USA > Missouri > Grundy County > The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 20
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It will be seen from the records that at the organization of Grundy county eleven townships completed her municipal division, that justices of the peace were elected from each and that this division continued as late as January, 1845, if not until 1846. The townships were named as follows: Monticello, Trenton, Scott, Franklin, Lafayette, Morgan, Marion, Clark, Jefferson, Madison and Washington.
The first book of record of the county court is Book A, and its first entry for records is August 6, and it is in that year (1846) that the seven town- ships are first mentioned, and it was upon the ordering of an election to vote for congressman to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of the Hon. Sterling Price, of Chariton county. His successor was Wm. McDaniel, of Marion county. The next important feature was the first session of the Circuit Court.
GRUNDY COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT.
It was a little over three months after the organization of the county before the first session of a circuit court was held in Grundy county. It is found of record, as follows:
CIRCUIT COURT.
Be it remembered that at a Circuit Court begun and held at the store- house of James S. Lomax (the temporary seat of justice for Grundy county, in the State of Missouri), on the 8th day of April, A. D. 1841: Present- The Hon. James A. Clark, judge; Wmn. Thrailkill, sheriff; Thomas W. Jacobs, clerk.
This being the first court held, the business of the same, as well as of the . county court, was all transacted in a log building built by the settlers and
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
called the Baptist Church. It was near the old grave-yard and did duty as a court-house for a number of years. The town of Trenton at that time was known as " Lomax Store," and went by that name, as will be seen by the record above, and was also known as "Bluff Grove." The Hon. James A. Clark prodneed here the following commission as judge of this. the eleventh judicial cirenit and of this court, which was ordered to be recorded; to-wit.,
NOTE -Here a space was left blank for the recording of the commission but it was never recorded.
Following this came the circuit attorney's record; to-wit,
Benjamin F. Stringfellow, Esq., produced in court here the following commission as cirenit attorney for this, the eleventh judicial circuit, which is ordered to be recorded; to-wit,
NOTE-This blank was left like that of the judge but the commission was not of record.
The records then show the following:
The following named gentlemen having procured their licenses, were ordered to be enrolled as attorneys of record of the court; to-wit, Amos Rees, Wm. G. Slack, Robert Ewing, B. F. Farr, James H. Savage, Philip L. Edwards and James Conner. Many of these gentlemen were long mem- bers of the bar in this judicial district.
The sheriff returned into court here the State venire facias, as executed, and the following gentlemen were chosen as grand jurors; to-wit,
NOTE .- The names were not entered but the space left blank as in that of the judge's and circuit attorney's commissions.
Who being sworn, and having received a charge, retired to consider of their presentment. They returned seventeen indictments, recorded as follows:
State v. Richard Lomax, card-playing; State v. Waddy L. Curran, bet- ting; State v. Abraham Cavault, betting; State v. same, card-playing on Sunday; State v. Andrew I. Walker, betting; State v. same, playing at cards; State v. Jacob Applegate, card-playing on Sunday; State v. Waddy L. Curran, card-playing on Sunday; State v. John Tatman, card-playing on Sunday; State v. Benj. Townsend, card-playing; State v. Joseph Apple- gate, betting; State v. same, card-playing on Sunday; State v. Sam'l Knight, card-playing; State v. John Tatman, -; State v. Waddy L. Curran, betting; State v. John Harris, perjury.
Andrew I. Walker pleaded guilty on both counts and threw himself on the mercy of the court, and was fined eight dollars, four dollars on each charge.
Richard Lomax pleaded guilty also, and got off with a five dollar fine.
Abraham Cavault didn't scare worth a cent, and stood his trial on a plea of " not guilty." The judge and attorney both acknowledged that the evi- dence was against them, and the attorney announced to the court that he 12
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
wouldn't any longer prosecute the said indictment, and Mr. Cavault waltzed ont a free man.
Mr. Jno. Harris's case for perjury was carried over to the next term of the court by agreement. His bail was fixed at $1,000, and he was recom- mitted to the common jail of the county.
The court in those days seemed to have but little general legal business, not enough to pay expenses of the court, so the grand jury was called on to fill up the gap by criminal indictments, and they went to work with a will. It is proven by the Circuit Court records that card-playing was one of the leading amusements of that day, as was also betting at cards and on the elections. The same record will show that the grand jury made it their business to indict every man who played cards. They indicted about all the county officers, the merchants, lawyers, doctors, etc., in one grand swoop. The indicted ones would go up to the court, plead guilty, ask mercy of the court and walk off after paying from five to ten dollars fine, each. Then the plavers would get together and lay for that grand jury.
The fact is, "they all did it," and when court adjourned, the " boys" went to work to play with the late members of that august body, and by the time the next session of court came round, some three months later, they had the entire grand jury. When the new grand jury was installed, the " boys " then stepped forward like little men, and had the previous grand jury indicted to a man, for playing cards or allowing card-playing in houses in their possession. It didn't take a great many years to convince the grand juries that card-playing wasn't so much of a criminal affair as was at first supposed. But by that time civil and criminal suits had become numerous enough to make expenses without calling on innocent and fun- loving gentlemen to contribute their mite to support the law and its worthy officers. There was a good deal of this kind of fun going on in those good old days, and many a diamond ent diamond affair is hidden away in the forgotten record of the past.
The first snit entered upon the record as the first after Grundy county was organized, is that of Leroy Templeman vs. Joseph Applegate The plaintiff asked leave to amend his declaration by filing two additional counts, and the suit was then postponed and the defendant had leave to plead to the said plaintiff's declaration at the next term of the court.
The suit was in assumpsit.
The next was
PETER HART vs.
Petition in debt.
WM. M. HART.
A motion to quash the writ of summons was overruled by the court, and the defendant was mulet in the full sum claimed by plaintiff, $168.75, dam- ages $27.40 and the court also kindly consented to said defendant paying the costs.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
These are the first cases of record. Harris for perjury was subsequently discharged, being declared not guilty. As the record shows no grand juror's names for the first jury, the following names have been gathered as a part of that jury: Jas. R. Devaul, Win. Metcalf, Jas. II. Cash, Jasper Boyce, Archibald Peery, Joseph Collier and Jesse Miller; Judge Devaul and Dr. Peery being the only survivors.
The second grand jury was called August 5th, 1842, at the second term of the Circuit Court, and the following named compose the full jury for that term: Evans Peery, foreman; Win. Collier, Robt. B. Moss, Thos. Hamil- ton, James Nordyke, Jethro Sires, Abram Fields, Benj. F. Woods, George Henson, Moses Kirkendall, James Winn, Martin Winn, Win. Donnellin, Rich. Minehel, Jas. Simpson, Alfred Caldwell, Jno. L. P. Marshall and Thos. Ogle. This session proved of but little importanee, except in one instance. It was made up of but few indictments by the grand jury, and the docket cases were principally eivil suits, with the exception of John Harris who was on trial for perjury, on which charge he was declared not guilty, as heretofore mentioned.
COUNTY SEAT IMBROGLIO.
The importance of this, the second session of the Circuit Court, was the opening of the county seat fight in dead earnest. Trenton, or rather the citizens of Bluff Grove, or Lomax Store, looked upon the county seat as be- longing to them by the right of possession, by the right of old age, and the known faet that it was nearer the center of the county than any other vil- lage or settlement the county could boast of. The river was here, the water-power was of value, mills, both flour and saw-mills could be put up, and in fact nature had designated this Bluff as the seat of a thriving town which would loom up into metropolitan proportions. All this was more than satisfactory to the citizens of Lomax Store, or Bluff Grove, and, as it seemed afterward, on a test of the question, satisfactory to the people of the county. But Lincoln township could not see anything in these statements worth a rush. The people of that township had already made history and pro- posed to make more. They wanted that county seat as near the geographi- cal center of the county as the nature of the country would admit, and they went to work to get it; to make history and to kiek up a row, deelaring that that part of sections thirty-four and three of congressional townships sixty-one and sixty-two, range twenty-four should become the proud metrop- olis of Grundy county with the waters of the Big Muddy to baptize the infant " future great." This location was within a mile of the geographical center of the county. At the time of the organization the metes and bounds of the county had been defined by the legislature, the latter, also, appointed three commissioners to locate the county seat. It seems that they decided the question early in May, and it proved an ominous blow at the prosperity
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
of Bluff Grove, which then had really some pretension to being a village while the site located was yet in its primeval state, or in other words, it was in the woods and a few stakes driven here and there marked its boun- , daries. Lincoln was happy; that is, the Bain-Kelso settlement and all around them felt in a good humor, for they had won. But as there is many a slip between the cup and the lip, this proved no exception, and Bluff Grove, headed by James S. Lomax and eighty acres of land at his back free to the county, led the troops located on the banks of Grand River, while George Tetherow led the forces marshaled in the bottoms of the Big Muddy. From this time on we will let the records show the progress of events and the final defeat of George Tetherow and his forces, who kept the field just as long as the law would let him. It must be understood that the commissioners while deciding this question in May, were to report to the Circuit Court at the August term, and that since the county had been organized in the previous January, the county business had been transacted at Bluff Grove or Lomax Store. Now for the record. The first one is the report of the commissioners appointed by the State, who handed it to Thos. W. Jacobs, circuit clerk, to file and present to the court at its coming ses- sion in August. These gentlemen were from adjoining counties and were, as they claimed to be, unbiased as to their decision, and their action was un- doubtedly under the belief that a central location would please all.
THE COMMISSIONERS' REPORT.
" At a circuit court for Grundy county, in the State of Missouri, begun and held at Lomax Store, the temporary seat of justice for said county, on Thursday, the 5th day of August, 1841, amongst others were the following proceedings; to-wit,
"Be it remembered that on this day came John W. Minnis, John Wolf- scale and Jeremiah J. Lockhart, commissioners appointed by the legislature of the State of Missouri to locate the permanent seat of justice for Grundy county, and filed in court their report, as follows:
' To the Honorable, the Judge of the Circuit Court of the county of Grundy, State of Missouri :- We, the commissioners, appointed at the last session of the legislature of the State of Missouri, for the purpose of locating a permanent seat of justice for the county of Grundy, beg leave to offer the following as the result of their proceedings: Having met in pursuance of law, we proceeded to examine the face of the country, and have selected a part of sections 34 and 3 in townships 61 and 62, range 24, as exhibited in the inclosed deeds and papers.
' JOHN W. MINNIS,
'JNO. WOLFSCALE,
' JEREMIAH J. LOCKIIART,
Commissioners."
' ATHENS, May 24, 1841.
185
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
" Which report having been read and heard by the court here, and the title of the land in said report mentioned having been examined by the court, and the court being satisfied that the same is perfect and sufficient, it is ordered by the court that the county court of Grundy county aforesaid be certified of the same.
"I, Thos. W. Jacobs, clerk of said Circuit Court, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the record and order made in the above cause, this 9th day of August, A. D. 1841.
"THOS. W. JACOBS, Clerk."
The knowledge of the true purport of the above document put Bluff Grove on her mettle, and the location in the woods was not to be thought of. Peti- tions were at once drawn up and sent out to every section of the county, and the bearers of these petitions bore the strange device, " Excelsior." Bluff Grove was going forward and higher. These petitions, some ten in number, read as follows:
"To the Honorable, the County Court of Grundy county, Missouri :- Your petitioners would respectfully represent to your honors that the seat of justice of Grundy county, Missouri, has been located, and NOT agreeable to our wishes, therefore we, your petitioners, would, and do prefer the seat of justice at the store of James S. Lomax, in said county, and would, there- fore, pray your honorable body to appoint five commissioners to locate the seat of justice according to law, and your petitioners will ever pray."
The names followed. Indorsed on the back of each one of these peti- tions, in a bold, manly hand, and a regular John Hancock signature, of rev- olutionary memory, was the following:
" For which I, James S. Lomax, bind myself to donate to the county eighty acres of land, at Bluff Grove, for the location of said seat of justice. JAMES S. LOMAX."
" May 18, 1841.
Lively work brought in two hundred and sixty names, which was in ex- cess of the number needed, three-fifths of the last vote polled in the county being all that was necessary. They counted a less number than here given, but the petitions show 260 names, and they came from every quarter of the county. While the minutes of the county are not to be found, the report of the five commissioners to the circuit, by the order of the Grundy county court, shows that on the return of the petitions with the names thereon, that a session of the county court was convened and five commissioners, as prayed for by the petitioners, were appointed. These commissioners, like those ap- pointed by the State, were from adjoining counties, but not like the State appointees, their work was all cut out and their principal business was to stake out Mr. James S. Lomax's eighty acres of land, get the deed and make their report. They did so in the words following:
186
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
" To the Honorable Judge of the Grundy Circuit Court :- In compli- ance with the order of the Grundy county court to us directed as cominis- sioners appointed by said court for the purpose of locating the permanent county seat of said county, respectfully report that we met on the ground selected by the petitioners of said county on the 5th day of August, 1841, and after being duly qualified, proceeded to the discharge of our duties, and after examining the ground within the boundary prescribed by law, have se- lected the following described premises for the permanent county seat of said connty; to-wit,
" Beginning at the half-mile corner stake, being the northwest corner of the northeast quarter of section number twenty, of township number sixty- one, range twenty-four, running sonth 125 poles to a stake; thence east ninety poles to a stake; thence north twenty-eight poles to a stake; thence east seventeen poles and four links to a stake; thence north ninety-seven poles to a stake; thence west 115 poles to the place of beginning, contain- ing eighty acres, donated by James S. Lomax for the use of said county for the county seat, to which premises we, the commissioners, have received a deed for the use and behalf of said county, and which deed is herewith attached.
"All of which is respectfully reported to the honorable judge of the Grundy Circuit Court this 6th day of August, 1841.
" Tır. R. BRYAN. " THOMAS JENNINGS.
" JOHN AUSTIN.
" SAMUEL FERNANDIS.
" JAMES H. WILSON.
To HON. JAMES A. CLARK, Judge.
The foregoing document was indorsed on the back as having been " filed for record this 6th day of Angust, 1841. (Signed) THOS. W. JACOBS, Clerk."
The legal proceeding instituted by George Tetherow now comes in, and from his legal papers on file, the reader gets something of the proceedings of the County Court to which he refers; also of their action in this county seat contest. As the August term of the court had overruled his motion not to vacate the county site from the banks of the Big Muddy, and did relocate it at " Lomax Store," Tetherow commenced his legal fight through Wm. Y. Slack, his attorney, on the County Court. His first legal document reads:
" STATE OF MISSOURI, " GRUNDY COUNTY, S
County Court, Special Term, Sept. 13, 1841.
" George Tetherow, a resident householder of Grundy county, Missouri, by his attorney, Wm. Y. Slack, moves the court here: First, to rescind the order made by the court on the 30th day of June, A. D. 1841, at a special term thereof, receiving the petition of James Livingston and others for the
187
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
removal of the county seat of Grundy county, Missouri, and ordering the same to be filed, and also appointing Thos. R. Bryan, Thos. Jennings, Sam- nel Fernandis and others commissioners to locate the county seat of the said Grundy county, Missouri. And, second, to rescind all further orders and proceedings made and had in this said court relative to or concerning the removal of said county seat of Grundy county.
" Filed of record this 13th day of September, 1841.
" THOS. W. JACOBS, "Clerk."
" WM. Y. SLACK, " Attorney for Plaintiff.
The County Court took the foregoing paper and overruled it in the fol- lowing order of the conrt:
" STATE OF MISSOURI,
" COUNTY OF GRUNDY.
County Court, Special Term, Sept. 13, 1841.
" Be it remembered, that on the 13th day of September, A. D. 1841, at a special term of County Court of Grundy county, Missouri, George Tetherow, by his attorney, moved the said court to reseind an order made at a special term of said court, held in June, A. D. 1841, receiving a petition of James Livingston and others, for the removal of the county seat of said county, and appointing commissioners to relocate the same, etc., and also to rescind all further orders made in reference to said removal of said county seat. Which said motion said court overruled and to which said opinion of the court the said George Tetherow excepts, and prays that this, his bill of ex- eeptions, may be signed and sealed by the court here, and made a part of the record in said proceedings, which is accordingly done.
" Filed for record this 13th day of September, 1841.
" JEWETT NORRIS, "Presiding Justice of Grundy County."
" THI. W. JACOBS, " Clerk .. ".
The attorney for George Tetherow now demanded a full and complete copy of all the papers in the ease up to date, which was October 28, 1841, of the County Court, and the clerk proceeded to do so, in which we gather some further actions of the County Court in the case. The papers start out with the proceedings of the June term. These papers were indorsed:
" GEORGE TETHEROW
" COUNTY COURT. v.s. Error. Writ of Error to County Court."
" STATE OF MISSOURI, Writ of Error. County Court, June Term
" COUNTY OF LIVINGSTON. S (Special), 1841.
" Be it remembered, that at a county court began and held at the store
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
house of James S. Lomax, the temporary place of holding court for Grundy county, State of Missouri, on the 30th day of June, A. D. 1841.
" PRESENT.
" Jewett Norris and Isaac J. Harvey, justices, and Wm. Thrailkill, sheriff, and Thos. W. Jacobs, clerk. Among others, were the following proceed- ings:
" James Livingston and others presented their petition; the body of said petition is in words and figures as follows; to-wit,
NOTE .- Here follows a copy of the petition, which is given on a previous page, with Mr. Lomax's indorsement, promising to give eighty acres of land.
" Upon said conditions being filed, the court made the following order as follows; to-wit,
" Ordered, That the petition of Jas. Livingston and others, for to remove the county seat of Grundy county, Missouri, is ordered to be filed, which is done accordingly, and after an examination of the tax-book of the taxable inhabitants of the county of Grundy, it is found that there appears on said tax-books to be 312 taxable inhabitants found to be on said tax- books, and it is found after an examination of said petition to be 238 petitioners of the said taxable inhabitants, which is over three-fifths (3-5) of the taxable inhabitants of said county as ascertained by the last tax-list made and returned. And it is further ordered that Thomas R. Bryan, Thomas Jennings, Samuel Fernandis and John Austin, of Livingston county, and Jas. H. Willson, of Daviess county, be and they are hereby appointed commis- sioners to locate said county seat of Grundy county, Missouri, according to said petition, to meet at the dwelling-house of Thos. W. Jacobs, in said county, on the 5th day of August next, to locate said county seat agreeable to said petition and law.
" JEWETT NORRIS, President."
" Be it remembered that a county court began and held at the store house of Jas. S. Lomax, in said county of Grundy, on Monday, the 9th day of August, A. D. 1841, present, justices of the county court Jewett Norris, Isaac J. Harvey and Robert Peery, and James Boies, dept. sheriff of said county, and Thos. W. Jacobs, clerk. Amongst others was the following pro- ceedings; to-wit, At this day came Thos. W. Jacobs, clerk of the Circuit Court of Grundy county, and presented to the court here a copy of the orders and proceedings of said Circuit Court approving the title to the lands selected by John Wolfscale and other commissioners appointed by the legis- lature of the State of Missouri, to locate the permanent seat of justice for Grundy county, together with the report of said commissioners as made to said Circuit Court, which orders and report were as follows; viz.,
NOTE .- Here follows the report of the commissioners, Minnis, Wolfscale and Lockhart, already given.
" Which said orders and report are ordered by the court here to be filed in the office of the clerk of this court.
" At this day came Thos. W. Jacobs, clerk of the Circuit Court of Grundy county, and presented to the court here a copy of the order and pro-
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
ceedings of said Circuit Court approving the titles to the lands selected by Thos. R. Bryan, John Austin, Sam'l Fernandis, Thos. Jennings and James H. Willson, commissioners appointed by the county court of Grundy county and State of Missouri, to locate the permanent seat of justice for Grundy county, together with the report of said commissioners as made to said Circuit Court, which orders and report are as follows; to-wit,
" At a Circuit Court began and held for Grundy county, in the State of Missouri, at Lomax Store, the temporary seat of justice for said county, on Thursday, the 5th day of August. Amongst others were the following proceedings: On Saturday, August 7th, 1841, court met pursuant to ad- journment. Present, same as yesterday. Be it remembered that on this day came Thos. R. Bryan, Thos. Jennings, John Austin, Samuel Fernandis, and Jas. H. Willson, commissioners as appointed by the county court of the county of Grundy, in State of Missouri, to locate the permanent seat of justice for said county, and filed in court here their report as follows; viz.,
NOTE .- Here followed their report, which has previously been given.
" Which report being heard and read here, and the title to the land therein mentioned having been examined by the court here and adjudged to be perfect and sufficient, it is ordered by the court here that the county court of Grundy county, aforesaid, be certified of the same.
" I, Thos. W. Jacobs, clerk of the said Circuit Court, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the record and proceedings of said orders in said cause.
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