Johnson County, Missouri - Chapter 6: Political History, 1881

Chapter 6: Political History

Whigs and Democrats - Principles Obtaining Under Political Parties - Know-Nothings and Democrats of 1856 - Brief Review of Politics from the Organization of the County to the Present Time - The " Iron-Clad Oath" - Indictment of Ministers and Lawyers in the County - All Persons Restored to the Right of Franchise - Official Returns of 1880 - Political Sentiment Expressed by Party Organs - Official Directory from 1834 to 1882.

The two great political parties in operation in this state, when the county of Johnson was organized, were the democratic and whig. Soon after, however, other parties and factions sprung up, among them the know-

In 1834, when this county was separated from Lafayette, a majority of the voters, residing in what is now Johnson, were democrats, while those living nearer the river, in that portion still retaining the name of Lafayette, were whigs.

We intend, in these few pages devoted to the political history of John¬ son county, to present some of the more prominent features pertaining to government by officers placed in authority with the suffrages of the peo¬ ple, together with the operations of law regulating elections, and the sup¬ port of candidates by the different political parties. Some men hold to the opinion that our system of government, and the political workings of the political parties in this country, are a means of constant fear, insecu¬ rity, and danger; but the demonstration is becoming more and more clear that as the forces of nature regulate themselves, though for a time appear¬ ing in fierce commotion, so the swaying forces of political feeling are reg¬ ulated by the immutable laws of individual and concerted action.

While all government is professedly for the good of the people, it is, nevertheless, a fact that nearly all the governments ever established have been in the interest of an individual or a class. Our fathers, in establish¬ ing this government, admitted the superior rights of no man or class. It was carefully arranged to exclude all titles of nobility, and, with a single exception, placed all men on the same level. This one exception was swept away in the tempest of civil war.

The democratc and whig parties were the principal political forces from the organization of the county till 1855, when the know-nothing or Amer¬ ican party was organized. At the introduction of the know-nothing party it unsettled both of the old parties, but received most of its accessions from the whig party. The know-nothing party increased rapidly, till in 1856 Thomas P. Akers, of Lexington, was elected, on that ticket, to congress, from this district. Love S. Cornwall was also a whig, and elected, over W. H. Anderson, a democrat, to the state legislature. G. W. Houts, on the same ticket, was elected sheriff, over S. P. Williams, a democrat, and the whole county ticket, in opposition to the democrats, was elected. Hon. T. P. Akers was a very eloquent speaker, and, though too young to enter the house of representatives when elected, he became twenty-five, and was granted a seat when congress met. He entered the practice of law after returning from congress, and during the civil war was secretary of the gold board in Wall street. He was the inventor of the safety valve for steam engines, and died at the close of the Tilden and Hayes cam¬ paign - supposed to have over exercised his vocal organs in the state cam¬ paign of Indiana.

From 1856 to 1860, the time of the organization of the constitutional union party, so-called, that nominated Bell and Everett for president and vice-president, the opposition to the democratic party in Johnson county, was substantially without a distinctive organization or name, but was com¬ posed of the remnants of the old whig and know-nothing parties. In the election of 1860, there being two national democratic tickets in the field, the Douglass and Breckenridge wings, the democratic vote was conse¬ quently divided and Bell and Everett carried the county. In the election of 1860 the republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, received two votes in Johnson county. When the war commenced in 1861, all former party lines were obliterated; many men who had been staunch democrats and ultra pro-slavery, became open and avowed union men, while others who had been born, reared and educated north, and had been looked upon suspiciously, as perhaps not " sound on the goose," immediately espoused the cause of the young confederacy, and became the most outspoken advocates of the south.

The first election held after the election of Lincoln, was for the purpose of choosing delegates to a constitutional convention to declare the status of Missouri to the union, and determine whether or not Missouri should co-operate with the union or the south.

In Johnson county the union sentiment prevailed, electing Aikman Welch, of Johnson, and L. C. Marvin, of Henry county, both belonging to this senatorial district, as then constituted.

This election was held in February, 1861. On the evening of election day, at Warrensburg, an unfortunate difficulty arose between William H. McCown, a young attorney, and son of James McCown, circuit clerk, and Marsh Foster, the then county clerk, which resulted in the killing of the latter. As they were regarded prominent men in, or leaders of, the two contending parties, the unfortunate affair did much towards widening the fireech and embittering the two factions against each other. It is but proper that we should remark in this connection, that the two parties as afterwards known - union and secessionist - had, at that time, no settled organization. Many men who were open and avowed unionists and went to the polls in February and voted for the union candidates for delegates to the constitutional convention, after the capture of camp Jackson in May? 1861, became most rampant advocates of the southern confederacy, while -others who voted for delegates in favor of the south, at the same election, after having read Pres. Lincoln's inaugural address, espoused the union cause with equal zeal.

Former party affiliations and associations had nothing whatever to do in determining to which of the new parties a man would attach himself. Democrats, old line whigs, and know-nothings, went side by side into both parties and both armies. Soon after the beginning of the war the repub¬ lican party of Johnson county was organized, and has since continued as one of its great political parties.

By the act of the constitutional convention of 1861 and 1862, those sympathizing with the rebellion were prohibited from exercising the elec¬ tive franchise. By this means the electors were all unionists, and that unionists were uniformly elected to fill the offices of the county, followed as a matter of course. It must not be understood, however, that there was then but one political party. The differences of opinion even among those unionists were quite as marked and distinctive as are usually found in two contending parties. The two parties that then existed were locally known as "radical" and "conservative," their chief difference being in their ideas as to the manner in which the war should be conducted. The radical element of the union party constituted those who voted the repub¬ lican ticket, while the conservative element constituted what might be termed war democrats, and voted the democratic or conservative ticket. The latter party was largely in the minority during, and for some time after the war, the republicans filling all the county offices.

The revised constitution of the state of Missouri, which went into oper¬ ation on and after July 4, 1865, contained the " Test Oath," or " Iron-Clad Oath," as it was popularly termed, by which many, though not having taken an active part against the union during the war, could not well establish their loyalty, hence were denied any rights at the polls.

Johnson, to a much greater extent than many other counties, suffered from the uncertainties which were incident upon the varying fortunes *of civil war. At one time it would appear that more security could be guar¬ anteed by casting her lot with the south; at another, by supporting the union, and thus, the whole population were agitated to an extent unknown in states further north or south.

Under the operation of this test oath, ministers, lawyers and teachers were restrained from exercising the functions of their professions in this county, except such as had taken and subscribed to a copy of the same, and filed it with the county clerk.

The taking of this oath was also a condition precedent to holding office, serving on juries, and exercising the elective franchise. Several lawyers in Warrensburg were precluded from the practice of their profession and a number of ministers in the county, who were unable to take the oath, were compelled for a time to abandon their calling.

The following exact copies of indictments will furnish examples of what frequently occurred in this county and throughout the state, showing the injustice to which so many of our fellow citizens were subjected during the operation of the aforesaid constitutional provisions. Rev. J. H. Houx, who was arrested "for preaching the gospel," is one of Warrensburg's most respected citizens. He came to this county in the year 1837, and as he has grown up with the people, they have learned to trust him as an upright neighbor and a faithful member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. He is well known in this and adjoining counties, as a minister of that denomination.

The grand jurors for the state of Missouri for the body of the county of John¬ son aforesaid, upon their oath, present that James H. Houx, late of Warrensburg, in the county of Johnson aforesaid, on the first day of September, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-six, was and from thence hitherto has been and now is a priest, preacher, clergyman and minister of the gospel, and as such priest, preacher, clergyman and minister of the gospel did, at the county aforesaid, on the first day of September, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-six, preach as a preacher, priest, clergyman and minister of the gospel, and particularly did act as a priest, minister, clergyman and minister of the gospel, by preaching a sermon from a text taken from the bible, to a congregation and assembly of persons met for religious worship, at a place in said county known as Geary church, without him, the said James H. Houx, having first taken, subscribed and filed an oath required by the constitution and laws of this state, which said oath is in the words and figures following, to-wit: "I, James H. Houx, do solemnly swear that I am well acquainted with the terms of the third seption of the second article of the constitution of the state of Missouri, adopted in the year eighteen hundred and sixty five, and have carefully examined the same; that I have never directly or indirectly done any of the acts in said sec¬ tion specified; that I have always been truly and loyally on the side of the United States, against all enemies thereof, whether foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States and will support the constitution and laws thereof as the supreme law of the land, any laws or ordinances of any state to the contrary notwithstanding; that I will, to the best of my ability, pro¬ tect the union of the United States, and not allow the same to be broken up and dissolved, or the government thereof to be destroyed or overthrown, under any circumstances, if in my power to prevent it; that I will support the constitution of the state of Missouri, and that I take this oath without any mental reservation or evasion, and hold it to be binding on me;" and which said oath the said James H. Houx was requested to subscribe and take before preaching the gospel as a priest, preacher, clergyman and minister of the gospel within this state, which said neglect and refusal on the part of the said James H. Houx to take, subscribe and file said oath before preaching the gospel as a priest, preacher, clergyman and minister of the gospel was contrary to the forms of constitution of the state of Missouri, in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the state.

You are hereby commanded to take James H. Houx, if he be found in your county, and him safely keep, so that you have his body before the judge of the Johnson circuit court, at the court house in the town of Warrensburg, in said county of Johnson, on the first day of next April term thereof, to be holden at the court house aforesaid, on the fifteenth day of April next, then and there to answer unto the state of Missouri, on indictment preferred against him for preach¬ ing, without taking the oath of loyalty; and that you have then and there this writ, and certify how you execute the same.

Witness M. U. Foster, clerk of said circuit court, with his official seal affixed at office in Warrensburg, this 31st day of October, A. D., 1866.

I, T. W. Williams, sheriff of Johnson county, Missouri, do hereby certify that I executed the within writ of capias in Johnson county, On the 25th day of March, 1867, by arresting and taking into custody, the body of the within named James H. Houx, and said defendant having executed a recognizance with good and sufficient security for his appearance at the next term of the Johnson cir¬ cuit court, I did, thereupon, discharge said defendant from custody, and I here¬ by return said writ as well as said recognizance so executed by said defendant.

We, J. H. Houx, F. M. Cockrell and Edmond A. Nickerson acknowledge ourselves to owe and stand indebted to the state of Missouri, in sum of one hun¬ dred dollars, that is to say, the said J. H. Houx, in the sum of fifty dollars, and the said F. M. Cockrell and Edmond A. Nickerson, in the like sum of fifty dollars, to be levied of their respective goods and chattels, lands and tenements, to be ren¬ dered, but to be void on condition that the said J. H. Houx shall make his per¬ sonal appearance before the judge of Johnson court at the next term thereof, to be begun and held on the 15th day of April, A. D., 1867, then and there to answer to the state of Missouri, on an indictment found by the grand jury of said county of Johnson, and now in said court pending against the said J. H. Houx, for preaching without taking the oath of loyalty, and are not to depart from said court without leave.

Hon. T. T. Crittenden, the present governor of our noble common¬ wealth, was indicted by a grand jury for, " practising as an attorney and counselor at law," in Warrensburg, in September, 1865. He had, how¬ ever, previous to this, August 9, 1865, subscribed and sworn to the test oath at Lexington, but it would appear that the officers of the law, in their eagerness to indict men for neglecting to take the "iron-clad oath," found a bill against him also, before a certified copy of his oath was made out, which occurred November 23, 1865.

Other indictments were found, and many other arrests were made, but these two suffice to give the student of history a correct idea of the condi¬ tion of affairs.

To enforce this test oath as applied to voters, a registration law was enacted, by which every person who intended to vote at an election was required to register his name and subscribe to the oath. The list so formed was subject to the revision of a board of registering officers, in whose discretion rested the right of the voter to exercise the elective fran¬ chise. It can be easily seen how this unlimited power could be abused, and in many instances men of unquestioned loyalty and integrity, possessing all the rights of citizenship were precluded from exercising the right to vote, in order to gratify the whim or caprice of some narrow minded partizan registrar.

After the liberal republican movement carried the state and county for the abolition of the test oath at the general election of November, 1870, by proclamation of the governor, all disfranchising, constitutional restric¬ tions were removed.

The first general election held in Johnson county, after the enfranchise¬ ment of those restrained by the test oath, was in November, 1872. The two parties then in the field were republican and democratic. The entire democratic ticket was elected by majorities ranging from 16 to 300. At each succeeding election, the democrats continued to fill all the county offices, to the present time, except at the general election of 1880, when by a coalition of the republican and greenback parties, they succeeded in electing the representative for the eastern district, the sheriff and two members of the county court, as will be seen by the official returns given herewith :

I, R. B. Harwood, clerk of the county court of the county of Johnson, certify that the above and foregoing is a true, correct and complete abstract of all the votes cast in said county at a general election held on the second day of Novem¬ ber, A. D. 1880, as shown by the returns made to my office by the judges and clerks of election of the different voting precincts in said county.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my band and affixed my official seal at my office in Warrensburg, this 6th day of November, A. D. 1880.

The following is the total vote of Johnson county for the respective polit¬ ical parties, as polled at each general election since the civil war. We have taken the candidates, who, at the different elections, were good rep¬ resentatives of the party; by this means their comparative strength may be determined:

It is said that the public press of a county furnish the most reliable and full annals of the history of that county which can be gathered; to a greater extent, perhaps, it may be said that the same organs of passing events, and popular sentiment, are the most authentic indicative of politi¬ cal manifestations at any particular time. A few extracts from the differ¬ ent party organs at various times are given below. And first from the Weekly Standard , published at Warrensburg by S. K. Hall and N. B. Klaine, in their first issue, June 17, 1865, under the head of " To the Pub¬ lic," we find the following political principles set forth:

We this day present you a weekly newspaper, of which we flatter ourselves, the people of Johnson county will be proud. Having decided to permanently reside in central Missouri with those whom we have associated either in civil or military life, the past four years, nothing would be more pleasant in connection with our new enterprise than to discuss those questions of political economy on which very little difference of opinion exists, thus having a pleasant time socially, . politically and morally. But we assure our friends, though the war is over, the millennium is yet a great distance off, and we are not disappointed that the war has not entirely settled all our differences. If it has secured to us all qualified voters an undisputed right of voting as we please, and guaranteed us free dis¬ cussion we will have achieved for the first time in Missouri, the long promised right, on which our national constitution was framed, viz: 'The guarantee of a repub¬ lican form of government to each of the United States, * * * * Let us detect no more wry faces, now that slavery is dead and past all resurrection, but meet the new order of things like civilized beings, remembering that the inevi¬ table consequence of this new state of our social life, is perfect equality, not, per¬ haps, in mental calibre, intelligence or social status, but perfect equality before the law. Hereafter no state statute shall extend privileges to one class, or race, not enjoyed by any other race; and remembering also, that as intelligence is the cheapest police for a republic, let every material interest of the state be subor¬ dinate to the great aim of universal education. * * * *

In foreshadowing the course of the Johnson Democrat , in respect to its political future, the first number of that paper, April 22, 1871, established at Warrensburg, by J. M. Julian, and J. M. Vaughn, under the head of "The Democrat's Salutation," occurs the following:

Our name indicates our political proclivities pretty clearly. We propose to be democratic, and if we can follow closely in the footsteps of Jefferson, Jackson, and all the greater or lesser lights of the good old times in which they lived, and before we had engaged in fractricidal war, or tasted of the blood of our brothers, or wept over the misfortunes of squandered or lost fortunes, or the wreck of the proudest nation on the globe. If we shall do this, then we shall award to the people the right, held and believed to be inalienable, to govern themselves through legally and rightfully chosen agents, and shall never intervene between the idea that all government flows directly from the consent of the governed; and shall persistently and honestly maintain that democracy is the people. These, with the further dogmas of impartial legislation, a fair administration of the affairs of the county, justice to all, and exclusive privileges to none, with light taxa¬ tion, a safe medium, economy in all departments of our public affairs, state and national, together with a strict adherence to the union, with as near a free trade standard as is capable with the wants of the government, make up the democracy of the time of Jefferson, the time of Jackson, and the time of Grant, because principles are inextinguishable, and like the laws of the Medes and Persians, unchangeable. * * * * * *

The late election in Missouri was decided in favor of the idea that those taxed were entitled to representation, that those who contribute to the life of the gov¬ ernment are not to be proscribed; and that ostracism for opinion's sake was no part of the political faith of the people; that liberalism was the rule and illiberalism - man hating - the exception, if, indeed, it had footing among us.

Democracy does not mean radicalism, either broadly or narrowly, immediately Or remotely. It cannot thus mean, because the principles are antagonistical, they are antipodes, separated farther than the north and south. Let us look to greatresults through right only, using force never - never more.

The people are the children of the government, and not to be cut off or disin¬ herited, either for little or great wrongs they commit, or for withholding their patronage from a set of principles or opinions that their education and common sense teach them is opposed to a free government, or calculated to place them in a position coveted by few, and cherished only by the veriest serf.

Democracy would avoid dangers, and safely anchor the old ship of state where neither storm nor strife can disturb her moorings. The nation is democratic. The people are democratic. We are democrats, and our paper shall be so.

Again, from the Warrensburg Standard: Immediately after the gen¬ eral election of November 2, 1880, when the political issues of the pres¬ idential campaign were fresh in the minds of all, occur the following brief paragraphs. R. Baldwin was the editor of the paper, and the issue bears date of November 4, 1880:

The grand result of the election is so gratifying that we can hardly muster sufficient coolness to write of it in fitting terms. The national triumph exceeds in importance anything that has occurred since a similar triumph at Appomattox. The people have decided not to favor the principles for which Lee and Jackson fought four years, but in favor of the principles for which Lincoln was martyred. The people have decided with the ballot, as they decided once before with the bullet, that this is a nation and not a confederacy; that the lost cause shall not be revived and made triumphant over the government it sought to destroy; that the right of every American citizen to free speech, a free ballot, and a fair count, shall be respected on every foot of American soil, and that no party shall ride into power by trampling on those rights; thal a solid south based on the enmities of the war, and hostility to its legitimate results, is a perpetual menace to the republic, and cannot be permitted to make loyalty odious and treason honorable. The result of this decision is an indefinite lease of power to the republican party, and means the final disruption of the democratic party. That party has made its last charge. Not succeeding this time, it can never succeed.

The democratic party was ready to disband in 1872; but just then the Mis¬ sissippi plan was invented, and upon that the party has based its hopes. The plan was balked in 1876, but this time it has had full swing. The country has nerved itself to resist it, and it has failed. It was the 'last ditch.' The solid south must go to pieces, and the public mind will now have an opportunity to direct itself exclusively to the great material interests of the grand old republic.

The triumph of the republicans in Johnson county is significant. They have elected a sheriff by a majority of three hundred and fifty-one, a representative and both judges of the county court. The other county officers only fail by a majority so small as to show that the mossbacks can no longer dominate the countv . The democratic majority of eight hundred in the county has vanished, never to appear. This splendid result has been achieved, simply by energetic and determined work. We have been telling our republican friends for years that if they would only all come out and vote solidly and unitedly, the democratic majority in the county would disappear. The democrats have rode over us rough¬ shod for years, because of the apathy and supineness of republicans. The republicans have tasted blood. They will never let up again. They will all get into line now, in common with republicans all over the state, and when the time rolls around for the next election, they will put their shoulders to the wheel for the final redemption of Missouri.

On the democratic side of the political issues, while viewing the field after the presidential election of November 2, 1880, the Missouri Repub¬ lican, of St. Louis, speaks as follows :

The returns of the presidential election indicate with sufficient clearness, for all practical purposes, the election of Garfield and Arthur. New York is lost to the democrats and this of itself would decide the contest, but the democrats have failed to carry Connecticut and recover Indiana, and the votes of these two states, together with New York, strengthen the republican victory and place it beyond dispute. Our opponents will rejoice over the result, which at one stage of the canvass, they despaired of, and the democrats did not look for, and in their exultations, they will for a time forget the deep scars which their chief can¬ didate brings out of the conflict, and which he will bear as long as he lives. It does not require a long search to find the cause of this disaster. The first pre¬ monition of it was the Indiana defeat, in October, from which the democratic party never recovered. But what caused the Indiana defeat? Why should Indiana, which voted for Tilden and Hendricks, in 1876, fail to vote for Han¬ cock and English, four years later? And why should New York, democratic in 1876, be republican in 1880? The answer is, that the ticket which is defeated now, is not as strong as the ticket which was elected four years ago. We do not use the disappointment of the hour to disparage the great personal merits of General Hancock, for he has borne himself gallantly through the contest, and won the cordial admiration of the party, whose standard he bore. But, while giving full credit to Hancock, it must be admitted that the democratic ticket did not possess the weighty moral element which Mr. Tilden would have imparted, and that it made a fatal waiver of the claim which the party had for the fraud against Mr. Tilden four years ago. That this issue, which ought to have been the controlling one in the canvass, disappeared from it as soon as Mr. Tilden's name was set aside, goes far to explain the defeat. There were other agencies that conspired with this error to bring about the untoward result - the tariff question, which the republicans most unfairly used to control the work people in the manufacturing towns of Indiana and the east, and not the least, by any means, the use of money. That money was extravagantly used to buy and import votes into Indiana and other states, is a fact, deplorable as it is shameful, which the falling off in the republican October majority in Indiana, clearly attests. The republican leaders dare not face the reckoning which a transfer of the books at Washington, to their opponents would have led to, and as the election four years ago proved clearly that the people were against them, the only resort was to force a bribed verdict - and this they did, with a method and hardihood, which they took little pains to disguise.

Among others appearing in the Warrensburg 'Journal- Democrat, November 5, 1880, issued by W. H. and J. R. Davis, occurred the follow¬ ing comments on the "Result in the county."

The official count of the vote in this county shows the eletion of the republi¬ can candidates for sheriff and the county judges for the eastern and western dis¬ tricts, also representative in this district. The democrats elect all the other county officers, by an average majority of 75. At the first glance this result will surprise many of our democratic friends, but when we consider the combin¬ ations that were formed against us by the opposition, and the disaffection and treason existing in our party, we should be thankful that it is not even worse than it is. As in Indiana, the greenbackers voted the republican ticket almost in a body, which was of itself enough to damage our success, and add to this, we had the combination of the so-called democratic supporters of Judge Given with the republicans to contend with. In the first place a movement was organized in our own party, to defeat Maj. Nickerson, the regular democratic nominee for circuit judge. The sheriff and county judges control the bulk of the official pat¬ ronage of the county, and that explains the defeat of Mr. Halley and Judges Mayes and Beard.

Official Directory

With much time and trouble the following directory of county officials has been arranged. The records of elections have not been preserved, and it has been extremely difficult to determine when some of the officers commenced their duties. The records have been carefully consulted, and with the aid of those remembering, many of whom held the offices to which their names have been attached, this roster can be relied upon as substantially correct. Every clerk of the county court should be required, by law, to keep an election book and official directory, which would greatly aid in the transaction of business, and which would grow more and more valuable in years to come.

It should be remembered in consulting this directory, that most of the dates have reference to the time of election, instead of the time of assuming the duties of their respective offices.

1835 - Sheriff, Joseph Cockrell; treasurer, P. L. Hudgins; justices of the county court, Amos Horn, president, Robert W. Rankin, now living, Uriel Murry; county clerk appointed by the county court, April 13, 1835, John H. Townsend; assessor, James Carmichael; collector, Richard Hancock; circuit judge, John F. Ryland.

1836 - Sheriff, William Smith, elected in August; treasurer, John Evans, appointed November 16; justices of the county court, elected in August, Uriel Murry, P. L. Hudgins, Geo. Gallaher; county clerk, James D. Warren, appointed September 12, 1835, elected in August, 1836; assessor, Robert Graham; collector, the sheriff, until A. D., 1872; surveyor, Geo. Tibbs; circuit attorney, W. A. Allman, appointed by the governor; state representative, Dr. James M. Fulkerson, now living; circuit judge, J. F. Ryland; circuit clerk, James D. Warren.

1837 - Sheriff, William Smith; treasurer, John Evans; justices of the court, P. L. Hudgins, Uriel Murry, George Gallaher; county clerk, James D. Warren; assessor, Robert Graham; circuit attorney, W. A. Allman; circuit judge, J. F. Ryland; circuit clerk, ex-officio recorder, James D. Warren.

1838 - Sheriff, William Smith; treasurer, John Evans; justices of the county court, P. L. Hudgins, Uriel Murry, George Gallaher; county clerk, James D. Warren; assessor, Robert Graham; surveyor, John Ster¬ ling; circuit judge, John F. Ryland; state representative, Dr. James M. Fulkerson.

1839 - Sheriff; William Smith; treasurer, John Evans; justices of the county court, Uriel Murry, president, George Gallaher, P. L. Hudgins, resigned July 1, 1839, and September 3, 1839, John Thornton was appointed in his place; county clerk, James D. Warren; assessor, Robert Graham; surveyor, Jno. Sterling; circuit judge, John F. Ryland.

1840 - Sheriff, Isham Reese; treasurer, John Evans; justices of the county court, Robert Graham, Uriel Murry, John Price, now living; county clerk, James D. Warren, deceased in summer of 1840, Dr. William Calhoun, now living, was appointed to fill the vacancy, and Z. T. Davis was elected to the same office October 19, 1840; assessor, Robert Gra¬ ham; surveyor, John Sterling; circuit attorney, Samuel L. Sawyer, now living; state representative, Dr. James M. Fulkerson; collector, Isham Reese. In 1840 Rev. John B. Morrow, took the federal census of John¬ son county, that being the sixth census of the U. S.

1841 - Sheriff, Isham Reese; treasurer, John Evans; justices of the county court, Robert Graham, Uriel Murry, John Price; county clerk, Zachariah T. Davis; assessor, Robert Graham; surveyor, Jno. Gibbons; circuit judge, John F. Ryland; circuit clerk, Z. T. Davis; circuit attor¬ ney, Sam'l L. Sawyer.

1842 - Sheriff, Isham Reese; treasurer, John Evans; justices of the county court, Uriel Murry, Robert Graham, John Price, resigned July 28, 1842, and John Thornton took the oath of office as his successor Sep¬ tember 12, 1842; county clerk, Z. T. Davis; assessor, Wm. Smith; sur¬ veyor, N. B. Holden; state representative, John Price; circuit judge, J. F. Ryland; circuit attorney, Sam'l L. Sawyer.

1843 - Sheriff, Isham Reese; treasurer, John Evans; justices of the county court, Uriel Murry, Robert Graham, John Thornton; county clerk, Z. T. Davis; assessor, Isham Reese; surveyor, N. B. Holden; cir¬ cuit attorney, Sam'l L. Sawyer; circuit judge, J. F. Ryland.

1844 - Sheriff, John Price; treasurer, James S. Ray nol, appointed May 14; justices of the county court, Uriel Murry, Robert Graham, John Thornton; county clerk, Z. T. Davis; assessor, Isham Reese; surveyor, Joseph L. Gaut; state representative, Nathaniel B. Holden; state senator, William Calhoun; circuit judge, J. F. Ryland; circuit attorney, Sam'l L. SawTyer.

1845 - Sheriff, John Price; treasurer, James S. Raynol; justices of the county court, Uriel Murry, Robert Graham, Jehu Robinson, now living; county clerk, Z. T. Davis; assessor, Isham Reese; surveyor, Joseph L. Gaut; circuit judge, J. F. Ryland; circuit attorney, Sam'l L. Sawyer.

1846 - Sheriff, John Price.; treasurer, James S. Raynol; justices of the county court, Uriel Murry, Robert Graham, Jehu Robinson; county clerk, Z. T. Davis; assessor, Isham Reese; surveyor, J. L. Gaut; state representative, Nathaniel B. Holden; state senator, Dr. William Calhoun; circuit judge, J. F. Ryland; circuit attorney, Sam'l L. Sawyer.

1847 - Sheriff, John Price; treasurer, James S. Raynol; justices of the county court, Uriel Murry, Robert Graham, Jehu Robinson; county clerk, Z. T. Davis; assessor, Isham Reese; surveyor, J. L. Gaut; circuit judge, J. F. Ryland; circuit attorney, Samuel L. Sawyer.

1848 - Sheriff, Benjamin W. Grover; treasurer, William H. Anderson; justices of the county court, J. K. Farr, now living, William Trapp, Jacob Knaus, now living; county clerk, James McCown; assessor, John G.

Gibbons ; surveyor, J. L. Gaut ; state representative, J. B. Greer; circuit judge, J. F. Ryland; circuit attorney, Samuel L. Sawyer; circuit clerk, James McCown.

1849 - Sheriff, Benjamin W. Grover; treasurer, William H. Anderson; justices of the county court, William Trapp, Jacob Knaus, J. K. Farr resigned and John A. McSpadden took his seat November 12, 1849; county clerk, James McCown; assessor, John G. Gibbons; surveyor, J. Li. Gaut; circuit judge, Henderson Young.

1850 - Sheriff, Benjamin W. Grover; treasurer, William H. Anderson; justices of the county court, William Trapp, Jacob Knaus, John A. Mc¬ Spadden; county clerk, James McCown; assessor, G. W. Houts; sur¬ veyor^. G. Gibbons; state representative, Reuben B. Fulkerson; circuit judge, Henderson Young; circuit attorney, Samuel L. Sawyer; circuit clerk, James McCown. In 1850 Charles D. Cobb took the federal cen¬ sus lor Johnson county, it being the 7th census of the U. S.

1851 - Sheriff, Benjamin W. Grover; treasurer, W. H. Anderson; jus¬ tices of the county court, William Trapp, Jacob Knaus, John A. Mc¬ Spadden ; county clerk, James McCown; assessor, G. W. Houts; sur¬ veyor, J. G. Gibbons; circuit judge, Henderson Young; circuit attorney, Samuel L. Sawyer; circuit clerk, James McCown.

1852 - Sheriff, Philip S. Houx; treasurer, William H. Anderson; jus¬ tices of the county court, William Trapp, William Kirkpatrick, Joseph L. Gaut; county clerk, James McCown; assessor, G. W. Houts; state rep¬ resentatives were called together by governor's proclamation August 30, N. B. Holden; circuit judge, Henderson Young; circuit attorney, Samuel

1853. - Sheriff, Philip S. Houx; treasurer, W. H. Anderson; justices of the county court, William Trapp, Joseph L. Gaut, Wm. Kirkpatrick; county cle^k, James McCown; assessor, G. W. Houts; surveyor, Amos M. Perry; circuit judge, Henderson Young; circuit attorney, Samuel Sawyer; circuit clerk, James McCown; school commissioner, Morton Thompson, appointed by the county court.

1854. - Sheriff, Philip S. Houx; treasurer, W. H. Anderson; justices of the county court, William Trapp, Joseph L. Gaut, William Kirkptrick, county clerk, James McCown; assessor, Newton Walker; surveyor, Amo;

M. Perry; state representative, Logan Clark; circuit judge, William T. Wood; circuit attorney, Jno. W. Bryant; school commissioner, Morton Thompson.

1855. - Sheriff, Philip S. Houx; justices of the county court, Wm. Trapp, Richard M. King, William Kirkpatrick; county clerk, James Mc¬ Cown; assessor, Newton Walker; surveyor, A. M. Perry; school com¬ missioner, Morton Thompson; circuit judge, William T. Wood; circuit attorney, John W. Bryant; circuit clerk, James McCown.

1856. - Sheriff, G. W. Houts; treasurer, W. S. Hume; justices of the county court, Wm. Trapp, Samuel Craig, J. K. Farr; county clerk, James McCown; assessor, Newton Walker; surveyor, A. M. Perry; school commissioner, John T. Gibbons; state representative, Love S. Cornwell; public administrator, A. M. Perry; circuit judge, Russell Hicks; circuit attorney, John W. Bryant; member of congress, T. P. Akers, Lexington, to fill unexpired term of John G. Miller.

1857. - Sheriff, G. W. Houts; treasurer, W. S. Hume; justices of the county court, William Trapp, Samuel Craig, James K. Farr; assessor Newton Walker; surveyor, John Craig; school commissioner, John T. Gibbons; public administrator, A. M. Perry; circuit judge, Russell Hicks; circuit attorney, John W. Bryant; circuit clerk, James McCown; member of congress, Samuel H. Woodson.

1858. - Sheriff, G. W. Houts; treasurer, W. S. Hume; justices of the county court, William Trapp, Samuel Craig, James K. Farr; county clerk James McCown; assessor, Newton Walker; surveyor, John Craig; school commissioner, Z. T. Davis; state legislator, Aikman Welch; state senator, M. C. Goodlett; public administrator, A. M. Perry; circuit judge, Russell Hicks; circuit attorney, John W. Bryant; member of congress, S. H. Woodson, Jackson county.

1859 - Sheriff, G. W. Houts; treasurer, W. S. Hume; justices of the county court, Wm. Trapp, Samuel Craig, Jas. K. Farr; county clerk, Jas. McCown; assessor, Arthur Kirkpatrick; surveyor, John Craig; school commissioner, Z. T. Davis; public administrator, A. M. Perry; circuit judge, Robert G. Smart; circuit attorney, J. W. Bryant; circuit clerk, Jas. McCown.

1860 - Sheriff, Jonathan Graves; treasurer, W. S. Hume; justices of the county court, Wm. Trapp, Samuel Craig, J. K. Farr; county clerk. Marsh Foster; assessor, David W. Johnson; state legislator, Aikman Welch; public administrator, A. M. Perry; circuit judge, R. G. Smart; circuit attorney, J. W. Bryant; circuit clerk, Jas. McCown; member of congress, John W. Reed; school commissioner, Z. T. Davis. Arthur Kirkpatrick took the federal census, being the eighth census of the United States.

1861 - Sheriff, Jonathan Graves; treasurer, W. S. Hume; justices of the county court, Wm. Trapp, Samuel Craig, J. K. Farr; county clerk, Marsh Foster, killed in February with a pistol shot by Wm. H. McCown, and E. S. Foster was appointed to fill the vacancy; assessor, D. W. John¬ son; surveyor, John Craig; school commissioner, Z. T. Davis; from the spring of 1861 to the fall of 1863 no circuit court convened; members of the constitutional convention, x\ikman Welch, Johnson county, and L. C. Marvin, Henry county.

1865 - Sheriff, Thos. W. Williams; treasurer, D. W. Reid; justices of the county court, Harvey Harrison, J. J. Welshans, John Windsor; county clerk, Geo. W. Houts; assessor, John Creek; surveyor, Geo. Gallaher; circuit judge, J. A. S. Tutt; circuit attorney, H. B. Johnson; circuit clerk, Mell. U. Foster, appointed in May; public administrator, W. Zoll.

1866 - Sheriff, T. W. Williams; treasurer, Jehu H. Smith; justices of the county court, Daniel Adams, John Windsor, Thomas Iiams; county clerk, G. W. Houts; assessor, Daniel C. Quick; surveyor, Lott Coffman; school superintendent, W. P. Baker; supervisor of registration, N. B. Klaine; recorder, Chas. Snow; coroner, D. P. Bigger; state representa¬ tive, James Isaminger; judge of probate, G. Will Houts; circuit judge, J. A. S. Tutt; state senator, W. S. Holland, Benton county; circuit clerk, M. U. Foster.

1867 - Sheriff, T. W. Williams; treasurer, Jehu H. Smith; justices of the county court, G. Will Houts, presiding justice, Daniel Adams, John Windsor; county clerk, G. W. Houts; recorder, Chas. Snow; assessor, D.C. Quick; surveyor, Lott Coffman; judge of probate, G. Will Houts; state representative, Wells H. Blodgett; circuit judge, A. S. Tutt; circuit clerk, M. U. Foster; judge of the common pleas court, G. N. Elliott.

1868 - Sheriff, B. F. Griffith; treasurer, George S. Grover; justices of the county court, G. Will Houts, presiding justice, Daniel Adams, John Windsor; county clerk, Geo. W. Houts; recorder, Chas. Snow; assessor, G. W. Short; surveyor, Jesse Trapp; school superintendent, M. Henry Smith; coroner, A. W. Reese; judge of probate, G. W. Houts; public administrator, Josiah Smith; member congress, S. S. Burdett; state sena- tor, Wells H. Blodgett; state representative, Nicholas B. Klaine; circuit judge, David McGaughey; circuit clerk, M. U. Foster; judge court com¬ mon pleas, Alva R. Conklin.

1869 - Sheriff, B. F. Griffith; treasurer, G. S. Grover; justices of the county court, G. Will Houts, Daniel Adams, John Windsor; county clerk, Geo. W. Huot; recorder, Chas. Snow; assessor, W. C. Rowland; surveyor J. Trapp; school superintendent, M. Henry Smith ; coroner, A. W. Reese; public administrator, Josiah Smith; circuit judge, David McGaughey, October 18; circuit clerk, M. U. Foster; judge court common pleas, A. R. Conklin.

18T0 - Sheriff, B. F. Griffith; treasurer, Geo. S. Grover; justices of the county court, G. Will Houts, Thomas Iiams, John Windsor; county clerk, G. W. Houts; recorder, Chas. Snow; assessor, W. C. Rowland; surveyor, George Gallaher; school superintendent, M. H. Smith, coroner, A. W. Reese; judge of probate, G. Will Houts; county attorney, J. W. Brown; public administrator, Josiah Smith; state representative, W. F. Ralston; member of congress, S. S. Burdett; circuit judge, David McGaughey; circuit clerk, M. U. Foster.

1871 - Sheriff, J. H. Smith; treasurer, G. S. Grover; justices of the county court, J. K. Farr, Thos. Iiams, John Windsor, died early in 1872; county clerk, Samuel P. Sparks; recorder, Chas. Snow; assessor, W. C. Rowland; surveyor, George Gallaher; school superintendent, G. H.Sack; coroner, A. W. Reese; judge of probate, J. K. Farr; county attorney, J. W. Brown; public administrator, Josiah Smith; circuit judge, D. McGaughey; circuit clerk, C. C. Morrow; judge court common pleas; A.

1872 - Sheriff, O. D. Williams; treasurer, Joseph P. Henshaw; justices of the county court, till August 12, James K. Farr, Thomas Iiams, Geo.

1874 - Sheriff, O. D. Williams; treasurer, J. P. Henshaw; justices of the county court, J. B. Mayes, W m. McMahan, B. E. Morrow, D. B. Reavis, Geo. Washington ; county clerk, R. B. Harwood; recorder, J. R. Kelly; surveyor, Scott Coffman; coroner, G. R. Hunt; judge of probate, W. L. Hornbuckle; prosecuting attorney, A. W. Rogers; public administrator, Joseph Logsdon; member congress, Hon. John F. Phillips; state representative, R. T. Fryer; judge circuit court, Foster P. Wright; circuit clerk, H. S. Witherspoon.

1877 - Sheriff, Z. H. Emerson, treasurer, H. Y. Hughes; justices of the county court, J. Umstadt, Wm. McMahan, J. B. Mayes, Geo. Washing¬ ton, J. W. C. Hulse, appointed April 17; clerk, R. B. Harwood; recorder, J. R. Kelley; assessor, Benjamin E. Lemon, appointed; collector, Wm. P. Hunt, appointed by county court; school commissioner, A. Vanausdol;. circuit judge, Noah M. Givan, October 8; criminal judge, W. H. H. Hill.