Madison County, Illinois - Chapter 9: Civil History, 1882 (part 3 of 4)

spring from a desire to benefit their fellow-beings. They do believe that patriotism and benevolence are the moving principles that have induced them to lay before you this petition. In proof of this, they appeal to its nature and spirit. What is it that they ask ? It is that the floodgates of dissipation may be closed - that the highway to destruction may be blocked up - that the avenues of vice may be stopped - that the seeds of disease and death be blasted - that the foundations of pollution and wickedness may be cleansed - that the causes of contention and strife may be removed - that the drafts on reason and common sense may be protected - that the sorrows of the widow's heart may be soothed - that the wife's distracting anxiety may be alleviated - that the nakedness of the children may be covered - that peace may take the place of tumult - order of confusion - virue of vice. These are the things that they ask ; and they appeal to your honors as men possessing a perfect knowledge of the existence and cause of these evils, whether their request is not a reasonable one - if it is, ought it not to be granted? Is there one weighty reason why it should not be? Your petitioners are fully of the opinion that there is not. They do not believe that the trifling sum that annually accrues to the count)' treasury from the avails of licenses to sell spirits ought to have any influence in deciding, even upon the expediency of granting this petition, when all experience testifies, that a license to retail spirits is nothing less than a license to fit men for acts of desperation and violence; they cannot perceive any consistency in those measures which, in the first place, impose a severe penalty on the transgressors of the law, and then, for a few shillings, authorize the existence of a grogshop, whose sole business it is to dethrone reason and to drive the unhappy victims to trample under foot all law. If the object of granting licenses is confined to the raising of revenue, your petitioners are decidedly of the opinion that it is the worst po.ssible scheme for accomplishing this object that could have been devised. They do not believe that the county could ever be made rich by such means ; but, on the contrary, they do believe that it is the surest and quickest way of bringing upon us poverty with all its evils. They believe that the tendency of grogshops is to produce pauperism, and that ten times the amount received from licenses in the county would not defray the expenses of the paupers that may be manufactured in one year by a single grog shop. Your petitioners think that it would not be difficult for them to prove, that whereever these nurseries of vice exist, they do operate as a burdensome and oppressive tax upon the community, and that this tax is very unequally borne. That, in consequence of crimes committed against the laws of the state, which have their origin in scenes of dissipation, they are called upon as peace officers, or good citizens, to attend long, tedious trials before a court, and freciuently without compensation for time lost or money expended.

These are not imaginary grievances but real, your petitioners have felt them and will continue to as long as whiskey can be had at every corner of their streets, at all hours of the day and night by any one who can command a sixpence, be he drunk or be he sober. But setting aside the consideration of profit or loss there is one view of the subject to which more particularly they wish to draw your attention, and that is, the pernicious influence that is exerted by a grog shop jwpulation to break down and destroy the principles of morality and religion in their immediate neighborhood. Whoever saw a man fresh from his cups with a heart glowing with love to God and good will to man ? Whoever heard of the accomplishment or happy progress of any scheme for bettering the condition of the world, either by penetrating the darkness of pagan superstition opening to the mind the beauties of the gospel or instructing the rising generation in those principles that are best adapted to their circumstances as moral and accountable beings, that had its origin in a community of tipplers? But on the contrary who has not witnessed the contemptuoj-is sneer, the fiend-like rage of the grog shop haunter, when subjects of this character are introduced in his presence. Intemperance is a vice that seldom, if ever, goes single handed ; it is invariably attended by a host of others. In such a community the children are daily witnessing the grossest and most wicked violations of those precepts, that they have been taught as coming from the Creator, and designed for their good, the tendency of which is to familiarize their minds with sin and thus early learn to tread its thorny paths. That the existence of dram-shops in a community, but more especially in one made up of laboring men, does operate to counteract the exertions of benevolent enterprise is a truth not to be denied ; that they are not unfrequently the scenes of discord and contention, and that where they are the most numerous these scenes are of most frequent occurrence, are truths acknowledged by all. Why then suffer them to exist ? Why not banish them at once and rid us of an evil that is so destructive to all that is desirable. Your petitioners feel that now is the time for action, and that much is depending on the result of this effort in relation to the character their village is to sustain. They feel the importance of laying the foxnidations of their villar/e on temperance principles from the consideration that it is much easier to prevent evils than to remove them, when once incorporated into the habits of society. They therefore pray your Honors that this their petition be granted.

The court ordered the above petition to be placed on file, where it remained for fifty years. The penmanship of the petition is splendid, and seems to have been the work of either D. A. Spaulding, Mark Pearson or Hail Mason. The Altonians were undoubtedly displeased with the disposal made of their eloquent petition of February 23, 1832, and now on the 7th of May, 1832 they reported to the county authorities that they had incorporated their town. This document was made a matter of record ; it says :

At a meeting of the citizens of Alton held this day at the Union Hotel for the purpose of taking the sense of the inhabitants in relation to incorporating the town, Stephen Griggs was chosen president of the meeting and W. S. Gilman appointed clerk.

The officers were duly sworn, and having ascertained that the town contained over one hundred and fifty inhabitants, and that ten days previous public notice of this meeting had been given according to law, they received the following votes :

The names of Alton and Upper Alton were officially recognized soon after, as the old precinct of Greenfield was subdivided into two election districts, March 1833, to be called Alton and Upper Alton. The " poll " for the former was located at the house of Andrew Miller.

The election of 1834 gave to Cyrus Edwards a seat in the state senate, in place of Joseph Conway, and sent Nathaniel Buckmaster and Jesse B. Thomas, jr., to the house of representatives. Thomas G. Lofton was chosen sheriff, and James Wilson coroner. Madison county had since 1^533 formed a part of the first congressional district, and was represented by Charles Slade of Clinton county.

Eleventh Board 1834-1836

A special election was held in October 1834 to elect a member of congress in place of Charles Slade, who on his way home from Washington had fallen a victim to cholera, then raging through the United States. Governor Reynolds was elected to fill this vacancy, and reelected at the congressional election in November following, for a full term in the 24th congress, 1835 to 1837.

Nathaniel Buckmaster, who had been sheriff since 1822, made final settlement at the June term and was allowed $44.5.50 " back " pay in full of his fees for serving notices to road supervisors, grand and petit jurors and judges of election during those 12 years - Jurors received a compen-

The couuty revenue of the year 1835, was 84,262.86 and the expenditures amounted to 84 079.40, of which 81,163, 60 had been paid towards supporting paupers. The balance reported in treasury in 1834 is not mentioned.

James Wilson, coroner, was appointed sheriff' in place of T. G. Lofton, resigned June 10, 1836. Ordered by the court that the county be kid off into ten electioa precincts, to be called Edwardsville, Collinsville, Marine, Sugar Creek, Silver Creek, Cahokia Creek, Monticello, Alton, Upper Alton and Six Mile.

The first stone bridge built in the county, across Shield's branch, was contracted for, Alton to pay 81000, and the county 8500. - 1836. July 23. Joseph Conway, former clerk of this court, presented a claim of $489.67i " back" pay, but was refused and told that he had received 830.00 per annum ex-ofBcio salary, and that the county was not responsible for work he had done for |)rivate individuals.

August 1836. Elected John Hagau, James Temple and Robert Smith members of the house of representatives, Nathaniel Buckmaster sheriff, and Robert Aldrick, Abel Moore and S. W. Robbins, county commissioners.

Twelfth Board-1836-1838

The era of bridge building was inaugurated by this board, who at said term, ordered a substantial bridge to be erected across Wood river at Milton. This bridge was built by Samuel Grub, and completed in December 1837 at an expense of 85,125.00. It should be born in mind that the total revenue of 1837 amounted to but 65579.47.

The clerk was ordered to pay into the treasury all amounts received by this court and its predecessors. From this order it would appear, that balances due by outgoing treasurers had been paid into court instead of to the incoming treasurers. The amount paid over in consequence of the above order was stated to have been 81,205.25.

The tavern rates were raised during this administration to twice the amount previously fixed ; a meal cost now fifty cents, and half a pint of whiskey, twenty-five cents.

William T. Brown was elected county clerk, William Ogle trea.«urer, John T Lusk school commis.sioner, and Benaiah Robinson surveyor, - at the August elections, 1837.

A financial transaction of some magnitude, considering the resources of the county, took place during this administration. The State legislature had, by law, located the State penitentiary at Alton, in accordance with an act passed some ten years previously, by which Shadrach Bond, W. P. McKee and Gershom Jayue had been appointed commissioners to select a suitable place on the Mississippi river at or near Alton, for a site. The county seems either to have promised a bonus of 85,000 as a subvention, or to have pledged the faith and credit of the county for the payment of that amount by others. Among the files of the ounty, the writer found two drafts, one for 83,000, dated iMay 26, 1837, and the other for 82,000, dated August - , 1837. The phraseology of these drafts is peculiar, as will be seen from the following:

Five days after demand, pay to the order of George Smith, Samuel C. Price and J, R. Wood, inspectors of the penitentiary, three thousand dollars, with ten per cent, interest per annum from the date hereof until paid - payable at the Branch of the State Bank of Illinois at Alton, and a notice in writing left by the holders hereof with the teller of said bank shall be deemed sufficient notice and demand of payment, - being on account of Madison county bond.

A marginal remark contains the following, written in red ink : " Demanded payment at Alton Branch, Bank of Illinois, November 21st, 1838; payment refused by a clerk."

The draft was formally protested on the 29th of November, 1838, before John H. Sparr, notary public, at the reque.st of the Branch of State Bank of Illinois at Alton, and holder of the original acceptance, who exhibited said bill or acceptance at the counter of the Alton Branch of State Bank of Illinois and demanded payment thereof, whereui.to the answer was made through a clerk of said Branch Bank that said acceptance could not be paid, as funds for that purpose had not been furnished.

The protest papers contain on the reverse side the following words written in lead pencil: "Ask Sparr if at any time since demand, funds have been provided for the payment of said draft - Ask if demand was made, also by whom " - and : Jones -

Action or no action, the county, nevertheless, paid the full amount, interest included, by issuing county orders, amountingin the aggregate to 85,666.67, at the September term, 1839-,. payable to the inspectors of the penitentiary, and bearing ten per cent, annual interest from date of issue until paid. These orders were paid during E. >I. West's term of office as treasurer of the county, and it appears that the fixst payment, to wit: 8100 00, was made on the 12th of September,. 1839, and the last, being the thirtieth, $525.00, on. thfi lOtln

But, to return to our subject matter: in June, 1838, the old precinct name of " Cahokia," liiie the beautiful designation of " Gosheu " heretofore, was now blotted out, Swett's Prairie having been substituted for it. Sugar Creek was changed into Highland, and a new precinct, "Madison," organized north of Six-mile.

The result of the August election of 1838 was as fallows : George Churchill, State Senator ; William Ottvrell, George Smith and Robert Smith, members of the House; John Adams, Sheriff; Henry P. Rundall, Coroner, and Hiram Arthur, Edmund Fruit and Thomas J. Waddle, County Commissioners.

Thirteenth Board, 1838-39

The tenure of office of County Commissioners was changed by act of the Tenth General Assembly. The Commiseioners elected in August 1838 were to hold their terms for one, two and three years severally, as determined by lot. Hiram Arthur through the three years, Edmund Fruit the two years, and Thomas Waddle the one year's term.

Ex-Sheriff Buckmaster was represented to the court to be in default with the County revenue to the amount of S2598.75. An investigation was held before the court, who thereupon entered judgment against Buckmaster for $751.29 due and S 168.78 penalty.

A new town named Fitz James is mentioned in connection with a grocery license granted to one Alexander Shaffer. Fitz James is the present Grant Fork in Saline township. Highland is mentioned also for the first time as a town in T. 3-5, and John Zimmermann and Moritz Huegy were licensed to keep taverns, because, the court says, they are respectable men, and will probably keep orderly houses The court divided the county into nine assessors' districts^ with Thomas Gillham, Ebenezer Huntington, Daniel A. Lanterman, Erastus Wheeler, Joseph Bartlett, Kobert Aldrich, Abel Olive, J. L. Ferguson and James Reynolds, as Assessors. Fragments of their returns, made in June, l.'*39, are still in existence, but the writer found it impossible to compile any interesting or reliable information from them. The County paid §181. 00 for the work, of which Huntington drew $48.00, the largest amount paid, while Robert Aldrich contented himself with $8 00.

Lands were no longer classed as of first, second and third quality, but assessed according to actual value. The revenue of the year was collected by John C Dugger, ap. pointed by the court, as the law required. Dugger reported to have collected in taxes $4135.71 ; in merchants' licenses, $175.75 ; in tavern licenses, $31200 ; fines, 41.00, and in jury and docket fees, $118.00 - total $4781.86. The County expenditures were - County officials, $1214.40 ; roads and bridges, $1464.25; paupers, $982.04; courts, jurors and stationery, 539.50 ; jail, court-house and prisoners, $319.62; .sundries, $2.00, and to Joseph Conway, ex-clerk, $406.63. Wr. Conway had taken an appeal on his case, and received now his -' back" pay, although the court had previously paid him $3). 01 per annum for his official work. E Ivvardsville was made a road district, because the town trustees had resigned in body and given up the corporate powers and privileges of the old town, and Isaac Prickett was put in charge of affairs as " supervisor."

The election of 1839 returned the following County officers, to wit : - David Smith, Commis.sioner ; W. TBrown. County plerk ;'T?^dward M. West, Treasurer; J. T. Lusk, Recorder >Benaiah Robinson, Surveyor, and Matthew Gillespie, Probate Judge - Recorders, Surveyors and Probate Judge.shad until then been appointed, not elected.

The names of the justices of the peace, whose offices were made elective in 1827, elected at the various periods of time, will be found alphabetically arranged at the close of this chapter to the period from 1819 to 1849.

Fourteenth Board, 1839-40

William Ogle, who had been Treasurer of the County since March, 1837, came forward at the first term of this court, September, 1839. Mr. Ogle was the first Treasurer of Madison County, who kept a treasurer's account book. The book is- still in existence, and is labeled, ''County Treasurer's Record, Vol. 1."

September Teem, A. D., 1839

The undersigned makes a final report of his actings as Treasurer of Madison County, showing the whole amount of moneys paid into the Treasury, as also the total amount paid out.

This report is introduced here, because it is the oldest found on file, and because it is also, in all probability, the first one filed, as no Treasurer's account books had been kept previously. Another reason for introducing it was its laconic style and want of detail. It reminds the writer of an amusing incident in the life of the famous rider - General Bltiecher, the deadliest enemy of Napuleon. Bluecher, a splendid and dashing trooper, was a wretched scholar. His king had sent hira once as military governor to Hamburg. At the end of the year the general reported to the Home Government: I have received so and so many dollars in public funds, and have paid out so and so many dollars on public accounts, leaving a balance of so and so many cents." The treasury people in Berlin refused to accept this report and returned it for itemizing, demanding vouchers besides. Bluecher copied his first report without changing a letter. It came back, of course, and this time with a reprimand. The old warrior grew furious, and when the report went to Berlin a third time, it contained the following marginal remark : " I have stated facts as they are ; whoever says that they are not correct is a scoundrel, and my name is Bluecher." This ended the controversy.

Wdliam Ogle's report would not have passed muster at Berlin, but then we are not living in old fossiled monarchies, ours is a grand Republic.

The County finances commenced to attract the attention of men in various parts of the country. Representative George Smith, of Upper Alton, called by letter of Sept. 3,

1839, the attention of the County Court to the 21st section of the revenue law, which section provided that the collector should pay in the Treasury monthly all ta.xes collected by him. The Treasurer's account book of 1839 and subsequent years up to 1849, prove that the Board acted upon Mr. Smitii's suggestion.

In January, 1840, the citizens of Alton refused to pay the County Tax, claiming ihat their city charter exempted them from paying this tax. The court submitted the matter to His Honor Judge Breese, who sustained the Alton claim.

1840. The assessors of the county report the total value of all taxable pr.)perty in the county to have been 33,284,.549, and the collector reported that he had failed to make collections on $43.5,940 worth of land, and $.53,810 worth of per- .=onal property, and that $44,5,664 worth of city property was exempt from paying a county t;ix. The county levied a tax of twenty-five cents on all property outside of Alton, and a special tax of fifteen cents on all property in the county. This special tax was intended for raising funds with which to pay the penitentiary orders.

In August, 1840, the following ofiicers were elected : Ephraim Harnsberger, county commissioner ; Andrew Miller, sheriff; Joseph Gillespie, Cyrus Edwards, and James Reynolds, members of the house of rej)resentatives, and II C. Caswell, coroner. The a.s.«essor's districts of the previous year were abolished, and Orren Meeker was appointed county assessor for the next year - 1841.

The collector's returns for the year 18-10, are ver}' accurately made out, and from them we were enabled to make the following correct extracts :

The real estate outside of Alton was valued at 8', 299,979, and the personal property owned in the county, outside of Alton, was assessed at $56o,4S7 - total property subject to county tax, $1,86-5,466. The real estate of Alton was valued at $621,010, and the personal property at $1.5.5,724, or $777,334 in the aggregate, value of all taxable property in the county in 1840, $2,(542,880. Mr. Duggcr further reported that he failed to collect eight per cent, of the taxes outside of Alton, and seventeen per cent of the taxes in the city limits. 1840 was a United States census year. The population reported in 1830-viz., 6,221, had more than doubled, and Madison ranked now in point of population aa the fourth of the eighty-seven organized counties of Illinois.

Morgan county led with a population of 19,1.54 ; Sangamon followed, with 14,716; Adams third, with 14,401, and then Madi-son, with 14,433. Cook county, with Chicago in embryo, had then scarcely 10,000 inhabitants.

The census reports 71 stores in the county with $464,575 invested - $6500 per store. 986 wagons and carriages had been manufactured during the year in the county, and their average value seems to have been about $32.00. The flour turned out by the mills was valued at $406,350. 296 dwelling-houses had been built during the year at an expense of $287 975. There were two tanneries in the county that turned out 1650 sides of leather, harnesses and saddles made in the county in 1839 were valued at $23,- 275 ; 3 distilleries turned 28.300 gallons of whiskey ; the products of lime kilns and brick yards were estimated to have been worth $17,200, and sundries, skins, etc., had brought $44 332.

All the wine made in the state, to wit : 471 gallons, was j niauufaetureil in ^ladison county. The census does not state in what part of the county vines were grown, nor what the stuff was worth per gallon. The writer has however, every reason to believe, that the quality was even inferior to the quantity.

Butchering and packing was carried on to a considera- : ble extent, in the entire state, to wit : Of the money used in that business §741.725 - §421.1)75 was invested in Alton alone, where over 5333 bjjves a:id nearly 53.033 hogs had been slaughtered during the preceding year.

Very little public business was transacted by this board ; the 51 road-districts of the county were reviewed, named according to the fancy of the court, but there is ijoth'ng remarkable about those names. The friends of Old Hickory bad one district named " Hermitage " with J. G. Smith as supervisor and Benaiab Gullick presided over " Egypt. "

The " Madison county ferry company " represented by William Gillham, applied for and oljtained license to establish a ferry at Venice and to north St- Louis. This company has grown into a powerful and wealthy corporation.

Another corporation, the Alton and Mt. Carmel railroad company commenced operations, but failed to come up to the great and wild expectations of the people. The schemes of internal improvements at the expenses of the state, resulted disastrously. Some 1300 miles of railroads were to be built throughout the state, besides other improvements, canals, &c-, and the carnival lasted as long as the state could borrow money. The state debt thus created amounted to about fifteen million of dollars. Instead of developing the grand resources of the state, as asserted on all the high- ways and by-ways, in all cities, towns and villages, a new financial misery was brought about by the planless and senseless measures of - let us say - enthusiasts The people of Madison county sufiered with the population of other counties, but they had no reason to complain, in as much as her leading men were as much carried away as others. It is not the province of the chronicler of a county sketch to branch off on this subject, and he returns to the county afl^airs.

Sixteenth Board. 1841-1S42

David Smith, Ephraim Harnsbegcr and Samuel Squire, commissioners. This board introduced a financial scheme of doubtful propriety by ordering the issuing of county orders, were to be used as money by various supervisors of roads in payment of improvements to be made. County orders siiould only be used in payment of commodities furnished to the county or of labor performed for the county, and upon vouchers properly and legally audited and allowed. The system introduced by the above board created a county debt, which it took years to cancel, as will be shown hereafter. It was, as the " enthusiasts on greenbacks" of abater day called it, " fiat money, "and looked i^o harmless and innocent in the beginning, but, as the appetite grew - and appetite will grow while good things appear before the eater - greater amounts had to be issued, until finally the orders lost their charm, and the purchasing power of this fiat dollar was reduced to but a fraction of the genuine dollar. The fractional dollars had to be paid by the taxpayers of the county in full and genuine dollars.

John C Dagger was succeeded in the office of county collector by John Cooper, appointed in 1842, and Isaac Cox took Orren Meeker's place as county assessor in the same year. The Madison county Ferry Company was relicensed in 1842, and its tax was raised from 810 to $50 per annum, from which fact the reader may judge with what success the enterprise was crowned.

The election of August, 1842, returned George Smith to the state senate, together with James A James, selected by the voters of Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties. Robert Aldrich, John Bailhache and Curtis Blakeman became members of the house of representatives, Andrew Miller, sheriff (was re-elected), H S. Surumers was made coroner, and James Webb took the place of David Smith in the board of county commissioners.

Seventeenth Boaed. 1812-43

Ephraim Harnsberger, Samuel Squire and James Webb, commissioners. This board organized a new precinct to be called " Looking-Glass," now St. Jacob, with the poll at W. H. Uzzel's, and with John Lindley, Stephen Hart and J. G. Anderson as the first judges of election.

Eighteenth Board. 1843-44

Samuel Squire, James Webb and J. G. Anderson, county commissioners. The county orders, the "fiat money" of 1841, had by this time depreciated, and orders were freely offered at from 25 to 35 per cent, discount, and the court, not being advised as to the amount of such orders afloat, ordered to fund them in amounts of §100, or its multiple, to bear 12 per cent, annual interest and to be paid after three years. Yes, "after!" The last of these orders was presented twenty-eight years later, in 1871, and the holder, the late H. K. Eaton, of this county, consented to take a 10 per cent, interest bearing bond in lieu of his 12 per cent, paper. The bond issued to Mr. Eaton, was, with others converted into G per cent, interest bonds iu 1877, and forms to this day a part of the indebtedness of Madison county. " Fiat" money is truly a grand institution. The 8100 of fiat money, which in 1843, had paid for about -870 worth of labor, has cost the county the following amounts in interest: 12 per cent, from 1848 to 1871, $336; 10 per cent from 1871 to 1877, 860, and 0 per cent, from 1877 to 1882, 830, aggregating §424 in interest, $100 to be paid yet, swelling the original $100, which was in fact worth only $70, to $524. The process of" funding " commenced on the 14th of March, 1843, and continued to June, 1855, during which time 626,- 900 of fiat money were converted into interest bearing bonds to be redeemed in specie. This was the result of the short, quiet, harmless, innocent order made September Gth,1841 - Ordered that S300 in county orders, of §5 each, payable to supervisors, to be used as money in payment for making a road through Wet prairie. The spirit of internal improvements had seized upon the people of the county to such a degree, that the court was beset from the first to the last day of its term with petitions to lay out new roads, etc., etc. The county surveyor, old Benaiah Robinson, grew weary of the work, the more so, as he had formed an idea, that many of those petitions were only presented to have certain men draw pay as viewers. He drew up the following amusing document, found among the vouchers of 1842, to wit :

"A little parley with the Cour^. - Should the court think it most prudent to put a stop to the road petitions and their consequent views, reports, etc , let the following method be adopted, which will insure success with less censure than any other, as the law appears in part to favor the plan : Let it be once determined that 75 cents a day in county orders, is all that will be given to chainmen and other necessarj' bauds, out of which they must pay their own fare ; and that the viewers shall have but $1.00 per day, whether they chain or not, out of which they must pay their way, or that the surveyor shall pay the whole bill of fare, whereever he may have to direct the hands for lodging or victualing. Either of these rules, it is believed, will greatly retard or put a stop to the present process of road manufacturing. And it will cause less complaint against the court than any other method that can be put in practice.

Unfavorable reports will not reach the case, new petitions will spring up like the fabled Hydra, changing, perhajw a little, routes formerly acted on, or new viewers will be asked for, whose opinions are known in advance, for the petitioners claim as great a share of wisdom as generally falls to the lot of viewers, and frequently they have the audacity to believe that they know as well where a good wagon road could be made as your humble surve3'or."

The valuation of taxable prDperty in the county was stated to be S2, 364,197, exclusive of Alton; a tax of 30 cents per 100 should have brought $7,092.60, but delinquencies now amounted to over twelve per cent, and the net tax was only $5,939.36.

The necessity of securing an asylum for the helpless paupers in the county, had becon^e apparent, and Judge G. \V. Prickett, volunteered to negotiate for James Ruggles' house as a temporary abode for the unfortunates. The house was to be furnished and put in readiness during January, 1844, and James Ruggles was appointed superintendent with a yearly salary of $250.00.

1844 - AUGUST election: George Barnsback, George Churchill and N. D. Strong, members of the house of representatives ; Andrew Miller, sheriff and ex-officio collector of revenue, and Samuel Squire couuty commissioner, (his 2d term).

Xineteexth Board 1844-45

This court became the recipient of a handsome donation made by Hon. George Barnsback, member of the house of representatives, accompanied by the following letter :

" Herewith I present you with the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars in auditor's warrants which I wish you to appropriate towards the relief of the poor of your county, in such a manner as you may deem the most proper. Your most obedient servant,

1845, ]\Iarch Term - Ordered that the thanks of the court be tendered to the Hon. George Barnsback, representative from this county in the legislature of Illinois for his munificent donation of $150.00 in auditor's warrants to the county of Madison, to be applied to the relief of the poor of said county, and that funds be appropriated as directed by the donor, in his communication to this court, upon the subject, which is ordered to be filed and preserved among the records of the county.

'^ E. M. West, having been appointed school commissioner in place of Daniel A. Lanterman, resigned, surrendered his ofiice as treasurer, to the board, whereupon Matthew Gillespie was appointed treasurer, March, 1845.

Twentieth Board 1845-40

December term, 1845. - The court appointed two of its members, J. G. Anderson and Samuel Squire and the surveyor B. Robinson a committee to adopt a plan of building a tew jail and to contract for the same. The support of the paupers in the poor house cost the county $800 in 1845, and complaint was made, that the pauper expenditures throughout the county were still very considerable. In 1846 the order in reference to contracting for a new jail is rescinded and another substituted to devise apian for enlarging the old jail. This plan is abandoned again, and in May, 1840, the coimty agents above mentioned contracted with Samuel Smith and Thomas McNeil for the building of a new jail. This indecision of the court was brought about by the usual clamor against public expenditures. The con- | tract called for a brick building, thirty-eight by twentyeight feet, outside measure, with stone foundation four feet below and one foot above the surface, and to be four feet thick. The walls of the first story to be double, thirteen inches thick, and one foot apart, in which space are to be inserted perpendicularly timbers twelve inches s(iuare and of the length of the story. The rest of the contract is in keeping with the introdudory lines, and it would appear impossible for inmates of one of the cells to break through. The contract price was $2,900, to be paid in county orders. The contractors gave bond, with E M. West, H. K. Eaton, J. T. Lusk, Matthew Gillespie and W. T. Brown sureties for faithful performance of work as called for in contract. The building is this day standing on the old court-house grounds and serves as a city prison building.

Joseph Gillespie, State Senator ; Curtis Blakeman, W. F. DeWolf and "William Martin, representatives, Andrew Miller, sheriff; T. Weed, coroner ; W. B. Reynolds, county commissioner, and H. K. Eaton, probate judge in place of Hon. G. W. Prickett, who had gone to fight the battlts of the United States on the fields of Mexico.

Samuel Squire, I. B. Randle and W. B. Reynolds, county commissioners. The building of the new jail was now in progress. W. T. Brown, H.K. Eaton and John H. Weir, who had been appointed a committee to superintend the building of said jail, reported January 8, 1847, as follows :

" That uuc'er the discretion allowed them they have made several alterations and changes from the original plan upon which said jail was to have been constructed. These changes were made by the committee after consultation among themselves, and are such as were deemed to be expedient and proper, and such as are believed to be an improvement upon the original plan for the construction of the jail ; all changes that had been made are without any additional charge to the county on the original contract except as to two items, one substituting a stone wall instead of a brick wall in the foundation which has already been examined into and acted upon by the court, and the other in causing the jail to be built eighteen inches higher than the contract required; this change was made necessary on account of particularly sized windows being required for the upper story, which could not be placed therein without leaving the same too near the floor or too near the eaves. For this additional work on the j)art of the contractors no price was agreed upon with the contractors, but the same was made with the express understanding, that the contractors should receive a reasonable price therefore, to be agreed upon between the contractors and this court. Most of the changes have been in the opinion of the committee, favorable to the contractors, still tiiey were made with the understanding that the contractors were to have the same pay as though the jail had been built according to the original contract and plan. The committee have not thought proper to name in this report all and every change that has been made for the reason that it would extend the report to a very great length, and would not explain to the court so satisfactorily the changes as a personal inspection of the building by the court, and a comparison thereof with the original plan now in the hands of the clerk. The committee further report that the work required by said contract of Messrs. Smith and McNeil has been completed by them according to the original plan and the changes that have been made, with this exception, that the floors of the cells and of the lower hall have not yet been laid, but the plank is now in the jail for the purpose, and it is supposed by the committee that the sum of fifteen dollars would be amply suflScient to have the same laid, when the plank becomes seasoned, for which purpose the laying thereof has been postponed. Should the court receive the job at the present term or before the floors are laid, the committee would suggest the propriety of taking the obligation of the contractors to have it properly laid when it shall be deemed that the plank is snfliciently seasoned.

The committee farther report, that they caused the contractors to put iron grates in the transom windows over the two doors below, and for which they will be entitled to a reasonable and fair extra price as these grates were omitted to be put in the original contracts. The jail was soon after '' received " and the contractors were paid an extra compensation of S440.00."

The friends of temperance at Upper Alton, prevailed on the court to make the following order : All applicants for license to sell ardent spirits must first produce a petition signed by a majority of the rendenia of the respective justice's district, where such a grocery is to be opened. This order was soon after so modified that in case a majority of the voters of any justice's district should file a remonstrance against granting licenses, then no such license should be granted.

The members of the court were leaning a little towards the keepers of dram shops and tipplers by putting all the labor of getting the signatures of the people on the other side. The citizens of Upper Alton, 220 in number, however, filed their solemn protest against granting liquor license in their town.

Election of 1847, John A. Prickett, recorder; Henry K. Eaton, probate judge ; E. M. West, school commissioner; Matthew Gillespie, treasurer and assessor, and James G. Anderson, county commissioner.

The state convention called by act of lej^islature for the purpo e of framing a new constitution, convened at Springfield, June 7, 1847; Madison county was represented by ''E. M. West, Cyrus Edwards, Benaiah Robinson and George T. Brown.

The labors of the delegates were completed by the 81st of August, 1847, and the proposed constitution was ratified, by the people at the special election of March 6, 1 848. Section 40 of article III of said constitution divided the state into 25 senatorial, and 54 representative districts. Madison and Clinton counties formed the Gth senatorial ; and Madison alone the 20th representative district, which district was entitled to two representatives.

Twenty-Second Board 1847-48

I. B. Randle, W. B. Reynolds and J. G. Anderson, county commissioners. J. G. Anderson died soon after his election ; he had attended but one term of the court.* At the October Special term of the board, the following entry was made on the county records :

" Whereas J. G. Anderson, Esq., one of the members of this court has since the last adjournment thereof (Sept. 11, 1847) departed this life. Therefore iu token of respect and regard for our deceased colleague and associate. Resolved, that while we bow with humble submissicm to the will of Heaven in the removal of our colleague from our midst; we deeply regret his untimely end ; that iu the death of James G. Anderson the county of Madison has lost an able, impartial and enegetic officer, and the community a valuable and worthy citizen ; that we deeply sympathize with the family and friends of the deceased in their bereavement ; that the clerk of this court forward to the family of the deceased a copy of these resolutions and also cause them to be published iu the newspapers of the county."

"By request of the Hon. County Commissioners, I hereby submit the following statistics of the Madison county poorhouse, in Edwardsville, from each establishment, January 1, 1844, to the present time, a period of 3 years and 2 mouths. There have been admitted into said house, and received medical treatment, since its establishment, 23 of intermittent and 17 of bilious fever, 15 of chills and fever, 13 of primary or secondary syphilis, 8 of pneumonia, 6 of congestive fever, 6 of typhus fever, 4 of fever sores, 4 of diarrha>a (the Dr. wrote diarea\ 4 of dropsy, 4 of paralysis, 4 of rheumatism, 3 of neuralgia, 3 of dyspepsia, 3 of scrofula, 2 of convulsions, 2 of ophthalmia, 2 of hypochondria, 1 of nasal hemorrhage, 1 of powder burn and 1 of cancer of the stomach ; in all 12C. Of these, 83 were males and 43 females, 72 were Americans,! 19 GermEm, 14Irish, 12 English, 4 Norwegians^ 3 Africans, 1 Swiss and 1 Italian. 15 were under ten years of age, 24 between the ages of ten and twenty year.s, 26 over twenty and under thirty, 19 over thirty and under forty, .25 over forty and under fifty, 12 over fifty and under sixty, and 5 over sixty years of age. Of the above, 15 have died ; 2 of pneumonia, 2 of congestive fever, 2 of dropsy, 2 of diarrhrea^ 2 of intermittent fever, 1 of syphilis, 1 of scrofula, 1 of cancer of the stomach, 1 of convulsion and 1 of paralysis. 104 have been discharged and 7 are at present under medical treatment in the house. Most of those who died were received into the house in the last stage of their disease, t In 1844 and lS4.i, in consequence of the inundation of the American bottom, several families were compelled to re.sort to the poor house, which very much increased the American paupers. Since January ] , 1846, there have been received into the poor house 22 foreigners and 17 American.s, which is about the usual average. J. il. w.

During the last year - March, 1846 to March, 1847 - forty-three different persons have found refuge in the poor house, some for a longer and some a shorter period, staying in all 249o days. The year average is therefore about 7. As far as I can ascertain, at least one-half of the whole number received into the poor house have been brought to th ir dependence directly or indirectly by intoxicating drinks.

There have been some complaints' in reference to the diet in the poor house, and here I deem it due to the superintendent to say that I have found it very difficult to restrain patients in a convalescent state from over eating, and thereby causing relapses. Many are not satisfied if they are not permitted to indulge freely in any article of food they desire. A bill of diet was made out two years ago, under the direction of the county commissioners and since sanctioned by the new commissioneri and to which the superintendent has strictly adhered, unless restricted by myself to patients under medical treatment, and as individuals are not permitted to remain at the house after they have recovered their health, there is, of course, but a short time that any one can be indulged in the free use of food with impuuitv, and I am confident this is the whole ground of complaint, and this too, for the ' best good ' of the inmates.

The old election precinct, known as Indian Creek precinct, had its name changed to Rattan's Prairie, with the poll at the " Bethel " school-house, and a new precinct had been organized from parts of Silver creek, under the name of White Rock, June, 1847. The county was, March, 1848, divided into fifty-niue road districts, officered as follows :

' During the same term the commissioners bought forty acres of land, near Edwardsville, from Cassius Heskett, for $350, intended for a poor-farm. The county levy for 1848 was forty cents per one hundred dollars of appraised values. The treasurer's account book of 1848 does not mention any revenue from taxation, while the records of the court state that the collector had paid county orders amounting to $3,900.54 into court- The financial affairs of the county were so much entangled that it was absolutely impossible for the writer to have elucidated a correct statement

The process of "funding" county orders payable to bearer - tiat money of Madison county - was going on, and thousands of dollars' worth of these orders were converted into twelve per cent, interest-bearing obligations.

William Tyler Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court. (The first clerk who held this office by election ; all predeceissors were to be appointed by the presiding judges of the court).

The labors of the board are now drawing to a close. The constitution of 1849 had abolished the board and substituted a county court, to be composed of a county judge, entrusted with the probate business of the county, and together with two associate justices, to conduct the county government. These officers were elected for terras of four years each. The county affairs were conducted by those county courts from December 1, 1849, to March 1, 1874.

Matthew Gillespie, for years treasurer and assessor of the county, resigned these offices on the 7th of April, 1849. His resignation is worded so pleasantly that it deserves a place in these pages :

" Gentlemen : I herewith resign the office of treasurer of Madison county, state of Illinois, and permit me, gentlemen to say, that I wish that peace and prosperity may attend the members of the court individually and collectively.

The county contained now (1849) sixteen election precincts, to wit: Edwardsville, Alton, Upper Alton, Monticello, Madison, Six Mill, Collin.sviIle, Troy, Looking Glass, Highland, Saline, jMarine, Silver Creek, Omph Ghent, Bethel, (formerly Indian creek and Rattan) and White Rock.

The revenue of 1848, collected in 1849, was not paid into the treasury; the sheriff converted all funds collected into county orders, which he paid into court direct. The taxes actually collected seem to have amounted to §7,728.38, and the treasurer reports to have received in fines and licenses $578.00. making a total of $8,306.38. The city of Alton contributed also $671-52, her share in the expenses of the county on account of elections and courts. The general impression, that Alton was exempt from helping to support the county government is not based on fact- Alton, it is true, paid no direct county tax, but the county board and the city council agreed annually on the proportional share of the expense to be borne and to be paid by Alton. The treasurer's accounts of the county bear witness that the sums of money so contributed by the city of Alton from 1849 to 1859, amounted in the aggregate to $9,236.59.

The county which, at the time of the adoption of the state organization in 1818, had a pojsulation of less than five thousand, had now at the adoption of the new constitution, a population of nearly twenty thousand inhabitants. The public expenses had increased with the population, or had perhaps exceeded it. The financial chaos in 1848 and 1849 had induced the county clerk to venture on an exploration trip through the books, papers and records from 1819 to 1849. The debt of the county was very burdensome, and people had become restive under the load. The clerk's (W. T. Brown's) work remained a fragment, and as such, the writer discovered it. The sheet of paper on which the following figures were written was not intended for an official communication, for it is neither dated, addressed nor signed. It merely states the amounts received and expended, without reference to sources, etc. We give an accurate copy, without additions, changes or corrections :

Tlie figures for 1S47 and 1848 liave been erased, and the then seems to have been abandoned. The additions would show a total income for those twenty-eight years of 8108,767.43, wliile the expenditures had amounted to $110,839 30, thus leaving a debt of only 62,071.88. The debt of the county was much greater, at any rate not less than §12,000. The figures above do not contain the amount of county orders issued and made payable to bearer, and hence the error. The thought that the " fiat " county order, which served as currency, was au expenditure, and ought to have been added to column of " paid out," never occurred to Brown, for how could money be a debt ?

The Courts From 1819 To 1849

The first constitution of Illinois made it the duty of the legislature, in the first place, to elect officers of the Supreme Court, who from that time until 1824, had to attend the courts of the judicial circuits. The first Judges chosen were Joseph Phillips, Chief Justice ; Thomas C. Browne, William P. Foster, and John Reynolds, Associates. Their election took place at Kaskaskia, on the 8th of October, 1818 - some two months before the Congress of the United States had passed on the constitutioti, under the stipulations of which that election had taken place.

May Term, 1819

The first grand jury convened in the county since the organization of the state, was composed of: John McKinney, foreman; Abraham Hyter, William ]\Ioutgomery, Matthias Handly, John Fiuley, Jacob Gonterman, Thomas Rattan, John Barber, Robert A. Clair, William Ogle, William Purviance, Joseph Eberman, Ephraim Wood, Joseph Barlett Abraham Preuitt, Joshua Armstrong, Joseph Borough, and Samuel Gilliiam.

The grand jury indicted a number of men for riot and assault and battery ; among the latter Hail Mason. Paris Mason, supervisor, was indicted for failing to work the road in his district. One Peter Yokum was indicted for larceny ; Jean Baptist Coran, a Canadian, was naturalized - having been living in Illinois since 1794.

October Term, 1819

Chief Justice, Joseph Phillips, on the Bench. David Blackwell officiated as prosecuting attorney iu the absence of the attorney general. Rowland P. Allen presided iu the grand jury room. George Sanders having been declared a lunatic " by the jury," his wife Hannah was appointed conservator ; the personal property of Sanders was appraised at 82,37600. Twelve indictments for assault and battery, and three for being a nuisance. Joshua Atwater was fined $100,00. La Fayette Collins was admitted to the bar.

February Special Term, 1820

Presided over by John Reynolds, was called on account of a number of robberies having recently been committed. Hail Mason was foreman of the grand jury ; George Letsinger was indicted for larceny, having stolen from one Ashly a linen shirt, valued at $3.00, a pair of woolen pants, worth $5.00, and a book, viz., the 2d volume of the history of England, by J. Bigland, valued at S5,00. All these articles, with the exception of the pantaloons, had been restored to Ashly. T. W. Smith defended Letsinger. His case was tried before a grand juiy composed of John Newman, Martin L. Lindsley, D.ivid Roach, Daniel Waggoner, Drury Rowland, Francis Colean, Angila Loe, Thomas Smith, Solomon Watts, William Jones, Samuel Seybold and Enoch Jones, and found guilty. The Court rendered its '' opinion " in the following language :

" It is the opinion of the Court, that the said George Letsinger receive thirty-one lashes on his bare back, well laid on. on Monday next, at 11 o'clock. It is therefore ordered by the Court that the sheriflT of Madison county cause the same to be executed on the public square, in the town of Edwardsville, on Jlonday next, at 11 o'clock."

Willian J. Crane and Henry Gears were tried at the same term of court for larceny. They had stolen from Philip and Elward C. Clark SSOO in United States notes, an alarm watch, worth S70, a " capped " watch worth $30, a common watch worth $28, another watch valued at $2.5, nine brasspocket compasses, worth $18, 8 do. valued at $12, and 10 magnets, worth $7.50, 10 magnifying glasses, worth $5. The watches and the money had been restored to the owners. The defendants were found guilty, and the "opinion" of the court was as above, thirty-one lashes, each, on the bare back, and well laid on.

May Term, 1820

Joseph Phillips, Chief Justice, presiding. Grand jury returned 39 cases of assault and battery. The usual fine in such cases was $3 00 - in exceptional cases $25, $50, and even $100, had to be paid. Ralph Day, who plead guilty to the charge of assault and battery, was let down very easy - his fine was only 6} cents. A case of fornication presented at this term - the first one in the county, was immediately »io^ 7jros. There were two cases of selling liquor without license. - R. G. Anderson was tried and acquitted, and Xatlian Daniel, the other offender, noL pros. William Bidger had whipped Henry Hay, John Wilson and John Switzer - his fine was heavy, $105.00. George Letsiuger, the pantaloon thief of February term, was indicted this time for whipping John Shane; fined $5.00, and given tea days time to pay fine and cost, and if not paid within that time, the sheriff was ordered to sell him, or hire him to the service of any person who would pay fine and costs ; the term of servitude was not to exceed four months. George went to jail, of course, and as he coulJ not, and would not pay the fine, the sheriff executed the order of court. He advertised and offered George for sale, but failed to sell for want of bidders, as stated iu his return. The expenses of the proceeding - $5 07, were paid by the county in 1821; - the voucher is still in existence. Field Bradshaw was another fighter; John T. Lusk held an inquest over his body on the loth day of February, 1821, without stating ho v Field came to his death. This inquest cost the couuty $13 50.

Among the thirty-nine fighters mentioned above we find the Hon. Theophilus W. Smith, and also David Gillespie, the father of Hon. Joseph Gillespie. The latter had his case tried before a jury comprised of Thomas Gillham - the man that sported a fur hat worth $5.00 and a pair of silver kneebuckles - Jacob Gouterman, Thomas Reynolds, William Moore, George Kinder, Andrew Turner. HezekialiL. Harris, Jesse Waddle, Joseph B. Tays, Henry Hays, Thomas Cox and John Davidson, who found him guilty, and fined him $5.00. Theophilus threw himself upon the mercy of the court and got off" with a nominal fine of 12i cents. Judge Reynolds presided at the next term - October, lb20 when the first divorce case, Polly Bowles vs Matthew Bowles, was tried by the following jury; Matthias Handly, Isaac Furguson, John Harris, Henry Blanfbrd, John Giger, Ira Bacon, George Barnsback, Abraham Howard, Samuel Delaplain, Alexander Cawley, James Cray and John Wallace.

It was proved that Matthew had a wife living in Kentucky when he married Polly. Divorce was granted and Matthew ordered to give up to Polly all property obtained through her ; - no fine or other punishment inflicted.

Judge Reynolds presided also at the April and September terms 1821 and 1822. There is nothing of interest to be related, except that W. L. May was indicted for burglary and Jeptha Lampkins for kidnapping, and that James Foley, who had stolen a shovel from Augustus Anson, and Benjaman Roe, who bad stolen $15.00 state paper worth $6.90 iu specie, from James Love were publicly whipped by Nathaniel Buckmaster, sheriflT, and successor of W. B Whiteside. Each received 15 lashes on bare back, and well laid on.

Iu March 1833, Hon. Thomas C. Reynolds, chief justice since August 31st, 1822, presided. One Jacob Stump was convicted of larceny and sentenced to 25 lashes, and Charles, a negro, also larceny, to 35 lashes. His case was re-considered on, the court saying : The court not having been fully advised of the statute authorizing punishment in such cases, do re-consider the sentence passed ou said defendant, whereupon it is considered and ordered by the court that the sheriff defer executing the said sentence until one o'clock p. M. on Monday next, and that the said defendant be whipped /ci»<</ lashes instead of thirty-five. - Barbarous !

The September term 1 823 - presided over by Judge John Reynolds, with Thomas Lippincott as foreman of the grandjury brought several cases of interest, amongst which that of William Parkinson, indicted for forgery, created quite a sensation. Even Twiss was indicted for perjury and Jeptha Lamkins for kidnapping. A number of men were indicted for vagrftncy, several for nuisance and 21 for fighting. September term 1823 was of no, interest. It was soon after succeeded by a special term, held in January, 1824, to try the first murder case in the county. The particulars of this case were as follows :

Trial And Execution Of Eliphalet Green

A murder, committed on Christmas Eve 1823, had been the cause of great excitement. Eliphalet Green, a laborer at Abel Moore's distillery on Wood river, had a quarrel with one William Wright, also in the employment of Abel JVIoore. Duriug this quarrel, which ended in a fist fight. Green was badly beaten. Half-witted, as he was represented to have been, he became furiously enraged, got his gun and deliberately shot Wright down, as he was retreating to the house. Green, who had at first ran away into the forests, came to the office of Squire Ogle and gave himself up. The squire heard his story, and after examining some witnesses committed Green to jail. This paper and several others referring to the matter have been preserved, and their contents are here introduced.

Whereas, Eliphalet Green, distiller of Madison county, having come forward before me on the night of the 2-l:th of December, and delivered up his body as a prisoner of state and acknowledged himself to have shot with a rifle at the body of one William Wright of the county and state aforesaid on the 24th inst., about 4 o'clock in the afternoon at the premises of Abel Moore, of the county and state aforesaid, and proof being made that the said AV right is now dead in consequence of said wound, you are hereby commanded to take into your custody the body of the said Eliphalet Green and him safely convey to the jail of the county, the keeper whereof is hereby required to receive and safely keep the body of said Green until such time as he shall be discharged agreeable to law, fail not as the law directs in such cases. Given from under my hand this 25th day of December, 1823.

This commitment is briefly endorsed: " Executed," N. Buckmaster sheriff!', no date. On the 28th of December Buckmaster addressed the following letter to Hon. John Reynolds, judge, then residing at Clear Lake.

Judge Reynolds : Dear Sir, Painful as it is to me it becomes my duty to inform you that there was committed to the common pri.son of this couuty ou the 25th of December a man by the name of Eliphalet Green charged of having committed a murder on the body of one William Wright. I take this opportunity of making the facts known to you and should you think proper to order a special court, give timely notice and I will govern myself accordingly.

Histoey 01' Madison County, Illinois

A special term of the court was ordered to be held on the 13th day of January, 182-i, when the following freeholders of i\Iadi:>on county were duly iuipanneled as grand jurors, to wit: Emanuel J. West, foreman, Lyman Gillet Ephraira Wood, Matthew B. Torrence, William Hinch, John Gonterniau, Julius Barusback, John Good, Caleb Gonterman,Gay Paddock, Jacob Judy, John T. Lusk, Low Jackson, James Watts, Oliver Balster, James Tunnel, Erastus Brown and John C. Barnett.

The grand jury heard the testimony of William (^gle, James Dabs, Susannah Bradley, Amos Bradley, Fully Jiradley, George Debaum, Abel Moore and wife, and returned the following bill oi indictment on the same day, to wit:

State of Illinois, Madison county. At a special term of the circuit court begun and held for the county of Madison aforesaid, in the Court House in the town of Edwardsville in said county, on the 13th day of January, 1824, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twentyfour. The Grand jurors of the people of the state of Illinois, residents and good and lawful men of the county of Madison aforesaid, impauneled, sworn and charged to inquire for the body of the county of Madison aforesaid in the name and by the authority of the people of the state of Illinois, upon their oath present that one Eliphalet Green, late of said county of Madison, yeoman, not having the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the Devil, on the twenty-fourth day of December, in the year of our lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, in the county of Madison aforesaid, with force and arms felonously, wilfully and of his malice aforethought did niake an assault upon the body of one William Wright, in the peace of God then and there being, and the said Eliphalet Green, a certain gun of the value of twenty dollars, then and there charged with gunpowder and one leaden bullet, which gun so loaded and charged a^ aforesaid he the said Eliphalet Green in both his hands then and there had and held to, against and njwn the said William Wright, then and there, felonously, wilfully and of his malice aforethought did shoot and discharge and the said Eliphalet Green with the leaden bullet aforesaid, out of the gun aforesaid, then and there by force of the gunpowder shot, dis charged and sent forth as aforesaid, the aforesaid William Wright in and upon the right side of him the said William Wright, near the right pap of the right side of him the said William Wright, then and there with the leaden bullet aforesaid out of the gun aforesaid, by the said Eliphalet Green so as aforoi-aid shot, discharged and sent forth, felonously, wilfully and of his malice aforethought, did strike, penetrate and wound, giving to the said William Wright, \\\i\\ the leaden bullet afortsaid so as aforcaid shot, discharged, and sent forth out of the gun aforesaid b)' the said Eliphalet Green in and upon the right side of him the said William Wright near the right pip of him the said William Wright one mortal wound, of the depth of four inches and of the breadth of two inches, of which said mortal wound the said William Wright then and there instantly died, and so the jurors aforesaid upon their oath aforesaid do say, that thesaid Eliphalet Green felonously, wilfully and of his malice aforethought, him the said William Wright, then and there in manner and form aforesaid did kill and murder, to the great displeaiwe of Almiijlitj God, to the evil example of all others in like cases ofiending, contrary to the form of the statute in such cases made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the same people of the state of Illinois.

The said dcfendaut, Eliphalet Green, who stands convicted of murder, was led again to the bar in custody of the sheriff, and it being demanded of him if any thing for himself he had or knew to say why the court here to judgment and execution against him and upon the premises should not proceed, he said he had nothing but what he had before said. Therefore it is considered by the court that he be hanged by the neck until he be dead, dead, dead ! and that the sheriff of J\Ij,disou county to cause exteution of this judgment to be done and performed on him, the said Eliphalet Green, on Thursday, the 12th February, 1824, between the hours of ten o'clock in the morning and three in the evening at some " convenient " place near the town of Eiwardsville, and it is furthered ordered that the said defendant pay the cost of this prosecution.

The manuscript of J udge Reynolds shows plainly the agitation of his mind in passing sentence, it contains many corrections and changes of words, at a " convenient " place near the town of Edwardsville are interlined and undoubtedly written at a later day or hour, the ink used being of a different hue.

The agitation of the judge was observed by bystanders and may, together with the " convenient place '' and may have been he cause of the following version of the afliiir, as repeated by J. T. Hair, in iladison county Gazetteer, Alton 1866.

It is stated that the judge in jaassing sentence of death upon the pri.soner made use of language something like the following : Well j\Ir. Grccu the jury in their verdict found you to be guilty of murder, and the law says you are to be bangtd. Now I want you and your friends down on Wood river to understand that it is not f, that condemns you, but the jury and the law. Now I wish to allow you all the time you want to prepare, so the court wants to knowu at what time you would prefer to be hanged, etc The story is continued exteisively. Green replied that any time would suit him. Then the Judge wants to know if four weeks from this day is on a Sunday and the like. Next follows a colloquy between Judge Reynolds and the attorney general about the propriety of endeavoring to impress upon the conscience of the culprit a sense of his guilt and to lead his thoughts to a serious preparation for death, to which suggestions the judge is said to have replied as follows : Oh, it is no use Mr. Turner, Mr. Green understands the whole matter as well as if I had talked to him for a week. He knows he is to be hanged this day four weeks. You understand it in that way, Mr. Green, don't you? "

The death warrant of Eliphalet Green was issued on the 11th of February, 1824, signed and sealed by Joseph Con- clerk of the circuit court of Madison county.

The "convenient" place selected by the sheriff was in the creek bottom, near the bridge, on the Springfield road. Spectators had come from a distance, and it is related that a number of Indians had assembled to see how civilized people killed their fellow men. Greeu died like a man, sincerely repenting his wicked deeds. The opinion of the public was divided in reference to his crime and its penalty. Some of ihe leading men had their sympithies aroused for the poor fellow. He was buried near the place of execution. It is stated that Paris INIasou guarded the grave against body snatchers, and caused the corpse to be taken up and re-interred iu his (Mason's) own graveyard.

The sheriff, about as much agitated at the execution as the judge had been at passing sentence of death, certified as seen above, that he had hung Green at two o'clock in the morning.

The story would not be complete if left without the bill of costs. The writer found it among the vouchers of the year 1824. It reads as follows :

The case of William Parkinson, indicted for forgery, was found guilty of the intent to defraud John Herrin to the amount of §80.00. Parkinson took an appeal to the supreme court and gave bail in the sum of $6,000.00, with Washington Parkinson and William Lee as sureties. William Parkinson, who had brought a damage suit against Herrin for assault and battery, obtained a judgment for $93.00 against Herrin.

The celebrated suit of Madison county versus Edward Coles was commenced at this term of court. This suit had its origin in personal hatred and malice. We have shown on a preceding page, that W. L. May had by a well written representation of facts in the case, succeede 1 in making the county commissioners believe it to be their duty to prosecute Governor Coles for manumitting his slaves, ten in number. Gov. Coles spoke of this suit in a private letter to Robert Vaux, PhiLdelphia, in January 1824, in the following manner : " For having been instrumental in eflTecdng the defeat of the pro-slavery convention plans, and also for having acted up to my principles iu restoring liberty to certain slaves given to me by my father, it would seem I am never to be forgiven, but to be subject to an unrelenting and cruel persecution, which aims to destroy not only my political influence, but my personal character and property. After having resorted to various means to injure my standing with the people an eflbrt is now made to cripple my pecuniary resources and thus to disable me from promoting the cause of freedom and of punishing me for what I have done in this way. A suit has recently been instituted against me to recover the penal sum of §200, for each negro emancipated and brought by me to this state. This suit has been brought under a law passed about the 1st of April, 1819, which prohibited any person from bringing into this state any negro for the purpose of emancipation, unless he would give bond under a penalty of §1,000, that the negro should not become a county charge, and that if the emancipator neglected to give this bond he should forfeit the sum of $200, for each negro emancipated. My negroes emigrated to and settled in this state about one month after the passage of this act, but more than five months before it was printed or promulgated. To the peculiar hardship of my case, from the impossibility of knowing of the existence of the law, until after I had violated its provisions and incurred its penalty, is to be added the fact of my not being content with freeing the negroes in Virginia, and thus relinquishing more than one-third of the property given me by my father, but from a desire to promote their interest, removed them to this state at an expense of between five and six hundred dollars, and then gave them as a remuneration for their past services and a stimulus to future exertion, one hundred and sixty acres of land to each one who hud passed the age of 24. They all behaved uniformly well, and are honest, industrious and prosperous. And what is truly farcical in this suit is.

that it has been instituted at the instance of a worthless fellow,* the tool of a faction, who is destitute of property f and paj's no tax, and of course has no direct interest whether the negroes become a count}' charge or not. Never having been sued before I feel the more mortified at being persecuted for violating the laws of a state over which the people have called me to preside."

Another passage in this letter is so beautifully characteristic of this noble and generous citizen of Madison county, that the writer of this sketch feels it his duty to copy it also : " Having had the good fortune, through everj- period of my life, to live in great harmony with my fellow-men, the enmity and persecution I have lately had to encounter have created a new state of feeling and cause me to look into my own conduct to see vvhether it has been correct. In this view I have been gratified to find that I have not given just cause of offense to any one ; but I have been grieved to perceive with what virulence I have been pelted, when the only complaint against me is, that I am a friend to the equal rights of man and am considered a barrier to my opponents acquiring the power of oppressing their fellow-men. Under this view of my situation, I am gratified that Providence lias placed me in the vau of this great contest, and I am truly thankful that my system is so organized as to leave no room for doubt, fear or hesitation. My opinions have long since been naturally formed, and my cours^e deliberately taken, and is not now to be changed by destraction, prosecutions or threats of -convention or death.' "

They were sterling words. Honor to the man who uttered them. No wonder that the greatest American of the age, Thomas Jefferson, had honored Edward Coles with his friendship, love and confidence, and that James Madison entrusted a highly responsible ini.ssion to St. Petersburg to him.

But to return to the suit : The case came up for trial during this (March 1824) term of court, but went over to the September term. At this term John Reynolds presided again. The plea of the Statute of Limitations and several special pleas put in by defendant to the declaration of the plaintiff had been demurred to and the demurrer had been sustained by court. The defendant now pleaded idl debit (he does not owe anything). Issue was joined and the case submitted to the jury, Oliver Foster, Daniel Brown, William B. Penny, William Head, Daniel Wise, Thomas Bates, Philip Penn, Alfred Allen, Julius L. Barnsback, John Howard, Curtis Blakeman and Paris Mason, who returned a verdict against defendant for two thou.saud dollars. From a bill of exceptions taken during the trial and spread upon the records of the court, it appears that the defendant offered to give in evidence and jirove to the jury that three of the negroes mentioned in the declaration of t May was one of the early merchants in Eilwardsvilk', but had probably become poor. A. W. L. May was indictetl for burglary in Edwardsville, September term, 1823. It is impossible to a.scertain if this May and ihe one who cause! this suit to be instituted are identical.

the plaintiff had departed this life before the commencement of the suit, but the court would not permit the testimony to be given, thus practically deciding that it was necessary to give a bond to hold the county harmless from the support of dead negroes." The defendant then offered to prove by, Joseph Conway, the clerk of the County Commissioners Court, that the defendant had never been notified or required to give bond, but the court would not permit such evidence to be given. The defendant farther offered to prove by Daniel T. Cook, the attorney uuder whose advice he acted, the conversation he had with him before the date of certificate of manumission, and that Cook advised him to give such certificates in order to protect the negroes ; and also to prove by said Cook all the circumstances and conversation between said witness and defendant, all of which evidence was rejected, the record to state that the plaintiff gave in evidence the following certificate:

" Whereas, my father, the late John Coles, of Albemarle, in the state of Virginia, did in his last will and testament give and bequeath to me certain negro slaves, among others Kobert Crawford and his sister Polly Crawford, the said Robert being a mulatto man, aboyt5feet seven inches high, and now about twenty-seven years of age ; and the said Polly being a mulatto woman about five feet one inch high, and now about sixteen or seventeen years of age. And whereas, I do not believe that man can have a right of property in his fellow-man, but on the contrary, that all mankind are endowed by nature with equal rights, I do, therefore, by these presents, restore to the said Robert and his sister Polly, that inalienable liberty of which they have been deprived ; and I do hereby renounce for myself and my heirs forever, all claim of every description whatever to them and their services, and I do hereby emancipate and make free the said Robert Crawford and his sister Polly Crawford. In testimony whereof, the said Coles set his hand and seal, ou the 10th day of July, 1819."

The motion for a new trial, which had been made in the case at the September term, 1824, was not decided at that term, and the case went over to the March term, 1825. At this terraofthecourt Judge Samuel McRoberts presided, who overruled the motion for a new trial at once. Between September 1824 and March 1825, the legislature passed an act releasing all penalties incurred under the act of 1819 (including those sued for) upon which Coles was prosecuted. The law required a condition jirecedentto the release of the penalties, the execution of a bond that the negroes should not become a charge upon any county in the state, and that all the costs of the suit and damages incurred should be paid. To enable the defendant to take advantage of this act at the June term, it was moved at the same time to set aside the verdict and judgment to enable him to plead puiine darrein continuance. McRoberts proved equal to this last phase of the case ; he overruled the motion for a new trial and rejected the plea, holding that the legislature could not make a law to bar the recovery of the penalty in this case. The judge, however, was not able to prevent the defendant from taking an appeal to the Supreme Court of the state. This appeal was taken at the June term of the court at Vandalia, 1826. The Judgment of the Circuit Court was reversed \ik1 the cause remanded with instructions to receive the defendant's plea. The case was argued before the Supreme Court by Henry Starr for Coles aud Turner and Keynolds for the county of Madison.

The county commissioners of Madison county vs. Edward Coles. On motion it is ordered that the judgement of the Supreme Court rendered in this cause be spread on the record of this court, which is in the following words, to wit : " At this day came again the parties aforesaid by their attorneys aforesaid, and the court having diligently examined and inspected as well the records and proceedings aforesaid as the judgement given upon the same and being now sufficiently advised of and concerning the premises. For that it appears to the court, that in the records and proceedings aforesaid and also in the rendition of the judgement aforesaid, there is manifest error. It is considered by the court that for that error and others in the records aud proceedings aforesaid, that the judgement aforesaid be reversed, annulled and entirely for nothing esteemed, and that the aforesaid plaintift' be restored to all things which he may have lost by reason of the judgement aforesaid. It is further considered that the proceeding be remanded with directions to the Circuit Court to receive the defendant's plea upon his paying costs, etc.

September term 1824. This term was held immediately after the most exciting election on the convention question, and the reader need not be surprised that 42 cases of assault and battery were put on the docket. There were 3 cases of kidnapping disposed of by heavy fines, to wit : S600 and various and diverse " lashes well laid on, " ordered and decreed.

March term 1825 - Samuel McRoberts, judge, Emanuel J. West, clerk by appointment of the judge, who was not at all friendly disfiosed to Joseph Conway, former clerk - now superseded.

Palemou H. Winchester, a prominent member of the bar, -was indicted at this term for murder, the second case of that crime in Madison county. Winchester had slain a certain Daniel D. Smith for pasquilling Mrs. Col. S :ephenson, mother-in-law of Winchester. Smith was the great caricaturist, the Nast or Kepler, of the times, and his cartoons, pen or pencil sketches only had quite a renown. In this case his caricature had become a pasquil, by insinuating criminal intimacy between the virtuous and excellent lady mentioned above and Governor Edwards. The case was tried at a subsequent term. The pro.secution was conducted by Benjamin Mills and Alfred Cowles, the defense by Henry Starr of Edwardsville and the famous Felix Grundy of Nashville, Tennessee, formerlj' chief justice of Kentucky, and later, 1829, senator of the United States.

Mrs. Stephenson must have been an exemplary lady, for it is not often that a son-in-law will take up the cudgel in defense of a mother-in-law, or even risk his life to avenge her, as Winchester did. All honor to Winchester. AVinchester subsequently removed to Carlinville, Macoupin county, where he became the first attorney.

William Cornelius was indicted and tried for horse stealing, the first case on record - March terra 182.5, and was - acquitted, nevertheless he received his 20 lashes well laid on for some other and minor offense.

An uninteresting divorce case - Barbara Burton vs. Wm. Burton - on account of desertion was tried before Judge McRoberts in August 1825, at which term the judge is accused of having persuaded the grand jury to indict Gov. Edward Coles for "libel." The hatred of McRoberts against Coles was so intense that his acts became very indiscreet. Washburne, in his sketch of Governor Coles, makes the following comments in reference to this libel matter : " In a temperate article in a newspaper he (Coles) made a legitimate criticism on some of the outrageous and indefensible rulings of Judge ISIcRoberts in the case of Midisou county against him for freeing his slaves without giving bonds. Eagerly seizing hold of this publication, the judge had the gross indelicacy to go before the grand jury of his own court, and by virtue of his official influence and position, he procured an indictment for libel against Governor Coles. As that was not enough, he commenced a civil suit against the governor, laying his damages at five thousand dollars. This action of McR. was as malicious as Has the suit of Madison county, as the sequel proved. A nolle prosequi, was entered in the case of indictment, and the civil suit was never brought to trial. The following letter of the governor to A. Cowles, the circuit attorney, shows that he never consented to the dismissal of the indictment, and that he was detei mined to probe the judge's conduct to the bottom. It is to be regretted that the answer of the circuit attorney is not to be found.

Dear Sir : Believing that I should have been able to prove that I had not libt lied Judge McRoberts. and explain how the grand jury had been induced to present me for so doing, it was with great regret that I heard you had thought proper to dismiss the prosecution. Fearing that some malicious per.son may misrepresent this transaction at some future day, when those who now understand it may have forgotten many of the details in relation to it, or perhaps be dead, or have removed from the country, I have determined to ask the favor of you to give me a written answer to the following questions :

Did not Judge McRoberts request to see the indictment before it was delivered to the Grand Jury, and did he not examine and alter it, and if .so, what were the alterations made by him?

cott, foreman, indicted at the same term one James Clark for attempted rape. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to stand in the pillory f )r two hours. His fine. $300, was reduced, on petition of various citizens, to SIO.

The succeeding term, March and August, 1826, offer no items of interest. The February term, IS'27, adjourned, because the county authorities had neglected to select juries for that term. A special term was held May, 1827, to try " Titus," a man of color, for larceny, P. H. Winchester prosecuting and Thomas Ford defending him. "Titus" received sirty lashes well laid on, in the .settlement of liis larceny case. July term, 1827, was presided over by T. AV. Smith; Teleraachus Camp, a member of the grand jury, was discharged at the n quest of the grand jury from serving as a grand juror during the present term.

George Harlan, Philip Aldrich and Zadock Newman report the jail to be in good order, and suggest the necessity of sweeping the rooms of the jail occasionally ! Nothing of interest in subsequent terra, in 1827 and 1828.

June term, 1829. The case of the county vs. Nathaniel Buckmaster, sheriff", for 81928.17} arrearages, was tried before Judge S. D. Lockwood, and decided against the county.

October term. David Dunlap indicted for murder ; papers lost, and case stricken from docket, October, 18-32. The grand jury reported the jail "insufficient" for the safe-keeping of prisoners, the door of one cell being " destitute " of a Jock, and a large hole having been cut through the door of the other cell, through which prisoners had escaped ; the security of the jail was "jeopardized" by the insecurity of the prison. - George Churchill, foreman grand jury. David Thorp, shame on him, was indicted, June term, 18.30, for Sabbath-breaking I ! June term, 1831, George Kelley was appointed clerk. It was afterwards made one of the charges against Hon. T. W. Smith, thejudge who appointed him, at the judges impeachment trial, January, 1833, that Kelley was hired by hiui to do the official work for $25, and that the actual earnings of the office went into the judge's pockets. At any rate, Kelley was superseded in 1831, October term, by the appointment of Jesse B. Thomas, Jr.

The records of the court, June term, 1831, contain the following entry: "In consequence of the invasion of our northern frontier by the Indians, it is considered by the court that the juries be discharged from serving this court, many having volunteered in the service of their country. Two hundred volunteers have gone, and the sheriff" reports that a draft of two hundred more was to be expected soon. The court was adjourned."

The October term, 1832, was adjourned at the request of the bar, after hearing the statement of governor and exgovernor and several other men of distinction about malignant cholera in St. Louis and St. Clair county, approaching towards the " village." Nothing of interest until May term, 1834, when Daniel Piper was tried and convicted of petty larceny, and sentenced to fifteen lashes, the last I instance of corporal punishment of the kind in ^ladison | county. A strange coincident would have it, that this same Piper, was at the same term, sentenced to a three years' service in the penitentiary at Alton, as the first convict from this count)', thus " blending," as it were, the age of pillory and lash with that of modern modes of punishment.

William E. Starr was appointed clerk of the circuit court April, 183 5. November special term, 1834, was the last term over which Judge T. W. Smith presided, having been succeeded by Hon. Sidney Breese.

By act of legislature, January 7, 1835, all laws re(iuiring the justices of the supreme court to hold the circuit courts were repealed, and it was provided that there should be elected by the General A.ssembly, five judges in addition to the one then authorized by law, who should preside in the several circuit courts then or thereafter required to be held in the several counties of the state. The first term un<ler this new arrangement was held in March, 1835 ; Hon. Thomas Ford presided in place of Hon. Sidney Breese, as agreed between themselves ; Jesse B. Thomas, Jr. attended as attorney general, W. E. Starr as clerk, and Tlioinas G Lofton as sheriffs L. S. Wells was foreman of the grand jury. No cases of interest tried. From August term, 1835, Hon. Sidney Breese presided at the various terms of the court for years, at one of which, April special, 183C, sheriff" T. G. Lofton was tried on an indictment for palpable omissions of duty, found guilty and sentenced to pay a fine of $10. Lofton was terribly indignant at this verdict and sentence, and resigned his office at once. The balance of the term was filled by James Wilson, coroner, and under the law successor to the office of sheriff in certain contingencies.

John T. Clark, indicted for murder, name of victim unknown to writer, found guilty of manslaughter and sent to the penitentiary for three years. James F. Djvier went there for two and-a-half years on being convicted of forgery.

* It might he stated here that he wa.s the last resident of M.idison county who hold a state office. He resigned in 1839, and since then no Madisonian ha,« graced an office at the State Capitol. Madison counly gave, in the persons of Edward Coles and Niniau Edwards, in 1822 and 1826 two governors ; in .Samuel D. Lockwood in 1822, a secretary of state, in him previously (1S21): in James Semple, 1833; Jesse U. Thomas, jr., 1835 ; and G. W. Olney ( 1835), attorneys-general. Three of the twenty-one distinguished United Stales senators from Illinois, to wit : Xinian Edwards, Jesse B. Thomas and James Semple, hail from Madison county. Robert Smith of Alton represented the congres.sional district, of which Madison forms a part, from 1843 to 1849, and from 1S57 to 18-59- An amusing incident, characteristic of the parties concerned, occurred lo Smith at Highland during his last campaign. He had put up there at the well and favorably known Highland House, owned by Jacob Weber, Esq-, an unHinching democrat and glowing admirer of S. A. Do»igla,s. Weber had learned that Smith wa.s making the campaign tiiis lime as a republican, and received him rather indifferently. Smith, who could or would not understand why, kept talking to Weber about his (Smith's) many friends in Highland, and how he would like to have (hem all there at Mr. Weber's to h>ave a social chat, and perhaps a social gla.s3 with him ; bnt had no time to remain, etc., etc. He wound up by leaving a larger amount of money on the counter than his legitimate bill amounted to. Weber pushed the surplus back, .saying: "This is a heap" too much. Smith insisted that Weber should keep the money and make it a treat to those friends tluit

1839. August Term. Judge Breese appointed W. Tyler Brown clerk of the circuit court ; John Adams was sheriff, elected iu 1838. Adams died before the expiratiou of his term.

James W. Smith, a counterfeiter, was sentenced to four years hard labor in the penitentiary ; William Bell, three years; Jeremiah Doyle, one and a half years; Joseph Vanie, one year ; Reuben Shuster, five years"; and Julius Scott, two years, all on charges of larceny.

A larger number (nine) went to the penitentiary in 1841. Wilkinson Edwards, for administering poison, five years ; George Small, five years ; John Morgan, four years ; Henry Theile and John Adams, each three years ; Nathaniel Howard, Hiram Sweezy, and Martin Benson, each one year - all thieves ; and James C. McManneman, a burglar, also, one year.

In 1842, William Hopewell Henry Knight and James Greely, each twelve years, for robbery ; John MuKiustry, three years ; and James Keagor, two years and four months for larceny.

The following prisoners were sentenced to the penitentiary : For burglary - Theodore Brown, ten years; John Wilkinson, two and a half years; and Tyrell Hall, one year. For larceny: George Jones and William Price, each five years.

In October, 1843, and May and October, 1844, court was held by Hon. James Shields, who sent W. J. Russell, Lewis Williams, and Benjamin Caldwell each one year to penitentiary for larceny.

1845. May and October Terms. Hon. Gustavus Koerner^ of Belleville, on the bench ; with W. H. Bissell as prosecuting (then called circuit) attorney. Andrew Miller, sheriff. W. J Anderson and W. W. Pulliam were to penitentiary, each two years, for passing counterfeit paper money ; and William Williams eight years fer larceny.

1846. May Term. Hon. D. Caton on the bench, as agreed between him and Hon. G. Koeruer. John Cain and Edward Hanley were each sentenced to five years penitentiary ; and J. A. White one year, on charges of larceny.

1846. October Term. Hon. Gustavus Koerner presiding. James Harris was convicted of larceny, and sentenced to two years ; Israel Mayfield, manslaughter, eight years.

Smith had wanted to see, but who had failed to come. "Ah," said Wt'her, '- tliatis too much 'anyhow,' forvoii have not friends enough in Ilighhuid to drink it up in a year."