William G. Haydon

The Justice of the Peace Docket Book

The Civil and Criminal Justice System in Early Illinois

In the early years of statehood, the justices of the Supreme Court of illinois performed the duties of circuit judges, traveling around circuits made up of several counties, as defined by the legislature, and holding court at prescribed times.

William G. Haydon was a prominent and versatile man. He was born on March 28, 1793, and married Elizabeth Long on June 24, 1813. (71) As already noted, Haydon settled just south of the first settler, Jo hn Whitley, and later bought his property and about 1834 built a log structure that served as a tavern and an inn. (16) That same year at the age of 41 he began serving as Justice of the Peace and made his first entries in the docket book; but the first entries in 1834 and those continuing for five years, until September 1839, are signed by "W.G. Haydon J.P." So many of these signatures appear, and they appear so clearly to be "Haydon," that I have adopted that spelling here (though preserved the other where it appears in the record). The Combined History spelled the name "Hayden." (68) And the U.S. census for 1860 lists "William G. Hayden" as a 67-year-old gardener livin g in Sullivan. But I.J. Martin in his Notes spelled it "Haydon." (69) And the "Haydon Family Bible" (70) spelled it "Haydon," which should be dispositi ve.

I.J. Martin wrote that Haydon "bought the entire town at the time the Whitleys moved away." (72) In addition to being a justice for five years, Haydon ran a store, post-office and school. (73) In one of his last entries as justice, dated September 11, 1839, Haydon records that certain papers were "returned before me at my school house." (74) In 1843 , he was one of the first venire of grand jurors in the newly created Moultrie County. (75)

Haydon had three sons--John, Ben, and William, Jr.--and seven daughters. One of the daughters, Harr iet, married Daniel Ellington, the first storekeeper. (76) Another married Ebenezer Noyes, the prominent landowner and founder of the town of Essex. (77)< /A> Although the store entry section in the last third of the volume commences in February 1834, by which time Haydon is no longer a justice, there are a couple of fragmentary notations of earlier store transactions--e.g., in 1837 and 1838 (78)--perhaps made at a time when Haydon was running the store. Later, as noted, Haydon and his wife Elizabeth were listed in the 1860 U.S. census as living in Sullivan, with Haydon's occupation shown as "gardene r." He died November 9, 1867, at the age of 74. (79)

Haydon passed on the responsibilities of Justice of the Peace to Amos Wagoner in the fall of 1839. With them he passed along his docket book . The passing on of docket books by retiring justices to their successors seem to have been goverened by practice rather than statute. Abraham Lincoln explained this in a letter to his friend and political associate, Henry C. Whitney, an attorney who t raveled with him on the judicial circuit and later wrote an account of their life on the circuit. In his letter of December 18, 1857, Lincoln wrote to Whitney:

I know of no express statute or decisions as to what a J.P. upon the expiration of his term shall do with his docket books, papers, unfinished business &c. but so far as I know, the practice has been to hand over to the successor, and to cease to do anything further whatever and I suppose this is the law. I think the successor ma y forthwith do, whatever the retiring J.P. might have done the view I take I believe is the common law principle as to retiring officers and their successors, to which I remember but one exception, which is the case of sheriffs and ministerial officers of the class.

I have not had time to examin this subject fully, but I have great confidence I am right. (80)

On September 11, 1839, Haydon signed as "acting Justice of the Peace;" and o n October 3, 1839, Amos Waggoner recorded his first entry as justice (81) and commenced a new pagination of the docket record. Waggoner was not quite 35 when he began serving as justice.

Amos Waggoner, born in North Carolina October 11, 1804, was one of the earliest settlers, having arrived with his father Isaac Waggoner in early 1828 and others of the Waggoner clan. (82) He and his wife N arcissa Jay had twelve children, five of whom died in infancy. In 1834, Amos acquired land six miles west of the Whitley cabins where he farmed and operated a horse-powered. The passing on of docket books by retiring justices to their successors seem to have been goverened by practice rather than statute. Abraham Lincoln explained this in a letter to his friend and political associate, Henry C. Whitney, an attorney who traveled with him on the judicial circuit and later wrote an account of their life on the circuit. In his letter of December 18, 1857, Lincoln wrote to Whitney: (19)

Three sons of Amos and Naricissa--Dr. Edward E., Joseph H., and Frank M.--started The Sullivan Express, the first newspaper published in Sullivan (or Moultrie County), in 1858. Later, the eldest son, Edward E. Waggoner, in 1870 entered the mercantile b usiness in Shelbyville with J.J. & W.L.--two sons of William G. Haydon. Joseph H. Waggoner was Circuit Clerk of Moultrie County for 16 years (Combined History, p. 177).