Here Comes The Judge

NOT the Quaker Oats guy!

I came across an archaic tome not long ago that really spills the sap over some of the Whitewater Valley's leading citizens of the 19th century.

Which is not to say that it's inaccurate. I think we can say that some of the biographies are slightly embellished. But to be fair, in those days, a person was either hated or respected. If hated, he was probably not likely to be too successful.

This book, aptly called "American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-Made Men of the State of Indiana," was produced in 1880. It does have worth.

One family which had an enormous impact on the valley was that of Judge John Quick, whose name appears in a lot of documents and legal decision over a long period of time.

Quick was born in Maryland in 1780, or just before the end of the American Revolution.

The biography scoots right along to his marriage to Mary Eads, whose name is connected to Brookville in other ways. She was described by the biographer (unidentified) as "a lady whose charitable heart and bountiful hand, in after-years, became a blessing to many unfortunate pioneers of Franklin County."

The judge was not only sage, but he had good taste.

Quick came to Brookville from Kentucky through Butler County, Ohio, in 1805. He died in 1852.

Why he's important to Fairfield should be apparent since he served as associate judge for the county and was a leading figure in Baptist Church activities.

As well, the judge's son, John H. Quick, was an esteemed physician in the county. Doc Quick was also fairly snappy when it came to choosing a wife, having married (1841) "Miss Sarah J. Cleaver, daughter of Doctor John Cleaver, who was one of the first and most prominent physicians of Franklin County."

Evidently one of Dr. Quick's sons, Emmett, also established a somewhat prominent practice in the 1860s, "taking the situation of house physician at the Good Samaritan Hospital of Cincinnati, where he bravely gave his life in combating the cholera epidemic in that city in 1873."

It bears noting that people of leading families in those days were uncommon and they tended to pursue hobbies and vocations that necessarily allowed them to climb the social ladder. In other words, they had money.

These biographies are generous in their praise because that sort of conversation was expected of polite company. Rarely did anybody mention that somebody's son had become a "dismal failure."

The Quicks were thus considered "of high standing in the community and enjoy every comfort of a pleasant home."

The family history says Edgar Quick, "though occupied in farming, devotes a great portion of his time to scientific research." He was aligned with other archaeology experts of his day, including Dr. George Homsher and T.L. Dickerson.

The book itself is probably available in your library or in the state library in Indianapolis. It's worth a look. It's probably hard to find otherwise.

BOOK ON THE CHOLERA EPIDEMIC OF 1873

A COMMON SCOURGE ALONG THE OHIO