USA > Iowa > Poweshiek County > The History of Poweshiek County, Iowa : containing a history of the County, its cities, towns, &c.,. > Part 46
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Now at this day, October 4, 1852, being the day by law fixed for the sitting of the District Court in and for the county of Poweshiek, and State of Iowa, in and for this fourth judicial district of said State. And at four o'clock P. M. of said day, the judge of said court not being in attendance, it is therefore considered that court stand adjourned until eight o'clock to-morrow morning.
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Tuesday, October 5, 1852, at four o'clock p. M. of said day, the judge of said court still not being in attendance, it is therefore considered that court stand adjourned until nine o'clock to-morrow morning.
Wednesday, October 6, 1852, five o'clock P. M., the judge not yet having appeared, it is therefore considered that court stand adjourned till next court in course, and that all causes pending in said court stand continued until otherwise disposed of.
CHARLES G. ADAMS, Clerk of District Court.
A word of explanation would doubtless be proper at this place. In the act of the Legislature organizing the county, it was directed that Powshiek county be a part of the Third Judicial District. In the meantime, however, after the organization of the county and before the first term of court, a new law was enacted with regard to the several judicial districts of the State, and under this new arrangement Poweshiek county, became a part of the Fourth Judicial District.
It will be seen from the foregoing record, that no judge appeared at the first term as provided by law, and there were no cases tried. It cannot properly be styled a term of court but it is given as such. The next record is as follows:
"Now at this day, October 3, 1853, being the day by law fixed for the setting of the District Court in and for the county of Poweshiek, State of Iowa, in the Fourth Judicial District of said State, and the judge of said district not being in attendance in consequence of sickness, the juries were called and notified to attend on Monday, the 24th inst, by eleven o'clock, and court adjourned till Monday, the 24th of October. Done by order of James P. Carlton, Judge of the Fourth Judicial District.
"CHARLES G. ADAMS, Clerk."
It will thus be seen that there was a failure in having a session of court again in 1853, which failure as in the former case, resulted from the sick- ness of Judge Carlton. This failure was a source of great annoyance to the members of the bar, and especially to numerous lawyers from Polk county, who upon several occasions had come all the way from Fort Des Moines, to try certain change of venue cases. William McKay a prominent lawyer of Des Moines, had just been elevated to the bench in that district, and it was not proper for him to try any of the cases in which he had previously been interested, and they were accordingly sent to Poweshiek county for trial. By reason of the many fruitless attempts to bring the cases to trial, Montezuma was denominated by the Des Moines bar, "the sink hole."
When the time came around for the next term of court, which we are
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about to describe, the Des Moines lawyers got together and decided that they would not go to " the sink hole," as their trip would be in vain. In the meantime, however, Judge Smythe, of Knoxville, had been specially? appointed to attend the court here, and one Des Moines lawyer, a little shrewder than the rest, quietly placed in his saddle-bags his briefs, law books and a change of linen, and quietly mounted his horse and proceeded to Montezuma. The person was Curtis Bates; when he arrived here he found Judge Smythe on the bench, proceeding with the first cases on the docket. When the cases from Polk county were reached, Mr. Bates had them all disposed of to suit himself. In the course of a day or two the other Des Moines lawyers noted Mr. Bates' absence, and suspecting why he had gone, hastily set out, some in gigs, some on horseback, and others on foot; the advance guard of the procession arrived at Montezuma just as the court was about to adjourn, and in time to find their cases all disposed of; so far as their clients were concerned Montezuma proved a "sink hole" indeed. The record of Judge Smythe's court being as follows:
"Now on this day, October 24, 1853, at one o'clock P. M., the said court met pursuant to adjournment heretofore made by order of James P. Carleton, Hon. William Smythe, judge of the Fourth Judicial District, presiding. The following grand jurors of the regular panel were present and answered to their names:
Robert Taylor, Allen McDonald, William Rankin, William C. Light, O. P. Maxon, Harvey James, Robert Manatt, William H. Moore and Albert Morgan. The remainder of the regular panel of jurors not appearing nor answering to their names, the Sheriff, by order of the court, filled the panel with the following named persons: Stephen Moore, Timothy Parker, James Pearce, Thomas James, William J. Lyons and William C. Johnson, all good and lawful jurors. The grand jury was then sworn according to law, and Robert Taylor was appointed foreman.
The court was held in the then new court-house at Montezuma, and con- sequently Judge Smythe was the first legal dignitary to preside over an assemblage for which the house had been erected.
The court-house, which we shall more particularly describe hereafter, was situated on the southeast corner of the square; was a frame building, two stories high. The court-room occupied the entire room on the ground floor, while the second floor was subdivided into a number of rooms for the accommodation of the several county officers.
It will doubtless be of interest to the reader to peruse the following syn- opsis of the first docket disposed of. The first case on the docket was that of The State of Iowa v. Jonas Carsner. The record is as follows:
25
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"STATE OF IOWA - v. Indictment for obtaining money under false pretense. "JONAS CARSNER.
"This case came on to be heard, and the said defendant, though three times solemnly called, came not, but made default; and John M. Parkinson and Jonathan Parkinson, sureties upon the bond of the said defendant, were three times solemnly called and came not, but made default, and were required to bring into court the body of said defendant and failed to do the same."
There were two other indictments against Carsner, both for larceny, and the record in each is the same as in the foregoing. This man Jonas Carsner was one of the most notorious characters who figured in Iowa at early times. We shall speak of him further elsewhere.
There were twenty-five other cases on the docket at this term, as follows: State of Iowa v. James Campbell; indicted for selling liquor.
State of Iowa v. Samuel Fleenor; security to keep the peace.
George Wimer v. Nicholas H. Moore; debt, appeal.
George Wimer v. Nicholas H. Moore; debt, appeal.
A. D. Green v. Joseph Newhall; claim.
George Wimer v. Joseph W. Satchell; debt, appeal.
George Wimer v. Wm. H. Moore; debt, appeal.
A. M. Cassidy, assignee of S. Hall, v. Joseph W. Satchell; debt, appeal Jesse Hiatt v. Samuel McPheters; debt.
Wm. F. Ayers v. Joseph Crews; ejectment.
Thomas J. Hill v. J. E. Jewett, administrator of the estate of James Sharp; appeal.
William D. Boone v. John Wright.
Edward Hall and Edwin Hall v. John S. Dean and Isaac J. Cole; debt, change of venue from Polk county.
Margaret N. Severns v. Hiram K. Taylor; breach of marriage contract and seduction.
Wm. D. Boone v. John Wright; attachment.
Henry R. James et al. v. Jonas Carsner; debt, appeal.
John A. Long v. G. W. Wasson; debt, appeal.
Jesse Hiatt v. Samuel McPheters.
Jacob S. Dalby v. John White; petition for specific performance.
Joseph Crews v. Wm. F. Ayers; chancery.
John B. Snow v. Arnold Shepherd; debt.
E. Darhling v. Elias Brown; debt.
Jesse B. Nichols v. Richard B. Ogden; debt.
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
Clarissa Stanley v. John T. Stanley; appeal.
John Farmer v. Bartholomew Vestal and John A. Long; appeal.
Jonas Carsner, the man who figures as defendant in the first three cases on the docket, was probably the most notorious man in the State in early times. An early citizen of Fort Des Moines in speaking of early times says that some renegade white men penetrated the region of central Iowa years before the Indian title expired, and when Des Moines was yet a fron- tier government post. These renegades sold whisky to the Indians, and after gaining their acquaintance and friendship, abused it by stealing their horses. Incidents of this kind caused the commander at the Fort, Capt. Allen, to send out a detachment of dragoons to capture the thieves and restore the stolen horses to their rightful owners.
This was a difficult task, the illimitable wilderness around affording an ample retreat for the miscreants. Finally one of them was captured and brought into the Fort. This was Jonas Carsner, since notorious in the criminal records of this and other counties, for felonies of every descrip- tion. He was tried by the officers of the Fort, and, although there was no doubt of his guilt, no direct proof of it could be obtained. Captain Allen, therefore, thought it not best to sentence him under the civil law; but, knowing the culprit was certainly deserving of punishment, he delivered him over to the Indians (some say white men disguised as Indians). They took him out, tied him to a tree, and gave him an unmerciful whipping. This certainly should have had some beneficial effect, but subsequent events proved otherwise. One of the horses stolen by Carsner had been found. The same night Carsner was rewarded with the cat-o'-nine-tails two horses were stolen from a man by the name of Fish, who was bringing supplies to the Fort, and had encamped for the night a few miles from the settlement. The Indians kindly lent Mr. Fish the horse which they had just reclaimed, and he started to search for his own. But while following their trail through a lonesome strip of timber, suddenly Jonas Carsner appeared, mounted on one of Fish's horses, and riding abruptly up he dexterously cut the saddle girth with a huge knife, hurled Fish to the ground and bore away, at full speed, the twice captured horse.
The discomfited man now felt "like a Fish out of water." No recourse was left him but to trudge doggedly¿back to his Indian friends, whose curses, when they fully comprehended Carsner's last coup d' etat, may be imagined, but not recorded.
These events were happening in the region of Fort Des Moines, and throughout the whole of central Iowa during the early settlement of Poweshiek county. Two old cabins, one a few miles north of Montezuma,
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and one in the northwest part of the county were found when the first set- tlers located in the county, and these old cabins contained evidences that they had been built and were occasionally occupied by the Long and Fox gang of horse thieves and desperadoes who were concerned in the murder of Col. Davenport, and with whom Carsner was supposed to be connected. This will be treated more fully in our chapter on "Crimes."
The next term of court begun May 15, 1854, and no Judge appearing court was adjourned and cases continued till next term in course, which begun May 21st, 1855, Hon. William Smythe presiding. The docket for this term contained some fifty or sixty cases.
It was during this term of court that the first applicant for admission to the bar was examined and was accordingly admitted. The record is as follows:
"Be it remembered, That on this, the 25th day of May, 1855, the com- mittee appointed to examine H. C. Hawkins, an applicant for admission to the bar, as to his qualifications, report favorably and recommend his admis- . sion; and the said H. C. Hawkins having taken the oath to support the Constitution of the United States and of this State, and faithfully to dis- charge his duty as an attorney to the best of his ability, it is therefore or- dered, that the said H. C. Hawkins be admitted to practice in all the Dis- trict Courts of this State."
Reuben Mickel and Robert Cassidy were admitted to the bar at the same time.
The first case of foreclosure of tax title was disposed of December 12th, 1855. The case was entitled, "Willson & McIntire v. Samuel McPheters." The case was settled by the defendant making full redemption and paying all the costs in the case.
The first divorce case which appears on the docket is entitled, " Matilda McIntire v. John McIntire; divorce and alimony." The case was com- promised by the defendant paying the costs in the case, amounting to nine dollars. This was in March, 1856.
At the same time George Carvie brings suit against Jacob S. Dalley for slander. The plaintiff finding that his character was, after all, not so badly damaged dismisses the case and pays the costs.
The first murder case on the Poweshiek county District Court record was that of the State against Wm. B. Thomas, commonly known as Cum- quick. It will be recollected by some of the older citizens of the county that Cumquick was arrested for the commission of a most foul murder, and that after the case had got into the courts and while legal proceedings were being had, he was captured by a mob and hanged. The circumstances of
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the murder and lynching will be given elsewhere; at this place we give a copy of the court proceedings in the case:
"THE STATE OF IOWA V. Murder.
"WILLIAM B. THOMAS.
"And now, to-wit, on this 7th day of May, A. D. 1857, the above named defendant, Wm. B. Thomas, was arraigned in court and the charges and presentments found against him by the Grand Jury of the District Court of Poweshiek county, at the May term 1857, were distinctly read to him by the prosecuting attorney of said county in open court and thereupon the court allowed the said defendant to the next term of the District Court to plead to said presentment of the Grand Jury. And thereupon the court ordered that the said defendant be imprisoned in the jail of Scott county, Iowa, to await his trial, and that the Sheriff of said county take the said defendant to the said Scott county jail immediately after the rising of this court."
It appears that Cumquick was accordingly taken to the Scott county jail where he remained till the 14th of July, when there was held a special term of court. At this term of court the first case on the docket was that of the State v. Thomas. The record is as follows:
"STATE OF IOWA - Murder.
"WILLIAM B. THOMAS. v.
"And now, to-wit, On July 14th, 1857, comes the defendant in the above entitled case by his attorney and files herein his plea of not guilty.
"Also, now, to-wit, On this 14th day of July, 1857, comes said defendant by his attorneys into court, and makes application for a change of venue on the ground of prejudice against him in this county.
"On which application the court granted a change of venue to Mahaska county, State of Iowa; said case to be tried at the first term of said court commencing on the first Monday in September next.
"The court further adjudged that the defendant be remanded back to the jail in Scott county there to be kept till the time of the said District Court being held in Mahaska county has come."
The court record contains no further reference to this case till November 23d, 1857, when it is stated that the case of the State of Iowa against Wm. B. Thomas was by order of the court dismissed, and the prosecuting attor- ney made a motion to re-tax the costs.
1 The reason that the record is silent may be found in the fact that, imme- diately after Judge Stone's order for a change of venue, the people of
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
Montezuma and vicinity became so exasperated that they by force and violence seized the prisoner, and proceeded with him a short distance west of town and hanged him to a tree. The circumstances attending the murder, the arrest and lynching of Thomas, alias Cumquick, will be fully narrated further on in our chapter on "crimes."
The record shows that there have been seven different judges of this judi- cial district since the organization of the county. The judge who was on the bench at the time set for the first term of court in 1852, was Hon. J. P. Carleton, who resided at Iowa City. He was in very feeble health and died soon after. His successor was William Smythe, of Knoxville, who held that position until 1857.
January 1st, 1857, Hon. William M. Stone came into office, and was- judge for six years, when, in 1863, he resigned in order to accept the candi- dacy of the Republican party for the office of Governor.
Judge Stone's successor was Hon. William Loughridge, who went into office in 1863, and served one term of four years. On retiring from the position of district judge, Mr. Loughridge was elected to represent the Fourth District in Congress.
Hon. E. S. Sampson succeeded Loughridge, January 1st, 1867, and served two terms of four years each, when he, too, was elected to Congress. Sampson was from Keokuk county; Stone was from Marion county, and Loughridge was from Mahaska.
Hon. H. S. Winslow, of Jasper county, succeeded Judge Sampson, Janu- ary 1st, 1875, and served one term of four years, when he was succeeded by the present incumbent, Hon. J. C. Cook, of Jasper county.
THE CIRCUIT COURT.
The District Courts of the State becoming overcrowded with business, the Legislature which met in 1868 passed an act establishing the Circuit Court. By the provisions of this act the two courts have concurrent juris- diction in all civil cases. The District Court has exclusive jurisdiction in criminal cases, while the Circuit Court has sole control of probate matters. Ever since the establishment of the Circuit Court, there has been in this circuit but one judge. The Hon. L. C. Blanchard, will, at the expiration of his present term January 1st, 1881, have held the office for three terms, a period of twelve years.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
COURT-HOUSES.
Notwithstanding the fact that a large number, probably a large majority, of the people in every county have very little practical experience in the
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courts, and although they have the legal capacity to sue and be sued, never improve their opportunities, and never appear in court unless it be on com- pulsion as witnesses or jurors, yet, as the one great conservator of peace, and as the final arbiter in case of individual or neighborhood disputes, the court is distinguished above and apart from all and every other institution of the land, and not only the proceedings of the court but the place of holding court is a matter of interest to the average reader. Not only so, but in many counties the court-house was the first, and usually the only public building in the county. These first court-houses were not very elaborate buildings, to be sure, but they are enshrined in memories that the present never can know; their uses were general rather than special, and so con- stantly were they in use, day and night, when court was in session and when it was not in session, for judicial, educational, religious and social purposes, that the doors of those court-houses, like the gates of gospel grace, stood open night and day, and the small amount invested in those old basswood logs or walnut weather-boarding returned a much better rate of interest on the investment thian do those stately piles of brick or granite which have taken their places. The memorable court-house of early times was a house adapted to a variety of uses, and had a career of great usefulness. School was taught, the gospel preached and justice dispensed within its substantial old walls. Then it served frequently as a resting place for weary travelers, and, indeed, its doors always swung on easy hinges.
If the old settlers are to be believed, the old unpainted weather-boarding often rang on the pioneer sabbath with a more stirring eloquence than enlivens the pulpits of the present time. Many of the earliest ministers officiated within its walls, and if those old walls could speak they would tell many a strange tale of pioneer religion lost forever. The minister would mount a store box in the center of the room, and the audience would com- fortably dispose themselves on benches situated around. There was no choice of seats except a choice of location, and not much choice in this par- ticular, as the minister usually spoke loud enough to be heard all over the room; no private pews nor reserved seats, and the seats were all, alike, with- out cushions for both saints and sinners; the millionaire, liad there been any, would have been compelled to seat himself on the same unyielding hard walnut board as did the poorest man in the community.
To that old court-house ministers came of different faiths, but all eager to expound the simple truths of a sublime and beautiful religion, and point out for comparison the thorny path of duty, and the primrose path of dalli- ance. Often have those old walls given back the echoes of those who did a song of Zion sing, and many an erring wanderer has had his heart moved
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to repentance thereby more strongly than ever by the strains of homely eloquence. With Monday morning the old building changed its character, and men came there seeking not the mercy of God, but the justice of man. The scales were held with an even hand. Fine points of law were doubt- less often ignored, but those who presided knew every man in the county, and they dealt out substantial justice, and the broad principles of natural equity prevailed. Children came here to school, and sat at the feet of teachers who knew but little more than themselves; but, however humble the teacher's acquirements, he was hailed as a wise man and a benefactor, and his lessons were received with attention. The doors of the old court- house were always open, and there the weary traveler often found a resting place. There, too, the people of the settlement went to discuss their own affairs, and learn from visitors the news from the great world so far away to the eastward. In addition to the orderly assemblies which formally assem- bled there, other meetings no less notable occurred. It was a sort of a forum whither all classes of people went for the purpose of loafing and gos- siping, and hearing and telling some new thing.
As a general thing the first court-house, after having served the purpose of its erection, and having served that purpose well, was torn down and conveyed to the rear of some remote lot and thereafter was made to serve the purpose of an obscure cow stable on some dark alley. There is little of the poetic and romantic in the make up of Western society, and the old court-house, after it was superseded by a more elaborate and showy struct- ure, ceased to be regarded with reverence and awe. It was then looked upon as only the aggregation of so many bass-wood logs or walnut weather- boarding, and the practical eye of the modern citizen could see nothing in it but the aforesaid logs or boards, and in his estimate of its value nothing but calculation relative to the number of hogs, horses or cattle which these reconstructed logs or boards would accommodate were the conditions bear- ing on those estimates.
In a new country, where every energy of the people is necessarily employed in the practical work of earning a living, and the always urgent and ever present question of bread and butter is up for solution, people cannot be expected to devote much time to the poetic and ideal. It therefore followed that nothing was retained as a useless relic which could be turned to some useful account; but it is a shame that the people of modern times have such little reverence for the relics of former days. After these houses ceased to be available for business purposes, and their removal was determined on, they should have been taken to some other part of the city and located upon some lot purchased by public subscription, where they might have remained,
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to have at least witnessed the semi-centennial of the country's history. It is sad that, in their haste to grow rich, so few have care even for the early work of their own hands. How many of the early settlers have preserved their first habitations? The sight of that humble cabin would be a source of much consolation in old age, as it reminded the owner of the trials and triumphs of other times, and its presence would go far toward reconciling the coming generation with their lot, when comparing its humble appear- ance with the modern residences whose extensive apartments are begin- ning to be too unpretentious for the enterprising spirit of the irrepressible " Young Americans."
Poweshiek county's first court-house was spared the humiliation to which the average first court-house has been subjected. It continued to be used for various purposes of a very creditable character until 1859, when it was torn down and the material was conveyed several miles northward and was there reconstructed into a dwelling-house. It now constitutes the residence of Mr. Joseph Hunter, who lives in the north part of section 19, Scott township.
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