District of Ohio Court

The Judicial Act of February 19, 1803,¹ established Ohio as a judicial district and authorized one judgeship for the U.S. district court. The district court in Ohio, not being assigned to a judicial circuit, was granted the same jurisdiction as U.S. circuit courts, except in appeals and writs of error, which were the jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Honorable Charles Willing Byrd produced a commission, from President Thomas Jefferson bearing the date of March 3, 1803, appointing him judge of the District of Ohio, together with a certificate of his having taken the oath of office administered by Edward Tiffin, governor of the State of Ohio. Thereupon a court of the United States for the District of Ohio was held at the court house in the town of Chillicothe on Monday, June 6, 1803.² Judge Byrd served until his death on August 25, 1828.

On President John Quincy Adams used a recess appointment to place William Creighton, Jr. on the federal bench in Ohio. His appointment was not confirmed by the Senate the next year. However, he did hold court briefly from November 1 to December 31, 1828.³ On March 7, 1829, President Andrew Jackson nominated John W. Campbell to the court. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate and served until his death in 1833.

President Jackson then appointed Benjamin Tappan to succeed Judge Campbell. Tappen held court for three days--December 23, 24, and 25, 1833⁴--but the Senate refused to confirm him. After six months, Humphrey Howe Leavitt was confirmed and appointed. On February 10, 1855, Ohio was divided into two districts, the Northern District and the Southern District.⁵ U. S. District Judge Leavitt, who had been serving the District of Ohio since June 30, 1834, became first district judge of the Southern District of Ohio. On February 20, 1855, Hiram V. Willson was appointed first district judge for the Northern District. Court was required to be held at Cincinnati and Cleveland.