USA > Illinois > Morgan County > History of Morgan county, Illinois : its past and present, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; a biographical directory of its volunteers in the late rebellion; portraits of its early settlers and prominent men [etc., etc.] > Part 24
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It will be observed that the act quoted at length, fixed the boun- daries of Morgan County so that it included the present counties of Cass and Scott. It was then about forty miles long, thirty-two miles wide, and included about 1280 square miles, or nearly 800,000 acres of land.
On the day designated in the act, the third Monday in March, 1823, an election was held at the house of James G. Swinerton. This was situated about six miles southwest of the present city of Jacksonville.
At this election Milton Ladd, member of the Legislature from Johnston County, was chosen Judge of Probate Court, and was also appointed Clerk of Circuit Court. Dennis Rockwell was appointed Recorder. Mr. Ladd made one visit to Morgan County and declined the office to which he was elected. Dennis Rockwell was then appointed clerk and Aaron Wilson judge. The county was attached to the first judicial district, of which John Reynolds (afterwards elected Governor in 1830) was judge. Jonathan Piper, Stephen Pierce, James Deaton, John Clark, Daniel Lieb, Thomas Arnett, Samuel Bristow, Equillar Hall, David Blain, John Green, Joseph Buchanan, and Seymore Kelley, were appointed justices of the peace, and Johnson Shelton surveyor. Of all these Equillar Hall is probably the only survivor. At the election for county officers, Daniel Lieb, Peter Conover, and Samuel Bristow, were chosen county commissioners, and William B. Green, sheriff. Dennis Rockwell was subsequently appointed clerk of this court. The house of Mr. Swinerton was chosen as the temporary seat of justice, and the first court held there. The first Circuit Court was held by Judge John Rey- nolds, on the third Monday of April, following the election, in an old log cabin owned by Dr Cadwell, near Mr. Swinerton's house. In 1822, the territory of which Morgan County was composed was attached to the senatorial district composed of Greene and Pike Counties, and of the rep- resentative district composing Greene County. Dr. George Cadwell was elected to the Senate, and Archibald Job, of Beardstown, to the House
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
of Representatives. "I question," says Judge Thomas, in a paper read before the Old Settlers' Association, "if two better men for the positions could have been found in the district, for integrity, honesty, and good sound sense, they have not been equaled by any of their successors.'
At the election in 1824, Thomas Carlin (elected Governor in 1836.) and Isaac N. Piggott (for many years a resident of St. Louis, and, if now living, over ninety years of age) were candidates for the Senate. Carlin obtained the certificate of election, but Piggott contested his right, and, upon investigation, the question was referred back to the people, and a new election was the result. Carlin was elected by a decisive majority. Mr. Job was re-elected to the House.
But few sessions of court were held at Mr. Swinerton's. It will be noticed in reading the act creating the county that Samuel Bristow, John Clark, and Henry Fahnestock were appointed a committee to fix upon a temporary seat of justice for Morgan County. They selected a place called " Olmstead's Mounds," about eight miles west of the present city of Jacksonville. By an act passed January 6, 1825, John Howard, Abraham Pickett, and John T. Lusk, of Madison County, were appointed commissioners to fix upon a permanent seat of justice for the county. They were required to meet at the house of James Deaton on the first Monday of March, and, after being duly sworn, were "to locate the permanent seat of justice of said county at the most eligible place, as near the center of the territory as practicable, having due regard to the present and future population."
These commissioners met on the day appointed, and settled the present site of the city. The land then belonged to the government, but early the next day was purchased by Thomas Arnett and Isaac Dial at private sale for one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. It was in sections 20 and 21, Mr. Arnett purchasing. the former section, and Mr. Dial the latter. On the 10th of March they laid out a town thereon, giving to the county for the use of public buildings forty acres. There was living on the town site a man named Cox, a hatter by trade, who occupied a cabin which stood a little to the northeast of the present fountain in the public square. This cabin he soon after sold to Mr. Thomas Carson, who thereby became an early resident of the county seat. He was the first tavern-keeper therein, and was well known.
The first term of the Circuit Court met in the new seat of justice on Tuesday after the second Monday in May, 1825. John S. Sawyer was circuit judge, Dennis Rockwell clerk, and Joseph M. Fairfield sheriff. A two-story frame court house was soon built. It stood on the northwest part of the square, and was placed on round blocks. Its cost was about four hundred and fifty dollars. It was thirty by forty feet square. In the Summer of 1825, the few records of the county were brought from Olmstead's Mound to the court house and placed therein. . This court house remained in use until the night of December 6, 1827, when, with all its contents, it was destroyed by fire. The loss was not great, how- ever, as the records were few, and the recorder, Dennis Rockwell, had by chance taken the record of deeds to his house for some purpose, thereby saving it.
The jail was constructed of square timbers, firmly fastened together, and was a rather unsafe depository for prisoners. It stood on a lot of
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
ground north of the square, and was used until the completion of the second jail in 1833.
The election in August, 1826, was fiercely contested between Ninian Edwards and Thomas C. Sloe for governor, and Daniel P. Cook and Joseph Duncan for Congress. Edwards and Duncan, though of different political parties, were elected by small majorities. Mr. Job was returned to the State Senate from the Counties of Morgan, Schuyler, Fulton, Peoria, and Adams ; and John Leeper and Daniel Lieb were sent to the House of Representatives from Morgan County.
It has been stated in these pages that Morgan County included what is now Cass and Scott Counties. Its eastern boundary has been but little if any changed since the act of creation in January, 1823. On February . 12, 1835, the boundary question between the Counties of Sangamon and Morgan was definitely settled by an act of legislature, the line remaining the same until this day. The commissioners appointed were William Weatherford, Harvey Rigger, and John R. Tilts. They occupied in this duty April 14, 15, 16, and 17, 1835, and established the line by stone pillars set in the ground one mile apart.
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Cass County was set off in 1837; Scott County in 1839. The causes which led to the formation of these two counties were various. The residents of Cass County claimed that they did not have a fair and equal representation in the needs of the principal parts of the county ; that a clique or ring was formed against them. Other reasons were also given. The county was large and would admit of division, and its interests would be advanced, argued many. One of the most potent reasons, especially in the formation of Scott County, was the desire among many towns to become county seats. Almost every western town has at some period of its existence aspired to become a county seat, and had, in its own opinion, unanswerable reasons in support of its aspirations. This, without doubt, had much to do in the creation of these two counties, as the towns of Beardstown and Virginia in the territory of one, and Winchester in the other, were urgent aspirants for such positions. The people living near the towns were in sympathy with them, and the representatives from the county were instructed by their constituents to. foster a bill looking to the division. Another reason was argued, and with a good emphasis, in that part comprising Cass County -the remote- ness of the county seat. This fact, with the large extent of territory in Morgan County, was a good reason for the division.
During the session of the General Assembly of 1836-7, a bill for the division of Morgan County was introduced in that body, and became a law, being approved March 3, 1837. Its main provisions are as follows:
* " All that tract of land within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning at a point in the center of the main channel of the Illinois River, where a line running through the center of township 17 north intersects the same in range 13 west; thence east with said line to the east side of the County of Morgan ; from thence north to the center of the main channel of the Sangamon River; thence down said river to the center of the main channel of the Illinois River ; thence down said river to the place of beginning, shall constitute a county, and shall be named Cass.'
There were certain conditions named in the act before this boundary
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
could be established. The people comprising the County of Morgan were to meet at their respective voting places on the third Monday in April, and vote on the question of division. Should the question be decided in the affirmative, the voters in the new County of Cass were to assemble at their voting places and decide on a location for a permanent seat of justice. On the first Monday in August they were to meet again and elect their county officers. The act further provided that the owners of lots or lands where the seat of justice should be located, should donate to the county not less than fifteen acres of land, the proceeds of which, when sold, should be applied to the erection of the necessary county building. In case Beardstown should be chosen to be the county seat, the corporation was required to pay into the county treasury not less than ten thousand dollars, in installments, to be applied to the same. purpose.
The vote of the people favored the decision, and on the 12th of July following the act already quoted, an act creating the county passed the General Assembly, and became a law. It fixed the seat of justice at Beardstown, in conformity with the desire of the people, should that town comply with the conditions set forth in the first act. This last act further provided that the court house should be erected on the public square in Beardstown. The returns of the election were to be made to O. M. Long and Thomas Payne, justices in Beardstown; the school fund was to be divided between Morgan and Cass, in ratio to the population as deter- mined by the last election, and as soon as the county officers to be elected in August were qualified, the county was declared to be in complete order. Beardstown failed to comply with the requirements of the act, and a petition was presented to the legislature declaring that fact, and praying for a change from that town to Virginia. That body passed an act on March 2, 1839, removing the seat of justice to Virginia. It was, however, again taken to Beardstown, and again brought to Virginia, where it now exists. The territory embraced in Cass County comprises 239,579 acres, and for its area is one of the most valuable counties in the State.
On February 16, 1839, the act forming the County of Scott passed the General Assembly. Its boundaries were defined, provision was made for holding an election for county officers, and for dividing the school fund between .Morgan and Scott Counties. An election for county officers was ordered to be held on the third Monday in March, at the town of Win- chester, and proper persons designated to receive the returns of this elec- tion. Winchester was by the same act declared to be the permanent seat of justice, provided it would erect a court house and jail. It could ex- pend for this purpose five thousand dollars, dividing that sum in the erection of the two buildings, as the county commissioners should desire. The county thus formed comprises 156,814 acres of land, and left Morgan County with its present area. The total wealth of Scott County, as assessed for the year 1877, is $3,461,588; that of Cass is $4,940,712- $8,402,300 in all.
It has been noticed that the court house built in 1825 in Morgan County, was burned in 1827-ten years before the erection of Cass County. This fire occurred on the night of December 6th, and on the 17th a special meeting of the county commissioners was called. At
258
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
this meeting James Deaton and Allen Q. Lindsey were present, James Gillham, the remaining member of the board, absent. The first record of this court after the fire, and the first now preserved, reads as follows : ".Whereas, on the night of the 6th instant the court house of this county, together with the office of the clerk of the Circuit and County Commissioners' Courts, and all the papers and records of said offices, were destroyed by fire. It is ordered by this court that the county treasurer pay to the order of Dennis Rockwell, clerk of this court, out of the first money received into the treasury, fifty dollars in specie, for the purpose of purchasing books and stationery for the use of the county offices." Many persons had purchased lots of the county, and to those whose deeds were destroyed, or not recorded in the book mentioned as preserved from the fire, the commissioners were called upon to give new deeds, which they in all cases did, the giving of these papers being among the first acts of the County Court.
The law at this time required all tavern-keepers and merchants to obtain a license from the County Court. The former class had their rates of charges established by this court, as also were those of the keepers of ferries. The first tavern-keeper in Jacksonville, and with but little doubt the first in Morgan County, was Mr. Thomas Carson, already mentioned as an early resident on that town site. His rates of charges, if they were affixed, are not now known ; but they probably differed but little from those of Mr. George M. Richards, the first tavern-keeper in the county whose license is preserved. It bears date January 14, 1828. He paid into the county treasury five dollars, and gave a bond, with Thomas Luttrell as security. The following were his rates, as they appear in the county records :
For rum, per half-pint, 25
cents.
For brandy, per half-pint,
25 cents.
For gin, per half-pint,
25 cents.
For wine, per half-pint,
25 cents.
For whisky, per half-pint,
12₺ cents.
For meal of victuals,
25 cents.
For lodging,
For horse feed,
12 cents. 64 cents.
For keeping horse over night, -
25 cents.
These items were commonly included in all tavern licenses, save that " cordial " was afterwards added at 25 cents per half-pint, and these were the common charges allowed. It is quite interesting to note these old transactions, the same in all counties in the West, and to note the various changes therein during succeeding years. The use of ardent spirits gradually was taken from the license, and now no charges whatever are specified, that being left to the discretion of the landlord. It would have been almost as discretionary had the County Court regulated the price of merchandise. Such attempts are almost always fallacious, as the laws of demand and supply invariably govern such transactions.
The care of the poor, review of roads, justices' districts, and such matters, engaged the attention of the County Court at its first sessions. As the county increased in population, its division into smaller road and justices" districts was made. The first juries lists are now lost. The first one preserved is that drawn for the April term of court in 1828. The
259
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
grand jury was composed of the following gentlemen : William Wood, William Rodgers, Frederick Bolinger, Samuel B. Jones, David Marks, George M. Richards, Allen B. Hughes, Larkin Brown, Matthew Elder, Nathan Compton, Joshua Crow, Solomon Penny, William Miller, George Camp, William Sharon, Ira A. Hooker, William B. Schott, Thomas Cow- hick, Martin Humphries, and Thomas. Allen. Those composing the " travers " jury, as it was called, were Richard Beall, Samuel Holloway, Charles W. Horrell, Samuel Berry, Elias Williams, James Martin, Stephen Burrows, James D. Morrison, William Jarrod, Benjamin Shartzer, Peter Dew, Samuel White, David Hibbard, Thomas Wishwall, Richard P. Car- ter, John Box, John Wilson, Andrew Armstrong, James Taylor, Benjamin William Wyatt, Solomon Perkins, Samuel Matthews, and James Redman.
At the meeting of the County Court on March 4, 1828, the county was divided into seven road districts, which number was shortly greatly increased, so rapidly did the county fill with settlers. On the 6th of the same month, the court ordered the clerk to give notice that on the 10th of April following, the building of a court house would be let to responsible bidders. At first the plan was to construct a brick building, two stories high, forty feet square. On the 22d a special meeting of the commissioners was called, and the plan altered, making the building fifty feet long and forty feet wide. None of the bids offered for its construc- tion were accepted, and no contracts made that year. The next year the county commissioners were Joseph M. Fairfield, John Wyatt, and Samuel Rogers, and at a meeting of this court on January 31, 1829, it was decided to let the work in separate bids, and these were accordingly advertised. On the 14th of March, the contracts for its construction were let ; the brick and stone work to Garrison W. Berry and Henry Robley, for $1,720 ; the carpenter work to Rice Dunbar and Henry Robley, for $1,350, and a few minor contracts to other individuals. On March 5, 1830, contracts for finishing the court house, putting in win- dows, placing window-shutters in place, with many other articles needed, was let to Rice Dunbar and Henry Blandford, for $1,250 ; for lathing and plastering to Henry Robley and Isham Dalton, for $326.62} ; for painting to John Challon, for $389, and to James .Hurst, for the floors $41. The court house was accepted by the county commissioners at their meeting on September 8, 1830. The contractors and builders were paid in install- ments, as had been agreed. The total cost, when complete, was about $4,000. The building was the first brick house in the county, and occu- pied the central square of land on the south side of State street and west of Main street. To meet the expense in the erection of this edifice, and for the county revenue, a tax was ordered levied at the meeting of March 4th, 1829, on all slaves, indentured or registered, negro or mulatto ser- vants, on pleasure carriages, on distilleries, on stock in trade, on live stock, and on all personal property, except household furniture-the ratio being one-half per cent. One per cent. was also established for the erec- tion of public buildings, in accordance with an act passed by the General Assembly.
This court house remained in use until it was superseded by the present commodious structure, completed in 1868. It had served the county thirty-eight years, and then gave way to its handsome successor. It had for some time been the desire of the citizens generally that it should
260
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
be removed from its position, and the square left for an ornament to the town. The "old court house," as it was called, was also inadequate to the increasing demands of the county, and was, when the "new court house " was erected, pulled down and the material used elsewhere. The present structure is one of the finest in the West, and is unusually safe from fire. It is constructed almost entirely of stone and iron; the first named material being obtained from the quarries at Joliet.
The old jail was built of hewed timbers, eachi was about one foot square, and every wall was made double. Between these double walls, upright pieces of timber, of the same dimensions as that used in the wall, were placed, so that if a criminal attempted to escape by cutting through the wall, these inner pieces would, when a section was cut out of one of them, drop down, and thus the process would have to be repeated until the whole would be cut away. This would take more time than any criminal could use without being detected, and it is doubtful if the pro- cess was ever attempted. At the meeting of the County Court, on .March 9, 1832, it was decided to erect a new jail, and the clerk of that court was ordered to advertise in the Illinois Patriot, for sealed proposals from builders for its construction. It was determined it should be built of brick and stone, and the contract for that part of the construction was, . at a subsequent meeting, awarded to Abram Dewitt, for about eighteen hundred dollars. The carpenter work was given to Ebenezer Miller, for nearly fifteen hundred dollars. The jail was completed in 1833, its entire cost being about thirty-five hundred dollars.
This jail was the stronghold for detaining criminals many years. It, in turn, also became unsafe through the lapse of years, and was declared unfit for use. In the spring of 1864 steps were taken for the erection of a more substantial jail. The old one was pronounced unsafe and un- comfortable by the county commissioners, who decided to erect a new one. After mature deliberation, it was decided to construct the building with iron cells, and Hon. Stephen Dunlap, a member of the court, was in- structed to proceed to Cincinnati, Ohio, with a competent mechanic, and make arrangements for its construction.
Mr. Jessee T. Newman had offered $3,000 for the old lot and jail. It was decided to accept this offer, and purchase another site. After examining various offered sites, a lot owned by Mr. John Trabue was selected and he was paid for the same $3,500. Work on the jail was soon after begun, and prosecuted until its completion. The building cost $27,500, and is yet in use.
The keeping of the county poor has always been a serious question in the management of county affairs. At first they were " farmed out," as it was termed, that is given to suitable persons to keep. These were obligated to provide a reasonable maintainance. In case the person kept was able to work, the one keeping him could obtain a partial recompense in that manner, and in addition was given an allowance from the county treasury. Minors were bound out until of age, and the person to whom they were given was required to provide for them schooling a reasonable length of time during the year. These and various methods were tried in the early days of the West, but did not at all times prove satisfactory. With all due diligence, in some cases the poor would fall into the hands of those who only desired gain by their labors, and who cared nothing for
261
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.
their moral advancement. Minors would often be mistreated and unpro- vided with the means of education, and their moral training wholly neglected.
The earliest attempts to keep this class of people by the county were made about 1840. A poor farm was established a few miles north of Jacksonville, and many of them sent there for keeping. The house was not built expressly for this purpose, having been a residence, but was used. Additions were made to it in 1847, when Joseph Halsep was superintendent, as the accommodations were not such as desired. At this time insane persons were kept by the county. Mrs. Dix, a woman who devoted her life to this unfortunate class of humanity, and whose history is given in connection with that of the Insane Asylum, elsewhere in this volume, came about this time to Morgan County and visited the poor house. Finding all classes of the poor kept together, and no provision for the insane, she vigorously set to work to remedy the evil. She visited the county commissioners and urgently importuned them to sell the property and purchase elsewhere. She selected a site just east of the city, and succeeded in her purpose. On July 12, 1847, James H. Linton was appointed agent, on behalf of the county, to purchase fourteen acres at a price not to exceed fifty dollars per acre. Before the purchase was made the number of acres was increased to thirty. On September 10th the old poor house, and property belonging thereto, was ordered to be sold. An addition to the new location was purchased of W. B. Warren, in 1854, for four thousand dollars. In accordance with the views of Mrs. Dix, a building for the use and care of the insane was erected, in addition to the building intended for the paupers, and new and improved methods adopted in the treatment of all.
This farm was occupied until 1867. The city's growth had reached the grounds, and advantageous offers were made to the county for the property. As the population of the county had increased, the number of poor augmented until more land and more accommodations were neces- sary. Land adjoining the farm was too valuable for such purposes, and the county commissioners decided to sell the property, and, by going farther from the city, purchase more land. On January 27, 1860, in accordance with an order of this court, the county farm, and all property therewith, was sold at public sale to Joseph R. Askew and John T. Springer for $13,375. These persons soon after laid the farm out in town lots, and as such it is now known as Askew and Springer's addition to Jacksonville. This sale necessitated a new location. The most eligible site, offering timber for fuel, was the farm of Cornelius Goltra, about three miles northwest of the city. This farm, of two hundred acres, was pur- chased for about $13,000, and the present poor house built thereon. It is a good structure, capable of accommodating all those who may call upon the county for keeping, and is excellently managed. In ordinary years the farm bears a large share of the expense, and furnishes employ- ment to all inmates able to work.
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