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J. N. Killian, who came to America from Bouden, Germany, and served as Platte County judge for two years before moving to the Philippines, was editor of a German newspaper in Columbus. Albert W. Crites, former owner of the Platte Valley Democrat, was appointed chief of the Department of Foreign Property, Claims and Lands in the United States Treasury Department, and later one of the judges of the fifteenth judicial district of Nebraska. Judge Crites became mayor of the city of Chadron, Nebraska, where his two sons, Edwin and Frederick, were among the foremost attorneys. William Sternburg first practiced law in Humphrey and later in Omaha. Charles J. Theilen, prominent educator and attorney, was graduated from schools in Iowa and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and practiced in Humphrey. William A. McAllister, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, who studied at the University of Nebraska and in Munich, Germany, and became one of the most successful practicing attorneys in this vicinity through his outstanding ability and his valuable knowledge of the German language, was a brother of Mrs. W. N. Hensley. F. M. Cookingham of Humphrey was one of the early attorneys to practice in that community. And Judge John G. Higgins, well known lawyer who was appointed Registrar of the United States Land Office at Grand Island under the Cleveland administration, was the father of Andrew Higgins, the boat builder.

A meeting of the Platte County Bar Association, around 1940. Top row, left to right: Emil Luckey, Warren Albert, Marvin Schmid, Charles Sheldon, Lowell I. Walker, Jesse Dougherty. Second row: Joseph Shields, August Wagner, Judge Edgar Howard, Judge Robert D. Flory, George Reeder, John Cain, Arthur Kummer, Judge C. L. Stone, Joseph Jiranek, Henry Hunter, Robb Lecron, and Otto F. Walter. Bottom row: Judge John J. Ratterman, C. J. Garlow, Judge Louis Lightner, and Judge W. I. Speice. Not pictured, Milton Wagner.

Charles A. Speice, member of the state legislature and one of the early county superintendents of Platte County, also served as the county judge from 1884-1886. Joseph T. Camp practiced briefly in Platte County and moved to Greeley, Colorado. George G. Bowman came to Nebraska to start his law career in the 1870's; and Byron Millet, son of Nelson Millet, later became an attorney in Seattle, Washington. William O'Brien, a well known Columbus attorney for many years, served as police judge.

Warren G. Albert, who was born in Columbus and attended Columbus schools, Hastings College and the University of Nebraska, has been a member of the County Fair and Racing Committees. August Wagner, former captain of Company K, Nebraska National Guard, was one of the early attorneys for the Loup River Public Power District. Lowell L. Walker, a former member of the city council of Columbus and at one time a partner in the law business of C. N. McElfresh, has been a member of the law firm of Walker, Hunter and Luckey since 1943. George S. Reeder, former

member of the city council, was city attorney from 1934 to 1937, later of Las Vegas, Nevada. Findley Howard, who acted as financial advisor to the republic of El Salvador and became American minister to Paraguay in 1934, moved to Pasadena, California. Robb T. Lecron, who was born in Platte County and elected to the office of police judge in 1933, moved to Miami, Florida; and Clarence Stone, who practiced law in Humphrey, was a former director of the Loup River Public Power District, and succeeded Judge W. I. Speice as judge of Platte County.

Milton Wagner, junior member of the law firm of Wagner and Wagner, former state president of F.O.E., studied at the Notre Dame University. Judge Robert D. Flory, born in St. Edward, Nebraska, and county attorney of Boone County from 1919-27, former law partner of Otto F. Walter, was elected District Judge in November, 1948. Charles H. Sheldon, a graduate of the University of Nebraska law school, practiced law in Columbus and later moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. The Honorable Edgar Howard, one of the foremost publishers and statesmen in Nebraska, was a former lieutenant governor and for twelve years an outstanding member of the House of Representatives. Clarence N. McElfresh, who served as county attorney from 1911-14, became city attorney some years later and served as one of the early legal counselors for the Loup River Public Power District.

Arthur W. Kummer, born in Loup Township passed his bar examinations in the state of Illinois, and was county attorney of Platte County. Henry Deverne Hunter served as city attorney and represented insurance and compensation cases both in Omaha and Columbus, and was later a member of the law firm of Walker, Hunter and Luckey. Harold W. Kauffman, born in North Platte, a nephew of Mrs. Craig Turner, attended Columbus schools and practiced law with C. J. Garlow. Judge Frederick L. Spear, born at Genoa, served this community as a district judge from 1928-1948, and was member of a law firm in Fremont, Nebraska. Joseph Shields, county attorney of Nance County for four years and former city attorney at Fullerton, practiced in Columbus and returned to Fullerton in 1947.

Marvin Schmid, at one time with the law firm of Walter, Flory & Schmid, served as the secretary of the Platte County Bar Association, and later was interested in the manufacturing business in addition to his law practice in Omaha. Joseph L. Jiranek was Commander of Hartman Post No. 84, American Legion, and counsel for the Home Owners' Loan Corporation for many years. Grover Long, a Democrat who campaigned with Edgar Howard and Governor Charles Bryan, was the law partner in Columbus of C. J. Carlow.

Judge W. I. Speice, youngest son of Charles A. Speice, was a former court reporter and later was the county judge. Judge Louis Lightner, who was appointed district judge to succeed the Honorable A. M. Post in 1923, is the author of a three volume work entitled Lightner's Cyclopedia of Nebraska Forms. Camden J. Garlow, author of the History of the Platte County Bar, and a former president of the Platte County Bar Association, was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson at the outbreak of World War I as attorney for all war work in Platte County. Otto F. Walter, outstanding Columbus attorney, was a member of the law firm of Walter and Flory until 1948. He was elected county attorney for Platte County in his twenty-first year, and from 1947 was attorney for Loup River Public Power District. Emil Luckey, member of a pioneer Platte County family, was former county attorney and member of the firm of Walker, Hunter and Luckey. Jesse L. Dougherty was a graduate of Creighton law school, former county attorney and able lawyer. John Cain, the son of an outstanding lawyer, served as the official court reporter for Platte County for several years. John J. Ratterman was former county judge of Platte County.

Wilbur Johnson practiced law in Kansas City, moved to Columbus, and since January, 1949, was a partner of Judge Louis Lightner. William Goetz opened a law office in Columbus in 1948. Vance Leininger came from Fullerton to Columbus in January, 1949, and entered the office of Otto F. Walter.

In addition, Platte County has known the civic efforts of three outstanding justices: Alfred M. Post, I. L. Albert, and James G. Reeder.

Judge Post was a judge of the Nebraska Supreme Court for six years. He had served the government in commissions of counsel at Santiago and had been United States Attorney in Nebraska. For two years, he was chairman of the commission to codify law statutes and on his retirement from the bench, he resumed active practice. A former school teacher, Judge Post was appointed by Presi-

The Platte County Court House

dent McKinley as one of the United States' District Attorneys for Alaska in 1898. He served as dean of the Platte County Bar until August, 1923.

Judge I. L. Albert, a keen student of constitutional law, was the author of the Albert Law for the suppression of vice in Nebraska and of the Nebraska Bank Guaranty Act, both of which pieces of legislation have been copied by other states.

He is remembered for his participation in the Reed-Norval language law case which was carried up from the district court of Platte County to the Nebraska Supreme Court, and served as chief counsel for the Lutheran Missouri synod in this litigation. Judge Albert established a distinguished record in public service in Columbus and the state of Nebraska.

Judge James G. Reeder was a young man when he came to Columbus in 1882. Before coming to Nebraska, he taught school, and studied law in Pennsylvania and Tennessee. During his law career in Columbus, he practiced in partnership with Judge W. S. Geer, Judge W. N. Hensley, and later with Judge Louis Lightner, until 1923, when he formed a partnership with his son, George S. Reeder. At the time of his death, he was president of the Platte County. Bar Association and Dean of the Bar.

It was men like these who were responsible for creating the present good reputation of Platte County jurisprudence and their influence on both the law and politics of the region is not to be underestimated. Columbus has always taken a keen interest in legislative matters as revealed in the January, 1876, newspaper story, which mentions that: "Several Columbus citizens left Monday morning on a visit to Lincoln to witness the organization of the Legislature.".

Under the enlargements of the number of judicial districts in 1875, judges who have served on this bench were: Samuel Maxwell, George W. Post, Alfred M. Post, William Marshall, J. J. Sullivan, J. A. Grimson, J. G. Reeder, Conrad Hollenbeck, and George Thomas. Judges A. M. Post and J. J. Sullivan also served as judges of the Supreme Court of Nebraska.

It was January 6, 1876, when the Nebraska State Bar Association was first organized with four standing committees: on amendment of the law, judiciary, grievances and legal education, seventy-two men were on the first published membership list.

The organization was pledged to maintain a high standard of professional integrity among members of the Nebraska bar, cultivate social intercourse and courtesy among them, encourage a thorough and liberal legal education, and to assist in the improvement of the law and the due administration of justice to all classes of society without distinction.

One interesting case was that tried in Columbus in 1888 or 1889, that had to do with cattle rustling in Greeley County. Many early lawyers found their chief source of revenue in collections made from farmers in the vicinity who bought machinery and equipment on time. The farm implement companies rarely bothered with handling the paper but would turn the notes over to local Columbus lawyers for collection.

The first case recorded on the dockets of Platte County is the Nebraska Territory vs. David Anderson on a charge of assault and battery, booked for July 18, 1865. Considerable local interest attended the trial for Anderson, who lived in Platte County, was a colorful Englishman engaged in the cattle business, and considered one of the shrewdest traders in town.

An interesting case and one which brought headlines to the county was that of Doctor and Mrs. L. B. Doxey, who moved to Columbus in the early years of the twentieth century and lived there as man and wife, joining a local church and making friends among the members of the community. It came as a distinct shock when the two were abruptly charged with the murder of William J. Erder by arsenic poisoning, and arraigned in a St. Louis court in January, 1910. Although Loren and Dora Doxey entered pleas of not guilty and were defended by some of the leading attorneys of Platte County, the charge against them was not only one of first degree murder, but it was alleged that Mrs. Doxey had actually been the wife of Erder and was therefore also guilty of bigamy.

The case was continued in the Missouri courts for some time. In the final verdicts, both L. B. and Mrs. Doxey were acquitted of the murder charge and the latter claimed that she had no recollection of having married Erder. She maintained that she had been under the influence of morphine at the time and was not responsible for her acts.

After twelve months, the bigamy charge still hung over Mrs. Doxey, who had been granted continuations on the grounds that she was seriously ill and had recently undergone two serious operations. The Doxeys sold their furniture at local auction and moved out of the community, but the publicity received, as a result of their residence in town and the fact that their counsel came from Columbus, was nation-wide.

Contemporary Columbus politics are representative of a highly efficient modern city and the contact between the citizens of Platte County and their elected representatives remains direct and immediate. The press is one important channel in the maintenance of democratic activity; civic and service organizations are another. Acting as guardians of the public trust and interpreters of the codes and statutes of the state, is a body of able, honest jurists and legislators who have behind them a legacy in the records of other men who pioneered in this field.

Today, the governing body of Platte County is the Board of Supervisors, elected from each of the seven districts for a term of four years. Columbus' city government is composed of a mayor and city council made up of eight councilmen, two elected from each of the four wards for a two-year term. Under their supervision, the various departments of the city are operated --- the Police Department, Water and Sewer Department, Street Department, Fire Department, Park Board, Library Board and Columbus Cemetery Board.

The Columbus Municipal Building stands at the intersection of Twenty-sixth Avenue and Fourteenth Street, across from the Platte County Courthouse. These two structures house all the government offices of Columbus and Platte County.

Seven men, including the chief of police, two traffic officers and four patrolmen, constitute the Columbus Police Department. Improved law enforcement has been assured by the installation, in December, 1947, of a modern two-way radio system which provides constant communication between the three branches of the law serving the area --- the local police, county sheriff and state highway patrol.

If the early settlers --- pioneers, farmers, politicians --- strugglers after a better world, should return to Platte County and see the orderly, constructive workings of this modern community of men, they would surely agree with one of Nebraska's greatest writers, Willa Gather, in her passage from Shadows on the Rock:

"When an adventurer carries his gods with him into a remote and savage country, the colony he founds will, from the beginning, have graces, traditions, riches of the mind and spirit. Its history will shine with bright incidents, slight, perhaps, but precious, as in life itself, where the great matters are often as worthless as astronomical distances, and the trifles dear as the heart's blood."

FIRST DISTRICT COURT IN PLATTE COUNTY

About 1859, the first district court was held in Platte County, with the Honorable Augustus Hall, chief justice, presiding. Judge Hall had been a member of Congress from Iowa. He was appointed by President Buchanan as Judge Ferguson's successor. He had the complete respect of the bar and it has been said that his decisions were rarely reversed.

The little town hall* in Columbus, later known as the Latter Day Saints Chapel, was used as the first court room, and rooms at the American Hotel were secured for the jury. The grand jury of twelve good men, were impaneled, and on completing their labors returned twelve indictments, one against each of themselves for selling liquor without having a license. At that time there was a license law enacted more probably for its moral effect upon the people outside of the territory than with the intention of enforcing it. It bore evidence of lack of care in preparation and provided that any complaint of its violation being made before a justice, he should hear the allegations and if sufficient to convict, should render judgment against the accused, and be committed to jail until the fine was paid. Few, if any, convictions were charged under this law, largely for the reason that it did not have support, owing to the disinclination of magistrates to commit themselves to jail. By an oversight, the person drafting the bill aimed to provide for the payment of the costs by the constable.

Judge Hall died before the Republican Party came into power and while still an incumbent of the office he was succeeded by William Pitt Kellogg, of Louisiana fame, who drew pay as colonel of an Illinois regiment of the same time. He was succeeded by his uncle, William Kellogg, of Peoria, Illinois, who filled the office until Nebraska became a state. He wanted to be United States senator, but Thayer's military laurels were too much for him.

At the first term of court held by Kellogg, the office of prosecuting attorney was held by Robert Moreland, who by no means was an ornament to the office. He had previously been bound over for breaking the peace and the only indictment returned that term was against the prosecuting attorney for assault and battery.

CAPITAL REMOVAL

FEBRUARY 26, 1875

On Friday evening last, the gentlmen (sic) who formed the Columbus delegation at Lincoln on the capital removal question, met at the Hammond House, and, in company of a few invited guests, enjoyed a truly old-fashioned "feast of reason and a flow of soul." A splendid supper was provided by "mine host," John Hammond, as caterer, and agreeably disposed of by the participants. The Brass Band was in attendance and contributed in no small degree to make this one of the happiest occasions ever enjoyed in Columbus. Speeches were made by Messrs. Hensley, Millett, and Hammond. Mr. Hammond, in closing his remarks, highly complimented the band, and the "boys" seemed to fully appreciate it. Owing to ill health, Leander Gerrard, Esquire, and S. C. Smith were unable to take part in the festivities which was much regretted by those present.

© 2005 for the NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller