Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1869-10-27
WHOLE NO. 1859.
The First Court Of Ohio aud its Dis.
tinguished LAWYERS.
To ne Editor Of De Ciileiandti Gdzette:'

To the Editor Of tie Cincinnati Gazette.
The memories of the wise and brave
men who laid broad and deep the
foundations of our great State should
be revered and cherished by the pres
ent generation, who enjoy the rich
fruits of their labor. Senator Wood
bridge said of them, that they had
laid the foundation stone of the State,
and it may truly be said the first set
tlement at Marietta was the Plymouth
Rock of the great West.
The first Court ever held Northwest
of the river Ohio, under the forms of
civilized jurisprudence, was opened at
Campus Martius, (Marietta), Septem-
2, 17SS. The following account of the
ceremony is copied from the Marietta
IntelIigencer of March 10, 1913.
1t will be remembered that on the
9TH of April, 1TSS, Gen. Rufus Put
nam, with AZ men, had landed and
commenced the first permanent set
tlement in what is now the State of
Ohio. Gen. Harmer, with his regu-
lars, occupied Fort Harmer. Gov.
st. Clair and also Samuel H. Parsons
and James NJ. Narnum, Judges of the
Supreme Court, arrived in July. The
Governor and Judges had been en-
plOyed from their arrival in eXamin-
ing and adopting such of the statutes
of the States, as, in their opinion,
would be appropriate to the situation
of the new colony. The Governor
had made appointments Of civil Offi-
GERS for the administration Of justice,
and TO carry into effect the laws adopt
ed. Some idea may be obtained Of
the character of the early settlers of
Ohio by describing the order with
which this important event, the estab-
lishment of civil authority and the
laws, was conducted. From a manu-
script, written by an eye witness, now
in my possession, have obtained the
substance of the following. The pro-
cession was formed at the Point
where most of the settlers resided) in
the following order:
l. The High Sheriff, with drawn
sword; ?. The citizens; 3. The Off
GERS of the garrison at Fort Hammer,
T. The members of the bar; ). The
Supreme Judges; 6. The Governor
and Clergymen :. The newly ap-
pointed Judges of the Court of Com
mon Pleas, General Rufus Putnam
and Benz. Tupper.
They marched up q path that had
been cut and cleared through the for
est to Campus Martius Hall stock
adel, when the whole ecouutermarehed,
and Judges Putnam and Upper took
their seats. The clergymen, Rev. DIR.
Cutler, then invoked the Divine bless
ing. The Sheriff, Col. EbeneZer
Sprout lone of natures nobles), pro-
claimed with solemn 20, yezI o, yeZr
that "a court for the administration of
evenhanded Justice, to the poor and
the rich, to the guilty and the inno-
cent, without respect to persons, none
to be punished without trial by their
peers, and then in pursuance of the
law and evidence of the case" AL
though this scene was exhibited thus
early in the settlement of the State,
few ever equaled il in the dignity and
tieipatoTs. Many of them belong to
the history of our country in the
darkest as well as the most splendid
periods of the revolutionary war. To
witness this spectacle a large body of
Indians were collected from the most
powerful tribes then occupying almost
the entire West. They had assembled
for the purpose of making a treaty.
Whether any of them entered the hall
of justice, or what were their express
ions, we are not told.
The members of the bar who prac-
ticed in that Court were men of great
legal attainments. Among them were
the following, with the dates of their
admission Paul Fearing, September
l7SS; Return ]. Meigs, 1889; Dudley
Odlin, 1871; Mathew Baekus, 1898;
William Littel, 1877; Solomon Sibley,
1897; David Putnam, 179S; Edwin
Putnam, 1893; Wyllit SiIliman, 1901;
Philemon Beaeher, 1902; Levi Cass,
1893; Charles Hammond, 1901; Will
liam Woodbridge, 1904.
Jacob Burnet was also one of the
early practitioners of the Washington
county bar, and subsequently Thomas
Ewing. They nearly all achieved a
national reputation and compare
favorably with the members of any
other bar in the Union. F.