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CHAPTER III.
Organization.
Shortly after that vast
southwestern territory known as the Louisiana Purchase
had been acquired by the United States, from France,
Congress, by an act of 1804, divided this new possession
into two bodies. That lying below the thirty-third parallel
of north latitude was called the Territory of Orleans;
and the remaining portion was known as the District
of Louisiana. This latter, for political purposes, was
engrafted on to the Indiana Territory.
In 1805 the District of
Louisiana was merged into a Territory of its own. In
1807 another subdivision was made, and the Territory
of Iowa was created, which was at first attached to
the Territory of Illinois, and later, in 1812, to Missouri
Territory.
When Missouri was admitted
as a State, in 1821, Iowa was again an outcast, until
1834, when she clung to the skirts of Michigan Territory.
By this time all the region west of the Mississippi
and north of the north line of Missouri had been purchased
from the Sac and Fox Indians, and comprised Michigan
Territory. It was usually referred to by the people
of Illinois and other Eastern States as "The Purchase."
In 1836 the Territory of
Wisconsin was created by an act of Congress, and Iowa
Territory was again placed in the keeping of a new foster-parent,
by being attached to Wisconsin. In 1838 Iowa Territory
was given a separate Territorial government, but it
still included a part of Wisconsin, west of the Mississippi
River.
In 1846, after considerable
wrangling over the boundary question by the people of
the Territory, they finally voted in favor of going
into the Union as a sovereign State, and accordingly
Iowa was admitted December 28, 1846.
Several years prior to the
admission of Iowa as a State, the Territorial Council
had passed an act to organize new counties, as will
be seen in Chapter 34 of Revised Statutes of Iowa, 1843:
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"An Act to establish new counties
and define their boundaries, in the late cession from
the Sac and Fox Indians, and for other purposes.
"Sec. 4. The
following boundaries shall constitute a new county,
to be called Kishkekosh, to-wit: Beginning at the northwest
corner of Wapello County; thence west on township line
dividing townships 73 and 74, to range 20, west; thence
south on said line to the northwest corner of Appanoose
County; thence north to the place of beginning; which
county, with Wapello and the territory lying west, shall
be attached to Jefferson County for judicial, revenue,
and election purposes."
This same bill provided
for the creation of ten other counties, and also made
provision for their survey as soon as the Indian treaty
could be ratified.
The first measure to conserve
the peace in these newly organized counties was the
appointment, by the Governor, of justices of the peace
for the various precincts throughout the counties so
created.
On the 1st of May, 1843,
the Indian title became extinct, and immediately followed
an influx of sturdy pioneers, a further account of whose
incursin and pioneer life will be found elsewhere in
this volume.
The name Kishkekosh seemed
harsh to the ears of the white settlers, and the name
was subsequently changed to that of Monroe County.
The name Kishkekosh was
given to the county in honor of a minor chief of the
Sac and Fox band, and the name, in the Indian tongue,
is said to mean "a savage biter."
Kishkekosh was a member
of Black Hawk's suite, who accompanied that redoubtable
chieftain, after his capture, in his tour throughout
the East, and by contact with civilization rapidly learned
the manners and customs of the white race. It is said
that, in a superficial way at least, he assumed the
graces of a Chesterfield, and grew particularly gallant
towards the squaws of his tribe, when he returned to
his people to inculcate among them the customs of the
whites. In sitting down to a meal, he would first assist
the dusky lady guests to the food; and he carried this
spirit of gallantry so far as to attempt to correct
the state of slavery to which the squaws were subjected
by their oppressive lords, by enjoining the latter to
do the drudgery themselves.
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It is said that he entered into this reform
with so much zeal that he actually set the example himself.
Black Hawk never made his
predatory incursions as far west as Monroe County, when
there was any white prey within its borders. He died
in 1837, at Iowaville. Yet it is quite probable that
many a fierce encounter has been waged on Monroe County
soil between the Sacs and Foxes of eastern Iowa and
western Illinois and the Iowas, Pottawattamies, and
other less powerful tribes west of the Mississippi River.
The very name of Black Hawk
was sufficient to strike terror into the hearts of the
pioneer settlers of eastern Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.
Most writers, describing
the personal appearance of Black Hawk, represent him
as the very embodiment of all that is fiendish and terrible;
but Joseph Hoskinson, one of the pioneer settlers of
Iowa, who died at his home in Monroe County a few years
ago, and who was present at the treaty between the Government
and the Sacs and Foxes, where Burlington now stands,
informed the writer that Black Hawk was the handsomest
Indian he ever saw. He stood near him at the treaty
and admired the imperial bearing of the chief.
While he showed the treachery
and cunning of a fiend—like Red Jacket, he would
"not bend the knee." No imperial crown ever
sat upon a prouder head, and no monarch ever merited
a coronet of higher token of fidelity to his people
than Black Hawk. How strange it is that the hand of
fiction has never woven about the harsh outlines of
his memory the softening gauze of sentiment and romance!
Until the 13th of February,
1844, all the territory west of Wapello County, including
Kishkekosh County, was attached to Wapello County for
election and judicial purposes, and the first court
house jurisdiction included Kishkekosh County was held
in Ottumwa in September, 1844; but the character of
the litigation was mainly disputes over claims to land.
At that time, the homestead
laws were different from those of the present day, and
were also more lax in their provisions. Every person
entitled to the homestead privilege was allowed a half-section
of land—160 acres in prairie and 160 acres in
timber. The earliest settlers took their claims before
the land was placed upon the market for homesteading,
and for several years held them by virtue of "squat-
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ter sovereignty," intending to enter
the land when placed upon the market. When the land
was finally opened for filing, many of the settlers
did not have the funds for making the homestead entry,
but continued to hold their claims. There was always
someone in the country who had a little spare money
with which to contest claims occupied by the "squatter."
While he had this lawful right, he seldom had the effrontery
to exercise it.
Necessity, the mother of
invention, devised a means of protecting the "squatter's"
interests. Judicial proceedings were expensive, and,
even if resorted to, would have afforded no relief to
the "squatter." The "Club law" was
accordingly instituted by the settlers to protect themselves
and their neighbors from the "claim-jumper."
While it was not in strict accord with the laws of the
land or the equity of indiscriminating justice, the
great body of the people, in whose interests all written
laws should be framed as against the opposing few, construed
it as "Vox populi, vox Dei ”—"The
voice of the people is the voice of God."
Some brave pioneer settler
would select a claim, but, being unable to make a homestead
filing on it at once, would erect a "claim-pen"—i.e.,
a log pen sixteen feet square and four rounds high;
this would hold his claim for six months, at the end
of which time it was presumed he would have completed
a cabin. Frequently, however, owing to sickness or other
unavoidable cause of delay, he failed to erect a domicile
or make the necessary improvements on his claim. Then
would the "claim-jumper" attempt to take possession
by moving on to the land or into the vacant domicile,
in case the "squatter" had temporarily abandoned
it. The captain of the "Club" was at once
notified, and the entire population—for everybody
belonged to the "Club"—turned out, and,
marching to the usurper's stronghold, would force him
to depart. Sometimes the "jumper" became defiant,
and was roughly handled by the "Club," but
usually he quietly acquiesced in their verdict, and
vacated without protest.
While at this day the "Club-law"
may seem somewhat revolutionary, yet no rule for the
regulation of society has ever been placed in the statutes
by a higher tribunal than that of the sturdy pioneers
of Monroe and other counties in their struggles in the
wilderness to support and provide a home for themselves,
their wives and their little ones.
The first election held
in Kishkekosh County took place
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at the house of W. G. Clark in the autumn
of 1844; and in the spring of 1845 the precinct was
duly organized into an independent county by an act
of the Council and House of Representatives of the Territory
of Iowa. The act also provided for the location of a
county seat, and following is the text of the bill:
"An act to organize the County of
Kishkekosh and to provide for the location of the seat
of justice thereof.
"Section 1.
Be it enacted by the Council and House of Representatives
of the Territory of Iowa, That the county of Kishkekosh
be, and the same is hereby, organized from and after
the first day of July next; and that the inhabitants
of said county shall be entitled to all the privileges
to which by law the inhabitants of other organized counties
of this Territory are entitled, and the said county
shall constitute a part of the First Judicial District
of this Territory.
"Section 2.
That, for the purpose of organizing said county, it
is hereby made the duty of the Clerk of the District
Court of said county, and in case there should be no
such Clerk appointed and qualified, or for any cause
such office should become vacant on or before the tenth
day of July next, then it shall be the duty of the Sheriff
of Wapello County to proceed immediately after the tenth
of July to order an election in said county of Kishkekosh
for the purpose of electing three County Commissioners,
one Judge of Probate, one County Treasurer, one Clerk
of the Board of County Commissioners, one Surveyor,
one County Assessor, one Sheriff, one Coroner, one County
Recorder, and such number of Justices of the Peace and
Constables as may be directed by the officer ordering
such election; the officer having due regard for the
convenience of the people; which election shall be on
the first Monday in the month of August next. And that
the officer ordering such election shall appoint as
many places for holding elections in said county as
the conveniences of the people may require, and shall
appoint three Judges of Election for each place of holding
elections in said county, and issue tickets to said
Judges for their appointment; and the officer ordering
said election shall give at least fifteen days' notice
of the time and place of holding said election, by at
least three printed or written advertisements, which
shall be posted up at three or more of the most public
places in the neighborhood where each of the polls shall
be opened as aforesaid.
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Section 3. That
the officer ordering the election aforesaid shall receive
and canvass the polls and grant certificates to the
persons selected to fill the offices mentioned in this
Act, and in all cases not provided for by this Act.
The officer ordering said election shall perform the
duties of a Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners
until there shall be a Clerk of the Board of County
Commissioners elected and qualified for said county
under the provisions of this Act.
"Section 4.
Said election shall, in all cases not provided for by
this Act, be conducted according to the laws of this
Territory regulating general elections.
"Section 5.
The officers elected under the provisions of this Act
shall hold their offices until the next general election,
and until their successors are elected and qualified.
"Section 6.
The officer ordering the election in said county shall
return all books and papers which may come into his
hands by virtue of this Act to the Clerk of the Board
of County Commissioners of said county, forthwith after
said Clerk shall be elected and qualified.
"Section 7.
That the officer conducting said election shall
be allowed the same fees for services rendered by him,
under the provisions of this Act, that are allowed by
law for similar services performed by the Sheriff in
similar cases.
"Section 8.
That the Clerk of the District Court of said county
of Kishkekosh may be appointed by the Judge of said
court, and qualified at any time after the passage of
this Act; but shall not enter upon the discharge of
the duties of said office prior to the 1st day of July
next.
"Section 9.
That all actions at law in the District Court
for the County of Wapello, commencing prior to the organization
of the said county of Kishkekosh, when the parties or
either of them reside in said county of Kishkekosh,
shall be prosecuted to final judgment, order, or decree,
as freely and effectually as if this Act had not been
passed.
"Section 10.
That it shall be the duty of all Justices of
the Peace residing within said county to return all
books and papers in their hands, appertaining to said
office, to the nearest Justice of the Peace which may
be elected and qualified for said county under the provisions
of this Act. And all suits at law or any official business
which may be in the hands of such Justice of the Peace,
and unfinished, shall
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be completed or prosecuted to final judgment
by the Justices of the Peace to whom such business or
papers may have been returned, as aforesaid.
Section 11. That
the County Assessor elected under the provisions of
this Act, for said county, shall assess the county and
in the same manner and be under the same obligations
and liabilities as now are or may hereafter be provided
by law, in relation to Township Assessors.
Section 12. That
James A. Gallilher, of the county of Jefferson, E. S.
Rand, of the county of Van Buren, and Israel Kister,
of the county of Davis, be, and they are hereby, appointed
Commissioners; or any two of them shall meet at the
house of W. G. Clark, Esquire, in said county, on the
first day of July next, or at any other such time within
a month thereafter as a majority of said Commissioners
may agree upon, in pursuance of their duties under this
Act.
Section 13. Said
Commissioners shall first take and subscribe the following
oath, to-wit: 'We do solemnly swear (or affirm) that
we (or either of us) have no personal interest, either
directly or indirectly, in the location of the seat
of justice in the county of Kishkekosh, and that we
will faithfully and impartially examine the situation
of said county, taking into consideration the future
as well as the present population; also to pay strict
regard to the geographical center of said county and
locate the seat of justice as near the center as an
eligible situation can be obtained;' which oath shall
be administered by the Clerk of the District Court or
Justice of the Peace of the county of Kishkekosh; and
the officer administering the same shall certify and
file the same in the office of the Clerk of the Board
of County Commissioners of said county, whose duty it
shall be to receive the same.
"Section 14.
Said Commissioners, when met and qualified under the
provisions of this Act, shall proceed to locate the
seat of justice of said county; and as soon as they
shall have come to a determination, they shall commit
to writing the place so selected, with such name as
they may see proper, and a particular description thereof,
signed by the said Commission and filed with the Clerk
of the Board of County Commissioners in which such seat
of justice is located, whose duty it shall be to record
the same and forever keep it on file in his office,
and the place thus designated shall be the seat of justice
of said county.
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"Section 15.
Said Commissioners shall each receive the sum of two
dollars per day, while necessarily employed in the duties
enjoined on them by this Act, which shall be paid by
the county,out of the first fund arising out of the
sale of town lots in the said seat of justice.
"Section 16.
That the territory west of said county be, and the same
is hereby, attached to the county of Kishkekosh for
election, revenue, and judicial purposes.
"Section 17.
The judge of the First Judicial District may appoint
such time for holding court in said county as he may
deem proper and convenient.
"Section 18.
This Act to take effect and to be in force from and
after its passage.
"Approved June 11,
1845."
On the fifth day of August,
1845, the committee named to select the location for
a county seat chose the spot where Albia now stands,
and named the place Princeton.
At the same time an election
was held throughout the county to elect the various
county officers, as provided in the bill. Wareham G.
Clark was elected Probate Judge; James Hilton, Clerk
of the District Court; Jeremiah Miller, Clerk of the
Board of County Commissioners; T. Templeton, Treasurer;
John Clark, Sheriff; and Joseph McMullen, Moses H. Clark,
and J. S. Bradley for County Commissioners.
John Massey, who still resides
on his farm a couple miles south of Albia, surveyed
the county seat in the summer of 1845. When the survey
was made, it was found that one John Stephenson owned
a part of the site selected by the committee, but, after
some wrangling over the matter, the dispute was finally
settled by arbitration.
Scarcely had Princeton been
selected as the county seat when she found herself confronted
by a rival. A postoffice had been established at Clarksville
in January, 1846, with Levi Dungan as postmaster. While
Princeton was
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but a hamlet, Clarksville, was no larger,
and the claims which the latter presented for consideration
were embodied in the following:
"Petition
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