THE FIRST ELECTION

as thus provided for by law, was announced by the organizing sheriff issuing the following

PROCLAMATION:

     I, Eli Smithson, being appointed organizing sheriff of Dallas county, in the State of Iowa, by the legislature, to organize the county:

     Now, therefore, I, Eli Smithson, sheriff aforesaid, do hereby proclaim and make known that an election will be holden in said county on the first Monday of April, 1847, for the purpose of electing three county commissioners, one county commissioners' clerk, one clerk of district court, one treasurer and recorder, one sheriff, one county surveyor, one judge of probate, one prosecuting attorney, one coroner, one sealer of weights and measures, one school fund commissioner, one justice of the peace, and one constable;

     And I, Eli Smithson, do furthermore order and proclaim that I have named two polling places in the said county, one to be at the house of W. W. Miller, and one to be at the, house of Henry Stump;

     And I further order and proclaim that the polls will be opened at nine o'clock A. M., and continue open until six P. M. at each of these polling places;

     Three judges and two clerks of election will be chosen by the voters, who will be approved

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by me. The said judges and clerks will make due return of said election to me, under seal, within five days thereafter, and in this you will fail not, under penalty of the law.

     Given under my hand this first day of March, 1847.

ELI SMITHSON,
Organizing Sheriff.

     There were two polling places named in the sheriff's proclamation, one at the house of W. W. Miller, located at the edge of the prairie on the north side of the road leading east, and about two miles distant from the present site of Adel; and the other at the house of Henry Stump, situated in what is now known as Van Meter township, the identical place now owned and occupied by Eli Golden. These two places were the first political battle grounds in the county. For the information and interest of the reader we append copies of the original poll-books and election returns of these two places of voting at the first election in Dallas county.

W. W. MILLER'S HOUSE.

     "Poll-book of an election held at the house of W. W. Miller, in Dallas county, State of Iowa, on the first Monday, the 5th day of April, 1847. William W. Miller, William Galway, Isaac Tribby and John Miller, judges and clerks of election, were severally sworn by me, as the law directs, previous to their entering upon the discharge of the duties of their respective offices.

"SAMUEL MILLER,
"Judge of Election."

     "Samuel Miller, judge of election, was sworn by me, as the law directs, previous to entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office.

" WILLIAM W. MILLER,
"Judge of Election."

NAMES OF VOTERS.

     Martin W. Miller, Samuel Miller, William W. Miller, William Galway, Isaac Tribby, John Miller, Isaac Miller, Eli Miller-8 votes.

     The clerks and judges of election made their official returns to the organizing sheriff, of the votes cast ill this precinct, as follows:

District Clerk.-Samuel Miller, 2 votes; George S. Hill, 6 votes.
Commissioners.-W. W. Miller, 7 votes; Tristam Davis, 6 votes; John Wright, 3 votes; Greenbury Coffin, 5 votes.
Sheriff.-Eli Smithson, 5 votes; Jesse K. MiHer, 3 votes.
Assessor.-Isaac Miller, 2 votes.
Commissioners' Clerk.-John Miller, 4 votes.
Surveyor.-Martin W. Miller, 4 votes.
Justice of the Peace.-J. O. Corbell, 4 votes; William Ellis, 3 votes.

     "Certified by us, this fifth day of April, A. D. 1847.

"Attest:
"ISAAC TRIBBY,
"JOHN MILLER,
"SAMUEL MILLER,
"Clerks of Election."

     "Attest:
"WILLIAM W. MILLER,
"WILLIAM GALWAY,
"Judges of Election."

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HENRY STUMP'S HOUSE.

     "Poll-book of an election held at the house of Henry Stump, in Dallas county, State of Iowa, on the first Monday, the fifth day of April, A. D. 1847.

     "George S. Hills, Henry Stump, Levi A. Davis and William P. McCubbin, judges and clerks of an election, were severally sworn by me, as the law directs, previous to their entering upon the discharge of their respective offices.

"ARCHIBALD CROWL,
"Judge of Election."

     "Archibald Crowl, judge of election, was sworn by me, as the law directs, previous to his entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office.

"GEORGE S. HILLS,
"Judge of Election."

NAMES OF VOTERS.

     Eli Smithson, James Wright, John M. Davis, John Sharp, John Longmire, Jesse K. Miller, John Crowl, Shubal Haworth, .Tames W. Black, William Ellis, James Moore, Lewis Stump, Tristam Davis, Levi A. Davis, William P. McCubbin, George S. Hills and Henry Stump-17 votes.

     The judges and clerks of election in this precinct made the following returns to the organizing sheriff, under seal, within the specified time:

District Clerk.-Samuel Miller, 10 votes; George S. Hills, 7 votes.
Commissioners.-Tristam Davis, 17 votes; Henry Stump, 9 votes; Greenbury Coffin, 7 votes; William W. Miller, 12 votes.
Sheriff.-Jesse K. Miller, 10 votes; Eli Smithson, 7 votes.
Recorder and Collector.-L. A. Davis, 13 votes; Samuel Miller, 1 vote.
Assessor (no such office yet)--Isaac Miller, 12 votes.
Commissioners' Clerk.-Samuel Miller, 9 votes; John Miller, 5 votes.
Constable.-George Haworth, 16 votes.
Justice of the Peace.-William Ellis, 15 votes; J. C. Corbell, 9 votes.
Surveyor.-Samuel Miller, 1 vote.

"Certified by us this 5th day of' April, A. D. 1847.

"HENRY STUMP,
"GEORGE S. HILLS,
"ARCHIBALD CROWL,
"Judges of Election."

"Attest:
"WILLIAM P. MCCUBBIN,
"L. A. DAVIS,
"Clerks of Election."

     The above returns of said election being duly made to the organizing sheriff, this official proceeded with the county canvass, it seems, without calling to his assistance two justices of the peace, as required by law, and gave the result in an abstract, of which the following is a copy:

STATE OF IOWA, }
COUNTY OF DALLAS. }

     Abstract statement of the whole number of votes given for county officers at a special election m Dallas county, on the first Monday, the 5th day of April, A. D. 1847, wherein the several places of holding said election are distinguished:

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Click on image to see full size image of table of candidates, and number of votes, etc.

STATE OF IOWA,}
                              }ss.
DALLAS COUNTY.}

     I, Eli Smithson, sheriff in and for Dallas county, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing contains a true abstract of all the votes given in each precinct in this county, for county officers, together with the names of persons voted for, as appears from the returns of the election held in said county, on the 5th day of pril, A. D. 1847.

     Given under my hand this 12th day of April, 1847.

ELI SMITHSON,
Organizing Sheriff and Ex-officio Clerk of Dallas county, Iowa.

     The two candidates for county commissioners' clerk each received nine votes. Being a tie, neither one was elected, and their case, according to law, must be determined by lot before the organizing sheriff.

     For this purpose, the sheriff issued the following notice:

STATE OF IOWA, }ss
DALLAS COUNTY. }

       To SAMUEL MILLER,
    Sir:—Whereas, at the election holden in Dallas county, on the first Monday of April, 1847, you and John Miller were a tie for the office of county commissioners' clerk; Now, therefore, you will appear before me at my residence on the third Monday, the 19th day of April, A. D. 1847, and there determine by lot your claims to the office.
April 12, A. D. 1847.

ELI S SMITHSON,
Organizing Sheriff,
Dallas county, Iowa.

     A copy of the above notice was served on each party, and they appeared at the appointed time and place to meet the decision.

     It appears that in this case there was no serious rival between the two contestants, for by some mutual arrangement between John Miller and the sheriff, the lot fell to Samuel Miller, and he was accordingly declared duly

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elected to the office. He qualified, entered upon the duties of his new office, and served out his full term as the first county commissioners' clerk of Dallas county; and the first records now appear in his handwriting over his official signature.

     It will be noticed that there were only eight votes cast at the house of William W. Miller, and seventeen at the house of Henry Stump, making twenty-five votes, all told, as the total number cast at the first election in Dallas county, and the entire population of the county at that time would not number more, perhaps, than about seventy-five or eighty persons.

     These were located in at least six different settlements, distributed around at various points in the county, each a considerable distance from the other; and yet they seemed much closer together in common sympathy and fellowship, and better appreciated each other's value as neighbors, though far apart, during their trials and deprivations of frontier life, than they now do when closely packed and comfortably fixed in their elegant homes, with all the modern improvements and conveniences of civilization.

     The citizens were then generally quiet, industrious and peaceable with one another. Occasional differences and disputes arose, which, in the main, were soon overlooked, or forgotten on account of their necessary and mutual dependence for aid and convenience, as well as for common defense in their pioneer homes.

     Dissensions and enmities, however, began to creep in gradually, as the settlement progressed, and continued to increase in working mischief very much in proportion as the settlement became more independently situated and more exclusive in their devotion to self-interest and advancement.

     This unwelcome spirit of dissension began to manifest itself to the public most clearly, perhaps, about the time the proclamation of the organizing sheriff announced the organization of the county which would create numerous offices to be filled from the ranks of first voters.

     These offices, during the first term, of course, presented no great inducement for being very eagerly sought after so far as salary was concerned; but then they afforded positions of influence and preference, and they might, in the near future, prove very convenient stepping-stones to more lucrative and influential positions; beside, it was no mean thing to be elected to fill the first offices created in the new county. In this regard they afforded considerable inducement for being sought after by those who were at all inclined toward official distinction, and they called forth numerous aspirants.

     At that time as well as now, doubtless, there was a good per cent of worthy, influential citizens who, so far as their own desires for official position were concerned, were entirely disinterested in the political canvass. These persons sought no such positions for themselves, and would not accept one if offered. Public applause and criticism were not at all coveted by them. Nevertheless they were as deeply interested in the welfare of the county as any other citizens, and had a decided preference for those who should receive their votes. They desired to intrust [entrust] the county government to efficient, trustworthy men, who were willing to assume the responsibility, and capable of conducting it in an efficient and acceptable manner; while they themselves were content to engage in some other department of the county's progress, more congenial to their tastes and dispositions. On the other hand, there were always enough of those who would accept these official, positions-more or less reluctantly or cheer

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fully—if duly elected, or urged a little to fill them; so that it was soon found the various offices were not sufficient to give each of the aspirants a position. Evidently, some of these must gain the honored distinction, while others must be left out, part of whom, doubtless, would be disappointed not a little over their defeat.

     Who, then, of these various aspirants were the best qualified to fill these several positions? Who had the most deserved claim on the public support? Who were the shrewdest political tricksters and wire-pullers? Who, of all the number, could wield the most extended and effective influence, either by honorable or, it may be, by unfair means in securing the majority vote. These, and many other questions of similar character, would quite naturally arise, even in the minds of early settlers, as the memorable first election day drew near, when they must each receive a decisive answer at the ballot box.

     One of the most spirited contests during this first political campaign and election in the county was between the two contestants for the office of sheriff, Eli Smithson and Jesse K. Miller.

     From authentic accounts it is evident that this contest was spirited in the double sense-not only in an earnest desire on the part of each candidate to secure the position in question, but also in the free and plentiful use of ardent spirits to court favor with a certain class on election day. While this spirited way of gaining influence on any occasion is not at all commendable on the part of the one resorting to it, yet it is conceded that, on this occasion at least, it not only caused considerable diversion at the polls, but was the undoubted means of securing the majority of one vote for Jesse K. Miller, and of thus handing his name down to posterity as the first regularly elected sheriff of Dallas county, and ex-officio assessor.

     By some misunderstanding, the same day Isaac Miller was elected county assessor without any opposition, by fourteen votes. There being no such office authorized yet in the county the duties pertaining to it were turned over to the sheriff elect, and that position was not filled by a separate officer for some time afterward. No school-fund commissioner was chosen either at this time.

     From the foregoing table of election returns it is apparent, also, that George S. Hills was the first district clerk of Dallas county. He came to this county May 18, 1847, and settled in what is now Adams township, on section ten (10), where he still lives, an estimable citizen, enjoying the benefits of the old homestead in his declining years, an energetic, industrious, conscientious man, and generous neighbor.

     The first county commissioners elected in this county were William W. Miller, Tristram Davis and Greenbury Coffin. Two of these are still living, in ripe old age.

     Mr. Miller is one of the very oldest settlers now living in the county, it being nearly thirty-three years since his arrival, on February 25, 1846. Having disposed of the old homestead, he now lives around among his children.

     For a long time he took an active part in public affairs, and has proven to be one of the county's greatest benefactors, especially during her earlier years of trial and di8couragement. His name will appear frequently hereafrer in connection with the county's history.

     Mr. Davis remained a valuable and honorable citizen of this county, in what is now Adams township, from the spring of 1846 until, several years

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ago, he sold out and moved to Benton county, Arkansas, where he now resides, peaceful and prosperous.

     Greenbury Coffin, who also came in 1846, lived a few years in this county, within the present limits of Boone township, when he moved to Mahaska county, and soon afterward died.

     The first county surveyor of Dallas county was Martin W. Miller, who was also among the earliest settlers. During his term of office he, by his deputy, Alfred D. Jones, of Des Moines, made the original survey and plat of the county seat as they were accepted by the board of county commissioners at their following July meeting, and now appear on the records over his official signature.

     The first justice of the peace regularly elected by the vote of the county was William Ellis, who, with his widowed mother, settled within the present limits of Van Meter township in the spring of 1846, where he lived many years, and during that time was intrusted [entrusted] with several official positions, the duties of which he invariably discharged with credit to himself and fidelity to his constituents. He afterward removed from the county to Oregon, where he now resides.

     Before him, however, Joseph O. Corbell had been appointed to that office by proper authority, to serve until the organization of the county was effected. He was also the defeated candidate for the same office at this first election, but was afterward appointed and duly constituted a justice of the peace by the board of county commissioners at their first meeting, on the first Monday of May, 1847, to hold office until the first Monday of April, l848. This was a special meeting, and the appointment of Corbell to that office was about the first business transacted by this newly elected board.

     During his residence in the county he filled several important offices with faithfulness and honesty. An early settler and a worthy citizen for many years, he finally moved away in 1852 and died in Oregon not long ago.

     George Haworth, the first Dallas county bridegroom, was also the first duly elected constable, and is thus honored with these two significant titles to be recorded in the county's early history. He came to this county among the first pioneers, settling in what is now Van Meter township, where he has lived for a long period of years as an industrious, genial, well-to-do farmer, until a few years ago he purchased and settled on the Scovell farm, two miles north of Adel, as before related.

     Eli Smithson, the organizing sheriff, came from Wayne county, Indiana, and made his first home in Iowa in Jefferson county, in 1843. From there he moved to Fort Des Moines, where he lived a while and then came to Dallas county among her earliest settlers. By his first wife he was son-in-law of W. W. Miller. Some years after her death he married Mrs., Emma Ocherman, August 7, 1851, and on the 30th day of the same month he was buried in the "Miller graveyard," east of Adel.

     The above concise sketches of the first officers are here given, as these men were so intimately connected, at the beginning, with the general government and political machinery of the county, and on this account some repetition of statement regarding them becomes necessary.

     We would be glad to give full and minute sketches, not only of the first officers elect, but also of the various candidates and voters of this first election; but the statistics regarding all of them cannot now be secured, and

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the limited space alloted us would not permit without crowding out more important and interesting matter.

     Besides, this does not come within the limits of the special work assigned us, but properly belongs further on under the department of Biographical Sketches, where an abundance of these are found, prepared by men who have that special work in charge.

     The reader will please pardon and bear patiently with us if, under this department, he or she shall find occasional sketches of men who have been prominent in the public life of the county, for these must sometimes occur in order to properly complete the work. And if any indications of partiality should appear where, in your estimation, some persons may be presented a little too prominently, while others, more worthy, are not mentioned, rest assured that it is entirely unintentional on our part, and is caused from want of full and definite information regarding each individual settler, which it is impossible to secure at this late date.

     Please do not presume to think that we esteem these public men and officers, by any means the only and greatest benefactors of the county. For there are, doubtless, many in the quiet, private walks of life who have accomplished, perhaps, more for the general welfare and prosperity than any of these mentioned as figuring so prominently in public affairs.

     Remember it is these public men, who are made public by your own votes and influence, with whom we have to deal, principally, in this work. And if any of these have not proven worthy of the several positions in which you have placed them, the failure certainly cannot be set to our account. While to those who have proven worthy of the public trust committed to them we delight to render their just and equitable dues, and beseech you, as faithful citizens, to exercise diligent precaution in the future, and endeavor always to place such trustworthy men in charge of your public affairs as will render a satisfactory account of that which you commit to them.

     We simply take the limited, imperfect account of these public men as we find it on record, or in the jumbled casket of general information, and, having linked the facts in a connected chain of narrative, as best we could. under these embarrassing circumstances, return the result to you for just what it is worth, trusting that you wilt peruse carefully, and criticise sparingly.

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COUNTY SEAT.

     The next important step taken in the general order of progress was the location and establishment of the county seat of justice. This was also duly provided for by an act passed by the first session of the State legislature which was approved February 16, 1847; and the board of locating commissioners thus appointed for this purpose consisted of Messrs. William Wear and William Canfield, of Polk, and Lysander W. Babbit, of Marion county.

     They were required to meet on the first Monday of May, 1847, or within thirty days afterward, at such time as the majority should decide to be most convenient.

     The place of meeting was also designated in the act of legislature as Hickory, an imaginary point honored with the title of a town, but the real location of which is not now, and probably never was, definitely known. If it ever had a location at all it is thought to have been in the vicinity of

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the angle at the junction of the Hickory Creek and North Raccoon timberbelts, just north of the residence of O. Squires, and only a few miles northwest of the present site of the county seat.

     Instead of meeting at this place as directed, however, the locating commissioners met in May, 1847, at the house of one of the county commissioners, that of W. W. Miller, a short distance east of the present site of Adel, and from that place of meeting they proceeded to their appointed work.

     They were not long selecting and agreeing upon the spot, and the final result was, they located the county seat on the east half of the southwest quarter, and the west half of the southeast quarter of section twenty-nine (29), township seventy-nine (79), north of range twenty-seven (27), west of the fifth principal meridian, The county surveyor, Martin W, Miller, by his deputy, Alfred D, Jones, of Des Moines, as previously stated, then proceeded to layoff and plat the chosen site of Dallas county's seat of justice, which work was completed on the 22d day of May, A, D, 1847.

     The board of county commissioners held their first regular meeting in July, 1847, at which only two members appeared, W. W. Miller and Tristam Davis, whose names appeal in the record of the proceedings, Greenbury Coffin being absent; before that, as will be remembered, the board held at least one special meeting, at which one justice of the peace had been appointed, and other business transacted.

     At this first regular meeting, however, the survey and plat made by the county surveyor, as above mentioned, was accepted; and at the suggestion of the deputy surveyor, A, D, Jones, the newly established county seat was named Penoach, an Indian word, meaning, in English, "far away." The name of the new town was spelled and pronounced in various ways by the settlers, according to their individual fancy, such as Panoach, Paneuch, Pincook, Penoachaway, etc., but the mode of spelling most generally settled on was the first mentioned, Penoach, pronounced Pen-nu'-ch.

     For the purpose of christening the place, the board then issued the following order:
Ordered, That the survey and plat of the seat of justice of Dallas county be accepted and approved, and that it be named Penoach; and it is further ordered that the streets and alleys be deeded to the public, and that the public square is hereby held and reserved for a courthouse site,

     Accordingly, on the same day, the streets and alleys were deeded to the public by the county commissioner's, and the court-house square was reserved, and, on July 5th, 1847, the deed was duly acknowledged before Jos. C. Corbell, Esq.

     About two years afterward, in the fall of 1849, a petition was granted by Judge McKay--then of the District Court in the Fifth Judicial District changing the name of Penoach to Adel, which name it still retains, in honor of "a very pretty child with a prettier mother"; and we may well add, it is a beautiful name for an enterprising city, in a lovely location, in an excellent county, in this beautiful State of Iowa.

     The county was thus far organized, and the county-seat established, without meeting with any serious difficulty; but the most trying ordeals were yet to be passed.

     There being as yet no funds in the new county treasury with which to pay the deputy-surveyor for his labors, and defray other necessary expenses, the amount was promptly advanced from the private funds of W. W. Miller

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and Eli Smithson, and the new town site was ready for settlement. A serious trial, however, was soon to be met in the shape of further financial embarrassment, which was not so-easily disposed of as the former mentioned, and for a while threatened to deprive the county of its cherished treasure and seat of justice.

     The "town quarter" soon came into market, and the county was entirely devoid of money with which to enter it, so that for awhile it seemed almost impossible to procure the required amount from any source. It is true they all realized that in the rich soil, the valuable water-power and the concealed mineral products of the county, there was doubtless the equivalent of great wealth, a very limited per cent of which, if converted into cash, would purchase county-seat sites for all the counties in the State at the current prices of wild land here in those days.

     But the great difficulty in the case arose from the fact that scarcely any of this abundant wealth had yet become available. Very little had found its way into private pocket-books, and none at all into the county treasury fund. The circulating medium of Dallas county, in this its infancy, was not at all cumbrous. A dollar was a dollar in those days, and there was no occasion for quarrelling or quibbling over hard or soft money questions.

     It was all hard enough to get, and soft enough to pass again quite as readily.

     But the "town quarter" must be entered and paid for from some source. In this extremity the board of county commissioners undertook to raise the required amount by pledging the town lots in Penoach, and failing in this attempt, they next offered to give county warrants in security for the money, but all to no avail.

     The only hope now was to raise it from individual funds or personal securities on private lands. This last plan finally proved a success, and the land in question was secured through the timely aid and generous, noble act of W. W. Miller, who mortgaged his homestead to the school-fund, and, procured the money in time to secure the property.

      Dr. J. R. Mills was then hurried off to the land-office at Iowa City, to enter the illustrious "town quarter" to, the county, and succeeded in making the entry January 4th, 1851, in his own name, but afterward deeded the site to the county, January 27th, 1851, and a lot in the county-seat was then deeded to said Mills for this service, by the board of county commissioners.

     Surely, Dallas county can never esteem too highly, nor cherish too gratefully, the liberal, self-sacrificing conduct of W, W. Miller, in thus coming so promptly and nobly to her rescue in such a perilous time of need.

     0n July 9th, 1851, 0, D. Smalley surveyed the "out-lots," which included all that portion of the town quarter not embraced in the original survey of May 22d, 1847; and the town plat was filed for record on September 9th, 1851, about seven months after the land was entered and deeded to the county, and more than four years after the town was located and the original survey made.

THE FIRST LOT FUND AGENCY.

     Thomas Butler, who came into this county with George P. Garroutte in 1847, was duly appointed as the first Lot Fund Agent by the Board of County Commissioners in July of the same year, by the following order:

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     Ordered, That Thomas Butler be, and is hereby appointed, Lot Fund Agent of Dallas county, to make sale of the town lots in Penoach, to receive the money paid in on the sale of lots and to execute bonds for deeds to purchasers on payment of deferred payments; and he is hereby required to give bonds in the penal sum of one thousand dollars for the faithful discharge of his duties as such, to be approved by the Clerk of the Board before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office.

     This gentleman first settled a little northwest of Adel, near Butler's branch, from whom the stream derived its name.

     He figured quite largely in politics, occasionally exercising his powers by preaching when a favorable opportunity offered, and, for a while, was quite popular.

     But it soon became known that he had left Missouri suddenly, because of some important financial troubles, and had sought refuge in these parts: in hope of bettering his financial condition and of being freed from the intimacy of his exacting creditors.

     But the improvement was not lasting. He soon lost the confidence of the board of commissioners and received from them a polite but very urgent invitation to resign his office as Lot Fund Agent, which he did, and left the county after only a few years' residence in it, forgetting, however, to make good an important deficit in his official account, and moved elsewhere, doubtless only to impose upon some other peaceable community.

     Under the said Butler's agency, on October the 6th, 1847, were sold the first lots in Penoach, as shown in the following table: click for larger

     The lots sold went at a low price, there being but few bidders, and as there were not many persons then desiring to purchase, the sale was closed and the further disposition of the remaining lots was left with the Lot Fund Agent under the supervision of the county commissioners, but for a. number of years a very small per cent of them was disposed of, and those that were sold went on credit, a very small per cent being received in cash and the rest in notes on long time.

     Upon lot 5, block 8, J. O. Corbell, in the fall of 1847, erected the first building in Penoach. It was a log house built and used for the double purpose of a dwelling and a post-office, the owner himself being both the first occupant and the postmaster, and George P. Garroutte has the honor of hauling the logs with which the house was built.

     Ira Sherman was the first merchant in Penoach; but he is said to have carried too small a stock of goods, and too large a margin of profits to be able to transact a very extensive or profitable business.

     These items of the first settlement and early business of Penoach will be more properly and fully noticed further on in the work under the history of Adel.

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