Clinton County IN Archives History - Books .....Civil History 1886 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/in/infiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 June 1, 2011, 3:05 pm Book Title: History Of Clinton County CHAPTER VI. CIVIL HISTORY. ACT CREATING CLINTON COUNTY.—SUPPLEMENTARY ACT.—BEFORE 1830.—SELECTION OF THE COUNTY SEAT.—FIRST ELECTION.— FIRST MEETING OF COMMISSIONED.—PRINCIPAL ACTS OF THE COMMISSIONERS AT THEIR EARLY SESSIONS.—COUNTY SEAL.—LICENSES. —CREATING TOWNSHIPS.—LAYING OUT FRANKFORT AND SELLING LOTS.—FIRST TAX LEVY.—CLEARING THE SQUARE.—TEMPORARY COURT HOUSE.—FIRST REPORT OF COUNTY TREASURER.—DIVISION OF COUNTY INTO COMMISSIONERS' DISTRICTS.—ADDITIONAL TOWNSHIPS. The civil history of Clinton County dates back nearly fifty-seven years. The General Assemby of Indiana which met in December, 1829, passed an act in January, following, for the formation of a new county east of Tippecanoe. The act was approved January 29, 1830, and is as follows: "SECTION I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That from and after the first day of March, next, all that tract of country included within the following boundaries shall form and constitute a »new county, to be known and designated by the name of the county of Clinton, to-wit: Beginning at the northwest corner of section 19, in township 23 north, range 2 west, on the east boundary of Tippecanoe County, where the southwest corner of Carroll County strikes the same; thence south seventeen and one-half miles to the half-mile stake in section 18, in township 20, range 2 west; thence east to the half-mile stake on the east side of section 13, township 20, range 2 east; thence north seventeen and a half miles; thence west to the southeast corner of Carroll County; thence west with the south boundary of said county to the place of beginning. "SEC. II. That the said new county of Clinton shall from and after the said first day of March next enjoy all the rights, privileges and jurisdictions which to separate or independent counties do or may properly belong or appertain. "SEC. III. That Robert Taylor, of Montgomery County, Henry Ristine, of Tippecanoe County, Hugh B. McKeen, of Cass County, John Cary, of Carroll County, and Jeremiah J. Corbaly, of Marion County, be and they are hereby appointed commissioners, agreeable to the act entitled 'An act fixing the seats of justice in all new counties hereafter to be laid off.' The said commissioners shall meet on the second Monday of May next, in the town of Jefferson, in said county of Clinton, and shall immediately proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by law. It is hereby made the duty of the sheriff of Montgomery County to notify said commissioners, either in person or writing, of their appointment, on or before the second Monday of April next; and for such service he shall receive such compensation from the county of Clinton as the Board of Commissioners thereof may deem just and reasonable, to be allowed and paid as other county claims are paid. "SEC. IV. At the time and place of holding election in the county aforesaid, under the writ of election from the Executive Department, the electors of said county shall elect three commissioners, in and for the said county, who shall meet as a board at the house of Matthew Dunnel, in said county, on the first Monday of May next, or as soon thereafter as they may be enabled to do after being commissioned, and then and there proceed to transact all business, and discharge the duties devolving on county commissioners, at the organization of a new county, as well as all the duties required of Boards of Commissioners at such session. The circuit courts of the said county of Clinton shall meet and be holden in the town of Jefferson, in said county, until suitable accommodation can be had at the county seat of said county. "SEC. V. The agent who shall be appointed to superintend the sale of lots, at the county seat of the county of Clinton, shall reserve 10 per cent, out of the proceeds of all lots sold, either by the county or proprietor or proprietors; also 10 per cent, of all donations made to the said county, and pay the same over to such person or persons as may be appointed by law to receive the same, for the use of a library for said county; which he shall pay over at such time as directed by law. Provided always. That nothing shall be construed out of any section of this act, so as to interfere or effect the justices of the peace who have been commissioned heretofore within the bounds of said new county. "SEC. VI. That the county of Clinton be and the same is hereby attached to the first judicial circuit for judicial purposes. "This act to take effect and be in force from and alter its publication in the Indiana State Gazette." The following supplemental act was approved the same day as the above. "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That the commissioners that may be elected to do the county business of the said county of Clinton, shall be allowed the sum of $1.50 per day, for each and every day they may be employed in doing the business of said county, out of the county treasury of said county." BEFORE 1830. Previous to the taking effect of this act, Boone and Clinton counties were united under the name of "Washington Territory," and attached to Tippecanoe County for judicial purposes. In 1828 and '9 the population of Clinton was rapidly increasing, and when the number had increased to more than a thousand, the citizens deemed that they were entitled to representation in the Legislature. Accordingly they presented a petition to that body to this effect, which was approved and resulted in the passage of the act given above. SELECTION OF COUNTY SEAT. The commissioners named in the organic act, met at the public house of Charles I. Hand, in Jefferson, on the second Monday in May, 1830, and proceeded at once to view and examine the several places suggested. The principal struggle was between Jefferson and the land of John Pense. The objection being urged against the former, that it was not centrally located, her citizens conceived the idea of alleviating this trouble by attaching to Clinton a small strip along the eastern border of Tippecanoe. A petition was prepared for presentation to the Legislature, and Abner Baker selected to secure the names of the inhabitants living in said strip in Tippecanoe. This being in the spring of the year, all the streams were running very high, so that Mr. Baker, in crossing the Wild Cat, came near losing his life. But as the securing of the county seat was of much importance, he pressed vigorously on, and, we are informed, secured the names of every person, with a single exception, living in the strip it was proposed to attach to Clinton. The petition was placed in the hands of a certain individual, who, from some cause, never presented it to the Legislature. John Pence proposed to the commissioners to donate sixty acres of land and $100 in money, if they would locate the county seat on his farm. In those days this was a very liberal offer, one which the commissioners readily accepted, locating the county seat at Frankfort. FIRST ELECTION. The first election was held at the house of Matthew Bunnell, on Monday, May 3,1830. The officers elected at that time were: Probate Judge, William Douglass; Clerk, Samuel Maxwell; Recorder, Beal Dorsey; Treasurer, John Pence; Sheriff, Solomon Young; Surveyor, I. D. Armstrong; Commissioners, John Douglass, Joseph Hill, and Mordecai McKinsey. FIRST MEETING OP COMMISSIONERS. On the same day that these officers were chosen and declared elected, Commissioners Hill, Douglass and McKinsey held their first meeting at the house of Matthew Bunnell. This first meeting of the "County Legislature" was short, but by reason of its being the first, it possesses historic interest enough to warrant the reproduction here of the official record entire. " The commissioners elected in and for the county of Clinton and State of Indiana, this day met at the house of Matthew Bunnell for the first time to do business in and for said county, and each of them, to wit: Joseph Hill, John Douglass, and Mordecai McKinsey, produced the certificate of the sheriff of said county of his having been elected a commissioner for said county, with the proper indorsement on each of them. Having taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Indiana, and the oath of office, they formed the board and proceeded to transact business. "Ordered by the board, that Benjamin Abbott be and is hereby appointed assessor for the county of Clinton for the present year, and that he give bond to the board in the sum of $100, conditioned for the faithful discharge of his duty as assessor, and that he complete his assessment roll and submit the same to this board at the next term, to-wit: on the first Monday in July next. "Ordered by the board, that so much of the State road leading from Newcastle to Lafayette as lies between the county line southeast of Nathan Kirk's and the section line dividing section No. 21 from 22, in township No. 21 north, of range No. 1 west, where said road crosses said line, be and the same is hereby made one road district, and Hiram Harrison is hereby appointed supervisor on said road. "Ordered by the board, that all that part of the county which lies east of the above described section line is embraced in the above district. "Ordered by the board, that so much of the above described State road as lies west of the above described section line, and the . southwest corner of section 3, in township 21 north, of range 2 west, be and the same is hereby made one road district, and David Kilgore is hereby appointed supervisor in and for said road district, and he is also appointed supervisor on each of the county roads leading from Jefferson westwardly to the section line dividing section 3 from 4, in township 21 north, range 2 west, and all of the county east of said line and west of said section line dividing section 21 from 22, township 21 north, range 1 west, is embraced in said road district. "Ordered by the board, that all of that part of the county lying west of the section line dividing section 3 from 4, in township 21 north, range 2 west, be and the same is hereby made one road district, and Robert Miller is hereby appointed supervisor on said district, and all of the county west of said line is embraced in said district. "Ordered by the board, that the following device be employed as the seal of this board until another is provided and adopted by this board. C. C. B. C. SEAL. "Ordered, that this board stand adjourned until Monday, the 12th inst., at 10 A. M., and that it meet at the house of John Ross, in the town of Jefferson. [Signed.] "JOSEPH HILL, "JOHN DOUGLASS, "MORDECAI McKINSEY." At the adjourned meeting of May 12, the following orders were made: "Ordered by the board, that the rate of license for groceries be rated at $5.00 for the present year. "Ordered by the board, that John Boss obtain a license to vend domestic merchandise, foreign and domestic liquors, for the term of six months, upon his entering into bond as the law directs. "Ordered by the board, that the rate of store licenses be and they are hereby rated at $10.00 for the present year. "Ordered by the board, that Abner Baker and A. H. Southard receive a license to vend foreign and domestic merchandise for the term of six months in said county. "Ordered by the board, that John McCain and Pleasant Field receive a license to vend foreign and domestic merchandise for the term of six months in said county." The board then adjourned until Friday, the 14th, when the following business was transacted: "Ordered by the board, that John Pence be and he is hereby appointed treasurer of said county of Clinton, and that he give bond to be approved of by this board in the penal sum of $5,000, conditioned for the faithful discharge of his duty as treasurer according to law. "Ordered by the board, that William Douglass be and he is hereby appointed county agent in and for the county of Clinton, and that he enter into bond with security, to be approved by this board, in the penal sum of $8,000, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties as agent of said county, and that he execute said bond previous to his entering upon the duties of his said agency." The next day's business related to the establishment of the county seat. "Ordered by the board, that the report of the. commissioners appointed by the Legislature to locate the seat of justice in and for the county of Clinton and State of Indiana, be received as presented, together with the other papers appertaining to the said location, whereupon said report and papers are received. "Ordered by the board, that Robert Taylor be allowed the sum of $24 for his services as commissioner in locating the seat of justice in the county of Clinton, out of the first money that comes into the treasury." Henry Ristine and John Carey were allowed $24 each, Jeremiah J. Corbeley $33, and H. B. McKean $28 for similar services. "Ordered by the board, that all that part of the county which is embraced in the following metes and bounds be and the same is hereby made one township, viz.: Commencing at the northeast corner of section 19, township 23 north, range 1 west; thence south on said section line to the south boundary of the county; thence east with said line to the southeast corner of the county; thence north to the northeast corner of the county; thence west to the place of beginning. "Ordered by the board, that the above described township be known and designated by the name of Jackson Township. "Ordered by the board, that all that part of the county which lies within the following metes and bounds be and the same is hereby considered one township, viz.: commencing at the northwest corner of the county, thence south with the county line to the southwest corner of section 18, township 22 north, range 2 west, thence east to the southeast corner of section 18, township 22 north, range 1 west, thence north to the northeast corner of section 19 on the county line, thence west with said line to the place of beginning. "Ordered by the board, that the above described township be known and designated by the name of Ross. "Ordered by the board, that the following described land or part of the county embraced in the following metes and bounds be known and designated by the name of Washington Township, viz.: commencing at the northwest corner of section 19, township 22 north, range 2 west, thence south to the southwest corner of the county, thence east to the half-mile stake on the east side of section 18, township 20 north; range 1 west, on the county line, thence north to the northeast corner of section 19, township 22 north, range 1 west, thence west to the place of beginning. "Ordered by the board, that John P. Benson be and he is hereby appointed inspector of elections in Washington Township for the present year. "Ordered by the board, that John Henricks be and he is hereby appointed inspector of elections in and for the township of Ross for the present year. "Ordered by the board, that there be an election held in the township of Jackson at the house of Samuel Mitchell in said township on the second Saturday in June next for to elect two justices of the peace for said township, and that the sheriff give notice of the same by setting up at least three written advertisements in said township. "Ordered by the board, that there be an election held in Rosa Township on the second Saturday in June next, at the house o Solomon Miller, to elect one justice of the peace for said township, and that the sheriff give notice of the same by setting up in said township at least% three written advertisements of said election. "Ordered by the board, that there be an election held in Washington Township in the. town of Jefferson and at the house of John Ross on the second Saturday of June next, for the purpose of electing a justice of the peace for said township, and that the sheriff give notice of the same by setting up at least three written advertisements in said township." Wednesday, May 19, was the last day of the session. The record is: "Orderd by the board, that the agent, William Douglass, proceed immediately to lay off the town lots in the town of Frankfort after a certain plan which has been devised and adopted by the board, and that the clerk furnish the agent with said plan or plat immediately. "Ordered by the board, that the agent cause to be advertised a sale of lots in the town of Frankfort to take place on the second Monday in July next, and that he cause said advertisements to be inserted in the State Gazette at Indianapolis, also to have handbills struck and circulated as he may think best. "Ordered by the board, that the agent furnish for the use of this board a plat of Frankfort after it is surveyed. "Ordered by the board, that the agent proceed immediately to survey or cause to be surveyed the sixty acres of land donated for the seat of justice of the county of Clinton, according to the description laid down by the commissioners who located the same, and that he receive of John Pence, the donor, a good and sufficient warranty deed for the said sixty acres of land. "Ordered by the board, that the agent sell the town lots in the ?own of Frankfort on the following terms, to-wit; one-third of the purchase money in advance, one-third in twelve months', and the other third in two years, with the following condition: if the purchaser fail to make payment according to the above conditions, he shall pay interest from the date of purchase." The board then adjourned till the next term in course, the machinery of county government being now well in motion. At the July session the following quaint schedule of taxation for county purposes was adopted: Poll tax, covering horses, one-third their rate per season, 37 1/2 cents; each work steer over three years old, 18 3/4 cents; each two-wheel pleasure carriage, $1.00; each four-wheel pleasure carriage, $1.50; each silver or pinch-back watch, 25 cents; each gold watch, $1.00; each horse, mare, mule or ass above three years old, 37 1/2 cents. The following interesting entries were made in the commissioners' record book at the September session, 1830: " Ordered by the board, that the agent cause to be sold to the lowest bidder the clearing of the public square and the four streets around the square, the work to be done in the following manner, namely: The grubs to be cut off level with the ground, the timber of the size of one foot and under cut down, and the stumps of the same not to exceed the thickness of three, and all the timber above that size to be taken down and the stumps in no ease to exceed in hight one foot from the level of the ground. Said square is to be completely cleared, as new ground is usually cleared, to make it ready for the plow, said work to be completed on or before the 15th day of October next, and the agent is hereby authorized to take such assurances of the purchaser or purchasers of said job as he may think best so as to cause the said work to be done according to the above time and description. "And the agent is hereby further ordered to have the lot cleared reserved for the purpose of erecting a temporary court house thereon, and that he cause to be sold publicly to the lowest bidder the building of a house of the following description, to-wit: To be built of hewed logs, made of good timber, to be eighteen feet wide and twenty-four feet long, one story and a half high, to be covered with good oak clapboards, to have one door six feet high or more if necessary, and two twelve-light windows in the front, one on each side of the door, and one window in the back side of the house, sash and glass to be put in, a good battened door to be made and hung, the lower floor to be laid loose with good oak plank and the upper floor to be laid with good poplar flooring, the corners to be sawed down, the house to be chinked on the inside and daubed on the outside, a good cat and clay chimney to be built, all of said work to be completed in a good workmanlike manner on or before the first day of November next, and the agent will take such assurance as he may think best from the purchaser so as to insure said work to be completed against the time above specified. "And the agent is hereby ordered to lay off in town lots in the town of Frankfort all that part of the donation which is yet to be laid out into lots on the north, on the south, on the west of the square, parallel with the east edge of the present survey, and that he cause the same to be offered at public sale on Monday, the 25th day of October next, and he is hereby authorized to have a sufficient number of cards struck giving notice of the same and circulated as extensively as possible." At the March term, 1831, it appears that Guthery, Ferguson & Holliday were paid $50 for clearing the square and streets, and Alley & Michael received $20 as a last payment for building the $200 log court house, near the site of the present $200,000 structure. In the same frugal policy John Hood was allowed 75 cents for the use of a room for the grand jury at the April term, 1830, and John Ross was allowed the sum of $1.00 for the use of a room for the use of the Clinton Circuit Court at the October term, 1830. At this March term, also, a report of fines collected for breaches of the law was made by each of the two justices, Zabina Babcock and Samuel Olinger. The former had imposed four fines during the first year of Clinton County's organization. Henry Harshman, assault and battery, $1.00; J. T. Wilds, affray, $2.00; J. T. Wilds, assault and battery, $1.00; John Kavanaugh, assault and battery, $1.00; Squire Olinger reported two fines: Joseph Hill, assault and battery, $1.00; Daniel Young, profane swearing, $5.00. The first annual report of the county treasurer, made in May, 1831, was as follows: Received from sundry individuals, $84.25; received from the collector of the county revenue, $232.01 1/4; total, $316.26 1/4; county orders canceled, $291.28 1/4; treasurer's "commission for receiving and paying out," $5.66; balance in treasury, $19.82; received into the building fund, $573.06; orders canceled, $289.25; treasurer's commission, $8.62; balance unexpended, $275.19. At the July term following the county was divided into three commissioners' districts as follows: Commencing at the county line where the range line between townships 1 and 2 west crosses the same, thence west with the county line to the northwest corner of the county, thence south with the county line to the southwest corner of the county, thence cast on the county line to where the same range line crosses the county line, thence north with the range line to the place of beginning. The above shall be known as District No. 1. District No. 2 commences at the northeast corner of the other district, running thence east five miles, thence south to the county line; and all the remaining part of the county shall be known and designated as District No. 3. "At the September term following, a jail was ordered built, according to specifications given in the chapter devoted to public buildings. It was constructed in the northeast corner of the public square, in 1832, by Philip Kramer. It was of hewed timber, (timbers one foot square) two stories in height. The walls were triple, a vertical row of logs being placed between two walls of logs placed horizontally. There were no doors in the lower story, the entrance being by a flight of stairs on the outside of the building whioh led to the second story. Thence one descended to the lower story by means of a trap door. A prisoner placed in such a box, with solid timber a foot thick below and above him, and with walls three feet thick around him, ought to be comparatively safe. At the March terra, 1832, the county agent reported the sales of town lots in Frankfort. This list is given elsewhere in this volume, in the chapter on Frankfort City. This report seems to have been made too tardily to suit the commissioners, for on account of this delay and other causes of dissatisfaction, Mr. Douglass was summarily removed from the office of county agent, and Jesse Carter appointed in his stead. The above are the most important and interesting of the early proceedings of the board of commissioners, whose acts we will not follow further. Their doings fill seventeen or eighteen folio volumes in the auditor's office. For fifty-six years the sessions of the board have been held with regularity and punctuality. Townships were added to the first four erected as follows: Perry and Warren, 1834; Madison, 1835; Kirklin, 1837; Sugar Creek, 1841; Johnson and Owen, 1848; Center, 1872; Forest, 1882. In 1841, Honey Creek Township, now a part of Howard County, was organized and included within the boundaries of Clinton. Clinton having a greater number of square miles than was required by law, and Howard having less, and the citizens of Honey Creek being much nearer to Kokomo than to Frankfort, a petition was presented to the Commissioners of Clinton praying to be attached to Howard. This prayer was granted at the March term of the Commissioners' Court, 1859. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA, TOGETHER WITH SKETCHES OF ITS CITIES, VILLAGES AND TOWNS, EDUCATIONAL, RELIGIOUS, CIVIL, MILITARY, AND POLITICAL HISTORY, PORTRAITS OF PROMINENT PERSONS, AND BIOGRAPHIES OF REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS. ILLUSTRATED. CHICAGO: INTER-STATE PUBLISHING CO. 1886. 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