USA > Illinois > Rock Island County > Past and present of Rock Island County, Ill., containing a history of the county-its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late Rebellion, portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 14
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1877
In June, 1834, the County was laid off into two election precincts, viz : the Upper and the Lower ; the former to commence at the mouth of the Marias d'Ogee slough, and continue as low down as Henry McNeal's house, the election to be held at the house of Walter Phillips ; the latter com- mencing at Henry McNeal's, and to continue down as low as the County line, the election to be held at Farnhamsburg, at the house owned by Davenport and Farnham. The Judges appointed in the first precinct were Asaph Wells, James Haskell and Thomas L. Galpin ; in the second, Joel Wells, Sr., William Brashar and William Carr.
THE SEAT OF JUSTICE.
An act of the Legislature establishing a permanent seat of justice for Rock Island County, was passed in the winter of 1834-5. It appointed the following named persons Commissioners to locate the same, viz : William Bennet, Peter Butler and John G. Sanborn. In June, 1835, they proceeded to select the town of Stephenson, which has remained the county seat ever since, although the names of both the old places have long since been absorbed in the corporation of Rock Island.
When Stephenson was selected as the county seat, it was a town only in prospect. It had not yet been laid out. The Commissioners made their report on the 8th of June, 1835, and it was "ordered that Charles R. Ben- net be appointed to survey the town of Stephenson, in Rock Island County,
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IIISTORY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.
as soon as practicable." It was further " ordered that one-third of the town lots be offered for sale on the 11th day of July next, and that the same be published three times in the . St. Louis Republican, the Alton Spectator, the Northwestern Gazette and the Galena Advertiser."
The town of Stephenson was laid out and the plat recorded July 10, 1835, Charles R. Bennet, surveyor. The plat bears the certificate of Joseph Conway, County Commissioners' Clerk. It comprised twenty blocks besides the public square on which the County Court House now stands. The lots were laid out 80 feet front by 150 feet deep. The northwest frac- tional quarter of section 35, containing 61.95 acres, on which the town of Stephenson was laid out, was entered by the County Commissioners, Col. George Davenport, John W. Spencer and John Vanatta, for purposes of a county seat, May 11, 1836. The Land Office for this district was then at Galena.
On the 7th of September, 1835, it was "ordered that Joseph Conway be authorized to get two seals, one for the Circuit Court of Rock Island County, and one for the County Commissioners' Court of Rock Island County, the device to be a sheaf of wheat and a plough."
By act of the County Commissioners, the courts were removed from Farnhamsburg to Stephenson in November, 1835.
The Court ordered a tax of one-half per cent. to be levied " on slaves or indentured negro or mulatto servants, pleasure carriages, distilleries, horses, mules, cattle, watches and their appendages, and on household furni- ture, clocks, wagons, carts, sheep and town lots."
The reference to slaves in the above reminds us that, in those days, some of the officers at the garrison of Fort Armstrong held slaves or "indentured negro servants." This custom, though not sanctioned by the constitution and laws of the state of Illinois, was admitted under the old territorial laws, enacted when Illinois was a part of the Territory of Indiana. Laws were then enacted permitting slaves to be introduced as " indentured servants," and under these laws many were admitted into the Territory. In 1810, there were 168 slaves in Illinois ; in 1820, they had increased to 917; in 1830, they had decreased to 746. About this time Dred Scott was brought to Fort Armstrong, and was kept as a slave or indentured servant by Dr. Emmerson, surgeon of the garrison. When the fort was evacuated in 1836, he went with the troops to Fort Snelling, and there proceedings were instituted which resulted in the celebrated " Dred Scott Decision " of the Supreme Court of the United States. Scott died in Davenport in 1843.
In 1829 a number of slaves were held for a short time in Rock Island County, on a plantation just above Moline. A man whose name I have not been able to ascertain, came here from Louisiana with about seventy-five slaves. His purpose in bringing them here was to give them their freedom and settle them on land in this section ; but they preferred to return to Louisiana, and did so, after remaining here about a year.
At the December term of the County Commissioners' Court, in 1834, the sheriff, Benjamin F. Pike, reported the tax collections of the County to be $53.723 cents. He paid into the treasury $49.50, and kept the balance for commission and expenses.
COUNTY BUILDINGS.
John Barrell's house in Farnhamsburg, where the first county business was transacted, and which was court house, post-office and hotel, was the
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HISTORY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.
first that was built on the main land in this part of Illinois. It was built by Davenport and Farnham, in 1826.
FIRST JAIL .- The first jail in Stephenson was built in 1836. The con- tract for building it was given to John W. Spencer, October 20, 1835. It was finished and delivered over to the County, June 10, 1836. This jail was originally a hewed log building, two stories high and twenty-two feet square. The brick portion of the structure, afterwards added, was built by Daniel Doty, in 1839. He employed W. H. Sage and J. M. Bellows to lay the brick. . It stood on lot No. 5, in block No. 15, in the old town, till it was sold to a German, who converted the brick part of it into a residence.
It was in this building that the murderers of Col. Davenport were con- fined, and from which they were led forth to expiate their crimes upon the gallows on the morning of October 29, 1845. Birch and Baxter were also confined here; the former took a change of venue to Warren County, where he broke jail and escaped. Baxter escaped the gallows on the ground of having had no willtul intention to take the life of his benefactor; for while he laid the plot for the robbery of Col. Davenport's house and planned with the robbers to be ready to enter it on that memorable Fourth of July, he did it thinking that the house would be left alone. But in that he was dis- appointed; all the family had gone to the celebration except Col. Daven- port. When the robbers entered they unexpectedly found him in the house, and to make sure of escaping with their plunder, murdered him. Baxter was sentenced to the penitentiary for life, but was afterwards pardoned out and left the country.
THE COURT HOUSE .- The first step towards the erection of the present Court House was taken in April, 1836, when a contract was entered into with Jonah H. Case to furnish 200,000 bricks at eight dollars a thousand. In June the contract was let for the building to Samuel Smith for $10,500, to be completed December 1, 1837. The building is a square brick struc- ture, two stories high with a central tower or cupola, and was a very credit- able edifice for the county considering the time it was built. It stands on the square reserved for that purpose when the town was laid out. and which at no very distant day will, in all probability, be ornamented with a more elegant and costly temple of justice. If the walls of that old court house. could relate the transactions and events which have transpired within them during the forty years they have been standing, it would be a history worth recording.
The new jail building, containing the Circuit Clerk's, Recorder's and County Clerk's offices, and the Sheriff's residence, was built in 1857. It is a substantial structure of brick and stone, and cost the county about $60,000.
FIRST FERRIES.
In looking over the records we find that licenses for ferries were granted as follows: To George Davenport and Joshua Vanrnff, for a ferry across Rock River. March, 1834; at the same date to George Davenport for a ferry across the Slough, and to Rinnah Wells for a ferry also across Rock River.
Jonah H. Case. Antoine Le Claire and W. F. Brashar were granted a license to run a ferry across the Mississippi to the Iowa shore, in March, 1835.
Dalena
SIM hudlick MAYOR OF MOLINE
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HISTORY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.
Nathaniel Belcher was granted a license to establish a ferry across the Mississippi at Port Byron, in March, 1837.
In October, 1837, a ferry feud had arisen; John Wilson, owner of the main ferry between Stephenson and the Iowa shore, made an application to the county commissioners for an "order vacating Henry Powers' ferry." The order was granted in 1838 "for the insufficiency of his boats, the want of hands, and for ferrying beyond his limits."
FIRST HOTELS.
The records also furnish the following respecting the first licenses for hotels: To Jonalı H. Case, July, 1833. His tavern was the first licensed within the corporate limits of Rock Island, though travelers had been kept at Barrell's house in Farnhamsburg.
In June, 1836, Jonathan Buffum was licensed to keep a tavern in Stephenson. At the same session of the court, a tavern license was also granted to H. Powers & Co., who built the old Rock Island House, which was torn down in 1875, to make room for the present commodious brick structure-the Rock Island House, having been in existence as a hotel for over forty years.
In issuing their licenses the county commissioners fixed the prices for all kinds of liquors sold, and the rates of fare both " for man and beast."
FIRST MARRIAGES.
The first marriage solemnized in the county, so far as the records show, was by John W. Spencer, one of the county commissioners, the parties be- ing James L. Burtis and Angeline Beardsley. The license was issued July 13, 1833, and the marriage ceremony immediately followed.
The second license was issued to Benjamin Goble and Barbary Vandruff, August 22, 1833. Mr. Goble still lives on Vandruff's Island.
The third was issued April 1, 1834, to Adrian H. Davenport and Har- riet Sibley, who were married the same day by Col. George Davenport, county commissioner.
For the first seven years of the county's legal existence, the issue of marriage licenses stood as follows: In 1833, two; in 1834, three; in 1835, six; in 1836, twenty-one; in 1837, eleven; in 1838, twenty-three; in 1839, twenty-eight; in 1840, thirty-three. Now they average over one for every day in the year, the total number for forty-three years being 9,679, an aver- age of 225 yearly for the period covered.
George L. Davenport, Esq., now residing in the city of Davenport, was the first white child born in this section of country. He was born on the island in 1817, and is the eldest son of Col. George Davenport.
THE CIRCUIT COURT. 4
On the 28th day of April, 1834, being the fourth Monday in said month, Hon. Richard M. Young, to whom had been allotted the Fifth Jul- dicial Circuit of Illinois, appeared at the house of John Barrell, in Rock Island County, and took his seat; whereupon a Circuit Court was held for said county of Rock Island. The following were the officers of the court: Richard M. Young, Judge; Joseph Conway, Clerk; Benjamin F. Pike, Sheriff, and Thomas Ford, State's Attorney.
10
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HISTORY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.
The Fifth Judicial Circuit then comprised the counties of Cook, La- > Salle, Putnam, Peoria, Fulton, Schuyler, Adams, Hancock, McDonough, Knox. Warren, Jo Daviess, Mercer, Henry and Rock Island.
FIRST GRAND JURY .- The first Grand Jury was empanneled in April, 1834, and consisted of the following named persons: Joel Wells, Jr., fore- man; Robert Simms, William Carr, William T. Brashar, Calvin Spencer, Henry McNeal. James L. Burtis, S. Burtis, Sr., James H. Coleman, John D. Richy, Martin W. Smith, Charles H. Simpson, Henry Watchtler, Nathan . Smith. Roswell H. Spencer, William Thompson, and Eliphalet T. Cook.
FIRST PETIT JURY .- Appointed at a special term of the County Com- missioners' Court, preparatory to the first session of the Circuit Court: James Thompson, W. Upham, Benjamin Peeler, Pleasant Peeler, John Vanatta, John Vanwinkle, William Porter, John F. Griffin, Joel Wells, Sr., John McMurtry, James Harbell, Thomas Davis, John Neff, Walter Phillips, H. E. W. East, Marmaduke S. Davenport, Baptiste L. Braugh, Phillip Hambaugh, Antoine Gokey, Lambert Luphierre, M. Ferguson. James Cruse, and Messrs. Barton and Wolf.
EARLY ATTORNEYS .- Among the attorneys who practiced in the first courts, we find the names of Thomas Ford, J. Turney, William Smith, G. W. P. Maxwell, J. M. Strode, Cyrus Walker, and Benjamin Mills. Added to this list in 1835, we find O. H. Browning, of Quincy, and Judge James Grant, of Davenport; and later, the names of Southwick, Reynolds, Philleo, McGee, Eneas, and Hamstead; and later still, those of Curtis, R. J. Har- vey, and Judge J. Wilson Drury, who was admitted to the bar here and began practice April 1, 1839.
COUNTY OFFICIAL REGISTER.
Under this head we give a summary record of the principal officers who have served the county from its organization in 1833 to the present time.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
1833 .- George Davenport, John W. Spencer, George W. Harlan.
At the next election the following named were chosen: George Daven- port, John W. Spencer, John Vanatta.
May 5, 1836, John S. Miller was elected in the place of John Vanatta, resigned.
On the first Monday in August, 1836, the following were elected: John W. Spencer, John S. Miller, Lucius Wells.
On the first Monday in August, 1838, the election was as follows: Nathaniel Belcher, Jacob Coleman, Lemuel Andrews.
On the first Monday in August, 1840, Adolphus Dunlap was elected in place of Jacob Coleman.
On the first Monday in August, 1841, John R. Taylor was elected in place of Nathaniel Belcher.
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HISTORY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.
On the first Monday in August, 1842, George S. Moore was elected in place of Lemnel Andrews.
On the first Monday in August, 1843, John Kistler was elected in place of Adolphus Dunlap.
On the first Monday in August, 1844, William L. Lee was elected in place of John R. Taylor.
On the first Monday in August, 1845, Medad W. Wright was elected in place of George S. Moore.
On the first Monday in August, 1846, Samuel Sloan was elected in ' place of John Kistler.
On the first Monday in August, 1847, Jacob Starr was elected in place of William L. Lee.
On the first Monday in August, 1848, T. C. Temple was elected in place of M. W. Wright. And that was the end of the County Commis- sioners.
PROBATE JUSTICES.
Co-existent with the County Commissioner system under the Consti- tution of 1818, were the Probate Justices, who attended to all probate business and the settlement of wills and estates. This office was held by Harmon G .. Reynolds from November, 1837 (the earliest record to be found), till September, 1847. He was succeeded by Ira O. Wilkinson, who held to December, 1849, when the new constitution took effect, and established a County Court, composed of a County Judge and two Associates.
COUNTY JUDGES AND ASSOCIATES.
The Constitution of 1848 provided that in counties not adopting town- ship organization, the county business should be transacted by a board, consisting of a County. Judge and two Associate Justices. These three officers had equal voice in county matters, but the associates had nothing whatever to do in probate business. The first board, elected November 6, 1849, was as follows : John W. Spencer, County Judge ; T. J. Robinson and James Weaverling, Associate Justices.
November 6, 1852, William Bailey was elected County Judge, in place of John W. Spencer, resigned.
At the election in November, 1853, the following board was elected : John M. Gould, County Judge ; George E. Holmes and John Kistler, Associate Justices.
These gentlemen held the office till April, 1859, when the system under which they acted was superceded by township organization. This, however, did not abrogate the county judgeship, which still continues an office under the new constitution for the transaction of probate businesss.
COUNTY JUDGES.
Judge Gould continued in office till the end of his term, of four years, November, 1857.
In November, 1857, Cornelius Lynde was elected and served four years, to November, 1861.
In November, 1861, Joseph B. Danforth, Sr., was elected and served four years, to November, 1865.
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HISTORY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.
In November, 1865, John M. Wilson was elected and served till his death, in the winter of 1871.
In April, 1871, S. S. Guyer was elected to fill the unexpired term of John M. Wilson, deceased.
In November, 1873, S. S. Guyer was re-elected, and is the present County Judge.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
The first Board of Supervisors was organized June 29, 1857. We have not space for the full boards for twenty years, but give the list of chairmen to the present time, as follows :
1857-R. M. Marshall, Rock Island.|1866-Charles Atkinson, Moline.
1858-D. S. Hobart, Port Byron. 1867-J. L. Perkins, Cordova.
1859 -D. S. Hobart, Port Byron. 1868-J. L. Perkins, Cordova.
1860-T. J. Robinson, Rock Island. 1869-E. H. Johnson, Port Byron.
1861-T. J. Robinson. Rock Island. 1862-S. W. Wheelock, Moline.
1870-James W. Ballard, Andalusia.
1871-John Buffum, Andalusia.
1863-S. W. Wheelock, Moline.
1872-R. M. Grenell, Cordova.
1864-J. Q. Wynkoop, Cordova.
1865 -- B. H. Kimball, Rock Island.
1873-6-R. M. Grenell, Cordova. 1877-John Buffum, Andalusia.
COUNTY TREASURERS.
Joel Wells, from 1833 to 1836; Patrick Gregg, from 1836 to 1843 ; Nathaniel Belcher, from 1843 to 1845 ; D. J. Lloyd, appointed May, 1845, vice Belcher, resigned ; Nathaniel Belcher, elected August, 1845, and held to 1847 ; William Bell, from 1847 to 1849; William Holloway, from 1849 to 1851 ; A. K. Philleo, from 1851 to 1853 ; Robert T. Shaw, from 1853 to 1857 ; Z. Cook, from 1857 to 1859: A. L. Wait, from 1859 to 1865 ; H. F. Thomas, from 1865 to 1869; David O. Reid, from 1869 to 1873; Samuel R. Porter, from 1873 to 1877.
COUNTY CLERKS.
Joseph Conway, from 1833 to 1843: Samuel Brown, from 1843 to 1844; Wm. Vandever, from 1844 to 1847; Jeremiah Chamberlain, from 1847 to 1849; Joseph Conet, from 1849 to 1853; A. M. Loop, from No- vember, 1853 to 1854-resigned; J. B. Hawley, appointed by County Com- missioners, served till January, 1855; elected January, 1855, and served till December, 1865; James M. Beardsley, from December 5, 1865, to December 3, 1873; John V. Cook, from 1873 to 1877.
SHERIFFS.
1833-Benjamin F. Pike. 1835-Michael Bartlett.
1837 -- Charles Eames. 1839-Lucins Wells. 1841-Lemuel Andrews.
1843-Lemuel Andrews. 1845-Lemuel Andrews.
1847 -- Samuel S. Guyer. 1849-Samuel S. Guyer. 1851-T. B. Gorton.
1853-A. F. Swander. 1855-T. B. Gorton. 1857-E. M. Beardsley. 1859-M. D. Merrill.
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HISTORY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.
1861-David Hawes. 1871-William Payne.
1863-C. A. Mclaughlin.
1873-Angust Hussing.
1865-M. D. Merrill.
1875-Josiah L. Perkins.
1867-John Peetz.
1877-Josiah L. Perkins.
1869-William Drury.
COUNTY SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS.
Eliphalet Cook, 1837; Joel Thompson, 1840; Miles W. Conway, "1841 to 1846; S. L. Brettan, 1846; A. F. Cutler, 1847 to 1850; M. B. Osborn, 1850 to 1853; J. W. Churchill, 1853 to 1854; George W. Pleasant, 1854 to 1857; R. W. Grenell, 1857 to 1860; C. M. Hardy, 1860 to 1863; William H. Gest, 1863 to 1869; M. M. Sturgeon, 1869 to 1877.
CIRCUIT JUDGES.
Richard M. Young, 1834; Sidney Breese, 1835; Thomas Ford, 1836; Dan. Stone, 1837; Thomas C. Brown, 1841; Benjamin R. Sheldon, 1849; Wm. Kellogg, 1850; Ira O. Wilkinson, 1851; H. M. Wead. May term, 1853; Ira O. Wilkinson, November term, 1853, and till 1855; Onslow Peters, 1855; J. Wilson Drury, March and June terms, 1856; Benjamin R. Sheldon, November term, 1856; J. Wilson Drury, 1857; John H. Howe, 1860; Ira O. Wilkinson, 1861; George W. Pleasant, present Judge, 1867.
CIRCUIT CLERKS.
1834-Joseph Conway.
1849-Frazer Wilson.
1857-Quincy McNeal.
1861-E. H. Bowman.
1865-Samuel P. Hodges. 1872-George D. Gould 1876-Levi F. Harson.
STATES ATTORNEYS.
Thomas Ford, 1834; James Grant, 1835; Edward Southwick, 1837; Shelton S. Hall, 1840; Wm. Kellogg, acting as States Attorney for Shelton S. Hall, 1841; Shelton S. Hall, 1842; Joseph B. Wells, 1843; Wm. Turner, 1845; Harmon G. Reynolds, pro tem., by appointment, 1850; Henry B. Stillman, 1851; Wm. F. Miller, 1853; George W. Pleasant, pro tem., Jime term, 1956; Ira O. Wilkinson, pro tem., November term, 1856; John B. Hawley, 1857; Charles C. Wilson, 1865; O. R. Mock, 1868; E. E. Par- menter, 1872 and 1876, present States Attorney.
ROCK ISLAND ARMORY AND ARSENAL.
1
The movement for the establishment of a Western Arsenal on Rock Island was begun as early as 1839, in which year it was made the object of a special survey and the subject of a report to the War Department, by Major Bell, of the Ordnance Department, as a feasible and desirable loca- tion. In 1843 its advantages for that purpose were reported to Congress by a Commissioner appointed by the President under the provisions of an act of Congress approved September 9, 1841. At a later date it was also the subject of a recommendation to the Government for the same public use.
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HISTORY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.
It was not until the summer of 1861 that the initial step was taken by the citizens of Rock Island looking to the accomplishment of this object. On the first day of July, of that year, a petition addressed to the Senators and representatives in Congress was drawn up by the following committee of the citizens of Rock Island, viz .: N. B. Buford, J. Wilson Drury, Ira O. Wilkinson, Ben. Harper, Reuben Hatch, George Mixter, J. B. Danforth, Jr., and P. L. Cable, asking Congress to establish a National Armory and Arsenal on Rock Island, and setting forth the special advantages of the site for such an establishment.
By the action of these gentlemen another committee of leading citizens of the three cities, Rock Island, Moline and Davenport, was appointed, con- sisting of the following named persons: Ira O. Wilkinson, N. B. Buford, H. C. Connelly, J. Wilson Drury and Bailey Davenport, of Rock Island; W. H. F. Gurley, George L. Davenport and G. M. French, of Davenport; and C. Atkinson and P. R. Reed, of Moline. These gentlemen memorialized Congress in an ably prepared pamphlet, with a map of this locality, upon the claims and advantages of Rock Island as the site for the proposed West- ern Arsenal and Armory.
This memorial sets forth that a new Armory and Arsenal, for the man- ufacture, safe keeping and distribution of arms and munitions of war, are of pressing national necessity, demanded alike by the present wants and future requirements of the government, and that the preponderating growth of the Northwest, as well as the absence of any such establishment within its limits, indicate that such an Armory should be located upon the upper Mis- sissippi. Coming directly to the claims of Rock Island, the memorialists say: "Believing that Rock Island, in the State of Illinois, in the centrality and safety of its geographical position, the facilities it affords for transporta- tion to and from other parts of the country, the cheapness and abundance of its motive power and the materials used in the manufacture of arms, in the supply and cheapness of labor and food, in the healthfulness, spacious- ness and general eligibility of the site, and the possession and ownership thereof by the government free of cost or expense-enjoys advantages equal, if not superior, to those possessed by any other place in the Northwest for the location of such an establishment -- your memorialists would respectfully ask your attention to a brief notice of these advantages." The advantages are set forth in the ten or twelve pages which follow with great force and cogency of argument. In this document we find a report of the action of the Iowa Legislature and of the anthorities of Illinois on the subject, and a certificate of the government agent in charge of the Island.
JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF THE IOWA LEGISLATURE.
"Be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Iowa, That the Senators in Congress from this State be requested to use their utmost exertions to procure the establishment, at the earliest possible time, by the government of the United States, of an Arsenal and Armory, for the distribution of arms to the States of the Northwest, on the island of Rock Island, in the State of Illinois.
"Resolved, That the Secretary of State be requested to forward to each of the Senators and Representatives in Congress a copy of these reso- lutions."
Approved March 24, 1861.
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HISTORY OF ROCK ISLAND COUNTY.
No session of the Legislature of Illinois had been held immediately prior to this action, but Governor Yates and the other State officers, both civil and military, addressed a letter to the Secretary of War, urging the location of the Armory upon Rock Island.
CERTIFICATE FROM THE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
" I, T. J. Pickett, Government Agent for the island of Rock Island, hereby certify that the lands owned by the government on said island are free from the claims of squatters, and that the only occupants thereon are eight in number, who hold leases under and acknowledge themselves tenants of said government, in which lease it is specifically agreed that the lessors are to vacate the premises in thirty days from the date of receiving notice requiring them to leave.
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