Jim Baird on short list of Putnam-based U.S. congressmen

Saturday, January 5, 2019
Courtland Gillen

It’s official now, Jim Baird won’t be the first -- and probably won’t be the last -- but he’s in a tiny fraternity of men who have served in the U.S. Congress from Putnam County.

While initial indications during the 2018 election pointed to the possibility Baird (R-Greencastle) might be the first Putnam County resident to ever serve in Congress if elected, as he was officially sworn in Thursday in Washington, D.C., those claims were laid to rest.

Unofficial Putnam County historian Jinsie Bingham did the honors, providing the Banner Graphic with information on Courtland C. “Court” Gillen, who not only was a Greencastle attorney but lived kitty-corner from Bingham at 105 Bloomington St.

James T. Johnston

He served in the U.S. Congress March 4, 1931-March 3, 1933 as representative from Indiana’s 5th District.

“The reason I found out,” Bingham said, “was I was doing a history of the Greencastle Rotary Club and found him.”

So apparently Gillen, who was born in Roachdale and graduated from Fincastle High School in 1897, was a Rotary Club member.

Jim Baird

From 1901-03, he attended DePauw University and later graduated from the law of department of what is now known as the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1905.

In 1904 he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Greencastle, creating the firm Gillen and Lyon with offices on the south side of the square above Central National Bank. The firm would later become Lyon and Boyd when Rex Boyd succeeded Gillen.

Gillen later served as Putnam County attorney from 1909-1914, and as a prosecuting attorney in 1917-18. He also served as delegate to the Democratic state convention in 1924.

He was elected to the 72nd Congress as a Democrat but was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1932.

In 1934 Gillen was elected judge of the 64th judicial circuit (Putnam Circuit Court) and served from Jan. 1, 1935 until his resignation on April 15, 1939 when he resumed the private practice of law.

Born July 3, 1880, Gillen died in Greencastle on Sept. 1, 1954 and is interred in Forest Hill Cemetery.

While Gillen served the 5th District from Putnam County, the county has also been included in the 6th, 7th, 8th and now the 4th District over the years.

Gillen may be the only person other than Baird to serve in Congress while residing in Putnam County but there have been others with local connections.

There’s James Thomas Johnston, who was born in Greencastle on Jan. 19, 1839 but was practicing law in Rockville and living in Parke County when he was elected to served as congressman from the 8th District in 1885-89.

Johnston, who died in 1904 and is buried in Rockville, was succeeded by Elijah V. Brookshire of Ladoga, who served 1889-1895, and was followed by George W. Faris of Rensselaer, an 1877 graduate of Asbury College (now DePauw).

Faris had the distinction of representing both the 8th and 5th Districts, 1895-1897 and 1897-1901, respectively.

Following Faris as 5th District congressman came Elias S. Holliday, a native of Aurora, Ind., who once practiced law in the Clay County community of Carbon near the area where Putnam, Clay and Parke counties all come together, and later in Brazil, where he ultimately served as mayor 1877-80 as well as 1887-88.

Now the job belongs at least for the next two years to Baird, who outlasted a seven-man Republican primary and captured the 16-county 4th District seat with 64 percent of the vote. He was sworn in Thursday at age 73 as the second oldest new member of the 116th Congress, behind only Donna Shalala, 77, of Florida.

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