Hanover Township (part 13 of 29)

Joseph McMaken, 03, of Union Township, Ohio; died February 10, ISIS. He was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; enlisted in the Indian war under General St. Clair and General Anthony Wayne. He came to Ohio in 1789, and in 1795 settled on section 4, Union Towushin.

William McClellan, 00, of St. Clair Township ; October 2, 1 827. Was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania ; employed in quartermaster's department as pack horseman.

Soldiers Of Ima

Matthew Hueston. 76; April 16, 1847. Born in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and was buried at Collinsville. Was in quartermaster's department in Wayne's campaign.

Vincent Cohee, 87,' of St. Clair Township; November 12, 1S6S. He served under Captain Collins in tin: Twentysixth Regiment, United States Infantry.

Alexander Dclorae, S3; born in Shepardstown, Pennsylvania; September 1, 1S70. Enlisted in the Twenty-sixth Megiment, United States Infantry, under Captain Collins.

Samuel Millikin, S3; October 10, 187o. He was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania. He had charge of medical stores of the Northern army.

Soldiers Of The Rebellion

Win. H. Miller, 3S; second lieutenant, L, 12th; killed in West Virginia while scouting, September 15, 1861. He was in the battle of Peters Creek.

Colonel Minor Millikin, 28; colonel First Ohio Volunteer j Cavalry. Previously first lieutenant Burdsall's Cavalry, i Killed at Stone River, December 31, 1862; intoned, Janu- I ary S, 1863.

FI H. Scudder, 26; G, 83d; from wounds received at Arkansas Port, July 16, 1863. Born in Liberty Township. John McLean, 24; '.'3d; February IS, 1865.

Lieutenant B. C. Wilci x, 28; C, 93d; November 5, 1862. Garrett Parker, 17 ; 1, 159th Illinois Volunteers, of Springfield, Illinois ; a prisoner in the bands of the rebels at Nashville, Tennessee, January 13, 1865.

John Weaver. 38; 69th; killed in battle, September 6, 1862. Geo. l\ilson.21; Sth; from wounds received at Beverly, ^ Pst Virginia, November 27, 1864.

A. P. Cox, 42; K, 69th. Appointed captain Mississippi Brigade by the President. Born in West Chester. Resided at Oxford. Died September 21, 1872.

The Covets

The following men from Butler County are buried at Chattanooga, in the beautiful national cemetery. Captain Phil. Rothenbush copied the names of the soldiers of the Thirty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry sleeping their last

The Courts

As we have recited, the courts of this county had their first session on the 10th of May, 1803, at the house of John Torrence, in Hamilton. This building is still standing on tbe ground owned by Henry S. Earhart, but not occupied by him. The judges were James Dunn, John Greer, and John Ivifehell. John Roily was the clerk. All these were laymen, chosen for their good sense, but not for their acquirements in the law. A t the first election James Blackburn was chosen sheiiff, and Samuel Dillon,- coroner. The first regular term began with Francis Dunlevy as presiding judge, and Daniel Symmes prosecuting attorney. The first term of the Supreme Court was on the 11th of October, 1803, and was composed of Judges Samuel Huntington and Samuel Sprigg; Arthur St. Clair, Jr., as prosecuting attorney; and William MeCiellau, sheriff. John Roily was clerk, and so continued until May 3, 1842.

Judge Dunlevy was a man of great strength of character, and possessed wide influence. He bad not originally been intended for the bar; nor, indeed, does it seem that, be ever studied law in the way in which most persons do. H<* acquired his knowledge while expounding the principles of jurisprudence from the bench. 1 here were, indeed, few regularly bred lawyers in the country, .fudge Dunlevy 's family Wore originally from Spain, and having become Protestants, (led from that country to Franco, where they remained until the revocation of the edict of

Nantes. From there they went to Ireland, and one of j the family, named Anthony, emigrated to the United ! States in 1745, settling near Winchester, Virginia. He I was the father of Francis Dunlevy, who Mas born in 1761. The family were rigid Presbyterians, and intended to bring up their sou to the ministry, but, on the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, removed further West, ; near Washington, Pennsylvania. There were many dan- j gers in the backwoods then, and the young man took his turn in defending the settlements. When he Mas j fourteen he volunteered to take the place of a neighbor M'ho had been drafted, and who could not well leave home. | From 1776 to 1762 he was almost continually in the service of his country. In the latter year he M'as in j Crawford's defeat.

As soon as peace, permitted Dunlevy Mas sent to 1 Dickinson College to prepare for the ministry, and after- 1 wards studied divinity under his uncle, the Rev. James j Hoge. Close examination of the Scriptures at that time | made him a Baptist, a faith to M'hich he ever afterwards adhered. He gave up his plan of preaching, believing that he had no evidence of a special call in that direction, and became a teacher. He taught a classical school for some time after in Virginia. In 1792 he came to ; Columbia, in Hamilton County, this State, and, in con- ! nection with Mr. John Reily, opened a classical school, I the first good one in the country.

"Judge Dunlevy," says his sou, from whose account of the Miami Baptist Association we abridge this narra- j tive, "was twice a member of the Legislature of the j Northwestern Territory, afterwards a member of the con- ; vention which formed the f rst constitution of Ohio. He Mas also a member of the first State Legislature, and ! then was elected presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas, whose circuit included at that time all the Miami Valley, from Hamilton and Clermont Counties on the j south, to Miami and Champaign on the north. Here he j served as judge for fourteen years, and though he had in that time to cross both Miamis at every season of the year, then M'ithout any bridges, in all that, time he never missed more than one court. He often swam these rivers on horseback when very few others would have ventured to cross them. In bis various campaigns and extensive travels in new countries lie had become so expert a swimmer that he thought nothing of swimming the Ohio j at its greatest, floods,"

On the bench he Mas distinguished for diligence and attention. He bent all the faculties of his mind to discover the truth, and to make his decision conform to it. He was not a patient man in technicalities, and Lad au imperious way about him that would not have been tolerated in a M'cakcr man. At the close of his service as presiding judge, being poor, and having involved himself as security for some of his friends, he felt himself compelled to engage in the practice of law for the means of | supporting his family. For more than ten years he rode ' the circuits for four or five counties, but about eight years before his death withdrew . from business, and studied those books M'hich he had previously been prevented Irom doing hv lack of time. These were mainly religious. He M'as a friend of liberty and: an enemy of American slavery. His death occurred on the 6th of November, 1839.

The name of Daniel Symmes appears as that of the first prosecuting attorney. He M'as at that time, and ever after, a resident of Cincinnati, and was appointed to the position because there M'as no resident lawyer here. He M'as a son of Timothy Symmes, and a neprunv of Judge John Cleves Symmes, and Mas born in Sussex County, New Jersey, in 1772. He Mas a graduate of Princeton College, and came Yvrest M'ith his father. He was married to Elizabeth Oliver in 1795. He Mas appointed clerk of the territory northwest of the Ohio River, and while holding this position studied law, and Mas admitted to the bar. He was elected a member of the Senate of the State of Ohio, and served as its speaker during the second and third session*. He M'as subsequently appointed a judge of tire Supreme Court of Ohio, on the resignation of Judge Meigs, in 1804, and on the expiration of his term became register of the land office at Cincinnati, holding this position until a few months previous to his death, M'hich occurred May 10, 1817. Mr. Symmes M'as also sheriff of Hamilton County in 1795 and 1796.

Arthur St. Clair, Jr., succeeded him. He was a son of General St. Clair, and a man of considerable attainments and means. Before coming out here be had run away with a Quaker lady, who made him a good M'ifc. and M'ho bore him several children. He Mas a candidate for territorial delegate, at the very beginning of the history of Ohio,- but was defeated by William Henry Harrison, then a captain in the army, but M'ho had the powerful support of the Symmes family. Lie Mas possessed of considerable M'ealth, but lost it by indorsing for a friend. When, shown by a lawyer that there was an informality in the document that Mould release him, he said: "nio; M'hen Arthur St. Clair puts his name to a piece of paper he means it." As a result, his property Mas all swept aM'ay. A son of his, Arthur St. Clair, 3d, came up to Hamilton and began the practice of law M'ith Jehiel Brooks, in 1823. They did not stay loug, however. Their card ran thus:

Law Notice Jehiel Brooks And Arthur St. Clair

Having formed a partnership in the practice of the lav, inform the public that they may be found at present in the lower corner room of Colonel George VandegritFs hotel at am hour of the day, where they will attend to the various duties of tbeir profession. They intend to make permanent arrangements for an office elsewhere, and wheu that shaii be effected due notice will be given of the place of removal.

William McClellan, the first elected sheriff, was the son of a pioneer farmer, who, at the time of the Revolutionary War, lived near where Mercersburg now is, in Pennsylvania. On reaching suitable age he obtained employment as a pack-horse man. By these horses all goods were . brought over the Alleghany Mountains. In this occupation he was engaged until several years after the Revolutionary War, and soon after 1790 left for Ohio, in 1792 coming to Fort Hamilton. He remained in this employment until the close of the war, when he married Miss Mary Sterret, of Mercersburg, and opened a house of entertainment. In 1803 he was elected sheriff of the county, and two years after was re-elected. He was then ineligible by the constitution of Ohio, and was succeeded by John Torrence. After Mr. Torrence had held two years Mr. McClellan again became a candidate, and was chosen sheriff, being re-elected in 1811. In that year he removed from Hamilton and settled on his farm on Two-mile Creek, in St. Clair Township, still keeping an office in Hamilton, and attending to his business by deputy. He remained in agricultural pursuits until trie time of bis death, October 2, 1827. He was then sixty years of age. He was a man of a kind and genial disposition, and had troops of friends. His wife survived him, d\ing November 10, 1842, aged seventy-one. One of the sons still lives on the old homestead in St. Clair Township.

Mr. McClellan was the brother of two other men well knotrn in the history of Hamilton, to one of whom Washington living gives a large space in ins "Astoria." He was an excellent scout, huuter, aud spy, and ,vas possessed of prodigious muscular power and activity, lie could leap over a pair of oxen or the tallest Conestoga wagon. He went out to the Rocky Mountains and a- ted as a hunter for parties the-re for a long time. Of his exploits Irving's "Astoria" and McBride's "Pioneers" give a full account. John, his younger brother, was also a pack-liorseinau, but did not come out to the Miami conutry until 1800, then taking up his abode with his brother William, and engaging in trading with the Indians. In 1814 he set out for nn expedition among the red men, but was waylaid and killed by them, Ids goods being taken.

William Corry was the first lawyer who located himself at Hamilton. He was born near the Holstein River, in "Washington County, Virginia, on the 14th of December, 177-3, and received a liberal education at Parson Duke s academy, in Tennessee. In 1798 ( then a minor) he came to the Northwestern Territorv and studied law with William McMillan, of Cincinnati, to whom he was distantly related. In 1808 lie removed to Hamilton and begun practice. Tn 1-307 he was appointed prosecutor

- for the State, which office lie held until his removal from Hamilton in the year 1810. In the Fall of 1807 he I was elected a member of the General Assembly for But-* I ler County, and served during the ensuing session of the ! Legislature.

In March, 1810, Air. Corry was married to Eleanor Fleming, a daughter of Thomas Fleming, an old settler | who had emigrated from Maryland, and lived on the '- south side of Butler County. Air. Corry then determined ; to abandon the practice of law, and in September fol- | lowing removed from Hamilton and settled on his farm | near Cincinnati. But in Alay, 1811, he removed to the ! city, where' he again resumed the practice of law. He | was subsequently elected and represented the county -of : Hamilton in the General Assembly. lie was appointed i by the town council to the office of mayor, then first ! created, and held it until 1819 by appointment. He | died in that city on the 1 6th of December, 1833.

; which he was never able to overcome, did not appear conspicuously at the bar as an orator, but he was highly | esteemed as a thoroughly read lawyer and good coun- | selor. As a member of the bar, legislator, mayor of the i city, and private citizen, he maintained a high character.

! 1803. In the Spring of 1804 lie began the study of law, and was in due time admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. In Alay, 1809, he left that State j and came to Ohio, and in June following settled in | Hamilton, commenced the practice of his profession, and made his maiden speech in the court-house of this county. In 1810 he was appointed prosecuting attorney in the place of A\ illiam Corry, who had removed to Cincinnati, i holding this office until April, 1816, about which time | he left Hamilton and went to Cincinnati. I here he eon- ! tinned practice until 1834, when he was appointed President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He held the office until February, 1838, when he was appointed i judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati for seven ; years. In 1.845, when his term cf service expired, he j declined being a candidate for reappointment, and retired ; to private life.

Air. Este was a fine classical scholar and a well read ! lawyer, and by his regular habits and strict attention t<> business acquired a large fortune.

Among the pioneer members of the bar contemporaneous with the above was John C. AicAIanus. His knowledge of the law and his information on other >ui>- jeets was limited, but by iiis bustling manner and his attendance at crowds and public meetings be acquired a considerable share of practice. He was a candidate for a seat in the Assembly from Butler County, but failed in his election. In 1817 he retired from the bar and removed to Preble County, where he resided until his death, which occurred in the early part of 1851.

Joseph S. Benham was born near Lebanon, Warren County, and was the son of Robert Benham, one of the pioneers of the western country, whose name is identified with its early history. In 1808 and 1809 he was a boy attending school in Hamilton. He lived with his sister, Mrs. Torrence, afterward Mrs. Wingate, who then kept a tavern. He studied law with David K. Este. was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Hamilton.

Mr. Benham devoted much of his time to the acquisition of the graces of oratory. He paid particular atten tion to elocution, and his voice and manner of speech were captivating. Few men could address a jury more eloquently or effectively; and as a popular speaker, fewer yet surpassed him. He remained at the bar of this county until 1821, when he removed to Cincinnati. He practiced in Cincinnati until 1831, when he went to Louisville, Kentucky, and thence .to St. Louis, where he remained until 1837. In that year he returned and settled in Covington, Kentucky, and took the professorship of commercial law in the Cincinnati Law School, About this time he became the owner and editor of the Ohio and Kentvchj Journal , a weekly Democratic paper, which he published in Cincinnati for about a year, but in August, 1838, sold out. The Winter of 1838-9 he devoted to the study of the civil law at his residence (Elmwood) in Kentucky, opposite Cincinnati* aucl iheu removed to New Oilcans, where he settled again in the practice of law. The ensuing Summer he was on his way from New Orleans to New York, when he died at the Pearl Street House, Cincinnati, on the 15th of July, 18-10.

Air. Benham was twice married; first, to Isabella Green, of Hamilton, who died in October, 1829, and the. second time to Maria L. Slocum, of the District of Columbia.

In the year 1815 Benjamin Collett came from Lebanon, Warren County, opened a law office in Hamilton, and began the practice of his profession. He was a graduate of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and had studied law' at Lebanon with his brother, Joshua Collett, and with Judge John McLean. He was a thorough classical scholar, and his information on all subjects extensive for a man of his age. As a well read lawyer he was excelled by none in the State. In declamation he was not eloquent or flowery, but he always understood iiis subject well and expressed himself in a systematic and logical style, which commanded the attention of the court and jury. He soon acquired a very respectable practice. In April, 1M6, lie was appointed prosecuting attorney for the county of Butler, and held the office until 1820. A year or two afterwards he re-

George Sargeant, a native of Vermont, came to Hamilton in the year 1816, and studied law with Joseph S. j Benham. He was admitted upon the completion of his ! course of study, and began practice immediately afterward.-. Although he had not the advantage of au early education, his native Yankee shrewdness and wTit, with a ready flow of words, enabled him to succeed tolerably well at the bar. Where sarcasm or ridicule were adrnis- ! sible he excelled. He continued to practice until about f the year 1826. His habits for a number of years were | very intemperate, though he was seldom seen drunk in J public. In the evening he would purchase a bottle of | whisky and take it to his office, where he would indulge himself during the night, and the next night re-peat the same performance. A continuance of this habit finally impaired the faculties of his mind, and in September, 1827, lie became so much deranged that lie was strictly ! confined. The Masonic Fraternity, of which he was a t member, appointed a committee of their members to see | to his condition. He was supported and cared for by ; the society for about a year, when he was delivered over 1 to the county commissioners. He was afterwards taken j to a lunatic asylum in Cincinnati, where he remained ! several years chained to the floor, and was then removed ; to the lunatic asylum at Columbus. He never recovi ered from his derangement, dying somewhere about I 1852.

, afterwards judge, who at a very early age marie his mark ; in the institutions of Ohio, Nicholas Longworth, who bej came the largest property owner in this region, and was distinguished tar and wide for liis growth of American wines; George P. Torrence, a man of great grace and dignity; Elias Glover and Ethan Stone of Cincinnati;

1 and last but not least, John Mr Lean, afterwards a justice | of the Supreme Court of the United States. Joshua Col- ! lett was also in frequent attendance. " Important cases," j says Mr. McBride, "were advocated in an elaborate and ' masterly manner."

Mr. Reilv became sheriff in 1813, his position lasting till 1817. During his administration of office occurred the only punishment by whipping e\er inflicted in this county.

A hoarder at the tavern of William Murray, on Front j Street, went one morning to the stable of the tavern to j see to his horse. He found the stable and the stall, hut ] the horse was missing. The sheriff was informed of the ' facts, and the officers were put upon the scent. After I a few days' search horse and thief were found at Leb- 1 anon, and at once brought back to Hamilton. The thief, i whose name was William Gmv, was taken before the l court, Judge Dunlevy presiding, and his guilt plainly proved. In those days Ohio had no penitentiary, and the punishment of criminals was generally a public cowhiding. Judge Dunlevv sentenced Gray to thirty-nine Lvshes on his bare back, to be inflicted by the sheriff in \ the court-house square, allowing, the culprit a few days to ! prepare himself for the ordeal. Mr. McBride, after hear- , ina the sentence, took his prisoner to the jail, and thc-n pur- : chased a cowhide. In those days cowhides were the only whips in use, and could be found in hunches of twenty-five and fitly hung: up for sale in every grocery. Selecting a 2»>xl stiff whip, the sheriff' returned home and laid it by. His wife, however, began to feel some sympathy for the culprit. She thought the punishment excessive and antichristian. and thought she could devise some method to render the punishment less paiuful. She thought that if the stiffness should be taken out of the cowhide the blows would be less painful, and the idea no sooner reached her brain than she put it into execution. The cowhide was placed in a pan of grease and thoroughly soaked and then tied up and placed away in greasy rags. The day before the culprit was to undergo his punishment, Mrs. McBride turned over the doctored cowhide to the sheriff. The news of the sentence had been carried for many miles, and the day before it was to be put into execution people began flocking into the village front till points within a radius of sixty miles. They came in wagons and on foot from Connersville, Liberty, and Brookville, Indiana, and from "Warren and Montgomery Counties, Ohio. On the morning on which the sentence was to be carried out, Sheriff McBride arose from his Led before it was light and hastily made all the arrangements necessary, and before the sun was fairly up William Gray was tied to a scaffold post on the south side of the court-house, which at that date was not finished. The doctored cowhide was brought out, and the horse thief received his thirty-nine lashes while yet half the people were in their hods. Several of the blows brought the blood to the surface, but owing to the wit of Mrs. McBride the punishment was by no means as severe as it could, and perhaps should, have been. Notwithstanding the early hour, however, the punishment was witnessed by a large num- Ikt of persons who had reached the square early, anticipating su< h a move on the part of the sheriff. The strangers, after their hard work in reaching the city, Siept late in the morning, and on waking and finding the "hole affair ended made the air sulphurous with their curses.

Gray, after his whipping, was taken back to the old jail and kept there several days for his hack to heal, when he was discharged, and ordered to leave the county, "hioh it is safe to. presume he did at once. Sheriff Me- 1 >!'id<* and his successors were .-'[aired the repetition of duties, and thus Gray was the only man cowhided >'y order of court in old Butler.

John Woods. ,He came to this county iu 1819, and his progress here was facilitated by the fact that his habits were good. He attended assiduously to business, did not drink, and could always be depended upon. In 1824, when but twenty-seven years- of age, he was chosen to the national Legislature, and was probably the first native of the Northwestern Territory who was elected to either house of Congress. Mr. Woods was an extraordinary lawyer. He was engaged in nearly all the great causes - that came up in his time, and was usually successful when the affair was at all evenly balanced. He had a rough, earnest eloquence, which carried much weight. It was not polished, but correct. lie was strong as a special pleader and chancery lawyer. A fuller account of him is given elsewhere.

The bar held a meeting on the 20th of September, 1824, in honor of Thomas C. Kelsey, one of its members. The meeting was attended by the officers of the Court of Common Pleas for the county of Butler, the lawyers, and the students at law. John Woods presided, and Jesse Corwin acted as secretary. Resolutions were passed deploring his death, and declaring that the members would attend his funeral. Mr. Kelsey was a native of New England, and was for many years a respected merchant of Hamilton, making and saving in his calling a handsome fortune. In prosperity his friends were numerous and ardent, but many of them vanished with his wealth. When he could no longer continue business as a merchant, anti after he had yielded up his last farthing to his creditors, he was enabled by the kindness of a few friends to read law and gain admission to the bar. For this calling lie possessed respectable talents, and would undoubtedly have Succeeded hail his life been spared. He died on the 18th of September, and was buried with 1 Masonic honors. His wife died on the preceding Sun- | day, the 12th. They left four little children.

Among the earlier sheriffs was William Sheoly. He ' was a man of prodigious size, and well liked by bis fellow- ! citizens. While he was sheriff' he was called .upon to | make preparations for an execution, but after all Ins labor \ was done the criminal had his sentence commuted to imprisonment for life. This was in the Summer of 1835. i The prisoners name was Sponsler. He lived iu Madison I Township, and had a quarrel with his sou-iu-!aw, finally killing him by shooting. For this he was arrested and lodged in the county jail. When he was brought to trial John Woods, one of the most skillful members of the bar, was assigned to defend him, and did so with all his powers. But the accused was found guilty of J murder in the first degree, and was sentenced to be hung | on Friday, June 10, 1836. No efforts to have a new I trial or for an arrest of judgment were successful, and Mr. Sbeely proceeded to get ready his scaffold. Mr.

I Moods, however, did not cease his exertions in behalf of ; his clieut, and finally procured a commutation of sen- I tence to imprisonment for life. The public, however, were not made acquainted with the matter, and on the day assigned the town was full of men from this and other towns. When they found that the affair would not come off they rebelled, and proposed to tear down the jail. They were full of whisky and full of fight. But Mr. Sheely did not propose to be treated thus. He organized a large body of men, and placed himself' at their head, dispersing the mob.

Before Sponsler could be taken to Columbus to undergo'the. penalty of life imprisonment, he managed to commit suicide by cutting his throat in a cell. He had become discouraged. A writer in the Cincinnati Times says that Mr. Woods was so much chagrined at the scenes through which he had been passing that he then and there made a vow that so long as he lived there should never be a man hung in Butler County. We doubt the truth of the story, but no one was hung until after his death, wheu Griffin was executed.

Michael B. Sargeant was an early and brilliant member of the bar, who was in partnership with Mr. Woods for some time. He was a fine classical scholar, and conversant with elegant literature as well as a thorough lawyer. His qualifications and strict attention to business, while Mr. Woods was absent attending Congress, prominent part in the debates which arose on certain questions, and on one in particular lie took ground against his Democratic friends in convention. His conduct was severely denounced by them, and among his constituents at home an indignation meeting was held asking him to resign. He immediately yielded to the stern request, came home, and upon the ordering of a new election, went before the people again, and was returned to the convention by an overwhelming majority. He served as president, pro tem., of this body, several times.

From this time until within a few days of his death he practiced latv in Hamilton, having, within the last few years, again served for two terms as prosecuting attorney for Butler County, and holding, at the time of his death, the office of city solicitor. He was frequently a director of the Hamilton Board of Common Schools, and was for a number of years a trustee of the Miami University.

He died full of honors and labors, after exhibiting the rare example of a long public life without a single stain of dishonor upon it, and of an unobtrusive, peaceful, useful, and virtuous private life, on the lltb of January, A. D. 1871, aged seventy years, eleven months, and eleven days.

were of great advantage to the latter. Mr. Sargeant died suddenly on the night of the 19th of April, 1830, aged thirty-three years, lie was found in the morning dead in his bed, in the room adjoining their law office, and is supposed to have expired by apoplexy or a similar affection, of which, it is said, he had discovered some previous symptoms. He lies buried in the Fourth Ward burying-grouncl, now the park. lie was a man of large capacity, and had he lived would have had a fame coextensive with the State.

Elijah Vance, for many years judge of the District Court, and an attorney and counselor-at-law, was born in Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, on the 1st of February, 1801, and came to Ohio in 181G, procuring a situation as clerk in a dry goods store in Cincinnati. After four years of steady labor, and saving his money, be went to Lebanon and began the study ot law with Judge Dunlevy, graduating at the bar in June, 1826. He then removed to Hamilton and began practice. He was shortly after elected prosecuting attorney of the county, and was next elected a State Senator, and afterwards re-elected fiir several terras, and made speaker of the Senate. In 1843, when judges were yet appointed, he was selected as Common Pleas Judge of the judicial district composed of the counties of Greene, Clinton, Warren, and Butler, and held this office for seven years. In 1850 he was appointed a member of the convention which met in Columbus for the purpose ot flaming a new constitution for Ohio. On account of the cholera, which was then raging in Columbus, the convention adjourned till the Winter of 1851, when it met at Cincinnati. During the sitting of this convention, Judge Vance took a

He was married in June, 1844, to Emily A. Morris, who was bora in Bethel, Clermont County, in 1815. By this marriage he had two daughters. His father was a Revolutionary soldier, and his brother was in ihe Mexican war.

The lawyers resident in Hamilton, in 1842, were Woods & Higdon, Bebb & Reynolds, Corwin & Thomas, Vance & Millikin, Weller & Ryan, Oliver S. Witherby, Ezekiel Walker, and Thomas H. Wilkins. Major John M. Millikin and Lewis D. Campbell had retired, and of this list only Thomas Millikin, the senior of the bar, remains in practice. Reynolds and Witherby are still living, tbe oue iu Chicago and the other in San Francisco.

Bebb was a strong and effective jury lawyer. He was a really eloquent man, and it was his speaking capacities that made him governor of the State. He never took, a case iu which he did not soon feel iu warm sympathy, and Lis appeals to the jury were very touching. He could weep at any time. Apart from his merits as a jury advocate he was not strong, although safe. In his set addresses he had a redundancy of ornament, more so than in his extemporaneous speaking. He was a large, goodlooking man, of pleasant and sympathetic address, and was of spare build.

The leading politician of the county, on the Democratic side, was John B. Weller. Mature had gifted him with an easy declamatory eloquence, and his standing at the bar was largely owing to this. He took more interest in politics than in law, hut maintained a respectable rank iu the latter, lie was attractive iu appearance.

Alfred C. Thomas was a commissioner of bankruptcy about 1840. He was the brother of the Rev. Thomas K. Thomas, but had not the same skill as a speaker. With the pen, however, 'he was strong. He was a fine Greek and Latin scholar, being professor of those languages at College Hill, and is now assistant solicitor of known writer for the press, and has been secretary of the Illinois Board of Agriculture, and the editor of an important agricultural newspaper in that State. He is now the secretary of the Chicago Exposition.

Ezekiel Walker, now of Cincinnati, was very odd in appearance. He was employed hi a very celebrated case, that of Jones against Mizener, in which he was attorney for the plaintiff. The suit was about a division fence, and was carried on for years, until it. became as well known as auy cause ever in progress in this county. - The verdict was twelve and a half cents. Walker subsequently sued Jones for bis fees, but the latter swore Walker took the ease for half what might he collected, and that he had tendered him the full amount agreed upon. He would even give him the whole. This suit occasioned a great deal of mirth for many years. Mr. Walker may be distinguished in Cincinnati now by always carrying an umbrella.

Jesse Corwin was another of the old members of the bar. He was a brother of Governor Thomas Corwin, the most eloquent advocate who ever pleaded at the bar in the Hamilton courts. They were the sons of Matthias Corwin, a pioneer of Warren County, who represented his county in the Legislature for ten consecutive terms from 1804. Jesse Corwin was born in Bourbon County. Kentucky, January 30, 1797; removed with his father to Lebanon, Ohio, and in 1822 took up his abode in Hamilton. He was an assiduous student of the law, and early made himself familiar with its principles and the rules which underlie us practice. Soon after coming to this place he was married to Miss Jane McMechau, by whom he had eight children, James, Matthias, Clarence, Eleanors Thomas, Warren, Henry Clay, Erin Augusta, and Jennie. Three only are now living, Henry C. Corwin, at Saliua, Kansas; Mrs. Erin Corwin Miller, wife of Dr. \Y. C. Miller, and Miss Jennie, at the old homestead in Hamilton. The three sous living at the breaking out of the rebellion, Thomas, Warren, and Henry G., all enlisted under the national banner at the fir^t call for troops by President Lincoln. He lias Lvo gund children, Thomas Corwin, son of Henry G. and Lillie M. Corwin, and \\ illium Corwin Miller, son of Dr. and Mrs. Erin C. Miller.

large share of practice, and in addition received the favor of the people. He was elected to the Legislature of Ohio for the years 1831 and 1832, and was prosecuting attorney for the county from 1825 to 1835, serving in this office with zeal and acceptability. In 1837 he was the Whig candidate for Congress in this, then the Second, District.' Though unsuccessful (his party being in the minority), his popularity was so well shown by the great gains he made that he was strongly induced to accept the subsequent nomination, but declined. He was a man of good solid judgment and with generous impulses and frauk disposition, of a character upright and honest, an affectionate husband, an indulgent father, and an estimable citizen. He remained in practice all his life, and at the time of Lis death was the oldest member of the Butler County bar. He died on the 23d of October, 1867.

Among those who frequented the courts here from other places were Thomas Corwin, Charles Anderson, Judge Caldwell, and Charles Fox. Corwin was, for many years, the leading advocate of this section, and his sallies of wit aud passages of pathos are yet related bv the older residents of the city, lie was as well known here as he was at home. He always complained that his abilities as a wit blinded the people as to the real merits of bis character.

The most distinguished judges of the Supreme Court visited this place - such men as Ebenezer Lane and Reuben Hitchcock. Justice was administered more summarily then than now. The judge felt that it was necessary for him to make dispatch with his eases, and he cheeked any disposition of the lawyers to verbosity. The business must be concluded. Lawyers, too, at that day would not take hopeless cases, and there was no disposition to encourage litigation simply for the sake of promoting it. Upon arrival in town, requisitions would he made for depositions and papers from tl e clerk's office, and they were thoroughly read and digested.

Since that date James Smith, of Lebanon; Abner Haines, of Eaton; William J. Gilmore, of Eaton; William Wilson, of Greenville; James Clark, of Hamilton; A. F. Hume, of Hamilton; 1\ L. Meeker, of Greenville; .1. C. MeKeiny, of Dayton; Henderson Elliott, of I lavton; James A. Gilmore, of Eaton; James L. Smith, of Lebanon; Calvin I). Wright, of Troy ; James S. Good, of Springfield : James K. Dawes, of Xenia; A. W. Deane,

Judge Crane was a brother of Commodore Crane. He was a man of fine address, well skilled in the law, and a model judge. Joshua Collett was. an exceedingly conscientious man on the bench. He was not a brilliant or attractive man, hut was actuated by high moral principles. Judge Smith was straightforward and painstaking, and was of respectable abilities. Hinksou is remembered as a slow and easy, honest and good natured man.

Oliver S. Witherin', president of the Consolidated Bank of San Diego, California, is from this county. He was born in the city of Cincinnati on the 19th. of February, 1815. In 1880 his father removed to Oxford, where the young man entered Miami University, graduating in 1836, anal receiving the degree of Master of Arts in due course. He then began the study of law with John Woods, the leader of the bar in this county, and was admitted to practice in 1840. In 1843 he was elected prosecuting attorney, succeeding Elijah Vance, and was re-elected in 1845. Jn 184G ho went out to Mexico as a lieutenant in the volunteer service, and on his return acted as editor of the Hamilton Teltgrciph, being in partnership with Michael CV Ryan, Esq. When John B. Weller was selected to go out to Mexico as one of the commissioners to fix the boundary line between that country and this, Mr. Wither by also went out, acting as quartermaster and commissary. Both he and Mr. Weller remained in California, where Mr. Witherby was elected a member of the first Legislature of that State. The duties which devolved upon this body were onerous. The country had been acquired by conquest, and tbe discovery of gold soon after resulted in an influx of foreigners aud adventurers from ail portions of the globe. There had been no preceding territorial condition in which the most necessary laws could have been passed, ar.d the enactments which were to govern society were to be laid from the very foundation. The Legislature discharged its duties with ability aud discretion, and its members, including Mr. Witherby, went out of office with the consciousness that their obligations had been fully discharged. This view was also eutertaiued by the people, and Mr. Witherby was in 1850 elected judge of the First Judicial District of the State. After hi? term had expired he was appointed collector of customs for the port of San Diego, holding the position for four years. Since that rime he has been in private business, having been for the last few years president of the (consolidated Bank of Smi Diego.

Among Those whose names appear in the advertisements of the newspaper.? before the war are Charles Kichardson, who had ah office in Campbell's Building in 1847: \\ itliam Shotwell, southwest corner of Basin and Second Streets, in 1847; Robert Hazelton, corner east of the

Schmidtman House, in 1847 ; Valentine Chase, over the sheriff's office, in 1847; Moore C. Gilmore, Rossville, over T rater's store, in 1848; William E. Brown, Basin Street, three doors west of the Buckeye House, in 1849; James B. Millikin, over Millikin's drug store, in Rossville, in 1849; John B. Weller and M. C. Ryan, in 1846;

! O. S. Witherby, over the county treasurer's office, in 1813; Elias V. Wilson, opposite the public square, in Sutherland's corner, in 1846.

James Clark, one of the ablest men at the bar ever here, and well remembered as a judge, died at tbe Magnetic Springs House, in Statesville, New York, December | 28, 1881, aged about fifty-seven. He was a native of ; this State, and served two terms as a judge of the : Supreme Court. He was here for twelve or fifteen : years. He was a man of marked ability as a lawyer, i judge, aud scholar. His range of reading was very wide.

and he collected a fine library. For a few years he con- tributed to the New York Ledger and other journals, j His wife, Miss Lottie Moon, of Oxford, was a woman of i great power and originality of character. He left this city about 1864 to go to Yew York, and ever afterwards

George Penny Webster, who lost his life in the civil ! war, was a son of John Webster, and a nephew of Wiilj iam Webster, of Middletown, and Joseph Webster, of j. Hamilton. He' was born near Middletown, December 24, 1824. When sixteen years of age he went to Hamj ikon, and for two years was deputy clerk of 'the county, then beginning the study of law with Thomas Millikin. In the latter part of 1846 he was admitted to the bar, and at once began practice. At the breaking out of the war with Mexico he enlisted as a private in the company of which General Van Derveer subsequently became captain, aud was afterwards promoted to sergeant-major of the regiment. He was wounded in the shoulder at the storming of Monterey. When peace was declared he removed tc. Steubenville, having previously married a j daughter of John McAdams, of Warrentou. Two years j after he was elected clerk of the court. He held the office for six years, then resuming the practice of his profession, and soon being regarded as one of tbe fore- ; most lawyers of that city. When the war broke out he | was instrumental in raising and forwarding two comj panics. He was appointed major of the Twenty-fifth ! infantry, and shortly after went, to West Virginia. In j May, 1862, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and j in July the colonel of the Ninety-eighth. While in Yir- ! ginia he commanded four expeditious, all of which were I successful, and fought in live battles, gaining the name of the ''fighting major.'' He was a man of verv imposing- persons;! appearance, being six fee: two inches high, aud otherwise made in proportion. At Louisville Colonel j Webster was placed in command of the Thiny-fiuirth I brigade, Jacksons division. In the battle of Pcrrvvilic

Among the lawyers who advertised in the papers before the war were George Webster, Crane's Hotel, in 1840; Thomas Millikin, Second Street, adjoining his dwelling, in 1846; William P. Young, office formerly occupied by Bobb & Reynolds, in 1846; William H. Miller, Basin Street, in 1847 ; John B. Weller, brick building opposite the post-office, the sheriff's office also being there, .in 1835; J. M. U. McNutt and I. W. Crosby, over Dr. Hittell's drug store, in 1837. In 1852 there were A. P. Cox, Westchester; William II. Smith, Oxford; Bebb A Lewis, office formerly occupied by Millikin A Bebb; John W. Wilson, Second Street, a few doors north of the Hamilton Hotel; Thomas Moore, Rossville ; J. Clark, opposite the Court House; J. H. Gest, Rossville; Ilume & Furrow; Miller & Brown; Scott A McFarland; Vance A White.

William R. Kinder was born near Franklin, Warren County, Ohio, on the 17th of December, 1826. He entered Farmer's College, and graduated there, with high honors, in the Summer of 1848. He immediately began the study cf law with John B. Weller; hut feeling serious apprehensions for his health - having a strongpredisposition to pulmonary bronchial disease, even at this earh age - he joined the Boundary Survey Expedition in 1849, and went to Mexico, in hopes of strengthening his constitution and shaking off his disease. Apparently much restored, he began the practice of law iu San Francisco as a partner of bis old preceptor, Governor Weller, in 1849 ; but his health again failing him, he took passage for China on a sailing vessel, in November of 1850, where he remained some four months, returning again to our city. He then took charge of the Telegraph as ostensible editor, and continued to contribute all its valuable articles until shortly before his death.

In October, 1854, be was elected to the office of probate judge, haying served some time before on the unexpired term of a former incumbent, laboring in this capacity with universal acceptability, being re-elected as hist as his term expired, until the 21st of December, 1859. On this d ay a more serious and stubborn attack of his old disease, consumption, brought him to his room, where forborne weeks he was confined, a patient and calm prisoner, gradually worn away by his malady, until, on the 9th of February, I860,- in the full possession of all his faculties, lie died.

Judge Kinder laid intellectual powers of a high order. Gis natural abilities were gro7?t, and his ucipiiremonts in the S'-ionces and the arts were unceasing and extended Gis mental characteristics, however, were those of rcadit'ess, adaptability, versatility. He will be remembered *9 all who have seen hint as a thoughtful man; by all who have heard- him as a ready, capable man. He conversed with much ease and brilliancy. He comprehended quickly, digested quickly, and could bring all bis powers to bear on any question in an instant. It was the very practical bent of his mind, the capacity he had of putting himself in the stead of any class, and bringing himself in their position, which made him equally a forcible writer and an eloquent speaker. He always understood himself, and hence found no 'difficulty in always well expressing himself. He delivered, in the opinion of some, the best conceived and most symmetrical speeches his party ever produced here. With a broad treatment of his subject, stating his views with perfect clearness, concealing his own and exposing his opponent's weak point with quiet and unsuspicious adroitness, urging his conclusions with much earnestness, not forgetting the judicious introduction of humor - these characteristics, joined to a musical, though not round, voice, a graceful manner, and a striking and pleasing presence, made his stump efforts, though generally short and unpremeditated, more than ordinarily acceptable and effective.

As a writer, Judge Kinder wielded a sharp-nibbed pen. Here again his clearness and force gave him the best qualities of good writing. His leaders in the Telegraph, embracing a wider range of topics than are usually treated in a country newspaper, would, for originality of style, richness of illustration, and thoroughness of treatment, bear comparison with the best articles published anywhere. Nor was he destitute of those nameless qualities going to make a good editor; conducting the Telegraph (and with it the party in the county) through many and grave difficulties with great skill and faithfulness. To his counsel, exposition, continuous writing and speaking, and indomitable faith in its principles and triumphs, the Democratic party of this county owed much of its discipline and strength.

There was objected to Mr. Kinder sometimes that he had a touch of rancor. Naturally witty and a strong partisan, it is not wonderful if there fell from him sometimes words too severe to be kind. Perhaps his ill health aggravated this inclination. He was a kind mau, in whose breast generous feelings and noble impulses were entirely at home. He certainly was a high-minded gentleman. There never was about him the least deception or truckling. He was too proud to compromise his independence.

If we except the celebrated ease of Jarndyce versus Jarndyce, says a writer in the newspapers, in the English chaucerv courts, and the hardly less well-known suits of tbe heirs of Anneke Jaus, in our own country, to recover the real estate supposed to be left them a long while ago, there has probably ucver appeared on the docket of any court a case of such magnitude as that which was being heard in the Butler Common Pleas in 1872. The boue of contention was the division of a portion of the fairest land in Butler County ; sixty-two defendants were directly interested in the result ; the petition covered innumerable sheets of legal cap, and in the calculations the nicest and most exact knowledge of the entire range of mathematics was employed. There had been in this case none of the law's proverbial delay ; counsel filed no rejoinders and sur-rejoinders, rebutters and sur-rebutiers ; the court issued no stays and injunctions,* and the case was as remarkable for the promptness with which it was decided as for the magnitude of the interests involved.

Briefly stated, suit was brought for the partition of i 12.84 acres of land in Madison Township. The parties I between whom this land was to be divided numbered | sixty-two, and most of them resided near the land now ! in court. The court, holding the scales of justice with a balanced hand, apportioned the land as follows, giving | to each according to the rules of the laws of consan- . guinity. Thirteen of the defendant* received each one- ' fifteenth of the estate; nine received one one-hundred | and fiftieth; four received one six-hundredth; ani thirty- j six received one five-hundred and fourth.

Let us now distribute, says the above-mentioned in- I genious writer, this magnificent property under the j above apportionment, and ascertain how much each re- j ceives. An acre of ground contains 43,580 square feet, \ in round numbers, and 12.34 acres will contain 537,240 , square feet.' The thirteen would then each be entitled to 35,816 square feet, making a lot 190x190; the nine each to 3,582 square feet, making a lot 60x60 ; the four to 895 square feet, equal to a lot 30x30; and the thirty-six each 994 square feet, equal to a lot 31x31. Suppose we value the entire estate of 12.34 acres at 8900. The thirteen eminently fortunate ones would receive 860 each ; the nine would receive 86 each; the four would receive 81.50 each ; and the thirty-six would come in for $1.66§ each - taking no account, of course, of the wear and tear of the mind of the attorney who drew up the papers, the necessary purchase of slates, arithmetics, deferential calculus, theodolites, sextants, trigonometrical tables, etc.

William H. Smith, of Oxford, one of the oldest members of the Butler County bar, and a resident of Oxford for over sixty years, died of general debility at his residence, in August, 1876.

Mr. Smith was bom at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, in 1807, aud coming West with his father's family in 1815, settled- in Oxford Township, where lie resided ever after. Having received a good common school education, he engaged early in teaching; afterward was a farmer, aud then a merchant. During his leisure from business he applied himself to the study of law, under the direction of John Woods, of Hamilton ; was admitted j to the bar in 188.9, and continued in active practice in j this and the adjoining counties until within six months j before death, when he was laid- aside by sickness. He was the oldest member of the Butler < -minty bar, and !

was much respected by his associates in the profession for his excellent knowledge of law. Mr. Smith was distinguished especially for his kindness of heart and generosity. While in religious belief he was a Universalis!,, be was unusually free from sectarian prejudice, and was in sympathy with all Christian eflort, by whatever denomination, taking an active interest in every movement fur the good of the community. Politically, Mr. Smith was a steadfast and zealous Republican, having the welfare of the country at heart, and laboring earnestly for bis party. He was the last of ten children. Of those of his connection surviving him are his son, Hansford Smith, of Ogden. Utah ; and his nephews. Dr. H. A. Smith, of Cincinnati, and P. W. Smith, of the Butler County bar.

A meeting of the bar was held in the court-house the Saturday after his decease, for the purpose of paying a tribute to his memory. Thomas Millikiu was made chairman, and P. C. Conklin, secretary; and a committee, consisting of C. S. Symmes, Colonel Thomas Moore, and James E. Veal. was appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the bar. The committee, after a short absence, reported the following:

" Whereas, it has pleased an allwise Providence to remove from our midst the oldest member of our bar, W. H. Smith, Esq., of Oxford, Ohio, who, for almost half a century, has beeu an honored and honorable practitioner before our courts ; therefore, bu it

"Rewired, That we deeply deplore and regret the loss of our departed friend and brother, and in his death the bar of this county has lost one of its most faithful, industrious, and consistent members, and the community at large one of its most valuable citizens, and bis clients a most vigorous and persistent advocate of their rights."

The trial of Griffin for the murder of Uzile Priekett came up by assignment before the Court of Common Pleas, Monday, February 22, 1869. The hearing of evidence and the argument of counsel occupied the entire week. The trial was watched with the greatest interest, and during its continuance the court-room was crowded to its utmost capacity.

Priekett had made wrestling his business for a number of years, and iu this had established a reputation with the sporting community. He came to Hamilton for the purpose of engaging iu a wrestling contest, and on Friday, June 12, 1868, the match was had near Debbvsville, between him and one Tim Walker, in which Priekett was vanquished. On the night of that day Priekett was killed in the saloon known as the " Hole in the Wall.'' Suspicion attached at once to Griffin as the man who had killed him. He was arrested, had a preliminary examination before the mayor* ai d was committed to jail to answer to the charge of murder iu the first degree. The grand jury, at the October term, found a true bill against him, and the ease caruC? up it. that term : but, owing io an informality in obtaining tlio jury, was continued to

February 22d. The evidence which proved to the satisfaction of the jury that Griffin was guilty of the murder of I'rickett was that furnished by himself and the testimony of Kelley.

It was in evidence that Griffin came to the American saloon about twelve o'clock Friday night, and on obtaining entrance replied to questions as to how blood came on his hat and why his hand was wrapped in a pockethandkerchief, that he had "had a fight with Prickett," "had knocked him down," "thought he had hit him too hard," and one witness said that Griffin said Avith an oath, " he had killed him (Prickett) he believed," and others that he said "he was afraid he had killed him."

He gave as the cause of the quarrel between himself and Prickett, that while in the "Hole in the Wall" he had invited Prickett to drink with him, to which invitation the latter responded that "he would not drink with any d - d Vallaudigham man," whereupon he had struck him. It was in evidence that Prickett had twice before drank with Griffin that evening at the "Hole in the Wall," once on Griffin's invitation and again on the invitation of Thomas Connaughton. Coupled with these statements made by Griffin to parties in the American Saloon, was the evidence of Joe Kelley. Kelleys evidence was that between eleven and twelve o'clock Friday night he left the Globe Saloon and went down to the "Hole in the Wall," accompanied by George Shedd. On their arrival no one was in the room save Prickett and the bar-keeper. Shortly after Griffin and Connaughton came in. Griffin treated the crowd and then Connaughton did, Prickett drinking both times. Both Griffin and Connaughton then left the saloon. They returned soon and again departed. Shedd left a short time after. Griffin returned for the third time to the saloon, this time alone. Xo one was then there present excepting Prickett, Griffin, and Kelley. Prickett was sitting with his back to the rear part of the saloon, leaning back in bis chair between two tables. Kelley was playing the banjo.

"All at once," said Kelley, " Griffin came up to Prickett, hit him first with his left hand and then with the right, then pushed out his right fist against Prickett. Then I heard a pistol shot. Prickett's head fell back on the tahle. Griffin went out about a minute after the shooting and remained out some moments. When he came back he took bold of my banjo. I bad gone back to speak to the bar-keeper's wife. I came back into the room, took the banjo, and went, up stairs into the street, Griffin following me. I said to Griffin at the head of the stairs, 'This is a had night's work.' He said, *If you do not think he is dead I will go and give him another.' I then went after Dr. Falconer. Griffin went "ith me, and was standing hack of me when I spoke to da- doctor. I then went to my room, put away my Uuijn, and returned to the saloon. I then went first "tier llumhach, then to Johuson MeGehean's, aud then -or McGlynn; returned again to the 'Hole in the Wall,' and remained uutil Dr. MeXeeley said Prickett was dead. At the time the shot was fired no one was in the room save Prickett, Griffin, and myself. I am confident I saw the butt of a pistol in Griffin's hand."

FTp to the testimony of Kelley it w ill be seen no evidence had been adduced showing that Griffin had more than struck Prickett. The testimony of Kelley, if admitted, proved that in addition to strikiug him with his fist lie had caused his death by shooting him. It is but just to say that Kelley vas a man of the most disreputable character, and the defense introduced an abundance of witnesses who declared they would not believe him under oath. Kelley was, apparently, a most unwilling witness against Griffin. He bad absconded from the city in order to avoid giving his evidence against Griffin, and it was only after a protracted search that he had been found and brought back to give his testimony in the ease. Kelley himself testified that his life was threatened should he testify against the accused. Under such circumstances as these his testimony went to the jury, and that jury, after a session of five hours, came into court at eleven P. M. Saturday, February 27th, with the verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree.

Motion was made for a new trial by the defense and most ably argued by opposing counsel, and on Friday, March 5, 1869, John Griffin was brought into court to hear his sentence. In reply to a question by the court "why sentence should not be pronounced against him," Griffin asserted his innocence, and affirmed his belief that he would have been acquitted had the trial been less protracted. Judge Gilmore then sentenced him to be removed to the county jail, and there kept in close confinement until Thursday, May 27th, on which day, between the bom's of eleven and three o'clock, he was to be hanged.

As the day approached on which John Griffin was to suffer the extreme penalty of the law it became evident that his counsel would make an effort to ax-rest the mandate of the court, and, if possible, secure for the defendant a new trial. On au alleged informality in the indictment, Justices Day and White, of the Supreme Court, directed, the clerk of the Supreme Court to issue a supersedeas, eujoiuing upon the sheriff of Butler County a delay in the execution of the sentence of the court until its proceedings were reviewed. The Supreme Court convened at Columbus, June 30th, and on the day following Chief-justice Day sustained the judgment of rhe Common Pleas. The court then designated Thursday, July 29th, as the day for the execution of Griffin.

Petitions were swiftly circulated and numerously signed, asking the governor to commute the sentence of death to imprisonment for life. The governor gave to the ease a most careful attention. Evidence both for and against the prisoner was asked for by him, hut after a close study of the case iu all its bearings he reluctantly declined to interfere with the sentence of the courts.

At four o'clock Wednesday afternoon, July 21st, the Rev. Mr. Hone, a Catholic priest of Hamilton, visited the prisoner in his cell. Griffin's compartment was on the left hand side of the main entrance. He was kept securely locked up, while the other prisoners, fourteen in number, had the liberty of the hall.

Mr. Hone was, as usual, admitted to Griffin's coll by turnkey Bayless, and after a short interview was let out, Bayless locking the door, placing the key in his pantaloons pocket, and the two passing to the outer door, which was opened for their egress by one of the ladies attached to the jail. Mr. Hone was in the advance, and as the two were about to step out Griffin motioned with his hand, which attracted the attention of Bayless, causing him to turn around, whereupon the prisoners made a rush, felling him to the ground, and endeavoring to procure the key to Griffin's cell.

The alarm was immediately raised by the attendant at the door and was taken up by the deputy's wife, the former having the presence of mind to ring the bell. The prisoners failing to get possession of the key then made a rush to the door, four of them, John Richards, convicted for. horse stealing, Joseph G us tin, stabbing with intent to kill, John Smith and. John Reed, robbery, making their escape. In the meantime the alarm spread like wildfire throughout the city, and the report that Griffin had been released brought hundreds to the vicinity of the jail in time to join in the pursuit. The situation was soon explained, and in fifteen minutes from the time of the escape the prisoners were recaptured and placed in their cells.

During ills long Confinement in the county jail Griffin manifested no contrition for the murder of Prickett. At all times when interrogated on th,j subject he stoutly denied thm he fired the pistol shot which produced Prickett's death, asserting at times that Joe Kelley and at other times that Galloway fired the shot.

In reply to a question of a friend " whether the preachers came to see him," Griffin replied, "yes, all of them; but they can't blarney me." He manifested a stoical indifference, which could only be accounted for on the theory that he was wholly destitute of moral sensibilities and perceptions.

The most careful scrutiny on the part of the turnkey to prevent any thing going into the cell of Griffin which might be used by him for the purpose of escape or selfdestruction was not sufficient to prevent his obtaining a razor blade. This article was found while a search was made in his cell on the 28th, while Griffin was beitm shaved in another part of the jail.

As early as eight o'clock or: the 2!)th of July, and until alter the execution, the approaches to the jail were lined by crowds of men from city and country anxious to know what was going on within the walls.

. A strong police force stationed at each gate and patroll- ( ing the pavement in front of the jail was taxed at times | to its utmost to repel the crowd, which on the exit of 1 any one from within the jail surged up to the inclosure and was importunate in its demands for the details of the proceedings within.

But a limited number of persons was allowed to witness the execution. The friends of the prisoner, the city officials, clergy, and the press of this and adjoining cities composed the audience, and to these a few days before Sheriff Andrews had handed a card on which was printed :

The gallows was located in the south-east corner of | the jail-room, and in the corner diagonally opposite from 1 the cell iu which Griffin was confined. It was a verv ! rude piece of workmanship. In dimensions it was eight ! feet in length by five iu width, and from the floor to the ; beam to which the upper end of the rope was attached I was fifteen and a half feet. The platform upon which J the sheriff aud his assistants stood was five feet from the floor, and in dimensions was five by five feet.. This platj form was connected with the floor of the jail by a stair- | way of eight steps. From this platform and to the left ! and reached by two additional steps was the trap-door.

The Rev. Messrs. Hone, Lucas, and Bteinberner of the Catholic Church of this city came into the jail about ten and a half, and from that time to eleven aud a half were in earnest couverse with the prisoner. At twenty minutes to twelve o'clock the coffin was brought into the ja.il- ! room, immediately after which leputies Aden and Brown ! repaired to Griffin's cell, and escorted him to the gallows.

I "Gentlemen, I am here in a place T never expected | to be. I am not able to make a speech, and not very 1 willing. I never bad an idea that I would come to the

Execution Tee Courts

At the conclusion of Griffin's remarks Mr. Hone ad- i dressed the throne of grace in a most fervent petition in I the prisoner's behalf, and on its conclusion he elevated ! the crucifix, which Griffin kissed.

Deputy Allen then stepped forward and adjusted the noose. Griffin again kissed his crucifix and bid the sheriff, Deputy Sheriff Allen, and Mr. Hone good-bye, and said, "I bid you all good-bye. I hope to meet you in a better world. Farewell." Deputy Allen then put the white cap upon Griffin's head. At five minutes after twelve the last moment had arrived. Standing on the trap-door Griffin exclaimed in a loud voice, ''Sheriff, I am ready," and immediately the trap was sprung. The fall evidently broke his neck and killed him instantly, as, j save the slightest twitching of the muscles, no movement of the body was perceptible.

The body was taken down at ten minutes to one o'clock and, after an examination by Doctors Gale, Corson, and Hiukley, who pronounced life extinct, it was enclosed in the coffin and delivered over to the custody of his friends, j by whom it was buried the next day at three, o'clock.

Thus ended the case of Griffiu. He was the only j man hung in the county since its formation, and yet lie | was- probably unjustly executed. We have been assured j by two of the most promineut and aeufe lawyers of this ; city, whose official positions have required them to ex- i amine the evidence since, that Prickett had been dead j an hour or more before he was struck by Griffin, and that he was the scapegoat of others. That day he had sold the match, and had between eight and nine hundred dollars in his pocket. Those who had lost ou their bets determined to get their money bock, and shot Prickett, rifling his body, and placing him in a posture where his bead was resting on a table. Griffin came in inflamed by drink, having beeu instigated to the act by others, j and struck the dead man a tremendous blow ou his head with his fist. Pie fired no pistol. Afterwards he went | away with the impression that lie had really killed his i man, nor could his counsel prove otherwise. P here was j just then a clamor for the punishment of crime in this [ county, aud Griffiu was the sufferer from it. Judge Gil- !

The case of Thomas McGehean, take it for ail in all, ' was probably the most celebrated connected with this j county, although none of the principal trials took place ! here. But the lawless condition of Hamilton, the fre- { queue y of murders, the boldness with which the death i Of My ers was planned, the publicity of the place, the j ctfi.rts to have a trial in Hamilton, and the three subse- j qtieiit trials in Warren and Montgomery Counties, the 'h ath of Vallan lighain, the storm of indignation with "inch the final verdict was received, aud the driving :i"ay of McGehean from this town, give it an interest " it which no other cau compare. |

Thomas McGehean, around whom this tragedy revolves, was a native of Clermont County, and at the time of the death of Myers was about thirty-five years of age. He bad been brought up as a shoemaker, but wheu about twenty-five had abandoned that occupation and became a politician, speculator, and man of no trade. In 1862 he was a special ageut of police of the United States Government, and was afterwards city marshal of Hamilton. He was a bold, rough, and determined man, and early made enemies, being charged with counterfeiting and other crimes, but in no instance was the accusation substantiated, although generally believed. He became also interested in the whisky frauds, and was employed by politicians ou election days to aid them, as he well knew how to do. Pie had many friends, and was able to reward them aud to punish those who were his enemies.

Among those who were rivals and opponents of his was Thomas S. Myers, also charged with many misdemeanors. The two had acted together on many occasions, but had passed from friendship to enmity. Myers also had his friends, and was scarcely ever seen without one or two of them in company. The commonly received version of the killing of Myers is that he was in the American saloon, up stairs, in a gaming room, which was j filled with people; that intelligence was brought to Mc- Gehean, who had been drinking, and that he and his party went over to that place, which was situated a few doors west of the Hamilton House; that they ascended the stairs, and entered the room, McGehean approaching Myers, who was seated one side of a table, and through his overcoat fired a shot from his pistol at Myers, who fell, pulling out his revolver, and fired four or five times blindly. Large stones were also thrown during the progress of the fray by somebody. Tiie room had been at the beginning of the atfiair crowded with people, some of them very respectable, but they all fled like sheep, aud the place was immediately deserted. This was Christmas Eve, 1869.

McGehean, on the contrary, said the facts were that about seven in the evening he went from his stable into David Lingler's saloon. There was a large crowd there, lie laid off his overcoat, which was a large fur one, andsent Lingler's little boy to McGehean's house, about twm squares distant, for another one, a light-colored chinchilla. He then changed coats, handing the fin- one to the bartender, and the change was made iu front of the bar, before all present. From I angler's lie went to two or three saloons, finally stopping at the Araericau. At the head of the stairs he heard pistol shots, in rapid succession, and the noise of chairs falling iu the gambliug room, several men running out, aud one or two of them falling down in their hurry. The allray did not last longer than fifteen seconds. Two men saw him, who testified to these facts on the* trial. McGehean went into the room, but uot more than five feet from the door.

Myers was on the floor, anil Peter Schwab standing near him. There were two or three others in the room. At the coroner's inquest next morning nearly all who were in the room were brought before the jury, but none could tell who shot the deceased, except one who said that Jackson Garver struck him with a stone, and then with a slung-shot. The theory of the death, according to Mc- Gehean, was that Garver struck Myers with a stone while the latter was sitting at a table playing cards, and that in drawing out his pistol to. repel the attack he shot himself, dying from the effects of the shot in ten minutes. In the jail Garver told the other prisoners that no one struck Myers but himself. He said when he saw him there that night lie thought it was a good opportunity to give it to him. He first threw a scone, which missed, and then threw another, striking him on the head. Myers jumped up at once, and they clinched. Garver then struck Myers over the head several times with a slung-shot. The latter then tried to draw his pistol, but just as he got it out of his pocket it went off, the bullet passing through the top of his pantaloons, anrl into his body. The two men had frequently had quarrels. Thus far MoGeheau's statement.

At the coroner's inquest many men were sworn, C. L. Vallandighain acting for McGehean. Joseph Myers, the brother of the deceased, swore a few days after, that he met McGehean coming down stairs, and said to him that he came for no fuss. McGehean replied, "All right, Tom's my meat, up stairs, dead." On his cross examination he admitted that three days before, on bis previous examination, be had not said so. He shook hands in a friendly way with McGehean after the latter had acknowledged killing bis brother.

After the preliminary examination and indictment McGehean asked and obtained a change of ,Teuue from Butler to Warren County. He was taken to the Warren County jail, but upon the sheriff of the latter place representing it was not secure enough without putting him into a cell he was brought back.

The trial began on the 6th of June, 1871. The counsel that. appeared on McGehean's behalf were C. L. Yallandigham, Thomas Millikin, Alexander F. Hume, James E. Neal, Governor McBurncy, and Judge Wilson. The attorneys for the prosecution were S. Z. Gard, Kelly O'Neil, S. C. Synunes, M. N. Maginuis, and P. H. lvumler, appointed by the court. George R. Sage was engaged by some of the citizens of Hamilton, as was John Follett of Cincinnati. Stephen Crane and A. W. Eckert appeared for Garver.

his coat pocket and that there was a hole in it, and pointed out on his own coat where the hole was. Vallandigham said, " Would you know that coat if you saw it now?" "Yes." "And if you see it, and there is no hole in it, will you still swear there is?" To this he did not make any answer. Then Mr. Yallandigham said, "You will see the identical coat that Tom McGehean wore that night, and there is no hole in it." During Garver's evidence he said that he met McGehean at Liugler's saloon on Christmas Eve, and that McGehean wished him to "whip that big loafer," Myers, that niglu. Slieely, Tom McGehean, James McGehean, MeGlvun, and Garver went to the Pheeu'X Saloon, and on the way Sheely gave him two stones. From there they went to the American Saloon, where Myers was playing cards. McGlynn and Garver stood behind Myers, and the latter inquired of the former whether he was ready. McGlynn replied in the affirmative. Garver then threw a stone, and his associate followed. Myers immediately rose from his chair, and then Garver saw McGehean, he says, shoot him through the pocket. He saw the smoke coming out. He was watching the bully closely, and was afraid he would himself be shot. He had often heard McGehean say Torn Myers ought to be killed. After the fight he and McGehean met in front of Dingfelder's lumber yard, where he was shown the bullet hole.

On the cross-examination it was proved that Garver had been once in the penitentiary for burglary. He had beeu indicted twice for stealing, and also for shooting at Dan Smith, Jacob Humbach, and James McGehean. He had been arrested for carrying concealed weapons. He was arrested for knocking a man down and robbing him of his watch. He was dismissed from the fire department and drew a knife on the man that took his place. He had been indicted for assault and battery, he could not say how many times, probably ten. He deserted from the army at Nashville, and stoic mules from the government after the war, and he admitted that he perjured himself iu the examination before the coroner's

This first trial was at Lebanon, Judge Leroy Pope presiding. From the first to the last McGcheau's attorneys contended that Myers accidentally shot himself. After the witnesses had been examined it »vas arranged that Mr. Millikin should make the first speech to the jury for the defense, and that Mr. Yallandigham should deliver the. final address. It was in the preparation of this, the greatest effort of his life, that he met with the accident which closed his earthly career. He had displayed more than usual interest in the case.

Mr. Yallandigham occupied room No. 15, on the second floor, of the Lebanon House. The room was immediately over the hall door and fronting on Broadway, the widest and handsomest street in the plane.

Hamilton, associate counsel in the defense, from Turtle Creek, in the outskirts, whither they had repaired at the instance of Mr. Vallandigham to witness an experiment nerformed by him of shooting with a revolver at a piece of cloth in order to show how close the muzzle of the weapon could be held to the material without powder burning it.

Mr. Valiaudigham had a new Smith Wesson's improved revolver, with five chambers of the No. 32 caliber, and tried his experiment, with what success can not now be determined, but as the party returned Mr. Millikiu remarked to Mr. Vallandigham that there were three loads remaining, and he had better discharge them. "No," replied Mr. Vallandigham, "never mind." Mr- Millikiu urged; Mr. Vallandigham resisted, and soon after reached the hotel and entered his room, where he placed the loaded revolver on the table with an unloaded weapon, which he intended to use in his argument on Monday before the jury, in illustrating his theory that Thomas S. Mvers shot himself. Mr. Symmes, of Hamilton, entered the room, and Mr. Vallandigham remarked that he felt badly; he had just had a telegram announcing the dan- : (reruns illness of his wife's brother, J. L. V. McMahon, of Cumberland, Maryland, and Mrs. Vallandigham had gone to attend the bedside. They were soon joined by Mr. McBurnev.

It had carried him through almost unparalleled difficulties for several eventful years, and never, probably, did it shiue out with such promise as in this latest effort of his local career. Upon the defense of Tom McGehean he concentrated every faculty of mind, throwing his entire being into it with an enthusiasm and force which those associated with him in the case say eclipsed every former ellbrt, and gave promise of success in a case already tried, judged, and condemned at the bar of public opinion. Day and night he devoted himself to it with unremitting pains. Every thing calculated to contribute in he least to strengthen the defense Mr. Vallandigham eagerly performed, and it was in direct pursuance of this end that he lost his life.

"I will demonstrate to you in a moment," said he to Mr. McBurney and Mr. Symmes, "the absurdity of Follett's argument that Tom Myers did not shoot himself." With that he seized one of the pistols lying ou the table, and putting it in his right pantaloon pocket, continued: "Now here is the way Tom Mvers had his pistol iu his picket," Mr. Symmes here interrupted him, and excusing himself, left the room to see Judge Pope ou business, who at. that moment was passing on his way to his own room on the floor above, and retired.

Mr. Vallandigham held the muzzle of his pistol against the right side of his abdomen, at a point almost exactly corresponding with that where Myers received the bullet, and to the infinite astonishment of Mr. Mc- Burney and himself, an explosion took place, and the rash experimenter exclaimed :

" What a foolish thing to do," remarked the wounded man, as he pointed to a little red spot on his skin. "I took hold of the wrong pistol, and that's the result."

The explosion and the call for assistance soon filled the room, the hall in front, and the stairwav with excited people, and in much less time than it takes to tell it half the population of Lebanon knew that Mr. Vnllandigham was accidentally shot.

Drs. L. S. Scovilie and Isaac L. Drake of that place were there within a few moments after the accident occurred, and telegrams were dispatched for Professor W. W. Dawson, of Cincinnati, and Dr. J. C. Reeve, of Dayton, the family physician of Mr. Vallandigham.

After the jury had been charged by Judge Pope, they retired, and were out for twenty-four hours, but were unable to agree. Mr. McBurney and Judge Wilson, two of McGeliean's attorneys, procured thirty-nine affidavits stating that he could not get a fair trial in the county. This being presented to Judge Pope, he allowed Mc- Gehean another change of venue, sending him to Dayton, Montgomery County. He was accordingly taken there and placed iu jail.

When the trial came on, the evidence was substantially that given before, but the jury brought in a verdict of guilty of murder iu the second degree. McGeheau's counsel applied for a new trial, on the ground that the verdict was not sustained by the evidence, and that one of the jurors (Buchweilcr) had perjured himself when he swore his mind was not made up when selected. Judge MeKcmv set. the verdict aside, and granted another trial. This took place the December following. After an hour's deliberation the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

The return of Met Jelieau was attended with a commotion. No sooner was it known that he had reached home than a feeliug was manifested against him. In the afternoon handbills appeared on the streets, denouncing the courts, the law, and the rings, and saving that society must protect itself. A meeting, therefore, was called for that evening at seven o'clock. Many regarded this as an intimation for McGehean to leave, and an indiguation meeting had already been held at Port Union. The | meeting was composed of well known and influential men, and passed resolutions denouncing his acquittal as | an outrage, and ordering him not to remain in Hamilton. But in the meantime McGeheau had departed, and for some time his home was in Cincinnati. When he came back, he opened a drinking-place.

This saloon was a two-story frame on Basin Street,' between Third Street and the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad, and opposite Giffen's lumber yard.

McGehean had closed his place for the night, and after drinking on Basin Street, west of Third, had returned to his own saloon in company with two men that he might "treat" them at his own bar.

The party entered the saloon and McGehean had tyrned- on the gas and had stepped behind the bar to set out the liquor, when the shots were fired that ended his career.

There was a vacant lot on the west side of the saloon and a window opened here directly behind the bar. This window was protected by ordinary closed shutters, with diamond-shaped apertures near the top for the admission of light. The shutters were closed and fastened; the distance from the ground to the openings in the top of the shutters was about eight feet.

Either before McGehean entered his saloon at midnight Sunday night, or immediately after the party had entered, a small spring wagon was dragged before this window, from which the assassin, resting his weapon on the diamond-shaped aperture in the shutter, was enabled to take a deliberate aim at his victim. lie was distant from him scarcely six feet, and the weapon was discharged with such deadly effect that McGehean fell struck with eleven large buckshot. Three of these large buckshot severed the jugular vein in as many places, killing him almost instantly.

He staggered out from the bar and fell a few feet from it. The discharge of die gun was heard some distance away, and on Mate Wood, John Johnson, and Prosecuting Attorney Vallaudigham reaching the saloon, McGeheau was found stark dead on the floor with his revolver, which he had mechanically drawn, by hi< side. The two by-, standees fled the moment the firing oecuned, each thinking that McGeheau was the assailant and they the intended victims. Their evidence before the coroner's jury gave no clue that would lead to the discovery of the assassin, nor has any information been elicited that would throw any light on this point.

So ended the last sectm of the tragedy. The man had many enemies, and they finally avenged themselves | on him. The town ii >r many years had been the sceue i of murders and brawls, but has since much improved.

ton for two years, committed suicide at the Soldier's Home last Fall. He was born in 1835; was captain of Company H, Eleventh Indiana Cavalry, during the lastwar;. was county surveyor from 1870 to 1873, and city solicitor from 1875 to 1877. He was admitted to the Soldier's Home in September, 1879. His health had been bad for years, and was the cause of the act.

Judge Elliott, of the District Court, on Saturday, April 20, 1878, announced the deatli of George J. Smith, formerly a member of this bar and court.

On motion of Thomas Millikin the court appointed a committee to draft resolutions of respect touching the character of the deceased. Thomas Millikin, Thomas Moore, and S. Z. Card were appointed the committee, and their report, which is as follows, was read, adopted, and ordered spread upon the minutes of the court:

"The court and bar of Butler County have learned with sincere sorrow of the death, at his home in Lebanon, of Honorable George J. Smith. The deceased was for many years a distinguished lawyer at this bar, and was also for many years the presiding judge of our Court of Common Pleas. lie was the contemporary of Thomas Corwin, John Moods, Thomas Ross, William Bebb, Elijah Yance, John I>. Weller, John M. Millikiu, and Lewis D. Campbell, all lawyers of the olden time, men of ability and learning, whose names have honored our profession. Judge Smith was the last of the ButJ.er County ! lawyers. He was a lawyer of extensive and accurate I learning in his profession, of sound discriminating judgi ment, cautious, prudent, careful, amiable, eminently just i and honorable both to his clients and adversaries. Ao j man ever practiced law at the Butler County bar with a i better reputation for integrity and ability than George J. Smith. As a judge he was learned, patient, painstaking, laborious, and honest. He was pre-eminently fitted for his position. He died at an advanced age, with an unspotted reputation, having lived a useful and unsullied life, leaving behind him no recollection that he would wish to blot out."

The idea of a railroad early took possession of the imagination of the dwellers in Butler Comity. By the Miami Canal they had been placed in connection with the East, but the progress was > t i ! 1 very slow. The earliest projected road that benefited Hnmiltou aud Cincinnati was the Mad River and Luke Erie, and it was also the first built. Its charter was granted January 5, 1832, ami it was authorized to construct a railroad from Day- j ton to Sandusky. To New York, Albany, and Buffalo, j said a Buffalo paper of 1835, the Mad River Railroad j was of vital importance. There was a road then being constructed from Schenectady to Utica. "This done, to say nothing of a railroad from Utica to this city, the matter of a journey from Yew York to Cincinnati will stand thus:

"f rom Yew York to Albany, five P. M. to six A. M. next -day, by boat; Albany to Utica, nine A. M. to five P. M., by railroad; Utica to Buffalo, four A. 51. to six A. M. second day, by stage; Buffalo to Sandusky, nine A. 51. to Eine A. 51., third day; Sandusky to Cincinnati, ten A. 51. to nine A. 51. next day: In all four davs and five nights.

"Such, we believe, will cover the distance when conveyance shall have been completed. From Cincinnati to Yew Orleans, and the whole intermediate distance of navigation, by the largest steamboats, is at no season interrupted by a want of water. The 5Iad River Railroad from Sandusky to Dayton once completed there, and the travel from the leas er 5Iississippi to Yew York, with much of the business that now stops short of the latter city, will be brought through by this route. 5Ve venture the prediction that a daily line of steamboats between Buffalo and Sandusky will find full employment to convey to and from the railroad the people that will pass upon it after it shall he in full operation."'

The Little 5Iiami Railroad was the first to touch Cincinnati from the north. Construction was heir tin in 1837. hut progressed slowly. It was open for traffic from Cincinnati to 5Iilford in December, 1842, :o Xenia in 1845, and to Springfield in 1846.

It is probable the original idea of the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad was Henry S. Earhart's. At any rate, he was the first one .who did any thinir toward.- putting it into execution. According to his own aeevumt, he suggested it to John \\ oods, then the great man of' Hamilton, one who always kept his eves open Ur any thing to improve the town or neighborhood. Mr. Woods t-*-k au active interest in the matter, and with 5lr. Earhart obtained subscription' enough to make a temporary survey. The sums offered varied from three dollars to forty-five, and the aggregate was intended to U used simply to pay the expenses of the men employed.

1 he engineers were to receive nothing. John W. Erwiu, then as now a prominent engineer of this citv, was eugagvd to go with the party, but could not join them until they reached Carthage. 51r. Earhart lmd with him his sons, 51artiu and James, who drew no compensation. George R. Bigham ran the compass line. The men tented out, and were provided for by a commissary, Henry Auchey.

The beginning of the surveying trip was from the end of Third Street. They crossed the ponds at the south part of the town, and laid tlieir course in the direction in which Jones's Station now lies. 5Ir. Jones had not then taken up his residence in that locality. They camped there the second day. It was all woods, and they staked their way through every hundred feet. There were few settlers along the route at that time. At Jones's Station Dr. Close, of Springdale, since dead, met the surveying party. He wanted them to run their investigating line so as to take in Springdale. 5Ir. Earhart told him that the land there was much higher than he could get by another route; that he could make au easier road than by way of Springdale. He insisted, however, and so they ran a line taking the eastern side of the Cincinnati and Hamilton Pike, and coming into Carthage hv the way of where the county Poor House is now. Between Ha milton and Jones's they had occasion to go through a corn-field. They were as careful as they could he, bending the corn one side in the rows in order to run their line. The owner came out and said:

From Carthage down they followed the 5Iillcrcek Valley, substantially as the road is now. Year the valley the line crossed the creek and struck into Freeman Street, the whole distance measuring twee tv-two miles and a fraction. The termination, as they designed it, was in the neighborhood of where Lincoln Park is now.