Dane County WI Archives History - Books .....Dates and Facts 1877 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/wifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 26, 2006, 4:04 am Book Title: Madison, Dane County And Surrounding Towns... ON August 12, 1837, Simeon Mills was appointed the first justice of the peace in the county, and for sometime was the only one. The early pioneers had but few cases requiring legal prosecution, and when any one broke any of the requirements of law he was taken to the jail, which was the grocery and bakery of a French Canadian named Frank W. Shaw (over which the sheriff, Nathaniel T. Parkinson had his office), who was ordered to feed and treat him well, and then release him on parole. It is needless to add that there were none who violated their parole. IN May, 1839, the first election for board of commissioners for the county of Dane was held at the American House, in Madison, which at that time was the only voting place in the county. P. B. Bird, I. H. Palmer and Simeon Mills were judges of election, Geo. P. Delaplaine and La Fayette Kellogg, clerk, when the following officers were elected: Simeon Mills, Eben Peck and Jeremiah Lycan, board of commissioners, and at their first meeting they elected LaFayette Kellogg, clerk; John Stoner, treasurer; Wm. A. Wheeler, assessor; R. L. Ream, register of deeds; David Hyer, coroner; Adam Smith and J. Ubeldine, constables; and ten days afterwards Gov. Dodge made the following appointments: John Catlin, district attorney; Isaac H. Palmer, judge of probate, N. T. Parkinson, sheriff; Isaac Atwood, public administrator; Geo. P. Delaplaine, district surveyor; W. N. Seymour, justice of the peace (in place of Simeon Mills, resigned); John T. Wilson, auctioneer. In this same year the county was organized for judicial purposes, Judge Irvin presiding as Judge of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Wisconsin, with Simeon Mills as clerk. Mr. Mills held the office for nine years. He was also the last territorial treasurer, and the first state senator for Dane county. THE first judges of election appointed by the board of commissioners were: Prosper B. Bird, Darwin Clark, James S. Patten, Prescott Brigham, John C. Kellogg and Sidney Carman. THE first books and stationery for the county were purchased from S. L. Rood & Co., booksellers, stationers, publishers and binders, 70 Jefferson avenue, Detroit, Michigan, and an order was passed to have the treasurer reimburse Simeon Mills for the amount paid by him for the same. [8] [8] Sydney L. Rood, the senior member of the above firm, a few years afterwards removed to Milwaukee, where for many years he carried on the same business. Mr. Mills, recalling the conversation he had with him while purchasing the books, says he believes he was instrumental in inducing him to come to Wisconsin. He died in Milwaukee only two or three years ago. A memorable incident is connected with the purchase. Before concluding the sale, a cry of "fire" was raised, and passing out of the store to where the alarm came from, Mr. Mills saw one of the splendid lake steamers in flames, and which burned to the water's edge. THE first grand jury for the county and United States courts in Wisconsin territory, David Irvin, of the 3d judicial district, presiding, was impaneled on the 7th day of October, 1839, and consisted of the following persons: George H. Slaughter, foreman, J. Lyman, Jr., W. T. Sterling, H. Lawrence, George Vroman, R. L. Ream, I. H. Palmer, W. W. Wyman, H. Fake, J. A. Noonan, P. P. Bird, I. Atwood, A. Lull, D. Hyer, J. Stoner. The following were on the list given, but were not impaneled: M. Blaker, J. C. Kelley, W. B. Long, B. Haney, and E. Brigham. They served two days and were allowed one dollar and fifty cents a day. Mileage was allowed only to two, and that only one way, as follows: George H. Slaughter, 14 miles, and H. Lawrence, 16 miles. The distance traveled is recorded so honestly that the county was gainer then of nearly a mile. THE first petit jurors were summoned on the 8th day of October, 1839, but were discharged for want of a case. Their names are as follows: W. D. Spaulding, R. H. Palmer, P. W. Matts, H. C. Fellows, J. T. Wilson, W. Hoadley, C. H. Bird, Z. Bird, C. Lawrence, Darwin Clark, J. S. Patten, W. A. Webb, J. A. Hill, C. S. Peaslee, W. G. Van Bergen, J. Taylor, T. Jackson, J. Butterfield, W. N. Seymour, T. Perry and A. Smith. The sheriff, N. T. Parkinson, was allowed ten dollars for his services in summoning the jury, and six dollars for three days' attenddance. [sic] THE first indictment in the county was the United States against one Scoville, a fisherman, for obstructing a stream to prevent the passage of fish, dated October 9, 1839. THE first in chancery, for foreclosure of mortgage, was A. A. Bird against Wm. Bevard. ON September 30, 1839, a bounty of three dollars was allowed on every wolf's scalp that had been killed, but no legal charges allowed for making affidavit or certificate of the same, and again, on October 3d of the same year the order was amended so as to allow only one dollar for each scalp, while for the year 1841 no bounty was allowed, and only for six months of 1842, dated January 4th. ON the 1st of July, 1839, in order to allay some contentment in regard to the assessments, the clerk of the board was authorized to alter the assessment roll so that first rate lands be valued at sis dollars an acre, and second rate at four dollars, and town lots in accordance with such changes as the commissioners deemed necessary. THE first license issued in the county was granted to Berry Haney and H. F. Grossman to keep a ferry across Wisconsin river, and dates August 5th, 1839. THE tavern license in 1839 was, for Madison, $20, and for other parts of the county, $12, while groceries were not allowed to sell less than one quart in quantities, and pay $30 for license. On December 14, 1839, a license was granted to Wm. T. Sterling to keep a tavern for one year, and also to Lloyd and Nichols to keep a grocery for one year from December 1st to May 14, 1841. The board ordered peddler's license to be issued at $10 per year, and on 25th of June, Arabut Ludlow took out the first peddler's license for goods, wares and merchandise, for three months, and had the same renewed September 29th for six months longer. ON the first settlement with the county treasurer, John Stoner, January 5, 1840, the books showed the county indebted to him for $55.96, and a final payment was not made to him until Jan. 8, 1841. THE rate of county tax for 1839 was one mill on the dollar, for the year 1840, five mills and a half for county purposes, and one mill for school purposes. THE first jail was built in 1839 by Nath. T. Parkinson, the first and then sheriff of the county. It was built of square logs and was twenty-four feet long, eighteen feet wide, walls eight inches thick, one story high, divided into two equal apartments, and cost $1,348. It was located on lot number one, block one hundred and thirteen, near the site of the little brick school house, on Butler street. The lots were donated for county purposes by Messrs. Pritchette and Mason, and the jail was the receptacle for insane persona as well as prisoners. WHEN the first circus came to Madison in 1844, people came in ox-teams from Sauk and surrounding counties, and brought with them their provisions, also feed and hay for their cattle, and camped in a grove of burr oaks between the city and the university. THE first castings made in our city were by Wm. A. Wheeler in the first blacksmith's shop on the corner of Butler and Johnson streets, block 111, and lot 18. Col. A. A. Bird assisted by blowing the bellows, and the casting was intended for some part of the new capitol then building in 1837. THE pigeon-holes used by John Catlin as first postmaster in Madison, were for a number of years in possession of E. M. Williamson, but who has recently donated them to the State Historical Society. THE present State Capitol was completed in 1869; the City Hall in 1857; Insane Asylum built in 1860; the United States Court House and Post Office, 1870; the northern dormitory of the University in 1851; the southern in 1855; the main building in 1859; the ladies hall in 1870; and science hall in 1877. THE present court house was built in 1850, the jail in 1853, the Register of Deeds and Clerk of the Court building in 1855; the county poor house in 1856. Judge N. F. HYER, for many years a resident in our county, was the first to discover and make known the interesting remains of the ancients found at Aztalan, and named the place after the Aztec race, who were supposed at one time to have lived there, as well as around that whole section of country. After the discovery, the judge wrote an article giving the plan and description of what appeared to him an ancient fortification, and so great was the interest created on the subject, that the article from first appearing in a Milwaukee paper, was copied throughout the United States and France. In the latter place, it was a subject of considerable discussion among the savans of Paris. The judge also for some years held the office of probate judge in Milwaukee, under the territorial legislature. He came to Milwaukee in the spring of 1836, and as chief magistrate was called upon to preside as judge of election in the following fall, and though a young man at the time, he nevertheless observed that of the six hundred votes cast, nine-tenths of them were by men younger than himself, which showed the class of immigration that was then coming into the Territory. He could count but forty roofs in the then infant city of Milwaukee, including barns and dwelling houses. JUSTICES of the peace were permitted to assess the county with all the fees and costs connected with all criminal prosecutions, until 1843, when the Board of Commissioners ordered that no fees would be allowed by the county, except such as the statutes provided for. THE first woolen mill in the city was conducted by Allan Dawson and sons, Scotchmen, and was situated at the end of Williamson street, on the edge of the Catfish, block 237. It was burned to the ground about 1859. THE first blacksmith in the city and county, excepting Blue Mounds, was J. T. Wilson, who was also the first auctioneer. WISCONSIN is becoming famous for its mineral springs, that are becoming much frequented by those suffering from chronic diseases, for which mineral waters are found to be an excellent specific. The artesian well in our capitol park is 1,080 feet deep, and the mineral water obtained from it stands high for its curative properties. We give the following comparison as analyzed by Prof. Gustave Bode, analytical chemist in Milwaukee, Wis., between Waukesha, Prairie du Chien, Sparta and Madison: GRAINS PER GALLON. Prairie Madison. du Chien. Waukesha. Sparta. Bicarbonate of Lime 8.120 0.6222 17.022 0.4020 Bicarbonate of Magnesia 6.937 10.9739 12.388 4.0310 Chloride of Sodium 0.671 90.2007 1.160 0.1430 Sulphate of Soda 1.538 12.7978 0.042 2.2143 Bicarbonate of Iron 0.555 0.2318 0.042 14.3350 Silica 1.456 3 8430 0.741 0.2800 Bicarbonate of Soda 1.956 trace. 1.206 0.2103 Total grains 21.233 118.7694 32.603 21.6166 Additional Comments: Extracted from: Dane County Towns Section MADISON, DANE COUNTY AND SURROUNDING TOWNS; BEING A HISTORY AND GUIDE TO PLACES OF SCENIC BEAUTY AND HISTORICAL NOTE FOUND IN THE TOWNS OF DANE COUNTY AND SURROUNDINGS, INCLUDING THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNS, AND EARLY INTERCOURSE OF THE SETTLERS WITH THE INDIANS, THEIR CAMPS, TRAILS, MOUNDS, ETC. WITH A COMPLETE LIST OF COUNTY SUPERVISORS AND OFFICERS, AND LEGISLATIVE MEMBEES, MADISON VILLAGE AND CITY COUNCIL. ILLUSTRATED, MADISON, WIS.: PUBLISHED BY WM. J. PARK & CO., BOOKSELLERS, STATIONERS AND BINDERS, 11 KING STREET. 1877. COPYRIGHT. WM. J. PARK & CO. 1877. DAVID ATWOOD, STEREOTYPER AND PRINTER, MADISON, WIS. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wi/dane/history/1877/madisond/factsand18nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/wifiles/ File size: 12.7 Kb