USA > Iowa > Fayette County > The history of Fayette County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 47
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Mr. Marr offered the following resolution, which was adopted :
Resolved, That the Supervisor of each town (who shall serve without compensation), together with the Trustees of the same, be and they are hereby constituted a committee to look after the interests of soldiers' families, to provide for their necessities, and the Supervisor who shall be Chairman of said committee shall report to the Board of Supervisors at their regular sessions, presenting accounts in detail, which shall be audited and allowed the same as other accounts are.
January 8, the Board passed a series of resolutions expressing their desire for a division in the office of Treasurer and Recorder, and that the taxes be collected by means of Township Collectors ; requesting their Senators and Rep- resentatives to procure the legislation necessary to accomplish the result, and directing the Clerk to forward a copy of the resolutions to the Senators and Representatives then at Des Moines.
June 6, 1864, A. Hancock was appointed Supervisor from Jefferson Town- ship, vice James Mettlin, resigned. Reuel Parker was appointed from Dover vice Wm. C. Marr, resigned.
June 8, the bounty on wolves and wild cats was increased to $3.00 per scalp.
June 8, Winslow Stevens was elected by the Board as County Surveyor in place of Luke Camp, who had removed from the county.
June 8. a committee of three was appointed to investigate the claims of soldiers under the 600,000 call. The chair appointed Messrs. Taylor, Good- rich and Stowe.
January 7, 1864, James A. Green was admitted to the bar.
SOLDIERS' BOUNTY.
September 5, the Board of Supervisors ordered a bounty of $100 to be paid to each volunteer answering to the President's call for 500,000 men, but rescinded the order November 16, following.
November 14, 1864, the following members were sworn in to fill vacancies: C. R. Bent, West Union ; Aaron Brown, Westfield ; Daniel Hills, Pleasant Valley ; Asahel Hancock, Jefferson ; G. W. Kibbe, Windsor ; Reuel Parker, Dover. The Board then elected Reuel Parker, Chairman, to serve the balance of the year.
THE SUPERVISOR SYSTEM CONDEMNED.
January 6, 1865, Mr. Bent offered the following resolutions in relation to the cumbersome system of county government then in vogue, which were unani- mously passed :
Resolved, That it is the sense of this Board that the Supervisor system of county government is cumbersome and expensive, and is not adapted to the wants of this county, and that it is our opinion that what is called the ('ommissioner system of county government, would be much less expensive and preferable.
Resolved, That the Clerk of this Board is hereby requested to prepare a memorial expression of the sentiment, and present the same to our State Senator and Representative.
403
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
E. D. Gazley was elected to fill a vacancy in the office of County Surveyor.
June 5, 1865, Lyman Culver, I. S. Lame, Richard Earll and John L. Long were sworn in to fill vacancies. Reuel Parker was elected Chairman, vice Aaron Brown, resigned.
June 9, F. G. Walbridge presented his resignation as Treasurer, and H. B. Fox was unanimously elected.
POCKET GOPHERS.
June 9, 1865, the county fathers concluded it was high time to make war upon those little pests of the farmer, the gopher, and ordered that a bounty of twenty-five cents for each gopher scalp should be paid, when presented to the Supervisor of the township in which they should be taken, in numbers not less than five. The result was an unanticipated draft upon the treasury. Every boy in the county hunted gophers, and they were presented in such immense num- bers that a special meeting of the Board was called, and held on the 20th of July following, for the purpose of repealing the resolution passed at the June term, offering a bounty of twenty-five cents on Pocket Gopher Scalps." The order was repealed and the Fayette County boys were deprived of that oppor- tunity of earning pocket money.
October 16, William S. Phillips became a member of the Board, in place of John L. Long, resigned.
THE JAIL QUESTION AGAIN.
The question of the erection of a jail was again submitted to the people of the county at the election in October, 1866, but the proposition was rejected again by a small majority, the vote, as officially canvassed, being reported as follows: For building a jail, 767 votes ; against building a jail, 886 votes.
January 4, 1866, the Treasurer was authorized to exchange the specie in his office for currency, and report the amount received for the same to the Clerk.
Vacancies in the Board of Supervisors appear to have been numerous. June 4, R. Lippincott and George L. Henderson, and October 15, 1866, A. H. Loomis and A. Ainsworth were sworn in to fill vacancies, and, on the same day, William Ash was appointed to fill a vacancy for West Union.
A SUBSTITUTE FOR A JAIL.
The people of the county voted against building a jail, in 1863, and again in 1865. The Supervisors, however, were of the opinion that true economy demanded some provision for the confinement of offenders against law, without sending them out of the county to board, and as the people would not order a jail built, they provided a substitute, and a very expensive substitute it proved to be. In pursuance of this questionable policy, on the 17th of October, 1866, the Board appropriated $500 "to build a cell in the northwest room of the Court House. William Ash was appointed to procure the necessary materials and superintend the construction of the same." The records do not show that any plan was adopted, but the " cell " was built in that part of the old building corresponding to the Recorder's office in the present Court House. It was con- structed by laying up an inner wall, or lining, made of oak boards, six inches wide, laid one upon the other, and spiked together. An iron door was furnished, and Fayette County was supplied with a substitute for a jail, containing a single cell. The "jail " was warmed in Winter by a stove, the pipe of which passed
404
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
through the wooden wall into the chimney, and this arrangement resulted in the destruction of the Court House and a portion of the records, in 1872. This contrivance was all the jail Fayette County ever had.
THE COUNTY SEAT CONTEST REVIVED.
Since the vote of 1860, by which the people refused to remove the county seat from West Union, the friends of the measure had been quiet until in 1867 a petition was circulated, asking the Board of Supervisors to submit the ques- tion "Shall the seat of justice of Fayette County be removed to the village of Fayette ? " This petition was presented to the Board, by Richard Earll, on the 11th day of June, 1867. This petition was referred to a special committee consisting of Messrs. Richard Earll, B. H. Ropes, John Webb, J. C. Williams and William S. Phillips. Two days after, on the 13th, the committee submitted a majority and a minority report as follows :
MAJORITY REPORT.
We. the undersigned Committee, to whom was referred the petitions praying for the re- moval of the county seat from West Union to Fayette beg leave to report, that we have counted the number of names on said petitions, and find that there are 1,569 names signed on said peti- tions, which is 315 majority over the census of 1835, and that the petitioners are properly sworn to by the party who circulated the same ; that the names are all genuine and are legal voters of the county as the circulators believed. Therefore be it
Resolved, That the question of the removal of the county seat from West Union to Fayette, shall be submitted to the electors of the county, to be voted for or against said removal, at the election to be held in October, 1867, and the Clerk of this Board is hereby ordered to see that the following is printed on the ballots to be used at said election, to wit :
For the removal of the county seat to Fayette-"Yes."
For the removal of the county seat to Fayette-"No."
And the Clerk of this Board is further ordered to have notice of said election published in the Clermont Leader, as provided for in Section 4, Chapter 49, of the Session Laws of the State of Iowa, for the year 1862. And be it further
Ordered, That the Sheriff is required to have the notices of said election furnished to a constable of each township in the county, and the constables are hereby ordered to post three of said notices in their respective townships, fifty days before the day of election, to be holden in October, 1867.
RICHARD EARLL, JOHN WEBB, J. C. WILLIAMS, WM. Z. PHILLIPS, Majority Committee.
MINORITY REPORT.
B. H. Ropes, of the same Committee, made a minority report, as follows :
To the Board of Supervisors of Fayette County, Iowa: The undersigned minority of the committee to whom was referred the petition for the re-location of the county seat of Fayette County, respectfully submits the following :
I cannot concur in the report of the majority of the Committee, for the following reasons : I find that this Board has no power to grant the prayer of the petitioners, unless first satisfied that a majority of the legal voters of the county, as shown by the last census, have signed the same. The num- ber of voters in the county as shown by the last census, is 3,094. It would therefore require 1,548 to make the requisite number to confer jurisdiction, without which number any action of the Board would be void.
It is claimed by the majority in their report, that they have 1,569 legal voters, making twenty-one over a majority of the whole number of voters in the county, and of this number I find from an examination of the Naturalization books in the Clerk's office, that fourteen of said signers had received their first papers only, and a part of said number are not entitled to their second papers during the present year. The following names are found on the petition, who had only declared their intention to become citizens, to wit: William H. Newling, N. James, Andrew Richie, Martin Lenhart, R. Hunt, Matthew Green, Andrew Harkin, Wm. King, Sam'l Fereday, James Strohm and Levi Linstrum.
405
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
I also find from reliable information, that said petition contains a large number of signers who never were voters, and still others who have removed permanently from the county. Among the first class are the following: Lewellen Filkins, Talbot Valliere, M. B. Spun and Peter Kelley ; and of the second class the following: T. W. Blanchard, D. D. Sanders, Seth H. Warren, A. C. Tatro, Wm. Randall, J. Rounds, E. Currier, J. C. Wood, Andrew Iliff and J. B. Severance. I am fully satisfied that a thorough examination of the petition will show many others, belonging to each of the above classes. I also find that petition No. 31, containing eight names, is not attested and sworn to as required by law, so as to entitle them to be counted. I simply call attention to these facts, without any desire to defeat the order asked for in the majority report, but I regard it as a jurisdictional question that we cannot ignore if we would. Of what use is it for us, by hasty and inconsiderate action, to involve the county in a strife and contest that can result in no good to any one?
In the above list of illegal voters, no reference is made to some fifteen or twenty signatures whose names appear thereon, who, under our laws are not recognized as voters.
I would further suggest that there has not time been given for a thorough examination of the petition presented to determine whether some signatures have not been duplicated. State- ments of facts set forth herein being attested by affidavit of responsible parties and made a part of this report. I fail to see upon what principle we can take any other census than that of the present year as the basis on which to act. The Revision of 1860, chapter 48, provides : "That the Township Assessors of each township in this State shall, at the time of assessing property in the years 1859, 1863, 1865, 1867, 1869 and 1875, and every ten years thereafter, take an enumeration of the inhabitants in his township." Sec. 992, (2). "Said Assessor shall make return, on or before the first day of June, of such enumeration to the Clerk of the District Court of the county." The census has been taken in compliance with the above law, and the result is before us, and by it we must be governed. It is the theory of the law that every voter, as shown by the census, who does not sign the petition is taken to remonstrate against it; and, on behalf of the majority of voters who have not signed said petition, I respectfully but earnestly protest against the action recommended in the majority report.
Respectfully submitted.
B. H. ROPES.
Here were introduced the affidavits of Joseph Hobson, G. A. Appleman and L. P. Finch, substantiating the statements in regard to illegal voters in the minority report.
Mr. Earle moved the adoption of the majority report, pending which P. J. Butler moved to amend by substituting the minority for the majority report, which was lost. The original motion then prevailed. Ayes-Appleman, Becker, Champlin, Earle, Finch, Gardiner, Heniman, Hough, Hoyt, Maynard, Phillips, Sidnam, Webb, Williams and Spears-15. Nays-Ash, Butcher, McCreery, Ropes and Ward-5.
On the 8th day of October, 1867, at the general election, the people voted on the question of removal of the county seat to Fayette, with the following result :
For Removal. Against Removal.
Auburn
34
163
Banks
18
11
Center
79
2
Clermont.
47
168
Dover
1
170
Eden
3
175
Fairfield.
220
7
Fremont
61
2
Harlan.
60
116
Jefferson
101
......
Oran.
100
......
Pleasant Valley.
6
190
Putnam.
103
2
Richland.
4
55
Scott ..
29
Smithfield
125
1
Windsor.
2
149
Westfield.
320
23
West Union.
6
481
Total
. 1,360
1,715
Illyria
41
406
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
June 3, 1867, J. W. Shannon was admitted to practice in the courts of Iowa.
July 1, 1867. the Bible Society was re-organized, with J. H. Donald, Presi- dent ; T. Newcomb, Vice President; L. W. Waterbury, Treasurer and Depos- , itary; S. W. Cole, J. W. Shannon and G. E. Comstock, Executive Committee.
CIRCUIT COURT.
"An act establishing Circuit and General Term Courts, and to define the powers and jurisdiction thereof," approved April 3, 1868, ended the County Probate Judge system and made a radical and unwise change in the manner of conducting important public business. The act gave to the Circuit Court exclusive jurisdiction of all probate business, and in all appeals and writs of error from Justices' Courts, Mayors' Courts and all other inferior tribunals, either in civil or criminal cases. The counties of Clayton, Fayette and Chick- asaw were constituted the Second Circuit of the Tenth Judicial District. In October, 1868, B. T. Hunt was elected Judge of this court, and he held the first term in Fayette County, at the Court House, April 12, 1869. W. B. Lakin was the Clerk of the Court, and Jacob Swank, Sheriff. Petit Jury : A. A. Knight, Jacob Hoyer, Lorenzo Dutton, P. Cummings, D. Beamer, Orson Ward, Daniel Dorland, Wm. Mattocks, Orange S. Darks, Wm. Swale, E. B. Almon, C. T. Nefzgar.
The first case before this court was the State of Iowa vs. George W. Young and Robert D. Noble, which was dismissed by agreement of attorneys.
COUNTY AUDITOR.
"An act to provide for the election of County Auditors and to define their power and duties, and making County Judges ex officio County Auditors," approved April 7, 1868, provided that at the general election preceding the expiration of the term of office of the present County Judge, in any county, and every two years thereafter, there should be elected in each organized county in the State a County Auditor, whose term of office shall commence on the first Monday in January following his election, and hold his office for the term of two years. The County Judge was made County Auditor ex officio, after the 1st day of January, 1869, until an Auditor should be elected and qualified, and the office of County Judge then ceased. The Auditor was made Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and was required to perform all the duties in respect to the school fund and school lands, until then performed by the Clerk of the District Court. The Clerk of the District Court and County Recorder were made eligible to the office of Auditor. The election of Auditor was fixed in odd numbered years.
When this act went into effect, H. N. Hawkins was County Judge, and on the first day of January, 1869, became, ex officio, the first County Auditor of Fayette, but January 8, 1869, he resigned, and the Board of Supervisors appointed Jason L. Paine to fill the vacancy until the October election, when Hiram Hoagland was elected County Judge for Hawkins' unexpired term, and also County Auditor. Hoagland at once entered upon the discharge of his duties, but resigned January 5, 1870, and Albert Sutherland was appointed to fill the vacancy until the next election. In October, Sutherland was elected for the remainder of Hoagland's term.
Auburn, located on the southeast quarter of Section 35, and the northeast . quarter of Section 35, Township 95 north, Range 9 west. Re-surveyed by G.
407
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
.
P. Crosby January 4, 1869, H. J. Ingersoll, Surveyor. Ordered to be recorded by the Board of Supervisors in 1870. This is the first record of the plat of Auburn, but the town was laid out in 1851.
RICHLAND CHANGED TO BETHEL.
January 3, 1870, the petition of Norman Ives and others, praying that the name of Richland Township be changed to Bethel, was presented to the Board of Supervisors, and on the 5th, the order was passed, directing the Auditor to post the usual notices. At the next session, June 8, 1870, the following order was passed :
WHEREAS, It appearing to the satisfaction of the Board that a majority of the citizens of Richland Township are in favor of the change of the name of said township to that of Bethel, the Board therefore orders that said change of name be granted.
COUNTY SUPERVISORSHIP ESTABLISHED.
In 1870, by an act to amend Article 11, of Chapter 22, of the Revision of 1860, approved April 14, 1870, the Board of Supervisors was reduced to three, which number might be increased to five or seven, by vote of the people. At the election in October, 1870, Edwin Stedman, H. S. Brunson and Alden Spear were elected County Supervisors under the new law. These gentlemen met at the Court House January 2, 1871, and organized by choice of H. S. Brunson, Chairman, and the unwieldy and expensive Township Supervisor system was terminated.
June 27, 1870, Andrew Thompson, indicted for murder in Clayton County, was tried in the District Court of Fayette, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged on the 9th of September following; but his trial was reviewed by the Supreme Court, and his sentence was changed to imprisonment for life. While he was confined in the apology for a jail in this county, John Lightfoot, one of the most accomplished rogues ever known in this county, stole a pair of horses from a German and fled toward Minnesota. He was pursued by officer Welch, who overtook and arrested him near Lake Albert Lea, Minn., and returned with him to West Union, where he was confined in " Hencoop Corner," with Thomp- son. He did not remain long, however, for, stealing a case-knife, when his food was brought to him, he managed to saw off the iron bolt that fastened his door, and escaped. One hundred dollars' reward was offered for his apprehension, and some nine months afterward, a man brought him in from Illinois, and the reward was paid. This time, the Sheriff, Swank, was determined that Lightfoot should not escape. A blacksmith was employed to manufacture a pair of ankle ties, which were riveted on.
On Monday night, February 13, 1871, after the Deputy Sheriff and Jailer, Ran Huyck, had fed his prisoner, Thompson (as reported in the Gazette), told the officer that he wanted some tobacco, gave Huyck some money and requested him to buy and bring to him a package of the weed. Huyck complied, locked the door of the cell and went on his errand. While he was absent, Lightfoot removed his manacles, and when Huyck returned alone and opened the door he was met by a stunning blow which knocked him across the hall, and Lightfoot sprang out and escaped.
The discomfited officer gave the alarm and pursued, raising the town by his vociferous yells for assistance.
Lightfoot has never been seen in the vicinity since. His escape was an unpleasant surprise to the Sheriff. The rascal was wearing on his ankles irons made for his especial benefit, of the best of iron, over an inch wide and half an
408
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY
inch thick. For several days he had been sick, confined to his bunk, and his irons hurt him so much that he had worn rags around them. These irons he had sawed apart with rude saws made of stolen case-knives, so that they could be readily removed when the occasion for escape offered.
Lightfoot had already cost the county'$1,000, and but little effort was made to re-arrest him. In June, 1878, he was within twenty miles of West Union.
RAILROAD MEETING.
January 14, 1871, the people of the Turkey River country, including Fayette and Clayton Counties, held a mass meeting in Appleman's Hall, Cler- mont, for the purpose of conferring together in relation to the building of a railroad. Hiram Hoagland was Chairman of the meeting, and D. G. Goodrich, Secretary.
A Committee on Resolutions, consisting of two from each township, was appointed, as follows :
J. L. Davis, O. Claussen, Auburn ; R. T. Burnham, T. Kincaid, Dover ; C. F. Weck, B. H. Hinkley, Clermont ; S. S. Bryant, F. Wohlheter, Pleasant Valley.
Executive Committee : H. Hoagland, J. L. Davis. Auburn ; T. Kincaid, R. R. T. Burnham, B. H. Ropes, Dover; William Larrabee, B. H. Hinkley, Cler- mont ; F. Wohlheter, E. R. Follett, J. Capper, P. Dowse, Jr., Pleasant Valley.
The meeting adopted resolutions expressing confidence in the C., D. & M. R. R., and that it would construct the road if aid should be extended by the people. A similar meeting was held in the school house at Eldorado, January 20, 1871.
A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT.
On Friday, May 19, 1871, William B. McCleery, proprietor of the West Auburn Mills, was returning from Ossian, Winnesheik County, with a heavily loaded wagon, and accompanied by his mother. As they were approaching the farm house of Mr. Phillips, near the northwest corner of Section 30, Township 95, Range 9, about four miles north of West Union, after sunset, and just after passing a wagon load of drunken, noisy rowdies, who set up a cheer and swung their hats as he passed them, his horses took fright, either at their noisy demon- strations or at some cattle moving in the timber beside the road, and suddenly started to run. In making an effort to gather up his reins, Mr. McCleery fell from the wagon beneath the wheels which ran over him, fracturing his jaw and skull and producing instant death. The horses ran into the timber, and upset the wagon against a log. Mrs. McCleery fell beneath the wagon box, in which a large box of merchandise was tied ; this box laid across her body, as she lay across the log, effectually imprisoning her. The horses had cleared themselves from the vehicle, and, running a short distance, in a semi-circle, became tangled in the harness and brush, within fifteen or twenty feet of McCleery's dead body, in the road.
Mr. Hiram Ingersoll, of West Union, was returning from Ossian at the same time, and was approaching the spot unaware of the tragedy just enacted, or that McCleery's team was ahead of his. When within eighty rods, he met the same load of Bohemians (one of them then on foot), who yelled at him, but he paid no attention to them. Driving along in the dusk of the evening, Mr. Ingersoll's attention was first drawn to a hat in the road, and a little way far- ther, he saw a man lying, whom he supposed to be one of the drunken party he had just passed, who had fallen out, too drunk to move after he fell. Upon examination, however, he found the man was dead, but his face was so covered
409
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
with dust and blood that he did not recognize him. He then discovered the horses struggling in the brush, and while securing them, heard a groan a short distance away. Hastening to the spot, he found a woman lying under an upturned wagon, as above described, and unconscious. To liberate her from her perilous position, he was obliged to lift the heavy box, wagon and all, and draw her out with one hand while he lifted. Having done this, he hurried on to Phillips', about 100 rods, for assistance, as it was now quite dark. Return- ing with Mr. Phillips and his farm hands, the lady was found to be partially recovered from her swoon and able to speak. Her first words were, " Where's William ?" " William who ?" queried Mr. Ingersoll ; " William McCleery," was the reply; and this was the first intimation Mr. Ingersoll had of the identity of the man lying dead in the road.
The injured lady was at once conveyed to Mr. Phillips' house, where she was tenderly cared for, and the body of her son was also carried there. Mr. Inger- soll hurried on to West Union for a physician and Coroner, and a messenger was dispatched to West Auburn to convey the sad intelligence to the wife of Mr. McCleery, who started at once; but while on the way, her horse took fright and ran, threw her out and injured her severely and wrecked the buggy.
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