USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County, Wisconsin > Part 77
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Township 6 north, Range 2 west 23,037.33
18,037.85
Township 2 north, Range 3 west (fractional township).
7,647.33
Township 3 north, Range 3 west.
23,168.07
Township 4 north, Range 3 west.
23,211.56
Township 5 north, Range 3 west 23,008.76
Township 6 north, Range 3 west. 22,477.43
Township 7 north, Range 3 west .. 22,876.67
Township 8 north, Range 3 west (part south of Wisconsin River). 6,120.14
1,047.86
Township 3 north, Range 4 west.
Township 4 north, Range 4 west 22,907.04
Township 5 north, Range 4 west. 22,866.22
Township 6 north, Range 4 west. 22,934.08
Township 7 north, Range 4 west (part south of Wisconsin River). 13,438.49
Township 3 north, Range 5 west (fractional township). 17,833.82
Township 4 north, Range 5 west. 23,184.55
Township 5 north, Range 5 west.
22,948.01
Township 6 north, Range 5 west. 21,645.77
Township 7 north, Range 5 west (part south of Wisconsin River) 3,008.33
Township 3 north, Range 6 west (fractional township). 3,380.33
Township 4 north, Range 6 west (fractional township) 10,918.05
Township 5 north, Range 6 west (fractional township) 18,986.18
Township 6 north, Ranges 6 and 7 west (fractional townships) 14,480.03
Total.
.706,469.23
LEGAL JURISDICTION.
Federal Courts .- By Section 4, of the act of Congress entitled "An act to enable the peo- ple of Wisconsin Territory to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union," approved, August 6, 1846, it was, inter alia, provided : * * "Said State shall constitute one district and be called the District of Wisconsin, and a District Court shall be held therein, to consist of one Judge, who shall reside in said district and be called a District Judge. He shall hold, at the seat of government of said State, two sessions of said court annually, on the first Mondays in January and July ; and he shall in all things have and exercise the same jurisdiction and powers which were by law given to the Judge of the Kentucky District under an act entitled, 'An act to establish the judicial courts of the United States. He shall appoint a clerk for said district, who shall reside and keep the records of said court at the place of holding the same, and shall receive for the service performed by him the same fees to which the clerk of the Kentucky District is by law entitled for similar services. There shall be allowed to the Judge of said District Court the annual compensation of $1,500."
Section 5 of said act provides for the appointment of a "person learned in the law to act as attorney of the United States " in said district, and provides that, besides the stated fees, he is to receive a salary of $200. It also provides for the appointment of a Marshal for said district,
Township 7 north, Range 2 west
Township 2 north, Range 4 west (fractional township). 22,940.04
511
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
who is to perform the duties and services, and be entitled to the fees and emoluments given to the Marshals of other districts.
By Section 4, of the act of Congress, approved May 29, 1848, entitled, "An act for the admission of the State of Wisconsin into the Union," the provisions of the foregoing section of the act of August 6, 1846, were modified so as to provide for the holding of " one term of said court in each year at the seat of government, to commence on the first Monday in July, and another term of said court in each year at Milwaukee, to commence on the first Monday in January." It also empowered the Judge of the district to hold special terms of court when he should deem it necessary. The records and papers to be kept at either place as the Judge might direct.
The Hon. Andrew G. Miller was appointed the first District Judge under this act, June 12, 1848. Congress by subsequent acts increased the salary of the Judge of this district to $2,500 and $3,500.
By an act of Congress, approved July 15, 1862, the districts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois were constituted the Eighth Judicial Circuit ; but, by an act, approved February 9, 1863, Wisconsin was made a part of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, and subsequently transferred to the Seventh Judicial Circuit, the Hon. Thomas Drummond, of Chicago, Circuit Judge.
The business of the United States becoming too large for a single District Judge, by an act of Congress, approved June 30, 1870, entitled "An act to establish the Western Judicial District of Wisconsin," the State was divided into two districts-the Eastern and Western. That portion of the State comprising the counties of Rock, Jefferson, Dane, Green, Grant, Columbia, Iowa, La Fayette, Sank, Richland, Crawford, Vernon, La Crosse, Monroe, Adams, Juneau, Buffalo, Chippewa, Dunn, Clark, Jackson, Ean Claire, Pepin, Marathon, Wood, Pierce, Polk, Portage, St. Croix, Trempeleau, Douglas, Barron, Burnett, Ashland and Bayfield was consti- tuted the Western, and the remainder of the State the Eastern District. The terms were appointed to be held for the Western District, at Madison, on the first Monday in June, and at La Crosse the first Monday in December ; a District Judge for this Western District was provided for, to- gether with a Marshal, District Attorney, a Clerk at Madison, and another at La Crosse. Un- der these provisions, James C. Hopkins, of Madison, Wis., was appointed Judge of said Western District, on the 9th day of July, 1870. F. W. Oakley, of Beloit, Wis., was ap- pointed Marshal, and Charles M. Webb, of Grand Rapids, appointed District Attorney, at the same date. F. M. Stewart, of Baraboo, was appointed Clerk of both Circuit and District Courts at Madison, August 2, 1870, and H. J. Peck, of La Crosse, Clerk at that place, August 18, 1870. On October 19, 1879, Sidney Foote, of Madison, was appointed a Register in Bankruptcy ; and on the 10th of January, 1871, Carson Graham, of Viroqua, was appointed Register at La Crosse.
In 1872, the terms of court were changed by act of Congress, and directed to be held at La Crosse, on the third Tuesday of September, and abolishing the December term there, but reserving to the Judges the right to appoint special terms if they deemed it necessary. In March, 1877, Mr. Foote, Register in Bankruptcy, died and was succeeded by Mr. S. W. Botkin, of Madison. On the 4th of September, the same year, Judge Hopkins died, after a service of seven years. His successor, the present Judge, Romanzo Bunn, of Sparta, was appointed Octo- ber 13, 1877. On the 5th of February, 1878, Henry M. Lewis, of Madison, was appointed District Attorney, vice Charles M. Webb, resigned. These officers now constitute the officers of the Federal Court of the Western District of Wisconsin.
Territorial Courts .- The act of Congress, which provided for the organization of the Wis- consin Territory, declared that the judicial power therein should be vested in a Supreme Court, District Courts, Probate Courts and Justices of the Peace. The Supreme Court was to consist of a Chief Justice and two Associate Justices, any two of whom should be a quorum ; and they were required to hold a term of court annually at the seat of government. The Territory was to be divided into three Judicial Districts ; and it was provided that a District Court or Courts should be held in each of said districts, by one of the Judges of the Supreme Court. at such times
.
512
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
and places as might be prescribed by law ; the jurisdiction of these several courts was to be " as limited by law ; " but the act declared, that both the Supreme and District Courts should " pos- sess chancery as well as common law jurisdiction." That "writs of error, bills of exception, and appeals in chancery causes," should "be allowed in all cases from the final decisions of the District Courts to the Supreme Court," under regulations to be prescribed by law, and that in no case, removed to the Supreme Court, should there be a trial by jury. It further provided that " writs of error and appeals from the final decisions of the said Supreme Court " should be "allowed, and taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, where the value of the property or the amount in controversy be ascertained by the oath or affirmation of either party," should exceed $1,000. The Supreme Court was also empowered by the act to appoint its own Clerk, as were each of the District Courts.
The Judges of the Supreme Court, as well as a United States Attorney and Marshal for the Territory, were to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. In spite of vigorous efforts of leading politicians of that early day to induce the Pres- ident to appoint to all the leading offices of the new government persons then resident in the Territory, President Jackson appointed as Chief Justice, Charles Dunn, then of Illinois, and, for Associate Judges, he selected William Frazier, of Pennsylvania, and David Irvin, formerly of Virginia, but who had been, during the preceding four years, Judge of the additional or Fourth District of the Michigan Territory, which comprised the whole of that territory west of Lake Michigan. William W. Chapman, of Burlington, Iowa, was appointed United States Attorney, and served until July 4, 1838, when he was succeeded by Moses M. Strong, of Mineral Point. Francis Gehon, of Dubuque, was appointed Marshal, serving until June 19, 1838, when Edward James was appointed to that office.
At the first session of the Territorial Legislature, held at Belmont, commencing October 25, 1836, the Territory was divided into three Judicial Districts, the First District consisting of Crawford and Iowa Counties ; the Second, of Dubuque and Des Moines, and the Third, of the counties of Brown and Milwaukee; and it was further provided, " That Charles Dunn, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Wisconsin, shall perform district duties in the First Judicial District ; that David Irwin, Associate Judge of said court, shall perform district duties in the Second Judicial District; and that William C. Frazer, Associate Judge of said court, shall perform district duties in the Third Judicial District. It was further provided, that " there shall be two terms of the District Courts held annually in each of the counties now or- ganized in the Territory, at the court house thereof, or place provided for holding court, which terms shall be commenced and held at the respective times, following, to wit : In the county of Crawford, on the first Mondays in May and September ; and in the county of Iowa, on the third Monday in May, and the first Monday in October." Grant County, as a part of Iowa County at the time the districts were created, was included in the First Judicial District. At the same session of the Legislature, but subsequent to the districting" of the State, several new counties were formed, among them, Grant ; and it became the duty of Chief Justice Dunn to hold terms in the new county which continued a part of his district.
Of Chief Justice Dunn, a late writer speaks as follows : "The Chief Justice of the new Supreme Court was then in his thirty-seventh year, of Irish descent, of Virginia ancestry on his mother's side, a native of Kentucky. Having enjoyed the advantages of nine years' preliminary education at Louisville, before he attained the age of eighteen, and having read law for about three years with distinguished lawyers of Kentucky and Illinois, he was admitted to the bar in the latter State before reaching his majority, and had practiced there during most of the next sixteen years, except so far as his practice was interrupted by the duties of various civil and military offices. He had taken part in the Black Hawk war as Captain of an Illinois company, and had entered Wisconsin with the Illinois forces engaged in the pursuit of a retreating enemy. Dur- ing the campaign, he had been wounded by a blundering sentinel, and had been disabled for further service. An able and well-read lawyer, endowed with a fine physique, with a counte- nance open, ruddy and frank, whose lines were nevertheless strong and indicative of good sense
513
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
and a strong will, with a firm, manly and dignified bearing, familiar with the habits of border life, yet with the manners of an urbane and cultivated gentleman, Judge Dunn, though still a young man, had little difficulty in commanding the respect or winning the general good will of the people among whom his lot was now cast.'
The first session of the District Court in Grant County, was held at Cassville, commencing June 5, 1837. The first docket of the court shows the following cases: James H. Johnston vs. A. R. T. Locey, action, trespass. Francis Gehon vs. J. B. Estes, action, trespass. A. Levi & Co. vs. Coyle & Palmer, action, trespass. Stewart McKee & Co. vs. John R. Farnsworth, action, trespass. Holder vs. Keller, action, debt. A. Cornell (assignee) vs. R. Ray, action, same as above. C. A. & C. L. Lagrave vs. J. B. Estes assumpsit, discontinued with leave to withdraw de con.
The first grand jury was as follows : Jeremiah Dodge, John R. Farnsworth, Alexander D. Ramsey, Andrew McWilliams, Isaac Lander, Moses Hicklin, Daniel Richards, Clovers A. La- Grave, Abram Miller, James Bonham, Thomas Shanley, William P. Fleharty, Elisha T. Hay- wood, James R. Vineyard, Henry Hodges and James Grushong. James R. Vineyard was selected to act as foreman.
Upon the opening of the court, it was "ordered by the court that Orris McCartney, Henry Wood, James Boice and Aaron Boice appear here on the first day of the next term of this court, and show cause, if any they can, why they shall not be fined for contempt of court in not attend- ing at this court as grand jurors."
The first case brought before the attention of the court was that of Stewart McKee and Lind vs. John R. Farnsworth for trespass. Moved by defendants' attorney to quash the complaint. The case was continned to the following morning, and court adjourned until that time. Upon re-assembling, the complaint was quashed and defendants empowered to collect costs from plaintiff. The first bill returned by the grand jury was a " true bill " against John R. Farnsworth for re- tailing ardent liquors ; case continued until next term of court and then dismissed. The first execution issued was in favor of James Gehon against James B. Estes, indorsed " satisfied by order of plaintiff."
At this session of the court, Thomas S. Wilson was appointed District Attorney, pro tem., by the presiding Judge. Among other matters, Justice Parson was granted leave to keep a ferry across the Mississippi opposite his house. James H. D. Street as Sheriff of Grant County, and Robert R. Read and George Moore, his Deputies, were granted pay for three days' attendance upon court, this appearing to have been the limit of the first session. One term of court was held at Cassville, the court house at Lancaster not, as yet, having been completed. At the Octo- ber term ensuing, J. Allen Barber was admitted to the bar of Grant County as attorney and counselor at law, being the first one so admitted; Edward Southwick was also admitted at the same term.
The first session of the court at Lancaster took place at the October term, 1837. The court house not being quite finished, the court was held in a little frame structure standing about where the bank is now situated. There being no crier, the court appointed Lewis Reynolds to act in that capacity, and also appointed Harvey Pepper as Constable. From this time forward until the organization of the State government, in 1848, regular terms of court were held by Judge Dunn at Lancaster, the county seat.
The last term of the District Court was held in June, 1848. On the 29th of May, of that year, Wisconsin became a State, and a new period began in her judicial and political history. None of the Judges of the Territorial Supreme Court were afterward connected with the State Judiciary. While still on the bench, Judge Dunn had been elected as a delegate from La Fayette County to the second Constitutional Convention. In this convention, he served as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and possessed a "commanding influence " in the convention. He was afterward a member of the State Senate from 1853 to 1856, and was a member of the Judiciary Committee of that body during the entire four years, and its Chairman until 1856, when the ma- jority of the Senate being of the opposite political party, he was succeeded in the chairmanship
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514
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
by David Taylor. Judge Dunn died April 7, 1872, at the residence of his sister at Mineral Point, in the eightieth year of his age.
By the constitution of the new State, Wisconsin was divided into five Judicial Districts. Grant County was included in the Fifth Judicial District, which comprised besides, Iowa, La Fayette, Crawford and St. Croix Counties, and three new counties attached to some of these for judicial purposes. The Legislature was authorized to alter the limits or increase the number of these circuits, with certain restrictions. These Circuit Judges were then to form the Supreme Court of the State, which court was by law compelled to hold at least one session annually at the seat of government.
The first election for Circuit Judges was held on the first Monday of August, 1848, and the following persons chosen : First, Edward V. Whiton ; Second, Levi Hubbell; Third, Charles H. Larrabee ; Fourth, Alexander W. Stow ; Fifth, Mortimer M. Jackson.
The first term of the Circuit Court in Grant County, opened Monday, October 2, 1848, Judge Jackson, presiding. Upon the opening of the court the following persons, " who were for- merly " attorneys and counselors at law in the District Court, came forward and took the oath, and were admitted as attorneys : Nelson Dewey, J. Allen Barber, Orsamus Cole, Stephen O. Paine, Joseph T. Mills, Cyrus K. Lord, Royal C. Bierce, William Hull, James W. Seaton, Ben C. East- man. Willis H. Chapman, attorney at law in the courts of Illinois, was also admitted at the same time.
The first grand jury for this court was composed of the following persons : Thomas Cruson,. Simpson Oldham, Warren Hannam, Sr., William Richardson, Jeremiah E. Dodge, Samuel Wilson, A. W. Emery, Jonas M. Smelzer, John S. Kirkpatrick, James Prideaux, Thomas J. Taylor, Robert Langley, Neely Gray, Jacob Benninger, James Barr, Abner Coates, Sr., Robert R. Young, James Bonham, James R. Short, Lewis Rood. Thos. Cruson was elected as Foreman.
The first case brought before the court was the State of Wisconsin vs. William Morris, Reu- ben Ray, Thomas Cobb, Thomas G. Kirkpatrick, Benjamin Baldwin, Solomon Roberts, Samuel Dorsey, William Clise and Pendleton P. Stone, for riot. Case stricken from the docket on mo- tion of the District Attorney J. Allen Barber, subject to re-instatement at the option of the Dis- trict Attorney. The case was one growing out of a charivari given in accordance with the customs of "ye olden time." Judge Jackson continued as Judge of the Fifth District until 1852, when he was succeeded by Montgomery M. Cothren, who served two terms, retiring in 1864. Joseph T. Mills, of Lancaster, was the next Judge of this circuit, and held two terms, and was followed by Judge Cothren, the present incumbent.
County and Probate Courts .- County Courts were established in this State by Chapter 86, of the revised statutes of 1849, and the jurisdiction and powers previously exercised by Probate Courts were by said Chapter 86, transferred to the County Courts.
Prior to 1849, the Judges were styled Probate Judges, and prior to 1844, they were ap- pointed by the Governor of the Territory.
Civil jurisdiction, to a limited extent, was vested in County Courts by the act establishing them. In 1853, a decision of the Supreme Court, in the case of James Norval vs. James P. Rice and Lutia A. Rice, action of assumpsit, commenced in County Court of Rock County and appealed to the Supreme Court, struck a heavy blow at the common law jurisdiction of the County Courts. The court held that the statute creating the County Court, in so far as it pro- vides for the trial of issues of fact by a jury of six men instead of twelve, is repugnant to the constitution of this State, and void.
" The right of trial by jury, secured by the constitution, contemplates a jury of twelve good and lawful men as the same was understood by the common law."
At the session of the Legislature of 1854, Chapter 86 of the Revised Statutes of 1849, so far as it related to civil jurisdiction of County Courts, was repealed, except in Milwaukee County, where this court has always retained civil jurisdiction to a limited extent. The other counties of the State in which County Courts have this jurisdiction at present are Dodge, Brown, Fond du Lac and Winnebago. A list of the County Judges of Grant County is given in another place.
515
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY.
COUNTY BUILDINGS.
Court House .- Immediately upon the meeting of Board of Supervisors for the newly cre- ated Grant County, in 1837, proposals were entertained for building a new court house, and at a subsequent meeting the contract was let to Messrs. G. M. Price and Daniel Banfill, the former taking the wood-work and the latter the mason-work of the building. Building opera- tions were at once commenced, and the court house finished the following year. This building was occupied until in 1851. Its dilapidated condition called either for extensive repairs or the erection of a new structure. The latter measure was decided upon, and the contract awarded to Messrs. Alcorn, Wood and Prentiss, who commenced work upon the new building in 1852, turning it over to the county the succeeding year. This building forms the wing of the present court house. A relic of the first court house of Grant County still remains in the shape of the stairs, over which the feet of so many weary applicants for the interposition of the strong arm of the law have passed. At present these steps do duty as an outside means of reaching the sec- ond story of the residence of Judge Mills. By 1865, the needs of the county for a larger build- ing were so glaringly portrayed, that, at an annual meeting of the County Board in November of that year, $5,000 was appropriated for the enlargement of this repository of justice and county bus- iness. The contract for the erection of the present east front was then given to John Thornton. At the same time the roof of the old court house was raised several feet, giving the court-room a much airier and handsomer appearance. The new front was finished the following year. The origi- nal contract price was $5,000, but at a subsequent session of the board the sum of $1.087.76 was added to this in order to reimburse the contractor for his work which, while it had been performed in an eminently satisfactory manner, had by this sum exceeded the contract price, and feeling that they now had a building which they could regard with pride, the county gen- erously came to his relief and awarded him the above sum. A lengthened description of this building is unnecessary. It is an edifice that does credit to the county, and provides in a com- modious and safe manner for all the varied county interests that have their headquarters there.
County Jail .- In April, 1838, seeing the necessity for providing a place for the safe-keep- ing of criminals, the County Board decided to erect a building for that purpose, and a contract for a log jail was made with Harvey Pepper, the price for the same completed to be $400. This pioneer bastile was made of logs, squarely hewn, and snugly laid together, while on the inside it was lined with oak plank two inches in thickness. To add to the further security of the jail, the interior was nailed every two inches with heavy spikes, the result of which was to make a box that, crude though it might be, was stronger than many of the more modern speci- mens of this genus. The word box is used advisedly, as the entrance to the interior was by means of a flight of steps running up to the second floor of the structure from the outside, where, from the interior, entrance was effected into the cell below by means of a ladder. This floor was made of stout hewn oak logs, and through the cracks between such air as could, strug- gled through to the prisoners below. For light two or three holes about the size of a small pane of glass were cut far above the reach of the prisoners, and admitted an occasional ray of sunshine to the occupants of this "dungeon cell." The jail finally went up in smoke, being fired by an incendiary, and, in 1844, the "old stone jail" was erected at a cost of $1,685, including a frame jailer's house. This structure, although regarded at the time as the acme of institutions of its kind, was soon found to contain serious failings, both in size and internal necessities for the comfort of prisoners. As early as four years later, namely, in 1848, the Clerk of the County Board was ordered to advertise for bids for "enlarging the jail," but this order was afterward countermanded, and at the January session of the board in 1849, it was decided that air holes cut in the walls so as to ventilate the lower cells would be sufficient for all needs, and N. W. Kendall was employed to provide this rather crude means of ventila- tion, but for reasons unexplained in the proceedings of the board, the job was turned over to J. C. Squires, who was ordered to let the job to such person as he saw fit. In 1852-53, the present Sheriff's house was built, the one formerly occupied by that officer being altogether to rough and crude an affair for habitable purposes.
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