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The act of congress, approved June 28, 1834, attached what is now Iowa to the territory of Michigan, for the purpose of temporary government; and on September 6th of the same year, the legislative council of Michigan divided what is now Iowa, into two counties, Dubuque and Des .Moines, and these counties were made subject to the jurisdiction of the United States circuit court for Iowa county, Michigan Territory. This Iowa County was east of the Mississippi, and had no relation to what afterward became Iowa Territory.

The organic act of Wisconsin Territory, approved April 20, 1836, by which the Iowa country was made a part of Wisconsin Territory, provided for a division of Wisconsin Territory into three judicial districts. And accordingly by an act approved November 15, 1836, the Wisconsin territorial legislature established the judicial districts and made the counties of Dubuque and Des Moines constitute the second judicial district, and provided in the same act that Judge David Irvin of the supreme court should perform district court duties in the second district.

As we have already seen in Chapter VII, Judge Irvin held the first court in Louisa county in April, 1837. He also held another term of court in the spring of 1838. By the organic act of the territory of Iowa, approved June 12, 1838, it was provided that the territory should be divided into three judicial districts and that temporarily, and until otherwise provided by law of the legislative assembly, the governor should define the judicial districts of the territory and assign the judges who should be appointed for such territory, to the several districts, etc.

The first establishment of judicial districts in the territory of Iowa was made July 25, 1838, by the proclamation of William B. Conway, signing himself as "Acting Governor of the Territory of Iowa." Mr. Conway was at that time the duly appointed and qualified secretary of the territory, and had arrived on the scene of action before the newly appointed governor, Robert Lucas, and hence, Mr. Conway took it upon himself to "start things" in his own way. Mr. Conway's proclamation defined the judicial districts of the territory and the assignment of judges of the supreme court to their respective districts. Under this proclamation the second district was composed of the counties of Scott, Musquitine, Louisa, Slaughter and Johnson, and Judge Joseph Williams was assigned to hold district court therein, and the court term in Louisa county was to begin on the third ...

pg 240

... Monday in October. Afterward, on January 21, 1839, the judicial districts of Iowa Territory were established by the legislature, and the second district was composed of the counties of Louisa, Muscatine, Cedar, Johnson and Slaughter, with Linn county attached to Johnson, and with Jones county attached to Cedar for judicial purposes. Shortly after this the name of Slaughter county was changed to Washington.

We insert here the sketch of Judge Joseph Williams, taken from the pamphlet "Our Judges," written by George Frazee, Esq., of Burlington:

"Of the early history of Judge Williams I have not been able to obtain any information. Presumably he was a native of Pennsylvania, since he was appointed from that state one of the associate judges of the territorial supreme court by Van Buren in 1838, came to Iowa to assume the duties of that position and became a resident of Bloomington, the name of which has since been changed to Muscatine. At that time he must have been of middle age, since, when I first became acquainted with him in 1849, he seemed to be verging on the downhill side of life.

"At that time the territory was divided into three districts, the southern, middle, and northern, one of the judges residing in each, and individually presiding over the district courts held therein, from which appeals could be taken to the supreme court composed of the three sitting in bank presided over by Chief Justice Charles Mason. All of these three were democrats, and that party being dominant at Washington during the territorial existence except during the short period of President Harrison's incumbency, all of the three, though appointed for terms of four years, were twice reappointed, once by Tyler, who, though elected by the whigs to the vice presidency, had gone into the ranks of the opposite party, and secondly, by President Polk. The Hon. T. S. Parvin tells us how the last appointment was secured. Judge Williams, upon the accession to Polk and change of administration, fearing that he might be superseded, started for the capital himself to do what he could towards averting that danger. Of course he went by the only feasible route of those days, by river to Wheeling or Pittsburg, and thence by stage and perhaps partly by rail to his destination—a long and tedious journey. On the way he fell in with a lady, whose destination was the same as his own, with whom he made a traveler's acquaintance, without learning her name, and to whom in the course of conversation he communicated the purpose of his journey. The Judge was eminently social, running over with anecdote and repartee, and especially gallant towards the ladies. These qualities interested the lady, as well as others. On reaching the capital they parted, and a day or two afterwards the Judge called upon the President with the purpose of urging his re-appointment. He was received with manifest favor, and on stating his errand was promptly assured that his desire should be gratified. The President then told him that he wished to introduce him to a lady, who in a few minutes entered the room, and who, to the Judge's surprise, proved to be Mrs. Polk, who, it seems had made her husband acquainted with his attentions on the way, and the favorable opinion she had formed in regard to him. The Judge being successful in his own case, ventured farther and suggested that his associates on the bench were equally worthy, and left with the comforting assurance ...

pg 241

... that there would be no change, and there was none, and all three retained their positions until the territory became a state.

"The constitution provided that the territorial officers should continue to exercise their functions until they were duly superseded by officers of the state, and, though the state was admitted December 28, 1846, judges of the supreme court were not elected until December, 1848. Meanwhile, Judge Mason resigned in June, 1847, and Judge Williams was appointed chief justice in his place, and John F. Kinney appointed in place of Williams. The latter was elected chief justice of (the state supreme court. December 7, 1848, his term expiring January 15, 1855, thus occupying the bench of the supreme court of territory and state for about seventeen years.

"Judge Williams was somewhat under the middle height, well proportioned, very active and vigorous, of excellent address, a pleasing countenance, a lively temper and disposition. I cannot describe the man better than by adopting the language of Judge Springer, who knew him much longer and much more intimately than I did. He writes of him: 'Though not a first-rate lawyer, he was a good judge—popular as a man and as a judge. He had wonderful versatility of gifts outside of the judgeship. He and my friend, Edward H. Thomas, were the life and center of attraction in the social circles of evenings when on court circuits. They were both adepts in vocal and instrumental music. The Judge was at home on almost any instrument, banjo, drum, fiddle, as well as those of a higher grade. Mr. Thomas' specialty, though good on other instruments, was the flute, on which he had few equals anywhere. The Judge's gift as a comedian would keep a crowd in a roar; as a ventriloquist he would sometimes astonish the natives. He was withal a consistent member of the Methodist church, and a warm friend of temperance. His kindness and respect shown to the younger members of the bar were notable and appreciated, and he had a trait sometimes seen in great men, that of not caring for money.' What a pleasant companion he must have been to the members of the bar in the cramped quarters of log taverns when traveling round the circuit and wrestling all day with the dry and musty mysteries of the law, the anxieties of clients, or the palpable evasions ot reluctant witnesses."

After the admission of Iowa into the Union as a state, the first general assembly on February 4, 1847, established the judicial districts of the state, and Louisa county was placed in the first district, composed of the counties of Lee, Des Moines, Washington, Henry and Louisa. By the act approved January 15, 1849, Washington county was detached from the first district and attached to the fourth district. The judges of the first district under the constitution of 1846 were as follows: George H. Williams, of Lee county, elected April 5, 1847; Ralph P. Lowe, of Lee county, elected April 6, 1852, resigned in 1857; John W. Rankin, of Lee county, appointed by the governor, April 9, 1857, qualified April 13. 1857; Thomas W. Clagett, of Lee county, elected April 6, 1857, qualified May 16, 1857.

Judge George H. Williams, the first judge of this district after Iowa became a state, was born in Columbia county, New York, March 23, 1823, and was admitted to the bar in 1844, and immediately removed to Lee county, in this state. He was elected district judge at the early age of twenty-four years and continued ...

pg 242

... upon the bench until 1852. In this latter year he was a democratic presidential elector and cast his vote for Franklin Pierce, who in 1853 appointed him chief justice of the territory of Oregon. Judge Williams served six years in the United States senate from the state of Oregon, his service ending in 1871. At this time he was a republican. In 1872 he was appointed attorney general by President Grant, and in the following year he was nominated by President Grant for chief justice of the United States supreme court. This nomination, however, was withdrawn before it was acted upon. Judge Williams resigned the position of attorney general in 1875 and resumed the practice of law. His subsequent history we are not familiar with.

Judge Ralph P. Lowe was born in Ohio in 1808, and located at Muscatine (then Bloomington) in 1838. He was a member of the first constitutional convention of Iowa in 1844. In 1849 he removed to Keokuk and was our district judge from 1852 to 1857, in which latter year he was elected governor of the state to succeed Governor James W. Grimes. In 1861 he was elected a member of the supreme court and served in that capacity for eight years. After this he returned to the practice of law at Keokuk, but being employed by the state to prosecute its claims growing out of the Des Moines river land grant, and other grants, and some claims growing out of the rebellion, Judge Lowe removed to Washington City, where he resided until his death, which occurred December 22, 1883. Judge Lowe was a lawyer of ability and a man of good character, and he had the good will and esteem of the members of the bar and all others who came in contact with the courts.

John W. Rankin was born in Warren, Ohio, in June, 1823, and came to Keokuk, Iowa, in 1848, and became a member of the firm of Curtis, Rankin & Love. The firm later became Rankin, Miller & Enster, Mr. Miller being Justice Samuel F. Miller of the United States supreme court. Judge Rankin was later associated with George W. McCrary in the firm of Rankin & McCrary. Mr. McCrary served this district four terms as a representative in congress, and was afterward secretary of war in the cabinet of President Hayes, and later became United States circuit judge for the eighth circuit. Judge Rankin served as district judge of this district for but a little more than thirty days, but he was one of the greatest lawyers who ever sat upon this bench. He was also at one time state senator from Lee county and was colonel of the Seventeenth Regiment of Iowa Infantry in the war of the rebellion. He was one of the leaders in the republican party of Iowa in the early history and was a delegate to the convention which nominated Lincoln for president. He died July 10, 1869.

Judge Thomas W. Clagett was a Marylander, born in August, 1815, and came to Keokuk in 1850. He is said to have been a wealthy man when he came here— a fact which distinguishes him from nearly all the other early members of the bar. We quote again from Mr. Frazee, the following concerning Judge Gagett:

"He was elected judge, April 6, 1857, and qualified May 25th following. He continued to occupy the bench for the term fixed by the statute, and was a candidate for reelection, in opposition to Judge Springer. One of the peculiarities of that election was the stump canvass of the district by Judge Clagett in his own behalf. His occupancy of the bench was not pleasant or in any way satisfactory to the bar. He proved to be impatient, hasty, irascible, rash and, as was gener- ...

pg 243

... ally thought, quite tyrannous and unendurable. He seemed determined not only to preside as judge, but also to conduct both sides of every litigated case according to his passing whims. Sometimes he would not listen to argument; often he would limit the time to be occupied in the trial and in argument to jury and often was offensive in his remarks to the bar at large or to a particular member. On one occasion what he said to M. D. Browning was so insulting that the latter, always polite and considerate, was so incensed that he assaulted the judge on the bench and probably would have seriously injured him had not others interposed to prevent it. Clagett imposed a penalty of twenty-four hours in the county jail on Mr. Browning, to which every member of the bar then present attended him, leaving the judge alone in his glory, who went on calling cases and dismissing them for want of prosecution, as a punishment for the evident condemnation of his conduct. At another time he required bail of one hundred thousand dollars for a trifling misdemeanor, simply because some one, not concerned in the matter, chanced to observe in his hearing that the defendant could procure bail to that amount, which in fact I think he did without leaving the court room. I mention these facts not to derogate from the real worth of Judge Clagett as a man, but as one more illustrative of the fact that some natures, 'clothed with a little brief authority, play such fantastic tricks before high heaven as make the angels weep.' Off the bench the judge was as pleasant, sociable and agreeable as any one need to be. He was quite attractive in conversation, kind and courteous to all, liberal and generous to others, a beloved neighbor, a sincere and helpful friend; and, as that nestor of the Keokuk bar, Daniel F. Miller, writes me, 'a very, very honest and kind hearted man, for whom he entertained great personal friendship.' After leaving the bench, the Judge represented Lee county in the general assembly of 1861-62, and next became proprietor and editor of the Keokuk Constitution, a democratic newspaper which, under his administration during the rebellion, was one of the most ultra of its northern advocates. There was an army hospital at Keokuk and at times considerable numbers of sick and convalescing soldiers there; and so violent was Clagett, and so much did he incense the 'boys in blue' that they one night riotously assailed the Constitution office and tossed the whole concern into the Mississippi river. There was an official investigation of this violation of law, resulting in censure of the officers then in command, but not in the discovery of the actual offenders. The judge, after an interval, resumed publication of his paper with no change of opinion or spirit, throughout the war and afterwards until his death, April 14, 1876, at which time he had pretty much exhausted all his means and earnings."

A great many anecdotes have been told concerning Judge Clagett and his court in this county. One of them, for which we do not vouch, is that in a noted criminal case he instructed the jury that it was incumbent on the defendant to establish his innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. The other story illustrates the wit of Henry O'Connor. Mr. O'Connor was engaged in making an argument to the jury in a case in which Judge Clagett had already made a ruling adverse to O'Connor's client, and one which was likely to have an important bearing on the verdict of the jury. During the course of his argument, O'Connor repeatedly alluded to the court's ruling, giving the jury plainly to understand that the court was wrong. Judge Clagett would call O'Connor to order whenever ...

pg 244

... he referred to the court's ruling, but O'Connor persisted in criticizing it so often and so pointedly that Clagert finally said to him: "Mr. O'Connor, I must insist that you observe the respect due from the bar to the bench," whereat Mr. O'Connor blandly replied: "Your honor, I have the most profound respect for the bench —no matter who occupies it."

After the adoption of the constitution of 1857, the seventh general assembly by an act approved March 20, 1858, established the judicial districts of the state. The act declares that the first district shall be composed of the counties of Lee, Henry, Des Moines and Lucas. The word Lucas, however, is a mistake, it having been intended for Louisa, as Lucas county was by the act placed in the second district.

The judges of the first district under the constitution of 1857 were as follows: Francis Springer, Louisa county, elected October 12, 1858, re-elected October 14. 1862, and October 9, 1866, resigned in November, 1869; Joshua Tracy, Des Moines county, appointed November 6, 1869, elected October I1, 1870, resigned in April, 1874; P. Henry Smyth, Des Moines county, appointed April 25, 1874, resigned in September, 1874; Thomas W. Newman, Des Moines county, appointed September 25, 1874, elected October 13, 1874; A. H. Stutsman, Des Moines county, elected October 8, 1878, re-elected November 7, 1882.

It is proper to insert here something about the circuit court, because, when in 1886 this county was put into the sixth district, the circuit court was by the same act abolished. By an act of the general assembly, approved April 6, 1868, the judicial districts of the state were divided into two circuits called first and second, and a circuit judge provided for each of these circuits. The first district was divided by making Lee and Henry counties, the first circuit, and Des Moines and Louisa counties, the second circuit. Judge John B. Drayer, of Henry county, was elected as the first judge for the first circuit, and Judge John C. Power, of Burlington, was elected the first judge of the second circuit. This arrangement continued for about four years, when by the act approved March 29 1872 the two circuits in each judicial district were consolidated and the judge who presided in the first circuit of each district was designated to preside in the circuit court of the entire district. Judge Drayer thus became the sole circuit judge in the district. This latter arrangement continued also for about four years when, on March 6, 1878, some of the districts were subdivided again into two circuits, the first district being one of these. The governor appointed Charles H. Phelps of Burlington, judge of the second circuit, which was composed of Des Moines and Louisa counties, as it had been before. In 1884 the constitution was so amended as to authorize the legislature to re-organize the judicial districts of the state and to increase the number of judges; consequently, the twenty-first general assembly, by an act approved April 10, 1886, abolished the circuit courts and provided for a general re-organization of the district courts, and of the judicial districts of the state, to take effect January 1. 1887. Under this act Louisa county was placed in the sixth judicial district, composed of the counties of Jasper. Poweshiek, Mahaska, Keokuk, Washington and Louisa. This district, while it continued, was sometimes called the "shoestring" district. At the time of the passage of the act last referred to, Judge W. R. Lewis, ...

pg 245

... of Poweshiek county, was a circuit judge, whose term had not yet expired and the people of his county were very indignant that he had been legislated out of office. Judge Lewis. though always a republican, consented to become an independent candidate for district judge in the new district. The republican candidates were J. Kelley Johnson, of Oskaloosa, David Ryan, of Newton, and Lewis A. Riley, of Wapello. We have not the official returns of this election at hand, but our recollection is that the entire population of Poweshiek county voted for Judge Lewis, with the result that his vote was largely in excess of that of either Judge Ryan or Mr. Riley. In the official count it appeared that Judge Ryan had a few more votes than Mr. Riley, and our first judges under the new arrangement were Johnson, Lewis and Ryan.

J. Kelley Johnson was elected November 2, 1886, re-elected November 4, 1890, died in 1894; David Ryan, elected November 2, 1886, re-elected November 4, 1890, and November 6, 1894; W. R. Lewis, elected November 2, 1886; A. R. Dewey, elected November 4, 1890, re-elected November 6, 1894; Ben McCoy, elected November 6, 1894, to fill vacancy caused by the death of J. Kelley Johnson.

Another change was made by the twenty-sixth general assembly by the passage of the act approved April 20, 1896, creating the twentieth judicial district. This act provided that the counties of Des Moines, Henry and Louisa should constitute the twentieth judicial district and be entitled to two judges. The act also provided that there should be elected at the general election in 1896, and every four years thereafter, one district judge who should enter upon the discharge of his duties on the 1st of January following, and that there should be elected in the twentieth district at the general election in the year 1898, and every four years thereafter, one district judge who should enter upon the discharge of the duties of his office on the 1st of January, 1899, etc. The act also declared that the office of one of the district judges of the twentieth judicial district as defined by the act, was vacant, and authorized the governor to fill the vacancy, and the appointee to hold his office until the first day of January, 1897.

Under this act we have had but two judges—Judge W. S. Withrow, of Mount Pleasant, and Judge James D. Smyth, of Burlington. At the time this act was passed Judge Smyth was judge of the first district and had been since 1891.

A sketch of Judge Springer will be found elsewhere in this work. Judge Springer was succeeded by Joshua Tracy, who held the office of district attorney from 1859 to 1869, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Judge Springer.

Joshua Tracy was born in Belmont county, Ohio, July 12, 1825. He settled in Burlington in 1850 and studied in the office of M. D. Browning. In 1852 he was admitted to the bar and formed a partnership with Judge Browning. He held the office of city solicitor in Burlington and represented Des Moines county in the house of representatives of the fifth general assembly. From 1863 until his appointment to the bench, he was in partnership with T. W. Newman, Esq. When he resigned his position as judge in 1874, he resumed the practice of law in partnership with his son, Samuel K. Tracy. Judge Tracy was at one time president of the Burlington & Southwestern railroad, and was for several years general solicitor of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota Railway Company, and the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway Company. In 1880 he was elected president of the latter company, which position he held until his death on the 18th of May, 1884. Judge Tracy was a large, well pro- ...

pg 246

... portioned man, having a pleasant expression and an excellent face. He was a man of great force of character and great natural ability, and was successful both at the bar and on the bench. The members of the Des Moines county bar paid him this handsome tribute:

"By his death, the bar of this county and the state has been deprived of one of its oldest and most eminent members, whose career was marked by ceaseless energy, great executive ability and eminent success, and society one of so noble a nature as could neither forget a favor nor harbor a revenge."

Judge P. Henry Smyth was born in Washington county, Virginia, March 10, 1829. He was admitted to the bar in Henry county, Tennessee, in 1849. and commenced the practice of law the following year at Cleveland, Ohio. In 1857 he located in Burlington, practicing law in partnership with his brother-inlaw, Davis J. Crocker, and a little later in partnership with Henry Strong, and still later, in partnership with his son, James D., our present district judge. Judge P. Henry Smyth resigned too soon after his appointment to make a record on the bench, but he was a man of great force and ability, and one of the leaders of the Burlington bar. He had an elegant property at Cleveland, Ohio, where he spent his last years.

Judge Smyth was succeeded by Judge Thomas W. Newman, who was appointed by Governor Carpenter in the fall of 1874. Judge Newman was a Marylander, born January 23, 1829, admitted to the bar in 1850 and came at once to Burlington, where he began the practice in partnership with W. S. Graff. He was elected county judge of Des Moines county in 1855 and served until 1857. He was a captain in the Eleventh United States Infantry and served for about two years at Burlington and in Indianapolis as a mustering officer, when he resigned and re-entered the practice of law in Burlington. Judge Newman took an active interest in the Burlington University and was connected with it from the time of its organization until his death. Judge Newman was a very attractive and agreeable man and took a high rank among the lawyers and judges of the state. He died at Burlington, November 2, 1892.

Our next district judge was Abraham H. Stutsman, who was born in Morgan county, Indiana, December 21, 1840. In 1861 he enlisted at Burlington in the First Iowa Cavalry and served until 1864, when he was discharged on account of a wound received in the summer of 1863, which resulted in the loss of his left arm. After this he read law in the office of Judge J. M. Beck, at Fort Madison, and was admitted to the bar at Keokuk in 1865. In the following year he located at Chariton, in Lucas county, then took a course in the law school of the Michigan University, from which he graduated in 1868. He was a member of the thirteenth general assembly from Lucas county. He returned to Burlington in 1870 and held the office of city solicitor and police judge for a number of years. He was elected district judge in 1878 and re-elected in 1882. After the close of his last term he re-entered the practice of law at Burlington, but in a short time removed to California, where he now resides.

We take the following notice of Judge Drayer from Mr. Frazee's work, heretofore referred to:

"John Breitenback Drayer, the first judge of the first circuit, was born at Lebanon, Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, April 7, 1823. His parents were German. His father, a watchmaker, with his family removed to Hamilton, Ohio, when John B. was about ten years old, and there the latter learned and ...

pg 247

... followed his father's trade until he reached the age of nineteen years, at which time he began the study of law in the office of Hon. John Woods, of Hamilton, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1844, upon reaching his majority, quite early enough for a young man who had enjoyed only a very limited common school education. He commenced practice at Hamilton and there remained for about eight years, then removing to Eaton, Preble county, Ohio, where he continued to practice until March, 1858, at which time he became a resident of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Soon after this removal he became a member of the Iowa conference of the Methodist Episcopal church as a minister and preached for about three years, at the end of which period he entered the military service of the United States as captain of Company H, Thirtieth Volunteer Infantry, serving as such for about seven months, when he was compelled to resign because of bad health. On his return to Mt. Pleasant, he was elected county judge in the fall of 1863, and retained that position until the 1st of January, 1869, when, having been elected judge of the circuit court at the preceding general election, in 1868, he entered upon the duties of that office. He was re-elected in 1872 and again in 1876, holding the position until January 1st, 1881, when he was succeeded by Judge Jeffries. Judge Drayer was first married to Miss Mary M. Withrow, of Butler county, Ohio, January 5, 1847; secondly, to Miss Mary J. McCable, of Eaton, Ohio, February 4, 1854; and thirdly, to Mrs. Amanda Baird, of Butler county, Ohio, December 24, 1872. He died at Seven Miles Station, Butler county, Ohio, in the fall of 1891, leaving one daughter, Mrs. Anna Sullivan, who still resides in Mt. Pleasant."

Although Judge Drayer was the first judge of the first circuit of the first judicial district, he was not the first circuit judge to hold court in Louisa county. Judge John C. Power was the first judge of the second circuit in this district, and hence, our first circuit judge. He was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio, April 18, 1841, and was admitted to the bar at Burlington in October, 1862. He was a gallant soldier, having been a member of the Eighth Iowa Cavalry, and was captain of Company D. In the fall of 1865 he was elected county judge of Des Moines county and was re-elected in 1867. He resigned this position to accept the place of circuit judge. After serving one term he resumed the practice of law, first as a member of the firm of Power & Antrobus, next as a member of the firm of Power & Huston, and later formed a partnership with his son under the name of Power & Power, of which firm he is still the active head. Judge Power is a man of most exemplary character, and has an enviable record both at the bar and on the bench.

Charles H. Phelps was born at Middlebury, Vermont, in 1825. He first taught school for a short time and then studied law in the office of Senator Seymour, of Middlebury, who was a relative of his father. He was admitted to the bar in. 1849 anl^ m tne following year began the practice of law at Burlington in partnership with Judge J. C. Hall. In a year or two he entered into partnership with Henry W. Starr and later was a partner of General S. L. Glasgow. In 1878 he was appointed by Governor Gear circuit judge and held that office until 1886, when he was elected district judge of the first district as then constituted, which consisted of the counties of Lee and Des Moines. Judge Phelps' service in this county on the bench was entirely as circuit judge. Prior to his appointment to the bench he had considerable practice in the courts ...

pg 248

... of Louisa county. He was not an industrious man nor a hard student, but he had a wonderful legal mind, and a memory which never failed him.

We have not the material at hand from which to write an adequate sketch of the judges who presided over our court while this county was a part of the sixth judicial district. Of our present judges, James D. Smyth and W. S. Withrow, we need only say that the people of Louisa county would not exchange them for any other two judges in the state. While no one could tell from the judicial conduct of these gentlemen that they had any politics whatever, it is nevertheless true that Judge Smyth is a democrat in politics, and Judge Withrow is a republican, and for some years it has been the unwritten law in this district that when the democrats nominate Judge Smyth the republicans will make no nomination against him, and that when the republicans nominate Judge W7ithrow, the democrats will run no candidate against him. In this way the people of the twentieth district have eliminated politics and partisanship from the judicial office.

DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.

From January 1, 1859, to January 1, 1887, we had district attorneys, and the list of the men who occupied that office in this district is as follows: Joshua Tracy, Des Moines county, elected October 12, 1858, re-elected October 14, 1862, and October 9, 1866, resigned in November, 1869; George B. Corkhill. Henry county, appointed November 6, 1869; D. N. Sprague, Lee county, elected October 11, 1870, re-elected October 13, 1874; T. A. Bereman, Henry county, elected October 8, 1878; D. N. Sprague, Lee county, elected November 7, 1882.

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