History of the District Attorney's Office
The Franklin County District Attorney’s Office traces its roots to at least 1789 when the position of Prosecuting Attorney was filled by an appointment from the Attorney General. As a result the prosecutors from 1789 until a revision in the laws in 1850 were considered to be deputies of the Attorney General.
These deputy appointments meant they were subject to removal at the pleasure of the Attorney General. After 1850 the law provided for an election of a county District Attorney. Below is a partial list of appointed prosecuting attorneys from 1789 to 1851. It is followed by a complete list of elected District Attorneys from 1851 to the present.
Prosecuting Attorneys*
1813 to - Unknown - William M McDowell
1819 to - Unknown - Matthew St Clair Clark
1824 to - Unknown - Frederick Smith
1845 to 1847 - William R Rankin
District Attorneys
1857 to 1860 - Lyman S Clarke
1860 to 1863 - George Eyster
1863 to 1872 - William S Stenger
1872 to 1875 - Theodore McGowan
1875 to 1881 - Oliver C Bowers
1881 to 1884 - Charles A Suesserott
1884 to 1887 - W J Zacharias
1887 to 1890 - Hiram J Plough
1890 to 1893 - Horace Bender
1893 to 1896 - Charles Walter
1896 to 1899 - Jeremiah H Light