild, 'cutent be got,' sold for ten dollars to James Simmons on the day of sale to highest bidder."'

A list of the purchasers at the sale of Ishmael Bunch's property will be interesting as showing the residents at that date, November 4, 1830. [Ishmael Bunch lived not far from Dolph Warren's, in Jackson Township.] Zachariah Key, George Reitenour, John Wolfe, Samuel Helm, Charles Summers, Henry Jackson, Philip Storms, Samuel Williams, William Brockus, Jeremiah Brockus, John Gray, Bennet Evans, James Simmons,

Samuel Simmons, Mary Key, Samuel Emery, George Porter, John Jones, Samuel Hawkins, James Brown, Robert Parsons, William A. Lindsey, Amos Smith, Allen Wall, Isaac Lewallyn, Aquila Loveall - twenty-six persons. The territory from which these persons came is quite extensive, from below Deerfield to above Allensville, and from Jay County.

The purchasers at his sale were Emsley Wade (one skillet and frying-pan), Jason Overman, Aaron Mills, Jesse Overman, Alfred Long, Abijah Mills, Jonathan Moore, Nelson Conner, Sampson Shoemaker, Joseph Green, Daniel Shoemaker, Jesse Small, Aaron Hill, Henry Davis, Willis Davis, John W. Shoemaker, Daniel James, John Mills, David Harris, John Mann, Robert James, William H. Freeman, Charles Morgan, Ziba Marine.

Will Of James Cammack, 1880

. Pay debts and expenses. Son William, land heretofore deeded and one cow. Son John, land heretofore deeded. Son Samuel, land heretofore deeded. Son Amos, land heretofore deeded, and farming utensils. . Daughter Elizabeth (Ozburn), $30. . Daughter Margaret, $10. . Daughter Mary (Hall), $2. Daughter Ann (Williams), $10.

Estate of John F. Hawkins (of Jay County), father of Judge Nathan B. Hawkins, Benjamin Hawkins, Hsq., Joseph OC. Hawkins, etc., died 1831, $280.7032.

1. To five sons and three daughters, the whole real estate ; the daughters to pay $25 each, the amount to be divided among the boys, and William to pay $20 to the rest.

Will Of Abram Peacock Will Of Matthew Massey, December 8, 1882

2. To his wife, the gray mare, horse. colt, two milk cows, thirteen sheep, ali the stock and fatting hogs and geese, and corn and wheat, the household and kitchen furniture.

Will Of Mordecai Mendenhall

2. To his wife, Phebe, two beds, two spinning wheels, reel, cupboard and ware, pot, Dutch oven, skillet, brass kettle, three chairs, chest and flax hackle, smoothing iron, wire sieve and fire support while living or his widow. . To Hannah, $20. koe Sucannah: $1. . To Robert, $1. . To Aaron, $1. . To Stephen, $5. . To John, $114. . To Phebe, loom and $12, anda living with her mother while single. 10. Anything else divided among all the heirs.

WILL OF JAMES I'. DRESSER. November 29, 1874 - probated June 18, 1879. All his property to his sister, Charlotte A. Dresser ; Wilson to be executor.

Will Of Jeremiah Smiti

3. The graveyard where my father and mother lie buried on the old farm in Section 5, Township 18, Range 13, 150 feet square, to be kept for my posterity as a burial ground - a_ poplar tree in it, one foot through, to be preserved - the iron fence around my father's and mother's graves to be finished and kept up.

6. My flute to Jeremiah G., and the oil paintings of myself and wife to Charlotte A. ; my private library, etc., to be divided among children amicably. Old books, manuscripts, etc., to be preserved.

10. The executors are to use their best judgment for the good of the estate, managing as they have reason to think I would have done in the same place.

11. William K., and John Dye Smith are to be executors, and after them or either of them, Henry B., Jere G. and Oliver H., in order as named.

I enjoin it upon all my sons and daughters that harmony and concord, unity and affection, be cultivated and preserved among them during all their lives, and that they suffer no " root of bitterness"' to spring up and trouble them; and that they live humble disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout their lives, that I may meet them in a happy eternity.