USA > Illinois > Jo Daviess County > The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, 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 history of the Northwest, history of Illinois Constitution of the United States > Part 29
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Henry Gratiot, Jesse W. Shull and Michael Finley were designated to act as judges of elections in this precinct.
It may be of interest to the reader to know something of the territory embraced in these three precincts-to know the beginning and terminus of their several lines, and the location of the several places named in their bound- aries. Fifty-one years, almost, have come and gone since these precincts were established. The ravages of these years have blotted out many land- marks once familiar to the people, and, while the names of such places as " Vanmatre's old furnace," "Lott's establishment," etc., are still familiar to them, of many with whiom the writer talked, the fewest number could tell where they were located. 'l'o re-establish these old places in the minds of the public, and preserve them to posterity as a part of the history of Jo
H. B. Hunt HANOVER TP.
OF THE
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HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.
Daviess County, especial labor and inquiry have been exerted to fix the locations that are almost lost.
Lockwood's furnace was situated at the junction of the east branch with Fever or Galena River.
Foley's place was in Vinegar Hill Township, near the Wisconsin state line.
Lott's establishment is supposed to have been on Wolf Creek.
Chandler's Fort was about ten miles beyond Gratiot's Grove (probably to the northeast), and about twenty-five miles from Galena.
Vanmatre's old furnace was on Apple River, near the present site of the village of Elizabeth, and probably at what was known in early times as Georgetown.
The same session of the Commissioners Court that erected the three original voting precincts also ordered an election to be held on the first Monday in August, 1827, for the choice of three justices of the peace and one constable in the Galena precinct; one justice of the peace and one con- stable in the Centreville precinct, and one justice of the peace and one constable in the Shullsburg precinct. The court also ordered that, in the Galena precinct, the election should be held at the house of John S. Miller, and in the Shullsburgh precinct at the house of Jesse W. Shull. The voting place in the Centreville precinct was not named. The polls were ordered to be opened at ten o'clock in the morning, and to be kept open until four o'clock in the afternoon.
A careful examination of subsequent entries on the commissioners' record fails to show who were elected justices of the peace at that election. Among the old bonds on file in the county clerk's office, there are three bonds made respectively by William T. Managan, George H. Eymer and William Troy, who were elected as constables at the August election-but not the scratcli of a pen to show who were elected as justices of the peace.
Managan's bond, in the sum of $500, with Duke L. Smith and L. P. Vosburg, was filed October 30, 1827. George H. Eymer's bond, in the same sum, John S. Miller and John Foley, sureties, was filed October 11, 1827, and Troy's bond, in the same sum, with John Furlong and John Foley as bondsmen, was also filed October 11, 1827-the two last named being the first constables to qualify and enter upon a discharge of their duties as such officers.
From the fact that the first term of Circuit Court held in the county was held by justices of the peace-John Connolly, Hugh R. Coulter and Abner Field, as judges, we are led to the conclusion that these were among the five justices ordered to be elected by the County Commissioners Court at their session, July 23, 1827, the order regulating which has already been quoted. Mr. John Lorrain says in his "History of Jo Daviess County," prepared in the Centennial year :
In 1828, John Connolly, H. R. Coulter, Abner Field and James Harris were elected justices of the peace; Wm. Risley, county treasurer; Abner Field, clerk, and John Foley, sheriff, but on account of his not getting his certificate of election to Vandalia in thirty days, according to law, he was not confirmed, but the records show that he acted as such.
The same authority says further that " the first circuit court held in the county commenced on the 20th day of June, 1828, and that John Connolly, Hugh R. Coulter and Abner Field, justices, presided 'as judges.' " If these " judges " were not elected on the first Monday in August, 1827, they must have been elected in the Spring of 1828. They were not elected in August,
17%
302
HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.
1828, for they sat as circuit court judges in June, 1828. So we are left to the irresistible conclusion that they were elected on the first Monday in August, 1827, and not in 1828, as stated by Mr. Lorrain. This position is strengthened by the fact that in the early days of Illinois elections for county and state officers were held in August, as they are now held in August in the State of Kentucky, and on the second Tuesday of October in Ohio and Indiana.
July 24, 1827, John S. Miller was granted a license to keep tavern for one year, on the payment of $9, and James Craig was appointed county assessor, when the court adjourned.
On the 27th of July a special session of the court was held, when the office of county clerk was declared to be vacant, because Hugh R. Coulter, the clerk, did not keep his office at the county seat, as provided by law. At the last meeting of the court, on the 24th of July, they had entered an order directing the sheriff to call on Mr. Coulter and demand of him the records, books, papers, etc., belonging to the office. There is no entry of the return made by the sheriff, but from the fact that the court proceeded to appoint Abner Field as clerk it is fair to presume that Mr. Coulter " accepted the situation," and turned over the records, etc., without much reluctance.
The next entry on the record was the appointment of D. G. Bates to serve as judge of election in the place of Moses Meeker, who had been appointed when the precinct was first created.
This session of the court also established a schedule of prices to regu- late the charges of tavern keepers. Saloons or places devoted exclusively to the sale of liquors were not so fashionable in those days as at present, but no tavern was a tavern without its bar of liquors. The first license granted for the sale of spirituous liquors appears to have been issued to P. Harkey. The standard of charges fixed by the County Commissioners Court was as follows :
For all foreign liquors
3712c 12 pint
Ale, domestic.
1734
do
Whiskey
12 1/2
do
Each meal victuals
3712
cents
Horse, per night.
50
do
Horse, per feed.
25
do
Cider or porter per quart.
25
do
Small beer, mead or Metheglin
1212
do
Lodging, per night.
1212
do
Fifty-one years of time have brought about many changes, and if the Board of Supervisors (successors to County Commissioners) were to attempt to fix the rates of charges of " tavern " keepers and retail dealers in spirit- uous liquors, in 1878, the attempt would be regarded as an unconstitutional and intolerable infringement upon the rights of man.
Friday, July 27, 1827, Abner Field was appointed to the office of county clerk, and Saturday, the 28th, he gave bonds in the sum of $1,000 for a faithful discharge of the duties of the office. John Foley and George M. Egnew were his bondsmen.
The same day (Saturday) James Craig appeared before the court, and, stating his reasons (business engagements), declined to serve as county assessor, and George M. Egnew was appointed to the vacancy.
The first account allowed against the county was to Patrick Hogan, and was in the sum of $8.123, for stationery furnished for the use of the county. John Foley was next allowed $10 for four days' services as county clerk,
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HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.
pro tem, and $2 for one day's services as election clerk, in June, when the first county election was held.
Strother Inman was allowed the sum of $50 for carrying the June elec- tion returns to the secretary of state at Vandalia, then the state capital. He was also allowed $16 constable fees, in the case of "The People of the State of Illinois vs. John Kelly, apprehended on a charge of attempt to murder." Each one of the commissioners was allowed the sum of $10 for official services up to date.
A session of the County Commissioners Court was held on the third and fourth days of September, but there was no business of any note to claim their attention. On the 18th of that month, the commissioners again met, and at this session passed sundry orders relating to the holding of the first term of the Circuit Court, and
Ordered, That the house of John S. Miller be selected as a fit place for holding Cir- cuit Court for Jo Daviess County.
John S. Miller's house* was known as " Miller's tavern," and was situated on or near the corner of what is Branch and Dodge Streets, in that part of the city called " Old Town." On the same day the above order was entered, the following named citizens and voters were selected to serve as petit jurors : James Craig, John Chandler, Thomas Gray, Francis Kirkpat- rick, John Barrell, James Smith, Thomas Drum, Joseph Hardy, John Ray, William Henry, James Langworthy, Samuel Whitesides, Martin War- ren, Moses Eastman, James Cherry, James Kindall, Adam Hymer, Thomas Hymer, Peter Carr, George Ferguson, William H. Smith, James Brady, Enoch Wethers and William Brazier.
The next order was in the words following:
Ordered, That one half of one per centum be levied on all personal property in Jo Daviess County, to defray the expenses of this year.
John S. Miller was appointed treasurer and required to give bond in the sum of $500. It was also
Ordered, That the treasurer assess the tax ordered to be levied by this court of one half of one per cent, and that he make his return of said assessment to the clerk of this court on or before the first Monday of November next.
If Mr. Miller ever made a report of his services as assessor and treas- urer, the records fail to show it, and there are no papers on file (at least, none can be found) to show the assessed valuation of the personal property of Jo Daviess County at that time, nor the amount of revenue derived from the assessment of one half of one per centum thereon.
The court next passed upon their claims for services as commissioners, and allowed themselves $1.50 per day, each, "for every day they served dur- ing the present term, and that John Foley be allowed $3 per day for his services."
In those days the commissioners appear to have been at the service of the public-that is, to have been very accommodating, for whenever any one wanted a license to keep a "tavern," all that was necessary was to
* Mr. Lorrain says in his Centennial History " the first court was opened in a build- ing put up with rough boards, by Charles Peck, on the corner where the De Soto House now stands." If Mr. L. is correct in this statement, and there seems to be no good reason to doubt its authenticity, then Miller's house or tavern was never occupied for Circuit Court purposes. That the first term of the court was held in the building described by Mr. Lor- rain is most reasonable, from the fact that there was a very large attendance, and it is not probable that there was a house in the village at that time large enough to hold one half of he spectators.
,
304
HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.
advise the county clerk of their wants, when the commissioners would be notified and a called or special session of the court would be held. In one, instance, October 3, 1827, Barney Ferguson desired a license to keep a "tavern." The commissioners were called together, the desired license was granted, and, without the transaction of any other business, the court adjourned.
The last session of the court of 1827 was held on the 3d of December, which was devoted to " squaring up " the accounts of the officials, making allowances for sundry necessary articles furnished the county, etc.
The first session for 1828 was held on the 3d of March, when a " tav- ern " license was granted to Robert Duncan, and a second grand jury selected-no term of the Circuit Court having been hield in 1827. The names drawn for this grand jury, as taken from the record, were Duke L. Smith, H. Flewellyn, William Carr, Jno. B. Campbell, A. P. Vanmeter, Patrick Hogan, D. G. Bates, Benson Hunt, Richard W. Chandler, George Ames, John D. Winters, Richard Murphy, Charles Gear, Frederick Hollo- way, James Foley, James Mitchell, Thomas Mccrary, Jesse W. Shull, M. Finley, James Lynch, B. B. Lawless, John W. McClintick, Owen Riley, William H. Monson.
At the same session, the following named were drawn to serve as petit jurors: John Chandler, Thomas Gray, Francis Kirkpatrick, John Barrell, James Smith, Thomas Drum, James Hardy, John Ray, William Henry,- James Langworthy, Isaac Martin, Willis St. Johns, Amos Farrar, Thomas Bennett, James Kindall, Adam Hymer, Thomas Hymer, Peter Carr, Robert Duncan, William H. Smith, H. H. Gear, Davison Parish, William Brazier, Elias Phelps.
At a called session of the County Commissioners Court, held on the 2d of May, 1828, an assessment of one half of one per centum was ordered to be levied upon the personal property owned in the county to meet the expenses of the county, and Hugh R. Coulter was appointed county treas- urer, and ordered to give bond in the sum of $1,000. At this session Mr. Coulter was also licensed to keep "tavern."
According to Mr. Lorrain, "the first term of the Circuit Court was commenced on the 20th day of June, 1828, with John Connolly, Hugh R. Coulter and Abner Field, justices of the peace, as judges.
The grand jury consisted of the following named persons: Herbert Flewellyn, Pat- rick Hogan, Richard W. Chandler, Michael Murphy, Charles Gear, Frederick Hollman, James Foley, James Mitchell, Roland R. Holmes, Hugh W. Shannon, James Craig, John Ellis, John A. Wakefield, Joseph Conway, Joel Wright, Jesse W. Shull and A. P. Vanmeter, of which Richard Chandler was foreman.
The first indictment was filed on the second day of the term, and charged one Michael Dee with assault with intent to commit murder. He was tried and found guilty, but the records fail to show what penalty (if any) was imposed by the court.
The next term of the Circuit Court commenced on the 6th of October, 1828-John Connolly, Jas. Harris, Abner Field, Hugh R. Coulter and Burke, justices of the peace, serving as judges. This session lasted three weeks and three days, with 200 cases on the docket, all but twenty of which were cleared from the docket.
The first divorce case came up for trial at this term of the Circuit Court, and was entitled Mary Hall vs. John Hall-John Turney, plaintiff's attorney. The divorce was granted.
305
HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.
The lawyers who appeared at this term of the court, were Jno. Turney, Benjamin Mills, William Smith, and James M. Strode.
In 1828, Moses Meeker, James Mitchell, Moses Hallett, and F. Berry, were the only citizens regularly engaged in farming and raising crops. Every other person was either directly or indirectly engaged in mining.
In this year (1828), steamboats began to make regular trips between St. Louis and Galena, taking lead to St. Louis, and bringing back supplies. Merchants who bought goods at New York, Philadelphia, and other East- ern markets, had them shipped via New Orleans and the Mississippi River, to Galena. Among the boats engaged in this trade, were the " Josephine," Clark, master; "Missouri," Culver, master; and the " Red Rover," Throck- morton, master. There were others, of course, but their names and the names of their masters are buried out of memory. .
The first Court presided over by a judge, commenced May 11, 1829, and was presided over by Hon. Richard M. Young.
This year, Charles S. Hempstead came to Galena as an attorney, from St. Louis, where he had commenced the practice of his profession as early as 1814. In the office of his son, William Hempstead, collector of U. S. revenue, may be seen the old square table that was made for his St. Louis office when he first opened a law office in that city. In its time it was con- sidered a grand piece of office furniture, and Hempstead's office was regarded as the most gorgeously furnished of any in that city. But by the side of the furniture to be found in ordinarily furnished law offices of 1878, it is very plain and commonplace. Soon after his arrival here, Mr. Hempstead opened an office, from which time until the date of his death, December 10, 1874, he continued a permanent resident, and prominent and leading lawyer of the county. At the time of his death he was the oldest lawyer in prac- tice in the state, and probably the oldest one in the United States.
Within one year from the time the county machinery was put in motion (June 5, 1827), there was a very rapid influx of immigrants, and at the June session (1828) of the County Commissioners Court, three addi- tional voting precincts were established to accommodate the voters who had settled out in the different sections of the county. June 3, on petition of William R. McAdams and others, Menominee precinct was established with the following boundaries: "Beginning at the Sinsinawa, thence run- ning north with the main stream of said Sinsinawa to a grove known by the name of Big Hickory Grove, on the head of the south fork of Little Platte; thence west down the Platte to the Mississippi River to a point opposite the Menominee Mound ; thence east by said mound to the begin. ning."
The house of Mr. McAdams was designated as the voting place, and William R. McAdams, George Davidson, and Robert Henderson, were appointed judges of election.
The order next following related to the presentation, by Mr. Strode, of a petition in relation to a road district including Galena. The petition was received and put on file, and at a later period during the session, the district was declared established.
The Court next considered the erection of Apple River Precinct, which was established as follows: "Beginning at Major Ankeny's on Small Pox, running east to the Lewiston road; thence along the road to Plumb River; thence down said river to the Mississippi; thence up said Mississippi River
306
HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.
within five miles of the mouth of Small Pox, and from thence to the place of beginning."
The voting place was ordered to be at the house of John D. Winters, and John D. Winters, George Ames, and Warner Lewis were appointed judges of election. This precinct was established on petition of John D. Winters and others.
" Ordered, That Stanislaus Mudd be allowed $48.25 (forty-eight dollars and twenty-five cents), for book case for clerk, and benches.
This was the first piece of office furniture provided for the use of the county clerk's office. Up to this time there was no place to keep either books or papers. Papers, such as petitions, accounts, etc., are said to have been "filed away in the hats or pockets of the officials, and the books carried from the office to the house of the clerk or others in charge of them, and then carried back to the office." When papers began to accumulate, and grew too numerous to file away in the bookcase referred to, and filled the hats and pockets of the officials, they were ' dumped' in barrels and boxes. And one official gentleman with whom the writer had frequent interviews during the progress of this work, said that in the winter seasons of those days, when kindling was scarce, the barrels and boxes of old county. docu- ments afforded ready means of starting fires. It must be remembered, however, that this gentleman is something of a wag, and that he was not born until a good many years after the county was organized. But it is beyond doubt that a good many of the early documents of the county that ought to have been preserved, are not to be found.
June 4, James B. Campbell presented a petition signed by himself and others, praying for the erection of Plattville precinct. The prayer of the petitioners was granted, and the following boundaries established: "Begin- ning at the mouth of the Platte River and running up the same to the Big Hickory Grove, on the head of the south fork of the Little Platte; thence east to the ridge dividing the waters of the Fever River from those of Platte River, and to include all the country of Jo Daviess County lying north of said line.
The house of Rountree & Campbell was designated as the voting place, and John Rountree, Frederick Hollman, and John Jones, were appointed to be judges of election.
June 6, 1828, the streets of Galena were declared to be public high- ways, and Lewis R. M. Morse was appointed supervisor.
The same day Hugh R. Coulter presented his bond as County ยท Treasurer, with . Isaac Chambers and Thomas McCraney as bondsmen. From subsequent entries in the Commissioners journal of proceedings it seems that Mr. Coulter's bond was not satisfactory to the tax-payers, for on the 12th of the same month D. G. Bates appeared before the Court and made complaint as to the insufficiency of Coulter's bond. The latter was cited to appear before the Commissioners and give additional security, etc. Rather than give additional security Mr. Coulter preferred to resign the office, and his resignation was accepted by the Court, and on the 13th Wil- liam Risley was appointed to the vacancy.
Up to this time, and in fact up to March, 1829, there are no entries to be found showing an assessment of personal property for purposes of taxation. Neither are there any written evidences to show that any tax had been collected, and we are left to one of two conclusions-first, that if there had been an assessment and collection of taxes, the officials failed to make
307
HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.
the proper record; and, second, if such record was made, it was made on loose paper and subsequently lost. The only source of revenue of which any trace can be found from the organization of the County up to this date appears to have been from "tavern" license. The charges for such license were from nine to sixteen dollars, and as almost every housekeeper aspired to be a "tavern " keeper, the sum derived from this source (including liquor license, or license for retailing liquors) was not inconsiderable.
The first trace of money derived from taxation of which there is any record appears under date of March 3, 1829. At a regular session of the County Commissioners Court on that day the following entry was made :
Ordered, That the Sheriff be charged with the sum of $833 for taxes assessed for county purposes on personal property for the year 1828, and that he be charged with all the fines in the Circuit Court that have been imposed, and other fines for which he may be accountable.
The Sheriff tendered and filed the Treasurer's receipt for the following sums paid into the treasury during the years 1828 and 1829, and it is
Ordered, That he be allowed a credit for the same. The sum paid is, as per Treas- urer's receipt, $691.38.
There is no record to show the total valuation of the personal property in 1828, as found by the Assessor, but it is very clear that if a tax levy of one-half of one per cent returned $833 of county revenue, the total valuation must have been $166,000.
In 1825 the number of men working in the mines was 100; in 1826 the number had increased to a little over 400, and in 1827 the population was estimated at 1,600. Of this number 283 were credited to the sixty log cabins that made up the village of Galena. In 1830, according to the U. S. census report, the population was only 2,111, so that the increase from 1827 to 1830 was not very heavy, but it is to be presumed the population was not permanent-that the miners were coming and going-and that when the census of 1830 was taken, the business of the miners was at a "stand still," in consequence of the low price of lead, and that the oper- ators were absent at their homes in other places, so that it is not unreasonable to suppose that the population in 1828 and 1829 was greater than it was in 1830.
June, 1828, the first road view was ordered. A petition was presented to the County Court asking for the location of a public or county road " commencing at Galena and to run by the nearest and best way, by the way of McDonald & Eams' furnace, so as to intersect the Lewiston road at Rush Creek." John D. Winters, John Thomas and Jolin McDonald were appointed viewers. The petitioners were required to deposit $16 with the County Clerk to cover the cost of the view and survey, if the viewers reported unfavorably. If their report was favorable, the deposit was returned, and the expenses sustained by the county. Such was the established practice in all the counties.
Another road was petitioned for at the same time-from Galena to Shullsburg. [At that time the people of this part of the Galena section did not know whether they belonged to Illinois or the Michigan territory, which embraced all of the present State of Wisconsin. Jesse W. Shull, the founder of Shullsburg, Wisconsin, was at one time-from August, 1828, to 1829- one of the County Commissioners of Jo Daviess County, so that that part of Wisconsin was embraced within the jurisdiction of Jo Daviess County.] Joseph Hardy, Henry Gratiot, and Samuel Whitesides were appointed viewers. Their report was favorable, the deposit of sixteen dollars was returned to the petitioners, and the road established.
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