USA > Illinois > Hancock County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Hancock County, Volume II > Part 9
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FIRST CONSTITUTION
A convention was held, as contemplated, and a constitution was adopted. This is known as the Constitution of 1818. The constitution was printed in Kaskaskia. On Sept. 11, 1818, a copy was forwarded to Henry Clay, Speaker of the House of Representatives. The speaker laid the constitution before the House, where it was tabled. (Buck's History, above re- ferred to, 311.) The question was taken up afterwards, and the House, by a vote of 117 to thirty-four, passed a resolution for the ad- mission of Illinois on an equal footing with
the original states. On December 1st the Sen- ate passed the resolution, and on the 3d the President approved the same. On December 4th Ninian Edwards and Jesse B. Thomas took their seats in the Senate, and John McLean took his seat in the House of Representatives as a representative of the State of Illinois. On December 22d, Shadrach Bond, Governor, by proclamation, appointed the third Monday in the month of January, 1819, for a meeting of the General Assembly of the State of Kaskas- kia, the seat of government.
STATE BOUNDRIES
The northern boundary of the state, as above stated, was 42° 30' North latitude. Such is its northern boundary at the present time. There are two matters in connection with the state boundary, which are sufficiently interesting to be referred to in this connection.
1. It should be observed that the jurisdic- tion of Illinois does not include any part of the Ohio river, the Illinois boundary being up the Ohio river, from its confluence with the Mis- sissippi river, along its northwestern shore, to the place of beginning. Such is the boundary line between Kentucky and Illinois. But it was provided in the Constitutions of 1848 and 1870, though not in the Constitution of 1818, that Illinois should exercise such jurisdiction upon the Ohio river as she was then entitled to, or such as might be agreed upon by Illinois and the State of Kentucky.
2. In the ordinance of 1787 it was provided that not less than three nor more than five states should be formed in the Northwest Ter- ritory; that the western state should be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio and the Wabash rivers, by a direct line drawn from the Wabash and "Post Vincents," due north, to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, and by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and the Mississippi. The middle state extended also to the Canadian line, as was true also of the eastern state. This was in contemplation of the formation of three states only. If this proposition had been ad- hered to, Illinois would be composed of what are now the two states of Illinois and Wiscon- sin. But the ordinance further provided that the boundaries of these three states should be subject so far to be altered, that if Congress should thereafter find it expedient, Congress
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should have authority to form one or two states in that part of the territory which lay north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michi- gan. Afterwards a controversy arose as to this boundary line between Illinois and Wis- consin. Illinois contended for 42° 30' North latitude. On the other hand it was contended that the northern boundary of Illinois was a line drawn east and west through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. Under this contention, Chicago would be a part of Wis- consin, and two or three tiers of counties in the northern part of Illinois would belong to" Wisconsin.
The question was disposed of ultimately upon a theory, which answered the purpose of the people of Illinois. It was said that the ordi- nance of 1787 created three states, and that Illinois extended north to the Canadian line. It was said that the ordinance of 1787 gave Congress authority to form one or two states in that part of the territory which lay north of an east and west line drawn through the Southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan, but that the ordinance did not say how far north of that line the new states should be, but only that they should be north of that line, that is, that the new states should not extend south of that line.
SEVENTY SOULS
Prior to the year 1818, when Illinois be- came a state, the population of Hancock County was an unknown quantity. There were In- dians here undoubtedly. There were few white persons here also, but the number of them is not known. When the census was taken in 1818 to ascertain whether or not Illinois contained the required number of in- habitants, which was 40,000, it was reported that Fort Edwards had "seventy souls." Waiv- ing the question of demoniacal possession, un- der which one person was sometimes pos- sessed of seven demons, it is fair to presume that every one of these "seventy souls" repre- sented an individual man or woman, each of them in a single, fleshy investiture. In-as-much as Fort Edwards was a fort established in a wilderness for defensive and trade purposes, it is likely that these "seventy souls" were princi-
pally, if not altogether, souls of the masculine type.
FORT JONSON AND FORT EDWARDS
It is proper in this connection to give a brief statement of what is known concerning Fort Edwards, and its predecessor, Fort Johnson. In Buck's history, above mentioned, on page 17 it is said that in 1818, the government maintained a factory at Fort Edwards; that a trading house was built there in that year, as a branch of an establishment at Prairie du Chien, with Robert Belt as the assistant in charge, but that this was made an independent establishment in 1819.
In the same history it is stated, on page 18, that the articles designed for Fort Edwards and Prairie du Chien were generally shipped from Pittsburg down the Ohio to St. Louis, and forwarded thence by James Kennerley, as for- warding agent, up the Mississippi to Fort Ed- wards and Prairie du Chien, and that the peltry received from the Indians at Fort Ed- wards in 1818 included deer, bear, beaver, ot- ter, raccoon and muskrat. Some of the goods were traded for lead which the Indians ob- tained from the lead mines below Prairie du Chien; for beeswax, tallow and Indian mats. The government obtained large returns in trade from Fort Edwards in 1818. Private traders were operating in these regions also, and prob- ably transacted considerable business. Buck says that the Indian would give up everything he possessed, including furs and even clothing itself, for a little whiskey. This is a strong indication of the same origin for the whte and red man.
In Chapter VII of Gregg's History of Han- cock County it is stated that Fort Johnson, the predecessor of Fort Edwards, was erected in 1814, during the second war with Great Britain, by our own soldiery and by command of our own government; that Fort Johnson was destroyed the same year, and that Fort Edwards was built and occupied the same year; and that Captain Zachary Tylor, after- wrds General Taylor, and later President Tay- lor, was the builder of both forts.
We take the liberty of inserting at this point the proofs of these facts contained in Gregg's history.
The first is a letter to Mr. Gregg from the Secretary of War, which is as follows :
FORT EDWARDS MONUMENT
FORT EDWARDS, WARSAW Built in 1814
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
"War Department, Washington City, "Sept. 7, 1878.
"Sir :- In regard to the history of old Forts Johnson and Edwards, which were situated in Hancock County, Illinois, information concern- ing which was desired in your letter of the 27th ultimo, I have the honor to state that the only data in possession of this Department regarding Fort Edwards, is that it was estab- lished about the year 1814, and abandoned in July, 1824, per generl order No. 36, from the Adjutant-General's office, June 11, 1824, at which date it was garrisoned by Company F, Fifth Infantry, commanded by Lieut. Gideon Low, Fifth Infantry.
"There is nothing of record here regarding Fort Johnson.
"Very respectfully, your obendient servant,
"Geo. W. Mccrary, Secretary of War." "Thomas Gregg, Esq., Hamilton, Ill."
Following this is a copy of Order No. 36 as to the evacuation of Fort Edwards, which is as follows :
"ORDER NO. 36
"Adjutant-General's Office, Western Department "Louisville, Ky., 11th June, 1824.
"The position of Fort Edwards, Ill., will forthwith be evacuated, and its garrison (ex- cepting a faithful non-commissioned officer and six privates, who will be left for the preserva- tion of the public property, and the crop at present standing) be removed to Fort Arm- strong.
"Assistant Surgeon McMillan will, on the receipt of this order, report by letter to the Surgeon-General for orders, as to his present station, and will accompany the garrison at Fort Edwards to Fort Armstrong, where he is required as a witness before the Court to be convened at that post, for the trial of Brevet- Major Marston, of the Fifth Infantry.
"The Quartermaster Department will furnish the necessary facilities for the most prompt execution of this order. By order of
"Major-General Scott."
"H. Smith, Lt. and Aid-de-Camp."
Following the copy of this order, Mr. Gregg makes the following statement concerning Fort Johnson :
"The foregoing is to be taken as conclusive
as to Fort Edwards, but it settles nothing re- garding Fort Jolinson. Recourse must be had, then, to the history of the times. This we have searched until we feel sure that the mystery is explained, and conclude that the two forts were built within a few months of each other, in 1814.
"Peck's 'Annals of the West,' second edition, St. Louis, 1850, on page 744, says :
"A detachment under command of Major Taylor left Cape au Gris on the 23rd of Au- gust, 1814 in boats, for the Indian town at Rock river. The detachment consisted of 334 men, officers and privates. A report from the commanding officer to Gen. Howard, dated from Fort Madison, Sept. 6, and published in the Missouri Gazette of the 17th, gives the details of the expedition.
"The expedition met with a superior force at Rock Island, were repulsed and fell back. The report says :
"'I then determined to drop down the river to the Des Moines without delay, as some of the officers of the Rangers informed me their men were short of provisions, and execute the principle object of the expedition, in erect- ing a fort to command the river.'
"Fort Johnson (says the Annals), a rough stockade with block-houses of round logs, was then erected, on the present site of the town of Warsaw, opposite the mouth of the Des Moines.
"Then, on page 746, the Annals continue :
"Fort Madison, after sustaning repeated at- tacks from the Indians, was evacuated and burned. And in the month of October the people of St. Louis were astounded with the intelligence that the troops stationed at Fort Johnson had burned the blockhouses, destroyed the works, and retreated down the river to Cape au Gris. The officers in command (Maj. Taylor having previously left that post), re- ported they were out of provisions and could not sustain the position.
"That there was no fort between Cape au Gris and Fort Madison previous to 1814, is proven by several circumstances. In the sev- eral expeditions made up the river before that time, mention is made of the Des Moines river and rapids, but no mention of a fort till Madi- son is reached. Again, about 1813, Gov. Ed- wards furnished the War Department with a long table of distances from Prairie du Chien down, in which Madison, the head of the rapids,
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
the foot of the rapids, Des Moines river, are all named, but nothing about a fort."
From all of which Mr. Gregg concludes that Fort Johnson was built in 1814, and destroyed the same year, and that Fort Edwards was built afterwards and during the same year.
The garrison of Fort Edwards, consisting of about seventy persons, according to the enum- eration made in 1S1S to determine the number of inhabitants of the Territory of Illinois, was the total white population of Hancock County at that time, as far as that question can now be determined. The territory now comprising Hancock County was then included within Madison County.
ORGANIZING HANCOCK COUNTY
By act of the General Assembly of the State of Illinois approved on Jan. 13, 1825, eight new counties were formed out of the counties of Pike and Fulton and attached parts thereof. These counties were Schuyler, Adams, Hancock, Warren, Mercer, Henry, Putnam and Knox. That clause of the act establishing the boun- daries of Hancock County is as follows :
"That all that tract of country within the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning at the place where the township line between towil- ships two and three north touches the Mis- sissippi River, thence as on said line to the range line between ranges four and five west; thence northi on said range line to the north- east corner of township seven north, range five west; thence west on said township line to the Mississippi River; and thence down the said river to the place of beginning; shall constitute a county to be called the County of Hancock."
The act of Jan. 13, 1825, in which the boun- daries of Hancock County were established, described the county, as has already been shown, as beginning at the place where the township line between townships two and three north touches the Mississippi river, thence east, thence north, and thence west to the Mississippi river, and thence down the river to the place of beginning. This language was susceptible of such a construction as would limit the jurisdiction of the county to the east line of the Mississippi river, and was so in- definite as to raise a question as to the west- ern boundary of the county. This doubt ex- isted as to the boundaries of other counties
which bordered upon the Mississippi and Wa- bash rivers.
It is proper in this connection to disregard .chronological arrangement by referring to two acts of the General Assembly, one, approved and in force on March 3, 1837, and the other, ap- proved and in force on March 4, 1843, which acts were passed for the purpose of extending the jurisdiction of Hancock and other counties to the middle of the main channel of the Mis- sissippi River. That part of the act of 1837, which refers to Hancock County, is as follows :
"Be it further enacted, that all that tract of country within the following boundary to wit: commencing at the point where the township line between townships 2 and 3 north touches the Mississippi River, thence due west to the main channel of said river, thence up the said river in the middle of the main channel thereof, to a place in the said river due west of where the township line between townships 7 and 8 north touches the said river, thence east to the bank of said river, thence down said river fol- lowing the meandering thereof, to the place of beginning, shall constitute and forever remain a part of the County of Hancock." The act of 1843 is as follows:
"That all the counties of this State, or which shall hereafter be erected, which are or shall be bounded, or which may front on either the Mississippi or Wabash rivers shall respec- tively have and exercise jurisdiction upon such rivers so far as the counties shall respectively be bounded by the rivers aforesaid; which jurisdiction shall be exercised concurrently by the counties aforesaid with the contiguous States and territory bounded by said rivers, so far and to such extent as the said rivers shall form the boundary of the counties aforesaid, respectively, and also, the boundary between this State and contiguous States or Terri- tories."
But Sec. 11 of the act of Jan. 13, 1825, pro- vided that the County of Hancock should be attached to the County of Adams, for county purposes ; but that when it should appear to the satisfaction of the Judge of the circuit court, that any of the counties established by the act should contain 350 inhabitants, such Judge was required to grant an order for the election of county officers as directed in Sec. 9 of the act. Sec. 9 provided the manner of calling the election for county officers of Adams and Schuyler counties, and provided further
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
that after the election of the county officers, these counties should be entitled to the same rights and privileges as other counties.
Therefore, whenever it should be made to appear to the satisfaction of the Judge of the circuit court that Hancock County contained 350 inhabitants, the Judge was required to grant an order for the electon of county offi- cers, and, upon such election being held, the County of Hancock was to become detached from Adams County, and to become established as an independent county with the rights and privileges of other counties.
This did not take place until 1829, so that, for a period of four years, Hancock County was an attachment of Adams County, with no independent county government, having no county-seat, and during this time deeds for Hancock County lands were recorded at the county-seat of Adams County.
On June 15, 1829, Judge Richard M. Young, being Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of the State of Illinois, north of the Illinois river, made and entered of record an order, which is as follows, to-wit :
"Whereas, It has been represented to me, the undersigned, Judge of the Judicial Circuit of the State of Illinois, north of the Illinois river, that the citizens of Hancock county in said State, are desirous that the same should be organized with as little delay as possible, and it appearing to my satisfaction that the said county contains three hundred and fifty inhabitants and upward;
"I do hereby, in pursuance of the powers vested in me, by virtue of the ninth and eleventh sections of the act entitled 'An act forming new counties out of the counties of Pike and Fulton, and the attached parts there- of,' approved 13th January, 1825, order, direct and appoint that an election be held in some convenient house in Fort Edwards, in the said county of Hancock, on the first Monday in August next, and to continue for one day only, for the following named officers, to-wit: Three County Commissioners, one Sheriff, and one Coroner, to serve, when elected and qualified, in and for the said county of Hancock; and I do hereby nominate, and appoint Luther Whit- ney, James White and George Y. Cutler, Judges of said Election, whose duty it shall be to give twenty days' notice of said election, by posting up copies of this order, with such other notice of the same as they may deem
necessary, in eight of the most public places in said county, distributing them as near as practicable among the principal settlements of the county, to the end that all persons con- cerned may have due notice. The election to be viva voce, and conducted in all respects as ' near as may be in conformity with the laws now in force respecting elections; and the re- sult thereof, when ascertained, to be fairly and legibly made out, certified, and returned to the proper department, that commissions may issue without delay, to such persons as may be en- titled thereto. And lastly, it is ordered, that Circuit Courts be held in and for the said county of Hancock, on the third Mondays in June, and fourth Mondays in October, at such place as may be selected by the County Com- missioners of said county, until other regula- tions shall be made by law, or different times shall be appointed by the Judge of said Court."
FIRST ELECTION
The first Monday of August, 1829, was the third, and on that day an election was held at Fort Edwards in accordance with the fore- going order. Luther Whitney, James White and George Y. Cutler, mentioned in the order, were the judges of the election, and Davidson Hibbard and John R. Wilcox were the clerks. This election was required to be viva voce. This meant that the elector, offering to vote, should first announce his own name to the judges and clerks, and then the names of the persons for whom he wished to vote. The clerk was required to enter the names and votes accordingly. There was no secret bal- lot in such election, but every person present knew how every other person voted.
There were three county commissioners to be elected, and votes were cast for six men as follows : George Y. Cutler, fifty ; Henry Nichols, thirty-seven ; James White, thirty-one ; Morrill Marston, thirty ; Peter Williams, ten ; and Hazen Bedell, nine. For sheriff, Edson Whit- ney received thirty-one votes and Alexander White, twenty-two votes. For coroner, Robert Wallace received thirty-five votes. If all elec- tors present voted for sheriff, there were fifty- three electors. Every elector had the right to vote for three men for commissioners. There were 167 votes in all for commissioners, which would indicate that at least fifty-six persons voted for commissioners, fifty-five of them vot-
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY
ing for three commissioners, and one of them for two only. It is possible that more than one elector voted for only two commissioners, and that some may have voted for one com- missioner only, in which case the number of persons voting would exceed fifty-six. But it is fair to presume that there were fifty-six persons who voted for commissioners, three of them not voting for sheriff, and some of them not voting for coroner.
Perhaps not all of the electors of the county were present. The order of Judge Young had required notices of the election to be posted in eight of the most public places in the county, to be distributed as nearly as practicable among the principal settlements. There was no newspaper in the county in which to publish an election notice in that day. All electors may not have had notice, and some may have been prevented from going to Fort Edwards for the purpose of voting.
. On the day following the election, the county commissioners, Cutler, Nichols and White, met at Fort Edwards, and organized. Wesley Wil- liams was appointed clerk temporarily, and thereupon came into court, and was sworn according to law, and entered upon his duties as such clerk. Isaac R. Campbell was ap- pointed treasurer of the county, and gave bond with security in the sum of $1,000.
FIRST DISTRICTS
Thereupon the court proceeded to divide the county into districts for the election of jus- tices of the peace and constables. Three such districts were established.
District No. 1 comprised all the territory lying between the north line of Adams county and the line dividing townships 4 and 5 north, which would include the present towns of Augusta, St. Marys, Chili, Harmony, St. Albans, Bear Creek, Walker, Wythe, Rocky Run, Wil- cox and Warsaw. The election for justices and constables was to be held at the house of Henry Nichols, and the judges of the election were Luther Whitney, Henry Nichols and John Clark.
District No. 2 embraced the territory lying between the south and north lines of townships 5 north, which included the present towns of Hancock, Carthage, Prairie and Montebello. The election in this district was to be held at the house then occupied by William Vance.
The judges were Hazen Bedell, Charles Robi- son and John Waggonner.
District No. 3 embraced the remainder of the county, being the present towns of Fountain Green, La Harpe, Pilot Grove, Durham, Rock Creek, Dallas, Pontoosuc, Sonora, Appanoose and Nauvoo. Thé election was to be held at the store of Alexander White. The judges of the election were Davidson Hibbard, Peter Williams, and Edward White.
FIRST GRAND JURY
At the same session of the County Commis- sioners' Court (August 4, 1829) it was ordered that twenty-four persons, naming them, should be summoned to attend the October term of the circuit court of this county as grand jurors. (The law required but twenty-three.) These grand jurors were the following persons : Daniel Crenshaw, Luther Whitney, Morrill Marston, John Clark, Leonard L. Abney, Philip Malette, Wm. Clark, Reuben Brattan, Thomas Payne, John Sikes, John Johnson, John Harding, Wm. Vance, Hazen Bedell, John Wag- gonner, Robert Wallace, James Miller, David- son Hibbard, a Mr. Dewey, Samuel Gooch, John Reed, Isaac R. Campbell, Edward White, and Hugh Wilson.
FIRST PETIT JURY
It was also ordered that thirty-six men be summoned as petit jurors for the same term. These were the following: Horace B. Whitney, John R. Wilcox, Edward Robertson, Samuel Brierly, James Brierly, Robert Harding, Aaron Harding, Abijah Wilson, Abdiel Parsons, Rich- ard Chaney, Benjamin T. Tungate, George W. Harper, Charles Robison, Charles Smith, Pat- rick Moffit, William Wallace, Nathaniel Ken- nedy, John Campbell, Ralplı Raborn, Thomas Sofly, Enoch Hankins, Arthur Parvin, Abraham Moore, Alexander White, Asa Reed, William Flint, Peter, Williams, Daniel Van Burkloe, Amzi Doolittle, Hezekiah Spillman, Richard Dunn, a Mr. Yaples, Samuel Bell, Noah W. Payne, Joseph P. Puryear, and a Mr. Lewis.
The grand and petit jurors made a total of sixty persons. Besides these, there were the three commissioners of the County Commis- sioners' Court, Wesley Williams, the clerk of that court, Edson Whitney, Charles - Robison and Robert Wallace. This shows that there
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