USA > Iowa > Lucas County > History of Lucas County, Iowa containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc > Part 45
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In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand this 10th day of October, 1851. .
ELIJAH K. ROBINSON, Justice of the Peace.
Thus it will be observed that the county of Lucas had no title to the land upon which its county town was then being built, from the day of its location by the locating commissioners, September 11, 1849, until the execution and delivery of the foregoing deed, October 10, 1851-a period of more than two years. However, the title to the ground was in expec- tancy, and the upbuilding of the future seat of justice moved forward nevertheless. At the session of the board of commissioners of Septem- ber 12, 1849, it was "Ordered, That William S. Townsend be, and is hereby appointed agent to lay off the county seat, and to sell lots." In pursuance of this authority, Mr. Townsend immediately proceeded to execute the work thus entrusted to him. He employed the services of William Webb, a surveyor, of Albia, to survey, plat and number the blocks and lots; and the result of the work was reported to the board at its session of November 5, 1849; whereupon the board " Ordered, That the town plat, as returned by William S. Townsend, be and is hereby received this 5th day of November, 1849." For his services and material furnished, the board thereupon ordered that Mr. Townsend be paid " seventy-six dollars for the surveying and platting;" also thirteen dollars for services as chain carrier; and nineteen dollars and eighty-seven and a half cents for boarding hands, furnishing stakes and hauling the same; "all of which is to be discharged in town lot fund orders." Also, at the same session of November 5, 1849, the board of commissioners
Ordered, That the order appointing William S. Townsend as agent to sell
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town lots, is hereby revoked; and Wyatt W. Waynick be, and is hereby ap- pointed town lot agent, in his stead; and he is hereby authorized to give bonds for deeds to each purchaser of town lots.
At the previous monthly session of the board of commissioners, Octo- ber, 1849, the following proceedings were entered:
Ordered, That the town lots of the county seat of Lucas county be offered for sale on the first Monday in November, 1849.
This was the first public sale, and it occurred at the time thus fixed, under the direction of Mr. Townsend as agent, who was also the "crier" on the occasion. Among the first lots that were sold at this sale, were those purchased by Nelson Wescott, and the Waynick brothers. The former secured the lot, eighty-two and a half feet front, being the size, on the southwest corner of the block north of the public square, for which he paid less than thirty-two dollars, this sum being the highest paid for any lot.
On the west quarter of this lot Mr. Wescott immediately built the first store, which was constructed out of hewed oak logs, which stood there for many years afterwards, and finally surrendered its pioneer material to that of the present brick business edifice.
Dr. W. W. and I. H. Waynick purchased the lot, eighty-two and a half feet front, lying along the south side of alley of the block west of the pub- lic square for which they paid thirteen dollars, the same ground now be- ing worth, at least, four thousand. D. D. Waynick also purchased the let lying along the north side of the alley in the block east of the public square, for which he paid seventeen dollars. The next year he sold one- half of it, forty-one feet, to a Mr. Wilson, for fifteen dollars, which he thought was such a large advance that he would soon get rich from his real estate operations. The south half of this lot is now occupied by the dry goods and grocery houses of Palmer, and Van Sickle.
After the public sale the remaining town lots were placed in market and disposed of from time to time through an agent appointed by the board of commissioners for that purpose, and the money thus accruing from their sale went into the general fund for the current expenses of the county.
There being no lots sold at private sale prior to the first public sale of November 5, 1849; and Mr. Townsend being superseded on that day by W. W. Waynick as "town lot agent," it follows that the latter made the first private sale, and issued the first certificate or bond for a deed. As being among the first official and business documents of the county, and as showing how real property was secured, with the title in expectancy, we copy one of the first certificates of sale or bonds for a deed:
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State of Iowa, Lucas County } ss.
I, W. W. Waynick, agent of the board of commissioners of Lucas county, do hereby certify that Jacob Whyant has this day purchased lots number 1, 4, and 5, in block number 4, in the town of Chariton, the seat of justice of said Lucas county, for the sum of thirty-six dollars; of which sum he has paid down twelve dollars, and the balance, twenty-four dollars, is to be paid as follows: twelve dollars in six months from the date hereof; and twelve dollars in twelve months from the date hereof. And I do further certify that it is agreed by and between the contracting parties that the lots and money paid is is to be forfeited and re- vert to the board of commissioners aforesaid, in case either of the above pay- ments are not made when due.
And I do further certify, that the holder of this certificate will be entitled to a deed in fee simple for said lots, upon presentation of this certificate to the board of commissioners, at any time after the title to said town shall become vested in said board of commissioners.
W. W. WAYNICK.
CHARITON, Nov. 27, 1849.
These certificates were assignable, and thus became subject to com- mercial traffic within the county. Up to the time the county acquired its title to the "county quarter," as it was called in early days, from the United States, these certificates were the only evidence of title which pur- chasers could get.
The survey and platting of the county seat by William Webb, under the direction of William S. Townsend, proved to be unsatisfactory, and the plat incorrect; hence, at the April session, 1850, the board of commis- sioners ordered that Nelson Wescott, the county surveyor, " be author- ized to make a re-survey of the town of Chariton, the county seat of Lucas county; also to draw a correct plat of the same, and make return to the board." Mr. Wescott proceeded at once to the task assigned him, and with the assistance of Beverly Searcy, Scott Arnold, Henry Allen, Mills Van Meter and Wm. H. Record, he accomplished the work and reported it to the board of commissioners at its session of May 15, 1850, as shown by the following record:
Ordered, That the plat and notes of the re-survey of the town of Chariton, the county seat of Lucas county, made by Nelson Wescott, county surveyor, which are reported to this board, be received and filed according to law, which being acknowledged and certificates being attached, was put in the hands of William T. May, a county commissioner, to have the same recorded.
It was filed for record May 21, 1850, and recorded in the first county record of deeds October 21, 1850. At the same session of the board Scott Arnold was appointed "lot agent," vice W. W. Waynick, resigned, and he was directed to alter the numbers of the outstanding lot bonds to cor-
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respond with the re-survey. He was also authorized to sell the remaining unsold lots on the public square; the price of those on corners was fixed at forty-five dollars, and all others on the square at forty dollars; the odd num- bered lots at fifteen dollars, and the border lots at five dollars per acre. Mr. Arnold served as "lot agent " until the October 8, 1850, session, when he resigned, and upon settlement with the board of commissioners, he paid over $2,256.75 in "lot orders, receipts and cash." At the same ses- sion Jacob M. B. Miller was appointed " lot agent " to succeed Arnold, and held the position until the Code of 1851 abolished county commis- sioners and substituted the county judge system of county management in their stead.
THE FIRST COURT HOUSE.
The county now having a home upon its own ground-an official cen- ter, where it could establish its public offices; the attention of the board of commissioners was directed to a building for their occupancy. Hence, at the regular April, 1850, session of the board of commissioners the first action in this direction was taken, and is embodied in the following:
Ordered, That the board receive through its clerk, at the next session thereof, sealed proposals for building a court-house in the town of Chariton, Lucas county, of the following dimensions, to-wit: said house to be constructed of good solid oak logs, hewed so as to face from eight to twelve inches; said house to be eighteen feet in width and twenty-two feet in length, and to be one story and a half high; the lower story to be eight and one half feet in the clear; the upper half story to be five feet to the top of the plates; said house to have good oak sleepers and joists sufficiently strong to make good solid floors; to be laid with good lumber, jointed and laid down in a workmanlike manner. The roof of said house to be constructed of rafters of suitable size, and to be covered with joint shingles to be made of oak or walnut, laid five and one half inches to the weather; said shingles to be eight to, ten inches in length. The spaces between the logs of said house to be pointed with lime and sand. Said house to have one door and shutter in the front part of the lower story, near the middle of said building; and also three twelve-light windows, one in each side and one in the back end of said house; also one door and shutter in the upper story of said house, in connection with a flight of stairs and platform to run up on the front end of first story of said building; and also one twelve-light window in each end of said house in the upper story; and also a partition to run through the center of the upper story, to be made of plank, with a door and shutter in the center of said partition; said platform in front of the upper door to be six feet square, with railing around it two and a half feet high. The gables of said house to be weather boarded up with suitable lumber; the doors of said house to be made of seasoned walnut lumber matched together, and hung on hinges, and suitable locks to be put on said outside doors; the win- dows in said house to be filled with suitable sash and glass, all of which is to be done in workmanlike manner. Said house is to be located on lot number six in
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block number nine in said town. Said house to be completed on or before the first Monday in October, A. D. 1850. And it is further ordered, that the board of commissioners of said county pay for the building of said house out of the town lot fund.
At the following session of the board of commissioners, May 15, 1850, sealed bids were submitted, and that of Beverly Searcy being the lowest and best, he was awarded the contract for building the first court house, in compliance with the foregoing specifications; for which he was to re- ceive the sum of three hundred and seventy-four dollars. The work of construction progressed as rapidly as the materials and means at hand at this advanced frontier point admitted. In addition to the specifications already given, there was a plan of the building drawn in perspective, by J. J. Jacobs, of Decatur county, giving a front view of this pioneer temple of justice. It, with many other scraps of early records, was found in the "abandoned archives" of the present court house garret, where the dust and stains of more than thirty years have given it a somewhat ancient ap- pearance. It is remembered by none now living, who were active in the early organization of the county. It will be a greater curiosity to coming generations, than now, and should be preserved. The day approached for the completion of this important structure, and all eyes were eager to see its door thrown open for public occupancy on the day named in the bond. But the materials and appliances for such a structure had mainly to be hewed from the forest-all was primitive. There were no mills to cut the lumber; no railroads to transport it; not even wagon roads, ex cept a trail to Albia, where the few pioneers of the county, who were here prior to the organizing election of August 6, 1849, had to go to cast their votes and pay their taxes; or to Brobst's Mill on the North Cedar, some thirty miles northeast, where they had to take their corn to be ground for their bread; and for wheat flour as a luxury, they would take turns, and one of their number would go over the prairie to Warsaw, on the east bank of the Mississippi river, and get a load for such as sent, with a balance to sell to others, and thus pay the expenses of the trip.
Through the delays thus incident to pioneer life, Mr. Searcy, the con- tractor, asked for an extension of twenty days beyond his contract period, in which to complete this edifice of justice, which time was granted. So that at the session of the board of commissioners of October 23, 1850, it was substantially finished, as required by the contract, and accepted by the board, as shown by the following action:
Ordered, By the board of County Commissioners, that they receive the court house in the town of Chariton, of Beverly Searcy, by said Searcy knocking off fifteen dollars from the original price. The amount still due Beverly Searcy to be issued in twenty different orders.
Thus it will be seen that Lucas county was no longer homeless for her
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officials, and the holder of the scales of justice. Up to this time the vari- ous county officers had mainly carried their offices in their hats, as was done by some of the State officials at a very early day in its history.
Some time seems to have passed before the court house was furnished. As the order of the board of commissioners, made at the July, 1851, session, providing for the equipments of the court room, is of itself some- thing of a curiosity, as well as the character of such equipments, we give it as it appears of record:
Ordered, By said board, that they let the contract of furnishing 16 benches 6} feet long, made of good hewn lin, with good substantial oak legs; also 3 10 feet benches of the same dimensions, to be delivered at the court house in the town of Chariton, Lucas county; also the contract for erecting a good substan- tial "pulpit" in the court house, in the town of Chariton, of a cheap dimentions; also the contract of bracing up the upper floor of the court house, in the town of Chariton, to be braced as follows, to-wit: A hewn peace 8 inches square, and set 2 posts under the same, the peace to extend across three joists, the lower sleepers to [be] braced up by good pillers or blocks.
Ordered, That the contract for job of furnishing benches and "pulpit," and bracing up the upper floor, be sold out at public auction, on Saturday next, the lowest bidder to be the undertaker; the undertaker to be paid out of the town fund as soon as the work is completed according to contract.
This civic record indicates that those who pushed on to the front in the early days of this section of the country, were men of sturdy wills, and of practical ideas of the great work which they had commenced, in organizing and developing a sub-division of the great state that was to be; though they were unskilled and unpracticed in the clerical part of their work in committing their ideas of record in language and style chal- lenging criticism.
As already noted, there being no election returns recorded prior to those of April, 1852, the only facts and information relating to those of 1849, 1850 and 1851, are only such as we have been able to gather from the "abandoned archieves " heretofore referred to; and from the loose and incomplete entries found in the records of the board of county commis- sioners from its organization August 10, 1849, up to the adoption of the county judge system, July 1, 1851. The return of the first election, Aug- ust 6, 1849, has already been given. However, there appears to be no return of the election of a judge of probate, provided for by law, at that election. He must, therefore, have been appointed, or elected at the gen- eral election of 1850; because the first " Probate Record," made of a quire of foolscap paper, sewed together, shows that Allen Edwards filled that position on the date of its first entry, October 7, 1850; and continued therein until his office was merged into that of the county court, July 1, 1851; the last entry in this record being June 2, 1851. This record, like
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the first election return of 1849, was found by the writer, in the " aban- doned archieves," in the court house garret. The first probate matter preserved of record, is found in the county judge's court, of the Decem- ber term, 1853. Hence, Mr. Edwards, from whatever source he received his position, held it less than his term of three years fixed by law. The only record found of the election of April, 1850, is that contained in the record of the board of commissioners made October 12, 1849; in which, after organizing the county into one township or election precinct, it ordered "that the following named persons be appointed judges of the election, to be held on the first Monday in April, 1850: Xury E. West, D. Allen and Andrew McClung;" there being no clerks named.
From the proceedings of the board of commissioners of October 8, 1850, it appears that there was an election held on the 24th day of Sep- tember, prior, and that X. E. West, John Howard and Beverly Searcy had been appointed the judges, and Wm. H. Moore and Wm. C. Drake the clerks thereof. It also appears from the same record, that James Roland and Thomas Wilson were chosen members of the board of county commissioners in place of James G. Robinson and Wm. T. May; Jacob Phillips being his own successor; and James Jenkins was elected treasurer and recorder, to succeed Samuel Mckinley, the first to hold that position. Mr. Jenkins' bond was approved at the same October session of the board; and also the proceedings of the same session shows William C. Drake to have been elected clerk of the board. He succeeded James M. Townsend, an appointee, and served as clerk during the remaining exis- tence of the commissioner system. These are all the officers which this, or any other record shows to have been thus chosen. That the commis- sioners' record fixing the election on the 24th of September, instead of the first Monday in August, 1850, is an error, there is no doubt; first, because the law authorized no election in September, and second, because a pion- eer citizen still living explains to the writer that he knows it was held in August, because he labored hard to defeat the two commissioners that were defeated by James Roland and Thomas Wilson, and he remembers that it was a very hot day in August. There was a full ticket thus elec- ted.
The only data to be found-the only information to be obtained, other than tradition, that there were any elections held in the county in 1851, are the musty sheets of paper found in the "abandoned archives" hereto- fore referred to, containing the returns of the April election of that year. As there is no record of this return in the county, it is well to perpetuate it within these pages, where it will be examined in after years with inter- est. It will show, too, the increased number of electors over those of the first election of 1849, and the ratio of increased population, as well. The following is the return:
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At an election held at the court house in the town of Chariton, county of Lucas, State of Iowa, on the first Monday, the 7th day of April, A. D. 1851, the following named persons received the number of votes annexed to their respec- tive names for the following described offices, to-wit:
For Superintendent of Public Instruction:
Thomas H. Benton had. 44 votes. 27 S
William G. Woodward had
For Justice of the Peace:
James W. Jacobs had 40 votes.
Jonas Wescott had
24 3
For Constable:
Daniel Chase had 24 votes.
Miles Van Meter had.
6
John McGuire had
5
For Township Clerk:
I. H. Waynick had. 25 votes.
Reason Swarts had
23 S
For Township Trustees:
Peter Waynick had 27 votes.
X. E. West had.
30 8
Wm. McDermot had. 35
Elenger Badger had 39
3
John Shay had.
41
Reason Swarts had.
21 $
For Township Treasurer:
Reason Swarts had
4 votes.
For Road Supervisors:
S. B. Chapman had 19 votes.
Jacob Whyant had. 19
J. G. Robinson had. 13
Certified to by us,
XURY E. WEST, W. W. WAYNICK, REZIN W. SWARTZ,
Judges of Election.
Attest :
HERNY ALLEN, - Clerks of Election.
JAMES W. BARNETT,
The usual oaths of the judges and clerks were attached to this return,
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HISTORY OF LUCAS COUNTY.
made in due form, subscribed and sworn to before Elijah K. Robinson, justice of the peace, April 7, 1851.
It is a singular and incomprehensible document. There were seventy- one votes cast, as shown by the following poll list, and the six candidates for township trustees, are returned as having received a total of one hun- dred and ninety-three. The three highest would be William McDermot, Elerger Badger and John Shay. The county remained one township or election precinct until the term of February, 1852, of the "County Court."
The list of voters contained in the foregoing return-seventy-one-is as follows: Jacob Burley, Beresford Robinson, Hiram M. Holmes, S. B. Chapman, Scott Arnold, Peter J. Coffman, Allen Edwards, Lewis Toodle, Andrew McClung, James Roland, John Coppman, William Prather, Samuel Williams, Abraham Toodle, Peter Waynick, David Fudge, Jo- seph W. Allen, Samuel Payne, Elijah Baldwin, Milton H. Allen, A. J. Allen, John Wilson, Isaac Wilson, George Cubank, Samuel Larimer, Ransom Davis, Charles Garten, Wm Cowden, Michael Yeamon, Ed- mond Colver, Irom Hodgson, Elijah K. Robinson, Stanford May, Joseph H. Holmes, Daniel Chase, Bennett Robinson, Jacob Whyant, John A. Al- len, J. C. Watson, James Mitchell, Henry Allen, Jacob Keeler, Reason Swartz, W. W. Waynick, L. Jenkins, John Ballard, Joseph Mundle, James G. Robinson, James W. Jacobs, Lennon Duckworth, I. H. Way- nick, Mathies Sealy, James W. Barnet, William McDermot, Xury E. West, D. D. Waynick, Beverly Searcy, Wm. T. May, Abner Mckinley, Samuel Mckinley, A. J. Melvern, Willis Stevens, Miles Van Meter, J. M. B. Miller, James Jenkins, Jonas Wescott, E. Badger, William C. Drake, Samuel Francis, Jacob Phillips.
Did the seventy-one pioneer electors who voted at this election include all, and they heads of families, there were then, according to the ratio of five to each voter, a population of some three hundred and fifty-five in the county, being an increase of some ;two hundred and thirty over that of August 6, 1849, the date of the first election.
There are many incidents and matters-traditional and of record-in the organization of a new county, which illustrate, to some extent, the character and intelligence of the people, as well as their former experi- ence in civic matters; and which are often amusing, too. Such of these that are given place here from the records, will "follow copy" in expres- sion, grammar, spelling and punctuation; and thus preserve their primi- tive character, illustrative of the representative people in the pioneer days of the county. Of course, time and experience ripen human efforts, as well as material objects; and therefore, matters which probably seemed right and perfect thirty-five years ago, would appear somewhat the reverse of that at this period of greater opportunity and development.
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HISTORY OF LUCAS COUNTY.
In early days, without a repleted treasury, the constituted authorities of the people had to make improvements as their means would provide for them, and all their early obligations were coupled with the manner and time of payment. Thus, for the services of the commissioners for locat- ing the county seat, the charges of W. G. Clark were twenty-two dol- lars, of P. M. Dodge, twenty-one dollars, and of Richard Fisher, thirty dollars, which the board of commissioners ordered paid, "out of first moneys accruing from the sale of town lots." This made it somewhat indefinite when the locating gentlemen would get their pay.
Among the first appointments made by the board of commissioners, were those of Thomas Wilson, for justice of the peace; probably to take the place of one who was elected at the prior August election, and failed to qualify; and of Henry Allen, to be the first school fund commissioner, both made at the session of September 11, 1849. Among the first pur- chases by the county, was that ordered at the October 12, 1849, session- " Ordered that W. C. Drake be paid one dollar for paper and quills." These early settlers had not yet become accustomed to the use of metalic pens. The commissioners held their sessions in those days wherever they could get shelter, as appears from a record made at the October ses- sion, 1850, in which Mrs. Searcy was allowed one dollar, in town lot funds, " for room to hold commissioners' court in." At a prior session of that year "Buck" Townsend was ordered paid "three dollars for house rent in 1849." At the July 1, 1850, session, it was ordered " that Nelson Wes- cott be paid two dollars for drawing a plat of the town, in town lot orders." The labor of the clerk of the board of commissioners was so pressing during the first six months of his official life, that he was compelled to violate the Sabbath, as appears from the following record: " Ordered, that Wm. H. Moore be allowed nine dollars and fifteen cents, for Sunday ser- vices, as clerk of board." These sturdy frontiersmen seem to have had but little regard for the Lord's day, as they again appear of record as forget- ting its sanctity, as shown by the following: " Ordered by the board, that James G. Robinson, one of the commissioners, be allowed five dollars for Sunday services at Fairfield, entering 'town quarter.'" At the session prior to this, the board illustrates its prodigality of the county's accumu- lated wealth, thus: " Ordered, that James G. Robinson receive from Wyatt W. Waynick, lot agent, five dollars, to defray his expenses to the United States land office, at Fairfield." This probably accounts for the five dollars Mr. Robinson demanded for Sunday services at Fairfield, he finding himself " short," and drew this extravagant amount to cover arrearages. In this day of progress, the furniture, books, and other things needed by the officials of the county, are purchased by the author- ity having general management of its affairs; but in the ancient days of Lucas county it procured those essential articles in this wise: " Ordered
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