USA > Iowa > Fayette County > The history of Fayette County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 40
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The first deed of record in Fayette County was made July, 24, 1850, by William Wells, Eliza Wells, J. W. Rogers and Sarah Jane Rogers, conveying, in consideration of one dollar, certain lots in the town of West Union to Jacob LyBrand. The subscribing witnesses were Gabriel Long and Hiram Earll ; the acknowledgment was made before James B. Earll, J. P. The deed was filed for record at 10 A. M., December 6, 1850, and recorded by Joseph N. B. Elliot, Deputy Recorder, July 14, 1851.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY.
By an act entitled " An act for the organization of Pottawattomie and other counties," approved February 24, 1847, the General Assembly provided for the organization of Pottawattomie County "at any time when, in the opinion of the Judge of the Fourth Judicial District, the public good may require such organization." The organizing Sheriff was to be appointed by the Judge. After specifying all the details, Section 9 of the act provides as follows :
SEC. 9. That any unorganized county in this State, the boundaries of the same being fixed by law, may become organized in the same manner provided for by this act for the organization
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
of Pottawattomie County, provided, that the time of holding the first special election shall be fixed ; and the appointment of the organizing or first Sheriff shall be made by the Judge of the Judicial District in which said county may be situated ; and the first Sheriff may be qualified by the Clerk of the District Court of some adjoining county, and file his bond and oath of office in the office of said Clerk.
Under the authority conferred by this act upon the Judges of District Courts, it is to be inferred that the Judge of the Second Judicial District appointed R. R. Richardson the first or organizing Sheriff of Fayette County ; but there are no records to fix the fact or the date thereof. Capt. Richardson was appointed to that office, and the 15th day of July, 1850, was fixed as the time for holding the first election. Whether the time was fixed by the Judge or Sheriff, cannot now be determined, as Sheriff Richardson's papers were burned several years ago.
Sheriff Richardson divided the county into voting precincts, and appointed Judges of Election. From a portion of his precept to Rogers, Wells and Root, preserved among Mr. Wells' papers, it would seem that there were but two voting precincts in the county, viz., West Union and Auburn ; but it is hardly to be supposed that the election precinct, or precincts, in the older part of the county, south of the "neutral line," were left out, and certainly they did not vote at West Union. The returns of the votes, as made to the Sheriff, would show how it was, but those returns, if Richardson filed them in the county archives, were burned in 1872, when the Court House was set on fire by an escaping prisoner. The portion of the first precept above mentioned is as follows :
J. W. Rogers, William Wells and William Root are appointed Judges of. Election, and are required to make their returns to me, at my residence, on or before the 22d day of July. Mr. J. W. Rogers will administer the oath (taking it himself at the same time) to Judges and Clerks of Election. They will call to their assistance two Clerks of Election.
N. B. All the settlements in and belonging to Fayette County, State of Iowa, not belonging to Auburn Precinct previously, will belong to West Union Precinct from this date until otherwise arranged.
Dated at Jacob Lybran's store, this June 23d, A. D. 1850.
R. R. RICHARDSON, Organizing Sheriff of said County.
THE FIRST ELECTION.
For the reason before stated, viz., the burning of the Court House, and with it many records and documents of historic value, the result of that election in the county cannot now be ascertained, although the original poll books and tally lists ought to be in existence, as only certified copies of them were required to be made to the organizing Sheriff, and these have been destroyed.
The poll book of the election for organizing the county of Fayette, State of Iowa, held at the house of William Wells, in the township of West Union, on Monday, July 15, 1850, however, has been preserved by Judge Rogers. The names of 27 voters are recorded as follows : J. F. Smith, A. Butler, G. Stan- berry, M. Conner, J. Wells, T. J. Smith, M. Wells, Geo. W. Neff, G. Long, S. B. Forbes, J. Deford, Jacob W. Rogers, John Conner, J. C. Smith. William. Wells, William Felch, William Root, H. F. Smith, Henry Jones, C. H. Pack- ard, G. R. Rowley, William P. Kavanaugh, L. Dutton, Samuel Rice, G. Smith, J. Kerr.
The Judges of Election were J. W. Rogers, William Root and William Wells ; Clerks, John Conner and Josiah C. Smith.
The tally list of the election is also preserved on the same sheet of paper, and is as follows :
Jared Taylor received for County Commissioner, 25; William P. Kavanaugh, 27; James B. Earll, 16; J. E. Robertson, 1; Harvey Light, 2. George W. Neff received for Clerk of Commis- sioners' Court, 24; Hiram Earll, 2. Henry Jones received for Sheriff, 26. Hiram W. Earll, for-
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
Clerk of District Court, 16; Geo. W. Neff, 1; Erastus Light, 1. Erastus Light, for Recorder of Deeds, 19; Benjamin Iliff, 1. Benjam n Iliff, for Judge of Probate, 23. William Root, for Jus- tice of the Peace, 6; John Conner, 22; Henry Smith, 10; J. W. Rogers, 5. J. M. Lott, for Con -. stable, 19; Josiah C. Smith, 21.
THE FIRST GENERAL ELECTION.
The special election for the organization of Fayette County was held July 15, 1850, and it is to be presumed that the general election took place on the first Monday in August. There can be found no records in this county to show how many precincts or how many voters there were in Fayette County in 1850. The census of that year gives Fayette a population of 835. The vote of the county at the first general election in August, 1850, as returned to the office of Secretary of State, was as follows: For Governor-Stephen Hempstead had 38 votes ; James L. Thompson, 63; William Penn Clark, 1. For Representa- tive to Congress, Second District-Lincoln Clark, 37; William H. Henderson, 62; John H. Dayton, 1. For Secretary of State-George W. McCleary. 38; Isaac Cook, 64. Auditor of State-William Pattee, 37; William H. Seevers, 63; Norman Isabel, 1. Treasurer of State-Israel Kister, 37; Evan Jay, 63; Clark Alexander, 1.
Judging from these returns, there appear to have been 102 voters in Fayette County in August, 1850, two years after the removal of the Winneba- goes. But whether county officers were again elected at the August election, as seems to have been provided by the law of 1847, under which the county was organized, cannot now be determined, as either the records never were made, or they were burned, lost or otherwise destroyed.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' COURT.
There are no records in existence in Fayette County to indicate who were the first county officers, elected in July and August, 1850, except the original records of the County Commissioners, on a half quire of cap paper stitched together. These show that the County Commissioners were William Wells, Charles Sawyer and Jared Taylor, and that C. M. Jones was Clerk of the Board ; but who filled the offices of Sheriff, Recorder, Treasurer, Clerk of Courts, etc., during the first year of the political existence of Fayette County, are not matters of record.
From the West Union poll book, it appears that at the election in July, 1850, Henry Jones received a unanimous vote in that precinct for Sheriff ; Geo. W. Neff was a candidate for Clerk of Commissioners' Court, Hiram W. Earll for Clerk of District Court, Erastus Light for Recorder, and Benjamin Iliff for Judge of Probate, and were elected, so far as that precinct was con- cerned, but how the other precincts voted cannot now be determined ; nor is there any record of the election in August, so that it cannot now be known who were the first county officers, except the organizing Sheriff and County Com- missioners.
Jared Taylor, one of the Commissioners, took and subscribed the oath of office July 26, 1850.
The first recorded meeting of the first and only Board of County Commis- sioners of Fayette County was held August 26, 1850, probably at the house of William Wells, at West Union. The county had no seat of justice at that time. The first act of the Board was to create road districts, as follows :
No. 1-Township 94 north. of Range 8 west. No. 2-Township 95, Range 7. No. 3- Township 93, Range 7. No. 4-Township 95, Range 7. Henry F. Smith was appointed Super- visor of District No. 1, Chauncy Leverich of No. 2, Oliver P. Gallagher of No. 3, and Morris B. Earll of No. 4.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
The following order clearly indicates elections in July and August, for, although the county treasury had no local habitation and no money, the Commissioners
Ordered, That the Clerk issue orders for the Judges and Clerks of the July and August elections.
The next recorded action is dated October 8, 1851, but this is clearly a clerical error of the Clerk, as the meeting was held October 8, 1850. At this meeting it was ordered :
Ordered, Whereas, a petition has been presented to the Board, that a road be granted to com- mence at the east line of the county, on or near Section 24, Township No. 92 north, of Range 7 west, thence to the Brooks' settlement on the Volga, and thence to West Union, and that Stephen H. Ludlow, Chancy Brooks and Zophar Perkins be appointed Viewers on said road, to meet at the house of Jared Taylor on the 19th of November, 1850.
CIVIL TOWNSHIP CREATED.
At the same meeting on the same day, the following order creating several civil townships and appointing Judges of Election therein, was passed :
Ordered, that the following townships be set off into electoral/precincts : Townships No. 92 and 93 north of Range 8 west, and 93 of Range 9 west, named Westfield; place of holding the election, at the house of Stephen H. Ludlow ; Judges of Election, Michael Hinman, Stephen H. Ludlow and Andrew Hensley.
Township No. 92 north of Range 7 west, and the south half of Town 93, north of Range 7 west, named Fairfield ; place of holding the election, the house of Jared Taylor; Judges of elec- tion, Daniel Finney, Henry Baker and David King.
Township No. 94 north, of Range 8 west, and the northwest quarter of Town 93 north, Range 7 west, named West Union ; place of holding the election, the house of William Wells ; Judges of Election, William P. Kavenaugh, Henry F. Smith and Lorenzo Dutton.
Township No 94 north, of Range 7 west, and the northeast quarter of No. 93 north, of Range 7 west, named Pleasant Valley ; place of holding the election, the house of Joseph Forbes ; Judges of Election, Joseph Forbes, John Connor and Simeon B. Forbes.
Township No. 95 north, of Range 7 west, named Clermont.
Township No. 95 north, of Range 8 west, named Dover ; place of holding the election, the house of Eli Elrod ; Judges of Election, Jacob Hoover, Benjamin Iliff and Eli Elrod.
Township No. 95 north, of Range 9 west, and Town 94 north, of Range 9 west, named Auburn ; place of holding the election, the house of Morris B. Earll; Judges of Election, Oliver Brown, Morris B. Earll and James Austin.
Ordered, That Township No. 94 north, of Range 9 west, be attached to Road District No. 4.
Nov. 2, 1850, Ordered, That an election be held on the third Monday in November, for the purpose of organizing into townships. as set off at the October session.
Board adjourned until January.
SCHOOL FUND COMMISSIONER.
Joseph W. Foster appears to have been the first School Fund Commissioner in Fayette County, but how he came to be such is not shown by the records now existing. Judge Rogers says that at the election in July or August, no Com- missioner was elected, and that the Clerk of Court, Prosecuting Attorney and Sheriff must have appointed him, although he does not know who those officers were. The appointment was made upon the presumption that as there had been no election, there was a vacancy which the county officers above named were authorized to fill. But then arose the question whether, if there had been no election, there was a vacancy to be filled. To provide against all contingencies, by act of the third General Assembly, approved February 5, 1851, "the appointment of Joseph W. Foster as School Fund Commissioner of Fayette County and his acts as such were made valid and binding in law." The first recorded act of the School Fund Commissioner, was a deed, dated January 8, 1851, of the south half of southeast quarter and southeast quarter of southwest quarter of Section 16, Town 94, Range 8, to William Kilroy, for one dollar and eighty-seven and a half cents an acre.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
COMMISSIONERS' COURT.
The Board of County Commissioners again met January 6, 1851, when the following orders relating to roads in the new county were passed :
Ordered, Whereas, a petition has been presented to the Board, that a road be granted, to com- mence at West Union, from thence in an easterly direction to George Smith's; thence in the nearest and best route to Simeon B. Forbes'; and thence to follow the line between Sections 22 and 15, in Township No. 94, north of Range 7 west ; thence due east to the county line; and that Francis S. Palmer, George Smith and Samuel Holton be appointed Viewers of said road ; to meet at West Union on the 10th day of February, 1851.
Ordered, Whereas, a petition has been presented to the Board, that a road be granted, to com- mence at the east line of the county, at or near the northeast corner of Section 13, Township No. 94 north, of Range 7 west; thence to cross Turkey River at the mouth of Otter Creek ; thence southwest on the most practicable route until it shall intersect the road leading from West Union to the county line, and that Francis L. Palmer, George Smith and Samuel Holton be appointed Viewers on said road; to meet at the commencement, or as soon as practicable after the first is finished.
January 7, 1851. Ordered, Whereas, a petition has been presented to the Board, that a road be granted, to commence at West Union ; thence to the northeast corner of Section 13, Township No. 93, of Range 8 west ; thence to follow the range line one mile, between Ranges 8 and 9; thence to the upper ford of Volgi, and thence in the nearest and best route to the county line, toward Fort Clark; and that William P. Kavanaugh, William Root and Thomas Woodle be appointed Viewers on said road ; to meet at West Union on the 28th day of January, 1851.
Ordered, Whereas, a petition has been presented to the Board, that a road be granted, to com- mence at Elrod's mill, running in a southeast direction upon the most direct route practicable, by way of Turner's, Hoover's Hartsough's and Brunson's ; thence to intersect the road leading from West Union to McGregor's Landing on the Mississippi River ; and that Eli Elrod, Hiram Jack- son and H. S. Brunson be appointed Viewers on said road ; to meet at Eli Elrod's, on the 27th of January, 1851.
Ordered, Whereas, a petition has been presented to the Board that a road be granted, to com- mence at Clermont, from thence to intersect the line between Chancy Leverich's and John Hender- shot's, thence south on said line to Case's house, thence down the river to the ford, thence to the east line of the county at or near the northeast corner of Section 24, Township No 94 north, of Range 7 west, and that Chancy Leverich, John Conner and James B. Stephenson be appointed Viewers on said road, to meet at Clermont, on the 24th day of February, 1851.
Ordered, Whereas, a petition has been presented to the Board that a road be granted, to commence at Clermont, thence to bear a southern direction until it strikes Turkey River, thence down said river until it strikes the Section line between 10 and 11, then due south to the quarter- post between Sections 22 and 23, in Township No. 94 north, of Range 7 west, thence on the best route to J. B. Stephenson's, thence to the 12-mile post, on the road leading from Elkader to West Union, and that Chancy Leverich, John Conner and James B. Stephenson be appointed Viewers on sa'd road, to meet as soon as convenient, after the other is finished.
At this meeting, the Board provided for the payment of its members for services rendered.
Although the vote of West Union, in July, 1850, indicated the election of Henry Jones for Sheriff, the following order seems to point to the election of George W. Neff, either at that or the general election in August, or that he had been appointed. There had been no judicial courts, but that the Sheriff had had some business is evident :
Ordered, That George W. Neff receive $12, for his services as Sheriff.
Self-Protection .- Before courts were known in Fayette County, and before the County Judge system went into operation, the people of West Union and vicinity held a meeting June 7, 1851, for the purpose of organizing a society for protection against horse thieves and petty larceny. At this meeting, Dr. Cruzan, J. W. Rogers and E. C. Sooy were appointed to draft resolutions . (probably a constitution) who reported.
A fragment of the record of this meeting, preserved among the papers of William Wells, preserves a portion of the names of the members, as follows : William Root, J. W. Rogers, Thomas Woodle, Dr. Cruzan. E. C. Sooy, Gabriel Long, William Wells, Jacob Rozier, Elijah Pence, George N. Rozier, William P. Kavanaugh, Jacob Hoover, Edwin Smith, Stephen Reeves,
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HISTORY OF FAYETT COUNTY.
H. L. Smith, H. Jones, Wells, Joseph N. B. Elliott, Smith, Nicholas Russell, Thomas Russell, George Morrison, Abram I. House, Mathew Wells, William Russell.
Gabriel Long was elected President ; E. C. Sooy, Secretary; William Wells, Treasurer, and the meeting adjourned until the first Saturday in July, 1851.
No further records of this Society have been preserved, and, as courts were established the next year, it is probable that it soon "lapsed."
LOCATION OF THE COUNTY SEAT.
We have now the somewhat singular spectacle of a county fully organized without any county seat. When the Third General Assembly convened at Iowa City December 3, 1850, this county was part of the District represented in the House by Eliphalet . Price, to whom, prior to January 1, 1851, the people of the county had sent several petitions asking for the appointment of Commission- ers to locate a county seat.
In a letter to William Wells, dated January 1, 1851, Mr. Price acknowl- .edged the receipt of the petition, but stated that there were objections to that mode of location, and thought the submission of several most eligible points to a vote of the people the most satisfactory method. In accordance with his views and, probably, with the approval of his Fayette constituents, Mr. Price drafted a bill, which, in due time, became a law, as follows :
An Act to Locate the County Seat of Fayette County :
SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., that the legal voters of Fayette County may vote, on the first Monday of April next, for the five following points, to wit: Centerville, at the center of said county ; Lightville, near Light Mill, on the Volga River; West Union, Auburn and Clermont ; and if, upon canvassing the vote, it is ascertained that any one point has received a majority of all the votes cast, then that shall be and remain the permanent seat of justice of said Fayette County ; but if no one point shall receive such majority, then the legal voters of said county may vote, on the first Monday of May thereafter, for the two points which received the highest number of votes at the April election, and also for such points, if there be any, that shall have received a like number of votes with either of the two highest as aforesaid ; and the point receiv- ing the highest number of votes shall be and remain the permanent seat of justice of the county of Fayette.
Provided, That the owner or owners of such town or point, shall, within ten days after the result of said election has been declared, make and execute to the Board of County Commission- ers of said county, a good and sufficient deed, for at least two acres of land in said town or at said point, for the use and accommodation of the public buildings of said county. Approved, January 21, 1851.
There are no records now in existence to the number of votes each of the places named in the act received on the first Monday of April, 1851, but at that election West Union received as many votes as all the other locations, wanting one vote of a majority, and Lightville (afterward Volga City and now Lima) had the next highest number. At the election on the first Monday in May, to decide between West Union and Lightville, West Union received a majority of 35, and was made the seat of justice of Fayette County by the people thereof.
In this connection, the singular fact is remarked that although that part of the county included in the Black Hawk Purchase, south of the neutral line, was open to settlement by the white race at least ten ycars before the extinguish- ment of the Indian title to the northern part, yet the latter was settled first, and the center of population has always been north of the geographical center.
By the apportionment made Feb. 5, 1851, the counties of Clayton, Fayette, Allamakee, Winnesheik, Howard, Mitchell, Floyd and Chickasaw, were entitled to two Representatives, and the counties of Dubuque, Delaware, Buchanan,, Black Hawk, Grundy, Butler, Bremer, Clayton, Fayette, Alamakee, Winnesheik, Howard, Mitchell, Floyd and Chickasaw, were to have three Senators. Under
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
this apportionment in 1852, Fayette was represented in the Fourth General Assembly by John Garber, of Clayton, and Edwin Montgomery, of Fayette, in the House, and by John G. Shields and Warner Lewis, of Dubuque, and Maturin L. Fisher, in the Senate.
INCREASE OF MAIL FACILITIES DEMANDED.
A joint resolution of the General Assembly entitled "A joint resolution asking an increase of mail facilities," approved Feb. 5, 1851, instructed the Senators and requested the Representatives in Congress from Iowa to use their influence to procure the passage of an act of Congress securing to the people forty-six mail routes, among which were one (1) for Colesburg, in Delaware County, by way of Lodomillo, Strawberry Point, Lightsville and Centerville, to West Union, in Fayette County ; one (7) from Monona, in Clayton County, by way of Clermont, to West Union ; one (29) from Centerville, in Fayette County, by way of Cedar Falls, in Black Hawk County, to the county seat of Marshall County ; one (32) from Delhi, in Delaware County, by way of Acers' Mill, Turner's Mill to Fayetteville, in Fayette County.
STATE ROADS.
By Section 28, of "An Act to locate and establish certain State roads therein named," approved Feb. 5, 1851, George G. Borden and Michael Uriel, of Clayton County, and Charles Sawyer, of Fayette County, were appointed Com- missioners to locate and establish a State road from Guttenberg, in Clayton County to Louisville, in Winnesheik County, by way of Elkader, Clayton County, and Clermont in Fayette County.
By Section 42, of the same act, Wesley Tibbetts, of Bremer County, Ansel Rudsdill, of Clayton County, and George W. Neff, of Fayette County, were appointed Commissioners to locate and establish a State road from Lower Big Woods, in Bremer County, by way of Centerville, West Union and Clermont, in Fayette County, to intersect the road from Monona to McGregor's Landing, in Clayton County.
COUNTY ROADS.
At the session of the County Commissioners, April 8, 1851, the following orders for viewing county roads asked for by the people, viz .:
Ordered, Where's, a petition has been presented to the Board, that a road be granted, to commence at or near the corner of Sections 28, 29, 32 and 33, in Township No. 95 north of Range 8 west, and running due south upon the line between Sections 4 and 5 in Township No. 94 north of Range 8 west, until it shall reach the town plat of West Union, and that Samuel Rice, Absalom Butler and Elisha Hartsough be appointed Viewers on said road, to meet at the house of Elisha Hartsough on the 21st day of April, 1851.
Ordered, Whereas, a petition has been presented to the Board, that a road be granted, to commence at the center of the road leading from Elkader, by way of West Union, to the Mission, some 8 or 10 rods south of the northwest corner of Section 5, in Township No. 94 north, of Range 8 West, and running north until it shall intersect the road leading from Elrod's Mill to Clermont, and that Samuel Rice, Absalom Butler and Elisha Hartsough be appointed Viewers on said road, to be viewed as soon as practicable after the other in finished.
Ordered. Whereas, a petition has been presented to the Board, that a road be granted, to commence at the angle of the road leading from West Union through the Light settlement, on the land of Stephen H. Ludlow, thence south crossing the Volga, thence south on the most prac- ticable route to intersect the same road near the Brooks neighborhood, and that Michael Hinman, Chancy Brooks and Harvey W. Light be appointed Viewers on said road, to meet at the house of Stephen H. Ludlow on the 28th of April, 1851.
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