who responded to the call of President Jefferson for 100,000 men in August, 1807; and of those who volunteered in the war with England 1812-14. The name of Captain Timothy Buell appears on each of these occasions, and in the war with England we find the names of Major Alexander Hill, Captain John Thorniley, Captain E. B. Dana, and Captain J. Ford. In the late civil war this county furnished over four thousand men, as stated by General T. C. H. Smith in his address at the dedication of the Soldiers' Monument. Besides the many gallant men that went directly from the county, there were in the Union army many others, descendants of the early settlers of Marietta. Among those who held high command were Generals John Pope, Irwin McDowell, and D. C. Buell, who were severally the grandsons of Elijah Backus, Abner Lord, and Timothy Buell. Such is a brief outline of the history of Washington county. Personal incidents could not be dwelt upon, and there was the less occason as so many have been preserved in the valuable works of the late Dr. S. P. Hildreth. The materials for a full history of the county are abundant, and its preparation should not longer be delayed. While this county cannot claim pre-eminence in any of the great departments of human industry, yet from the 7th of April, 1788 to the present time there has been no lack of intelligent, capable men in the various vocations of life. High intelligence has been a characteristic from the beginning. None of the villages in the best parts of New England could show a larger proportion of liberally educated men than Marietta, Belpre, and Waterford, in the first twenty years of their history. And within the present generation the public spirit and intelligent liberality of some of the citizens of this place have made their names and the name of Marietta household words in the best circles of the land. In early times many came to Marietta to sojourn for a while and from here went out to their permanent homes. This was their temporary residence; and pleasant recollections of it and its inhabitants seem always to have remained with them. So now we often meet with those who have made Marietta a place of educational sojourn; who have spent here a portion of their youth in intellectual training, and have then gone forth to do the work assigned them. But, unlike those who in the early days made this the gateway to the great west, and who have now all passed away, their number will increase year by year. Even now you will find them scattered from Maine to Georgia, from Texas to Oregon. Whatever may be the future of this town as a mart of trade or a manufacturing point, there is every probability that it will become more and more an important educational center. In beauty of situation and the intelligence and refinement of its people it can compare favorably with the most noted seats of learning, while the remarkable generosity of the founders and friends of the College cannot fail to stimulate others here and elsewhere to provide the means for its continued increase in efficiency and usefulness. May the people of Washington county be prospered in all that pertains to their highest well-being. May her future, for the next century, and for all coming centuries, be worthy of the noble men who here laid the foundations of this State and the great north-westworthy of the illustrious citizen whose name the county bears. APPENDIX. Lists of the various Civil Officers have been prepared, and are appended to the discourse. These embrace the judges of the Territory, judges of the Court of Common Pleas, members of Congress, senators and representatives in the General Assembly, postmasters at Marietta, and the various county officers. APPENDIX. JUDGES OF THE TERRITORY. The Territorial Court was composed of three Judges, appointed at first by Congress, and afterwards by the President. John Armstrong and William Barton were appointed but declined. The following is the list with the dates of appointment: Samuel H. Parsons.... James M. Varnum.. John Cleves Symmes Rufus Putnam.. Joseph Gilman Return J. Meigs, Jr....... .Oct. 16, 1787..Nov. 17, 1789: died. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. Such a court existed prior to the State; it was composed of not less than three nor more than five judges. The following gentlemen were judges, though their exact terms of service cannot be given. Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, Archibald Crary, Joseph Gilman Dudley Woodbridge, Robert Oliver, Daniel Loring, John G. Petit, Isaac Pierce, Griffin Greene, Ephraim Cutler, Peregrine Foster. The constitution of 1802 provided for a Court of Common Pleas to consist of one president judge and two or three associate judges, all to be appointed by the legislature and to hold office for seven years. There were to be three president judges for the State, but the associate judges were appointed in each county. PRESIDENT JUDGES FOR THE CIRCUIT. By the constitution of 1851 the State for judicial purposes is divided into districts and sub-districts. A judge is elected in each sub-district for five years. This county is united with Gallia, Meigs and Athens, constituting the third sub-district of the seventh district. Since 1868 there have been two judges in this sub-district. JUDGES OF THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS FROM 1852. Simeon Nash John Welch Erastus A. Guthrie.... William B. Loomis Tobias A. Plants...... 1852..1862 .1862..1865 1865..1874 1868..1873 .1873..1875 David B. Hebard, Jan. 1875..Oct. '75 Samuel S. Knowles,...... Feb. 1878..Feb. 1883 Judge Welch was elected to the Supreme Court, Judges Guthrie and Plants resigned, and Judges Hebard and Cartwright were appointed by the Governor. Judges Bradbury and Knowles are the present incumbents. PROBATE JUDGES. A Probate Court was established in the first year of the Territory, the Governor appointing the judge. The first state constitution abolished the court, but the second restored it. The judge is elected by the people for three years. COURT OF GENERAL QUARTER SESSIONS OF THE PEACE. Such a court was established in 1788, and was continued in each county till 1803. The duties were partly judicial and partly executive. The court established townships, laid out new roads, appointed overseers of the poor for the townships, granted licenses for houses of entertainment, &c. The following Justices were members of the court at different times: Joseph Gilman, Isaac Pierce, Robert Oliver, Dudley Woodbridge, Josiah Munro, John G. Petit, Griffin Greene, William R. Putnam, Samuel Williamson, Joseph Barker, Ephraim Cutler, Henry Smith, Phillip Whitten, Alvin Bingham, Thomas Stanley, Seth Carhart, Robert Safford, William Harper, William Burnham, Joseph Buell. The constitution of 1802 was not submitted to the vote of the people; that of 1874 was rejected by a large majority. |