NOTE! After sending out last week’s tip on Kentucky orphanages, two of our readers sent me some additional information that I felt was worth sharing with the readers. Credit is given at the end of each:

For those that have knowledge that their ancestors were kept within a Catholic institution, going through the Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville may in fact hold information, that no one knows about. Those priests are wonderful document writer. A written request for information can work magic sometimes with what information is available.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington 1310 West Main Street Lexington, Kentucky 40508-2048 Telephone: (859) 253-1993 Facsimile: (859) 254-6284

This website is awesome: Rhonda Houston, (rfhouston@mindspring.com)

http://home.att.net/~Local_Catholic/CatholicUS-LouisvilleKY....

Then, The Kentucky Methodist Children's Homes is a non-profit organization. We serve all ages of children through a variety of programs. We've been established for over 135 years. We have two locations-- Versailles and Owensboro. The Home was originally established in 1871 as the Widows and Orphans Home by the Methodist Episcopal Church South in Louisville. Sixty years later, the Home was move to Versailles, Kentucky. The original mission to rescue women and children from abuse, serve unwed mothers, and provide housing for homeless and orphaned children, is historically similar to that of today's mission. However in the late 1980s, our Home changed from being an orphanage to a treatment facility in order to serve adolescent children with histories of abuse, neglect, abandonment, and family trauma. From: Judy Kirkpatrick, judygailh@gmail.com

Now to the KY Supreme Court ….

It was in the winter of 1776 that Virginia granted county status to Kentucky. It would take until 1792 that they granted statehood; a long wait for all the people residing in what would become a state, With this county status, Virginia provided a limited court system, but it included no appellate jurisdiction. Any judgment by the Kentucky courts had to travel back to Virginia borne by a rider to be reviewed in that state. One can see that this took a long time and was likely a perilous trip in those early days with few roads, many native Americans and wild animals! When the judgments reached the capitol, they were reviewed by the Virginia Court of Appeals. Their decision would then be forwarded back to Kentucky by the same route. It might take months before the Kentucky courts would learn the decisions of the Virginia court. It was not until statehood in 1792 that a court system was established in Kentucky; ratification occurred with Kentucky’s first constitution.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals was our highest court. It had original and final jurisdiction and their cases were varied. The largest number of cases, however, centered around land disputes – titles, incorrect surveys, etc. The Court of Appeals also had appellate jurisdiction which included reviewing the Court of Quarter Sessions decisions held in each county. If you will remember, the Court of Quarter Sessions was the predecessor of the Circuit Court and met, as indicated, quarterly instead of monthly. There were three Judges who were life-time appointees of the Governor. There were no specific qualifications that had to be met to hold the position of Judge, but they were subject to impeachment. Their annual pay, according to the Kentucky Encyclopedia (p. 861) was a staggering $677.00. Harry Innes was appointed as the first Chief Justice of the appellate court on June 28, 1792. He was later appointed judge for the U. S. District of Kentucky and replaced on the state court by George Muter in December 1792.

The new constitution of 1850 brought about many changes in the court systems. Court membership was increased to four and each judge had to now be elected by voters from the different districts. The court was limited to appellate jurisdictions. In 1894, the number of judges was again increased to eleven. Since that time many changes have continued to made with the major reform in 1975 when the Judicial Article was ratified which was a constitutional amendment. The Court of Appeals was renamed to the Kentucky Supreme Court and as such is the final authority of state law, hearing appeals from the lower courts. Cases involving the death penalty or imprisonment for 20 or more years go directly from the county’s Circuit Court to the Supreme Court for review. One justice from each of Kentucky’s seven appellate districts is chosen in a non partisan election. Requirements now are a lot stronger than in 1792; the candidate has to have practiced law for at least eight years before the election.

The following have served from Kentucky 1792-1895

Harry Innes, 1792 (Chief Justice, 1792)
Benjamin Sebastian, 1792-1806
Caleb Wallace, 1792-1813
George Mutter, 1792-1806 (Chief Justice 1792-1806)
Thomas Todd, 1801-1807 (Chief Justice 1806-1807)
Felix Grundy, 1806-1808 (Chief Justice 1807-1808)
Ninian Edwards, 1806-1809 (Chief Justice 1808-1809)
Robert Trimble, 1807-1809
William Logan, 1808, 1810-1818
George M. Bibb, 1808-1809 (Chief Justice 1809, 1827-1828)
John Boyle, 1809-1827 (Chief Justice 1810-1827)
James Clarke, 1810-1812
William Owsley, 1812-1828
John Rowan, 1819
Benjamin Mills, 1820-1828

The 1825 Supreme Court or “New Court””
William T. Barry, 1825
James Haggin, 1825
John Trimble, 1825
Benjamin W. Patton, 1825
Rezin Davidge, 1825

Reconstituted Court of Appeals:
George Robertson, 1828-42, 1864-71 (Chief Justice 1829-42, 1870-71)
J. R. Underwood, 1828-1834 (From Barren & Warren Co)
R. A. Buckner, 1829-1832
Samuel S. Nicholas, 1831-1834
Iphraim M. Ewing, 1835-1846 (Chief Justice)
John Chambers, appointed 1835, declined
T. A. Marshall, 1835-1856 (Chief Justice 1847-1851, 1854-1856)
Daniel Breck, 1843-1849
James Simpson, 1847-1860 (Chief Justice 1851-52, 1858-60)
Asher W. Graham, 1849-1851
B. Mills Crenshaw, 1851-1857 (Chief Justice 1856-1857) (from Barren Co)
Elijah Hise, 1851-1854 (Chief Justice 1852-1854)
Henry J. Stites, 1854-1862 (Chief Justice 1860-1862)
Alvin Duvall, 1856-1864 (Chief Justice 1862-1864)
Zachariah Wheat, 1857-1858 (Chief Justice 1857-1858)
Henry C. Wood, 1858-1861
Belvard J. Peters, 1860-1876 (Chief Justice 1866-1868, 1874-1876)
Joshua F. Bullitt, 1861-1865 (Chief Justice 1864-1865)
Rufus K. Williams, 1862-1870 (Chief Justice 1868-1870)
William Sampson, 1865-1866 (Chief Justice 1865-1866)
M. R. Hardin, 1866-1874 (Chief Justice 1872-1874)
William Lindsay, 1870-1878 (Chief Justice 1876-1878)
William S. Pryor, 1871-1897 (Chief Justice 1871-72, 1878-80, 1886-88, 1895-97)
Martin H. Cofer, 1874-1881 (Chief Justice 1880-1881)
John M. Elliott, 1876-1879
Thomas H. Hines, 1878-1886 (Chief Justice 1884-1886
T. F. Hargis, 1879-1884 (Chief Justice 1882-1884)
Joseph H. Lewis, 1881-1889 (Chief Justice 1881-1882, 1888-1890, 1897-1899)
William H. Holt, 1884-1893 (Chief Justice 1890-1893)
Caswell Bennett, 1886-1894 (Chief Justice 1893-1894)
J. H. Hazelrigg, 1893-1901 (Chief Justice 1899-1901)
Isaac M. Quigley, 1894-1895 (Chief Justice 1894-1895)

There was a reorganization in 1895 as a result of the new Constitution in 1895. For later Judges see the University of Louisville website and search for Judges.

© Copyright 29 October 2009, Sandra K. Gorin