Justices of the Peace
Local justice as it was practiced in frontier communities was the essence of self government. Within the five mile square area of Sharon Township, each justice of the peace represented the law.
These men were not trained lawyers, but respected citizens elected for a three year term. For decades, the following Worthington men served the entire township: Kilbourne, Morrison, Griswold, Case, Pinney, Cochran, Carpenter, Stansbery, Maynard, Buttles, Abbott, Little, Goodrich, Cowles, Ladd.
Each justice of the peace received a commission from the governor "authorizing and empowering him to execute and discharge all and singular the duties appertaining to said office." Under Ohio's first constitution these powers extended from performing marriages to sending debtors to prison. But much of the job was routine: dealing with stray animals, administering oaths, and collecting debts.
Early newspapers are full of advertisements for stray animals, and justices of the peace had the power to sell them if their owner could not be found. But first they had to be appraised, advertised, and certified to the county clerk of courts. In a typical example, before Ezra Griswold on January 6, 1818, A. Buttles and Hector Kilbourn described an estray mare colt taken up by Jacob Fairfield, as "a light bay about fourteen hands high, the near hind foot white, with a white spot on the near side, two years old last spring - apprised at Twenty-three dollars and fifty cents..." Appraisal fees were small, but the justices had patronage power.
War brought a significant increase in the number of military oaths to be administered. Between April 23 and 29, 1813, Griswold swore and certified, at a charge of 25 cents each, eight soldiers recruited by Lt. Arora Buttles.
In communities without banks, credit depended upon personal notes, usually co-signed for security. In 1815, Jere. Boardman and Asa Gillet signed a note, "Nine months after date we or either of us promise to pay to the administrator of the estate of Eliphalet Barker the sum of seven dollars & 28 1/4 cents - with interest value received."
Notes were frequently transferred by one person to another much as bonds or mortgages are now sold by one financial institution to another. James Russell was summoned to account for "a note of hand signed by James Russell & James Russell Jr. . . payable to Alexander Morrison Jr. as Administrator of Jonas Hammonds estate."
No wonder credit became confused and debts difficult to collect. In 1811, Orin Case requested a property attachment, swearing that he was in danger of losing his debt against Joseph Pelton "as he has left this State."
In 1813, Lincoln Goodale requested that Griswold "put in suit immediately & collect as soon as the Law will admit" a note against John Huffnan, itemized at $21.83 worth of merchandise from his store in Columbus.
Hearings were typically held in the justice's home, with a constable delivering the official summons. For example, "To any Constable of Sharon Township Greetings, You are hereby commanded to summon Glass Cochran to appear before me at my dwelling house in said Sharon on the 3rd day of December next at 11 o'clock A.M. to answer William Robe in a debt of twenty two dollars. ..."
Defendants frequently admitted their debt and made arrangements to pay. For example, James Russell, Jr. "confessed Judgment against himself in favor of Thomas Palmer for the sum of twenty eight dollars & eighty eight cents debt & 12 1/2 cents cost Before me."
Simple judgments were relatively inexpensive, but in more complicated cases justices of the peace could subpoena witnesses and require that they testify. Griswold did so in 1811, summoning James Adams and Bela M. Tuller to testify in a suit the State of Ohio brought against Alexander Basset.
The cost of a full local hearing is dramatized in an execution by Zophar Topping vs. Isaac Bartlet for a $3.25 debt. Charges were itemized as follows: "Summons 12 1/2, 3 subpoenas 30, Service of one 10, Judgment 25, 3 witnesses 1.50, Swearing to witnesses 24, bail bond 25, Transcript 25, Execution 25, Interest 10, Discharge 10." The total, including debt, was $6.86 1/2, more than double the cost of the original debt. Perhaps this case was a matter of principle.
Justices of the peace utilized blank legal forms in executing judgments, and the language was as threatening as the power it represented. A judgment for "nine dollars & three cents debt & 12 1/2 cent cost" is typical. It directed any constable "... you are therefore hereby commanded to Levy said debt & costs, & costs that may accrue, & the interest from the date of Judgment of the goods & chattels of said Russel by distress & sale thereof returning the surplus if any to said Russel, but for want of such property take said Russel & convey him to the Jail of the county there to be detained untill said debts & costs shall be paid or otherwise legally discharged."
There is ample evidence that property was frequently sold to pay debts. An 1810 receipt from Constable Joel Buttles reports collecting $10.62 by sale of property in a judgment against Benjamin Chapman. Plaintiff Reuben Carpenter was paid $9.66 and Buttles' fee was $1.03.
In 1814, Constable John Whitford sold a wagon for $12.25 in a judgment against David Scott. An 1817 receipt from Samuel Ellison to G.H. Griswold acknowledged payment "to my full satisfaction for one set of blacksmith tools which he bid off at Auction which tools were taken on an execution from me."
Debtors usually possessed sufficient property to satisfy creditors, but a receipt from David Justice shows incarceration was not an idle threat. "Received November the 1st A.D. 1815 of John Goodridge Jr. Constable of Sharon Township the body of James Ashby into the Jail of Franklin County... on a commitment There by Ezra Griswold Justice of the Peace of Sharon Township."
Despite the fact that Worthington was too small to attract trained lawyers, justice of the peace records reveal a tangled web of credit and debt, and a society which resorted to litigations over what now seem to be relatively small amounts.
One has to respect citizens who accepted the responsibility of serving as justice of the peace. It was an honor, but one which carried potential enmity from neighbors upon whom judgment was served.
SOURCES:
Early Sharon Township Justices of the Peace and their terms of office are recorded by William T. Martin, History of Franklin County (Columbus: Follet, Foster & Co., 1858) pp. 82-85.
Examples of justice of the peace commissions are Arora Buttles' 1819 commission from Governor Brown and 1822 commission from Governor Trimble in the Buttles Family Papers, MSS 951, Ohio Historical Society.
Record of Griswold swearing soldiers in April 1813 is in Ezra Griswold's 7th Day Book. All other examples of actions of justices of the peace are taken from privately held Griswold family papers. Photocopies are at the Worthington Historical Society, Griswold Papers 1810-1820.
This article is one of a series of 31 articles originally published in the Worthington News and then in the book "Probing Worthington's Heritage" copyright by Robert and Jennie McCormick. The 1990 book is out of print, but copies are available at the libraries of the Worthington Historical Society and the Old Worthington Library. Much of this content was later included in the book "New Englanders on the Ohio Frontier" which can be purchased at our Gift Shop.
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