Читать книгу History of Jacksonville, Florida and Vicinity, 1513 to 1924 - T. Frederick Davis - Страница 9

Duval County was created August 12, 1822, by the first council under Governor William P. Duval's administration. Its original boundaries were: Suwanee River on the west; a line drawn from the mouth of the Suwanee River to the foot of Liberty Street in Jacksonville (designated in the Act as the Cow Ford), thence down the St. Johns River as it meanders to the ocean was the southern boundary, while the St. Marys River and the Georgia line constituted the northern boundary. Jacksonville was selected as the county seat of the new county.

The governing board of the county comprised four justices, one of whom was the presiding justice. While it was termed a county court its jurisdiction was extremely limited in that respect and the name county commissioners would have been more appropriate for the duties performed. As a court their jurisdiction did not approach the importance of our present justices of the peace. The first meeting of this court was in Jacksonville on December 16, 1822. The justices were: Thomas Reynolds, presiding; William G. Dawson, Rignon Brown, and Britton Knight. George Gibbs was the clerk. They proceeded to lay off the county into road districts, apportioned the work of building the roads, and attended to other matters of a like sort. James Dell was the first sheriff of the county, but he did not serve long; Daniel C. Hart was his successor, being later appointed U.S. marshal and holding both positions until his death.

First Regular Court

The half a dozen houses comprising the Town of Jacksonville, in 1823, were all situated in plain sight of the Kings road that led down to the ferry at the foot of Liberty Street. Travelers coming and going, or stopping for a while, produced no exceptional stir; but on the last day of November, 1823, which was Sunday, it became evident that an event of unusual importance was about to transpire. People had been coming in all day looking for a place to lodge. Mrs. Sarah Waterman's Inn was filled to the limit. Joseph Andrews had all the guests that he could accommodate and I. D. Hart's abode had no vacant space. Abraham Bellamy offered the use of his 10 x 12 law office recently erected next to Brady's old cabin, and W. G. Dawson went further and spread blankets on the floor of his store for some of the overflow to sleep.

L. Z. Hogans, over on the hill beyond the swamp, played host to one or two. So Jacksonville and vicinity went to bed' that night crowded to capacity. When the morning glow of Monday (December 1st) began to brighten over the roadside settlement on the St. Johns, it was the dawn of a new day for Duval County. By 10 o'clock, 200 people had assembled in the vicinity of Market and Forsyth Streets to witness the convening of the first regular court of law held in this part of the country. It was an impressive spectacle. Standing bareheaded, with no roof above them except the forest trees, they listened intently to the words of Judge Joseph L. Smith in the opening proceedings of what was then called the Superior court. The ceremony was new to the most of them, but all were apparently pleased with the scene, signifying that civil law had stepped in to take the place of the long established custom of personal settlement of differences.

The corner-stone of the handsome junior high school in Springfield was laid in 1923, and the building dedicated to the memory of General Edmund Kirby Smith, the famous Confederate general, who fought for the just cause as he saw it. There is also another association here, for it was the centennial of the event described above, when General Smith's father established the cause of justice for the county at Jacksonville.

First Grand Jury

From among those assembled at the opening proceedings of the court, a grand jury was drawn and impaneled the next day, December 2, 1823. The members of this first grand jury of Duval County were: John Bellamy, foreman; Stephen J. Eubanks, John Houston, Isaac Tucker, Charles Broward, Seymour Pickett, John Broward, John Price, James Dell, William Matthews, Cotton Rawls, A. G. Loper, Llewellyn Williams, Charles Seton, John D. Braddock, J. C. Houston, Nathaniel Wilds, Stephen Vinzant.

First Civil Case

The first civil case called for trial was that of Ephraim Harrison vs. John D. Vaughan. The record does not show the nature of this litigation, but evidently it was of some importance, as Judge Smith ordered the continuance of the case until the next term. The record recites:"

"(In case) This day came the parties aforesaid, by their attorneys, and thereupon came a jury, to wit: F. D. McDonnell, Lewis Christopher, Britton Knight, James Rouse, William Sparkman, John Higginbotham, David Turner, Matthew H. Philips, John G. Brown, John G. Rushing, William G. Dawson and Lewis Thigpen, who were sworn well and truly to try the issue joined between the parties; and on motion of the plaintiff by his attorney, and for reasons appearing satisfactory to the court, it is ordered that the jury be discharged from rendering a verdict herein, and that this cause be continued until the next term, upon the plaintiff paying all costs of the defendant herein expended."

County Courts

In 1823, the Legislature made some changes in the original method of county government and appointed new justices, but it was not until the following year, 1824, that the law vested them with powers about equal to our present justices of the peace. They had jurisdiction over probate matters, over the police of the county, and performed the duties of county supervisors. As a court they had a certain amount of jurisdiction in minor cases. The first incumbents under this law, appointees of the governor, were: John L. Doggett, presiding; F. Bethune and John Houston, appointed December 30, 1824. The minutes of this court in the early years are still preserved. The actual duties seem to have been mostly with matters pertaining to the roads of the county and to the question of raising funds for the completion of the court house and keeping it in repair. Even as late as 1840, the notation "Met and adjourned, there being no business" often appears.

"Court Day" in the early days was the time when the people of the county came to town whether they had court business or not. They assembled to trade, to hear the "news" and to mix with their fellow men. Here and there among the trees could be seen little groups dickering on a horse trade; others in the stores bargaining with the storekeepers for implements and supplies, while loitering around the court house whittling away the time for the "Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye", etc., of the court crier were those whose business or curiosity led them there. Leaving for home they raced out Kings road in a cloud of dust.

First Lawyer in Jacksonville

Abraham Bellamy, son of John Bellamy the commissioner, was the first lawyer to settle at the county seat. This was in 1823. He built a little office west of John Brady's cabin, which was then owned by his father, and here he drew up most of the early legal papers for the residents of this section. Enough odds and ends of descriptions have been gathered to picture it as a typical country lawyer's office, equipped with a table and time-worn chairs of home manufacture; a few law books scattered here and there amidst a disorderly array of bundles of papers; a map tacked up against the door; plenty of dust, and finally a box spittoon filled with sand. Nevertheless, Abraham Bellamy's ability as a lawyer was greater than his surroundings indicated, for he was afterward a familiar figure in the Territorial councils and at one time was president of that body.

John Bellamy moved to Middle Florida in 1826 and Abraham Bellamy likewise sometime later.

First Marriage License

One of Duval County's oldest official records is a court copy of the first marriage license issued by the county. It reads:

Territory of Florida

County of Duval

To any Judge, Justice of the Peace, ordained Minister of the Gospel, I license or permit you to Join together in the Holy State of Matrimony Mr. Robert Robertson and Miss Sarah Tucker, and this shall be your sufficient warrant. After the above marriage is solemnized you are hereby commanded to return the same certified on this license to my office.

October 7, 1823.

J. BELLAMY, Clerk.

The First Court House

Court evidently was held under the trees until 1825, as prior to that time there was no building here suitable for the purpose. In 1825, John Warren erected a two-story building at the northwest corner of Bay and Newnan Streets. The lower story was for a time used as a dwelling and was afterward divided for a store. The upper floor was one room; here the Superior court held two or three terms, with considerable discomfort as there were no sash windows, and the wind and rain had full sweep through.

When it became known that Jacksonville had been selected as the county seat John Brady conveyed the lot at the northeast corner of Market and Forsyth Streets (actually valued at $15) to Benjamin Chaires and Francis J. Ross in trust to be conveyed to the county as a site for the court house." Preparations for building a court house were started in 1824, but actual construction did not begin until the summer of 1825. Immense hewn timbers were hauled to the lot and when they were laid out for framing the people of the county voluntarily gathered and under the direction of Seymour Pickett raised them in two days. When this was done Messrs. Chaires and Ross deeded the lot to the county (July 13, 1825) in compliance with the trust from Brady.

The court house remained in this state more than three years, with only the framing standing. In 1826 the basement was roofed over and subsequent terms of court were held there when the weather was good; or else in the hall over John Warren's place. About 1828-9, the framing was boarded in and the roof put on. The temporary hewn timbers supporting the construction were removed and brick pillars of great size and strength were built and the building correctly leveled. The court house faced the river. A long, broad portico, supported by brick pillars was before the front and broad steps led up to it from the ground. Back of these was the entrance to the basement, which was ten feet in the clear. The main entrance was ten feet high and was provided with wide double doors. Inside steps led up on the east and the west to the upper story. The windows, seven feet high and four feet wide, were provided with double shutters of white pine, which closed out the wind and rain and also the light.

This court house was known far and wide as the best constructed building in all of this part of the country. The difficulties confronting the county authorities in raising funds for the completion of the court house are recorded in their minutes. They petitioned the U. S. government to complete it, as the Superior court was using it more than any other, which brought about an arrangement whereby the government paid the county rent for its use; they had difficulty sometimes in collecting this rent promptly. They petitioned the Territorial Legislature for permission to run lotteries in order to raise the $6,000 needed to complete the court house. Joseph B. Lancaster, I. D. Hart and William J. Mills were authorized by the Legislature to conduct the lottery. These gentlemen were all church members and one was a deacon; the inference is, that lotteries in that day were not considered gambling.

Something is hidden somewhere behind this struggle for funds to complete the court house, for the people of this section in the 1830s prior to the Seminole war and the panic of 1837 were evidently enjoying prosperity, as they were laying plans for a $75,000 bank and a million dollar railroad for the county seat. Yet they opposed a special tax levy to raise the $6,000 necessary to complete the building.

The court house was not finally completed until sometime in the early 1840s, from funds derived from a scrip issue. The building was burned by Federal troops March 29, 1863.

Duval County has built three court houses. The second court house was built on the site of the one burned in 1863, but faced Market Street instead of Forsyth. It was solidly built of brick, with unusually thick walls. Construction was commenced in 1884 and the building completed and occupied in November, 1886. A full description of it will be found in the Florida Times-Union of November 5, 1886. The court house walls were the only ones in the city that withstood to any extent the great fire of May 3, 1901. They remained standing and were used in reconstructing the building now occupying that corner, which has the same ground space and the same outline as the court house, except the shape of the tower.

The present court house was completed in November, 1902, at a cost of $100,000 secured through a bond issue. The site was shifted across Market Street because the county already owned the two lots on the west side of Market between Adams and Forsyth Streets, and needing more ground for a larger court house than the lot at the northwest corner of Market and Forsyth would accommodate, it was decided to reconstruct the old court house for an armory, and build the new court house across the street. The court house annex was completed in October, 1916, at a cost of about $90,000.

Judges of Duval County: Thomas Reynolds (presiding), 1822-1823; Benjamin Chaires (sole), 1823-1824; John L. Doggett (presiding, then sole judge), December, 1824, to January, 1844 (died in office); Farquahar Bethune, 1844-1845; William F. Crabtree, 1845-1849; Felix Livingston, 1849-1855; Benjamin Hopkins, 1855-1856; R. R. Rushing, 1857; Oscar Hart, 1857; R. R. Rushing, 1858-1859; Chandler S. Emery, 1859-1861; Francis F. L'Engle, 1861-1863; None in 1864; F. I. Wheaton, 1865; Aristides Doggett, 1866 to July, 1868; W. A. McLean, July, 1868, to December, 1888; W. B. Owen, 1889-1892; William H. Baker, 1893-1900; Henry B. Philips, 1901-1920; John W. DuBose, 1921 to date.