USA > Illinois > De Witt County > History of De Witt county, Illinois. With illustrations descriptive of the scenery, and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 19
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The finances of the county were found to be in a very confused state, so that it became necessary, in the opinion of the Board, to cause a minute examination to be made. The following resolu- tion-the records do not state who brought it in, nor who seconded it, was passed at the same term:
Resolved, 1st. That on the second day of said term of the Board. of Supervisors, the board proceed to issue bonds to the amounts of fifty aud one hundred dollars, payable five years after date thereof, with 8 per cent interest, payable annually by the county.
2d. That county orders or jury warrants, when presented to the amount of 850 00, or its multiple, shall be exchanged for snch bonds, and then be cancelled and burned, and a record of the same be kept, in which each bond issued shall be numbered as issued.
3d. That the bonds be signed by the clerk and the chairman of the Board, and countersigned by the County Treasurer.
4th. That the clerk is hereby authorized to procure blank bonds of the denomination of $50.00 and $100 00-to be of some good form.
5th. That the Board proceed to get up a petition to the legisla- ture for a law legalizing the issue of the above bonds.
6th. That these resolutions be published once in the " Central Transcript."
Would it not have been proper to have given the fifth resolution the place of the first one? And why had Darius Hall been made the fiscal agent of the county, when there were not even funds on hand to pay expenses ?
Second Board-1860 to 1861.
Wilson Allen, of Texas township, chairman; William Clagg, Clintonia ; Hiram Chandler, Nixon; J. K. Davis, Wilson; A. A. Eads, Barnett ; William Faller, Rutledge ; J. D. Hutchin, Tunbridge; Tillman Lane, Creek; Thomas Love, Wapella ; Isaac Monett, Santa Anna; Alexander McConkey, De Witt; Thomas C. Robb, Waynesville ; and James T. Willmore, of Harp.
This Board held their first meeting on the 10th of September, 1860, having allowed the county to govern itself for fully six months.
On the 12th of September the Board made an order to sell the swamp lands belonging to the county. These lands seem to have embraced some 1934 acres in the aggregate, 454 of which were sold at prices ranging from $3.00 to $10.33 per acre, net- ting $2,844.70.
On the 13th of September, the Board passed a most sweeping order, in the following resolution, to wit. :
That the Board of Supervisors now in session, declare all old orders, contracts or agreements, heretofore made by the county judges, under county organization and not consummated or en- tered into, shall be void from and after this day !!
Nullification, yea, repudiation. Shades of John Caldwell Cal- boun !
On the 31st of December, the board sold the old county farm to R. E. Liveney for $1,202 00.
A committee having examined the books of the circuit clerk, reported that docket fees, amounting in the aggregate to 8306.00, had heen collected, and not been paid into the coun y treasury.
Another financial measure of very doubtful merit was taken ---
73
HISTORY OF DE WITT COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
(see Book C., page 97)-by passing the following resolutiou, ap- parently not "fathered :"
" That the treasurer of De Witt county is hereby authorized to USE county orders at 10 per cent. discount, in raising the balance of the money necessary to pay interest on the jail bonds, after getting the balance in the hands of Darius Hall due the county, or as much lower as he can."
How is this very remarkable order to be understood, or to be construed? The treasurer is authorized to use county orders, &c. How was he to procure them ? County orders can only be issued on vouchers duly audited and allowed ; they certainly could not be issued as a commodity to be sold. It is therefore to be inferred, that county orders heretofore issued and redeemed, were to be put on the market again, a most pernicious, if not felonious, pro- ceeding !
On January 3d, 1860, two bonds, of $700 00 each, bearing 8 per cent. annual interest, and maturing January 3d, 1866, were issued in payment of goods purchased of Messrs. Herring & Co.
Third Board-1861 to 1862.
A. A. of Barnett, chairman ; Wilson Allen, Hiram Chandler, Nixon ; William Fuller, Rutledge ; Walter Karr, Wapella ; G. B. Lemen, Harp; Isaac Monett, Santa Anna; Alexander McConkey, De Witt; Thomas Ritchie, Creek ; John P. Mitchell, Clintonia ; James B. Turner. Tunbridge; Boynton Tenney, Wayuesville, and Luther S. Hubble, of Wilson.
The first meeting of this board was held iu May, 1861 Fort Sumter had been fired npon and occupied by the rebels; the civil war was inaugurated !
Thomas Snell presented a petition to the board, praying for the appropriation of 85,000.00 to defray the expenses of uniform- ing the volunteers from De Witt couuty, and to support the families of those volunteers while in the field. This petition was referred to a special committee of seven, to wit .: Chandler, Lemon, Allen, Monett, Tenney, Fuller aud Karr, with instruc- tions to act immediately. The committee reported unanimously in favor of granting the prayer, and upou motion of James B. Turuer, the following order was made :
" Be it ordered, by the board of supervisors of the county of De Witt, now in session, that Jobn P. Mitchell, John Bishop and L. D. Hovey, be and they are hereby appointed a committee to disburse the funds appropriated by this board for uniforming all volunteers from this county regularly mustered into the ser- vice of the United States, or of this state, and for the necessary expense of assisting in the support of the families of those who volunteer, while in service, and that said committee shall have power to appropiate so much of said funds as may seem to them actually necessary for the purpose aforesaid, pledging the good faith of the county for the payment of the same to be drawn by orders on the county treasurer, to be paid out of money to be levied and collected for that specific purpose, by said board at the next September term, in the same manner as state or county taxes are now collected by law, and that said committee shall be bound to make a full report of all their aets at the regular meeting of said board on or before September next, aud before entering upon their duties they shall be required to give an ap- proved bond to this county for the faithful performance of their duties for the best interest of the county in the sum of $10,000"
The committee reported in September as provided above ; their report was approved, but never made a matter of record, nor could it be found among the files. A special tax, the first war tax, of 12 cents, was levied to meet those expenses, and the col- 10
lector was instructed to pay the amount collected to the trea- surer of the committee, instead of the county treasurer, where it really belonged. The assessed value of taxable property in the county was at that time about 82,300,000, and the tax levied would net about 82,500.00, or one-half of the amount appro- priated. It is therefore to be inferred that the committee managed to meet all necessary expenses with about $2.500, in- stead of the 85,000 appropriated.
The August interest on county bonds, viz., $1,200, was over- due, and no funds were in sight, neither for this nor the February interest. The board therefore ordered that the holders of said coupons receive a boud of $1,290, bearing eight per cent. in- terest, and to mature in 1865.
According to the amount of semi-annual interest due in Au- gust, 1861, the county bonded debt must then have amounted to $30,000 in eight per ceut. bouds, principally accrued from the building of the jail.
On February 11, 1862, the clerk was instructed to pay to A. Gridley & Co. county orders to the amount of $1,414.50, in pay- ment of $1,200 in coupons, $600 of which were six months over- due ; county orders seem to have been worth 85 cents per $1,00 at that time.
The tax levy of 1861 was as follows:
State tax, 47 cents per $100. $10,177 67
County
11,501 15
War 4 12
66
2,760 27
Town 66 81
=
average
1,913 25
Road
3! « 46
average 877 89
School "
35-2- 44 average
8,133 53
Delinquent taxes of former years ..
2,194 63
TOTAL. $87,558 39
or about 1.53 per one hundred dollars tax value. Wilson Allen was appointed a committee to examine all county records, with a view of ascertaining if there were any moneys due to the county, and by whom.
Fourth Board-1862 to 1863.
Boynton Tenney, of Waynesville, chairman ; H. P. Smith, Santa Anua, William Fuller, Rutledge ; Luther S. Hubble, Wilson ; Thomas Loer, Wapella ; J. R. Hall, Barnett ; J P. Mitchell, Clintonia ; G. B. Lemen, Harp; Jacob Swigart, De Witt; Ifiram Chandler, Nixon ; John McAboy, Creek ; Wilson Allen, Texas ; and Benjamiu Howard, Tunbridge. First meeting held August 7, 1862.
The interest in the war seemed to have absorbed everything ; no committees were appointed to investigate, nor did former committees of investigation have anything to report.
The board resolved to negotiate au eight per cent. loan of $25,000, bonds to mature in five, six, seven and eight years, in order to pay a bounty of $40 to each volunteer, and to levy a special tax of $2,000 to meet the first annual interest on the proposed loan. This part of the resolution was not carried out, but formally rescinded, and instead of it a special war tax of 50 cents on the one hundred dollars of tax value ordered ; the proceeds of which were to be applied as follows :
$1,000 to redeem county orders heretofore issued to volunteers as bounty.
$2,000 to support the families of volunteers.
82,000 to pay the interest on the war-loan of $25,000, made September, 1862.
The tax of 50 cents would, however, produce more than twice
74
HISTORY OF DE WITT COUNTY, II.LINOIS.
the amount above provided for, and as none of those war-bonds would mature during the coming year, it was and remains a ques- tion, why so large an amount was levied.
The ardor for war, and the desire for further blood-letting seemed to have abated to a certain degree. A resolution to dis- continue payment of bounties from aud after October 1, 1862, was brought in before the board and debated. It was lost by a vote of five against eight
J. R. Hall, G. B. Lemon, Hiram Chandler, L. S. Hubble and J. P. Mitchell voted for, and W. Fuller, Ben Howard, Tom Loer, John McAboy, H. P. Smith, Jacob Swigart and Wilson Allen against the resolution.
On the 30th of September the board modified the order in reference to the $25,000 county loan, by substituting the follow- iug: The county clerk shall issue county orders, drawing ten per cent. annual interest from date of issue, to the amount of $3,000, due October 1, 1×63; $7,000, due October 1, 1864 ; $7,000, due October 1, 1865; and $8,000, due October 1, 1866. These orders were issued and placed in the hands of the finance war committee-J P. Mitchell, John Bishop, and L. D. Hovey, with instruction to sell them at the highest market price, and to use the money thus realized for bounty purposes. Subsequently the clanse as to market price was modified by the words : NOT FOR LESS THAN 80 CENTS PER $1.00. The records do not show what amount had been sold for less than 80 cents. It is a fact, however, that some bounty claims of those days are still pending.
The county had now been under the system of township or- ganization for four years. Inuumerable resolutions bearing ou economy had been offered and passed, but matters had not im- proved ; the credit of the county was impaired, not because the county was loaded down with debts, but because the " governors " had succeeded to make all believe that every body was not any more honest than the law would make him. The county debt was less than one per cent. of its tax values, or less than half of oue per cent. of its actual values.
Fifth Board-1863 to 1864.
Wilson Allen, of Texas, chairmau. William Fuller, of Rut- ledge ; John Johnson, Wilson ; Thomas Loer, Wapella ; T. C. Robb, Waynesville; W. Morrow, Barnett; J. P. Mitchell, Clin- tonia ; James W. McCord, Harp; A. D. Chapin, De Witt; John MeAboy, Creek ; Benjamin Howard, Tunbridge; W. H. Martin, Nixon ; H. P. Smith. of Santa Anna.
The board had their first meeting iu September, 1863, and for want of having anything else to do, they appointed a new com- mittee under the chairmanship of William Fuller, to re-examine all county books and papers, to ascertain if there were any funds due to the county, etc.
In December, 1863, Johu Warner reported that he had suc- ceeded in recovering 8679.30 swamp land funds, that he had paid to the auditor of state the expenses incurred in surveying swamp lands, to wit: 8235, that his commissions, twenty per cent. of amount recovered, aggregated $135 86; aud that, with his re- port, he tendered the balance, viz., $308.44 to the county. This report was accepted.
The board ordered auother loan of 83 000 for war purposes. This amount of money was to be distributed to the several town- ships in equal amounts, and to be disbursed by the supervisors iu the support of the families of volunteers. A queer measure, and of very questionable merit.
Exit fifth board.
Sixth Board-1864 to 1865.
H. P. Smith, of Santa Anna, chairman. Benjamin Howard, Tunbridge; Wilson Allen, Texas; Tilman Lane, Creek ; W. S. Brooks, Nixon; Eli Robb, Barnett ; James De Land, Clintouia ; Isaac MeCuddy, Harp ; Jacob Swigart, De Witt ; Thomas Loer, Wapella ; John Johoson, Wilson ; William Fuller, Rutledge, and J. M. Sampson, of Waynesville.
The various investigation committees appointed during pre- cediug years have thus far not reported. The board held its first meeting in September, and confined its action to a pretty stiff tax levy, nearly three times as high as that of 1861. The board had come to the conclusion that the interest of the county debt should not longer be paid by issuing new bonds, and that part of the old bonds should be taken up aud canceled. lu order to have the necessary funds the following levy was made :
Current expenses, 40 ets.
Special tax to redeem bonds, 75 4
War tax,
50 «
$1 65
For county purposes alone. State and local taxes made the levy reach three dollars per one hundred dollars tax value.
The support of paupers had, in the meantime, been a con- stantly growing expense, aud the board contracted with Thomas Harris to take charge of all county paupers at $2.50 per week for board. Six thousand dollars were appropriated towards the support of the families of volunteers during the current year. The records do not state how this fund was to be distributed, hence it may be inferred that the distribution plan practised in 1863 was tried again. The sale of the swamp lands was com- pleted ou the 13th of March, 1865. The county had sold in all 1930 acres of swamp laud, and had drawn from that source the handsome revenue of $10,103.18, the average price being $5.25 per acre.
The accounts of the outgoing Treasurer, B. J. Jones, were, on examination, found to be short to the amount of $2,580.03, as reported September 14th, 1864. If, during his term of office, all county moneys had passed through the Treasurer of the county, as the law contemplates and prescribes, the Treasurer's compen- sation would have exceeded the above amount ; besides, the Trea- surer was lawfully entitled to his full percentage on all county fuuds handled by fiscal ageuts or war finance committees.
Iu February, 1865, at the last call for volnuteers, the quota of the county appeared to have been one hundred and one, aud ju order to avoid a draft, a large bounty, $300 each, was offered and paid in ten per cent. bearing county bonds, 101 of which, repre- senting $30,300, were issued.
The war-fuud committee was at last discharged, March 14th, 1865, and the County Treasurer authorized to act in its stead. A deal of coufusion and auxiety would have been avoided, if the plain letter of the revenue law had been strictly adhered to.
At that time it was ascertained that some of the bonds issued to townships, in support of volunteer families, had not been used, and it was therefore ordered that those unused bonds should be "rescinded." Under this order 82250 of those $3,000, and 6000 issued in 1963 and 1864, were surrendered, aud finally cancelled February, 1867.
The last war tax, fifty cents per one hundred dollars, was levied iu 1866. The war fund levied as direct tax during this period of time amounted iu
*
75
HISTORY OF DE WITT COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
1861 to
82,760 27
1862 4
. 10,569 31
1863 4
. 11,241 30
1864 «
11,798 00
1865 «
14,467 09
1866 #
13 595 75
Total,
. 864,431 72
Of this amount the collectors of the county report to have col- lected and paid over to committees or treasurers, as the case might | be, the sum of $60,941.16; cost of collection was $1218.82, and the balance, $2271.74, remained on the tax books as back tax, and, when subsequently collected, was treated as part of the regu- lar county revenue. This amount, however, was insufficient to pay and discharge all county war loans and accrued interest. The loans amounted to $72,000 after deducting those $2250 men- tioned above, and the interest accrued during those years cannot have been less than $18,000, making an aggregate of war expen- ditures of $90,000 at least.
The readiness to make these sacrifices is highly commendable ; but as the subject itself is more extensively treated in the chap- ter on "Patriotism," it may here be dismissed.
The expenditures of the county had been heavy during the year, but as all payments of interest were promptly met, and a part of the funded debt paid and cancelled, and as the county funds were placed where the law directed they should be, the credit of the county was restored at once.
The administration by the Sixth Board of Supervisors was meritorious and efficient.
Seventh Board-1865 to 1866.
Wilson Allen, of Texas, Chairman ; John Johnson, Wilson ; W. R. Carle, Wapella ; J. C. Cantrall, Waynesville ; William Morrow, Barnett; James De Land, Clintonia ; Isaac McCuddy, Harp; Darius Cheney, De Witt; John Bosserman, Nixon ; Thomas Lane, Creek ; Benjamin Howard, Tunbridge; W. C. McMurray, Santa Anna ; and William Fuller, of Rutledge.
This board confined its labor to routine business only ; the policy of the preceding board, "pay as you go," was strictly ad- hered to; the assessed values of taxable property in the county amounted now to $2,829,635.
Eighth Board-1866 to 1867.
Wilson Allen, of Texas township, Chairman ; William Fuller of Rutledge ; J. K. Davis, of Wilson ; T. L. Groff, of Wapella ; J. C. Cantrall, of Waynesville; John Bartley, of Barnett, J. F. Harrold, of Harp; David Bosserman, of De Witt, John Bos- serman, of Nixon ; T. Lane, of Creek; M. B. Spicer, of Tun- bridge; James De Land, of Clintonia, and W. C. McMurray, of Santa Anna.
This board appropriated $10,700 towards building bridges in the several townships. The Clerk was ordered to issue six per cent. interest-bearing county orders for that purpose, and Wil- liam Fuller, O. Wakefield, and W. Clagg were appointed a spe- cial committee on bridge-building, and were entrusted with the disbursement of amounts appropriated.
Ninth Board-1867 to 1868.
James De Land, of Clintonia, Chairman; M. B. Spicer, of Tunbridge ; D. M. Waller, of Texas; T. Lane, of Creek ; John Bosserman, of Nixon ; J. M. Maddox, of Barnett; J. F. Har- rold, of Harp; David Bossermau, of De Witt ; E. Davenport, of Waynesville ; W. R. Carle, of Wapella; W. M. Smith, of
Wilson ; William Fuller, of Rutledge, and S. S. Chapin, of Santa Anna.
Tenth Board-1868 to 1869.
Boynton Tenney, of Waynesville, Chairman ; W. Y. McCord, of Santa Anna ; James A Wilson, of Wilson ; H. D. Watson, of Wapella; D. Cheney, of De Witt ; J. F. Harrold, of Harp; Lewis Campbell, of Clintonia; George Ilartsock, of Texas; James A. Kirby, of Tunbridge ; William Fuller, of Rutledge; John Manlove, of Nixon, and Thomas Maddox, of Barnett.
Eleventh Board-1869 to 1870.
William Y. McCord, of Santa Anna, Chairman ; Peter Brickey, of Rutledge; J. A. Wilson, of Wilson; C'alvio Timmons, of Waynesville ; William Gambrel, of Barnett; James De Land, of Clintonia ; R. Mitchell, of Harp; P. V. C. Poole, of De Witt; W. M. Moore, of Texas; James A. Kirby, of Tunbridge ; John Bosserman, of Nixon, and William Wright, of Wapella.
During the administration of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh boards, public affairs secmed to have managed themselves. The boards confined themselves to the auditing of claims presented for payment.
A startling resolution, introduced by James De Land, was passed in 1867; we call it startling, because it reads so queer in a county where the temperance laws were strictly enforced, to wit : "James De Land is hereby authorized, by order of this board, to buy all necessary stimulants for the use of John Sprad- ley, and that the County Treasurer is authorized to pay all bills thus contracted."
The records, of course, do not state the circumstances under which this strange order was made, and on inquiring, we learned that John Spradley had been a soldier in the army ; had came home badly wounded, and had then to undergo the ampu- tation of a leg. This operation is said to have been a rare triumph of surgery. Spradley survived for years. Dr. J. Wright. of Clinton, performed the operation.
The eighth board-1866 to 1767-had, as stated above, plaeed $10,700 in the hands of a bridge-building committee. This amount had not all been disbursed; $2975 were returned in 1869, and placed in the hands of the several Supervisors for dircet disbursement.
Twelfth Board-1870 to 1871.
A. A. Eads, of Barnett, Chairman; Benjamin Howard, of Tunbridge ; J. W. Blue, of Texas; J. D. Graham, of Creek ; Ross Mitchell, of Harp; John Bosserman, of Nixon; James A. Wilson, of Wilson ; P. V. C. Poole, of De Witt ; David Kelley, of Santa Anna ; James De Land, of Clintonia ; E. B. Harrold, of Wapella ; Calvin Timmons, of Waynesville, and Peter Brickey, of Rutledge.
Poole's claim to his seat was questioned, and the chair decided that Mr. Poole was not longer a member of the board, as he had moved his residence to MeClean county.
The general prosperity and a plethoric money-market had had its effect on the people of De Witt county as well as on others; various railroads were in contemplation, and aid was asked from counties, townships, cities, and towns. The good people of De Witt county tumbled handsomely and deeply into it. Large amounts of stock were subscribed for by townships and county, and this subscription has been the case of endless troubles. In 1870 the county board instructed their chairman not to sign the county bonds intended for the Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad, and caused a copy of this instruction to be sent to the officers of the road,-a formal declaration of war.
76
HISTORY OF DE WITT COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
In December, 1870, the authorities purchased a tract of land for the purpose of an asylum for the poor of the county, the present county farm.
The treasury of the county being depleted, the old and per- nicious remedy of issuing interest-bearing county orders was again resorted to. The ('lerk was instructed to issue, in payment for the farm, ten per cent. interest-bearing county orders, to the amount of $5000, and so much more as needed to meet the probable discount (verbatim ).
The actions of the board seem to have been the object of some criticism, as appears from the animus of the following " liberal " resolution, passed in December, 1870, viz. :
" Resolved, by the board of supervisions, that the editor of any paper of the county be permitted (sie)! to examine the records with a view of publishing the proceedings of the board." There may be some propriety in such permissions, when granted by the Czar of Russia, the Tycoon of Japan, or the king of the Cannibal Islands, but a board of supervisors in the grand American Re- public ought to have known that neither editors nor the people generally need any permit to inform themselves of the proceed- ings of their servants.
The domain of the county of De Witt seemed to have been too small for this board, as appears from the following resolution passed at the same December term :
Resolved, "That the registering law of the state is onerous, burdensome and productive of no good, and ought to be repealed."
Thirteenth Board .- 1871 to 1872.
John D. Graham, of Creek, chairman ; Benjamin Howard, Tunbridge ; W. II. Grier, Texas; II. C. Martin, Nixon ; William Gambrel, Barnett ; James De Land, Clintonia ; Robert Walker, Harp; Smith Fuller, De Witt; Calvin Timmons, Waynesville; E. B Harrold, Wapella; James A. Wilson, Wilson ; Peter Brickey, Rutledge ; and David Kelley, of Santa Anna.
A resolution, that the chairman be instructed not to sigu any county bonds for the Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad company, until there had been a full investigation of the legality of issuing such bonds, and of the constitutional power of the legislature to authorize such subscriptions, was voted down, only Walker voting in the affirmative. ( What had become of the member who had seconded the motion ??
The board voted to the various townships the sum of $1,450.00; the records do not state who introduced the resolution, nor for what purposes the money was voted. The several supervisors were authorized to call on the clerk for their respective money orders !!
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