The Early Days.
On December 6, 1800, General Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory, proclaimed the County of Clermont, the eighth of the existing twelve counties so proclaimed when Ohio became a state on March 1, 1803 through an act of Congress signed by President Thomas Jefferson. Thus Clermont County predates Ohio statehood by two years and three months. Clermont County was established in 1804 after Ohio became a state under an enabling act passed by the Ohio General Assembly.
The original territory of Clermont County included that of the present boundaries and also a major part of the present Brown County. According to historical accounts, the Court of General Quarter Sessions made Williamsburg, which was near the geographical center of the county, the county seat in late February of 1801 by entering into a contract with Thomas Morris where he agreed to provide the court with “a convenient house, tables, benches, fuel, etc. for the purpose of holding court for the term of four years at twenty dollars per year”. Thomas Morris, who went on to be a State Representative, State Senator, an Ohio Supreme Court justice, and U.S. Senator, rented the county the log courthouse and log jail, actually was briefly a prisoner in his own jail for debt until released on an appeal bond from the General Territorial Court.
The contract with Thomas Morris expired in 1805, and the county commissioners entered into a new contract with Nicholas Sinks, who agreed to furnish “a room with convenient benches, tables, and seats for the purpose of holding court in the house that said Nicholas Sinks resided in, together with a room or rooms for the grand and petit juries to sit in, … and to keep the necessary fires for the comfort and convenience of the court and commissioners while sitting as aforesaid” for the contract price of eight dollar a quarter or $24 per year.
In June of 1805, the commissioners appropriated funds and construction of a new courthouse began soon after. The cost of the courthouse was $1,499 and was designed by the same Nicholas Sinks. The two story stone structure was rectangular and was located in the public square. The courthouse remained in service from 1810 until 1824. The building was eventually demolished in 1858 to make way for a new school.
The original judges of the Common Pleas Court of Clermont County were appointed by Northwest Territory Governor Arthur St. Clair. Clermont County’s first judges of the Common Pleas Court were Richard Allison, Owen Todd, William Buckingham, Joseph Shotwell, Robert Higgins, Peter Light and Phillip Gatch. They were designated as Trustees of the Court of Common Pleas of Clermont County, Ohio and were charged with the administration of Court procedures and also with the actual hearing of cases. At the same time General William Lytle was appointed as prothonotary which included, among other duties, the responsibilities now carried by the clerk of courts. At the same time, William Cary was appointed as sheriff of Clermont County. These appointments were made on February 25, 1801, and are included in the official court records of this county.
Philip Gatch was born on March 7, 1751, in Baltimore County, Maryland. Gatch was a Clermont County Common Pleas Judge, and was a very peculiar one because he was both a judge and minister. After convicting a suspect, he was known to visit them in jail and pray for their souls. U.S. Supreme Court Justice, John McLean, stated:
"...He had a weight of character which justly entitled him to a pre-eminence over the other county judges... he did not profess to be learned in the law, but he had the great practical knowledge of human affairs and he aimed to arrive at justice of every case brought to him... Judge Gatch's opinions were always distinguished by good sense...His mind in its actions was deliberate."
Gatch sat on the bench for 20 years, and after retiring wrote, "By the grace of God I have left it with a clear conscience."
The first case of record of any interest was held in Clermont County on May 26, 180l. It was a suit termed “trespass on the case" and asked for the sum of $150 for merchandise sold and delivered. Jacob Burnet was the attorney for the plaintiff. This case involved a suit by Samuel Mount against the administrator of the estate of Elijah Mount, but the Court in New Richmond entered a verdict for the defendant, which was affirmed by the judges of the Supreme Court. While the petition is of great length (over four pages) the record does not disclose the name of the judge who tried the case or why the defendant won. The records are very limited as to other cases held in Williamsburg or the cases tried during the three terms of court in New Richmond. The judges of the Common Pleas Court in New Richmond were Judge Torrence, Judge Alexander Blair, and Judge John Morris.
On the same date the court held a trial in the first instance, that being a divorce case, George Hunt vs. Jane Hunt. The hearing was on default and set out willful absence for a period of three years. In that case Thomas Morris, who later became United States Senator, was attorney for the plaintiff.
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