USA > Minnesota > Rice County > History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota, Vol. I > Part 69
USA > Minnesota > Steele County > History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota, Vol. I > Part 69
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CHAPTER IV.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
First Meeting of Board of County Commissioners-Acts and Personnel of Succeeding Boards-County Officers-Register of Deeds-County Treasurer-County Auditor-County Sheriff-Superintendent of Schools-Judge of Probate- Clerk of Court-County Attorney-County Surveyor- County Coroner-Court Commissioner-Complete List of Officers Since 1887.
The first meeting of the board of county commissioners appointed by the governor was held on August 1, 1855, at the house of A. B. Cornell, on the present site of Owatonna. The opening sentence of the record is as follows: "Agreeable to direction from the governor of the territory of Minnesota, the board met at the house of A. B. Cornell, and, after taking the oath, proceeded to organize the county by appointing S. B. Smith chairman of the board. The first work of the board was to divide the county into townships, or precincts, as they were then called in number-which they named Owatonna. Swavesey and Le Sueur, only the first named of which embraced territory now included in Steele county, the other two embracing the territory now forming Waseca county. It was also ordered that the seat of justice of Steele county be located at Owatonna, on the southeast quarter of section 9, township 107, range 20. The board at that time consisted of S. B. Smith, chairman, F. Ingram and F. W. Fisk, although the last named does not appear to have attended this meeting. From the record this appears to have been all that was accomplished at the first meeting. Charles Ellison was clerk of the board. and A. B. Cornell, deputy. August 25, 1855, a special meeting of the board was held, at which Medford township was set off from Owatonna, and its organization was authorized.
The first county roads to be acted upon were considered October 17, 1855. They were as follows: "One from Owatonna to the county line in the direction of Drake's:" one from the east county line in the direction of Mankato, and "one from Owatonna to the county line near Ralph Stout's." Sylvester McNitt and Henry A. Catlin were appointed to view and report
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on the last mentioned road, "with the understanding that they were to make no charge to the county for such services." At this same meeting the vote of Steele county (election on October 9, 1855,) was canvassed, the canvassers being Addison Phelps and J. Jenkins, justices of the peace, and Charles Ellison, clerk of the board of county commissioners.
At the next meeting, on November 10, 1855, the newly- elected board of county commissioners held their first meeting. The board was composed of S. B. Smith, chairman, F. W. Fisk and John Abbott. On April 7, 1856, the county was divided into assessor's districts, and a short time later Benjamin L. Arnold, James E. Child and Wilbur Fisk were appointed county assessors. In April, of the same year, the finances of the county were elearly shown by the following statement: "An order was presented to the board by John W. Park, for services as road viewer and county surveyor, to the amount of $29. The condition of the finances of the county is as follows: County in debt, $29."
At this same meeting Franklin township was organized, and several townships lying in what is now Waseca county.
On July 7, 1856, a meeting of the board was held at the store of Adolphus Town, in Owatonna, and the record shows the names of S. B. Smith, chairman, William Allen and Melmer P. Ide as composing it. David Lindersmith, Levi Thompson, and L. B. Osgood were appointed to assess the county. It was also ordered that the county officers would hold their offices open at the county seat, and that the board would provide a place in the store of Park and Smith for the county treasurer.
For the year 1857 the members of the board of commission- ers consisted of Nathaniel Winship, of Owatonna, chairman ; Wm. Allen of Medford, and David Smith. At their first meet- ing, in 1857, this board resolved that the offices of clerk of court and county treasurer should be held at the office of Jolin WV. Park, and that the sheriff's office should be kept at his house. The finances of the county are again shown up in the January meeting of the board in 1857, when the following sentence ap- pears on the records: "Finances of the county -in debt."
In July, 1857, from the records it appears that the board was composed of N. Winship, chairman ; William Allen, of Medford, and A. A. Woodard, of Somerset. In October William Allen resigned. In October of the same year, Geo. W. Green resigned the office of district attorney, and Sylvanus Yearly was ap- pointed.
In January, 1858, the board for the ensuing year met and organized by the election of Nathaniel Winship, of Owatonna, chairman. The other members were Hiram Pitcher, of Berlin,
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and Lorenzo Muckey, of Medford. On June 5. 1858, John W. Park resigned the office of register of deeds and M. A. Dailey was appointed his successor. On the same date David Sanborn. the county treasurer, made a statement of the financial condi- tion of the county for the year as follows: Total amount re- ceived, $1.364.10; total paid out, $765.74; balance on hand. $598.36. The outstanding indebtedness of the county, January 6, 1858, was $2,129.69.
April 6, 1858, the county was rearranged as to townships. This matter received attention in another chapter.
TOWNSHIP SYSTEM.
In 1858, with the admission of the state into the union, began an era which in Minnesota continued but a short time, that of county government by a board of supervisors consisting of the chairman of the different townships. The first meeting in Steele county under the new law was held September 15, 1858. The following were the members from the various townships in the county : Medford, Franklin B. Davis; Clinton Falls, Geo. W. Green ; Deerfield, John H. Morse: Owatonna, Wm. F. Pettit ; Lafayette (later Freeman, later Dover, now Havana). Amos Norton; Meriden, Walter Stebbins; Union Prairie (later Orion. later Lyon, now Merton), Levi E. Thompson: Aurora (then in- cluding Oak Glen, which became Blooming Prairie), Simeon Os- born, Jr .; Somerset. T. C. Minthorn : Lemond, Samuel M. Hast- ings: Summit, Hiram Fredenburgh; Berlin, Charles Brown.
Geo. W. Green was elected chairman of the board and MI. A. Dailey, clerk. At this session of the board the names of Lafayette and Union Prairie townships were changed to Free- man and Orion respectively.
The law creating the office of county auditor had gone into effect, and in October, 1858, A. Mckinney had been elected to fill it, but there arose some question as to the legality of the election, M. A. Dailey contesting, and on February 9, 1859, the contest was decided by the board choosing Mr. Dailey, who was at that time acting as clerk of the board, or auditor.
The second annual session of the board of supervisors began on September 13, 1859, when an organization was effected by the election of George W. Green to the chair. The following comprise a list of the members: Owatonna, George B. Hall : Medford, F. B. Davis: Deerfield. J. H. Morse; Meriden, F. J. Stevens: Aurora, George W. Grimshaw; Summit, H. Freden- burgh ; Clinton Falls, George W. Green ; Orion, L. E. Thompson : Dover, S. H. Patterson : Somerset, Thomas Thompson ; Lemond, S. M. Hastings ; Berlin. I. W. Crosby.
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In October, 1859, the board of equalization arranged the as- sessment of the county. The real estate in the various townships was assessed as follows:
Medford, 9,036 acres assessed at $4.07 per acre: Owatonna, 18,875 acres assessed at $3.50 per acre ; Clinton Falls, 8,307 acres assessed at $2.95 per acre ; Dover, 11,655 acres assessed at $2.59 per acre ; Orion, 13,013 acres assessed at $2.63 per acre ; Meriden, 16,828 acres assessed at $2.80 per acre; Somerset, 11,901 acres assessed at $1.87 per acre : Summit, 6,534 acres assessed at $1.98 per acre ; Berlin, 7,392 acres assessed at $1.98 per acre ; Aurora, 15,923 acres assessed at $1.95 per acre : Deerfield, 12,345 acres assessed at $1,99 per acre ; Lemond, 10,105 acres assessed at $1.96 per acre. Total, 141,919 acres.
On February 6, 1860, Frank L. Melvin, who had in the meantime been elected county auditor, resigned, and the board appointed M. A. Dailey to fill the vacancy.
COMMISSION SYSTEM.
In the winter of 1859-60 the legislature again changed the system of county government, abolishing the board of super- visors and re-establishing the board of county commissioners, which was to consist of three members, or five when the popula- tion of the county should warrant it. The first meeting under the change was held on May 17, 1860, when H. Fredenburgh and F. J. Stevens were present as members. Mr. Fredenburgli was elected chairman.
In June 1860, the county was divided into commissioner's districts, as follows: No. 1 included Medford, Deerfield. Clinton Falls and Orion. No. 2 included Owatonna, Meriden and Dover. No. 3, Aurora, Somerset, Lemond, Oak Glen, Summit and Berlin. The board for 1860 was composed of H. Fredenburgh, of Sun- mit, chairman ; L. E. Thompson, of Orion, and F. J. Stevens, of Meriden.
In 1861 the members of the board were N. Winship, of Owatonna, chairman: George C. Pettie, of Aurora: and W. P. Francis, of Medford.
When the board met for the first time in 1862, Alex. Chambers, of Owatonna, was chosen chairman. The associate members were H. Fredenburgh, of Summit, and Benjamin F. Melvin, of Medford. At the January session in this year the name of Orion township was changed, first to Lyon and then to Merton. In the spring of 1862 the educational system was changed, and the county was divided into districts for the supervision of the schools. In September, 1862, the board of commissioners appointed a school superintendent for each of
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these districts, as follows: First district, R. G. Lincoln ; second district, Harvey Chapin ; third district, Dwight Gordon.
For 1863 the personnel of the board was the same as during the previous year. On November 5, 1863, W. Morris resigned the offices of county auditor and register of deeds. The board appointed A. N. Stoughton, county auditor ; and Charles S. Cran- call, register of deeds.
In 1864 the board of county commissioners met for their first session on the first Monday in January, and organized by re- electing Alex. Chambers chairman. The other two members were H. Fredenburgh and B. F. Melvin. Mr. Melvin resigned January 18, and F. B. Davis was appointed to fill the vacancy. An act was approved March 2, 1864, changing the school system again, and in accordance with this the board appointed A. A. Harwood superintendent of schools for the entire county and fixed the salary at $200 per year.
When the board met in January, 1865, it was composed of Alex. Chambers, of Owatonna, chairman ; A. J. Abbott, of Med- ford, and H. Fredenburgh, of Summit. Mr. Abbott resigned in January of the same year and Henry Maw, of Merton was appointed to fill the vacancy. In May, 1865, S. H. Patterson resigned the office of sheriff and William Scriby was appointed by the board to act until the general election following.
In 1866 the following gentlemen comprised the board: Alex. Chambers, of Owatonna, chairman ; H. Fredenburgh, of Sum- mit, and O. Bartholomew, of Medford.
The board of 1867 was as follows: H. Fredenburgh, of Summit, chairman ; O. Bartholomew, of Medford, and George B. Hall, of Owatonna. Among the first matters acted upon by this board was to set off and authorize the organization of Oak Glen (now Blooming Prairie) township.
In 1868 the board was composed of George B. Hall, of Owa- tonna, chairman; O. Bartholomew, of Medford; and D. T. Gordon, of Berlin. In January of this year F. J. Stevens was appointed county superintendent of schools, and in September he was reappointed for the year commencing January 1, 1869.
In 1869 the board of county commissioners consisted of George B. Hall, of Owatonna, chairman ; D. T. Gordon, of Ber- lin ; and L. H. Lane, of Merton township. In January, 1869, the record states that M. J. Toher resigned the office of sheriff and Ferdinand Borchert was appointed. It appears that Borchert had been elected sheriff as Frank Borchert instead of Ferdinand, and to cover any possible technical difficulty Mr. Toher, his predecessor, resigned and the board then appointed Mr. Borchert.
During this year-1869-the board was increased to five in-
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stead of three members. The board redistricted the county on September 10, 1869.
In 1870 the board was composed of George B. Hall, chiair- man; D. T. Gordon, of Berlin; L. H. Lane, of Merton; G. W. Buffum, of Clinton Falls; and Frank Chambers, of Havana. On March 11, 1870, it was decided to submit to the voters of the county the question of issuing county bonds to the amount of $10,000 for the purpose of erecting a county jail.
In 1871 the board organized by the election of L. H. Lane, of Merton, chairman; the other members were George B. Hall, of Owatonna ; G. W. Buffum, of Clinton Falls; Hugh Murray, of Lemond; and Frank Chambers, of Havana. On June 8, 1871, Charles Dinijes resigned the office of county surveyor and the board appointed James M. Finch to fill the vacancy.
For the year 1872 the board was made up of the following named: G. W. Buffum, of Clinton Falls, chairman; George B. Hall, of Owatonna ; Hugh Murray, of Lemond ; G. O. Hanker- son, of Medford; and Henry H. Mitchell, of Aurora.
In 1873, when the board first met, it was composed of the following members: George B. Hall, of Owatonna, chairman; George O. Hankerson, of Medford; Hugh Murray, of Lemond; H. H. Mitchell, of Aurora ; and G. W. Buffum, of Clinton Falls. On June 23, 1873, H. H. Mitchell resigned and E. Stapleton, of Aurora, was appointed to fill the vacancy. It appears that at about this time the name of Oak Glen township was changed to Blooming Prairie, although no entry of the change seems to have been made on the records.
In 1874 the board met for the first time on January 6, being composed of the following members: G. W. Buffum, of Clinton Falls, chairman ; G. B. Hall, of Owatonna; Hugh Murray, of Lemond; G. O. Hankerson, of Medford; and H. A. Gleason, of Blooming Prairie.
On January, 1875, the board organized with the following membership: Geo. B. Hall, of Owatonna, chairman ; A. B. Clark, of Blooming Prairie; J. A. Oppliger, of Owatonna; John H. Morse, of Deerfield; and Hugh Murray, of Lemond. On Jan- uary 6, Hugh Murray presented his resignation, and J. O. Waumett, of Meriden, was appointed by a board, which, ac- cording to law consisted of the county auditor, judge of probate and register of deeds.
January 4, 1876, at the regular annual meeting, Geo. B. Hall, of Owatonna, was elected chairman, the associate members be- ing A. B. Clark, of Blooming Prairie; John H. Morse, of Deer- field ; E. L. Scoville, of Meriden ; and John Q. Ellis, of Owatonna. January 6, Rev. George C. Tanner was appointed county super- intendent of schools for the ensuing year.
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The following were the members of the board for the year 1877: George B. Hall, chairman; A. B. Clark, of Blooming Prairie ; J. O. Waumett, of Meriden ; John H. Morse. of Deer- field ; and John Q. Ellis, of Owatonna. In March of this year it was again decided to submit to the voters the question of is- suing $10,000 bonds of the county for the purpose of erecting a jail, as the project had been more unsuccessful before. This time the matter was accomplished, and at the next meeting, on June 25, the chairman of the board was authorized to issue bonds of the county in that amount. This loan was negotiated through Dr. Mccutcheon, of Faribanlt. The bonds were to bear interest at the rate of nine per cent and were payable in one and two years.
On New Year's day, the board met in annual session for 1878. At this time it was composed of John Q. Ellis, of Owa- tonna, chairman ; Geo. B. Hall, of Owatonna ; John O. Waumett. of Meriden ; W. P. Francis, of Medford : and Andrew Erdmann. of Havana.
In 1879 the board consisted of John Q. Ellis, of Owatonna. chairman ; W. P. Francis, of Medford ; A. Erdmann, of Havana : J. O. Waumett, of Meriden : and E. Donaldson, of Owatonna.
In 1880 the following were members of the board of com- missioners: J. Q. Ellis, chairman : Andreas Erdmann, of Ilavana; W. P. Francis, of Medford; E. Donaldson. of Owa- tonna ; and Oscar Murphy, of Lemond. In March, 1880, a com- mittee, consisting of Commissioners Erdmann, Francis, and Mur- phy, was appointed to view sites and report on the advisability of the county's purchasing a poor farm. This, however, did not seem to aid in arriving at a conclusion, for in January, 1881. Commissioners Murphy and Eggleston were appointed to look into the same matter.
The following were members of the board in 1881: J. Q. Ellis, of Owatonna, chairman : Oscar Murphy, of Lemond: Ed- ward Donaldson, of Owatonna; Jesse Healey, of Somerset : and W. A. Eggleston, of Merton. In July. 1881. the county was redivided into commissioner's districts, as follows: First dis- triet to embrace Meriden, Lemond, Berlin and Summit ; second district, Havana, Somerset, Aurora and Blooming Prairie : third district, Deerfield, Medford, Merton and Clinton Falls : fourth district, Owatonna township and second ward of the city : fifth district, first, third and fourth wards of the city. Commissioner Donaldson presented a minority report opposing this change in commissioner's districts, in which he stated, "that the only ap- parent advantage gained was a political one."
The board for 1882, which convened in annual session on January 3, was composed of John Q. Ellis, of Owatonna, chair-
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man : Oscar Murphy, of Lemond ; W. A. Eggleston, of Merton ; Jesse Healey, of Somerset and H. Schmidt, of Owatonna. Early in February Mr. Ellis died and Elias Scannel was appointed commissioner to fill the vacancy. On February 15, Oscar Murphy was elected chairman for the balance of the year.
During the year 1883, the following gentlemen made up the board of commissioners: Oscar Murphy, of Lemond, chairman ; Jesse Healey, of Somerset; W. A. Eggleton, of Merton; H. Schmidt, of Owatonna ; and Elias Scannel, of Owatonna.
On January 1, 1884, the board again met in annual session, being composed then of the following members: Oscar Murphy. of Lemond, chairman ; E. Scannel, of Owatonna ; H. Schmidt, of Owatonna; Jesse Healey. of Somerset; and C. M. Finch, of Clinton Falls. At this time the board decided to submit to the voters of the county the question of issuing bonds of Steele county in the sum of $35,000 for the purpose of erecting a court house. It was submitted at the general election. In January, 1884, the county coroner removed from the county and the board appointed Dr. J. L. Harrington to fill the vacancy so caused.
In January, 1885, Oscar Murphy, of Lemond, was again elected chairman. his associates being Jesse Healey, of Somerset ; C. M. Finch, of Clinton Falls ; G. W. Kinyon, of Owatonna town- ship ; and L. L. Bennett, of Owatonna city.
The board of commissioners for 1886 was composed of Oscar Murphy, of Lemond, chairman; Jesse Healey, of Somerset; C. M. Finch, of Clinton Falls ; G. W. Kinyon, of Owatonna town- ship ; and L. L. Bennett, of Owatonna city.
In 1887 the following gentlemen comprised the county board : Herman Schmidt, of Owatonna, chairman ; John Virtue, of Clin- ton Falls : H. L. Zwiener, of Blooming Prairie ; Theodore Cham- bers, of Berlin ; and G. W. Kinyon, of Owatonna township. In January, 1887, Rev. G. C. Tanner resigned the office of county superintendent of schools and J. D. Brown was appointed.
REGISTER OF DEEDS.
Charles Ellison was the first register of deeds for Steele county. He was appointed by the governor in the summer of 1855, and served until January 1, 1857. He opened the rec- ords of the county, in the absence of record books, upon a couple sheets of foolscap paper. Ellison came here from Iowa early in the spring of 1855, and took a claim southeast of Owatonna, which has since fell into John Chamber's possession after a num- ber of changes. Ellison remained about for several years im- proving his claim a little and finally went to Somerset, where in
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company with others he was interested in the project of start- ing a village. A few years later he left the county.
John W. Park succeeded Mr. Ellison as register of deeds, be- ing elected in October, 1856. Park was a native of Vermont, but came here from Waukesha county, Wisconsin, in the fall of 1854, accompanying W. W. Wilkins, S. B. Smith and Curtis Haseltine. Park and Smith settled on a claim in the northern part of the present city plat, where they lived together and be- gan improvements. In the spring of 1855, Smith and Park started a store at Owatonna, the first in the city, and continued to run it until the fall of 1856, when they sold it to Elder Town. Smith continued to farm until 1857, when he went back to Wau- kesha. Park held a number of offices while here, being county surveyor. register of deeds and deputy postmaster at the same time. After selling their mercantile business, Park attended to his few official duties for a couple of years and then returned to Waukesha county, Wisconsin. It should be mentioned that in the spring of 1856, both Smith and Park had returned to Wisconsin and married sisters there. Both were clear headed, sound business men, and were prominent in public affairs gen- erally while they lived there.
In the fall of 1857 George W. Danforthi was elected register of deeds and served for one year. Mr. Danforth had only been here a short time before the election, having come from In- diana. He worked for a time for Elder Town in his store. After remaining here a short time he returned to Indiana.
Marvin A. Dailey was the next register of deeds. He was first elected in October, 1858, and re-elected in 1860, serving until January 1, 1863. Dailey was originally from New York. He settled at Owatonna in 1856, and took quite a prominent part in politics and public matters, holding many important offices of trust during his residence here. After Mr. Dailey's term of office as register. the office of register of deeds and county auditor were consolidated and E. J. Crandall held the position.
Walter Morris succeeded Mr. Crandall. IIe was elected in November, 1862, and served nearly two years. The offices of auditor and register were together this time. Mr. Morris was one of the earliest settlers of Rice county, and Morristown in that county was named in honor of his family, where they had setled in April, 1855. Mr. Morris was born in Ohio on January 12, 1833. In 1846 his parents removed to Indiana and in 1853 to St. Paul, thence to Hastings, until 1854, when they settled in Faribault, where Walter Morris was one of the proprietors selling his interest to John W. North. An event of his life which he often related happened in 1854, when he assisted Alex- ander Faribault in getting 500 Indians across the Redwood to
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receive their pay. While on their way thither the Indians ob- tained liquor, got drunk and made numerous threats, but were finally sobered down and reached their destination in safety. After leaving Mankato they traveled two days and a half with nothing to eat and when, finding a skunk, which made them a meal, they thought themselves fortunate. In 1861 Mr. Morris settled at Owatonna and served as register of deeds and also county auditor as stated. In 1863 he resigned and the following spring made a trip to Colorado, engaged in farming and re- mained two years ; but as the grasshoppers harvested both crops he removed to Mason, Mo. In 1870, he settled in St. Louis, and in 1875 returned to Morristown, Rice county, and engaged in the mercantile business.
In November, 1864, Charles S. Crandall was elected register of deeds to succeed Mr. Morris and two years later he was re- elected, serving four years. Mr. Crandall is still an honored resident of Steele county. A sketch of his life appears else- where in this volume.
In November, 1868, H. J. Lewis was elected register of deeds and was twice re-elected, serving until January 1, 1875. Mr. Lewis came to Steele county at an early day and settled near Crane creek. He enlisted early during the war, serving in a Wisconsin regiment, and attained a high rank before being mustered out. After his discharge he came to Steele county and in 1868, as stated, was elected register of deeds and served six years. Toward the last of his official term his health failed and after a while he went to Wisconsin, where his death oc- curred.
By the election in November, 1874, Ezra Tyler succeeded Mr. Lewis as register of deeds. In 1876, 1878, 1880, 1882 and 1884 Mr. Tyler was re-elected, serving in all twelve years. He was a young man when he settled in Steele county, which was before the war. He followed different occupations for busi- ness until the war broke out, when he enlisted and went into service. After the close of the Rebellion he was, for a time, engaged in the mercantile business at Owatonna, associated with a brother. When elected, his official duties occupied his attention. In the spring of 1887, shortly after the expiration of his term of office, he removed to Duluth, where he was engaged in the compilation of a set of abstracts.
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