Adams County, Illinois - Chapter 4, 1879 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 4

Causes of Slow Gkowth - Cholera - Populatiox - Prices of Pro- IHTCE - ^Wiij>-Cat Schemes - ^AGRicrxTirRAL - ^fAni? - ^Prices ix Qtex- CT - The Jail - Election PREcrscTs - Ixoorporatios - Couxrf Seat

In the same year - 1S31 - the United States land office was established at QoincT, with Samnd Alexander as r^^ter.and Thomas Corlin as receiver. The first entry of land was made in December of that year, and daring the ' following year bnt sevoiteen additional entries had been made. It was dming this year. 1S31. that the first addition to Uie town of Qniney was laid cot by John Wood, and John E. Jeffiries boilt the Land Office Hotel on the north side of the public sqnare. This for many years was a place of general public resort, and headquarters for the mataal interchange of local news and gossip. Many are the associations of this historical hooae. It has long dnee been numbered with the institatioos of the p«st»]i

The first inrestigation of a public official in the ooonty of Adams, in die year of 1831. Abe Prickett, Gen. Hite, and John £. Jeffries accused EL H. Sdow, ekrk of the eonrts, with maleonduct, and on March 26,

1S31, the court having duly investigated the chai^ee, found him not guilty. Archy Williams defended Mr Snow, and made a splendid speech in his behalf, which went a long ways toward shaping the rerdict. Considerable feeling was evinced by the public, and when the court announced their verdict it is said that John Wood, who was present, whispered loud enough to be heard all through the court room, ~ Virtue rewarded! " Tom King, feeling that Snow had been outraged, upon the adjournment of the court attacked Hite and gave him a severe beating, and then turned his attenti<Mi to Prickett whom he served in a like manner, and had Jeffiies not made his escape by fleeing from the scene he would undoubtedly have been served ia the same manner.

As is known by ail, in those days each person taking out a tavern license was r^nlated by a special act of the Commissioners* CourL The moving object in taking out a license was that the keeper of the tavern might legally sell liquors. Certain it is that occasionally a travid<^ would come along who would prefer sleeping under the shelter of a roof, but this we believe was only the exception, for in iii-:»st cases they would caanp out. The tavern-keeper did not expect to -iskr his money by keeping an inn ppi'per, but the chief s-juroe of income was the sale of liquors, or frc»m what in later days is denominated a saloon.

On Tuesday. March S. 1S31, tavern rates were re-established as follows. which appears to have V«een required by the innovation or use of mixed drinks:

Those of the early settlers of this county who have survived the winter and spring of the year 1S33 will not fail to remember that thev are memorable for numerous instances of sudden changes in tiie weather from extreme warmth to extreme cold. It is related that on the si3rteenth dav of March. 1S32. David Clark and William Carter, of McDonouffh countv. were returning from Frederick to Macomb, each with a wa^n-load of goods. On the morning of this day they left the residence of a friend Eving near Doddsville and proceeded a few miles when it became s<> cold they could go no further. Unhitching their oxen from the wagons they started for the nearest house, a few miles distant, barely reaching it alive. On this . same day two men left Blandinsville for Fort Madison, the weather at starting being comparatively pleasant. They had gone but a short distance when the weather suddenly changed, and they discovered that they were freezing. One of them hurried off for help, which was obtained, and on going back the other man was found but a short distance from where he was left, frozen to death. Such were some of the experiences of our pioneer settlers, as we have them from the lips of the survivers.

Black Hawk War

The troops for the Black Hawk war were called out in 1831 by Gov. John Reynolds, upon the petitions of the settlers on Rock river and vicinity. The first petition, which was sent to him in April, 1831, stated that "last fall the Black Hawk band of Indians almost destroyed all of our crops and made several attacks on the owners when they attempted to prevent their depredations, and wounded one man by actually stabbing him in several places. This spring they act in a much more outrageous and menacing manner." This petition represented that there were six or seven hundred Indians among them. It was signed by thirty-five or forty persons.

Another petition sets forth that " the Indians pasture their horses in our wheat fields, shoot our cows and cattle, and threaten to burn our houses over our heads if we do not leave." Other statements placed the number of the Indians at no more than three hundred. Therefore the call was made May 2G,. 1831, on the militia for seven hundred mounted men. Beardstown was the designated place of rendezvous and such was the sympathy and courage of the settlers that the number offering themselves was almost three times the number called out. They left the encampment near Rushville for Rock Island June 15, 1831, and on the 30th of June, in a council held for the purpose, Black Hawk and twenty-seven chiefs and warriors on one part, and Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, of the U. S. Army, and John Reynolds, governor of Illinois, on the other part, signed a treaty of peace and friendship. This capitulation bound the Indians to go and remain west of the Mississippi river. In April, 1832, this treacherous chief, with some five hundred followers, appeared again upon the scene of action, and fear and excitement spread through the length and breadth of the State. Gov. Reynolds, hearing of the threatening movement after a while, in his home at Belleville, made a call on the 16th of April, 1832, for militia to meet at Beardstown on the 22d of April. There were two companies from Adams county; of one Wm. G. Flood was captain, E. L. Pierson lieutenant; Capt. Earle Pierce, the sheriff", raised the other, which was afterwards Capt. Martin's and Capt. Coon's command. There are but few remaining now among the many that hurried off to help their fellow- citizens in the north, but among the number is Gov. Wood, now in his eighty-first year, who went and took with him two hired men. Abler hands will at some future day, we presume, prepare the memoirs of his eventful life, and rescue from forgetfulness many thrilling scenes to brighten the page of history. Mr, Robert Tillson, still living in Quincy, which at that time was the only postoffice for many miles, was postmaster and store-keeper, and could not go, but furnished an outfit consisting of gun, tin cup, blanket and provisions for Mr. John M, Holmes and another young man, who were his clerks.

At this time the population of Quincy was Jess than one thousand, and the mail was brought once a week, by a man on horseback, from Carrollton, Apple Creek and Atlas.

Such was the feeling toward the faithless band of British Indians that hardly half a dozen men remained behind, and much fear fell upon the defenceless ones that were left at home. On the 15th of September, 1832, a treaty was made that ended all alarm upon the borders and permitted the arts of peace once more to fiourish among the pioneers. President Jackson, in a message to Congress, spoke in flattering terms of the brave and eflicient action of the Illinois volunteers.

Mike Dodd, another odd charactei*, when he came to Quincy, as a matter of course, would imbibe freely and would then give vent to his feelings in boasting that he was "Mike Dodd in a minute and was built up from the ground like a muskrat house, and didn't buy 'taters of a nigger." Mike had a very large horse, which he usually rode, and whom he called Boleaway.

Another character in the county, when in town, would always make his little speech, which was: " That he lived behind Jonathan Crow's plantation and drank branch water."

A blacksmith, who was one of the earliest settlers of Quincy, had a favorite dog whom he called " Kigger Boy," and he would say that Nigger Boy was not " boughtable."

A hatter used to take his periodical spree, usually in company with Ed Pierson. Upon one occasion he and Pierson procured an old candle box, with a candle stick and some small pieces of candles, and paraded the streets, bareheaded, arm-in-arm, crying out: " We are the light of the world."

There was also a queer character by the name of Young, who settled in in the year of 1828 or '29. He had been President of the Owl Creek bank, a bogus concern in Ohio or Indiana, and came west to escape the rage of an indignant and swindled community. He was a very enthusiastic member of the Masonic fraternity, and also practiced law. Upon one occasion, in a trial of the right of property, before Wesley Williams,

Young was employed on one side and was opposed by Archey Williams and Judffe Loofan. Youno- became very much incensed because Williams and Logan used legal terms which he did not understand, saying: " I do not understand your teaticle phrases." Young was a " jack-of-all-trades," and upon one occasion he was employed by the Captain of a steamboat to make a figure head for his boat, which he did, and the Captain refused to pay Young his price for it, which made Young angry, and he swore he would build a boat to the figure head, and at once proceedad to put his threat into execution. After he had laid the keel, some one, during his absence, wrote upon the keel, " Young's folly," which so disgusted him that he suspended operations. Afterwards, Young was dubbed ^'' old figure head,''^ which name he bore as long as he remained in Quincv. He died some years afterwards near Peoria, in a rail pen.

Another of the odd characters who settled for a time in Adams county was a little man by the name of Louis Masquerier, from Kentucky. He resided in Quincy, on the blufii', on what is now Main street, and kept what was then termed a grocery (a ten gallon keg of whiskey). He finally gave up that business and went to Yandalia, to be examined for a license to practice law. He knew but little (if any) law, and the Judges, Wilson, Smith and Lockwood, feeling that the people would soon find it out, gave him his license, they knowing that he could do no harm, being so totally unfit for the profession. He made some pretentions as a poet, and the early. papers teemed with his efi'usions. He finally drifted to New York, and was lost sight of.

Uncle Johnny Kirkpatrick, one of the ministers in the county, was an oddity in his way. He was not very learned, but had a way of drawing his illustrations, which, to say the least, was peculiar. In one of his sermons, he was combating the idea that the Christian religion could be overthrown, saying: "You might as well try to turn over Laurel Hill with a corn-stalk; it can't be done." At another time, whilst attempting to show that the Christians were going through the world by the help of divine inspiration, he said, " Christians are not going through the world blindfolded or groping their way in the dark. They know they are on the right road to heaven," His simile was that if thej^ (his hearers) were going to Atlas, Pike county: "You would not take out into the prairie and around the corner of Keyes' fence, but would, on the contrary, go down the river, and you would find three notches on the trees, which would assure you that you were on the State road. And so it is with the Christians; they see the notches all along their route."

To a former resident of Quincy belongs the idea of originating paper \ collars, as the following incident will show: One of the early residents of I: Quincy, who had come from the east and had been accustomed to wearing linen, or to use the popular phrase, " biled shirts," was in quite a quandary, not being able to get any washing done. In his distress, he ap- plied to one of the inhabitants who was blessed with a wife. The citizen said he could get his wife to wash his shirts, which she did, using a home-made starch, which was manufactured by pounding corn into the proper consistency. When his shirts were returned, the bosoms were completely scaled with the hulls of corn. He had chalked the collars so long, that chalk would not remain on the surface any longer, and being of an inventive turn, he cut out of strong letter paper some collars and pinned them over the old ones, thus making the first paper collars on record.

Causes Of Slow Growth

For the first ten years, dating from 1824, the growth and settlement of Adams county was very slow, being retarded by various causes. The lands not being in the market, immigration was retarded; trading facilities were proportionately curtailed; money was exceedingly scarce; coon skins, maple sugar, deer hides, feathers, wild honey, beeswax and deer tallow were the current circulating medium of the people. However, the wants of the people being simple and few, and raising most everything they needed, they were doubtless as happy in their primitive condition as now, when surrounded by every luxury the heart can desire. Being also considered an unhealthy location, having but little intercourse with the outside world in the way of trade, and not being supplied with any buglers, in the shape of real estate agents, to sound its beauties and advantages, the county drifted along upon the tide, biding its time, which was sure to come. Finally, in 1834, the re-action took place and it commenced a rapid increase which it has steadily kept up until the present time, and now shows the most beautiful city in the State, being second in size, with a population unsurpassed for intelligence, industry and enterprise.

Up to this time, most of the bacon and flour used by the people of this section had been imported, but with a steam flouring-mill in operation, and with the stock raised in the county, the business began to be reversed and exporting soon followed.

Cholera

On the 4th day of July, 1833, cholera broke out in the county, and the citizens of Quincy took active steps towards preventing the spread of the disease and also for the care of those unfortunate ones who had been attacked with it.

This was the first time in. the history of the county that it was visited by an epidemic, and for some little time the people were at a loss how to proceed, some of the physicians, as do those of the present day, asserting that the disease which was spreading was not the cholera, but finally their eyes were opened to the stern reality, and active steps were at once taken to prevent its further ravages. The disease made its first appearance about the 4th day of July, and on the 6th a meeting of the citizens was called to be held at the court-house, to take steps for tliat purpose. William G. Flood was appointed chairman, and the Hon. O. H. Browning appointed secretary. The town was divided into three districts, with a vigilance committee for each district. J. F. Holmes, O. H. Browning and R. S, Green, chairman of the respective vigilance committees, were appointed a board of health, and from the reports seemed to have been invested witli almost absolute authority. They were instructed to meet daily, or oftener, if necessary, procure attendance and nourishment for the sick, and also to superintend the burial of the dead. The disease spread with great rapidity, and it was all the more noticeable in a small and thinly settled county. On the 7th of July there were forty-three cases of sickness, however, not all being cholera. There is no record left of the actual number of deaths from cholera alone, but from the best authoritj' to be obtained, somewhere between thirty and forty died in Quincy alone, which at that time contained a population of about four hundred. Ln that day the people were not so well prepared, either with means or remedies, to battle with an epidemic, and had no contingent fund, national. State, or county, as is now the case when such plagues overtake the country. Neither had they the means of communication which we now possess. The expense was borne by public subscription, and the report of Levi B. Allen, treasurer of the relief committee for July lOtli, shows that he had received twenty-six dollars and ninety-five cents, and he had disbursed the sum of four dollars. What a sum of money to battle an epidemic with. Yet how heroically did those gallant pioneers light their battles. Faithfully and well did they stand one by the other resolving to live and die together. While there is no doubt that there are many of the old citizens living to-day who were participants of those scenes, the only one whose name was then mentioned as a leader, now living, is the Hon. O. H, Browning.

Population

At this period, or the year 1834 following, the population of ^the entire county had reached the number of 7,042 souls, and of this number there were 1,319 subject to military duty; as to sex, the records show that there were 1,452 male children, and 1,317 female children under ten years of age. The population of Quincy at this period was 753 inhabitants, and of this number 270 were subject to military duty, the majority single men.

Prices Of Produce

As a matter of interest we have taken the pains to give a table of prices of farm produce for a period of fifty-three years, commencing with the year of the organization of Adams count}'-, and the figures we believe are very accurate for the average prices in New York City for the month of January in each year:

It will be seen''that the prices of leading farm products have not been controlled so much by war at home or abroad as by the supply. For instance the price of wheat during the first two years of the civil war was less than January, 1877. And again, during tlie prevalence of the Franco- German war prices were lower than for 1878. The maximum price, $3.00 per bushel for wheat, was reached two years after the close ot our civil war. A foreign demand may make an active market, but unless there is a short crop at home it seldom carries the price up very high.

Wild Cat Schemes

A bank was incorporated by the Legislature of Illinois, on the 22d of March, 1819, by the style of the " President, Directors and Company of the State Bank of Illinois," to continue for twenty-live years, with a capital not exceeding four millions of dollars, one-half of which was to be subscribed by individuals and the other half by the State, when the " Legislature should deem proper," Books M'ere to be opened in divers towns, and if stock was ever subscribed, not one dollar was ever paid. Such was some of the extravagant legislation of that period. The next General Assembly, of 1820-21, repealed this mammoth charter. A way had been discovered to create money without capital. Another bank was chartered, in which specie had no concern, with a capital of $500,000 on State credit; the stock to be raised and managed by State Directors, under the supervision of the Legislature. Three hundred tliousand dollars in paper currency were to be emitted, loaned on real estate at two-thirds the appraised value, or on personal security not exceeding one hundred dollars to individuals. No individual conld obtain over one thousand dollars on landed security. Interest at six per cent. The bills drew a credit of two per cent. per annum, and the institution was to run ten years; and if its projectors were to be credited in their fancies, it would produce an increase in that period sufficient to redeem all the bills issued, pay all contingent expenses, and give the State a profit of one hundred thousand dollars by the time the charter would expire. But it all turned out to be a fraud, delusion and snare. The bills went tumbling down to thirty-three cents on the dollar; the real estate of borrowers, previously inflated by a spurious currency, went down in a. greater degree; lands that had sold for ten dollars per acre, fell to two and three dollars; town lots in villages sunk near one thousand per cent., and fancy towns, on paper, became wholly valueless. And at the expiration of the charter, in 1831, when tiie bills had to be redeemed, there was no alternative, to save the State credit, but to contract a cash loan to redeem the outstanding bills of one hundred tliousand dollars. This was tlie commencement of the debt of the State, and has been designated as the " Wiggins Loan," from the gentleman who negotiated the stock.

Agricultural

In the beginning of the year 1838 the people of Adams county began to take interest in the matter of associating themselves together for the purpose of furthering the agricultural interests and growth of the county, and in January of that year a meeting was held in the town of Columbus, over which Judge llalstun presided. The meeting adopted by-laws and a constitution, and from this meeting have sprung the large and influential societies of the county, which have accomplished so much in the county for its agricultural development, and of which further mention will be made under the appropriate head.

In order to show what trouble the people of the Western country had in communicating with the outside world, in the earlier days of the settlement of the county, it will only be necessary to introduce the rates of postage, as established by the government in 1835. The rates were as follows:

Thus it will be noticed that in order to send a letter to St. Louis, in those days, required a stamp of at least twelve and one-half cents, and to Chicago would have required at least twenty cents; while on every one to New York or Philadelphia, a stamp of twenty-five cents would be required. What nice little stamp accounts some of our large Adams county firms would have had to paid had they lived in those days and done the business they now do. Beyond a question or doubt there are firms in Adams county to-day, who, had they been doing the same business in 1835 that they now do, would have had to pay the government at least ten thousand dollars per year postage. Then again, with the high rates of postage which they were compelled to pay, the}^ were obliged to wait the uncertain arrivals of the mail boy, or the more uncertain arrival of the stage coach. Such postal facilities nowadays would most certainly interfere with the heavy mercantile transactions which are now carried on by the people of this county. And while we are at present enjoying every facility that human intellect can invent to annihilate space, in order that the world may have quicker and safe rcommunication, from continent to continent, there are some to be found who croak and fret at delay, and grumble about not getting their mails.

It may, as an item of interest, be of some importance to the people ot the county to know how the markets ruled away back in our grandfathers' days, and we give the prices current of the Quincy market, corrected by Whitney & Co., and published in tlie Illinois Bounty Land Register^ of date April 17th, 1835:

AVhat changes have taken ])lace since those were the ruling prices. What fortunes have been made and lost, what vast changes in the mercantile world. From 2,500 bushels of wheat ground in the mills of Quincy in 1835 could our readers comprehend for a moment, the number of bushels which were ground yearly simply by the mills of Quincy alone, to say nothing of the many others scattered over the county who are doing equally as large a business.

The .Tail

In the proceedings of the County Commissioners' Court of Thursday, June 6th, 1839, the order was made to build the jail which stood on Fifth street, Quincy, in the rear of the court-house which was burned in 1873, The following are a part of the records: " Whereas, There is no no jail or place of confinement tor criminals in the count3'of Adams, it is therefore thought expedient and necessary that a jail should be built in the said county of Adams for the confinement and safe keeping of criminals. It is therefore ordered that a jail be built in the town of'Quinc^^ on the east part of the lot on which the court-house now stands; said jail is to be built with the front facing to the south and to range with the south side of the court-house. Said jail is to be built after and agreeable to a draft as now'on file in the clerk's ofiice.

Ordered, that the sum of one thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated to Joseph T. Holmes and J. O. Woodruff, or bearer, for the purpose of commencing and carrying on the building of a jail in Quincy. The above amount to be issued in orders of not less than fifty dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars each, the orders to draw twelve per cent, per annum intei-est from the time they are taken out of the ofiice until redeetned. Said orders to be redeemed in twelve months after their date.

Election Precincts

In June, 1839, proceedings in the County Commissioners' Court were had relative to the fixing the boundaries and the creation of election precincts throughout the county. Below is a record of the proceedings of the commissioners as taken from official sources:

Ordered, That township 2 north, and range 5 west, constitute one election precinct, to be called Northeast Preoinct, and ordered that Elliott Combs, Zacheus Dean, and Jonathan Browning be appointed judges of all elections to be held in said precinct, and ordered that all elections in said precinct be held at the house of Zacheus Dean.

Ordered, That township 1 north, and range 5 west, and township 1 south, 5 west, constitute Clayton^ and ordered that Cyrus Cupen, George McMurray and Shannon Wallace be appointed judges of all elections to be held in said precinct, and ordered that all elections be held at the house of David M. Campbell.

Ordered, That township 2 south, and range 5 west, 3 south, range 5 west, 3 south, range 6 west, and 3 south, 6 west, constitute an election precinct, to be called Kingston PreGinct, and ordered that George W. Williams, Azariah Mayfield and Richard Buffington, be appointed judges of all elections to be held in Kingston Precinct, and that all elections be held at the house of William Hendricks.

Ordered, That township 2 south, and range 6 west, constitute an election precinct, to be called Liberty Precinct, and ordered that John Wigle, William Hart and Jacob Hunsaker be appointed judges of all elections to be held in said precinct, and that all elections to be held in said precinct be held at the house of D. P. Meacham.

Ordered, That an election precinct, to be called Payson Precinct, be bounded as follows, to- wit: beginning at the river on the county line, thence east along said line to the range line dividing 6 and 7 west, thence north with said line to the section corner between 24 and 25, 2 south, and range 1 west; thence west with said line to the river, and ordered that Thomas Crocker, Alexander Furst and David Collins be, and they are hereby appointed judges of all elections to be held in said precinct, and it is ordered that all elections in said precinct be held at the store of J. C. Bernard.

Ordered, That Quincy Precinct he bounded as follows, to- wit, : beginning at the river and running east on the section line dividing sections 24 and 25, township 2 south, and range 9 west, continuing to the section corner between sections 21 and 22, township 2 south, and range 8 west, thence north to the section corner between sections 21 and 28, township 1 south, and range 8 west, thence west along said line to the river. The old judges to serve. This record makes no mention of the place of holding the i election.

Ordered, That the bounds of Burton Precinct be as follows, to-wit. : beginning at the section corner between sections 24 and 25, on the range line between 6 and 7 west, tlience north on said line to the section corner between sections 25 and 36, township 1 south, and range 7 west of the 4th principal meridian, tlience west to the range line between ranges 7 and 8 west, tlience north one njile, thence three miles west, thence south six miles, thence east to the place of beginning, and ordered that E. M. King, John Doty and John G. Humphrey be and they are hereby appointed judges of all the elections in said precinct, and that all the elections in said precinct be held at the house of M, H. Daniels.

Ordered, That Columbus Precinct be bounded as follows, to-wit.: beginning at the northeast corner of township 1, south, 6 west, thence south six miles, thence west six miles, thence south one mile, thence west six miles, thence north seven miles, thence west six miles, thence south two miles, thence east six miles, to the place of beginning, and ordered that M. D. McCann, John Thomas and George Smith be and they are hereby appointed judges of all elections to be held in said precinct, and that all the elections be held at the school-house in the village of Colmnbus.

Ordered, That Houston Precinct is bounded on the north by the county line, on the east by the range line between townships 5 and 6 west, on the south by the base line, on the west by the range line between townships 6 and 7 west. Ordered, That David Strickler, John W. McFarland and Richard Seaton be and they are hereby appointed judges of all elections in said precinct, and that all elections be held at the house of H. A. Cyrus.

Ordered, that the bounds of Woodville Precinct be as follows, to-wit: Commencing at the northeast of township number 2 north, and range 7 west, thence south on the range line, between sections 6 and 7 west, ten miles, thence west six miles, thence north ten miles to the county line, thence east with the county line to the place of beginning, and ordered that Benjamin Robertson, Martin Shurry and Simeon Curtis be and they are hereby appointed judges of all the elections to be held in said precinct, and that all elections be held at Woodville.

We do certify that, at au election held at the school-house in Columbus, on Saturday evening, March 2, 1839, ten days' notice having been prevously given in three public places, for the purpose of voting for or against incorporation of said town, and J. G. Driskell having been chosen President and W. D. McCann Clerk, and they having been duly sworn by William Oglesby proceeded to open a poll, which resulted as follows : For incorporating, forty-eight votes ; against incorporating, three votes. J. E. Driskell, President,

At an election held at the office of William Shinn, in Payson^ Adams county, Illinois, on the 23d of May, 1839, for the purpose of determining whether the town should become incorporated or not, the following number of votes were given, to-wit. : In favor of incorporation, fortj-one votes; against becoming incorporated, nine.

County Seat Contest Columbus

The principal argument used in this bitter contest was the geographical idea, which the Columbus friends showed up in all its phases. It was onl}^ eighteen or twenty miles from the remotest portion of Adams county to Columbus, while, it was nearly double the distance to Quincy from the bordering precincts.

There was a paper printed in Columbus during this time to which all contributed who were interested in the decision against Quincy. It was understood that A. Jonas was the moving spirit, and he was well supported by the eastern Adamsites, without regard to politics. This paper, after surviving the rude shocks of internecine war, and seeing the advent of quietness, under a united Adams countv, was destined to witness still farther strusrgles and perish for its opinions on the classic shores of l^auvoo.

The Columbus Advocate was bought by the company who started the " Nanvoo Expositor^'' principal among whom was Frank Higbee. The first appearance of the sheet called down the indignation of Joe Smith & Company, who having met in council and declared it a nuisance, proceeded " to abate it." The fragments of this press and its appendages became like " the blood of the martyrs, the seed of the church," though not the Mormon Church. Other portions of our history refer to this occasion so that no more mention need here be made.

Mr. Wesley McCann retained his commission as Justice of the Peace for Adams county, as also did James A. Bell, who lived a few miles east of Columbus, L. McFarland, of Houston, and Esquire McClintock, of Liberty. These justices considered themselves acting under their original commission's for four years, or nntil their successors were duly elected and commissioned.

The election in the contest for the change in the location of the county seat from Quincy to Columbus, was held on Monday, the second day of August, 1841, and the certificate of the abstract of the poll books is in the following words as spread upon the record of the County Commissioners' Court.

Abstract of the poll books of an election held in the County of Adams and State of Illinois, on Monday, the second day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-one. Columbus had sixteen hundred and thirty-six votes for countj^ seat. Quincy had fifteen hundred and forty-five votes for county seat.

Upon the official announcement of the result of the election, the friends of Quincy, by their counsel, Abraham Wheat, Esq., and Andrew Johnston,

Esq., presented a petition to the County Commissioners' Court, which was filed on the Tth day of September, 1841, against the removal of the county seat from Quincy to Columbus, the reasons they orave being embraced in the subjoined copy of the petition as taken from official records.

The undersigned citizens of Adams county beg leave respecttully to represent that the returns of the late election held for the removal of the county seat of said county from Quincy to Columbus, have been made, as your petitioners have been informed, and believe, in favor of said removal, by a majority of ninety-one votes; that as your petitioners are informed and believe, a number of illegal votes have been found upon said poll books in favor of Columbus, exceeding the number of one hundred, and thus your petitioners consider it doubtful whether a majority of legal votes were cast at said election for Quincy or Columbus ; that your petitioners are further informed that at several of the precincts in said county, the said election was not held and conducted conformably to law, nor the returns thereof made in accordance to the provisions of the law; that your petitioners are desirous upon the foregoing and other grounds, to contest the validity and correctness of said election and the returns thereof ; that the law providing for said election does not point out specially any method for contesting the same; that the said law provides that the returns of said election shall be certified to your honorable body, and does not provide for the revision thereof by any other authority. That your petitioners have given notice by publication in the Quincy Whig of their intention to contest the said election before three justices of the peace, in the manner provided in case of contested elections of justices of the peace; that your petitioners entertain some doubts whether the said election ought to be contested before the said justices or before this honorable court, and that your petitioners desire to know in what manner this honorable court will permit the said election to be contested. Therefore they pray this honorable court that upon a hearing of this petition it will be pleased to order as follows, to-wit :

2d. That this court will permit the said election to be contested before them, and will appoint a time and place for the hearing thereof; and,

3d. That, in case this court shall decline to make the order above prayed for, it will be pleased to order all proceedings for the removal of the county seat to be stayed and suspended until the decision of said contest before said three justices under the notice aforesaid, and your petitioners will ever pray, etc.

The opinion of two members of the court upon the above petition, involving a question of local interests, which was mixed with not a little personal feeling engendered by the contest, we believe, in justice to an impartial account, should be given. The questions presented in the petition were treated in an opinion of some length by "William Richards and Eli Seehorn, two of the commissioners. The opinion as filed by them was in the following words, which we have taken from official records of their proceedings in the matter: j

After hearing the matter discussed by the attorneys and counsel on each side of the question, we, William Richards and Eli Seehorn, two of the county commissioners, have made and delivered the following opinion, to-wit. : In the matter of the question of Joel Rice and others, praying for a contest of the validity of the late election for the removal of the seat of justice of this county presented to this court on yesterday.

The petitioners represent, among other things, that at the election held on the second day of August last, for the removal of the seat of justice of this county from Quincy to Columbus, there were more than one lumdred illegal votes polled in favor of the removal to Columbus, as they are informed and believe, and further, that at several of the precincts the said election was not held and conducted conformably to the law, nor the returns thereof made according to the provisions of the law, and that they pray that this court will permit the said election to be contested before them, and will appoint a time and place for the hearing thereof, and that all proceedings for the removal of the county seat be suspended and postponed until the termination of such contest. It is contended by counsel for petitioners in their arguments, that this court has the power of hearing the contest of the validity of said election ; that such power is inherent in the law authorizing the election and incident to the duties imposed on this court in the event of Columbus receiving a majority of the legal votes. On the other side it is contended by counsel that there is no law authorizingthe contest prayed for, and that the legislature never intended that said election should be contested, else it would have given the power and pointed out in the law itself the mode of conducting such contest.

The question presented is to this Court a new one, and unaided by the lights of legal learning, the Court has felt that it is a difficult one to decide. It is to be regretted that the Legislature did not itself especially provide for contestina: its validity. Such a provision would have had a great tendency to prevent frauds from being committed. This, however it has not done, and the question to be determined is whether this Court has the power of hearing the contest. If it has, it cannot be desired that it has also the power to prescribe the time, place and mode of conducting said contest, for this would be incident to the other. It appears from the certificate of Mr. Wren, our clerk, certifying the election returns to us that there were ninety-one majority votes polled in favor of the removal. The representation of the petitioners, if true, show that there were more than that number of illegal votes polled in favor of the removal to Columbus. The Court are very well satisfied that they have the power of going behind the clerk's certificate for the purpose of ascertaining correctly facts on which any of its orders or actions are to be based, when doubts arise, else in many cases, irreparable injuries might be done without adequate remedy. Neither the certificate of said clerk nor those of the judges of the election can in their opinion be only prima facia evidence of the existence of the facts to which they certify. This being the case, the Court are of the opinion that it has the power of hearing a contest of the validity of the said election, and the Court is further strengthened in this opinion from the provisions of the case itself, authorizing the election. The Court is well satisfied that the Legislature never intended that persons not qualified to vote at said election for county officers, should vote either for or against the removal of the seat of justice. Indeed it would be absurd to entertain the contrary opinion. The first section of the law authorizinothe election - The Laws of Illinois, 1841, page 94 - says: At which election, the clerk thereof shall open two columns, the one for Quincy, the other for Columbus' and shall take and record the vote for each qualified voter for one of the aforesaid' places as the seat of justice for said county. And in the same section it says that the said election shall be conducted and the returns thereof made in the same manner as is provided inordinary cases of the election of justices of the peace, and the second section of the same law provides that if at such election, Columbus shall receive the greatest number of votes for said seat of justice, then it shall be the duty of the County Commissioners' Court of said county, without delay, to cause to be erected, purchased or rented, suitable buildings in the town of Columbus, for a court-house, etc. If then, at said election, there were illegal votes polled, or it was not conducted or the returns thereof made in the manner provided in ordinary cases of the election of justices of the peace, more has been done than was even intended by the Legislature. In short, the Court are of the opinion that the Legislature intended simply that there should be a fair expression of the opinion of the legal voters of this county as to whether the seat of justice should be removed or not. This intention may have been defeated by fraudulent voles or by the election being conducted in an illeo-al manner or in both ways, and if the representations of the petitioners are true, there°is grounds to believe that such is the case, and the Court believe it is their duty to so construe the law as to carry out the intentions of the Legislature. They therefore decide that they will hear the contest of said election and suspend any further action in reference to the removal of said seat of justice until after said contest.

To this decision of William Eichards and Eli Seeliorn, a majority of the Commissioners' Court, a "dissenting opinion " or protest was filed by- George Smith, the other member of the court, which, from the official records, appears in the following language:

QniNCY, Sept. 8th, 1841. The undersigned, one of the county commissioners of the connty of Adams, presents the following protest against a decision of a majority of the commissioners of said county, as made on the 7th inst., relative to contesting an election held in August last, removing the seat of justice of said county frou\ Quincy to Columbus. The undersigned protests because said decision was not warranted by law, the Court having no juri.sdiction in cases of contested elections, it being a court of limited jurisdiction, where duties are prescribed by the statute of the State, and it is believed by tlie undersigned that any act of said court, not granted themby h\w limiting the duties and powers would be a direct violation of their oath of office and an act of unwarrantable usurpation. I protest, because said decision is calculated to ojjpress the tax-payers with a burthensome tax of several thousand dollars. To investigate a matter, whether true or false, must finally be decided by the tribunals of the land to be without law or precedence, and absolutely null and void. I protest, because, from tlie showing of the petitioners themselves, they have doubts whether the remedy tor the supposed grievances is in this Court or in some other, and they also admit there is no law clearly givuig this Court the right to hear said petition, and ask the Court to decide -^o important a matter as the rights of three thousand people, upon at least a very doubtlul question, without showing to the Court that it is their last resort, and unless they prevent an investigaticm, injustice will follow. I protest because the petition (setting aside the question of jurisdiction) does not show suflicient grounds upon which the Court could come to the conclusion that either fraud, illegality or informality was committed in said election, all the evidence before said Court being rumor and belief formed thereon, without stating facts. No names are given of illegal voters; no precinct specified at which the judges and clerks were not sworn according to law, nor any particular informality in the returns thereof, all of which I believe was absolutely requisite to enable the Court to decide understandinsly. Finally, the undersigned protests, because he believes that if fraud has been committed or informality made in the returns of said election, and the party aggrieved has a right to contest at all,' either the authority of the Circuit Court or the magistrates as provided in the case of contesting county officers is less doubtful than this Court to grant the prayer of the petitioners, and that this Court cannot take cognizence of the matter without arrogating to itself legislative powers by violating the laws of their State, and entailing upon the county all the evils that must inevitably fall on acts of injustice and oppression. Therefore, the undersigned would ask leave to enter the foregoing protest upon the records of said county.

From the decision of William Richards and Eli Seehorn, the majority of the commissioners, Williard Graves and others, by Nehemiah Bushnell, their counsel, prayed an appeal, which was granted on condition that they give a good bond, in the sum of one hundred dollars, to be paid provided the decision of the majority of the Court should be confirmed.

After the decision of the County Commissioners' Court, the friends of Quincy carried the contest to the Legislature at Springfield, and succeeded in getting a special law through that body, dividing the county and creating a new county, which was called Marquette, a very complete account of which may be obtained from a perusal of the act, which, for the purpose of an unbiased and more full account of this affair, is inserted in our record of this local contest:

Section 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinoix represented in the General Assembly : That all part of the now county of Adams lying east of range 7, west of the fourth principal Meridian, and also sections 1, 12, 13, 24, 2") and 36, of township 1, south of the base line in the aforesaid range 7, be, and the same is, hereby created into a new county, to be called the county of Marquette.

Sec. 2. There shall be an election on the first Monday of April next at the different places of voting for justices of the peace and constables in the limits of said county of Marquette; said election shall be conducted by the present judges ot election in said county who have been appointed by the county of Adams according to the election laws of this State, at which election the legal voters of the said county of Marquette shall elect all county officers for said county, excepting school commissioner and one county commissioner and coroner, who shall be qualified and commissioned as similar officers are in other coun- ties of this State. Said officers so elected and qualified sliall hold their oflices until the next ensuing general election for such offices now provided by law, and until their successors are legally qualified, and shall have the same jurisdiction, and discharge all the duties witliin the limits of the said count}^ of Marquette, that are or may be required by law of similar officers in other counties of this State ; Provided, however, that the person receiving the liighest number of votes at said election for county commissioner shall liold his office until the first Monday of August, in the year of our Lord one tliousand eight hundred and fortj^-five, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified, anything in this section contained to the contrary notwitlistanding.

Sec. 3. Within five days after said election the judges of the election at their diflerent places of liolding the same shall return the poll-books thereof to the town of Columbus, in said county of Marquette, directed to Wesley D. McCann, an acting justice of tlie peace within the limits of said county, wlio, together with any two other acting justices of the peace of said county, shall meet in said town of Columbvts within seven days after said election and proceed to open said election returns, and do and perform such other duties in relation to said returns as are now required of clerks of County Commissioners' Courts by law in relation to similar returns.

Sec. 4. As soon as the county officers shall have been elected and qualified the said county of Marquette sliall be considered organized, and the clerk of the County Commissioners' Court shall give notice there of to the judge of the FifthJudicial Circuit, who shall thereupon appoint a clerk for the Circuit Court of said county, and shall hold court in the said county at the town of Columbus until the county seat of said county shall be located as hereinafter provided. Said county of Marquette shall constitute and form a part of the FifthJudicial Circuit until otherwise provided bylaw; and it shall be the duty of the judge of said circuit to hold two terms of said court in said countj^ annually at such times as lie may order and appoint, or at such time as may be provided by law.

Sec. 5. All suits and prosecutions that have been commenced, or that may hereafter be commenced in the Circuit Court of Adams county before the organizatinn of the said county of Marquette, shall not be aflected by this act, but all suits and prosecutions so commenced as aforesaid shall be prosecuted to final termination in tlie Circuit Court of the said county of Adams, and the officers of the said county of Adams are hereby authorized and required to issue and execute all writs that may be necessary to the prosecution of all such suits and prosecutions to final termination anywhere within the limits of said county of Marquette.

Sec. 6. All justices of the peace and constables elected within the county of Adams, and who reside in the limits of the county of Marquette, shall hold their offices and have jurisdiction in the said county of Marquette as though they had been originally elected in said county.

Sec. 7. Daniel Harrison, school commissioner ; George Smith, one of the county commissioners, and Jonas Grubb, the coroner of the present county of Adams, and who reside within the limits of the said county of Marquette, shall, after the organization of the said county of Marquette, hold their respective offices within and for the same until their present terms of office expire, and it shall be the duty of the clerk of the County Commissioners' Court of the said county of Marquette, as soon as the same shall be organized, to notify the clerk of the County Commissioners' Court of the said county of Adams thereof, when each of said offices within said county of Adams shall be deemed and considered vacant, which said vacancies in said Adams county shall be filled in the same manner as vacancies occasioned by other causes.

Sec. 8. The school funds belonging to the several townships in the county of Adams, and all moneys, notes, and mortgages appertaining to the same shall be paid and delivered over to the school commissioner of said county of Adams by the school commissioner of the said county of Marquette as soon as the school commissioner of the county of Adams shall be duly elected and qualified ; and also all moneys and interest arising from the school college, and seminary fund which may belong to said county of Adams.

Sec. 9. At the next general election and until a new apportionment of representation shall be made among the several counties of this State, the county of Adams shall elect three representatives, and the county of Marquette to the general assembly of this State, and in case a vacancy shall happen in the offices of senator from the county of Adams, the said countj- of Adams and county of Marquette shall vote together to fill such vacancy, and the said counties shall continue so to do until a new apportionment shall be made, and in case of election for senator it shall be the duty of the clerk of the County Commissioners' Court of the county of Marquette within four days after the returns of such election has been made to him, to meet the clerk of the County Commissioners' Court of the county of Adams, at his office in the city of Quincy, and the two clerks together shall compare the polls and deliver a certificate to the person elected, and also a transcript of the votes for senator to the secretary of State.

Sec. 10. For the purpose of fixing the permanent seat of justice for the said county of Marquette, it shall be the duties of the judges of election at the time and place of voting for county officers as provided for in this act, to cause as many columns as there may be voted for to be ruled on the poll-books of said electiou. At the head ot each column a separate place shall be entered as candidates for the county seat of said county of Marquette ; at said election all the legal voters of said county shall vote for one of the places designated, the places to be agreed upon by the voters of said county in any number they may see proper, and the place receiving a majority of all the votes given shall be the i)ermanent seat of justice for said county; but if no place shall receive a majority of all the votes given then it shall be lawful for tlie said legal voters to meet at the several places of holding elections on the tirst Monday of August next, and then and there select and vote for one of the two places only having the highest number of votes at the former election, and the place having a majority of all the legal votes given shall be the permanent seat of justice of the said county of Marquette.

Sec. 11. That the Count}' Commissioners' Court of said county of Marquette be and the same is hereby authorized and empowered at any regular term thereof whenever it shall be deemed expedient by an order to be entered on its records to appoint some competent person as a commissioner for the purpose hereinafter expressed, who shall take and subscribe an oath faithfull)' and carefully to perform such duties as shall be re(iuired ot liim by this act; which oath may be administered and certified to the clerk of the aforesaid court by any justice of the peace of said county.

Sec. 12. It shall be the duty of the County Commissioners' Court of said county when it makes such appointment, or as soon thereafter as may be convenient, to provide a sufficient number of blank-books for the purpose contemplated by this act, substantially bound and suitable for recording deeds in, which books, when provided, shall be delivered to the aforesaid commissioner, who shall receipt to the clerk for the same.

Sec. I'l As soon as such book or books shall be delivered to said commissioner, he shall record in each book a copy of the order of his appointment, and of his oath of office, and proceed in due time to the office of the recorder of the county of Adams, and shall from the books in said office make out and record in a fair and legible manner in the book or books furnished him, all deeds and title papers, together with the acknowledgments and certificates appertaining thereto of lands Ij'ing in the aforesaid county of Marquette, which have been recorded in the office of the recorder of said countv of Adams, and when the said commissioner shall have finished transcribing the aforesaid records contemplated by the recorder of the said county of Adams, shall estimate the number of bonds and other title papers which said commissioner shall have transcribed into such book or books, and certify the same to the County Commissioners' Court of said county of Adams, which shall thereupon make an order in favor of said commissioner for the sum of twenty-five cents for each deed bv him transcribed as aforesaid, to be paid as other county orders are.

Sec. 14." It shall be the duty of the recorder of the county of Aaams to permit said commissioner to make transcripts ot all and every such deed and tiile paper, and for that purpose to use the books in which such instruments may be recorded.

Sec. 15. The said County Commissioners' Court, <>f said ^larquette county, shall have power to fill all vacancies in the said office of commissioner.

Sec 10. It shall be the duty of the aforesaid commissioner after transcribing the aforesaid deeds and title papers into the books so to be furnished him as aforesaid, to return the said books to the recorder of the sail couuty of Marquette, and it shall be the duty of said recorder to make a certificate to that effect at the end of each book.

Sec. 17. The said commissioner on transcribing the deeds and title papers aforesaid into the books so provided as aforesaid, shall immediately after transcribing each deed, title paper, acknowledgment and certificate, note in the said book at what time, in what office, book and page, the same was originallj' recorded, and when such transcribed record books ' shall be delivered to the recorder of the said county of Marquette, they shall to all intents and purposes be considered and taken as books of record of title papers and deeds for the said county of Marquette, and copies of such transcribed records, certified by the recorder of said county, shall be evidence in all courts and jdaces in the same manner that copies of deeds and title papers regularly recorded in the recorder's office of said county, are evidence and with the same ettect.

Sec. 18. The debt now outstanding against the said county of Adams shall be paid by said couuty, and the said county of Man|Uette shall forever be released from tlie same; and it shall be the duty of the governor ot this State, on or before tlie first day of Ajiril next, to appoint three suitable and disinterested persons not residents of either aforesaid counties, as commissioners, who shall, before entering upon the duties of their aforesaid office, make and subscribe their respective oaths or affirmations well and truly to discharge the duties required of them under the provisions of this act, impartially and to the liest of their judgments and abilities, before some justice of the peace of the said county of Adams, who shall certify the same to the clerk of the County Commissioners' Court of said county, and which shall be filed by him in his office.

Sec. 10. It shall be the duties of the aforesaid comn\issioners, within one month after their said appointment, on some day to be a.^reed upon by them, to repair to the seat of justice of the county of Adams, and then and there, after making the aforesaid oath or affirmation, ascertain from the records of said county; first, the value of taxable property lying and being within the limits of the now county of Adams, from the book or books of the assessor of said county for the year of eighteen hundred and forty-two, according to the value of said property as set down in said book or books; secondly, the said commissioners shall in like manner, and from the same source, ascertain the value of taxable property lying and being within the limits of the said county of Marquette; thirdly, the said commissioners shall ascertain the amount of the debt outstanding against the county of Adams at the time of the passage of this act; fourthly, the said commissioners shall appraise and value the court house and jail of said county of Adams, and all other property, either real or personal, and all moneys, notes, bonds, etc., of every description, owned and belonging to the said county of Adams at the time of said appraisement, provided, however, that the public square in the city of Quincy shall be excepted from the provisions of this section, unless said public square should at any time hereafter be sold and converted into private property, in which event the county of Marquette shall be entitled to one-half of the proceeds of such sale, and excepting also trom the provisions of this section the cemetery and market house and lot in said city of Quincy; lifthly, the said commissioners shall deduct from the value of said court house and jail the amount of the aforesaid outstanding debt against the said county of Adams, and then make out a duplicate award under their hands and seal, setting forth the result of the investigations hereinbefore required of them, and in which they shall award, to be paid by the said county of Adams to the said county of Marquette, such proportion of the balance of the appraised value of said court house and jail, after deducting the amount of the aforesaid outstanding debt against the said county of Adams, as the value ot said taxable property lying and being within the limits of the said county of Marquette, loans to the value of the taxable property lying and being within the limits of the now county of Adams, and when the said award shall be so made out as provided in this section, one copy thereof shall be delivered by said commissioners to the clerk of the County Commissioners'Court of the county ot Adams, and the other to the clerk of the County Commissioners' Court of the said county of Marquette, and the same shall be filed by the said clerks in their respective offices.

Sec. 20. At the first regular term of the County Commissioners' Court of the county of Adams, after the said award thall be filed as aforesaid, the said court shall make an order in favor of the said county of Marquette for the amount so awarded, to be paid to it by the said county of Adams, "as in the last preceding section provided, and the said amount shall then be considered due from the said county of Adams to the said county of Marquette, and shall be paid in the the same manner as other debts against said county.

Sec. 21. The said commissioners, for the purpose of discharging the duties required of them by this act, shall have free access to the records of said Adams countj^ but shall not be permitted to remove from their respective offices any books or papers belonging thereto, and it shall be the duty of the clerk of the County Commissioners' Court of said county, and of all other officers of said county whom the said commissioners may deem it necessary to call upon, to aid them in the investigation aforesaid, lor which said services, so to be rendered as aforesaid, the said clerk and other officials shall make no charge against the said county of Adams.

Sec. 22. The said commissioners may adjourn their meetings from time to time, to suit their convenience, but shall use all reasonable dispatch in the discharge, as hereinbefore required of them, and the concurrence of any two of them in any act or duty hereinbefore required of them shall be valid and binding to all intents and purposes; and they shall be paid by the county of Adams in the same manner as other charges against said county, three dollars each per day during the time actually employed in the discharge of their aforesaid duties, and for every day's necessary travel in going to and from the said seat of justice of the said county of Adams.

Sec. 23. As soon as the said county of Marquette shall be organized, and the clerk of the County Commissioners' Court of said county of Adams notified thereof, the treasurer of said county of Adams shall pay and deliver over to the treasurer of the county of Marquette, for the use of said county, such proportion of the funds now in the treasury of the said county of Adams, for the use of said county, and in the kind of funds in which the same was collected, as the value of the taxable property lying and being within the said county of Marquette bears to the value of the taxable property lying and being within the now county of Adams, as appears upon the book or books of the assessor of said Adams covmty, for the year eighteen hundred and forty-two, and the taxes assessed on the property lying and being within the limits of said county of Marquette, for the year eighteen hundred and fortj'-two, shall be collected by the collecting officer of the county of Adams, the same as if said county had not been divided, and the amount collected for the use of the county paid into the county treasury of the said county of Adams, the same as now required bylaw; and the treasurer of the county of Adams shall imme. lately thereafter pay and deliver over to the treasurer of the county of Marquette, for the use of the said county, such proportion of the aforesaid amount as the value of said taxable property lying and being within the limits of said county of Marquette bears to the value of said taxable property lying and being within the limits of the now county of Adams, as appears upon the aforesaid book or books of the aforesaid assessor; and it shall be the dulj^ of the afore- said treasurer of said county of Adams to take duplicate receipts for the money so to be paid by him as aforesaid, from the treasurer of the said county of Marquette, one of which - he shall cause to be filed in the office of the County Commissioners' Court of said county of Adams.

The question as to whether Marquette was legally created, was . determined in the Supreme Court of the State, at the December term, 1843, in the case of the People ex relatione^ Andrew Redman vs. Nicholas i Wren, county clerk of Adams count}'. Kedman had been elected a justice i of the peace for Columbus precinct, in Marquette county, and he brouf^ht the suit in the shape of an application for a writ of mandamus to compel Nicholas Wren, as clerk of Adams county, to issue his certihcate of election. In the opinion in this case the Court say, "That the county of Marquette was absolutely created by the first section of the act entitled 'An act to create the couTitj- of Marquette,' etc., and it was not left optional with , the inhabitants to oro-anize or not; but whether organized or not it was abso- i lutely separated, for election purposes, from Adams county. The jurisdiction of Adams county, for the purpose of county government, did not extend over the county of Marquette on the 7th day of August, 1S43." The principal argument urged on behalf of Redman, the relator in this case, was that to give Marquette the essential constituents of a county it must be organized, and that until organized the people were deprived of the right of exercising the elective franchise unless they were permitted to vote with Adams county; and it was asked whether the Legislature could possibly intend to do an act that could be productive of such injustice ! The Court go on to say: "The whole of this argument is founded on fallacy. First, the inhabitants of Marquette have all the rights, powers and capacities possessed by citizens of any other county in this State, and the consequences complained of sj>riT)g from a neglect to exercise these capacities. Secondly, it was their duty to elect officers at the time and in the manner prescribed by law. They had the capacity to do this, and failed to exercise that capacity, so that, instead of being deprived of rights they have neglected the performance of specific duties. Men who neglect to vote for county officers at a general election, might as well complain of being deprived of the elective franchise. It must be recollected that there are other rights than those of the inhabitants of Marquette concerned in this question. The inhabitants of Adams have their rights also. They have organized in conformity to law,' and constitute a separate community, with separate interests, subject to the control and management of a distinct corporation, and for the citizens of Marquette to interfere in the municipal government of Adams county would be an invasion of corporate rights of citizens. In a case like the present, the duty of the Court is plain and obvious; our duty is not to declare what the Legislature ought to have done, but what it actually has done; not to legislate, but to simply declare what the law is. If a law operates oppressively it is the province of the Le^^islature to afford redress; but while it continues a law, it is the duty of the citizens to obey it, and of courts of justice to declare and enforce it." The application of the writ was refused, and the relator ordered to pay the costs.

Altliough elections took place at stated times and places, no officers ever qualified, and Marquette county paid no taxes for the term of five years, to State or county. There was no prince or potentate to rule this people ; as sheep without a shepherd, they browsed around as they pleased - yet we are told that there was no lawlessness, vice, or violence among the people, but prosperity prevailed on every hand. At last there was an election for the Legislature, after the county had changed its name to Highland, and Edward H, Buckley and Willis H. Chapman were sent to Springfield. Their certificate was given them by Wesley D. McCann, J. P. for Adams county. He received, in those days, all tlie returns of elections and was de facto county clerk. There^ is no doubt but the old esquire bore his extra honors with becoming dignity.

When Highland was fully organized, the seeds of dissension sown in the county seat contest, years before, began to spring up on the question of geocjraphical centime. Columbus had made a weapon of this argument, and now the residents of" Bush Prairie" figured themselves out to be nearer the centre of Highland county than Columbus was. They made use of the proverbial expression, which was new in those days, that " what was sauce for the goose was sauce for the gander." They nevertheless failed to secure the honor of the county seat, and Columbus kept it until the Legislature reunited the divided county.

The contest was continued at home and in the Legislature and Supreme Court at Springfield, by the various interests involved, until 1S46, in December. Speeches were made throughout the county, at every schoolhouse, church or other available place of holding meeting, by the oratorical friends of the different localities. It was the topic of discussion on, every occasion, in the field, the shop, the family, the store, or wherever men might chance to meet. Hon. E. H, Buckley, who was a lawyer, practicing at that time in Columbus, and one of the ablest and most influential friends of Columbus, was elected to the Legislature from Marquette county, and at the session of the Legislature which met in December, 1846, Mr, Buckley prepared, and through his ability and persevering eftbrts overcame a strong opposition and procured the passage of a law, changing the name of Marquette county, and creating the county of Highland, by adding a small portion of Gilmer township. This may be i-egarded as the final legislation in the contest, as it is an act by which the Jong and bitter contest was terminated. For that and its historical interest, it is inserted in full:

An Act to change the name of the county of Marquette, to organize the same and to attach a portion of (he county of Adams thereto, to provide for the collection of revenue therein, and for other purposes therein mentioned.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in General Assembly, that the county heretofore known by the name of ^larquette county, shall hereafter be known and called by the name of Highland county.

Sec. 2. All that part of the now county of Adams, lying east ot the line commencing at the northwest corner of section two (2), in township two (2), north of the base line and range seven (7), west of the principal meridian, running thence due south on said sectional line, eighteen miles, to the township line, running between townships one (1) and two (2), south, thence east on said township line, two miles, to range line, between six and seven west, as aforesaid be, and the same is hereby attached to and made a part of the county of Highland aforesaid.

Sec. 8. There shall be an election held in the said county of Highland, on the first Monday of April next, in all the precincts of said county, as laid off by the county of Adams, for use of county officers of the county of Highland, including two justices of the peace and two constables for each of said precincts, which said election shall be held and conducted in all respects as required by the general election laws of this State, as is nowprovided by law ; Provided, however, the County Commissioners' Court of Highland shall, at their first session, in and for said county of Highland, determine by lot, as is now provided by law, their respective terms of office, so that the one shall expire on the first Monday of August next, and one on the first Monday of August, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, and one on the first Monday of August, eighteen huu'dred and forty-nine, and in case of the contest of any of the officers named, it shall be determined according to the laws concerning contested elections.

Sec. 4. Within five days after said election is held, the judges of said election shall make returns of the poll-books thereof to Wesley D. McCann, at his office, in the town of Columbus, in said county of Highland, or in case of his death or absence, to James A. Bell, at his office, in said town of Columbus, who, together with two justices of the peace of said connty, shall meet within eight days from the said day of election, at the office of the said Wesley D. McCann or James A. Bell, (as the case may be) and then and there open and compare said poll-books and returns, as aforesaid, and do and perform all such acts as are required by the laws of this State. Open returns are made to the County Commissioners' Court and the said Wesley D. McCann or James A. Bell, (as the case may be) are hereby required to perform all such duties, in relation to said returns, as the clerks of the County Commissioners' Court are required to do and perform, under the election laws of this State. Sec. 5. Sections 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17, of " An Act to create the county of Marquette and for other purposes therein mentioned," approved February 11th, 1843, be, and the same are hereby declared a part of this act, except the name Marquette ; wherever it occurs in said sections, it shall be so changed as to read Highland, and except the boundaries of Marquette county, as fully as if the same were set out in full and incorporated into this act, and sections 2, 3, 7,8, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 of said act are hereby repealed. Sec. 6. The county commissioners of said county shall hold their first court in the said town of Columbus, in said county of Highland, and the courts of justice for .said county shall be holden in said town of Columbus, as aforesaid, until provision by law shall be made to hold them elsewhere.

Sec. 7. As soon as the said county of Highland is organized, the school commissioners of the county of Adams shall deliver and pay over to the school commissioners of the county of Highland all the school funds belonging to the several townships in the county of Highland, and all monej^s, notes, and mortgages appertaining to the same, and also all moneys and interest arising from the school, college and seminary fund which may belong to the county of Highland; and the auditor of the State is hereby authorized to pay over to the school commissioners of the county of Highland all money's which heretofore have been ami may hereafter be due and set apart to the county of Marquette as a portion of the school fund due said county.

Sec 8. All letters of administration which have been or may hereafter (before the organization of the county of Highland) be granted by the probate justice of the peace of the county of Adams upon estates being orlying within the countj- of 3Iarquctte or Highland are hereby declared as legal as if letters, as aforesaid, had been granted in the county of Marcjuette, and the same shall be settled in the county of Adams as fully as if in said county of Marquette; and the liabilities of executors, administrators, and their securities, are hereby declared the same as if letters had been granted by the probate justice of the peace in and for said county of Marquette, and all deeds, mortgages and other instruments in writing entitled to be recorded l)y the laws of this State which have heretofore been recorded in the recorder's office of Adams county aflecting or relating to real or personal property lying and being in the county of Marquette, or which sliiill hereafter be recorded in said recorder's office aftecting property in the countj^ of Highland, before the organization of said county be and the same is hereby declared as valid as if they were re- corded in the county of Marquette or Highland ; and all acknowledgments of deeds and other instruments in writing which have heretofore been acknowledges! by justices of the peace of the county of Marquette, and all ofhcial acts of said justices of the peace shall be as valid as if said justices had been duly elected and qualified as justices of the peace of the county of Marquette.

Sec. 9. The assessor of taxes in and for the county of Highland for the year eighteen hundred and forty-seven shall at the same time he makes the assessment for the year eighteen hundred and forty-seven also make an assessment for the year eighteen hundred and forty-six; and the collector of the county of Highland shall collect the amount of the State tax for the said year of eighteen hundred and forty-six, at the same time and in the same manner as for the year eighteen hundred and forty-seven :

Provided, Said assessor in making said assessment for said year eighteen hundred and forty-six and the collector in collecting said tax shall only make and collect the same upon property which was in and owned in said county of Marquette in the year eighteen hundred and forty-six, and for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of personal property so owned as aforesaid, the assessor is hereby empowered to administer an oath to each person liable to be taxed as aforesaid and require him or her to answer on oath what amount of property he or she respectively held subject to taxation for the year eighteen hundred and forty-six; and upon refusal to answer under oath, as aforesaid, the assessor shall be governed as is now provided by law, as in case of refusal.

Sec. 10. That the said county of Highland shall be and remain attached to the county of Adams for all judicial purposes up to the time fixed for the organization of the said county of Highland and until the time for the officers to qualify as herein provided and not thereafter.

Sec. 11. In case the said county of Highland shall organize within the time allowed in this act for the said county of Highland to organize, the tract of land attached by this bill to the said county of Highland from the county of Adams aforesaid by the second section of this act shall be and remain a part of the county of Adams.

Sec. 12. In case the said county of Highland shall not organize within four months from the passage of this act, it shall be the duty of the governor of this State to appoint some suitable person or persons to assess and collect all the arrearages of taxes due the State of Illinois and now accruing in the said county of Highland; said assessors and collectors giving bond and security as the law now requires to be given by assessors and collectors of the revenue of the State and having the same rights and powers, discharging the same duties, and being in like manner liable as assessors and collectors now are by the laws of the State of Illinois.

Sec. 13. The election for county officers as provided in the third section of this act shall be held on the third Monday in April next as is provided in said section, said election to be held and conducted in the same manner as therein provided, and it is hereby made the duty of the person to whom the returns of such an election are made to meet the county commissioner's clerk of the county of Adams at his office in Quincy within four days after the returns are made to him, for the purpose of comparing the vote and ascertaining who has received a majority of votes for joint members from the counties of Adams and Highland to the convention of this State, and deliver a certificate to the person elected and transmit of said votes to the secretary of the State ; and the said person to whom the returns of the election of Highland county is made shall make out and deliver to the person elected to the convention of this State from said county a certificate of election as aforesaid.

Col. C. A. Warren, in an address delivered at one of the " old settlers reunions," speaking of the contest to divide the county, facetiously remarks, " There was a protracted session of the court and the legislature to decide which end of the county had been cut off when it had been divided in the middle; they finally decided that what God had put together no man should put asunder."

The Mormons

This body of men and women came to Illinois after their expulsion from Missouri, in which State their leaders had incurred the ill-will of the authorities, and had been subjected to trial before a court martial, and had been sentenced to be shot for treason, but their lives were saved by General Doniphan, who denounced the military proceedings and gave them the benefit of judicial trial. The whole body of Mormons came to Illinois in 1839 and 1840, and were at first received as an abused and persecuted, but innocent party. They selected J^auvoo, in Hancock county, as their headquarters, and there they essayed to build up a city and a temple. As Hancock county joins Adams on the north, all of these proceedings were of interest to the Adams county people.

In May, 1844, discussions began among the Mormons in Nauvoo. Some citizens procured a press and began the publication of a paper not opposing Mormonism per se, but against the arrogance of Joseph Smith, the prophet. Messrs. Blakesly and Higbee addressed a large meeting at Quincy against the prophet. They were the persons proposing to establish the new anti-Smith paper. In the week following, Mr. John P. Green, a Mormon, made a counter-speech.

A prospectus of the new paper announced that its publication would begin June 7th, 1844, and its name would be The Nauvoo Expositor. The publishers were to be, Messrs. William Law, Wilson Law, Charles Ivins, Francis M. Higbee, Robert D. Foster and Charles A. Foster. The paper proposed "to advocate the unconditional repeal of the Nauvoo City Charter," "to advocate unmitigated disobedience to political revelations," " to advocate the freedom of speech in Nauvoo."

This enterprise was destined to be short-lived, for, after the appearance of the first number on June 8th, Joe Smith called a meeting of the city council and issued an ordinance declaring the paper a nuisance.

The Warsaw Signal Extra contains a communication from one of the publishers, Charles A. Foster, dated June 11th, 1844. He says : " A company consisting of some two hundred men, armed and equipped with muskets, swords, pistols, bowie-knives, sledge hammers, etc., assisted by a crowd of several hundred minions, who volunteered their services on the occasion, marched to the building, and breaking open the doors with a sledge hammer, commenced the work of destruction. They tumbled the press and materials into the street, set them on fire, demolished the machinery with a sledge hammer, and injured the building very materially."

The ringleaders, though arrested, were brought before the municipal court on a writ of habeas corjms, and " honorably discharged." Indignation meetings were held in Warsaw, and Carthage and Walter Bagby and O. C. Skinner were appointed to see the governor and represent the state of things.

A public meeting of the citizens of Quincy was held, and a committee of twelve appointed to go to the scene of disturbance. Joseph Smith had declared martial law, and was making preparations to defend the city with a force of from three to fonr thousand men. The killing of Joe Smith and his brother Hiram, and William Kichards, took place June 28th, and was the cause of great excitement all through the country. According to one account, Joe Smith's body fell from the jail window pierced with six balls. His brother Hiram received five balls. Governor Ford was in Nauvoo at the time with some troops, but moved out before the news reached there. The governor having reached Quincy immediately issued an order, which, as far as we know, is the first proclamation and the only one that ever was dated from Quincy by a governor of Illinois:

It is ordered that the commandants of regiments in the counties of Adams, Marquette, Pike, Brown, Schuyler, Morgan, Scott, Cass, Fulton and McDonough, and the regiments comprising General Staff's brigade, will call their respective regiments and battalions together immediately upon the receipt of this order, and proceed by voluntary enlistment to enrol as many men as can be armed in their respective regmients.

They will make arrangements for a campaign of twelve days, and will provide themselves with arms, ammunitions and provisions accordingly, and hold themselves in readiness immediately to march upon the receipt of further orders.

The independent companies of riflemen, infantry, cavalry and artillery, in the abovenamed counties, and in the county of Sangamon, will hold themselves in readiness in like manner. Thomas Ford,

Previous to this, however, on account of the news before received, between two and three hundred men, under command of Major Flood, had departed by steamer for Nauvoo. They returned unscathed in a few days after.

Governor Ford seemed very much alarmed at the condition of things, and acknowledged that he stood in dread of assassination by the belligerants. He remained some time in Quincy, as he considered it particularly eligible from a strategic point, and was here visited by deputations from the seat of disturbance.

The excitement continued without abatement; and Quincy, Adams county, and adjoining counties were kept at fever heat by the reports continually reaching the people, of lawless acts and threats.

Governor Ford, in his history, narrates the many occurrences of those eventful times, but we have sought our information from various other sources, and produce some material not contained in his book.

On Monday, the 24tli inst. [June], after Gov Ford had sent word that those eighteen persons demanded on a warrant, among whom were Joseph Smith and Hiram Smith, should be protected bj' the militia of the State, they, in company with ten or twelve others, started for Carthage. Four miles from that place they were met by Captain Dunn, with a company of cavalry, who had an order from the Governor for the ''State ^/7«s."Gen. Smith endorsed his acceptance of the same, and both parties returned to Nauvoo to obtain said arms. After the arms were obtained, both parties took up the line of march for Carthage, where they arrived about five minutes before twelve o'clock at night, Capt. Dunn nobly acquitting us, landing us safely at Hamilton's Hotel.

In the morning we saw the Governor, and lie pledged the piith of the Stute that we should be protected. General Smith and his brother, Hiram, were arrested on a warrant founded on the oath of H. O. Norton and Augustine Spencer, for treason. Knowing the threats from several persons that the two Smiths should never leave Carthage alive, we all began to be alarmed for their personal safety. The Governor and General Deming conducted them before the IVIcDonough troops, and introduced them as General Joseph Smith and General Hiram Smith. This maneuver came near raising a mutiny among the " Carthage Greys," but the Governor quelled it.

In the afternoon, after exertions on the part of our counsel, we dispensed with an investigation and voluntarily gave bail for our appearance at the Circuit Couit, to answer in the case of abating the '' Nauvoo E.vpositor" as a nuisance.

At evening the justice made out a mittimus, without an investigation, and committed the two Gens. Smith to prison, until discharged by the due wurse of law, and they were safely guarded to jail. In the morning the Governor went to the jail and had an interview with these men, and to every appearance, all things were explained on both sides. The constable then went to take these men from the jail, before the justice for examination, but the jailer refused to let them go, as they were under his jurisdiction " till discharged by due course of law,'' but the Governor's troops, to the amount of one or two hundred, took them to the court house, when the hearing was continued until Saturday, the 29th, and they were remanded to jail. It now began to be rumored by several men, whose names will be forthcoming in time, that there was nothing against these men - the law could not reach them - powder and ball could.

The Governor was made acquainted with these facts, but on the morning of the 27th he disbanded the McDonough troops and sent them home ; took Captain Dunn's company of cavalry and proceeded to Nauvoo, leaving these two men, and three or four friends, to be guarded by eight men at the jail, and a company in town of sixty, eightj^ or one hundred rods from the jailj as a corps in reserve. About six o'clock in the afternoon the guard was surprised by an armed mob of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty, painted red, black and yellow, which surrounded the jail, forced in, poured a shower of bullets into the room where these unfortunate men were held " in durance vile," to answer to the law3 of Illinois, under the solemn pledge of the faith of the State, by Governor Ford, that they should be protected! but the mob ruled! ! They fell as martyrs, amid the tornado of lead, each receiviug four bullets. John Taylor was wounded by four bullets in his limbs, but not seriously. Thus perishes the hope of the law; thus vanishes the plighted faith of the State; thus the blood of innocence stains the constituted authority of the United States, and thus have two among the most noble martyrs since the slaughter of Abel sealed the truth of their divine mission, by being shot by a nwb for their religion!