History of Houston County, Minnesota, Part 106

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Publication date: 1919
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1343

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1854. The fifth territorial legislature assembled January 4 and ad- journed March 4. The fourth district was represented in the council by William Freeborn, of Red Wing, and in the house by O. M. Lord of Minne- sota City. This legislature created Houston county, February 23, 1854, defining the boundaries of the county as they remain to the present day. But as stated, although Houston county was established by this legisla- ture, the boundaries of the fourth district remained until 1855, the same as defined by the apportionment of 1851.

1855. The sixth territorial legislature assembled January 3 and ad-

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journed March 3. William Freeborn represented the fourth district in the council, and Clark W. Thompson, of what is now Houston county, in the house. Mr. Thompson was a Canadian who came to Minnesota in 1853 and engaged in milling in Houston county until 1861. He was a member of the Republican wing of the Constitutional Convention. He was superintendent of Indian affairs for the Northern superintendency from 1861 to 1865, and afterwards engaged in railroad construction. He died in 1885 on his farm at Wells.

By the apportionment of 1855 Houston, Fillmore and Mower counties became the eighth district.

1856. The seventh territorial legislature assembled January 2 and adjourned March 1. The eighth district was represented by Clark W. Thompson of Houston county and Benjamin F. Tillotson, of Fillmore county, in the council; and by W. B. Gere, of Fillmore county, Samuel Hull, Wil- liam F. Dunbar, William B. Covell and Martin G. Thompson in the house.

1857. The eighth territorial legislature assembled January 7, and adjourned March 7. Clark W. Thompson and Benjamin F. Tillotson again represented the eighth district in the council. The representatives in the house were William B. Gere, D. F. Chase, W. J. Howell, John M. Berry and M. G. Thompson. An extra session of this legislature assembled April 27 and adjourned May 23, 1857.

March 3, 1857, congress passed an act authorizing the people of Minne- sota to form a state constitution. Each council district was to be repre- sented in this convention by two representatives for each councilman and representative to which it was entitled. The constitutional convention, consisting of 108 members, was authorized to meet at the capital on the second Monday in July to frame a state constitution, and to submit it to the people of the territory. The election was held on the first Monday in June, 1857. July 13, the delegates met, but a disagreement arising in the organization, the Republican members organized one body and the Demo- crats organized separately. Each of these bodies, claiming to be the

legally constituted convention, proceeded with the work of forming an in- strument to be submitted to the people. After some days an understanding was effected between them, and by means of a committee of conference, the same constitution was framed and adopted by both bodies. On being submitted to the people, Oct. 13, it was ratified.

The eighth district, consisting of Houston, Fillmore and Mower counties, having two councillors and five members of the house, was entitled to fourteen delegates. Of the fourteen declared elected, thirteen were Re- publican and one Democrat. The Republicans were: Alanson B. Vaughn, C. W. Thompson, John A. Anderson, Charles A. Coe, N. P. Colburn, James A. McCann, H. A. Billings, Charles Hanson, H. W. Holley, John Cleghorn, A. C. Butler, Robert Lyle and Boyd Phelps. The Democrat was James C. Day. But the seats of Coe and Lyle were contested, and while they were seated in the Republican wing, their Democratic contestants were given seats in the Democratic wing. On the general Democratic ticket in Hous- ton county, one of the three divisions of the eighth district, O. W. Streeter received 378 votes, and his Republican competitor, C. A. Coe, received 329

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votes. But the returning board, being Republican, alleged irregularities in Streeter's vote and issued the certificate to Coe. The Democratic wing of the Convention, after the split, admitted Streeter. The Democrats also late in the session, August 11, admitted Thomas H. Armstrong from Mower county. On the face of the returns, Robert Lyle received a majority of thirty-one over Armstrong, but the Democrats claimed that the pool book at Austin showed that thirty-nine residents of Freeborn county, outside of the eighth district, had voted for Lyle, thus leaving Armstrong a ma- jority of eight legal votes. With three members in the Democratic wing and thirteen in the Republican wing, the eighth district had sixteen dele- gates in the Constitutional convention instead of the fourteen to which it was entitled. Several of the members from this district took an active part in the work of the convention. On the question of allowing negroes to vote, Messrs. Colburn, Holley, Cleghorn and Phelps voted in favor of the proposition and C. W. Thompson against it. On the question of a com- promise between the two wings, Day, of the Democratic wing, remained bitterly opposed to the last. Messrs. Holley and Billings of the Republican wing voted against the adoption of the final joint draft of the constitution, but finally affixed their signatures to it.

By the apportionment of 1857, set forth in the state constitution adopted October 13, 1857, Houston county was constituted the tenth dis- trict, with two senators and three representatives.

1857-58. The first state legislature assembled December 2, 1857. On March 25, 1858, it took a recess until June 2 and finally adjourned August 12. The state was admitted May 11, 1858. It will, therefore, be seen, that, although this legislature is called the first state legislature, nevertheless it assembled in territorial times. The tenth district was represented in the senate by James C. Day and O. W. Streeter, and in the house by Edmund McIntyre, J. B. Le Blond, and Daniel Wilson.

1858-59. No session was held in the winter of 1858-59, mainly owing to the protracted session of 1857-58, which was believed to render un- necessary another one following so soon, the legislature of that year having so provided by enactment.

1859-60. The second state legislature assembled December 7, 1859, and adjourned March 12, 1860. The tenth district was represented in the senate by E. H. Kennedy and Frederick Gluck, and in the house by J. A. Anderson, C. A. Coe and George Timanson.

By the apportionment of 1860, Houston county became the thirteenth district. It was assigned one senator and one representative.

1861. The third state legislature assembled January 8, and adjourned March 8. The thirteenth district was represented in the senate by Thomas McRoberts, and in the house by J. B. Le Blond.

1862. The fourth state legislature assembled January 7, and ad- journed March 7. The thirteenth district was represented in the senate by Charles H. Lee, and in the house by D. L. Buell.

On account of the Indian outbreak in 1862, an extra session was called by the governor. It assembled Sept 9 and adjourned Sept. 29.

1863. The fifth state legislature assembled January 6 and adjourned

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March 6. The thirteenth district was represented in the senate by Charles H. Lee, and in the house by D. L. Buell.

1864. The sixth state legislature assembled January 5 and adjourned March 4. The thirteenth district was represented in the senate by Daniel Cameron and in the house by Thomas Conniff.

1865. The seventh state legislature assembled January 3 and ad- journed March 3. The thirteenth district was represented in the senate by Daniel Cameron, and in the house by F. N. Goodrich.

1866. The eighth state legislature assembled January 2, and ad- journed March 2. The thirteenth district was represented in the senate by D. L. Buell, and in the house by J. P. Shaller.

By the apportionment of 1866 Houston county was still the thirteenth district. It was to have one senator and two representatives.

1867. The ninth state legislature assembled January 8 and ad- journed March 8. The thirteenth district was represented in the senate by D. T. Temple, and in the house by B. S. Andrew and E. H. Kennedy.

1868. The tenth state legislature assembled January 7 and adjourned March 6. The thirteenth district was represented in the senate by George F. Potter, and in the house by J. P. Shaller and Isaac Thompson.

1869. The eleventh state legislature assembled January 5 and ad- journed March 5. The thirteenth district was represented in the senate by G. F. Potter, and in the house by Tosten Johnson and Isaac Thompson.

1870. The twelfth state legislature assembled January 4 and ad- journed March 4. The thirteenth was represented by D. L. Buell, and in the house by W. E. Potter and Nathan Vance.

1871. The thirteenth state legislature assembled January 8 and ad- journed March 3. The thirteenth district was represented in the senate by D. L. Buell, and in the house by Timan Gilbertson and Tosten Johnson.

By the apportionment of 1871, Houston county was constituted the first district, with one senator and four representatives.

1872. The fourteenth legislature assembled January 2 and adjourned March 1. The first district was represented in the senate by D. L. Buell, and in the house by W. F. Weber, John P. Smith, P. Rosendahl and L. R. Hall.

1873. The fifteenth legislature assembled January 7, and adjourned March 7. The first district was represented in the senate by E. Thompson, and in the house by Tosten Johnson, A. Beard, M. L. Cooper and P. H. Rosendahl.

1874. The sixteenth legislature assembled January 6 and adjourned March 6. The first district was represented in the senate by E. Thompson, and in the house by William McArthur, M. J. McDonald, E. W. Trask and David Taylor.

1875. The seventeenth legislature assembled January 5 and ad- journed March 5. The first district was represented in the senate by J. H. Smith, and in the house by John McNelly, William M. Snure, M. J. McDonald and E. N. Goodrich.

1876. The eighteenth legislature assembled January 4 and adjourned March 3. The first district was represented in the senate by J. H. Smith,

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and in the house by W. E. Potter, M. J. Donnell, John McNelly and E. D. Northrup.

1877. The nineteenth legislature assembled January 2 and adjourned March 2. The first district was represented in the senate by John McNelly, and in the house by Anthony Huyck, William G. McSpadden, M. J. Mc- Donnell and John A. Eberhard.

1878. The twentieth legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned March 8. The first district was represented in the senate by John McNelly, and in the house by Edmund Null, Andrew Bye, Christof Evanson and Charles Fetzner.

1879. The twenty-first legislature assembled January 7 and adjourned March 7. The first district was represented in the senate by D. L. Buell, and in the house by Anthony Demo, J. M. Riley, W. E. Dunbar and E. F. West.

1881. The twenty-second legislature assembled January 4 and ad- journed March 4. The first district was represented in the senate by J. B. Shaller, and in the house by H. H. Snure, O. B. Tone, H. F. Kohlmier and Lewis Redding.

An extra session was called for the purpose of considering the legisla- tion at the regular session relating to the state railroad bonds, which was declared unconstitutional by the supreme court. The session commenced October 11 and closed November 13.

By the apportionment of 1881, Houston remained the first district, with one senator and two representatives.

1883. The twenty-third state legislature assembled January 2 and adjourned March 2. The first district was represented in the senate by James O'Brien, and in the house by T. Paulson and E. Potter.

1885. The twenty-fourth state legislature assembled January 6 and adjourned March 6. The first district was represented in the senate by James O'Brien, and in the house by Ole S. Olson and Alex. McLaren.

1887. The twenty-fifth state legislature assembled January 4 and adjourned March 4. The first district was represented in the senate by Tosten Johnson, and in the house by George F. Potter and C. Bunge, Jr.

1899. The twenty-sixth state legislature assembled January 8 and ad- journed April 23. The first district was represented in the senate by Tosten Johnson, and in the house by John McNelly and James C. Kelly.

By the apportionment of 1889, Houston county remained the first dis- trict, with one senator and one representative.

1891. The twenty-seventh state legislature assembled January 6 and adjourned April 20. The first district was represented in the senate by J. C. Kelly, and in the house by Anthony Demo.

1893. The twenty-eighth state legislature assembled January 3 and adjourned April 18. The first district was represented in the senate by J. C. Kelly, and in the house by John J. Hohl.

1895. The twenty-ninth state legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned April 23. The first district was represented in the senate by E. K. Roverud, and in the house by Con Metcalf.

1897. The thirtieth state legislature assembled January 5 and ad-

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journed April 21. The first district was represented in the senate by E. K. Roverud, and in the house by H. R. Briggs.

By the apportionment of 1897, Houston county remained the first dis- trict, with one senator and one representative.

1899. The thirty-first state legislature assembled January 3 and ad- journed April 18. The first district was represented in the senate by E. K. Roverud, and in the house by W. M. Selby.

1901. The thirty-second state legislature assembled January 8 and adjourned April 12. The first district was represented in the senate by E. K. Roverud, and in the house by James E. Bosworth. An extra session was called for the purpose of considering the report of the tax commission created by the act of 1901. The extra session convened February 4, 1902, and adjourned March 11, 1902.

1903. The thirty-third state legislature assembled January 6 and ad- journed April 12. The first district was represented in the senate by O. G. Laugen, and in the house by James E. Bosworth.

1905. The thirty-fourth state legislature assembled January 3 and adjourned April 18. The first district was represented in the senate by O. G. Laugen, and in the house by Iver G. Otterness.

1907. The thirty-fifth state legislature assembled January 8 and ad- journed April 24. The first district was represented in the senate by J. Q. Briggs, and in the house by O. B. Nelson.

1909. The thirty-sixth state legislature assembled January 5 and ad- journed April 22. The first district was represented in the senate by J. Q. Briggs, and in the house by O. B. Nelson.

1911. The thirty-seventh state legislature assembled January 3 and adjourned April 19. The first district was represented in the senate by F. A. Duxbury, and in the house by F. L. Farley.

An extra session was called for the purpose of enacting a state-wide direct primary law applicable to all state officers, a corrupt practice act and a reapportionment law. The extra session convened June 4, 1912, and adjourned June 18, 1912.

1913. The thirty-eighth state legislature assembled January 6 and adjourned April 19. The first district was represented in the senate by F. A. Duxbury, and in the house by A. C. Johnson.

By the apportionment of 1913, Houston and Fillmore counties were made the first district, with one senator and one representative at large. Each county had one representative.

1915. In the thirty-ninth state legislature the first district was repre- sented in the senate by F. A. Duxbury, and in the house by Ralph J. Parker, John J. Sliter and S. D. Baker. John J. Sliter was the representative from Houston county.

1917. In the fortieth state legislature the first district was repre- sented in the senate by F. A. Duxbury, and in the house by Ralph J. Parker, C. W. Hale and John J. Sliter.

1919. In the forty-first state legislature the first district was repre- sented in the senate by John W. Hopp, and in the house by Ralph J. Parker, John J. Sliter and C. W. Hale.

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CHAPTER XVI

COURTS AND LAWYERS

Alexander Ramsey, first territorial governor of Minnesota, arrived in St. Paul, May 27, 1849. June 1, of the same year, by proclamation, he de- clared the territory fully organized. June 11, he issued a second proclama- tion, dividing the territory into three temporary judicial districts.

The first Supreme Court of the territory, appointed by the president, consisted of Aaron Goodrich, chief justice, and David Cooper and Bradley M. Meeker, associate justices. Each of these Supreme Court judges was to sit as a district judge in one of the three judicial districts into which the territory had been divided.

Judge Cooper held the first court for the third district at Mendota, Aug. 27, 1849. Henry H. Sibley, afterward governor, was foreman of the grand jury. Judge Cooper, a gentleman of the old school, then but twenty- eight years of age, delivered a most scholarly and finished charge, which for many years was quoted as an authority on the duties of jurors. He also delivered an address of a more personal nature to the lawyers as- sembled. No business was transacted by this court. It is said that of the members of the jury, only three could write their names, and that eleven could not even understand the English language. The court was held in a large stone warehouse belonging to the fur company.

Before further terms of the court were held, the first territorial legisla- ture convened. On Oct. 27, 1849, the territory was divided into nine counties. Accordingly the judicial districts were arranged to conform to the new county divisions. Under the new arrangement the first district was made up of the counties of Washington, Wabasha and Itasca, these counties then embracing the eastern border of the territory. Judge Cooper was assigned to this district, and therefore continued as judge of the area now embracing Houston county.

Under this division, Judge Cooper held his second court at Stillwater, in February, 1850. At this court the first murder trial in the territory was held, a thirteen-year-old boy being sentenced to ninety days in the guard- house at Ft. Snelling for shooting a companion, the charge being man- slaughter.

March 5, 1853, Fillmore county was organized, including, generally speaking, practically the present counties of Winona, Olmsted, Fillmore and Houston. The newly created Fillmore county was assigned to Judge Cooper's district, but his term expired within a month of the time the county was created.

In the meantime, Aaron Goodrich had been succeeded as chief justice by Jerome Fuller, who served from November, 13, 1851, to December 16, 1852. Henry Z. Hayner, who served as chief justice from Dec. 16, 1852, to April 7, 1853, never presided at a term of the supreme court.

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April 7, 1853, William H. Welch was appointed chief justice and Moses G. Sherburne and Andrew G. Chatfield, associate justice. Andrew G. Chat- field was assigned to the district south of the Minnesota and west of the Mississippi.

The judicial history of what is now Houston county has its beginning with May 28, 1853, when a list of grand and petit jurors for the June term of the District Court of Fillmore county (then including Houston county), was drawn at Winona in the presence of John Iams, sheriff, and George M. Gere, a justice of the peace. These twenty-four names were ordered en- tered for the grand jury : H. B. Stoll, James Toms, Myron Thoms, Nathan Brown, Willard B. Bunnell, H. Carroll, Henry C. Gere, George M. Gere, William T. Luard, George H. Sanborn, Harvey Hubbard, Isaac Hamilton, O. S. Holbrook, William B. Gere, S. A. Houck, S. A. Putnam, H. B. Water- man, E. B. Drew, O. M. Lord, T. K. Allen, Egbert Chapman, A. A. Gilbert, Robert Taylor and A. P. Hall.

Forty-nine names, one more than required, were entered for the petit jury : Edwin B. Gere, John Evans, Erastus H. Murray, Edwin Hamilton, William H. Stevens, John C. Laird, Alex B. Smith, John Emerson, Erwin Johnson, John Burns, Frank Curtiss, George W. Clark, J. Scott Clark, Allen Gilmore, H. K. Thompson, Isaac W. Simonds, Jeremiah Tibbetts, Asa Pierce, Squire J. Bennett, H. J. Harrington, William F. Hewett, Henry Herrick, Warren Rowell, James Kincaid, Esquire Isaac Day, A. T. Pentler, James Campbell, Edward Thompson, Peter Gorr, O. H. Houck, J. S. Den- man, Charles Bannon, S. E. Cotton, Henry Stradling, William H. Coryell, Hiram Hull, John W. Bentley, D. Q. Burley, J. Nicklin, J. Wright, J. D. Follett, R. Thorp, Louis Krutzly, Henry W. Driver, C. R. Coryell, Alex. McClintock and the Messrs. Fortune, Fletcher and Webster, first names not given.

Both venires were issued to Sheriff Iams, June 11, 1853, and were returnable June 27, 1853.

The first session of the district court of Fillmore county (then includ- ing Houston county), assembled at the old Winona House, on Front street, in Winona, June 27, 1853, but as the judge was not present, an adjourn- ment was taken until the next day, when a large party of men and women from St. Paul, including Judge Chatfield, and Attorneys L. A. Babcock and H. L. Moss, arrived by boat. June 28, the first court in Fillmore county (then including Houston county), was organized at Winona, with Andrew G. Chatfield on the bench. Andrew Cole was appointed district attorney. W. B. Gere was clerk. Little business was transacted.

Feb. 7, 1854, Fillmore county, of which Houston county was still a part, together with Goodhue, Washington, and Chicago, was constituted the first judicial district, and assigned to Chief Justice William H. Welch. Feb. 23, 1854, Houston county was created with its present boundaries. It re- mained in the first district until the organization of the state.

William H. Welch was born in Connecticut about 1812. He was graduated from Yale College, and later from the Yale Law School. In 1850, he settled in Minnesota, making his residence in St. Anthony. He was

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judge of probate in Ramsey county. He was chief justice of Minnesota from 1852 to 1858, and was thus judge of the district embracing Houston county until the state organization. Later he removed to Red Wing, where he died, Jan. 22, 1863. He held his first court in Houston county, Aug. 20, 1855, and his last, Sept. 18, 1857.

The first court in Houston county was held in Caledonia, Aug. 20, 1855. On the bench was William H. Welch, territorial chief justice, sitting as judge of the First Judicial District. The following grand jurors answered to the call: Thomas Conniff, Harvey Gillette, John Campbell, John Mont- gomery, Eliakim Laflin, Embreck Knudson, Edwin Stewart, Henry Burnett, Levi West, William F. Dunbar, Edwin Butterfield, James Merts, Burton Andrews, Ralph L. Young, Eli Baker and John J. Dunbar. This not being sufficient, there were called in addition, Samuel McPhail, Samuel Surface, Samuel Armstrong, Hugh Brown, Eugene Marshall and Henry Parmalee. Samuel McPhail was chosen foreman.

The petit jurors were: William James, Daniel Herring, Knud Knud- son, Lawrence Lynch, Enoch C. Young, James Hiner, John S. Looney, John Trip, Anthony Huyck, Ole Amerson, Knud Johnson, Aaron S. Taylor, Gil- bert Nelson, Thomas Dunbar, Peter Johnson, Jacob Webster, Charles W. Metcalf, David Lynn, John Brown, James J. Belden, S. R. Ball, Augustus Parmalee, M. B. Metcalf, William Oxford, Russell H. Thurber, William D. Gibbs, Charles Garnes, Nelson Olson, George Larson, and Hagan Narveson. Of these, Knud Knudson, Ole Amerson, Gilbert Nelson, George Larson, William James, John S. Looney, Knud Johnson, Nelson Oleson, Peter John- son and Franklin Willard were excused. Bench warrants were issued in two cases of perjury for false statements made in entering lands, and in one case of selling liquor to Indians.

June 23, 1856, Michael Burke and Martin Rohan, both previously Irish subjects of the United Kingdom, were admitted to citizenship.

The session opening Sept. 14, 1857, with Judge Welch on the bench, was one of considerable importance. There was quite a large docket, a number of attorneys were present, and many aliens were admitted to citizen- ship. The attorneys present were: Morton S. Wilkinson, of St. Paul, Wil- liam Dennison, of La Crosse, and Edwin Flint, also of La Crosse. On Sept. 15, John H. Smith, John J. Moreland and Wyman Trask were admitted as lawyers on motion of Morton S. Wilkinson; and Sept. 17, Samuel McPhail and W. H. Lapham were admitted as lawyers on motion of Morton S. Wil- kinson and Orville T. Gilman.

Citizenship was granted to the following: Sept. 14, 1857, Patrick Jen- nings and Robert McCormick of the United Kingdom; Theodore and Nicholas Fish of Holland, and Lewis Mohler of Hanover. Sept. 15, Philip Deemer, William Schwinden, and Mathias Schwinden of Prussia, and Michael Scanlon, Michael Ryan and Edward D. Kelly of the United King- dom. Sept. 16, John Schwinden of Prussia, Peter Klels and John Waggoner of Holland, and Cornelius Mclaughlin, Matthew McGinness, Michael Ginness and Patrick Ginness of the United Kingdom. Sept. 17, Ole Olson and Amund Asjbornsen of Norway and Sweden, and John Crotty, Jeremiah Cunningham, Simon Carroll, Daniel Sullivan, George Powlesland and Wil-

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History of Houston County, Minnesota, Part 106

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge Publication date: 1919 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1343

Author: Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Publication date: 1919
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1343