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OFFICIAL REGISTER OF DISTRICT AND COUNTY
OFFICIALS WHO SERVED DURING THE FIRST
THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN CHICKASAW COUNTY OFFICES
CHICKASAW IN FOURTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
In 1863 Chickasaw County was made a part of the Fourth Congressional District, and for the first time elected a representative in Congress. The first representative elected in the district was Josiah B. Grinnell. He was a member of the 38th Congress, serving from 1863 to 1865. Only Chickasaw county candidate elected-- L. H. Weller of Nashua represented the district from 1883 to 1885 and was elected on the National Ticket.
STATE SENATORS
1859 The first state senator, representing Chickasaw County in the General Assembly was elected in 1856. The candidates were Jeremiah T. Atkinson and William Pattee. Atkinson was elected and served from 1856 to 1859.
1860 In the election of 1860 the candidates were J. H. Powers and Moses Conger. Powers was elected and took his seat in the extra session of the Legislature, called by the governor on account of the Civil war. After the adjournment of this session Senator Powers enlisted in the army, and he rendered valiant service for his county as captain of the Ninth Iowa Infantry.
1862 At the regular session of the Legislature, in 1862, Senator Powers' seat was declared vacant, and a special election was called for the 25th of February, 1862, to fill the vacancy. G. W. Howard and A. G. Case were the opposing candidates. Howard was elected and served the unexpired term.
1864 and 1868 At the election of 1864, J. G. Patterson and N. M. Wilder were the opposing candidates for senator. Patterson was elected and reelected in 1868, serving until 1872.
1872 In the election of 1872 there were three candidates for senator: John E. Burke, L. H. Weller, and William Tucker, with Burke winning and serving one term.
By the redistricting of the state at this time, the counties of Howard and Bremer were included with Chickasaw as a senatorial district.
1874 , 1876. 1878 In the election 1874, Hiram Bailey, of Chickasaw, was chosen and served in the 15th and 16th sessions of the General Assembly.
1880 Chapman A Marshall of Chickasaw served in session of 1881.
About this time Floyd and Chickasaw counties were made a senatorial district.
1884 Robert G. Reiniger, of Floyd was elected senator, serving until 1891.
1893 William B. Perrin, of Chickasaw elected and served until 1901.
Record is indefinite to successor in this period until session of 1907.
1907 and 1909 John Foley of New Hampton served as senator in the 1907 and 1909 sessions.
1911 and 1913 John G. Legel of Charles City, in the sessions of 1911 and 1913.
1914 George H. Jackson of Floyd county was elected.
STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1856 The first representative in the State Legislature from Chickasaw County was E. R. Gillett and he served for one term.
1858 W. P. Harmon was elected. and was followed by George W. Buddick, elected in 1859. Both were from Bremer County, which was then joined with Chickasaw County in a legislative district.
1861 John F. Wilson, of Williamstown, Chickasaw County was elected.
1863 Henry C. Vinton, of Bradford elected and served in the 10th General Assembly.
1865 Gilbert J. Tisdale, of Fredericksburg elected.
1867 William Tucker, elected from three candidates, Gilbert J. Tisdale, L. H. Weller and Tucker.
1869 George W. Butterfield, of Nashua was elected from candidates, D. B. Hanan, William Tucker, and Butterfield.
1871 Darius B. Hanan was elected by a majority of 302.
1873 Darius B Hanan was reelected with other candidates, F. D. Bosworth and William Tucker.
The increase shown in the vote cast for representative in the ten-year period is indicative of the rapid increase in the population in the county during that time. Total vote in 1867 was 1, 075 with the total vote in 1877 increased to 2,481.
1875 John Mc Hugh, of Lawler was elected over Francis Dane.
1877 William B. Perrin, of Nashua elected by a majority of 271 over O. K. Hoyt.
1879 William B. Perrin reelected over candidates George Mc Aughey and Michael Ries.
1881 James F. Babcock, of New Hampton by a majority of 347 over Buel Sherman.
1883 John M. Gilliland, of New Hampton won over Dr. H. M. Mixer.
1885 H. H. Bailey, of Williamstown won over C. T. Hasket.
1887 John Foley, of New Hampton was elected and served in the 22nd General Assembly.
1889 William Glattley of Lawler was elected over William P. Perrin.
1891 William Glattley was reelected for the 24th General Assembly.
1893 John Frazee was elected to the Legislature.
1895 John Frazee was reelected.
Following are the names of representatives, and the year in which served since 1895:
1897 John Kreiger of New Hampton.
1899 F. E. Ayers of Lawler.
1901 John H. Kolthoff of Dresden.
1903, 1905, 1907 Tim C. Clary, of New Hampton.
1909, 1911 Frank A. O'Conner, of New Hampton.
1913 Christian Saltzman of Lawler.
1915, 1917 Presley L. Kepple, of Ionia.
COUNTY JUDGES
There is no record of the election of a county judge in the first two years after the organization of the county, and the only evidence to show who served in that capacity is obtained from signatures to public documents. From this it appears that the first judge, who was elected or appointed, was James Lyon. Judge Lyon's name appears as the officiating magistrate at the first marriage in the county, and on several official documents at that time.
October 1, 1855 B. E. DePuy served until April 7, 1856 when he resigned.
1856 W. E. Andrews, who was at that time prosecuting attorney, became ex-officio judge and served the remainder of DePuy's term.
1856 to 1858 Lorenzo Bailey elected and reelected as judge.
1860 C. H. Dore elected to judge
Prior to this time all management of county affairs was in the hands of the county judge, and that was his principal function. By a change of the law, a board of supervisors was created who were given the management of county affairs, and the county judge was given probate jurisdiction. The Legislature of 1869 abolished the office of county judge and placed the duties pertaining to that office in the district judge. The others who held the office of county judge, prior to its abolishment were:
1862 to 1863 Caleb Arnold
1864 to 1865 S. G. Mariam
1866 to 1869 G. A. Hamilton
DISTRICT CLERK
1854 At the organization of the county, April, 1854, it appears that S. C. Goddard was elected clerk and from evidence of official documents on file, that he served until August 14, 1854.
1856 By same evidence, that J. A. J. Bird acted as clerk until election 1856.
August 1856 George W. Reed was elected clerk of district court over Wesley Swazee.
1857 George W. Reed reelected.
1858 C. O. Case was elected clerk at the October election and reelected until the election of November 1868.
1868 Zelotes Bailey was elected clerk and served the next three terms.
1875 J. M. Gilliland
1881 J. M. Lynch
1887 Tim Donovan, Jr.
1891 to 1893 J. H. Penberthy
1912 John Rink, who was elected clerk with a 4 year term.
The present clerk of the District Court is Alfred Kelson, who was elected in 1916 for term of four years
TREASURER AND RECORDER
At the organization of the county, and for about ten years thereafter, the office of county treasurer and recorder were combined and the duties performed by one official.
April 3, 1854 John Campbell was elected to this office, at the organization election and served until he resigned on August 28, 1854.
1854 E. A. Haskell was appointed by Judge Lynn, the county judge to fill the unexpired term.
1856 George W Howard was elected treasure and recorder.
1858 F. D. Bosworth was elected in the August election.
1860 W. E. Beach
1864 A. E. Bigelow served until 1867 when the office of treasurer and recorder was divided and made two separate offices.
COUNTY TREASURER
1867 The first to serve as county treasure under the new order was B. E. Morton who served two terms.
1871 C. A. Harris, was elected and served for five terms.
1881 A. H. Wright, who served two terms.
1887 John Tooley, elected and reelected until 1891.
1916 E. N. Olmstead, served one term.
1918 George E. Wilkins, the present treasure.
COUNTY RECORDER
1867 B. E. Morton, was the first county recorder, serving after this office was separated from that of treasurer. He served two terms.
1871 C. A. Harris, elected and served five terms.
1879 John A. Green, served two terms.
1881 A. H. Wright, elected and served two terms.
1885 T. H. Schulte, served two terms.
1889 J. H. Noble, served two terms until 1891.
1916 Sam Shortly, served one term.
1918 Alva A. Miller, the present recorder.
COUNTY CORONER
At the organization election, April 3, 1854--Dr. D. S. Haynes was elected county coroner.
1857 - Edward Cudworth or F. K. Figons, the record is somewhat indefinite.
1859 to 1864 - Dr. J. Marsh
1864 to 1865 - Buel Sherman
1865 to 1867 - L. H. Weller
1867 to 1869 - William Everingham
1869 to 1873 - Dr. Amos Babcock
1873 to 1883 - Dr. I. K. Gardner
1883 to 1885 - Dr. E. H. Olmstead
1885 to 1887 - G. F. Phillips
1887 to 1889 - Dr. A. H. Wright
1889 to 1891 - Dr. J. D. Horton
1916 - F. S. Feeney The present coroner was reelected in 1916
COUNTY SHERIFF - APPOINTED AND ELECTED
By virtue of the power vested in him by the code of Iowa, Thomas Woodle, county judge of Fayette County, appointed John Bird as organizing sheriff for the organization of Chickasaw County, under date of June 30, 1853.
April 3, 1854 - Andrew Sample was elected at the organizational election as first sheriff of Chickasaw County.
1856 to 1858 - A. E. Bigelow
1858 to 1860 - F. Paden
1860 to 1862 - Patrick Galligan
1862 to 1868 - John Dixon
1868 to 1870 - J. A. Albertson
1870 to 1872 - Earl W. Beach
1872 to 1882 - R. O. Sheldon
1882 to 1884 - H. Manderville
1884 to 1890 - James Stanton
1890 to 1892 - F. W. Brown
1916 F. H. Kezar, present sheriff
COUNTY AUDITOR
Those who have served as county auditor, since 1870, are the following:
1869 - G. A. Hamilton elected in 1869 and served until 1877.
1877 to 1881 - Lee Chapman
1881 to 1885 - E. P. Sheffield
1885 to 1889 - Arthur McCarten
1889 to 1891 - J. A. McClurg
1910 to 1916 - P. E. McGinn
1916 H. W. Tank, present county auditor.
COUNTY SURVEYOR
The distinction of having been the first county surveyor of Chickasaw County was Oscar Cooley.
1854 to 1856 - Oscar Cooley
1856 to 1858 - C. M. Webster
1858 to 1860 - A. W. Billings
1860 to 1862 - E. W. Davis
1862 to 1864 - Charles Fitch
1864 to 1868 - S. H. Young
1868 to 1872 - H. H. Potter
1872 to 1874 - C. Seeber
1874 to 1878 - W. R. Geeting
1878 to 1880 - W. A. Eastman
1880 to 1882 - A. E. Quaife
1882 to 1890 - G. W. Cotant
1890 to 1892 - H. A. Scales
The present county surveyor, or county engineer as now termed, is E. J. Vaughn, who has held that office for several years.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 1861 TO 1891
By act of the Legislature of 1859, a board of supervisors in each county was created, consisting of one member to be elected from each township. In Chickasaw County, with twelve townships, the board of supervisors was composed of twelve members. Following are the names of those who have been elected to that office, and the township each represented, beginning with 1861.
1861 - C. D. Johnson Bradford E. Perry Fredericksburg E. Darst Dayton
J. H. Vantassel Washington Bosworth Richland. E. W. Davis Stapleton
William Tucker Chickasaw M. L. Palmer Jacksonville Vinal Thayer Dresden
Gideon Gardner New Hampton A. Harris Deerfield D. R. Kirby Utica
1862 - The new members elected to the board were:
William B. Grant Richland T. G. Staples Stapleton Russel Baldwin Chickasaw
D. A. Jackson New Hampton M. P. Choat Deerfield
1863 - The new members elected:
L. S. Thomas Bradford M. B. Taylor Dayton Daniel Kepple Washington
Thomas McCarten Jacksonville Martin Langdon Dresden Terance Commerford Utica
1864 - The new members of the board were:
G. W. Butterfield Bradford James Upham Dayton Hiram Bailey Richland
William Tucker Chickasaw J. K. Kroniger New Hampton W. H. Laribee Deerfield
1865 - The new members elected were:
E. D. Woodbridge Bradford William Haslam Dayton Jonathan Dickerson Washington
Michael Burns Stapleton William Palmer Jacksonville James Goss Utica
1866 - The new members were:
Buel Sherman Fredericksburg E. K. Morrill Washington Robert Johnston Richland
James Cunningham Chickasaw W. E. Beach Jacksonville W. H. Linderman Dresden
Gideon Gardner New Hampton B. R. Darrow Deerfield
1867 - The new members were:
E. H. Hall Bradford George McCaughey Dayton B. G. Crofts Dresden
E. Shepard Utica
1868 - The new members elected were:
L. Nourse Fredericksburg H. H. Blodgett Richland Patrick Mangan Stapleton
C. P. Warner Chickasaw Francis Dane Jacksonville D.A. Jackson New Hampton
Frank Loveless Deerfield G. C. Cleghorn Utica
1869 - The new members were:
L. H. Weller Bradford Bradford Thayer Dresden T. Commerford Utica
1870 The new members were:
L. S. McCrary Bradford J. J. Simmons Richland Michael Burns Stapleton
B. G. Crofts Dresden Gideon Gardner New Hampton R. A. Cornish Deerfield
A change in representation of the board was made in 1870. Instead of a membership composed of one from each township, the number of members was reduced to three, and the election of these was by the county at large. The following are the names of those elected under this law, and the years in which they served:
William B. Perrin 1871 to 1873
J. A. Green 1871 to 1873
D. B. Hana 1871
J. F. Babcock 1872
W. D. Stafford 1872to 1874
E. C. Abbott 1874
E. R. Dickerson 1874
The only change in membership of this board in the years 1878, 1879, and 1880 was the substitution of C. P. Warner for E. C. Abbott in 1880.
Another change in the law relating to supervisors was made in 1880, increasing the membership to five, and this law has been in force since that time. Under this law the following have composed the board in the years designated:
1881 - Thomas Kenyon, C. P. Warner, John Hauser, Hiram Bailey, and Charles Commerford.
1882 - Thomas Kenyon, C. P. Warner, John Hauser, Charles Commerford, and C. L. Gabrielson.
1883 - Charles Commerford, John Hauser, C. L. Gabrielson, T. S. Bradford, and Leonard Nourse.
1884 - Charles Commerford, T. S. Bradford, C. L. Gabrielson, Louis Nourse, and John Frazee.
1885 - T. S. Bradford, Louis Nourse, George McCaughey, John Frazee, Charles Commerford.
1886 - John Frazee, Charles Commerford, H. H. Kenyon, H. J. Ditmas, and Peter Maires.
1887 - H. H. Kenyon, H. J. Ditmas, Peter Maires, Francis Dane, and H. A. Conklin.
1888 - H. J. Ditmas, Peter Maires, H. A. Conklin, Francis Dane, and H. H. Kenyon.
1889 - H. A. Conklin, Francis Dane, H. H. Kenyon, Peter Maires, and H. J. Ditmas.
1890 - Peter Maires, H. J. Ditmas, H. H. Kenyon, Alf Oleson, and E. Prudhon.
1891 - Same members as in 1890.
1919 - T. W. Munson, W. A. Shilling, W. B. Smith, J. C. Hewitt, and William Drape.
Mr. Schilling is chairman of the board. Mr. Hewitt succeeds John F. Gray, who was chairman of the board in 1916. All other members were on the previous board of supervisors.
Check our Biographies Index as some of these individuals may have biographies on this web site.
Source:
History of Chickasaw and Howard Counties (1919) Vol. 1, Chapter 5, Pages 177 and 180 to 185
Synopsis of Pages Transcribed by Lookup Person, Leonard Granger
jmclaw221@gmail.com