The early history of Floyd County...Organization of the Courts

...interesting incidents...This is the first article of three. ..."the Court should be holden at the house of Seth Woodruff, Esq., in the town of New Albany...The Hon. Davis Floyd, President of the Second Circuit...Isaac Van Buskirk, Esq., produced a commission from his Excellency, Jonathan Jennings, appointing him Associate Judge of the Circuit Court, in and for the county of Floyd...Mason C. Fitch is appointed Prosecuting Attorney..." The first case of commitment to prison for debt was that of Joseph Jenkins...The first State case entered was on the 11th day of May, 1819, being the State vs. George Claters, "for an assault and outrage committed upon the person of Joseph W. Green, a constable in the town of New Albany; the second State case was against Joshua W. Redman; the next against Thomas H. Letcher, also assault and battery. These parties were convicted, and afterwards burned down the jail of the county--a small log building...The first divorce case entered upon the record was Joshua Wilson vs. Elizabeth Wilson, a negro. Wilson was a pilot on the river and had taken eight keelboats to New Orleans, walking back to New Albany in each instance. It was also ordered that Joshua Wilson make publication of his application for divorce in the "Indianian," a newspaper published at Jeffersonville, there being no paper published at that time in Floyd county...On the 11th of December, "John Spalding came into Court and applied to be admitted to become a citizen of the United States." He was the first foreigner naturalized in Floyd county. He was a Scotchman...On May 11th [1820] John Mulligan was indicted for stealing a pinchback watch of the value of six dollars, one fur hat of the value of five dollars and fifty cents, three pockets books at 25 cents each, the property of Frederick Nolte. He was convicted May 11th, 1820, the verdict of the jury being: "and that the said goods have been restored, we do moreover assess his fine at one dollar and order that he receive five stripes." This was the first conviction for larceny in Floyd county...May 13, Sally Ferguson files her complaint praying for a divorce from James Ferguson...May 15th, Patrick Leyden, father of our fellow citizens Capt. John and A. D. Leyden, applied to the Court to be naturalized as a citizen of the United States, and the application was granted; he being the second foreign born citizen naturalized in Floyd county...On the 12th day of September, William Rose and John Burnham, Revolutionary soldiers, appeared in Court and filed schedules of their property, according to law, in order to secure the bounties and pensions offered by the Government...Sept. 15th, Francis Lang and Benjamin Buckman filed with the Court schedules of their property, so as to enable them to draw bounty and pensions as Revolutionary soldiers. On the same day the Court granted a divorce to Sally Ferguson from her husband, James Ferguson, being the first divorce granted in Floyd county.