USA > Missouri > Johnson County > The history of Johnson County, Missouri : including a reliable history of the townships, cities, and towns, together with a map of the county; a condensed history of Missouri; the state constitution; an abstract of the most important laws etc > Part 22
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For ages the names of heroes have been given to places and things. During the short history of America, its great men have been honored in the name of numberless counties, townships, cities, towns, municipalities
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
and post offices. The great name of Washington is met everywhere, from the capitol of the nation, down to the smallest hamlet of a rural dis- trict. Franklin, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant and many other names applied to places are found in every section, and in every state of our union. It . may be asked why, if there is so much in a name, we do not give the most important name to the most important thing.
Some names are so much above any terrestrial object that they are never used in that connection.
The appellations of deity are too universal and sacred to be circum- scribed; for, " at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth."
In our own state of Missouri, we have counties bearing. the immortal names of Benton, Boone, Buchanan, Clay, Douglas, Franklin, Green, Har- rison, Jackson, JOHNSON, Lafayette, Lincoln, Madison, Washington, Wayne, Webster, and many others. It has become a favorite custom to have a county and other smaller divisions of territory known by the name of some individual, but a state or nation is not thus named. Many names are given by accident. Some places take the name of a river, mountain or aboriginal tribe. Our language has become enriched by the new names which have crept into it, and by the modification of old ones.
ROBERT MACKLIN WHITE, a member of the Missouri state legislature at the time when Johnson county was organized, presented the name to the general assembly, which our great county now bears. His recom- mendation was adopted, and we give herewith a short biographical sketch of the eminent man, in whose honor it was christened:
HON. RICHARD MENTOR JOHNSON was born near Louisville, Ky., Octo- ber 17, 1780, and died in Frankfort, November 19, 1850. He received an edu- cation at Transylvania University, subsequently studying law and practicing. with success. At the early age of twenty-three he was elected to the Kentucky legislature, and at twenty-seven to the congress, where he remained a member of the house till 1819. He supported President Madison in his administation, and raised a body of Kentucky riflemen and commanded them with the rank of colonel in the war of 1812, on the Canadian border. During the winter of 1812 and 1813 he was again in congress, but when that legislative body adjourned, be raised another regiment of Kentucky volunteers and operated against the Indians. He joined General Harrison in September and with him pursued Proctor. With the gallant charge of his mounted riflemen at the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813, he mainly contributed to the brilliant victory gained over the English and Indians. Col. Johnson fought with distinguished valor in this engagement, and it was by his hand that the Indian leader, Tecumseh is com- monly supposed to have fallen. He was carried from the field desperately wounded, his person, clothing and horse having been pierced by more than twenty-five bullets; but he so far recovered that in the following February he resumed his seat in congress. He was elected, in 1819, to fill a vacancy in the United States senate, and continued in that dignified body for ten years. In 1829 he was returned to the house of representatives and held his seat till 1837. In 1836 he was candidate for vice-president on the Van Buren ticket, receiv-
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
ing a large pluralty of votes, though not a majority as required by the constitu- tion, he was elected to the office by the senate and discharged the duties of pre- siding officer of that body for four years. He was again candidate on the dem- ocratic ticket for vice-president in 1840, and was defeated. When he retired to his farm in Scott county, Kentucky, he had spent upwards of thirty-four years of continuous public service; at the time of his death, however, he was a mem- ber of the legislature. He was a strong advocate of pensioning the soldiers of the revolution and war of 1812. 'His public services both to his native state and the nation were great. Measures of justice and relief to the oppressed found in him a warm supporter and earnest defender. He was the author of the law abolishing imprisonment for debt, in his own state. May Johnson county wor- thily bear the name of this distinguished American statesman and soldier.
JOHNSON is also the name of ten other counties in the United States. Of these ten counties, Johnson county, Iowa, whose county seat is Iowa City, is the most important, but this is only one-half the area of Johnson county, Missouri, and according to the census of 1880, falls below it also in population. Johnson county, Missouri, is preeminently the banner county in the United States in area, population, richness of soil, mineral resources, religion, intelligence and prosperity of its inhabitants, bearing the same name.
JOHNSON is the euphonious surname of some of the most distinguished literati and statesmen that grace the pages of history.
SAMUEL JOHNSON, the great English author, was born September 18, 1709, and died December 13, 1784.
ALEXANDER BRYAN JOHNSON was born in England in 1786, and died at Utica, N. Y., in 1807, a youthful philosopher.
BEN, JONSON, (the name differing from the foregoing only by the omis- sion of h), was an English dramatist, born in.1573, and died in 1637. He stands next to Shakespeare as a dramatist and humorist and lived contem- porary with Shakespeare.
ANDREW JOHNSON, the seventeenth president of the United States, was born at Raleigh, N. C., December 29, 1808, and died in 1875.
CAVE JOHNSON, a jurist and statesman, was a native of Tennessee, born in 1783, and died in 1866.
EASTMAN JOHNSON, one of the most popular American artists, was born in 1824.
HERSCHEL V. JOHNSON a native of Georgia, was born in 1812, and became a prominent democratic politician.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
CHAPTER II .- ORGANIZATION.
Date of Organization-Introductory-Counties in Missouri Quasi Corporations-Origin of County Organization-Missouri Statutes on County Organization-Powers and Duties of the County Court-Johnson Separated from Lafayette County-First County Court-Commissions of the Judges-Map of Johnson County in 1835-Order Estab- lishing the Boundaries of Each Township as First Constituted-Boundaries Materially Changed, being Increased in Number from Four to Fourteen-Proceedings of the First County Courts-Judge, Jurors and County Officers.
JOHNSON COUNTY Missouri was organized by act of the general assem- bly, December 13, 1834.
Before proceeding to give the details of this organization, and formally presenting to the reader the actors who carried into effect the will of the people, it will be well to consider the county system and its operations in general. No person, till he has investigated the subject, is aware of the unity which pervades the plan or the principles of law and government involved. Johnson county is no exception to the rule, and what applies to .. county organizations throughout the civilized world, applies more or less to the one whose history we trace on these pages. Just as a student of law can better understand the statutes and codes of the youthful states of the American union, by a careful study of the ancient common law of England and civil law of Rome, so he can with greater pleasure and profit, follow the practical workings of county affairs, having first obtained a clear idea of what such an organization has been and is still considered to be.
Counties are quasi corporations. The Latin word quasi signifies as if, or almost. A county then is almost a corporation or has certain features of a corporation. A corporation in the full acceptation of the term, is a body formed and authorized by law to act as a single person and endowed with perpetual succession, as an expressly chartered city government, a bank or railroad company. Counties, townships, parishes, school districts and some other political divisions of a county are ranked as quasi corpora- tions.
In Great Britain and most of her colonies, a county is a sub-division of territory corresponding to a province of Prussia, or a department of France. In all the American union except Louisiana, which is divided into what are called parishes, counties are divisions next in extent and importance to the states. This division, in England, is nearly synonymous with the shire, but not so in Ireland; this division is said to have originated in England, under the reign of the ancient Saxon kings, though popularly attributed to Alfred. England and Wales contain fifty-two counties, Scotland thirty-three, and Ireland thirty-two. The principal officers of a
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
county in England are a lord lieutenant, a keeper of the rolls, a sheriff, a coronor, a receiver of general taxes, justices of the peace, an under sher- iff, and a clerk of the peace., The lord lieutenant has command of the militia of the county, the keeper of the rolls, or custos rotulorum, is custo- dian of the archives. The other officers perform such duties as are nat- urally indicated in their titles. 1
The United States, for local government and other purposes, are divided into counties, townships, school districts, and municipal corporations. In all the counties in the several states and territories, including the parishes of Louisiana, there are officers who superintend the financial affairs, a court of inferior jurisdiction, and, at stated times, the circuit court, or supreme court. As the state is subordinate to, and a part of, the federal government, so the county is a part of the state, but possessing only such rights as are delegated to it by statutory enactments.
The people in each local division have entire control over the subjects in which they only are interested; and the whole works together like an extensive system of machinery, wheel being fitted to wheel. There is very little opportunity for the exercise of arbitrary power, from the lowest to the highest. Executive power may be changed by election or impeachment, if they are recreant to duty, or do not give satisfaction, and there are constitutional provisions for securing an improvement, if the people believe that it can be made. Thus our country is secured against serious discontents for which no remedy can be had; and from the inter- nal disturbances that interrupt progress and destroy the resources of so many other nations. The value of any office, from that of school director to county judge, governor, or president, is determined by the relation it bears to the public welfare; and when, in the opinion of the people, it ceases to be useful, there are means of laying it aside, according to law.
The powers and rights of counties go no further than defined by the statute, though it is provided that each is a body corporate with capacity to sue and be sued, to purchase and hold land within its own limits, and for the use of its inhabitants, subject to the power of the general assembly over the same, to make such contracts, and purchase and hold real estate and personal property, and to make such orders and regulations for the disposition of such property as may be deemed conducive to the best interests of the people.
When the general assembly deemed it necessary, or to the interests of the people to organize a new county, the first step was to pass an act defining the boundaries and assigning a name to the new political division. The governor then appointed and commissioned three worthy citizens of the county, constituting the county court. In this county, Amos Horn, Robert W. Rankin, and Uriel Murry were the justices of the first county 12
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
court. The governor also appointed Joseph Cockrell as sheriff. It was customary after these officers were commissioned and duly authorized, for the county court to appoint a clerk, justices of the peace, and consta- bles, for the several townships, a collector, assessor, treasurer, and other officers for the full discharge of the county business.
When Johnson county was organized, two representatives from Lafay- ette county were at the legislature, which was then in session; one from that part of the county which is now included in Johnson. Through the influence of these men the county of Johnson was laid off from a part of the territory then belonging to Lafayette. Instead of appointing the county court and sheriff at once, Gov. Dunklin, through the people's rep- resentatives, desired a preliminary election to be held, recommending such persons for justices of the county court and sheriff, as they deemed best. Accordingly, the representative from this territory, belonging to the new county, wrote to his friends, and an election was called, one voting place being at Columbus, and the other at Gallaher's Mill, north of what is now Knob Noster. At Columbus, about sixty votes were polled, and at Gallaher's Mill, about thirty, recommending the above named persons, Horn, Rankin, Murry and Cockrell.
According to the revised statutes .of Missouri, arranged by the eighth general assembly, during the years 1834 and 1835, the law in reference to county courts was somewhat changed, making the number of judges invariably three, and ordering them styled "the justices of the county court."
JOHNSON COUNTY was organized out of a portion of Lafayette, and the act defining the limits of Lafayette county was approved February 16, 1825.
Lafayette county from the date of the foregoing act to December 13, 1834, when Johnson and Henry were organized, included all the territory now belonging to Lafayette, Johnson, Henry and the northwestern half of St. Clair, together with a narrow strip now belonging to the east side of Bates and Cass counties, a tract of land not less in extent than one million six hundred thousand acres.
JOHNSON COUNTY was organized December 13, 1834, and its northern boundary, beginning at the northeast corner, which corresponds to the southeast corner of section twenty-four, township forty-eight, range twenty- four, runs west to the line between ranges twenty-six and twenty-seven, then south to the corner between townships forty-seven and forty-eight, and from thence west to the middle of range twenty-nine. Its western boundary runs south from this point to the southwest corner of section twenty-seven, township forty-four; thence east to the range line between twenty-three and twenty-four, and from thence north to the point of begin- ning.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
The first county court in Johnson county was held at the residence of Mrs. Rachel Houx, near the present site of Columbus, in Columbus town- ship, April 13, 1835.
So much interest clusters around this primitive meeting, and so much value is placed upon first records, that we have thought proper to insert now and then extracts from the minutes of the court, it not only being a matter of history, but also of great value, that it should be carefully pre- served for future generations, when the old half worn book which now contains it, shall have crumbled to dust. The record says:
At a special term of the county court of Johnson county, at Mrs. Rachel Houx's, in said county, on the 13th day of April, A. D. 1835; Be it remembered that at the house of Mrs. Rachel Houx, in the county of Johnson, on the 13th day of April, A. D. 1835, pursuant to an act of the general assembly of the state of Missouri, entitled "An act establishing judicial districts and circuit and county courts," Amos Horn, Robert W. Rankin and Uriel Murry produced each a commission from his excellency, Daniel Dunklin, governor of the state of Mis- souri, appointing them justices of the county court of Johnson county, as also certificates of their qualifications, which said commission of said Amos Horn reads in the words and figures following:
COMMISSION OF AMOS HORN.
Daniel Dunklin, governor of the state of Missouri, to all who shall see these presents, Greeting: Know ye, that reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity and ability of Amos Horn, I do hereby appoint and commission him justice of the county court, for the county of Johnson, and do authorize and empower him to discharge the duties of said office according to law, and to have and hold the said office, with all the powers, privileges and emoluments to the same of right appertaining.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the great seal . of the state of Missouri to be affixed. £ Done at the city of Jefferson, this 12th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1835, of the independence of the United States the 59th, and of the state the 15th.
By the governor.
[L. s.]
DANIEL DUNKLIN.
JOHN C. EDWARDS, secretary of state.
OATH OF OFFICE BY AMOS HORN.
STATE OF MISSOURI,
COUNTY OF LAFAYETTE. S
I, Samuel Wilson, justice of the peace for the county aforesaid, do certify that on the 6th day of April, 1835, personally appeared before me Amos Horn, who was by me duly sworn to support the constitution of the United States of America and the constitution of the state of Missouri, and that he would faith- fully demean himself in the discharge of his duties as justice of the county court for the county of Johnson, so long as he shall continue to exercise the duties of the same, to the best of his knowledge, without partiality, favor or affection. In testimony whereof, I, as justice of the peace for the county aforesaid, do sub- scribe my name.
SAMUEL WILSON.
COMMISSION OF ROBERT W. RANKIN.
Daniel Dunklin, governor of the State of Missouri, to all who shall see these presents, Greeting: Know ye that reposing special trust and confidence in the
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
integrity and abilities of Robert W. Rankin, I do hereby appoint and commis- sion him a justice of the county court for the county of Johnson, and do author- ize and empower him to discharge the duties of said office according to law, and to have and to hold the said office with all the powers, privileges and emoluments to the same of right appertaining.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the great seal of the state to be affixed. Done at the city of Jefferson, this 12th day of March, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five, the inde- pendence of the United States, the fifty-ninth, and of this state the fifteenth.
By the governor. [L. s.]
JOHN C. EDWARDS, Secretary of State.
DANIEL DUNKLIN.
OATH OF OFFICE BY R. W. RANKIN.
STATE OF MISSOURI,
COUNTY OF LAFAYETTE.
I, Samuel Wilson, Justice of the peace for the county of Lafayette, do certify that on the 6th day of April, eighteen hundred and thirty-five, personally appeared before me, Robert W. Rankin, who was by me duly sworn to support the constitution of the United States of America and the constitution of the state of Missouri, and that he would faithfully demean himself in the discharge of the duties as a justice of the county court, so long as he shall continue to exercise the duties of the same, to the best of his knowledge, without partiality, favor, or affection.
In testimony whereof, I, as justice of the peace aforesaid, have hereunto sub- scribed my name, this April 6th, 1835.
S. WILSON, J. P.
COMMISSION OF URIEL MURRY.
Daniel Dunklin, governor of the State of Missouri, to all who shall see these presents, Greeting: Know ye that reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity and abilities of Uriel Murry, I do hereby appoint and commission him a justice of the county court for the county of Johnson, and do authorize and impower him to discharge the duties of said office according to law, and to have and to hold the said office with all the powers, privileges and emoluments to the same of right appertaining.
In testimony whereof, I have bereunto set my hand and caused the great seal of the state of Missouri to be affixed. Done at the city of Jefferson, this 12th day of March, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty- five, of the independence of the United States, the fifty-ninth, and of this state the fifteenth.
By the governor.
[L. s.]
DANIEL DUNKLIN.
JOHN C. EDWARDS, Secretary of State.
OATH OF OFFICE BY URIEL MURRY.
STATE OF MISSOURI,
COUNTY OF LAFAYETTE.
I, Samuel Wilson, justice of the peace for the county aforesaid, do certify that on the 6th day of April, eighteen hundred and thirty-five, personally appeared before me, Uriel Murry, who was duly sworn by me to support the constitution of the United States of America and the constitution of the state of Missouri, and that he would faithfully demean himself in the discharge of his duty as jus- tice of the county court for the county of Johnson, so long as he shall continue
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
to exercise the duties of the same to the best of his knowledge, without partial- ity, favor or affection.
In testimony whereof, I, as justice of the peace for the county aforesaid, do subscribe my name.
S. WILSON, J. P.
The records do not show that there was further business before the court, save that Amos Horn was made president of the same, John H. Townsend appointed clerk pro tem., and sworn into office, and James Car- michael appointed assessor for the county, and then court "adjourned till court in course," which was the following May.
At the second meeting of Johnson county court, which occurred May 4, 1835, James Carmichael entered into bond for the faithful discharge of his duties as assessor, having been appointed to that office at the first meeting. Richard Handcock was appointed collector for the county, and the court then proceeded to divide the county into townships. Four townships were first organized: Jackson, Washington, Jefferson and Mad- ison, comprising the whole county.
Jackson township, as then laid out, comprised all the present township of Jackson, all of Columbus, twenty-four sections from the northwest portion of Centerview, eighteen sections from the north of Madison, and fifteen sections from the north of Kingsville township.
Washington township then comprised all of the present townships of Hazel Hill, Simpson and Grover, and portions of Centerview, Warrens- burg, and the present township of Washington.
Jefferson township comprised all the territory now included in Jefferson and Post Oak, also more than half of what is now in Warrensburg and Washington, with a small strip on the east side of Chilhowee and Center- view, it being the largest township in the county.
Madison township included all of what is now Rose Hill, also a greater part of Chilhowee and the south half of Kingsville and Madison, and the southwest portion of Centerview.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
MAP OF JOHNSON COUNTY IN 1835.
WASHINGTON.
JACKSON.
MADISON.
JEFFERSON.
The preceding diagram shows the position and proportionate size of the four townships into which Johnson county was first divided. In order to enable the reader to better understand the plan, and also to preserve the exact method of laying off townships, we give herewith the different orders of court defining the limits of the above:
JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
" Ordered that the township of Jackson be, and it is hereby established, for judicial purposes, bounded as follows, to-wit: Beginning at the north- west corner of said county on the line of Jackson county, thence running east with the county line between Lafayette and Johnson counties to the range line between ranges 27 and 26, thence south with said range line to the township line between townships 46 and 45, thence with said township line west to the township line between Van Buren (now Cass,) county and Johnson, thence north with said line to the beginning. Ordered May 4, 1835."
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
" Ordered by the county court that a judicial township be and the same is hereby made by the name of Washington, bounded as follows, to-wit: Beginning with range line between ranges 26 and 27, where the same
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
intersects the county line between Lafayette and Johnson county, thence south with said range line to the center of township 46, thence east on the center of said township to the eastern line of the county aforesaid, thence with the said county line north to the line between Lafayette and Johnson, thence west with said line to the beginning. Ordered May 4, 1835."
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.
" Be it further ordered by the county court aforesaid, that a judicial township be, and the same is hereby established, by the name of Jefferson, in the county aforesaid, bounded as follows, to-wit: Beginning on the county line that divides the counties of Pettis and Johnson, at the center of township 46, thence west with the center of said township to the range line between ranges 26 and 27, thence south to the county line between Rives and Johnson, thence east to the county line between Pettis and Johnson, thence north with said line to the beginning. Ordered May 4, 1835."
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