Pioneers of Marion County by Wm. M. Donnel, 1872

Chapter X

County Revenue - Warrants - Stationery - First County Seal - Buying the County Seat -
Building Court Houses - The First Court House - Precincting the County - Road Districts - First Juries -
First District Court - Boarding Houses - Sleeping in the Court Room - A Sketch of Judge Williams.*

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*Since the above was written, we have been informed of the death of Judge Williams, near Fort Scott, Kansas, aged 69 years.
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Isaac B. Powers, county surveyor, platted part of the town of Knoxville shortly after it was located, and Claiborn Hall laid out the remainder in the winter of 1846-7. George Gillaspy was appointed auctioneer to sell lots, and the first sale came off on the 21st of October, 1845, and the second in April, 1846. In those days, as has been heretofore stated, money was far from being plentiful; besides the prospect of speculation in town property in that wild, open country, far away from any important outlet or means of communication, was not encouraging , so that few investments were made.

The proceeds of these sales were immediately absorbed by the expenses of location, survey, and sales, and also for the erection of a court house, the need of which was now being keenly felt, as we shall further notice in due time.+

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+Owing to the want of suitable offices, the county officers kept their books and performed their official work at their dwellings and boarding-houses.
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Besides the sale of these lots there was no other source of revenue till about the close of 1846, or during the winter of 1846-7, when the first taxes were collected. Previous to the organization, the county had been assessed by authority of Mahaska,* and the legislature had authorized the officers of that county to collect the taxes of this assessment after the separation which the citizens of Marion persistently and successfully refused to pay. There was then but little real estate taxable, and when the taxes were collected at the date mentioned above they amounted to the small sum of three hundred dollars!

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*This assessment was made in the spring of 1845, as the law then directed. Green T. Clark, who had been elected county assessor, not having any official work to do, went away on business, and did not return in time to serve in the next asssessment. George Gillaspy, who had previously applied for the office, was then appointed by the commissioners, and assessed the county in the spring of 1846.
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At about this time the finances of the county were found to be in a deplorably embarrassed condition. Debts had rapidly accumulated from the date of its organization. Three elections had been held during this time, the expenses of which were paid in warrants, till these promises to pay had so far out figured the revenue that they swindled away to the meagre sum of thirty-seven and one-half cents to the dollar. In these the county officers were paid, if paid at all, with the slight hope that they would eventually be redeemed at their full face. The salary of officers then being nearly the same as now, there could be little to prompt aspirants for places aside from the mere honor pertaining thereto. Indeed, to such a strait had money matters come, that the officers were compelled to purchase their needed stationery on credit, at exhorbitant prices, and become personally responsible for the payment of the same. The board of commissioners found it necessary to send to Oskaloosa for one quire of foolscap, a bundle of quills, - steel pens had not come in use then, - and a bottle of ink; but before they could obtain them these officers were compelled to become personally responsible or the debt, which could not have been seriously burdensome even at a period of financial depression. Many of these warrants were sold to shavers to pay these debts. Those who bought these warrants made a profitable investment of their money, paying thirty-seven and a-half to forty cents per dollar, receiving six per centum on their full face, till the county redeemed them at par.

An official seal was also needed by the board of commissioners, and there being no means of obtaining one specially made for the purpose, they legalized one out of the eagle side of a twenty-five cent United States silver coin. With a stick and mallet an impression could be made of the bird of liberty, which mark served as a token of the official authority of that court. The first seal of the probate court was the eagle side of a five cent coin.

The land on which the county seat was located was occupied as a claim by L. C. Conrey. There were no improvement on it, except the cabin that was required to hold it; but so soon as the location was made, Mr. C. surrendered his title gratuitously for the benefit of the county; but it necessarily yet remained the property of the government. It was supposed that enough funds could be spared from the revenue arising form the sale of lots to enter it as soon as it should be subject to entry; but such was the all-prevailing poverty of both town and county that two hundred dollars could not be raised for that purpose. At the January session in 1847, the commissioners appointed Thomas Pollock an agent to borrow the money; but owing either to its scarcity or the want of confidence in the financial stability of the county, he failed to obtain it. In this emergency a Rev. Mr. Gibson came to the rescue with a land warrant, which he offered to apply on time; but owing to some obstruction, of the nature of which the author is not informed, the warrant could not be used. At length, however, Dr. Weir, a resident of Fairfield, where the land was subject to entry, entered it on time, and thus ended the strife, securing to Marion county, in due time, a clear title to her shire town.

By the organizing act Marion county was added tot he second judicial district, and the first term of the district court for the county was fixed for March, the following year. But the county was yet without any kind of a court house, except the cabin in which the commissioners met, described in another place. So at their session in January, 1846, that body inaugurated a movement toward the erection of a temple of justice. To this end they authorized their clerk to receive proposals for a building twenty four by thirty feet square, two stories high, to be completed on or before the 20th of May following. The lowest bidder was Lewis M. Pearce, who proposed to do the job for four hundred and fifty dollars. His bid was accepted on the 29th of the month, and he immediately commenced the work. The heavy frame timbers had to be culled from the forest, and the lumber to be sawed, and all the materials conveyed, much of them from a distance of several miles, to the building-ground. All this labor occupied much more time and money than was stipulated in the contract, and the building was not completed till some time in autumn, and at a cost to the county of a little more than six hundred dollars.*

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*Mr. Pearce’s contract was only for the wood-work, and the cost of the building in excess of his bid was for plastering and finishing, which was not completed till some time in 1848. This correction was made upon information received since the above was written.

The lumber for this court house was sawed by Andrew Foster, at his mill near the mouth of English creek, nine miles from Knoxville. Mr. Pearce took the framing timber from his claim on Walnut creek, east of Athica, and about eight miles from Knoxville. ----------

This comparatively temporary structure remained in use as a court house till 1858, when it was relieved form public service by the new one. Since that time it has been variously occupied; part of the time the upper story being used as a printing office, from which the “Democratic Standard” was issued, and part of the time as a private dwelling. In June, 1864, it was sold at auction by order of the board of supervisors, and was purchased by A. B. Miller for nine hundred and twenty-eight dollars, and is still his property. It still stands where it was first erected, opposite the north-west corner of the square, and part of the lower story is at present occupied by B. F. Williams as a marble factory, and another part by Rufus Eldredge, produce dealer. The upper story is occupied by a family.

The new court house was built by Steven Woodruff, at a cost to the county of nineteen thousand dollars. It is a substantial two-story brick building, seventy by forty-eight feet, with an entry door at each end, and a hall about ten feet wide extending between each. This hall is flanked on either side by a tier of rooms appropriated tot he various county offices. two broad stairways, and a narrow one from the clerk’s office, lead to the upper story or court room, a large apartment, well lighted, and furnished with seats enough to accommodate four hundred persons. This house stands in the center of a well enclosed square and is surrounded by a fine growth of young cottonwoods.

On the 13th of March, 1846, the first district court convened. Joseph Williams, district judge, made his appearance at the time specified for holding court, but, as we have said, there was no place worthy the name of a court house in which to hold it. The commissioners, however, had made such temporary preparations for the occasion as circumstances permitted. There was a hewed log house in the neighborhood, about sixteen by eighteen feet square, owned by Dr. Conrey, that offered the best if not the only prospect for a court room. This the commissioners purchased, and employed George W. Harrison to move to the west side of the square, near where Reaver’s grocery now stands, and fit up for the purpose. In further preparation for this important event, jurors had to be selected. To do this in the order prescribed by law, it was necessary to district the county into voting precincts, and select from each the number of jurors in proportion to its number of electors supposed or known to be mentally qualified to perform the service of jurors. On the second day of March these precincts were described and named as follows. For the sake of convenience we abbreviate from the original record, and also place the name before the description: --

Lake Precinct. - Town. 77, and all of 75 and 76, range 18, north of the Des Moines river; election at the house of Samuel Peters. Judges - Samuel Peters, Asa Koons, and Jacob C. Brown. This, it will be observed, included what is now Lake Prairie township.

Red Rock. - Town. 77, and all of 76, range 19, north of the river, and all of 77, range 20, east of the old Indian boundary line, and north of the river; election at Robert D. Russell’s. Judges - James Chestnut, Claiborn Hail, and Reuben Matthews. This included all of the present township of Summit, part of Polk, and about one tier of sections off the east side of Red Rock.

Gopher Prairie. - All west of the old Indian boundary line and north of the river; election at Asa Hughs’s. Judges - Alfred Vertrice, Asa Hughs, and Joshua Lindsey. This included the remainder of Red Rock township, and all of Perry.

Pleasant Grove. - All of Marion county, and the attached portion thereof south of the river and north and west of White Breast creek; election at Wm. Glenn’s. Judges - Wm. M. Young, John P. Glenn, and Wm. Glenn. This included the present townships of Union, Swan, and Pleasant Grove, parts of Polk, Knoxville, and Franklin, the north-west corner of Dallas, and all of Warren county lying between the above named streams.

Knoxville. - Town. 75, range 19, and all of 76, range 19, south of the river, and east and south of White Breast creek, and all of 75 and 76, range 20, east of the old Indian boundary line; election at the place of holding district court. Judges - Lawson G. Terry, Landon Burch, and Moses Long. This included the larger portion of Knoxville township and the south-east corner of Polk.

English. - All of the county and attached portions thereof west of the old Indian boundary line, and south and east of White Breast creek; election at Wm. Tibbett’s. Judges - Wm. Tibbet, Elisha B. Ryan and Samuel Nicholson. This included what is now the south-west and some of the west part of Knoxville township, the larger portions of Washington and Dallas, and part of Warren county.

Round Grove. - Town. 74, range 19, and all of 74, range 20, east of the old Indian boundary line; election at Alexander May’s. Judges - Alexander May, John T. Pierce and Jeremiah Gullion. This embraced all of what is now Indiana township, and about one and a half tiers of sections off the east side of Washington.

Cedar. - Town. 74, range 18, and all of 75, range 18, south of the river; election at Jasper Koons’s. Judges - Joseph Clark, David T. Durham and Francis A. Barker. This embraced all of Liberty township, and all of Clay except what belongs to town. 76, range 18.*

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*It is apparent that this point was entirely overlooked by the commissioners and not assigned to any precinct. It is the north-west corner of Clay.

We have been particular in these descriptions, to enable the reader, by the help of the map, to find the localities of these precincts, and get an idea of the civil geography of the county at that date. We hope the details will not be deemed too tedious to be interesting.
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These precincts continued in use until the population rendered smaller divisions necessary, when township organizations were substituted from time to time, with numerous changes, till they finally assumed the geographical phase shown by the large and beautiful map of the county, gotten up by Messrs. Shirwood and Pyle, in 1855. These township organizations will be detailed at some length, in the order of date, in another part of this book.

During the following month (April 14) the county was also divided into road districts, and a supervisor appointed for each Several of the precincts described above were each constituted a road district, numbered as follows:

No. 1. Town. 77, range 18, and all of 76, range 18, north of a line running west of the south-east corner of section 12. Supervisor, Samuel Peter.
No. 2. All of town. 76, range 18, south of a line running west from the south-east corner of section 12, and north of the river; and all of town. 75, range 18, north of the river. Supervisor, Wm. Welch.
No. 3. Red Rock precinct; Supervisor, Claiborn Hall.
No. 4. Gopher Prairie precinct; Supervisor, Joshua Lindey.
No. 5. Pleasant Grove precinct; Supervisor, Wm. M. Young.
No. 6. Knoxville precinct; Supervisor, Lewis M. Pierce.
No. 7. English precinct; Supervisor, Wm Tibbet.
No. 8. Round Grove precinct; Supervisor, David Sweem.
No. 9. All of towns. 75 and 76, range 18, south of the river; Supervisor, John Wise.
No. 10. Town. 74, range 18; Supervisor, Hugh Glenn.

As has already been noticed, few legally established roads then existed, and comparatively little work of the kind was required to be done, which may account for the size of the districts.

The following are the names of the grand and petit jurors impaneled for the first term of the district court, March 13th, 1846. We have taken pains to ascertain, so far as possible, who of the number still live, and who are dead, with dates and places, which we append to the list:

GRAND JURORS.

1. Stanford Doud, foreman, lives in Van Buren county.
2. John B. Hamilton; lives in Texas.
3. Asa Koons; died at his residence in Clay, in 1847.
4. Wilson Stanley; lives near Denver.
5. Samuel Buffington; moved to Mahaska county.
6. Ed. Billops; went to California in 1849.
7. Joseph S. West; lives in Summit.
8. Osee Mathews; went to Idaho in 1867, and now lives in Ohio.
9. James Chestnut; died on his return from California in 1850.
10. Andrew Storts; lives in Union township.
11. John P. Glenn; dead.
12. Conrad Walters; died in Knoxville, July 28, 1870, aged 77 years.
13. Alexander May; lives in Indiana township.
14. Thomas Gregory; died in Clay in 1849.
15. Benajah Williams; died in Mahaska county.

PETIT JURORS.

1. Jacob C. Brown; lives in Monroe, Jasper county.
2. Nathan Bass; died on his way to Californian in 1849.
3. Granville Hendrix; unknown.
4. George Gillaspy; lives in Ottumwa.
5. Claiborn Hall; lives near Athens, Illinois.
6. Alfred Vertrice; went to California.
7. John Whitlatch; lives in Indiana township.
8. Wm. Buffington; lives in Mahaska county.
9. Wm. Glenn; dead.
10. Elijah Wilcot; dead.
11. Reuben S. Lowry; killed in Kansas by a falling tree.
12. David Sweem; died in Indiana township in 1867.

This court convened at the time and place already mentioned, Judge Joseph Williams presiding; also attended by the follow named persons as attorneys: Edward H. Thomas, prosecuting attorney; John W. Alley, Bissell, a young lawyer, who was afterwards engaged in mercantile business in Libertyville, Jefferson county, where he died in 1851; Thomas Baker, of Oskaloosa, Calkin, Gray, Peters, Henry Temple, and E. G. Stanfield. The latter was prosecuting attorney at the second term, and is still a resident of Knoxville.

This term lasted but three days, during which all the cases on the very limited docket were disposed of , the history of which would hardly prove of sufficient interest to repay a perusal. From the brief records, however, we quote - “United States vs. Henry Hall.” This was the first case tried, being one of an assault and battery, appealed from a justice of the peace. The case was dismissed, and the defendant discharged. The second case reads - “United States vs. F. M. Clipton; recognized to keep the peace, and discharged on paying costs, amounting to seventeen dollars and fourteen and three quarters cents.” There was also tried an appeal from the Mahaska county district court, a civil case, “Edward H. Thomas vs. the Board of Commissioners of Mahaska county.” This was the same Thomas who attended as prosecuting attorney. Having sued for attorney’s fees, and, Mahaska county being a party, he could hardly expect justice from a jury of that court, and appealed his case to that of Marion, by whom he was awarded judgment for three hundred and twenty-five dollars.

As there were no jury rooms attached to the temporary building used as a court house, the jurors were cempelled to make the best shift that circumstances allowed. The grand jury retired to the residence of Dr. Conrey, a small linn log cabin, that was also open as a boarding house; whilst the petit jury held their consultations in the open air, at a convenient distance from the court house, each jury being attended by a bailiff.

As may be supposed, attendants at court were subjected to some inconveniences, consequent to the lack of boarding accommodations. Besides the boarding house kept by Dr. Conrey, there was another place of entertainment at the south east corner of the square, dignified with the name of tavern, kept by L. M. Pierce. L. W. Babbitt also owned a house in town to which, in due time, he made an addition for the accommodation of boarders. Yet, in these limited quarters, beds could not be supplied for all of even the smallest number required to compose a district court, which could not have been less than thirty persons, not counting plaintiffs and defendants, with their array of attorneys and witnesses. So many as could be fed at tables and lodged in comfortable beds were thus cared for, much to their satisfaction, though the fare was not epicurian to the last degree, nor even sumptuous. But, for the surplus number; the only shift was to take what is termed in steamboat travel, steerage, or deck passage, by bringing their own beds and victuals with them; they made the court house floor their camping ground, where they could enjoy the rough fare quite independent of the restraints of hotel life as it then existed in Knoxville.

In those days men were not disposed to complain of the privations incident to frontier life. Experience had taught them to regard such as an unavoidable state of things, and game them no choice but to accent of them as cheerfully as though there was nothing lacking. The evenings were passed with a cheerfulness and hilarity peculiar to frontier life, where there is, usually, comparative freedom from the conventional restraints of older and more fashionable society. Pecuniarily, and consequently socially, men were nearly upon an equality. Ignorance was no bar to the social circle, though there was then, as there always has been and always will be, a material difference in the mental attainments of the accepted members of society. Only the morally debased received no encouragement to participate in the interchange of jest and merriment that constituted much of the entertainment of the company. Men could play pranks upon each other, fire volleys of sarcastic wit at each other, and jestingly make each other the subjects of ridicule without causing an open rupture. Then they could change the programme to stories, anecdotes, and songs, and thus restore all equinimity of feeling that might have been lost in the rough but not offensive badinage that had been exchanged. If these social entertainments were made more or less lively by the enlivening influence of a spirit called by the Indian Skooti-appo (fire-water, alias whisky), it must be remembered that popular sentiment had not yet voted the custom of indulging in the ardent a crime. Whisky could be easily obtained, was comparatively cheap, and was more generally used,* notwithstanding which, beastly drunkenness was not regarded with favor.

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*Though the above statement may be mainly true, Judge Williams was heard to remark, much to the credit of those who attended the first district court, that it was the first court he had ever held where whisky had not preceded him.
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Thus, these men could partake of a supper of cold corn-dodgers and meat with, perhaps, the addition of baked beans, or a tart made of some kind of wild fruit, and then, after a time spent in social confab, stretch themselves upon their straw cots on the ground floor of the little court room, and compose themselves to sleep with the happy contentedness unsurpassed, if even equaled, by that obtained from the sumptuous fare of a first-class hotel.

In the presence of Judge Williams at one or the other of the boarding-houses, these pastimes were, if possible, less irksome to the company. With an inexhaustible fund of wit, humor, and music, he was at no loss for means of amusement, and took much delight in affording it. As the Judge was a somewhat noted character, more particularly for eccentricity than for legal attainments - though, we believe, he had the reputation of being a good judge - we deem it proper to close this chapter with a brief sketch of him.

With regard to his history we know but little, either previous to the time at which we are writing, or since. At that time he was about fifty years of age, and had worn the ermine many years. In a territorial act fixing the terms of the district courts, approved January, 1839, we find his name as appointee over what was then called the second district, composed of the counties of Louisa, Muscatine, Cedar, Johnson, and Slaughter. He was a person of remarkable good conversational powers, and delighted in telling anecdotes. His musical talent was much above the average, both for vocal and instrumental. Often, after delivering a temperance lecture,* full of eloquence, and interspersed with humorous passages, he would sing a favorite song called “Little Bill Neal,” with an effect seldom surpassed, calling up an applause of such hearty, boisterous delight as has seldom greeted a star actor. He was master of most musical instruments, but for drawing tunes out of that sweetest toned of all, “the fiddle and the bow,” he was particularly distinguished in this attainment. In addition to his vocal talent as a singer he possessed that wierd mysterious power of using his voice as a ventriloquist, and could imitate the cry of various kinds of animals so correctly that the uninitiated could not fail being deceived. He would sometimes imitate the squalling of a belligerent cat to the great alarm and mystification of the ladies, who could neither discover the brawlers nor learn from whence the noise came.

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*Judge Williams lectured on temperance at Oskaloosa during the first session of court there, and was the first person that organized a temperance society in the frontier counties.
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At this point we beg leave to introduce a couple of anecdotes bearing upon his notoriety as a musician: Many years ago, on the occasion of a convention at Iowa City, in the interests of a proposed railroad from Muscatine to that place, Judge Williams and Le Grand Byington were in violent opposition to each other upon some points of which we are not informed, nor does it matter, so far as the interest of this sketch is concerned. After the convention, a young amateur in the art of drawing produced a caricature representing Joe Williams seated astride an enormous bull playing a clarionet. The bull was on the railroad, with tail erect and head down, pawing up the dirt, and prepared to combat the further progress of a locomotive which was close upon him, upon which was Le Grand Byington as engineer, and from the whistle of which ascended the words, “Music hath charms, but cannot soothe a locomotive.”

On another occasion, being that of an election of supreme judge and United States senator by the state senate, Judge Williams was before the democratic caucus for the judgeship, and George W. Jones (sometimes called Nancy Jones, and known as a dancing master), for the senate. Their competitors of the same party were S. C. Hastings, formerly president of the territorial council, for the judgeship, and Hon. T. Wilson for the senate. The last named gentlemen were at Iowa City just previous to the time of election, laboring earnestly with the members of the senate to secure their choice. But at the caucus, which came off during the night preceding the day of election, it was decided to elect Williams and Jones.

The following additional particulars of this incident are from a letter of Mr. Babbitt, published in the Annals of Iowa for Oct., 1870. “After the adjournment of the caucus, all hands were invited by Jones, Dodge, Williams, and other successful candidates, to partake of an oyster supper and free whiskey, at a saloon near by, which invitation was pretty generally accepted, and at which the defeated candidates partook pretty freely of the last refreshment named. About twelve o’clock the party broke up, and the members retired to their rooms. The defeated candidates, Wilson and Hastings, roomed in adjoining rooms to the one occupied by me, and were very much excited over their defeat; so much so, that they walked from room to room, bewailing their fate, and declaring that they had been repudiated by the democracy. When they came into my room, I attempted to console them, telling them that they were not repudiated, but that other democrats had more friends in the caucus than they, whereupon Wilson exclaimed: ‘If I had been beaten by a high-minded, honorable man, I could have stood it without a murmur; but to be defeated by a dancing-master, ruins my reputation forever.’ To this speech Hastings responded as follows: ‘Wilson, you have been defeated by a high-minded, honorable man - a gentleman - a dancing-master - I congratulate you; but for me there is no consolation, for, by G-d, the fiddler beat me.’ ”

But we hardly dare to close this chapter without relating an instance of his peculiar power as a ventriloquist. It occurred during the first term of the district court at Knoxville. Most of those attending court then boarded at Babbitt’s; and it so happened that one night the little boarding house was so full that it was barely possible for all to find sleeping room. The Judge, with lawyers Knapp, Wright, and Olney, were supplied with beds in the lower story, whilst the jurors and numerous other attendants found room to stretch themselves on the loose upper floor, using blankets, coats, and whatever else they had provided for beds. When, after much ado, they had all got settled down for a nap, they were suddenly startled by the terriffic squalling of what appeard to be a couple of tom-cats in mortal combat in the room. Instantly all hands were up and in search of the supposed disturbers; but no cats could be found, and the surprised boarders returned to their beds without any very satisfactory conjectures as to the whereabouts of the nocturnal brawlers. But they had hardly composed themselves again for rest, when the loud and boisterous growling and snapping of a couple of belligerent bull-dogs, apparently in their very midst, brought them all up standing. And then followed an uproar such as language could convey but an indistinct idea of - the dogs maintaining the combat with mingled growling, barking, and whining, and the men endeavoring with all the noise they could make, to oust them from the room. How they came to be there was a wonder, indeed: but the evidence of their presence was too unmistakable to admit of a doubt, even in the total darkness. Presently the fight ceased, and with that the general uproar abated. Then came a solution of the mystery. The Judge and lawyers could no longer restrain their merriment at the expense of the frightened and mystified lodgers up stairs, but let it come in a gush of laughter that quickly reminded some of the company that the Judge was a ventriloquist, and had undoubtedly just played them one of his mysterious tricks. But so far from being offended at it, they took a sensible view of its ludicrousness, and all joined heartily in the laugh.

Transcribed by Mary E. Boyer, 11/06, reformatted by Al Hibbard 12 Oct 2013.