Warren County
Local History by Dallas Bogan |
Contributor: |
Dallas Bogan on 30 August 2004 |
Source: |
original article by Dallas Bogan |
Return to Index to see a list of other articles by Dallas Bogan |
Another Warren Countian who earned and received creditable acclaim was the
first judge in the County, Francis
Dunlevy. Among Judge Dunlevy's attributes were his trials as a soldier during
his youth in the Indian War, a pioneer teacher in the Miami Valley, and one
of the framers of the first Constitution of Ohio.
Francis Dunlevy was born
near Winchester, Va., and later moved with his family to Washington, Pa., when
he was about 11 years old. Living in a frontier settlement during the Revolution,
Francis served in no less
than eight campaigns against the Indians before he was 21, these campaigns ranging
from 14 days to 3 months. He served during Col. Crawford's
disastrous defeat, which resulted in the capture of the Colonel and his death
by burning at the stake. Fifty years after this incident, in 1832, Dunlevy wrote
an accurate report concerning that tragic expedition.
Dunlevy, after the Revolution,
was a student in Dickinson College and studied to become a Presbyterian minister.
His parents, of the same faith, longed for him this vocation, but a change in
religious views by Francis led him into the Baptist church.
He eventually gave up his ministerial studies and became a teacher.
He next relocated to the neighborhood of Washington, Ky., in 1790, and, in 1792,
moved to Columbia near Cincinnati. Here he opened a classical school that he
maintained several years. This house of education was believed to have been
the first school taught by a respectable scholar in the new Miami country.
He moved, in 1797, to the locality of Lebanon and opened up a school; among
his pupils was Thomas Corwin.
While teaching in Turtlecreek, he was first elected to office in October 1800
as a Representative in the Territorial Legislature from Hamilton County. (Hamilton
County was then part of the Northwest Territory and contained an estimated 5,000
square miles.) He took his seat in November 1801.
During this term he was a spirited Anti-federalist and fought the invariable
power of Gov. St. Clair.
Dunlevy was elected in 1802 as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
He received the most votes of 99 persons running for this office. The following
year he was elected a State Senator in the first State Legislature, and from
this body he was elected President Judge.
The first Constitution of Ohio stated that the Court of Common Pleas should
consist of one President Judge in each circuit and three Associate Judges in
each county. The Associates were generally men of various vocations such as
mechanics, farmers, or those who were of adequate intelligence.
Also to be elected were three Supreme Judges. Salary for the Supreme Judges
was fixed at $1000 per annum and for the President Judges, $750.
Lawyers were elected judges of the Supreme Court and also as President Judges
of the eastern and middle circuits. Credentials for the President Judge were
that he be qualified in law. Francis
Dunlevy, who had never seriously studied law, or had never been admitted
to the bar, was elected President Judge. He served his seven-year term and was
reelected for a second term.
In the 14 years in this office he traveled his circuit through the most tortuous
weather. He was an expert swimmer, his skill allowing him to cross both Miamis
at high water. In his numerous campaigns against the Indians, and his ordeals
as a pioneer, he thought nothing of crossing the Ohio River at flood time.
There were no bridges constructed in his circuit and repeatedly he swam his
horse across the swollen rivers. Persons during this period, while purchasing
a horse, would ask: "Is he a good swimmer?" In the 14 years of his
profession he missed only one court appearance. Judge
Dunlevy, though not a lawyer, was most likely better qualified to sit on
the bench than most. He was gifted with great intelligence and was possibly
the finest classical scholar in the Miami Valley.
The Judge was also possibly the first outspoken abolitionist in the valley.
He was born in a slave State, but from his youth he denied this "peculiar
institution."
Regarded by most men as an accepted institution, Dunlevy repeatedly spoke out
against the persecution of the Negro. His patience ran thin with those who opposed
his viewpoint and he "looked upon the advocates of gradual emancipation
as men who would tolerate slavery."
He was a provider to the "Genius of Universal Emancipation," published
by Benjamin Lundy at different locations, until being destroyed
by a mob. Lundy traveled on foot and gave many speeches and lectures regarding
his abolition journal, and, once while traveling his circuit he visited a day
or two at Dunlevy's house.
Though Judge Dunlevy was
open to much abuse, he never wavered once in his cause regarding the Negro's
freedom. His opinions were seen as unpopular, but his composure and eloquence
reigned high.
He was regularly a candidate for the Legislature after retiring from the bench
and was defeated for Representative in 1821, '22 and '23.
His name had been announced as a candidate for the State Senate in 1823, when
a correspondent for the Western Star attacked him for his friendliness toward
the Negroes. The journalist quoted from the journal of the Constitutional Convention
simply to show that Dunlevy had voted to strike the word "white" from
the said document simply for the Negro's right to vote.
Judge Dunlevy, in the next
issue of the Star, wrote a long article in reply to his critic. In essence,
he basically upheld the doctrine that "all men are created equal."
He continued by stating his views on another adverse subject, that of allowing
persons of color to testify against a white man. He stated:
"I cannot see the justice or policy of the law which suffers a villain
to escape because his crime was committed only in the presence of persons of
color."
His defeat in 1823 caused the Judge never to seek office again. However, in
1824, his name was placed on the Ohio electoral ticket for John Q. Adams.
He retired from the practice of law and in his later years dedicated his life
to reading and study. Latin came easy for him and he preferred reading the Bible
in Latin rather than in English.
Judge Dunlevy was described
as a rather heavy-set man, quite plain in appearance, and significantly abrupt
in his manner. He lived a great deal of his life on a farm two miles northwest
of Lebanon. He was described as a remarkable man and one of the most distinguished
men of the Turtlecreek valley. One of his achievements was that of assisting
in the formation of the Miami Baptist Association and was a leading member of
the Baptist church in Lebanon.
In my research Francis' name has been sometimes spelled "Dunlevy,"
but he personally spelled it "Dunlavy." It was spelled
in the latter form in the first Constitution of Ohio. Anthony
H. changed the name to "Dunlevy",
oldest son of Francis, soon after he became a lawyer in Lebanon.
Anthony as "Dunlevy signed a legal document
in 1821" while his father spelled his name, "Dunlavy."
The son claimed the original family came from Spain. The family then passed
through France to Ireland and then to America. He contended that the original
spelling was "Dunlavy."
Francis Dunlavy died October
6, 1839, aged 78 years, and is buried in the old Baptist Cemetery in Lebanon.
On the monument he is credited with being among the first white men who entered
the territory now forming Ohio. It also reveals that he was a member of the
Territorial Legislature and of the Convention, which formed the first Constitution
of Ohio.
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This page created 30 August 2004 and last updated
28 September, 2008
© 2004 Arne H Trelvik
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