Articles Published in 1840

The following was submitted by NettieMae Lucas

SOURCE: The Clinton Daily Herald, published in Clinton, Iowa on Tuesday, May 31st, 1904, page 5

 THE COUNTY IN 1840

 How the Commissioners Managed Its Affairs. Gleaning From the Records Kept for Many Years -- Changes of Townships -- Change in County Seat -- Laying Out of Territorial Roads.

From the organization of the county, in the spring of 1840, to August, 1851, the management of the county affairs was vested in a board of three commissioners, chosen by the people. This system originated in Virginia, whose early settlers soon became landed proprietors, andthe influential men managed the whole business of the county.

 While rummaging through old and long forgotten files of county papers, County Recorder FRANK LEEDHAM found Book A containing the proceedings of the commissioners of Clinton county, beginning with the January session, 1841. The two books containing the records which cover a period of over ten years are worn and yellow with age. MR. LEEDHAM intends to have them rebound, for the records they contain are valuable, since they deal with the territorial progress of Iowa.

On the first page is the official notice by ROBERT C. BOURNE as follows:
Be it remembered that an election held in the county of Clinton on the fifth day of Oct. A.D. 1840 ROBERT C. BOURNE received the highest number of votes for County Commissioner andwas declared elected for the term of three years. ELI GODDARD and ELIJAH BUELL respectively received the next two highest votes (being a tie between them) and were both declared elected commissioners of Clinton county, the said ELI GODDARD was declared by the Clerk of the board of commissioners to be elected for the period of two years,andthe said ELIJAH BUELL was declared by said clerk to be elected for the period of one year.

The January session of the board of commissioners was held at the house of SAMUEL DOOLITTLE in the town of Camanche, MARTIN DUNNING was appointed clerk. RICHARD H. DAWSON had been elected assessor for Clinton county on Oct. 5, 1840, but not having qualified, the Commissioners appointed GEORGE W. HARLAN to fill his place. The sum of $28.20 was allowed for the payment of judges and clerks for the election of Oct. 5, 1840, and WM. BRADFORD allowed $25 for his attendance as prosecuting attorney at the October term of court.

The rate of taxation was set at this time. Poll tax, $1 -- first rate lands, $3 per acre; second rate lands $2 1/2 per acre; third rate lands, $2 per acre, and an ad valoreum tax on all property as valued and returned by the assessor, 5 mills on the dollar. Notice was also made of a special election to be held the first Monday in April for Judge of Probate Court, one recorder and one coroner.

A review of the plat and field notets of territorial roads viewed and located from Lyons in Clinton county to Iowa City wassigned by ALLEN SUTTLEFF, JAMES ROSS and STEPHEN TRIPP. The report was filed January 21, 1841, and gave the length of the road as 81 miles, and the distance in Clinton County as 38 miles.

The April meeting was called at the court house. The records do not state where the court house was,and presumably the title was given to dignify some apartment in a private house. Adjourning from "the court house" to the home of DOOLITTLE, the allowed recommendations for relocating the county seat.

This record is an interesting one, as it gives the boundaries of the townships of the County, at that time few in number and named Camanche, Lyons, Elk River, Deep Creek, Cedar Creek and Liberty.

Supervisors of these townships were appointed by the commissioners, who seemed to run everything in the county. The supervisors were SHUBAL COY, BENJAMIN BAKER, OLIVER T. AKEMAN, DANIEL PIERCE, FRANKLIN K. PIERCE, RICHARD CRAWSHAW, HEMAN B. SHAFF, JOHN BROPHY. The first tax report of which there is a record was presented at this meeting.

At a special meeting held April 29, 1841, ELIZA WINANS was allowed $27 for the use of court rooms for the April term; JAMES CRAWFORD received $27 for services as prosecuting attorney, and the cost for clerks and judges of election was $29.30.

April 30th OTIS BENNETT and DANIEL PIERCE were appointed to lay out a territorial road from Davenport to Bellevue, an account of which was give in these columns some time ago.

County revenues began to look up, for the July meeting allowed OLIVER ALGER to run a ferry across the Wapsie, $2 being paid as a license, ELIJAH BUELL paid $15 for the privilage of conducting a ferry across the Mississippi; DAVID and SAMUEL MITCHELL, proprietors of the Albany and Camanche ferry were licensed for $10.

A tax levy of 1/4 per cent was made for territorial purposes, the assessor paid $36 for his services for the year 1841 and grand and petit jurors were drawn. It is interesting to note that the commissioners received $3 per day for their services while in session. The first prosecution of liquor cases for Clinton county began at this meeting when the commissioner prosecuted a resident of Camanche for selling less than a gallon of liquor without a license. The tax list for 1841 was $560.92.

When the commissioners convened in October, they were notified that suitable buildings were now erected at the town of Vandenburgh to accomodate the court and the suitors of the court of Clinton county for the term of October 1841.

The above deserves more than a passing mention. Vandenburgh was cry [sic] of De Witt, and was named in honor of a sweetheart of COMMISSIONER WARREN. The building was of basswood timbers about thirty two feet long and twenty feet wide. It was divided into a court room and a jury room. It also had an attic, where the jurors and witnesses, many of them, slept, bringing their blankets, doing their cooking outside and eating in the court room.

The plan of the road to run from Lyons to Tipton was aurthorized at this time, and the jailor of Muscatine county was allowed a bill for expenses of keeping a prisoner.

The January session was to be held in the new court house, but the books and the legal appurtenances still being at Camanche, the Sheriff was sent after them. a petition was presented to the commissioners for a road to be platted between Camanche and Vanderburgh.

SHUBAL COY was appointed Treasurer of Clinton county on April 5, 1842.

The records of July 4th note the change of the name of Vanderburgh to De Witt. The commissioners needed money sorely at that time and sent to Dubuque to borrow $200 from the Miners' Bank.

The taxes for this year were not much in excess of receipts for the previous year, being only $563.30 1/2.

October saw another change. Olive township was established in the western part of Clear Creek township and the name of latter was changed to that of De Witt towhship.

Twenty-five dollars was received for a license to keep a tavern for one year, and SETH LUM was allowed $10.95 for making out orders for quills, sundries and services as clerk pro tem.

Notices were ordered posted in Bloomington (now Muscatine) paper and the Davenport Gazette for proposals for a court house building. The county attorney was allowed $75 for his year's work. New officers were beginning to be created and in October 1843, election was held for clerk and recorder.

The first inquest noted in the commissioners' records was made May 25, 1844. JOHN K. ROOT was allowed $6.50 for holding an inquest on the body of a person found in the Mississippi. JOHN CASE was allowed $1 for a wolf scalp.

In July 1844 a tax of fifteen cents on the hundred dollars was to be levied for road purposes, a tax of five mills on the dollar for county revenue and a tax of 1/2 mill on the dollar for territorial revenue.

Rates of ferriage were reestablished at this time and reduced almost one-half; more wolf scalps were brought in, showing that the work of extermination had begun.

Those frugal pioneers were satisfied with small remuneration for their services. SHUBAL COY received $9.43 for his services in receiving and disbursing the county revenue for 1843; SAMUEL MURRY was allowed $3.81 for the judge of the probate court on a stated case. A petition was received from the settlers in the north part of Clinton county asking for the establishment of Bloomfield township; also from residents of Liberty township asking for the establishment of Rock Spring township.