History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests / compiled from the official records of the county, the newspapers and data of personal interviews, under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley.

HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY

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and jurisdictions of the probate court are now substantially the same
as when first established, and as its first session in Oakland county was
held more than ninety years ago, it has the largest- continuous history
of any judicial tribunal in this section of the state.
The first session of the probate court in and for Oakland county
was held at the house of Col. David Stanard, in the township of Bloomfield, in said county on the I5th day of June, 1822, Judge William
Thompson presiding. On the application of Maj. Joseph Todd, Mrs.
Elizabeth Harding was cited to appear on the 27th instant next ensuing,
and file her petition before the court for administration on the estate
of Eliphalet Harding, deceased, and the court adjourned to that time
and the same place. On the 29th of June Mrs. Harding appeared, and,
together with John Todd, was appointed administratrix of the estate
of her late husband. Messrs. David Stanard, Calvin Gibbs, and Charles
Howard were appointed appraisers. Before the inventory and appraisement were returned the widow married, and Judge Thompson evidently
considered her wedding equivalent to her funeral, for he designated
ever afterwards Mr. Todd as the surviving administrator. The Harding estate proving insolvent, the late widow received $I62.84 only, of
the goods and chattels of the estate.
The first inventory filed in the court was that of the estate of J. S.
Davis, deceased, September 7, 1822, the same footing up $498.50 on
personal property and $390 on real estate. The widow received $300
of the personal property and the balance was sold by the appraisers.
Sidney Dole and David Perrin were commissioners to audit the claims
against the estate. The third session of the court was held at the house
of Olmstead Chamberlain, in the village of Pontiac, the next session
at Colonel Stanard's and the fifth at Maj. Joseph Todd's, in Bloomfield.
All of these sessions had been special ones, held for emergency called
for the exercise of the authority of the court. But at the fifth session
regular sessions were ordered to be held on the first Saturday of each
month, in Pontiac, at the office of Daniel LeRoy, Esq.
The first order of distribution of an estate was entered April 5,
1823, in the estate of John Prindle, deceased, upon which administration was granted December I6, 1822. The first letters of guardianship
were granted August 22, 1823, to Nathaniel Millard, guardian of
Maria, Aaron W. and George B. Webster, children of Aaron Webster,
deceased.
On December 15, 1823, regular sessions were ordered to be held at
Bloomfield, at the office of the register, on the first Saturday of each
month.
The first lunatic examined and restrained was Imri Fish. Elijah
H. Fish was appointed guardian of his estate May 7, 1825. The first
will probated in the court was that of Alpheus Williams, deceased,
which was proven September 6, 1826, and executed on the i9th of
April preceeding.
The judges of probate from the organization of the county to 1836,
all of whom were appointed by the governor, were as follows: Dr.
William Thompson, 1821-24; Nathaniel Millard, 1825-6; Smith Weeks,
1827; G. O. Whittemore, I827-28; W. F. Mosely, 1828; Ogden Clarke,