USA > Iowa > Marion County > Pioneers of Marion county, consisting of a general history of the county from its early settlement to the present date. Also, the geography and history of each township, including brief biographical sketches of some of the more prominent early settlers > Part 5
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" At this unlooked-for failure when everything had promised success, Majors became mortified, chagrined and discouraged, and gave up in despair. He made no further efforts to prose- cute the matter, being convinced of the impossiblity of procur- ing a conviction in a community where the hand of every man was arrayed against him. He soon after ' left the country for his country's good.' Finding kindred spirits in Missouri, he sought a home among them, where he still resides.
" It is by no means certain that the court, bar, or spectators of the trial, ever became aware of this ruse. It was known only to the initiated. B."
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Pioneers of Marion County.
CHAPTER VIII.
First Election-First Political Convention-Name Pro- posed for the County-Organizing Act.
At the time of its first settlement, the territory now embraced by Marion county belonged to, and was under the judicial jurisdiction of, Washington county, together with the counties of Mahaska, Keokuk, Warren, and all other territory west of it, so far as the purchase extended. Washington was then the most western organized county in the same belt now included in the above named counties, and was, therefore, necessarily their seat of justice, and the authority from whence they derived such temporary organizations as were needed for elec- tion and judicial purposes.
In 1843, several election precincts were organized by au_ thority of Washington county, extending through these sparsely settled districts, and one of them (perhaps the most western) included a large portion of Marion. This was called " Lake Precinct," and the election came off on Lake Prairie, on the first Monday in October, 1843. In 1844, three or four precincts were established in the county, and another election was held on the first Monday in April of that year. This was on the occasion of the organization of Mahaska county, and Stephen Druilard, who lived on White Breast Prairie, was elected as one of the county commissioners for that county, of which Ma- rion was made an attached part, as it had been to Washington. At that election each precinct also elected two justices of the peace, and two constables, to serve until the August election of that year, the names of whom we have not been able to obtain. The last elections held in connection with Mahaska county, were in April and August, 1845.
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General History of the County.
In the spring of 1845, a movement was made to secure a separate county organization. A meeting, or convention, com- posed of a few of the more prominent citizens of the county, interested in the movement, was held at the house of Nathan Bass, on Lake Prairie .* The following named persons were present: Lysander W. Babbit, George Gillaspy, Reuben Matthews, Homer Matthews, David T. Durham, Nathan Bass, Joseph Druilard, John Williams, Levi Bainbridge, Isaac N. Crum, Simon Druilard, John W. Alley, and a few others. The meeting was organized by the appointment of Simon Druilard, chairman, John W. Alley, secretary.
One object of the meeting was to propose a name for the county, and another was to recommend some person to act as organizing sheriff, subject to appointment by the legislature; also to choose some of the candidates for county offices, to be voted for at the first election to be held for that purpose, the time of which was designated by the organizing act, a com- plete copy of which will be given in this chapter. But perhaps the most important object of the meeting was to influence a river location for a county seat. The residences of most of the above named citizens were along the river and in its neighbor- hood, and consequently their interests had much to do with whatever influence they could lawfully exercise to secure its location on the river. Red Rock was once an aspirant for the honor of being the seat of justice, and contended for it on the ground of its location on the river, by the navigation of which she would have the advantage of commercial communication
* The cabin at which this meeting was held, stood on the north bank of the Des Moines river, in the north-west corner of section 19, township 76, range 18, now Lake Prairie township. It has long since disappeared, and repeated freshets have washed away the bank for several rods inland from where it stood. Mr. Van Lent, a Hollander, now owns the land then claimed by Mr. Bass. We are thus particular, because it may interest the reader to be able to find upon the map, or know when he passes it, a place rendered in some degree memorable by the scene of the first political movement in the county looking to its distinct organization.
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Pioneers of Marion County.
superior to any inland location. This argument might have secured her the place, but for the overwhelming fact that the town plat was occasionally found to be below high water mark. Evidences of floods that covered the place to the depth of several feet, at some remote period, are still visible upon the bark of the trees. In the spring of 1849 the town was nearly covered, and again in 1851 it was subjected to an overflow that forced the inhabitants to leave it.
This object of the meeting was opposed by the inhabitants of other parts of the county, who derisively gave it the name of "Cornstalk Convention." Perhaps this was partly sug- gested by the fact of immense crops of corn being produced on the rich bottom prairies along the river.
After the meeting was organized, several names were pro- posed for the new county. The president offered Nebraska; L. W. Babbit, Pulaski; Reuben Matthews, Center; after which Mr. Bainbridge spoke at some length on the fitness of names, denouncing the too common custom of honoring foreigners and noted Indian chiefs, by giving their names to our states, coun- ties, and towns, and concluded by proposing MARION, the name of a distinguished patriot of the War of Independence, as the most suitable one that could be chosen. The proposition was seconded, and adopted by a unanimous vote.
A vote was then taken on the choice of a candidate for or- ganizing sheriff, and the choice fell upon Joseph Druilard.
Immediately after the convention, petitions were circulated and sent to the legislature, proposing the name of the county · as chosen by the convention. By private letter, also, directed to S. B. Shelledy, representative from Mahaska,“ George Gil- laspy was recommended for sheriff; but, for some reason, that
*During that session Mr. Shelledy introduced a bill for the partial organiza- tion of two tiers of counties, designating their boundaries, and applying their names. Four of these counties, Webster, Story, Madison and Warren, still retain the names then given them.
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General History of the County.
body disregarded the applications of the people for the ap- pointment of either of the above named candidates, and ap- pointed William Edmondson, the then sheriff of Mahaska county, to the post of organizing sheriff of Marion.
Having obtained the above facts by much labor and research, revising and correcting from time to time, as additional infor- mation rendered it necessary so to do, in order to arrive at the correct and connected datails, we here introduce-
"AN ACT.
"TO ORGANIZE THE COUNTY OF MARION."
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Iowa, That the follow- ing shall constitute and be the boundary of a new county, to be called MARION; to-wit: Beginning at the north-west corner of Mahaska county, and running west on the township line dividing townships seventy-seven and seventy-eight, north, to the north-west corner of township seventy-seven, north of range twenty-one west, thence south to the south-west corner of town- ship seventy-four, north of range twenty-one west, thence east
*The following is an extract from the journal of the council of the seventh general assembly, dated May 5, 1841, giving the proceedings of that body upon this act, just previous to its passage:
" Mr. Selby, from the committee or the judiciary, to which was referred, No. 61, H. R. file, A bill to organize the county of Marion, reported the same back to the council, with amendments, to which the council agreed.
" On motion of Mr. Coop, the 13th rule was suspended, and the bill was read a third time.
" A motion was made by Mr. Hempstead, that ' Marion ' be stricken out, and the word 'Polk' inserted, which passed in the negative.
" Yeas 4-nays 8.
" The yeas and nays being demanded,
" Those who voted in the affirmative were-Messrs. Abbe, Hempstead, Sum- mers, and Mr. President.
.
"Those who voted in the negative were-Messrs. Bradley, Brattain, Brierly, . Coop, Lefler, Selby, Stephenson and Thompson.
"The bill was then passed, and its title agreed to.
"Ordered, that the secretary acquaint the house of representatives there- with.
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along the township line dividing townships seventy-three and seventy-four north, to the south-west corner of Mahaska county, thence north along the range line dividing ranges sixteen and seventeen, to the place of beginning.
" SECTION 2. That the county of Marion be, and the same is, hereby organized from and after the first Monday in August next, and the inhabitants of said county shall be entitled to the same privileges to which, by law, the inhabitants of other organized counties of this territory are entitled.
" SECTION 3. That for the purpose of organizing said county, it is hereby made the duty of the clerk of the district court of said county, and in case there should be no such clerk appointed and qualified, or for any cause said office should become vacant on or before the first Monday in August next, then it shall be the duty of the the sheriff of Ma- haska county to proceed immediately after the first Monday in August, to order a special election in said county, for the pur- pose of electing three county commissioners, one judge of pro- bate, one county treasurer, one clerk of the board of county commissioners, one county surveyor, one county assessor, one sheriff, one coroner, one county recorder, and such number of justices of the peace and constables as may be directed by the officer ordering the same, he having due regard for the convenience of the people, which special election shall be on the first Monday in September next; and that the officer ordering said election shall appoint as many places of election in said county as the convenience of the people may require, and shall appoint three judges of election for each place of holding in said county, and issue certificates of their appoint- ment; and the officer ordering said election shall give at least ten days notice of the time and place of holding said election, by three advertisements, which shall be posted up at three of the most public places in the neighborhood, where each of the polls shall be opened.
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General History of the County.
"SECTION 4. That the officer ordering said election (afore- said) shall receive and canvass the polls, and grant certificates to the persons elected to fill the several offices mentioned in this act; the officer ordering each of said elections shall dis- charge the duties of a clerk of the board of county commis- sioners, until there shall be one elected and qualified for said county.
" SECTION 5. Said election shall, in all cases not provided for in this act, be conducted according to the laws of this terri- tory regulating general elections.
" SECTION 6. The officers elected under the provisions of this act shall hold their offices until the next general election, and until their successors are elected and qualified.
" SECTION 7. The officer ordering the election in said county shall return all the books and papers which may come into his hand by virtue of this act, to the clerk of the board of county commissioners of said county forthwith, after said clerk shall be elected and qualified.
"SECTION 8. That it shall be the duty of the sheriff of Mahaska county to perform the duties required by this act, until the first Monday in September next, and until a sheriff shall be elected and qualified for said county of Marion, and the said sheriff shall be allowed the same fees for services ren- dered by him under the provisions of this act, that are allowed for similar services performed by the sheriff in similar cases.
" SECTION 9. That the clerk of the district court of said county of Marion may be appointed by the judge of said dis- trict, and qualified at any time after the passage of this act, but he shall not enter upon the duties of said office prior to the first day of August next.
" SECTION 10. That all actions at law in the district court for the county of Mahaska, commenced prior to the organiza- tion of the said county of Marion, where the parties, or either of them, reside in the county of Marion, shall be prosecuted to
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Pioneers of Marion County.
judgment or decree, as fully and effectually as if this act had not passed.
" SECTION 11. That it shall be the duty of all justices of the peace residing within said county, to return all books and papers in their hands, appertaining to said office, to the next nearest justice of the peace which may be elected and quali- fied for said county, under the provisions of this act, and all suits at law which may be in the hands of such justice of the peace, and unfinished, shall be completed or prosecuted to final judgment, by the justice of the peace to whom such busi- ness or papers may have been returned.
" SECTION 12. That the county assessor elected under the provisions of this act for said county, shall assess the said county in the same manner, and be under the same obligations and liabilities, as now is, or may hereafter be, provided by law, in relation to the county assessor.
"SECTION 13. That Ezra M. Jones, of Van Buren county, Joseph Robinson, of Scott county, and James Montgomery, of Wapello county, be, and they are, hereby appointed commis_ sioners to locate and establish the seat of justice of Marion county. Said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall meet at the house of Wilson Stanley," in said county, on the second Monday in August next, or at such other time in the month of August next as may be agreed upon by them, in pur- suance of their duties under this act.
SECTION 14. Said commissioners shall first take and sub- scribe to the following oath, or affirmation; to-wit: ‘We do solemnly swear (or affirm) that we have no interest, either di- rectly, or indirectly, in the location of the county seat of Ma- rion county, and that we will faithfully and impartially exam- ine the situation of said county, taking into consideration the future as well as the present population of said county, and
- *The residence of Wilson Stanley was on Lake Prairie. Ezra Jones failed to meet the other commissioners.
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General History of the County.
that we will take into consideration the best interests of the whole people of the county, and that we will not be influenced by any fee or reward, or any promise thereof'; which oath shall be administered by the clerk of the district court, or by some justice of the peace of said county of Marion, and the officer administering the same shall certify and file the same in the office of the clerk of the board of county commissioners of said county, whose duty it shall be to record the same.
" SECTION 15. Said commissioners, when met and qualified under the provisions of this act, shall proceed to locate the seat of justice of said county ; and, as soon as they have come to a determination, they shall commit to writing the place so selected, with a particular description thereof, signed by the commissioners, in which such seat of justice is located, whose duty it shall be to record the same, and forever keep it on file in his office, and the place thus designated shall be the seat of justice of said county.
" SECTION 16. Said commissioners shall receive the sum of two dollars per day, while necessarily employed in the duties assigned to them by this act, and two dollars for each twenty miles travel in going and returning, to be paid out of the first funds arising from the sale of lots in said seat of justice.
" SECTION 17. The county of Marion shall form a part of the second judicial district, and it shall be the duty of the judge of sail district to hold one term of said court in the same, on the twelfth Monday after the first Monday in March, in each year.
SECTION 18. This act to take effect and be in force, from and after its passage.
" (Signed.) "JAMES M. MORGAN, "Speaker of the House of Rep's. " S. C. HASTINGS, "President of the Council.
"Approved June 10, 1845.
"JOHN CHAMBERS, Governor." 5
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Pioneers of Marion County.
CHAPTER IX.
County Officers-First Session of Commissioners' Court -First Business Transacted-Changing the Name of the County Seat-The Rose Ann McGregor Case.
The officers chosen at the first election (the first Monday of September, 1845), were the following :
Conrad Walters, William Welch, David Durham, County Commissioners.
Sanford Doud, Commissioners' Clerk.
Francis A. Parker, Probate Judge.
James Walters, Sheriff.
David T. Durham, Treasurer. .
Reuben Lowry, Recorder.
Isaac B. Power, Surveyor. Green T. Clark, Assessor.
Wellington Nossaman, Coroner .*
About two hundred votes were polled at this election, and
* The election at which these officers were chosen was a special election, and their terms of office expired at the August election in 1846. Then, by an old act of the territorial code, regulating the terms of county commissioners, the one receiving the highest number of votes served three years, the next highest two, and the lowest one. At the regular election (at the date above mentioned), Samuel Tibbett received the highest number of votes, David Durham the next, and Hugh Glenn the lowest. By authority of an act of the state legislature in 1846-7, the county was required to be divided into commissioners' districts, which was accordingly done at the April term, 1847. All that part of the county north of the river was made to constitute one district, and, in 1867, Thomas Pol- lock was elected therein to take the place of Hugh Glenn. All that part of the county south of the river and east of the line between ranges nineteen and twenty constituted the second district ; and all south of the river and west of said line, constituted the third. Martin Neel was elected commissioner from the second, in 1848, and Miles Jordon from the third, in 1849, as will appear in a list of county officers in another place. At the same date all of Warren county, which then belonged to Marion, was declared " Warren Precinct," and all the territory west of Warren, also belonging to Marion, was called " Black Oak Pre- cinct."
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General History of the County.
the probable population of the county was about twelve hun- dred.
For some reason, Sanford Doud, elected as county commis_ sioners' clerk, failed to appear and be qualified in due time, and Lysander W. Babbitt was appointed in his stead, at the first meeting of the board, which was on the 12th of Septem- ber, 1845. The records, in Mr. B.'s hand, from which we ob- tained the matter for a large portion of this chapter, are still to be seen in the office of the probate judge, in a good state of preservation.
At the date above mentioned, the commissioners met at Knoxville for business. That place had just been selected by the commissioners appointed in the act given in the preceding chapter, as the seat of justice for Marion county. The house in which the first session was held is described as a "claim pen," made of linn poles, about twelve by sixteen feet square, chincked and daubed in the usual manner of enclosing such buildings, covered with " clapboards," and a square hole cut in the side wall for a window, that could boast of neither sash nor glass. This cabin stood in what is now block thirty-three, in the east part of the city.
As a matter of historical record, we here introduce a verba- tim copy of the first entry made upon the minute book of this court. The first meeting of the first commissioners' court was, certainly, a sufficiently important event in the history of the county, all circumstances considered, to be distinctly remem- bered, and the tone of the preamble seems to have emanated from a due appreciation of this fact :
" Be it remembered, That on the 12th day of September, A. D. 1845, Conrad Walters, David Durham, and William Welch, county commissioners, duly elected and qualified within and for the county of Marion, in the territory of Iowa, met at Knoxville, the seat of justice for said county, for the purpose of holding a called session of the county commissioners' court of said county."
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Pioneers of Marion County.
The court was then opened by L. C. Conrey, deputy sheriff, and the only important business transacted related to the county seat. The two commissioners who had made the loca- tion presented their report, which was received and placed upon file. It was dated August 25th, and designated the north- west quarter of section seven, township seventy-five, range nineteen,* as the most suitable place for the seat of justice for Marion county. This was on a high, level prairie or plateau, about one mile south of the exact center of the county, and in the near neighborhood of excellent timber, so that no better location for the convenience of the people then, and for all time to come could have been selected. For those living north of the Des Moines river it may be deemed more or less inconve- nient to reach it at certain seasons of the year, when that stream is an obstruction to travel; but this difficulty could not have been overcome by any other location; it was one that could not be removed, but might be materially modified by ferries and bridges ..
Within the last few years, some of the citizens north of the river have spoken favorably of dividing the county and erect- ing a new one from the strip of territory lying between Des Moines and Skunk rivers, consisting of parts of Mahaska, Jas- per, and Marion counties, thus obviating the necessity of crossing either of those streams to reach their county seat. But it appears evident that the expense of organizing a new county of such a narrow, irregular shape, and maintaining its government at, necessarily, the same cost of larger counties, would be much greater than that required to build a substan- tial bridge at each of two or three convenient places across the Des Moines and Skunk ; or, if bridge building is found to be impracticable, let a portion of the business requiring the at- tendance of the people living there, at the county seat, be
*Though the country had not yet been sectionized, the locality above de- scribed could be easily ascertained by its nearness to the north-west corner of the township lying only one mile south of that point.
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General History of the County.
transacted at, some given point north of the river. This is a digression from the true line of our history, but, in our opinion, not less important. We deprecate a division of the county as tending to no beneficial results.
The locating commissioners suggested the name of Knox- ville for the county seat, in honor of the memory of General Knox, a distinguished leader in the war for independence, and the authorities of Knoxville afterwards complimented the com- missioners by naming two of the principal streets crossing east and west, Montgomery and Robinson.
The name of Knoxville proved generally satisfactory to all concerned except to one individual-L. W. Babbitt-who seems to have had a preference for odd or uncommon names.' Some time after, when he kept the post office there, he thought the liability of mistaking Knoxville, Iowa, for some other place of the same name-for instance, the one in Tennessee- in the posting of mail matter, would justify him in obtaining a change of the name. So, having business in Iowa City on the occasion of the first session of the state legislature, in the winter of 1846-7, he there took the opportunity, on his own responsibility, to solicit an act of that body legalizing the change. Having drafted a bill to that effect, he presented it, and had the satisfaction of seeing it adopted. On his return home, he first stated to D. T. Durham, who attended to the post office and clerkship during his absence, that such was the fact -- that Knoxville was no more Knoxville, but Osceola. But so soon as this unauthorized transaction was publicly known, the people were much displeased thereat, and not in the least disposed to pocket the joke. As speedily as possible, a petition was extensively circulated and signed, asking for the repeal of this change, and sent to Iowa City by the hand of James Wil- les, who delivered it to Hon. Simeon Reynolds, representative from Marion. Mr. R., in response thereto, drafted and pre- sented a bill to repeal the name of Osceola, but, by an over-
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Pioneers of Marion County.
sight, (which was also the fault of the petition), failed to reinsert the name of Knoxville. The act passed; but now, a worse joke was apparent, from the fact that the repeal of the last name did not restore the former, and, therefore, Knoxville was neither Knoxville nor Osceola. But, after the joke had run a brief season, the matter was readjusted, and Knoxville was herself again.
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