USA > Illinois > Lee County > Early Lee County, being some chapters in the history of the early days in Lee County, Illinois > Part 11
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Section three would have created Chicago with a bound- ary line beginning on the eastern boundary line of the State at a point in Lake Michigan opposite the line be- tween townships forty-one and forty-two north, range fourteen east of the third principal meridian (near Wil- mette), and running thence west (on a line six miles south of Lake county) to the northwest corner of township forty-one north, range ten east; thence south (on a line six miles east of Kane county) to the northwest corner of township thirty-seven north, range ten east; thence east (six miles) to the northwest corner of township thirty-seven north, range eleven east; thence south (six miles) to the southwest corner of township thirty-five north, range eleven east ; thence east to the eastern bound- ary of the State, and along that line to the place of be- ginning.
The fourth section of the bill provided that for election and other county purposes all the country lying north of the counties of Chicago, Pinckney and Brown, to the north line of the State, and as far west as the third principal meridian, and the country lying south of these counties so as to include township twenty-eight (28) north, "which is not included in the boundaries of any other county, shall be and the same is hereby attached to the County of Chicago."
The proposed Chicago would have included the east two-thirds of DuPage, all of Cook, except the north tier of townships and two townships off the north end of the extreme west tier, and a small part of Will.
The attached territory included the rest of DuPage and
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COLUMBIA COUNTY
Cook, all of Lake, McHenry, Boone, Kane, nearly all of DeKalb, part of Winnebago, Ogle, Lee, and LaSalle.
During this session John Reynolds of St. Clair for the committee on the revision of the statutes, on Decem- ber 1, 1828, introduced in the House a bill for "An Act ascertaining and defining the boundaries of the several connties in this state, and designating the seats of justice therein respectively." It was laid on the table after the first reading. The real purpose of the bill seems to have been to create Macon county. The boundary line pro- posed for Putnam by this bill would have given that county the territory west of the Illinois to the Knox- Peoria line extended that is between the north line of Peoria and the south line of Rock Island extended. It made no disposition of that part of Putnam lying east of Jo Daviess and did not change the lines of the latter.
During the first session of the Seventh General Assem- bly, 1830-1831, there was presented to the House a peti- tion from Jo Daviess, Putnam and the attached parts of Tazewell and Peoria counties, asking the formation of a new county. Then Joel Wright, of the Pike, Adams, Ful- ton, Schuyler, Peoria and Jo Daviess district, presented a petition from' the inhabitants in the neighborhood of "Chicago, in the County of Peoria," praying for a new county. On motion of John F. Posey, of the Fayette, Bond, Tazewell, Montgomery and Shelby district, it was resolved that a select committee be appointed to lay off all the country on the other side of the Illinois river from Peoria county to Chicago into counties, and to report by bill. The committee was composed of Posey, Wright and Jonathan H. Pugh of Sangamon. To the same committee was sent, on motion of Posey, after its second reading, a bill introduced by Jacob Ogle, of St. Clair, for the com- mittee on petitions upon the petition first mentioned, for an "Act to create and organize the County of Columbia." This select committee reported a bill for "An Act to
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EARLY LEE COUNTY
create and organize the counties therein named" which passed the House. It was amended in the Senate, the House concurring, and became a law January 15, 1831. It created Cook and LaSalle (with its north boundary as at present), changed the boundaries of Putnam and added some territory to Henry. By the third section of this Act it is provided that Putnam shall comprise the terri- tory within the following boundaries :- beginning at the southwest corner of township twelve north, range six east of the fourth principal meridian (on the Stark-Peoria line) ; thence cast to the Illinois; thence down the middle of the river to the south line of township twenty-nine north, west of the third principal meridian (Woodford- Marshall Line) ; thence cast to the third principal me- ridian, and north with it forty-two miles (near Mendota) ; thence west to (northwest corner of Bureau) a point six miles due north of the northwest corner of township seventeen, range six east of the fourth principal meridian ; thence south to the starting point. Some provisions of the act are peculiar. It makes "the northern boundary line of the State" the north line of Cook, and then at- taches to that county the territory "north of Cook County and parallel with the lines of the same as far north- wardly as Rock River," the west line of Cook being the line between ranges eight and nine east of the third prin- cipal meridian (the Kane-DuPage line) and that river not being so far east as that in this State. The Act adds to Henry townships twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen and eighteen, range five, while another act approved that day (An Act to establish the permanent seat of justice for Knox county) so described Henry's boundaries that they exclude townships twelve and thir- teen (placing them in Knox) and the north line is Rock river, between the fourth principal meridian and the east line of range five.
The territory in range eleven (the towns of Sublette, Lee Centre, Bradford, Ashton in Lee county, Lafayette,
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LA SALLE COUNTY
Pine Rock, Marion, the east two third of Byron in Ogle; Winnebago, Burritt, Harrison, and the greater part of Shirland in Winnebago) north of the new Putnam was not put in any county or attached to any. The north line of the new Putnam, as fixed by this Act, is a diagonal one. A due west line from the third principal meridian forty- two miles north of the south line of township twenty-nine, on that meridian, will not go to a point "six miles due north of the northwest corner of township seventeen" north, range six east of the fourth principal meridian, though the legislators may have thought it will. ( This error was corrected in 1839 after Bureau was formed.)
LaSalle was given the territory bounded by a line be- ginning at the southwest corner of the new Cook-the southwest corner of township thirty-four, north, range nine east of the third principal meridian (Shermanville) ; running thence south thirty miles; thence west to the meridian and north along it forty-eight miles (to the northwest corner of La Salle) ; thence east (on the La Salle-Lee and LaSalle-DeKalb line) to Cook (the Ken- dall-Will line) ; thence south to the place of beginning. The act attached to LaSalle all that part of the state lying north of it. The attached territory included the two ranges of townships at the east end of Lee.
This statute failed to make any disposition of that part of the old Putnam lying north of the Kankakee, south of the new Cook (the south line of township thirty-four), and east of LaSalle. By the "Act to establish the county of Will," approved January 12, 1836, this became part of Will.
The bill for the "Act to create and organize the county of Columbia" proposed the following boundary,-begin- ning at the southeast corner of township twenty-nine, north, range four, east of the third principal meridian, thence north (on the Boone-McHenry line extended) to the north line of township thirty-six, thence west to the meridian (on the LaSalle-DeKalb line) and through the
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EARLY LEE COUNTY
center of township nineteen in the ranges east of the fourth principal meridian to the line between ranges nine and ten east of that meridian (through the towns of Sublette and May to the east line of East Grove in Lee county) thence south (on an extension of the east line of Stephenson) to and down the Illinois to the south- west corner of township twenty-nine, north, west of the third principal meridian (the Woodford-Marshall line) thenee east to the place of beginning.
The bill is endorsed, An Act to organize the county of Columbia.
The "Act to establish Rock Island County," approved February 9, 1831, gave that county its present area.
In the Galenian of September 29, 1835, Samuel Allen and Edmund A. Philleo gave notice, dated September 22. 1835, that application would be made to the legislature to strike off all that part of Rock Island county that lies east and south of Rock river, and to extend Rock Island county from its then north line to the mouth of Johnson's creek, thenee east to the line between ranges five and six east of the fourth principal meridian, thence south to Rock River, thence down the main channel of that river to its mouth.
Johnson's creek runs into Otter creek, which flows into the Mississippi about two and one-half miles above Fulton.
In the Northwestern Gazette and Galena Advertiser of October 15, 1836, is an unsigned notice reading thus -"To the inhabitants of Rock Island, Henry and White- side counties. Notice is hereby given to the legal voters of the aforesaid counties that a petition will be pre- sented to the General Assembly of this State (Illinois) at their next session, for an alteration of the present boundary lines of said county, and also for a change of the county seat of Rock Island county. Rock Island County, October 3, 1836."
In the Gazette and Advertiser of December 3, 1836,
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THE DIXON AND BOWEN PROJECT
"Conclusion," writing from Rock Island county, Novem- ber nineteenth, says he understands the proposal is to attach all of Rock Island south of Rock river to Mercer and to extend the northern boundary to include Mere- dosia and Cat Tail swamps, the head of the rapids to be the county seat, that the proposal is by a man who did not get elected recorder after the county seat was located at Stephenson. The writer calls attention to the great popu- lation the new county will have-if the mosquitos are counted.
In the Northwestern Gazetteer & Galena Advertiser of October 24, 1835, and other days after that, appeared this :
"Notice is hereby given that application will be made at the next session of the Legislature of the State of Illi- nois to establish and organize three new counties to be embraced within the limits of Jo Daviess, and bounded as follows :
1st: Beginning at a point on the Mississippi between townships twenty-five and twenty-six and range two east of the fourth principal meridian ; thence running due east to the line between ranges six and seven east of the fourth principal meridian; thence south to the southern boun- dary of township twenty-five; thence due west to the line between ranges five and six east of said meridian; thence south to the center of Rock River; thence down the main channel of said stream to the N. E. corner of Rock Island County ; thence along the center of the Meridosia, or the northern boundary of said county, to the Mississippi ; thence up the main channel of the same to the place of beginning.
2nd: Also beginning at the corner of townships twenty- four and twenty-four and twenty-five and twenty-five north of ranges five and six east of the fourth principal meridian; thence east to the third principal meridian ; thence south with the third principal meridian to the N. E. corner of Putnam County ; thence west along the north-
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EARLY LEE COUNTY
ern boundary of said county to the northwest corner thereof; thence north between ranges four and five to Rock River; thence up the main channel of Rock River to the range line between ranges five and six ; tlience north with said range line to the place of beginning.
3rd: Also leaving all that part of the aforesaid County of Jo Daviess with so much of that portion attached to the County of LaSalle as the Legislature in their wisdom shall see fit to award lying north of the last above de- scribed county and east of range seven of the fourth prin- cipal meridian to constitute the third new county.
October 24, 1835.
John Dixon, Luther H. Bowen."
Luther H. Bowen was one of the surveyors who located the Illinois-Wisconsin line in 1832. In 1835 he bought a claim to the land on which Savanna stands, and in the next year platted that town, conducting a store there from that time until his death, May 5, 1876. He was one of the first three county commissioners of Carroll county. (Kett, History of Carroll County.)
This notice appears to assume that the west line of Putnam was the line between ranges four and five, east of the fourth principal meridian, while it, in fact, was the line between ranges five and six. The consequence of this error is that the boundaries proposed for the second county would not connect.
It is somewhat singular that Bowen, who must have been acquainted with the township lines, and who un- doubtedly sought to create a county of which his town would be the capital, placed the north line of the first county at the line between townships twenty-five and twenty-six, barely seven miles north of Savanna.
A petition praying for the passage of a statute creating counties as outlined by this notice, was duly presented to the General Assembly. With other petitions asking the formation of other counties this led to the passage of
.
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OGLE COUNTY
the "Aet to establish certain counties," approved Janu- ary 16, 1836, which created MeHenry, Winnebago, Kane, Whiteside and Ogle, and recast the boundaries of Jo Daviess.
Whiteside was given its present area, but it was to re- main a part of Jo Daviess until Ogle was organized and then to be attached to that county until its own organiza- tion. This boundary has not been changed.
Ogle was given the territory bounded by a line running from the southeast corner of Whiteside, north to the southwest corner of township twenty-six; thence east (on its present north line) to the third principal meridian ; thence south on that meridian to the southwest corner of township forty-three, north, range one, east of that me- ridian; thenee east (on Winnebago-Ogle line) to range three; thence south on the west line of that range (the DeKalb-Ogle and DeKalb-Lee line) to the southwest cor- ner of township thirty-seven, range three (southwest cor- ner of DeKalb) ; thence west to the meridian (at north- west corner of LaSalle) ; thence south with the meridian to the southeast corner of township nineteen, range eleven east of the fourth principal meridian (northeast corner of Bureau) ; thence west (on the Lee-Bureau line) to the place of beginning.
There was left unmentioned and unrecognized a tri- angular strip in township eighteen, ranges six, seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven east of the fourth principal meridian, south of Ogle and Whiteside, and north of Putnam, but by this Act completely cut off from Jo Daviess. (It was afterwards placed in Bureau. The present towns of Eagle Point, Brookville and the west half of Forreston were added to Ogle afterwards.)
The Act creating Ogle provided that the county seat should be located by James L. Kirkpatrick of Jo Daviess, Charles Reed and James B. Campbell of Cook. The lo- cation was made by Reed and Kirkpatrick June 20, 1836,
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EARLY LEE COUNTY
and displeased many of those living in the western part of the county.
In the Northwestern Gazette and Galena Advertiser of September 3, 10, 17 and 24, 1836, the following appeared :
"Notice. A petition will be presented to the Legis- lature, at their next session, praying that Towns 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 of Ranges six and 7 east of the 4th Principal Meridian, be attached to and form a part of Ogle County, and that disinterested Commis- sioners be appointed to locate the county seat for said county and that the name of said county be changed from Ogle to that of Carroll.
John Brookie, I. Chambers.
August 29, 1836."
Brookie and Isaac Chambers settled in or near Buffalo Grove in 1829. (Kett, Ogle County.) They had two ob- jections to the original west line of Ogle, -- it cut the Buf- falo Grove settlement in two, and they were put under the domination of John Phelps of Oregon. Had their scheme been successful a little more than one third of Whiteside, taken off the east end, and almost one half of the present Carroll, also taken off the east end, would have been added to Ogle.
Bowen allied himself with William Kirkpatrick, who, with William Baker, W. T. Gilbraith and Smith Gilbraith, held a claim to the land on which Freeport stands, and they gave notice, dated October 14, in the Northwestern Gazette and Galena Advertiser of October 15, 1836, that a petition would be presented to the legislature praying the formation of two counties, 1-beginning on the state line between ranges five and six, east, thence to the line between ranges nine and ten; thence south to the south boundary of township twenty-six; thence west to the line between ranges five and six; thence north to the place of beginning, "by the name of 2-beginning on the Mississippi , between townships twenty-four and twenty-five; thence east to the line between ranges five
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FORSYTHE COUNTY
and six; thenee south to the south boundary of township twenty-one; thence west to the Mississippi, thence up the main channel of the Mississippi to the place of beginning "forming the county of Forsythe."
The county first proposed would have included all of our Stephenson, except the tier of half towns on the west end. Forsythe would have had parts of the present Car- roll and Whiteside.
These petitions, with others, led to the passage of the "Act to create certain counties therein named," ap- proved March 4, 1837, by which Stephenson, Boone and DeKalb were formed. Bowen failed in this effort also.
The fourth section of the original bill for this act, in describing the boundary line of DeKalb (there called Benton), started it at the southwest corner of township thirty-seven, range two, east, putting that range in that county. By amendment the starting point was put at the southeast corner of that township, where it is today. There is nothing left on record to show when, where or by whose efforts this amendment was made.
Wednesday, January 11, 1837, A. G. S. Wight, member for the Jo Daviess, Rock Island and Mercer counties dis- triet in the Senate of the Tenth General Assembly, pre- sented the petition of many citizens of Ogle, Jo Daviess and Whiteside counties praying an addition to Ogle county, which was, on his motion, referred to a select committee of five, consisting of Wight, Orville H. Brown- ing, William J. Gatewood of Gallatin, William Thomas of Morgan and John D. Whiteside of Monroe.
The Vandalia correspondent (evidently Senator Wight) of the Northwestern Gazette and Galena Advertiser, un- der date of January 2, 1837, in the issue of January 15, 1837, says-"I introduced the petition of the citizens of Ogle county praying the alteration of their boundary and that commissioners be appointed to permanently locate the seat of justice, notwithstanding the great injustice done them by former legislation as regards both, yet I am
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EARLY LEE COUNTY
doubtful of success, because men of influence are con- nected in the speculation."
January 13, Thomas presented petitions and remon- strances from Ogle and Whiteside respecting the pro- posed change in their dividing line, and these were sent to the same committee. On the nineteenth Thomas intro- duced the petition of sundry citizens praying for a di- vision of Ogle, and upon his motion, it was referred to the same select committee, to which other petitions on the same subject were referred.
On the twenty-first Wight moved the adoption of the following: Resolved, that the select commitee to whom was referred the petition of sundry citizens of Ogle county, praying an alteration of boundary lines and the re-location of the seat of justice of said county, together with the remonstrances to the same be authorized to ex- amine persons interested in relation thereto, under oath. This was adopted on motion of Thomas.
On the twenty-sixth Wight, for the committee, reported that "they had had same under consideration and beg leave to report that the first part of their duty appears to be to ascertain that the petitioners had given the legal notice in such cases; when satisfied upon this subject they proceeded to examine the respective petitions and re- monstrances with a great deal of minuteness and accur- aey, which enabled them to arrive at the following:
"The whole number of the citizens of Ogle Coun- ty who had signed one or the other appears to be four hundred and eleven, two hundred and thirty-six of whom have signed the petition, and one hundred and seventy-five the remonstrances. The petition and remonstrances from Whiteside being equal in point of numbers, but from information to be relied on, from citizens residing in that section of the coun- try (now in Vandalia), who appeared before the com- mittee, which information is corroborated by the rep- resentation from that district, it appears that while those whose names are found on the petition were identified, with but one exception, as being bona fide
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ALTERING OGLE COUNTY
residents of that part of the county prayed to be at- tached, but three names on the remonstrance could be identified as living in Whiteside County, and they quite remote from the territory in question, the greater part of the balance being identified as citi- zens of Galena and Wisconsin territory. The com- mittee will further state that the principal petition, which the former Senator from that district pre- sented to the Senate for the formation of a county on the Rock river asked for the same boundaries which are now proposed and asked for by the peti- tion, as appears manifest from the original bill as first introduced, creating the county, by the standing committee on petitions. These facts in connection with the circumstance that the present boundary in question cuts in two one of the oldest and decidedly the most populous and dense settlements in that sec- tion of the country, give the petitioners strong claims to legislative interference. As regards the re-loca- tion of the Seat of Justice your committee will state that independent of the 'circumstancial' evidence that the location was made more with an eye to pro- mote the schemes of certain speculators than the in- terests of the citizens of said county upon which the committee, however, do not wish to be understood to give an opinion, that the present location is objec- tionable on account of its remoteness from the cen- ter, being thirty miles from the south boundary, and but twelve miles from the north boundary, twenty- three miles from its east boundary, and fifteen from its west boundary, and as your committee are fur- ther satisfied that great discontent, indeed to an alarming degree, prevails throughout said county upon this subject, we therefore report a bill entitled ' An Act for altering the boundaries of Ogle County and other purposes.' "'
In the form in which it was reported to the Senate the first section of this bill provided that all that part of Jo Daviess south of Ogle, east of the third principal merid- ian, and north of Putnam (evidently meaning part of this diagonal strip), and the east half of townships number twenty-one and twenty-two (in Whiteside), and all of
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EARLY LEE COUNTY
townships number twenty-three, twenty-four and twenty- five, in range seven (then in Jo Daviess) should be made part of Ogle, and that township twenty-three in ranges four, five and six, and fractional township twenty-three, in range three (now the south tier of towns in Carroll) should be placed in Whiteside. It would have put Shan- non, Milledgeville and about one-half of Sterling and Rock Falls in Ogle. The second section provided for the division of Ogle, as thus constituted, into nine elec- tion districts; the election of a commissioner in each dis- trict, and the location of the county seat by those com- missioners ..
After its second reading the bill was referred to a se- lect committee composed of Wight, George W. P. Max- well of Schuyler, and William O'Rear of Morgan. Janu- ary 28 Maxwell reported the bill with amendments (none of which can be found now), and on his motion they were indefinitely postponed, but, three days later, on motion of Levin Lane of Hamilton, a reconsideration was had, and on motion of Wight the proposed amendments were amended by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting :
"That all that part of Jo Daviess County lying south of Ogle County is hereby attached to and made a part of Ogle County, and that for the more perma- nent and satisfactory location of the seat of justice of said Ogle County, the county commissioners there- of are hereby required to order an election to be held in the several precincts of said county to elect five commissioners, which election shall be conducted and the returns thereof made, in the same manner that other county elections are. Said commissioners, or a majority thereof, when thus elected and sworn be- fore a Justice of the Peace to take into consideration the convenience of the people and the situation of the present settlements, with an eye to the future population of the county, shall proceed to examine and determine upon the place for a permanent seat of Justice, giving a preference to the land belonging
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