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| Old Records The early official records of Keokuk county, while they are meagre, yet some of them show great care in keeping, while in some cases the spelling and punctuation and penmanship are curiosities to behold, yet it must be borne in mind that they only inaugurated the "spelling reform,"which is now becoming such a mania. Few of the old records have been copied, and yet there are some of the books in a good state of preservation and the writing is as legible as the day that the entries were first made. The first proceedings of the county commissioners are as legible as when they were first written down, in April, 1844. The first commissioner's clerk, Edom Shugart, was a good penman, and evidently a fair scholar, as the writing is very legible, the spelling good, and very few examples of false syntax are visible in the construction of the sentences. The first district court record is particularly well preserved. Thanks to the thirty-dollar appropriation made for books by the first commissioners' court, these records were placed in a volume which up to the present time has withstood the ravages of rats and the tooth of time. Mr. James, the first clerk of court, was a good penman, a scholar of more than ordinary ability and possessed of all the qualifications requisite to this position. He was careful, industrious and reliable; although it has been thirty-five years since these records were made, they now compare favorably with the best records of recent date. When we recollect that at first the character of the books and quality of paper was inferior; that the county clerk attended to all the work of the office without the aid of a deputy, and owing to his meagre salary was compelled to spend a large portion of his time earning a living as a farm hand, and further, that for many years there was no suitable place to keep, these, records,, the fact appears that the county must have been most fortunate in the selection of its first public officials. The original tax levies and tax sales are perhaps the most faulty, as the file is incomplete and some of them in existence are so badly rat-eaten and faded that they, are illegible; some of them are also faulty in that they do not bear the date of the, levy or the sale. These records are as varied as Joseph's coat, and it is hard to tell, in some cases just whose work it was and when done. But however disappointing to the, historian, the old record has its virtues and has many strange and often amusing features. Those who wrote it did not think, perhaps, that they were making history, but the smallest incidents of that early day have now become of interest. They were kept on foolscap paper, sewed together in the form of a book and covered with the coarsest kind of brown wrapping-paper. They are ancient and faded little volumes and afford a remarkable contrast to the elaborate and carefully kept records of the present day. They exist now only as curiosities, their usefulness having long since departed. The bond of the first treasurer of the county was fixed at two thousand dollars, and the first allowance which the commissioners made as compensation for their own services was the sum of $7.50 each. The following order explains itself: "Ordered, that the eagle side of an eagle ten cent piece, American coin, be adopted as the temporary seal of the board of commissioners of said county until an official seal shall be provided by said board." L. J. Smith, Charles E. Woodward and J. B. Whisler were the first men authorized by the board to keep a grocery for the sale of intoxicating liquors. The license were issued at the October term, 1845, to run for one year, and the cost of the license was twenty-five dollars. The next year Martin Grimsley and Jacob Wimer were licensed to keep groceries, for which they each paid twenty-five dollars. It must not be supposed, however, that these were the only places where intoxicating liquors could be obtained, as the records of the district court for those years show that numerous persons were indicted for selling liquor without license. In these days there were as yet no bridges, and it became necessary for the convenience of the settlers, that ferries be maintained at certain points along the rivers. This matter was taken charge of and prices regulated by the county board. The first record bearing on this matter runs as follows: "Ordered by the board, that John W. Snelson be authorized to keep a skiff or canoe ferry across the north fork of Skunk river in section No. 13 in township No. 75 north, range No. 12 west, upon the said Snelson presenting to the clerk of the board the treasurer's receipt for the sum of two dollars therefor for the term of one year. "Ordered by the board, that the rates of ferriage to be charged by said Snelson be six and one-fourth cents for each footman. "Ordered by the board, that George W. Hayes be authorized to keep a skiff or canoe ferry across the south fork of Skunk river in section No. 4, township No. 74 north, range 12 west, upon the said Hayes presenting to the clerk of the board the treasurer's receipt for the sum of two dollars as a tax therefor for the term of one year. "Ordered by the board, that the said Hayes be authorized to charge as the rates of ferriage the sum of six and one-fourth cents for each footman." In the early settlement of the country farmers were much annoyed by the depredations of wild animals. Wolves especially were troublesome. In order to raise sheep or hogs it was necessary to keep them enclosed in a secure building, and even then when the careful farmer had secured his stock to the best of his ability, these noxious animals would often succeed in making their way into the stock-pens and devour the inmates. Several organized movements were set on foot to exterminate the wolves, but in order to make the riddance permanent and effectual, the necessity became apparent for some special inducement in the way of compensation for each wolf killed. It was therefore ordered by the board of commissioners as follows: "Ordered by the board that a reward of twenty-five cents be allowed to any person who shall kill any prairie-wolf, not exceeding six months old, in the county of Keokuk, Iowa Territory, according to law. "Ordered by the board that a reward of fifty cents be allowed to any person who shall kill any prairie-wolf, over six months old, in the county of Keokuk, Territory of Iowa. "Ordered by the board that a reward of fifty cents be allowed to any person who shall kill any large gray or black wolf, not exceeding six months old, in the county of Keokuk, Territory of Iowa, according to law. "Ordered by the board that a reward of one dollar be paid to any person who shall kill any large gray or black wolf, over six months old, in the county of Keokuk, Territory of Iowa, according to law." In this way hundreds of dollars were paid out of the county fund to individuals who assisted in the extermination of these pests. Probably no money expended by the commissioners proved to be as good an investment. Transcribed by Pat Wahl.  Surveys and Land Sales All the lands of Keokuk county were surveyed from 1843 to 1845. At that time Gen. James Wilson was surveyor-general of the United States for Wisconsin and Iowa. Gen. Wilson entered into contract with various deputy surveyors, who entered upon the work of surveying the lands shortly after the ratification of the treaty whereby the Indians ceded the land to the government. From copies of field notes of the original surveys, it appears that the work of running the township lines for Keokuk county was performed by deputy surveyor Alvin Burt, and was completed July 31, 1843. The sub-divisions of the township into sections was begun shortly afterward. Townships 74 and 75, range 10, were surveyed by deputy surveyor S. W. Durham, and the work was completed September 30, 1843. Township 76, range 12, was surveyed by the same deputy, and the work completed October 20, 1843. Also townships 74 and 75, range 11. Deputy surveyor George W. Harris sub-divided townships 76 and 77, range 10, completing the work November 10, 1843. Township 75, range 13, was sub-divided by deputy James E. Freeman, finished November 30, 1843. Geo. W. Harris also certified to the survey of 76 and 77, in 11, on the 20th day of November, 1843. November 26, 1844, Henry Wiltse completed the survey of township 77, range 12. Townships 76 and 77, range 13, were surveyed by the same deputy, the work being completed December 9, 1844. The remaining townships were surveyed later by deputy surveyor Samuel C. Wiltse, the entire survey having been completed by March 1, 1845. As a matter of course no lands could be sold by the government till these surveys were completed, and it was fortunate for the settlers that they were not offered until some time after, as very few of them were in a condition to purchase. So long as the lands remained unsurveyed, there was no danger of the settler losing his claim, but when the surveys were completed the lands were liable to be thrown on the market at any time; and in such a case the claim-holders who were not prepared to purchase were at any time liable to lose their homes, or else come into conflict with the general government. It was probably in view of these difficulties, and the hardships which would befall many worthy pioneers, that no land located in Keokuk county was thrown upon the market till 1846. In 1846 the government offered for sale all the lands in the county. The land office at that time was located at Fairfield and on the first day of the sales all the settlers who had provided means, either in person or represented by bidders, were on hand. The sales were made exclusively for cash, and the government would receive nothing but bills on the State Bank of Missouri and specie in payment. General Lowe, who had been deputized to purchase land for quite a number of the settlers, started for the land office with a large sack of gold and silver, it being all that a large strong horse could do to bear up under the weight of that bag of specie and the rider. The minimum price of the land was a dollar and a quarter per acre. The sale continued two days and ostensibly, the land was sold to the highest bidder, but in reality there was but one bidder to each tract and that was the owner of the claim or his representative. During the two days sale there were disposed of about one hundred and fifty tracts. The following are the names of the men who entered land at this, the first land sale for the county: William Basey, William Dunn, O. Tharp, J. W. Snelson, Daniel Connor, Conrad Shivey, Joseph Lowe, Jacob Wimer, Jacob B. Whisler, William Jacobs, J. A. Pitzer, Aaron Gaskell, Hawley Ice, Joseph Knox, George M. Holliday, Benjamin P. Shawhan, Samuel Singmaster, Samuel Walley, John Oswald, Elisha Byers, David Morgan, Mahlon Haworth, John Haworth, John Singleton, Jeremiah Hollingsworth, Eli Haworth, Allen Hayworth, G. Hayworth, J. R. Edwards, Moses H. Husted, William Bales, Elizabeth Pringle, Thomas Rhodes, J. R. Hobson, M. A. Woodward, Joseph Hadley Henry Dickerson, Griffin Abraham, David Stout, William W. McGrew, James Hutton, Walter Braden, Samuel Fye, Jeremiah Fye, James Williams, Aaron Miller, Elijah Menefee, Meshack Davis, Thomas Sater, Mitchell Gill, Valentine Nelson, Jacob Shoemaker, J. B. Brown, Samuel Bowman, Robert Blacker, Jacob Ashcraft, Benjamin Robinson, John J. Franklin, Reuben Whitson, William Scearcy, William Campbell, Charles Friend, Caleb Scott, Theodore Cox, John J. Smith. Z. Bothkin, Milton Brittain, Charles P. Lyon, John Cox, F. M. Brittain, Elias Petre, Owen Monahon, Andrew Taylor, Joel Skinner, Thomas Richardson; C. M. Wood, Moses McConnell, Philip Henninger, Jacob Smith, David Hawk, Jeremiah Brown, James Green, Finley Messick, J. G. Brooks, Roland Driskell, William T. Beard, Henry Koons, G. W. Hathhorn, D. P: Helm, Joseph Hillery, N. Macy, Solomon Beaver, David Lentz, Tinsley Brooks, B. McCoy, William Trimble, Henry Able, Joseph M. Manifold,. Joseph Young, William Waugh, Parrish Ellis, Maxon Randall, Andrew J. McNabb, John Scott, William McCann, Jacob Luce, William Lacy, Joseph McGlasson, James Chitwood, Mary Burnside, Joseph Butler, John Stroup, Samuel Mealley, David N. Henderson, Thos. Henderson, James Jenkins, John Baker, John Shockley. Wesley Goss, Robert Alexander, Michael Hornish, William Shockley, John Warner, William C. Cole, Benjamin Cobb, William Trueblood, Asa Cobb, James Williams, John. Greenlee, Elijah Shockley, Peter Helwig, William Lyle, David Voltmer, Charles Bakehouse, James Keegan, Thomas Cobb, Johnson Collings, Presley Doggett; John Lambert, John Cobb. This was the only public sale of lands that was held for the land lying in Keokuk county. Thereafter individuals went in person, or by agent, to the land office and entered such lands as were available. Some time afterward there was a land office established at Iowa City. Lands situated in the southern half of the county, as before, were to he entered at Fairfield, while those lying in the northern half of the county, had to go to Iowa City to enter their lands. Several, whose names appear in the foregoing list of purchases, still live on the identical tract of land purchased in May, 1846, and all such, without exception, are pleasantly situated and have acquired quite handsome fortunes. Of the land originally entered the largest share was situated on or contiguous to streams of water, the settler thinking it impossible to live away from timber. On this account the best land in the county was not entered for some time, and thus fell in the hands of non-residents and speculators. Large portions of such land lay untouched for years, but at the present time the plow has found its way into these rich alluvial prairies. Transcribed by Steven McBride. The First Claims Allowed At the April term of 1844 the following claims were allowed: Samuel A. James, stationery .......................................................................... $ 4.00 Judges and clerks of special election ............................................................ 35.25 Harvey Stevens, services as sheriff ................................................................. 40.00 Samuel A. James, services as clerk ................................................................ 32.00 James M. Smith, services as commissioner .................................................. 8.25 Jeremiah Hollingsworth, services as commissioner .................................... 8.50 Enos Darnell, services as commissioner ....................................................... 7.50 Geo. W. Hayes, attendance on the commissioners' court ........................... 3.00 Total amount of bills allowed at the April term ............................... $ 138.50 At the July term the following bills were allowed: Andrew Ogden, services as assessor ......................................................... $ 33.00 Edom Shugart, services as clerk ................................................................ 50.00 Chas. E. Woodward, road commissioner ................................................... 14.00 Geo. M. Holliday, road commissioner ....................................................... 14.00 Richard Parker, road commissioner .......................................................... 12.00 S. E. McCracken, surveyor ......................................................................... 21.50 John Marshal, chain-carrier ....................................................................... 8.75 N. S. Woodward, wagon and team ............................................................. 14 .00 E. G. Stanfield, working road ..................................................................... 3.75 W. A. Woodward, working road ................................................................. 3.75 N. S. Woodward, driving stakes ................................................................. 1.00 G. W. Hayes, services as sheriff ................................................................. 18.90 James M. Smith, services as commissioner ............................................. 7.50 Jeremiah Hollingsworth, services as commissioner ................................ 7.50 Enos Darnell, services as commissioner .................................................. 7.50 G. W. Hayes, attendance upon court ........................................................ 3.00 Edom Shugart, services as clerk ............................................................... 7.40 Samuel A. James, stationery ...................................................................... 1.80 Total amount allowed, July term ..................................................... $ 229.35 At the September term the following bills were allowed: John Hurley, wolf scalps .............................................................................. $ 4.50 Judges and clerks of election ...................................................................... 48.20 Viewers, markers and chain-carriers .......................................................... 33.75 A. P. Moody, swearing in commissioners .................................................. 1.37 G. W. Hayes, services as sheriff .................................................................. 66.00 Green Atwood, canvassing poll-books ....................................................... 2.00 Reuben Whitson, books and stationery ...................................................... 30.00 Edom Shugart, clerk ...................................................................................... 12.18 G. W. Hayes, services as sheriff ................................................................. 6.00 S. A. James, clerk court ................................................................................ 2.50 Obadiah Tharp, services as commissioner .............................................. 4.00 Elias Whetstone, services as commissioner .............................................. 4.00 Andrew Taylor, services as commissioner ............................................... 4.00 Total amount allowed, September term .......................................... $ 218.50 At the October term the following bills were allowed: William Troxell, services as constable ........................................................ $ 1.00 Commissioners, markers, chain-men, etc. ................................................ 22.25 Commissioners, markers, chain-men, etc. ................................................ 85.00 William Webb, canvassing poll-books ........................................................ 4.00 O. T. Ragland, surveying ............................................................................. 12.50 G. W. Hayes, services as sheriff ............................................................... 6.00 G. W. Hayes, posting notices ...................................................................... 26.00 Andrew Taylor, services as commissioner ................................................ 7.50 Obadiah Tharp, services as commissioner ............................................... 7.50 Edom Shugart, services as clerk ............................................................... 17.87 Total, October term ........................................................................ $ 189.62 At the November term the following bills were allowed: Philip Wareham, wolf scalps ..................................................................... $ .50 William Trimble, wolf scalps .................................................................... .50 Judges and clerks ..................................................................................... 28.60 John Baker, wolf scalps ............................................................................ .50 Thos. Alexander, wolf scalps ................................................................... .50 John Shockley, wolf scalps ....................................................................... .50 O. T. Ragland, surveying ........................................................................ 16.75 O. T. Ragland, surveying ......................................................................... 7.50 Henry Keith, canvassing poll-books ...................................................... 2.64 Total, November term ..................................................................... $ 57.99 These constitute all the claims allowed during the first year's history of the county, the total amount allowed being $833.96. Transcribed by Pat Wahl. The First Tax Levy The following is the order of the court making the first tax levy: "Ordered by the board, that a road tax of fifteen cents on the hundred dollars valuation of taxable property in said county be levied. "Ordered by the board, that a county tax of five mills to the dollar, on all taxable property as returned by the assessor, be levied. "Ordered by the board, that a territorial tax of one-half mill on the dollar, on all taxable property as returned by the assessor, be levied. "Ordered by the board, that a poll-tax of fifty cents be levied on each person subject to poll tax within the county." Transcribed by Pat Wahl. The First Court As has already been remarked, Judge Williams arrived in the county and proceeded to hold the first court, which did not arise to the dignity of a court, there being no jury impaneled and no cases tried, the business being confined to the naturalization of some aliens and the admission of two candidates to the bar. The first term of court was not, then, this in reality, but the one which was held the following year. This court was held in the court-house in Sigourney, beginning on the 28th day of July and continuing for six days. Both grand jury and petit jury were impaneled and the court docket shows the following business-transacted: "State cases: United States vs. John Henderson and William John Sturgon; indicted for malicious mischief; jury trial as to Henderson and verdict of guilty; fined fifty cents. Court trial as to Sturgon and same result. "United States v. Moses Beard; indicted for resisting officer; jury trial and verdict of not guilty; defendant discharged. "United States v. Cynthia Ann Beard; indicted for resisting officer; indictment quashed. "United States v. William B. Thompson and Elijah A. Lathrop; indicted for larceny; indictment qnashed. "United States v. John Henderson; indicted for firing the prairie; indictment quashed. "United States v. John Henderson, Nicholas Henderson, Thomas Henderson eon, Pleasant Sanford, Joseph Middleton and William John Sturgon; indicted for riot; indictment quashed." Beside these State cases there were forty civil cases disposed of. The first indictment found by the grand jury of Keokuk county was against John Henderson and William Sturgon. The court records in the case run as follows: "UNITED STATES } vs. } Recognized for malicious mischief. "JOHN HENDERSON AND } WM. JOHN STURGON. } "The grand jury now here returns a true bill of indictment against the said defendants for malicious mischief. "UNITED STATES vs. "JOHN HENDERSON AND WM. JOHN STURGON. "This day came the district prosecutor, as well as one of the defendants, Wm. John Sturgon, in proper person, and consent that this cause shall be submitted to the court on said defendants' plea of guilty to the first count in said indictment without a jury; whereupon the court, being fully advised in the premises, on said defendants plea of guilty, assesses the fine of the said defendant at fifty cents, and thereupon it is ordered that plaintiff have and recover of said defendant, Wm. John Sturgon, to and for the use of Keokuk county, a fine of fifty cents and the costs of this suit, and that said defendant stand committed till this order be complied with. "UNITED STATES } vs. } Indictment for malicious mischief. “JOHN HENDERSON. } "And now comes E. H. Thomas, Esq., district prosecutor, and the said defendant in his own proper person, comes, and being arraigned, pleads 'not guilty,' whereupon comes a jury, to-wit: James Whitson, Riley Bales, Amaziah Covey, Lewis Crill, Wm. Scearcy, Horace Bagley, James M. Brown, Joshua Hadley, David McEwin, Robert Linder, Joseph Hillery and Wm. Dixon, who, being impaneled and sworn well and truly to try and true deliverance make between the United States and said defendant, on their oaths do say that the said defendant is guilty, and assess the fine to be paid by him at fifty cents; whereupon it is considered by the court that the said United States recover of said defendant for the use of the county of Keokuk, the said sum of fifty cents, as aforesaid, together with costs of this prosecution, and that said John Henderson stand committed till the fine and costs are paid." The Sheriff's return runs thus: "Fine, fifty cents; costs, $31.30; levied the within on one three-year-old bay colt, August 12, 1845; no sale; satisfied. G. W. HAYES, Sheriff." The court record for this term closes with the following: "On motion of W. W. Chapman, Esq., it is ordered that the following proceedings be spread upon the record of this court, to-wit: "At a meeting of the Keokuk County Temperance Society, held at the court-house, in Sigourney, on Friday evening, July 31, 1845, President, A. W. Blair, Secretary, S. A. James, the following pledge was presented, and signed by the following named persons, to-wit: "We, the undersigned, by hereto setting our names, pledge our sacred honor, each to the other, that we will abstain from all intoxicating drink as a beverage: A. W. Blair, S. A. James, D. C. Stover, G. B. Cook, Nancy Cook, C. A. Jewett, Lydia Hulbert, Britton Edwards, W. W. Chapman, G. Acheson, Joseph Adams, Wm. Hall, Joseph Hillery, Ebenezer John, Lewis B. Crill, John Shaver, Thos. Alexander, E. Hollingsworth, Lemuel Hall, W. C. Brown, Wm. R. Bailes, John Scott, Alex. Cochran, J. Williams, Wm. Hulbert, S. Harned, J. B. Way, Jacob Shoemaker, A. M. Lyon, Jas. Wiliams, Wm. Scearcy, Wm. Dixon, G. W. Waters, Joel Skinner, W. R. Harrison, Wm. Williams, Thos. Frazier, I. D. Stark, Wm. Vincent, Wm. Shaver, Wm. Shockley, Curtis Crawford, Elisha Byers, Stephen Fowler, Thomas Stanfield, Wm. D. Shugart, M. B. Friend, J. M. Brown, James Whitson, E. Shugart, W. J. Carruthers, Joshua Hadley, E. G. Stanfield, Joseph Hockett, Horace Bagley, G. M. Holliday. J. R. Hobson, A. Covey, A. P. Moody, J. Crawford, Eli Haworth, J. Hollingsworth, M. Harmon, Andrew Taylor, R. L. Mark, O. Tharp, M. G. Driskell, James Small. W. W. Chapman, Esq., offered the following resolution, which was passed: "Resolved, that the foregoing pledge and signatures be placed on the record of the District Court, now in session, as a tribute of respect to the Hon. Joseph Williams, judge of said court, and as a memorial of the unexampled revival of temperance and total abstinence." The second court met in the court-house, in Sigonrney, on Wednesday the 16th day of March, 1846, and the grand jury was composed of Henry Pringle, Josiah Burge, Alex. Jones, Joel Long, Green Atwood, John Palmer, Amos Barnett, D. P. Helm, Elijah Shockley, John Shockley, John Mealey, John Baker, R. I. Harris, Daniel Conner, Jeremiah Fye, Evan Thomas, Moses E. McConnell, Daniel McEwen, Joseph Stephenson, Caster Troxel, David Stout, Sr., A. H. Haskell, Richard Quinton. The first trial by jury recorded this term was entitled the United States vs. Thomas Hendrix, indicted for perjury; it runs as follows: "This day comes the prosecuting attorney in behalf the United States, and the defendant in his own proper person, being arraigned, pleads, ' not guilty,' and for trial puts himself upon the country, whereupon comes a jury of twelve good and lawful men, to-wit: "John Lacy, John Hooker, Frederick Bucher, James Hutton, John Borough, D. G. Burgess, Charles Connor, Elijah Stout, Lewis Gregory, George Wertz, A. M. Lyon and William Trueblood, who, being impaneled and sworn the truth to speak upon the issue joined between the parties, after hearing the evidence, and being charged by the court, upon their oaths do say, and find the defendant, Thomas Hendrix, not guilty, as he stands charged in the indictment. It is therefore adjudged by the court the defendant be released thereof, and that he go hence thereof without day." During this term of court was tried the first case for violation of the liquor law. Benjamin F. Edwards was the defendant; he was found guilty and fined fifty dollars. The first change of venue granted was in the case of the State of Iowa vs. Joseph Knox, indicted for inducing an elector to vote contrary to his own inclination; the case was sent to Iowa county. During the September term, 1847, which was the first term held at Lancaster, the following record was made: "Comes now Joseph Knox, Esq., by Curtis Bates, Esq., and moves to adjourn this court to the town of Sigourney. The said motion being argued and heard, the court being advised in the premises, it is ordered by the court that the said motion be overruled." The first citizens naturalized in the county were Andrew McWilliams, a native of Ireland, and Michael McGinnis, Charles C. Sangster and Edward Redhead, of Great Britain and Ireland, all naturalized at the first term of court, July 1, 1844. Transcribed by Pat Wahl. The Old Court-House The cabin erected by Mr. James away out on the prairie, which had been selected as the county-seat, has already been alluded to. Although it was erected on Mr. James' sole responsibility, and at his individual expense, yet it was properly the first court-house, for here the clerk of the court had his office and kept the court records; here also the first term of the District Court was held, and it was to all intents and purposes a court house. At the first meeting of board of commissioners held in Sigourney, July, 27, 1844, the first official action was taken with reference to the building of a court-house. The following is the record as made on that occasion: "Ordered by the board, that Samuel A. James be, and he is hereby authorized to receive sealed proposals for building a temporary court-house in Sigourney, of the following manner and description, to-wit: to be a hewn log house, twenty by twenty-four feet in dimensions, the logs to be hewn seven inches thick and notched down close with square corners and at least nine feet high above the floor; to have thirteen sleepers put in, to be hewn straight on the upper side, and also thirteen joist to be hewn straight on the upper and under sides to be well covered by putting up rafters and sheeting close; and the roof shall be put on with good joint shingles to show six inches; to be done in workmanlike manner, and also the gable ends to be well enclosed by weather boarding the same." It will be observed that by these specifications there was no provision made for any floor, nor door whereby to gain any access to the building, nor yet any windows to admit light whereby the county officials, after having gained admission, could see the floor, or find the door, had there been any. The new board of commissioners elected, in August, of this year, met in September and amended the plan of the building by supplementing the former order by the following additional specifications: "Ordered that in addition to the requisites to build a court-house in Sigourney there be the following: That it be laid with a floor of good plank flooring and ceiled with plank overhead; to have three fifteen-light windows, one on each side of the house and one in one end; to have a good batten door in the other end; and the house to be well chinked, daubed and pointed with good lime mortar, all to be done in workmanlike manner. "And it is further ordered that Joseph Kellum is hereby appointed to offer the said job on 13th of September instant, to the lowest bidder, and the said lowest bidder shall be entitled to proceed to build said house by entering into bond, with security in the sum double that of the bid, to be approved by the clerk of the board, to complete said house in a workmanlike manner on or before the second Monday of November next. "Ordered that the temporary court house be built upon the lot next west of the southeast corner lot in the block immediately north of the public square." On the 13th of September, 1844, Joseph Kellum offered said court-house job. William B. Thompson being the lowest bidder, received the contract for the sum of $218. The building was finished and accepted, by the board in January, 1845. A history of the Keokuk county court-houses would be almost a history of the county itself, and no more vivid picture of the county's growth could be suggested than that which comes from a comparison of the present house with the old one of pioneer days. But that old house is enshrined in memories that the present can never know. It stood on the ground now occupied by Jackson's hardware store, and was used for every possible purpose and had a career of great usefulness. School was taught, the gospel preached and justice dispensed within its substantial old walls. Then it served frequently as a resting place for weary travelers, and indeed its doors always swung on easy hinges. If the old settlers are to be believed, the old oak logs often rang on the pioneer Sabbath with a more stirring eloquence than enlivens the pulpits of the present time. Many of the earliest ministers have officiated within its walls, and if those old walls could speak, they would tell many a strange pioneer tale of religion, that is now lost forever. The preacher would mount a store box in the center of the room, and the audience would disperse themselves about on benches. To that old log court-house ministers came of different faiths, but all eager to expound the simple truths of a sublime and beautiful religion, and point out for comparison the thorny path of duty, and the primrose path of dalliance. Often have those old walls given back the echoes of those who did a song of Zion sing, and many an erring wanderer has had his heart moved to repentance thereby more strongly than ever by the strains of homely eloquence. With Monday morning the old building changed its character, and men came there seeking not the mercy of God, but the justice of man. The scales were held with an even hand. Fine points of law were doubtless often ignored, but those who presided knew every man in the county, and they dealt out substantial justice, and the broad principles of natural equity prevailed. Children came there to school, and sat at the feet of the teachers who knew but little more than themselves, but however humble the teacher's acquirements, he was hailed as a wise man and a benefactor, and his lessons were heeded with attention. The doors of the old court-house were always open, and there the weary traveler often found a resting place. There, too, the people of the settlement met to discuss their own affairs, and learn from visitors the news from the great world so far sway to the eastward. Simple emigrants stood there, and filled listening ears with tales of events ever the sea. There the shameful story of the coup d'etat was made clear with many explanatory passages and matters of detail never dreamed of on the boulevards of Paris, where the drunken and infuriated soldiery fired upon unresisting, peaceful citizens, merely to create a stupefying terror upon which the Empire might be founded. There, long after this event, was told another story of a different character. The sufferings from the Irish famine were expounded by men and women racy of the soil, who could tell with a shudder of the days when it first became apparent that the food crops of the nation had failed. The story was a truly sickening affair, such as no European people had unfolded for more than a century, and when the first recital was ended the wanderers were urged to begin again. The sad story was continued for days and weeks at intervals, with a pathos which brought tears to the eyes of the strongest men. The doubts that brooded in the air in old Ireland when stories came to the peasants from afar, about crops looking beautiful at night and by morning were a stench over the country side. How the poor creatures said an Ave Maria with redoubled faith over their potato fields, but could not postpone the evil day when a smell of putrefaction penetrated every dwelling, and it was known that over millions of acres of food upon which many millions relied for sustenance, the destroying angel had passed. The famine followed, with its deaths beyond number, reckoned by the ignorant at millions in excess of the whole population of Ireland, but actually carrying off nearly seven hundred thousand men, women and children. Then their eyes would glisten for a moment, says a countryman, as they told with tears of joy of the fleets of ships that came over the Atlantic laden with grain, which a noble charity had sent from America to the sufferers. "Even England, the hard-hearted Saxon race, which since the days of the Plantagnet [sic] has never ceased to be our oppressor—even England bowed down in the dust by our side to pray for us, and to give us succor." Thus the court-house of the old time was the scene of many an affecting pow-wow. This old court-house continued to stand on the ground where first located until the year 1873, when it was torn down and for its successor appeared the commodious business room where Mr. Jackson now dispenses hardware and agricultural implements to many of the same persons who formerly had dispensed to them from that location justice tempered with mercy, and theology characterized by good practical sense. On the removal of the county-seat to Lancaster the court-house became the property of Mr. Joseph Knox who was one of the most successful merchants of early days, and after his day it fell into other hands and continued in use till 1873, when it was removed two miles east of Sigourney and is now doing duty as a cow stable on the farm of Mr. Win. Bineman. It is a shame that the people of modern times have such little reverence for the relics of former days. After this house ceased to be available, for business purposes, and its removal was determined on, it should have been taken to some other part of the city and located upon some lot purchased by public subscription, where it might have remained to have at least witnessed the semi-centennial of the county's history. It is sad that, in their haste to grow rich, so few have care even for the early work of their own hands. How many of the early settlers have preserved their first habitations? The sight: of that humble cabin would be a source of much consolation in old age, as it reminded the owner of the trials and triumphs of other times, and its presence would go far toward reconciling the coming generation with their lot, when comparing its humble appearance with the modern residences, whose extensive apartments are beginning to be too unpretentious for the enterprising sport of the irrepressible "Young Americas." On removing the county-seat to Lancaster, it became necessary to erect another court-house. At a meeting of the board at Lancaster, August 9, 1847, the following record, relating to the erection of a court-house, was made: "Ordered by the board, that sealed proposals will be received by the clerk of the board of commissioners until the 10th day of September next, for building a court-house in Lancaster, of the following dimensions, to-wit: thirty-two feet by eighteen feet, a two-story frame house; first story-nine feet in the clear; upper story eight feet in the clear; the sills ten inches by twelve; the posts eight inches square, resting on a wall eighteen. inches thick, of limestone rock, two and one-half feet high, one foot above ground and one and one-half under ground; good oak sleepers, oak flooring: lower, one and one-half inches thick, and the upper one inch thick; tight and grooved floor, square jointed; the upper joists eight by three inches, upper and lower joists two feet from center to center; six fifteen-light windows, upper and lower story; one panel door, six panels, and one plain door; and upper story one panel door and one plain door, as below; weather-boarding black walnut, front weather-boarding jointed; oak shingles; good rafters; all to be done in a workmanlike manner. The contractor to furnish all the material." This order was never carried into effect, as the record of the January meeting shows the following: "Ordered that a court-house be built in Lancaster, of the following dimensions: 30 feet by 20; a two-story building, frame house; the first story ten feet in the clear, the upper story eight feet in the clear. The clerk is ordered to advertise for sealed proposals, to be received at the clerk's office by the 24th inst." In accordance with this order, the following contract was made and entered into on the day named: "Contract entered into this day with Jesse B. Mitts and James M. Mitts for the erection of a court-house in Lancaster, with items of specification, for the sum of six hundred and ninety-nine dollars, when finished, and which contract is deposited with S. A. James, to be retained by him till called for by both contracting parties, or their orders. Ordered, that Jesse B. Mitts and James M. Mitts be allowed the sum of two hundred dollars, town funds, on their contract of date January 26, 1848, for the erection of a court-house in Lancaster; and the clerk of this Board is instructed and prohibited from issuing the same to the said Mitts until the frame for said house shall have been erected according to contract." This, the second court-house, was completed according to contract and received by the commissioners. It was used for county purposes and for holding public meetings and served the varied other purposes which are required of a public hall. During the period in which the county-seat was located at Lancaster this building was the scene of many hotly contested cases at law, and during the hot political campaigns of 1848 and 1852 it rang with the most fervid appeals, and the political issues of the day were expounded from the Democratic standpoint, the Whig platform was enunciated, and even the Free-soil principles were elaborated. Politics ran high in those days and the character of the appeals which were made by county central committees was even more enthusiastic and urgent than in more modern times. The following call for a political meeting in 1848 is reproduced because it is thought that the novelty of the phraseology and references to local affairs will interest the reader: "TO DEMOCRATS. "At Whisler's Mills in Keokuk county, on Saturday, the 27th day of May, is where each Democratic voter of the county is requested to attend. The intention of the meeting is to take such measures as will unite the Democratic party of the county at the next August election and for its permanent organization thereafter. Another duty of the meeting will be to appoint delegates to attend the State Democratic Convention at Iowa City and the Congressional Democratic Convention at Fairfield, both of which are to be held in June next. "Democrats! You are often appealed to for the protection of your principles. Was the appeal ever more necessary than now? Will you stay away from this meeting and thus permit the murderers of our friends now in Mexico to gain additional voices in our national council? God forbid! Our national honor and the blood of our beloved Mills, with a host of brave spirits cry for our action. Let us do! "The time is fixed and it is hoped that every true Democrat who can, will be there. "WILLIAM JACOBS, "JACOB PAYTON, "JACOB WIMER, "S. A. JAMES, "May 1, 1848 Democratic Central Committee." On the return of the county-seat to Sigourney there was considerable litigation about the matter, an account of which is given elsewhere. In consequence of this litigation no measures were immediately provided for the erection of another court-house at Sigourney, the county officers being located in different buildings around the square. This litigation having been disposed of in 1857, S. Harned, who was then acquiring his title, judge, began the erection of the present court-house. At this time there was no board of county commissioners or supervisors, and the county judge discharged the duties of the board as well as to act as auditor and attend to probate matters. There was no provision of law whereby it was necessary to take a vote on the proposition to build a court-house. The building of a court-house, its location and the amount to be expended, all came within the individual jurisdiction of Mr. Harned, and although the building was erected at a time when there existed the most bitter sectional animosity, there was never a breath of suspicion, and so faithfully and honorably did he manage the work that his official acts were never for once called into question. The plans and specifications of the building were prepared early in the year 1857, and the contract immediately let to Coleman & Lehman, of Mt. Pleasant. The building was completed the following year and the records and county offices removed there late in the fall. The total cost of the building was seventeen thousand two hundred dollars. Although the building is no great ornament to the public square, and no particular credit to the county, yet it well serves all the purposes of a court-house, and will not suffer by comparison with any court-house erected in the State at so early a period. The different county officers are comfortably and conveniently located, and the fire-proof vaults and safes are ample and reliable, so that the large number of records and documents which have accumulated in the county archives are well provided for. The court-room is commodious and well furnished; it was recently greatly improved and now presents quite an inviting appearance. Transcribed by Steven McBride. |
