Carroll County IAGenWeb History Journal

     It was during the administration of President Pierce that the first settlers moved into what is now Carroll County, and organized it, with twenty-eight votes. The Democratic party was in control at Washington, and it owned this county, too, what there was of it, for eight or nine years. Party lines were drawn tolerably close from the beginning. The Democratic majority, though small, was reliable, and all the county officers were Democrats. In 1864 the Republicans carried the election, and then for twelve or thirteen years the Republicans had things their own way. The election returns are preserved from 1866 down. In that year the total vote cast was 127, and the Republican majority 45. The only Democrat who carried the county that year was William H. Price, for clerk. In 1867 a full State and local ticket was in the field, and 159 votes were drawn out. The Republican majority for Governor was 67, and most of the county officers ran ahead.

     In 1868 the Presidential candidates were General U. S. Grant and New York's veteran Governor, Horatio Seymour. More than 250 votes were polled in Carroll County, of which the Republicans were 74 more numerous than the Democratic. Both the total vote and the Republican majority increased in 1869, owing to immigration. The Democrats did not nominate a full ticket. In 1870 the total vote was 471; Republican majority, 81. Most of the majorities on the county ticket fell below that figure. In 1871 the Republicans gained, polling 328 for Governor Carpenter, to 196 for Joseph C. Knapp. The Democrats elected William H. Price county treasurer by 17 votes, but the other Republican candidates were successful by from 40 to 263 votes.

     The year 1872 brought with it another Presidential campaign. Grant was renominated by the Republican party, while a body calling themselves Liberal Republicans placed in the field the veteran journalist and philanthropist, Horace Greeley. The Democracy made no nomination, but endorsed Greeley. Many were dissatisfied, and of these some remained at home, while others voted for Charles O'Connor. The vote in Carroll County was: Grant, 410; Greeley, 116; O' Connor, 66; Grant's plurality, 294. This was the most successful year the Republicans have had in Carroll County, their relative strength having steadily diminished, with few variations, ever since. The majority for clerk was 133; for recorder, 174. In 1873 the Republican majority for Governor was 111; for county officers much less, running as low as 21 for auditor. The Anti-Monopoly or "Granger" element was now for two or three years felt in politics, and then the Greenback party came on the field, both these diversions operating to the advantage of the Democrats. In 1874 the Republican majority for Secretary of State was but 73; for county officers it was more. In 1875 Governor Kirkwood majority was only 36 in this county. The Republican county ticket went through by good majorities.

     R. B. Hayes (Republican), Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat) and Peter Cooper (Greenback) were the Presidential candidates in 1876. The Greenback party was never nearly so strong in this county as in most others in Iowa, and in 1876 it had not even a footing here. Hayes' majority over Tilden was but 28, in a total vote of 1,570. On the remainder of the ticket the Republican majority was considerably larger. In 1877, for the first time, the Greenback party took the field in Carroll County, nominating a full ticket. The head of their ticket received 141 votes. The Democratic plurality for Governor in this county was 111. The honors were evenly divided in local affairs. In 1878 the Democratic majority on State ticket averaged 150, but the Republicans were somewhat ahead on the county officers. The result in 1879 was about the same.

     In the year 1880 James A. Garfield, Winfield S. Hancock and James B. Weaver were the standard-bearers of the three parties. The vote in this county was: Garfield, 1,189; Hancock, 1,169; Weaver, 104; Garfield's plurality, 20. The whole Republican ticket in this county was successful. The following year Governor Sherman received a plurality of 43 in Carroll County, but the Democratic county ticket came out ahead. In 1882 the Democrats carried the county by 283 plurality. The Republicans elected their clerk. The next year showed a further gain of 200 or more votes for the Democracy, and the Democratic county ticket received heavy majorities.

     At the general election of 1884, which is yet fresh in the memories of all, Grover Cleveland and James G. Blaine represented the two leading parties. In Carroll County Cleveland received the handsome majority of 574, and the county ticket of the Democrats was even more successful. In 1885 the Democrats polled 408, the most votes for Governor, but lost the county offices, except auditor and treasurer, and on the latter of these there was no contest. At the recent election of 1886 the Democratic majority for Secretary of State was 635.

     The Prohibition vote has been an insignificant element in Carroll County politics. Elections have been us a rule orderly, and accompanied by little excitement. The Democratic townships are Sheridan, Kniest, Wheatland, Arcadia, Carroll, Grant, Pleasant Valley, Roselle, Washington and Eden. The Republicans can count on Jasper, Glidden, Richland, Warren, Newton and Union.

OFFICIAL REGISTER.

     Below are given the names of the incumbents of the several county offices with years of service.

COUNTY JUDGES.

     A. J. Cain, 1855-'56; L. McCurdy, 1857; Thomas T. Morris, 1857-'59; William Shriner, 1860; William H. Price, 1861-'67; Thomas Elwood, 1868-'69. Office abolished.

CLERKS OF COURTS.

     Levi Thompson, 1865-'56; Robert Haney, 1856; Amos Baaom, 1857-'58; Noah Titus, 1858; John Monroe, 1859-'60; T. B. Aldrich, 1861-'62; William Gilley, 1863-'66; William H. Price, 1867-'68; John K. Deal, 1869-'72; E. M. Betzer, 1873-'74; William Lynch, 1875-'84; James N. Powers, 1885.

TREASURERS AND RECORDERS.

     James White, 1855-'56; Amos Basom, 1857; H. L. Youtz, 1857-'59; L. McCurdy, 1860-'61; Crockett Ribble, 1862-'64. Offices separated at end of 1864.

TREASURERS.

     Crockett Ribble, 1865; L. McCurdy, 1866-'67; William Gilley, 1868-'70; Orlando H. Manning, 1870; William H. Price, 1870-'73; W. L. Culbertson, 1874-'75; P. M. Guthrie, 1876-'79; William Arts, 1880-'81; W. R. Ruggles, 1882-'85; Peter Berger, 1885.

RECORDERS.

     H. L. Youtz, 1865; J. B. Hampton, 1865-66; Thomas Elwood, 1867-'68; A. Young, 1869-'70; H. E. Russell, 1871-'76; J. L. Messersmith, 1877-'82; John P. Hess, 1883-'86; J. H. Bruning, 1887.

AUDITORS.

     William H. Price, 1870-'71; W. L. Culbertson, 1872-'73; W. O. Sturgeon, 1874-'75; E. M. Betzer, 1876-'77; H. E. Russell, 1878-'83; F. M. Leibfried, 1884.

SHERIFFS.

      J. Y. Anderson, 1855-'57; Parker T. Puntenney, 1858-'59; William Gilley, 1860-'61; George Hunter, 1862-'68; S. A. Davis, 1864-'67; James H. Colclo, 1868-'69; A. L. Kidder, 1870; George W. Hunter, 1870; P. H. Hankins, 1870-'71; H. C. Stevens, 1872-'75; Louis Bechler, 1876-'80; John Silbaugh, 1881; R. J. Hamilton, 1882-'85; Sam. Todd, 1886.

PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.

      L. McCurdy, 1855-'57. Office abolished.

COUNTY ATTORNEY.

      J. C. Engelman, 1887.

COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS.

      William H. Price, 1858-'61; L. McCurdy, 1862-'63; T. B. Aldrich, 1864; William H. Price, 1865; Charles T. Mulloy, 1866-'67; John K. Deal, 1868-'69; M. W. Beach, 1870-'71; I. A. Beers, 1872-'73; W. F. Steigerwalt, 1874-'77; H. W. Bean, 1878-'79; G. W. Wattles, 1880-'81; C. C. Colclo, 1882-'85; H. J. Gable, 1886.

SURVEYORS.

      Robert Floyd, 1855-'57; Robert Hill, 1858-'67; J. F. H. Sugg, 1868-'69; William H. H. Bowers, 1870-'71; William S. Winnett, 1872-'73; L. C. Bailey, 1874-'75; L. McCurdy, 1876-'77; A. Bruch, 1877-'79; L. C. Bailey, 1880-'81; George R. Bennett, 1882; A. Bruch, 1882-'85; W. F. Steigerwalt, 1886.

CORONERS.

      Amos W. Basom, 1864'-65; A. P. Wilson, 1868-'69; D. Wayne, 1870-'77; Peter Smith, 1878-'79; N. D. Thurman, 1880-'81; J. B. Feenstra, 1882-'83; L. S. Stoll, 1884-'85; R. R. Williams, 1886.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

     

     1861. — Crockett Ribble (chairman) and Jacob Cretsinger.

     1862. — Levi Higgine (chairman) and Jacob Cretsinger.

     1863. — Jacob Cretsinger (chairman), Levi Higgins and William Short. Mr. Higgins resigned, and Enos Bntrick was appointed to till his place. William Carter succeeded Mr. Butrick at the September session.

     1864. — Jacob Cretsinger (chairman), Enos Butrick and George Monroe. Jacob Cretsinger resigned during the year, and J. M. Cretsinger was appointed to fill the vacancy.

     1865. — John J. McCollum (chairman), Enos Bntrick and George Ribble.

     1866. — John J. McCollum (chairman), George Ribble and G. H. Shutes.

     1867. — John Monroe (chairman), G. H. Shutes and E. B. Smith.

     1868. — John Monroe (chairman), E. B. Smith, C. Lester, John J. McCollnm, Thomas Hirons and George F. Browning. E. B. Smith resigned, and his place was taken in June by Crockett Ribble.

     1869. — John Mouroe (chairman), John J. McCollum, C. Lester, Thomas Hirons, George F. Browning and J. M. Gilbert. Browning's place was taken during the year by Isaac Gee.

     1870. — John Monroe (chairman), J. M. Gilbert, R. F. Wood, Robert Dickson, Levi Higgine and Lambert Kniest. John Monroe resigned in June, and was succeeded as member by D. C. Hoagland, as chairman by Lambert Kniest. 1871. — O. J. Soper (chairman), William S. Winnett and Isaac Harris.

     1872. — William S. Winnett (chairman), Isaac Harris and W. H. Drew.

     1873. — O. J. Soper (chairman), Isaac Harris, W. H. Drew, Oliver Horton and Daniel Cooper.

     1874. — O. J. Soper (chairman), W. H. Drew, Oliver Horton, Daniel Cooper and J. A. Coppedge. George P. Weatherill succeeded Mr. Coppedge, and was afterward elected chairman, vice O. J. Soper.

     1875. — George P. Weatherill (chairman), O. J. Soper, Oliver Horton, D. J. McDougall and R. L. Wolfe.

     1876. — D. J. McDougall (chairman), George P. Weatherill, R. L. Wolfe, Daniel Cooper and Peter Berger.

     1877. — R. L. Wolfe (chairman), Daniel Cooper, Peter Berger, W. L. Culbertson and D. J. McDougall.

     1878. — Oliver Horton (chairman), Daniel Cooper, W. L. Culbertson, Peter Berger and P. J. Koenig.

     1879. — W. L. Culbertson (chairman), W. R. Ruggles, Peter Berger, P. J. Koenig and Oliver Horton.

     1880. — P. J. Koenig (chairman), Oliver Horton, Peter Berger, W. R. Ruggles and W. A. Overmire.

     1881. — W. R. Ruggles (chairman), Peter Berger, W. A. Overmire, James Thompson and George E. Russell.

     1882. — James Thompson (chairman), George E. Russell, W. A. Overmire, Thomas Rich and J. Rittenmeier.

     1888. — W. A. Overmire (chairman), Thomas Rich, J. Rittenmeier, James E. Thompson and George E. Russell.

     1884. — Thomas Rich (chairman), J. Rittenmeier, W. A. Overraire, C. H. Westbrook and J. B. Graham.

     1885. — W. A. Overmire (chairman), C. H. Westbrook, J. B. Graham, J. Rittenmeier and Thomas Rich.

     1886. — C. H. Westbrook (chairman), J. B. Graham, J. Rittenmeier, S. Bowman and V. Roush.

REPRESENTATIVES.

      N. G. Wyatt, 1856-'57; Cornelius Beal, 1858-'59; J. W. Denison, 1860-'61; George S. Walton, 1862-'63; Addison Oliver, 1864-'65; Azor R. Mills, 1866-'67; Stephen Tillson, 1868-'69; J. D. Miracle, 1870-'71; Fletcher A. Blake, 1872-'78; James N. Miller, 1874-'75; Orlando H. Manning, 1876-'79; S. T. Hutchinson, 1880-'81; L. F. Danforth, 1882-'83; Michael Miller, 1884-'85; W. L. Culbertson, 1886.

SENATORS.

      James D. Test, 1856-'57; W. H. M. Pusey, 1858-'59; John F. Dnncombe, 1860-'63; George W. Bassett, 1864-'65; Addison Oliver, 1866-'69; Theodore Hawley, 1870-'71; John J. Russell, 1872-'75; Samuel D. Nichola, 1876-'77; John J. Russell, 1878-'85; John K. Deal, 1886.

CONGRESSMEN.

      James Thorington, 1855-'57; Timothy Davis, 1857-'59; "William Vandever, 1859-'63; Asahel "W. Hubbard, 1868-'69; Charles Pomeroy, 1869-'71; Jackson Orr, 1871-'76; Addison Oliver, 1875-'79; C. C. Carpenter, 1879-'83; A. J. Holmes, 1883.

DISTRICTS.

      Congressional.—Previous to 1863 Iowa had but two members in Congress. Two districts were formed by drawing an imaginary line east and west across the State. Carroll County was in the northern, or second, of those districts. From 1863 to 1873 there were six districts, Carroll being in the Sixth. From 1873 to 1883 there were nine, and this county was in the Ninth. There are now eleven, and Carroll County is one of fourteen counties composing the Tenth —Crawford, Carroll, Greene, Boone, Calhoun, Webster, Hamilton, Pocahontas, Humboldt, Palo Alto, Kossuth, Hancock, Emmett and Winnebago.

     Judicial.—The Sixth District was created in February, 1851, and then included thirty counties. February 9, 1853, the Seventh District was formed by taking nineteen counties, including Carroll, from the Sixth. March 13, 1857, Buncome (now Lyon), Buena Vista, Carroll, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dickinson, Ida, Monona, O'Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Sac Sioux and Woodbury counties were made the Twelfth District. The Constitution of 1857 went into effect January 1, 1858, and under this Adair, Audubon. Carroll, Dallas, Greene, Guthrie, Madison, Warren and Polk counties formed the Fifth District. April 18, 1872, the Thirteenth District was formed of the counties of Audubon, Cass, Carroll, Crawford, Fremont, Greene, Mills, Pottawattamie and Shelby. The judges of the districts including Carroll County have been: Samuel H. Riddle, 1853-'57; Marshall F. Moore, 1857; John H. Gray, 1858-'65; Charles C. Nourse, 1865-'66; Hugh W. Maxwell, 1866-'72; J. R. Reed, 1873-'83; C. F. Loofborough, 1883-'86. Under the new law which goes into effect January 1, 1887, J. P. Conner and J. H.  Macomber will be judges in this district, which is the Sixteenth, and includes six counties—Ida, Sac, Calhoun, Crawford, Carroll and Greene.

     Senatorial.—Previous to 1860 Carroll and twenty-two other counties formed the Twelfth District. For the next six years it was one of twenty-four counties in the Forty-fifth, then for two years there were fifteen counties which together were entitled to one Senator. In the session of 1868-'69 twelve counties formed the Forty-sixth District. Then Webster, Greene, Carroll, Calhoun, Sac, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Buena Vista, Palo Alto, Clay, Emmett and Dickinson counties were made the Forty-seventh District. In 1872-'73 the Forty-ninth District included only the counties of Dallas, Guthrie, Audubon, Carroll and Greene. For the next four years Shelby and Crawford counties took the place of Dallas, and then from 1878 to 1883 Webster, Greene, Calhoun and Carroll counties formed the Forty-eighth District. Beginning with January 1, 1884, "Webster was omitted from the district, and at present Sac has taken the place of Calhoun, so that the district now comprises Greene, Sac and Carroll counties.

     Representative.—In 1856-'57 there were in the Sixteenth Representative District twenty-two counties, Carroll being one. In 1858-'59 the same district was composed of only Boone, Greene, Carroll and Audubon counties. At the next General Assembly Carroll was joined with Crawford, Monona and Greene, as the Forty-fifth District; in 1862-'63 with Sac, Calhoun and Greene, as the Sixtieth; in 1864-'65 with Crawford, Monona and Sac, as the Sixty-second. In the next period of two years Carroll County was put in the Sixty-fourth District with Calhoun, Greene and Audubon counties. Monona, Crawford and Carroll formed the Sixty-third District in 1868-'69, and in 1870-'71 the Sixty-ninth District was composed of the same counties, with the addition of Ida. In 1871-'73 Carroll, Sac, Buena Vista and Cherokee were joined together as the Sixty-eighth. In 1874-'77 Greene, Carroll, Calhoun and Sac counties were known as the Forty-second District, and in 1878-'83 the same counties, except Sac, were numbered the Seventy-third District. Since 1883 the county has had sufficient population to be entitled to a Representative by itself.

NAMES OF THE TOWNSHIPS.

      The occasion of the choice of Jasper and Newton as the names of the first two townships is not known. They were so named by Judge Cain, the first county judge. Carroll was named for the county. Union was organized in 1863, during the great civil war, and expressed in its name the loyal sentiment of the citizens. Glidden was named for the town, and the latter was named by the railroad company. Sheridan was named in honor of General Philip H. Sheridan, who many years ago was accustomed to visit these prairies, with some chosen companions, and hunt prairie chickens. Grant was named for General and President Grant; "Washington, of course, for the first President, and Warren for General Joseph "Warren, of Revolutionary times. "Wheatland, Richland, Pleasant Valley and Eden are names of obvious significance. Roselle is a German name. Arcadia was a province or State in ancient Greece, and is frequently used in the sense of a free and wooded country. Kniest is so called in honor of Lambert Kniest, who was a supervisor when the township was formed.