Women Are Drawn Here As Jurors

The Register-Leader, September 22, 1921

For the first time in the history of Washington County women have been chosen to serve as grand and petit jurors during the fall term of court. This became known Thursday morning when jurors for the October term were drawn from the wheel by Judge David H. Thomas of the common pleas court. One woman, Laura Best, of 705 Second Street, will be included in the fifteen grand jurors who meet at the court house on Monday, October 10, at 10 A.M., to consider cases that have accumulated during the past four months.

Among the twenty petit jurors drawn to serve during the October term, four women are listed. They are Maud Edwards, 317 Sixth Street; Lillian Kerr of Newport; Anna Williams, 605 Montgomery Street; and Fannie Mindling of Cutler. The petit jurors have been summoned to meet on Monday, October 17.

The names of the newly enfranchised voters were first placed in the jury wheel when the annual selection was made by the jury commissioners in June. The drawing of grand and petit jurors Thursday was the first held since that time and hence women will sit in the jury box for the first time during the October term.

The following grand and petit jurors were drawn:

Grand Jurors - F. F. Graham, Vincent; E. H. Basim, Vincent; H. H. Hening, Dart; E. G. Day, Wingetts Run; Laura Best, 705 Second Street, Marietta; H. G. Chamberlain, Marietta R.D. 3; James R. Heyler, Marietta; Benjamine Wagner, Waterford; E. E. Reed, Marietta R.D. 5; C. T. Engle, Lowell; H. N. Smithson, Macksburg; William W. McAtie, Lowell; George White, Archers Fork; E. J. Morris, Cutler; and G. W. Pierce, of Waterford.

Petit Jurors - Maud Edwards, 317 Sixth Street, Marietta; J. Frank Coffman, Marietta R.D. 5; Lillian Kerr, Newport; F. E. Goddard, Cutler; Ray Beagle, 213 Montgomery Street, Marietta; William M. Hart, Muskingum Drive; W. F. Hale, Macksburg; Anna Williams, 605 Montgomery Street, Marietta; H. B. Goddard, 726 Second Street, Marietta; Lewis Hockinberry, Lower Salem; L. E. Miller, Marietta; F. A. West, Marietta; O. S. Creighton, 805 Fifth Street, Marietta; Fannie Mindling, Cutler; Clement Schilling, Marietta R.D.; O. Breckenridge, Watertown; E. J. Schott, Marietta R.D. 5; Frank Bartlett, Marietta R.D. 3; Frank McGirr, Little Hocking, and H. J. Tresch, of Fleming.

The Register-Leader, October 18, 1921:

Two Women Take Places in Jury Box

Women occupied two places in the jury box for the first time in Washington County, Tuesday morning, when petit jurors of the October term assembled at nine o'clock. One woman was excused from the panel selected for hearing of the first case on the court calendar while a fourth, drawn for duty as a petit juror, was excused by Judge David H. Thomas and did not report.

The two women who have drawn the honor of sitting on the first mixed jury of the county are Maude Edwards, 317 Sixth Street, Marietta, and Fannie Mindling, of Cutler. Both were impanneled for hearing the case of Edward F. Herrlinger against The Spectrum Crayon Corporation, the first on the October calendar.

Under a challenge of one of the attorneys in the case, Anna Williams, 605 Montgomery Street, who had been tentatively selected, was excused.

The fourth woman drawn for duty as a petit juror but who was excused from reporting Tuesday was Mrs. Lillian Kerr of Newport. Mrs. Kerr is the mother of four children, all under ten years of age, and her request that she be excused was granted.

In the case of Herrlinger and Company against the Spectrum Crayon Company it is alleged by the plaintiff that on April 16, 1920, the defendant placed its order with the plaintiff for 1 ton of chip board at the rate of $110.00 a ton. This was changed on June 14, 1920, the plaintiff asserts, to consist of two tons. On November, it is alleged, 4625 pounds of chip board were delivered, total cost of the consignment being $254.38. No part of this sum has ever been paid, the plaintiff asserts, and asks judgment for the amount, together with interest from December 4, 1920.

Attorney T. J. Summers is counsel for the plaintiff in the case while Attorney R. M. Noll represents the defendant.

In addition to the two women in the panel, jurors hearing the case are J. Frank Coffman, F. E. Goddard, Ray M. Beagle, Lewis Hockinberry, L. E. Miller, F. A. West, Clement Schilling, E. J. Schott, Frank Bartlett, and H. J. Tresch.

County Jail Empty Only Once in Last Four Years

 Marietta Daily Times, December 14, 1922

Seventeen prisoners took breakfast on Thursday morning at the county jail and immediately thereafter John W. Britton, a bootlegger, was given a new pair of shoes and his liberty. He kept his agreement to leave Washington county and took the first train for Chillicothe where his home is located. Britton was arrested in a raid staged at Reno one night last summer and had served an even four months in jail. He was sent up by Mayor Sandford.

Eight of the seventeen men and boys in jail on Thursday morning are doing time for violating the different provisions of the Crabbe act and a majority of them have been sent over from the court of the mayor. Fred "Blinky" Hendershot is the "dean of the prison," having been confined for almost six months. He was sent up by Mayor Sandford on the 26th of June and his time will not be up until some time in February, if he serves it all.

When Sheriff Roberts came into office four years ago, the outgoing sheriff turned over to him seventeen prisoners. Within a few days that number was reduced and on Thanksgiving Day of 1920 the prison was entirely empty and the big doors stood open. They continued that way for two weeks, during which Sheriff Roberts spent several days at his Waterford township farm. Then the juvenile court committed a delinquent boy to the jail and it is recalled that he made a vain attempt to destroy the courthouse and jail by setting fire to his bed.

From that until the present time the prison never has been empty and the number of prisoners has fluctuated, dropping to a bare half-dozen, then climbing back to seventeen. About a year go, on the day that Sheriff Roberts took a party of eight boys to the Mansfield reformatory, the number of prisoners on the books mounted to eighteen, but several of them did not enter the jail, merely coming to the sheriff's office to surrender. Therefore, seventeen is the high record for the past four years - a number that has been twice attained.

Attempt to Swindle

 Marietta Intelligencer, January 2, 1845

A few days since a stranger called at the Grocery of one of our citizens, Mr. Lindner, and pretending to have a large quantity of counterfeit coin in his possession, offered to dispose of it at a low rate. Mr. Lindner, wishing to detect the rogue, affected to be willing to buy the coin, and an agreement was that the transfer should be made of $250 of good money for $500 of the counterfeit at Belpre in this County on a subsequent day.

Mr. Lindner after advising with Justice Browning of Belpre agreed that a seizure should be made of the Coin and the villain, in the very act of transfer. He was accordingly arrested with an accomplice, and a box, which was in appearance like a box filled with specie, was discovered hidden under the bank of the Ohio. On examination however it appeared that instead of being filled with counterfeit money, it contained nothing but some old iron and sand. The plot undoubtedly was to induce Mr. Lindner to bring a large sum of money, and if possible persuade him to buy the box as containing the specie, but if he should refuse to do so, to take his money from him by force. 

They were committed to jail, but being brought up before the Associate Judges of the Common Pleas were discharged - they having done nothing which under the defective provisions of our Laws is punishable.

The oldest of the two calls himself Simmons - sometimes James and at others William. He is a man of some 50 years of age, with prominent features, and of a rather repulsive appearance. The younger is about 25 or 30, and calls himself Joseph Wright. We advise people to be cautious, as they will probably attempt to swindle in other places. They represent themselves to be from Guernsey County.

Property Transferred

The Marietta Daily Times, February 3, 1912

Marietta Township gets part of old Muskingum

Formal transfer of an irregular strip of territory, formerly in Muskingum Township, to Marietta Township, was made in the office of County Auditor Burton this morning, and hereafter the property will be taxed as a part of Marietta Township.

The boundary line was changed when it was found some time ago that Muskingum Township had never been legally constituted, and steps were taken to remedy this condition. The property affected is on the edge of Marietta city and consists of 43 parcels of land. The people living there will now vote at Mile Run and Fultonburg instead of in Muskingum as they have done heretofore.

 

The Gazette

Marietta Gazette, August 13, 1836

We appeal to the good feelings of our patrons and the public in relation to the imperfections of the present and of late numbers of the Gazette. We hope shortly to be freed from the embarrassments which have beset the press for some weeks and to go on our way as journalists in such manner as to give general satisfaction.

We ask the public to suspend their judgment in relation to any rumors which may have been afloat as to the course intended to be pursued. We do not propose any change - we intend to advocate the cause of the Whigs - to make our paper a repository of news and of articles conducive to instruction and improvement. The history of events - of interesting events - so far as may be, shall be placed before our readers; no injury shall knowingly be done, or justice withheld from, any man, or any class of men.

Rumors, it is understood, have gone abroad that this paper was to become the organ of Abolitionism. This is entirely incorrect. Even if we agreed altogether with the Abolitionists, which is by no means the case, we should deem it a departure from our engagements thus to change the character of the paper.

But in consequence of mobs and rumors of mobs and threatening of mobs, the printers of this paper have become too much alarmed to print, on their responsibility, even the history, as detailed today, of the late transactions at Cincinnati. They are now freed from that responsibility. There is surely something wrong in the moral atmosphere, when peaceable citizens - printers especially - dread to state things as they are. We feel confident, however, that no such fears need here be apprehended. We surely are not so far degenerated from the spirit of our ancestors as tamely to surrender the freedom of speech and of the press.

The Gazette will hereafter be published by C. & W. D. Emerson upon the principles of the Declaration of rights of the Constitution of Ohio:

"Sec. 1. That all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain national, inherent and unalienable rights; amongst which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety." * * *

"Sec. 6. That the printing presses shall be open and free to every citizen who wishes to examine the proceedings of any branch of government, or the conduct of any public officer; and no law shall ever restrain the right thereof. Every citizen has an indisputable right to speak, write or print, upon any subject, as he thinks proper, being liable for the abuse of that liberty."

[This article refers to the Pro-Slavery Riots in Cincinnati in 1836, during which the office and press of "The Philanthropist," an Abolitionist newspaper, were attacked. More information is available at: http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/mobhp.html]

Will Become Custodians of School Lands

The Marietta Daily Times, May 18, 1917

Township trustees, clerks and treasurers are to become custodians after June 29 of school and ministerial lands held in trust by the State of Ohio for the support of schools and advancement of religion within the townships.

On that date an act of the general assembly, passed last March goes into effect. This act provides for the better administration of the school and ministerial land held in trust by the state to codify the laws relating thereto, to safeguard both the trust and the rights of the citizens of Ohio holding leasehold or fee simple titles to those lands, and make more certain the rights and obligations of the state and the lessees.

Charles W. Withum, Muskingum township clerk, is in receipt of a letter from Auditor of State A. V. Donahey calling attention to the act, which is designed to bring up-to-date records of this department, neglected for a generation.

In the first act of Congress, passed in 1785, providing for the survey and sale of lands in the Northwest Territory, it was especially provided that Section No. 16 in every township should be set aside for the support of schools within the township.

When the Ohio Company obtained its grant of lands these sections were excluded from the grant.

When the Ohio convention met pursuant to the act of congress providing for the organization of the state of Ohio, it specially asked Congress in relation to these lands, that every township receive its section and that in the special districts, land equal to one-thirty-sixth part of the district be set aside for the support of the schools, and that all these lands be vested in the state as trustee. By acts of congress of 1802 and 1803, this was done. Hence today the state holds these lands as trustees.

Until 1826 those lands could not be sold. Prior to that year leases were granted for terms of years varying from one year to perpetual terms. These old leasing acts in respect to perpetual leases all provided for annual rents of six per cent upon the valuation of the lands. Revaluations were required to be made, usually every 33 or 35 years.

Administration of these lands was originally placed in the hands of officers of the original surveyed townships. Because the lines of the original surveyed townships have been largely broken p in the formation of our present civil townships, and because of local indifference or lack of knowledge of the conditions of the trust, boards of trustees and treasurers have been but infrequently elected. So there has been practically no administration of these lands in most of the townships.

Rents have accumulated, in some instances for fifty years, ands have been impoverished, timber has been cut, oil and coal  have been taken without remuneration to the trust. Lands have been sold and only partly paid for, and outstanding interest has been defaulted.

Schools of nearly every county in the state have suffered, some of them to the extent that they are now financially embarrassed when they should have a surplus in their treasuries.

The new code is designed to give a better administration to the generous gift of the nation to the schools of Ohio, to secure the rights of citizens now occupying these lands, and to bring to the schools the revenues to which they are entitled.

The lands in Washington county are bringing a revenue of from $1800 to $1700 annually.

Aliens Will Be Sent Home

 Marietta Daily Times, June 24, 1919

Columbus, O. - Aliens in state institutions will be shipped. The first vanguard of a wholesale exodus of undesirables will probably start within a month.

The board of administration wired today to the government immigration bureau for 150 sets of deportation papers.

Investigation of 20 state institutions disclosed that there are aliens of 59 different nationalities being supported out of state funds.

In the fiscal year ending Saturday, 976 out of 2,662 persons admitted to state institutions were foreign born. Germans, Russians and Hungarians lead in the order named, the investigation showed.

The campaign to rid the state of undesirable wards will not end with the deportation of the first 150, President Riddle of the board of administration said today. "We will clean them all out. We need room at the institutions for American citizens," he declared.

Dr. C. H. Smith Arrested Third Time for Same Offense, Let Go

The Marietta Daily Times, January 6, 1908

The question as to whether or not Dr. Charles H. Smith of this city is a fugitive from Justice from the State of West Virginia was before Judge Jones of the Court of Common Pleas, in chambers, Saturday afternoon, and was continued until this afternoon.

Dr. Smith was indicted in Pleasants County, W. Va., in September last, for performing a criminal operation upon one Gertie Brown, from the effects of which she died. The Grand Jury indicted Smith and J. J. Powell for murder.

Several attempts had been made to get Smith over the river but they had failed and this time a requisition for him as a fugitive from justice had been made by the Governor of West Virginia upon the Governor of Ohio and had been honored by the latter.

Smith was arrested on the requisition and, as is required by our statutes, was taken before Judge Jones by the Sheriff for a hearing.

Prosecuting Attorney Follett appeared for the State and W. S. Hancock for the defense. The Prosecuting Attorney, and Sheriff of Pleasants County and Attorney Craig, of St. Marys, were at the hearing.

The question at issue was whether or not Smith was a fugitive from justice from the State of West Virginia, as it was not claimed the operation was performed in that state. Under their laws the crime was committed where the death occurred, they claiming that Smith was constructively present and that he is therefore a fugitive from justice.

At 4 o'clock Saturday the hearing was continued until this afternoon.

* * *

At 1 o'clock this afternoon the hearing was resumed. 

In his testimony Smith had stated that he was in Parkersburg in October last, which was since the finding of the indictment, and that raised the question as to whether or not going into a state and coming out again made him a fugitive from justice in that state.

Prosecutor Follett submitted what authorities they had found which he admitted were few.

Judge Jones discharged Smith holding that he must have been actually and bodily, and not constructively, in the state when the crime was committed and must have since fled into another state in order to be a fugitive from justice, within the meaning of our statute.

He quoted a number of decisions favoring that view of the case.

This hearing has nothing whatever to do with Smith's guilt or innocence of the crime as it was soley on jurisdiction as to whether or not he could be extradited on the charge under our laws.

The Pleasants County authorities claim they have the dying statement of the girl and other evidence to convict if they can get the accused into their custody.

What their next move to get him will be they did not disclose. 

Curfew Whistle to Sound Again

 The Register-Leader, July 16, 1920

After a silence of several years the hills surrounding the city are again to reverberate at 9 o'clock each evening the sounds of the city curfew, for following action taken by council Thursday evening at their regular meeting, the safety director will get the old whistle used for several years to warn small boys and girls from the streets at an early hour, in shape for further service.

Councilman Lorentz started the discussion which brought action. He asked if there weren't a curfew ordinance in existence. "If there is," he said, "I would like to see it enforced."

Mr. Lorentz was informed by the city solicitor that there is such an ordinance. Nearly all of the councilmen seemed in favor of the blowing of the curfew.

The curfew was done away with before, said one councilman, because it kept the people in Williamstown awake. Another councilman told the story of a West Side family. Every evening, just as they got the baby to sleep, the whistle blew, woke him up and it took another two hours to quiet him again. The man of the house thought that the whistle was sounded by a steamboat and was about to make a complaint.

Safety Director Bedillion told council that he would have the big whistle working again in short order. 

The blowing of the curfew was stopped some years back because it was said sentiment seemed to be against it and because of the difficulty experienced in enforcing the ordinance.

Illicit Distillery Suppressed

The Marietta Register, April 11, 1872

On Friday last, April 5th, Messrs. Woodbridge and Barber, Government Revenue officers, took possession of a small distillery in Waterford Township, together with two stills, and from 25 to 50 gallons of whisky, manufactured and unmanufactured. The distillery belonged to a Mr. Hiram Beach, and he has been running it contrary to law since early last fall. 

The penalty for a violation of the revenue law in respect to the distillation of liquors is very severe, including the confiscation of the machinery, buildings and property on which the distillery is located, and in extreme cases confinement in the penitentiary. The still, liquor, &c. were stored with Devol & Bowen, Beverly, and the officers are awaiting instructions from Washington. The property will probably be sold.

Four Boys To Be Whipped Soundly By Court Order

 The Marietta Daily Times, November 20, 1922

Four Norwood boys, Charles and Cecil Duff, Homer Hendricks and Samuel Brown, are to be whipped soundly before they are put to bed tonight, and the fathers of the youngsters will administer the lacings under direction of Judge Schramm of the juvenile court. This is being done in an effort to make the boys quit swearing and fighting.

Representatives of the three families, who appear to have engaged in a neighborhood fuss on East Greene Street, were before Judge Schramm on Monday morning, and the facts showed that the two Duff boys have been fighting the Hendricks and Brown boys, and the four, by their fistic encounters and profane talk, have become an unbearable nuisance at the Norwood school and along the streets between the school house and their homes.

An extended effort on the part of Judge Schramm was necessary to straighten out the tangle, but the facts finally were related by the boys. Then promises were exacted and the applications of hickory oil were prescribed. The fathers were cautioned to make the whippings sound ones and they promised to obey orders.

The fact was developed during the hearing that conditions at the Duff home are not what they should be. There are eight children in the family and while the father is a hard worker, his wages won't keep things going and want stalks about the place. The court will endeavor to assist the family, not only in providing the necessities of life, but in the management of their home.

Mayor Makes Proclamation

 Marietta Daily Times, November 16, 1918

At this morning's session of court, Mayor Crawford issued the following statements:

My experience as police judge of this city has fully convinced me that by far the greater portion of juvenile delinquency and criminality is attributable, directly or indirectly, to mothers and fathers who have the insane idea that the sooner they get their children from "under foot" the better, and that is is the duty of the juvenile judge, the police officer, or perchance the mayor, to train up their families for them. The parent animal does better than this for it not only raises and trains its own young, but stoutly resists outside interference.

I have issued orders that the Curfew ordinance of this city be enforced to the letter, and further that all boys under eighteen years of age who make a practice of loafing and hanging around public pool and billiard halls with a cigarette in their mouth are to be summarily arrested and brought before me.

The workings of the recent health order has shown me that nearly all of our "gutter snipe" drunkenness comes from "bar drinking" and "treating," so that I have also given orders that the anti-treating ordinance is the only remedy just now available and will be strictly enforced.

I feel that the laws and ordinances upon which the above orders are based are just and wholesome, and I believe that every law-abiding and self-respecting man and woman in Marietta will rally to the support of our police force in carrying them into execution.

Marriage License Record Indicates Much Perjury

The Marietta Daily Times, January 1, 1930

A new high record was hung up by the Washington County marriage license bureau at the probate court for 1929 when a total of 508 licenses to wed were issued. The previous high mark, 418, was made in 1928. The increase in marriage licenses issued here is plainly out of proportion to population figures of Washington County and persons interested may ask that the grand jury investigate with reference to breaking up perjury that is believed to be frequently committed by applicants.

The latest instance of this sort occurred on Tuesday, closing day of the year, when Frank H. Flaig and Miss Thelma E. Dulin, both of Parkersburg, W. Va., procured licenses. Both gave their sworn residence as Belpre. Flaig swore he was 22 years of age and Miss Dulin swore that she is 21.

An hour after the license was issued, Frank F. Flaig, the father of the bridegroom, appealed to the Marietta police to help find the couple, declaring that his son had stolen the family automobile in which to make a runaway marriage trip.

 The father not only exploded the idea that the couple were residents of Belpre, but he declared his boy is 20 years old and his bride is only 19. He said they never had resided in Washington County. He returned to Parkersburg declaring he would take steps to have the marriage annulled.

Dozens of West Virginia couples are believed to have sworn falsely in probate court in the past year. The majority of them have given Belpre as the bride's home. Within the last few years more "Belpre girls" than ever lived in that town have procured licenses in Washington County.

June and August vied for high honors at the marriage license bureau, with the Augustus Caesar month excelling by one. August brought 71 couples and June 70. The monthly record for the year follows: January, 21; February, 36; March, 29; April, 37; May, 30; June, 70; July, 30; August, 71; September, 41; October, 50; November, 43; December, 50.

 

Bootleggers Soaked With Heavy Fines

 Marietta Daily Journal, June 4, 1917

What appears to have been a general system for furnishing liquor to thirsty throats on Sunday is thought to have been broken up this morning by the arrest of six men, all charged with having sold and furnished liquor on the Sabbath day without a license. The men arrested were Ananias Archer, Charles Cutshaw, Ben Wiley, Harry Armstrong, Fred Audibert, and Ed Coulter.

The "system" was uncovered by agents of the state liquor license board who have been working on the case for some time. The agents are said to have visited the vicinity in which the operations were thought to be carried on Sunday afternoon and had no trouble in securing a pint of whiskey.

From appearances it looks as though Audibert was "the man behind the throne." When approached by the license agents, the men arrested are said to have readily consented to secure the whiskey and were but a short time in doing so. The store house in which the supply was kept appears to have been the cellar of the Audibert home on Fourth Street.

The hearing of arrested men is being held this afternoon. Ananias Archer was the first one arraigned, he pleading guilty to both the charge of selling on Sunday and selling without a license. He was given a fine, the minimum in both cases, of $225 and costs, with commitment to the county jail until paid.

Ben Wiley [Benjamin Wylie] was next arraigned. He was still under the influence of liquor and in his testimony to the court used some very strong and rather effective language. He at first refused to tell where he secured the liquor he had obtained for the agent and claimed that he did not sell the liquor to him. He later admitted, however, that he had been given a dollar and had returned with a pint of whiskey, which they took up an alley and "both had a drink." He was given the same fine as Archer and taken to the county jail to serve it out.

Charles Cutshaw was arraigned on the charge of furnishing liquor. He pleaded guilty, but on the advice of C. C. Middleswart, local member of the county liquor license board, he was treated leniently by the court, because of the fact that he has an aged mother dependent on him for support. His fine of $200 was suspended during good behavior.

The fine of $225 of Harry Armstrong, colored, arraigned on two charges, was also suspended during good behavior, but he was made to pay the costs of the case. It is understood that Armstrong had been disposing of the liquor at the hotel where he is employed.

Audibert, when arraigned, pleaded not guilty to both charges placed against him. His hearing was held before Mayor Hovey. Audibert claimed that the whisky found in his home Sunday, some 12 pints of it being found in the cellar, was given to him Saturday night by a bartender, whose identity he refused to disclose, to be kept over Sunday.

Audibert has been suspected of bootlegging for some time and his tale did not ring true. His steadfast refusal to tell the name of the one giving him the whiskey made the case strong against him and he was found guilty, being fined $225 and costs, with commitment until paid.

Ed Coulter was the last of the six to be arraigned. He also pleaded not guilty, but little trouble was had in proving the charge against him. He was given $225 and costs with commitment until paid.

Township Trustees and Orphan Children

The Marietta Intelligencer, June 3, 1847

As the excitement growing out of a recent case involving the rights of a certain orphan child in Marietta has subsided, it will be profitable to examine the principles involved in that case. Not only every orphan child - but every person in the community who may have the orphan children of his poor friends or relations cast upon him - is deeply interested in them. I will avoid allusion as far as possible to the unpleasant circumstances attending the case and state only such facts as are necessary to a correct understanding of it.

The parents of the orphan died nearly at the same time in Cincinnati about five years ago. They were both members of a Presbyterian church in that city and on their death-beds committed their children to the care of two or three benevolent ladies, who were members of the same church - and requested that they might be placed in families where they would be instructed in the religious principles and faith of their parents.

One of these children was sent to a family in Marietta. As it was supposed there would probably be some property left for the children on the settlement of their father's estate, the person to whom the child was sent took guardianship of her. Afterwards ascertaining there would be no property for her, the letter of guardianship was not renewed when she became 12 years old. Her only surviving grandparent, her uncles, and elder married sister, earnestly requested the friend in whose care she was placed to keep her in their family till she became 18. Both they and the child objected to her being bound to service. She has remained in this family to her own entire satisfaction and that of her relations and friends till the present time.

About the last of April, in consequence of some unpleasant reports which had been put in circulation, the Township Trustees interfered, and without allowing a hearing to her friends, without communicating with the relations, and against the strongly expressed wishes of the child herself (now supposed to be nearly 16 years old), bound her in service as a domestic in a respectable Methodist family in Marietta. 

The child refused to go with her new master, and as her friend and protector did not compel her to leave him, she was brought before one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas on a write of Habeas Corpus. The return on the writ stated the principal facts above mentioned and also that the child was and had been furnished with everything necessary and proper for her. On these facts, the plaintiffs claimed that the child was a destitute orphan and that the Trustees were authorized to take her from her friend and bind her to service, and so the Court decided.

The orphan still refused to leave her old friends, and her master finding he could not take her with him without violence, told her to return to them and remain there till he called for her, and there she still is, contented and happy.

In reviewing this case, it appears to be the law of Ohio:

1st. That an orphan child without property or some responsible person liable for its support is a destitute orphan, no matter how well treated and provided for it may be, nor how able and willing its friends may be to continue to provide for it.

2nd. That the Township Trustees may take such child from its friends without notice and without assigning any reason for their conduct and bind it to the most menial service allowed by the laws of Ohio, contrary to the wishes of the child and of all its relations and friends, and while they keep within the letter of the law, there is no redress. The court must ask it, if of the proper age, to choose its own guardian, but the Trustees may give it to whom they please as its master.

3rd. It follows also that the guardian of such child (he not being responsible for its support, where it has no property) can have no such control over it, except by binding it out himself, as to prevent it from being taken from his custody and bound out by the Trustees against his will.

4th. That the want of property, according to the laws of Ohio, creates distinctions and disabilities to which the poor must submit, but which cannot affect the children of the rich. it is not the probability that the child may become chargeable that justifies the interference of the Trustees, but the fact that it is poor.

I have no complaint to make of the decision of the court or of the law in this case. I have no doubt, not only that the Judge decided it according to his honest convictions of duty, but that he would have gladly allowed the injured parties a hearing if he had believed it to be in his power. If the fathers and mothers of Ohio who have nothing to give their children but education, industry, and virtue, are content to leave them, when they died, to the operations of such laws, it is not for me to complain. There is a strong, and it is a natural and proper repugnance in a parent to binding his child in service to another, but no poor man can safely leave his children without thus providing for them.

There is also an unwillingness on the part of many excellent persons, who would gladly receive and bring up poor orphans, to take them as indented servants, but they can have no assurance of being able to keep them without it.

The poor orphans adopted and educated as their own children by rich relatives and friends must be bound as servants or the Township Trustees may take them away at their pleasure.

The pious orphan young men and women who are pursuing their studies in our colleges and seminaries, under the patronage of education societies and benevolent individuals, may be taken at any time by the same authority and bound out till of age to any service the laws allow.

And the large number of the orphan children of the poor, who are earning an honest living in the families of their brothers and friends, or gaining an education by their own unaided efforts and talents, are not safe a moment from this same degrading control. But it is not necessary to multiply cases of the iniquitous operation of such laws, or of the danger of trusting such power in the hands of even the best men. They will readily occur to everyone.

The Court of Common Pleas

Marietta Intelligencer, November 23, 1843 

Commenced its session in this place on the 13th inst. Present, a full bench, viz: Hon. John E. Hanna, President Judge; Hon. John Cotton, Associate Judge; Hon. O. R. Loring, Associate Judge, Hon. Ebenezer Gates, Associate Judge.

The time of the court was almost exclusively occupied in the trial of criminals. Not a single case upon the civil docket was given to the jury. The following trials were had:

State of Ohio vs. Peter Noyes. Indictment for uttering and publishing counterfeit bank notes. Plea, not guilty. Parish & Buell, counsel for prisoner; Barber, Prosecuting Attorney; and A. S. Nye, for the State. This case was submitted to the jury without argument. Verdict, guilty. Sentence, ten years imprisonment in the Penitentiary.

State vs. William Hughes. Indictment for rape upon the body of Mrs. Elizabeth Figgins, in Adams township, in July last. [Betsey Perry married Thomas Figgins, Washington County, Ohio, March 2, 1832.] Plea, not guilty. Verdict, guilty. Sentence, twelve years in Penitentiary. Barber & Goddard for State; Parish & Buell for prisoner.

State vs. Aaron Carle, George Carle, and Joseph Carle. Indictment for aiding, abetting, and procuring the commission of rape by William Hughes. Plea, not guilty. Verdict, as to Aaron Carle, guilty. Sentence, three years in Penitentiary. George and Joseph Carle, not guilty. Counsel same as in case of Hughes.

State vs. Aaron Carle, George Carle, and Joseph Carle. Indictment against Aaron Carle for rape, and against George Carle and Joseph Carle for aiding and abetting in the commission of said rape. Plea, not guilty. Verdict, guilty. Sentence for Aaron Carle, twelve years in Penitentiary; George and Joseph (sons of Aaron), each three years. Counsel, same as in the case of Hughes.

State vs. George Wilson. Indictment for rape upon Sarah Perry in Adams township in December 1840. Plea, not guilty. After the examination of numerous witnesses, this case was submitted to the jury without argument. Verdict, guilty. Sentence, fifteen years i Penitentiary. Barber & A. S. Nye for State; Parish, Buell and Tompkins for prisoner.

The five prisoners first named were all residents of Morgan County. The one last named was originally from Morgan, but lived in this county at the time the offence was committed, escaped from the officer soon after his examination before the magistrate, and has since lived in Meigs County, until about three months ago, when on a visit to his friends in Morgan County, he was arrested by the officers of this county, and has since been confined in jail here. Not one of them was properly a citizen of Washington County. It will be noticed that the aggregate time for which these prisoners were sentenced is fifty-eight years.

Joseph F. Barnett

The Marietta Register, January 11, 1894

Joseph F. Barnett of Barlow, Ohio, was born in old Virginia in February, 1828, consequently he is almost sixty-six years old. He remained there until the year 1845, when he emigrated to Ohio.

He says: "In that State I followed working on a farm for a livelihood. The year previous to our departure we raised two hundred and fifty bushels of wheat, which we had to haul in wagons to market a distance of forty miles. We could not sell our wheat until we had shown a certificate or order from a white man to another white man that knew the wheat was raised by us. That was done to prevent slaves from stealing wheat from their masters and selling it to free persons. 

"When we decided to leave the State, the first thing to be done was to obtain free papers. When that was done we thought, as a matter of course, everything was all right. Our company consisted of nine persons. We were frequently stopped on our way to show our free papers. 

"We reached Parkersburg on the morning of the 27th of October, 1845. Before crossing the river to Ohio we again had to show our free papers and have our wagons searched. When we crossed the river it was almost dark and the whole crowd had but 75 cents, therefore, we were compelled to stop traveling.

"We stopped at Daniel Goss', now T. B. Hibbard's home. We then and there put up our tent of canvas. While there many persons came through curiosity to see us. We had been there but a few days when each of us was called upon to give a bond of $1000, that we would not become a township or county charge, and if we failed to comply, we would have to return to Virginia.

"We expected we would have to return. I went to Daniel Goss and told him of our predicament. He was a good old Christian and belonged to the M. E. church, to which I also belonged. Brother Goss was a good abolitionist. He said to me, 'Get in my buggy and go with me to Belpre,' which I did. Col. Jack Stone, Capt. Putnam, Francis Stone, and Mr. Browning signed our bonds. 

"We then rented a farm of Mr. Beck and went to work. We lived on Beck's farm two years and then moved close to where I now live. My father, brother and myself purchased 100 acres of land - 33-1/3 acres each - and I did not have a cent to pay thereon. I gained the confidence of good men, of whom Charles and Mark Green were my closest friends, they having helped me with a note of $500." 

Mr. Barnett, by being industrious, economical, and prompt, has accumulated quite a fortune. He is the owner of 700 acres of land where he lives in East Barlow. The improvements on his farm are good. He occupies one of the finest residences in Barlow and his barns and outbuildings are numerous. There are four dwellings on his premises. His farm is well stocked with horses and cattle, sheep and hogs. He has for many years made a specialty of the sheep business. I think I can safely say that no man, colored or white, in Barlow Township, has made and saved as much as Mr. Barnett. Still he has met with many misfortunes, and at this time he suffers intensely with a chronic ailment. He has been married three times. His last wife is still living. His first wife was a daughter of the late Ambrose Asbury, the father of five ministers of the gospel. They are all fluent speakers. I have been informed that Mr. Barnett is out of debt.

In conclusion, I will relate an incident I am reminded of by Mr. Barnett's bond business, and his mentioning the name of Sheriff Mark Green. Once upon a time a large family consisting of twelve persons, who were exceedingly poor, had been time and again ordered to leave the townships in which they lived, or give bond that they would not become a township charge. Finally they moved to Marietta, which was at the time Mr. Green was Sheriff of this county, and the painful duty of ordering them to leave or give bond devolved upon him. The Sheriff had learned what a time they had had moving from place to place, and no doubt he had compassion on them, as he was a very kind and humane man. He addressed the head of this ungodly family as follows: "Old man, I have come to order you off of the face of God's green earth."

John W. Tuttle

An Ordinance Regulating the Burying Ground in Marietta

The Marietta Gazette, July 2, 1837

Section 1. Be it ordained by the Town Council of the Town of Marietta, That the Town Council shall cause to be re-surveyed and laid out as far as practicable, the Burying lots in the Mound Burying Ground, in such manner as shall most nearly conform to the original survey of the lots, and make such improvements as to save all the ground that can consistently with economy and convenience be occupied for graves. It shall be the duty of the Surveyor to cause to be marked the lines of all the lots, by stakes or trenches, and to record a plot of the same in his book of town surveys, and also to furnish the sexton with a copy of the same.

Section 2. Be it further ordained, That there shall be appointed by the Town Council annually, a Sexton, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the Burying Ground under the direction of the Town Council, and superintend the same, record the selections of burying lots taken up by families, and the repository of individuals; attend and assist at funerals, and locate the graves of individuals and strangers so as not to interfere with the family burying lots. He shall cause all graves to be dug as near each other as possible without opening the previously dug graves; shall place the head of all graves on the head line of the lots, so as to observe an uniformity in all the lines of graves, and shall cause them to be dug five feet in depth, and shall have charge of all the funeral apparatus belonging to the Town; and it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to enter upon the burying ground to dig a grave or graves, until it shall have been previously located by the Sexton (under the penalty of forfeiting two dollars for the use of the town, and all necessary expenses for removing any corpse that may be buried contrary to the law) excepting those who have already lots set off to them. And when the term of office of the Sexton shall expire, he shall deliver up all the books and papers relating thereto to his successor in office.

Section 3. Be it further ordained, That if any person shall pull down, break, or injure the fences which enclose the burying ground, or any part of the same, or any palings, wall, or other enclosures of the burying lots, or shall cut, girdle or otherwise injure any tree situated in said burying ground, or shall break, injure or destroy any monument therein, he, she, or they so offending shall for each offence, forfeit a sum not exceeding fifty dollars, to be collected according to law.

Section 4. Be it further ordained, That in case of the absence or sickness of the Sexton it shall be lawful for him to appoint a deputy to be approved of by the Mayor, who shall be governed by the same laws and rules as are made for the Sexton, and he shall continue in office during the absence or inability of the Sexton. The fees of the Sexton for his services shall be regulated by a resolution of the Town Council.

Section 5. Be it further ordained, That that part of the burying ground which has been heretofore reserved, with the exception of one tier of lots already in part occupied by graves, thence all in front of said tier of lots to Fifth street, be, and the same is still reserved and shall not be taken up and occupied for graves.

Section 6. Be it further ordained, That no person be hereafter permitted to enclose a space for a family burying place without paying a reasonable compensation for the same.

Section 7. Be it further ordained, That the friends of strangers wishing to have their friends buried in the ground, pay two dollars for each grave for that privilege; and that all others be buried in the old burying ground; and that all persons residing without the limits of the township of Marietta be placed upon the same footing as strangers.

Section 8. Be it further ordained, That the ordinance passed the 8th day of August 1831, with all other ordinances on the subject of the burying ground and the same hereby are repealed.

This ordinance to take effect and be in force from and after the 1st day of August, 1837.

Passed June 28, 1837.

R. Prentiss, Chairman.

Thomas W. Ewart, Recorder.

Belpre's Bathing Beach

Marietta Daily Times, December 10, 1924

Belpre's bathing beach, which commanded a lot of attention in the local courts a year or so ago, came back on Wednesday for a further airing when two damage suits were called in common pleas court. More than $11,000 are involved in the two cases and they were to be tried to a jury starting on Wednesday afternoon.

Joseph Keever of Parkersburg, and Carl Medley of Hockingport, are the plaintiffs, and each sues for $5,150 in damages for false arrest and destruction of business.

Last year, it is declared, the two plaintiffs obtained a license from the town council of Belpre to operate a bathing beach on the dead end of East Fifth Street in Belpre. Earl Harbart and Samuel and Rosa Woomer had them arrested and ejected from the premises on the charge that they were trespassing on private property. The plaintiffs were bound over to the grand jury and the latter failed to indict.

As soon as the case thus collapsed, suits for damages were instituted and the outcome will be of general interest in Belpre and the southern end of the county, as all of the parties are well known. Judge C. M. Showalter of Parkersburg, and Asa E. Ward of Marietta, are counsel for the plaintiffs, while the defendants are represented by C. T. O'Neill and J. C. Brenan of Marietta, and William Beard of Parkersburg.

Still Monkeying With Father Time

Sunday Morning Observer, November 24, 1918

Marietta time ordered pushed ahead an hour on anniversary of standard time.

New boundaries moving time zones were announced in Washington last week by the Interstate Commerce Commission. They become effective at 2 A.M., January 1. Previously they had been fixed by cross country railroads or local laws.

The announcement came on the anniversary of the adoption of Standard Time eighteen years ago, for it was on November 18, 1883, that Standard Time was born in the United States. Since then he has been adopted and given a permanent home in nearly all the civilized countries of the earth.

Before the birth of Standard Time, travelers from Boston and Washington needed to change their watches five times in order to keep up to date. There were over half a hundred standards used in the United States and Canada between the Atlantic and Pacific. Even in the same town there were often two different standards, one known as "sun" or "local" time, and the other as "railroad" time.

Many persons of scientific attainment invented schemes for standardizing time, but the plan finally adopted was worked out by W. F. Allen, secretary of the American Railway Association. At noon on November 18, 1883, there was a universal resetting of clocks in all parts of the United States and Canada, and the four great time zones into which the North American Continent is divided came into existence. European nations, which had suffered as much as America from hap-hazard methods of reckoning time, soon adopted a similar system. The observatory at Washington now distributes standard time with errors of only one-thousandth part of a second.

Here at Marietta the division line between Eastern time and Central time has been the Ohio River. But the new line fixed by the Commission to separate the Eastern and Central time zone begins at the Great Lakes and follows the boundary of Michigan down through Toledo, Mansfield, Columbus and Gallipolis, Ohio; Burlington, Kenova and Williamson, West Virginia; Dungannon, Va.; Bristol, Va.-Tenn.; Telford, Tenn.; Asheville and Franklin, North Carolina; Atlanta, McDonough, Macon, Perry, Americus, Albany and Thomasville, Ga., the north boundary of Florida to River Junction and the Apalachicola River to the Gulf of Mexico.

On the statute books of Ohio there is a law fixing Central time as the official time. For the past few years there has been some agitation in different parts of the state to change the official time to Eastern time. Much of the agitation came from Cleveland, the home of Secretary of War Baker. And in this connection it might be mentioned that Cleveland gets everything she wants now-a-days - from Washington.

Between Central and Mountain time, the line begins at the Canadian boundary at Portal, North Dakota; follows the Missouri River and extends through San Angelo, Texas, and the 109th meridian to the Rio Grande River.

Between Mountain and Pacific time zones, the line goes through the Continental Divide to Helena, Butte and Dillon, Montana. It runs along the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, through Seligman and Parker, Arizona, and along the Colorado River to the Mexican boundary.

All of Alaska is left within a single time zone.