1882 History
Chapter 3 - Organization
THE ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE CREATING IT — EARLY OFFICERS AND COURTS — LOCATION OF THE COUNTY SEAT — COURT HOUSES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS — DIVISION OF THE COUNTY INTO PRECINCTS AND TOWNSHIPS — CONVENIENCE OF TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATIONS — THE POOR FARM, ETC. — POLITICS AND POLITICAL PARTIES.
By W. H. Perrin
THE American people tend naturally to self-government. Hence, the formation
of States and counties as soon as the number of inhabitants will allow. Under
the history of Bond County, we have seen how Illinois formed, first, a county of
Virginia, then a portion of the Northwestern Territory, then of the Indiana
Territory, later a territory of itself, and finally, a State of the American
Union. Its first division into counties is there noted, and the manner in which
Bond was created while the State was still a Territory, and embraced a vast
extent of country now divided into a number of counties. This tendency to
independence and self-government, led to the formation of Montgomery County,
when there were but a few hundred people within its present circumscribed
limits. It was set off from Bond County, by act of the Legislature, passed at
the session of 1820-21, and approved on the 12th of February of the latter year.
That portion of the act pertaining to the organization of Montgomery County, or
the main point of it, were as follows: "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of
Illinois, and it is hereby enacted by authority of the same, that all that tract
of country lying within the following prescribed boundaries, to wit:
"Beginning at the southeast corner of Section 24, in Township 7 north, and Range
2 west, of the Third Principal Meridian; thence west eighteen miles, to the
southwest corner of Section 19, in Township 7 north, and Range 5 west; thence
south to the line of said township, thence west to the southwest corner, and
thence north to the northwest corner of Township 12 north; thence east twenty
-four miles to the northeast corner of Township 12 north, and Range 2 west,
thence south to the beginning, to be known as Montgomery County, and that
Melchoir Fogleman, James Street and Joseph Wright, be appointed Commissioners to
locate the seat of justice of said county, etc., etc." The remainder of the act,
with a number of "whereases" and "enactments," has no particular reference to
this county and is omitted. The newly created county was named, it is said, in
honor of Gen. Montgomery, a Revolutionary officer, while others are dubious as
to whence it received its name. In the absence, however, of certainty, we will
leave the honor with the old soldier mentioned above.
Montgomery County retained its original boundaries until the formation of Dane
County, now called Christian, the act of which was approved February 15, 1839,
when a large mouthful was taken out of the northeast corner of Montgomery,
leaving it in its present irregular shape. The Commissioners, appointed to
locate the county seat, met at the house of Joseph McAdams, to determine the
matter, and to decide upon an eligible site. According to the act creating the
county, the owner of the land selected for the county seat was to donate twenty
acres for public buildings, as an inducement for his land being accepted for the
purpose. After mature deliberation, the Commissioners made selection of a site,
known since as the "McAdams place," and which is about three, miles southwest of
Hillsboro. A town was laid out and called Hamilton, lots were sold, streets
surveyed, and contracts let for public buildings, and every effort made to start
a town. In the meantime, however, there was much dissatisfaction as to the place
selected, and strong objections raised to the erection of a court house and a
jail at Hamilton. Joseph Wright, one of the Commissioners appointed to locate
the county seat, refused to sign the report of the Commissioners, and made a
kind of minority report on the question, urging as a reason for his course, that
Hamilton was neither the geographical center of the county or of population. So
great was the controversy over the matter that, by another act of the
Legislature, passed early in the year 1823, new Commissioners were appointed to
relocate the county seat. This new board consisted of Elijah C. Berry, Silas L.
Wait and Aaron Armstrong, and in accordance with the provisions of the act they
met and, after considering the different points contesting for the honor, they
chose the present site of Hillsboro. The name is said to have been given by a
North Carolinian, many of whom were among the early settlers of this section, in
honor of his native place, Hillsboro, N. C. But it is quite as probable that the
name was attained from the numerous hills, upon which the little city now sits
as majestically as did ancient Rome upon her seven hills.
The following incident is related in connection with the location of the county
seat at Hillsboro. The land upon which the town stands, and which had been
selected for the capital, had not been entered at the time. The Commissioners
had heard of a man living in the southern part of the county, of the name of
Newton Coffey, who was said to have fifty dollars in money, something very
unusual for a pioneer citizen of Illinois at that day. So they sent for him and
prevailed upon him to enter the land, as none else had money enough to do so.
Coffey entered the land, made a donation of the usual twenty acres for public
buildings, and proceeded to lay out the town of Hillsboro, as will be fully
detailed in succeeding chapters of this work.
The Courts. — No public buildings, as we have said, were erected at Hamilton,
and the first court of the newly-organized county was held at the house of
Joseph McAdams, and after the relocation of the county seat, at the house of
Luke Steel, until a building of a court house at Hillsboro. The first term of
the Circuit Court, as well as the County Commissioners' Court, was held at
McAdams', and was presided over by Hon. John Reynolds, Judge; Hiram Rountree was
Clerk, and Joel Wright, Sheriff. The grand jury were as follows: John Seward,
James Black, George W. Shipman, David Bradford, William McDavid, John Beck,
James Card, George Davis, Elisha Freemen, Henry Hill, Lewis Scribner, Hiram
Reavis. James Walker, Newton Coffey, Jarvis Forehand, John Yoakum, John Elder
and Thomas Robinson. The first County Commissioners' Court was held April 7,
1821, the Commissioners being John Beck, John McAdams and John Seward. The
following county officers were appointed at this term of courts, viz.: Hiram
Rountree, Clerk; ' John Tilson, Treasurer; Joel Wright, Sheriff, and E. M.
Townsend, Probate Judge; James Wright and Daniel Meredith were appointed first
Constables of the county. Thus was the civil machinery of the county set in
motion, by the organization of the different branches of the court, and the
appointment of the requisite officers to properly administer the same. Some of
these early officers were men of ability, and left their impress upon the
history of the county, as will be seen from sketches of their lives in different
departments of this work.
As population increased, the county was laid off into districts for the greater
convenience of the people and the better administration of the laws. It was
first divided into election precincts, and subdivided as occasion required. The
election precincts were continued until within the last decade, when the county
adopted township organization, and the precincts were changed into civil
townships. There are now eighteen townships in the county, viz.: Hillsboro,
North and South Litchfield, Zanesville, Harvel, Pitman, Raymond, Bois D'Arc,
Rountree, Nokomis, Audubon, Witt, Fillmore, East Fork, Irving, Butler Grove,
Walshville and Grisham. These are all full Congressional townships, that is,
comprise thirty-six sections, except Harvel, Bois D Arc, Audubon, Fillmore, East
Fork and Grisham. Some of these have been divided for election purposes, but
otherwise remain subject to the same township government. Under the old precinct
system, the court consisted of three Commissioners, elected by the people, and
all business relating to the county was transacted by this court as it is now
done by the Board of Supervisors. The system of township organization had its
origin in the United States, in the early history and settlement of New England.
"The root of this form of local government," says a late writer, "may be traced
to the districting of England into tithings by King Alfred, in the ninth
century, to crush the widespread local disorders which disturbed his realms."
Upon this ancient idea of tithing districts, the Puritans grafted their great
improved township system. The county system originated in this country, in
Virginia, and is also of English origin. The tobacco planters of the Old
Dominion, owning their laborers more completely than did the Barons of England
their vassals, lived isolated and independent upon their large landed estates,
in imitation of the aristocracy of the mother country. They also modeled their
county and municipal institutions, with certain modifications, suitable to the
condition of the new country, after the same prototype; whence has spread the
county system into all the Southern and many of the Northern States. All the
Northwest Territory, now constituting five States, after the conquest of Clark,
was, by Virginia, in 1778, formed into one county under jurisdiction (as already
mentioned), called Illinois. The county feature was after retained in all the
States carved out of this territory. The county business in Illinois was
transacted by these Commissioners, in the respective counties, who constituted a
County Court, which, besides the management of county affairs, had usually other
jurisdiction conferred upon it, such as that of Justice of the Peace and Probate
business. By the constitution of 1848, owing to Eastern or New England settlers
in the northern part of the State, township organization was authorized, leaving
it optional for any county to adopt or not the law to be enacted. In accordance
with the provision of that constitution, and in obedience to a demand from the
people in the northern part of the State, who had observed its practical
workings in the Eastern States, the first township organization act was passed
by the Legislature. But the law, in attempting to put it into practical
operation, disclosed radical defects. It was revised and amended at the session
of 1851, substantially as it has existed until the recent revision in 1871. The
adoption of the township system marks an era in the management of fiscal affairs
in many of the counties of the State. Our township system is not, however,
closely modeled after the New England States. There a Representative is sent
directly from each town to the Lower House of the Legislature. In New York,
owing to her vast extent of territory, this was found to be impracticable, and a
county assembly denominated a Board of Supervisors, composed of a member from
each town, was then established. This modified system we have copied, almost
exactly, in Illinois.
"Townships are often compared to petty republics, possessing unlimited
sovereignty in matters of local concern; and Boards of Supervisors are often
popularly supposed to be vested with certain limited legislative powers. Neither
is the case. Both the County and the Township Boards are the mere fiscal agents.
They hold the purse-strings of the counties; they may contract, incur debts, or
create liabilities — very great powers, it is true — but they cannot prescribe
or vary the duties, nor control in any manner the county or township officers
authorized by law. While the County Court of three members is a smaller, and,
therefore, as a rule, more manageable, or controllable body by outside
influences, there is little doubt that a Board of Supervisors is not only more
directly expressive, but also that a thousand and one petty claims of every
conceivable character, having no foundation in law or justice, are constantly
presented, and, being loosely investigated and tacitly allowed, aggregate no
insignificant sum. A Board of Supervisors also acts or is controlled more by
partisan feelings. There ought to be uniformity throughout the State in the
management of county affairs. No little confusion seems to pervade the laws at
the present time relating to our two classes of counties."
Whatever may be the opinion of the writer of the foregoing, the system of
township organization now in vogue in a majority of the counties of Illinois, is
not without its merits. The fact — a very potent one, too — is that, when once
adopted by any county, it is never changed. None have been known, as far as we
have been able to learn, though the attempt has often been made, to recede from
the position and return to the old system. And, slowly as some of the counties
were to enter into it, yet when they did finally adopt it, they have continued
to cling perseveringly to it. Montgomery, as we have said, was late in adopting
township organization, remaining under the old precinct organization until 1873,
when the new order of local government was inaugurated. The most important
township officers are a Supervisor, Township Clerk, Assessor, Treasurer, etc.
The number and names of the townships of Montgomery County have already been
given in this chapter.
The Poor Farm. — This is a county institution and deserves some mention in this
connection. It is located in East Fork Township, about three miles south of
Hillsboro. The costs of pauperage in this county- are but small compared to
those borne by the people of England and some other European nations. The local
communities of Illinois give equally good care to a few unfortunates who, by
constantly recurring misfortunes, are at last brought to live upon the county.
The first Poor Farm was in Irving Township, and was known as "swamp land," which
was set apart for the purpose of a Poor Farm, but was never used nor improved as
such. It was selected December 6, 1873, and was the northeast quarter of Section
1, Township 9 (Irving), Range 3. A committee was appointed to prepare a place
for erecting buildings, etc., and March 27, 1874, a contract was let for $3,900
for that purpose, but on the 29th of April, before work commenced, the site was
changed to the Blackman farm, in East Fork Township. The contractor was to put
up the same buildings as those designed in Irving Township. May 1, 1874, the
east half of the northeast quarter of Section 24 (eighty acres), and part of the
east half of the southeast quarter of the same section (sixteen acres); west
half of northwest quarter of Section 19, and part of the west half of the
southwest quarter of same section, 172 acres, was purchased of 0. Blackmail, at
$35 per acre, and a deed made to the Board of Supervisors of Montgomery County.
The buildings, as originally designed, were completed and accepted September 9,
1874, by the Board of Supervisors.
In a recent article upon the institution, Mr. Springer says: "The Poor House is
shaded by handsome forest trees, and flanked on the left with a well-trained and
productive orchard. The care and comfort which its inmates, who have in most
instances some mental or physical defects, and often both, is far better than
they had met in earlier parts of their friendless lives, and here they seem
actually to enjoy an existence, which to the rational visitor appears
unenviable. The establishment has been satisfactorily conducted ever since its
removal here from its first location in Irving Township, and at an expense
(under the management of Mr. Staub) to the county, comparatively light. It is
part self-sustaining, the soil of the farm being productive under careful
cultivation."
Political. — In the early history of Montgomery County, there was but little
strife among political parties as compared to that of a later day. The war of
1812, and the accompanying events, wiped out the old Federal party that had so
bitterly opposed Mr. Jefferson, and for some years politics ran on smoothly. The
scramble for office in the early period of the county was almost nothing to what
it is at present. The office sought the man and not the man the office; and an
unfaithful "steward" was rarely heard of. The most lucrative offices were filled
by appointment and not by popular election, and as a general thing by faithful
and competent men, who discharged their duties without fear or favor. Thus,
Judge Rountree held several important offices at the same time, for more than
twenty years — a pretty good proof that he discharged his duties faithfully.
The appointing power, conferred by the Legislature upon the court, although
anti-republican in principle, is believed by many to be the best calculated to
secure efficiency and competency in office. Experience has proven, in many
instances, that the less frequently changes are made, the better it is for the
public service. The early records of the County show, under the appointing
power, but few changes — the case of Judge Rountree being an example in point.
The Presidential election of 1824 was attended with unusual excitement. The
candidates for President were Henry Clay, Gen. Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and
William H. Crawford. Mr. Clay carried his own State but was overwhelmingly
defeated. Neither of the candidates had a majority of the votes in the Electoral
College, according to the Constitutional rule, and upon the House of
Representatives devolved the duty of making choice of President. Each State, by
its Representatives in Congress, cast one vote. Mr. Clay was Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and it is supposed that, through his influence, the
Kentucky delegation cast the vote of that State for Mr. Adams instead of for
Gen. Jackson. By this coup d'etat Mr. Clay was instrumental in organizing
political parties that survived the generation in which he lived, and ruled in
turn the destines of the Republic for more than a quarter of a century.
For several years after the political power and official patronage had passed
into the hands of Old Hickory, parties were known throughout the country as the
Jackson and anti-Jackson parties. These finally became the Whig and Democratic
parties, the latter of which has retained its party organization down to the
present day, and is still one of the great political parties of the time, and
has ever been the dominant party in Montgomery County. During the existence of
the Whig party, the Democrats usually carried off the spoils of office in the
county; and when the Whig party died and was resurrected under the title of
Republican party, the ghost of Andrew Jackson still led the old hero's adherents
on to victory, as he himself had led his ragged militia to victory at New
Orleans. It is sometimes told of them, by way of derision that many Democrats
are still voting for him, particularly in the south end of the county. We were
informed, however, by a gentleman whose party predilections do not coincide with
them, that, from the amount of mail matter which goes to that section, they have
doubtless learned of his death ere this. But, with all the slurs cast at the
party, it is a significant fact that the Democratic party, inaugurated during
the political career of Gen. Jackson, still exists, and was never stronger or in
a more flourishing condition, with better show of success, than at the present
day.
Extracted 28 Jan 2020 by Norma Hass from History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois, published in 1882, pages 186-193.
