What became of this "true bill" is not recorded; but it is handed down in legend that Doe never paid the twenty dollars, and that Doctor Russ' "true bill" was for many years passed round the judicial circuits of the state, always forming subject for the leisure moments of modern lawyers.

FIRST REGULAR SESSION, 1833.

The first session of the circuit court, held in Jackson county June 3, 1833, was presided over by Hon. William A. Fletcher, chief justice, with William R. DeLand as assistant judge. The commission of Judge Fletcher was issued by Gov. G. B. Porter April 23, 1833. This document appointed him judge of the circuit court in and for the territory of Michigan for four years, or during the pleasure of the governor of the territory for the time being.

David Keyes, the sheriff, read his commission, together with that appointing W. R. DeLand assistant judge. As the latter named has been so intimately connected with the county, it is well to give a copy of his commission:

GEORGE B. PORTER, Governor in and over the Territory of Michigan.

To all to whom these presents may come, greeting:-Know ye that, reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity and ability of William R. De Land, I have nominated and, by and with the advice and consent of the legislative council of the said territory, have appointed him an associate judge of the circuit court for the county of Jackson; and I do hereby authorize and empower him to execute and fulfill the duties of that office according to law, to have and to hold the said office with all the rights, privileges and emoluments thereunto belonging, during the pleasure of the governor of the said territory for the time being.

The date of this document is contemporary with that of Judge Fletcher's commis

sion.

A commission, under the same date, was issued to Hiram Thompson, appointing him associate judge, though he did not take his seat until the November session.

The first grand jury was composed of the following persons; Solomon Brill, Lemuel Blackman, Russell Blackman, William H. Pease, Wesley W. Laverty, Elizur B. Chapman. Ezekiel T. Critchet, John Laverty, Zenas Fuller, Jotham Wood, William T. Worden, Charles Herrington, William D. Thompson, Samuel Wing, Hiram Austin, Nathan Russ, Abel Bennett, William Pool, Nathan Z. Lattimore, Caleb Chapel, Ira Keliogg, Timothy Williams, James Jacobs. Soloman Brill was appointed foreman and authorized by the court to administer oaths to such witnesses as might appear for examination.

The petit panel comprised the following: Nathaniel Bayn, Moses Bayn, George Woodworth, Edward Morrell, Aaron Evans, John Daniels, Josephus Case, Alexander Laverty, Isaac Carrier, Joseph Sutton, John Eames, Ethan Allen, James Fifield, Jeremiah Marvin, David Riley, Orrin Gregory, Leander McCain, Sanford Marsh, William Worth, Stephen Rowan, Martin Flint, Major D. Mills.

The court orderd that Olney Hawkins, of Ann Arbor, be appointed district attorney. Those preliminaries being completed, the case of Millington against Marsh and others was called, when Attorney Hawkins moved for judgment of nonsuit, owing to some informality in the procedure of plaintiff; but the motion was overruled at the adjourned meeting, June 4, and the plaintiff allowed to file a declaration within thirty days.

A nonsuit ensued in the case of Thomas Godfrey vs. Daniel T. Warner by consent of

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The little difficulty between Harvey Austin and Calvin H. Swain was simply settled by the failure of defendant to appear before the court, or, as Dr. Samson Stoddard, then county clerk, reported, "The defendant being three times solemnly called comes not, but makes default."

The United States against William Savacool was almost a cause celebre. Savacool was indicted for larceny. He denied the crime, not wisely, but too well, and was requested to sojourn for three months in the hospitable jail of Washtenaw county, and instructed to stay there until the costs of the prosecution be paid. All this kindness, resulting from the stealing of property valued at two dollars and twenty-five cents, was fully appreciated by the prisoner. The jurors who tried this terrible man were Sanford Marsh, William Worth, George Woodworth, Orrin Gregory, David Riley, Aaron Eames, Moses Boyn, Isaac Curier, Major D. Mills, Jeremiah Marvin, Edward Morrell and Martin Flint.

SECOND SESSION, 1833.

The session of November, 1833, was held under President Judge Fletcher, with Associate Judges Hiram Thompson and W. R. DeLand. Alexander Laverty proclaimed the court open, after which the commission of Judge H. Thompson was read. The grand jury panel was called, when the folowing answered to their names: O. Gregory, J. O. Gregory, J. Wood, A. F. Bolton, J. Valentine, J. S. Love, A. B. Gibson, O. Russ, A. Tripp, J. McConnell, A. Eames, C. M. Chappel, N. Russ, N. G. Lattimer, J. Tunnicliff, J. Daniels, C. Harrington, C. Harrington, Jr., I. N. Swain,

H. Otis, C. Smith. Abraham F. Bolton was appointed foreman, and directed to swear any witnesses who might come up for examination, and O. Hawkins, district attorney, pro

tem.

Attorneys E. W. Morgan and Jewett appeared at this session, but the docket was so light, showing only five unimportant cases, that they manifested their disapproval by leaving the village the evening of the first day's sitting. On the 12th a jury appeared, consisting of S. Brill, R. Davis, J. S. Fifield, Lyman Pease, Hiram Austin, J. Marvin, A. Barrett, W. Laverty, J. Laverty, Sam. Roberts, Stephen Rowan, M. Bean, N. Bean, E. B. Chapman, J. Case, R. Updike, Ed. Morrell, J. T. Durand, J. Wellman, M. D. Mills. This jury was immediately discharged, as there did not appear any necessity for its further attendance, and subsequently the court adjourned without naming a day for the next session.

A session of the court was held June 5, 1834, with the judges named hitherto presiding. A jury was impaneled, and the docket disposed of. A most peculiar pair of cases, those of Nehemiah O. Sergeant against Daniel T. Warner, and Abel Millington vs. Marsh and Warner, seem to have occupied almost the entire attention of the court from its first session in 1833. Sometimes Warner would appear, and sometimes an attachment would be issued against him, but the celebrated defendant still considered himself at liberty to do exactly what he pleased. Attorney C. Clelland appeared for Warner at this session, and succeeded in causing the attachment against him to be discharged.

Ogden B. Laverty was not so successful.

He was committed to Washtenaw jail for ten days, and fined ten dollars for offending the state by battering a citizen.

At the session of December, Edward Mundy, an Illinois attorney, was examined by attorneys G. W. Jewett, James Kingsley and E. W. Morgan, took the usual oath, and was admitted an attorney and counsellor at iaw. William J. Moody was admitted in a similar manner.

The judgment in the shocking case of Solomon Brill, a man guilty of a crime that sent a thrill of indignation through the hearts of the people, that of an attempt at rape, was rather too lenient to be just. The second jury impanelled to try the prisoner found him guilty, when the court delivered the following sentence: "It is charged and adjudged by the court, that the said Solomon Brill be and he is hereby sentenced to be imprisoned by solitary imprisonment, and at hard labor, for a period of three years from, and including, this day, and that he pay a fine of one hundred dollars, together with the costs of this prosecution, and that he stand committed until the sentence be complied with. And it being made to appear to the court that there is no gaol in the county of Jackson aforesaid, suitable for the confinement of said convict, it is therefore ordered by the court that this sentence be executed by the imprisonment of the said Solomon Brill in the gaol of the county of Washtenaw, in the territory of Michigan; and the sheriff of the said county of Jackson is hereby authorized to convey the body of the said Solomon Brill into the said county of Washtenaw, and to deliver it to the keeper of the gaol in the said county of Washtenaw."

W. J. Moody appeared for the defendant,

btu all that could be done by him was to obtain leave to indorse the writ in the case nunc pro tunc, and cause the first jury to disagree. Solomon was plaintiff in a number of cases, which were now discontinued.

The session of 1835 was principally engaged in investigating a number of civil cases. The case of the State against E. M. Barnes for assault and battery, resulted in a fine of two dollars. The charge against. him of selling spirituous liquors to Indians was postponed to the December session, the defendant and his surety, Samuel Quigley, giving bonds in the sum of fifty dollars each. W. J. Moody was appointed district attorney, Jotham Wood, foreman of jury, and A. Laverty, crier.

The session of 1836 was opened under the presidency of Judge Fletcher and Associate Judge DeLand. Harvey Austin was elected foreman of the jury, and Phineas Farrand was appointed prosecuting attorney. The trials of civil cases were proceeded with without ceremony, and disposed of and the court, having admitted Leander Chapman as an attorney and counsellor at law, adjourned June 8.

The circuit court of 1837 was declared open by the newly appointed crier, Joseph C. Watkins, April 25. Hon. William A. Fletcher, Ethan Allen and David Adams presided. A jury was impaneled and, Moses Benedict being elected chairman, the examination of the docket was proceeded with. W. D. Thompson's name appeared as clerk, and the criminal prosecutions were carried out under the name of the State of Michigan vs. the United States as formerly.

The president and associate judges, with foreman of jury, Townsend E. Gidley, as

sembled April 24, 1838. The organization of the session was followed by the motion of William J. Moody to admit David Johnson as an attorney and counsellor at law. The aspirant for legal honors having been examined by Phineas Farrand, P. Morgan and George Miles, and having taken the usual oath, was duly admitted to the bar of Jackson county. The people of the State of Michigan against Jira Payne, Paul B. Ring, Abel F. Fitch, C. H. McClure, Phineas Farrand, in which the latter were charged with conspiracy this year, and a commission appointed to take depositions of witnesses in the several cases.

The October session proved a feast for the few professors of law permitted to practice at the bar of Jackson county. Every Every adult in the county appeared upon the uncertain ground where angels fear to tread, until at length the very hard-working agriculturist sued the studious lawyer, and of course did not receive any reward beyond the experience gained during the progress of his

case.

JACKSON'S EARLY LAWYERS.

The first lawyer to settle in Jackson county was Phineas Farrand. The family moved into Leoni in 1833, and Mr. Farrand divided his time for two years between teaching school and reading law. He was admitted as shown and soon became an important factor in the new community, but he was not long the only one. He was followed by Charles Cleland, Edward Munday and William J. Moody. In 1835 a young lawyer named Zephaniah Platt came from Poughkeepsie, New York, with Townsend E. Gidly. He was a very brilliant young man, and was appointed attorney general by Governor Woodbridge in 1839. In 1844 he returned to New York and served four years as attorney general of that state. Later there were added to the Jackson bar Leander Chapman, David Johnson, Fairchild Farrand, D. C. Chapin, Samuel Kimball and Augustus D. Hawley, and in 1838 the legal staff of the county numbered ten regular practitioners.

The village continued to grow slowly, tue organization of the courts and county government giving new interest and zest to county affairs. During 1834 a new and better bridge was built over the river on Main street, and a bridge was also built on Ganson

street.

In February, 1834, the first calamity by fire visited the town. The log house of John Wellman, situated at the forks of Main street and what is now Wildwood avenue, was destroyed, and their oldest daughter, Permilia, about twelve years old, was burned to death. Several others of the family were badly

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burned, including Mrs. Wellman, but they all recovered. Mrs. Wellman was a tailoress, and was the first to follow that vocation in Jackson.

During this year, by order of the territorial council, several new state roads were laid out, one from Clinton to Adrian to connect with the old Clinton road to Jackson; cne from Jackson to Jonesville, a hamlet that had sprung up on the Chicago turnpike; another from Jackson to Howell, and still another from Jackson to Corrunna. A road was also authorized from the Fitch tavern on the Clinton road west to Spring Arbor. These, with the numerous township roads, opened new avenues for settlers, and as early as 1836 nearly all the available lands of the county 'had been pre-empted or located.

In the village one of the principal signs of progress was the building of meeting houses. The Methodists had pre-empted the school house. The Baptists organized a church and began preparations for building. They had it prepared to raise, but failed in two or three attempts to get men enough tô raise the ponderous frame. At length Uncle Abram Wing undertook the job of putting up the frame. He advertised a "raising bee" for Sunday, and added to his notice the words, "plenty of good whiskey." It is needless to remark that the building was raised promptly as advertised. It stood on the ground now occupied by the ruins of the old Hibbard House. The Presbyterians and Congregationalists started this year to build a "session house," for church and school purposes, on Courtland street, on a lot donated by Perrine & Van Dorn. It was completed that fall, but after Mr. Perrine died, in 1835, it was found the land was mortgaged, and they were to be sold out. In the winter the

trustees consulted with Lawyer Farrand and Judge DeLand, and they advised them to haul their building off and put it on another lot. So one Saturday afternoon the church gathered, with about forty yoke of oxen, two long timbers for skids, pried up the building, put under the timbers, hitched on the cattle and the session house took a sleigh ride to a lot they had purchased on Jackson street, and the building stands there today, just south of the Baptist church. A lot of the men were sued for trespass in removing the building, but no damages were ever awarded or collected.

DEATH OF LEMUEL BLACKMAN.

The two or three foregoing years had been extremely sickly. The rapid clearing up of the country had brought on fever and ague, chill fevers, and all kinds of malarial diseases. There had been several deaths, but now came one that brought universal sorrow.

From the earliest days of the settlement one of the most active, hopeful and helpful citizens had been "Uncle" Lemuel Blackman, as he was known to everybody. He was a man quite well along in years, but very vigorous and active for his age, and none thought of his dying. He was taken down with malarial fever, and in a few days succumbed to the disease. The death of Mr. Blackman cast a gloom over the whole county, and no pioneer has ever passed away who was more missed and mourned.

The death of Mr. Blackman was soon followed by that of William E. Perrine, another man who stood high in the esteem of of the settlers and who also was greatly missed.

Among the men who came here in 1835 and who became prominent in the after af