De Witt County, Illinois - Chapter 9: Civil History, 1882 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 9: Civil History

It is said that the Pole imbibes his hatred against oppressive Prussia with the milk from the breast of his mother. NVhy not say then that love of liberty and desire for self-government have, with the people of this land, their origin in so beautiful and poetical a source? The very atmosphere of America breathes this love of freedom, and the foreigner arriving on its shore seems to inhale it, and a feeling of self-reliance with it.

When the United States had become a hundred years old, the glorious day was celebrated by a people of fifty millions, scattered throughout three thousand five hundred counties. Who can foresee in how many more counties the untold millions of 1976 will salute the second centennial in festive array ?

Meanwhile the American pioneer, scarcely realizing that the prosperity and the greatness of the laud are largely his work, will continue his march west and south. Log cabins will spring up, and wilderness be converted into laughing fields of plenty.

The pioneer has scarcely become settled, when his innate desire for maintaining law and home government urges him on to organize a new county. Counties, even in this State, have entei'cd upon their mission as such with less than a hundred families residing in their respective limits.

Sometimes other motives combine with this desire of home-rule in the formation of counties, - the spirit of speculation is also well developed in this people.

" This would be a beautiful site for a town and future countyseat," said A to F. (in 1834), when, on their journey from Decatur to Bloomington, they beheld, about midway between the two cities, the lovely mound on which now stands the public schoolhouse of Clinton. "A good suggestion," or, "a capital idea," said F. to A. A quarter section of land was soon after entered, and the to%vn of Clinton laid out on it by A. and F. in 183.5.

The question of organizing a new county commenced to be agitated in course of time, and culminated in the creation of the county of De AVitt, March 1st, 1839.

An Act fur the formation of De Witt County : - Section 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assemby, That all that tract of country within the following boundaries, to wit. Beginning at the north-west corner of section numbered eighteen, in township numbered twenty-one north, in range numbered one, west of the third principal meridian, and running thence east, on the section lines, to the north-east corner of section thirteen, in township numbered twenty-one north, in range numbered six east ; thence south, on the range line between ranges six and seven, to the township line between townships numbered eighteen and nineteen north ; thence west, on the last-mentioned township line, to the third principal meridian ; thence, north, on said meridian line, to the township line between townships numbered twenty and twenty-one north ; thence, west, on the last-mentioned township line, to the range line between ranges numbered one and two west ; and thence, north, on said last-mentioned range line, to the place of beginning, shall constitute a new county, to be called the county of De Witt.

Sec. 2. For the purpose of permanently establishing the seat of justice of said county, the legal voters thereof shall meet at the several places of holding elections for Representatives and Senators in said county hereby created, on the first Monday in May next, and proceed to vote for the following points, to wit : the towns of Clinton and Marion, of said county ; and the place

Iiistor Y 01 Be Witt Co Uxty, Illinois

Sec 3. The legal voters of said county shall, at the same time and places above specified, elect one Sheriff, one Coroner, one Recorder, one Cjunty Surveyor, one Probate Justice, one Clerk of the County Commissioners' Court, and three County Commissioners, who shall hold their offices until the next succeeding general election, and until their successors are elected and qualified ; which said election shall be conducted in all respects agreeable to the provisions of the law regulating elections.

Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of said couuty to give at least thirty days' notice of the time and places of holding said elections above provided for, by posting up notices thereof at least in six public places in the county ; and the returns of said election shall be made to said Clerk who gave the notice as aforesaid, and hy him, in presence of one or more Justices of the Peace, shall be opened and examined ; and thev jointly shall give to the persons elected County Commissioners, certificates of their electinn, and shall transmit abstracts of the election for the county officers to the Secretary of State, as now required by law.

It shall further be the duty of said Clerk and Justice or Justices of the Peace, as the case may be, to furnish the Clerk of the County Commissioners' Court with an abstract of the votes given for the seat of justice of said county ; which said alistract shall be recorded in the record of tlie proceedings of said Commissioners' Court, and shall forever exist as evidence of the established seat of justice of said county.

Sec 5. For the purpose of holding said elfction it shall be the duty of the present judges of election, tnjbraced within the limits of said County, t > act as judges of the same: Provided, however, That should said judges decline acting, or be absent on the day of election, the qualified voters present may elect, from among their own numbers, three qualified voters to act as judges of said election, who shall have power to appoint two persons to act as clerks as in other cases.

Sec. 6. The present justices of the peace and constables erabraced within the limits of said County shall be and ai'e hereliy continued in office as justices and constabks of said County of De Witt until the next regular election of justices of the jieace and other county officers.

Sec. 7. The i^rojuietor or proprietors of the town where the county seat may be located as aforesaid shall donate the sum of two thousand dollars payable within a period not less than twelve nor more than twenty-four months from the time said election shall be made or in lieu thereof, at their discretion, shall grant and convey by good and sufficient warranty deeds town lots or other lands situated in or about the town where the Couuty seat shall be so located, the aggregate value of which shall not be less than two thousand dollars, to be appraised by three disinterested freeholders, to be mutually agreed upon by the proprietor or jjroprietors of said town and the County Commissioners of said County, provided said proprietor or proprietors and the Couuty commissioners of said County cannot agree upon the value of the same; Proelded, however. And said donations or grants are upon this express condition, that the court-house and public offices of said County shall be erected on the present established public square of the town in which the County seat may be located.

Sec 8. It shall be the duty of the County Commissioners' court, at as early a period as practicable, to approjjriate said two thousand dollars so donated as aforesaid, or the proceeds of said real estate granted as aforesaid, as the case may be, in the erection of a court-house or other necessary public buildings, for which purpose, should the donations consist of real estate, the County commissioners shall have power to dispose of said real estate in such manner and upon such terms, as they may deem most consistent with the public interests.

Sec. 9. Said county shall be attached to, and form a part of, the eighth Judicial Circuit, and until the county seat shall be located as provided in this act, the Circuit and County Commissioners' Courts shall be held at the town of Marion.

Sec. 10. For judicial and other purposes, said county shall continue to form parts of McLean and Macon counties until organized as above provided for, and shall continue to be attached to said counties in all general elections until otherwise provided for by law.

Sec. 11. After the election of county officers as herein ]irovided, the persons elected County Commissioners are hereby authorized to administer oaths of office to all other county oflicers; and the said County Commissioners shall, within ten davs after their election, meet together as a court, lay off the county into precincts and justices' di-tricts, appoint a school Commissioner of the county, and transact any other business which may be deemed necessary.

Sec. 12. The school funds belonging to tl>e several townships in said county, together with all interest arising out of said moneys that have not heretofore been expended for schools embraced within the limits of the counties of SIcLcan and Macon now proposed to be set off into the county of DeWitt, and all notes and mortgages a])pertaining to the same, shall be paid and delivered over to the school commissioners of said county of DeWilt, by the school commissioners of the counties of McLean and Macon, as soon as said county shall be organized, and the commissioner of school funds shall be appointed and qualified according to law.

Sec. 13. It shall be the duty of the County Commissioners of said county, before the erection of public buildings, to provide some suitable room or building in which to hold the Circuit and County Commissioners' Courts. The inhabitants residing within so much of the territory set off and forming a portion of DeWitt county as are now within the bounds of Macon county, shall continue to be and constitute a part of the taxable inhabitants of Macon county until the first day of January, A. D., 1840.

Tlie county was represented in the Constitutional Convention of 1S47, Ijy lion G. B. Lemen ; in that of 1862, by Hon. T. K. Webber - and in that of 1870, by Hon. Clifton H. Moore.

In 1848 the counties of De Witt, Tazewell, JIcLean, Logan, and Macon formed the Eleventh senatorial, and De Witt and McLean the Twenty-ninth representative district.

The apportionment of 1854 made De Witt, Champaign, Piatt, Moultrie, Christian, Shelby, and McLean form the Sixteenth senatorial, and De Witt, Macon, Piatt, and Champaign the Thirty-sixth representative district.

By the apportionment of 1861, De Witt, McLean, Piatt, Moultrie and Macon formed the Tenth senatorial, and De Witt and McLean the Thirty-eighth representative district.

In 1870 De Witt remained a part of the Tenth senatorial, and formed a representative district - the Fifty-second in itself. Since 1872, when the state was divided into fifty-one senatorial

It is remarkable that of all this long list, there is but one man who has served two terms in succession, to wit- : James K. Scott. R. F. Barnett has served two terms in the house, and a half term in the senate. J. H. Tyler has also served two terms in the house.

The county of De Witt was represented as part of the third congressional district of Illinois, by John T. Stuart, of Springfield, in the 26th and 27th Congress, 1839-1843, by Orlando B. Ficklin, of Charleston ; in the 28th, 29th, and SOth, from 1843 to 1849, by Timothy R. Yonng, of Marshall ; in the 31st, from

As part of the 8th congressional district, De Witt was rejiresented by John T. Stuart, of Springfield ; in the 38th, from 1863 to 1865, by Shelby M. Cullom,of Springfield ; in the 39th, 40th, and 41st, from 1805 to 1871 ; and by James C. Robinson, of Springfield, in the 42nd, from 1871 to 1873. As part of the 13th congressional district, the county was reprfsented by John McNulta, of Bloomington ; in the 43d, from 1873 to 1875, by Adlai E. Stevenson, of Bloomington; in the 44th, from 1875 to 1877, by Thomas F. Tipton, of Bloomington ; in the 45th, from 1877 to 1879, by Adlai E. Stevenson ; in Bloomfield, in the 46th, from 1879 to 1881, and by Dieterich C. Smith, in the 47th, from 1881 to 1883. None of the citizens of De Witt county have ever represented as such the congressional district in which the county forms a part. Among the successful presidental electors, however, we find the following, De Witteans, to wit- : Lawrence Weldon in 1860, - first election of Abraham Lincoln, and Michael Donahue, in 1876, election (?) of Rutherford B. Hayes. The other successful electors for the districts of which De Witt county forms a part, were in 1840: James H. Ralston, in 1844: William A. Richardson, in 1848 : H M. Vandeveer, in 1852 : Edward Omelveny, in 1856: Milton T. Peters, in 1864: James

No citizen of De Witt has ever graced the state board of equalization Ijy his presence as member, since its erection in 1867-' Tne politicians of the county seem to lack ambition. The county certainly has the very best of material from which to draw, and excellent timber wi h which to build.

Land And Teople

The area of the county of De Witt, in its present boundaries, is composed of seven full and seven fractional townships, embracing two hundred and fifty-two thousand four hund.red and thirty acres of laud, a fraction le.ss than 395 square miles, - not 675 square miles, as stated by Appleton's American Cyclopaedia. A large portion, about thirty-three per cent, of the full area of the land, had been entered, and was principally owned by bona fide residents at the time of the organization of the county. Al)out 11,000 acres of land were owned by non-residents or si)Cculators. These lands were usually assessed a little higher than those of the actual settlers of the county, - a policy alway.s to be expected in " new" counties. Mahlon Hall, mentioned in a previous chapter, was the largest landholder at that time : he owned 1 200 acres of land, assessed at 84,600. He also paid taxes on eight hundred and sixty-three dollars' worth of personal property. Besides him, there were two resident taxpayers assessed at 63,000, ten at over 82 000, and fifty-eight at over one thousand dollars' worth of property, both real and personal. Fifty-three resident citizens paid taxes on personal property only. The first election held in the county had to decide the question of where to locate the County seat, and it is to be presumed that a full vote was brought out. The poll-books, however, cannot be found, and from a short memorandum made in the records of the County Commissioners we learn that 493 citizens voted on that day, Mari;h 6th, 1839. The orignal census lists of 1840 are also lost so that no names of heads of families could be obtained from that source. The writer found, however, a list of voters, most carefully compiled on the 29th of November, 1844, by Hon. John J. McGraw, then Clerk of the County Commissioners' Court This list is here introduced in substitution of the lost census lists of 1840. It is arranged by election precints, and many of those 635 names may remind the survivors of persons and events they have not thought of for years.

The United States census of 1840, taken one year after the organization of the county, furnithes the following data in regard to its then inhabitants. The population amounted to 3,247 sou's, 586 of which were heads of families. The census mentions one person being over one hundred years of age, without naming said person. There was only one colored person, a young woman, in the county at that time.

Eight hundred and seventy-five adults were employed in agriculture, eighty in mechanical pursuits, sixteen were merchants, and nine professional men of learning. Two deaf and dumb, two blind, and seven insane or idiotic persons are mentioned in the census reports. These unfortunates were depending on private charity for maintenance, as the authorities of the county had no funds whatever at their disposal to provide for paupers The county at th .t time supported eleven schools, attended by four hundred and seventy-four pupils. Three hundred and sixteen adults out of a total of less than one thousand five hundred were unable to read or write.

The "squatter," so frequently met with in new counties, is scarcely observed in De Witt; fully one-third of the area of the county had been purchased from the United States, and was owned by bona fide citizens of the county on the day of its organization. We shall here introduce some statistics in reference to the area of the various congressional townships, and the quantity of land taken up or entered in each prior to the 1st of JNIarch, 1839, the birth-day of the county ;

Township 21, Range 1 West, was a part of the county at that time, and half of its territory, viz., 11.080 acres had been entered prior to March 1, 1839.

It is impossible to state accurately how many acres were under cultivation, but the agricultural products of the year indicate that a considerable portion, probably eleven or twelve thousand acres, were being cultivated during the year. The census reports the following crops, to wit : Wheat, twenty-five thousand three hundred and seventy-four bushels ; oats, thirty-six thousand seven hundred and seventy-two bushels; rye, eight hundred and twenty bushels ; Indian corn, two hundred and eighty-five thousand five hundred and seventy bushels ; potatoes, eight thousand four hundred and twenty-one bushels ; hay, seven hundred and sixty-six tons ; flax and hemp, seventeen tons ; tobacjo, six thousand and fifty pounds ; sugar, four hundred pounds. Nine thousand two hundred and sixty-six pounds of wool had been clipped off five thousand and eighty-three sheep. Said census reports further, one thousand four hundred and thirty four horses, four thousand two hundred and seventy-two heads of cattle, and fifteen thousand four hundred and ninety-eight hogs. There were ten retail stores in the county, with a capital of 823,660 invested ; two tanneries, with S3,o00 capital ; one distillery and three grist and three saw-mills constituted the various branches of industry rep-esented in the county at that early day. During the year 1840 sixteen houses had been erected in the county at an expense of about nine thousand dollars.

Comparing the statistics as taken from the census reports, with the county assessments of 1840, the following may be added : Thirty-five thousand acres of land, or about two-fifths of all lands entered, were assessed at one hundred and fifty-four thousand dollars - some at three dollars, some at four dollars, and the lands of non-residents at five and six dollars per acre. The personal property was valued at eighty-six thousand five hundred dollars, and the imp'oved town lots in the county at six thousand five hundred dollars.

On February 3, 1832. Richard Dogget sold to Baron T. Lowry the west half of the south-west quarter of section 22, in township 19, range 2 east, containing 80 acres, for S200. This land is now owned by Magill Brothers, is assessed at 81,200, and worth about 83,000.

On April 18, 1832. William Spitters sold to John Lowry the east half of the south-east quarter of section 21, in township 19, range 2 east, containing 80 acres, for 8200. This tract is now divided into six unequal parts, which in the aggregate, are worth about 83,500.

On September 25, 1832. Jesse Morris sold to Alexander Purviance the west half of the south-east quarter of section 19, in township 19, o east, for 81.25 per acre; it is now worth fully SIO per acre.

April 24, 1832. Robert Hamilton sokl to Alexander Purviance the east half of the north-west quarter of section 9, township 19, range 3 east, 80 acres, for 8140. This tract belongs now to H. C. Sijainhour, and it is very questionable whether this land could now be purchased for twenty times that price.

December 2o, 1832. Hiram Daniel sold to Mahlou Hall the west half of the south-east quarter of section 34, in township 20, range 1 east, 80 acres, for 8160. This tract is now subdivided into six parcels of various sizes, it is assessed at 81,000, and is worth .S4,000.

January 5, 1832. Samuel Curtright sold to Mark McPherson the west half of the noith-west quarter of section 32, in township 21, range 1 east, for §400, So per acre. This quarter section is BOW divided into twenty-seven lots and tracts, being in the immediate vicinity of Waynesville. Agricultural lands thereabout are assessed at 820, and are worth 845 to 850 per acre.

Jannary 28, 1832. Daniel Venson sold to ThomaS Cuppy the east half of the north-west quarter of section 28, in township 21, range 1 east, containing 80 acres, for 8400. The land now belongs in part to M. Fiuprock and Augustus Ball, is assessed at 8900, and worth about 82,400.

February 20, 1832. Fred. Troxell sold to Henry Troxell the north half of the east half of the north-east quarter of section 32, in township 21, range 2 east, 40 acres, for 840. This tract is now owned in part by Eli Harrold and David Troxell, and is worlh 845 per acre.

November 12, 1831. Thomas Cuppy sold to George Isham the west half of Jie south-east quarter of section 29, in township 21, range 1 ea-st, for 8100,8125 per acre. This tract belongs now to James Cook, and is worth 833 per acre.

First land sdei after the organization of the county: James Vandeveuter sold to Thomas Patterson the north-east quarter of section 27, township 20, range 3, for 8040, or 84 per acre, June 7, 1839.

Elijah Watt sold to Robert Rosencrans the south-west quarter of the south-east quarter of section 31, and the north-west quarter of the north-east quarter of section 32, all in town- hip 20, range 4, for 8310, on May 21, 1839.

Prettyman Maxwell sold to Thomas Barr the south-west quarter of the south-west quarter of section 30, in township 21, range 1, 40 acres, for $75, June 11, 1839.

James Nelson sold to Henry Summer the south-east quarter of the south-east quarter of section 32, in township 20, range 2, 40 acres, for 8100, June 12, 1839.

These prices are introduced here to compare them with the assessed value hereafter to be mentioned, and to show that the assessors of laSO invariably assessed property at its actual value.

The occ ipations of tho?e heads of families are stated to have been as follows : Five hundred and ninety-one farmers, one hundred and fifty-one mechanics, thirtv-six merchants, nineteen engineers and millers, ten teachers, ten ministers, nine physicians, two lawyers, five county officers, six clerks, two tavern keepers, fourteen day-laborers, and thirty-seven without occupations.

The county, had then nine mills, one steam, six water, and two horse-power; two tanneries, two saddle and harness shops, two blacksmiths, two cabinet makers, and one wagon-shop.

The assessed values of all the property in the county amounted to $738,621, an increase of over 200 per cent, on the values of 1840, viz., 8244,000. The population showed an increase of 60 per cent.

The county supported forty-one schools, attended by nine hundred and forty-six pupils. The public funds for school purposes were still very limit d, and the schools depended almost exclusively on private subscriptions.

The public funds expended during the year for school purposes amounted to 8789.45, by which only thirty-six of the public schools were benefitted, five not receiving any support from this source. In some of the districts efibrts had been made to start school libraries, and the year 1850 finds fourteen libraries, with about seven hundred volumes in the aggregate. The census man reports one pauper in the county, supported by the county at an expense of 8212 78 per annum. Some marginal remarks of the said oflScer may find room here also. He says : " The health of this county has been very good, only twenty-four deaths during the year. The county is in the central part of Illinois, in a fine farming district ; it is watered by Salt Creek, running from east to west, a fine stream for mills ; the timber ig of an excellent quality for farming purpos s; white, black, and burr-oak, walnut, hickory, and maple. Stone and coal are scarce ; excellent water is reached by digging from fifteen to twenty feet into the ground. The prairies are covered wiih a fine crop of grass. Wages are as follows : Farm hands per month, 813 ; day-laborers, 62] cents per day and board, or 87i without it; mechanics receive 81-50 per day and board, which is considered to be worth 25 cents per day."

Ten years later, in 1860, the population of the county had increased to 10,820, fully one hundred per cent, since 1850. Among these were only six persons of color.

The value of the products enumerated above is estimated to have been 81,-300,000, to which may be added the value of the products of those 53,000 acres not mentioned in the return=, amounting iu the aggregate to 8335 000.

These agricultural statistics of 1880 report also 350 sheep, valued af Sltl59, killed by dogs; 58,41S pounds of wool shorn ; 3035 fat sheep sold, weighing 310,340 pounds in the aggregate ; 3413 cows kept ; 112,612 pounds of butter, 320 pounds of cheese, and 19,370 gallons of railk sold ; 796 colts foaled during the year, and 399 horses died ; 3618 fat cattle, weighing 4,717,295 pounds, sold; also 28,643 hogs, weighing 6,851,837 pounds. It is further reported that during the year 857,105 feet of drain-tiling had been laid throughout the various parts of the county, and that 698,788 feet of the same had been laid previously.

There were 7873 horses, 12,067 head of cattle, 21,800 sheep, and 29,322 hogs, 12 carriage factories, 1 large flour mill, and 2 manufactories of saddlery and harness.

The census of 1880 gives the county a population of seventeen thousand souls, in round numbers. The statistics of said census not having been published at the date of this writing, we take

The assessed value of property is about forty per cent, of the actual value, hence the wealth of the county may safely be estimated at twelve millions, or about S700 per capita, - a splendid showing.

The agricultural statistics of the county for the year 1880 account but for 198,859 acres, or four-fifths of its area. They are here introduced as follows : 82,779 acres of corn, having produced 2,714,168 bufhels; 12,776 acres of wheat (winter), producing 191,221 bushels; 1901 acres of spring wheat, 18,209 bushels; 15,203 acres of oats, 397,153 bushels; 2127 acres of orchards, 91,938 bushels of fruit ; 2248 acres of rye, 37 742 bushels ; 25 acres of barley, 329 bushels ; 309 acres of potatoes, 20,084 bushels ; 14,418 acres of meadows, producing 17,167 tons of hay ; 509 acres of all other field productions, valued at .?4,450.

One-fifth of the area of the county was donated to the Illinois Central Railroad Company, about the year 1853, and as this company received all the open land in each alternate section, it may be inferred that, prior to said time, three fifths of the land had been entered. We have shown above that 83,000 acres had been entered during a period of time commencing November 1827 and March 1830. From 1839 to 1853 some 70,000 acres seem to have been entered.

Pauperism. - This ugly sore on the body politic has caused the people of this county less trouble than other counties had to endure. The accounts of public expenditures at an early day scarcely mention this item, and when mentioned, the amounts of money needed and expended in this direction are very small, to wit : SI 25 in 1839, and S7.0U in 1840. The records of the county do not mention pauperism at all, though overseers of the poor were appointed. A county farm, that had been intended for an asylum for the helpless at an early day, was sold again December 31st, 1860. The few paupers in the county at that time were farmed out under contracts.

Soon after, however, it became necessary to provi<le ampler means to meet the expenses of caring for paupers. The writer found in the tax levies of from 1862 to 1866 the following amounts, under the name and title of "Pauper Fund," to wit: 82,112.83 for 1862; 81,365.34 for 1863; §2,360.97 for 1864; 83,349.54 for 1865 ; and 82,729.57 fiir 1866, - amounting in the aggregate, for those five years, to 811,918.25. The tax levies for all other expenditures, with the exception of war and sinkingfund taxes, amounted, during those five years, to 847,275.01. From it we may infer that, at the period mentioned, pauperism absorbed twenty per cent, of the county tax. In 1807, 1868, and 1869 no mention is made of pauper tax, and the support of paupers was treated as one of the regular branches of expenditures. In 1870 and 1871 a heavy pauper tax, amounting to $7,152.16 and $7,082.91 respectively, was levied. About the same time the present county farm was purchased. The readi r will find a full account of this transaction in another part of this chapter, under the head of "' Government."

At present the county paupers are domiciled on that farm, which contains two hundred acres of good land, and is provided with ample buildings, representing a cash vilue of at least 812,000. The land is productive, and provides for the wants of its twenty-three inmates of the asylum, six of whom are insane.

W. M. Moore took charge of the farm in March, 1879, as Superintendent. His administration has been very successful, and has given satisfaction in all directions. His salary, 8900 per annum, is, like the salaries of all oflicials of the county, below the average salaries paid in the State.

Increase Of Popul.Vtion

Records of births and deaths not having been kept until recently, it is impossible to state how great the natural increase of population has been.

Marriages were solemnized as follows: twelve in 1839 ; thirtysix in 1840 ; forty-one in 1841 ; thirty-three in 1842 ; forty-four in 1843; twenty-four in 1844 (must have been an off year) ; twenty nine in 1845 ; thirty-one in 1846 ; forty-sis in 1847 ; thirty-five in 1848; fifty-two in 1849; sixty-one in 1850; fiftytwo in 1851 ; sixty-eight in 1852 ; one hundred in 1853 ; eightyeight in 1854 ; one hundred and nine in 1855 ; one hundred and twelve in 1856 ; ninety-four in 1857; one hundred and thirteen in 18-58 ; one hundred and thirty-one in 1859 ; one hundred and four in 1860; one hundred and twenty in 1861 ; seventy-eight in 1862 fwar) ; seventy-three in 1863 ; one hundred and eleven in 1864; one hundred and twenty in 1865 ; two hundred and three in 1866 (boys in blue are home again) ; one hundred and sixty in 1867 ; one hundred and forty-four in 1868 ; one hundred and fifty-three in 1869; two hundred and eighty in 1870; one hundred and fifty-eight in 1871 ; three hundred and six (climax) in 1872 ; one hundred and six y-f mr in 1873 ; one hundred and ninety in '874 ; one hundred and fifty in }875 ; one hundred and thirty-eight in 1876; and one hundred and fifty-one in 1877; hundred and forty-five in 1878 ; one hundred and seventy in in 1879 ; and one hundred and thirty-eight in 1880, - 4567 marriages in forty-two years.

This increase, equal to 1 1-25 per cent., corresponds with the general average of the nation. It does not seem large, - 14 to 1000, - and yet it would double the population in about sfxty-six years, and continued at the rate, it would produce a population of about four millions in five hundred years.

County Government

The civil government of the county of De Witt was conducted by boards of County Commissioners, consisting of three members, from the date of its organization. May 15th, 1839> to December

Histoby Of Be Witt Covxty, Illinois

In l8o9 the present system - ^i)verameut of county by a Board of Supervisors - superseded the county court*, and has conducted the affairs of the county ever since.

Before entering upon a recitation of the acts of the otEcers conducting the affairs of the county, we shall here introduce an alphabetically arranged list of the various officers having served the people of the county in the forty-two years of its political life.

from 1879 to date. Barnett, Franklin, County Commissioner, from 1841 to 1847. Bolin, William, Treasurer, from 1845 to 1847, and Sheriff from

States Attorney from 1872 to 1876. Campbell, Barz., Sheriff, from 1860 to 1862. Chambers, W. L., Circuit Clerk, 1868 to 1872. Carle, J. T., Circuit Clerk since 1880. Dragstrem, Daniel, Assessor, 1839. De Spain, Peter, Treasurer, 1840 to 1811. Banner, William, Associate Justice 1849, died in office July 13th,

Stansbur)', James E., Treasurer, from 1855 to 1857, County Clerk from 1S57 to 1802, died iu office three mouths after commencing a second term. Tipton, T. F., State Attorney, 1866 to 1868. Thomas, Ezekiel, Coroner, 1874 to 1876. Vandeventer, .James, County Commissioner, 18.39 to 1846. Vanlue, F. JI , School Superintendent, 1869 to 1873. Van meter, E. S., State Attorney since 1879. Wright, W. G, County Commissioner, 1S47 to 1849. Warner, Johu, Circuit Clerk, 1848 to 1852. Watson, C. C, Associate Justice, 1853 to 1854. Weldon, Lawrence, School Commissioner, 1855 to 1859. ^Voodward, Jesse J , Associate Justice, 1858 and 1859. Walker, Robert, County Judge, 1873 to 1877. Welch, Miss Mary, School Superintendent, 1873 to date. Weedman, Amos, Sheriff, 1876 to date. Wilson, James A., Treasurer, 1877 to date. Young, W. H,, State Attorney, 1860 to 1862. Fird Board of County Cummuisioners, Mai/ 15, 1839, to Sept. 1839. John Maxwell, '^

The board held their first meeting on the 15th of May, 1839, at Clinton, which town had been established as the county seat by a public election held on the 6th of May. - Three hundred and thirteen votes had chosen Clinton, while one hundred and eighty had selected Marion as the county seat- The abstract of this election is certified to by Iv. H. Fell, circuit clerk of De Witt county, and by William Anderson, an acting justice of the peace.

Sangamon precinct - Commencing at the south-east corner of the county, thence north to the center line of township twenty, thence west one mile, west of division line between range four and five, thence south to line between townships eighteen and nineteen, thence east to the place of beginning. Poll to be at the house of John Madden, and John Madden, Ezra Marcus, and John Mailer to be judges of election.

Mount Pleasant. - Commencing on the south-east corner, thence west with the county line, one mile west of the range line between four and five, thence south of the county line, thence with the county line to place of beginning, with poll at Mount Pleasant. Richard Webb, John Dener and Denis Hurley were appointed judges of election.

Marion. - Commencing on the county line between sections 35 and 36, township 19, range 4 east, thence north to county line, thence west, taking two-thirds of range number three, thence south to county line, thence east to place of beginning, with poll at the town of Marion. James McCord, Gabriel Watt, and Hiram Chapin were appointed judges of election.

Clinton. - Commencing on the south line of the county, or county line, between sections 32 and 33, township 19, north of range 3 east, thence north to the north-west corner of section 16, township 20, thence west to county line, thence south with the county line to the south-west corner of the county, thence east to the place of beginning, with poll at Clinton. Henry Brown, Andrew Wallace, and Thomas Fruit, judges of election.

16, township 20, thence north to county line, thence west with county line to center of section 17, township 21, thence south to center section 17, township 20, thence east to the place of beginning, with poll at the house of Samuel P. Glenn. William Hougham, S- P. Glenn, and Samuel Spencer, jr , judges of election.

New Castle. - Cemraenciug in the center of section 17, in township 21, north of range 1 east, thence south with the said center line to section 17, in township 20, thence west to county line, thence with said line to the place of beginning, with poll at ISew Castle. Andrew Brock, John Hoblett, sen., and .John Barr, judges of election.

The board next proceeded to organize and divide the county into nineteen road districts, and to appoint the following citizens supervisors of public roads, to wit.: Joseph Howard, John Humphries, Ambrose Hall, John Lowry, Isaac Davenport, Henry Distion, William Dye, G. D. Smallwood, Tyre Harp, William Pierce, Abraham Marins, Andrew G. Winkler, Samuel Cline, Isaac Swisher, William Bolin, Allen Turner, George Isham, and T. R. Hoblet.

The various roads through the county, designated either as state or as county roads, were declared to be county roads of the new county of De Witt.

William Lowry (see pioneers), qualified as county recorder, and Fleming G. Paine, took the oath of office a^ probate justice, the clerk of the court of county commissioners, John J. McGraw, was appointed school commissioner; Jesse C McPherson, county treasurer, and W. H. Lafferty collector of taxes for that portion of the county formerly belonging to McLean county. The valuations of that - (the northern) - part of the county, amounted to one hundred and fourteen thousand, seven hundred and eighty six dollars ; the rate of tax was 30 cents per hundred dollars of assessed values. The prospective revenue for the first year was therefore only 8344.35. The taxes to be paid on the property situated in the southern part of the county, formerly part ot Macon county, was being collected by the authorities of said county. More than one-half of the first year's revenue of the county of De Witt was thus lost to the county. The amount was but small, yet the loss was felt severely. The county had to enter upon its mision of an independent corporation in a dependent condition, so to say, ushered into existence with a debt, in embryo. The financial condition of the county was bad in the beginning, nor did it improve for years thereafter. The board organized a seventh precinct, -

WaynesviUe - from parts of New Castle and Long Point, previous to the regular August election, and appointed Zebulon G. Cantrall, Thomas Cuppy and David Montgomery judges of election.

Henry Dishon contracted for the building of a court-house, to be completed by September, 1S39, and for which the county was to pay to him the sum of sixteen hundred and four dollars. E. W. Fears appears as the first sheriff, and A. L. Barnett as first surveyor of the county. Daniel H. Dragstrem was appointed constable of New Castle precinct.

The court house was completed, as contracted for, and was received on the 2d of September by the commissioners. The contractor received on payment two county bonds of .3302,00 each, due in 18 and 36 months, and bearing interest at the rate of twelve per cent, per annum. These two bonds remained unpaid fur many j'ears' ; the county managed, however, to pay the 12 per cent, interest, with regularity.

Thk First Grand Jury

The proprietors of the town lots of Clinton had, in accordance the act of the legislature creating the county of De Witt, to donate to the county the sum of two thousand dollars, either ia money or in real estate, to be appraised by competent parties. The question of the location of the county-seat had been decided by tJie elections above mentioned. From the number of votes cast, 493 - it may be inferred, that all voters took a deep interest in the raat'er, and no one seems to have ab-taiaed from voting. The feeling between the rival towns, Marion and Clinton, had become rather warm, and the decision of the Gth of May, 183d, was by no means considered final However, the C'lintonians had it, "'and the proprieiors of the town lots were ready" to fulfill their part of the contract. Hugh Bowles, Henry Dishon and J. J. McGraw acted as appraisers lor the projjrjetors had chosen to donate lots in lieu of the two thou-and dollars cash to the county, In consequence of the appraisement thus had, the following deed was executed, to wit. :

State of II,LI^'OIS | This indenture made and entered ])e Witt County, j into this 20th day of September, A. D. 1839, between Jesse W. Fell and Hester V., his wife, of the county of McLean, and State of Illinois, of the first part, and James Vandeventer, John Hughs and Kussell Post, County Commissioners of the county of De Witt, and State of Illinois, and their successors in office of the second part, Witnesseth, that whereas by an act of the General Assembly of the .State of Illinois, entitled an act for the formation of De Witt county, it was provided among other things that the proprietor or proprietors of the town where the county seat should be established should donate to the said county the sum of two thousand dollars, or in lieu thereof, at their discretion, grant and convey town lots or other lands situated in or about the town where the countyseat should be located, to the value of two thousand dollars; and whereas, the county-seat of said county of De Witt was, in manner prescribed by said act, established at the town of Clinton on the first Monday in May, A. D. 1^39. Now, therefore, J. W. Fell and Hester Vernon his wife, one of the proprietors of the said town of Clinton, in considcraticn of the premises do, give, grant, bargain, sell and convey to the said county commissioners, j and their successors in office, for the u.se of and in trust for the inhabitants of said county of De Witt, the following described i loti, to wit. : Lot No. 4, block No. 1 ; Lots No. 1 and 2, I in block No. 2 ; Lots No. 7 and 8, in block No. 14; Lots No. 5, 6, and 8, in block No. 20 ; Lots No. 3 and 4, in block No. 20, j and Lots No. 5, 6, 7 and 8, in block No. 30, all of said town of

Clinton, as marked and tecorded in the recorded plot thereof, with all the privileges thereunto belonging, or in any wise appertaining. To have and to hold the aforesaid lots to the said county commissioners and their successors in office, for the uses aforesaid forever.

And I, the said Jesse W. Fell, for myself from my heirs, executors and administrators, do covenant to and with the said County Commissioners and their successors that I will forever warrant and defend the title of the aforesaid lots against the lawful claims of myself, my heirs, or assigns, and against the claim of every other person or persons whatsoever. In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals the day and year aforesaid.

This deed was acknowledged before Geo F. Markley, notary public of McLean county, 111., on the 21st of September, 1839, and recorded in book A, on pages 145, 14G and 147, Dewitt County Records, on the 14th of March, 1840. By similar deeds Peter and Evelina A. Withers convey to the county lots 1 and 2 in block 20 ; James Allin and Catharine, his wife, lot 5 in block 15, lots .5 and 6 in block IS, lots 5, 6, 7 and 8 in block 19, lots 3 and 4 in block 30, lots 3 and 4 in block 29, lots 5, 6, 7, and 8 in block 25, and John Anderson the Public Square, to wit : 40 feet of the west side of lot No. 5 and block No. 9, and more particularly described as follows : Cojumencing at the south-west corner of said lot, and running thence north 123] feet to the north side of said public square, thence west 40 feet to the place of beginning.

Thus the county obtained possession of thirty-two lots, valued at 82,000, or St>2.o0 each,, rather a fancy price, as subsequent events amply proved. .

The public square had been lad out and properly recorded as such on the 1st day of October, 1835, almost four years prior to these donations. The title of the county to the public square is imperfect for this very reason. The county will have to build a new court-house sooner or later, and should then erect it on grounds actually owned and possessed by the county. Public squares are not intended for buildings of this or any other kind, and people cannot be legally taxed to erect public buildings on real estate not owned by the authority ordering such tax levies to be made. Besides, it may be said that the ])resence of a courtbouse on the publie square is detrimental to the development of the city in all other directions.

The board granted the prayer of D.ivid Macon to erect a milldam, five and one-half feet high, across Salt creek, on the northwest quarter of the north-east quarter of section 19 north, range 2 east. R Edwin Post, of Waynesville, obtained license to retail liquors - the first license granted by the authorities of the county.

The board next proceeded to examine into the financial affairs of the county, and caused the treasurer, J. C. MePherson, to submit a detailed report at the December term, 1839. This rejiort is still on file ; we give it in full, to wit ; -

This report seems to have given full satisfaction, inasmuch as the couuty had a surplus of Si79.5S after all its debts had been discharged and paid in full. A closer examination of the report will develop a less prosperous and plethoric condition of the treasury. The treasurer had received not more nor less than S34.00 into the treasury, and was called on to pay 8947.42, therewith clearly demonstrating that the revenue then being eollected would barely suffice to pay one-third of the county indebtedness. The report does not show who paid those SIO.OO for license.s, nor who had been fined. It is to be presumed, however, that the fine item is the proceeds of eight fist-fights, the usual fine being 83, until Esquire McGraw raised it, as will be seen in our chapter on Pioneers.

The promissory note has remained promissory to this date ; it was made by one Bradshaw, and has received reinforcements or compromises in the shape of similar notes ; they are still on file in the county clerk's office at Clinton, and apt to remain there. The lot item of 81,369 has long ago been stripped of its illusion.

We come now to the credit items, and find them solid and genuine ; they all had to be met, and were met, although at a much later day ; the court-house bonds were redeemed in 18.53.

In March, 1840, the board appointed Joseph Bowles, John Montgomerv and Daniel Robbins overseers of the poor. This office proved a sinecure, for fortunately thecounty of DeWitt had but few if any paupers in its limits at that time. The first pauper it mentioned in the census reports of 1850.

The first assessment of taxable property was returned to the court in June, 1840, by John Swearingen, W. H. LafTerty and Daniel Dragstrem, district assessors, who received seventy-two dollars for their work. These officers had been very exact and conscientious in the discharge of their duties. The assessed values correspond with the actual values, as appears from deed records and administrators' sale of personal property records. The assessed value in 1840 was 8305,920. The tax levy was 30 cents per 100.

The necessity of having a proper prison at the county-seat had become more and more apparent, the board therefore invited bids for the building of a jail, to wit:

" To be fourteen feet square in the clear, two stories high, the lower story to be eight feet, the upper seven feet high ; lower story to be built of timbers twelve inches square ; two walls with a space of four inches between said walls, said space of four inches to be filled with timbers upright; the lower floor to be laid with timbers twelve inches square ; the timbers of the second floor also to be twelve inches square, and the third floor to be composed of timbers ten inches thick."

William Dishon took the contract, and completed his work June 1, 1841. He received his pay, 8900.00, in county bonds, pavable in two and three years, bearing interest at the rate of six per cent. He was allowed a further compensation of 825.00 for some extra work not mentioned in the contract.

P. De Spain, who had been elected treasurer in August, 1840, resigned in June, 1841, the vacancy being filled by the appointment of Charles ^laltby. W. H. Lafl'erty reported to have completed the collection of the county revenue, and requested to be credited with 837.64 of delinquent taxes. From this it would appear that the net revenue of the county, proceeding from taxation amounted in that year to 8880.12.

The building of the jail had increased the county debt - the treasury of the county was continually out of funds ; so another slow and searching examination of the financial condition of the county was resolved upon.

Here is the same state of afi'airs mentioned in 1839, the county assets exceeding its liabilities nearly 81250, and yet no money to pay or redeem county orders and matured bonds. The " bills receivable" mentioned above are the Bradshaw notes, etc. From the statement above, it is to be inferred that the county had, up to that date, realized .about 8496 from the sale of Clinton town

The Treasurer reports further, that during the year ending Kovember 30th, 1841,8979-84 had been issued in county orders to defray the current expenses of the county. This amount is in excess of the county revenue, which, as seen above, could not have amounted to more than 8880. The county board seems to have been fully aware of the want of proper economy and manao-ement of the fiscal affairs, for in making the levy for the ensuino- year, they provide for an amount sufficient to pay off' unredeemed orders and to meet current expenses. The writer does not know what member of the board should be complimented in the premises, and would merely state that Franklin Barnett was the new member.

This financial report, like the one of December, 1839, is followed by the resignation of the Treasurer, June 1842, when R. H. I'uol was appointed iem.

The financial condition of the county continued to improve during the administration of this board. The amount of unpaid county orders was reduced to S305.07 ; a part of the " bills receivable," some 842-00, were collected, and the total amount of expenditures of the county reduced to -S901.60. There had been trouble during the year in the collection of the revenue. E. W. Fears had resigned the office of collector, and was succeeded by William Mitchell. The latter neglected to file a bond, and was superseded by E. W. Fears, in September, 1843. Mitchell rendered a full and succinct account of collections made by him and paid his vouchers, amounting to §791.88, into court, as required. The collectors of the county performed, for many years, nearly all the official functions of the treasurers, who had apparently no duties to perform. Collectors would disburse the county funds in the payment of county orders and juror warrants, and then settle their accounts with these vouchers, by paying them directly into court. The county board would then examine these vouchers, count them, and finally burn them. From the financial reports introduced here, it would appear that the treasurers of the county, during the first four years of its existence, had handled less than SlUO in cash, and that they received no compensation for their services. There were not less than seven treasurers in office during those four years, and all of them but one, R. E. Pool, resigned before the expiration of their respective terms.

James Vandev enter, re-elected. 3 O. Wakefield was appointed overseer of the poor, and agreed to keep, clothe, feed and guard a certain idiot - John Bellew - for 8120.00 per annum.

The county tax was raised to thirty cents, as the financial statement of 1843 exhibited an increase of county indebtedness, and consequently a depreciation of county orders.

During the year the citizens of the county were greatly agitated about some questions in reference to changing the county seat, dividing the county, or making additions to it.

Another petition, signed by E. W. Wright and four hundred and seventy-six others, prayed for a division of the county ; while B. R. Warfield and four hundred and forty-one others remonstrated against Wright's petition.

The reader will perceive that this petition and the remonstrance against it aroused the most profound interest of all citizens, for there appear the signatures of nine hundred and thirtynine citizen/ attached to either one or the other of said documents. Many citizens were wholly wrapped up in the business, so that they signed the petition as well as the remonstrance.

John J. McGraw, county clerk at the time, careful and accurate, compiled the names of all voters of the county by precincts, and stated officially, and above the seal of the court, that the county of De Witt counted, in August, 1844, not more nor less than six hundred and seventy-five voters. This list is still on file in the clerk's office, - our chapter on Pioneers contains it at length.

Another petition, headed by W. E. Sawyer and signed by two hundred and eighty one others, prays the State Legislature to add a part of Logan county to De Witt. Fred Troxell and three hundred and forty-seven others remonstrated against Sawyer's prayer, saying that the object of it was, first, to add territory to the county ; next, to divide the county, and, finally, to get the county seat away from Clinton.

F. G- Paine, probate justice, resigned his offi;e on July 4th, 1844. It is not known what induced him to tender his resignation at the nation's holiday, - his letter seems to indicate ill humor, to wit : -

I hereby resign the office of Probate Justice of ifie Peace, to wllich I was comnjissloned by the Governor of the State of Illinois Jor the county of De Wilt. I shali refuse to do business in that office from and after the present day. You are therefore authorized to issue a writ of election to fill my vacancy,

A financial statement, dated June, 184.5, represents an indebtedness of S1624.31, and not a dollar in the treasury. The available assets consisted in the delimiueut tax list for the current year, amounting to $170.55.

The first inquest of the county, held by J. H. McPherson on the body of Matthew K. Martin, occurred during this administration. The reader will find a full account of this murder case under the heading of " Courts."

There is nothing further of any interest to mention. The county debt was slowly increasing ; it amounted in June, 184G, to $1959.54, and no money in the treasury.

William Cottingiiam, j This board undertook to build a new court-house. The Clerk was instructed to invite bids, by advertisements in Springfield papers. John Maxwell protested against these proceedings, and had his protest entered upon the records, as follows: -

"I, John Maxwell, one of the members of the County Commissioners' Board of De Witt County, do hereby dissent and enter my most solemn protest against the majority of said board in relation to the building of a court-house, or receiving proposals for the same ; jirsf, believing that the people are already oppressed with taxation, and the county is already some twelve or fourteen hundred (over two thousand) dollars in debt, and that the people, who should ever rule, have not been consulted on the subject; the»e, with many other reasons, I deem sufficient to dissent from the majority, being determined to do no act of this kind without consulting the people.''

Tiie protest of Maxwell's had delayed the building of the court-house for almost a year ; meanwhile the question had been diligently mooted, and some citizens had volunteered pecuniary aid towards building a better court-house.

"AVhereas, the citizens of De Witt County have bound themselves to raise one thousand dollars, in responsible subscriptions, for the purpose of building a court-house in the town of Clinton ; therefore it is ordered that the County Commissioners proceed to the letting of .=aid house on the tirst Monday of January next, said house to be two stories high, thirty two feet wide by forty-four feet long, built of brick, and finished in a good workman-like manner. It is furtlier ordered by the Court, that the Clerk cause an adverlisement to be published in the State Uajisler, for three weeks, stating that a court house will be built, of the size and form aforesaid ; that §-500 will he paid when the walls are erected, and ?500 when the same is completed and received, and the balance to be paid as to be agreed upon by the parties at the time of accepting the bid ; bids to be sent in by the first Monday of January, 184S."

Messrs. Smith <t- Dellahuut took the contract on the od of January, 1848, for S3, 300. The court-house was completed and received in June, 1849 ; the contractors were paid S-65 for extras not provided for in contract, to wit: "Cupola" and painting. The total cost of the building was S3,565. The county issued eleven bonds, amounting in the aggregate to §2,674. 53, to pay the balance due to the contractors on the day of settlement. They seem to have received previously the sum of 8880.47, and it is very probable that this amount was raised by voluntary contributions.

The building of the court-house seems to have occupied the attention of the commissioners to a great extent, no other public business being considered during the time. The collector of the revenue of 1847 had departed this life rather abruptly, leaving his accounts in a somewhat confused condition. The financial statement of 1849 reports tax-bills of 1847 to the amount of S679 still outstanding, and the county debt to be 84,250.01, and not a dollar in the treasury. The ordinary expenditures during the year amounted to 81,055.20 only.

The last county board perfected a settlement with the collector of the revenue for 1848, who had also completed the work of his predecessor.

Up to this time the authorities of the county had in no wise aided in the improvement of roads and the building of bridges, so much needed ; nor had the financial condition of the county permitted any appropriations for this purpose.

In 1850 the county court had bridges built over Rock Creek, Big Slough, south-east of Mount Pleasant, Salt Creek, at the crossing of the road from Clinton to Marion and South Fork of Salt Creek, near Mount Pleasant, spending 8325 in their erection. The current county expenditures during the year exceeded those of the preceding years to the amount of about 8500, gl,229 10 in county orders, and 8163.85 in juror warrants were issued durino' the year. The records give also an account of the town lots in Clinton, sold by the sheriff in April, 1851. James AUsup bought fourteaa bts for 8286, Samuel Harrold, one for 834.25 ; S. Slatton, one for 8 30 ; Nathan Murphy, one for SiO ; Alex. Argo, three for 884 ; Samuel Cox, one for 825 ; W. N. Meservay, one for 825 ; Thomas Little, two for 840, and W. Yearman, one for 820 These twenty-five lots bad been appraised at 81,562.50 in 1839, and were sold for 8566.25 in 1851. No wonder that the paper of the county remained under par.

The county jail was found by the grand jury to be in a "dilapitated, unsafe, and unfit condition," and the sheriff was ordered to have it repaired at once. The reader will soon learn what steps that officer took to carry out this order.

The county expenditures were constantly increasing, the taxes grew higher, and yet the public debt was not reduced. The court continued to make internal improvements by the building of numerous bridges, and the citizens endorsed this proceeding by re-electing the county judge for another term.

The same system of internal improvements was pursued during this term. The county tax, §i,45S.22 in 1853, was increased to . S7,300 in 1854.

The state tax for the year amounted to about S9,000, and the local school taxes to a little more than $2,000. The total tax did not exceed one dollar per one hundred dollars of tax value. Still the usual growling at the enormous taxes were constantly heard. It is very much to be deplored that none of the constitutional growlers of those years had to pay taxes, when they had run up, as in the city of Clinton, to ten times the amount mentioned herein.

The jail building had meanwhile remained an eye-sore; the peremptory order of the county court, that the sheriff should at once repair the building, had been disobeyed, iguored, yea, treated with contempt. A powder plot at Clinton in 1854 ! and so reported by grand jury of the county, as will more fully appear from the following, a verbatim copy of said report : De Witt County Circuit Court, May term, 1855. Pleas b gun and held at the Court-house in Clinton, on Monday, the 14th day of May, a d. 1855. Plon. Davtd Davis, judge of the 8th judicial circuit, composed of the counties of De Witt, etc., presiding.

"The grand jury have visited the jail of our county, we find the roof very much dilapitated, the rooms very filthy, and an amount of gunpowder, nearly two kegs spilled on the floor some time last year, and not removed, with the probability that it has settled between the crossed timbers and beneath."

It is therefore ordered by the court, that all prisoners of this county shall be committed to either the county jail of McLean or :-angamon counties, until the county court of this county shall prepare a suitable prison ; it is further ordered that the clerk of this court certify this report, together with this order, to the county court at its next regular ses ion.

De Witt County J I, Robert Lewis, clerk of the circuit court within and for said couuty, do hereby certify the above to be a true copy of the report and order, as appears of record in this office this 3d of June, 1855.

William Bdin, who had been sheriff in 1854, and ex-ofl5cio jailer of the couuty, was considered the iutellectual originator, the modern Robert Ratesby as it were, of this diabolical plot ; it has never been ascertained whom he had intended for the Guy Fawks of this conspiracy, he probably intended to play that part too. However his plans, like those of the London plotters of 1604, were frustrated. Guy Fawks' day (November 5) was kept as a national holiday for over two hundred years, and was also celebrated in the New England states for many years. Fven to this day, the street gamins of London may be seen, on the 5th day of November, dragging Guy Fawks in effigy through the streets of Lindon, and burning it publicly at night. The historical day of the discovery of the De Witt county powder plot is the 14th day of May. So far the two conspiracies are analagous; they difl'er, however, materially in the objects to be attained. Ratesby and Fawks attempted to destroy the great and good men of the land, while Bolin aimed at the bad and wretched jail-birds of his county ; and if hereafter the boys of De Witt county should contemplate to celebrate their 14th day of May, let them have a bjoming bonfire in honor of their grim old sheriff.

The county court of those days looked upon the matter from a diflerent standpoint, and contemplated with anger the extra expenditures to be met. Their order in reference to the affair, sinister as it appears, is not plain nor very intelligible - reading as follows :

The grand juiy has condemned the county jail on account of its being in a filthy condition and in need of repairs - that gunpowder to the extent of two kegs has been spilled on the floor, descending through the cracks thereof, making it unsafe to life, and that Hon. Judge Davis had thereupon ordered that all criminals or persons committed in De Witt county should be conveyed to the Bloomingtou or Springfield jails in this state - and that this court, being of the opinion that the gunpowder above alluded to was placed in said jail by the permission of William Bolin then sheritt'. It is therefore ordered, that the court will choose a man, and that the said William Bolin may choose a man, and if they cannot agree, the two to choose a third man to value the said jail, and that said William Bolin may use any means he may choose for the purpose of removing the difficulty so far as the powder is concerned, at his own risk ; and as to the cleaning and repairing of said jail, this court will provide, the said Bolin being accountable only so far as the use of fire or other means he may use for the purpose of removing the danger of the ponder to the county for the value of said jail."

The records do not disclose who were chosen to value, nor what further measures were resorted to. It is probable, however, that the building of a new jail in 1857 was in part brought about by the plot.

The Clinton division of the Sons of Temperance, No. 216, were granted the free use of the courtroom up stairs, on condition that said Sons repair damages done by holding meetings in said room previously, to repair broken benches, put new glass where there are holes in the lights, and repair the plastering around the stove-pipe. This order leads us to infer that the meetings of these Temperate Sons had been rather intemperate.

On the 26th of January, 1857, the bids for building a new jail were opened, and the contract awarded to Hoagland &: Ricketts, who offered to build the jail according to plans and specifications for $12,000 in cash, or for $14,578.40 in county bonds, bearing interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum from date ; the building was to be completed on or before December 1, 1857.

The court chose the bond bid, and the contractors filing a good and sufBcient indemnity bond, issued a number of bonds, amounting in the aggregate to 817,223.00, to become due in June, 1857 1858, 1859, and 1860, respectively, bearing six per cent, annual interest from date of issue, viz., March 6th, 1857, in payment of work hereafter to be done !

W. Bolin, G. B. Lemen, and Jesse Stout were appointed experts to inspect the work as it progressed. The jail was to be built on the plans of the Tazewell county jail, then considered one of the best in the State.

The ground on which it was to be erected had been bought of Fred. Hanguer, who received his pay, viz., 8623.87, in ten per cent, interest-bearing county bonds, March 2d, 1858. We have failed to ascertain why the county court issued and paid over to the contractors 817,223 in county bonds, instead of 814,578.40, as previously agreed upon. The cash bid of 812,000, made at the same time, indicates that the county paper, at the time of receiving bids (January 2d, 1857), was worth about eighty-three cents per dollar. Two months later (March, lS57j, it seemed to have taken 817,223 in county bonds to represent 812,000 in money ; in other words, county orders were then worth only seventy cents per one dollar.

This unfavorable condition of the finances of the county delayed the work of the contractors, who, in one instance, had to hypothecate 89000 of those bonds to obtain a temporary loan of only 82500. In July, 1858, the county court negotiated with A. Gridley & Co. a loan of 812,000, in order to have funds with which to pay the work on the jail as it progressed. The money was placed in the McClean county bank, and was to be checked out by Robert Lewis, and onlj- in favor of the jail contractors, and in amounts in accordance with the progress of the work.

This is the first instance of placing public funds under the control of a fiscal agent, of rudely ignoring the county treasurer, and in defiance of the revenue law. The jail bonds mentioned above (817,223) seem to have been surrendered to the county court in part only, as some of them are marked " paid," and defaced ; none of them have been destroyed, and they all remain on file in the Clerk's oiBce. No financial statements are mentioned during this period, and with part of the county funds in another county, part in hands of collectors, and balance, if any, in the hands of treasurer, it would scarcely have been possible to have a correct and succinct statement made.

The people of the county had meanwhile become restive and dissatisfied with the management of their affairs. A petition, signed by Kathaniel Kazey and ninety-nine others, praying for a vote on the adoption of township organization, was presented to the court in September, 185S. The court thereupon ordered a vote, and the system was adopted by a vote of 1424 against 308 at the November election in 1858.

In January, 1859, Robert Lewis reported that he had drawn 82450 of the jail funds, leaving a balance of 84387 78 in bank. The court ordered the issuing of 812,433.80 in new bonds, to take up an equal amount of jail bonds issued March 7th, 1858, which were ordered to be caeelled.

The county court remained in activity until June 6th, 1859, confining themselves to routine business only, when the Board of Supervisors tojk charge of the government of the county.

George A Hume, of Wapella, Chairman ; Wilson Allen, Texas ; B. G. Liseuby, Creek ; Hiram Chandler, Nixon ; A. A. Eads, Barnett ; W. B Smith, Clintonia ; John D. Hutchin, Tunbridge ; James Millmore, Harp; Edward O. Day, De Witt; Thos. C. Robb, Waynesville ; C. S. Cain, AVilson ;'r. R. Knight, Santa Anna; and Jonathan Pearson, of Rutledge.

One of the first resolutions of the board was to employ a competent attorney to attend to the legal business of the county, and to be the counsellor of the board iu their proceedings. They accepted the offer of L. Weldou, and fixed his compensation at one hundred dollars per annum.

Questions having arisen as to the legality of the acts of the former county court since April, 1859, the Board asked C. H. Moore and L. Weldou for their opinion iu regard to this matter. Tliis opinion was given on the Oth of June, 1859, in words as fol lows : -

" Gextlemex : - The undersigned, to whom you referred tlie qne-stion : ' When did the power of the county court of this county over county bu.siness cease?' would give as their legal opinion, that on and after the first Tuesday of April, 18-59, the county court, for county business, ceased to exist, and that any acLs done after that time w^e illegal and void.

"The Legislature, in their Act of .\pril Ist, 1S51, article 1, section 4. expressly state.s, that if it shall appear that a majority of the legal votes of said county was cast for township organization, then the county so voting shall be governed by and subject to the provisions of this Act.

" As we presume that there was nothing wrong intended, permit us to suggest that your hoard run over all acts done by them, and adopt all that are right. Those tliat you don't ratify are dead letters, and you had better so notify the Clerk, Treasurer, and Sherifl'.'"

The opinion rendered was undoubtedly correct, and the advice, though unasked, more .so, and what is still better, the board had sense enough to act on this wise suggestion. Fault-finding seems to have been the rule for years and years; committees of investication chase one another; reports follow reports, until the climax is capped by a resolution of the board to invesilyate their own actions.

Returning to the subject, let it be said that the Board of Supervisors examined the proceedings had by the dcfuuet county court up to the fourth day of June, and that these proceedings were sanctioned by the following resolution : - -

" Resolved, that after a full examination of the proceedings of the old officers of the old county court, from the 1st to the 4th of June, and as from the full examination of laws and decisions of the Supreme Court, and likewise of legal counsel, we are fully satisfied that their powers ceased on the 5th of April last, and further, that, as we find all bills that were allowed were fair on their face ; and we further agree that the Clerk shall issue his orders on the same."

From the latter part of this resolution, it is to be inferred that the board suspected that doubtful claims or jobs had been passed on and ordered to be paid; hence the trouble. The "old members of the old county court," however, had acted wisely and properly in confining themselves to routine business only, and in finallv disposing of pending claims against the county. These " old members of the old county court " certainly knew more

On the 24th of June, 1850, L. AVelden was appointed agent of the county to prosecute its claim against the Federal Government for swamp lands sold in violation of the Swamp-Land Act of 1850.

Darius Hall was made the fiscal agent of the county, June 24th, 1859. All county moneys were ordered to be deposited with him, and he was to pay interest to the county at the rate of ten per cent, per annum on all deposits left in his hands for ovf r sixty days This arrangement, probably made through motives of economy, was wholly and absolutely wrong. The Treasurer of the county is by law the custodian of all county funds, and his bond secures the county against lo.=s.

The boundaries of the townships of Clintonia and Wapella, were changed, September, 1859 ; sections one, two, three, four, five and six of Clintonia were added to Wapella.

The boundary between Santa Anna and De Witt township were clianged by taking off' from Santa Anna and adding to De Witt the following tracts, to wit. : commencing at the north-west corner of section thirty, in township twenty, range five east, thence east to the north-east corner of the north-west quarter of said section, thence south one-half mile, thence east to county line, thence south-west with the county line to the range line, thence north with the range line to the place of beginning.

The Board, by order of December, 1859, prohibited the keeping of salocns or tipling houses, by a vote often against three- Wilson, Allen, J. D. Hu^chin, and Ben. Lisenby voting nay.

In March, 1860, the Board instructed their attorney, L. Weldon, to bring suit against ex sheriff Merryman, for the recovery of revenue balances in his hands, viz., 837500, from 1856, and 8425.00, from 1857.

The finances of the county were found to be in a very confused state, so that it became necessary, in the opinion of the Board, to cause a minute examination to be made. The following resolution - the records do not state who brought it in, nor who seconded it, was passed at the same term :

Resolved, 1st. That on the second day of said term of the Board - of Supervisors, the board proceed to issue bonds to the amounts of fifty and one hundred dollars, payable five years after date thereof, with 8 per cent interest, payable annually by the county.

2d. That county orders or jury warrants, when presented to the amount of 850 GO, or its multiple, shall be exchanged for such bonds, and then be cancelled and burned, and a record of the same be kept, in which each bond issued chall be numbered as issued.

Would it not have been proper to have given the fifth resolution the place of the first one? _ And why had Darius Hall been made the fiscal agent of the county, when there were not even funds on hand to pay expenses?

On the 12th of September the Board made an order to sell the swamp lands belonging to the county. These lands seem to have embraced some 1934 acres in the aggregate, 454 of which were sold at prices ranging from 83.00 to 810-33 per acre, netting 82,844.70.

That the Board of Supervisors now in session, declare all old orders, contracts or agreements, heretofore made by the county judges, under county organization and not consummated or entered into, shall be void from and after this day ! !

A committee having examined the books of the circuit clerk, reported that docket fees, amounting in the aggregate to 8306. On, had been collected, and not been paid into the cjun y treasury.

"That the treasurer of De Witt county is hereby authorized to USB county orders at 10 per cent, discount, in raising the balance of the money necessary to pay interest on the jail bonds, after getting the balance in the hands of Darius Hall due the county, or as much lower as he can."

How is this very remarkable order to be understood, or to be construed? The treasurer is authorized to use county orders, &c. How was he to procure them? County orders can only be issued on vouchers duly audited and allowed ; they certainly could not be ir^sued as a commodity to be sold. It is therefore to be inferred, that county orders heretofore issued and redeemed, were to be put on the market again, a most pernicious, if not felonious, proceeding!

On January 3d, 1860, two bonds, of -STOO 00 each, bearing 8 per cent, annual interest, and maturing January 3d, 1866, were issued iu payment of goods purchased of Messrs. Herring & Co.

A. A. of Barnett, chairman ; Wilson Allen, Hiram Chandler, Kixon ; William Fuller, Rutledge ; Walter Karr, Wapella ; G. B. Leraen, Harp ; Isaac REouett, Santa Anna ; Alexander McConkey, De Witt; Thomas Ritchie, Creek ; John P. Jlitchell, Cl'ntonia; James B. Turner. Tuubridge; Bayuton Tenney, Waynesville, and Luther S. Hubble, of Wilson.

The first meeting of this board was held in May, 1861 Fort Sumter had been fired upon and occupied by the rebels ; the civil was inaugurated !

Thomas Snell presented a petition to the board, praying for the appropriation of S.5,000.00 to defray the expenses of uniforming the volunteers from De Witt county, and to support the families of those volunteers while in the field. This petition was referred to a special committee of seven, to wit.: Chandler, Lemon, Allen, Monett, Tenney, Fuller and Karr, with instructions to act immediately. The committee reported unanimously in favor of granting the prayer, and upon motion of James B. Turner, the following order was made:

" Be it ordered, by the board of supervisors of the county of De Witt, now in session, that John P. Mitchell, John Bishop and L. D. Hovey, be and they are hereby appointed a committee to disburse the funds appropriated by this board for uniforming all volunteers from this county regularly mustered into the service of the United States, or of this state, and for the necessary expense of assisting in the support of the families of those who volunteer, while in service, and that said committee shall have power to appropiate so much of said funds as liiay seem to them actually necessary for the purpose aforesaid, pledging the good faith of the county for the payment of the same to be drawn by orders on the county treasurer, to be paid out of money to be levied and collected for that specific purpose, by said board at the next September term, in the same manner as state or county taxes are now collected by law, and that said committee shall be bound to make a full report of all their acts at the regular meeting of said board on or before September next, and before entering upon their duties they shall be required to give an approved bond to this couuty for the faithful performance of their duties for the best interest of the county in the sum of 810,000 " lector was instructed to pay the amount collected to the treasurer of the committee, instead of the county treasurer, where it really belonged- The assessed value of taxable properly in the county was at that time about S-,300,000, and the tax levied would net about S2, .500.00, or one-half of the amount appropriated. It is therefore to be inferred that the committee managed to meet all necessary expenses with about S2.500, instead of the So,000 appropriateil.

The August interest on county bonds, viz., 81,200, was overdue, and no funds were in sight, neither for this nor the February interest. The board therefore ordered that the holders of said coupons receive a bond of 81,290, bearing eight per cent, interest, and to mature in 186.5.

According to the amount of semi-annual interest due in August, 1S61, th; ouaty bonded debt must then have amounted to 830,000 in eight per cent, bonds, principally accrued from the building of the jail.

On February 11, 1862, the clerk was instructed to pay to A. Gridley & Co. county orders to the amount of Sl.-tl-l.oO, in payment of 81,200 ia coupons, 8600 of which were six months overdue ; county orders seem to have been worth 85 cents per 81,00 at that time.

or about 1.53 per one hundred dollars tax value. Wilson Allen was appointed a committee to examine all county records, with a view of ascertaining if there were any moneys due to the county, and by whom.

The interest in the war seemed to have absorbed everything ; no committees were appointed to investigate, nor did former committees of investigation have anything to report.

The board resolved to negotiate an eight per cent, loan of 825,000, bonds to mature iu five, six, seven and eight year*, in order to pay a bounty of 810 to each volunteer, and to levy a special tax of 82,000 to meet the first annual interest on the proposed loan. This part of the resolution was not carried out, but formally rescinded, and instead of it a special war tax of 50 cents on the one hundred dollars of tax value ordered ; the proceeds of which were to be applied as follows : the amount above provided for, and as none of those war-bonds would mature during the coming year, it was and remains a question, why so large an amount was levied.

The ardor for war, and the desire for further blood-letting seemed to have abated to a certain degree. A resolution to discontinue payment of bounties from and after October 1, 1862, was brought in before the board and debated. It was lost by a vote of five against eight

J. R. Hall, G. B. Lernm, Hiram Chandler, L. S. Hubble and J. P. Mitchell voted f )r, and \V. Fuller, Ben Howard, Tom ! Loer, John McAboy, H. P. Smith, Jacob Swigart and Wilson Allen against the resolution.

On the oOth of September the board modified the order in reference to the §25,000 county loan, by substituting the following : The county clerk shall issue county orders, drawing ten per cent, annual interest from date of issue, to the amount of 83,000, due October 1, 1863; $7,000, due October 1, 186-1; 87,000, due October 1, 1865; and 38,000, due October 1, 1866. These orders were issued and placed in the hands of the finance war committee - J P. Mitchell, John Bishop, and L. D. Hovey, with instruction to sell them at the highest market price, and to use the money thus realized for bounty purposes. Subsequently the clause as to market price wa.s modified by the words : kot FOR LESS TH.\x 80 CENTS PER 8100. The records do not show what rmount had been sold for less than 80 cents. It is a fact, however, that some bounty claims of those days are still pending.

The county had now been under the system of township organization for four years. Innumerable resolutions bearing on economy had been offered and passed, but matters had not improved ; the credit of the county was impaired, not because the county was loaded down with debts, but because the "governors" had succeeded to make all believe that every body was not any more honest than the law would make him. The county debt was less than one per cent, of its tax values, or less than half of one per cent, of its actual values.

The board had their first meeting in September, 1863, and for want of having anything else to do, they appointed a new committee under the chairmanship of William Fuller, to re-examine all county books and papers, to ascertain if there were any funds due to the county, etc.

In December, 1863, John Warner reported that he had succeeded in recovering 8679.30 swamp land funds, that he had paid to the auditor of state the expenses incurred in surveying swamp lands, to wit : 8235, that his commissions, twenty per cent, of amount recovered, aggregated 8135 86; and that, with his report, he tendered the balance, viz., 8308.44 to the county. This report was accepted.

The board ordered another loan of {3 000 for war purposes. This amount of money was to be distributed to the several townships in equal amounts, and to be disbursed by the supervisors in the support of the families of volunteers. A queer measure, and of very questionable merit.

The various investigation committees appointed during preceding vears have thus far not reported. The board held its first meeting in September, and confined its action to a pretty stiff tax levy, nearly three times as high as that of 1861 . The board had come to the conclusion that the interest of the county debt should not longer be paid by issuing new bonds, and that part of the old 1)onds should be taken up and canceled. In order to have the necessary funds the following levy was made :

The support of paupers had, in the meantime, been a constantly growing expense, and the board contracted with Thomas Harris to take charge of all county paupers at 82.50 per week for board. Six thousand dollars were appropriated towards the suppgrt of the families of volunteers during the current year. The records do not state how this fund was to be distributed, hence it may be inferred that the distribution jilan practised in 1863 was tried again. The sale of the swamp lands was completed on the 13th of March, 1865. The county had sold in all 1930 acres of swamp land, and had drawn from that source the handsome revenue of 810,103.18, the average price being 85.25 per acre.

The accounts of the outgoing Treasurer, B. J. Jones, were, on examination, found to be short to the amount of 82,580. 03, as reported .September 14th, 1864. If, during his terra of oflice, all county moneys had passed through the Treasurer of the county, as the law contemplates and prescrilies, the Treasurer's compensation would have exceeded the above amount ; besides, the Treasurer was lawfully entitled to his full percentage on all county funds handled by fiscal agents or war finance committees.

In February, 1865, at the last call for volunteers, the quota of the county appeared to have been one hundred and one, and in order to avoid a draft, a large bounty, 8300 each, was offered and paiil in ten per cent, bearing county bonds, lUl of which, representing 830,300, were issued.

The war-fund committee was at last discharged, March 14th, 1865, and the County Treasurer authorized to act in its stead. A deal of confusion and anxiety would have been avoided, if the plain letter of the revenue law had been strictly adhered to.

At that time it was ascertained that some of the bonds issued to townships, in support of volunteer families, had not been used, and it was therefore ordered that those unused bonds should be " rescinded." Under this order 82250 of those 83,000, and 6000 issued in 1S63 and 1864, were surrendered, and finally cancelled February, 1867.

The last war tax, fifty cents per one hundred dollars, was levied iu 1866. The war fund levied as direct tax during this period of time amounted in

Of this amount the collectors of the couuty report to have col- | lected and paid over to committees or treasurers, as the case might | be, the sum of 860,941.16 ; cost of collection was $1218.82, and the balance, §2271.74, remained on the tax books as back tax, and, when subsequently collected, was treated as part of the regular county revenue. This amount, however, was insufficient to pay and discharge all county war loans and accrued interest. The loans amounted to $72,000 after deducting those $2250 mentioned above, and the interest accrued during those years cannot have been less than $18,000, making an aggregate of war expenditures of $90,000 at least.

The readiness to make these sacrifices is highly commendable ; but as the subject itself is more extensively treated iu the chapter on " Patriotism," it may here be dismissed.

The expenditures of the county had been heavy during the year, but as all payments of interest were promptly met, aud a part of the funded debt paid and cancelled, and as the county funds were placed where the law directed they should be, the credit of the county was restored at once.

This board confined its labor to routine business only; the policy of the preceding board, "pay as you go," was strictly adhered to ; the assessed values of taxable property in the county amounted now to 82,S2'.i,635.

Eighth Board - 1866 to 1-SG7. Wilson Allen, of Texas township. Chairman ; William Fuller of Rutledge ; J. K. Davis, of Wilson ; T. L- Grofl^, of Wapclla ; J. C. Cantrall, of Wayuesville; John Bartley, of Barnett, J. F. Harrold, of Harp ; David Bosserman, of De Witt, John Bosserman, of Nixon ; T. Lane, of Creek ; M. B. Spicer, of Tunbridge; James De Land, of Cliutonia, and W. C. McMurray, of Santa Anna.

This board appropriated $10,700 towards building bridges in the several townships. The Clerk was ordered to issue six per cent, interest-bearing county orders for that purpose, and William Fuller, O. Wakefield, and W. Clagg were appointed a special committee on bridge-building, and were entrusted with the disbursement of amounts appropriated.

Ninth Board - imi to 1868. James De Land, of Clintonia, Chairman ; M. B. Spicer, of Tunbridge ; D. M. AValler, of Texas ; T. Lane, of Creek ; John Bosserman, of Nixon ; J. M. Maddox, of Barnett ; J. F. Harrold, of Harp; David Bosserman, of De Witt; E. Davenport, of Wayuesville ; W. R. Carle, of Wapella ; W. M. Smith, of

Boynton Tenney, of Wayuesville, Chairman ; W. Y. McCord, of Santa Anna ; James A Wilson, of Wilson ; H. D. Watson, of Wapella; D. Cheney, of De Witt; J. F. Harrold, of Harp; Lewis Campbell, of Clintonia; Georee Hartsock, of Texas; James A. Kirby, of Tunbridge ; William Fuller, of Rutledge ; John Manlove, of Nixon, and Thomas Maddox, of Barnett. Eleventh Board - ISGd to 1-^70. William Y. McCord, of Santa Anna, Chairman ; Peter Brickey, of Rutledge; J. A. Wilson, of Wilson; CJalvin Timmons, of Wayuesville; William Gambrel, of Barnett; James De Land, of Clintonia ; R. Mitchell, of Harp ; P. V. C. Poole, of De Witt ; W. M. Moore, of Texas; James A. Kirby, of Tunbridge; John Bosserman, of Nixon, and William Wright, of Wapella.

During the administration of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh boards, public afi'airs seemed to have managed themselves. The boards confined themselves to the auditing of claims presented fur payment. ^^

A startling resolution, introduced by James De Land, was passed in 1867; we call it startling, because it reads so queer iu a county where the temperance laws were strictly enforced, to wit; "James De Land is hereby authorized, by order of this board, to buy all necessary stimulants for the use of John Spradley, and that the County Treasurer is authorized to pay all bills thus contracted."

The records, of course, do not state the circumstances under which this strange order was made, and on inquiring, we learned that John Spradley had been a soldier in the army ; had came home badly wounded, and had then to undergo the amputation of a leg. This operation is said to have been a rare triumph of surgery. Spradley survived for years. Dr. J. Wright, of Clinton, performed the operation.

The eighth board - 1866 to 1767 - had, as stated above, placed 810,700 in the hands of a bridge-building committee. This amount had not all been disbursed ; 82975 were returned in 1869, and placed in the hands of the several Supervisors foi direct disbursement.

Twelfth Board - IS70 to 1S71. A. A. Eads, of Barnett, Chairman; Benjamin Howard, of Tunbridge; J. W. Blue, of Texas; J. D. Graham, of Creek; Ross Mitchell, of Harp; John Bosserman, of Nixon; James A. Wilson, of Wilson ; P. V. C. Poole, of De Witt ; David Kelley, of Santa Anna ; James De Land, of Cliutonia ; E. B. Harrold, of Wapella ; Calviu Timmons, of Wayuesville, and Peter Brickey, of Rutledge.

In December, 1 870, the authorities purchased a tract of land for the purpose of an asylum for the poor of the county, the present coiinlij farm.

The treasury of the county being depleted, the old and pernicious remedy of issuing interest-bearing county orders was again resorted to. The Clerk was instructed to issue, in payment for the farm, ten per cent, interest-bearing county orders, to the amount of SoOOO, and so much more as needed to meet the probable discount (verbatim ).

The actions of the board seem to have been the object of some criticism, as appears from the animus of the following "liberal " resolution, passed in December, 1870, viz.: