Prairie Township (part 1 of 4)

Prairie Township

JOSHUA ANDEliSON was born August 16tb, 1813, in Bucks County, Penn., and is the eldest of eight children born to William and Keziah (Smith) Anderson. The family moved to Warren County, Ohio, in 1818. Joshua had only the ordinary country schooling, and worked for his father until nearly twenty years of age. He worked out awhile and then learned the cooper's trade, which he followed fourteen years. In 1833, he married Miss Harriet Crosley, by whom he had twelve children, four of whom are now living - Mary Jane High, James, Keziah Gilger, and Caroline Palmer. He lost his first wife in 1863, and in 1867 was united to Mrs. Eunice Prosser. One child has blessed this union, Elmer E. In 1847, he discontinued his trade, and rented a farm. He moved to Warren County, Ind., in 1853, and the following spring settled in Prairie Township on his present farm. He first bought 136 acres, and has added until he now owns 315 acres, 160 being prairie and the remainder woodland. During the war, he acted as enrolling officer, reporting at La Fayette. His son James ser%'ed three years in the Eighty-sixth Indiana Volunteers. He was at Stone River all through the Atlanta campaign, and at Nashville. Mr. Anderson was Township Trustee for several years, being the first one elected. He also acted as Land Appraiser for Prairie and Pine Townships for three terms. He has been a member of the F. & A. M. for twenty years, and joined the Odd Fellows in 1848, attending regularly until about five )'ears ago. He has been liberal and active in promoting benevolent enterprises.

WILLIAM T. EVANS was born January 1, 1843, in Ross Count.y, Ohio, and is a son of 0. P. C. and Eliza J. Evans. In 1849, they settled inTippecanoe Count}',; Ind, William received a good education, having attended the high school for several years, besides two years at Asbuiy University. He remained on the farm un-| til thirty-one years old, overseeing Imsiness iu the absence of liis father, who waa often away, engaged in the cattle trade. January 4th, 1873, he was married to Miss Mary Ann Meharfy, daughter of Hugh and Margaret M. Meharry. One child, Arthur Hanson, has blessed this union. Some time after his marriage, he settled on his present farm of 330 acres, which is in excellent condition, the grounds about the house showing that he is a man of taste as well as l)usiness. He devoted some attention to raising fine hogs. In addition to his home farm, he owns 924 acres, making 1344 acres in all, over 1300 being under cultivation. A part of it is rented, the remainder under his own charge. His wife was an excellent woman, much esteemed by her neighbors, but for several years she was in feeble health and died in 1880. Mr. Evans is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and takes an active part in Sabbath school and other church work.

N. M. GEHRIS was born in Montgomery County, Penn., iu 1832, and is a son of Daniel and Julia Gehris, who were of Russian and English descent respectively. N. M. Gehris, when three years old, removed with his parents to Berks County, Penn. He became a blacksmith, and in 1850 came to Warren County, Ind., in company with John V. High, and one other man. He opened a shop on Pine Creek, where he remained fifteen months, then went to Rainsville, and stayed there about .fifteen months. He then moved on the prairie, half a mile west of his present home in Prairie Township. He TN'orked at his trade, and also cultivated ^ small farm for seven years. He then bought 160 acres of land, being part of the 330 acres which he now owns. A part of the time he rented and cultivated several hundred acre in connection with his own farm; but of late years has attended principally to his own land. He has raised and traded stock extensively^ Mr. Ge^hris was married m 1853, to Miss Anna Rockenfield, by whom he had six children-Sarah tllen, Henrietta, Rosanna, Susan, Nathan R. and Elisha, four of whom are now hying. Mrs. Gehris died in March, 1873, and in 1874 he married Miss Lvdia E. Hu/^t, by whom he had one child-Rebecca May. In 1876, his second wife died, and March 29, 18.9, he married bis present wife, who was a Miss .Johnson. By this marriage, there has been one child-Charles .Johnson. For thirty years, Mr. Gebris has been a Justice of the Peace, and has always been active in all church and school movements. He is a Democrat, but reserves a discretion in voting. t ^ -o u no

ARTHUR C GOOIjWINE was born in Warren County. Ind.. February 3d, 1839 and is a son of Harrison and Isabel Goodwine. "When four years old, he went to live with his grandfather. He herded cattle for five summers, the first year with his father, the second with his grandfather, and the remaining three by himself. His grandfather died when Artliur was thirteen years old. He returned to his father, and remained there until seventeen. He then came upon the place where he now lives, in Prairie Township. He put up a small hou.se. and herded and traded cattle for six years, excepting the year 1861, during which he kept a store in Jordan Township. March 4, 18.58, he married Elizabeth Briggs. by whom he had three cliildren - Capitola. Flora and Laura. His first wife died in 1873. and June 16, 1879. he married Elizabeth Lerch. by whom he has two children. After quitting the cattle business, he invested his means in a drv goods, grocery and variety store in West Lebanon, and in four years he lost $1.5.000. He came back to his present place; farmed some time, and then went to Benton County, and engaged in herding and farming for two years. With his father he again entered mercantile pursuits, in Ambia, for four years, but without success. In 1880. he returned to his old home. and says he is trying to get a little ahead by the old method of stock farming. He is a member of the United Brethren Church, and a Republican.

.JAMES HATTON was born in Butler County, Ohio, in 1822. and is a son of James and Rebecca Hatton. When James was two years old, his parents moved to Parke County, Ind.. and in 1826 to Fountain County" His father entered land, part prairie, and part timber, and on this land James was reared, and participated in the hardships of pioneer life. He relates that while following his father in a hunt for a strayed horse, he came suddenly upon a grey wolf, and not desiring that sort of company, he made a "right about face." and started on a "double titiick" toward home. He attended the" old log schoolhouse of those days, and once narrowly escaped a whipping, having found a whisky bottle belonging to his teacher. He helped to supply the family with meat, killing deer, turkey and other game. He worked for his fatlier until twenty-one years old. and mostly on the home farm until he was thirty. In 1S.52, he went to "California, and engaged in mining, but was not very successful. In 1856, he married Miss Isabel Steely, liy whom he has six children - Louisa F., James AV., Elmer R.. Jlclissa B., Bert E. aiid Harvey R. Mr. Hatton's present farm in Prairie Township consists of 120 acres, which, by hard work, he has got into good cultivation. He has good outbuildings. He is in comfortalile circumstances, and has accumulated most of his property since the war. ThdUgh not a regular member, lie contributes liliernlly to the supjiort of the church. He was Township Trustee nliout seven years, and has been for man)- years engaged in settling estates and collecting notes. Politicallv. Mr, Hatton is a Republican.

ISAAC I>. HIGH was liorn in Berks County. Penn., Mari-h 9, 1845. and is a son of Jolm V. R. and Sarah A. (Hotlensteiu'i High. The family came to Warren County, Ind., in 1852, where his father had entered land some years before. They came from PiUsburgh to Williiimsport by steamlioat. Isaac received a limited edlication, and workeil I'm- his fatlier until seveiUecn years old. He also worked at brick-making, and as a cigar-maker. In May, 1862. lie enlisted in the Fifly-tifth Indiana VolniUeei-s. lor three months' service." ^lost of the time, he was on" detached duty, but was in llie battles of RogersviUe, and Richmond, Ky. His father died in 1861, and on Isaac's relurn home he found matters in such a condition that. being the eldesi child, he thought it liest to remain on the farm, and lielp his mother" In 1876. he visited the Centennial. In lsi80, he was married to "Miss Margaret M. Hindman, who has borne liini two cliildren. one now living - John lliiidinan. Ue is a memlier of the G. A. R., and, in iiolitics, belongs to the National parly. His farm of KiO acres is in good e(uulition. He also owns iwentv acres of tiniber on Pine Creek, lie feeds his grain to his stock.

,IGHN B. LACEY was biu-n Jlay 1, 1833, in Stark County. Ohio, and is a son of Thomas and Nancy McGaughy Laeey. He obtained his education at the com- mon schools, and worked on the farm for his father until he was of age In 1841 the family came to Steuben County, Ind., and, in 1855, to Warren County and worked by the month. March 16, 1856, he married Miss Martha J. Nixon, and'their union was blessed with ten children - Sarah E. (deceased), Thomas M., James V Nancy Jane, Lewis K, Mary M., Bertha R., John C, Nathan M. and Edith b' After his marriage, he rented land until 1861, when he went back to Steuben County and bought twenty acres. In October, 1862, he enlisted in the Twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served two years and eight months. He was on post duty at Chattanooga until May 1, 1865, when the regiment went to Dalton, Ga He was promoted to First Sergeant. He left the regiment on account of disability, and was discharged at Indianapolis .July 20, 1865. He went back to his farm in Steuben County, which had been rented out during his absence. He bought twenty acres adjoining his first purchase, and remained there until 1872, wheii he sold out and removed to Warren County. He bought eightv acres in Prairie Township, which he sold in 1878, and went West, but not being pleased with the prospect, he returned to Warren County and bought 100 acres - his present home. His farm is all under cultivation, is well fenced, and has a good orchard. He is a member of the Grand Aj-my of the Republic, and in politics a Greenbacker, though not a strict party man. He was Constable in Prairie Township for three years. Mr. Lacey is a great reader of books and papers, and is active in all public improvements.

MONTGOMERY H. MYERS was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, January 10, 1837, and is a son of William A. and Ann Myers. William Myers was engaged in the manufacture of buttons, and during the last year; of their stay in Ohio, Montf ornery assisted him. When our subject was in his tenth year, the family moved to la Fayette, Ind., where his father embarked in boat building. He attended school during his first year in La Fayette, and the following year worked in a paper mill. In 1849, they settled on a farm in Pine Township, Warren County. In Montgomery's twentieth year his father died, leaving him in care of the family. In 1859, he married Miss Ellen McDade, and eleven children have blessed their union ; Eva Alice, George S., Flora B., Salinda A., Mary O., William M.. Martha A., Perry H., Howard A., Emma E. and Walter B. For one year after marriiige, he lived south of Oxford, Benton County, then for four years lived on the McConnel farm in the same county. In 1863, his young brother having enlisted, he went back to the old home farm, where his mother and sister were living alone, and remained there four years- He then came to his present home in Prairie Township, where he had previously bought 160 acres of land. About ninety acres were fit for cultivation, the remainder being slough. He has ditched the wetland, and the whole farm is now in good condition. In 1876, Mr. Myers lost his wife, and his daughters have since kept house for him. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1878, and reelected in 1882. He is a member of the Christian Church, and active in all good enterprises.

SAMUEL SMITH was born in Clinton County, Ohio, in April, 1846, and is a son of Henry and Sarah Smith. When Samuel was live years old, his father moved to Warren County, Ind., and settled at Walnut Grove, in what is now Prairie Township. Samuel worked on the farm and attended the public schools. After teaching a term or so, he, in 1869, went to Oberlin, Ohio, and spent nine months at the college. With a few exceptions, he has taught school every winter since. For some years he served as Deputy Clerk of Warren County. From 1878 to 1882, he was County Surveyor. At present Mr. Smith devotes himself to farming in summer, and teaching in winter. His farm of 120 acrts is part of a large tract of land entered by his grandfather, Thomas Whinery. It is under good cultivation, and has a stable, but no other buildings. Mr. Smith is a Republican. He studies as much as a man engaged in hard pliysical work can do, and manages to keep abreast of the times. He still enjoys single life, never having found a partner to share his joys and sorrows.

Part Iii

"Perchance the liviug still may look Into the pages of this book, And see the days of long ago Floating and fleeting to and fro, As in the well-remembered brook They saw the inverted landscape gleam, And their own faces like a dream Look upon them frorii below." - Longfellow.

ri)ENTON COUNTY consists of a broad expanse of gent!}- uudulatiiig J - ^ prairie, unbroken, except by a few groves, the largest of which are but a few miles in extent. It is situated in the eastern part of what is commonly denominated the Grand Prairie, which extends far to the westward, and embraces a large portion of tiie States of Indiana and Illinois. Many parts were originally ver)- wet, but a system of drainage has been adopted, which will ultimately result in bringing nearly all the surface into cultivation. Pine Creek is the only stream vvortliy of mention. It runs southerly, and empties its waters into the Wabash River. The northern portion of the county is watered b}' tributaries of the Iroij[uois River. The. county is excellently adapted to grazing, and some of the finest droves of cattle produced in the West are annually shipped from tliis county to the Eastern markets. About the year 1875, or perhaps a little earlier, tile-draining was begun in the county, and it was found to enhance the productiveness of the soil to such an extent as to more than meet the expactations of the most sanguine advocates of this system of drainage. Portions of the county, and especially the southwestern portion, are still quite wet. There probably is not, however, an acre of ground in the county that is so wet as to be unfit for cultivation after it shall liave been drained as well as circumstances will admit of. Of the groves that have been alluded to, the principal ones are White

Oak, Parish, Hickory, Sumner's (formerlj- Sugar), Denton's and McConnell's. Mt. Gilboa and Mt. Nebo are probably the highest points of land in the county, the former, which is situated in the township of the same name, being about eighty feet higher than the surrounding prairie. A splendid view of the surrounding country, for a distance of fifteen miles, can be had from its summit.

The Soil

Throughout the greater portion of the county, the soil is a rich black loam ; although there are portions of the county in which the soil ie a light clay, well adapted to the raising of wheat. The best wheat land to be found in the county is in the vicinity of Oxford, this being the only portion of the county in which wheat is cultivated to any considerable extent. For corn and stock raising, there is not, probably, a better county in the State than Benton.

Timber

As previously observed, the surface of the county is very large!}' composed of prairie. There are. however, a few groves skirting the streams, the largest of which probably is White Oak (xrove, which is situated principally in Oak (Irove Township, and in which, as may readily be inferred from the name, white oak timber largely predominates over other kinds. In other groves, other kinds of timber predominate, as may bo readily inferred from the names (Hickory Grove and Sugar Grove, for instance) applied to them.

Setti.Kment Of The Countv

The first settlements within the limits of the present couuty of Beuton were made several years before the county was created. Tliomas Timmons, who, with liis family, settled on Big Pine Creek, in the year ISol, on or near the farm now owned by his son Benjamin A. Timmons, is eommonl\- supposed to be the first white settler within the present limits of Benton Oountv. There are. however, good reasons for doubting this. Thomas Lewis settled in or near White Oak Grove, on or near the farm now owned by R. .M. Atkinson, in the fall of 1832. He purchased the farm on whicli he settled of John Fields ; and Isaac W. Lewis, a son of Tliomas Lewis aforesaid, who. is still resi<ling at or near Oxford, says that there were trees on the farm on which his lather settled, which had evidently lieen deadened five or six years before his father bought it. This he says was evident from the fact that the bark had fallen off, and the trunks of the trees had become verv much blanched by exposure to the weather. About the same time that Thomas l;ewis settled in the county, the I'ollowing-uamod persons came: Tliomas Nolin, iMatlhew Terwilliger, Levi Thornton, Henry Jennings, Philip Williams and others, and settled in the timber along Big Pine Creek. Also, there were two or three families, among whom were James O. Denton and William Denton, settled at Denton's Grove about 18:?2, although the exact date cannot be ascertained. From this time until ISa.'i. a few families settled in the same locality, but t.lie increase was very slow. In 18a5, Basil Justus with his family, moved to White Oak Grove, and erected a log-cabin on or near what is now known as the Justus farm, at that time one of the most advanced posts in the county. On this farm Mr. Justus or some of his family have ever since resided until within the last few j-ears. It is now occupied bj' Joseph Atkuison. At the time of his first settlement there, there were only two or three families in the grove. During the fall of the same year, John W. Robertson and his famih' moved to Parish G-rove, his sons, Henry and Samuel, having come the previous spring and raised a crop. There were living in Parish Grove at that time, Enoch Evans, John Foster and William Douglas, who had settled there a short time before. Robert Alexander came to the grove a short time thereafter, and lived for many years on the farm now owned by Parnham Boswell. At about the same time, there were living at Sugar Grove, Hamaniah Huett and familj", and a family by the name of Peck. About the same time, there were a few families settled on the banks of Mud Pine Creek, in the southern portion of the county, among which were David Lane, Thomas Martin, Perigan Garland, William Smith and James Smith and families, with perhaps a few others.

In the spring of 183J:, Judge David McCoauell and his family moved to White Oak Grove, and erected a small log house on the very spot where he DOW resides, and has resided on the farm he first settled on from that date down to the present time. There were at that time five or six families on the east side of Big Pine Creek, and about four families in the south part of White Oak Grove. Those on the east side of Big Pine were Philip Williams, Thomas Nolin, Aaron Pinch, James Holmes, James Thornton, John Emerson. Those in the south part of White Oak Grove were William Lewis, Basil Justus and Thomas Lewis. Philip Williams was then living on what is known as the old Williams farm. Milton Jennings lived on the farm now owned by George H. Jennings, and Thomas Nolin was living on the farm on which his son, George W. Nolin, now resides. About the same time, there were a few families settled in what is now known as McConuell's Grove, about four miles southwest of White Oak Grove, consisting of Samuel Mc- Connell and brother, and one or two others. In 1840, the first house in Benton County, on the road from La Payette to Oxford, was the house of Peter Jennings, where P. P. Griffin now lives ; thence four miles west to houses of Justus and McConnell, in White Oak Grove ; thence west, no house for ten miles, until you reached Parish Grove; then none for eight miles further to Sugar Grove ; and then sixteen miles to Bunkum, 111. ; and not one house north of White Oak Grove to the Iroquois River, about twenty-five miles, this entire grand and now beautiful prairie being wholly wild and uninhabited. For although a few families began to now move into the county, they still kept in the timber portion, or close thereto, as the grand prairie was still considered a barren, bleak and dreary waste, and was known and spoken of as " The Lost Land," its principal productions being prairie wolves, sand-hill cranes and green-head flies. It has been farmed since, however, and its virgin soil has been yielding most valu- able produce. Up to this time, and for a few years thereafter, the nearest market for Benton Count}' was the village of Chicago, and the Benton County farmers would once a year load up their grain and produce in a lumber wagon, and, putting in two weeks' provisions, with au ox-team would start to market to sell their surplus produce, and lay in their necessar}' groceries for the coming veari /ind, after swimming rivers, wading sloughs and sleeping on the cold ground every night, would finally succeed in making the entire round trip inside of fifteen da3's. About the year 1845, a few settlers began to move into different portions of the count}-, and gradually to encroach on the confines of the hitherto unsettled prairie. On Mud Pine, about first were Isaiah H. Perigo and Joshua Howell, who settled on the prairie just north of what was then known as the Smith settlement, followed . soon after by William Smalley.the McTlvains, .Jacob Cassell, David Ogburn, '' Jesse Lutz, Joseph Pierce, John G-age, John Hopper. John C. Anderson, the McDaniells, William Hubbard, the Vanovers and others. James S. Crawford settled near Hickory Grove, in what is now Hickory Grove Township, in 1846, and was pi;obably the first settler in that township. He was followed soon afterward by Harvey H. Crawford. John French and Enos Rush. About the "same time the following-named persons settled in and near White Oak Grove : William Oiler, James 3IcKinsey, L. B. Wattles, Ezekiel Davis, Francis Bo}nton, the Littlers, Isaac Runner, the Wakemans, a man named Bureh, Robert and Hartley T. Howard, Dr. Theophilus Stembel, Thomas Atkinson, William Cochran and others. On Big Pine Creek, George H. Finch, James Thomas, Isaiah H. Young. William Young, James Emerson and many others commenced breaking prairie for their future homes, all, however, up to this time clinging as closely to timber and groves as possible. In 1849, Parnham Boswell came to Parish Grove, buyinii the farm of Robert Alexander, while Ed Sumner, a little more bold, pushed across the prairie eight miles further, to Sugar <lrove. settling on lands previously bought. x\.t Xorth Hickory Grove. Samuel Finney had a little log cabin, and lierded his cattle close aronnd him. Xear Mount Gilboa, John Southard, Jacob Lucas, a man named Jones and others, located at an earlv date, probably some time in the forties. Among the first who located far out on the prairie, and far away from timber, about this time, were William Wisher, on the (arm on which he now resides ; Daniel Birdsall close by, on what is known as the Anstill farm ; and a small colony of EnoUsh people wlio had just come to this country, o{- which .Mr. F. l>.(.h-eenwood was the van-courier, lie having pre-empteci some land, a part of which is known as the Carlisle farm, on which he erected a lougli hut on the banks of Mud Pine Creek, without d,iors or window.., s,Mne time l>efo,v he was joined by his own funily, or any other member ol' llie col.mv. lu a short time, he was joined by John Lalhrop, Matthew Armstrong, Joseph Bromley John Camp- Ion, James Jurrett, William MeQu.vn and George noun, who settled on the land pre-em|,ted by F. 1'. (ovcnwood, and made some improvements. AAer a few years of hard toil, great inc.Mivenieuee, many hardships and privn- tions, and being unable to protect themselves from the bleak prairie winds, the colonj' was abandoned, all except Mr. Greenwood leaving the county. Mr. Greenwood moved some four miles further south, nearer the timber, and settled on the farm on which he now resides, and is the onl}- one of the col- ' ony now living in the county. Thomas Gornall and James Haworth, both Englishmen, but not belonging to the colony, came into the prairie about the same time, both of whom now own beautiful farms. From this time forward, families began moving into different portions of the county, as a market had opened up at La Faj'ette, which at that time was considered quite handy, as the round trip could be made during one-half of the year in two full days, allowing no time to stop for meals.

Joseph Dehart settled in Pine Township in 1SJ:9, and there' were at that time the following persons in that township; John Sheetz, Henry Youtz, James Emerson, Robert Flawkins, Benjamin Hawkins (builder of the first house ever built in the township), Joshua Timmons, Amos White, Thomas Parker, the Widow Terwilliger and probably others. The time of their settling in that part of the county is not known any more deSnitelj' than that it was before 1849. Among the early settler.9 in the vicinity of Oxford were James N. Holton, Isaac Templeton, John Burns, John Campbell and many others. On Mud Pine. John Roberts, J. D. Roberts, H. W. Wilkinson, William Wilkinson, Ford, Stanley, Jarvis and others. On the prairie between the two places, John E. Morgan, J. F. Mills, Charles Aaron, John Wattles, J. N. Kiger and others. On Big Pine and eastern part of the county, Evan Stephenson, J. W. Swan, Benjamin Hawkins, William Hawkins, W. J. Templeton, Thomas Maddux, the Deliarts, Haighs. Browns and others.

There began to be some excitement about this time over the prospect of a railroad being built along the northern boundary line of the county, and in anticipation thereof, several settlers came into the northern portion of the county and commenced to improve farms, among whom were John Fleming, Sr., and family, A. D. Packard, E. C. Gould, Anthony Dehner and many others. After the completion of the railroad, the northern portion of the county improved rapidly, and settled up much faster than any other portion of the county, soon rivaling some of the early settled portions, and leaving the central portion still behind in improvements. The population of the county at this time was about 2,450. The following, found among the files of the Auditor's otlice, probably sh^ws who were liable to work the road in Pine Township in 1842:

July 2, 1842. List of persons who have performed labor on the public roads in Pine Township, District No. 1, for the yc.ir 1842, with tiie number of days each has' performed : James Thomas, eleven ; James Emerson, eleven ; Thoma>j Spriggs, eleven ; Jolin Anderson. - ; William R. Jonson, eleven ; Chaiiei Tim. nous, eleven; Rj.ij.unin Timmons, eleven; Thomas Gritfln, eleven ; James Griffin, eleven ; James Parker, eleven ; Hensou Owens, eleven ; Robert Hawkins, eleven : -Vllen Gilvan, eleven ; Albert Gilvan, eleven ; Amos White, eleven ; John White, eleven ; Jackson Gilvan, eleven ;

The foregoing document is not signed at all, nor even marked " filed." As no similar papers appear among the files, it is not probable that this one was filed in compliance with any statutory requirement. It was probably filed by some Road Supervisor, or Township Trustee, who conceived it to be his duty to file such a list somewhere. Whatever the fact maj' be, however, as to whether the filing was required by law, or was a work of supererogation, it probably is genuine, nevertheless, and is quite an interesting paper, as it not only shows who were residing in Pine Township at that time, but it shows the further interesting fact that thej' could be and were required to work as many as eleven days on the roads in those days. What would we, of the present day, who grumble at working two days, say to this ? Each of the three townships, Pine, Oak Grove and Parish G-rove, constituted a single road district at that time, there being but three districts in the county.

Early Marriages

During the first ten years after the count3- was created, from 1840 to 1850, there were fifty-four couples married in thts count}', as follows : Amos White, Sr., and Mary Earheart. August 2, 1840 ; Jonathan Baugh and Ruth Ann Nolan, October 1, 1840 ; Marmaduke Jennings and Elizabeth Robertson, October 1, 1840 ; Samuel Robertson and Sabina Alexander, February 25, 1841 ; Charles Robertson and Eliza Ann Mitchell, February 25, 1841 ; John Hilton and Margaret Garland, June 20, 1841 ; James E. Robertson and Jane Alexander, February 1, 1842 ; Benjamin Franlin Coffenberry and Bsthsheba Oiler, January 31, 1S42 ; Thomas Lewis and Elizabeth McConnell, March 21, 1S42 ; William R. Johnson and Margaret Pinch, June 2, 1842 ; James T. Parker and Raehael N. Justus, August 25, 1842 ; Eli Mendenhall and Sarah Williams, October S, 1842 : Archibald Morrison and Lawson Groom, March 21, 1843 ; Henry Van Horn and Louisa Rose, December 14, 1843 ; John Myers and Sarah Noles, September 5, 1844 ; John Whittaker and Sarah Smith, September 15, 1S44 ; Joseph Thompson and Elizabeth McConnell, February 26. 1845 ; Abraham Metsker and Elizabeth Odell, August 27. 184.') ; James Heury TerwiUiger and Mary Griffin, September 19, 1845 ; John Kelly and Sarah Ann Wood. September 29,1845, William Wray and Saiali Jane Carson, - , 1845 ; Cyrus Stanley and Amanda Beard. Feln-uary 5, 184(3 ; Thomas Geofrev and Lucinda McCnrtain, April 2, ISUi , William B. xMcConnell and Frances Jane Howard, April 7, 1810 ; Joliu .MoOide and Esther Martin, April 16, 1846 ; Thomas Carter and Martha Jolly, Juno 27, 1846 ; Elijah Bunnell and Martha Robertson, August 27^ 1816 ; Addison Williams and Catharine Martin, September 10, 184(i ; Samuel Mcllvain and Margaret Lane MeCoiuiell. November 5, 1846 ; James Wylio and Mary Uaxis, Mav 27, 1847 ; John A. Finuey and Amanda D. I;an.., July 1, 1817 ; George Sharabaugh and Louisa Shoemaker, January 6,1848; Ciuirles Wattles and Leah Littler, February 6

1848 ; John Brown and Sarah Wilson, March 16, 1848 ; Zebulon M. Wray and Mary Ann Earhart, March 26, 1848 ; Rinaldo Sutton and Vivena Crayton, February 10, 1848 ; James A. McConnell and Sarah McIIvaui, March 2, 1848 ; John Gray and Hannah Lewis, Apri 20, 1848 ; Hugh McConnell and Margaret M. Johnston, April 20, 1848 ; John L, McConnell and Elizabeth B. Johnston, August 3, 1848 ; William Wilkinson and Nancy D. Johnston, August 10, 1848 ; John M. Cochran and Mary Magdalen Johnston, September 24, 1848; Moses Wilson and Armintha Martin, August 17, 1848 ; Isaac Templeton and Maria Jennings, January 2, 1849 ; George W. Freeman and Abigail Mcllvain, February 22, 1819 ; Thomas Smith and Margaret Martin, March 8, 1849 ; Henry C. Morgan and Mary Elizabeth Liptrap, April 5, 1849 ; William Courtney and Xancy Ann Robertson, October 3, 1849; Enoch Fenton and Julia Ann Crawford, October 10.1849; John Hawkins and Margaret Rebecca Sheetz, November 1, 1849 ; Elijah Denton and Mary Ann Miller, December 6, 1849 ; Elbert A. Scovill and Mary Ann Thomas, May 12, 1850 ; Isaac W. Lewis and Lucy McConnell, May 30 1850 ; Joseph M. Ferguson and Mary Jane McConnell, June 2, 1850.

It will readily be seen, by an inspection of the foregoing, that the 3'ear 1848 witnessed the culmination of the matrimonial fever for the period of time mentioned, the number of victims " during that memorable year reaching the then unprecedented number of twelve couples, or twentyfour persons. As the year 1848 was a leap-year, many might hastily conclude that in this fact lay the explanation of this unusual activityin the matrimonial market. Such will readily discover, however, by applying the infallible mathematical test, that the year 1844 was also a leapyear, and as there were but two matrimonial knots tied in the county during that year (as low a number as was reached in any year durin» the period), the}- will discover that their theory is wholly untenable. No solution of the matter will be here attempted, but the subject will be given over to those who have time and inclination for such pastime. It will further be seen that of those fifty-four marriages, three occurred in 1840 (afractional year), three in 1841. six in 1842, two iu 1843, two in 1844, five in 1845, eight in 1846, two in 1847, twelve in 1848, eight in 1849 and three in 1 850, which latter was also fractional, there being but sufficient of it embraced to make out the period of ten years from August 2, 1840. As tending to show the preferences which people have for one month over another, or for certain months over certain others, for the consummation of this great event, which is the bloom or blight of the happiness of all who enter the state matrimonial, it may be interesting to note that three of those matrimonial splices were made in the month of January, eight in February, six in March, six in April, three in May, five in June, one in July, seven in August six in September, five in October, two in November and two in December. It, will thus be seen that of all the twelve mouths in the yearj February, though the shortest of them all, is the most popular month for organizing new families, and that July, though as long as the longest, is the most unpopalar one for that purpose. The reason why this is so, if it really be necessary that any should be given, probably consists in the fact that whilst people have less time in February than in July ffrom two to three days less) they have more leisure. There may be other reasons that contribute more or less to the unpopularity of July as a month for marrying, but this is probably the principal one.

Eaely Land Entries Description

The foregoing land purchases were not from the United States Government direct, but of lands donated by the General Government to the State, and commonly known as canal land and swamp land. The early entries of Government lands cannot be here given, for the reason that the tract book showing those entries could not be louud in the office in which it properly belongs, owing to some confusion having arisen with the records and files at the time when they were removed from the old county scat at Oxford to the new county seat at Fowler.

The time of the creation of Ihc tlircc town8hips of Oak Grove, I'arish (h'ovc and Pine, together with their boundaries, has been given, Tiic places of holding clccliiius in the several townships were changed from time to time, by order of the Board of Commissioners. At their may session, in 1841, it was "ordered that the place of holiling elections in and for Parish (irove Township is henceforth to be holdcn at the house of Joseph Smith iu said township." At the September terra of Commissioners' Court, 134-1, it was "ordered that the place of holding elections in Pine Township be removed from the house of Amos White to the house of Joseph HetTner. in said township," At the December term, 1844. the place of holding elections in Parish Grove Township was removed from the honse of John Rose to the house of Thomas INIartin. At the June term. 1S47. the place of holding elections in Pine Township was -removed to the schoolhonse in said township near William Pi. Johnson's residence.'' At the February term, 1S50 it was "ordered that the place of holding elections in Parish Grove Township be removed from Thomas Martin's to the schoolhonse in District Xo. 2, Congressional Township 24. Range S.

At the March term of Commissioners' Court, 1855, Washington Township was created, bonnded as follows : Commencing at the southeast corner of Section 16, in Township 25, of Range 7 ; thence west to the southwest corner of Section 15. Township 25, of Range 8; thence north to the northwest corner of Section 3, in Township 26. of Range 8; thence east to the northwest corner of Section 3. in Township 26. of Range 7 ; and thence south to the place of beginning. ,__-- Prairie Township was created in March, 1855. and was bonnded as folows : Commencing at the southeast corner of Section 16. in Township 25, of Range 8. and running thence west to the line dividing the States of Indiana and Illinois ; thence north to the northwest corner of Section 2, in Township 26, of Range 10 ; thence east to the northeast corner of Section 4, in Township 26, of Range 8 ; and thence south to the place of beginning. The Board of Commissioners, at their December session, 1855, ordered that the order creating Washington and Prairie Townships be annulled, for the reason that there were not sufficient inhabitants in the territory embraced by them. At their ^larch term, 1858, the Board of County Commissioners created West Pine Township, ont of a part of Parish Grove Township, with boundaries as follows; Commencing at the northeast corner of Section 16. in Township 24. of Range 8. and running thence south to the south line of the county ; thence west to the southwest corner of the county ; thence north to the northwest corner of Section 14, in Township 24, of Range 10 ; and thence east to the place of beginning. In September, 1858, the line dividing West Pine and Parish Grove Townships was changed as follows : Commencing at the southwest corner of Section 11, in Township 24, of Range 9, and rnnniuo; tlience north to the northwest corner of Section 14, in Township 25, of Range 9 ; thence west to the State line ; and thence south to the southwest corner of Section 14, in Township 24, of Range 10. The Board of Commissioners, at their June session. 1860. upon petition of A. D. Packard, Isaac Hall. E. C. Sumner. Benjamin Rodlcy. Theodore Swinton, Aaron Burchell, Abram IT. Durkee. Joseph Blessing. G. W. Hugo-ard, Patrick Erven. WilUam Grave,-, John T. Iloiigh. Thomas (.Tilbert, John Irwin and I. N. Clark, Ordered that the north part of Parish Grove Township be struck otf. and bounded as follows : Commencing at the northwest corner of Section 2, in Townsliip 26, Range 10, and running tlience south to tlie soutliwest corner of Section 35, in Township 26, of Range 10; thence east to tliesoutlieast corner of Section o. in Township 26, of Range 8 ; thence north on line wliich former!}- divided Oali Grove and Parish Grove Townsljips, to the northeast corner of Section 4. in Township 26, Range 8 ; and thence west on the line of Benton and Jasper, to the place of beginning, to bo linown as Yorli Township. At tlie September term of Commissioners' Court, tlie boundary between West Pine and Parish Grove Townships was again changed, this time as follows : Commencing at the northwest corner of Section 11, in Township 25. ofRangeKi; and running thence east to the northwest corner of Section 8. in Township 25. of Range 9 ; thence south to the northwest corner of Section 5, in Township 24, of Range 9 ; thence east to the line formerly dividing West Pine and Parish Grove Townships ; and thence with the old line to the place of beginning. In 3Iarch. 1861, it was ''Ordered by the Board of Commissioners of Benton County, State of Indiana, that a new township lie cut off the east part of Oak Grove Township, commencing at the southeast corner of Section 3.3, and running thence north on the line between Benton and Tippecanoe Counties, to the northeast corner of Section 4 ; thence on the township line between Townships 24 and 25 west, to the northwest corner of Section 3. in Township 24. of Rant^e 7 ; tlience south to the southwest corner of Section 34. in Township 24, of Range 7 ; and thence east to the place of beginning, to be known as Bolivar Township." At the same session. Prairie Township was created, with boun"- daries as follows : Commencing at the southeast corner of Section 33, in Township 25, of Range 7. and running thence north to the line between Jasper and Benton Counties ; thence west on the line between Jasper and Benton Counties to the northeast corner of Section 3, in Township 26. ofRaugeS - thence south to the line between Townships 2-1 and 25. at the southwest corner of Section 34, in Township 25. of Range 8 : ami thence east to the place of beginning." At the same term, it was - (h-dered that the boundary lines of Oak Grove be described as follows : Commencinn' at the southeast corner of Section 33, in Township 24, of Kange 7, and running thence north to the line dividing Townships 24 and 25 ; thence west to the northwest corner of Section 3, in Township 24, of Range 8 ; thence south to the county line, and thence east to the [itace of beginning." Also at the same time it was - Ordered by the board that the boundary of Pine Township remain the same, except the south line, which is on the Congressional township line between Townships 24 and 25." At the March term oi' Commissioners' Court. Finch's S.'hoolhouse was designated as the place of holding elections in Bolivar Township, and Wisher's Schoolhouse as the place of holding elections in Prairie Township. At the June term of Commissioners' Court, 1864, the following proceedings were had : " Now comes John W. Nutt and others, petitioning for a divish.n ,.f Prairie Township as follows : ' To the Honorable Board of Commissioners of the County of IJenton, and State of Indiana We the undersigned, citizens of l>rairie Township, in said eonntv, respeetfnllv'petition your Honorable body to divide said township east and west into two equal parts; the north part to be called Union.' Petition granted." At the March term, 1865, West Pine and Parish Grove Townships were consolidated under the name of Parish Grove.

In DecemTSer, 1866, upon petition of John Garretson, Isaac Allman Joseph Osborne, J. E. Sheetz, William B. Timmons, J. 8. 8hipman, G. P. Shipman, Alpheus Allman, Henry Hufhne, AVilliam T. Bowyer, Elias Shepard, Jerry Hufflne, H. H. Owens, Peter C. Noble, Benjamin Ellcr, J. Lamborn, Thomas Tracy, D. C. Bowjer, S. B. Johnson, Rinaldo Sutton, Jam'es Witham, Jacob Engler, Joseph K. Kinch, Jonas Henen, J. H. Tallman, Holt Dawson, William Marlow,. M. L. Cheidle, James K. Tur\-ey, John 0. Heaton and Patrick Carroll, Gilboa Township was struck off from tLie north part of Pine Township, as follows : Commencing at the northeast corner of Benton County, and running thence west to the northwest corner of Section 3, in Township 26, of Range 7 ; thence south to the southwest corner of Section 34, in Township 26, of Range 7 ; thence east to the line dividing White and Benton Counties, and thence north to the place of beginning. At the December term, 1868, the following changes were made in township boundaries ; York Township was divided, Richland being set off and bounded as follows : Commencing at the northeast corner of Section 4, Township 26, of Range 8, and running thence west to the northwest corner of Section 3, in Township 26, of Range 9 ; thence south to the line dividing Townships 25 and 26 ; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 33, in Township 26 of Range 8 ; thence north to the place of beginning, comprising three miles of Range 8, and three miles of Range 9. The remaining portion retains the name of York, and is bounded as follows ; Commencing at the northeast corner of Section 4, in Township 26, of Range 9, and running thence west to the State line ; thence south to the line dividing Townships 25 and 26 ; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 33, in Township 26, of Range 9, and thence north to the place of beginning, comprising three miles of Range 9, and two miles of Range 10, all in Township 26. The places of voting were for York Township, Fleming Schoolhouse, and for Richland Dehner's Schoolhouse. Parish Grove was divided, leaving tlie boundaries of Parish Grove as follows : Prom the northeast corner of Section 4, in Township 25, Range 8 ; thence west to State line ; thence south to the line dividing Townships 24 and 25 ; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 33, in Township 25 of Range 8 ; thence north to the place of beginning. The remainder to be called Grant, bounded as follows : From the northeast corner of Section 4, in Township 24 of Range 8 ; thence west to State line ; thence south to south line of county ; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 33, and thence north to the place of beginning. At, a special session in June, 1872, the boundaries of Prairie Township were changed, as follows : Commencing at the northwest corner of Prairie Township as it is now located ; thence west three miles to the line dividing Ranges 8 and 9 ; thence south four rniles ; thence east one mile ; thence south two miles to the line dividing Townships 24 and 25 ; thence east two miles to the southwest corner of said Prairie Township as it was before this addition. And it is further ordered that this addition, with the present Prairie Township, shall be known as Prairie Township. At the September term, 1875, the boundary of Prairie Township was changed as follows: Commencing at the northwest corner of Section 30, in Township 25, of Range 8, and running thence south to tlie southwest corner of Section 31, m Town, ship 25, of ?i,ange 8, and thence east to the southwest corner of Section 32, same township and range, the territory annexed being Sections 30 and 31, in Township 25 of Range 8. At the March term, 1876, Grant Township was divided as follows : Commencing at the northwest corner of Section 3, in Township 24, of Range 9, and running thence south to the line dividing Benion and Warren Counties ; thence west to the southwest corner of original Grant Township ; tlience north, on the State line, to the northwest corner of the original Grant Tow-nship, and thence east to the place of beginning. The territory thus struck otf from Grant Township was named Hickory Grove Townsiiip, of which the hoard, at the same term, appointed John Callanan, Trustee, and John W. Cole. Justice of the Peace. At the September term, 1870, the east half of Section 21, Township 24, Range 7, was taken from C»ak Grove and attaclied to Bolivar Township.

Benton County was created by virtue of an Act of the Legislature, approved February 18. 1810. The act being brief and of special importance, is here given in full and I'cads as follows : l)<- r Kiiacted bi/ tJir General Axscmbli/ of tlie .S'^^^- nj' liiJiniia:

1. That hereafter all that part of Jasper County, south of the r.'. between Townships 20 and 27 north, shall be and constitute an independli county, and shall be known and designated as the county of Benton.

Sec. 2. The Board of Commissioners of said county, shall meet at the liouse of Basil Justus, and shall, if necessary, hold two extra sessions for the purpose of transacting county business.

Sec. 3. The othcers of said county shall be governed by the provisions of an act entitled " An act providing for the formation of new counties," approved Ketn'uary 17, 1838, and by the provisions of an act entitled " An act to regulate the mode of doing county business in the several counties of the State," approved February 17, 1838, as far as the same is practicable.

Sec. 4. Threedifths of the tlu-ee per cent fund heretofore appropriated to the county of Jasper, namely, the sum ol' S2,400, is hereby approprwted to the county ol' lienton, and the Commissioner of the three per cent fund of Jasiier County is hereby directed to pay over to the Commissioner of said fund of Benton Counly, wlien the said tVtmmissioner shall be duly qualified, tlie sum of $l,(!05.^i2, if lie have so much on iumd, and he is hereby directed to retain that amount, or as much thereof as he may have on haiid at the passage of tliis act, witii a view to the delivery of the same to the Comiuissi<mer of said fund in Benton County ; and any deficiency which may exist, owing to tlie said fund having been expended, shall be made up out of the first moneys accruing by the three per cent fund to the county of Jasper. Prin-iiJiil that, the Commissioner of the said fund of the county of Jasper shall deduct from the amount which he Is to pay over to the Commissioner of Benton Count}-, the amount of said fund which may have been expended within the limits of Bentou Count}-.

Sec. 5. The agent of the three per cent fund of the State is hereby directed and required to pay over to the Commissioner of said fund of Bentou County three-fifths of all moneys which may be in or shall hereafter be received into his hands, which would otherwise go to satisfy the aforesaid appropriation of 84,000 to Jasper County.

Sec. 6. The county of Bauton is hereby attached to the first Judical Circuit, and the Circuit Court of said county shall meet at the house of Basil Justus in said countv.

Sec. 7. The Circuit Court of said county shall meet on the first Wednesday succeeding the term of holding the Circuit Court of Jasper County ; and the sessions of the court in Benton County are hereby limited to three days.

Sec. 8. That said county shall be attached to the Senatorial District composed of the coanties of La Porte, Porter, Newton, White and Pulaski.

It thus appears that at the time of the creation of Benton Count}' the territory out of which it was created cotistituted a portion of Jasper County. Different portions of it, however, belonged at various times to other counties, as did even Jasper County itself As early as January 30, 1830, the Legislature enacted that as much of Tippecanoe County as lay directly north of Warren County and south of the line dividing Townships 24 and 25 north, should be attached to Warren Count}' for civil and judicial purposes.

By an act of the Legislature, approved February 1, 1834, the county of White was ordered organized. Section 7 of that act reading as follows: all the territjiy lying west of the county of White to the State line be and the same is hereby attached to the county of White, for civil and judicial purposes." It will be seen from this provision that all of Benton County lying north of the line dividing Townships 24 and 25 north was attached to White County.

By a special act of the Legislature, approved January 31, 1835, all of Benton County west of the line dividing Ranges 7 and 8 west was attached to Warren County, except that portion of Benton County south of the line dividing Townships 24 and 25 north, which had been previously attached.

The first term of Commissioners' Court was held at the house of Basil Justus in White Oak Grove, just south of where the town of Oxford now stands, the Commissioners being Thomas Lewis, Amos White and John Robertson, all of whom are now deceased. Amos White was President of the board. At this session, the county was divided into three townships, as follows: ''AH that part of Benton County lying west of the center of Range 8 shall constitute one township, which shall be known as Pariah Gr.)\e Township; all that part of said Benton County lying east of the said center of Range 8, and north of tlie north line of Section 12, in Township

24 north, shall constitute one township, which shall be known as Pine Township; and all that part of said Benton County that lies east of said center of Range 8, and south of the north line of Section 12, in Township 24 north, shall constitute one township, which shall be known as Oak Grove Township." Elections in the several townships were ordered, the time being August 8, 1840, and the several places being as follows: In Parish Grove Township, at the house of Eobert Alexander; in Pine Township, at the house of Amos White, and in Oak Grove Township, at the house of Basil Justus. The following were appointed Inspectors of Elections in the several townships: Parish Grove, Samuel Robertson; Pine. John Wallace, and Oak Grove, Thomas Lewis. Henrj- Roliertson was appointed Assessor for the county for the jear 1840. At the September term of Commissioners Court, 1840, Milton Jennings was appointed Treasurer; David McConnell, Seminarj- Trustee; Henry Robertson Commissioner of the Three-Per Cent Fund, and Ezekiel H. Davis. Collector of State and County Revenue; and at the January term, 1841, Henry Robertson was appointed Assessor of Benton County

Early Elections

The first election ever held within the limits of the present county of Benton was held at the house of William Mallatt, on the 13th day of June, 1835, at which time the territor}- which now constitutes the southern tier of townships in Benton County was attached to Warren Count}', and constituted what was denominated Madison Township. At that election the following men polled their votes : Joseph Dunn, Samuel Owens. George Sly, Benjamin Lewis, Richard Berrj', Sr., James W. Lacy, John Fields, Josiah Dunn, Hiram Mallatt, William Mallatt, Enoch Ganas, John Lyons, John Foster, Samuel Lewis, William Douglas, Jonathan Lewis, Joseph B. Dunn, Richard Berry, Jr., and Eobert Mallatt. For Justice of the Peace, John Lyons received eighteen votes, and John Foster eighteen votes ; for Constable, Eobert Mallatt received nineteen votes, and John Crisser nineteen votes. The board at this election was constituted as follows : Inspector, Richard Ben-y, Jr. ; Judges. George Sly and Benjamin Lewis ; Clerk, Jonathan Lewis.

On the first Monday in August, 1835, five years before the county of Benton was organized, at an election held at the house of William Mallatt, in Madison Township, Warren County (which embraced the southern tier of townships in Benton County), the following men voted ; John Fields, Benjamin Lewis, Eobert Mallatt, Charles T. Harris, William Mallatt, Richard Beiry, Sr., Herbert Owens, John Lyons, John Montgomery, Richard Berry, Jr , and William Billings. For Representative in Congress, James Gre<TorY received twenty votes, and Edward A. Hannagan nine votes ; for Representative in the State Jyegislature, James H. Buell received nine votes, and Jesse Tomlinson one vote ; for Sheritf, William Robb received five vot«s, and John Seaman five votes ; for County Commissioner, James Goodwine received eleven votes ; and for School Commissioner, James J. McAlilly received ten votes. The members of the board of this election wore ; Herbert Owens and Charles T. Harris, Clerljs ; Richard Berry and Benjamin Lewis, Judges ; and Richard Berry, Jr., Inspector.

In November, 1836, whilst the southern tier of townships in Benton County, yet Itnown as Madison Township. Warren County, the following votes were polled at an election held at the house of Bassett Timmons : Matthias Redding, Benjamin Lewis, Joseph Redding, Charles Anderson, Andrew Fields, Isaac Blue, Hiram Mallatt, James W. Lacey, Bassett Timmons, William Mallatt, Thomas Timmons, James Cuppy, John Lyons, Charles T. Harris, Robert Mallatt, and Richard Berry, Sr. The Board consisted of Charles T. Harris and Lyons, Clerks ; James Cuppy and Robert Mallatt, Judges ; and James W. Langwish, Inspector. The Whig electors received four votes, and the Democratic electors twelve votes.

The first election held in Benton County, after its creation by the act of the Legislature approved February 18, 1840, as before stated, was held at the house of Basil Justus, in Oak (irove Townsiiip, on the 2d day of November, 1840, and the voters thereat were L. W. Wattles, Robert Pollock, Perigan Garland, Jesse T. Garland, Samuel McConnell, Thomas McConnell, William McConnell, Lorenzo D. Hewitt, David McConnell, John H. Robertson, Amos White, Jr., Basil Justus, John Byard, Hannaniah Hewitt, Thomas Lewis, Milton Jennings, Solomon Burch, Hugh McConnell, Isaiah Perigo, Jacob Baugh, Lewis B. Williams, William B. Foster and Jonathan Baugh.

The next election lield in the county was holden at the same place as the preceding one, and the date was the first Monday in April, 1841, for the purpose of electing one Justice of the Peace, one Constable, two Overseers of the Poor, two Fence Viewers, and one Supervisor. At this election the following persons cast their ballots : Thomas McConnell, William F. Wakeman, Lewis B. Williams, Ezekiel H. Davis, Basil Justus, Thomas Lewis, Stephen Buckley, Samuel P. Davis, William H. Williams, John Wattles, and James Q. McKinlej*. For Justice of the Peace, Stephen Bucklej' received eight votes, and James Q. McKinley two votes ; for Constable, William B. Foster received ten votes ; for Overseer of the Poor, Jacob Baugh received eleven votes, James Q. McKinley nine votes, and John Wattles one vote ; for Inspector of Elections, Samuel P. Davis received nine votes; for Pence Viewer, William F. Wakemau received eleven votes, and Solomon Burch eleven votes ; add for Supervisor, Lewis B. Williams received ten votes. The Election Board consisted of Thomas Lewis, Inspector ; William F. Wakeman and Lewis B. Williams, Judges ; Basil Justus and Ezekiel H. Davis, Clerks.

Early Courts

The first term of any court held within the limits of the present county of Benton was a term of the Commissioners' Court which was held at Parish Grove, in the spring of the year 1838, whilst Benton County yet constituted a part of Jasper County, the Cornmissioners being Amos White, Joseph Smith and Frederick Conoyer. In the fall of the same year, the first term of the Circuit Court was held at the same place, the otiScers of said court being Hon. Isaac Naylor, Judge ; George Spitler. Clerk ; Henry Robertson, Sheriff; and Joseph A. Wright, of Indiana, then but who subsequently filled ttie high and reiponsible office of Governor of the State of Indiana, and United States Minister at the Court of Berlin, was Prosecuting Attorne}'. The first term of the Circuit Court of Ben- Ion Count}' was held at the house of Basil Justus. November 4. 1840, the olBcers of the court being Isaac A. Naylor, President Judge ; David Mc- Connell and Matthew Terwilliger, Associate Judges ; Basil Justus, Clerk ; Henry Robertson, Sheriff, and the Prosecuting .Ittoruey was Joseph E. JIc- Donald, then a rising young attorne\% who has since occupied the exalted position of United States Senator, and is prominently spoken of as a candidate for President of the Uniteil States. The attorneys sworn and admitted at said first term were Daniel Mace, John Fettit. William M. Jenners, Robert A. Chandler, Benjamin F. Gregory. Zebulon Baird and Joseph Tatman, none of whom resided in Benton County. The following persons constituted the first grand jury : Aaron Wood, Lewis Reynolds, Elias Smith, Benjamin A. Timmons, John Wallace, John Lane, William P. Carson, William Smith, Jr., Saiiuiel Robertson, John Frost, William Foster, William F.

Wallace, foreman ; and the first -'petted jury" was composed of the following-named persons : William McConnell. Solomon Bureh. Perigan Garland, Hann.aniah Hewitt, William Smith, Sr.. James Thomas, -Vmos White. Sr., James 0. Denton, William Denton, John Sheetz, Eli Woods and Samuel McConnell. There being uo suitable room to which the jury might retire for the purpose of deliberating upon a verdict when cases were submitted to them for their final consideration, they were placed in charge of a bailiff who had instructions so retire with them to a certain large stump in the vicinity of the house in which court was being held, with the usual interdiction of all communication, etc., etc., except etc., etc.; and from this circumstance, this first jury was ever after known as " the stump jury." The first term of the Benton County Prol)ate Court was held at the house of Basil Justus, commencinoon the second iMonday in Noxember, 1S40, the first Probate Judge beia^ Samuel McConnell. The names of those who served as petit jurors at the first term of the Benton Circuit Court have Vieeu given. The full list of petit jurors selected iiy the Board of Commissioners, at their September session 184(1, contains several names that do not appear in the list of those who served. It is as follows : William McC.mnell, Jacob Bangh, Solomon Burch, William (Jarland, IVrigau Garland, Uaunaniah Hewitt, Hugh McCoimell, William Smith, Sr., Thomas Martin. Silas Henderson, Joshua Howell, Robert Alexander, Henry Robertson, James Thomas, Amos White, Sr.. J auies C Denton Lebi.is W. Waltles, John Sheet/., David Miller, William Denton, John Whitev-

Eli Wood, Samuel McCounell and Philip Jackson. The first terms of all the Courts (Commissioners', Probate and Circuit), were held at the house of Basil Justus, as were all subsequent terms up to the year 1843, when the place of convening the different courts was changed to the house of James T. Parker, at which place the Commissioners' Court convened for the first time at their April session, 18-43 ; the Circuit Court, April 12. 1843, aud the Probate, Court, on the second Monday in May, 1843. Thereafter the terms of the ditferent courts continued to be held at the house of James T. Parker up to 1845. After which time they were held at the court house at Oxford, it having been completed in the spring of that year.

On the third Monday in June, 1843, William Sill, Samuel Milroy, G-eorge Wolfer and William Coon, who had been named in an act of the Legislature as a committee to locate the county seat of Benton Count}-, met and located the seat of justice on the south half of the southeast quarter of Section 18, in Township 34 north, of Range 7 west, donated by Henrj' W. Ellsworth, agent for Henry L. Ellsworth aud David Watkiuson, for the use and benefit of Benton County, for the seat of Justice of said count}' ; also the east half of the southeast quarter of Section 20, in same township and range aforesaid. A bond for the conveyance of the above described real estate, also a note for the paymeat of $300 to be applied to the erection of a court house are herewith submitted." At the next ensuing session of the Board of Commissioners, an order for the survey of the county seat was made, which was accordingly done b}' Henry Robertson, surve3'or, assisted by James Q. McKinley, E. H. Davis and James T. Parker. The following description of the survey of the town of Oxford, the county seat of Benton ^ County: "Beginningat the southwest corner of Block No. 8, on the section line four chains and forty-five and one-half links west of the center line of the donation ; thence extending north, at a variation of the magnectic needle of five degrees to the northwest corner of Block No. 3, thence east at right angles to the northeast corner of Block No. 1, thence south to the southeast corner of Block No. 6. on the section line, thence based on the section line, west to the place of beginning, comprising an area of fourteen and eighty-eight hundredths acres more or less. The lots all to be sixty feet, by one hundred and twenty feet, alleys twelve feet wide, and the streets sixty feet wide. Streets and alleys all cross each other at right angles. The public square is one hundred and twenty feet, by two hundred and fifty-two feet." And it was " ordered that the above description of said town be confirmed by the Board of Commissioners of Benton County."

The Board of Commissioners, at the September term of Commissioners' Court, in the year 1843, '-ordered that the county agent proceed to let the building of a court house in the town of Milroy to the lowest bidder, which is to be as follows, to wit : The house is to be a frame, twenty feet in width, and thirty feet in length, two stories high ; the lower story to be eight and one-half feet high, and the upper story to be seven and one-half feet high. A room is to be partitioned off in one end of the building suitable for a clerk's office, ten feet wide, also a stairway to pass up, and a partition to be put in the center, across the house, in the upper story. The letting to take place between now and the 15th of October next, and to be completed by the first of June, 1844" It appears from the foregoing extract trom the Commissioners' order book that the town was at first called Milroy. It was so named in honor of Samuel Milroy. one of the Commissioners who located the county seat, but it being subsequentlj- ascertained that there was already a town of that name in the State, the Board of Commissioners at their October session, in the year 1843, "ordered that the seat of justice in Benton County be called Oxford." The entry in the order book shows, however, that in entering this order, the name had first been written " Hartford," and that at a subsequent time, and with ink of a different color from that with which the entry was first made, the name " Hartford " had been marked out, and the name Oxford inserted. How long afterward this was done, cannot, of course, be ascertained, yet that it was not done at the time of making the entry is pretty clearly proven by the fact of the erasure and interlineation having been made with ink of a different color from that with which the body of the entry was made.

At the December session of the Board of Commissioners. 1843. it was " ordered that the court house of Benton County be erected on Lot No. 7, in Block No. 2, in the plat of the county seat of said county," which was where the Buckeye Block now stands. The building of the court house could not have been pushed forward very energetically, for the records show that the terms of the various courts continued to be held at the house of James T Parker up to 1845 ; the first term of the Probate Court having bijen held in the court house in August, 1845, and the first term of the Circu't Court in September, 1846. The court house was the first house built in the town of Oxford, Francis Boynton being the architect and builder ; Dr. Thompson , late of Rainsville, plasterer ; and Isaac Lewis, of Oxford, hod-carrier. At the March session of the Board of Commissioners, it was " ordered that the contract be let for the completion of the court house as follows, to wit : l^ath and plaster sides and ends of upper story ; also, three stone chimneys in rooms below ; also, one stone chimney in center of house above, and to case the windows on the inside in the upper story" It is ditficult to conceive any good reason why the work should have lagged thus, inasmuch as all the the public businens, in the interim, was of necessity transacted at a private house, greatly to the inconvenience, no doubt, of both the public and the family of Mr. Parker, at whose house the public business was transacted. Sub8C()uently the court house was removed to the public square, afterward to the ground now occupied by Zeis' grocery store, and then to its present resting place, where it is now occupied by James Connellv, as a saloon. lu the lower room - the court room - the ceiling is about seven feet high. The second story is divided into two apartments. Small as this structure was it was ample in those days, and resounded to the eloquence of Senators, Henry S. Lane, Joseph E. McDonald, Joseph A. Wright and D. W. Voorhees, Gen. Lew Wallace, Godlove S. Orth, Judges Porter, Pettit, Gregor}' and Naylor, who have since written their names upon the scroll of fame. Though the old court house is now used for a purpose quite different from that for which it was originalh' designed - it being now the scene of the origin of numerous difficulties between man and his fellow-man, such as it was originally designed should be settled here - yet, it still has its bar, as of old ; albeit, in speaking of its present bar, it must be borne in mind that the word "bar" is not a collective noun. It is said that at the time of raising the frame of the court house, there were not men enough in Benton County within esLsy distance, and it was necessarj- to call upon some of the Warren County friends for assistance ; and, the jackoaks are said to have been so thick in the new county seat then that Judges, officers, lawyers and clients had to follow cow-paths to find the new court house. Hartley T. Howard, with his family, occupied the court house up to the latter part of the year 1849. The Board of Commissioners, at their August session, in the year 1849, made the following order in relation to Howard's occupancj- of the court house : Ordered that an order be made that Hartley T. Howard shall remove his family out of the court house in Oxford, the county seat of Benton County, in three months, if John Ferguson, the builder of H. L. Ellsworth's house in said town, keeps his usual health, and if there should be any providential interference as above stated, H. T. Howard shall pay a reasonable compensation for said house until a room in said Ellsworth's house is furnished." The latter clause of the order seems to imply that Mr. Howard had been occupying the building free of rent. With Mr. Howard and his family, lived Aaron Wood, who was Mr. Howard's brother-inlaw. They occupied the upper rooms of the court house, and were, for a long time, the only occupants of the town. During this period, a slight disagreement arose between them concerning some trivial matter, and Aaron Wood waggishly declared that there were the meanest people in this town he ever saw.

During the first decade of years after the organization of Benton County, there was no jail, or place for the confinement of malefactors, within the limits of the county. This may have been due, in some measure, to the honesty and to the law-abiding and peace-loving disposition of the good people of Benton County ; but, in truth and in fact, it was chiefly due to the fact that there was a good jail at La Fayette, in which Benton could incarcerate her criminals, on conditions that were deemed so reasonable that it was not considered worth while to incur the expense of building a jail, whilst the county was yet so sparsely settled, and her people (as is usually the case in newly settled districts) so poor. There was a contract let, some time during the year 1848, for the building of a jail ; but, for some reason, at the February term, 1849, it was declared void, and an order made that the contract be re-let, which was accordingly done ; the contract being let to Basil Justus, and the consideration therefor being the conveyance to Justus of a portion of the land donated by Henry L. Ellsworth and David Watkinson, to the county. It seems that when the Commissioners did make up their minds to build, they got in a great hurry all at once, and would brook no delay ; for we fiud that at their February session, 1849, they made an order " that Ellsworth and Scott, attorneys, be authorized to institute suits against Basil Justus and James T. Parker, to recover lands deeded to Basil Justus as a consideration for building county jail, saitl jail not- having been built." And suits must have been begun, for we find that at the Juue tei-m of Commissioners' Court, 1850, it was ordered that the suits be discontinued, and that the jail be accepted. Hence, it may be inferred that the first jail built in Benton County was completed about May, 1850. It was built of heav\' hewed logs, and stood on a lot only a few feet west of where the Odd Fellows' building now stands. It is said that there never was a prisoner, save one (a man), confined in it, and he but a short time. He was charged with horse-stealing ; and, in the hope of efi'ecting his escape, fired the building, which was entirely burned down, and the prisoner's life saved with great difficulty. The jail is said to have been built with a double wall of hewed logs, with straw between ; the entrance being by means of a trap door on the top. The prisoner thought to burn a hole through the logs, and then make his escape through the hole ; but, the straw taking fire, the roof was very quickly in flames, and it was only through the heroic cflTorts of Mark Briar and Ed. Blanchfleld that the door was finally reached, and the half-roasted prisoner saved from cremation.

Second Court House At Oxfokd

The first court house built in the county was in use but a verv few vears before it was found to be inadequate to the purpose lor which it was designed and, accordingly, in the spring of 1S54, the Commissioners of the county entered into a contract with George Brown, of La Fayette, for the erection of a new one, to be completed on or before December 1, 1S55. for which the said George Brown was to receive the sum of $10,850, of which S'2,000 was to be paid in hand, $4,425 on or before March 1, 1855. and the balance on or before March 1, 1856. As the funds necessary for the prosecution of this work were not already in the treasury of the co\inty, an order was made at the June term <if. Commissioners' Court for the issuance of bonds in the sum of $8,000, only a pm'tion of which, however, $4,875, was issued. At a si)ecial si'ssion of tlie lioard in July, 1855, the following order was made: " Whereas, at the ,lune term of 1855, an order was made to issue bonds to the amount of $8,000, for defraying the expense of building- a court house ; and wher(-as, in pursuance of said order, bonds were issued to the amount of $4,875, payable in two, three and four years, and delivered to the Treasurer for negotiation ; and wliereas, said Treasurer found the negotiation of said bonds to be wholly impracticable, aud thereupon returns said bonds to the Auditor, and wishes a credit therefor upon his books, which was accordingly done ; therefore, it is ordered that orders be issued to the amount of $6,000, payable in two years from the date thereof, the same to be issued in amount of $1,000 each, aud the Treasurer is ordered to negotiate said bonds if he can, and report at next regular session." The boads were issued, as provided for in the foregoing order, but, owing to some defect, were not negotiated, but others were issued in their stead, as is shown by the following order made by the Commissioners at a special session, August 13, 1855 : '' Whereas, by a recent decision of the United States Circuit Court, Benton County has failed to collect certain taxes heretofore assessed, in consequence of which the Commissioners are unable to meet their liabilities in building the court house ; and whereas, a debt has been incurred iu anticipation of said taxes in building said court house, and unless said debt is liquidated, the building of said court house will have to be abandoned, to the great detriment and disadvantage of said county ; and whereas, the revenues of Benton County do not, by reasonable taxation, afford funds sufficient for the extinction of said debt, and the completion of said court house, therefore, it is ordered by the Commissioners now here, that the Auditor shall issue a bond for $6,000, payable in two years from this date, and that he deliver the same to the Treasurer for negotiation, as the law requires. And whereas, bonds have heretofore been issued by the order of this board ; and whereas, said bonds were improperly and informally issued, and have not been negotiated, it is ordered that the Auditor recall all such bonds from the hands of the Treasurer that he may have, and that he cancel and destroy the same, as well as any on hand, not delivered to the Treasurer, before issuing the bond above mentioned. And now comes the Auditor, and in the presence of the board, all of said bonds are fully canceled and destroyed, and one bond is issued for $6,000, signed by us, and dated this 13th day of August, 1855, payable in two years after date. It was found to be necessary, iu order to avoid oppressing the taxpayers (as must have been the case had the whole tax for the building of the court house been levied in one or two years), to fund this debt several times before it was finally paid ; there being an order made at the special session begun August 8, 1857, for the issuance of a bond for $6,000, due in one .year, to raise funds with which to redeem the bond issued at the June term, 1855, and again, at the June session, 1858, there was an order made that bonds be issued to the amount $3,238.63, for the redemption of bonds previously issued. This appears to have been the last time that any portion of this debt was funded. The second court house, which was a brick structure 50x80 feet, was begun in 1855, and completed the following year. The first, or lower story was divided into eight otflces, and the second, or upper story, contained the court room and two jury rooms. Above all was a well-proportioned cupola, the top of which was seventy feet from the foundation.

At tiie June term of Commissioners' Court 1859, Jasper N. McConnell filed his bond for the erection of a new jail at the count}- seat, and the same was approved b}- the board. The building was to be completed b\' September 1, 1860, and the contract price was SI, 925, which was to be paid in payments as follows: SGOO June 1, I860, S600 July 1, 1860, and the balance September 1, 1860. The Commissioners, at their June session, 18G0, contracted with Williamson & Hough, of Indianapolis, for putting iron cells in the jail, at a cost of $2,250, of which .S250 was to be paid in two months after date, $250 in four months, and the balance in twelve months. The Commissioners' records do not show whether this improvement was ever made or not; but it probably was not, for we find that the Commissioners, at their special June session, 1872, contracted with Hough & Co.. of Indianapolis for "improvements on jail in Oxford." which consisted in lining one room with quarterinch plate-iron, and furnishing four window gratings, for which the Commissioners agreed to p.'iy the sum of SI. 600, the sum of 8800 to be paid when work was completed, and S800 in ninety days after the completion of the work. A little computation will show that, if all the improvements contracted for were made, the cost of the impro\ements exactly doubled the original cost of the building, making the aggregate cost of building and improvements $5,775. At the September term of Commissioners' Court, it was ordered that a warrant be drawn on tlie Treasurer for 81,600, in favor of Hough & Co,, to pay for improvements made by lliem on the county jail. This building, which is still standing, and is now used by the town of Oxford as a calaboose, is composed of brick, and, so far as external appearance is concerned, does not much surpass many of the country schoolhouses in some of the older and more wealthy counties, and one would hardly suppose that the cost of it was very nearly $6,000.

County Farm And Buildings Thereon

In October, 1869, the Board of County Commissioners purchased of John E. Fenton and Martha L Fenton, his wife, the southeast quarter of Section 19, the east half of Section 'M and the northeast quarter of Section .^1, all m Township 25 n,.rU,, of Kange 7 west, for a countv farm and at the same tune gave ihr grantors a mortgage on the same to secure the pavment of four i)romiss.u-y notes given for the unpaid purchase monev a-o-.-egating the sum of 815,750, as follows : One for $5,000, due March 1 iItQone for $H.750, due Mar.^h 1, 1,^71 ; one for $:!,750, due March 1 187-' and «.,e r,n- $;!,25t., due March I. 187:1. At a special session of M>e Board of Comm>ss,oners, held on the 2:!d of December, 1872, for the purpose of makmg sale of the nodJu.ast quarter of Section 81 and the southeast quarter of Section l;, m Township 25 north, of Range 7 west,; and for the purpose of executing the luvessary papers for such transfer " the following entrv is made ,n the Commissioners' ordor book: " Comes now Zunri Atkinson'aud presents to the court a, proposition to purchase said laud at the sum of $35 per acre, $2,240 cash and balance in four annual payments of $2,240 each, without interest." The record then made shows farther that Mr. Atkinson's proposition was accepted and that a deed was then executed. This must have been an error, however, for we see that the board, at a special session in October, 1876, ordered that the Sheriff make a deed to Zimri Atkinson for the same real estate. At the January session, 1875, the Board of Commissioners sold to Cephas Atkinson, for $4,800, the northeast quarter of Section 30, in Township 25 north, of Range 7 west, leaving the county still the owner of the southeast quarter of Section 30. The county leased the farm, from time to time, to various parties, at so much per annum for the use of the farm, the county paying the lessee a certain stipulated sum per capita for furnishing the paupers of the county with lodging, food and apparel. Latterly, however, the Commissioners have adopted the better plan of employing some competent and trusty person to superintend the farm, paying him a liberal salary, and the county receives the proceeds or avails. This method is found to work better, for the reason that in this way the farm is kept in better condition, as it is not to the interest of those who work it to make the most of it during the brief time that they have possession of it, without regard to the impoverishment of the soil.

The Commissioners' record does not show that any improvements had been made on the county farm prior to 1874. The Board of Commissioners, at their June session in that year, entered into a contract with Alonzo D. Sleeper, for the furnishing and setting out of fruit and ornamental trees on the poor farm, for which the Commissioners agreed to pay the sum of $773. At a special term of Commissioners' Court, a contract was entered into with Messrs. Beardsley & Shapley, of Benton Count}-, for the erection of a house on the county farm, for the sum of $2,757.77, which house was to be completed by September 3, 1879. The structure is of brick, and is a credit to the county. At the October term, 1870, the board contracted with Henry C. Patton for the building of a barn on the county farm, at a cost of S445, to be completed on or before December 1, 1879. The county farm is situated about four miles north of Oxford, and is one of the most handsome sites in the county.

Re-Location Of Coontt Seat

As will readily be seen by consulting a map of the county, Oxford, the original seat of justice in Benton County, is situated far to the south of the center of the county, its site being about two miles from the south line, and about four miles east of a line drawn from north to south through the center of the county. It was very indiscreet, evidently, in the Commissioners who located the county seat, to locate it so far from the center of the county. It was located there, no doubt, for the reason that almost the entire population of the county at that time resided in the south and east portions of the county. It would seem, however, that a little foresight on the part of the Locating Commissioners must have shown to them that in the course of a few years the then unsettled portions of the county would become settled up, and that there would then be great dissatisfaction on the part of those who resided remote from the count3' seat. It is probably a fact that Oxford is built upon the best town site that could have been found in Benton County ; yet it certainly must have occurred to the Commissioners who located the county seat there, that the time must inevitably come when the county seat, if located at Oxford, would be as far removed from the center of the population of the county as from the geographical center. To suppose that they did not foresee this would be anything but complimentary to the intelligence of those men. The site selected for the county seat was, manifestly, far more convenient for those who were at that time residing in the county than it would have been had it been located at the geographical center of the county ; and, as a majority of men do not look beyond their own personal interest in such matters, it is very probable that a strong pressure was brought to bear upon those men to induce them to locate it where the}' did ; and, as the}' did not live in or have an}' interest in the county, they did not choose to bring down upon themselves the execrations of the citizens of the county by resisting that pressure. However it may have come about, the county seat was located where the town of Oxford was subsequently built ; and, in view of the damaging effect that its removal has had upon the then thriving and pleasantly situated town of Oxford, and of the animosities thereby engendered among the inhabitants of different portions of the county, it would seem, to a wholly disinterested person, to be a matter of regret that the county seat was not permitted to remain where first located, notwithstanding that the act of locating it there may have been an impolitic one. The agitation of the question of the removal of the county seat from Oxford was begun in the year 1873. It is quite probable that the question would not have come up so soon had it not been for the fact that the Commissioners of the county were then contemplating the erection of a new court house and jail at Oxford, and those who were in favor of the removal saw that if it was not made before this was done, it must be postponed for several years, if in fact, it should ever be made at all. Although the court house and jail had been built but about seventeen and thirteen years respectively, and ought yet to have been in good condition, they had, in fact, reached that state of dilapidation that they were deemed unsafe, and the Board of Commissioners accordinglv instructed the Auditor of the county to employ a competent architect to make an examination of them, witli a view to having them repaired, tx. P. Randall, of Chicago, was the architect employed, whose report was as follows : To TUE County Commissioners of Benton Cofnty, Ind. :

Oenlkiiien - Af^TvetMy to your request, as communicated through the County Auditor, I luive this day m.ide a critical e.xamination of your court house and jail buildings at this place (Oxford) and find as follows, to wit: Tliat tliJ court house was originally built on a very poor and insutVieient foundation, the walls being of bowlders, or cobble stone, poorly laid, and apparentlv without much mortar to cement lliem together; that the frost has from year to j-ear disintegrated the foundation wall until at the present time it seems to be hardly in .^ condition to carry the walls resting upon them. For this cause the walls of the superstructure are giving away from time to time, as the walls beneath are breaking away by the causes enumerated; and it is at present evidently bordering upon a condition that might be considered dangerous; and still it may not fall down for years. Yet, in its present condition it would not be a matter of surprise if it should give way at any time. The vaults are in no respect tire proof, nor were they ever so; and, should a fire occur, or the walls of the building give way, the vaults would be found to be a total wreck, probably involving a loss of all their contents. I came here with the understanding that you desired me to indicate how this building could be repaired and put into a safe condition. I frankly confess my inability to do this, and for the reason that there is nothing to build upon, as the building is a complete wreck from foundation to cupola; and, I think that any money expended in repairing it, beyond that of some slight or temporary repairs, would be a waste of money. If the superstructure was good, you might replace the foundation by a better one; or, if the foundations were good, you might mend the superstructure so that it would answer for a time; but, it is all breaking and broken to pieces, and not worth the making any repairs that would involve much expense. Of the jail, I shall have to make a report similar to that of the court house. The walls of the building are on a foundation of no particular use, and afford hardly any obstructions to the egress of a prisoner if he preferred to go out through the'wall, rather than by some other means of exit. The iron work of the walls, grates, linings of corridors, ceilings, floors, etc., is all a great deal too light, having in general not more than one-fourth of the iron in the several parts which is requisite to safety; and it so light, and so badly put together that I should consider a prisoner as being very indolent who could not go out of it in any direction in half an hour if he had any motive for desiring freedom, or wanted to change his boarding place. There is the same difficulty in repairing or reconstructing this as the court house building - there is nothing there to build to. Every piece and part of the building is insufficient, and unfit for the place; and if left in it, would spoil the whole. I therefore can see no way out of the difficulty, only to build a new and suitable jail in accordance with modern ideas and necessities. The present one is surely of no account as a place for the safe-keeping of rogues, as you have seen practically demonstrated quite recently. It is my advice, therefore, that you make no further use of this building for jail purposes. All of which is respectfully submitted.

It would seem from the foregoing report that the court house and jail, and especially the former, must have been in a verj' bad plight, indeed ; and, as a further evidence of that fact, the board, after meeting at the court house, at their June session, 1873, deeming it unsafe, immediately adjourned to the Town .Hall, where the remainder of the session was held. Also, the Judge of the Circuit Court refused to hold the April term of court in the court house, on account of the unsafe condition of the house. There being such a manifest necessitj- for a new court house, the Board of Commissioners, at the June term of Commissioners Court, declared it to be their imperative duty to proceed without delay to have new county buildings erected, and the Auditor was ordered to procure plans and specifications for a court house and county offices, combined, to cost not less than $55,000. At the same term the Sheriff was ordered to sell the material of the old court house. At a special session of the board, held in Jul}, 1873, the board adopted drafts, plans and specifications, furnished by G. P. Kandall & Co., of Chicago