HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY
CHAPTER 5
ATTORNEYS ADMITTED TO THE ORANGE BAR
The order books of the Orange Circuit Court having been misplaced or stolen from the office, matters contained therein cannot be set forth in these pages, save what can be learned from the recollection of attorneys and others. The years missing are from 1861 to 1869. During that period William Farrell, J. W. Tucker, D. A. Kochenour, David Alspaugh, John W. Payne, Thomas B. Buskirk and others were admitted to practice, Farrell and Buskirk in 1868. In 1870 W. R. Harris, W. J. Stone, W. H. Martin, M. W. Elrod, William Throop and Thomas Hunt were admittted to practice. In 1871 R. J. Shaw, Joseph P. Throop and S. R. Tegarden were admitted. J. R. McMahan and W. T. Spicely were admitted in 1873; D. J. Overmyer and Nathaniel Hitch in 1874; W. A. Bell, S. J. Whitten, J. W. Sulenger, J. H. McMickle and W. H. Talbot in 1875; W. J. Frazer, W. E. Hendricks, Abraham Noblitt and E. J. Wilson in 1876; John Alexander, J. F. Dillon, E. W. Black, C. H. Burton, J. D. Carter, C. H. Dillon, John J. Lingle in 1877; George A. Buskirk, Alvin Campbell, Cornelius Curry and John R. East in 1878; 5. 0. Foster in 1879; J. E. Baker, John Dougherty and John A. Zaring in 1880: Moses F. Dunn, W. R. Gardner, J. H. Willard, Robert Palmer. Among the later Prosecuting Attorneys have been Carlton, Weir, Brown, Shaw, Pittman, Tucker. East, Myers, Mavity, Duncan and the present incumbent of that office, Mr. Henley. Judge E. D. Pearson, who served from 1873 to 1879, is yet living at Bedford. His ability as a jurist and his eminence as an attorney are recognized throughout the district. His successor, Judge Francis Wilson, is singularly gifted in his profession and has risen by remarkable strides past old practitioners to his present eminence and popularity. His qualifications for the judgeship meet with the warmest recognition from the attorneys who practice before him, and from the Supreme Court, which rejudges his judgments upon appeal. As a pleader and a counselor he outstripped many of his competitors. It is said that the speech which particularly made him famous was the one delivered in prosecuting William Sanders for the murder of the Woodwards. Judge Wilson resides at Bedford.
THE MURDER OF HENRY WIRES
Soon after the war, about the year l866, Henry Wires was murdered in Northeast Township, under about the following circumstances: The murdered man and Ambrose Parish were young men, and both were paying their attentions to the same girl. They became jealous of each other, and consequently very bitter, until finally Parish attacked Wires with a knife and stabbed him so severely that he soon died from the effects. Parish was indicted for the murder, tried, convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary for life, the trial coming up on a change of venue to New Albany. At the expiration of ten years, Parish was reprieved by the Governor.
THE WATKINS-FOSTER MURDER
In about 1868 William Watkins killed one Foster in Jackson Township, under the following circumstances: Foster had accused Watkins of larceny, and had followed the latter and repeated the charge, even when Watkins had begun to move his family from the township. On the day of the murder Foster pursued Watkins with a blacksnake whip, declaring that he intended to give him a horsewhipping. Watkins entered a blacksmith-shop, and while there was approached by Foster, who was prepared to put his threat into execution. The attack was made, when Watkins caught up an ax and cut Foster down. He then, while Foster was prostrate and helpless, literally chopped him open with the ax. He was arrested and indicted, and the trial came on in 1871. The strong fact against Watkins was his act of chopping Foster in pieces after the attack of the latter was effectually repelled. The jury was so instructed that they returned the following verdict:"We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree, as charged in the indictment, and we assess his punishment at imprisonment for life in State's prison."The efforts of the defendant's counsel to secure a new trial resulted in failure, and the court sentenced Watkins to the penitentiary for life. Some time after this, for reasons unknown to the writer, Watkins was pardoned by the Governor. The prosecution in this case was conducted by Robert M. Shaw and Francis Wilson. and the defense by A. B. Canton, William Farrell and Arthur J. Simpson.
CHARACTERS OF JUDGES OTTO AND BICKNELL
William P. Otto, who succeeded John H. Thompson as Judge of the Orange Circuit Court, was politically a Whig, and was a resident of New Albany. He possessed the oratorical temperament of sanguinnervous. He was dignified in court and elsewhere, and lacked somewhat in cordial sociability. He possessed a good judicial mind, and gave close attention to the evidence, and usually gave satisfaction to the opposing attorneys by his rulings. He was technical, but perhaps not more so than was demanded from the responsibility of his official position. His brain was of the highest type, and though he rarely practiced here, he was known to be an advocate of marked brilliancy. He was succeeded by George A. Bicknell, a Democrat, and a man of even higher talent than he possessed. Bicknell was also sanguine-nervous in temperament, and a stump orator of great fervency and fire. He exhibited higher social qualities than Judge Otto, and even greater culture and natural qualifications for his judgeship. His knowledge of legal principles was comprehensive and profound, and his mind was trained by years of hard study to the severest logic. His decisions stood well the examninations of the Supreme Court. Bicknell resided at New Albany, was in Congress, it is said, and is now one of the Assistant Supreme Judges. He served as Judge longer than any other man.
THE BOWLES DIVORCE CASE
In August, 1868, Eliza Bowles instituted proceedings for a divorce from her husband, William A. Bowles, in the Orange County Circuit Court, upon various charges of improper conduct, and to secure such alimony as the jury might award, her counsel being Messrs. Buskirk, McNutt, Montgomery and Grubbs. The case was begun before Judge Bicknell, but as the defendant asked for a change of venue, upon the ground that the court was biased, Judge Delana R. Eckles was specially selected to hear the case. The trial began on the 1st of December, 1868, and continued from day to day until the 7th of the month, when the jury returned the following verdict: "We, the jury, find for the plaintiff, that she is entitled to a divorce, and that she have and recover of the defendant the sum of $25,000 alimony."The suit thus far had been stubbornly fought by counsel, and no sooner was the verdict received than every possible pretext to evade or annul it was resorted to, but without avail. It is unnecessary to recite the facts brought out on the trial, as the heavy alimony indicates the tendency of the evidence in the minds of the jury. The real and personal estate of W.A. Bowles was found by the jury to be worth from $75,000 to $80,000. The court ordered that the payment of the alimony should be by installments, at stated intervals, and should the defendant fail to so make the payments, his estate was to be levied upon and sold to satisfy the judgment for alimony. When all hope for his case was gone in the Orange County Circuit Court, the defendant appealed to the Supreme Court, but was beaten there also. The defendant failed to pay according to the order of the court, and the interest, costs, etc., raised the amount to be taken from his estate to nearly $40,000. Mrs. Bowles soon died, her claims and property became doubtful and scattered, and what finally became of her estate would be difficult to indicate. This was the most noteworthy case of the kind ever in southern Indiana. The attorneys distinguished themselves in their speeches and their management of the case. The attorneys of Mr. Bowles were T. L. Brown, A. B. Carlton, and T. B. and J. W. Buskirk.
THE MURDER OF THE WOODWARDS
On the 18th of June, 1866, a bloody murder occtirred in the western part of the county. About 2 o'clock at night one or more persons went to the residence of David Woodward, and when he appeared at the door in answer to their call, he was struck in the face with an ax and instantly killed. The murderer or murderers then entered the house and stabbed the wife and sister of the murdered man, so that they died, and also severely stabbed his mother, from the effects of which she never recovered, though she lived several years. William Sanders was arrested, charged with the crime, and waiving examination was sent to jail until his trial came off at Bedford on a change of venue. His counsel were Judges Mavity and Simpson and Dan Voorhees, while the prosecution was conducted by Francis Wilson and Thomas M. Brown, the Prosecuting Attorney. It was in this case that Judge Wilson delivered the strongest speech of his life up to that time. His speech was a masterpiece, four hours in length, but the jury hung, and the prisoner was discharged on bail. He soon disappeared, forfeiting his bail, though nothing was recovered on the bond. Two or three others were indicted, but not brought to trial. Some time afterward William Cutsinger made a confession, implicating one McKinney with the murder, but upon being brought into court he stated that he had been hired by William Sanders to make such confession, and was to receive $1,300 for so doing. McKinney managed to avert the course of law from himself. Some time after this, or about the same time, Cutsinger disappeared, and has not been seen since, and the opinion prevails that he was silenced or disposed of in some manner. The current belief to the present is that William Sanders is the guilty person, and that he may have had accomplices in this most bloody of all murders ever occurring in the county.