Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II, Part 21

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), 1844-1928. 4n; Scofield, Charles J. (Charles Josiah), 1853- 4n
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1174

USA > Illinois > Hancock County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II > Part 21

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"At the close of the procession, the committee distributed the wood to the various families needing it, and from all we can learn the distri- bution was very equal and satisfactory.

"In addition to the foregoing, we learn that some nine or ten others, who could not possibly get in on Saturday have promised loads of wood for this object on Friday or Saturday next. The committee have also furnished us with the names of doners of money and the amount, which we do not deem it necessary to print. That the amount was liberal our readers may rest well assured.

"There are some incidents connected with the procession-scenes at houses where wood was

Munsell Fub Co

R. M. Bradshaw.

743

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

left, etc .- which we doubt not would prove of interest; but we have no printers to set the type.

"It is due to say that much of the success of this great charity is due the efforts of Dr. Griffith, Mr. W. G. Mills, and other members of the committee."

(The storm above mentioned began on Wed- nesday night, December 30, 1863, and continued into the early part of January, as appears from the issue of The Carthage Republican, dated January 7, 1864.)

THE CULTURE OF SILK

In the early history of Illinois it seems to have been imagined that the state was adapted to the silk industry. Many kinds of undesirable worms grow here, and why should not one use- ful worm, the silk worm, flourish here also? It may be that the latitude, corresponding with the latitude of parts of France, furnished the foun- dation for the idea. However that may be the Legislature by an act approved March 1, 1839, and in force June 1, 1839, undertook to "encourage the culture of silk."

It was provided that, for this purpose, there should be paid out of the state treasury a pre- mium of one dollar to every person who should produce ten pounds weight of cocoons of silk, being the work of silk worms raised by him or her within this state, and in the same propor- tion for any larger quantity of cocoons.

Thus much for the first process in the making of a silk dress or top hat.

It was provided that there should be paid out of the treasury to every person who should reel or caused to be reeled, and to every person who should "throw or cause to be thrown," in this state, from cocoons produced from silk worms raised in this state, a merchantable silk capable of being manufactured into the various silk fabrics, or to the legal representatives of such person, one dollar for every pound of silk so reeled and thrown, and fifty cents for every pound of silk reeled without being thrown.

Bodies politic and corporate were expressly forbidden the benefits of the act.

A method was provided for obtaining the bounty, which was intended to prevent frauds, and consisted of proof made to the satisfaction of a justice of the peace and a certificate by the justice based thereupon, showing the facts necessary to entitle the claimant to the bounty.

This act may not have produced much silk, but it stimulated the planting of mulberry trees in various parts of the County, including cer- tain parts of Carthage. The writer remembers hearing his mother say that two or three kinds of mulberry trees stood along the line of the lot of her residence (now his residence) in Carthage, and that these trees were cut down in the fifties by an adjoining proprietor for the reason that they shaded his cabbage patch. (As to cabbage patches see Mrs. Wiggs.)

POPULATION

The editor holds in his hands Goodrich's Com- prehensive Georgraphy and History published in 1853, in which the poulation of Quincy in 1840 is given as 1,500 and of Chicago in the same year as 4,470. The population of Chicago in 1850 is given as 28,269. The population of Han- cock County in 1850 is given as 14,652. The reference to the Chief Towns of the state is as follows :

"There are no very large towns in this new but growing state. Springfield is the capital. Kaskaskia, on the river of the same name, is an old French town. While the French held pos- session of the country, it was populous, and the seat of government, and contained a college of Jesuits. After the war of the Revolution it de- clined, but lately it has begun to revive. Ca- hokia is another ancient French settlement on the Mississippi. It is nearly as old as Kaskas- kia. Belleville, in the same neighborhood, is a new and flourishing town. Shawneetown, on the Ohio, is the largest place in the state, upon the river. Galena, in the northwest, on the Mis- sissippi, is the center of the lead district. Alton, on the Mississippi, and Chicago on Lake Mich- igan, are favorably situated for trade. The lat- ter is an important place. It extends along the lake shore for a mile, being sufficiently elevated to escape ordinary floods. It has an artificial harbor, which is thronged with steamboats and other vessels."

Chicago has outgrown its shell many a time since those words were written, and other cities than those named transcend any of them now in importance, except Chicago and Springfield, and even Springfield is not now second in pop- ulation, while Kaskaskia and Cahokia are little more than treasured names.

Population of this County for the enumeration periods-1830-1920 :

744

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

Year

Population

Bentley

136

1830

483

Bowen

715

1840

9,946

Carthage

2,129

1850

14,652

Dallas City

1,140

1860

29,061

Elvaston

...

Ferris

Hamilton

1,698

La Harpe

1,323

Nauvoo

972

Plymouth

900

Pontoosuc

199

Warsaw

2,031

West Point

303

( See last chapter.)

CHAPTER V

COURTS, BENCH AND BAR

HANCOCK COUNTY JUDICIARY-CIRCUIT COURT IN HANCOCK COUNTY-APPELLATE COURTS-OTHER PROMINENT JURISTS-EARLY LAWYERS-OTHER ATTORNEYS OF NOTE-LAWYERS OF 1880-PRES- ENT-DAY ATTORNEYS-NOTABLE CIRCUIT COURT CASES.

HANCOCK COUNTY JUDICIARY

This relates especially to the judges of the Circuit Court from 1829, the year of the organi- zation of the county, to the present time. As to the judges for the first twenty-five years of this period but little, if anything, is known by per- sons now living, and any sketch of their lives must be based upon such histories and sketches of those times as are accessible.

The editor has known personally the judges of the Circuit Court who have presided in this county from time to time of Judge Joseph Sibley. Parts of the following brief notices of the judges who preceded Judge Sibley are taken from Gregg's History of. Hancock County, and other works, and parts are contributed by the editor.

Richard M. Young-Judge Young was the first judge who occupied the Bench (the splint-bot- tomed chair) in the county of Hancock, as well as in perhaps a dozen other counties in the northwestern part of the state. He occupied the bench of the Fifth Judicial Circuit at the

Population of Cities and Villages-1920 : Augusta

1,085

Basco

267

1920

Appanoose

846

661

Augusta

1,894

1,750

Bear Creek

1,189

886

Carthage

2,686

2,767

Chili

1,418

1,430

Dallas City

1,144

1,274

Durham

1,098

694

Fountain Green

1,254

857

Hancock

1,130

668

Harmony

1,246

924

La Harpe

1,898

1,949

Montebello

1,977

2,402

Nauvoo

1,399

990

Pilot Grove

1,229

889

Pontoosuc

789

533

Prairie

1,229

...

Rock Creek

1,444

...

Rocky Run

855

577

Sonora

1,399

821

St. Albans

1,280

1,079

St. Mary's

1,538

1,583

Walker

1,612

922

Warsaw

3,105

2,031

Wilcox

588

327

Wythe

1,135

635

1870

35,935

1880

35,352

1890

31,907

1900

32,215

1910

30,638

1920

28,623

CENSUS STATISTICS

OF THE COUNTY-1840-1880- 1920

From an old record in the county clerk's office may be found one of the United States Census reports for the Sixth Federal Census-that of 1840-from which it is found that at that date the County had a population of 9,912, divided as follows: White males, 5,135; White females, 4,762 ; Colored persons, 15.

For the enumeration periods of 1880 and 1920, the government reports give these figures :

Townships

1880

745

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

time Hancock was organized in 1829, and it be- came his duty by law to issue the order for the independent organization of the county.

In view of the fact that Judge Young was the first judge of the Circuit Court who presided in this county, it is proper to give a somewhat ex- tended account of his life. The following ac- count is taken from Vol. 1 of Courts and Law- yers of Illinois, published by The American His- torical Society of Chicago in 1916.

"Richard M. Young, who was the first Circuit Judge to hold court in Chicago after the organi- zation of Cook County in 1831, was a Ken- tuckian by birth, but while Illinois was still a territory took up his residence at Jonesboro in Union County and was admitted to the bar September 28, 1817. In the Second General As- sembly, 1820-21, he represented Union County. He was commissioned judge of the Third Judi- cial District January 19, 1825, but two years later was legislated out of office. The Fifth Judicial Circuit was created by act of January 8, 1829, to include all that portion of the state north of the Illinois River and on being made judge of the new circuit he removed to Quincy, and from that point had to ride over all North- ern Illinois as far as Chicago to attend the dif- ferent courts. His duties were arduous not so much for the volume of business to be done in any particular county as for the number of counties he had to serve, the distance apart of the several county seats and the absence of mod- ern conveniences for traveling. It is said he held a court session in Fort Dearborn in 1831 and the following year in the house of James Kinzie. The court sessions held by Judge Young in the first years of Chicago's history were events of great importance not only to those especially interested in the proceedings of the court, but to the citizens in general. 'When cir- cuit court was in session,' said Thomas Hoyne in speaking of the 'Lawyer as a Pioneer,' 'prob- ably every member of the bar was in attendance. There were no district telegraphs nor telephones, and during the term time the lawyers kept no office hours. Besides, the entire number was only twenty-seven.'

"In 1835 the Fifth Circuit was limited so as to place Cook County in the Sixth Circuit, but as an associate justice of the Supreme Court in the next decade Judge Young frequently held court in Chicago. He had the reputation of being a shrewd and judicious counsellor and was associated with Judge Breese and Ford in the

defense of Theophilus W. Smith, upon his im- peachment before the Senate in 1832-33. On December 14, 1836, Judge Young was elected over five competitors United States senator from Illinois for the six-year term, 1837-43. While in the Senate he became greatly interested in up- holding the credit of the state, which was at that time seriously threatened, and in 1839 in company with ex-Governor Reynolds he made a visit to Europe in order to effect the sale of bonds to carry on the public improvements of the state, but was not successful. He failed of re-election to the Senate, and on January 14, 1843, was chosen an associate justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. He resigned that office January 25, 1847, and was appointed commis- sioner of the General Land Office at Washington to succeed General Shields. He was succeeded in turn by Justin Butterfield on June 21, 1849. In 1850-51 he was clerk of the House of Repre- sentatives at Washington and for a number of years was a claim agent in Washington City.

"The close of his life was disastrously clouded by insanity. He has been described as a tall, fine looking man, and one of those persons who would attract the attention of the stranger at . once by his gentle and courteous manner and dignified bearing. He did not possess great executive power and did not dispatch business rapidly, but everything which he did was ac- complished thoroughly and without mistakes."

Henry Asbury, Esq., of Quincy, in his "Sketches of the Bench and Bar," published in the Quincy Whig, says of Judge Young :

"Judge Young resided here for many years. He was a gentleman in all his aspects-not perhaps the most profound of our judges and lawyers, but for his day and time, and in the absence of modern facilities and great libraries, his attainments were of such a character as to command for his memory our high respect. He was an honest man, and died in poverty at Washington city some years ago, though he had been Judge of the Supreme and Circuit Courts in Illinois, a Senator in Congress, and Commis- sioner of the General Land Office. His open- handed generosity left him poor in his old age."

CIRCUIT COURT IN HANCOCK COUNTY.

The first sessions of Circuit Court in Han- cock County were held at private houses on the rapids, and later sessions in the log cabin court-

746

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

house in Carthage, in which the bench was a splint-bottomed chair, the lawyers, juries and clients occupying the sláb benches.

James H. Ralston-Judge Ralston succeeded Judge Young on the circuit by legislative elec- tion on February 4, 1837. He resigned on Aug- ust 31, 1839, and removed to Texas, returning, however, soon afterwards to Quincy, Illinois. In 1840 he was elected to the State Senate. In 1846 he went with the army to Mexico as As- sistant Quartermaster, by appointment of Presi- dent Polk. After the war he settled in Califor- nia, where he died, having been lost in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Peter Lott-Judge Lott was from New Jer- sey, and was appointed by the Legislature to succeed Judge Ralston, and held the position until 1841. He resided for a short time at Car- thage, but removed to Quincy. After his judge- ship he served as circuit clerk in Adams county for several years. Later he removed to Califor- nia, where he was appointed superintendent of the U. S. Mint at San Francisco. From this position he was removed in 1856 by President Buchanan. He had served as captain in the Mexican war. It is stated that he died at Tehuantepec, Mexico, where he was holding the position of U. S. consul.

Judge Lott was a well educated man. He had been a classmate at Princeton with Hon. Samuel L. Southard, the eminent New Jersey Senator, and had studied law in his office. He is remembered as jovial, witty, companionable and fond of fun, not fond of study, and yet a good lawyer.

Stephen A. Douglas-Judge Douglas held five terms of the Circuit Court in Hancock County, being the May and October terms of the years 1841 and 1842, and the May term of 1843.

In 1841 an act went into effect, reorganizing the judiciary of the state of Illinois. This act having been passed by the legislature, was re- turned by the Council of Revision with objec- tions thereto, but reconsidered and then passed by both houses by the constitutional majority, and became a law on February 10, 1841.

This act repealed all former laws establish- ing circuit courts and authorizing the election of circuit judges, and provided that there should be appointed by joint ballot of both branches of the General Assembly, at the session then being held, five additional associate justices of the Su- preme Court, who, in connection with the chief justice and the then associate justices, should

constitute the Supreme Court of the state. By the same act the state was divided into nine judicial circuits and it was provided that the chief justice and eight associate justices should perform the circuit duties in the said circuits. (Session Laws of Illinois, 1841, pp. 173-4.) -

By joint vote of the two houses on February 15, 1841, Thomas Ford, Sidney Breese, Walter B. Scates, Samuel H. Treat and Stephen A. Douglas were chosen as the additional ~preme court justices. (A note to this effect will be found in 2 Scam., which is Vol. 3 of the Illi- nois Reports. In this volume the name of Douglas is spelled with double "s.")

Judge Douglas was assigned to the Fifth Ju- dicial Circuit, and so it is that he held the term of the Circuit Court in this county above men- tioned. In August, 1843, he resigned as judge to take a seat in Congress. Judge Douglas found the docket loaded with unfinished cases ; but his dispatch and ability were such that he soon cleared the docket. Of Judge Douglas' career as a statesman, in the House of Representatives, in the Senate, and as a candidate for the presi- dency, it is unnecessary to speak. This is all well known to the reader. Senator Douglas was a man of the people, over whom he pos- sessed an unusual magnetic influence. He be- came the recognized leader of a great party, and when the great Rebellion came, he at once took strong Union ground, and prepared to stand by the Government as administered by his great compeer. His influence and force of character greatly strengthened the hands of President Lincoln. His death occurred June 3, 1861.

Jesse Burgess Thomas-Judge Thomas suc- ceeded Judge Douglas in 1843 as judge in the circuit which included Hancock County, and held three terms of the Circuit Court in this county, the October terms of 1843 and 1844, and the May term of 1844. Judge Thomas did not hold the May term, nor the special June term, 1845, but by exchange between judges, Judge Richard M. Young held the May and June terms in Hancock County.

While the reason for this exchange on the part of the two judges does not appear from the records, it is suggested by the fact that the trial of those who had been indicted by the grand jury for the murder of Joseph Smith was to take place at the May term. The trial of this case did take place at the May term, 1845, ter- minating in a verdict of not guilty, on May 30th, and the discharge of the defendants under

747

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

that indictment on that day. On the same day Judge Young made an order for a special term of the Circuit Court to begin on the first Tues- day after the fourth Monday of June, and Judge Young held that special term.

At the time of the trial of Joseph Smith, James H. Ralston was prosecuting attorney, David E. Head was clerk, and M. R. Deming was sheriff. At the special June term, 1845, M. R. Deming, being then in custody on indict- ment for murder, was removed from office by order of the court, and Georre W. Stigall, coro- ner, thereafter acted as sheriff. (Mr. Head had the reputation of being one the best clerks in the state. His two daughters are now living in Carthage.)

Judge Jesse B. Thomas was appointed by the governor, in place of Judge Douglas, on August 6, 1843, as one of the justices of the Supreme Court. He was elected as such by the General Assembly on February 17, 1845. And again on January 26, 1847, he was elected, and the next day he was commissioned supreme judge by the Legislature, in place of Judge Young, who had resigned. As supreme judge, it may be said that he was ex-officio circuit judge.

The constitution of 1848 provided for Su- preme and Circuit Courts and the election of separate judge for these courts, and thus put an end to the system under which the Circuit Courts had for some years been held by the justices of the Supreme Court, and the tenure of this office by Judge Thomas terminated. He died in 1850.

Judge Thomas was a nephew of Jesse B. . Thomas, who was prominently identified with the early history of this state.

This uncle was a lawyer, born at Hagers- town, Maryland, in 1777. His parents moved to Kentucky in 1779. Judge Thomas moved to Indiana in 1803. He moved to Kaskaskia, Illi- nois, in 1809, where he was appointed territo- rial judge. He was president of the constitu- tional convention of 1818. Judge Thomas and Gov. Ninian Edwards were elected to the U. S. Senate from Illinois in 1818, being the first two senators from this state. Judge Thomas served as U. S. Senator until March 3, 1829. He was chairman of the committee of conference on the Missouri Compromise, and is supposed to have been the author of that compromise, although its able and strenuous advocate was Henry Clay.

Norman H. Purple-This distinguished jurist was appointed by the governor one of the jus-

tices of the Supreme Court on August 8, 1845. By a different assignment of the justices of the Supreme Court to circuit duty Judge Purple became judge of the Circiut Court of Hancock County, and presided at the terms of that court held in October, 1845 and 1846, in May, 1846, and April and September, 1847 and 1848.

Judge Purple was a resident of Peoria. It is said that he resigned from the Supreme Bench for the alleged reason that the salary was in- sufficient. He is said to have been a good law- yer and judge.

In 1849 Judge Purple published a compila- tion of all the general laws of Illinois concern- ing real estate, which volume contained 553 pages, and was published by C. M. Woods, printer, Quincy, Illinois. This was a valuable book in that day, and was much used by the profession.

In 1856, Judge Purple published a compila- tion of all the statutes of Illinois of a general nature, in force January 1, 1856, showing not only what the laws were at that time, but also containing references "to the times of their original enactment, and the contemporaneous history of those periods, by which to deter- mine the intention of the Legislature." This compilation was known as Purple's Statutes and was published in two volumes, designated as "Part I" and "Part II." (The editor has a set of these statutes, purchased by his father at Quincy in the latter part of the year 1856, a few weeks before his death.)

William A. Minshall-Judge Minshall re- sided at Rushville in this state, and was elected judge of the Circuit Court in 1849, succeeding Judge Purple, and presided at the April and September terms of the Circuit Court of this county for the years 1849 and 1850. He came to this state from Tennessee at an early day. He attained distinction as a lawyer and had a good practice. At one time he was a member of the Legislature. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1847-8.

Onias C. Skinner-Judge Skinner resided some years in this county, coming here a little before the close of the Mormon War. He lived first at Nauvoo and afterwards at Carthage, where he became well known and built up a good reputation and a large practice. He took his seat on the bench of the Circuit Court in 1851, and continued to hold that position until 1855. Judge Skinner held all terms of the Circuit

748

HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

Court of this county from and including the June term, 1851, to and including the June term, 1855, except the October term, 1851, which was held by Judge David M. Woodson, by exchange with Judge Skinner, and the Oc- tober term, 1854, which was held by Judge Pinkney H. Walker, by exchange with Judge Skinner.

David M. Woodson, who held the October term, 1851, in exchange with Judge Onias C. Skinner, was elected circuit judge in another circuit in 1848 and remained on the bench until 1867. He lived at Carrollton, Illinois.

Judge Walker lived at Rushville. He did not succeed Judge Skinner as judge in this circuit, as Mr. Gregg states in his history, but was judge of the Circuit Court in the adjoining circuit. He was a Kentuckian, but came to McDonough county in his youth and after- wards removed to Rushville.

By act of the General Asembly, in force February 12, 1851, the Fifteenth Judicial Cir- cuit was created, to be composed of the coun- ties of Adams, Hancock, Henderson and Mer- cer, and Hancock county was not again in the same circuit as Schuyler until 1877.

The editor met Judge Skinner once in con- nection with a sale of real estate made Febru- ary 2, 1877, by the editor, as master-in-chan- cery of the Circuit Court of this county, in a chancery case in which Judge Skinner was complainant and Anna McManus and others were defendants. The editor had described the case in the sale notice as Onios C. Skinner vs. Anna McManus, et al. Upon going to the offices occupied at that time by Bryant T. Sco- field, George Edmunds and William C. Hooker, the editor met there and was introduced to Judge Skinner, a man of splendid personality and strong intellectuality, who at once admin- istered to the editor a severe reprimand for not printing the title McManus, et als., instead of et al., for the reason that there was more than one defendant designated by the abbre- viation. The editor was bold enough to ex- plain that "et al." was the correct abbrevia- tion for the plural as well as the singular. whereupon Mr. Hooker, who was a splendid Latin scholar, said, in his brief, emphatic way : "Judge Skinner, the young man is right. ‘Et al.' stands for 'et alius,' singular, or 'et alii,' and 'et al.' is the correct abbreviation for each." This ended the controversy.

This act of 1851 provided for an election to be held in the counties of the Fifteenth Ju-

dicial Circuit for a judge and state's attorney, on the first Monday of May, 1851, and that the judge so elected should hold his office until the next general election for judges under the constitution of 1848, which was the first Mon- day of June, 1855.

Judge Onias C. Skinner was the judge elected in this circuit as then constituted on the first Monday of May, 1851, under this pro- vision of the constitution.

It is not out of place to state that Judge Skinner's tenure of the office of judge of the Circuit Court terminated on the first Monday of June, 1855, and that he was elected a jus- tice of the Supreme Court, and acted as such until his resignation in 1857. His first opin- ions as justice of the Supreme Court appear in cases decided at the June term of that court, 1855, and his last opinions appear in cases decided at the April term, 1857, except as to opinions filed at the November term, 1857, written by Judge Skinner, which had been heard. in the Supreme Court before he left the bench.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II, Part 21

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), 1844-1928. 4n; Scofield, Charles J. (Charles Josiah), 1853- 4n Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1174

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Currey, J. Seymour (Josiah Seymour), 1844-1928. 4n; Scofield, Charles J. (Charles Josiah), 1853- 4n
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1174