USA > Wisconsin > An illustrated history of the state of Wisconsin : being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875 > Part 15
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SECTION 1. "That there shall be established at or near Madison, the seat of government, a university for the purpose of educating youth, the name whereof shall be the ' University of the Territory of Wisconsin.' The said university to be under the government of a board of visitors, not exceeding twenty in number, of whom the governor and secretary of the Territory, the judges of the Supreme Court, and the president of said university, shall be a part, and Bushnell B. Cary, Marshall M. Strong, Byron Kilbourn, William A. Gardiner, Henry Stringham, Charles R. Brush, Charles C. P. Arndt, John Catlin, George H. Slaughter, David Brigham, John F. Scher- merhorn, William A. Coryell, George Beatty, Henry L. Dodge, and Augustus A. Bird, the remainder, who shall hold their office during the pleasure of the legislature, by whom all va- cancies shall be filled."
Sect. 2 creates the Board a body politic and corporate, with perpetual succession, under the name of the " Board of Visit- ors of the University of the Territory of Wisconsin," with all the usual powers of a corporation ; eleven to be a quorum for all necessary business.
Sect. 3 provides that it shall be lawful for such Board, from time to time, to apply such part of their estate and funds in such a manner as may be the most conducive to the promo- tion of literature and the advancement of useful knowledge within the Territory; providing, that, when grants shall be made to them for certain uses and purposes therein expressed
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and declared, the same shall not be applied, either in whole or in part, to any other uses, without the consent of the grantor.
Sect. 4 provides for the election of secretary and treasurer, by ballot, by the Board, with the usual power, duties, and responsibilities.
Sect. 5 authorizes said Board of Visitors, from time to time, to establish such colleges, academies, and schools, depend- ing on the said university, as they may think proper, and as the funds of the corporation will permit ; and it shall also be the duty of said Board of Visitors to visit and inspect acade- mies and schools, to examine into the state and systems of edu- cation and discipline therein, and to make a yearly report thereof to the legislature.
Sect. 6 provides that persons of every religious denomina- tion shall be capable of being elected visitors ; nor shall any person as president, professor, instructor, or pupil, be refused admittance for his conscientious persuasion in matter of reli- gion, provided he shall demean himself in a proper manner, and conform to such rules as may be established.
Sect. 7 provides that the act of incorporation may be re- pealed or modified by the legislative power of the Territory, provided that such power of repeal shall never be extended to divert to any other purposes than those expressed therein, if any shall be expressed in any grant of property to such corpo- ration. But such property, in the event of the dissolution of such corporation, or in case 'such grant shall be disapproved by the legislative power, shall revert to the grantor or his heirs.
Sect. 8 requires the first meeting under the act to be held on the first Monday in July, 1838, and, if a quorum should not be in attendance, to adjourn from time to time until a quorum shall attend.
Sect. 9 provides, that, whenever the word "'Territory' occurs in the act, it shall be read 'State,' after the Territory becomes a State."
A few more items relative to the territorial history of the university may be desirable at this time.
A full meeting of the Board was probably held in July, 1838, as required by the act of incorporation.
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
The first record of any such session is the following, which is taken from " The Wisconsin Enquirer" of Dec. 8 of that year.
" A meeting of the ' board of visitors of the University of the Territory of Wisconsin ' was held at Madison, Dec. 1, 1838. Present : Henry Dodge, William B. Slaughter, Marshall M. Strong, David Brigham, George H. Slaughter, Augustus A. Bird, George Beatty, and John Collins.
"On motion of William B. Slaughter, the Board proceeded to elect a treasurer and secretary by ballot; and, the votes having been taken, it ap- peared that Henry Dodge had received a majority of all the votes for the office of treasurer, and that John Catlin had received a majority of the votes cast for the office of secretary ; and they were declared duly elected.
" On motion of M. M. Strong, Ordered, That a committee be appointed to examine the lands proposed to be donated by Josiah A. Noonan and Aaron Vanderpoel, and the lands generally in the vicinity of Madison, and report to the Board at their next meeting a suitable site for the location of the university ; and Messrs. A. A. Bird, David Brigham, and George H. Slaughter were appointed such committee.
"On motion of D. Brigham, Esq., it was Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to request the legislative assembly, at the present session, to memorialize the secretary of the treasury of the United States to locate the lands donated by the act of Congress, approved 12th of June, 1838, . for the use and support of a university within this Territory, in pursuance of said act; and to request the legislative assembly that the same be appro- priated for the benefit of the University of the Territory of Wisconsin, to be located at or near Madison, in the county of Dane.
"On motion of Col. William B. Slaughter, the Chair appointed the following committee : William B. Slaughter, George Beatty, and Marshall M. Strong.
" On motion of Mr. George Beatty, it was Resolved, That the secretary be authorized to procure a seal, with suitable devices, for the use of the board of visitors, as early as practicable.
" On motion of M. M. Strong, Ordered, That the proceedings of this meet- ing be published in the Madison ' Enquirer ;' and, on motion of Col. W. B. Slaughter, the Board adjourned to meet on Saturday next, at three, P.M."
There is no further record of any meetings following this adjournment. The legislature, at its January session in 1839, adopted a joint resolution providing for the selection of the lands, appointing J. V. Suydam of Brown County, F. O. Kirk- patrick of the county of Iowa, and J. B. Zander of the county of Milwaukee, commissioners to locate a portion, not exceeding two-thirds of all the lands donated by Congress by the act
CROSSCUP & WEST
Hon. Enoch Chase.
1
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
approved June 12, 1838, for the use and support of the univer- sity ; requiring them to meet at Madison, in the county of Dane, on the first Monday in May, and proceed to examine and select equal quantities of such lands, within the limits of the United States land district in this Territory, as would best promote the interests of the university.
Within thirty days after making such selection, public notice was required to be given of the same for six successive weeks ; and, on completion of the same, a report to the gov- ernor, to be by him transmitted to the treasurer of the United States, with a request that the lands so selected be set apart and reserved for the purposes mentioned in the said act of Congress.
This commission, for some reason, did not at the time, or even afterwards, select the lands authorized by the foregoing resolu- tion.
At a later period, we find the work was performed by Nathaniel F. Hyers.
The history of the university will be continued hereafter.
At this second session, a bill was passed to " regulate the sale of school-lands, and to provide for organizing, regulating, and perfecting schools." It was provided, that, as soon as twenty electors should reside in a surveyed township in which was a school-section, they should elect three commissioners of common schools, who should hold their office for three years, apply the proceeds of the leases of school-lands to pay the wages of teachers in every township, and call school-meetings; each district to elect three directors. And five inspectors were elected annually to examine schools, and inspect teachers.
The first school-district in the State was organized under the old Michigan school-law, in Milwaukee, in the fall of 1836, about the same time that the first session of the legislative assembly was held. The first public school was kept by a Mr. West, in a framed schoolhouse in the second ward of that city, - the first in the State.
On the 16th of February, 1837, Col. William B. Slaughter was by Pres. Jackson appointed secretary of the Territory, in the place of John S. Horner removed.
It was at this session that an act was passed "to incorporate
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the Milwaukee and Rock River Canal Company," which con- tained, among other things, an authority to the company to apply to Congress for an appropriation, in money or lands, to aid in the construction of its works. In pursuance of this authority, application was made, and an appropriation obtained in June, 1838, of the odd-numbered sections on a belt of territory five miles in width on each side of the line of the proposed canal. This grant of land, if it had been judiciously managed, would have produced a fund adequate for the construction of a canal connecting Rock River with Lake Michigan, which would have been followed, no doubt, by slack-water navigation on Rock River, providing a cheap means of transit to market, of the bulky agricultural products of the extensive and fertile valley of Rock River and of other parts of the State and of Illinois. But, instead of the blessing it might have been, it proved a curse and a blight upon the early prosperity of the Territory, owing mainly to the antagonisms which grew up between the officers of the canal company and the Territorial officers intrusted with the disposition of the lands granted by Con- gress and of their proceeds, and to the conflicts between the beneficiaries of the land grant, and some of the leading politicians of the times.
A special session of the legislative assembly was held at Burlington, June 11, 1838, and was a short one, last- 1838. ing only two weeks, adjourning on the 25th of June.
The only change in the officers consisted of William B. Sheldon being elected speaker of the house of representatives.
The session was held mainly for the purpose of making a new apportioment of members of the house, based upon the census taken in May. Thirty-one acts were passed, of which six related to counties, five to roads, seven to the conduct of public affairs, and the remaining thirteen to private matters, of which four were to grant divorces. Among the public acts was one postponing the general election from the first Monday of August to the second Monday of September ; and another making a new apportionment of the members of the house of representatives to be then elected. Of the twenty-six mem- bers, twelve were apportioned among the counties east of the
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Mississippi River, and fourteen among those west. This apportionment was, however, to be contingent upon the divis- ion of the Territory; upon which contingency it was made the duty of the governor to make an apportionment. This act was approved on the 23d of June; and the act to divide the Territory, and establish the Territorial Government of Iowa, was approved on the 12th of June, twelve days previous ; but in those days of slow mails, and while the electric telegraph was an experiment, the news of its passage did not reach Burlington until after the passage of the apportionment act. Having provided that the next session should be held at Madison, the first legislative assembly of Wisconsin Territory adjourned June 25, 1838. On the 20th of February, 1848, the commissioners of public buildings advertised that they would receive proposals for the erection of the public buildings, and gave specifications of the plan of the Capitol and its interior and exterior work; in reply to which, bids were received, ranging from $24,450 to 8125,000; and the contract was awarded to James Morrison for 826,200 on the 17th of April. By an act of Congress, approved June 18, 1838, the further sum of 820,000 was appropriated for finishing the work.
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CHAPTER XVIII.
THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT.
Population and Apportionment-The First Legislative Assembly at Madison - The Condition of the New Capitol- Hogs and Assembly-Men in the Same Pen - Amusing Reminiscences -The New (Old) Capitol Wrangle - Investigating Committees - Recess - Second Session - Laws Passed, &c.
BY the act of Congress to divide the Territory, it was pro- vided that the terms of the members of the council and house of representatives be deemed to have expired, and that a new election of members should be had upon an apportionment to be made by the governor, and that they should meet at Madi- son at such time as the governor should appoint.
The population of the Territory in May, 1838, as shown by the census, was as follows : -
Counties.
Population.
Brown
. 3,048
Crawford
1,220
Dane
172
Dodge
18
Green
494
Grant
2,763
Iowa
3,218
Jefferson
468
Milwaukee
3,131
Racine
2,054
Rock
480
Walworth
1,019
Washington.
64
Total
. 18,149
The time fixed by the governor for the meeting of the first session of the second legislative assembly, and the first under
14
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
the re-organized Territorial Government, was the twenty-sixth day of November, 1838.
On the 8th of November, 1838, Hon. Andrew G. Miller of Pennsylvania was appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court to succeed Judge Frazer, then recently deceased ; and Chief Justice Dunn, and Associate Justices Irvin and Miller, constituted the Supreme Court until the organization of the State Government in 1848.
At the July term of 1839, Franklin J. Munger was appointed ยท attorney-general for that term, in the absence of that officer (H. N. Wells); and the clerk, John Catlin, having resigned, Simeon Mills was appointed to fill his place; and Lafayette Kellogg, now and for many years the faithful and efficient clerk of the Supreme Court of the State, was appointed deputy elerk, and attended to the duties of the office. From that time, a term of the court was held annually, as provided by law, until Wisconsin was admitted a State. Mr. Mills having resigned the office of clerk in 1840, Mr. Kellogg was appointed to fill the vacaney.
Party lines had not yet been drawn in the Territory ; and the members were elected without reference to, and perhaps with out a publie knowledge of, their views upon national politics. Among the members elected were Edward V. Whiton, Nelson Dewey, Daniel Wells, jun., Morgan L. Martin, and Marshall M. Strong.
Upon the convening of the legislative assembly, it was found that the Capitol was in an unfinished state; and so much dissatisfaction existed with the accommodations at Madison, that it was a matter of doubt for two weeks, whether or not a temporary adjournment to Milwaukee would be effected. A committee appointed for the purpose of investigating the extent of the accommodations reported " that at the Madison House there was one room that would accommodate six persons ; at the Madison Hotel, two rooms that would accommodate four persons; and, at the American Hotel, eight rooms, sufficient to accommodate twenty-six persons : but they could not ascertain that more than fifty persons could be accommodated with suffi- cient rooms for the transaction of business. The session was organized in the council by the election of William Bullen,
ROSSCUP & WEST-SC.PHIL
Levi 26 Kellogg)
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
president ; George Beatty, secretary ; and S. N. Ives, sergeant- at-arms; and in the house, by the election of John W. Black- stone, speaker; John Catlin, chief clerk, and Thomas Morgan, sergeant-at-arms.
Gov. Dodge, in his message, recommended the investigation of the banks in the Territory, memorializing Congress for a grant of lands to be sold, and applied to the improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, the revision of the laws, the divis- ion of the Territory into judicial districts, the claims of the miners, and the improvement of the harbors on Lake Michigan,
Col. Ebenezer Childs, who was a member of the legislature, in his " Recollections of Wisconsin," published in vol. iv. of "Collections of State Historical Society " says, -
"The new Capitol edifice was not yet in suitable condition to receive the legislature : so we had to assemble in the basement of the old American House, where Gov. Dodge delivered his first message at the new seat of gov- emment. We adjourned from day to day, until we could get in the new Capitol building. At length we took possession of the new Assembly Hall. The floors were laid with green oak-boards full of ice. The walls of the room were iced over ; green-oak seats, and desks made of rough boards, one fireplace, and one small stove. In a few days the flooring near the stove and fireplace so shrunk, on account of the heat, that a person could run his hands between the boards. The basement-story was all open ; and James Morrison's large drove of hogs had taken possession. They were awfully poor ; and it would have taken two of them, standing side by side, to have made a decent shadow on a bright day. We had a great many smart mem- bers in the house, and sometimes they spoke for Buncombe. When mem- bers of this kind would become too tedious, I would take a long pole, go at the hogs, and stir them up; when they would raise a young Pandemonium for noise and confusion. The speaker's voice would become completely drowned; and he would be compelled to stop, not, however, without giving his squealing disturbers a sample of his swearing ability. The weather was cold; the halls were cold; our ink would freeze: so, when we could stand it no longer, we passed a joint resolution to adjourn for twenty days. I was appointed by the two houses to procure carpeting for both halls during the recess. I bought all I could find in the Territory, and brought it to Madison, and put it down, after covering the floor with a thick coating of hay. After this, we were more comfortable. We used to have tall times in those days, - days long to be remembered. Stealing was carried on in a small way. Occasionally a bill would be fairly stolen through the legislature; and the legislature would get gouged now and then."
Judge J. G. Knapp, also, in referring to this session, says, -
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
" Having organized the legislature, the next question was for members, officers, and lobbyists to find places to eat and sleep in. Though we paid metropolitan prices, it cannot be said that we had exactly metropolitan fare. But men were remarkably accommodating in those days, and could eat ' hog and hominy ' or ' common doings,' when ' chicken fixens' could not be had. A frontier life is a mighty leveller, - much like poverty, making men acquainted with strange bed-fellows. The ' school section ' of the ' Ameri- can,' embracing most of the garret, was marked into lodging-places by cracks in the floor; and its other rooms were equally crowded. At the Mad- ison House, only six men were placed in a room sixteen feet square; and four others had a place at the fire during the day and evening. The floors were also nightly covered with shake-downs for travellers and transient visitors. Happy were those men who could find places in the few private houses, where four men might find two beds in a cold room ten or twelve feet square."
Owing to the want of suitable accommodations, the legisla- tive assembly remained at Madison about four weeks, when they adjourned from the 22d of December to the 21st of January, 1839.
The attention of the assembly had, however, during this short session, been directed to several matters then consid- 1839.
ered of great importance. Among these were, an investigation of the mode in which the commissioners of public buildings had discharged their duties ; an investigation of the three banks then in operation at Green Bay, Mineral Point, and Milwaukee ; a plan for constructing the Milwaukee and Rock River Canal, in aid of which a grant of land had been made by Congress ; and, what was of greater importance than all else, a revision of the general laws of the Territory.
The governor also took occasion to speak of Wisconsin and her prospects. He said, -
" From the great extent of this Territory, the fertility of her soil, the salubrity of her climate; with the great lakes Michigan and Superior on the east and north, and the ' Father of Rivers' on the west ; with her inex- haustible treasure of minerals of lead and copper; with her extensive for- ests of pine, and abundantly supplied water-privileges; with every natural facility for forming a general system of internal improvement between the Mississippi and the Lakes (our inland lakes), supported by the fostering care of this patriotic and enlightened administration ; with the intelligence, industry, and enterprise of her citizens, -her march will be onward; and the time is not distant when she will form a strong link in the chain of States in the great Valley of the Mississippi."
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
At that session, a new assignment of judges for holding dis- trict courts was made. Judge Dunn was assigned to the first circuit, composed of the counties of Iowa, Grant, and Crawford ; Judge Irvin, to the second district, composed of the counties of Dane, Jefferson, Rock, Walworth, and Green; Judge Miller, to the third district, composed of the counties of Milwaukee, Brown, and Racine. At that session, the legislative assembly annexed to the several districts a number of unorganized coun- ties for judicial purposes.
The investigations furnished no valuable practical results. They showed that the building commissioners had misapplied the money appropriated by Congress for the construction of the Capitol; and, as a consequence, the old commissioners were removed, and N. C. Prentiss, J. L. Thayer, and L. H. Colton were appointed to fill the vacancies.
Mr. Bird, in his examination before the Territorial legislature (Feb. 15, 1839), states, that, at the first meeting of the commis- sioners, they adopted a plan of the building estimated to cost from forty thousand dollars to forty-five thousand dollars ; that they did not advertise for proposals agreeably to the provisions of the act, because they were of the opinion that it could be built much cheaper than any one would be willing to contract to do it. They, therefore, in the exercise of their discretionary power, concluded to commence and continue the work until they were able to ascertain how it could be done with the least expense and best advantage to the Territory. The construction of the work was continued by him until the month of Septem- ber following, when notices for proposals were issued for the first time, and a number of bids presented. None of them were accepted; and the work was continued as before, until April 25, 1838.
The work was continued by Mr. Morrison until 1841, at which time the work was unfinished ; and Mr. Prentiss, as build- ing commissioner for and on the part of the Territory, entered into a contract with Daniel Baxter, by the terms of which he was required to finish the work as specified in the contract, for the sum of seven thousand dollars, to be completed on or before December, 1845. It is not necessary to give further details of the history of the Capitol building. Much contention arose
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
between the first board of commissioners and their successors, as well as the contractors, Messrs Morrison and Baxter, and the Territorial legislatures. Mr. Baxter has since died, leaving an unsettled claim against the State for alleged damages.
The investigations of the banks resulted in an official prom- ulgation of the previously well-known insolvency of the Bank of Wisconsin at Green Bay, and a whitewashing of the Bank of Mineral Point, declaring it to be " in a solvent condi- tion," when the experience of a short time demonstrated its utter insolvency.
The opportunity which the recess afforded enabled those who took an immediate interest in the matter, to devise a plan for aiding in the construction of the Milwaukee and Rock River Canal, by disposing of the land-grant, which, upon the re- assembling of the legislative assembly, assumed the form of a law, that would, probably, have resulted in completing that important work, but for the unfortunate difficulties already referred to.
The legislative assembly at this session revised the school- law of the Territory ; and the office of town commissioners was abolished, and their duties were transferred to the inspec- tors, who had bestowed upon them the additional power to listen to complaints against teachers, and discharge incompetent. ones, to keep the schools in repair, and to make returns of the number of scholars in the towns to the county commissioners. It was also made the duty of the last-named officers to levy a school-tax on the whole county, and to appoint inspectors in. the towns which refused or neglected to choose them. The' name of district officers was changed to trustees. Every town. with not less than ten families was required to become a school district, and provide a competent teacher ; and, with more than. ten families, it was to be divided into two or more districts. It will be seen, that although the Territory was but recently organ- ized, and with a limited population, the settlers were awake to the importance of educational privileges.
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