Hancock County, Illinois - Chapter 4: The First Officials, 1880

Chapter 4: The First Officials

Judge Young's order for organizing the county of Hancock was issued in the summer of 1829, and it recited that the county was represented to contain a population of 350 persons, the number fixed by law to enable it to maintain a separate existence. Counting one to five of population, would give it seventy adult male citizens. At the first session of the County Commissioners' Court, there were sixty men selected to serve as jurors in the Circuit Court, twenty-four for the grand and thirty-six for the petit jury. There had been five men elected to county oflices (three County Commissioners a Sherift' and a Coroner,) and the Board of Commissioners had appointed its clerk. There were thus sixty-six men named as residents of the count}' in the month of August, 1829.

These facts present some points of inquiry which we have been at some trouble to investigate. Did it require all the adult male citizens to put the county machinery in motion ? And if there were left any other eligible citizens, who were they ? The inquiry has shown the fact that there were residing in the county, at the date of its organization, not only enough male adults to meet the requirements, but a few more; that there were certainly not less than seventy, perhaps seventy-five ; and that the county without doubt could honestly claim the requisite population.

The matter is of little importance now, except as it presents the curious fact, that full thirteen-fourteenths of the eligible citizens of the county were pressed into active service the first year of its existence.

Again, what of all those sixty or seventy men whose names appear upon our county's records of fifty years ago ? Whence came they? and when? and what has become of them? As pioneers, as the first emigrants to, and settlers in this county, then a wilderness, now past the semi-centennial year of its existence, and peopled with nearly 50,000 human beings, they are deserving of more than usual notice.

But a remarkable and solemn fact is developed: Of those sixtj^- six pioneers, wlio were first called to serve the county in a civil capacity, and who began to shape its destiny, not one now remains in the county ! and one only is known to be living at this date, January 1, 1880 ! That one is Isaac R. Campbell, of St. Francisville, Mo., one of the grand jurors, and first County Treasurer.

called settlers; for we find that many of them left the county at an early day, to pioneer, and perhaps to settle in still newer localities. More than one (as will be seen) left the county for the county's good; some left it to make homes and grow up with the country elsewhere; while still others remained to be good citizens and do further service, and died regretted.

After much labor and inquiry, we have been able to gather information concerning many of these, which we present in the order in which tliey are named on the records, beginning with liichard If. Young~^\\o occupied the bench of the Fifth Judicial Circuit at the time Hancock was organized, and whose duty it was made by law to issue the order for organization, was a native of Kentucky, and was an early settler in the State. He was appointed to the Judgeship in 1828, and resided at Galena, but afterward settled in Quincy. His circuit embraced all the counties between the Illinois river and Galena, and east to Chicago. In 1837 he was elected by the Legislature to the U. S. Senate, and after his term of service had expired, w*s appointed by President Polk to be Commissioner of the General Land Office. Henry Asbury, Esq., of Quincy, in his " Sketclies of the Bench and Bar," published in the Quincy TP%;'gr, says of Judge Young:

"Judge Young resided here for many years. He was a gentleman in all his aspects - not perhaps the most profound of our judges and lawyers, but for his day and time, and in the absence of modern facilities and great libraries, his attainments were of such a character as to command for his memory our high respect. He was an honest man, and died in poverty at Washington city some years ago, though he had been Judge of the Supreme and Circuit "Courts in Illinois, a Senator in Congress, and Commissioner of the General Land Office. His open-handed generosity left him poor in his old age."

Judge Young's term on the circuit lasted eight or nine j^ears. The first sessions of his courts were held at private houses on the rapids, afterward in the log cabin court-house in Carthage, in which the bench was a splint-bottomed chair, the lawyers, juries and clients occupying the slab benches.

Dignified and courteous in his demeanor, on and off the Bench, we believe that it can be truly said, that no one of his many successors ever gave more general satisfaction to the people, or carried with him in his retirement more of their sincere respect, than did Judge Young.

George Y. Cutler - Was one of the three to whom Judge Young addressed his order, and was consequently one of the judges of the first election. He was a popular man, as he received fifty votes of less than sixty cast for Commissioners, with six candidates running. Concerning Mr. C, we can obtain but little information. He resided at the head of the rapids, wliere he sold goods; was a wliole-souled, genial man - a native of one of tlie New England States. He died about 183J:, and liis estate stands sixth of entry on the Probate records, under date of Sept. 1, 1834. How long he liad been in the count}' is not ascertained. "Cutler's Grave," surrounded by a wall of stone, is still an object of note, near the bank of the Mississippi at Nauvoo.

Henry Nichols - One of the first County Coramissionei-s - having received 37 votes - came to the county at an early day, date not known ; neither do we learn the State of his nativity. He settled in Rocky Run township, where he continued to reside until about 25 years ago, when he removed to Wisconsin, where he was lately residing, in a green old age, and in excellent health. He was married to Miss Delia, the daughter of Luther AVhitney, and sister to Sheriff Edson and Horace B. Whitney. His son, Luther, resides at the same place in Wisconsin.

Judge Nichols was a man higlily esteemed by his neighbors, was an active and prominent participator in public affairs, and was frequently honored with oflices of trust in the county.

James White. - Captain White was a juror for Adams county iu the first j'ear of its existence (1825), and received thirty-one votes at the first election in Hancock, electing him by one majority over Major Morrill Marston. Capt. White was born in Ohio, whence he emigrated to Missouri Territory in 1818, three years before'it became a State. In 1824 - or, perhaps, 1823 - he came to reside and trade with the Sac and Fox Indians, who at that time had a large village of some 400 or 500 lodges at the head of the rapids, where Nauvoo now stands. In 1824, the treaty was made with those Indians by the general Government, by which they relinquished their lands on this side of the ri\er. Capt. White, wishing to obtain possession of the site of their village, for the payment of 200 sacks of corn, induced them to vacate in his favor - when they loaded their loik-ke-iijjs and other " plunder " i\ito their " dug-outs" and paddled across to the Iowa sliore. On the vacated spot, Mr. White opened out a farm ; but his chief occupation during the remainder of his life - or until the business was superseded by steamboats - was that of keel-boating on the Mississippi. In this business he was assisted by his two sons, Alexander and Hugh, and by his future son-in-law, Isaac Newton Waggoner. His old residence stood on the bank of the river, near where the Nauvoo House now stands. He died June, 1837. His son, Alexander, survived him only a few months - died October, 1837. The son Hugh for many years resided near the old place, and followed the business of steamboat piloting, and was widely known between St. Louis and Galena. William, the thii'd son, died early.

sons to whom Judge Young's order was addressed. He afterward resided on a farm nine miles below Warsaw, in Eock}' Run township. He was re-elected to the oiSce of Sheriff for several terms, Mr. White being his competitor on two or three occasions. Mr. Whitney was an active politician of tlie Whig school, and an efficient and capable officer. In the difficulties between the old citizens and Mormons he took an active part. He was married to a daughter of Charles Hill, and sister of the late Davis Hill, of Eockj Eun. Mr. Whitney removed with his family to Leavenworth, Kansas, some 20 or 25 years ago, and died ten or a dozen years since.

Robert Wallace - Was elected Coroner without opposition. That he resided somewhere along the rapids, is all that we can learn of him. He left the county at an early period.

John Johnson. - This gentleman was chosen the first County Surveyor, not by election, but by appointment from the Governor, liaving been recommended to that position by the County Commissioners at their first session. He was also on the first grand jury list. Mr. J. resided at Eiverside, and was appointed Postmaster at Montebello by President Jackson, an office which he held till his death, Dec. 31, 1836. Of his nativity or early life little is known.

Wesley Willia im-. - A.t the first session of the County Com raissioners'Court Mr. Williams was chosen Clerk to the Board ; and afterward, when Judge Young opened the first Circuit Court, in October of the same year, he was appointed Circuit Clerk. These two positions he held for several years, besides several others to which he was subsequently appointed ; and with what fidelity and correctness, the early records of the county will abundantly show. iS^o man among the pioneers of Hancock countj' was better known than he i)i its earlier days ; and no one, perhaps, among them all did more to shape its destinies.

Mr. Williams was a resident of Quincy several years, and held offices of trust there - that of Treasurer of Adams county the year previous to the separation. On the organization of Hancock, he resigned and removed to this county, and was appointed to the clerkship here. He was a lawyer by profession, though he never engaged in general practice in this county, his official duties requiring his undivided attention. Previous to the removal of the county-seat to Carthage, he was Clerk ot both the Circuit and County Commissioners' Courts, and also Judge of Probate, and after removal to Carthage he was appointed Postmaster, a position he held for several years. His son, Samuel Otho Williams, a young man of e.xcellent clerical al)ility, assisted him in his official duties, and was at one time for a short period Circuit Clerk by appointment. He was married to a Miss Baldwin, of Carthage', and died two or three years later.

_ Wesley Williams was one of three brothers, all lawyers by profession, natives of Kentucky, who came to Quincy and' settled about 1825 or 1826. Archibald, elsewhere referred to in these pages, remained in Ailams coi.nt}', but became eminent asa jurist, and had an extensive practice throughout the Circuit and the State. Robert E. and Wesley settled in this county about the same period. Of the former but little is known, as he died at an early day.

Wesley AVilliams was beirn in Lincoln county, Ky., March 24, 1792, and died at Fountain Green, May 12, 1870, aged 78 years, 1 month and 18 days. He was married in Bourbon county, Ky., on April 2, 1816, to Miss Elizabeth Ayres, from whom he was divorced in this county (she never residing west with him). He was again married to Ruth Scobey, June 9, 1831. Three sons and two daughters were the fruits of these marriages - Eli. 11., now residing at Carthage, Samuel Otho, before mentioned, and Wesley C, residing in Prairie township, and Isabel (Spangler) of Fountain Green, and Kate (present name unknown). Wesley C. is said to have been the first child born in Carthage.

Isaac II. Campbell. - This name closes the list of county officials in 1829. Mr. C. was the first Treasurer of the county, not by election, but by appointment of the County Commissioners' Court. He remained in the county for only a few years, and finally settled at St. Francisville, Mo., where he is still living at the date of this present writing, at an advanced age, the only living representative of Hancock's first ofiicials, and probably the only remaining one of her sixt}' jurymen of fifty years ago.

We notice among the early marriage licenses granted in the county, one (the 9th) to Isaac R. Campbell and Emily Davis, ceremony performed by Luther Whitney, Esq.

First Geand Jurors

The following are the names of first panel of grand jurors selected b}' the County Commissioners' Court, with such account of them as we have been able to obtain, viz:

Daniel Crenthaw - Resided in what is now EockyRun township. Died in 1831. His estate stands third on the probate records for settlement, under date of October, 1831. Some of his descendants (or relatives), we believe, are still residents of that township.

Luther Whitney. - This gentleman, with his sons, Edson and and Horace B., came to this county at an early period - exact date not ascertained, but he was here while the county was a part of Pike. lie resided in Montebello township. His name appears on the jury list of both Pike and Adams counties; and he held the office of County Commissioner in Adams in 1826. Mr. Whitney was a native of Vermont, but removed to Kentucky at an early day, thence to Missouri, thence to Hancock county. He lived only a few years after organization. He served also in the capacity of Justice of the Peace, and was a prominent man in many respects, though we obtain but little of his career.

court-martialed, we believe for intemperance. He settled in the county a short distance below the fort, near the Calamus spring, where he opened a farm. He was a native of Rockingham county, New Hampshire. His name also occurs on the Pike and Adams jury lists.

Major Marston was a very intemperate man, and died in a fit of intemperance by drowning, as was supposed - having been found in a shallow slough between tlie fort and his residence. His estate stands firstof entry on the records of the Probate Court, under date of March, 1831. He had no relatives or heirs in the county at time of his death, and his estate was put into the hands of administrators ad interim, and finally administered by his brother, David Marston, who came west for the purpose.

John Clark - Resided in the vicinity of Fort Edwards, and was one of a family of three brothers, all of whom resided in this vicinity, and still have relatives here. John Clark died many years ago.

Leonard L. Ahney. - Resided near the Calamus spring below » Fort Edwards. His name ayjpears in the list of candidates for County Commissioner in 1832, and in 1833 ho was an acting Justice of the Peace.

Ph'dip Malette - One of the early Frenchmen, resided in the vicinity of the fort. The early Circuit Court records show a divorce case between him and his wife. He left the county soon afterward, and nothing further is known of him.

Thomas Payne - Resided near Calamus spring. Was said to be descended from Spanisli or French parents, and 'was from Vincennes, Indiana. Left in early times.

John Harding - Resided in the Bear creek region, not far from the present village of Chili. The three Hardings named in these lists must have been among the earliest, if not the very first, settlers in the south part of the county. The name of John Harding appears as one of the jurors while the county was attached to Adams, in 1827. He sold the farm on which he resided, adjoining the town of Chili, to Elisha Worrell, Esq., in 1835, and removed to parts unknown.

Mazen Bedell - A New Englander, resided at Montebello, and was the first Postmaster at that place, appointed under President Jackson's administration in 1830; was also a Justice of the Peace in 1831. Mr. Bedell died about the beginning of 1835, leaving a widow and three children, all of whom afterward went to Warsaw to reside. Tiie eldest son, Edward A., was for many years an active business man in that place. During the Mormon difficulties he took an active part as a " peace man," and was one of the most prominent of that class designated as " Jack-Mornion>." He leceived the appointment of Indian Agent to Utah, and died in 1854, soon after his appointment. Tlie second son, Lucien, studied medicine and went west. Tlie daughter was the lately deceased widow of Samuel AV. Brown, formerly of Warsaw.

John Waggonner - -Was perhaps the first settler at Riverside. He settled there in 1824. He had previously been one of the pioneers in the settlement of the city of Cincinnati, there being a tradition in the family that he built the first cabin in that city. This is probably a mistalve, as the Cincinnati Historical Society records the fact and gives a list of the names of some 30 or 40 first emigrants to that place (then called Losantiville) in a body from Maysville, Kentucky, and Mi\ Waggonner's name does not appear in the list. At the time of his settlement in this county his family consisted of four sons, - Isaac Newton, Price, Henr>' Clinton, and Seth. A sketch of the eldest will be found elsewhere in these phages. Price and Henry C. both became steamboat engineers, and went to St. Louis to reside; now both deceased. Seth died at the age of 18. The father died at Eiverside in 1S39, and his remains lie buried in the old and neglected Montebello cemetery, on the high bluft' overlooking the rapids, and not far from the residence of the family.

James Miller - Resided somewhere along the rapids; place of nativity or other antecedents unknown. Emigrated to Warren county about 1832, thence to Texas, and finallj' to Oregon.

Davidson H'lbhard. - This gentleman resided on the bluflf just below Commerce, where he had a farm, part of which was finally swallowed up by the encroachments of the city of Nauvoo. For tlie main portion of the account which follows, we are indebted to his grand-son, Wm. D. Hibbard, Esq., of Nauvoo. The exact date of Mr. Hibbard's emigration to the county is not recollected. He was born in New Hampshire in 1780, aiift married in Maine, in 1816, to Miss Sarah Tiltou. They were the parents of five children, - one son and four daughters. He remained on the place where he settled until his death, which occurred in the fall of 1852, in the 67th year of his age. His widow is yet living (1879) at the advanced age of 86, but has'been an invalid for several years.

There was but one other white family within several miles, when Mr. Hibbard first settled in the county, which was that of Captain James White, heretofore mentioned. For a number of years they were compelled to go to Crooked creek in Schujder county, to mill. There were many Indians in the neighborhood (Sacs and Foxes), with whom he dealt and maintained uninterrupted friendship. He was well acquainted with Black Hawk and Keokuk, both of wliom were present at a double wedding of his two daughters, one of them marrying a son of Capt. White, and the other a Mr. Waggon ner.

the depredations of the thieves associated with that sect, as they stole ahnost all the movable property he had; at one time even driving oflF a drove of fat hogs he had fed for market; and so adroitly did they execute their\vork, that not a trace of them could be discovered.

Mr. Hibbard was ingenious and enterprising, and was an efficient -vrorkman in either wood or stone; could make almost anything from a violin to a wagon, and thus did he appear to be well fitted for a frontiersman. He built the first stone house that was put up in Nauvoo, which is still standing, the masonry being apparently as good as when built.

Mr. II. was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was highly respected by the members of iiis lodge, as he was by all who knew him; and the old settlers who knew him yet respect his memory and speak of his virtues and intelligence. At the time of his death he was possessed of considerable property.

Samuel Gooch - ^Residence somewhere along the rapids - removed in early times to some point north of Carthage, and afterwards to Fort" Madison, Iowa, wliere he made a claim. Died about 1832.

Edward White. - Mr. White resided on the Mississippi, above Commerce, in Appanoose township. In the earlier j-ears he was engaged with Capt. James "White in his keel-boating business, and afterward, in 1832, in connection with his son-in-law, Mr. Amzi Doolittle, established a ferry, crossing the river at or near Fort Madison, and in July, 1836, laid out the town of Appanoose. Of his antecedents littlens known, excepting tliat he came from Ohio.

Hugh Wilson. - From his son, Mr. James Wilson, a respected citizen of Sonora township, we gather the following particulars of the life of this, one of the early settlers ot the county-. A Kentuckian by birth, he had resided some time in Tennessee, where he married a Miss Susan Skiles, before he came to Illinois. He removed with his family to Schuyler county in 1825, and to Hancock in 1827, and settled near Ijie head of the rapids. The log cabin he built for his residence was about the third or fourth one in that vicinity. Mr. W. only remained in the county for a few years; in 1833 removed across the Mississippi to the vicinity of Fort Madison, which was then a part of Michigan. There he resided till his death in 1847 or '48. Some of his children still reside in that vicinity. Mrs. Wilson died about ten years after her husband.

The story of Mr. Wilson's experience on the prairie during the great storm of 1830, in which his neighbo.' and companion met such a tragical fate, will be found on another page.

Horace B. Whitney - Was the son of Luther Whitney, and brother to Sheriff Whitney. Died in 1835, as appears on records of Probate Court of June in that year.

John R Wdcod\ - This gentleman was a Major among the officers at the fort, and settled at tlie place after the fort was evacuated in 1824. For furtlier particulars concerning him, see biography of his son, Dr. Lewis Wilcox, of Warsaw.

Edward Robertson. - No account of this juror can be obtained. Ilis name also appears on the jury list for the spring term of 1830, and then disappears from the records, as he doubtless did from the county.

Samuel Brierly. - Was married to a daughter of Dr. Isaac Galland, and was for a time associated with the Doctor in selling goods at Commerce. About 1840 he removed to the other side of the river.

James Brierly.- - An elder brother to the above had emigrated to the EEalf-Breed tract, across the river, previous to 1837, and resided at that date about four miles below Fort Des Moines (now Montrose). He was a candidate and elected once, if not oftener, to the Territorial Legislature. They both left Lee county 25 or 30 years ago, and settled in Buchanan county. Mo.' There James became an active Union man, and was elected as snchto the Missouri Legislature. The other died some years since in or near St. Joseph. Thomas, a younger brother, went into steamboating on the Missouri, became rich, ran a packet between St. Louis and St. Joseph; and finally, with a fine boat of wliich he was one-third owner, ran the blockade during the Eebellion to join the rebels; the boat was finally burnt in the Yazoo river, to prevent her falling into the hands of the Union troops; and he, reduced to poverty, died at the south.

Aaron Harding - And all resided iu the same vicinity. Green Harding, a present resident there, is a relative of the family, to whom we made application for information, but without success.

Richard Chaney - Resided near the mouth of the stream known as Chaney creek, and from whom it derived its name. Mr. Chaney was said to have been a native of Prince George's county, Maryland, born in sight of the ''Federal city." The date of his emigration to the county is not known. About 1833 he removed to, and settled in Fort Madison, and was among its earliest inhabitants. Has since kept a hotel at Iowa city.

Benjamin T. Tungate - Resided in the vicinity of Chaney creek, and removed up the Oes Moines river as early as 1836. He took out the second marriage license and was married to Deborah Flint, another early settler, October 17, 1829.

botli jury lists for 1S30. He is said to have emigrated West about 1834, by some of the old settlers; while others think he was the Harper "who met his tate in company with Hugh Wilson in the great snow storm. (See another chapter.)

Charles Iiobiso}i - Was born in Western New York about 1773. He came West in 1823 to the Wabash country, thence to Sangamon county, where he remained till the spring or summer of 1829, when he came to Hancock county and settled at the mouth ofLarry's creek, near the line between Montebello and Sonoma townships. At this place he continued to reside until the Mormon period, when he left the State, settling at West Point, Lee county, la. There he continued to reside till his death.

Mr. Kobison was a minister, we believe, of the Baptist Church, and labored in that field with good acceptance among the people, to whom he became widely- known. He had several children; one son, Chauncey, now resides in Appanoose. One or more of the sons joined the Mormons and went away with them to Salt Lake. His daughtei', Eliza, was the legal wife of Gen. Daniel H. Wells, one of the chief magnates now of Salt Lake, but from whom she separated and refused to go with him, because he declined to renounce the Spiritual Wife doctrine, at that time being inculcated at Nauvoo. He is stated to have supplied her place, however, with several others. She now resides in Burlington, Iowa.

Patrick Moffit. - -Li this name, the generally correct Clerk, Williams, has made a mistake, as there was no Patrick among the the pioneer MofEts of the county. James, John and Thomas were the three Moffits who originally settled in the vicinity of Yenus, at the head of the rapids. James and John (dietant relatives of the present James, junior, now residing in Sonora, from whom we obtain this information), were born in Ireland, county of Sligo, and came to America about 1818, single men. They located at an early day in Madison county, near Alton, but soon afterwards went to the lead mines near Galena, then the great center of attraction and speculation at the West. From the lead mines they went back East, to Central New York, and after a stay of a year or two, returned to Illinois and settled on the rapids, in what is now Sonora township. The lands on which they settled were afterward purchased when they came into market, at the Quincy land-office. This settlement was made about 1827 or '28. James died Sept. 18,1868; John had died many years before.

That the above-named Patrick Moffit was intended for one of these, is the more evident from the fact that the name occurs no where else in the early records; while James and John both appear on the jury lists for each term in 1830. Thomas, the third of the trio, did not come to the county till 1830.

William Wallace - Resided on the place on the rapids bluff, below Venus, afterwards occupied by Roger Hibbard. He soon left for Warren county.

sketches of the count}') - Was one oftliose M'ho '- left liis country for his country's good," heino; tlie individual who has the reputation oflieiiiir Hancock conuty^s first imirderer/ He stands charged with killing a Mr. ^loore, during court, on the rapids, in 1832. Resided in what is now Sonora township, and was an emigrant from Ohio. He was arrested, and tliere being no jail in the county, he was taken to Qnincv for imprisonment. There he broke jail, and was never more heard of

Abraham Moore - The victim of Hankin's murder, resided on the rapids. Cause of the murder, an old grudge; said to have been neighliors in Ohio.

Peter Williams - Resided near Fort Edwards, and was without doubt one of Hancock's very earliest settlers. He was here when it was a part of Pike, and was licensed to keep a ferry at the fort by the Pike authorities in 1825. A correspondent informs us that Mr. Williams stated to him that he resided at the fort when the first steamboat ascended the river [doubtful], and that " he thought the destroying angel had come " - not one of the " Destroying Angels " that were afterward so notorious at ISTauvoo. What the year was we are not able to say. AVe have heard Mr. W. mentioned as a minister of the gospel, but whether attached to any denomination we cannot say.

In 1832, he, with others, made claims in Fort Madison, Iowa; and in 1833, says our correspondent, "his cabin and that of Richard Clianey, with the two chimneys of the old fort, were the improvements of Fort Madison."

Daniel Yan BurMoe - Resided near Venus.; no further account of him, excepting that there was a Yan Burkloe residing in the neighborhood after the Mormons came.

Avizi Doolittle. - At the time of his death, which occurred in 1878, Mr. D. was the only remaining member of the first juries, and the last man but one of the 66 men who set the wheels of government in motion in the county. He was an active business man during the whole period of more than half a century of civilization. He was a native of Madison county, N. Y., and was born June 16, 1803. He came to this county in 1827, from Schuyler, where, and in Sangamon, lie had resided about six years, having emigrated to the State at the age of 18. -

Mr. Doolittle's first wife was a daughter of Mr. Edward White, heretofore mentioned in this list of jurors. She died in 1845, and in 1846 he was married again to Mrs. Sarah M. Wallace, who is still living. In September, 1832, Mr. D., in conjunction with his father-in-law, was licensed to establish a ferry at Appanoose, and in July, 1836, the sameparties laid out the town of Appanoose, named after an Indian chief well known at that time. It is remembered that a steam ferry-boat belonging to this company was disabled in a storm, or in the ice, near Nauvoo, early in the

Mormon period, and left over night; the next day, on going to- it, its owners found it stripped of everything that could be carried away - even to the lighter parts of its machinery stolen.

Hezekiah Spillman. - T\i\s gentleman was also an Adams county juryman in 1825. At what time he came to the county, or where from, we cannot ascertain. He died many years ago. He resided at what was known as Spillman's Lauding, on the Mississippi, in the north part of the county.

Richard Dunn. - This gentleman was son-in-law to Mr. Hugh Wilson, and, it is supposed, left the county at the same time, and died at or near Fort Madison.

native of New York, who resided at or near where Pontoosuc now stands. From his native State he emigrated to Ohio, thence to Morgan county. 111., and thence to Hancock. He died about 1842, on his way to Texas. Messrs. White and Doolittle, Hezekiah Spillman and Mr. Yaple were probably four of the earliest settlers in the county, above the head of the rapids. Warren, born in Morgan, and James M. and Oscar, born in Hancock, are his three sons.

Mrs. Warren Yaple, residing near Adrian, in Rock Creek townshio, from whom we obtain these facts, relates the following incident, as occurring soon alter settling in this c6unty: The Indians were plentiful in those days along the river; and one day a squaw brought her own pappoose to the Yaple cabin, and taking the white child from its cradle unobserved, deposited her own in its place, and was making off with it. The exchange was discovered in time; she was followed, and each babe restored to its rightful mother. On being questioned as to her reasons for doing it, she said she wanted a white pappoose!

SamUel Bell - Was a resident somewhere along the rapids, was with Capt. White in the keel-boating, and is believed to have died of cholera about 1832.

Eeuben Brattan, John Sykes, Abijah Wilson, Abdiel Parsons, Charles Smith. Nathaniel Kennedy, John Campbell, Ralph Raburn, Thomas Safly, Arthur Parrin, Joseph P. Punyear, - eleven others belonging to the first juries, - we cannot trace. Some of them are remembered by old settlers, but whence they came or what became of them is left to conjecture.

The foregoing includes all the names of citizens of the county that appear on the records as residents at date of organization, August 4, 1829. That there were a few others has been made evident in the course of our inquiries; although for a time it seemed pretty certain that all the adult males had been pressed into active service at the very fij-st session of the County Commissioners' Court. Such of those not named in these lists, as can be ascertained, will be noticed hereafter.