USA > Illinois > Henderson County > History of Mercer County : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc., gathered from mattter furnished by the Mercer County Historical Society, interviews with old settlers, county, township and other records, and extracts from files of papers, pamphlets, and such other sources as have been available : containing also a short history of Henderson County > Part 5
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50
HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
the country, where land had already become comparatively dear. The first settlements were made along the Mississippi river, and from thenee they gradually spread outward and followed the smaller rivers toward their sources. By the date named, there were probably forty or fifty families in the territory designed for Mercer county.
The act of the legislature organizing the county was passed January 31, 1835. By a provision of the act, an election was directed to be held on the first Monday of April, 1835, in the town of New Boston, at the house of Eli Reynolds, and at the house of Geo. Miller, for county officers. James Irvin, George Piper and Benjamin Vanata, or any two of them, were to be judges at New Boston, and George Mil- ler, David Shaunce and Ebenezer Cresswell, or any two of them, at the house of George Miller. New Boston was designated as the tem- porary county seat. The following is an exact copy of the act, as will be found on page 156 of the session laws for the year 1835, and as it will be deemed a historical relie by many, we think it advisable to give it entire.
AN ACT TO ORGANIZE MERCER COUNTY.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represented in the general assembly, That on the first Monday of April next, between the hours of eight o'clock in the morning and seven o'clock in the evening, an election shall be held in the town of New Boston, at the house of Eli Reynolds, and the house of George Miller, in the county of Mercer, for three county commissioners, one sheriff, and one coroner, for said county, who shall continue in office until their successors shall be duly elected and qualified.
SEC. 2. That James Irvin, George Piper and Benjamin Vanata, or any two of them, shall be judges of the election to be held at the town of New Boston, and George Miller, David *Shonce and Ebenezer Cresswell, or any two of them, shall be judges of the election to be held at the house of George Miller. Said judges shall be authorized to appoint two clerks at each precinct, and said judges and clerks shall be qualified in the same manner as judges and clerks of elections are now required by law, and said elections shall in every respect be conducted in conformity with the election laws of this state.
SEC. 3. Until the county seat of said county of Mercer shall be located, it shall be the duty of the county commissioner's court of said county to procure a suitable house at New Boston, and the several courts shall be held at New Boston until suitable buildings are furnished at the county seat thereinafter to be located, and the said town of New Boston is hereby declared the temporary seat of said county of Mercer until the same shall be permanently located by law.
SEc. 4. Said county of Mercer is hereby declared to be organized, with such corporate powers as belong to other counties in this state.
This act to be in force from and after its passage.
Approved Jannary 31, 1835.
The act was passed at Vandalia, which was at that date the capital of the state, to and from which the legislator of the olden time, unlike
* Shaunce.
VASHTI DRURY.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA
53
ORGANIZATION OF MERCER COUNTY.
his more aristocratic successor who may travel in the palace cars, jour- neyed to and fro on horseback, with his changes of raiment strapped on behind his saddle.
The act of organization was completed on the 6th day of April of the same year by the election of officers, as provided in the law. Two voting places were designated. . The one precinct embracing the terri- tory in the west part of the county, and the other the eastern settle- ments. At the election in the New Boston precinct there were thirty- five votes cast for Edward Willett for coroner ; twenty-five and twelve votes respectively for Silas Drury and John Long for sheriff ; and twenty-four, thirty-three, sixteen and thirty votes, respectively, for Isaac Drury, Abraham Miller, Joseph Noble and Erastus Dennison for county commissioners. Jesse Willits, Benjamin Vanata and Samuel Piper were the judges, and William C. Townsend and Ephraim Gil- more acted as clerks. At the Miller precinct, Isaac Drury, Joseph Noble, Erastus Dennison and Abraham Miller received five, nine, thirteen and twelve votes, respectively. for commissioners ; John Long received six, and Silas Drury seven, votes for sheriff, and Edward Willett received thirteen votes for coroner. David Shaunce and Ebe- nezer Cresswell acted as judges, and John and Abraham Miller as clerks. The result of the election can be seen by the reader without · recapitulation.
We cannot think of a more interesting item of history than the list of names of those who took part in the election that day, as showing who were the residents, heads of families and politicians of Mercer county in 1835. A number of the names figure prominently in the history of the county, some drop out of sight in a very few years, and a very few, with whitening heads and bent forms, are still with us to tell the story of the early times, waiting only a little while when they will follow on to a new and better country beyond the river of time. As the list is short we give it entire, as recorded on the poll book of the two precincts. There may have been a few others entitled to vote, but if there were their names are not now remembered.
Jesse Willits, Samuel Piper, Benjamin Vanata, Hamilton Christie, Newton Willitts, John Long, Silas Drury, Lewis Noble. William Drury, George Fisher, Joseph Leonard, William Jackson, William Willitts, John Hall, Elias Fisher, William Wilson, John Kester. James H. Barnes, William J. Nevius, Joseph Dennison. William Pool. Adam W. Richie, John Richardson, W. Dennison, John Reynolds, Edward Willett, William Dennison, Joseph Noble, Joseph Glancy, Isaac Drury, M. Leeper, Jesse Kester, Robert Reynolds, E. S. Dennison, Ephraim Gilmore, William C. Townsend. Second precinct-John W.
4
54
HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
Dennison, David Shaunce, Eli Reynolds, Isaac Dawson, Jolm Farlow, John Shaunce, George Miller, Ebenezer Creswell, Abraham Miller, Sen., Jolın Miller, A. Miller, Jun., Harrison W. Riggs, George Miller, Jun.
One week after the first election was held (April 13, 1835) the commissioner's court, corresponding in later times to the board of supervisors, met at New Boston and transacted the first public business. The court consisted of the recently elected commissioners, Isaac Drury, Abraham Miller and Erastus Dennison. The first business was to appoint a clerk, which they did in the person of William C. Townsend. Ephraim Gilmore was then appointed treasurer, John Long, school commissioner, Harrison W. Riggs, judge of election in first, and Isaac Miller in second precinct. William Dennison was granted a license to run a ferry at New Boston, on the Mississippi river, for which Dennison had to pay four dollars tax. In his license he was allowed to charge for ferriage for 1835 : for each four-horse wagon, $1.50; two-horse wagon, $1 ; man and horse, 50c ; one horse, 18¿c ; cattle, each, 18¿c ; sheep and hogs, each, 61c; each footman, 18¿c (it will be noticed that it was somewhat cheaper for a man to send his horse across alone); eachı yoke of work cattle, 50c (cheaper to send them separately). The county was laid off into four road districts, of which Abraham Miller was designated as supervisor of first, Lewis Noble of second, Jesse Kester of . third, and James H. Bane of fourth. Ordered that a tax of $1.20 be levied on each quarter section of taxable land in the county. The above embraced all of the business of the first day.
On the second day, Tuesday morning at eight o'clock, the court. consisting of the commissioners, the clerk, and Silas Drury, sheriff, met and transacted additional important business. The following per- sons were selected as grand jurors for the first term of circuit court in Mercer county : George Miller, Isaac Miller, John Farlow, Jesse Wil- lits, John Hill, Mark Willits, David Shaunce, Lewis Noble, Daniel Pinkley, John W. Dennison, William Willitts, Joseph Glancey, John Reynolds, George Blake, Benjamin Vanata, John Long, James Irvin, Wesley Wicks, Ephraim Gilmore, John Kester, Jesse Kester, Thomas Morgan and John Bates. And for petit jurors : John Miller, Isaac Miller, George Miller, Abraham Miller, Isaac Dawson, William W. Wilson, John Shaunce, Isaac Drury, Wm. H. Dennison; Joseph Noble, Joseph A. Dennison, William Drury, Harrison W. Riggs, William Jackson, Robert Reynolds, Newton Willits, Joseph Leonard, Joshua Willits, James H. Bane, Eli Reynolds, John P. Reynolds, Drury Rey- nolds, Christopher Shuck, John Rankins. This, with the addition of levying a tax of one-half of one per cent on certain personal prop- erty, embraced all the business of the special term.
.
.
55
ORGANIZATION OF MERCER COUNTY.
At the first regular term, which was held June 1, 1835. though the first appointed clerk had recorded, as the first item, that he had taken the oath and given bond, he failed to get the bond approved, and so at the regular meeting it was found necessary to appoint a new clerk, in the person of William Drury, upon which Mr Townsend resigned. Mr. Drury did not experience the trouble in giving security, as did his predecessor, E. S. Dennison and Joseph Leonard going on the bond in the sum of $1,000. Mr. Drury made a good clerk and served until succeeded by Abaham Miller in October 1837. Mr. Drury, in signing his name to all of his legal documents, makes a peculiar flourish be- neath his signature, which cannot be described without an engraving, and indeed which could not be easily imitated. Judge Gilmore is our authority for a story that has been received for more than forty years as genuine history, that when Miller was elected to succeed Drury, he was found one day sitting on the sand bank barefooted trying to cut the figure in the sand with his great toe. The evidence in the record bear- ing on the case is quite strong. The first two or three times that Miller signs his name to the record there is an evident, but fruitless, attempt to imitate Drury's flourish, but after that it is entirely abandoned.
In the Recorder's office is a relic that marks its author as a boss mechanic. It consists of a blank book of home manufacture, and to William Drury is given the credit of its construction. It is one of the first record books, and its description is worthy of a place here. The book consists of about one hundred pages of foolscap paper. This the maker evidently ruled himself with columns to suit his convenience. and also headed in a proper manner. The cord for binding the leaves together seems to have been a fishing line, or some other equally strong cord. The sides are two oak boards, evidently rived from a straight- grained tree and dressed down with a draw shave ; or if with the axe, must have been by an exceedingly skillful hand. The sides are then covered with paper that seems to have been a window blind. The back and corners are buckskin, doubtless taken from the body of some deer shot by the rifle of the bookmaker and tanned by himself. The book is in excellent preservation, as are all the old records of Mercer county, which show that our first officers were not only men of ability and taste, but that they exercised proper care of what was entrusted to their keeping.
Mr. Miller doubtless had in his soul real genius, and though he could not imitate Drury's flourish, has left evidences of his invention and artistic skill upon the records. In one of the records we find the title page decorated with red, black and yellow colors, the artist's hand revealing itself in gaudy colors and finely displayed printing, of which the following is as nearly a copy as our type will represent :
56
HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
COUNT
Y, COMI
SSIONERS
RECORD
VOL. I
57
ORGANIZATION OF MERCER COUNTY.
In another record, Mr. Miller makes a further display of his skill in the use of the brush. The law required that the owners of stock should mark the same by a cut of some kind in one of the ears of the animal. Some chose as their mark a slit in the right, some a crop from the left ear, and the crops, slits and quarters of either car were varied to suit the taste of the owner. To make these distinctions legal, it was neces- sary to have a description of the same recorded in a book used for the "recording of marks of animals." The common method with record- ers is to write the description, appending the name of the owner, with date of entry, but Mr. Miller, finding this a good opportunity for the display of his genius, paints in the margin of the record the whole animal, with the particular ear, minus the erop, pointing directly to the name of the man who mutilated it.
The first business transacted at this term of court was the granting of a license to Eli Reynolds to vend groceries in New Boston, for which privilege he had to pay into the treasury of the county 87} cents. The first road established by authority of the county was ordered at this term. The road was from New Boston toward Rock Island, and was designated by stakes driven in the prairie and trees blazed through the timber. The road was viewed by Ephraim Gilmore, Harrison W. Riggs and Lewis Noble, for which services they received in the aggre- gate the sum of $8. Of course it is not a profane pun, but simply a coincidence of euphony, that at this meeting the board ordered that a writ of ad quod dam-num be granted to Silas B. Hubbard to enquire and ascertain what damages may be sustained by building a mill and dam on Edwards river. An ad quod dam-num was also granted to Charles Jack in regard to damages for a mill dam on same river.
The county at this session was laid off into two justice districts. The New Boston district embraced all that part of the county lying west of the middle of township 4, and the balance of the county embraced the Sugar Grove district.
The state road from Knoxville to New Boston was at this session endorsed.
For a number of terms the most of the business of the court con- sisted in authorizing roads, and the surveyor was the officer of greatest importance.
The first report by the commissioners made March 9, 1837, is interesting, as compared with similar reports at present. It is given entire :
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
1836.
RECEIPTS. $ ets.
Mar. 7, Remaining in the treasury 4 47₺
Revenue from the state. 400 00
Tax on personal property 58 61
Road tax 922 38
Received for licenses. 35 00
Interest on notes. 12 25
1,432 71}
. To amount paid on county orders for county purposes, 439 51%
Balance in treasury. 993 20
The above balance included notes for $950, leaving $43.20 cash on hand.
The regular election of county officers occurred August 3, 1835 .. At this election William Drury was elected recorder, Ephriam Gilmore, surveyor, E. Creswell and Abner Arrasmith were elected justices of the peace, and John Miller and Wesley Arrasmith, constables. The elec- tion of justices and constables was found to be illegal, and a special election was held October 5, for the purpose of electing two justices and two constables for New Boston and one justice and one constable for Sugar Grove precinct. To these offices Joshua Willits and Lewis Noble were elected justices, and Newton I. Willits and William B. Wilson constables, for New Boston, and Abraham Miller, Jun., and John Miller were elected justice and constable, respectively, for Sugar Grove.
An idea of some of the difficulties that our primitive officers had to contend with in administering justice, may be easily gained from the following, in Mr. Abraham Miller's own words: "The first lawsuit ever instituted in the Sugar Grove precinct was by an old Yankee plaintiff (B. Lloyd), who from that time onward kept his neighbors warmed up to more than fever heat with vexations lawsuits, as far as his neighbor- hood dealings or business transactions were extended. An excuse for a lawsuit was a sufficient warrant for a 'pitch in.' Sometimes they were civil, sometimes criminal, and sometimes for a supposed trespass. This first suit was the first ever tried before me, and the court was without practice, precedent or law. There was then but one copy of the statutes of Illinois in Mercer county, and that was in the hands of the county clerk (Wm. Drury) at New Boston, and could not be loaned. The justice begged time to get up the papers till law could be procured, but our plaintiff was so rampant for litigation that but little or no time could be given. The poor justice was therefore doomed to saddle 'old gray,' throw a bed quilt around him, and ride some twelve miles over the prairie on a cold, snowy day, with a bleak northwest wind on the side of the court's face, to Dan Edgington's, a justice of the peace in Rock Island county, to borrow a statute. The loan of this.
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ORGANIZATION OF MERCER COUNTY.
could only be procured for three days, and it would be needless to say that the homestretch of that day's travel was speedily performed. For the three days' grace allowed in the loan, this backwoods justice, now a law-student, plied all his powers, manual and mental. Day and night were spent in poring over this precious volume to discover the duties enjoined upon a justice of the peace, and short notes were taken for future reference. Being rather expert with the pen, a summary statute of Abe's own was compiled, published and issued from the press (not, bless you, reader, from a printing press, but from the com- pulsory press of necessity), and fit for use in the short space of three days and nights. This backwoods edition, comprised of the general duties of justice and constable, was destined to become as useful and familiar as household words in a family. During the night part of his labor. the second or third night, the court, becoming very drowsy, upset an inkstand, emptying its sable contents upon a good part of a page of the borrowed statutes. Seizing the book, the obliterated part was saved from entire ruin by licking the ink from the same with the tongue. The book was returned within the specified time, with many backwoods thanks and humble apologies for the accident of the old ink horn. all of which were most courteously accepted by Dan, who was every inch of him a backwoods gentleman, and a full pardon granted and gra- ciously accepted." It is needless to add that the Yankee plaintiff got ample justice, as did many others who brought their grievances to this court; for, whatever may have been his peculiarities, he is not accused of any of the peculiar methods that obtain in some high and low courts of a later day.
August 1, 1836, the first election for members of congress and leg- islature in which the voters of Mercer county took part was held. Of the sixty-seven votes cast for congressman, John T. Stuart received fifty-three and William L. May fourteen. Elijah Charles and James Craig received the highest number of votes for representatives in the state legislature. At that election James H. Bane, Hiram Hardie and James Burleigh were elected county commissioners, and Daniel Pinck- ley sheriff.
As we have seen, the county was divided into two precincts, or dis- tricts, but soon settlements made in the eastern part of the county. far up the Edwards river, called for further division. At the regular meeting of the newly elected commissioners, September 5, 1836, that portion of the county east of a line running due north and south, one . mile east of the line dividing ranges two and three west, was erected into a new precinct. This, it will be seen, embraced all of what are now known as Richland Grove, Rivoli and North Henderson town-
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
ships, and nearly all of Preemption, Green and Suez. The name of Richland was given to this district. One of the commissioners, Hiram Hardie, was a citizen of the district. Besides him there were about one dozen voters.
A year later, September 5, 1837, Richland precinct was divided, forming a new election and justice's district out of all that portion of Richland lying south of the line, separating townships 14 and 15, and leaving Richland with a little less than two congressional townships. The settlements to be provided for were mostly those along Pope creek and the new precinct was called by that name.
Pope creek was now settling rapidly. A year later a new district was found necessary in the southern middle part of the county, and so at the meeting of the board, March 9, 1838, it was ordered that all that part of Sugar Grove lying south of an east and west line equally dividing township 14 be organized and called Ohio precinct. Edwards precinct was formed March 9, 1839, from what are now all of Preemp- tion, the north half of Green, the northeast quarter of Mercer, and the east half of Perryton. At the same meeting Eliza precinct was estab- lished, and was composed of the territory which now lies within Eliza township. Keithsburg precinct was formed by the commissioners June 1, 1840, and comprised the territory now embraced in Abington and Keithsburg townships. This provided, as was supposed, all parts of the county with convenient polling places, and with local offices for the government of the different neighborhoods, and these divisions thus remained intact until the adoption of township organization, after which each congressional township, with the exception of the fractional town- ships of the western portions of Eliza and New Boston, were organized separately. The convenience of this method is apparent. Congres- sional townships, by act of congress, are separate school townships, and cannot be changed to suit any other boundaries by any state or local enactment.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN MERCER COUNTY.
Prior to the passage of what is known as the "Kansas and Nebras- ka Act of 1854," Mercer county was a whig county in politics. The democratic party was in a minority of some two or three hundred.
The anti-slavery feeling was strong in both of the old parties, and there were quite a number of voters who were abolitionists or free- soilers, and who would vote for the abolition or free-soil candidates when an opportunity occurred ; but the most of these, in all except presidential elections, voted and acted with the other political parties.
When the "Kansas and Nebraska Act" was passed in May, 1854,
61
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN MERCER COUNTY.
it created such an excitement and alarm, that a large number of the people, of both of the old parties, were ready to unite with the free- soilers and abolitionists in the formation of a new party, to resist the aggressive policy of the pro-slavery party, which controlled the two dominant political parties of the United States. Meetings were called as early as June 9, 1854, in two at least of the townships of the county, and resolutions passed in opposition to the "Kansas-Nebraska Act," and calling for a united effort of all persons opposed to the extension of slavery in the territories, to form a political party to stay the aggress- ive pro-slavery legislation.
Leading citizens of the county conferred with each other; and a convention of all persons in the county, of all political parties, who were opposed to the "Kansas-Nebraska Act " and the extension of slav- ery in the territories, to meet at Millersburg for the purpose of organ- izing a new political anti-slavery party.
The convention assembled in Millersburg pursuant to the call, in the summer of 1854, and was represented by delegates from all parts of the county, and from all of the old political parties. John Collins, an old settler, and life-long democrat, was elected president of the conven- tion. A committee of nine was appointed to draft resolutions and arti- eles of organization. The committee was composed of Judge E. Gil- more, a whig and old resident of the county, who had filled many important offices, and who is now (1882) residing in Aledo ; James H. Reed, a whig, who was afterward successively editor of the "Oquaw- ka Plaindealer," the " Aledo Weekly Record " and the "Monmouth Atlas, " and who died in Monmouth ; L. W. Myers, an abolitionist, then a young man, who is now and has been for a number of years, editor of the " Wappello Republican," Iowa ; Isaac N. Bassett, a whig. who is still living, a lawyer in Aledo ; John W. Miles, a whig, after- ward quartermaster of the 17th reg. Ill. Vol. Inf., who died in 1863 ; Harvey S. Senter, a whig, who filled various offices in the county, and has since died in Aledo ; Tyler McWhorter, a democrat, now resident near Aledo : Samuel Miller, an abolitionist, who has been dead several years ; J. R. Whitham, abolitionist, now residing near Aledo.
There was an animated controversy in the committee room, and at one time it seemed impossible for the committee to agree ; but finally resolutions and a platform were agreed upon that was satisfactory to all, and a unanimous report made to the convention, which was adopted, and the organization of the republican party of Mercer county was completed. The exact date of this convention cannot now be ascer- tained, but it is believed to have been the first county convention of the kind held in the state.
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