Henry County, Indiana - Chapter 3: Civil History, 1884

Chapter 3: Civil History

Organization of Henry County. - ^The State CoMMf8siON. - Choice OF A County Seat. - The First Election. - Officers Chosen. - The First Courts. - Extracts from the Records. - The Erection OF County Buildings. - The Primitive Court-House and Jail. - Other Public Buildings. - The Present Court-House AND Jail. - The County Asylum. - Statistics. - Judicial and Civil Officers of the County from 1822 to 1881.

By an act of the Legislature passed in February, 1821, ''the south part of Delaware, commencing at the southwest corner of Wayne County, thence running westward twenty miles, thence northward twenty miles, thence eastward twenty miles, thence southward to the place of beginning," was formed into a new county, henceforth to be "known and designated by the name and style of Henry County," and from and after the 1st day of June, 1821, was to enjoy all the rights and privileges of an independent and separate county.

By the same act a board of commissioners was appointed to locate the county seat, and for this purpose were to meet at the house of Joseph Hobson in said county of Henry on the first Monday in July, 1821. These commissioners were Lawrence Brannon and John Bell, of Wayne County; John Sample, of Fayette; Richard Biem, of Jackson; and J. W. Scott, of Union. It was further enacted that the sheriff of Wayne County should notify the abovenamed commissioners of their appointment, for which service the county of Henry should pay him a reasonable compensation.*

The State Commissioners fixed upon the present site of Hew Castle, almost in the exact center of the county, as the location of the future seat of justice. They were induced to make this decision through the liberality of several public-spirited citizens who

* Elias Willetts was then Sheriff of Wayne County. To reach the commissioners, who lived in four different counties, he was obliged to travel at least 250 miles. That his charges were extremely reasonable is evinced by an order passed by the first board of county commissioners that he be allowed the sum of $15 in full payment for the service mentioned.

The first act in the way of supplying the new county with civil oflicers was made by Governor Jennings on the 1st day of January, 1822, at which date he commissioned Jesse H. Healey Sheriff of Henry County, and instructed him to issue a warrant for an election to be held at an early date for the purpose of choosing county officers. There is no record of the date of this election or of the number of votes cast which can be found at the present day. Tradition states, however, that it was held at the house of Joseph Hobson, which stood on the Stephen Elliott farm, about two miles southwest of Hew Castle, and that it took place about the 1st of June, 1822. The officers chosen at this election received commissions dated July 5, 1822. Jesse H. Healey was chosen Sheriff; Rene Julian, Clerk and Recorder; Thomas R. Stanford and Elisha Long, Associate Judges; Alan Shepherd, William Shannon and Elisha Shortridge, Commissioners. .

The act creating Henry County provided that the Circuit Court and all other courts should meet at the house of Joseph Hobsoji until suitable accommodations could be provided elsewhere. The act also provided that the court might remove to a more suitable place if deemed advisable. The commissioners met at Hobson's house on the 10th day of June, 1822. The record of this fact (the first record of an official character ever made in Henry County is in these words:

" At a meeting of the Board of Commissioners in and for the county of Henry, State of Indiana, on Monday, the 10th day of June, A. D. 1822, present, * Alan Shepherd and Samuel Goble, Esqrs., who produced their respective certificates and were sworn into office by Jesse Healey, Esq., Sheriff of the county aforesaid, as is required by the Constitution and laws of this State."

The board appointed Rene Julian as its Clerk and adjourned until the next morning at ten o'clock. During the second day quite a large amount of business was transacted. William Shannon was appointed Treasurer and John Dorrah, Lister of the county; a poll tax of 25 cents was levied for county purposes; Dudley,

* Elisha Shortridge, one of the commissioners, did not appear until tbe July term, when he presented his credentials and was sworn into office.

Wajne, Henry and Prairie townships were created, and provision was made for holding an election in each; an inspector was appointed for each township, and William Shannon, Dilwin Bales and Abraham Pleaton were appointed Superintendents of the school sections in the townships in which they resided. The board then adjourned until the 1st Monday in July following.

The board met in June, July, August and November, 1822. The record of all their transactions during this time is comprised in eighteen pages of writing. Yet they wielded an important influence. They established townships and fixed their limits; appointed constables, supervisors, listers, collectors, agents, surveyors, etc.; fixed the rates of taxes; granted tavern and mercantile licenses, and even declared what should be the prices of meals, lodgings, liquors, etc., in the taverns of the county.

At the July term, Ezekiel Leavell was duly appointed agent of Henry County, in accordance with the provision of the act of the Legislature establishing the county. Among his duties were the receiving of donations of land for county purposes, the letting of contracts for public buildings, the sale of town lots in the then incipient town of New Castle, etc.

Board Of Justices

The Board of Justices, performing the duties hitherto devolving upon the commissioners, was organized Sept. 6, 1824, in obedience to an act of the General Assembly passed Jan. 31, 1824. At the first meeting the following justices were present: James Johnston (who was chosen President of the board), William Shannon, James Gilmore, Samuel Bedson, Samuel Louthain, Robert Thompson, James Wadkins and Abraham Heaton.

The board was required to meet five times per year - in the months of January, March, May, July and September. Three members constituted a quorum, except at the May and September terms, when at least five members must be present. The clerk of the Circuit Court and the sheriff or his deputy were also required to be in attendance upon the meetings. The Board of Justices ceased to act after Aug. 1, 1827.

January term, 1825. - " On motion of James Johnston it is ordered by tlie board that a capitation tax cannot be recovered of any justice of the peace in and for the county of Henry." Also ordered, the same term, "That a quetus [quietus] is granted to

John Anderson, Collector of Henry County, for the sum of four dollars for a capitation tax of justices of the peace in said county for State purposes." From which it would appear that they thought better of the matter and decided to pay their taxes like other people!

The Circuit Court

The first record upon the first order-book of the Circuit Court is a copy of the official bond of Rene Julian, Clerk of the court, written upon the fly leaf. The first minute recorded in the book is as follows:

"At a Henry Circuit Court, begun at the house of Joseph Hobson, agreeable to an act of the Legislature of the State of Indiana passed on the 31st day of December, in the year of our. Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, and adjourned to the house of Charles Jamison in the county aforesaid, on Monday, the 13th day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two; present, Thomas R. Stanford and Elisha Long, Esqrs., Associate Judges of the Henry Circuit Court," etc.

The commissions of the associate judges, bearing the date July 5, 1822, were solemnly received and recorded. On the back of each commission was a certificate (also recorded), of which the following i^ a specimen:

"Be it remembered that on the 7th day of August, A. D. 1822, personally came before me the within-commissioned Elisha Long and took the oath against dueling, the oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and the oath to support the Constitution of this State, and also the oath of office as Associate Judge of the Henry Circuit Court. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 7th day of August, 1822.

"Returned into this court the writ of venire facias heretofore issued out of this court, with the following panel to serve as grand jurors the present term, to-wit: Daniel Heaton, whom the court appoints as Foreman, Joseph Watts, Ezekiel Leavell, Absalom Harvey, William Bell, David Bailey, John Baker, Jesse Cox, Samuel

Dill, John Dougherty, Jacob Parkhurst, Kichard Parsons, William Riden, Dempsey Reese and William Thompson, good and lawful men, and householders of the county of Henry, who, being duly sworn, and by the court charged, retired to their room* to deliberate."

Lot Bloomfield and five others are then granted permission to practice as attorneys in the court, and Mr. Bloomfield is appointed prosecuting attorney.

The above is a record of all the business done the first day of court, except the fining of Andrew Shannon $2 for ''swearing two profane oaths in the presence of the court."

" Ordered^ That the permanent seal for Henry County shall be engraved on brass, with the vignette of an eagle and stars equal to the number of the States in the Union; the surface of the seal to be about the size of a dollar, and around the margin of the seal the words, Henry Circuit Court.

Henry Burkman, hitherto a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, next came before the court and declared his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States.

The grand jury then returned to the court-room and reported to the court the result of their deliberations, - four bills of indict ment for assault and battery; One against Solomon Byrkett, two against Samuel Bedson (a member of the Board of Justices in 1824), and one against Peter Smith. Bedson plead guilty and was fined $1. The other cases were not tried. The judges voted themselves their salary, $2 a day, and ordered that the prosecuting attorney, be payed $5 for his service, and court adjourned until the following March.

At the March term, 1823, the grand jury was composed of William McKimmy, Foreman, Soloman Byrkett, Abijah Cain, Jacob Elliott, Moses Fink, George Hanby, Daniel Jackson, John K. Nutt, Allen Hunt. Stephen McCray, William Morris, Thomas

Eay and Asahel Woodard - all ''good and lawful men,'' although one of them, Byrkett, was tried the same day for breaking the peace (with his lists). He was acquitted, however, by the following traverse jury, the first ever impaneled in Henry County : William Shannon, Nathan Pearson, James Rozell, Samuel Bedson, Christopher Bundy, Minor Fox, J^ob Richey, Hugh McDaniel, William Rowe, John Blount, Josiah Clawson and Jacob Witter.

At the present day it would seen a little inconsistent with the demands of justice to have men, themselves under indictment for a breach of the peace, serving on juries to try others for like offenses. Yet such a state of things was by no means uncommon in the early cpurts of this county. The foremost men of the day were as like as any others to figure as defendants in assault and battery cases - which species of litigation occupied the attention ot the court far more than all other business. During the first five years of the county's existence ninety-one bills of indictment were found against citizens of the county for various offenses. A classification of these bills shows that for assault and battery there were forty-four indictments; for affray, twenty-four; for rout, one; for gaming, five; for rape, four; for extortion, two; for perjury, two; for larceny, two; for robbery, two; vagrancy, lewdness, violating estray law, selling liquor without license, obstructing a process, and negligence in office, one each.

When the Court of Common Pleas was in existence two terms of Circuit Court per year sufficed for the county. Since 1873 the number of terms of the Circuit Court has been four, which are now arranged to begin as follows: On the first Monday in February, the fourth Monday in April, the first Monday in September, - and the third Monday in November of each year.

Probate Court

The first term of Probate Court in Henry County was held at the house of Charles Jamison in New Castle. It began on the 2d of October, 1822, before Thomas R. Stanford, Elisha Long,

"The Last Will and Testament of Ephraim Smith, deceased, was proved by the oath of Nathaniel Richmond and Rene Julian, witness thereto, and ordered to be recorded," etc.

This was not the first will admitted to probate, however; for we find that on Sept. 23, 1822, the will of Thomas Cox, deceased, was proved before Kene Julian, Clerk.

The associate judges were the sole judges of the Probate Court until 1829, when a judge was elected specially for this court. Jesse H. Healey, the first Sherifi*, had also the honor of being the first "County Judge," and entered upon his duties in November, 1829. The clerk of the Circuit Court served also as clerk of probate. When the Common Pleas Court was organized in 1853 its jurisdiction extended to matters of probate and the Probate Court ceased to exist.

Court Of Common Pleas

The first term of the Court of Common Pleas held in Henry County began Monday, Jan. 1, 1853; present, Hon. Martin L. Bundy, Judge of the court; Elijah B. Martindale, District Attorney;. Joshua Johnson, Sheriff; and Simon T. Powell, Clerk. This court was abolished in 1873.

The First Court-House

The act establishing Henry County required that the commissioners should provide for the erection of suitable county buildings within one year after their election. The officials appear to have been in no haste to carryout this provision of the law; for, in the records of the Commissioners' Court, the subject of county buildings is not mentioned until February, 1823. It was then decided to receive bids for the erection of a court-house of the following dimensions:

"Being logs twenty-two by eighteen feet each log to face not less than twelve inches at the little end being seven inches thick twelve rounds high with a cabin roof to consist of eleven joists," etc. The order providing for this remarkable structure concludes with the announcement that

"The sale of the above described building be on the Wednesday after th?' second Monday in May next with a good door three feet wide six feet six inches high."

It seems that the commissioners, before their next meeting, must have been instructed by some more competent architect than he who devised the above plan; at all events, the "sale," " with a door three feet wide " was never made. The order was rescinded, and instead another was passed on Tuesday, May 13, 1823:

Ordered^ That Ezekiel Leavell, agent for Henry County, sell to the lowest bidder, Wednesday, the Mth day of May, 1823, a court-house of the following dimensions and description, to wit : The said building shall be built of hewn logs, the side logs of which must be twenty-six feet long and the end logs twenty feet long. The logs when hewn must be seven inches thick, and on the middle of the log face at least twelve inches. The sills and sleepers for said building shall be procured of good and durable timber and the foundation set on stone of sufficient size, to wit: One stone at each corner and one on the middle of each side sill. The under floor shall consist of puncheons well hewn and lain down solid and smooth. The under story between the floor and joice shall be at least nine feet high. All logs put in said building shall be butted square. There shall be two doors, one on each side of the building," etc.

The doors were to be of good, strong plank and placed nine feet from the end of the building. Two windows, each of flfteen lights, were to be placed in the lower story. The court was separated from the spectators by a partition of banisters, at least four feet high, with a gate in it. The only furniture specified was ''at least flve strong smooth benches of the length of about eleven feet." The second story was to be floored with plank and to be divided into two rooms (each illuminated by one window) by a partition running through the middle of the building. " The building shall be well chinked and daubed and covered with good oak boards conflned by sufficient weight poles." " There shall be furnished a good strong set of straight steps, commonly called mill steps, from one corner of the spectators' room to the second floor of the building."

Further specifications directed that the court-house should be finished on or before the second Monday in February, 1825; that the clerk be directed to pay the contractor the sum of $20 as soon as the building should be raised and covered; that it be built on the southeast corner of lot number 4 in block number 12. *

George Barnard, being the lowest bidder, was awarded the contract for building this first rude temple of justice and gave bonds for the faithful performance of the work. His price was $247.

* A little southeast of the site of the present court-house. The order providing for bids was to be " advertised in three of the most public places in the county and in the Western Times, published in Centreville, Ind." It was further declared that the building should be " in height, materials and construction, similar to the court-house in Connersville, Fayette Co., Ind."

On the 10th of May, 1821, the commissioners met at the house of ,hn Smith in New Castle and adjourned to the court-house. Acpear that the contract made with Barnard was executed by Ca walader, though the records make no mention of this fact.

The court-house was completed, but, probably through an oversight, it was unprovided with heating apparatus. To remedy this serious defect, on the 12th of May, 1824, the board ordered that a brick chimney, with fire-places on the first and second stories, be built at the center of the west end of the court-house, the contract for the same to be let to the lowest bidder on tlie second Monday in September, 1824. Probably the fire-places proved unsatisfactory; for, in September, 1825, it was ordered that a stove and pipe be purchased for the court-house, and the sum of $30 was allowed

This primitive court-house, with its puncheon floor, cabin root and chinked and daubed walls, soon proved inadequate for the wants of the growing county; and, although it had been built so as to be good for at least half a century, only seven years after its completion we find the county commissioners taking measures for the erection of a new structure of surpassing grandeur for that age. We can but wonder at their ambitious and progressive spirit and imagine what grumbling on the part of the tax-payers assailed their ears !

The log court-house disappeared, but by a sad perversion of the law of '' the eternal fitness of things," a portion of it was transformed into a pig-pen, in which humble capacity, for aught we know to the contrary, it is serving to-day.

In the latter part of the year 1831, the contract ^for the erection of the second court-house was given to the lowest bidder, Nathan Crawford, who was to receive the sum of $5,315 to be paid in five annual installments as follows: On the 1st of January, 1832, $100; Jan. 1,1833, $700; Jan. 1, 1831, $1,000; Jan. 1, 1835, $1,200; Jan. 1, 1836, the balance. All except the interior work was to be finished on or before the 1st of January, 1831, and the entire structure was to be completed before the 1st ot January, 1836. Ihe building was designed by Kobert Murphey, who received $2.50 tor his plans. According to the specifications the building was to be of brick, two stories high and forty feet square. The foundation was ''to be dug eighteen inches below the surface of the ground; the walls to be two feet thick from the foundation three feet up; " the lower story to be fifteen feet high and the upper story twelve. The roof was to be of joined shingles of yellow poplar, eighteen inches in length, "to be pitched from each square to the center ; " and the whole structure to be surmounted by an eight sided cupola, eight feet in diameter and twenty feet high, eight feet of the distance to be enclosed with Yenetian blinds, the cupola to be covered by a suitable cap, from which was to arise a sp^ar bearing a wooden ball, ten inches in diameter, nicely gilt;" above the ball, a neat vane, and still higher, "a cross with a gilt ballon each end, " the whole to be surmounted with a neat cap on top of the spear. Such was the elaborate ornamentation of the building which was destined to be the pride of the county. Instead of four windows, as in the log court-house, the new building contained twenty-three windows, of twenty-four lights each. It was also provided with large folding doors, with a fan-light above.

On the morning of the 7th of January, 1836, the contractor, Crawford, presented himself before the commissioners, Kobert Murphey, Tabor W. McKee and John Whittaker, doubtless expecting to receive payment in full for his work. His chagrin may be imagined on being informed that his work has been examined and found almost totally deficient; that the roof is leaky, the plastering and carpentry badly done, and that "the contract is forfeited in . toto, and the materials out of which said house is constructed are in a great many cases deficient."

A compromise was effected at the March term following and the commissioners settled with Crawford, allowing him in all $4,500 for the building.

The Present Court-House

The second court-house of the county was destroyed by fire on the 13th day of February, 1864, and with it a portion of the public records as well as a quantity of ofiicial papers which were stored in one of the jury-rooms for want of room elsewhere. Murphey Hall was rented by the commissioners and used as a temporary court-house until the new and beautiful structure now adorning the public square was completed in 1869.

Fhelps, at once set about the work of providing for the erection of a building commensurate with the wealth and importance of Henry County. Mr. Edwards was appointed to superintend the work and performed his duties in a most competent and efficient manner. The structure was completed in less than four years from the time when work was begun. Its entire cost was about $120,000.

The size, arrangement and architectural beauty of the courthouse are too familiar to every citizen of the county to require minute description in these pages. Suffice it to say that the entire building is admirably planned, and in every essential feature all that a first-class public building should be. The material is brick and stone. The main building is 66 x 82 feet, exclusive of the tower which projects from the front about nineteen feet. The height of the walls is fifty feet from the foundation, and of the tower 110 feet. The county offices on the ground floor are models of convenience. The court-room on the second floor is reached by a superb iron staircase. The size of the room is 50x65 feet; and for convenience and taste it is perhaps unsurpassed in the State. The frescoing of the room alone cost about $1,400. The building is heated throughout by steam.

County Jails

At the February term of Commissioners' Court, 1823, the board decided to receive bids for the building of a jail in the town of Hew Castle on the Wednesday after the second Monday in May following, the jail to be built on lot number 3 in block number 12 of the town, and of the following dimensions:

Fourteen feet square, seven feet between the floors, the logs to square ten inches, to be dovetail at each corner and pinned; upper and lower floors to consist of logs squared, of the same dimensions; the upper floor each log to be pinned down with one inch and onehalf augur, one round of logs above the upper floor to fit down tight; the door to be three feet wide; the shutter to be made of twoinch oak plank, dovetailed, and be well spiked and hung with good and sufficient hinges, to open outside, with a good and sufficient bar with staples and lock; a cabin roof; the lower floor to be laid on oak sills and the house to be built on the top thereof; one win-

It was subsequently enacted that the jail should be finished before the 1st Monday in August, 1823. Obadiah K. Weaver undertook the construction of the building for the sum of $120. At their meeting in May, 1824, the commissioners refused to receive the jail on the ground that the work had not been executed according to contract. They afterward accepted it and settled in full with Mr. Weaver for $45, he having previously received $20 when the structure was but ''four rounds high."

The jail erected by Mr. Weaver probably had little architectural beauty, but with its iron bars, " window one foot square " and logs " pinned down," must have been a place of incarceration sufiiciently formidable to evil-doers. It was soon found to be too small for the wants of the times and the commissioners were obliged to provide for its enlargement. It was decided to build an extension to the original structure, leaving a space of eight inches between, which interval was afterward to be filled up with timber. - The new part was to be much like the old, with one window of the same size; but the entire structure was to be raised to the height of two stories. A strong stairway at one end of the building afibrded entrance to the second story, but the only way of entering the lower story was through a " strong trapMoor, two feet square, to be made secure with a strong bar of iron and a good and sufilcient lock," thus rendering it necessary to take the criminal up stairs and lower him into one of these veritable "dark holes." One thinks of the inscription upon the gate in Dante's " Inferno: "

On the 7th of January, 1830, Moses Brown, Esq., for the consideration of $97.50, engaged to reconstruct the jail in accordance with the above specifications.

Less than five years elapsed before a new jail was ordered. The outside walls were to be of brick and the inner walls "of hewn timber, ten inches square, to be laid down half dovetailed," and seven feet high, the whole to be lined with beech plank an inch and a half thick, and " cross-lined " and well spiked, with cut spikes six inches long, to be placed not more than three inches apart. The floors of the cells were to be of good oak timber ten inches thick, covered by plank. The building to be two stories, but the cells of the upper story less strongly constructed than those below- The size of the structure was 18 x 25 feet. The lower story was to be ready for use before the 3d Monday of October, 1835, and the whole building to be complete before the 1st Monday in May, 1836. " At a sale held at the court-house, to sell the building of the goal," Miles Murphey, Jr., ''bid off the same for $1,100." The work was performed according to contract and Henry County got along without a new jail for fifteen years.

On the 11th of February, 1851, the commissioners ordered the building of a new jail, the fourth within a period of less than twenty-eight years. The structure erected in accordance with this order was of brick, two stories high, 36x40 feet, the cell walls of hewn timber, lined with boiler-iron, and the fioor of stone. Its cost was about $3,500. Elisha Clift and Jacob Elliott constructed it, under the supervision of the commissioners.

The present county jail was erected in 1866 and cost about $40,000. It was built under the efficient superintendence of Robert Cluggish, Esq. It is T-shaped, the front of the building serving as the jailer's residence. The walls are of brick and stone, solidly and substantially constructed. There are eighteen cells in the building. The jail is well calculated, in every respect, to prevent the escape of prisoners.

" The erecting of a pound commonly called a stray pen; the said pen is to be erected in the southwest corner of the public square; the said pen to be erected at least five feet high and of good and durable timber, commonly called a post and rail fence with a gate and lock to the same."

This pound was almost as important as any of the county buildings in early years. It was designed to receive any wandering farm-stock that might be found at large, and it was the duty of the keeper of the " stray pen " to care for such animals until they were claimed by their lawful owners. Minor Fox agreed to erect the pound for the sum of $12.50, and performed the work in a satisfactory manner. He was appointed its first keeper.

All the official records of the county during the first ten years of its existence do not cover as many pages as the records of one office for a single year at the present day. The amount of county business was small; the official salaries were insignificant; the officials generally were better accustomed to holding a plow than to guiding a pen, consequently the records were few, and, in many instances, imperfect. A person having business at the county seat was more likely to find a county officer in his field than in his office. The clerk performed the duties of recorder as well as many of the dnties now devolving upon the auditor. While this state of affairs continued, any small room that could be rented cheap was suitable for an office.

But as the county grew rapidly, so did the amount of official business. ^ Accordingly the commissioners decided to erect a suitable building for the offices of clerk and recorder. It was a onestory brick structure, 18 x 38 feet, and stood on the southeast corner of the public square. Thomas Ginn built it for the sum of $844. Here the records of the two offices named were kept until the year 1867, when they were removed to the new court-house.

^ The building containing the auditor's and treasurer's offices was similar to that above mentioned. It stood on the northeast corner of the public square and was erected by George Lowe, contractor, in 1847, for the sum of $545.

The Poor Farm

The county had no asylum for its poor prior to 1844, though the records of the commissioners' transactions show that the care of the paupers had not been among the least of their duties from the first.

In 1839 the county commissioners, D. C. Shawan, George Corwine and James Ball, purchased of William Silver a farm of 160 acres, situated about one mile northwest of Hew Castle, for the sum of $2,000. In May of the same year they made a contract with John D. Foosha for keeping the paupers, and provided for building a poor-house. It was ordered that " all persons who are now, or may hereafter become, a county charge, shall be removed, as the law directs, to the poor-house provided for that purpose." In 1844 a good and substantial brick house was erected upon the farm at a cost of $1,100. John H. Polsley was the contractor, and John Shroyer, Miles Murphey, Jr., and Dr. Joel Eeed superintended the work. This house was burned in May, 1857, and replaced by a better and more commodious structure, built at an expense of about $7,000. The farm has been enlarged to 280 acres, much of which is rich bottom-land. The farm has generally been well managed and the paupers humanely treated.

The Growth Of Forty Years

In 1840 the population of the county was 15,128. The county then contained nine grist-mills, fourteen saw-mills, seventeen drygoods and grocery stores, and thirty-one manufacturing establishments. Fifty-seven hands were employed in the manufactories; the amount of capital invested was $62,000, and the value of products, $36,300. In 1880 Henry County had 177 manufacturing establishments, employing a capital of $724,785, and furnishing employment to 629 hands. The total amount paid in wages during the preceding year was $116,046, and the whole amount of products was estimated at $1,251,275.

Value Of Farms, Products, Etc

From the census report of 1880: Humber of farms in Henry County, 2,454; acres improved, 173,251; value of farms, including land, fences and buildings, $11,031,834; value of farming implements and machinery, $330,742; value of stock, $1,178,839; value of building and repairing fences, 1879, $33,707; cost of fertilizers purchased, 1879, $3,425; estimated value of all farm products, sold, consumed or on hand, for 1879, $1,866,144.

Taxes, Salaries And Tavern Rates

The first poll-tax levied in the county was 25 cents on each taxable individual ; the second, levied in 1823, was 50 cents. The following were the rates of taxation for State and county purposes in 1824 and 1825:

For county purposes: On each horse, ass or mule over three years old, 37^ cents; on each ox not over three years, not to exceed 18f cents; on each gold watch, $1.00; on each two-wheeled

It may be interesting to know what salaries the early county officials received. We find by the records that in 1823 Rene Julian was allowed the sum of $30 tor his services as Clerk for one year. A.t the August term, 1823, Elisha Shortridge was allowed $13 for nine days' attendance as County Commissioner. Jesse H. Healey, in August, 1824, was allowed $30 for service '' in attending on the Board of Commissioners as Sheriff of Henry County." Samuel Stinson, for services as jailer in 1824, received $11.80J-. John Harris, Assessor of Prairie Township in 1824, was allowed $4 for his services.* In 1823 the county paid the sheriff and treasurer each the sum of $11 .60 for their services. The first associate judges received $2 per day while engaged in the performance of their duties. Lot Bloomfield, for performing the duties of prosecuting attorney during the first term of the Circuit Court, was allowed $6.

Receipts

"For breakfast, dinner or supper, 18f cents; for lodging, 6Jcents; for whisky, per one-half pint, 6J cents; for peach brandy, per one-half pint, 12 J cents; for wine, French brandy and rum, per one-half pint, 26 cents; cider, per quart, 12^- cents; for beer or porter, per quart, 12J cents; for horse, per night, at hay, 12^ cents; for oats, per gallon, or corn, 6i cents."

The above rates continued in force in 1823; but in 1824 the price of meals was advanced to 26 cents, and the price of whisky and horse-feed doubled.

Representatives In Congress

The process of gerrymandering has frequently changed the congressional districts of the State. Henry County has been included in the following districts since 1832:

State Senators Representative

1829. - Elisha Long and William Conner - Henry, Hancock, Hamilton, Madison, and all the country not attached to some other county north to the State line.

President Judges

Prior to the adoption of the Constitution of 1851, the judges of the Circuit Court were one president judge for the entire circuit and two associate judges for each county. The President Judges of the circuit in which Henry County was included from 1822 to 1852 were as follows:

Associate Judges Circuit Judges

The Judicial Circuit to which Henry County belongs has been reformed frequently and at times has included six or more counties. At present Henry and Hancock counties form the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit. The Circuit Judges since 1852 have been:

Judges Of Common Pleas, 1852 To 1873

The Court of Common Pleas was established in 1852, upon the abolition of the old associate judge system. It was in turn abolished in 1873. The Judges were as follows:

Board Of Justices, 1824 To 1827

During the years 182l-'27 the duties usually devolving upon the county commissioners were performed by the justices of the county, in accordance witli the provisions of a statute. In 1827 the Board of Commissioners was restored. James Johnston was president of the Board of Justices in 1824; James Gilmore, in 1825 and part of 1826 - died in the office, and Abraham Elliott was elected his successor.

County Treasurers, 1822 To 1884

The treasurers of the county were appointed until 1840, after which the office became elective, Joshua Holland, Esq., having the honor to be the hrst Treasurer elected.

Cleeks Of Ciecuit Couet

By a constitutional provision the clerk of the Circuit was also the clerk of Probate and Common Pleas Courts, while such were in existence. The list is as follows:

Eecosdees, Feom 1822 To 1884 Auditoes, Feom 1840 To 1884

The office of auditor was created in 1840, and has grown to be one of the most important, and the most laborious in the county. This office was filled by preachers only until 1875.

Prior to 1841 the collecting of the revenues was a duty separate and distinct from that of keeping or disbursing the same. The following persons have filled the position of collector:

County Surveyors, 1822 To 1884

The office of coroner is the least remunerative of county offices. During the greater portion of Henry County's existence W^illiam McDowell has held the office. Among those who have been called to the position we find also these names upon the records :

The bailiff is an officer appointed at the opening of each term of court. Hence to obtain a complete list would require minute and extended search for matter of small importance. William McDowell held the office nearly continuously for thirty-nine years and has been succeeded by John Anderson and others.

County School Examiners A Good Official Record

"It would hardly do to insist that Henry County officials have been made of any thing more than ' common clay,' still the records show that with very slight exceptions they have performed their duties to the general satisfaction of their constituents. Ho charge of malfeasance, peculation, or corruption in office has ever been sustained in court, and perhaps has not been attempted in more than one or two instances. Hot a cent has been lost to the county by any defaulting county official and except for ^ political effect,' perhaps no such charge has been made in a period of fiftyfour years. It is not presumed that they have all been paragons of virtue, but they have generally been sober, discreet men, who knew enough at least to write their names.

" The financial affairs of the county have been so managed that there has scarcely ever been a debt hanging over it, and with the exception of $115,000 for ' soldiers' bounties,' the county has never issued its bonds, and the oldest inhabitant can scarcely remember a time when a ' county order ' was not just as good as a check on the best bank."