HAMILTON COUNTY OHIO - History: CHAPTER XIX. COURTS AND COURT HOUSES

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"History of Hamilton County" ~ compiled  by 
Henry A. Ford, A. M. and 
Mrs. Kate B. Ford (1881) 
pages 230-236
transcribed by Dorothy Wiland


*~pg 230~*

*CHAPTER XIX.*
*_COURTS AND COURT HOUSES._*

Nought is on earth more sacred or divine,
That gods and men do equally adore,
Than this same virtue, that doth right define;
For the heavens themselves, whence mortal men implore
Right in their wrongs, are ruled by righteous lore.
Edmond SPENSER, " Queen"


 
*JUDGE LYNCH'S COURTS*

The first arrangements in the Miami country for the protection of person
and property against lawlessness were necessarily somewhat rude and
informal. What Judge BURNET, in his valuable Notes on the Northwestern
Territory, says in a general way of the earlier Ohio colonies, is
doubtless equally true of those which presently dotted the shore between
the beautiful Miamis. His remarks and illustrations are these:

/When these settlements were commenced by emigrants who resorted to
them, early in 1788, provision had not been made for the regular
administration of justice. Judicial courts had not been organized, and
the inhabitants found themselves in an unpleasant situation, as they
were exposed to the depredations of dishonest, unprincipled men, without
the means of legal redress. To remedy that evil, the people assembled to
consult and devise a plan for their common safety; they chose a chairman
and a secretary, and proceeded to business. The meeting resulted in the
adoption of a code of by-laws for the government of the settlement, in
which they prescribed the punishment to be inflicted for various
offences, organized a court, established the trial by jury, appointed
Mr. MCMILLAN judge and John LUDLOW sheriff. [Judge BURNET here evidently
refers to a meeting in Cincinnati, which must have been several months,
at least, later than "early in 1788."]/

/To the regulations they all agreed, and each gave a solemn pledge to
aid in carrying them into effect. It was not long before a complaint was
made against Paddy GRIMES, for robbing a truck-patch, on which the
sheriff was commanded to arrest him and summon a jury for his trial. The
order was obeyed, and on hearing the evidence the jury found him guilty,
and lie was sentenced to receive twenty-nine lashes, which were
inflicted in due form on (he same afternoon. Other complaints of a
similar character were made I at, in consequence of the interference of
the officer in command of the garrison, no further decisive proceedings
were had, and this useful tribunal, organized for self-protection, on
the genuine principles of Judge LYNCH, was abandoned?but not without a
serious conflict between the citizens and the military, in which Mr.
MCMILLAN received very serious and permanent injuries./
 

*THE ESTABLISHED COURTS.*

'The first regular court organized for Hamilton, county was that
ordained by Governor ST. CLAIR at Fort Washington, when the county was
proclaimed, January 4, 1790, and designated in the elaborate old fashion
as the court of common pleas and of general quarter sessions of the
peace. The first session of the court seems to have been held on the
ensuing second of February, at which were present William MCMILLAN,
presiding judge, William WELLS and William GOFORTH?William I, II, and
III, judges; Jacob TAPPING, justice; John BROWN, Sherriff Levi. WOODWARD
and Robert WHEELAN, constables. Provision had been made for such courts
by a law of the territorial government, proclaimed at Marietta, August
23, 1788, which soon superseded, in the settlements rapidly springing up
thereafter, the extemporized courts of Judge LYNCH.

The territorial court was also held from time to time in and for
Hamilton county. The "docquet" of the first session held in Cincinnati
is still extant, and is a literary as well as judicial curiosity. It is
as follows,
/verbatim:/
 
*DOCQUET*

of the first general court, of the territory of the United States
northwest of the river Ohio, held within and for the county of Hamilton,
which commenced at Cincinnati on October the fourth, in the year of our
Lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety, and of the independence of
the United States of America the fifteenth. October 4, 1790, eleven
o'clock, A. M., Monday. The Honorable Judge TURNER, escorted by the
sheriff and attended by the clerk and other judicial officers of tile
said county, present. Court opened agreeable to proclamation at tile
instance of the honorable the judge, above mentioned, whose commission
being openly read, and the necessary proclamations duly made for the
judicial and ministerial officers of the county to make their return,
the sheriff presented his list of grand-jurors summoned:

Of Cincinnati?1. Jacob REEDER; 2, James WALLACE; 3, James CUNNINGHAM; 4,
Francis KENNEDY; 5, John CUMMINGS; 6, John VANCE; 7, John TERRY; 8, Seth
CUTTER; 9, Richard BENHAM; 10, James BURNES; 11, Luther KITCHELL; 12,
Henry TAYLOR; 13, Nathan DUNNALS; 14, Joseph CUTTER; 15, David LOGAN;
16, Abijah WARD. of Colimbia?17, Benjamin DAVIS; 18, Elijah MILLS; 19,
Samuel NEWELL; 20, William GERRARD; 21, Elijah STITES; 22, James
MATTHEWS; 23, John MANNING; 24, Nathaniel STOKES.

Returned to serve, the first sixteen, viz: 1, Jacob REEDER; 2, James
WALLACE; 3, James CUNNINGHAM; 4, Francis KENNEDY; 5, John CUMMINGS; 6,
John VANCE; 7, John TERRY; 8, Seth CUTTER; 9, Richard BENHAM; 10, James
BURNS; 11, Luther KITCHELL; 12, Henry TAYLOR; 13, Nathan DUNNALS; 14,
Josiah CUTTER; 15, David LOGAN; 16, Abijah WARD.

One judge only attending, court, without proceeding to business, was
adjourned until eleven o'clock of to-morrow, A. M.

Tuesday, fifth October, 1790.
Court opened pursuant to adjournment. Present, Honorable Judge TURNER.
Absentees (grand-jurors), Francis KENNEDY, John CUMMINGS, Luther
KITCHELL, David LOGAN.

Proclamations duly made, court was adjourned till twelve o'clock at noon
to-morrow.

Wednesday, sixth October, 1790.
Present, honorable Judge TURNER. Court opened pursuant to adjournment.
Absentees of yesterday obtained a remission of their respective fines.
Necessary proclamations being made.

Court was adjourned, /ut supra,/ until twelve o'clock, at noon, to-morrow.

Thursday, seventh October, 1790.
Court opened agreeable to adjournment. Present, Honorable Judge TURNER.
Absentees (grand-jurors), Seth CUTTER, Richard BENHAM, Luther KITCHELL,
Joseph CUTTER.

Court adjourned until twelve o'clock, at noon, to-morrow.

Friday, eighth October, 1790.
Court opened pursuant to adjournment. Present. Honorable Judge TURNER.
Joseph MCHENRY attended to serve on the grand jury. The same jurors
absent to-day that were yesterday.

Court adjourned until twelve o'clock, at noon, to-morrow.

Saturday, twelve o'clock, ninth October, 1790.
Court opened agreeable to adjournment. Present, Honorable Judge TURNER.
Grand jurors absent?John TERRY, Nathan DUNNALS, likewise the absentees
of Thursday.

Court adjourned until five o'clock of this day, afternoon.

Eodem Die, five o'clock, afternoon.

None of the judges present, the sheriff proceeded to adjourn the court
without delay.

No business entered upon at this term by reason of there not being
present, of the honorable the judges, a number sufficient to constitute
a quorum.

[Signed] W. MCMILLAN,
In behalf of John S. GANO, deputy to Israel LUDLOW, clerk.

Some notes have also been taken for this work from the records of the
first session of the general court of quarter sessions of the peace,
held in Cincinnati February 2, 1790. Present, Judges GOFORTH, WELLS, and
MCMILLAN, Justice Jacob TAPPING, Sheriff John BROWN, and Constables Levi
WOODWARD and Robert WHEELAN. A recognizance was returned against Josiah
WHITE, for slandering Jacob TAPPING, esquire. The accused put in

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*~pg 231~*
an appearance and offered an excuse, which procured his release. The
grand jury brought in no bills, and were discharged. Sheriff Brown
protested to the worshipful court against any and all accountability in
keeping prisoners, there being as yet no jail.

/May term," 1790.?Present, the judges, justices, constables, and
sheriff. The commissions of the peace and the governor's proclamation
were read. The names of grand jury were called; Robert BENHAM, foreman.
Adjourned to 2 P.M../

/On sitting again, Abel COOK was called up for breach of the peace; also
Josiah WHITE, for selling liquor to soldiers; also Jacob TAPPING, esq.,
for possessing four shirts and one pair of stockings, bought from a.
soldier; another account of the same sort appeared against the said
Tapping. A call was ordered for Sylvester WHITE and David STRONG, for
having "on account" public clothing. The same charge was made against
Scott TRAVERS, viz : that a pair of overalls and a woolen vest belonging
to the Federal service were found in his possession. Abel COOK plead
guilty to hitting James SOWARDS, and was fined fifty cents. Thomas
COCHRAN had fifty cents fine for selling whiskey. TAPPING was fined
seventy-five cents, and Scott TRAVERS was let off. White failed to put
in his appearance. Captain David STRONG cleared up the matter as to his
acquaintance with TAPPING'S clothes business, and was dismissed. The/

/Jury came in with a bill against Asa HARTSHORN, Mahlon FORD, and David
STRONG for thrashing Isaac TAYLOR./

/The court adjourned/.

We have also the following memoranda from the higher court:
 
*1792 SUPREME COURT OF THE TERRITORY*

John C. SYMMES, judge. Present, six justices?William GOFORTH, William
WELLS, William MCMILLAN, John S. GANO, George CULLUM and Aaron CALDWELL;
Joseph LE SURE, clerk pro tem; Robert BUNTEN, coroner; John LUDLOW,
sheriff; Isaac MARTIN, sub-sheriff; Benjamin ORCUTT, crier; Robert
WHEELAN, Samuel MARTIN, Sylvanus RUNNELS, constables. The grand jury was
called over, David DAVIS, foreman. The jury retired. Witnesses were
called for the United States court business, assaults and habeas corpus.
"JOB, a negro man, /vs./ John TANNER;" also United States /vs./ James
MAYS, for the murder of Matthew SULLIVAN; Same /vs./ Joseph PAXTON, as
accessory with MAYS; Same /vs./ George TURNER, on /ccrfiorarf./ Same
/vs./ Matthew WINTON and Matthew DEROUGH, charged with riot. The sheriff
called forty-eight names, from which these twelve were chosen to try
MAYS: Robert BENHAM, Robert MITCHELL, Samuel DICK, Benjamin JENNINGS,
Matthew WINTON, Henry PICKLE, James DEMENT, Charles BRUCE, William
KELLY, Samuel ROLSTON, James MILLER, Steward WILKINS.

MAYS was convicted and duly hanged by Sheriff LUDLOW.

In this case Mr. DUNN was prosecutor, and Messrs. GOUDY and SMITH were
counsel for MAYS. The jury out an hour, and came in with a verdict of
"guilty." The court received the verdict in the house of Isaac MARTIN.
 
*SOME CHANGES*.

June 1, 1795, Governor ST. CLAIR and Judges SYMMES and TURNER, sitting
in legislative session at Cincinnati, as noted in Judge SYMMES' letter
in the last chapter, passed an act reconstructing the courts of general
quarter sessions of the peace and of the common pleas, after a plan
borrowed from the statutes of Pennsylvania. The former was to meet four
times a year, and to be composed of the justices of the county nominated
by the governor, sitting together in bank, any three of whom, but not
less, might hold a session. This court might hear and determine all
criminal cases in which the punishment prescribed did not exceed one
year's imprisonment, nor involve life or limb, nor forfeiture of goods
and chattels, or lands and tenements to the government of the territory.
In and out of sessions, the justices, or any of them, might take all
kinds of recognizances, whether for good behavior, keeping the peace, or
for appearing at a superior court, or might commit to jail. Any justice,
out of sessions, might hear and determine petty crimes and misdemeanors,
if punishable by fine only, and that not exceeding three dollars, and
might assess and tax costs in such cases. The term of the quarter
sessions could not extend beyond three days.

The court of common pleas was constituted of justices appointed by the
governor, of whom three would make a quorum. Terms were to be held three
times a year, and of a length according to the business before them.
This court might hold pleas of assize, /scire facias,/ replevin, and
sundry suits and causes; might hear and determine all manner of pleas
and actions, civil, personal, real, and mixed, according to law. All
writs ran in the name of the United States of America, and bore the name
of the presiding justice of the court and the prothonotary or clerk.
They were executed by the sheriff, or in case of his death or
resignation, by the coroner. The common cases before these courts in the
early day were on charges of fighting and for debt and trespass.

The first State legislature provided for a supreme court and for courts
of common pleas?one session of the former and three sessions of the
latter to be held in each county every year. The State was divided into
three circuits, of which Hamilton, Clermont, Butler, Montgomery, Greene,
and Warren constituted the first. The judges were elected on joint
ballot by the general assembly, and held their offices for terms of
seven years. The common pleas was composed of one presiding judge and
three associate judges, the latter chosen from the people at large.

By the constitution of 1852, Hamilton county was made one judicial
circuit, with its own judges of court of common pleas.
 
*THE OLD BENCH AND DESK.*

The Hamilton county courts of course shared in the changes in the
judicial system that prevailed under the State constitution throughout
Ohio, whose history it is unnecessary to recite here. By the
constitution of 1852 the county was made a judicial district by itself,
with three judges of the court of common pleas. Under the old system
there had been four judges, but one of whom, the presiding judge, was
usually from the ranks of the bar, the remainder, the associate judges,
being selected from the community at large, presumably for their general
good sense and native judicial qualities. Judge CARTER, in his volume of
Reminiscences and Anecdotes, furnishes the following recollections of
the best known of the old judges in Hamilton county:

/Of all the judges of former days, perhaps, there was no one so much
liked and loved for his genial, generous and whole-souled qualities and
characteristics, as Judge TORRENCE. He was president judge of the old
court of common pleas from before the year 1819 up to the year 1832 ;
and, although he was not so much of a lawyer, lie made a very good judge
of the law, and administered justice somewhat like a Solomon or a
Daniel. Boy as I was, 1 remember seeing him presiding on the bench and
towering above his associates?for he was the tallest judge, and large
and portly in figure and stature; and he looked upon the bench every
inch a judge. He came to this city at a very early day, and soon was a
very popular fellow-citizen, for he was fellow-citizen with
everybody?men, women, and children, and all. They all liked and loved
him, and they always had a good word to say for him, as he always had a
good word to say to any of them./

/It has not been very many years since the* *decease of Judge TORRENCE/

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*~pg 232~*
/at a very advanced age; and citizens of the present day well remember
him as one of the cleverest of men. While on the bench he was never
known to say an unkind or rough word to any lawyer or officer of court,
or any one else. He invariably preserved his good humor, and his good/
/common sense too./

Judge CARTER has also a kindly word for the famous old clerk of the courts:

/Major Daniel GANO, the old long-time clerk of the old court of common
picas and supreme court, and quite as long time clerk of tile old
superior court?who of the old pioneers of this city does not remember
him, the finished and thorough clerk of the courts, and the cultured and
polished gentleman? . . He was born and grew up here, and he lived here,
and he died here. Near four-score years of age, he departed this life,
which had been rewarded, through tile whole long line of it, by the
highest regard and esteem of his fellow-citizens. He was a worthy,
clever man and most efficient officer, and was certainly one of the best
looking men in the city and country. He was distinguished for wearing a
large, perfectly while cambric ruffle down the open bosom of Ills shirt,
adorned with a beautiful breastpin, and the old-fashioned. Revolutionary
plaited queue of his hair, tied with black ribbon in a bow .and hanging
down his back between his shoulder; and even for modern times he never
gave it up, and retained in his toilet this mark of the old
Revolutionary forefathers of this country, to the day of his shroud and
coffin. He was buried with it, and no doubt it is in his grave and
flourishing still./

Another character of the old courts mentioned by Judge CARTER, was John
STALEE, who was deputy sheriff under many administration for a long
series of years, and finally died in office, committing suicide by an
over-dose of morphine.

The old court of common pleas sat three times a year. It licensed
ministers to solemnize the rite of marriage, and also licensed
auctioneers, ferries and taverns. The court appointed its own clerk and
public prosecutor, and the commissioner of insolvents, an official of
that day, the commissioner in chancery, county surveyor, and county
inspectors. The associate judges had the power of appointment of the
recorder, or of a county commissioner, in case of the death,
resignation, or removal of the incumbent in office.
 
*THE OLD SUPERIOR COURT*

sat but once a year. It was established in 1838, and organized June 10th
of that year. David K. ESTE was the first judge. He resigned in 1845,
and was succeeded, in order, by Charles D. Coffin, William JOHNSTON,
Charles V. JAMES, and George HOADLY. The court was abolished in 1853,
during the last incumbency, but revived the next year, with three
Judges?Oliver M. SPENCER, Bellamy STORER, and William N. GHOLSON -and a
jurisdiction concurrent with that of the court of common pleas. Other
courts, as district, commercial (opened in 1848) criminal, probate and
police courts, have been established from time to time, as the needs for
the administration of justice in the city and county have demanded them.
 
*THE COURT HOUSES*

The early courts, according to Judge Burnet, were held in a rented room
in the tavern of George AVERY, near the frog-pond at the corner of Main
and Fifth streets. The building was accordingly adorned with the
prescribed instruments of justice in that day, the pillory, the stocks,
and a whipping-post, and sometimes a gallows was added. A strong log
building on the north side of the public square was occupied as a jail.

The courts in the early day, in part at least, were held in the Gano
building on Main street, between Fifth and Sixth. The territorial court
met in Yeatman' tavern. The first court house owned by the county was a
rude stone building on the public square, near the southwest corner of
Fifth and Main streets, fronting on the former, about where Alien &
Company' drug store now stands, but somewhat back from the street,
giving room for the erecting of a speakers' stand or bower on the fourth
of July and other public occasions. It was built in 1802, and its entire
cost is said to have been but three thousand dollars. It was built of
limestone, after a plan furnished by Judge TURNER, in the shape of a
parallelogram, with forty-two feet front and fifty-five feet depth. The
walls, including the parapet, were forty-two feet high. A wooden cupola,
with four projecting faces, arched and balustraded, twenty feet high,
terminated by a dome and resting on a base of twenty feet square,
surmounted the whole. The total height to the top of the cupola was
eighty-four feet. There were wings for public offices, two-storied and
fireproof, in Judge Turner's original design; but they were not
constructed by the county.
 
*THE JAIL*

stood on the site of Cavagna's grocery, west of the court house, also
facing Fifth street, with the whipping-post etc., a little way to the
front. "Jail bounds" were allowed in that day, and those for Hamilton
county are still to be seen marked upon an old document in the county
clerk's office.

The first institution of this kind here was moved for as soon as 1792,
and was constructed early the next year. Mr. Charles CIST says, in one
of his numerous publications:

/The first jail here was built early in 1793, and, as everything else in
the early days of Cincinnati, was located to accommodate the convenience
of the bottom interest. It was, therefore, built upon Water street, west
of Main street. Although a mere log cabin, of a story and a half in
height, and probably sixteen feet square, the ground in its neighborhood
being cleared out, it was distinctly visible from the river. Small as it
was, it was amply large enough to accommodate the prisoners, most of
whom were in for debt. Neither were its inmates kept strictly within its
limits, or even those of the yard adjacent; the prisoners visited around
the neighborhood throughout thee day, taking care to return in time to
be locked up at night, and on the appearance of the sheriff scampering
home in a great fright, like so many rats to their holes./

Judge SYMMES wrote from North Bend to Esquire MCMILLAN, December
28,1792, concerning this proposed institution:

/Dear Sir: I hope that by this time the jail is begun and going on
briskly. I hear that the people of Cincinnati are voting on this
question?whether the jail shall be built on the first bottom or the
second bank? If you will allow us at North Bend to vote also, our voice
is for the second bank most decidedly. Our reasons are : The ground will
be had much cheaper?fuel will be had easier and at less expense- -the
situation will be more elevated and healthy, in addition to its more
magnificent appearance?the soil is much more dry?the prisoners will at
no time be drowned in a fresh like pigs in a sty? a great expense will
be saved in carting the timber?it is or soon will be in the centre of
the town?it will be more convenient than Cincinnati for the people of
the other villages in the county?water may be had by digging a well,
which ought to be within the liberties of the prison, and if it stood on
the banks of the Ohio, a well will be necessary that privileged
prisoners for debt, allowed the liberty, might draw for themselves. But
if* *interested motives are to direct our votes, the inhabitants of
North Bend/

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*~pg 233~*
/vote that the prison be built on Congress green (the public ground in
front of the village of North Bend)?a most elegant situation./

/Sir, your most obedient servant,/

John Cleves Symmes
William MCMILLAN, ESQ.

This place of confinement* *is reported also* *to have* *been so
insecure that it often cost as much for recaptures as for incarceration.
At one time, knowing his man would escape from the " board pile," as the
jail was called, Sheriff Ludlow allowed him twenty lashes and then
dismission from further durance vile. This man had robbed a
clothes-line. MAYS, the murderer who furnished forth the first
non-military execution in Hamilton county, was kept with more care.
Sheriff LUDLOW'S bill for his keeping stands as follows:

/November 15, 1792./

/Hamilton county, to John LUDLOW, sheriff,? Dr. Boarding James MAYS
after sentence, execution expense, gallows and
grave................................. . .£ 8s. 9d/

This bill was not paid until six years later.

A second and larger jail soon became necessary, and a new one was put up
late the next year at Stagg's corner, the southeast, of Walnut and Sixth
streets. It was in size fifteen by twenty feet only, but was two stories
high, built of hewed logs, with "lapt-shingle" roof. About a year
hereafter, eight yoke of oxen, belonging to the garrison of Fort
Washington, and in charge Of Captain THORP, quartermaster, assisted by
John RICHARDSON, were employed to remove it to the lot at the corner of
Church alley and Walnut street, where it remained for some years. The
following unique notice, published by an unlucky debtor in the
/Cincinnati Spy/ for November 4, 1799, is supposed to have emanated from
this miniature bastile:

/Those indebted to Dr. HINES are desired to remit the sums due?he being
confined to jail deprives him of the pleasure of calling personally on
his friends?they will therefore oblige their unfortunate friend/
/by complying with this request without loss of time./

/Hamilton county prison, October 29, 1799./

The total cost of jails for the county to and including this year, for
building, repairs, etc., is ascertained to* *have* *been three thousand
and thirty-two dollars.

Mr. CIST'S Miscellany, a treasure-house of Cincinnati and Miami
antiquities, also furnishes the following interesting remarks and
reminiscences:

/As a gallows stood in 1793 on Walnut below Fifth street, the
presumption is that it had not unfrequently been made use of, although
there is little pioneer lore on the subject, and its victims must have
been distinct from the military corps, in which deserters are shot, not
hung. But in those days the gallows, the pillory, and the whipping-post,
were appendages of civilized society, two of them in (lie farther
advance of civilization driven out of existence, and the third in a
rapid process of extinction. Several of our citizens survive [1845] who
have witnessed not only these structures, but also the administration of
justice under their operation. Jonah MARTIN, while a youth, was present
when Sheriff GOFORTH inflicted the "forty stripes save one" upon a woman
covicted of setting fire to haystacks, and Mr. Samuel STITT witnessed
the same punishment applied to another woman guilty of theft, by the
hands of Levi MCI.EAN, the deputy sheriff and jailor at that time. It
must not be inferred, however, that the infliction was as severe as it
appeared to be. GOFROTH was a man of great humanity, and even MCLEAN,
although jailor, pound-keeper, butc/her, and constable, four
hard-hearted vocations, played on the fiddle and taught singing-school.

" Men are not steel, but steel is bent,
Man are not flints?even flint is rent."

and LEVI, unless his prisoners rebelled on his hands, or he had himself
taken a glass too much, in which case he would turn in and take a
flogging frolic among his pets, without making much distinction between
debtors and criminals, was rather a good-natured fellow than otherwise.

Thirty-six years later, persons are yet living who saw " a man," as they
express it, tied up and whipped at this post. The following is the court
record in one* *of these cases:

/At a special court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, holden at
Cincinnati, in and for the county of Hamilton, in the territory of the
United States northwest of the Ohio river, on the twenty-first day of
August, 1792, the grand jury return a bill of indictment against Patrick
DORSEY, for feloniously stealing and carrying away from the armorer's
shop at Fort Washington, in said county, on Saturday the eighteenth day
of August instant, one silver watch, of the value of fifteen dollars./

/The prisoner, Patrick DORSEY, pleads not guilty, and thereupon trial
was had, and the jury say: "We, the jury, do find the prisoner guilty,
as stated in the indictment." Thereupon the court sentenced the
aforesaid Patrick DORSEY to receive twenty-five stripes on his bare
back, and/
/also to pay to Peter DAVIS, from whom the watch aforesaid was stolen
(the said watch being restored to said Peter again), the sum of fifteen
dollars, together with the costs* *of prosecution, herein taxed at eight
dollars and twenty-five cents./

The whipping-post stood about one hundred feet west of Main and fifty
south of Fifth street, near the line of Church alley. The jailer usually
did the whipping, and it is said that sometimes, when he was
intoxicated, he* *would take down the cat-o'-nine-tails and, going in
among the prisoners, administer an indiscriminate flagellation on
general principles.

In the matter of executions, the county has been singularly fortunate,
considering its population and crime record during the last half
century, scarcely more than half a dozen men having been hanged in it,
under sentence of the courts, during that period.

The third jail, built up town after the burning of the first court-house
and the leasing of the county's half of the public square, stood on the
west side of Sycamore street, between Hunt and Abigail, not far from the
present county prison. It was a more spacious and comfortable affair,
built of brick, with fourteen rooms for prisoners, and a yard enclosed
with a high brick wall, in which they might take exercise. It was
occupied until the construction of the new court house and jail was so
far advanced that a transfer of prisoners could be made.
 
*THE SECOND COURT HOUSE.*

The first court house was used as a barrack during part of the War of
1812-15; and the carelessness of some soldiers who were playing cards in
one of the rooms or in the garret, resulted in the destruction of the
building by fire early in the year 1814. The county commissioners then
decided to remove the temple of justice further out?to a point then
almost, or quite, out of the village ?upon a large lot tendered the
county as a gift by Mr. Jesse HUNT, its owner, near the present
intersection of Main and Court streets. The new building was soon begun,
but, though no great structure for size or elaboration of architecture,
it occupied several years in building, and was not finished until 1819.
Judge CARTER has supplied an elaborate description of this court house
in his recent volume of Reminiscences and Anecdotes, which we copy in
full by permission:

/It was situated, itself and appurtenances, on a circular plat of ground
about two hundred feet in diameter?just where our present modern court
house stands. It was a substantial and spacious structure, about
sixty-two feet in length east and west, and fifty-six feet in breadth
north/

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*~pg234~*
and south, and elevated to the cornice fifty feet, to the summit of the
dome or cupola on the centre of the uprising, four-sided roof, one
hundred and twenty feet, and to the top of the spire one hundred and
sixty feet. It contained two fire-proof rooms, in which the clerk of the
court of common picas and the .supreme court, and the recorder of deeds
kept their offices. On the first floor over tile basement was a large,
spacious, and commodious court room, finished and furnished in a style
of much neatness and even elegance for days of yore. This great room
extended the whole length of the building, and was near thirty feet in
width. On the north side of tile court room. before large windows, was
the large elevated bench for tile judges, and here the presiding judge
and his three associates sat and judged, and administered justice
according to the law. Immediately before the bench was the lawyers' long
table, and at each end was the clerk's and the sheriff's places or
desks. The place for the lawyers, or bar of the court room, was
sep-arated from the auditory by a long, open, heavy, colonnaded
balustrade. about four feet high, reaching the whole length of the room,
and entered by a gate attended by the janitor, who sat in a chair by it,
and faithfully attended, that no intruders should enter the sacred
precincts without leave or license. The space outside and south of the
bar was devoted to spectators, being open in front and having benches
under the gallery for the accommodation of those who had business in and
before the court, and who sat in anxious expectation, awaiting call by
their lawyers. Above, extending the whole length of the room, was a
large enclosed gallery filled with seats, also for the accommodation of
the people when anything very important was going on, which attracted
crowds to the court house. This gallery was supported by some half a
dozen columns underneath, in front, and the ceiling of the court room,
under a large beam or cross-piece, was supported by one very large
Corinthian-capped column, and this stood on a large frame-work pedestal
built on the floor. The jury so much in use in the courts were
accommodated with some fixed arm-chairs, away from the lawyers' table,
and just beyond the whitened large column, and were thus in position to
be conveniently addressed by the lawyers and by the court. Immediately
before the judges' long bench, on the balustrade of the bar, about the
middle of it, was placed the prisoners' dock, or box, an elevated,
open-worked, enclosed, white-painted platform, with a long seat,
sufficient to accommodate six or eight prisoners, and, being as high as
the bench of the judges, and in juxtaposition to it, it was so
conspicuous that it was a continued and continuous eye-sore to the
judges, lawyers, and citizens, and an ugly, displayed pillory for the
poor-devil prisoners who were placed in it at times and became the
closely observed of all observers. The floor of the old court room,
within the bar, was usually covered with a large striped rag-carpet; and
this was strewn over hither and thither with huge spittoons, for the
accommodation of those of the bar and others who had the habit of
chewing tobacco, and they were numerous. The court room was well lighted
and well ventilated, having three or four large windows thirteen feet
long by five feet wide, on each end, and seven smaller ones on the north
side. At the east end was a large chimney, and in it a huge fireplace,
which, when containing a large fire, as it always did in the winter
time, kept things considerably warm around about, and besides this, near
the centre of the room, was a very large, old fashioned rectangular
stove with large extended pipe, so that there was no complaint of cold
when fires were completely on and the old sergeant-at-arms was in good
health and all about.

This room, the only court room in the building at first, was a very
spacious, convenient, and commodious one for all the purposes of law and
justice, and we doubt if there were many better court rooms in the land.
For thirty years it proved sufficient and capable, and as one room with
others would have been quite so to-day for all purposes of bench, bar,
and people. The old people, as well as the old judges and the lawyers,
took much pride in the old court room. Afterwards, about the year 1838,
there was another smaller court room constructed in the old court house.
This was in the second story, immediately above the one described, and
was occupied by a new court, which the exigency of the times seemed to
require, called the superior court, and now remembered as the old
superior court. The old court house also contained a sheriff's office,
not very large, but convenient in its arrangement, on tile southwest
corner, and a county commissioners' office, and a grand-jury room, and
several other jury rooms. The great building had three large outside
doors on the east, on the west, and on the south sides, opening out into
stoops with stone steps to the ground on the east and west, and wooden
porch and steps on the south side. The number of large windows in its
walls above and below, and on every side, was about fifty, and all these
were ornamented with the old-fashioned green Venetian blinds; while the
outside walls of the court house were painted a pale cream, or nearly
white color, giving to the building a marked, distinctive, and even
beautiful appearance as seen from every side, especially as it was
adorned with a large central square dome erected on the middle of the
ascending four-sided roof, and this dome surmounted by a cupola with
green Venetian blind windows and a tall spire above it, with long,
gilded vane, and .the four cardinal points on it with gilded letters,
N., S., E., W., and two huge balls above and below, all shining in
luminous gold. In former days no court-house could lie built and exist
and live without a steeple?
 

/" Saint Patrick was a gentleman,/
/And came from dacent paple;/
/He built a church ill Dublin town,/
/And on it placed a staple."/

And as with the churches, so with the court houses of former days, they
were literally nothing without a spire for aspiring minds. They were of
no account without a " for the stable, staple, and steeping ambition of
young fledged lawyers, whose flight might reach its highest pinnacle.

The dome, spire, and steeple of the old court house were the tallest of
the kind in ye ancient days, and commanded the admiration, and almost
the adoration, of the old people; and the old court house was the centre
of attraction for the judges, the lawyers, and the people. As the old
court house was the centre of attraction, so it stood in the centre of a
large, circular plat of ground, with the streets forming a capacious way
all around. On the periphery or circumference was erected a white
painted rail-fence, with four ornamented gates to the yard of the court
house, one on each side, with the cardinal points. The yard within was
sodded with green grass, slanting and inclining from the basement walls
of the court house, and adorned in neat and orderly manner with locust
trees and shrubbery; and from each of the gates there were wide pathways
leading to the court house doors, and one or two of these were paved
with large flat flagstones, so that the "circular square" of the court
house had quite a beautiful and attractive appearance.

After some years, the necessities of increased business requiring it,
there were two separate buildings erected on Main street on the front
line of the square, one north and one south of the line of the court
house, the former one occupied by the treasurer, auditor, and county
commissioners' offices, and the latter by the offices of the clerk of
the court of common pleas and the county surveyor; and these were quite
neat and eligible buildings for their purposes, adorned with side,
covered porticos as they were, and flights of steps leading up to them
over the offices in the first or basement story. They of course added
much to the importance and attraction of the court house square, and
converted the shape of the grounds from a circle to a larger segment of
a circle.

The large plat of ground upon which the old court house and its
appertaining surroundings stood, was given to the county of Hamilton for
the purposes of a court house and county offices by Jesse Hunt, an old,
respected, opulent, pioneer, public-spirited citizen of Cincinnati, and
the grandfather of our present United States senator, HON. GEORGE H.
PENDLETON, on the mother's side?about the year 1814 or 1815. But at that
time the grounds were considered far out of town, and it was some time
before the minds of the citizens of the city could be brought to any
unanimity on the subject of locating the public buildings of the county
there, so far off from the limits of the stores and dwellings of the
town. But at last the gift was accepted, and operations were commenced
for the erection of the court house, and they dragged their slow length
along, and it was not until the close of the year 1819 that the court
house was completely finished and ready for full occupation, and then it
was occupied; and then commenced the proper, prosperous, and profound
history of the old court house.

In the afternoon of Monday, July 9, 1849, this old and noble structure
burned up, or down, and nothing was left of it but its thick, blackened
walls, and they had been made and builded to last forever. Fire had been
communicated to it by a neighboring pork-house conflagration on a warm
summer's day. It caught on its exposed tinder roof and cupola, and soon
roof, dome, cupola, spire, and steeple were wreathed and enveloped in
smoke and flames. I remember intently gazing at the surrounding,
wrapping, warping, writhing, enclosing flames from the immense roof, and
these whirring, whirling, and curling and leaping amidst the densest
black smoke from the now fired frame-work of the dome and steeple,
presented a flaming and famous scene for a painter. Dome, spire and
steeple and roof soon fell with a tremendous crash into the midst of the
enclosing and enveloping walls, which were only blackened* *and not
injured in their structure by the fire in the least, and

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*~pg235~*
they stood for a long while a sort of ruined monument of former justice
and law, for lawyers "to look and admire?fire?fire," and citizens to
gaze and wonder at what had been done for so many long years within
those now blackened, scorched, and charred walls. During the burning of
the roof and dome and tower of the old court house it was a very curious
and interesting sight to see numerous doves or pigeons flying in
extended circles about the flames, as near as the fierce heat would
permit them. The cupola had been a long-time home for the pigeons of the
city. There they had been reared themselves, and there they had been in
turn raising their young, many of whom no doubt perished in the flames;
and the now-devouring flames they encircled and encircled in their lofty
flight in the air, apparently, like the dove of old, without a place
whereon to set their feet. It was indeed a sort of romantic tableau. The
old court house, it seems, was the home of the pigeons, as well as the
judges and lawyers, /et illud omne genius./ It was a great old court
house, and had a great history in its eventful days. Sorry to part with it.

Drake and Mansfield's book, entitled Cincinnati in 1826, has the
following derogatory remarks concerning the old court house:

/It presents neither in its domestic economy nor external architectural
model of convenience or elegance. Its removal from the centre of the
city is justly a cause for complaint./
 
*THE TEMPORARY COURT HOUSES*.

After the fire the courts and county offices, and the law library, found
a temporary home in a large brick building of four stories on the
northwest corner of Court street and St. Clair alley, owned by Mr. James
WILSON, and afterwards occupied by Messrs. WILSON, EGGLESTON & Company,
as a pork-packing house. The offices went to the second floor; the four
rooms required by the Supreme court, the court of common pleas, the
superior and commercial courts, were found on the third floor; and the
law library, then very small, was put in a small room on the same floor,
near Canal street, and looking out upon the alley. After the common
pleas was /reorganized/ and enlarged in 1852, more room was required;
and in order to keep the common pleas rooms together, the third floor
was given up to them; the superior and commercial courts were provided
for on the second floor of a building across the alley, on Court street,
the two structures being connected by a bridge from one second floor to
the other. Mr. W. W. SCARBOROUGH says in his Historical Address on the
Bar Library, published in 1865:

/It is not to my purpose specially to describe those buildings, or to
chronicle the many rich things done and said there. No one of the bar of
that time could wish a more felicitous subject- But it was an evil
place, no place of seeds, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegrantaes./

By the time the new courts had gone in operation under the constitution
of 1852, the lower story of the new court house was so far completed
that the county commissioners directed the courts to be removed from the
packing-house to such rooms as were ready in the new building. They were
small, dark, and cold; and the judges and the bar had a generally
unpleasant time of it there. Finally, one of the judges had a long siege
with sore eyes, as a result of his attendance in these rooms, and, by
arrangement with the supreme judge and the three common pleas judges,
who together constituted the district court, he secured a peremptory
order to the sheriff that other quarters far the courts should be
obtained. The sheriff accordingly rented from the owner, Henry SNOW, a
member of the bar, the large building on the northeast corner of Ninth
and Walnut streets, which he fitted up in comfortable style for the
several courts and there they were held until the spacious and well
lighted court rooms in the second story of the new court house were
ready for occupation. The county commissioners, albeit the removal had
been accomplished without their sanction, cheerfully indorsed the
action, and ordered all bills incurred by it paid by the county.
 
*THE NEW COURT HOUSE.*

In 1851, county commissioners TIMANUS, BLACK, and PATTON, in pursuance
of previous orders, awarded the contract for a new court house, the fine
building now occupied by the county officers, the courts, and the bar
library, and for the jail, to Messrs. M. H. COOK & Company, for the
total sum of six hundred and ninety-five thousand two hundred and
fifty-three dollars and twenty-nine cents. The work was to be done
according to the plans and specifications submitted by Isaiah ROGERS,
architect. The work was commenced, but suffered many frequent delays
occasioned by change of plans and conflicting views as to style and
utility. The building stands on the east side of Main street and faces
west at the intersection of Main and Court streets. The length of the
front is one hundred and ninety feet, extension back one hundred and
ninety feet, and the height sixty feet, being three dories high above
the pavement entrance. The ground rooms are occupied by the county
treasurer, coroner, sheriff, and surveyor, with apartments in the rear
corners alloted to the recorder and county clerk. The main entrance
leads up wide iron stairs to the rotunda room on the second floor,
wherein the criminal court is held.

Around this central court room pass wide halls, from which direct
entrances are had to the auditor's, recorder's, and clerk's offices;
also to the grand jury rooms and the probate court. On the third floor
are the courts of common pleas, superior court, the law library, and the
stenographers' quarters. The building is of the most substantial stone
and brick work, fire-proof, easy of access, well lighted from the
outside and centrally from a glass dome in the middle of the building.

Immediately back of the court house is the county jail, facing east on
Sycamore street and surrounded by a high wall. The jail is connected
with the court house by subterranean passages. Between these main
buildings, shut out from public view, the executions by hanging are
conducted. The estimated cost of the jail was two hundred and twenty-six
thousand five hundred and twenty dollars. It, like the court house, is
constructed of Dayton limestone, and was built later than the court
house, being commenced in 1861. Its style of architecture is Doric and
Corinthian. All the work inside the cells, etc., is made of boiler iron.
The number of cells is one hundred and fifty-two.
 
*SOME OFFICIAL ANTIQUITIES.*

The original appointments of justices of the peace for Hamilton county
were noted in chapter IX of this work. Among them was William GOFORTH,
who entered upon his duties about one month after appointment. His

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*~pg236~*
official docket, in part at least, has been preserved; and is a
curiosity in its way. We have the pleasure of presenting
 
*EXTRACTS FROM JUDGE GOFORTH'S DOCKET.*

/1790./
/February 2. Took the oath of allegiance to the United States of
America, and the oath of office as a justice of the peace for the county
of Hamilton./

/February 4. Joseph Gerard took the oath of allegiance to the United
States of America, and was qualified as constable./

/August 12. I received a visit from Esq. WELLS and Mr. SEDAM, an officer
in the army, who spent most of the day with me, and towards evening, as
they were going away and I was walking with them to the boat, Esq. WELLS
introduced a conversation with me respecting the pernicious practice of
retailing spirituous liquors to the troops, and informed me that General
HARMAR wished me to write to COCHRAN and some others, in order to
prevent such mischiefs as were taking place. I observed to the gentleman
that we had more effectual ground to go upon, and that, by virtue of a
statute of the territory, a special session might be called, and wished
Esq. WELLS to meet me on the fore part of the fourteenth of August for
that purpose, at Cincinnati./

/August 14. On Saturday, fourteenth, I arrived at Cincinnati with Esq.
GANO?waited upon Esq. MCMILLAN, who was in a low state of health, but
gave me encouragement that he would be able to sit in session*.* I
immediately despatched a messenger to inform Esq. WELLS of my arrival,
and another to carry the following letter to General HARMAR:/

/dear sir:?/

/It has been intimated to me that the persons sanctioned in May term
last, to keep public houses of entertainment for the accommodation of
strangers and travellers, have abused that indulgence in a way that must
eventually be detrimental to the public service, by debauching the
troops under your command with spirituous liquors- I have, therefore,
convened a special session on the occasion, which are now met and ready
to proceed on that business; and would therefore thank General HARMAR to
be so kind as to furnish the session with such evidence as may be an
effectual clue to go into a thorough investigation of the matter; and,
as the session are now convened, your compliance as speedily as may be
with conveniency to yourself will greatly oblige,/
/Sir, your most obedient, humble servant,/

/William* *GOFORTH/

/Hon. general harmar./

/Cincinnati, 14th August, 1790*.*/
/The court being opened, present,* *William GOFORTH, William WELLS,
William MCMILLAN, John S. GANO.* <#*>/

/Captain FERGUSON, Captain PRATT, Captain STRONG, and several other
officers appeared, agreeable to General HARMAR'S orders, and informed
the court that, in consequence of the troops being debauched by
spirituous liquors, punishment had become frequent in the army, and that
the men were sickening fast, and that the sickness, in the opinion of
the doctors, was in a great degree brought on by excessive hard
drinking, and the officers complained of three houses which had retailed
to the troops, to wit: Thomas COCHRAN, Matthew WINTON, and John SCOTT.
These charges were supported by evidence, and Thomas COCHRAN and Matthew
WINTON, each with a security, were bound by their recognizance at the
next general quarter sessions of the peace, to be holden at Cincinnati,
for the county of Hamilton, on the first Tuesday in November next, in
the sum of two hundred dollars, and in the meantime to refrain from
retailing spirituous liquors to troops without a written permission from
their officers; and John Scott in the sum of thirty dollars. The court
being adjourned without day./

The prompt circumstance with which, after the good old English style,
the early courts were opened in this wilderness west, may be inferred
from the following court report, which appeared in the /Centinel/ of the
Northwest Territory for April 12, 1794:

/On Tuesday, the 11th inst., the General Court opened at this place,
agreeably to adjournment from October last, before the Honorable Judge
TURNER. The procession from the Judge's chambers to the public ground
was in the following order;/

Constables, with Batons.

Sheriff and Coroner, with White Wands.
Goaler.

The Honorable Judge.
Clerk, with a Green Bag.
Judges of the Common Pleas.
Justices of the Peace.
Attorneys, Messengers, etc.

While the stalwarts were away fighting the Indians, those pioneers who
remained at home, in this county at least, entitled themselves to the
pecuniary regards of the county commissioners by killing wolves,
panthers and wild-cats. If a boy killed a "big wolf," the scalp,
properly certified, would bring two dollars; and if a man killed one of
these wild animals less than six months old, he got one dollar and
twenty-five cents. If the commissioners thought a man should be engaged
in abler business than killing "five-months' wolves or sucking
wild-cats," they would beat him down to three scalps for a dollar. In
1797, the commissioners set apart two hundred dollars to kill wolves and
wild-cats with. In the year 1800 Joseph MOORE killed a wolf, James
PELLICIEW five, John SMITH, Rowland HINDLE, Joseph WILLIAMS, Stephen
WOOD, Joseph WALKER, John VINCENT, Robert TERRY, John SHAW, Cale SEWARD,
William SMALLY, John DEARTH, James BUNNEL, Peter BALFELL, Jesse ANTHONY,
and Joseph SUTTON, killed one wolf each; James MILLS five, Max PARHAGON
six, James ROSS two, Daniel GIBSON two, Robert MCKINNEY four, John
MCCONNICK two wolves and a wild-cat, Peter MURPHY three "old" wolves,
John MCKAIN two, William DOWDER two, James DEMENT two, Alesander HUSTON
two, Samuel GREGORY three, James FLYNN eight, Benjamin TRUMAN two,
Elijah CHAPMAN four, Emmanuel BURGET and John SPENCER one and a half
apiece, Nathan ABBOTT two. The scalps were properly certified, and one
hundred and sixty-six dollars and seventy-five cents paid to the
slayers. There was money and some fun in the scalp trade; and there was
scarcely a boy, doctor, preacher, or lawyer but could relate a personal
adventure connected with them and tell how much his "scalp fetched."

April 24, 1809, James LYON, William CULLUM, Enos HURIN, James EWING and
John MAHARD were severally commissioned justices of the peace for the
township of Cincinnati. Job FOSTER and Joseph JENKINS were similarly
commissioned for the township of Springfield; Garah MARKLAND and Stephen
WOOD for the township of* *Miami and Judah WILLEY for the township of
Colerain, all to continue in office for three* *years from the third
day* *of that month.

On the twenty-first of February, 1809, Griggin YEATMAN was appointed and
commissioned notary public in and for the township of Cincinnati, "to
continue in office for three years, if he shall so long behave well."

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*From this quadruple and august presence, it would seem that this as a
full session of the court of general quarter sessions of the peace.

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