USA > Illinois > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Illinois > Part 3
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SEC. 6. Be it further enacted. That the said commissioners, or a major part of them, are hereby authorized to give deeds of conveyance, with a gen- eral warranty on the state, for all lots sold by the authority of this act, to the purchasers.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, or a major part of them, shall contract, as soon as practicable after said town is laid off, with some person or persons for the building of a suitable house for the reception of the General Assembly of this state at their next stated session, said house to be built two stories high, on some lot belonging to the State ; and not on the public square, and of sufficient capacity to accommodate the house of representatives in the lower story, and the senate in the upper, with the necessary rooms for the council of revision, clerks, &c., to have the said building completed six months before the next stated session of the General Assembly ; and there shall be a condition in said contract that if said com- missionera, or a major part of them, determine that said building cannot be completed at the time specified in said contract, the said contract be dissolved, and the party thus failing in the opinion of said commissioners, shall receive pay only for work actually done, and the said commissioners to contract for the completion of said building with some other persons.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the next stated session of the General Assembly shall be holden at the town thus laid off by the authority of this act, and in the building before described ; and that all public officers and public offices that are required by law to be holden or reside at the seat of government of this State, on the first day of the said next stated sessions of the General Assembly of this state; and the seat of government of this state shall be and remain for the term of twenty years; at the said town so laid off by the authority of this act from the said first day of the next stated session of the General Assembly, but until said time, the seat of government shall be and remain as Kaskaskia.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, or a ma- jor part of them, shall agree on the time to meet for the purpose of making said selection as pointed out in the second section of this act, and advertise the same in some newspaper, so as so to let all the said commissioners know
said time, and all adjournments and meetings of said commissioners shall be agreed on and advertised as aforesaid.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, or a major part of them, shall make out a general report signed by them, of all the actings and doings of said commissioners to the next General Assembly.
SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the amount of money paid for the erection of the aforesaid temporary state-house shall be paid out of the money arising from the sale of lots by the said commissioners, or if deemed more expedient by the said commissioners, they are hereby authorized to draw on and receive from the state treasury the aforesaid sum of money out of any money therein not otherwise appropriated.
SEC. 12. Be it enacted, That the said commissioners shall be paid the sum of three dollars for each day's service necessarily employed in the duties im- posed on them by this act.
This Act to take effect from and after its passage.
An Act approving and confirming the proceedings of the Vandalia commis- sioners, und for other purposes. Approved January 27th, 1821.
* (SECTION 1.) Be it enacted by the General Assembly, etc., That all the acts and proceedings of the commissioners appointed by the last General Assembly, to select the four sections of land, granted to this state by the act of Congress of the 31 of March, 1819. " An act for the remo- val of the seat of government of the State of Illinois," as well such as relate to the selection made by them, of sections 8, 9, 16, and 17 in township 6, north of range 1, east of the third principal meridian, as those relating to the other objects of their appointment, be and the same are hereby approved and confirmed; and the said town of Vandalia, laid out by the said com- missioners on part of said four sections, is hereby declared to be the per- manent seat of government of the State of Illinois, for twenty years from and after the first Monday of December, 1820
The city of Vandalia + was accordingly laid off, and in the following year, 1820, the legislature removed there, and held its first sessions in a house temporarily built for the purpose. The building was of logs, and was situ- ated on Fifth street, about one block south of Gallatin street. After the creation of Fayette County, the county court also held its sessions in the same building. The building was destroyed by fire during the first session of the legislature. The senate held the remainder of the session in Brown's house, lot 4,- block 34; and the house completed its session in the house of Col R. K. Mclaughlin, lot 5, block 4. Afterwards a small brick building was erected upon the same site, which was used until the completion of the present state-house. Until February, 1821, Vandalia and the territory now comprised within the limits of Fayette County was a portion of the neigh- boring county of Bond. February 14th, 1821, the following act was ap- proved creating the new county.
ORGANIZATION OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
# (That all that tract of country lying north of a line, beginning at the south-west corner of township number three, north of range number one west, extending east to the south-east corner of township number three, north of range number six, east of the third principal meridian, shall con- stitute a new county to be called Fayette, the county seat of which shall be at Vandalia.)
The county, at the time of its formation, was nearly two hundred miles in length, but has since been divided into counties. It is bounded north by Shelby, south by Marion and Clinton, east by Ethingham, and west by Bond and Montgomery counties. It is from thirty-three to twenty-seven miles long, and from twenty-four to thirty miles broad, and contains seven hundred and twenty square miles. It is watered by the Kaskaskia River and its tribu- taries, the principal of which are the Hurricane Fork, Ramsey's, Boaz and Beck's on the west, Hickory, Big and such creeks on the east.
The banks of the Kaskaskia are generally low and subject to inundation ; a rise in this stream is frequently occasioned by slight rains, in consequence of the nu- mrous tributaries. There is in this county a heavy growth of timber along the Kaskaskia and Hurricane Fork. There are in many portions of the county fertile and beautiful prairies, where vegetation grows abundantly. The Kaskaskia enters the county on the north-east, about the centre of township 9, range 3 east, and meanders in a zig-zag course south-westerly through the county, and leaves it on section 30 of township 4, range 1 west of the third principal meridian. Fayette is divided into the following municipal townships : La Clede, Lone Grove, Wilberton, Kaskaskia, Pope, Seminary, Wheatland, Otego, Vandalia, Bear Grove, Avena, Sefton, Sharon, Loudon, Bowling Green, Ramsay, and Hurricane. §
* Page 32, Session ending February 15th, 1821.
t The name of Vandalia was given to the new city, it is said, by one of the commis- sioners, in consequence of the country in the vicinity being at one time the home of a tribe of Indians called Vandalls .- Ford's History of Illinois.
Page 164, Laws passed at Session of 1820-21.
¿ A synopsis of the history of each township appears elsewhere in this work.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
CHAPTER V. BANKS.
EARLY BANKS-THEIR ORGANIZATION-EFFECT UPON THE COMMUNITY.
CHARTER was granted by the General Asesmbly for a state bank in 1819. The following is the text of the act :
An Act to incorporate the subscribers to the State Bank of Illinois. Approved March 22d, 1819.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly. That a bank of the State of Illinois shall be estab- lished at the seat of government, and shall be removed with the same ; the capital stock of which shall not exceed two millions of dollars, to be sub- scribed by individuals and corporations, and divided into shares of one hun- dred dollars each, and of two million of dollars to be subscribed by the State of Illinois, whenever the legislature thereof may deem it proper to subscribe the whole or such part thereof as the condition of the treasury may justify, and the books for the subscription of state stock shall always be and remain open; and subscriptions towards constituting the said individual and corpo- ration stock, shall be opened at the places and times and under the superin- tendence of the persons hereinafter mentioned, which subscription shall remain open until three hundred thousand dollars shall be subscribed; and it shall be lawful for any person, co-partnership, or body politic to subscribe for such, or as many shares as he, or she, or they may think fit, not exceed- ing five hundred.
SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That all those who shall become subscribers to said bank, their successors and assigns shall be, and are hereby created and made a corporation and body politic, and by the name and style of the "President, Directors and Company of the State Bank of Illinois," and shall so continue for and during the space of twenty-five years, from and after the passage of this act, and by that name shall be, and are hereby made, able and capable in law to have, purchase, receive, possees and enjoy, and retain to them and their successors, etc.
(having all the rights usually granted to corporations).
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SEC. 5. Be it further enacted, That as soon as the sum of $15,000 shall have been received on account of subscription to the said stock, notice there- of shall be given in two newspapers printed in this state, specifying a time and place within the town of Kaskaskia, at the distance of thirty days, for the election of directors on the part of the individual stockholders. * * * * *
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SEC. 9. Be it further enacted, That books for subscription to the capital stock of the said corporation shall be opened on the first Monday in April next, at the following places: At Kaskaskia, under the direction of the president and directors, who shall be appointed by the General Assembly ; at Golconda under the direction of James E. Willis, Robert Hancock and Joshua Scott; at Edwardsville under the direction of Benjamin Stephenson, John Todd and Robert Pogue; at Harrisonville under the direction of Alexander Jamison, Thomas James and Jesse W. Cooper; at Bellville under the direction of Robert K. Mclaughlin, William Glasgow and Thomas Cohen; at Vienna under the direction of James Finney, James Bane and Aaron Brown ; at Carlisle under the direction of John H. Lambert, John Kain and Charles Slade ; at Carmi under the direction of James Gray, Leonard White and James Ratcliff; at Palmyra under the direction of Seth Gard, Jarvis Hazleton and William Becham ; at Shawneetown under the direction of John C. Rives, Thomas Sloo and John Marshall ; at Palestine under the direction of William Logan, Joseph Mitchell and John Dunlap ; at Jonesborough under the direction of Thomas Cox, Abner Field and John Hacker; at Brownsville under the direction of Timothy Nash, John An- keny and William Boon. No one person, or corporation, or partnership shall subscribe on any one day for more than ten shares. The . commissioners, at the end of thirty days after the opening of the books, shall give notice thereof to the president and directors, and also the names of the subscribers, together with the kind of money they may have severally paid, and send the same to the president and directors at Kaskaskia, noting the day on which each subscription was made; it shall be the duty of the said president and directors, including those elected by the stockholders, to cause to be converted into specie without delay such bank notes as may have been paid in by the subscribers at the cost and risk of such subscribers, and . until they shall have received fifteen thousand dollars in specie they shall not issue any notes signed by their president and cashier, or either of them, * * * * * *
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An Act supplementary to an act entitled "an act to incorporate the subscribers to the State Bank of Illinois." Approved March 27, 1819.
SEC. 1. That in lieu of gold and silver, or bank notes of banks in the western country, paying specie, the subscribers to the capital stock of the State Bank of Illinois, may at the time of subscribing, pay the first instal- ment in warrants of the auditor, drawn on the treasurer of the state ; which warrants, from the time of being paid in, shall bear an interest of six per centum per annum.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the trea-
surer of this state, when in his opinion, the treasury is able to redeem such warrants, to give notice thereof in some public newspaper printed in this state, for three weeks in succession ; upon which notice the interest is to cease and determine. * * * * * * #
This charter never went into practical operation, and was finally superseded by the Banking Act of 1821.
After the close of the second war with Great Britain the country became flooded with bank paper, an irredeemable currency,-this paper, particularly in the west, was of little value, and the country was almost without cur- rency.
In the years, 1819, 1820 and 1821, property in Illinois was almost as value- less as the currency. Cows sold for four or five dollars per head, and wheat thirty-five and forty cents per bushel. Corn was in many localities selling at ten cents per bushel. In the early part of the session of 1821 the legislature conceived the idea of creating a State Bank formed on the credit of the state This Bank was to have a capital of half a million of dollars, and to issue in the beginning only three hundred thousand dollars. The State, through the directors were to manage the main Bank and the branches, and the whole to remain under the control of the General Assembly. Money was to be loaned to no individual on personal security in sums above one hundred dollars, larger sums to be secured by real estate at two-thirds its value. The notes drew interest at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum. A principal bank was established at Vandalia, and four or five branches in other places.
The paper was made receivable for all taxes, state debts, &c. The coun- cil of revision had to pass on all bills, and approve or reject them. The bill was presented to the council, and three of the five vetoed it and returned it to the house of representatives with their objection. Governor Bond, Judges Phillips and Reynolds, disapproved of the measure. Judges Wilson and Brown. were in favor of it.
The General Assembly were disappointed with the action of the Council, and passed the law by a constitutional majority, over the objections of the Council. The charter became the law, and the Bank went into operation. The paper never was at par, and sunk, at times, down to twenty-five cents on the dollar.
The Bank lingered out a miserable existence, never observing its promises, or meeting the expectations of its friends, and was wound up in 1831. The following amusing incident occurred in connection with it. The legislature was very much infatuated with the Bank, and the Journals show that a resolution was passed, requesting the secretary of the treasury of the United States, to receive these notes in the land office in payment for the public lands. When this resolution was put to a vote in the Senate, the old French lieuten- ant-governor, Col. Menard, presiding over that body, with more judgment than elegance, put the question and made the following comment :-
"Gentlemen of dis Senate, it is moved and seconded dat de notes of * dis bank be made land office money. All in favor of dat motion, say aye ; all against it say no. It is decided in de affirmative, and now gentlemen I bet you one hundred dollar he never be made land office money.
Col. Menard was in many respects a remarkable man. By his rare integrity and energy he accomplished much good for the people of the Territory and State, and as a tribute to his memory and the services he had performed, the legislature subsequently formed and named the county of Menard, on the Sangamon river, in honor of him. The name of the new county could not have been more worthily bestowed.
CHAPTER VI
PROSPERITY OF THE COUNTY. FIRST DEED RECORDED IN COUNTY. FIRST SESSION OF COUNTY AND CIRCUIT COURTS, &C., &c.
AYETTE County now entered upon an era of prosperity. Settlers were arriving in considerable numbers, coming principally from Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Vandalia was rapidly be- coming a thriving and important city. Its situation was excel- lent, and the lands contiguous to it fertile and productive, and only needed the work of the husbandman to make it one of the most beau- tiful and productive counties in the state. The meetings of the legislature and sessions of the various courts drew many persons to Vandalia, many of them men of prominence and ability.
The first circuit court held in the County was the July term of 1821. Quoting from the records we have :
" At a circuit court begun and held in Vandalia, in and for the County of Fayette, on Thursday, the fifteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, and of the independence of the United States the forty-sixth.
Present the Honorable Joseph Philips, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois.
* (States.) (dis).
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
The first case for trial entered on the court records was a civil suit.
JAMES S. DORRIS, Appellant, Upon an Appeal
against from a DAVID LESTER, Appelles. 1 Justice of the Peace.
The first Grand Jury, July 3, 1821. Thomas Cox, (Foreman), William Tilford, Wm. Wallace, Wm. Johnson, John Shields, John Evans, Wm. L. Hicherson, Abram Starnes, James Allen, John Haley, John H. Van Fleck, Jacob Neely, Barnett Bone, Henry Walker, Joseph Hynes, John Hall, James L. Dorries, Abijah Lee, John F. Ross and Aaron Shean, were em- paneled and sworn a grand jury.
THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' COURT.
First court held April 16, 1821.
HON. PAUL BECK. HON. WM. JOHNSON, HON. JOHN A. WAKEFIELD,
Judges.
The first marriage license issued in Fayette County, was on the first day of May, 1821, to John F. Ross and Melinda Osborne. The marriage ceremony was solemnized the same day by James S. Dorris, a Justice of the Peace. During the remainder of the year 1821 only two marriage licenses were issued.
The first marriage ceremony performed by a preacher was by Jesse Haill, May 16, 1822. Mr. H- was an Elder of the M. E. Church. The parties married by him were James Beck and Polly Depeu.
(The number of marriage licenses issued for the year 1877 was 232.)
The following is an exact copy of the first deed put upon record in the County.
VANDALIA, February, 1821.
Records for the County of Fayette, State of Illinois, WILLIAM BERRY, Recorder.
Whereas, James M. Duncan did, on the 25th day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, purchase of the Register of the Land Office for the sales of the United States Lands in the District of Vandalia, a certain lot or piece of ground designated and known on the General Map of the United States Lands in the said district, by the name or title of the West half of the North East qr. of section No. 19 of Township No. 6, Range No. 1, East of the third principal meridian- Containing 80 acres.
Now, therefore, be it known, That I, the said James M. Duncan, for value received, do hereby assign, transfer, set over and unto Thomas Cox, his heirs and assigns forever, all my right, title, interest, claim and demand of, in and to the said tract of Land intended to be conveyed. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 18th day of July, one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one. JAMES M. DUNCAN.
In presence of JOHN S. DUNCAN.
State of Illinois, ! Fayette County. S
Personally appeared before me, John Baugh, a Justice of the Peace for said County, John S. Duncan, a subscribing witness to the within Transfer, who, after being sworn, saith that he saw James M. Duncan whose name appears to the within Transfer, seal, sign and deliver the same for the pur- poses therein mentioned.
Given under my hand and seal this 18th day of July, 1821. JOHN BAUGH, J. P. [SEAL.]
The grand jury during the first session found a number of indictments, all of them for minor offences. The civil suits engaging the attention of the court were few. The following are copies of the first cases entered upon the docket : and how disposed of.
The first civil case in the Circuit Court, July 3, 1821, was that of
JAMES L. DORRISS, Appellant, against
Upon an appeal from the judgment of a
DAVID LUSTER, Appelles. Justice of the Peace.
The attorney for the appellee moved to dismiss the appeal herein on the ground that the bond was insufficient, which was argued; but the court not being sufficiently advised, took time, etc. On the following day, July 6, the case was continued until the next term of court.
The first Chancery case, and what became of it was that of
BENJ. N. MITCHELL, Complainant, against
In Chancery.
WILLIAM THACKER. Defendant.
On motion of complainant by his counsel to dismiss the case herein, it is considered by the court that this cause be dismissed, and that the defendant recover against the said complainant his costs by him about his defence in this behalf expended, and may have, etc.
The first case tried by the Jury in the Circuit Court was that of
BENJ. N. MITCHELL, Plaintiff, against In case.
WM. L. D. EWING, Defendant.
The jury consisted of Abraham Tetrich, Archibald Ezell, Joseph Chaffin, William Berry, John K. Harris, John C. Kellogg, Valentine Brazil, John Deleplain, Adam Smith, Jr., James Hooper, Jeremiah Evans and Robert Blackwell, who being elected, tried and sworn to well and truly try the issue found.
The following is presumably the first civil appointment ever made in the County :
State of Illinois.
To all who shall see these presents, Greeting : Know ye, That, reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity, diligence and abilities of James Jones, of Fayette County, I do hereby in virtue of the power and authority in me as Presiding Justice of the Third Circuit, appoint him Clerk of the Circuit Court of Fayette County ; and he is hereby authorized to execute the duties of the said office, and have and receive the emoluments with the same belonging according to law.
Given under my hand and seal this 14th day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one. JOSEPH PHILIPS. [SEAL.]
State of Illinois, Fayette County. S
This day came the above-named James Jones before the undersigned, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois aforesaid, and took the several oaths required by law (to be taken by civil officers in this State) as Clerks of the Circuit Court of Fayette County.
Given under my hand and seal this 14th day of February, 1821. JOHN REYNOLDS. [SEAL.]
THE FIRST BILL FOR DIVORCE FILED.
The first divorce granted was June 5th, 1822. The case of NANCY MILTON, Complainant, Upon a
18. Libel
ANDREW MILTON, Defendant. for a Divorce.
After a spirited and interesting trial, the case was given to the jury, com- posed of Jobn Watwood, James Hull, James Kelly, William B. Thacher, John Hull, Henry Walker, Patrick Murphy, Elisha Whitley, John Whitley, John Depeu, Adam Smith, Jr., and Edward Tunstall. Their verdict was as follows :
That the said defendant has been guilty of extreme and repeated cruelty towards his said wife, etc., etc., etc. ; wherefore it is ordered and decreed by the Court that the said complainant be divorced from the bed and board of the said Andrew Milton; it is further ordered that the child of the said Andrew Milton and Nancy Milton be delivered to the said Nancy Milton, and by her raised and educated until he shall arrive at the age of fourteen years, and that the said Andrew Milton pay annually, in quarterly instalments, the sum of thirty dollars, and further decreed that the said Andrew Milton pay all the costs of this suit.
The first entry of land in the County was made by John Whitley, April 19th, 1816-160 acres in section 7, T. 4, R., 1. W.
CHAPTER VII.
ADDITIONAL ACTS. VISIT OF GEN. LAFAYETTE, ETC.
N 1823 the following acts were introduced into the Legislature. The latter will probably excite the surprise of many persons in this free-thinking and skeptical age. In those days, however, few men were scoffers, and those dare not outrage public opinion by the ventilation of their heresies. There was a deep religious senti- ment pervading the entire country; and even many of the Indians of that day were sincere Christians, and not a few were sanguine of establishing a veritable theocracy.
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