USA > Iowa > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, and its townships, cities and villages from 1836 to 1882 > Part 22
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JOHNSON COUNTY'S FIRST OFFICER.
The following appointment by Sheriff Tallman, of Cedar county, of S. C. Trowbridge to assist in taking the census, was absolutely the first appointment of a public officer of any sort for Johnson county. At that time Keokuk county was what is now called Iowa county, but extended indefinitely westward to the vague place called "Sundown," or thereabouts. The "W. T." in all these early documents stands for Wisconsin Terri- tory:
CEDAR COUNTY, W. T., May 28, 1838.
I, James W. Tallman, sheriff of the above county, hereby appoint S. C. Trowbridge an assistant in taking the census required to be taken during the present month; and I assign to him Johnson and Keokuk [now Iowa] counties so far as they are south and west of Cedar river.
JAMES W. TALLMAN, Sheriff C. C., W. T.
I, S. C. Trowbridge, do solemnly swear that I will make a just and perfect enumeration of all persons resident within the division assigned to me by the Sheriff of Cedar County, and make due return thereof to the said Sheriff-agreeably to an act of the Legislative Assembly, entitled "An act providing for the taking of the census or enumeration of the inhabitants of the Territory of Wisconsin," according to the best of my abilities. S. Č. TROWBRIDGE. Sworn and subscribed before me this 2Sth day of May, A. D. 1838.
R. G. ROBERTS, J. P.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
After these documents, the next thing in order that is matter of public record is in regard to county seat.
THE FIRST COUNTY SEAT.
In 1837-38, there were two rival county seats, on paper. One called Napoleon, was located on section twenty-two in Lucas township, where James McCollister now lives. The other was called Osceola, after the Seminole chief of Florida, who starved himself to death, or pined away in grief at being captured and held as a prisoner. His wife's name was Oskaloosa, and the city of that name in Mahaska county was named after her. The Osceola town was laid off finely on paper, with lots given for churches, colleges, parks, court house, etc., but it never had any defined local habitation. It was a sort of "now-you-see-it and-now-you-don't-see- it" affair, ready to squat wherever luck-and-chance might throw it. This scheme was gotten up, and the fine plat prepared at South Bend, Indiana, and was brought here by Judge Pleasant Harris. The rivalry of these two imaginary towns was a live topic among the settlers during the winter of 1837-38; and the poet of the community, [not certainly known whether John Gilbert or Henry Felkner] broke out into classic verse on the all-absorbing theme. Two manuscript copies of this historic poem were made, but it has never before appeared in print, and we are indebted to Col. Trowbridge for a copy of it:
ODE TO OSCEOLA.
· The mighty chief whose deeds so brave, Whose hate so deadly to each foe, Has late been summoned to the grave; The warrior's head now lies full low. The champion of his race has gone, Has ceased to act upon the stage;
Through life a lustre round him shone Ne'er yet surpassed in any age. Superior talents he possessed, And virtue pure as maiden gold;
His dauntless courage to the last Proved the true greatness of his soul.
But ah, he's left the scene of life; His body rests beneath the sod; Free from every care and strife, His soul has winged its way to God. And long his memory will be dear; His name still sacred shall remain; For him a monument we'll rear On Iowa's fair and flowery plain. We'll build a city to his name- With church and stately tower adorn; High as the heavens shall reach its fame, And in it none shall hunger, thirst or mourn.
This was a serio-sarcasm on the lowly source of the name chosen for the new town, and also on the high-sounding promises made by the par-
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
ties who were wet-nursing it for the county seat. And now its rival in the race for county honors rises and speaks his little piece, thus:
NAPOLEON'S REPLY.
Vain, feeble worm! presumptuous boy! How vain conceit doth lift thee up! 'Ere long shall trouble mar thy joy, For bitter sorrow thou shalt sup.
What hast thou done whereof to boast? What deeds of bravery or of skill? Did e'er thy voice command a host, And with dread fear creation fill?
Did not all Europe bow to nie, And tremble when I gave command? Can now a feeble worm like thee Presume my fury to withstand?
I'll rise once more with dreadful might And scatter devastation round; I'll cast thee from thy giddy height And lay thee level with the ground.
Thy boasted church and stately tower, And monument with all its fame, Shall fall before my potent power, Nor dare to speak thy plebian name.
My true-born sons shall till the soil On which thy boasted city stands, While peace and plenty on them smiles In the protection of my hands.
With such a clear spring of classic genius as that, gushing forth among the rude cabins of Johnson county, how could the State University help coming here. This production was a spontaneous forecast of fate, for in six months after it was written the law was enacted which organized Johnson county, with Napoleon named as the county seat.
Right here comes in a story of sharp practice, on which Judge Harris and John Gilbert " locked horns," as rival leaders in the public affairs of the new county. As before stated, Harris brought with him from Indiana besides a considerable number of relatives and neighbors, a plat for a county seat. Jonathan Harris was his son; Isaac N. Lesh was his son-in-law; William Massey was his nephew, and Mrs. Massey and Mrs. Jonathan Harris were sisters. Here was a strong nucleus to attract other relatives and old neighbors, as it soon did. The Judge was ambitious and public spirited, and of course desirous of making money also. In looking about for a suitable place to plant his county seat plat upon, the river bank just above Wapashasheik's Indian village was thought to be the most eligible site; and accordingly the Judge and his friends were ready to " stake that claim" the very hour that the Indian title should become extinct, which
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
would be on Oct. 21, 1837. The Indian boundary then existing, (prior to Oct. 21,) ran from near the southwest corner of Liberty township, in a straight line to where the Cedar river crosses the east line of Johnson county. The present townships of Fremont, Pleasant Valley, Lincoln and Scott, were all on " white-man's land "-and also most of Graham and a small part of Cedar, Lucas and Liberty; but all the rest of the county was still "Indian land." Gilbert's trading house was just over the line on Indian land-a privilege which Gilbert paid for by furnishing certain bar- rels of whisky to the Poweshiek braves. [See Chapter IV, Part 2, on " Old Trading Houses," and "First 4th of July."] To make good their county-seat project the Harris party had built a claim cabin close on the river bank, just above Wapashashiek's village, [see the diagram in Chap- ter II, Part 2,] but it was hardly safe for any one to live in it before the lawful day, without special permit from the Indian chiefs. So the cabin stood there awaiting the hour when it could be lawfully occupied. Mean- while, those whose interests and sympathies were with John Gilbert, rather than Judge Harris, or with the "Napoleon " as against the "Osceola" county-seat project, set about to head off the Osceola scheme. Gilbert and his friends were on such friendly terms with Poweshiek and Wapash- ashiek that they could get almost any favor or permit they wanted; so they fixed it all right with the Indians, then got a man named John Mor- ford to move up from Bloomington, [Muscatine] and take that claim. He was afterwards known as " Uncle Johnny Mofford," and the post-office of Morfordville, in Pleasant Valley township, was named after him. But Mr. Morford had no taste for town-making or neighborhood contests, and as soon as he had made good and valid his right to this claim, he traded it to Philip Clark for his farm, further down the river-the same place that is still known as the Morford farm. Philip Clark had his brother-in-law Peter Smith, go and live in the town-site claim cabin, while the county seat company, consisting of Clark and Gilbert, got George Bumgard- ner, a surveyor from Muscatine county, to come up and stake off the blocks, lots, streets, etc. And this is the story of how Clark, Gilbert, Trowbridge, Felkner, Morford and others, outwitted Judge Harris and his party by jumping his town site and turning his proposed town of " Osceola " into their town of " Napoleon."
Following this, Gilbert received a commission as postmaster, at Napo- leon; but died the next day after it came. Then a commission was pro- cured for Judge Harris' son, William, who was under age at the time; and there was a neighborhood snarl and tangle of tribulation about post-office matters, until S. H. McCrory was made postmaster, and took the office to Iowa City. [See Post Office history in Chapter II, Part 1.]
About June 1, 1838, the Napoleonite settlers prepared a petition to the legislature, which was to meet in special session at Burlington, on Mon- day, June 11th, and sent S. C. Trowbridge as their "lobby member" to
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
secure the legislation they wanted. Trowbridge went down on horse- back and arrived there on the 10th. It should be noted here that at the previous session of the legislature, Messrs. John Gilbert and Pleasant Harris, and I. N. Lesh, went there to get the county organized; but Gil- bert wanted "Napoleon" for the county seat, while Harris was for "Osceola;" and being divided, they got nothing. Trowbridge was there at the sarne time, on business for Muscatine county, and so got acquainted with the members. After reconnoitering the situation as to men and influ- ence, he selected Hon. John Foley, then a member of the Council from Dubuque county, as the best man to serve his object; and accordingly the journal of the second day, June 12th, says:
Mr. Foley presented the petition of citizens of Johnson county, asking to be organized as a separate county, and to establish the seat of justice for said county, at or in the town of Napoleon.
Referred to a select committee consisting of the whole delegation from the original county of Dubuque.
The journal of the 14th says:
Mr. Foley, from the select committee, to which was referred the peti- tion of citizens of Johnson county, reported bill No. 1, entitled "A bill for an act organizing the county of Johnson, and establishing the seat of justice of said county."
Which bill was read a first time.
The journal of June 18th again shows the progress of the bill, thus:
On motion of Mr. Foley, bill No. 1, entitled "A bill for an act organiz- ing the county of Johnson, and establishing the seat of justice of said county," was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to the committee of the whole house.
The council resolved itself into a committee of the whole, Mr. Terry in the chair, for consideration of said bill; and after some time the committee arose and reported the same without amendment.
The report of the committee was concurred in, and the bill ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.
On motion of Mr. Foley,
Ordered, That the 16th and 18th rules be suspended, in order that the bill may be read a third time now.
The bill was then read a third time, passed, and the title agreed to.
Ordered, That the concurrence of the House of Representatives be requested therein.
In the journal of the 20th this record appears:
Message from the House of Representatives, by the clerk, viz :
MR. PRESIDENT: The House of Representatives have concurred in the following resolution and bills of this house, viz:
A resolution on the subject of printing the laws in pamphlet form.
No. 1, A bill for an act organizing the county of Johnson, and establish- ing the seat of justice of said county.
On the 22d the said bill was presented to the President of the council for his signature, and on the 23d the President reported to the council that
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
this bill had received the Governor's approval and signature. The follow- ing is the bill as passed:
AN ACT organizing the county of Johnson, and establishing the seat of justice of said county :
SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Wisconsin, That the county of Johnson be, and the same is hereby organized from and after the fourth day of July [1838] next, and the inhabitants of said county be entitled to all the rights and privileges to which by law the inhabitants of other organized counties of this territory are entitled to. And the said county shall continue to be a part of the second judicial district, and a district court shall be held at the town of Napo-
leon, the seat of justice, at the court house, or such other place as may be provided. Two terms of the said district court shall be held annually after the organization of said county, to-wit: On the second Monday of August and December; and the several acts concerning the district courts of said Wisconsin Territory shall be, and they are hereby made applicable to the .district court of Johnson county. And the county of Keokuk [the same that is now called Iowa county ] shall be and is hereby attached to the said county of Johnson for judicial purposes.
Approved June 22, 1838.
On June 23d an executive session of the council was held to pass upon nominations made by the Governor, and other matters not specially of a legislative character. At this time the Governor nominated S. C. Trow- bridge to be sheriff of Johnson county, and he was confirmed by the coun- cil. Mr. Trowbridge had been the deputy sheriff of the county, appointed some time in May, by and acting under authority of James W. Tallman, sheriff of Cedar county, to which Johnson county had previously been attached for civil purposes.
FIRST REGULAR COMMISSION.
The first commission ever issued by any Governor to a Johnson county man, or for Johnson county business, was the following, which this histo- rian has copied from the original document itself, the same being still pre- served as a relic in the recipient's family :
HENRY DODGE, Governor of the Territory of Wisconsin :
To all unto whom these presents may come, greeting: Know ye, that reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity and ability of Samuel C. Trowbridge, I have nominated, and by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council appointed him Sheriff of the county of Johnson; and I do hereby authorize and empower him to execute and fulfill the duties of that office according to law: TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said office, with all the rights, privileges and emoluments thereunto belonging, for the term of three years from the date hereof: unless the Governor of the said Territory, for the time being, should think proper sooner to revoke and determine this commission.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
[Seal.]
In testimony whereof, I have caused these letters to be made patent and the Great Seal of the Territory to be hereunto affixed.
GIVEN UNDER MY HAND, at Burlington, the 22d day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the sixty-second.
HENRY DODGE.
By the Governor: W. B. SLAUGHTER, Sec. Wis. Ty.
Although this commission bears date June 22, the day when the nomi- nation was made and confirmed, it was not made out and forwarded until after the legislature had adjourned and Governor Dodge had returned to his home at Belmont, Wisconsin. Meanwhile Mr. Trowbridge had con- tinued to act as sheriff, nominally under the authority given by Judge Tallman, which held good until formally superseded by higher authority. But when the Governor's commission came to hand he proceeded to Roches- ter, then county seat of Cedar county, and was duly sworn into office, as the following official records show:
CEDAR COUNTY, Iowa Territory, ss.
I, Samuel C. Trowbridge, do solemnly swear that according to the best of my abilities and understanding, I will well and faithfully and with- out partiality, do and execute and perform all the duties of Sheriff in and for the county of Johnson-doing equal right to the poor as well as the rich, as their several cases may require, so help me God.
SAMUEL C. TROWBRIDGE.
Sworn and subscribed before Robert G. Robert, Clerk of the District Court of Cedar County, this 15th day of August, A. D. 1838.
Rochester.
ROBERT G. ROBERT.
I, Samuel C. Trowbridge, do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of the United States during my continuance in office, so help SAMUEL C. TROWBRIDGE. me God.
Administered by R. G. Robert, Clk. D. C. C. C.
Rochester, August 15, 1838.
(Clk. D. C. C. C. stands for clerk of the district court of Cedar county.)
FIRST POLITICAL SLANDER REFUTED.
In the strifes for place and the rivalries of personal ambition and per- sonal interest, Mr. Trowbridge was soon accused of bad faith, or what politicians call "skullduggery" in obtaining the office of sheriff; but to the credit of Johnson county's first public officer, Judge Tallman gave that accusation the following point-blank and emphatic rebuttal:
ANTWERP, August 25, 1840.
Mr. Trowbridge :- Yours of the 22d inst., advising me of your desire that I should write to you on the subject of your appointment as sheriff, came duly to hand. You inform me that you are charged with having procured your appointment through your own solicitation and intrigue, and ask of me a candid statement of my knowledge of the means of your appointment. I was at Burlington when application was made for your appointment, and I procured a recommendation for your appointment,
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
which I, together with many others, signed. I am confident that you did not solicit the office, and much less did you use intrigue to obtain it: there being no necessity for it, for your friends-among whom were Messrs. Gilbert, Reynolds, and others, -- did all that was essential to your success in getting the office.
I will further state that I believe that you had no anxiety about the matter, but rather manifested reluctance in taking it: stating as a reason, that you were apprehensive that it would result in an injury rather than a benefit to you.
I am yours, &c., J. W. TALLMAN.
FIRST COUNTY BOARD MEETING.
The first county clerk was Luke Douglass. The first public document recorded was the bond of Samuel C. Trowbridge, as sheriff of Johnson county, with Wheaton Chase as his surety. And here is the oath just as Mr. Douglass himself recorded it :
OATH.
You solumnly sware, that you will support the constitution of the United States and the teritory of Iowa, and that you will well and truely perform the duties of assessor in and for the county of Johnson and territory affor- said, to the best of your knowleg. So help your God.
The above oath was legaly administered by me this - day of LUKE DOUGLASS, Cerk. 1839.
It will be seen from this that the clerk's office had not yet been supplied either with a spelling book or an almanac. The first two pages of that part of the record where Trowbridge's bond was recorded were lost, so that the amount of the bond and the date of its execution do not appear of record. The next document is the bond of Wheaton Chase, as county treasurer. It was executed April 1, 1839, in the sum of one thousand dollars, with Samuel H. McCrory and Samuel C. Trowbridge as his bondsmen. In the oath administered to Wheaton Chase by the clerk and duly recorded, he has this improvement in orthography, "you do solumnly sweare;" but in stating that "the above oath was duly adminis- tered by me," he still writes "this -- day of -, 1839." And so the record remains to this day, without date.
The next document is the bond of William Massey, as constable, in the sum of one hundred dollars, with Philip Clark and Henry Felkner, as sureties. But still no date given. The next is a bond of Wheaton Chase, in the sum of three hundred dollars, with Wm. C. Massey as surety; that "the above bounden Wheaton Chase shall keep and maintain good order and rule, and shall suffer no disorder nor unlawful games to be used in his house, or in any of the dependencies thereof, and shall not break any of the laws for the regulation of the taverns." (The "tavern" was the Chase trading house. See diagram in Chap. II, Part 2. This document is dated April 20, 1839, and seems to have been the first license of any sort that was issued by Johnson county authority. Mr. Chase also gave bond
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
the same day in same sum and with same surety, that he would "in all respects conform with the laws regulating storekeepers." It is peculiar that Mr. Chase sometimes wrote his first name "Wheaton" and some- times "Wheten," but oftenest the latter way. And here is a peculiar document which occurs in another part of the earliest records:
Received of Wheaten Chase - - dollars as moneys rendered to the county treasury in pay for a permit to keep a tavern and store until the next subsequent meeting of the Board of County Commissioners.
Napolian, April 20, 1839.
W HETEN CHASE.
This record seems to be in Mr. Chase's own handwriting, and he writes his first name "Wheaten" once, and then "Wheten." Mr. Wheten Chase had been Black Hawk's interpreter when he went to Washington in April, 1833. He removed from Johnson to Tama county, after the Indians left here, and died there in 1870.
In another and better book afterwards procured, some of the first records are copied, and some are not; and so it happens that these earliest records are perplexingly mixed, besides being not very full or complete anyway. Mr. Douglas was not a good hand at that business.
FIRST COUNTY COURT.
The first entry in the new, large book, is the first record now in exist- ence of a county court in Johnson county, where her own civil affairs were formally administered by her own officers. Hence we quote it as a historic way-mark:
At a county commissioners' court begun and held in the county of Johnson and territory of Iowa, on the 29th day of March, A. D., 1839, present the Honorable Henry Felkner and Abner Wolcott, commis- sioners; Samuel C. Trowbridge, sheriff; Luke Douglass, clerk pro tem.
Amongst others were the following proceedings, to-wit: On motion of Henry Felkner, Luke Douglass was appointed clerk of said court. On motion of Henry Feikner, Esq., ordered by the court that the eagle side of a ten cent piece be adopted as the county seal. until one may be pro- vided by the territory.
Ordered this court now adjourn sine die.
The minutes are signed by Henry Felkner and William Sturgis as com- missioners.
The next entry shows that the commissioners' court met again April 1st, 1839, and this time there were present all three of the members, Felkner, Wolcott and Sturgis. The record recites that Wheten Chase was appointed treasurer for the county. Also,
On motion of H. Felkner, Esq., ordered, that the clerk and sheriff decide by draft which one of the two commissioners, which received an equal number of votes should hold their seat for three years, the result of which draft were as follows, to-wit: Henry Felkner, Esq., sit for three years, Abner Wolcott two years, and William Sturgis one year.
The court then proceeded to appoint a county assessor for the year 1839, and on motion of H. Felkner, Esq., Samuel C. Trowbridge was appointed said assessor. On motion of A. Wolcott, Esq., William C. Mas-
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
sey was appointed constable in and for the county of Johnson and territory of Iowa. The court then adjourned sine die.
Thus the county civil government was now fully organized and all its wheels set in motion; but the revenue to grease them with had yet to be gathered in, and assessor Trowbridge went right about that important duty without delay.
WHERE FIRST COUNTY SEAT.
It seems that clerk Douglass lost the two first pages of his records of the first county court; but in another place we found the following tran- script from the lost "page second" of that first session:
The board then decided upon the quarter section which they would decide upon for county purposes. The commissioners then decided upon the southeast quarter of section 22, township 29 north, range 5 west, with the following proviso : that in case it should conflict with the location of the seat of government, they will waive their right in case that the locating commissioners will give the choice of a quarter in the vicinity for county purposes.
This seems to have had reference to the contemplated removal of the state capital to Johnson county, and they wanted to secure the county seat and state capital town at the same place. But it will be seen by referring to a county map, that the location above designated was about two miles below the present Iowa City, and was the place called Napoleon, though one log cabin and one frame house were the only buildings ever erected on the town site. [See diagram in Chap. II, Part 2.] Everything was waiting for the location of the capital in Johnson county.
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