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

161

"Our friend of the bar got up and said it was true that such was
the adjudication in New York, but that the case was decided under a
statute of that state which of course could have no application here.
Thereupon T- said he was prepared for all such arguments. These
Pontiac lawyers are always coming out into the country and palming off
their opinion upon justices as law but he was prepared for all such practices this time, for he had brought the law with him. He thereupon
turned to his favorite law book and read 'that the general acts of congress are binding upon all the states of the Union;' and then, with an
air of triumph, he turned to the fly leaf of the book and read 'entered
according to act of congress,' saying 'Now, Mr. Justice, I'd like to know
if that ain't law in Michigan!' Of course our friend of the bar was
finished and had to beat a hasty retreat leaving friend T- victor of
the field.
"Incidents of this kind, all our own, could be collected to fill a
volume, but time will not permit their further capitulation here."
BENCH AND BAR PRIOR TO 1840
The following paper was contributed by the late Judge Augustus C.
Baldwin to volume XXXI of the.Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections, and it was one of the most complete as well as one of the last
contributions which he made to local history prior to his death in I903.
"The time has arrived," he said, "when it is all important that the
history of the various individuals belonging to the different professions,
residents of this state at an early day, have a brief recital of their acts
prepared and filed with this society as matter for future reference. A
sketch of the early clergymen and the members of the medical profession,
however brief it might be, would be invaluable, as well as afford very
interesting reading matter; and I trust that some persons connected with
those professions will assume the task and thus preserve the names of
their brethren in the archives of this society. With this view of a person's duty, for the purpose of preserving the names of the pioneer
lawyers of Oakland county, I have assumed the task of presenting those
practicing therein prior to 1840. Time will not permit entering very
fully into detail of their various histories, but the brief sketch that I
present, will, at least, preserve their names in their professional capacity.
"Oakland county's history is not of very ancient origin. Though
Detroit was settled in 1701, and the southeastern bounds of Oakland
county were only ten miles distant from the city hall of Detroit, yet we
have no record of a white man's entrance into Oakland county for the
purpose of settlement in the township of what is now Avon. A settlement was made at Pontiac by the Pontiac Company in I818, and in the
autumn of the same year settlements were made at Royal Oak, Birmingham, Troy and Waterford.
"On the I2th of January, I818, Governor Cass issued a proclamation
organizing certain territory into the county of Oakland, and fixing the
seat of justice of the county at Pontiac.
"It is impossible to state at this time what the population was; no
accessible records of the census of I820 can now be found in the county;