USA > Iowa > Fayette County > The history of Fayette County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 44
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99
The following extract from a letter written by him July 2, 1855, in answer to a note from J. W. Rogers, of the 1st, will be interesting to those who participated in that exciting contest, as it is now printed for the first time. Mr. Newcomb wrote :
In answer to your first question I would say, if elected, I will make use of all legal means in my power to build a Court House in West Union. As to the expense of that house, it must of course depend upon the amount of funds that can be raised. The kind of a house I would be most favorable to building is one worth $4,000 or $5,000.
Mr. Newcomb was elected, although it is probable that had the above letter been published prior to the election, he might have lost some votes in the south- ern part of the county, for it is said that he made different pledges to the people of that section.
After he became County Judge, he proposed to the people of West Union that if they would subscribe $3,000 in aid of its erection, he would proceed at once and pay the balance out of the county funds.
The citizens of West Union, fully awake to the importance of prompt action, soon raised the required amount. The subscriptions were made with the con- dition that if the county seat should be removed from West Union within ten years, the amount should be refunded to the subscribers, with 10 per cent. in- terest per annum.
November 20, 1855, the Pioneer suggested the sale of a part of the public square to enable them to build a Court House.
379
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
The requisite amount of subscription having been raised, in November or December, 1855, Judge Newcomb made a contract with Messrs. William Red- field and Dr. J. H. Stafford, for the erection of a Court House ; and during the Winter of 1855-56, the contractors got out the timber (that had been hewn by Mr. Hale) and other materials, and made their preparations for vigorous work when Spring opened.
The "minute book " of the County Judge shows no entry in relation to the erection of a Court House, from March 14, 1855, until March 12, 1856, when the following orders were recorded :
Ordered, That William Redfield and J. H. Stafford be allowed $2,500, on court house con- tract, being first payment on said contract.
Ordered, That William R. Montgomery be allowed $3.00, for making specifications on court house contract and draughts.
Work was commenced on the building in April, 1856, and "May 29, the first stone was laid in the foundation of the new Court House," which was to be completed in September, 1857. The building was 40x80 feet, and two sto- ries high. Ezra Crosby made the brick and did the stone work. The build- ing, although well advanced in 1856, was not fully completed when Judge Newcomb went out of office, in August, 1857, but was so nearly done that his successor, Judge Rogers, commenced his official term in the new building.
There are no records to be found to show the amount of the subscriptions collected by Judge Newcomb. His office was on the northwest corner of Vine and Elm streets ; and just before his term expired, a mysterious raid upon his office was made, in which the subscription paper was destroyed, as fragments of it were found upon the office floor the next day ; but it is said that no other val- uable papers were disturbed by the raider or raiders. As this paper was the only evidence of the amount subscribed and the amount collected, its destruc- tion rendered a final settlement impossible ; at least, no final settlement appears of record.
Although the Court House was practically completed when Judge Newcomb retired from office, he had not settled with the contractors. They had claims for extra work done on the building, which had been done under his supervi- sion ; but be determined to place the responsibility of making the final settle- ment upon his successor.
Judge Rogers, however, did not propose to take the responsibility of audit- ing accounts for work of which he had had no supervision ; and very soon after his administration commenced, the whole matter, by mutual agreement, was submitted to three arbitrators for final decision, who settled the vexed question, as appears from the following :
Ordered, That Wm. Redfield and J. H. Stafford be allowed the sum of $1,845, as balance due them, in full, on Court House contract, and for extra work thereon, as per award of referees, Samuel F. Shepard, William T. Perry and D. J. Marvin, August 26, 1857.
The amount of county orders drawn in favor of Redfield & Stafford, from March 12, 1856, to August 26, 1857, inclusive, was $7,820. Whether this included the timber hewed by Hale is not known; nor can it be stated, with any degree of accuracy, what amount of subscriptions were collected by Judge Newcomb, and appropriated to the payment of the orders drawn as above.
By order of the County Court, March 5, 1855, Township 91, Section 7, was constituted a political township, under the name of Putnam ; but it seems that the township was not organized for one year afterward.
380
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
Judge Newcomb, on the 3d of March, 1856, made the following :
Ordered, That the Township of 91 north, Range 7 west, in Fayette County, constitute the town of PUTNAM, for election and judicial purposes.
The following entry of record, June 29, 1856, indicates that an attempt was made to incorporate the town of West Union :
Application was this day made, by petition of citizens of West Union to the County Judge, asking that a time and place be fixed for an election in said village, to take a vote for or against the incorporation of said village into one corporate body.
Ordered, therefore, That said election be held at the house of S. W. Cole, in West Union. on the 10th day of July, 1856, at 9 o'clock A. M.
There is no record of the result of the election which is supposed to have taken place ; but as the town was not incorporated, one has a right to suppose that the vote was adverse to the measure.
At the October (1856) term of the District Court, Milo McGlathery, S. S. Ainsworth and Charles F. Leavitt were admitted to the bar. At this term, Mrs. Tabitha Ann Long filed a petition for divorce against Gabriel Long, which was continued. Ezra White "made up " with Mary, and withdrew his petition for divorce.
Townships were created with very little ceremony by the County Court prior to 1857. June 2, 1856, Sections 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36, Town 95, Range 10, were re-attached to Eden Township, and September 1, the court made the following order :
Petition was this day presented to the County Court for the organization of Township No. 92 north, Range 10 west. for election, judicial and all other purposes of a civil township.
Ordered, Therefore, that said township be organized under the name of Fremont. The first election to be held at the house of Richard W. Laurene, in said town, November 4, 1856. Sep- tember 1, 1856.
On the 29th of the same month, the following order was recorded :
Ordered, That Township 93, Range 9 west, be and is hereby organized into a new township for election and political purposes, by the name of Fremont.
This is clearly a blunder, as Town 93, Range 9, is now known as Center Township ; but the above record does not appear to have been changed, and there is no record in existence of the creation of Center Township, in which the first election appears to have been held-in April, 1858-as in October of that year C. A. Hayward was paid $1.75 for services as Deputy Sheriff, in organizing Cen- ter Township. At the same time, E. Hartsough, Thomas J. Lewellen and David Bare were paid for services as Trustees, and James Orr as Clerk of Cen- ter Township. A letter to the present Township Clerk in relation to this mat- ter failed to elicit any reply. The first mention of Center Township, of record, is April 20, 1858, when the County Court allowed $7 for a docket for H. S. Brunson, Justice of the Peace, in Center Township.
By act of the General Assembly, approved July 15, 1856, the name of the town of Norway, in Fayette County, was changed to Clermont.
THE PRESIDENTIAL VOTE OF 1856.
The early election records of Fayette County were burned in the Court House conflagration in September, 1872, and the earliest record of the Presi-
381
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
dential vote of the county the historians are able to find is a memorandum preserved by Judge Rogers, of West Union, as follows :
Know Nothing. Fillmore.
Republican. Fremont.
Democrat.
West Union
15
201
111
Eden ..
57
12
Windsor
11
28
11
Dover.
10
51
27
Clermont
1
49
29
Pleasant Valley.
2
101
19
Illyria.
75
18
Richland
1
18
12
Auburn
45
56
64
Banks
14
-
Westfield.
4
196
62
Jefferson.
1
14
22
Fairfield
13
89
49
Putnam.
3
41
6
Oran
Total.
106
1041
463
ADDITIONAL SURVEYS.
Towns were laid out in respectable numbers in this county, in 1856.
North Union, north of Union ; surveyed April 20, 1856, by H. Jones, Surveyor. D. H. Hall and Elizabeth Hall; filed for record October 10, 1856 ; recorded December 2, 1856.
Uniontown, located on north part of southwest quarter of southeast quarter of Section 8, Town 94, Range 8; surveyed by H. Jones; acknowledged by Samuel Rickel and Barbary Rickel May 6, 1856 ; recorded July 15, 1856.
Smithfield, located on the southwest quarter of southeast quarter Section 8, Town 94, Range 8, bounded by Uniontown on the north ; Henry F. Smith and Agnes Smith, proprietors ; H. Jones, Surveyor ; filed and recorded Septem- ber 10, 1856.
Troy was located on the northeast quarter Section 35, Town 91, Range 8 ; was surveyed by Henry Jones, Surveyor, June 2, 3, 4, 1856 ; J. Francis Bates, Trustee, proprietor ; plat filed for record June 14, 1856. There is no town visible at that point, but the plat has never been vacated.
Massillon, located on Section 26, Town 95, Range 9 ; James Austin, pro- prietor ; plat recorded August 5, 1856.
Manchester, located on west half of northeast quarter of Section 28, Town Range 10; H. N. Murray and Elizabeth Murray, proprietors ; plat filed for record, July 25, 1856. This was one of the " paper towns " of the West ; was laid out by a non-resident and named Manchester, because Manchester, Dela- ware County, was then just beginning to be known. A large number of lots were sold to Eastern people, but there never was a town where this speculative town was located.
Windsor was located on the southwest quarter Section 31, Town 95, Range 9 ; Brunson W. Slocum and Anne W. Slocum, proprietors ; recorded December 3, 1856. This town never realized the hopes of its projectors, and has no exist- ence save on the records of the county.
December 25, 1856, by order of the County Judge, William McClintock was allowed $25 for services in the case of the County of Fayette vs. Henry F. Smith, and $5 for drawing contracts for building Court House, " one during Burdick's administration and one under Judge Long's."
51
21
Buchanan.
382
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
STATE ROADS.
By act approved December 22, 1856, Isaac Templeton and Charles Hoyt, of Fayette County, and O. W. Crary, of Clayton, were appointed Com- missioners to lay out and establish a State road from Clayton City via Garna- villo and Elkader, in Clayton County ; Lima and Westfield, in Fayette County ; thence via Wilson's Grove and near the center of Bremer County to Clarks- ville, in Butler County ; thence to the north side of Thorp's Grove, near J. D. Leland's, in Franklin County ; thence to a point on the Des Moines River, in Kossuth County, near the (then) present residence of Dr. Williams, due west. These Commissioners were directed to meet at Clayton City on the first Tues- day in May, 1857, or within three months thereafter, and proceed with their duties according to law. This act was re-enacted January 23, 1857, with the same Commissioners, who were directed to meet on the third Tuesday in May, 1857, or within four months thereafter.
Section 17, of Chapter 177, of the Laws of the Sixth General Assembly, approved January 28, 1857, appointed John A. Griffith, of Fayette County ; Osgood Gowen, of Chickasaw, and J. L. Chase, of Mitchell, Commissioners to locate a State road from Fayette, Fayette County, to Osage, Mitchell County, via New Hampton, Chickasaw County.
Section 21, of the same act, appointed Robert Brelie, Wm. Bostwick, of Bremer County, and George McClelland, of Butler, to locate a State road from West Union, Fayette County, via Waverly, in Bremer County, to Clarksville, in Butler County.
Section 9 of Chapter 190 of the Laws of the Sixth General Assembly, ap- proved January 28, 1857, appointed - Whipple, of Benton County ; James Barclay, of Black Hawk County, and Thomas R. Talbott, of Fayette County, Commissioners to locate and establish a State road from Vinton, in Benton County, via Barclay, in Black Hawk County, and Linn, in Fayette County, to West Union.
Section 18 of the same act appointed A. L. Lee, of Howard County ; Mor- ris B. Earll, of Fayette County, and James P. McKenney, of Winnesheik Commissioners to locate a State road, beginning at Auburn, in Fayette County, via Fort Atkinson, the village of New Oregon, in Howard County, and Forest City, to the line of Minnesota Territory.
By " An act to establish a State road," approved January 29, 1857, Allen Mullenix, of Clayton County ; H. C. Lacy, of Fayette County, and M. V. Burdis (Burdick), of Howard County, were appointed Commissioners to locate a State road from West Union via Stacyville, in Mitchell County, to the north- ern boundary of the State, in Range 18 west, to intersect a territorial road in Minnesota. The Commissioners were directed to meet on the first Monday in July, 1857, at West Union, and proceed to locate the road according to law.
By act approved March 23, 1858, it was provided that all State roads should thereafter be established by petition of the County Court.
By an act approved January 27, 1857, to apportion the State, the county of Fayette was constituted the Third Representative District, entitled to one Representative. March 22, 1858, it was made the Fifty-third District.
By an act approved January 29, 1857, H. B. Hoyt and C. A. Newcomb, two citizens of Fayette County, with D. P. Walton, of Bremer, were appointed to re-locate the county seat of Chickasaw County.
About 1857-8, P. L. Hinkley was employed to discover and survey the swamp land in Fayette, and reported about thirteen thousand acres.
383
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
The following orders of the County Court explain themselves, and will be interesting to the people of Smithfield and Scott Townships :
Ordered, That Townships 91 and 92, North Range 8 west, be and are hereby organized into a political and judicial township, under the name of Smithfield, and that the first election be held on the first Monday in April, 1857, at the house of Joseph Hobson.
January 5, 1857.
Ordered, That all orders made and acts done by this Court with intent to and for the pur- pose of organizing Townships 91 and 92. Range 8, in Fayette County, Iowa, as a separate polit- ical and judicial township be and the same are hereby revoked and annulled, and that the same be and remain attached to the township of Westfield, the same as if no action had been taken in the matter for a separate town organization
March 2, 1857.
ADMITTED TO THE BAR.
At the May term of the District Court, held in the Methodist Church, Edwin Sclall, Edward Sclall and H. W. Earll were admitted to practice in the courts of Iowa. At the September term, held in the new Court House, D. R. Blaisdell was admitted. The County Court paid the Trustees of the Methodist Church $21.50 for the use of the church for the May term.
CONSOLIDATION.
In June, 1857, the people of West Union and the little cluster of towns adjoining it desired to consolidate, and petitioned the County Court, upon which Judge Newcomb issued the following order :
It is hereby ordered that John Gharky, - Fox and F. D. W. Morse be appointed and are hereby appointed Judges of an election to be holden June 16, 1857, at the West Union House, West Union, Fayette County, Iowa, on the question of attaching the villages of Union, Smithfield, Uniontown and Wells' Donation to the village of West Union, and Daniel Lacy and O. Samen are hereby appointed Clerks of said election.
June 6, 1857.
There are no records of the result of this election.
WADENA AND BRUSH CREEK.
Wandena, located on the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of Sec- tion 27, Township 93 north, Range 7 west, laid out July 31, 1857 ; Horace Countryman and Elizabeth Countryman, David B. Herriman and Elizabeth Herriman, proprietors ; H. Jones, Surveyor. Plat filed for record April 30th and recorded May 11, 1859.
Brush Creek, located on the southeast, southwest and northeast quarters of Section 28, Township 92 north, Range 7 west ; C. D. Shambaugh, T. E. Sham- baugh, David G. Darling, John Haskins, F. R. Hynes, D. J. Finney, Isaac Walrath and Peter Keeney, proprietors ; B. F. Little, Surveyor. Filed for record January 3d, and recorded June 17, 1857. Brush Creek was again platted in March, 1873, by Theo. A. Allen, C. Calkins, C. C. Kelley, Barbara A. Shambaugh, J. M. Hoge, Margaret Glime and I. Soule, proprietors, and re- corded May 8, 1873.
A NEW JUDGE.
At the general election in August, 1857, Jacob W. Rogers was elected County Judge. His first recorded official act was the issuance of a marriage license to Benedict Kohler and Magdalina Wenger.
September 28, 1857, Judge Rogers ordered rates of tax for the current year as follows : State tax, 2 mills ; county tax, 5 mills ; school tax, 1 mill ; road tax, 1 mill; total, 9 mills on the dollar, and road poll tax, two dollars.
.
384
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
The September term of the District Court was held in the new Court House.
October 7, 1857. Andrew Woodson and Amanda Thomas appeared before Judge Rogers by mutual consent and agreement ; " the said Andrew Woodson relinquished all claims to the person and services of the said Amanda Thomas as master, and desired the same to appear of record, and the said Amanda released all claims for services rendered to said Woodson, and, therefore, Amanda was declared " free from all control or restraint whatsoever, from the said Andrew, who was released from all liability to the said Amanda.
FEES.
At an accounting of the County Judge, Recorder and Treasurer, and Clerk of the District Court in relation to fees, on the 5th day of October, 1857, the amount of fees received by each was as follows :
County Judge, J. W. Rogers, received. $ 4 20
Recorder and Treasurer, Jacob Conkey 211 45
66 66 66 from P. L. Hinkley, Deputy. 52 65
101 00
Clerk District Court.
Total. $369 30
of which each received $123.10, the said Conkey paying the said Clerk $22.10, and to said Judge, $118.90, from his said fees. Fees accounted at $650 a year. January 4, 1858, these county officers divided $374.75.
January 29, 1858, the County Court ordered that Alonzo H. Fox be paid $3.40 for sixteen yards curtain muslin and two pounds of candles for the Court House.
By the Senatorial apportionment act, approved March 20, 1858, the counties of Fayette and Bremer were constituted the Thirty-eighth District, to have one Senator. By act approved same day, Fayette was included in the Tenth Judi- cial District.
TRIAL BY JURY.
The first case of jury trial in the County Court, appearing of record, was in the case of Fayette County vs. Frederick Taylor, on complaint of Margaret Wenger, who declared that she was " pregnant with a child, which, if born alive, would be a bastard, and charged said Frederick Taylor with being the father of said child." On the 3d day of February, 1858, defendant pleaded not guilty and demanded a jury. Constable William M. Norcross was directed to make a list of eighteen names of good and lawful men, from which to select a jury as provided by law. The jury selected from the Constable's list consisted of I. F. Clark, Alonzo H. Fox, J. A. Norcross, Jacob Conkey, Lewis Brown and Cyrus Gurdy. February 4th, after hearing the case, the jury returned a verdict of guilty, and the Court decreed that "the defendant, Frederick Taylor, do give security to the county of Fayette in the sum of one thousand dollars, condi- tioned to save said county of Fayette and every other county in the State of Iowa from all charges toward the maintenance of the said child, and that defendant pay costs of suit, taxed at $25.35." Among the items charged in the bill of costs was Michael Kreamer, interpreter, two days, $1.00.
SMITHFIELD AND SCOTT TOWNSHIPS.
February 27, 1858, a petition of fifty-nine citizens of Congressional Town- ship 92 north, Range 8, asking that that township might be erected into a civil
385
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
township, was filed May 4, 1857, and February 27, 1858, the court ordered as follows :
That Township 92 north, Range 8 west, be and the same is hereby formed in a new town- ship, for all purposes, as contemplated by law. Said first election is ordered to be held at the house formerly occupied by Joseph Hobson, in said township ; and that Alden Mitchell is hereby appointed to discharge the duties, as required by law, necessary to organize said township ; said election to take place on the 1st Monday of April, 1858, at 9 o'clock A. M .; and that there be elected three Township Trustees, one Clerk two Justices of the Peace, one Constable, and a vote to be taken. also, for School Fund Commissioner. Said township to be called SMITHFIELD.
Recorded on the same day was the following :
Ordered, That Congressional Township 91 north Range 8 west, he and it is hereby formed into a new township, for all purposes contemplated by law, under the name of SCOTT Township. And Prentice M. Freeman is hereby appointed to discharge the duties, as required by law, neces- sary to organize said township. The first election in said township to be held at the house of Edward Kniseley in said township on the first Monday in April, 1858, at which election there will be elected three Township Trustees, one Clerk, two Constables, two Justices of the Peace, and a vote will also be taken for School Fund Commissioner. This order was made February 5, 1858.
April 7th, the county officers divided the fees for the quarter ending April 4, 1858, amounting to $299.50.
On the 10th day of May, 1858, County Judge, Jacob W. Rogers ; Clerk of the District Court, S. S. Seeley ; Sheriff, Jerome Boswell ; County Surveyor, H. Jones; County Assessor, S. Holton, met as a Board of Equalization, as provided by Chapter 111, of laws of 1857-58, to equalize the assessment of real estate for the year 1857, and decided to deduct 25 per cent. from the assessed value of said real estate as assessed for the year 1857. Unfortunately, the record does not state the amount, and the assessment rolls are not now in existence.
VALUATION OF PROPERTY BY TOWNSHIPS FOR 1858
(obtained by computing from school tax of townships, one mill on the dollar, as shown by the tax list made out by S. S. Seeley).
The assesment rolls and tax lists of the county during the early years of its history, were burned in the old court house in 1872. This document was found among some old memorandums and other papers placed at the disposal of the his- torian by Hon. J. W. Rogers, and is interesting as showing the valuation of the county twenty years ago, and the growth of the county during the first eight years of its political existence :
Illyria
$168,430
Oran
93,590
Pleasant Valley
164,950
Banks
76,810
Fairfield
174,570
Fremont.
80,920
Putnam.
80,740
Windsor.
121,050
Richland
75,150
Center
77,030
Eden
138,050
Smithfield
122,980
West Union
411,880
Scott ..
58,670
Clement
226,230
Westfield
321,450
Dover
166,460
Auburn.
235,260
Jefferson
83,090
Afterward assessed.
17,260
Total
$2,894,570
May 10, 1858, the County Court ordered the payment of 40 cents to A. H. Fox for two pounds of candles for use of Fayette County. July 6, 1858, $1.20 was paid for three pounds of candles.
BANKING ELECTION.
Chapter 146 of the laws of the Seventh General Assembly was an act entitled " An act ordering a special election for the purpose of submitting to the people certain acts therein named, regulating the business of banking."
386
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
Approved March 23, 1858. This act provides for a special election on the fourth Monday in June, 1858 (June 28th), at which should be submitted to the people the question whether or not an act entitled " An act authorizing general banking in the State of Iowa," and also whether or not an act entitled " An act to incorporate the State Bank of Iowa," should go into effect or in any manner be in force.
Under this act, special elections were held in the several townships in Fay- ette County June 28, 1858, resulting as follows : For the bank, 631; against the bank, 57.
GOLD EXCITEMENT.
In 1858, the good people of Fayette were considerably excited by the dis- covery that the dirt and sand galon Otter Creek, near West Union, contained gold.
In 1859, some young men, sons of William Wells, washed ten cents' worth of gold from a panful of Otter Creek dirt.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.