USA > Indiana > Blackford County > Biographical memoirs of Blackford County, Ind. : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography embellished with portraits of many well known residents of Blackford County, Indiana > Part 28
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vided into two road districts. The south half was the first district, with James Ha- ": vens, supervisor, and the north half the sec- ond district, with John Goldsbury, super- visor. Thomas Eaton (generally known as Captain Eaton) was appointed collector of state and county revenue for 1839.
"Ordered that the stake which was stuck this day by the board on the land which was donated for the purpose of being the seat of justice to be the center of the public square. and the public square to be one acre with half the streets. The main streets passing the public square shall be seventy feet and all back streets fifty feet wide and all alleys to be fifteen feet wide. Its further ordered by the commissioners that John J. Cook shall survey forty acres at the center stake which is now stuck for the center of the seat of justice." Ordered that the seat of justice be known by the name of Hartford. The levy was made for state and county pur- poses.
On the next day, May 23, 1839. Andrew Boggs was appointed inspector of election in Licking township and Thomas Markin in Harrison township for one year. The commissioners allowed themselves for their services two dollars per day for the four- days session (a duty very rarely neglected by boards) and adjourned till court in course.
Thus was Blackford county launched upon its voyage as a separate civil jurisdic- tion.
The regular session of the board began on Monday, June 3, 1839, at the house of Andrew Boggs, with the same officers as at the first session. Up to this time there were but two civil townships in the county. Licking and Harrison. Their organization preceded that of the county. The first busi-
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ness of the board at this June session was the following :
"Ordered that town 24, range 10, be organized and call it Washington township, and the elections in said township shall be held at the house of Roderick Craig." An election in said township for the purpose of electing one justice of the peace was ordered for June 29, 1839. John Cave was appointed inspector of elections. Elijah Sims was ap- pointed agent for the loaning and managing of the surplus revenue for the term of one ycar.
"Ordered that in addition to the quantity that was ordered on the 22d day of May two tiers of blocks may be surveyed right parallel west on the donation which was given for the seat of justice right along the section line." This additional survey con- stituted blocks Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9, 19, 20, 21 and 22 of the original plat of Hartford. A sale of lots at the seat of justice was ordered to be held on Monday, the 12th of August, following. The entire business of this ses- sion was transacted in one day.
Between the June and September ses- sions, 1839, an election was held for officers of the county. In Licking township the election was held at the log cabin of An- drew Boggs and a coffee pot was used as a ballot box. Jacob Brugh was elected county clerk, and for seven years the clerk per- formed. also the duties of auditor and re- corder. Jacob Emshwiller was chosen as treasurer and Frederick Beall, sheriff.
George H. Houser was elected commis- sioner for the middle or second district, Jacob Shroyer having died about this time. It is probable that John Beath was a justice of the peace for Licking township and Rev. Franklin G. Baldwin for Harrison town-
ship before and at the time the county was organized.
At the September term, 1839, Messrs. Rigdon, Houser and Streeter appeared as commissioners and Frederick Beall as sher- iff. The session was held at the house of Jacob Emshwiller, on the north half of the northwest quarter of section 5. in township 23 north. range IL east, which seems for a few months to have been the capitol of Black- ford county.
In those early years of the county a large part of the business of the commissioners was in connection with the location and es- tablishment of public highways. Several pe- titions for important roads were presented at this session. One was for a road start- ing at the Delaware county line, two miles west of the southeast corner of Blackford county, and running thence north "to the string of timber south of Beamer, thence to M. Tederick beaver dam, thence to the south end of said Tederick lane, thence through said lane, thence to the southwest corner of T. Markin's new fence, thence through said Markin's lane, th ice a north direction the nearest and best way to the center of section 10 in township 24, range II, thence to the south end of Huntington street in Montpelier, thence through said street, thence northwest direction to inter- sect the Huntington road at the county line."
For this road, known for many years as the Albany road, Samuel Gochnauer, John Beal and John Blount were appointed viewers.
Another petition asked for a road "com- mencing at the county seat and ending at the county line at a large hickory tree stand- ing at the mouth of Peter Reasoner's lane." Henry Stewart, Elijah Sims and Simeon
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BLACKFORD COUNTY, INDIANA.
Conley were appointed viewers on this, which was subsequently known as the Hartford and Elizabethtown road. Also a petition for the establishment of the okl road that com- menced at Main street at the west line of the original plat of Hartford and ran quite a distance in a northwesterly direction and ended at the county line at James Gillespie's was referred to Asher VanCleve, Elias Craw and Jacob Oswalt.
The road running east and west from the Grant county line to Abel Baldwin's mi!' was also petitioned for, being on the line now occupied by the Montpelier and Dun- dee gravel road, and referred to Josiah Twi- bell. John B. Goldsbury and Harrison Waugh as viewers. On the same day, Sep- tember 2, 1839, township 23, range II, was declared to be an organized township, to be known and called Jackson township. An election therein for justice of the peace was ordered to be held at the house of William Cortright on September 28th, and Edward M. Crumley was appointed inspector of elec- tion for one year. It is reasonably certain that William Cortright was elected justice of the peace at that election.
James W. Wier was appointed collector of state and county revenue for that year. It is presumed that Thomas Eaton had de- clined this position tendered to him at the preceding May session. It was "ordered by the board that Jacob Emshwiller be ap- pointed treasurer for the county of Black- ford in room of John Ervin, who is con- sidered incapacitated on account of being deranged." This action would indicate that Emshwiller had not been elected as treas- urer and throws some doubt on the state- ment that an election for county officers had yet been held. Jose K. Hobson was ap- pointed agent for the surplus, revenue, to re-
ceive and disburse the same. This session closed Wednesday, September 4. 1839.
The next session for this year was held at the same place as the preceding and be- gan on November 4th with the same officers in attendance. Some of the business trans- acted was the following : James Slater was appointed supervisor for Licking township in room of Jacob Slater, deceased. (James was the son of Jacob. ) Jonathan Hughes was appointed constable for said township and required to come forward and qualify immediately. Robert H. Lanning was ap- pointed supervisor for Jackson township. Abraham Cassel was allowed his bill of ten dollars for surveying the town of Hartford.
A petition was presented for the location of a road beginning at the north end of Jef- ferson street in Hartford and terminating at the west end of Huntington street in Montpelier. The viewers appointed were Franklin G. Baldwin, Elisha Dewitt and Lewis H. McGeath. This road, as located, ran in a northeasterly and southwesterly di- rection nearly its entire length, without re- gard to section lines or the lines of sectional subdivisions, and was for many years the principal highway connecting the two towns. It has been gradually changed to section lines until but little of the original route remains.
It was "ordered that the suit now depend- ing before the board concerning the loca- tion of the seat of justice is laid over until the next setting of the board." This ses- sion lasted two days. The next term was held at the same place, with the same of- ficers, commencing on Monday, January 6, 1840. -
"It was ordered by the board, Houser ex- cepted, that John J. Cook be allowed ten dollars for the commencement for the sur-
.
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veying of the county seat of Blackford coun- ty. Houser appears to have been the great objector of that period when appropriations were to be made. Fraklin G. Baldwin was appointed to assess the county for the year 1840. The grand and petit jurors were selected for the March and September terms of the circuit court for that year. Their names are given in connection with the notice of the early proceedings of the circuit court.
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"It was ordered by the board that all pro- ceedings held in the contest of the location of the county seat of Blackford county be dismissed and set aside as null and forever void by the commissioners of Blackford county." In explanation of this order it should be stated that prior to this time the citizens of Montpelier had made a vigorous effort to secure the location of the county seat at that place. This session was com- pleted in a single day.
The March term began on Monday. March 2, at the same place as before and with the same officers. At this time quite an unpleasant feeling was entertained by the citizens of this county toward the wolves which abounded -in our forest wilds. The wolves were here first and considered that their rights and privileges were paramount. They were extremely fond of mutton and had no scruples about helping themselves to the pioneer flocks of sheep. Our fathers were unanimously in favor of protection to their sheep interests and waged a war of extermination against the offending wolves. The contest was prolonged for some years without any cessation of hostilities and with no arrangement for an exchange of pris oners.
On the first day of this session of the commissioners a measure of hostilities be-
lieved to be fully warranted by military ne- cessity under the war powers was inaug- urated. An order was made to continue in force one year offering a bounty of one dol. lar for the scalp of every grown wolf killed in the county and half price for all under six months okl, the scalps to be presented to the county clerk within thirty days from the time they were taken, and the party to make an affidavit showing that he was justly en- titled to the bounty. Houser probably fa- vored this appropriation, as the record shows no exception by him to the action, and judg- ing from his reputation as a hunter it is pre- sumed that he, with many others of the set- tlers, paid a portion of his taxes with orders on the treasury given for wolf scalps. In- cidentally the circulating medium of the county enjoyed an expansion by the intro- duction of this subsidiary currency.
Nichola: Friend was allowed twenty do !- lars for his service during the term as sher- iff. He was also allowed six dollars for printing and service rendered for the sale of town lots in Hartford. To this last al- lowance Houser excepted. This session lasted two days.
At the May term, commencing on the first Monday in May, 1840, the clerk re- ported the collection of the fines which were assessed on convictions at the September term, 1839, which was the initial term of the Blackford circuit court. It reveals the fact that some of the hardy pioneers indulged the sporting propensity of the times. The report showed the following: David Fox, two cases, fifty cents ; Jacob Geyer, one case, twenty-five cents; Thomas Slater, two cases, one for winning and one for losing, fifty cents; Casper Geyer, two cases, fifty cents : Abel Geyer, one case, twenty-five cents ; John Baldwin, two cases, fifty cents ; James Wil-
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BLACKFORD COUNTY, INDIAN.A.
son, two cases, fifty cents ; Andrew Blunt, two cases, fifty cents : Leonard Cline, one case. twenty-five cents; Jonathan Hughes, one case, twenty-five cents; Aaron Hughes, two cases, fifty cents; Jacob Clark, three cases. · seventy-five cents : all of the foregoing for betting: Francis Kirkpatrick, one case, as- sault and battery, one dollar; Jacob Brugh, two cases, retailing without license, four dollars: Hazael Oswalt, one case, retailing without license, two dollars ; making a total of twelve dollars and twenty-five cents, which was paid over to the trustee of the seminary fund. Jacob Emshwiller was appointed county treasurer for the year 1840.
The regular session on the first Monday in June lasted one day. It was held at Hartford, the seat of justice, presumably at the house of John W. Nottingham, as he was allowed fifty cents for house room for one day, to which Houser excepted. He also excepted to the order adjourning till court in course.
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On the second and last day of Novem- ber term, 1840, Eli Rigdon, Josephus Street- er and Joseph P. VanCleve, commissioners, the following order was made: "Ordered by the board that notices be put up at each place of holden elections in the county of Blackford for the purpose of selling at pub- lic outcry in the town of Hartford on the first day of the next setting of board of erection of a court house, to the lowest and best bidder, of the following dimensions, to-wit : "A hewed-log house, twenty-five feet square, two-story of common height, with a beam through the center of each story for the joice to rest on twelve inches square. with a post of twelve inches square under each of the foregoing beams under the cen- ter and a laped shingle roof to show one foot to the weather, the sills and sleeper shall be
of good oak timber of sufficient strength to keep the floor from springing. the under floor to be of good oak flooring one inch and a quarter thick and not more than seven inch- es broad broken joint. the upper floor to be of poplar, oak or ash of inch boards, seven inches broad plowed and groved, two win- dows of twelve lights on each side of each story, two doors of common dimensions. dores and windows to be cased and the dores to be hung with three-inch butt hinges, the second story to be divided into two rooms with a passage between and a dore to cach room and a stare way to intersect the pas- sage on the second story, the house to be chunked and dobed both outside and inside with good clay mortar and the gable ends he weather borded with walnut or poplar half- inch boards, the rafters rest on a string board on the upper joice and a good sollid rock un- der each corner of the foregoing building. and the logs not less than ten-inch face and seven inches thick, and the foregoing build- ing shall be don in workmanlike manner, to be paid out of the first moneys that may come into the hands of the county agent not otherwise appropriated arising from the donation of the seat of justice and the same shall be collected in speed."
On the second day of the regular term, beginning on the first Monday of January, 1841, it was ordered "by the board the sale of the erecting of a court house be continued until the first day of the March term next. and that notice be put up in four of the most public places in the county." On the first day of the March term it was ordered that the sale of erecting a court house in the town of Hartford be deferred till the dif- ficulty respecting the relocation of the county scat be settled. This appears to have been the end of the project and Black-
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HISTORICAL SKETCH OF
ford county never got her hewed-log court house.
The controversy in regard to the loca- tion of the county seat appears to have been finally settled at the June session of the board in 1841. On the roth day of that month the following report was filed before the board while in session, to-wit : "State of Indi- ana, Blackford county. We, the under- signed, four of the commissioners appointed by an act of the general assembly of the state of Indiana, approved February 4. 1841. to relocate the county seat of said county. agreeable to notice by the secretary of the said state of Indiana, met at the clerk's office in the town of Hartford, the seat of justice for said county, on Monday, the seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord one thon- sand, eight hundred and forty-one, and hav- ing been sworn, proceeded to examine all and every site offered that could be obtained in said county ; and after examining all the sites offered in said county of Blackford on mature deliberation we, the said commis- sioners, unanimously agree to relocate said seat of justice at Hartford, the former site having procured by donation the southwest quarter of section II, township 23, range IO east, of said county. The donators re- serve all the even numbered lots that may be laid off on said site. They give the streets and alleys and a court house square not to exceed in quantity two acres without reserve, which donation is secured to the county by deed on record. We have also re- ceived other donations to said site amount- ing to eighty-four acres with some reserva- tions for conveyance of the title of said land. We have taken the donator's bonds, which are on file in the office of the county agent of Blackford county, and more fully shows the reserves. We have also donated, by John
Trimble. James Hodge and James L. Russey, fifty dollars in cash down, two hundred and eighty-three dollars in twelve months from this date, three hundred and thirty-three dollars in two years and three hundred and thirty-four dollars in three years from date, for which we have taken their obligations, and we have also donated by John Ervin fifty dollars in cash, to be paid in three years, which is respectfully submitted. The above is a correct copy of the donations received on the previous location, the same being do- nated and received on the present reloca- tion, and in addition we have received a do- nation in cash amounting to ten hundred and forty-three dollars and seventy-five cents, which amount is secured to the county by bond and note, with security approved by the county agent. Also by Samson Dildine as a donation the following described land ad- joining the present site: Commencing at the southeast corner of the present and old site and running west eighty rods, thence south sixty feet, reserving one-half of the lots laid out on the same. Also reserving his fence and smith shop. Also from John Moore as a donation the following, to-wit : Commencing at Jefferson street, thence east 1)' king four lots. All of which is respect- fully submitted.
"Given under our hands this ninth day of June, 1841.
"M. JENKINSON. "SAMUEL DECKER. "WM. VAN MATRE. "S. WV. WOOLMAN."
At this time and for many years after- ward the general elections in this state were held on the first Monday in August, except for electors of president and vice-president of the United States. When the board of commissioners met in regular session on
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BLACKFORD COUNTY, INDIANA.
September 6, 1841, Josiah Twibell had been elected to succeed Josephus Streeter. Jacob Brugh had been elected auditor and the board on examination held his bond sufficient. They then proceeded to consider the question of the legality of said Brugh holding the of- fice of auditor on the ground that he was at the time holding the office of clerk of the cir- cuit court, and it was held that according to the law creating the office of auditor he had the right to hold it. The official bonds of Isaac Spaulding as appraiser and Jacob Emshwiller as treasurer of Blackford county were accepted.
On the fourth day of this term, Septem- ber 9th. it was ordered that the auditor should advertise by written notices put up in each township that sealed proposals would be received to be opened on the second day of the next term to build a court house on the public square in the town of Hartford of the following dimensions: To be forty feet square, twenty-five feet high, the wall of the first story to be twenty-two inches thick and of the upper story eighteen inches thick, to be of good, merchantable brick, with a foundation of stone of three feet, said stone wall to be at least one foot above the ground at the highest place if the ground be uneven, and to be at least thirty inches thick, upon which said brick wall is to be built, and to be surmounted by a cupola, the interior finishing and with regard to the bar, seats, jury boxes, judge's bench, clerk's desk and all things appertaining to the same to be in all respects as the Muncietown court house. And it was further ordered that the auditor advertise the sale of a certain por- tion of said building, viz: The finding ma- terials and putting up the furnishing ma- terials for the door shutters, windows, floor, roof, and properly attach the same to their
proper places in said building in a workman- like manner, also the furnishing materials for and putting up the stairs from the first to the second floor. On the second day of the following term, December 7, 1841, it was ordered that the erection of the court house be let on the following terms, to-wit : In four annual installments, the first due Oc- tober 1. 1842, and annually thereafter until the four installments are paid ; provided. that the building be finished one-fourth on October 1, 1842, and the other three parts be finished annually as the installments be- come due. The proposition submitted by William F. and Charles Jones was accepted, which was as follows: "To the honorable body of commissioners of the county of Blackford and state of Indiana: According to your terms and record we, the under- signed citizens of the county of Clinton and state of Ohio, do propose to your honorable body to build in the town of Hartford, in the county and state aforesaid, a court house after your draft and record in the time there- in specified and in good workmanlike man- ner an ! of good material for the sum of five thousand and six hundred dollars, to be well and truly paid according to the above men- tioned record.
"December the 7th, 1841. $5,600.00. "WM. F. & CHARLES JONES."
On. the same day it was ordered that there be a spire instead of a cupola, and in- stead of having spouting it shall be dry cornice without spouting, and that Frederick Scelig, county agent, have the superintend- ing of said building.
At the March session, 1842, license to vend foreign merchandise for one year was granted to Levi Eastridge, John Golds- bury and Charles P. Baldwin. The license fees were five dollars. The privilege was
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given to George W. Chinn to make brick on the lots donated by John Moore for the purpose of aiding in the erection of the pub- lic buildings, and the brick so made to be used in the building of the court house. At the June term of this year John Marley, the pioneer blacksmith of Hartford, was allowed three dollars for making "hand kuffs" for to put on prisoner to take him to state prison, and Samuel Shaggs, jailer of Randolph county, Indiana, be allowed one dollar and ninety-three cents for imprisoning Charles Harris and dieting the same five days.
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The December term, 1842, was attended by John Moore as coroner .. It seems that Frederick Beall had resigned as sheriff. . It the March term, 1843, John M. Williams was sheriff. It was ordered that the Moore and Dildine donations be surveyed and laid off into lots of the ordinary size by the county agent, and that he lay off a half street from the southeast corner of block 27 to the southwest corner of block 23 and call it Water street. On the second day of the term a receipt was ordered to be recorded from Lewis Bailey to Frederick Seelig as his suc- cessor as county agent for notes, bonds, etc., dated December 7, 1843. On the same day settlement was made with William F. and Charles Jones for the first payment on the court house, being one-fourth of the contract price.
On the second day of the June term Silas Weaver was allowed an order for six dollars for furnishing a room for the circuit court five days at the May term, 1843, and for grand jurors' room two days. The follow- ing day it was ordered that for all wolf scalps that may be caught in the county an order shall be given for one dollar by those who present the same to the auditor, making oath that the same was caught in said county
and within thirty days previous to day of presenting the same, and that they have not spared the lives of any wolf to increase the breed thereof, and all laws coming within the purview of this act shall be repealed.
At the September term of this year Charles Jones was allowed four dollars and a half for making report to Huntington of the election for representative, and Robert Hays was allowed five dollars and a half for making report to Winchester of the election for senator in 1843. The order for building the court house was changed so that instead of being painted red it be stuccoed white on the outside. Jacob Brugh was allowed thirty-nine dollars for making two duplicates for county for 1843. (Tax duplicates pre- sumably. ) At the December term, 1843. Josiah Twibell, George. S. Howell and George H. Houser constituted the board and Abraham Stahl was sheriff. The bond of Jacob Emshwiller as treasurer and collector was approved, with Michael Teterich, John Beal and Robert H. Lanning as sureties. It was ordered by the board that John Saxon and Thomas Miles be exempt from paying tax on one hundred and sixty acres of land cach in the county of Blackford in their own name. (Those men were soldiers of the Revolutionary war.) David Long was ap- pointed county agent for one year. Elijah Spangler was allowed five dollars and twen- ty-five cents, for house rent for jury and
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