William Watson Wick, born in Cannonsburg, PA, came to Indiana in 1819; was elected Clerk of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1820; was chosen first Judge of the New Purchase in 1822; was the first judge to hold court in Indianapolis; held the first court in Johnson County at John Smiley's cabin on Oct. 16, 1823; served intermittently as Johnson County Circuit Judge until 1859; was elected Indiana Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829; served three terms in the U.S. Congress; was an 1849 Presidential Elector; and was Indianapolis Postmaster from 1853 to 1857, for nearly forty years in public life.