THE TOWNSHIP SYSTEMThe County Judge system for the management of county finances expired January 1st, 1851, and was succeeded by a Board of Supervision consisting of thirteen members, one from each township. The first session was held January 7th, 1861. In the election of this first Board the law provided that each township should elect one Supervisor and that half of the number of Supervisors should hold the office for one year and the rest for two years. The question as to who should hold for one year and who for two years was to be decided by lot. The Board at its first session also elected from their own number a chairman, who should serve for one year. The following is a list of the persons composing the first Board:
John Cassidy was elected chairman for one year. Five committees were appointed as follows: Finance—G. A. Gilmore, P. P. Raymond and Uriah Jones. Claims—Poter S. Pearce, J. W. Sherman and A. F. Page. Roads—William Baswell, John Wilson. County Buildings—L. D. Musseter, John Swaney. Poor—John Moore, Robert Manatt. This miniature legislature had charge of county affairs during the critical period of the county's history, and while the management was in the main satisfactory, the body proved to be too cumbersome, and while, theoretically, the various sections of the county were represented in the Board, practically, it was usually the case that one man of more than the average intelligence and force of character controlled the entire Board; and if he chose to engage in some little job he had the less hesitancy in so doing from the fact that there were twelve others with whom he could share the responsibility. After an experiment of ten years the township system was legislated out of existence and in its stead was introduced the present system of three Supervisors, which is virtually the same as the first Board of County Commissioners. Thus after experimenting for years, first with a Board of one, then with a Board of thirteen, we have got back to the original plan. Who will not say that legislation does not repeat itself and that political minds at least move in circles. The plan of a Board of three is doubtless the best which could be devised. While it does not leave the management of affairs in the hands of a single individual, it still leaves the matter with a Board which can transact business with expedition, and this body is of sufficient dignity and standing to secure as members men of intelligence and ability. It has come to be generally admitted that the best men in the county ought to be selected for this office. The first session of the Board began January 8, 1871, The members first elected to this office were D. Vanderver, C. G. Carmichaol and A. J. Wood. The Board organized by electing A. J. Wood chairman, and the County Judge became ex officio clerk of the Board. During the time that the administration of county affairs has been in charge of this Board the affairs of the county have, in the main, been economically and intelligently administered. During this period many bridges, some of which are of great value, have been erected, and the population, and consequently the business, of the county has grown immensely. More business is now transacted at each quarterly meeting of the Board than was originally transacted by the County Judge during his entire term. ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS From the records now in existence the exact date of the organization of the first townships cannot he determined. This much is known, however, that the county was originally subdivided into three townships, and this arrangement continued till 1852. According to this first arrangement the townships were named Sugar Creek, Jackson, and Bear Creek. Sugar Creek township included the entire portion of the present townships of Sugar Creek, Washington, Grinnell and Chester, and the west half of Union, Pleasant, Malcom and Sheridan. Jackson comprised the present township of Jackson, Deep River, the south part of Lincoln and Scott, the southeast quarter of Pleasant, and a strip from the east side of Union, one mile wide. Bear Creek township comprised the remainder of the county. On the 2d day of February, 1852, the first steps were taken to organize Washington township. The record is as follows: "And now at this day the petition of sundry citizens of Sugar Creek township, praying for a division of said township, and, after being fully heard and inspected, it is ordered by the court that a township by the name of Washington be laid off from the north side of Sugar Creek township, beginning where the south line of township No. 79, range 15, crosses the east line of Sugar Creek township, and running west with said township line to the west line of Poweshiek county; thence north with the County line to the north line of said county; thence east with the said county line to the east line of said Sugar Creek township; thence south with said township lino to the place of beginning In accordance with the provisions of this order Washington township was organized, the election for that purpose having been held on the first Monday in April, 1852. At this election there were fifteen votes cast, the names of the voters having already been given at another place. The first measures for the organization of Jefferson township were taken March 6, 1854. The record is as follows: "Now at this day came the petition of sundry citizens of Bear Creek township, praying for a division of said township, and, after being fully inspected, it is ordered that a township called Jefferson be laid off from the north side of said Bear Creek township, commencing at the northeast comer of Poweshiek county, running thence west to the northeast corner of Washington township, thence south six miles to the line dividing townships 80 and 81, thence east on said line to the eastern line of said county, thence north to the place of beginning, embracing two half congressional townships, and that the first election held in said township be held on the first Monday in April next at the house of Norman Parks." Early in the year 1855 the citizens of Bear Creek township became desirous for another subdivision of the township and on the 5th day of March, of that year, an order was issued to that effect. The order is as follows: "Now, on this day, came the petition of citizens of Bear Creek township, praying for the organization of a new township, and thereupon, it was ordered by the court that a new township be stricken off bounded as follows: "Commencing at the northeast corner of township No 80, range 13, and run thence west on said township line to the northwest corner of said township; thence south to the southern boundary line of Bear Creek township; thence east along said boundary line, to the county line between the counties of Poweshiek and Iowa; thence north along said comity line to the place of beginning, said township to be called, known and styled Warren, and that the first election in said township, be held at the school-house on the land of A. S. Ross. On the 9th day of March, 1855, was issued the following order: "State of Iowa, } "Poweshiek County } " The State of Iowa, to Edward Griswold, greeting: "You are hereby commanded to proceed to the organization of Warren township, by posting up copies of the accompanying notice, in three of the most public places in said township, at least fifteen days before the day of said election, and fail not under the penalty of the law. "R. B. Ogden, County Judge. NOTICE "There will be an election held at the school-house on the land of A. S. Ross, in Warren township, Poweshiek county, Iowa, for the election of Commissioners,etc., Register of the Des Moines River Improvement Company, County Surveyor, two Justices of the Peace, three Township Trustees, one Clerk, one Assessor, and as many Supervisors as there are districts in said township. Also,a vote taken by ballot for and against tho prohibitory liquor law. "R. B. Ogden, County Judge" At this election the following officers were elected: Justices of the Peace—Charles Comstock and John Morrison. Trustees—Robert Manatt, Sam'l Drisminend, Isaac Drake. Clerk—W. H. Elliott Assessor—Robert Manatt, Jr. Constables—W. A. Negley, Thos. Manatt Supervisors—Robert Manatt, Wm. Scott Madison township was organized at the April election, 1855. The following was the order of the court, made March 5th, 1855: " March 6th, 1855. Now comes the petition of the citizens of Grinnell asking to be organized into a civil township. Wherefore it was ordered that the following described territory be organized into a township, called, named and styled Grinnell: Commencing at the northeast comer of section 5, in township 81, range 15, and running thence west on the line between the counties of Poweshiek and Tama to the northwest corner of Poweshiek county; thence south on the county line between the counties of Poweshiek and Jasper to the southwest corner of section 10, township 80, range 16: thence east along said section line to the southeast corner of section 20, in township 80, range 15; thence north along said section line to the place of beginning. And it was further ordered that the first election held in the township be held at the house of George W. Chambers on the first Monday in April, 1855." Deep River township was organized in the spring of 1857. The following is the order: "Now, to-wit, March 2d, 1857, comes William Carroll and presents a petition of many citizens of Jackson township, praying for a division of said township. And after having been fully heard and inspected it is ordered by the court that a township by the name of Deep River be laid off from the east side of said Jackson township, bounded as follows, to-wit: Commencing at the northeast corner of section 24, township 79, range 13, and running thence west six miles to the line dividing ranges 13 and 14; thence south on the said line to the south boundary of said county; thence east to the southeast corner of said county; thence north on the county line between the counties of Poweshiek and Iowa to the place of beginning." According to the provisions of this order Deep River township was organized, the first election being held on the first Monday of April, 1857.Pleasant township was organized under the administration of Judge Alanson Jones, in the spring of 1858. Here follows the order: "Now, to-wit, on the 1st day of March, 1858, G. N. Wilson and others filed in this office a petition praying for the organization of a new township, to be constituted out of congressional township number 79, range 15 west. After due consideration of the premises it is ordered by the court that a new township be formed so as to include congressional township number 79, range 15 west, and to be called Pleasant township, and to be bounded by the boundaries of said congressional township number 79, range number 15 west" The township was accordingly organized by the election of township officers on the first Monday of April, 1858. Union township was organized in the fall of 1858. In the records of the County Judge, we find the following order: " Be it remembered, that on the 6th day of September, 1858, Levi Hambleton tiled in this office a petition praying for the organization of a new township, to be constituted as follows, to-wit: Commencing on the county line between the counties of Poweshiek and Mahaska, at the section corner between sections 34 and 35, in township 78, range 15; thence north six miles to the line between township 78 and 79; thence west four miles to township line of township 78, range 16; thence south on said range line, six miles; thence east four miles to the place of beginning. Alter due consideration it is ordered by the court that a new township be formed, to be bounded as follows: Beginning on the county line between the counties of Poweshiek and Mahaska, at the section corner between sections 34 and 35; thence north upon said section line, six miles, to the section corner between sections two and three, on the township line dividing townships 78 and 79; thence west four miles on said township line to the northeast corner of section 6 in township '78, range 15; thence south on the range line, dividing ranges 15 and 16, to the county line; thence east on the county line to the place of beginning, and the township to be called and named Union township." The first election was probably held early in October of that year, and we read that Martin Snyder was elected one of the first justices of the peace. Malcom township was organized at the same time. The order was as follows: "Now, to-wit, on the 10th day of September, 1858, L. E. Cardell, and others, filed in this office a petition asking for the organization of a new township, to be constituted out of the congressional township No. 80, range 15. After due consideration of the premises, it is ordered by the court that a new township be formed so as to include congressional township No. 80, range 15, and to be called Malcom township, and to be bounded by the boundaries of said congressional township." The order was issued to L. E. Cardell to give notice to the qualified voters of the said territory to meet at the house of E. Cardell on the second Tuesday of October following, and elect officers for the township of Malcom. Chester township was organized under the administration of Judge Talbott, in the fall of 1860. The following order is on record: "Now, to-wit, on the 22d day of October, 1860, D. F. Hays and others, filed in this office a petition asking for the organization of a new township to be constituted out of congressional township 81, range 16, and the west half of congressional township 81, range 15. After due consideration it is ordered by the court that a new township be organized so as to include congressional township 81, range 16, and the west half of congressional township 81, range 15, and to be called Chester township, and to bounded as aforesaid." The townships of Scott, Lincoln and Sheridan were formed in more recent time. It is very interesting to note the gradual growth of township organizations from the original three townships to the present number of sixteen. The brief outline of this growth as already given, of itself affords a good idea of the growth of the county in population and the development of its material resources. Of the three original townships Jackson was the smallest, and although it has lost some of its original territory it has lost less than either of the others, and is now the largest. Thus we find that Sugar Creek township first lost about three-fourths of its original territory in 1852 by the creation of "Washington township. Three years later Washington lost two-thirds of its territory by the formation of Grinnell township, and in 1860 Grinnell lost one-half of its territory in the formation of Chester, Bear Creek township as originally constituted, like an apple has been pared off from all sides till now there is but the core left; unlike an apple core, however, the part left has always been the most valuable part. The civil townships as now constituted will doubtless remain for some time. With the exception of Jackson and Union they all correspond with congressional townships, and are each six miles square. When there are no natural barriers this is the best possible arrangement, and there is not likely to arise any cause necessitating a change. The courts' official records of Poweshiek county while they are meager yet some of them show great care in keeping, while in some cases the spelling, punctuation and penmanship are curiosities to behold; yet it must be remembered that they lately 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 when the entries were first made. According to the District Court journal the first term of court was held in 1852, but it is said that a short term was held at the house of Rev. James B. Johnson in 1850, before the first court-house was erected. If there was such a court held, the record of its proceedings has been lost The first District Court record now in existence is particularly well preserved. Thanks to the liberal appropriation made for books by the county commissioners, these records were made in books which up .to the present time have withstood the ravages of rats and the tooth of time. Mr. Moore, the first clerk, and his successor, Mr. Adams, were both good penmen, and though neither of them were scholars of more than ordinary ability, yet they were careful and industrious—two qualifications more important in a clerk than scholarship. These officials were careful, industrious and reliable; although it has been over a quarter of a century since the records were made, they compare favorably with the best records of recent date when we recollect that at first the quality of the books, both as respects the quality of the paper and the binding, was inferior; that the county clerk attended to all the work of the office without the aid of a deputy; and owing to his meager salary was compelled to spend a large portion of his time earning a living by working on a farm; and further, that for many years there was no suitable place to keep the records, the fact appears that the county must have been most fortunate in the selection of its first public officials. In most instances throughout the State, courts were held in the several counties the same year they were organized. In this particular Poweshiek county furnishes an exception to the rule, no court having been held here certainly for two years after the organization of the county, and possibly none for four years. We are unable to account for this, except on the hypothesis that the people of the county were exceptionally peaceable, and the judge having a large district to travel over, and being in very poor health, was by the unexampled peaceableness of Poweshiek permitted to devote all the time and what energies he possessed to the quarrelsome litigants of the rest of his district It must not be supposed that the absence of courts during the first years of the county's history can be accounted for on the grounds that there was no court-house. Courts in those days were independent of court-houses. There is every reason to believe that had there been occasion for holding court, the lack of a court-room would not have been considered an insurmountable obstacle. In certain counties the first courts were held in private residences, and there is at least one instance where the court was held out of doors. In the old county of Slaughter the judge tried a case under the shade of a grove of cottonwood trees, and when the evidence was all in and the judge had given his charge, the jury retired to an adjoining slough to consider a verdict When the first term of court was held in Keokuk county there was no house except a shanty which the clerk had erected, in or around the county seat The judge and jury, lawyers and court officers assembled during the forenoon, and after some preliminary business was transacted, the court adjourned two miles into the country for dinner. As before remarked, die first term of court of which there is any record was held in the court-house in Montezuma in October, 1852. The following is copied from the record: Now at this day, October 4, 1852, being the day by law fixed for the sitting of the District Court in and for the county of Poweshiek, and State of Iowa, in and for this fourth judicial district of said State. And at four o'clock p. m. of said day, the judge of said court not being in attendance, it is therefore considered that court stand adjourned until eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Tuesday, October 5, 1852, at four o'clock p. m. of said day, the judge of said court still out being in attendance, it is therefore considered that court stand adjourned until nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Wednesday, October 6, 1852, five o'clock p. m., the judge not yet having appeared, it is therefore considered that court stand adjourned till next court in course, and that all causes pending in said court stand continued until otherwise disposed of. Charles G. Adams, Clerk of District Court. A word of explanation would doubtless be proper at this place. In the act of the Legislature organizing the county, it was directed that Powshiek county be a part of the Third Judicial District. In the meantime, however, after the organization of the county and before the first term of court, a new law was enacted with regard to the several judicial districts of the State, and under this new arrangement Poweshiek county, became a part of the Fourth Judicial District. It will be seen from the foregoing record, that no judge appeared at the first term as provided by law, and there were no cases tried. It cannot properly be styled a term of court but it is given as such. The next record is as follows: "Now at this day, October 3, 1853, being the day by law fixed for the setting of the District Court in and for the county of Poweshiek, State of Iowa, in the Fourth Judicial District of said State, and the judge of said district not being in attendance in consequence of sickness, the juries were called and notified to attend on Monday, the 24th inst, by eleven o'clock, and court adjourned till Monday, the 24th of October. Done by order of James P. Carlton, Judge of the Fourth Judicial District. "Charles G. Adams, Clerk." It will thus be seen that there was a failure in having a session of court again in 1853, which failure as in the former case, resulted from the sickness of Judge Carlton. This failure was a source of great annoyance to the members of the bar, and especially to numerous lawyers from Polk county, who upon several occasions had come all the way from Fort Des Moines, to try certain change of venue cases. William McKay a prominent lawyer of Des Moines, had just been elevated to the bench in that district, and it was not proper for him to try any of the cases in which he had previously been interested, and they were accordingly sent to Poweshiek county for trial. By reason of the many fruitless attempts to bring the cases to trial, Montezuma was denominated by the Des Moines bar, "the sink hole." When the time came around for the next term of court, which we are hesitant to describe, the Des Moines lawyers got together and decided that they would not go to " the sink hole," as their trip would be in vain. In the meantime, however, Judge Smythe, of Knoxville, had been specially appointed to attend the court here, and one Des Moines lawyer, a little shrewder than the rest, quietly placed in his saddle-bags his briefs, law books and a change of linen, and quietly mounted his horse and proceeded to Montezuma. The person was Curtis Bates; when he arrived here he found Judge Smythe on the bench, proceeding with the first cases on the docket. When the cases from Polk county were readied, Mr. Bates had them all disposed of to suit himself. In the course of a day or two the other Des Moines lawyers noted Mr. Bates' absence, and suspecting why he had gone, hastily set out, some in gigs, some on horseback, and others on foot; the advance guard of the procession arrived at Montezuma just as the court was about to adjourn, and in time to find their cases all disposed of; so far as their clients wore concerned Montezuma proved a "sink hole" indeed. The record of Judge Smythe's court being as follows: "Now on this day, October 24, 1853, at one o'clock p. m., the said court met pursuant to adjournment heretofore made by order of James P. Carleton, Hon. William Smythe, judge of the Fourth Judicial District, presiding. The following grand jurors of the regular panel were present and answered to their names: Robert Taylor, Allen McDonald, William Rankin, William C. Light, O. P. Maxon, Harvey James, Robert Manatt, William H. Moore and Albert Morgan. The remainder of the regular panel of jurors not appearing nor answering to their names, the Sheriff, by order of the court, filled the panel with the following named persons: Stephen Moore, Timothy Parker, James Pearce, Thomas James, William J. Lyons and William C. Johnson, all good and lawful jurors. The grand jury was then sworn according to law, and Robert Taylor was appointed foreman. The court was held in the then new court-house at Montezuma, and consequent by Judge Smythe was the first legal dignitary to preside over an assemblage for which the house had been erected. The court-house, which we shall more particularly describe hereafter, was situated on the southeast corner of the square; was a frame building, two stories high. The court-room occupied the entire room on the ground floor, while the second floor was subdivided into a number of rooms for the accommodation of the several county officers. It will doubtless be of interest to the reader to peruse the following synopsis of the first docket disposed of. The first case on the docket was that of The State of Iowa v. Jonas Carsner. The record is as follows: "State of Iowa" v. Indictment for obtaining money under false pretense. "Jonas Carsner." "This case came on to be heard, and the said defendant, though three times solemnly called, came not, but made default; and John M. Parkinson and Jonathan Parkinson, sureties upon the bond of the said defendant, were three times solemnly called and came not, but made default, and were required to bring into court the body of said defendant and failed to do the same." There were two other indictments against Carsner, both for larceny, and the record in each is the same as in the foregoing. This man Jonas Carsner was one of the most notorious characters who figured in Iowa at early times. We shall speak of him further elsewhere. There were twenty-five other cases on the docket at the term, as follows: State of Iowa v. James Campbell; indicted for selling liquor. State of Iowa v. Samuel Fleenor; security to keep the peace. George Wimer v. Nicholas H. Moore; debt, appeal. George Wimer v. Nicholas H. Moore; debt, appeal. A. D. Green v. Joseph Newhall; claim. George Wimer v. Joseph W. Satchell; debt, appeal. George Wimer v. Wm. H. Moore; debt, appeal. A. M. Cassidy, assignee of S. Hall, v. Joseph W. Satchell; debt, appeal Jesse Hiatt v. Samuel McPhetere; debt. Wm. F. Ayers v. Joseph Crews; ejectment Thomas J. Hill v. J. E. Jewett, administrator of the estate of James Sharp; appeal. William D. Boone v. John Wright. Edward Hall and Edwin Hall v. John S. Dean and Isaac J. Cole; debt, change of venue from Polk county. Margaret N. Severns v. Hiram K. Taylor; breach of marriage contract and seduction. Wm. D. Boone v. John Wright; attachment Henry R. James et al. v. Jonas Carsner; debt, appeal. John A. Long v. G. W. Wasson; debt, appeal. Jesse Hiatt v. Samuel McPheters. Jacob S. Dalby v. John White; petition for specific performance. Joseph Crews v. Wm. F. Ayers; chancery. John B. Snow v. Arnold Shepherd; debt E. Darhling v. Elias Brown; debt. Jesse B. Nichols v. Richard B. Ogden; debt. Clarissa Stanley v. John T. Stanley; appeal. John Farmer v. Bartholomew Vestal and John A. Long; appeal. Jonas Carsner, the man who figures as defendant in the first three cases on the docket, was probably the most notorious man in the State in early times. An early citizen of Fort Des Moines in speaking of early times says that some renegade white men penetrated the region of central Iowa years before the Indian title expired, and when Des Moines was yet a frontier government post. These renegades sold whiskey to the Indians, and after gaining their acquaintance and friendship, abused it by stealing their horses. Incidents of this kind caused the commander at the Fort, Capt Allen, to send out a detachment of dragoons to capture the thieves and restore the stolen horses to their rightful owners. This was a difficult task, the illimitable wilderness around affording an ample retreat for the miscreants. Finally one of them was captured and brought into the Fort. This was Jonas Carsner, since notorious in the criminal records of this and other counties, for felonies of every description. He was tried by the officers of the Fort, and, although there was no doubt of his guilt, no direct proof of it could be obtained. Captain Allen, therefore, thought it not best to sentence him under the civil law; but, knowing the culprit was certainly deserving of punishment, he delivered him over to the Indians some say white men disguised as Indians. They took him out, tied him to a tree, and gave him an unmerciful whipping. This certainly should have had some beneficial effect, but subsequent events proved otherwise. One of the horses stolen by Carsner had been found. The same night Carsner was rewarded with the cat-o'-nine-tails two horses were stolen from a man by the name of Fish, who was bringing supplies to the Fort, and had encamped for the night a few miles from the settlement. The Indians kindly lent Mr. Fish the horse which they had just reclaimed, and he started to search for his own. But while following their trail through a lonesome strip of timber, suddenly Jonas Carsner appeared, mounted on one of Fish's horses, and riding abruptly up he dexterously cut the saddle girth with a huge knife, hurled Fish to the ground and bore away, at full speed, the twice captured horse. The discomfited man now felt "like a Fish out of water." No recourse was left him but to trudge doggedly back to his Indian friends, whose curses, when they fully comprehended Carsner's last coup d'etat may be imagined, but not recorded. These events were happening in the region of Fort Des Moines, and throughout the whole of central Iowa during the early settlement of Poweshiek county. Two old cabins, one a few miles north of Montezuma, and one in the northwest part of the county were found when the first settlers located in the county, and these old cabins contained evidences that they had been built and were occasionally occupied by the Long and Fox gang of horse thieves and desperadoes who were concerned in the murder of Col. Davenport, and with whom Carsner was supposed to be connected. This will be treated more fully in our chapter on " Crimes." The next term of court begun May 15, 1854, and no Judge appearing court was adjourned and cases continued till next term in course, which begun May 21st, 1855, Hon. William Smythe presiding. The docket for this term contained some fifty or sixty cases. It was during this term of court that the first applicant for admission to the bar was examined and was accordingly admitted. The record is as follows: "Be it remembered, That on this, the 25th day of May, 1855, the committee appointed to examine II. C. Hawkins, an applicant for admission to the bar, as to his qualifications, report favorably and recommend his admission; and the said H. C. Hawkins having taken the oath to support the Constitution of the United States and of this State, and faithfully to discharge his duty as an attorney to the best of his ability, it is therefore ordered, that the said H. C. Hawkins be admitted to practice in all the District Courts of this State." Reuben Mickel and Robert Cassidy were admitted to the bar at the same time. The first case of foreclosure of tax title was disposed of December 12th, 1855. The case was entitled," Willson & Mclntire v. Samuel McPheters." The case was settled by the defendant making full redemption and paying all the costs in the case. The first divorce case which appears on the docket is entitled, " Matilda Mclntire v. John Mclntire; divorce and alimony." The case was compromised by the defendant paying the costs in the case, amounting to nine dollars. This was in March, 1856. At the same time George Carvie brings suit against Jacob S. Dalley for slander. The plaintiff finding that his character was, after all, not so badly damaged dismisses the case and pays the costs. The first murder case on the Poweshiek county District Court record was that of the State against Wm. B. Thomas, commonly known as Cumquick. It will be recollected by some of the older citizens of the county that Cumquick was arrested for the commission of a most foul murder, and that after the case had got into the courts and while legal proceedings were being had, he was captured by a mob and hanged. The circumstances of the murder and lynching will be given elsewhere; at this place we give a copy of the court proceedings in the case: "The State of Iowa" v. Murder. "William B. Thomas} "And now, to-wit, on this 7th day of May, A. D. 1857, the above named defendant. Wm. B. Thomas, was arraigned in court and the charges and presentments found against him by the Grand Jury of the District Court of Poweshiek county, at the May term 1857, were distinctly read to him by the prosecuting attorney of said county in open court and thereupon the court allowed the said defendant to the next term of the District Court to plead to said presentment of the Grand Jury. And thereupon the court ordered that the said defendant be imprisoned in the jail of Scott county, Iowa, to await his trial, and that the Sheriff of said county take the said defendant to the said Scott county jail immediately after the rising of this court" It appears that Cumquick was accordingly taken to the Scott county jail where he remained till the 14th of July, when there was held a special term of court. At this term of court the first case on the docket was that of the State v. Thomas. The record is as follows: "State of Iowa" v. Murder. "William B. Thomas" "And now, to-wit, On July 14th, 1857, comes the defendant in the above entitled case by his attorney and files herein his plea of not guilty. "Also, now, to-wit, On this 14th day of July, 1857, comes said defendant by his attorneys into court, and makes application for a change of venue on the ground of prejudice against him in this county. "On which application the court granted a change of venue to Mahaska county, State of Iowa; said case to be tried at the first term of said court commencing on the first Monday in September next. "The court further adjudged that the defendant be remanded back to the jail in Scott county there to be kept till the time of the said District Court being held in Mahaska county has come." The court record contains no further reference to this case till November 23d, 1857, when it is stated that the case of the State of Iowa against Wm. D. Thomas was by order of the court dismissed, and the prosecuting attorney made a motion to re-tax the costs. The reason that the record is silent may be found in the fact that, immediately after Judge Stone's order for a change of venue, the people of Montezuma and vicinity became so exasperated that they by force and violence seized the prisoner, and proceeded with him a short distance west of town and hanged him to a tree. The circumstances attending the murder, the arrest and lynching of Thomas, alias Cumquick, will be fully narrated further on in our chapter on "crimes." The record shows that there have been seven different judges of this judicial district since the organization of the county. The judge who was on the bench at the time set for the first terra of court in 1852, was Hon. J. P. Carleton, who resided at Iowa City. He was in very feeble health and died soon after. His successor was "William Sinythe, of Knoxville, who held that position until 1857. January 1st, 1857, Hon. William M. Stone came into office, and was judge for six years, when, in 1863, he resigned in order to accept the candidacy of the Republican party for the office of Governor. Judge Stone's successor was Hon. William Loughridge, who went into office in 1863, and served one term of four years. On retiring from the position of district judge, Mr. Loughridge was elected to represent the Fourth District in Congress. Hon. E. S. Sampson succeeded Loughridge, January 1st, 1867, and served two terms of four years each, when he, too, was elected to Congress. Sampson was from Keokuk county; Stone was from Marion county, and Loughridge was from Mahaska. Hon. H. S. Winslow, of Jasper county, succeeded Judge Sampson, January 1st, 1875, and served one term of four years, when he was succeeded by the present incumbent, Hon. J. C. Cook, of Jasper county. Source: Poweshiek County Iowa History 1880 |
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