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CONTACT:
Dean Dixon
Historical Resources Assistant
(941) 749-1800 ext. 4070
July 2002 Article
Introduction: The Manatee
County Historical Records Library is a wealth of information
about our local past. Documents from as early as the 1850's
describe the life and times of Manatee County residents
and weave many an interesting tale. Each month, we will
post a new story for you based on documents in our library.
We invite all of you to come to the library, located
at 1405 4th Avenue West, to see these documents for
yourself and to touch, feel and experience our heritage.
Early Pioneer Justice
Click here
to read the Court Transcripts and the Supreme Court ruling
in the Atzeroth trial
The local justice system has changed a great deal since
1859 and it is likely that some cases brought to trial in
those days would not be considered winnable by modern prosecutors.
One such case offers good insight into the workings and
standards of 19th Century justice. In 1859, before the Southern
Circuit Court of Florida, in the Village of Manatee, Mr.
Joseph Atzeroth of Terra Ceia went on trial for stealing
a cow from the estate of Mary Goddard.
The whole case hinged on the word and the abilities of a
Cattleman. Florida was a free-range state in 1859, which
meant that cattle could not legally be fenced in. They roamed
the countryside at will and different herds often mixed
in with one another. Even with brands and marks on the cows,
the question of who owns what animals could be difficult
to answer or to prove. It would be easy to steal a cow under
these conditions. There were men in those days, it has been
said, who could remember who owned which cows and knew individual
animals by sight. Joseph Atzeroth was brought to trial because
such a man, John Craig, claimed that he recognized one of
Mr. Atzeroth's cows and that it belonged to someone else.
Mr. Craig was the chief witness against Mr. Atzeroth. After
having been invited to help Mr. Atzeroth brand and mark
his cows, Mr. Craig claims that he saw a cow, which belonged
to the estate of Asa J. Goddard who had recently passed
on. Mr. Craig claimed the cow for Asa's widow and Mr. Atzeroth
was brought to trial for theft. In the trial, while being
cross-examined, Mr. Craig was asked if he held a grudge
against Mr. Atzeroth and his answer did little to put that
suspicion to rest. He replied, "I got no harm against
him if he would let my stock alone." Clearly his answer
showed some ill will towards Mr. Atzeroth. Mr. Craig also
claimed in the trial that he knew Mr. Goddard's brand was
on that cow but that he never saw it, never looked for it.
When pressed about not looking for the brand, he then claimed
that Mr. Goddard never branded his cattle well and that
the mark was probably "to (sic) dim to see."
The defense introduced a bill of sale, dated October 24,
1854 that they claimed was for that cow and that the person
who sold it to Mr. Atzeroth was none other than John Craig
himself. Of course Mr. Craig denied it at first, but he
admitted that he had sold some cows to Mr. Atzeroth years
earlier. The daughter of Mr. Atzeroth took the stand and
recalled when she wrote the bill of sale in evidence at
the request of Mr. Craig. She told the court that she complained
to Mr. Craig that she had never written a bill of sale before.
She claimed that Mr. Craig, who was probably illiterate,
told her that he would tell her what to write and then he
would put his mark on it. Mr. Craig would testify that that
incident was from some other time. When it came time to
cross-examine Eliza, the prosecution asked only one question
of her, "What is your relation to the accused?"
Eliza answered, "I am his daughter."
No evidence was brought forth that showed definitively that
the cow belonged to the Goddard estate, yet the jury returned
a guilty verdict. Mr. Atzeroth appealed the verdict to the
Florida Supreme Court, but the verdict was upheld. There
was no jail time given in the sentencing. Rather, Mr. Atzeroth
was fined $250.
There could be many reasons why Mr. Atzeroth lost his case.
He was from Bavaria and spoke with a thick accent, which
might have engendered some ill will among some neighbors.
He was a comparably wealthy man and the widow Goddard may
have been in financial trouble causing sympathy for her.
The word of respected cattlemen pulled a great deal of weight
then and people believed that a man could know, on sight,
a particular cow and who its owner was.
In the Historical Records Library are kept the trial records
of many cases in the history of Manatee County including
the trial of Joseph Atzeroth. Also are kept court docket
books that sometimes tell who the jurors were and even the
attorneys in the case.
By Dean Dixon, Historical Resources Assistant, Manatee County
Clerk of Circuit Courts.
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