Much of the history
of every civilized country or community centers about
its laws and the manner in which they are enforced.
"To establish justice" was written into the Federal
Constitution by
the founders of the American Republic as one of the
primary and paramount purposes of government. The
founders of that republic also showed their wisdom in
dividing the functions of government into three
departments — legislative, executive and judicial —
the first to enact, the second to execute and the
third to interpret the nation's laws. States have
copied this system, so that in every state there are a
Legislature to pass laws, a supreme and subordinate
courts to inter- pret them and a governor as the chief
executive officer to see that they are fairly and
impartially enforced.
The law is a jealous profession. It demands of the
attorney and the man on the bench alike a careful,
conscientious effort to secure the administration of
justice — "speedy and substantial, efficient,
equitable and economical." Within recent years there
have been some caustic criticisms of the courts for
their delays, and a great deal has been said in the
press about "judicial reform." Perhaps some of the
criticisms are founded upon reason, but should the
entire judiciary system be condemned because here and
there some judge has failed to measure up to the
proper standard, or some lawyer has adopted the
tactics of the pettifogger? It should be borne in mind
that some of the greatest men in our national history
were lawyers. John Marshall, one of the early chief
justices of the United States Supreme Court, was a man
whose legal opinions are still quoted with reverence
and respect by the profession, and his memory is
revered by the American people at large. Thomas
Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe, who
negotiated the Louisiana Purchase and gave to the
United States an empire in extent, were all lawyers.
Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Salmon P. Chase, Stephen
A. Douglas, Thomas M. Cooley, and a host of others who
might be mentioned, were men whose patriotism and love
of justice were unquestioned. And last, but not least,
was Abraham Lincoln, self- educated and self-reliant,
whose consummate tact and statesmanship saved the
Union from disruption.
Concerning the tendency to criticize the courts, one
of the justices of the Ohio Supreme Court recently
said: "A reasonable amount of criticism is good for a
public officer — even a judge. It keeps reminding him
that, after all, he is only a public servant; that he
must give account of his stewardship, as to his
efficiency, the same as any other servant; that the
same tests applied to private servants in private
business should be equally applied to public servants
in public business, whether executives, legislators or
judges — at least, this is the public view. Would it
not be more wholesome if more public officers,
especially judges, took the same view?"
Fortunately for the people of Lee County, her judges
have been men of character, free from charges of
venality or corruption, and justice has generally been
administered in such a way that criticism of the court
was unnecessary. In the fall of 1834, while Iowa was
still under the jurisdiction of Michigan Territory, an
election was ordered for the election of judicial
officers in Des Moines County, which then included the
present County of Lee. There were but two voting
places — Burlington and Fort Madison. William Morgan
was elected presiding judge; Young L. Hughes and Henry
Walker, associate judges; W. W. Chapman, prosecuting
attorney; W. R. Ross, clerk; Solomon Perkins, sheriff.
At the same time John W. Whitaker was elected judge of
probate, and a little later John Barker and Richard
Land were appointed justices of the peace by the
governor of Michigan Territory. These were the first
judicial officers in Southeastern Iowa.
The first session of the District Court was held in
the spring of 1835, at the residence of the clerk, in
the Town of Burlington, with Judge Morgan presiding
and the two associates both present. Among those tried
for misdemeanor were some of the soldiers stationed at
Fort Des Moines (now Montrose). They were defended by
their captain, Jesse B. Browne, who afterward became a
resident of Lee County and a member of the local
bar.
In July, 1836, Iowa became a part of the Territory of
Wisconsin, and in that year Isaac Lefrler succeeded
William Morgan as the presiding judge of the local
District Court. Lee County was erected as a separate
county and partly organized. The first session of the
District Court in the new county was held at Fort
Madison, beginning on March 27, 1837, and was presided
over by David Irvin of the Territorial Supreme Court
of Wisconsin, who had been assigned to the Second
Judicial District. Judge Irvin's first official order
was for the appointment of John H. Lines clerk of the
court and W. W. Chapman, prosecuting attorney. Francis
Gehon was United States marshal and Joshua Owen,
sheriff of Lee County. The marshal was directed by the
court to summon a grand jury and the names of Isaac
Johnson, John Gregg, Isaac Briggs, E. D. Ayres,
William Anderson, Samuel Morrison, Peter P. Jones,
William Ritchie, Henry Hawkins, George Herring, James
McAlleny, Rich- ard Dunn, John R. Shaver, Edwin
Guthrie, Jesse Dickey, Garrett I. Wood, C. E. Stone,
David Wright, Joseph Skinner, Benjamin Brattan, George
W. Ball and John Stephens were presented, from which a
grand jury was to be drawn and impaneled, but the
judge found 'that none of them was qualified to serve
and they were discharged, each man being allowed one
day's pay. The court then approved the bond of Aaron
White and granted him permission to operate a ferry at
Fort Madison. This court was held in a room in the
Madison House.
At the second term, which convened on August 28, 1837,
with the same judge presiding and the same officers in
attendance except prosecuting attorney, the following
were summoned as grand jurors: John L. Cotton, Samuel
Ross, Thomas Small, Jr., Jesse Wilson, Joseph S.
Douglass, Peter P. Jones, Joseph Skinner, Aaron White,
John Gregg, John Stephenson, Campbell Gilmer, Jesse
O'Neil, John Box, Johnson J. Phares, William Tyrell,
Henry Hawkins, E. D. Ayres, Lorenzo Bullard, Benjamin
Brattan, Leonard P. Parker, William Anderson, George
Herring, Abraham Hunsicker and John G. Kennedy. E. D.
Ayres was elected foreman of the grand jury and Philip
Viele was appointed prosecuting attorney, Mr. Chapman
having been elected delegate to Congress.
Sixty-two indictments were returned by the grand jury,
to-wit: One for injuring cattle, two for assault with
intent to kill, three for * assault and battery, and
fifty-six for gambling. The two indictments for
assault with intent to kill were against Wade H.
Rattan, but when the cases were called for trial in
April, 1839, it was found that Rattan had left the
country and default was entered on the records. He was
never heard from again in Lee County. The other
indictments, with two or three exceptions, were all
dismissed as defective.
Judge David Irvin, who presided at these early terms
of court, was a Virginian by birth. When the Territory
of Michigan was established he was appointed a judge
by President Jackson and was assigned to that part of
the territory afterward cut off and erected into the
Territory of Wisconsin. He was a man of upright
character, prompt with his decisions, and was well
versed in the law. When Iowa was made a territory,
Judge Irvin went back to Wisconsin, where he remained
upon the bench until removed by President Harrison in
1841. He then went to Texas and during the Civil war
was an ardent supporter of the Confederate cause. He
lived and died a bachelor.
William W. Chapman, the first prosecuting attorney,
after the expiration of his term as delegate to
Congress in 1839, went to Oregon and became one of
that state's prominent attorneys; Clerk John H. Lines
also went to Oregon; Marshal Gehon died, and Sheriff
Owen removed to California.
When the Territory of Iowa was established in 1838,
Charles Mason of Burlington was appointed chief
justice; Thomas S. Wilson of Dubuque and Joseph
Williams of Pennsylvania, associate judges of the
Supreme and District courts of the territory, and
these gentlemen continued to hold courts until Iowa
was admitted as a state. Under the constitution of
1846 the state was divided into judicial districts,
and George H. Williams of Lee County was made first
district judge of the First District.
Mr. Williams was born in the State of New York, March
26, 1823. He was educated in the academy at Pompey
Hill, New York, and came to Iowa, where he was
admitted to the bar in 1844. He was elected judge of
the First District in 1847 an d served in that
capacity for about five years. In 1852 he was a
presidential elector on the Pierce ticket, and in 1853
he was appointed chief justice of the Territory of
Oregon. He was a member of the Oregon Constitutional
Convention and served as United States senator from
that state from 1865 to 1871. Judge Williams was a
member of the commission to settle the Alabama claims,
and in 1871 he was appointed attorney-general of the
United States by President Grant and served until
1875, when he was nominated by Grant for chief justice
of the Supreme Court, but his name was withdrawn. From
1902 to 1905 Mr. Williams served as mayor of Portland,
Oregon, his home city.
In 1852 Judge Williams was succeeded by Ralph P. Lowe,
who was born in Warren County, Ohio, November 21,
1805. In 1829 he graduated at Miami University, after
which he went to Alabama, where he was employed as
teacher. He studied law there with John Campbell,
afterward justice of the United States Supreme Court.
He was admitted to the bar in Alabama, practiced four
years in that state, then removed to Dayton, Ohio, and
in 1849 removed to Iowa. In 1857 ne resigned his
position as judge of the First District Court, and in
the fall of that year was nominated by the republican
party for governor. He was elected, being the first
governor under the new constitution. Two years later
he became one of the justices of the Iowa Supreme
Court, the first time the justices of that court were
elected by popular vote. He served on the bench until
1868, when he resigned and resumed the practice of
law. In 1872 he was elected chief justice of the Iowa
Supreme Court, but two years later removed to
Washington, D. C, where he died on December 22,
1883.
Judge Lowe was succeeded on the district bench by John
W. Rankin, who was born in Washington County,
Pennsylvania, June 21, 1823. In 1842 he graduated with
honors at Washington Col- lege. He then taught school
and studied law in Ohio, was admitted to the bar, came
to Keokuk in 1848, and soon became recognized as one
of the leading members of the Lee County bar. In 1857
he was elected district judge, but served only a short
time. During his twenty-one years' residence in Keokuk
he served as a member of the State Senate and was
colonel of the Seventeenth Iowa Infantry in the Civil
war. For some time he was associated in the practice
of law as a partner of General Curtis, and later with
Judge Charles Mason and Samuel F. Miller. His death
occurred on July 10, 1869.
Thomas H. Clagett became district judge upon the
retirement of Judge Rankin in 1857, an( i served about
one year. Judge Clagett was born in Prince George
County, Maryland, August 30, 1815, received an
academic education, studied law in the office of
Governor Pratt of Maryland, and was admitted to
practice in that state. He was twice elected to the
Maryland Legislature and was active in his efforts to
establish a public school system in that state. In
1850 he came to Keokuk, where he soon became
identified with the legal profession, and at the time
of his death, April 14, 1876, he was editor and
proprietor of the Keokuk Constitution.
Under the old constitution a County Court was
established in 1851 and Edward Johnstone was elected
the first judge. Judge Johnstone was one of the
prominent attorneys of the early Lee County bar. He
was born in Pennsylvania, July 4, 18 15, and was
admitted to the bar in his native state at the age of
twenty-two years. About 1837 ne located at Burlington,
where he served as clerk of the Territorial
Legislature. During that session he was appointed one
of the commissioners to adjust the land titles in the
half-breed tract, and located at Montrose. In 1839 he
was elected to the Legislature and was made speaker of
the House, and when James K. Polk became President he
was appointed United States attorney for Iowa. He was
also associated with Dr. J. H. Bacon in the banking
business and was one of the public spirited citizens
of Lee County.
Judge Johnstone was succeeded as county judge in 1855
by, Samuel Boyles, who was reelected in 1859. Robert
A. Russell succeeded Judge Boyles in 1862, and he in
turn was succeeded by Edmund Jaeger, who served until
1870, when the office was abolished.
Article V, section 5, of the constitution of 1857,
provides that "The District Court shall consist of a
single judge, who shall be elected by the qualified
electors of the district in which he resides. The
judge of the District Court shall hold his office for
the term of four years, and until his successor shall
have been elected and qualified; and shall be
ineligible to any other office, except that of judge
of the Supreme Court, during the term for which he was
elected."
Another section of the same article provides for the
establishment of judicial districts as follows: "The
state shall be divided into eleven judicial districts;
and after the year i860, the General Assembly may
reorganize the judicial districts, and increase or
diminish the number of districts, or the number of
judges of the said court, and may increase the number
of judges of the Supreme Court; but such increase or
diminution shall not be more than one district, or one
judge of either court, at any one session; and no
reorganization of the districts, or diminution of the
judges, shall have the effect of removing a judge from
office. Such reorganization of the districts, or any
change in the boundaries thereof, or any increase or
diminution of the number of judges, shall take place
every four years thereafter, if necessary, and at no
other time."
Under these provisions Lee County was attached to
District No. 1. of which Francis Springer of Louisa
County was judge from 18^8 to 1869. The First District
was then made to consist of the counties of Lee and
Des Moines until about 1896. Among the Des Moines
County men who served as judge of this district were
Joshua Tracy, Thomas W. Newman, A. H. Stutsman, O. H.
Phelps and James D. Smyth. Joseph M. Casey was elected
judge of the district in 1887 and served until his
death in 1895. Judge Casey came to Lee County when he
was but eleven years old. He received a good academic
education, studied law with John F. Kinney, and in
1847 was admitted to the bar. He located in Sigourney,
Keokuk County, where he served for five years as
prosecuting attorney. In April, 1861, he located at
Fort Madison, and in 1887 was elected district judge,
holding that office until his death in 1895.
Alvin J. McCrary was elected to the vacancy caused by
the death of Judge Casey, but served only a short
time, when Henry Bank was elected for a full term. It
was about this time that Lee County was made a
judicial district by itself. In 191 1, when the docket
became so crowded, William S. Hamilton was appointed
as an additional district judge to relieved the
congested condition and in 191 2 was elected for full
term. The present judges of the District Court are
Henry Bank and William S. Hamilton.
The Bar
Lee County has produced a number of attorneys whose
names and reputations occupy high places in the legal
annals of the Union. Foremost among these was Samuel
F. Miller, a native of Richmond, Kentucky, where he
was born on April 5, 1816. He was educated in the
local schools and the town academy, and at eighteen
years of age began the study of medicine. He began the
practice of medicine at Barboursville, Kentucky, in
1838. Disliking medicine, he turned his attention to
the law, read with Judge Ballinger, and in 1845 was
admitted to the bar. Five years later he located in
Keokuk, where he became the partner of John W. Rankin,
and the firm of Rankin & Miller became one of the
best known in Southeastern Iowa. In 1861 the lawyers
of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin all joined in
recommending him for one of the justices of the United
States Supreme Court and he was appointed by President
Lincoln in July, 1862. His nomination was immediately
confirmed by the Senate and he served on the supreme
bench until his death on Octo- ber 13, 1890. After his
death a lawyer who knew him well said: "Some other
judges had greater learning, but none possessed
greater legal wisdom. After delivering judgments whose
influence will outlive the granite walls of the court
room and after deciding cases that involved millions
of money, he died poor in gold, but rich in
fame."
Joseph M. Beck, who was born in Clermont County, Ohio,
April 21, 1823, was of English and Welsh ancestry.
After graduating at Hanover College in Indiana, he
read law with Miles C. Eggleston of Madison, Indiana,
taught school for some time, and in 1847 located at
Montrose, Lee County. In 1849 he removed to Fort
Madison and ten years later was elected mayor of that
city. He then served several years as prosecuting
attorney, and in 1867 was elected one of the judges of
the Iowa Supreme Court, in which capacity he served
for twenty-four years. Judge Beck was one of the
trustees of the state library and was influential in
building it up to its present proportions. He had a
fine judicial mind and his opinions are still quoted
as authority, not only in Iowa, but also in other
states. He died at Fort Madison, May 30, 1893.
Philip Viele, an early attorney and prominent citizen
of Fort Madison, was born in Rensselaer County, New
York, September 10, 1799. He was a descendant of the
Frenchman, Arnaud Cornelius Viele, who came to America
in the latter part of the seventeenth century and
located near Schenectady. Philip was educated in the
local academy and Union College, and in the fall of
1821 began the study of law at Waterford, New York. In
the presidential campaign of 1824 he took the stump
for Jackson and in 1827 was appointed surrogate of
Rensselaer County, where he served until 1835. In
June, 1837, he located at Fort Madison, when the town
consisted of about a score of log cabins. In 1840 he
took an active part as a whig in the political
campaign and in 1846 was the leader of the "Union,
Retrenchment and Reform Party of Lee County." He was
the candidate of that party for judge of probate and
was elected. In 1852 he was the whig candidate for
Congress, but was defeated, and in 1859 became a
member of the State Board of Education. He served four
terms as mayor of Fort Madison. Mr. Viele was a great
lover of children and every Christmas gave a dinner to
. a large number of Fort Madison's little
people.
An amusing story in Judge Viele's practice as an
attorney is told of a case tried before Judge Mason at
Fort Madison, in which a wood dealer on the river sold
a piece of land in the half-breed tract to the clerk
of the court at Fort Madison, taking a note for
payment. The title proved valueless and the clerk
refused to pay the note. Suit was brought, in which
Judge Viele represented the wood dealer. In closing
his argument to the jury he described how the wife and
children of his client were probably standing at the
doorway of their humble cottage home "with eyes
strained up the road toward Fort Madison, anxiously
looking for the return of the husband and father; and
the first words that will greet my client on his
return home will be, 'Pa, have the court and jury at
Fort Madison done you justice?' When the case was
given to the jury eleven voted for the wood dealer and
one for the clerk. When that one juror was asked the
reasons for his position he replied: "Well, I know
that man has no wife and children. He keeps 'bach 1 in
a log cabin. I believe the whole claim is a fraud."
Upon receiving this information the other eleven
reversed their views and the case was decided against
Viele. A second trial was ordered, but before it came
on the wood dealer got into trouble and fled the
country. He was never heard of again.
Alfred Rich was a native of Kentucky. He studied law
in Covington with W. W. Southworth, and while studying
in his office fell in love with his preceptor's
daughter. Southworth, who had been a member of
Congress, said to Rich : "Go to Congress and you may
have my daughter." The girl would have married him
anyhow, but Rich declared he would win her by becoming
a congressman. He first went to Texas, but later
located at Fort Madison. Without money, he accepted
such work as he could find. Some friends took an
interest in him and got him a school. While teaching,
a man was arrested at Montrose charged with assault
and battery with intent to kill, and Rich offered to
defend him. His intelligent and successful conduct of
this case established him in a good practice. In 1839
ne was elected to the Legislature and the next year,
remembering his ambition and desires, he was the whig
candidate for Congress, but was defeated by Gen. A. C.
Dodge. From this defeat he lost courage, became
somewhat dissipated in his habits, and died of tuber-
culosis in the spring of 1842.
Daniel F. Miller, Sr., whose name is still a household
word in Lee County, was born near Cumberland,
Maryland, October 14, 1 8 14. He received all his
schooling by the time he was twelve years of age and
then worked about three years at the printer's trade.
After teaching a term of school he walked to
Pittsburgh, in order to save what little money he had,
and was successful in getting a job in a store. Here
he studied law, and in the justices' courts or before
referees he was able to earn a small fee now and then.
In 1839 he was admitted to the bar, and in April of
that year located at Fort Madison, where he opened his
office. In 1840 he was elected to the Legislature and
on the third day of the session introduced his bill to
abolish imprisonment for debt, which passed the House,
but was defeated in the Council. In 1848 he was
elected to Congress on the whig ticket from the
southeastern district of Iowa, but did not get the
certificate of election on account of fraud in one of
the western counties. He went before Congress and
stated his cause with such force that his opponent was
unseated and a new election ordered. In 1850 he was
elected by about eight hundred majority, and in 1856
was an elector-at-large on the republican ticket. He
served as mayor of Keokuk, and was one of the best
known and most able attorneys in Southeastern Iowa. He
died at Omaha, Nebraska, December 9, 189_.
George W. McCrary was born near Evansville, Indiana,
August 2 9> 1 835. A few months later his parents
removed to Illinois, and at the age of eighteen years
he began teaching school. In 1855 he entered the
office of Rankin & Miller at Keokuk as a student,
and upon completing his legal studies was admitted to
the bar. He soon built up a good practice, became
active in politics, was elected to the lower house of
the Legislature in 1857 anc ^ m T ^ or t0 tne State
Senate. He was a strong Union man, and in the Senate
was chairman of the committee on military affairs.
When Samuel F. Miller was appointed to the United
States Supreme Court, Mr. McCrary became Judge
Rankin's partner. In 1868 he was elected to Congress
and was twice reelected. He was appointed secretary of
war in the cabinet of President Hayes, and after
serving about three years in that position was
appointed United States judge of the Eighth Circuit,
composed of the states of Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota,
Nebraska, Kansas and Arkansas. In 1884 he resigned his
position on the bench o become general counsel for the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. He then
located at Kansas City, Missouri, where he died on
June 23, 1890, but his remains were taken to Keokuk
for burial. Judge McCrary was the author of the
"American Law of Elections," a work which is still
regarded as a standard authority.
William W. Belknap, for many years a prominent figure
in Keokuk, was born at Newburg, New York, in 1829,
graduated at Princeton University in 1848, studied law
and in 1851 was admitted to the bar. Two years later
he located in Keokuk, where he formed a partnership
with Ralph P. Lowe. In 1857 Mr Belknap was elected to
the Legislature as a democrat. Upon the breaking out
of the Civil war he assisted in recruiting troops and
was commissioned major of the Fifteenth Iowa Infantry.
He was in command of the regiment at the siege of
Corinth and afterwards served on the staff of General
McPherson. In 1864 he was made brigadier-general, and
at the close of the war was offered a commission in
the regular army, which he declined. In the meantime
he had become a republican, and in 1866 was appointed
collector of internal revenue for the First Iowa
District. He served for seven years as secretary of
war under President Grant, and died at Washington, D.
C, October 13, 1890.
Hugh T. Reid, another early Lee County lawyer, was of
Scotch-Irish extraction and a native of South
Carolina. His grandfather, Hugh Reid, served as an
American soldier in the Revolution, and entered a
tract of land in the Northwest Territory, which he
afterward gave to James Reid, the father of Hugh T. In
1833 Hugh T. Reid entered Miami University, Oxford,
Ohio, where he spent three years, and then graduated
at the Indiana University, Bloomington. He studied law
with James Perry of Liberty, Indiana, and was admitted
to the bar in the spring of 1839. In June of that year
he located at Fort Madison, and in the spring of 1840
formed a partnership with Edward Johnstone which
lasted about ten years, much of which time was spent
in defending his title to the half-breed tract, an
account of which is given in another chapter. From
1840 to 1842 he served as prosecuting attorney for the
district composed of Lee, Des Moines, Henry, Jefferson
and Van Buren counties, and while in this position won
a place in the front rank of attorneys. Mr. Reid was
one of the lawyers who defended Joseph Smith, the
Mormon prophet, when he was on trial at Carthage,
Illinois, in 1844. While in command of the Fifteenth
Iowa Infantry at Shiloh he received several wounds,
one through the chest almost proving fatal. On April
13, 1863, he was made brigadier-general by President
Lincoln, but resigned in April, 1864, to look after
his private business. He took a prominent part in
building the Des Moines Valley Railroad from Keokuk to
Fort Dodge.
It would be impossible to give individual mention to
all the lawyers who have won distinction as members of
the Lee County bar, but among those who occupied
prominent places may be mentioned H. H. Trimble, W. D.
Patterson, James M. Love, J. Monroe Reid, William C.
Howell, W. R. Gilbreath, Daniel Mooar, W. C. Hobbs,
Daniel F. Miller, Jr., John Van Valkenburg, William
Fulton, M. D. Browning, O. H. Browning, J. C. Hall,
Jesse B. Browne, W. H. Morrison, John H. Craig and J.
D. M. Hamilton, all of whom are remembered as able and
successful attorneys.
Source: History
of
Lee County, Iowa, by Dr. S. W. Moorhead and
Nelson C. Roberts, 1914
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