USA > Illinois > Edwards County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 24
USA > Illinois > Wabash County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 24
USA > Illinois > Lawrence County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 24
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Ordered, that Samuel H. Clubb be and he is hereby appointed treasurer of the county of Lawrence, and he having given b nd and security faithfully to discharge the duties of said office, was duly sworn and qualified.
Ordered, that Thomas Ashbrook and Thomas Bland be, and they are hereby appointed constables for the county of Lawrence.
Ordered, that the following named persons be sum- moned to serve as petit jurors for the first term of the circuit court to be holden on the first Monday in June next : William P. Blanchard, John Ruark, William Leach, Aaron Vannatta, Victor Buchanan, Jacob Helphestine, John Mills, Samuel Lancave, John Adams, William Ashbrook, Jeremiah Robinson, Alexander Turner, William Spencer, Joseph Lamotte, James Ryan, Jacob Trout, Harris McCord, Jonathan Allison, Joseph Baird, Asa Norton, William Westrope, Hugh Kinkade and James Gibson. Adjourned, etc.
At the second term, a special one held on Wednesday, the 16th of May, 1821, the report of the state commis- misioners for locating the permanent seat cf justice for Lawrence county was returned to the court, in words as follows, to wit :
To the honorable the county commissioners for the county of Lawrence, state of Illinois, for locating the permanent seat for said county, do certify that we have determined upon twenty acres of land, situate on the west side of river Embarras, about 300 yards north of Dubois mills, on a ridge to the left of the St. Louis road, laid off in a square, and have designated as the centre of said twenty acres of land a white-oak stump with a peeled stake sticking by its side, as the permanent seat of justice for said county of Lawrence, in the state of Illinois.
Given under our hands and seals this 9th day of May, 1821.
M. THOMPSON, WILLIAM WILSON.
The expenses of these commissioners amounted to $22 00 for themselves and $8.00 for David Porter. The warrants issued to those parties were the first issued by the court. John Dunlap was appointed to make a sur- vey of the "donation land " made to the county, and also to lay off the town of Lawrenceville into streets and alleys. These lots were ordered to be sold on the first Monday and Tuesday of July, 1821, and the clerk was instructed to advertise the sale in the " Indiana Sentinel" and " Western Sun," printed at Vincennes, and also in the "Illinois Gazette " and the' "Illinois Intelligencer," printed in this state.
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
The sale of those county lots did not fill the treasury of the new county as was expected. Money was scarce and although easy terms were granted, the old settlers of 1820 were too cautious and reluctant to contract debts of any kind. The want of money was so severely felt throughout the State, that the legislature resorted to a scheme of creating money. It is but recently that the people of these United States have seen a new party- the "Greenback party " for short-spring into life, with the avowed object of abolishing the use of gold and sil- ver as measures of values and substituting their fiat money for it. The older people of the county have had some experience in this matter, for there was a time when the county authorities flooded the county with a paper currency, based on an empty treasury. The few remarks introduced here are intended for the generation now starting out into political life. It is presumed to be know by all, that almost every person residing in Illinois in 1820 and 1821 was virtually a bankrupt, that is, he could not pay any debt, however small it was, despite his possessing many acres of lands, etc., simply because there was no money in the State. Well, it was a glorious time for " fiat" money, and the legislature created it by chartering the State Bank of Illinois, with- out a dollar in its vaults and wholly on the credit of the State. It was authorized to issue notes of various denominations, differing from the notes of regular banks only in being made interest bearing (2 per cent. per annum) and payable by the state after ten years. The bank and its branches, officered by men appointed by the legislature (politicians of course and not business men), were directed by law to lend its bills to the peo- ple, to the amount of one hundred dollars on personal security, and of larger amounts upon the security of mortgages on real estate. These note were to be re- ceived in payment of taxes, costs, fees, salaries, etc , and if tendered to a creditor and by him refused, the debtor could stay the collection of the debt due by him for three years by giving personal security. The Solons at Vandalia (nomen et omen) actually believed that these notes would be worth their face in gold or silver, and the Secretary of the Treasury of the U. S. was requested by a resolution of the legislature to receive those notes at the various land offices in payment for public lands. Governor Ford, in his history of Illinois, tells an amus- ing anecdote in reference to the adoption of this reso- lution in the State S nate : When it was put to a vote in the senate, the old French Lieutenant Governor, Colonel Menard, presiding over the body, did up the business as follows :
Gentlemen of de Senate, it is moved and seconded dat de notes of dis bank be made land office money. All in favor of dat motion say aye, all against it say no. It is decided in de affirmative. And now gentlemen I bet you one hundred dollars he never be made land office money. The banks went into operation in 1821, and their officers finding it easier and more pleasant to lend than to re- fuse, had soon scattered hundreds of thousands of their
" fiat " money throughout the state. It was taken at first at 75 cents per dollar, but soon came down to 25 cents. A large number of people who had " borrowed " from the banks, thought, of course, that their transac- tions with the banks terminated then and there. The idea of repaying was and remained foreign to them. The real troubles commenced fonr and five years later, as appears from the dockets of all circuit courts in the older countries. Countless lawsuits and few " returns" were the consequences of the " financial " legislation. But to return to the subject of county government, we will state, that the county commissioners appointed a large number of supervisors to take charge of the public roads in the county, to wit: Robert Bennefield, on the county line, and east of the Embarras river; Peter Shidler, also on the county line road, from the range line between 12 and 13, to the line between 13 and 14. Thaddeus Morehouse, on the west end of railroad ; Ben- jamin McClure, to the road leading from Yellow Banks to Joseph Lamotte's ; James Ryan, Daniel Deniston Benjamin Summer and Cornelius De Long. on the old Sallsburg road ; Thomas Buchanan on the Palmyra road ; Samuel H. McCord, on the north line of the county, be- tween ranges 10 and 11, thence west with the line of Embarras river, thence down to Du Bois' mills and thence to Purgatory ! (This is the first time that the queer and ominous name is mentioned in the official records. The writer has frequently heard the known Western exclamation "There's h (ades) on the Wabash ;" (could this phrase have originated with the above un- heard of designation of a creek or swamp?) Joseph Baird, Daniel, Travis, James Gibson and Jeremiah Rob- ertson were also appointed supervisors of roads.
The attention of the commissioners was next directed to the organization of military districts, one for each company. There were enough able-bodied men in the county to form six companies. This circumstance seems to verify the supposition express d above, in reference to the estimated number of inhabitants in 1821.
The returns of the elections of company and regimen- tal officers have not been preserved ; they would have been of much interest to the reader.
We introduce here the boundary lines of the various districts, and such other information as could be gathefed from the records.
MILITIA DISTRICTS.
First Company .- Beginning at the Embarras river, one mile north of the lines between towns 3 and 4, thence west with said line till it strikes the range line between 13 and 14, thence north with that line till it strikes the county line, thence with the county line to Embarras river and with said river to the place of beginning.
Second Company .- Beginning at the northwest corner of section 10, thence south to the county line, thence with said line to the Wabash river, thence up said river to the mouth of the Embarras, thence up said river to one mile south of the line between towns 3 and 4.
102
HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
Third Company .- Beginning northeast of section 9, thence south to the county line, thence with said line to the range line between 13 and 14, thence with said line to one mile south of the line between township 3 and 4, thence with said line to the place of beginning.
Fourth Company .- All that part of the county west of range 13 and 14.
Fifth Company -Beginning at the Embarras river thence to the Wabash river to the county line, thence west to the line between ranges 10 and 11, thence south with said line to the marsh on which the bridge is at Houston's, and with said marsh to the said range I ne leaving Eli Harris to the east and south with said line to the Embarras river, and with said river to the place of beginning.
Sixth Company .- Beginning on the line between ranges 10 and 11 on the north county line, thence with the Em- barras river, and down the river to Purgatory thence up Purgatory to the marsh bridge, at Ashbrooks and down said marsh to the line between sections 27 and 22, thence east with said line past the school-house to the line between ranges 10 and 11 and south with said line to the beginning.
Elections for company, battalion and regimental offi- cers were held on the 23rd of June, 1821, at the houses of Isaiah Lewis; Victor Buchanan ; Richard B McCorkle; Cornelius De Long ; Peter Price and William Adams.
After having provided for proper military protection and warlike emergencies the court directed their atten- tion to what may be termed home comfort, by granting license to Cornelius, Taylor, and also to Elijah Lamp- hear, to keep taverns, without confining them to any lo- cality. Each of these men paid an annual tax of $3.00 in advance, thus enabling Squire Clubb to make the first entry of moneys received into the treasury of the county of Lawrence. The prices which guests and cus- tomers were to be charged, were stipulated by a solemn order, as follows : Each meal 25 cts., lodging 13} cts., each horse feed 12} cts., keeping a horse for a full day 50 cts., whiskey 12} cts, French brandy 50 cts., Jamaica spirits 50 cts., Holland gin 50 cts., domestic brandy 25 cts., wine 50 cts., peach brandy 25 cts. and domestic gin 25 cts., per one half pint. The fractional parts of cents must have been a source of trouble in making change; and yet the very same rates, with the half and frequently quarter cents are met with every where during that period of time. The fact of so many brands of foreign and domestic liquors being kept on tap, must lead one to suppose that those old settlers of ours were rather inclined to indulge.
H. S. Campbell, too, was licensed to retail liquor " by the small," and paid a tax of three dollars for the privi_ lege. His was not a tavern, but merely a tippling house. We have thus far traced $9 in the public cash box, and now comes Squire Anderson and pays into court an- other $2, which he has collected from persons for " pro- fane " swearing. Swearing, common and profane, is no longer a source of revenue, prolific though it might
prove, while alcoholic liquors have to this day main- tained their position as first-class sources of public revenue, here as well as in all other civilized nations.
The government of the county was now fairly started, with John Dunlap, James Lanterman and William Martin as county commissioners ; Toussaint Dubois as clerk ; Samuel H. Clubb, treasurer and assessor ; H. M. Gillham, probate judge ; William Wilson, circuit judge; Toussaint Dubois, circuit clerk ; Henry Dubois, sheriff; J. M. Robinson, prosecuting attorney ; Robert Benne- field, coroner ; and J. Dunlap, county surveyor.
. Thomas Armstrong, Benjamin McCleave, James West- fall and Daniel Travis were acting justices of the peace.
The first public improvement made under the direc- tion of the court was the building of a stray pen, con- structed by Sheriff Dubois at an expense of $7.75. A sale of donation lots took place on the 9th of July, 18_1, and the proceeds, to wit, $250.12}, were paid into court on the 3d of September. Toussaint Dubois, at whose house court was held, resigned the office of county clerk on the 3d September, 1821, and was succeeded by James M. McLean.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
The court next proceeded to have a jail constructed. The same was to be 17 feet square, two stories bigh, to be constructed of hewn logs, double walls, and the space between walls to be filled with rocks; the rooms to be 7 feet in the clear. Cornelius Taylor contracted with the court, and was to be paid $625 for the job. It seems, however, that Isaac Fail had to complete the work, for a settlement with him as builder of the jail was perfected in March, 1822.
THE FIRST COURT-HOUSE.
The court, at the special August term, 1822, entered into an agreement with H. M. Gillham to build a suit- able court-house of brick for and in consideration of the sum of $1500, on the place which the commissioners ap- pointed by the State had selected for a permanent seat of justice. At the same time the court contracted with Bastian Smith for 80,000 bricks, at $4.25 per thousand, said brick to be used in building the court-house. It is impossible to state if the bricks were paid out of the above $1500, or by the county direct. At any rate, the building proceeded very slowly, and in December, 1823, two new contractors, Onates Chafie and Joshua Eaton, were mentioned in connection with the building. The house was finally received on the 24th of July, 1824, but was in so poor a condition that it had to be temporarily abandoned. The June term of 1825 was held at the house of Richard Mieure, and the December term 1825, at Hiram Wade's. Gabriel T. Canthorm's house shel- tered the court during the March, June and September terms, 1826. Meanwhile the county had contracted with Joshua Bond to finish the court-house at a further ex- penditure of $2500. Mr. Bond filed his bond on the 5th of June, 1826, and was paid the full amount on the same day. This court-house has certainly cost the county
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
the sum of $5,000, aud not $1,500, as usually under- stood.
EARLY FERRIES
The various streams coursing through the county were too large to be bridged and too deep to be forded, hence a number of ferries were established at an early date. James Gibson's ferry on the Wabash, opposite Vin- cennes, was the most important. Daniel Keykendall also kept a ferry boat on the Wabash. A third one was kept by Elijah Lamphere, who was also licensed to sell liquor by the " small." Valentine J. Bradley and Caius M. Eaton established a ferry across the Embarras at Lawrenceville in June, 1825, at which time James Nabb and John Fail were licensed to run a ferry across the same stream at Yellow Banks. These ferries were also a source of revenue to the county, and remained so many years.
The number of taverns increased with the population. The tavern of 1820 was a different institution from the "saloon " of our modern times. Taverns were usually found in the county seats, on the stage roads, and at ferry landings. The tavern-keeper was, as a rule, a leading man in his borough. He was well informed, for it was he, who gathered the news from the traveling public. The judge and the lawyer, in court time, put up at the tavern, and formed the center of attraction for the time being. For years the taverns were the court houses, and the tavern-keeper stood high in the estimation of his townsmen, and was a power in the land. We have mentioned a few names of the early tavern-keepers, and will here give a list of all who had been licensed in the first five years of the county govern- ment : Cornelius Taylor, Elijah Lamphere, H. S. Campbell, Daniel Keykendall, James Nabb, Matthew Neely, Jonathan Marney, Jesse M. Grant, (Jesse was al-o justice of the peace), Edward Rathbone, John Bush, Samuel H. Clubb, Michael Stufflebeam, and Delilah Matson. These thirteen taverns paid each a small tax, none over $3.00; they gave bond to keep orderly houses, and were licensed because the public good demanded it.
EARLY REVENUE.
It is very difficult to ascertain the exact county re- venue during the earlier period. . All the county officials seem to have been collecting public funds, and the treasurer, who ought to have had all public moneys under his control, seemed to have been used as " middle- man," to inform people who had claims against the county, that there was no money in the treasury. Fines, licenses, and proceeds from the sale of donation lots were paid " into court," or during vacation to the clerk. The little pay these officers were entitled to was taken out of this income and others, who had been employed to do some public work, were. paid direct by the court. The tax collections made by the sheriff were paid, for the greater part, in county orders or jurors warrants, and again paid "into court," instead of to the treasurer. The first tax levy was ordered on the 16th of
May, 1821, and the treasurer instructed to_ list the following taxable property, to wit : Town lots, carriages for the conveyance of persons, distilleries, stock-in-trade, and horses and cattle over three years old ; all of which property was to pay a tax of fifty cents for every one hundred dollars' valuation. This valuation must have been small, probably less than $80 000, as subsequently in 1824 it was reported to have amounted then to $88,964. The total receipts of the county, including fines, licenses, proceeds from sale of donation lots, and direct tax amounted to $1219.17. The treasurer re- ported that a part of this aggregate to wit, $72 14, re- mained in the hands of the collector. The ordinary expenditures, including the treasurer's commissions of $22.49 amounted to $464.36, leaving a balance of $732 32. In March, 1823, the treasurer reported an in- come of $1694.69, but inasmuch as the tax rate was not higher than in the previous year, and as the collector was reported in arrears to the amount of $208.92, it is to be inferred that the balance in treasury, as reported in March, 1822, was a part of those $1694.69. The trea- surer received a compensation of $80 62, to wit, $32 68, commissions, and $48.00 for listing the property. The regular expenditures of the county increased from $464.36 in 1822 to $1614.09 in 1823. The report of 1824 stated the county revenue to have been as follows : Fines, $21.00; estrays sold, $40.50; tavern licenses, $16.00; one-half of the land tax, $264 62 *; county tax, $444:82; total, $786.94. The expenditures of the county exceeded the income for the first time in 1825, and continued to do so for several years. As early as 1827, there were $2488.18 of unpaid county orders afloat, while the assets of the county consisted in a deliquent tax list of $153.50. This sad state of affairs gave cause to dis- satisfaction and distrust; the clerk was instructed to get up a correct statement of the financial condition of the county, and keep a copy of it posted up in a prominent place in his office, so that all who desired, might see it. The statement was also published in the Vincennes' newspapers. This statement, ordered in March, 1827, was not recorded, and of course, cannot now be found. The court increased the annual tax from 50 cents to $1.00 per one hundred, and made a strong effort to cur- tail expenses, which in 1827 amounted to $739.72. The cause of the embarrassment lay in the cost of the old court-house, which, as stated above, amounted to three times the contract price. The first fiscal statement of the county found on record, was made in December, 1827, and is, in words and figures as follows :
FISCAL STATEMENT OF DECEMBER 6, 1827. Liabilities of the County.
Unpald county orders issued prior to December, 1826. . $2,564.58
County orders issued until December, 1826 . 633.18
Certificates granted to county commissioners 62.60
Compensation due to Valentine Bradley for making assessments and percentage as county treasurer . 54.04
$3,304.30
* Lands, which had been in possession of individuals, for five years or more, were assessed per 100 acres, at $1.00 if located in the Wabash bottom, and 75 cents for all other locations; one half of said fax was paid to the State, the other half to the county.
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
Payments and assets.
Amount paid by Hiram Wade . $ 50.00 Amount paid to I. Bond on contract . 103.50
Amounts paid to same on contract . 106.42
Amount of county orders taken up by sheriff and paid into
treasury . . . 196.06
Amount due by sheriff . 439.45%
Amount of notes due to the county, sale of lots
75.00 $967.2734
Present county debt $2,3.7.0234
POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE COUNTY.
The earlier divisions of the county into militia districts had nothing to do with its civil government, nor are these districts subsequently mentioned. The road dis- tricts increased in number as new settlements developed In March 1824 the county was divided into three town- ships, respectively called Allison, east of Embarras, Lawrenceville, west of the Embarras and east of range line between 13 and 14, and Fox, west of said range line. It seems that this subdivision was made for the purpose of creating new offices, to wit: Overseers of the poor, Daniel Travis and Enoch Organ became the managers of pauperism in Allison, while Samuel H. Clubb and John Williams divided the territory of Lawrenceville and Fox between themselves.
In 1827 all counties of Illinois, in pursuance of a state law, providing for the election of justices of the peace, were to be divided into election precincts. So far the justices of the peace had held their respective offices by appointment. The usual modus operandi was, that the commissioners of the county courts recommended or sug- gested the names of suitable persons for said positions to the governor, who then appointed them. The first justices ever elected in this region, were those fam us five of the Vincennes court-1779-and the experience had with them, had shaken the confidence of the govern- ment in too much popular sovereignty.
ELECTION PRECINCTS OF 1827.
Mason .- Beginning at the southwest corner of Law- rence county, thence east with the county line to the range line between ranges 13 and 14, thence north with said line to one mile and a half south of the town- ship line of T. 3 N., thence west to the county line, thence south with said line to the place of beginning ; poll at the house of James Parker, with Hugh Calhoun, James Parker and James Cunningham as judges of election.
Sult Spring .- Beginning at the northwest corner of Lawrence county, thence south with the county line to one mile and a half south of the township line of T. 3 N., thence east to the range line between ranges 13 and 14, thence north with said line to the county line, thence west with said line to the place of beginning ; poll at the house of John Bullard, and with Chip. Webster, James Elliott and Elisha Gibbs as judges of election.
Johnston .- Beginning at the south county line where the range line between ranges 13 and 14 strikes the same, thence east to the Wabash, thence up the Wabash to the mouth of the Embarras thence up the Embarras to one
mile and a half south of the township line of T 3 N., thence west to the range line between ranges 13 and 14, thence south with said line to the beginning ; poll at house of William Denison, with Thomas Buchanan, Thomas Fish and William Travis as judges of election.
Lawrenceville .- Beginning at the north county line where the range line between ranges 13 and 14, strikes the same, thence south with said line to one mile and a half south of the township line of T. 3 N., thence east to the Embarras river, thence up the Embarras to the county line, thence west with the county line to the beginning ; poll at the court-house with David McHenry, Colonel W. Spencer and John McCleave as judges of election.
Allison .-- Beginning at the mouth of the Embarras river thence up the Wabash river to the mouth of Flat creek thence up Flat creek to the head of Purgatory, thence down Purgatory to the Embarras, thence down the Embarras river to the place of beginning ; poll at the Centre school-house with Thomas Ashbrook, John Mills and Joseph Adams as judges of election.
Bond .- Beginning at the mouth of Purgatory at the Yellow Banks, thence up Purgatory to the head of Flat Creek, thence down Flat creek to the Wabash river, thence up the Wabash to the county line, thence west with the county line to the Embarras to the beginning ; poll at the house of Charles Emmons, with Edward Mills, Samuel Drake and John Allison as judges of election.
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