Anderson County KS Archives History - Books .....Chapter VIII 1877
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Book Title: THE HISTORY OF ANDERSON COUNTY, FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1876.

CHAPTER VIII.

  Commissioners to Attend Voting Precincts— Election Under the Lecompton
Constitution—Resignation of County Officers—Appointment of Agent to contest
claim—Election of Delegates to Leavenworth Constitutional Convention—Election of
County Officers—Election on Leavenworth Constitution—Jurisdiction of Probate
Judge—Troubles in Western part of county—Contract to Erect Public Buildings—
Vote on Lecompton Constitution.

  THERE was much dissatisfaction among the people over the action of the probate
court in throwing out the votes of three townships, and declaring the persons
who received the highest number of votes at Shannon precinct elected, and there
was dissatisfaction with the acts of the county commissioners, who, on the 30th
of November, 1857, entered into a contract with Dr. Preston Bowen to build a
jail and court house at Shannon, and made an order appropriating $1,000 for that
purpose.

  On the 18th day of January, 1858, the board of county commissioners, in order
to ascertain the wish of the people, submitted the matter to a vote, under the
following order:

  "It is ordered by the board that a special commissioner be appointed to attend
to the election to be held on the 26th inst., in each precinct, for the purpose
of ascertaining the will of the people on the building propositions; for or
against the resignation of county officers; and also, to ascertain the will of
the people as to the propriety of proceeding with the present proposed county
building."

  The following named persons were appointed as special commissioners to attend
the several voting precincts: W. L. Webster, Central City precinct; D. D. Judy,
Pottowatomie precinct; Wm. Bayles, Shannon precinct; James Y. Campbell, Hyatt
precinct: Luther Fitch, Adington's precinct.

  January 29, 1858, the returns of the election held on the 26th of January were
canvassed, and the board made the following record of the canvass:

  "Upon counting the returns made by the commissioners appointed to take the
vote on the resignation of the county officers and public building, it was found
that 58 votes were cast for the resignation of officers and 25 against; for the
erection of public buildings, 23; against, 70."

  After the canvass of the vote the county officers made out their resignation,
as follows:

  "Whereas, The officers of Anderson county, having learned that there was
dissatisfaction among the people of said county in regard to their retaining the
offices to which they were commissioned, on account of the disfranchisement of a
majority of the voters at the October election; and whereas, the board of county
commissioners, at their regular term on the 18th day of January, 1858, passed an
order submitting the matter to a vote of the people at the election for
councilmen on the 26th day of January, 1858; and whereas, a majority of the
votes polled on that day were in favor of the present officers resigning their
commissions;

  "Resolved, That we will immediately turn over to the Governor of the Territory
our resignations, to take effect from and after the third Monday in March, 1858.

                           "SAMUEL ANDERSON.
                           "DARIUS FRANKENBERGER.
                           "JOHN McDANIEL.
                           "G. A. COOK.
                           "A. SIMONS."

  On the 21st day of December, 1857, an election was held for State officers and
members of the State Legislature, under the Lecompton constitution. The vote of
Anderson and Franklin counties, for Governor, was as follows: G. W. Smith, Free
State, 577; F. Z. Marshall, Pro-Slavery, 3; constitution, with slavery, 1;
constitution, without slavery, 10.

  In the apportionment, under the constitution, the counties of Anderson,
Franklin and Lykins constituted the Ninth senatorial district, and were entitled
to one senator, and elected H. H. Williams to that office. The counties of
Anderson and Franklin constituted the Fifteenth representative district,
entitled to one representative, and elected Perry Fuller.

  On the 4th day of January, 1858, a second election was held in the Territory,
under the act of Congress of the 17th of December, 1857, on the adoption of the
Lecompton constitution. There were 177 votes cast in Anderson county, against,
and none for.

  On the 29th of January, 1858, the board of county commissioners rescinded the
order and contract it made on the 30th of November, 1857, appropriating $1,000
for the erection of county building.

  In the early settlement of the county a German family by the name of Schutte
settled on the south branch of the Pottowatomie, near Greeley. They made their
settlement before the public lands were surveyed by the government, and when the
survey was made and the land divided into sections it was ascertained that
Schutte had settled on section 36, which, under the organic act, was set apart
for common schools. The county commissioners were notified by J. Y. Campbell and
others that Schutte was living on a school section, and requested to commence
proceedings to recover the same. On the 11th day of March, 1858, the
commissioners made the following order in the premises:

  "At a special meeting of the board of county commissioners of Anderson county,
and Territory of Kansas, for the purpose of appointing an agent for the
aforesaid county to prosecute the claim of the county in the land office against
Zacharias Schutte, sen., and Zacharias Schutte jr., and to take such other steps
as may in his opinion be necessary to secure the county in the legal possession
of the east half of section No. 36, township 19, range 20."

  And the board then appointed James Y. Campbell as agent to represent the
county in the contest for the lands; and under the appointment as such agent a
large number of witnesses were taken to the land office at Lecompton to carry on
the contest, but to no avail, as the county had no interest in the land, and
could claim no right adverse to the settlers, as the land was not set apart for
the county, but for the common schools. The contest cost the county about four
hundred dollars. It was a mistake of the commissioners that the tax payers had
to meet, and at a time when the assessment roll was small. A few such mistakes
as this, made about this time by the commissioners, caused the orders of the
county for nine or ten years to be hawked about and sold at from 40 to 50 cents
on the dollar, and dull sale at that price; and merchants were reluctant to take
them even for goods.

  On the 9th day of March, 1858, an election for three delegates to a
constitutional convention to frame a State constitution and State government,
was held. W. F. M. Arny, William Spriggs and W. L. Webster were elected as such
delegates. The convention assembled at 9 o'clock a. m., on the 13th of March,
1858, at Minneola, and elected James H. Lane as president, and then adjourned to
Leavenworth to reassemble on the 25th of March.

  On the reassembling of the convention and the appointment of committees,
General Lane resigned his position as president of the convention, and Martin F.
Conway was elected. This was known as the Leavenworth constitutional convention.

  On the 12th day of February, 1858, the Territorial Legislature passed an act
relating to the election and duties of county officers. This law provided for
the election of a township board in each township, composed of three
supervisors, with a clerk and treasurer. The county board of county
commissioners was changed to a board of supervisors, and consisted of the
chairmen of the board of supervisors from each township, a majority of which
constituted a quorum. The law provided for an election on the fourth Monday of
March, 1858, for probate judge, sheriff, county surveyor, register of deeds,
county clerk and county attorney.

  At this election the following county officers were chosen: Probate judge, J.
Y. Campbell; sheriff, G. A. Cook; register of deeds, M. Puett; surveyor, B. F.
Ridgeway; county attorney, John B. Stitt; and county clerk, B. L. Adington.

  The following persons constituted the first board of supervisors: James E.
White, Rezin Porter, John McDaniel, A. McArthur and Solomon Kauffman. The first
meeting was on June 2, 1858. At this meeting the board organized by the election
of James E. White as chairman, and Benjamin Adington as clerk. The members of
this board of supervisors were from Walker, Monroe, Jackson, Reeder and
Washington townships, being the only organized townships in the county.

  On the 18th of May, 1858, an election was held for the adoption or rejection
of the Leavenworth constitution, and for the election of State officers and
members of the Legislature. There were only six votes against the adoption of
the constitution in this county. Anderson county was designated as the
Twenty-eighth representative district, and was entitled to two representatives,
and also constituted the Seventeenth senatorial district, and was entitled to
one senator. At this election John R. Eaton .and John T. Lanter were elected
members of the house, and James G. Blunt as senator. William Spriggs was elected
as judge of the Fourth judicial district.

  The Territorial Legislature, in 1855, attempted to confer civil and criminal
jurisdiction on the probate court, concurrent with the district court. After
this the probate judges throughput the Territory held regular terms of court,
with the same officers and juries as provided for in the district courts. On the
first Monday in September, 1858, the probate court of Anderson county held its
regular term at Shannon. This term of the court was presided over by Judge J. Y.
Campbell, in which he had both grand and petit juries. The following are the
names of the petit jurors: Wm. G. Nichols, T. G. Headly, G. W. Yandall, Wm. G.
Hill, James Fulsom, Eli P. Baugus, D. Frankenberger, John H. Pattie, Wm. Davis,
Jesse Sutton and C. J. Auckerwald. The following are the names of the grand
jurors: Paul Ross, Thomas Maloy, W. O. Cloud, Preston Bowen, John Tefft, A. D.
Jones, C. W. Ballard, C. Chamberlain, ____ Taylor, Benjamin Griffin, F. M.
Glasscock, Wm. Rison, J. L. Bockover, Wm. Lambert, W. N. Bradwell, Hiram Tefft,
Henry Alderman, Wilson Anderson and J. S. Robinson. The probate judge delivered
a written charge to the jury, laying down the law that should govern them in the
discharge of their duty, and delivered an address on the state of the country,
which was about three hours in length This term of the court continued for
several days, and several indictments were found, yet we are unable to find any
record or papers of the same.

  The district court sat in the county a short time after this, and decided that
the act conferring civil and criminal jurisdiction on the probate court was in
violation of the organic act, organizing the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas;
that the proceedings of the probate court under said act were void.

  Before this time many amusing cases had been tried in the probate court, and
some ridiculous decisions made; but they were all set aside by the federal
judges, who held the law under which the probate judges had made the decisions
unorganic.

  The second term of the district court in the county was held by Joseph
Williams (one of the federal judges appointed by James Buchanan), about the
first of October, 1858. The following are the names of the petit jurors: Isaac
Hull, W. D. West, John Kirkland, Henry Feuerborn, Benj. McClachey, James Sutton,
James W. Culton, Leander Putnam, Thomas Bayles, Charles Norris and B. P. Brown.
The following are the names of the persons who served on the grand jury: W. C.
Howard, D. B. Swallow, Isaac Hiner, O. P. Rand, Samuel Hayden, A. Cassell, Benj.
Lawellen, John R. Lambdin, John Eaton, A. W. Jones, George Simons, W. Smith,
Joseph Benadum, Philip Engle, S. W. Arrant, W. McClure and H. South. This term
of the court lasted one week. The grand jury returned a number of indictments,
and the records of its proceedings, being very meager, showing only the
indictments and arrests, are the first records of a court to be found in the
county.

  A short time before this there had been much trouble on the head waters of the
Pottowatomie, along the line of Coffey and Anderson counties, where some of the
better class of citizens settled, and some still live; also, there was a class
who respected no law but their own code; and the result was a people's court,
organized to determine the rights of men. They would neither respect the law nor
its officers, hence the grand jury, in October, 1858, found indictments against
most of them, and caused them to be arrested. They gave bail, but were never
tried, as the indictments were nearly all quashed at the April term of the
district court, 1859. The federal judges seemed to be prejudiced against all
enactments of the Legislature after the laws of 1855 had been repealed; and it
was an impossibility to prepare an indictment that would be sustained by these
judges. There was never a man punished in this part of the Territory by the
decision of any of the federal judges.

  No civil cases were tried in the district court of the county until the spring
term, 1859. The first original case commenced in the court was the case of
Tobias Lankard against Hendrick Bowton, David P. Bethurem, David B. Shaner,
David F. Tabler, L. L. Hayden, George Lincoln, Ezekiel Bull and Albert V.
Poindexter. The petition was filed September 27, 1858. Lane and Christian were
the attorneys for the plaintiff; Houston, Williams, Sims and Lowry were the
attorneys for the defendants. This was an action of trespass, to recover damages
for personal injuries, &c. The difficulty grew out of the troubles on the
western border of the county, where the people undertook to redress their own
grievances without the aid of the judicial branch of the government. A number of
civil cases grew out of these troubles, as well as criminal prosecutions, but,
to the credit of the county, the persons who created and promoted the troubles
have left the country, and their places are filled with industrious and honest
citizens, and that is now one of the most desirable portions of the county,
containing some of the finest farms in the State, and some of the most
successful farmers.

  On the 14th day of June, 1858, the board of supervisors of the county entered
into a contract with Dr. Preston Bowen for the erection of a jail and court
house, at his own expense, and he obligated himself to have the building ready
for occupancy on or before the first day of June, 1859. At tnat time Shannon was
the county seat, and Dr. Bowen was the sole proprietor of the townsite. He soon
after commenced the construction of the jail, and had it about completed in the
fall of 1858, and commenced work on the court house during the same winter; but
in the spring of 1859 the Legislature provided for the location of the county
seat of Anderson county by a vote of the people, and upon a vote of the people,
in the same spring, the county seat was moved from the town of Shannon to
Garnett, and the Doctor's contract failed. The county at one time had possession
of the jail for the purpose of confining its prisoners. The old jail still
stands, a short distance south of the residence of Dr. Bowen, and is used by him
for an out-house.

  On the 3d day of June, 1858, J. W. Denver, Governor of Kansas Territory,
issued his proclamation, calling an election under the act of Congress of May,
1858, commonly known as the English bill, for the adoption or rejection of the
Lecompton constitution; said election to be held on the 2d day of August.
Solomon Kauffman, C. C. Hoskins and Wm. H. Hamilton were appointed judges for
Cresco precinct; John H. Best, B. P. Brown and B. L. Adington, for Adington
precinct; Isaac Pilcher, A. McArthur and B. D. Benedict, for Hyatt precinct;
John T. Barker, James Y. Campbell and Preston Bowen, for Shannon precinct; W. C.
McDow, D. B. Jackman and J. W. Culton, for Walker precinct.

  The vote was as follows: For—Hyatt, 0; Shannon, 3; Cresco, 1; Adington, 0;
Walker, 0; total, 4. Against—Hyatt, 55; Shannon, 109; Cresco, 40; Adington, 32;
Walker, 70; total, 306.

  In the spring of 1858, about the time J. Y. Campbell was elected probate judge
of the county, a dispute arose between him and Judge Anderson on the question of
the jurisdiction of the probate court in criminal cases. After considerable
examination of authorities, neither of the judges was clear in the premises, and
agreed to submit the question for decision to Dr. Bowen, and to be governed by
his decision. The Doctor seated himself on a dry goods box, and the question was
stated and argued by Campbell and Anderson: upon consideration of which, and
being advised in the premises, the Doctor read the statute of 1855, conferring
criminal jurisdiction on probate courts, concurrent with district courts, and
decided that in his judgment, the enactment was valid; that he could see no
reason why the probate court did not have criminal as well as civil
jurisdiction, as provided in the law. This opinion was satisfactory to both old
and new judges. During the time that Samuel Anderson was probate judge there
were several amusing trials in the probate court, and many ridiculous decisions
made. As an illustration of the manner of conducting business in his court, we
give the following, wherein the Territory of Kansas was plaintiff and Zacharias
Schutte, sen., was defendant. Schutte had been indicted for trespass on school
lands, and was arraigned on the indictment, and plead "Not guilty." His case was
then submitted to a jury, under the instructions of the judge, which returned a
verdict of "Guilty;" whereupon the judge proceeded to pronounce sentence against
Schutte; and after delivering an amusing lecture to Schutte, on morals and
Christianity, assessed a fine against him of $700, and that he be committed to
jail until the fine and costs should be paid. At this most outrageous fine
Schutte became indignant, and defied the judge to enforce the judgment;
whereupon the following coloquy ensued: Schutte rising to his feet addressed the
Judge: "Shudge, you vants my moneys— von old humbug-maker; I vant no trial mit
you; I vants to be tried mit der Governor. You bes von humbug. Now, Shudge, I
vish you'd bring home my log-chain, vat you stole." At this expression the Judge
turned to his clerk and ordered a fine to be entered against Schutte of $200,
for contempt of court. At this Schutte became more furious, and said: "Tish my
moneys you vants, you d—d old fool! D____est humbug in dis United States!
Bring home my log-chain vat you stole!" And the Judge assessed another fine of
$200, and the same was repeated, until the fines in the aggregate for contempt
amounted to $1,400, but Schutte finally walked quietly away, defying the court
to enforce its orders, threatening the Judge with an appeal to the Governor in
that event. The Judge, outwitted by Schutte, never tried to enforce his judgment.

  About the same time another interesting case was tried in the same court.
Thomas J. Owen was plaintiff, and Dr. John Ramsey was defendant. The action was
for damages, because of the shooting of a fine mare by Ramsey. A jury was
empanneled, and Alex. McArthur called as witness for plaintiff, and the Judge
proceeded to swear the witness, as follows: " Mr. McArthur, stand up. Mr.
McArthur, you are a man of influence, that should be an example to those around
you; you have been called as a witness in this case. You are to be sworn to tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And now, Mr. McArthur, I
desire to say that if you don't swear to the truth I will prosecute you for
perjury, so help me God! Mr. McArthur, proceed and tell all you know about the
case." As the last sentence escaped his mouth, he quietly settled back in his
chair and was soon sound asleep, while the case proceeded.

  Many cases of about the same style could be given, to prove the business of
the court was conducted without order or dignity, some of which may be noticed
hereafter in this work.


Additional Comments:
THE HISTORY OF ANDERSON COUNTY,
FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1876.
BY
W. A. JOHNSON,
CHAIRMAN OF HISTORICAL COMMITTEE.

PUBLISHED BY KAUFFMAN & ILER, GARNETT PLAINDEALER,
1877.

Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1877, by
KAUFFMAN & ILER, In the office of the Librarian of Congress,Washington, D. C.


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