Madison County History and Genealogy

History and Genealogy



History of Madison County


Judges Since 1851


At the April term of the Court of Common Pleas for 1852, the Hon. James L. Bates, who had been elected the previous fall, produced his commission dated January 16, 1852, as Judge of the Third Subdivision of the Fifth Judicial District. James L. Bates was born near Canandaigua, N. Y., January 4, 1815. His father was Stephen Bates, and his mother Naomi (Handy) Bates; the former from Granville, Mass., and the latter from Guilford, Conn., both descendants from old Revolutionary stock. His grandfather settled in Ontario County, N. Y., in 1790. James L. was educated at the Canandaigua Academy and Geneva College, New York; read law with John C. Spencer two years; came to Columbus in October, 1835, and read a year with Orris Parish and N. H. Swayne, and was admitted to the bar in the winter of 1836-37; commenced practice, and formed a partnership with N. H. Swayne in the spring of 1837, which continued until he was elected in 1851, on the adoption of the present constitution. Judge of the Common Pleas, for the third subdivision of the Fifth Judicial District, composed of the counties of Pickaway, Franklin and Madison, and was reelected in 1856 and 1801, the last time without opposition—a handsome compliment in a district politically against him, serving thus fifteen years continuously. Judge Bates made a safe and excellent Judge, was a sturdy worker, and alone did the business of the three counties satisfactorily, without allowing the docket to accumulate, with undisposed business.

Judge Bates held the office of Director of the Ohio Penitentary from 1866 to 1874, and was a member of the Board of Education of the city of Columbus from 1844, six years consecutively, being Secretary of the board the first four years. He was active in advancing the city school system of Columbus to a high state of perfection.

On October 18, 1837, he was united in marriage to Miss Maria Kelley, eldest daughter of Hon. Alfred Kelley, one of the ablest and most prominent men in Ohio. Since Judge Bates has retired from the bench, he has principally been employed in the management and settlement of large estates involving the interests of minors and widows, without engaging in general practice. His straightforward honesty and known integrity, especially qualify him for trusts of this kind, and the community where he has lived over forty years, fully appreciate the fact.

The second Judge under the new constitution was the Hon. John L. Green, a native of Virginia, who located in Circleville, Ohio, about 1830, where he won and retained a large and successful practice. He was elected to the State Senate from Pickaway and Franklin Counties, serving in the sessions of 1837-38, 1838-39, 1839-40, and 1840-41. He subsequently removed from Circleville to Chillicothe, and was there elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Thence he removed to Columbus, and in October, 1866, was elected Judge of this subdivision to succeed Judge Bates. He was re-elected in 1871, and again in 1876, his term expiring in February, 1882.

During the legislative session of 1867-68, an act was passed creating an extra Judgeship for the Third Subdivision, and in April of the latter year Joseph Olds, of Circleville, was elected to fill the position. Judge Olds is a native of Pickaway County, and a graduate of Yale College. After serving his full term on the bench, he returned to the practice of his profession. He is a member of the firm of Harrison, Olds & Marsh, and one of the leading attorneys of Columbus, whither he removed from Circleville.

In 1873, Edward F. Bingham, of Columbus, was elected to succeed Judge Olds, and re-elected in 1878. Judge Bingham is one of the best Judges in the State, and takes great pains in examining the points and authorities submitted to him by council. His decisions satisfy all who hear them, of the impartiality with which he has formed his opinions.

The Legislature in March, 1875, passed an act creating an extra subdivision in the Fifth Judicial District. In April of that year, Samuel W. Courtright, of Circleville, was elected as Judge of the new subdivision of Pickaway and Madison Counties. He is a native of Pickaway County; read law with D. M. Jones, of Circleville, and with Hon. Belatny Storer, of Cincinnati. He graduated from the Cincinnati Law School, and in 1863 began the practice of his profession. He has been Prosecuting Attorney of Pickaway County for two terms, and for more than a year was in partnership with C. F. Krimmel. After twelve years of practice, he was elected Judge, but the act creating an extra subdivision in this district being subsequently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the office died at the expiration of Judge Courtright's term. He was said to be the youngest Judge in Ohio, and was well liked by the bar of Madison County.

Under the act of 1878, Eli P. Evans was elected Judge of the Fourth Subdivision. He is a son of George W. and Mary R. (Eberly) Evans, and was born June 10, 1842, at Dublin, Franklin Co., Ohio; attended the common Schools, and obtained his education chiefly by his own efforts; read law with James E. Wright, and was admitted to the bar September 6, 1870, by the District Court of Franklin County, Ohio. He immediately commenced the practice of the law, and opened an office in Columbus, Ohio. In 1878, the General Assembly erected a Fourth Subdivision of the Fifth Judicial District out of Franklin County, by separating it from Pickaway and Madison. He was elected Judge on the 1st of April, 1878, the term beginning on the 1st of May, 1878. This office, like Judge Courtright's, expires under the decision of the Supreme Court, but the Legislature in 1881-82, passed an act creating an extra Judgeship, and in October, 1882, Judge Evans was elected to fill the position. He is a diligent worker on the bench, and carefully examines all questions before deciding them. The criminal docket, however, has been assigned him in the division of the business, and'occupies most of his time.

The General Assembly of 1878-79, passed an act creating an extra Judgeship in the Third Subdivision of the Fifth Judicial District, by virtue of which George Lincoln, of London, was elected in October, 1879, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was born in Westford, Windham Co., Conn., June 24, 1825. His paternal grandfather, George Lincoln, was of Puritan stock, his ancestry being among the first settlers of Massachusetts. He married Delia Ingalls, and George, the father of our subject, was born of this union in 1799. He was reared in New England, was a tanner by trade, and married Laura, daughter of Joseph and Delia (Record) Ashley, of Connecticut. Five children were the fruits of this union, four of whom are living. The father died in 1872, but his widow resides in Connecticut, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. Judge Lincoln grew to manhood in his native State, working in his father's tanyard, and attending school three or four months per year until he attained the age of twenty-one, when he left home and began working on a farm. He followed this vocation for several months, teaching school the following winter, and the next summer attended Monson Academy, at Monson, Mass., and again engaged in teaching school the subsequent winter. In the spring of 1848, he commenced to read law in the office of the Hon. Jared D. Richmond, at Ashford, Conn., and the following spring went to Toland, Toland Co., Conn., and for two years pursued his law studies under Hon. Z. A. Storrs, of that place. He taught school during the winter of 1850-51, and in the spring of the latter year came to Rockport, Ind., where he engaged in teaching. Failing health induced him to go to Genesee, Wis., where he continued teaching during the winter of 1851-52, but not regaining his health he returned to Connecticut in June of the latter year, weighing less than 100 pounds and anticipating death from consumption.

After a few months visit, his health being somewhat improved, he again came West, stopping at the home of his uncle, Charles Lincoln, in Champaign County, Ohio. Throughout the winters of 1852-53 and 1853-54, he taught school at Woodstock, reviewing his law studies with John H. Young, of Urbana. In March, 1854, he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court, the oath being administered by the Hon. Allen G. Thurman. Judge Lincoln immediately went to Marvsville, Union Co., Ohio, and began the practice of his profession, and in the fall of 1854 entered into a partnership with Hon. C. S. Hamilton, of Marysville, which existed until his removal to London, in October, 1860. In 1863-64, he was Prosecuting Attorney of Madison County, and soon won the reputation of being one of the leading lawyers at the bar. In October, 1879, he was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, taking his seat in February, 1880. Judge Lincoln was married, June 15, 1859, to Harriet M. McMullen, a native of Madison County, who bore him one son, John A. Mrs. Lincoln died May 29, 1867, and September 7, 1871, he was married to Annette T. Phelps, of this county.

Politically, Judge Lincoln is a stanch Democrat, and although not a politician, always takes a warm interest in the success of his party. He is the only member of the Madison County bar, since the organization of the county to the present time, who has been honored by an elevation to the bench, where by his impartial and unswerving rectitude in his rulings, he has sustained the purity of the judiciary and the dignity of his profession.


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