Johnson County, Indiana - Conduct of County Business, 1881

By an act of the Legislature of January 31, 1824, the law providing for a court of Commissioners was repealed, and a Board of Justices provided for, charged with the duties theretofore pertaining to the Court of Commissioners. Every Justice of the county was ex officio a member of the board, and it was made the duty of each Justice to attend at the county seat on the first Monday in September, 1824, and organize by electing one of their number President of the Board for one year, and thereafter they were to meet on the first Monday in every alternate month. The board so organized was to appoint Listers, Constable, Overseers of the Poor, Supervisors of Roads, Inspectors of Elections. Superintendents of School Sections, County Agents, County Treasurers, County Collectors, Fence Viewers, grant licenses to venders of merchandise, to clock peddlers, dealers in ardent spirits, and to tavern-keepers, organize townships, levy taxes, lay out and change roads, select juries, make all allowances, and, in fine, transact the main part of the general business of the county. By way of compensation, these Justices were exempted from militia and jury service, from working the roads, and payment of a poll tax. No other compensation was allowed.

From the time when the law went into effect in September, 1824, up to the 1st of May, 1826, a period of twenty months, no record of the acts of the Board of Justices is to be found, and whatever they did has not been remembered.

At the May meeting in 1826, Archibald Glenn, Joab Woodruff, David Durbin, John Israel, Thomas Low, Patrick Cowan and Spencer Barnett, Justices, appeared and took their seats. Glenn was President, having been elected in September before. The first business done bv the board was the granting of Thomas Carter, of Edinburg, a license to keep a tavern. Next came "sundry citizens of Nineveh and Blue River Townships." asking for a review of that part of the Indian Creek road which lies between Daniel Mussulman's land and Edinburg. The review was granted, and Arthur Robinson, Jesse Young, Hezekiah Davison, Hiram Smith and Jefferson D. Jones appointed Reviewers. After that, an allowance was made to George W. Blankenship and Henry Byers of $1.50 to each, for three days' service in attending the poor in their township. Then comes William Hunt, who is described as an agent for Robert and Joseph Brackenridge, who has leave to establish a ferry across Blue River, where the Madison road crosses the same ; but whether it was intended that this privilege should inure to the benefit of the agent or his principals, the record does not disclose.

This being done, the board proceeded to district the county for road purposes. In that day, and for many years after, this was an important matter. Roads were new and needing careful attention to enable persons at some seasons to travel over them at all, and, as the county was settled up, constant changes in the boundaries of districts were found to be necessary. At this time the county was broken up into ten road districts, and as many persons appointed to supervise the work done on the roads ; and while no one would be curious to know the boundaries of these districts, it might be of interest to know that Jesse Young, Isaac Smock, Nathaniel St. John, William Etter, James Hamner, William W. Robinson, Thomas Henderson, Henry Burkhart, Jefferson D. Jones and Charles Martin were appointed the Supervisors. After this the board proceeded to consider the claims on file. One of §4, in favor of William Barnett, for work done on the court house, was allowed, and he was privileged to " lift his bond filed in the Clerk's office for the completion of the work to be done to court house." Patrick Cowan and Thomas Russell were each allowed $1.50, their fees in the case of the State of Indiana vs. Richard Neal; Lewis Bishop came in for $1 "charges for keeping Richard Neal while a prisoner," and John Barnett got 50 cents, and Joseph Hickerson $1, for standing guard over the said Richard; and John Smiley, the Sheriif, got $11.10 for "guarding, dieting, etc.," said Richard Neal, and two others, Nathaniel Bell and William Barlow.

Richard Neal was proving himself an unprofitable citizen. A special term of the Circuit Court had been called on his account, and a grand jury impaneled to consider a presentment to be made against him, charging him with having sent a challenge to fight a duel; but the jury ignored the bill, and Richard drops out of sight, leaving these bills to be paid by the county. John Campbell, the County Agent, was then allowed $2.61f for whisky and stationery furnished for county use while Agent. This whisky was for the benefit of the buyers of the town lots. These and some other allowances being made, the board next made up the traverse and grand juries to serve at the ensuing September and March terms, and as the men chosen on these juries included so large a proportion of the voting population of the county at that date, their names are herewith given.

The following persons were selected from whom a grand jury was to be made up at the September term, 1826: Robert Moore, George Connell, John Alexander, Hezekiah McKinney, Lewis Pritchard, Henry Koontz, William W. Robinson, Richard Shipp, Gavin Mitchel, Benjamin Culver, Ebenezer Perry, Arthur Robinson, Henry Burkhart, William Harter, Andrew Pearce, Thomas Hardin, George Hill, John Barnett.

The following persons were selected from whom a grand jury was to be made for the March term, 1827 : Obadiah Perry, Christopher Johnson, Isaac Sutton, John Doty, Nathaniel St. John, James Wylie, Spencer Barnett, Edward Choat, John S. Miller, Daniel Covert, John Adams, Isaac White, Nicholas Sells, Daniel Taylor, David Baird, Thomas Carter, Jacob Sutton, Silas Koons.

After the selection of the new juries, came the allowances for those who had served on both traverse and grand juries at the last March term, and to every juror was allotted the sum of $1.50, being 75 cents per day, and no mileage. The names of these traverse jurymen are as follows : Charles Martin, George Barnett, James Hamner, William Burkhart, Perryman Wilkins, James Richey, Jonathan Hougham, David Trout, Richard Perry, Samuel Johnson, William Shaffer, Joshua Palmer.

The names of grand jurymen are as follows : Jesse Davison, Michael Broom, George Hollenback, Henry Brown, Joab Woodruff, Nathan Culver, William Spears, Edward Bartley, William Barnett, John Foster, Robert Gillcrees, Henry Burkhart, Thomas Williams, John Brunk.

The limits of this work forbid a further pursuit of this theme in detail. It may be observed, however, that the old records bear ample testimony of the caution shown by the Justices in their management of county affairs. Associate Judges they allowed $2 per day by virtue of a statute, and jurymen were allowed 75 cents per day, presumably by virtue of a statute also ; but Inspectors of Elections, Road Viewers, Bailiffs, Overseers of the Poor, and all others doing service for the county where it was proper to charge a per diem, received some 50 cents, and others 75 cents per day, but never more than 75 cents was allowed.

At the November session for 1826, Joseph Young, the County Treasurer, made a report of the condition of the treasury, which shows at a glance the humble condition of the times:

On the 5th of January, 1827, Hensley Township was organized, and, on the 4th day of May, 1829, Pleasant Township was likewise organized, while Union came in on the 5th day of July, 1830, and Clark not until the 8th of May, 1838.

We have seen that the census of 1830 shows a population of 4,019, and while the increase of wealth had by no means kept pace with the increase of population, the reasons for which must appear to every thoughtful person, yet there was growth in this direction. The county revenue at this time, from all sources, was about $1,000 per annum, and a glance at the records of this year discloses the articles and persons upon which taxes were levied to raise so much of this sum as did not come through the hands of the county agents for the sale of town lots.

'"It is," says the record, "ordered, that there be levied a county revenue for the year A. D. 1830, on each horse, mule or ass over three years old, 31^ cents ; each covering horse, $2 ; on each work oxen, 15f cents; each pleasure carriage, 50 cents; on each brass clock, 50 cents ; on each watch, 25 cents ; on each poll, 37 J cents; on license to keep a tavern and retail spirituous liquors, $5; on each license to retail spirituous liquors, foreign and domestic groceries, $5 ; on each license to vend foreign merchandise, $10 for twelve months, for six months, $6, for three months, $4, for two months and under, $3; on each town lot, 50 cents on the $100 in value; on each original suit commenced in the Circuit Court, 50 cents; on each hundred acres of firstrate land, 25 cents ; on each hundred acres of second-rate land, 20 cents ; on each hundred acres of third-rate land, 16 cents."

It was decided in this year that the old log court house was no longer suitable for the transaction of county business. At no time had any of the county offices been kept in this building. The lower rooms, used for jury rooms when the court was in session, were rented by the County Agent to whomsoever wanted them when the court was not in session, and the proceeds paid over to the County Treasurer. But now the Board decided to build a more commodious house, and whatever of criticism or comment their decision may have occasioned, does not appear of record. At the January term for that year, it was ordered that " Thomas Williams, County Agent, advertise that there will be let to the lowest bidder on Tuesday, the second day of the next term of this Board, the building and inclosing of a brick house for a court house, forty feet square, two stories high, with two doors, to be covered, and a suitable cupola, the foundation to be built one foot with rock." Arrangements had been made to procure "from Col. Morrow, or any other person, as soon as practicable, a suitable plan," but that was not done in time for "Tuesday, the second day of next term." Somebody had blundered. Next it appears that Patrick Cowan, Mahlon Seybold, Abraham Lowe, Thomas Henderson, Thomas Needham and George W. King, members of the Board of Justices, were appointed a committee to "attend to the court house on Tuesday, the 9th imt.," and let the new building to the lowest bidder, the plan of which the committee was to agree upon.

At the appointed time the building was let. Samuel and John Ilerriott contracted to do the work for $1,427, and they were given two years to do it in. In twenty months, the building was inclosed and ready for the inside work, which, not being included in the Ilerriott contract, was let to William Shaffer, a carpenter, for $340.50, which made the entire cost of the building $1,776.50, and it was considered a superb structure when completed.

The Justices of the county continued to serve as a County Board up to 1831, when they were retired by an act of the Legislature, and a Commissioners' Court of three members took that place. The following-named persons served as members of the Board of Justices from the July term, 1826, when the records begin, up to their last term, in 1831: Archibald Glenn, Joab Woodruff, David Durbin, John Israel, Thomas Lowe, Patrick Cowan, Spencer Barnett, William W. Robinson, John Foster, William Dunn, Richardson Hensley, Jesse Wells, Curtis Pritchard, Thomas Henderson, George W. King, John S. Sanders, John Alexander, Isaac Smock, Abraham Lowe, Mahlon Seybold, Thomas Lockhart, Thomas Needham, John James, James Thompson, Arthur Robinson, James Gillaspy, James Ritchey.

James Gillaspy, of Ninevah Township; James Ritchey, of White River, and Thomas Henderson, of Franklin, were elected County Commissioners. The two former held the September term of Commissioners' Court for 1831, Henderson not taking his seat until the November term. But this Commissioners' Court was of short life. On the 6th of January, 1834, they gave way to another Board of Justices, by virtue of a Legislative act then lately become a law. The Board as organized under the new law, was composed of John Foster, James Chenoweth and William Adams, of Franklin Township ; Isaac Smock and John Alexander, of Pleasant ; Mahlon Seybold and Abraham Seybold, of White River ; John Bergen and John James, of Union ; Richard Foster and Henson C. Martin, of Hensely ; Aaron Dunham and Arthur Robinson, of Nineveh, and James Thompson and John S. Sanders, of Blue River.

A board, constituted of the Justices of the county elected from time to time, continued to transact the public business of the county up to 1837, when a final return was made by the Legislature to a Board of three Commissioners, which system is still in vogue. The persons who served on this last Board of Justices, in addition to those whose names have already been given, were as follows : Abraham Low, Jacob Peggs, Thos. Robertson, William Brunnemer, Henry B. Roland, Richard Foster, Robert Farnsworth, Cornelius McDermet, Gideon Drake, John Lowe, John C. Goodman, Isaac Vannice, Charles G. Dungan, Cornelius Lyster and Austin Jacobs.

In May, 1837, the county was divided into three Commissioners' districts, as follows : Blue River, Nineveh and Hensley, to compose the First District ; Union and Franklin, the Second District, and White River and Pleasant, the Third District, and no change has since been made, except to add Clark Township to the Third when it was organized.