Salem Township (part 1 of 3)

Salem Township

Ordered, That Messrs. Smith and Journey should have a license for the term of one year from tliis date to keep a grocery in Savaima, by paying twenty-five dollars into the county treasury' and giving bonds according to law.

This last onler concluded the second session of the Commissioners' Court, when thej adjourned. Ad interim, County Clerk Goss made the following' entrv: -

In pursuance of the law in regard to the County Commissioners drawing tickets for their term of service, the tickets were presented by the clerk of the said court at their June term, l«o9, and Luther H. Bowen drew the ticket which had the word one vear written upon it, and S. M. Journey drew the ticket which had the word three years v rilten upon it, and tlie remaining ticket which had the word two years written upon it was left for Garner Moffit who was absent at the time. Wm. B. Goss, Clerk.

To Benjamin Church, J. P., for swearing in Clerk and County' Commissioners, 75 cents; to Vance L. Davidson, |8.75, for three days' services as road viewer; to Thomas Fran cis, $3.75, and to A. L. Knox, $3.75, for same services. Six dollars were allowed to J i Eaton and son for three days' services as chainmen in opening a road, etc. Nine '"''.ua.TS were ordered to be paid to L. 11. Bowen, for three days' services of liimself ar- team, in assisting to open a road. Eight dollars and seventy-five cents were allowed to Levi Warner for three and a half daj's' services as road surveyor, and $8 were allowed to W. B. Goss for books and stationery furnished the county up to date.

The next session of the court was held in Septemb.,r. An election had been held on Monday, the 5th day of August, and Vrm. B. Goss had been re-elected to the office of County Clerk, and had tiled his bond in the penal sum of one thousand dollars, with Yance L. Davidson as his l.iondsman, for the faitliful discliar<i:e of the duties of the office. John Eddowes had been chosen at the same election as County Commissioner, to succeed Luther H. Bowen (who, at the first term of the court, in Aj^ril, had drawn the shortterm ticket), and had qualified accordingly.

For a iiunilier of years the settlers whose names figure so conspicuously in the early affairs of the county continued to be prominent characters in the public interests. Some of them were repeatedly elected to places of trust, and made faithful, honest servants of the people.

The first county order issued was in favor of James Craig (a captain in the Black JIawk War), for -*5 1^-50, in payment for a copy of the law und'r which the county was organized. Craig was a member of the House of Representatives, from Jo Daviess County, and had introduced the bill and secured its ])assage.

The first term of the Circuit Court commenced on the first JMonday in Ma}', 1840. The building used as a court house was a frame structure situated on block forty at the upper end of town. It was owned by a railroad or steamboat enjjineer, and was untenanted. Besides servinc: as a Court house, it wiis used as a school liotise, church, and such other meeting.s as the times and occasions demanded.

When court was called, Leonard Goss ])resented his apjxtintment from Judge Stone as clerk, together witli his official bond in the sum of $2,000 for ;i hiithful discharge of the duties ot" the office. John Jn-rnard and Aaron Pierce were his bondsnien. Alter sul)scril)ing to the oath ut" office, he entered upon the discliargc of its duties.

Ilezekiah Francis filed his commission from Governor Carlin, as ssherifi', and .also his official bond in the sum of sl(),nu<i, with Jcthn i'.ernard, William

R. Craig, Aaron H. Whitney, John Laswell and Y. L. Davidson as bondsmen. His bond was approved, the oath of office administered, and he entered npon the discharge of the duties of sheriff.

Mason C. l\ylor, coroner elect, also presented his official bond in the sum of $2,000, and took the oath of office. His bondsmen were Milus C. E,obinson and John Bernard.

After the dismissal of the grand and petit juries as already stated, the approval of the several bonds, and administering the oath of office to the clerk, sheriff and coroner, as above noted, the business of the court commenced.

The old docket shows that twelve cases had been entered for trial. Martin P. Sweet, Judge Drummond (now U. S. Circuit Judge), a Mr. Chase and a Mr. Hoge, were present as attorneys. Judge Drummond had two divorce cases - the first of the kind in the county. They were entitled Jeremiah Humphrey -ys. Hannah Humphrey, and Dudley C. Humphrey r6\ Lavina l-ium])hrej. Of the other ten cases, two were slander suits, brought by the same man - Robert Ashby vs. Peter Bashaw and Oliver Bashaw. Both cases were dismissed from the docket without trial.

Among the lawyers who attended the earlv courts of Carroll County, quite a number attained prominent distinction in the judicial and other departments of public affiiirs. Among these, in addition to those already mentioned, were E. B. Washburne and Judge Heaton. The name of Washburne is as familiar as household words, not only here where he first came into notice as a young lawyer, but from one end of our common country to the other.

For jury rooms in those days, some of the rooms in Pierce's Hotel were brought into requisition, for which the county commissioners usually made an appro] iriation of fifteen dollars for putting the rooms in order for each term of the court.

Early Resident Attorneys. - "When the first term of the Circuit Court was held," says Volnet Armour, Esq., in 'A Glance at the Early History of Carroll Countj^,' "there was but one resident attorney - John A. Wakefeld. John Wilson came about 1841."

In the same paper Mr. Armour says: "I wonder what our present race of hotel keepers would say to legislation such as the following, passed March 5, 1844, by Beers Tomlinson, Henry Smith and John C. Owings, county commissioners, to-wit: 'Ordered, that the following be the tavern rates in the County of Carroll np to March, 1845: Each person, per meal, not exceeding 25 cents; horse to hay and grain per day, 50 cents; lodging, one person, i2|- cents; all kinds of liquor, per drink, 6 J cents.' "

As settlements increased and spread out to diiFerent parts of the county, the question of removing the county seat from Savanna to a more convenient or central location began to be discussed, and finall}' took definite shape. The removal was hastened, perhaps, by the neglect or inability of the Savanna interests to comply with the provisions of Section 3 of the law under which the county was organized. These provisions were to the effect that the town of Savanna should "donate to said new county, for the purpose of erecting pubhc buildings, a sufficient number of lots, in the town of Savanna, for the accommodation of the necessary public buildings, and three thousand five hundred dollars in cash, payable in three equal instahnents, say in six, twelve and eighteen months from tlie time the location of said county seat is established." At the September term, 1840, of the County Commissioners Court, Porter Sargent, Esq., was appointed agent *' to confer with the proprietors of the town of Savanna on the subject of the money donated by them for the purpose of erecting buildings for the county, and in conjunction with them to devise means for assessing the town property and making out a ^^r<? rata list and collecting the obligations or money accordingly, and return the same to the County Court by their next meeting in December, or sooner, the obligation, if taken, to be made payable in instalments, as called for by the commission." In December there was no meeting of the court, and consequently no report made by Mr. Sargent. Nor do we find any report, whatever, in regard to this matter, although the record of the Commissioners' Court has been carefully examined. But, on Monday, the 6th of December, 1841, at a regular session of the court, a special session of the court was ordered to be held on the first Monday in February, 1842, to receive proposals for building a jail. At that special session Messrs. L. H. Bowen and Vance L. Davidson were appointed a conamittee to confer with the property owners of the town of Savanna "to see what measures they would take in regard to the donation required by law of the proprietors of said town," etc. No proposals appear to have been received for building the jail, and the court adjourned until the next tei'in in course. On the second day of the March term, 1842, the following entry was made: "On the report of L. H. Bowen and Vance L. Davidson * * * * it is hereby orderecl that Beers Tomlinson and Norman D. French be a])j)ointed a committee to contract with the proprietors of the town of Savanna for a building for the use of the county, to be used as a court house and offices for county officers, to be donated as a part of the JoTiMS," etc.

Several orders of this kind were entered, but they seem to have been without avail. No decided and decisive steps were taken, furtlicr than to get out some timber for a kind of block jail, but it was never used for the purpose for which it was intended.

Some time in 18:5<I, Paul D. ( )tis, a d:-i\ei", and Granville ^[athews, superintendent of the Winter's stage line frt)m Peoria, d'ui Dixon's Ferry and Cherry Orove, to (lalena, made a claim of tlie lands covering the mill site antl lands at Mount Carroll. In ls;)7, Daniel Christian, Nathaniel

Swingley, Samuel L. Hitt and George Swaggert formed themselves into a mill company, and bought the Otis and Mathews claim, for which thev paid $1,400, but did not enter upon its improvement. In 1S41, Xathaniel Halderman and David Emmert entered into an arrangement to build a mill somewhere in the count}-, and for a time had their attention called to the site now occupied by the mills of Messrs. Wood & Kitchen, on Plum Kiver, then known as the Bcnven mill site. Xegotiations, however, were not completed, and they purchased the interest of Daniel Christian, Nathaniel Swinglej, Samuel L. Hitt and George Swaggert in and to the Mt. Carroll property, for which they were to pay $3,000. The original company had dissolved its partnership arrangement some time prior to this, and had made a division of the property. The new company was known by the firm name of Emmert, Halderman & Co., and soon after the purchase of the property was completed, they commenced operations - making excavations for the mill foundations, starting the dam, etc., etc. In the Spring of 1842, their enterprise was well under way and the centre of attraction to new comers. The removal of the county seat to a more central location was a general theme of conversation and interest among the settlers, and by reason of its nearness to the geographical centre of the county, the new mill came to be rcijarded as the leo-itimate and onlv rival of Savanna. And it is not unreasonable to suppose that tlie managers of the liew enterprise availed themselves of every possible opportunity to keep the advantages of their site for county seat honors before the people.

In 1837. Georo^e W. Christian had come in Dossession of that tract of land now embraced in the farm of Sherman Cole, a tract of ten acres owned by Hon. J. M. Stowell, and extending north to the Baptist Church and east to Clay Street. Of this tract, Christian proposed to give thirteen acres to the county if the seat of justice should be located here. Emmert, Halderman &, Co., the mill companj-, likewise proposed to donate forty acres on the east side of the present town site, on the same condition. Both parties - i. e., Christian, and Emmert, Halderman & Co. - kept their faith and did convey to the county commissioners and their successors in office, the lands referred to.

Savanna had failed up to this time to com23ly with the requirements of the law under which the county had been organized, and during the session of the legislature of 1842-3, an act entitled " An act to re-locate the county seat of Carroll County" was passed, and "John Dixon, of Lee County, Moses Ilallett, of Jo Daviess County, and Nathaniel Belcher, of Hock Island County, were appointed commissioners to select a site for the re-location of the county seat. -^^ * * And the said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall meet at Savanna, in the County of CarroU, on the first Monday in May next (1813), or wiihin fifteen days thereafter, and after being duly sworn to the faithful discharge of their duties, shall proceed to examine such parts of said county as they may think proper to enable them to select such a site as in their opinion shall give the greatest amount of good to the greatest number of inhabitants of said county, as a county seat; and said commissioners, after having made such selection, shall report to the clerk of the Countj^ Commissioners' Court of said county a certificate thereof, which certificate of said selection shall be recorded by the clerk of said County Commissioners' Court; Provided., always, that such selection so made shall not be the town of Savanna."

be held in the County of Carroll, on the first Monday in August next, at the usual place of holding elections in said county, for the removal of the seat of justice of said county; at which election the clerks thereof shall open two columns, one for Savanna, the present seat of justice, and one for the place which shall be designated by the commissioners hereinbefore appointed, and shall receive and record the votes of each qualified voter for one of the aforesaid phices as the seat of justice thereafter for said county. " *

* ''^ Tlie clerk of the County Commissioners' Court shall immediately after the receipt bj' him of the returns of said election, in the presence of two justices of the peace, open said election returns, compare them, and certify the same to the County Commissioners' Court, and the place having the greatest number of votes shall be and remain the seat of justice in said county."

Pursuant to their appointment under this law, two of the commissioners, John Dixon, of Lee County, and Moses Hallctt, of Jo Daviess County, proceeded, within the time specified, to examine the grouuv-^i, etc., and on the ITth day of May, 1843, made the following report :

The undersigned (who constitute a majority of the commissioners so appointed to select a site as a connty seat for said county), who, after having examined said county with a view of the best interests of the greatest number of inhabitants of said count}% and after taking into consideration tlie liberal donation to be secured to the county commissioners of said county for the use of the people thereof, do, i)y these presents, nuike known and declare that the site selected, as aforesaid, is the south half of the east half of the southeast quarter of section one (1), townsiiip t\ventj--four (34) north, range four (4) east of the fourth principal meridian, and that a substantial stake has been set in the place selected as a public square, to which site we have given the name of Mount Carroll.

The returns of the August election show that 421 votes were jDolled on the county seat question, of which Mt. Carroll had 231, and Savanna 190. There were only four precincts, or voting places, at each of which votes were cast as follows:

The report of the commissioners to re-locate the county seat was entered upon the journal of the County Commissioners Court at their September session, 1843. In August the peoi)le had voted and the result was known, so that at this session the commissioners inaugurated measures looking to a removal of the county ofKces from Savanna. John Wilson was a})])ointed as an agent for the county to demand the execution of a warranty deed from (ireorge \V. Chi'istian to the county for the land he had agreed to donate to the county if the county seat was located at Mt. Carroll, and also to superintend the division of the Emmert, llalderman A: Co. tract into town lots, etc., and to give ])ublic notice of the sale of lots and to sell on such terms and conditions as the county commissioners should direct, to receive notes, execute title bonds and deeds to purchasers under his proper hand and seal, for and in behalf of the county," etc.

The immediate site designated by the locating commissioners by driving a stake into the ground, was at or near the west line of Main Street, on the top of" the hill near the Baptist Church. Upon the first organization of the county, the choice of a name was left to the settlers in Cherry Grove Precinct, the most of whom were Marylanders, and they named the new county in honor of that grand old patriot who wrote his name to the Declaration of American Independence, "Charles Carroll, of Carrollton." From the point where this stake was driven in the earth, the ground sloped in all directions, and was elevated above the surrounding countrj^ The name of Mount Carroll was given to the new county seat - a place before unknown by any name except Emmert, Halderman & Co.'s Mill Site.

The First Court House

December 5, 1843, Col. Beers Tomlinson, one of the members of the Board of County Coiinnissioners, was "appointed agent for the County of Carroll to contract for the building of a court house of the following description, to-wit: Thirty feet by forty on the ground; a basement of stone sixteen inches above the surface of the earth, two feet thick. The first story to be eight feet and nine inches high in the clear, divided into four rooms, entrance and one fliglit of stairs as marked on ]:»lat number one on plan on file in this office. The timbers of the lower floor to be good substantial sleepers; the joists of the second story floor to be ten inches deep and two inches thick and twenty inches apart from centre to centre. The second story to be eleven feet high, to be finished according to a specified plan in this office. Roof, cupola, cornice, and frontispiece all to be finished according to the last above named specified plan. The walls of the building above the basement to be brick; first story walls to be sixteen inches thick or the length of two brick; flues suitable to receive stove pipes prepared in each room; doors to each room containing six panels each and one and a half inches thick; outside doors to be two inches thick. Floors to be of good white oak, tongued and grooved, one and a quarter inches thick. The roof covered with good merchantable pine shingles. The building to be painted throughout - outside and inside - the whole building to be finished on or before the October term of Circuit Court of Carroll County, A.D. 1844, in accordance throughout with the plan on file in this office, to be built of good sound material, and built in a workmanlike Tnanner. If it should be necessary, our agent, in entering into a contract with builders may make such slight changes in the above specified plan as may be deemed pi-oper."

A sale of lots was advertised for the 20th of November, A.D. 1843, at one third cash in hand, one third in six months, and the remaining one third in twelve months from the day of sale, secured by the notes of purchasers, the county commissioners giving title bond for deed when last payments were made, the county commissioners stipulating to receive specie, current paper and countj^ scrip in payment for lots, etc. The day of sale came, but in consequence of objections raised by the Mill Company, no sales were made. In agreeing to donate forty acres of land and one thousand dollars in mone}^ to the county, if the seat of justice were located adjacent to their mill property, the company understood and expected that the site for the court house would be selected near the line dividing their land from the forty acres they would deed to the county, that they might be equally benefitted by the nearness of the public buildings to them. But, when Mr. Wilson, the county clerk and special agent for the county to superintend the division of that forty acres of land into town lots, selected the site for the court house, etc., instead of locating the court house square on the northwest corner of the land donated by the Mill Company, he selected the county S(juare near the centre of the forty acres, and hence the objections of the coInpan3^ That company not only objected to the measures, so far as they had been prosecuted by Mr. Wilson, and to the sale of lots as a violation of the agreement entered into when they donated the land, but refused to pay the thousand dollars wdiich they had offered in addition to the land. The county needed public buildings. The treasury was empty, the people were poor, and to raise a sum sufficient to buil|l a court house, etc., by taxation, would have imposed a heavy burden upon the settlers - a burden they could not carry. A thousand dollars in those days was a "bonanza" to Carroll County, and it was to the public interest to secure the money offered by the Mill Company, as well as the forty acres of land. A compromise was made on terms offered by Emmert, Ilalderman (fe Co., to this end: that, if the county commissioners woidd deed back to the company the forty acres which they had donated to tlie county and release them froui the payment of the one thousand dollars they had offered, and also deed to them the Christian tract of thirteen acres, they would give a sufficient number of acres of ground near their mill, and build thereon a court house, and deed the same to the county. The terms were accepted, and the present public square was surveyed out and the erection of a stone court house commenced and completed on the nortliAvest corner of the square, which served the county until the present handsome brick temple of justice was completed, in 185S. Afterwards, with a frame addition built on the north side, it was used and occupied by Messrs. Blake & Stowell as a hardware store. It was burned down in October, 1872.

Nathaniel Ilalderman, of the firm of Emmert, Halderman & Co., seems to have been the representative, or business man, of the Mill Company, and to have conducted all their lousiness matters, particularly in arranging and adjusting the differences that came up between his company and the county, and to no one man, perhaps, is there due a greater degree of credit for the inaui^uration and manao^ement of the i)ublic interests of ]\rount Carroll than to Xathaniel Ilalderman, who, though now nearing the last of the years allotted to man, is remarkably well preserved, intellectually and physically, and one of the most active business men of the community*, and highly respected not only at home, but abroad.

March r;, IS-t-i, while the county commissioners were in session, Beers Tomlinson, building agent for the county, submitted his first report, in the words following, to-wit:

To the Honorable County Commissioners Court. of Carroll Count >/, III. - Gentlemen: In c-r)iit'orinily to re(|uire(l (lutios, on the first day of .Jaiuiaiy, 'U, I prt'sontcd a blank bond, received from tlie elerk of said court, to Messrs. Enuuert, llaklernian lV: Rinehart, lo be e.\eciiied l)y tliem to tlie people ot said county, which tiicy refused to sign, stutini!: tliatthe bond rcipiired more of tiicm than tiiey a.i^reed to ]ierform, which was tlie addition of a cupola, l)ell, frontis and e!(!V,ition of the upper Iloor. Willi thai alteration they would sii^n said bond. .\cc\i)rditii^ly a bond was drawn, copied trnm the orii^inal, wilh lh<- abo\e exceptions, and si;j;neil by David lOmmert, X. Ilalib'rman and S. >[ Hilt, for the com|)Iclion of said liousi! as HMpiired in the orii^inal blank bond. At a subsequent period, I made a verbal contniet with the said Emmert v.V Ilalderman, to put up the said house with stone instead of brick. The last named alt(!ration was. that the buildinsj: should be 31 by 41 feet, instiMd of :>n\-K). I am informed by said E. X' H. that about one half the stone is now on the buildiiur spot. Thus far 1 have gone and no further.

To the Honorable County Commissioners Court of Carroll County, III. - Gentlemen : Since my last report, I have made no alteration in the consi ruction of the court liuuse. The men who are engaired in putting up the building are progressing as fast as can be expected. The walls are stone instead of brick, as was calculated in the first place, when the contract was made. The first stor}^ of the wall is laid, and the work appears to be done in a good, substantial, workmanlike manner, and the house will be completed b}' the first of October next, and I see no rea-;ou why tiie next Circuit Court should not be held at Mount Carroll. All of which is respectfuU}' submitted. 3d June, 184-4.

Ordered, That the several oflScers of this county who are required to hold their ofiices at the county seat, move their offices from Savanna to Mount Carroll on the first Monday of September next, and that Henry Smith, Esq., be required to procure suitable oflices at said Mount Carroll, to be occupied by said officers, etc.

Careful inquiry fails to locate the offices after their removal here anywhere except in the court house. As it was only about one mouth after their removal here until the court house was finished, if thej' occupied any other quarters, it must have been in Mr. Wilson's private residence - a house that stood on the corner now occupied by the bank block, at the corner of Main and Market Streets.

AVhen Emmert, Halderman & Co. entered into a contract to build the court house, thev exacted a o^warantv from the countv authorities that, when completed, it should be open for a period of ten years to religious meetings and such other public gatherings as occasion and the necessities of the time demanded. Julv 4, 1844. the buildino' had so far advanced towards completion that it was fitted up and decorated with evergreens, etc., for a celebration of our nation's birthday, which was the first time the day had . been publicly observed and respecttd in Mt. Carroll. lion. Thomas Hoyne, then of Galena, but now of Chicao^o, and at one time not long- asro mayor fie jure of the latter cit}', was orator of the day, and although there have since been thirty-three recurrences of the day, nearly all of wliich were publicly observed, none of them were more happily spent. In pioneer life there is a soul and a feeling - a genuine spirit of hospitality and sociability that is comparatively unknoM'u when a country grows older and richer. Pent-up conventionalities and self-constituted cartes do not interfere to cripple the truer invjardness of the human soul. Distinctions and fashions do not turn up their noses at their neighbors. The people more fully believe in the truth of the sentiment that " all men are created free and equal " than they do in later years, when farms have been opened and made remunerative, fine houses made to take the places of log cabins, cities to supersede wayside post-offices, and finely-constructed church edifices, with their cushioned pews, to supplant the old log school houses and primitive dwellings as houses of worship. These inodern achievements are well enough in their way, but they cripple rather than develop the grander and nobler attributes of the human heart, and dwarf that genuine hospitality and sense of humanity that obtains among pioneers everywhere.

The first session of tlie County Commissioners Court held in Mt. Carroll, commenced on Monday, the 2d day of Septembei-, 1844. There were present of the old board, Henry Smith and John C. Owings. Beers Tomlinson had been succeeded at the Auo^ust election l)y Henrv B. Harmon, who presented to the board his certificate of election, when the oath of

Ordered, That the debt of Carroll County in the liands of Emmert, Halderman & . Co., amounting to six hundred dollars, is this day funded as follows :. Said indebtedness to be paid at theexpiiation of two years, in six equal instalments, with interest payable half yearly, at tlie rate of eiglit per cent per annum; and the cierk of this court is authorized and required to give bonds in accordance with the above agreement, the evidence of the original indebtedness, as above, having been given up in open court and paid over to the treasurer. Also

Ordered, That John Wilson, clerk of this court, be our agent to procure suitable furniture for tlie court house, and to see that the same is put in readiness for holding court in October next.

The next session of the Countv Commissioners Court was lield in December, tlie recorded proceedings of which show that Emmert, Halderman & Go. were allowed $50 for two stoves and seventy pounds of pipe, including three elbows, and that Leonard Goss was appointed to take possession of the stoves on behalf of the county, and directed to appropriate one to the use of his office (Circuit Clerk) and the other to the nse of the rojm designed for the use of the County Commissioners Court. From these several orders last (juoted, it would seem that the court house had been completed and turned over to the uses of the county, but, in hunting over the journal, the writer could find no record of the fact - an omission that should not have occurred. But oral evidence, as well as an order directino- Countv Clerk Wilson to procure "the necessary furniture and prejmre the building for the fall term (1S44) of the Circuit Court, the completion of the court house is fixed about the first of October of that year. In the completion of the building, Emmert, Halderman & Co., as shown by an order made at the March term (1845) of the County Commissioners Coui-t, had done extra work to the amount of one hundred and fifty-six dollars, to secure the payinentof which the following contract was entered into by and between the county commissioners and Emmert, Halderman & Co.:

They (Emmert, Halderman & Co.) shall be permittett to rent out that part of the court house used as a school room, at a reasonable price, until the above amount ($10^)) is raised, provided sucli time shall not exceed a term of ten years Irom the lOtli day of October, 1841; and unless tiie above amount is raised as aforesaii I, then tlie above order to be void, and no ]ial)ility resting upon the county. It is also understond tliat said room is at all times to be open "for county purposes, free of charge. The said Emmert, Halderman & Co. are further required lo report semi-annually the amount received as above, which shall be credited on this order.

This, it seems, completed in good faith, all matters between Emmert, IFiildtn'man & Co. and the county commissioners, in relation t(^ the luiilding of the court house.

Nearly six years had come and gone since the county was organized and the first election of county officers in Ajiril, ISX,',). The county had increa.-ed largely in population and wealth, and, so far, its public alfairs had been i-arefiilly and rcouDmically managed. The liberality and cnterjirisc of Emmert, ilakh-rman iV^ (Jo. had provided for the county a court house amply sufiicient and commodious feu* any new county, and i»ne that answered well for nearly twenty years, thus enabling the ]K'ople to avoid making a deht, or subjecting them to heavy taxatiiin for public building purposes. This liberalit}^ and public spirit of the founders of Mt. Carroll. Enimert, TIaldernian & Co., provided the means bj which the county could prepare themselves against the day when a larger and better conrt house would be needed.

First Settlements

Thus fai' only the first settlement at Savanna, the history of the organization of the countv, the re-location of the county seat, the building of the first court house, etc., etc., have been followed. To render our undertaking more complete and comprehensive, the settlement of the ditterent parts of the county will now be taken up, that the names of the first settlers and some of the pioneer incidents may be preserved.

Taking these settlements in their regular order, we return to Savanna, to add a few additional items that were omitted in the beo-innins: of these pages tor want of the proper data. After the work had been commenced, the writer visited E)r. E. AV'oodrnfi^, of Savanna, to solicit his aid in making some corrections and supplying some important dates, etc. While on that visit, that very courteous and intelligent gentleman kindly consented to "hunt up" sundry items of Savanna's early days, without which this history would be incomplete. True to his word, as he has ever been to all liis promises. Dr. Woodruft' remits to these pages the missing links in the history of that part of Carroll Count}^ of which he has been an honored, respected and useful citizen and representative man for over forty years.

H. F. Kett & (X). - Benr Sirs: I wrote to Mr. Pierce, at Hampton, 111., for items of interest to j-our praiseworthy undertaking - the " History of Cairoll County," but, owing to the death of his sister, Mrs. Rhodes, his attendance at her funeral, etc., I did not receive an answer until tliis morning, when I received the following:

"Mrs. ^liwy .Jane Rhodes, whose death is referred to above, was the first white child born in what is now Carroll Count}-. She was born ]May 8, 1829, and died Xov. 14, 1877.

"The principal tribes of Indians here when the settlement at Savanna was commenced were, the Foxes, Keokuk, chief; the Sacs, Black Hawk, chief; and a few Winnebagoes and Pottawatomies."

The first marriage occurred (I think) in 1835, when Vance L. Davidson was married to Harriett M. Pierce. They subsequently moved to California, where they were still living at last accounts.

Marshall B. Pierce, (now of Hampton, 111.,) and Julia A. Baker procured the first marriage license after the countj^ was organized, and were married by Benjamin Church, Justice of the Peace, Aug. 25. 1839.

We had occasional preaching, as a preacher happened among us. No church record prior to 1858 is known, to my knowledge, although there was an M. E. Church organization as early as the Spring of 1838, but I can not give j'ou any definite information about it.

The first cleath of which I have any positive knowledge was in the family of Luther H. Bowen, when they lost an infant son. The second death was in the same family, in the Fail of 1837, when the wife and mother followed the infant son to a home beyond the skies.

The first steamboat to land at Savanna was the " Red Rover," Captain Throckmorton, that stopped to take on wood - red cedar, cut along the blufts above town. In these days, wlien cedar posts, for fencing posts, etc., are worth twenty-five cents each, that kind of fuel would be rather expensive.

The land upon which the town of Savanna was built was patented by A. Pierce and George Davidson. I thmk Vance L. Davidson also patented some, but I can not say u(jw what part, or how much.

M. B. Pierce says in his letter to me: "Father's house was a hospital for the sick of the whole country for several years, which was the cause of Savanna l)earing the name of being a sickly place, bilious fever and ague being the principal diseases." And again he says: " Rattlesnakes w'ere veiy plenty and denned in the blulfs above town. For the first few years w-e used to go snaking, and killed hundreds of them as they came out of their dens in the spring." Since my acquaintance with him, I have often heard him relate snake stories of his boyhood's days.

James Craig built the first saw mill. It was built on Plum River, about two miles east of town, at the site now occupied by Messrs. Wood & Kitchen's flouring mills.

The Winter of 1842-3 was a long and cold one. Snow commenced fi^lling in October, and did not entirely disappear until late in April. On the 10th of April, 184:^, we cros.sed the ]\Iississippi River on ice, with four 3-oke of cattle, hauling bridge timber. During the Winter, owing to the severe and ui tense cold and deep and continued snow, stock of all kinds suft'ered severely, and a great many cattle starved and froze to death. The like of that Winter has never since been experienced.

The -ttli of July, 1876, was celebrated bv the ]\It. Carroll people in right royal style. In perfecting their arrangements, C B. Smith, Esq., was selected as orator of the day, and Yolney Armour, Esq., Avas appointed to prepare and read a historical sketch of the early history of the county, which was subsequently reproduced in the Carroll County Ji^/Tor, running through several numbers of that paper. While compiling tliis book, these papers were placed in possession of the writer, and very materially assisted him in perfecting his chain of history, and especially in regard to fixing the dates and names of the settlers in the different parts of the county - facts now under consideration. Referring to the condition of Savanna when the first settlers came there, in the Fall of 1828, Mr. Armour said:

Above the place where the Irvine Saw Mill used to stand, extending from the blutts nearly to ^lain Street, the timber was splendid. The trees, however, were all dead, having been girdled by the Indians a year or two prior totlie arrival of the settlers. Some of these trees were more than ten feet in circumference. The near neighbors were the few settlers at .\lbany, Wiiiteside County, Dixon, Lee County, and Hanover, .J<» Daviess ("ouuty. Each of the first settlers brought with them a pair of cattle, with whicli the\' did their logging and breaking. They planted the first cro]) ever cast into the bosom of the prolific earth of Carroll County in the S])ring of 1829, and while they planted, the Lord watered; yet the earth would have brought no increase except that the boj's and girls had been kept by day scaring the countless millions of birds of every kind and hue from devouring the germinating seed in the Spring, and the ripening corn in the Fall ; ami the men and boys had kept in check the hundreds of raccoons that came upon their fields, like the plagues of Egypt in the night. But perseverance and industry concjuered, and the settlers gathered a harvest of golden grain, that gave proof of the fatness of the land. M. B. Pierce says that we of to-day have no idea of the throngs of birds that filled the groves and made vocal the solitudes around, nor of the wild fowl that swam in the sloughs and creeks at that time. I gather from wliai he says that tliey swarmed around Savanna then like the grasshoppers on the plains ami prairies of Colorado. * * * * The Indians at that time were numerous and friendly, and, for a trifling compensation, shared the products of the chase and fisli from the streams. These substantials, as well as delicacies, the mere thought of whicli, at this late daj% makes our stomachs hunger, and our mouths water, consisted of venison, wild turkeys, ])rairie (-hickens, and ducks, geese, woodcock and snipe, in their season; and occasionally buflalo meat, as countless lierds of bison then roamed the prairies of Iowa and Minnesota. Whether these settlers hankered niter the flesh-jiots of EgyiU, such as hog UHjat, I do not know, but certainly the grunt of the porker was yet unheanl in Carroll County. And I know they sighed for milk and butter, for of these they had none iinlil .\L P. Pierce and his father went down to Bond County in the Sumnn-r and came back in August, 182!), witii a few cows. They also brought up a few horses. While these settlers had so mu(th to gladden their stomachs, the; county was not without its pnli-hiir/.s or dniich'lc/ci, for the voracious mus([uilo sang and luimmeil about the unsilent couches, and wood ticks, buflalo gnats and horse tlies sought their life blood in revenge fi>r being disturbed in their hitherto quiet domain. ********

In the Spring of 18:50-1, .lohn Bernard settled in what is now AVa<liingt<>n Township, at the Ilarttield place. Hayes and Robinson settled on the Ceorge Fish farm, the same S|)rlng. Coibin (heretofore mentioned) on the bind now included on the Xoah McFarland larm. Cori)in's house or hut was built in a tree about ten feet from the ground, to avoiil snake bit«;s, ratliesnakes then abounding in all this region. .\n idea of how numerous wi re some of the fur-bearing animals around tiie Dyson neighl)()rliood. in York, may be reacheil by a statement of the fact that M. B. Pierce and another man. in five week<, "killed l,(iOO muskrals, the >kins of which brought tin in the snug little sum of .-i;200 per man.

Mr. Armour next referred to tlie breaking out of the Black Ilawk War and tiic attack made by the Indians upon the Savanna settlement, an ac- count of wliich we have already written, and the statements are so nearly alike that a further mention would be entii-ely superfluous, hence the omission of tliis part of his address. Resuming an examination of the address from which we are copying, the speaker continues: strangers while living in the old council house, and still continued afterwards. He built the proent Chambers House in 1836-7. Luther H. Bowen built the Woodruft" House, which was first called the Mississippi House. These hotels were built in anticipation of a glorious future for Savanna. During the Winter of 18o5-6, the Legislature of Hliuois inaugurated its grand scheme of internal improvements, embracing about l.ooO miles of railroatl. One of tlicse couti-mplaled lines was intended to terminate at Savanna, and had this road been built at that time. Savanna would, no doubt, have become one of the most important cities of the state. What Quincy is, may be safely i-egarded as a fair representation of what Savanna might have been. It was in anticipation of tliis supposed future that these hotels were built. They were then the best hotels in all this region df country'. It is sad, even at this late day, to contemplate what possibilities for Savanna were blasted by the financial tornado of "1837.

The late Luther H. Bowen, probablj' the most enterprising citizen Savanna ever had, came to the state in 1832, and assi^tetl in tlie early surveys of the northwestern teiritoiy. Although he came to Savanna .several j'ears after the Pierces, Davidsons and Blundells, he became the original proprietor of the town, in connection with some Quakers by the name of Murray, of Philadelphia. Settlers came in slowly until 1833 and 1834, when there was a very noticeable increase. Stephen N. Arnold, who gave his name to the landing above Savanna, settled on what subsequently^ became the farm of John Robinson, came about this time. Royal Cooper came about 1835, and was an active participant in the early aflairs of the count}^ Nathan Lord and Elijah Bellows settled in the Savanna district about the same time. At the April election, 1839, when the first board of county officers was elected. Savanna precinct cast 127 votes, of which GO were residents of the village. This, according to the established rule (if estimating five persons to each voter, would fix Savanna's population at that time at 300 men, women and children.

* A species of fence placed in front of a breastwork, or on a glacis, for the purpose of impeding the advance of an attack. It is usually made of felled "trees, with the branches pointed outward.

" Shortly after the close of the Black Hawk War, Thomas Crane sold his claim to Samuel M. llitt, of IVLaryland, who afterwards became prominently identified with the public affairs 'of Ogle County, and Crane removed to what was subsequently known as Crane's Point, in Stephenson Connty. Francis Garner, wife and family, including five or six children, came here from Southern Illinois soon after the Indian troubles were conquered, llis youno-est daughter, Mary, and probably Jane, also (but of this 1 am not cei-ahi), was ^born in Carroll County. Garner had been one of the army against the Indians, and he selected his claim when he was en route home, after his discharge at Galena. a i^'.

" In 1833, AVm. Thompson settled either at Cherry Grove or Arnold s Grove If at Cherry Grove, he soon sold out and took up the claim of the old Arnold and Henry Strickler places. . Levi AValden (or Walker) took up a claim the same year. George Swa.ojgert came the next year, and soon after his arrival his'wife died. She had selected the place for her bunal and hers was the first grave in the Cherry Grove graveyard. Garner Moffett came in 1835, and purchased a claim, probably S\vag:gert s Moffett iv-ed in the ori urinal log house until 184G or 1848. Wm. Daniels came m 183 ^ and made^'a claim on the creek near Lanark, where George Laiisover now lives Thiswas the pioneer claim - away out beyond the irontiei^- line ot settlement, and was considered a bold move on the part of Mr. Ivansover. In 1837, Georo;e W. Harris, another Marylander, came to the Grove, niore to look after ^and take care of Hitt's interests than as a settler, lie first lived in the old, fort-like house built by Crane, and kept a kind of tavern therein for three years, when he built the old Cherry Grove House for Hitt, which he also occupied for a time, as did also David Lmmert in 1840 and 1811. Emmert was succeeded by a Mr. Pierce. John Her and Peter Movers came about the same time that Harris came. Some time about 1835 or 183G, a line of stage coaches was established between Galena and Peoria, via Dixon's Ferry. The line was kept up until 1846, and made a station with Harris as long as he remained at Cherry Grove and wlien lie removed to Plum liiver, his place there was made a station, also. Lmanuel Stover afterwards came into the ownership of the farm on which the Clierry Grove House stood, and either Mr. Stover, or some one t.j whom he sold it, removed it to Lanark, and it now makes a part of the Taber House barn. Sarah, dauo-hter of Garner Moffett (now the wife of Linanuel btover), was horn in 1837, and is the oldest native resident of that vicinity.

When Harris left the Grove, he took the claim that is now covered by the farm of Samuel Ludwick, on Plum Uiver. In 1847, he moved to Mt. Carroll, where he was postmaster from 1853 to 18(11 - eight years, a»d J"=^- tice of the peace f .r a much longer period. He died m l87o. Jas. Mark came without money or propeky in 1837. In 1841 he was hv.ng in an 8 by 10 pole shanty on his claim, east of where H. F. Lowman now lives. Nathan Frisk. Israel Jones, and Bradstreet Bobbins made claims about 1838-'.» Frisk located on the north side of the Grove, Jones at the l.ig Springs near Shannon, and Bobinson east of the Grove - Jones venturing further out than any settler had ever attempted before. Some time previous to tJK'se last-named" accessions to the Cherry (irove settlement, the tather of John Laird either selected or bought a claim. When George Swaggcrt kit the Grove, lie bought the chiim'^of Wm. Thompson, who in turn took up the Shultz farm in Woodhuid, which, a few years later, he sold to Daniel Arnold and Henry Strickler, and in 1838, together with S. M. Hitt and

Daniel Christian, bought the Otis and Mathews claim to Mt. Carroll and vicinity, and in 1841-2 lived where Hartman now resides. In later years, he took up tlie farm two miles southeast of Mt. Carroll, where he died in 1856 or 1857.

'' John C. Owings came to the county in 1834, from some one of the Southern States, and settled a little to the southwest of the Grove. He was a man of energy and influence, and a kind of leader or representative man, and served for a number of years as a justice of the peace, and also as postmaster. He removed from the county in 1868, and now lives in Iowa.

'-Garner Moflett, of whom mention has heretofore been made, was a kindlj^, genial gentleman, of fair talents and some degree of culture. He tilled several office^ ol trust and honor, always being elected by large majorities, notwithstanding he was a Democrat, and the county decidedly Whig. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1848, and died in 1856, respected and regretted by every citizen and acquaintance."

Elkhorn Grove. - This settlement dates back to 1830, at which period John xVnkeny and Thos. Parish built cabins on the east side of the Grove, both near, if not both on, the Harry Smith place, but both left about the time of the breaking out of the Black Hawk War, in 1832. So far as known, neither one of them ever returned to their claims - in fact. Parish was never heard of afterwards, while Ankeny turned his attention to keeping a hotel or tavern at Buffalo, a few months after leaving his claim. This beginning excepted, Elkhorn Grove remained an unbroken, undisturbed wild until about 1834, when Levi Warner settled on the south side of the Grove. A surveyor by profession, he was elected county surveyor at the flrst county election, in April, 1839, and re-elected for several successive terms. He came here a bachelor, and remained in " single blessedness " for a number of years. John H. Hawes now lives where Warner iirst settled. In 1835 Alvin Humphrey settled at the northeast corner of the Grove, and Caleb Dains and Thos. Hughes at the southeast corner. Hum])hrey was a great wag, and a great many of his "jokes " are still remembered with broad faces. John Knox and family, including Geo. W. Knox, came about 1834 or 1835, and made a claim on the south side ot the Grove, where he " set out '' the flrst orchard planted in the county. Geo. W. Knox now occupies the old home place. In 1835, John Ankeny returned to the Grove. Uncle Harry Smith and Samples M. Journey settled at the Grove in 1834 - the flrst-named on the land where he now resides, and tlie latter a little further to the east, on the farm on which Pansom Wilson died a short time ago. Miles Z. Landon, Elder John Paynter, Joseph Steflins, Manasas Neikerk and Lyman Hunt came soon afterwards. A rapid tide of immigration now set in, and among them came a number of our now mvtst prominent citizens. In 1837, Elijah Eaton built a saw mill - the flrst in the township. The same year the people of the Grove celebrated the 4th of July with great pojiip and ceremony, at the place of Alvin Humphrey. Felix Connor delivered the oration, and a right good one it is said to have been. In 1834, a millwright named Peters settled on Elkhorn Creek bottom, near the present village of Milledgeville, but, falling sick, he gave up his claim to Jesse Kester, who improved it with a saw mill. Kester subsequently sold out his claim to Adam Knox, who built the grist mill. In 1839, his daughter, Eliza J., was born, which was the first birth. Soon after, his son Albert died, which was the flrst death at or near Milledgeville. In 1844, a post-ofiice was established there, and Jacob McCourtie was appointed postmaster. At that time, Milledgeville (it is said) was a larger 2)lace than Mt. Carroll. In 1839, Simeon Johnson and his son, J. B. Johnson, Bjron and Nelson Fletcher, and Abel Eastabrooks, the father of L. F., and the other Eastabrooks boys, settled in the present town of Wysox. About this time - some a little before and some a little afterwards - the following named persons had settled in the Elkhorn Grove neighborhood, in which are included the towns of Lima and Wysox : Tilson Aid rich, John Richardson, I. H. Woodruff, Hiram McNamer, Geo. G.Colton, N. Spencer, Alvah Dains, Henry Hunter, E. W. Todds, Chas. Redman, Stephen Jenkins, Philetus Peck, several by the name of Grant, and D. Stormer.

" With but few exceptions, these settlers hugged the Groves, only the boldest of them venturing out on the prairie. The sweep of the winter winds, it was thought hy some, would render the prairie practically uninhabitable. Others could not bear the idea of removing so far away from the timber. Two gentlemen who had sold their farms in Pennsylvania, came to Milledgeville in 1840, with the intention of investing their means in lands thereabouts, and rearing stately homes on the broad fields nature had cleared. Some parties had accompanied them to show them the beautiful prairie between Milledgeville and Cherry Grove, etc. After traversing the broad and undulating expanse, vaster than anything of the kind their imagination had ever pictured, they came to the conclusion that the prairie was and must forever remain wori/ileiss, because it could never be inhabited to any extent for want of timber. So they repacked their dollars, turned their backs upon tluit garden-spot of nature, and re-invested their wealth in rocks and mountains and hills and timber of Pennsylvania.

"A Mr. Ingalls was the iirst school teacher in the Elkhorn Grove neighborhood, and taught in what is now known as the Centre SchoolIIouse District."

Mount Carroll. - " Samuel Preston, Sr., made the first chiim and was the first settler in Mt. Carroll Township. His claim covered the water power of Fulrath's Mill and what has ever since been known as 'Preston's Prairie.' The same day, Paul D. Otis and Granville Mathews made a claim of the land and water ])owor at Mt. Carroll, which afterwards became the property of Emmert, llalderman & Co. These claims were made some time in 1836 and in 1837. Messrs. Otis and Mathews built a cabin near what subsecpiently became the Christian homestead, and into which Mr. Mathews removed his father. As already stated in these images, Otis and Mathews sold their claim to Geo. Swaggert and others, and they in turn sold it to Emmert, llalderman & Co., who were the real founders of Mt. Carroll.

"In the Fall of 1830, Nathan Downing took a claim that is now known as Kinney's Farm. - JSTathan Downing sold his claim to hi> brother, lleman Downing, within a year afterwards, who continued to occupy and iniju-ove it until 1850, when he sold the farm to John Kiiniey.

"The first white child born in the Mt. Carroll settlement was a daughter to Nathan Downing, born in the Spring ot 1837. When this (laughter grew to wonninhood, she was given in marriage to (iideon Carr. This same S])ring, lie/.in Everts took up the land n^w known as the Trail Farm; and Samuel S. I>ayless claimed a part of section 12, at the ])rcsent fair grounds. He laid off a town there, which, in hotu>r of the capital of his native state, Vii-ginia, he called Richmond, lie made libia-al oilers of lots to settlers, and two small houses were built, but tlie financial troubles of

1837 killed Richmond, and blasted the hopes and expectations of its founder. Otis and Mathews, like a great many other claim-takers, were greedy and tried to 'slide " their claim over on to Bayless', but he ' didn't scare worth a cent,' and wisely held on to his claim. In 1839, a post-office was established at Richmond and was entered on the post-office records at Washington under that name. When the Whigs came into power under Harrison, in 1841, the * Richmond, Carroll County, Illinois' post-office was stricken from the listot U. S. P. O.'^, and has never since been known by that name. A little circumstance in connection witli the appointment of fhe first postmaster at Richmond is worthy of preservation. A part of the settlers wanted old 'Squire Chas. G. Hawley for postmaster, and another part of them wanted Heman Downing. Both were Whigs. The appointing power (Van Buren's) was Democratic, so Downing's friends ventured to assert in their petition that I.e was a Jeffisrsonian Democrat, thinking that would be an irresistible and unanswerable ars^ument in his favor, and sure to settle the question - and it did. Both ])arties handed their petitions to Luther H. Bowen, postmaster at Savanna, who was a Democrat, lie looked over the petitions and made this simple endorsement on Downing's : "He is a Whig." He said nothing about Hawley's politics, but Hawley got the post-office.

" In the Spring of 1838, Daniel Christian moved on to the Otis and Mathews claim and built the old saw mill down the creek. Wm. Mackay (the elder brother of Duncan Mackay) and John George leased and ran the mill for some time. This vear Heman Downino- built the first frame barn of anv size in the conntv. Its sills and posts and beams and orders were made of hewn oak timber, and, as was the practice in those days, they were large and heavy, and required the united strength of all the settlers between Plum River and Cherry Grove to raise it. It was the; model barn of the county in those days, but its glory departed before many j'ears.

" In 1838, Geo. W. Stewart settled on the Samuel Hayes farm, on the Savanna road, and a man by the name of Hinckley settled on the land now covered by the Danii 1 Crouse farm.

" Somewhere about 1838 (the exact date is unknown), John Kinney, Joseph Ferrin, Rezin Everts and others were iishing down Carroll Creek, early in the Spring, and all at once they heard a hissing and rattling noise, and, looking around, they found themselv^es overtaken by hundreds of rattlesnakes that had come out from their dens to sun themselves. They quit iishing and \vent to snake-killing, and when none but dead ones were to be seen, they took an inventory of the stock on hand, and found that they had disposed of one hundred and ninety, and they didn't think it was a very good day for snakes, either I They had more snakes than iish.

" In 1839, Mr. Whipple, a travelling Presbyterian minister, preached the first sermon on the prairie. The first school was taught the same year, by Sarah J. Hawley, in the upper part of the senior Preston's house.

" Previous to the time which we have reached in the history of the county, Sidney and Lewis Bliss, John O'Xeal, Benj. Church, Jos. Ferrin, John Kinney and a few others had settled on Preston Prairie, and David Masters a half a mile south of the Mt. Carroll depot.

"A man named Leonard l)uilt a grist mill in 1838-9, at the site of the mill now owned by Adam Fulrath. The mill-stones were quarried from the Galena Limestone that crops out along the creek, one of which may still be seen at the Fulrath mill."

Mount Carroll. - " David Emmert and family, of Pennsylvania, came to Cherry Grove in May, 1840, and kept the Cherry Grove House for a while. In the Fall of 1841, ]Sr. Halderman, also, came into the county, and, stopping at Cherry Grove, made Emmert's acquaintance, and entered into an arrangement with him to build a mill somewhere in the county. Their attention was directed to the Mount Carroll mill site, which Halderman examined some time in the month of November, and being fully satisfied with its advantages, a mill company was formed, the site purchased, and operations commenced. The company was composed of David Emmert, JC. Halderman, John Rinewalt, and Thomas JRobinson, of the firm of Irvine & Robinson, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A log house was built at " Stags' Point," on the ground now occupied by the residenc*; of I. P. Sheldon, and in January, 1842, the Emmert family moved in and occupied it. About this time Halderman fell in with Daniel Hurley, at Cherry Grove, who, with Hugh Slowey and one or two other men, were en route for Galena hunting a job of work. Halderman entered into a contract with Hurley to build the dam and lay the foundation of the mill building. Some twenty men were employed on this work, quarrying the stone for the mill, etc., all of whom boarded with Emmert. The next dwelling houses were built by some of the men employed in the mill enterprise. J esse and Thomas Ilapp settled here in 1842, intending to unite their fortunes with the mill company, but subsecjuently changed their minds. Jesse Papp built the first house south of the stone hotel (now the Chapman House), soon after the town was laid out, some two or three houses having been built in advance of the survey. The first season after the survey, a man named Goltman built a house on the lot subsequently occupied by John S. Miller's store. The same year a house was built on the first corner south of that now occupied by the Chapman House. Until 1844, when the Chapman House was built, this was the largest and best house in town, and was used as a boarding-house by Thomas luipp. Soon after the completion of this (then) somewhat aristocratic house, Harlan Pyle built another one just west of the mill-race, which was afterwards rebuilt by Evan Pea." Thus commenced the settlement of Mount Carroll, and here the settlement will be left to be taken u]) again in a local history of the growth and prosj)erity of the city.

York. - To J!^orman D. French belongs the honor of pioneering the settlement in this division of the county, where he made a claim in 1835; broke up S(jrae ground in 1830; built a cabin in 1837, and raised his first cro]) in 1838. Mr. Armour says he had, by his early experience among the hills and mountains of Vermont, become disgusted with them, and while assisting in the United States' survey of the lands along the Mississii)pi, selected the site of his ])resent home. William Dysen, Sr., and his sons, William, Jr., and He/.rkiah; his son-in-law, Pussell Colvin, and Geoi'ge Helms, a relative, came in 1836. These new settlers, because of the numerous gushing si)rings to be found there, made their claims along the l)lurts. A y(!ar oi- two later, a man named Edgerly settled near l-'rench. and William St. ( )i-es and .Jacob ['otter st'ttled just west of the centre of town 23, range 4 - ])roliably on section 9. No other settlements are recorded until 1838, when Col. l>eers Tomliiison located on the lands now occu])ied by his son, Beers J^>. Tomlinson. When Col. Tnmliiison came to Carroll County to locate a new home his attention was directed to York by Samuel Pi'eston, Sr., who says of him: '' Colonel Tomlinson was a man of dignified presence, and would at once be recognized as a man born to lead and not to follow. Yet he had none of those airs of loftiness suggestive of the great ' I ' and little 'U' that characterize some men. His nature was social and jovial, and he relished a joke equal to the best in that line. His wife was a Bailey, and he was soon followed to his new home by that family and their kindred, the Balcoms. His brother, Seymour Tomlinson, and the Atliertons came afterwards, but only Daniel B. Kenyon and his sons, and Joshua Bailey, came prior to 1841. Col. Tomlinson was a captain in the war of 1812, and was born almost in sight of old Fort Ticondcroga, and, no doubt had some of the Ethan Allen spirit in him." Levi Kent was York's first school teacher and taught at Bluilviile.

Frkedom. - This township has but little history that is not inchided in that of Cherry Grove settlement. Owen's Point, as it was called, where John C. Owen resided, was in the limits of Freedom, as were the farms of the Moffetts, Marks and Lairds. The Indians were numerous for several years after the Black Hawk War, and as late as 1835-6 a trading post was maintained at Owen's Point, where guns, ammnnition, calico, blankets, whisky, red handkerchiefs, beads, etc., were exchanged to the Indians for peltries, etc. The Indians were a source of annoyance and fear, especially to the women and children.

Salem. - The earliest settlers of Salem, of whom any trace has been kept, were David Masters, George Swaggert, Seymour Downs, AVilliam Mackay, Duncan Mackay, and Henry Peynolds, David Masters being the tirst settler, having selected a claim and built a cabin, in 1837.

Rook Creek's first settlers were David Becker and Zachariah Kinkaid. Becker sold to Daniel Belding. Richard A. Thompson was an earl}- settler, and the lirst to introduce cheese-making in the county.

Lima. - John Chambers and Philetus Peck were the first white occupants of this beautiful and naturally rich and attractive section of the county. Peck came some time previous to 1840.

Woodland. - This is the most heavily timbered part of the county, and was first occupied by William Thompson and Moses Wooten. The Hendersons and Gills came in 1842 or 1843, and Uriah Green came about the same time.

These notes on the first settlements in the different parts of the county bring us back to the general history of the county, at the point from which we digressed. A first court house had been erected and was occupied by the various county officers. The first term of the Circuit Court in the new building was held in October, 1844 - Judge Thomas C. Browne, jDresiding. The foliowino: named citizens were the

I. B. Wells, the attorney for the people, not being present, the Court appointed James M. Strade attorney for the people jpro tern. There were eight criminal cases - one for perjury, on a change of venue from Jo Daviess County; one for assault with intent to kill; one for contempt of court as a grand juror; one on forfeiture of recognizance; one for riot; one for larceny, on a change of venue from Jo Daviess; one on indictment against a supervisor; and one on indictment for malicious mischief - shooling a mare.

It is to the credit of the people of the county that but few really bad or desperate characters ever found an abiding place in thei)' midst. The criminal docket, as compared with other counties, shows a lower percentage of convictions than most of them - not because evil-doers have not been prosecuted, but because crimes were not committed.

In 18J:5, six years after the county was organized, the total amount of county tax was $935.27. The old journal of the county commissioners court, under date of Wednesday, June 3, 1846, shows that the "following settlement was made with the collector, Sumner Downing :

County Jail Matters

In October, 1846, the commissioners ordered the county clerk to advertise for sealed proposals for building a jail, the " walls to be of stone, each two feet in thickness, and not less than one and a half feet long and one foot deep, jointed and coupled top and bottom with iron pins, three quarters inch rod; the walls to commence four feet below the surface of the earth, and to raise twelve feet above the surface; the building to be 16 by 20 feet on the outside; the fii'st floor to be made of solid hewn timber, ten inches thick, and to be firmly set in the outside wdK;, and to be covered with wellseasoned, two-inch, merchantable oak ])laid<, jointed, the top of the floor to be two feet above the surface of the ground, and spiked to the hewn timber four inches aj)art. Also, a floor at the height of the top of the wall, of solid hewn timber, jutting over suflicii'utly to give eave, and to be covered on the inside witli well-seasoned one-and-a-haU-inch oak ])iank, and sj)iked the same as the lower floor," etc. The inside of the building was to be divided, according to the plans, into three apartments, or sections, by strong, thick oaken walls, made of seasoned two-inch oak ])lank, three thicknesses, firmly bolted and spiked together. The out&ide dour was to be a heavy oaken one, covered with sheet iron. The inner one was to be of equal thickness, and same kind of material." Bids were solicited through the advertising columns of the Jejfersonian and Gazette, of Galena, and by three written notices put up in the three most coiispicuous places in the county, etc. The records, however, do not show that any bids were ever received. But this is not surprising, for it is a subject of universal regret, if not of complaint, among the people of the county, that the records in the county clerk's office were very indifferently and negligently kept until Major Hawk succeeded to the office, in December, 1865. When he came into the office many of the important papers had not been filed in regular succession, but had nearly all been tumbled into boxes, without any regard to order, and it was many months before they were resurrected from chaos and confusion and arranged in any thing like decent shape. Now, there is a place for every thing and every thing is in its place.*

Whether any bids were received for the building of a jail or not is a matter of but little consequence, since it is known that no jail, such as proposed in the plans quoted above, was ever built. In those days there were not many evil doers in the county, and what few there were, were of the ])etty order, and in cases where they were unable to give bail, they were placed in the keeping of some citizen. Sometimes a pretty hard customer would " turn up," that couldn't be trusted to the keeping of any citizen, and such characters would be taken to the jail at Galena. This practice prevailed until about 1850, when one of the lower rooms of the old court house was converted into a jail and divided off into cells, and continued to be so used until the erection of the present county buildings. That jail was none of the strongest, and when, perchance a desperate character, tramping through the country, would commit some of the higher grades of crime, and would be arrested and held to answer, he would be transferred to the jail of Jo Daviess County, to await trial at the next term of the circuit court. But with the erection of the i^i-esent court house and jail - the latter being considered the strongest and best in the state - the county became thoroughly independent in this regard, and fully competent to take care of the worst of ''jail birds."

From the organization of the county in 1839, up to November, 1849, the management of county affairs had been under the control of three county commissioners. The law under which they were elected provided that one of them should serve for one year, one for two years, and one for three years, so that one commissioner only should be elected annuall3\ At the first session of the Countj^ Commissioners Court, terms weie drawn for in the manner following: Three tickets were prepared, on one of which was written "one year," on another one "two j'ears," and on a third one, "three years." These slips of paper were put into a hat or box, and passed to the commissioners, when each one of them would draw out a ticket. The one who drew the "one year" ticket would serve one year; the one who drew the " two year" ticket was entitled to serve two years, and the one drawing the " three year " ticket would hold his office for three years. Under this

* R. G-. Bailey was Major Hawk's immediate predecessor, and had made great im- .proveraents in the management of the records. The real fault belongs to the early county clerks, and the carelessness of county judges, prior to Judge Patch, iu not enforcing order.

Elijah M. Haines, in his "Laws of Illinois, Relative to Township Orfijanization," says, the county system "originated with Virginia, whose early settlers soon large landed proprietors, aristocratic in feeling, living apart in almost l)aronial magnificence on their own estates, and owning the laboring part of the population. Thus the materials for a town were not at hand, the voters being thinly distributed over a great area. The county organization, where a few influential men managed the whole business of the community, retaining their places almost at their pleasure, scarcely responsible at all except in name, and permitted to conduct the county conc-erns as their ideas or wishes might direct, was moreover consonant with their recollections or traditions of the judicial and social dignities of the landed aristocracy of England, in descent from whom the Virginia gentlemen felt so much pride. In 1834, eight counties were organized in Virginia; and the system, extending throughout the state, spread into all the Southern States, and some of the Northern States, unless we except the nearly similar division into 'districts' in South Carolina, and that into 'parishes' in Louisiana from the French laws.

" Illinois, which, with its vast additional territory, became a county of Virginia on its conquest by Gen. George Rogers Clark, retained the county organization, which was formally extended over the state by the constitution of 1818, and continued in exclusive use until the constitution of 1848. Under this system, as in other states adopting it, most local business was transacted by three commissioners in each county, who constituted a county court, with quarterly sessions. During the period ending with the constitutional convention of 1847, a large portion of the state had become filled up with a population of Xew England birth or character, daily growing more and more compact and dissatisfied with the comparatively arbitrary and inefficient county system." It was maintained by the people that the heavily populated districts would always control the election of the commissioners to the disadvantage of the more thinly populated sections - in short, that imder that system " equal and exact justice " to all ])arts of the county could not be secured. The township system had its origin in Massachusetts, and dates back to 1635. The first legal enactment concerning this system provided that, whereas, "particular towns have many things which concern only themselves, and the ordering of their own affairs, and disposing of business in their own town," therefore, "the freemen of every town, or the major part of them, shall only have power to dispose of their own lands and woods, with all the ap]mrtenances of said towns, to grant lots, and to make such orders as may concern the well-ordering of their own towns, not repugnant to the laws and orders established by the General Court." "Tlu!y might, also (says Mr. Haines) impose fines of not more than twenty shillings, and 'choose their own particular officers, as constables, survt-yors for the highways, and the like.' Evidently, this enactment relieved the *general court of a mass of niunicipal details, without any danger to the powers of that body in controlling general measuies or public

*Tlie New England colonics were first governed by a "general court," or legislature, composed of ii governor and a small couni'il, wliicli (-(nirt eonsislcd of llic n\()sl inlhiential in!ial)iianls, iiiul possessed and exeicised both legislative and judicial powers, wlii( h were limited only liy the wisdom of the Imldcr-;. They made? laws, ordered their execution hy ollicers, trieil and ilecided civil and criminal causes, enacted all manner ot' municipal regiilalions, and, in fact, did all the public business of the colony.

Similar provisions f )r the incorporation of towns were made in the first constitution of Connecticut, adopted in 1639; and the plan of township organization, as experience proved its remarkable economy, efficacy and adaptation to the requirements of a free and intelligent people, became universal throughout New England, and went westward with the emigrants from New England, into New York, Ohio, and other Western States, including the northern part of Illinois.

Under these influences, the constitutional provision of 1848, and subsequent law of 1849, were enacted, enabling the people of the several counties of the state to vote "for" or "against" adopting the township organization system. The question was submitted to the people at an election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 1849, and was adopted by all of the counties north of the Illinois Kiver, and by a number of counties south of it.

February 12, 1849, the legislature passed a law creating a county court. Section one of this law^ provided " that there should be established in each of the counties of this state, now created and organized, or which may hereafter be created or organized, a court of record, to be styled ' the County Court,' to be held by and consist of one judge, to be styled the 'County Judge.' Section seventeen of the same act [see pp.30T-10, Statutes of 1858] provided for the election of two additional justices of the peace, wdiose jurisdiction should be co-extensive with the counties, etc., and who should sit with the county judge as members of the court for the transaction of all county business and none other.

Ordered, That the question of "town organization" be submitted to the voters of Carroll County at the next general election, lo he held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November next, and that a vote by ballot be given for or against a " town organization."

At the general election on the " first Tuesday after the first Monday in November," a majority of the votes were cast in favor of "a town organization," and in April, 1850, the township organization law went into effect.

The last meeting of the county commissioners was held on Saturday, December 1, 1849. The board at that time consisted of H. Smith, D. L. Bowen and J. Bartholomew. Their last business was the examination and allowance of sundry bills to judges, clerks of election, etc. The three last orders were in these words:

These orders were numbered respectively 1327, 1328 and 1329. The "court adjourned without day." And thus passed away and out of practice the old system of managing county affairs.

At the election held on the "first Tuesday after the first INLonday in Novembei*,'' 1849, under the provisions of the law creating the county court, George W. Harris was elected County Judge. Turning to the records, we find the following entry:

" Mt. Carroll, Carroll Co., III., Dec. 3, 1849. "The County Court of Carroll County, Illinois, this day convened at the court house, according to law, for the transaction of business. Present:

George W. Harris, County Court (Judge?) and Norman D. French and G, W. Knox, associate justices of the peace, when the following orders were made:

"The commission of George W. Harris, County Judge, was presented and ordered to be placed on tile." This commission bore the signature of Aug. C. French, as governor, and H. S. Cooley, as secretary of state, and was dated at the City of Springtield, November 19, 1849. On the back of tlie commission was the prescribed oath of office, and was subscribed by Mr. Harris before Thomas T. Jacobs.

Reuben W. Brush, having been elected to the office of county clerk, at the same election, also presented his commission as such officer from Gov. French, and was sworn into office by Leonard Goss, probate justice of the peace. His official bond in the sum of three thousand dollars, with Aaron Belding and John Irviiie, Sr., as bondsmen, was also presented, approved and place on file.

The court then proceeded to business, taking up and disposing of petitions for roads, passing upon claims against the county, etc., and in a o^eneral wav discharo'ino; nearlv the same duties as those confided by law to the county commissioners. Among the other business transacted, R. H. Gray, John Wilson and Rollin Wheeler were appointed commissioners under the "act to provide for township organization, passed and approved February 12, 1849," to divide the county into towns or townships, and make their report according to law.

The county court remained in session two days, and then adjourned until the next term in course, which, by law, was the first Monday in March, 1850, that day being the fourth day of the month. This term the court remained in session only two days, adjourning on Wednesday, tlie 6th of March. Durino: this session of the court a large number of orders were passed, sundry accounts examined and ordered to be paid, etc.

The following month - April - the first board of supervisors was elected. The first record under the new order of county management is as follows:

MorxT Cakkoll, April 8, ISoO. In pursuance of an act approved February 12, 1849, auihorizing "township organization in tiie several counties of Illinois," the board of supervisors of Carroll County met on this (lay, at the court house in Mount Carroll, as provided in the second section of the sixteenth article of said act, to-wit: Jared Bartholomew, Henry L. Lowman, and Daniel P. Holt. A quorum not being present, the board adjourned, to meet on the loth inst. (Monday), at 10 o'clock A. M.

Monday, the J 5th, pursuant to adjournment, the first active session of the board was commenced. There were present Jared Bartliolomew, Daniel P. Holt, Ryllin Wheeler, Sample M. Journey, George Sword, Monroe Bailey, Henry F. Lewman, John Donaldson - 8.

lienolvcil. That a committee of three be appointed as commissioners to lucatc a quartersection of land, out of tiie funds rai-ed l)y a ta.x. for that object on the ta.xable property for 1849, for the i)urpose of erectmg a poor-house.

Tut Levy. - Ordered by the board tliat a tax of four mills on tiie dollar's worth of taxable properly in the county be nsscssed, for the year bSlO, lor county revenue; also, that a tax of live and eight tenths mills be assessed on the same as a state lax.

At tin's meeting of the board of supervisors, the commissioners appointed to divide the county into towns or townsliips made their report, establishing the townships as follows:

Commissioners' Report Showing ilie Boundary Lines of the several Towns laid off in Carroll County. - Wa, the undersigned, commissioners appointed by the County Court of Carroll county, under and by virtue of an act of tlie legislature of the State of Illinois, approved February 12, 1849, entitled "An act to provide for township and county organization, under which any county may oriranize whenever a majority of the voters of such county, at any general election may determine," do hereby establish the following-named boundaries for the following described towns in Carroll County, laid oft" by us in pursuance of the act aforesaid, to-wit:

Changes, etc. - Lost Grove continued a part of the town of Cherry Grove until Sept. 13, 1S64, wdien, by the action of the board of supervisors, it was erected into the present town of Shannon, named from the village of Shannon, within its limits. Its separate life commenced April 1, lb65.

In 1855, the territory designated for the town of Rush Creelc was erected into the town of Washington, including, also, the territory of Portsmouth.

Harlem was changed to York upon motion of Mr. Bailey, supervisor of that town, on the Mth day of November, 1850. Subsequently it was changed to Argo by the legislature, but was re-christened York at the next meeting of the board of supervisors after the change. This second change to York was throuorh the influence of the same Mr. Bailev.

Poor Farm Redivivus

The first committee appointed to locate a <juarter-section of land for a poor farm do not appear, by the records, to have made any report, so, on Monday, Dec. j!-1, 1851, another committee, consisting of Messrs. R. W. Brush, David Becker and David Emmert, were appointed to that duty, and " authorized to view out and purchase a suitable tract of land on such terms as thev might deem expedient, and to apply tlie money then in the treasury, and that to be collected that year," to the payment thereof. February 12, 1S52, this committee reports that they had purchased the farm formerly owned by Samuel S. Bayliss, containing two hundred acres, for the sum of eleven hundred dollars. "The money in the treasury appropriated to that object, and that to be collected in 1851 (amounting in all to about five hundred dollars) is to l)e paid on the execution by said Bayliss of a sufficient deed, and the remainder in county orders, to be issued, bearing interest at the rate of six per cent per annum from the date of purchase."

February 13, Henry F. Lowman, Jesse Rapp and David Becker were appointed a committee to contract with some person to take charge of the poor farm for one year, and to direct such improvements as the committee might deem necessarv to the reception of paupers, etc. March 1, this committee reported a contract, signed by themselves and Jacob Strickler, for the term of one year from that date, which was accepted and placed on file. The same day the board of supervisors ordered that " the house purchased of Samuel S. Bayliss be established as a poor house " from that date. The house referred to was a kind of double concern - half frame and half log. Improvements were soon after commenced, and continued from year to year, as the county had means, until in 1872 a handsome, commodious and convenient brick house, of two stories and basement, was commenced and com- |)leted. In the basement are three rooms a cellar. On the first floor there are five rooms and two cells. On the second floor there are seven rooms - all well ventilated, and sufficiently roomy for all j)ractical purposes. The contract was originally awarded to Karn <& Rhiuedollar, carpenters and builders at Mount Carroll. They sub-let the masonry part of the building to Mr. James Hallett, also of Mount Carroll. The contract price w^as $r;.050, but by the time the building was completed extra work had been done that increased its cost to about ^^i^OO.

When the poor farm was first purchased, R. W. Brush was appointed a special "agent to put into operation, and take a general supervision of the poor house in Carroll County for the ensuing year."

Bridges, Etc

For several years after the management of the affairs of the county passed from tlie commissioners to supervisors, a good deal of their time was taken up in I'oad and bridge matters. Xew roads were laid out, old ones straightened and re-located to conform to the greater interests and convenience of the people. March 7, 1853, a bridge was ordered to be built across Plum Rivei-,near Savanna, on the roa<l leading southeastwardly to the Town ui' 'l ork, and Monroe Bailey, Reuben II. (iray andXorman D. French were appointed a committee to act with the road commissioners of Savanna to locate and su|>erintend the buildini;- of the said bridge. Previous to the erection of this bridge, the only means of crossing Blum River at that p(»int, in time.^ ot" high water, was by ferry. In.lune, 18.">l,the supervisors grant(^d license to ^\';ul(' 11. Kldridge to keep a ferry there for three months, on the Condition that \\v. wouM not obstruct the ford, give boiul in the sum of fifty dollars, ;iiid pay into the treasury of the county the sum of one dollar - all of which iH'(|uiremcnts woi'c tilled. The rates of toll were:

May 6, 1853, the board passed an amended order directing the commissioners appointed March 7, 1853, to superintend the building of the bridge, not to exceed the sum of $2,000 in all their charges against the county for that purpose. September 13, 1853, Supervisor D. P. Holt offered the following resolution :

That the orders heretofore passed in relation to building a bridge across Plum River, near Savanna, be sustained and approved, and that the sum, not exceeding f 2,000, be appropriated for that purpose.

The records do not show very clearly to whom the contract for building this bridge was awarded, but, from thq^ following entry in the supervisors' records, under date of Thursday, Jaliuary. 12,. 1^54, we are led to conclude that D. P. Holt was the builder. The entrv reads:

That llip clerk of the supervisors be and is hereby authorized to issue a count}- order to the amount ot three hundred and sixty-nine dollars, to D. P. Holt, as Ijalance on his contract for building Plum River Bridge, ou his filing an order of the committee of the acceptance of the said contract.

Then there comes a subsequent entry, in the course of the proceedings of that meeting, wherein the board is petitioned by the supervising committee to direct the clerk to issue an order for one thousand iive hundred dollars to D. P. Holt, in part payment for the Plum Piver bridge, on his filing his bond, with good and sufficient security, etc. - from all of which it appears that Mr. Holt was the contractor and builder of the first bridge across Plum Piver at that point.

This bridge and the one at Bowen's old mill, on Plum Piver (now Wood & Kitchen's), were the largest and most costly in the county. They were wooden structures, and went down from time, before floods and constant use. But at last they are succeeded by strong iron bridges, that defy the force of floods and ravages and decay of time. There are other bridges in the county, but they are wooden ones and of minor importance. These bridges are kept up and repaired from time to time by the several townships in which they are situated.

From the time of the permanent location of the county seat at Mt. Carroll, and the removal of the county offices from Savanna, in 1844, until the breaking out of the war, in 1861, there was but little to disturb the industrial pursuits of the people. As a rule, the people were of a sober, industrious character who had come to the county to secure homes they had nut the means to secure in their native states, and possessed but little money to help them in their new location. But " where tliere is a will, there is always a way," and, careful and prudent, and, by education and force of circumstances, economical, they succeeded in conquering the hardships incident to pioneer life. And, altliongh they were sometimes *' hard run " for the necessaries of life, they kept up brave hearts, and in two or three years had reduced their claims to remunerative farms - at least, they had been made to produce enough to support their flimily occupants, and something to spare. As the years increased, the productions of their farm and stock increased, and the memories of the scanty meals and scanty wardrobes, physical hardships, etc., of their pioneer days were sweetened in the conteinphition of farms and houses and barns and other surroundings of comfort their industry and perseverance had brought forth from the prairies and forests, tliat but a few years ago had been the grazing phices of the l)uifalo,* the elk and other animals natural to the wilds of the northwest, and the undisturbed hunting grounds of the red men.

Xature seems to have designed certain localities of our common country for certain purposes. The rock-bound rivers and creeks of the New England states pre-eminently suit that part of the country for manufacturing purposes. But the Great Architect that unfolded the beautiful prairies and reared the grove-covered hillsides of Carroll County seems to have intended it for agricultural and stock-growing purposes, and to these ends the people directed their energies and their industries.

Was organized in 1853. On the 3d day of September of that year, in pursuance of a call signe^l by Manasses Neikisk, Harry Smith, David Emmert and one hundred and twenty others, a meeting was held at the court house for the purpose of organization. Garner Moffett was chosen chairman of the meeting, and Lnther H. Bowen and H. G. Grattan were appointed secretaries. After a general intercliange of views and opinions, jMessrs. L. Tomlinson, M. Bailey, R. H. Gray. B. R. Frohock, John Her, H. Smith, T. Aldrich, E. Brock and H. G. Grattan were appointed a committee to prepare a business programme, etc. The committee retired and, after a brief absence, returned and reported

Tliat a society be fonnecl in Carroll County to represent the interests of Agriculture, Horticulture and Mechanics, and that a committee be appointed by this meeting to prep ire a constitution and by-laws, preparatory to the permanent organization of this society, to be siiitmitled at an adjourned meeting to be held on the second Tuesday of September, inst., and that said commiliee consist of the following named persons: Garner Moftett, Benjamin R. Frohock, H. G. Grattan, R. H. Gray, E. Brock.

The committee on constitution and by-laws submitted a constitution and by-laws, each article of which was acted upon and adopied separately.

Monroe Bailey was chosen as a <lelegate to represent the society at the state fair, to be held at SpringfieM, on the 11th, 12th, l:Uh and Hth of October, 1853; and Tilson Aldrich, Henry Smith, and Hi-nry G. Grattan were selected to represent the society at the Fruit (i rowers' Convention, to be held at Chicago, on the 14th, 15tli, and ICtii days of October, 1853.

*Some authorities liave maintained that tlie bulFalo never appeared east of the Mississippi River, l)ul recent discoveries liave proved the contrary, skeletons of this animal having l)een found in this section of the stale.

The secretary was directed to " furnish printed copies of the constitution to be distributed throughout the country for signatures,'' when it was voted to adjourn.