Formation of Madison County.- - The act for the organization of Madison County was passed on December 14, 1818, on the same day that the counties of Lincoln, Pike and Montgomery were formed. At that time the circuit court transacted all the county business. Court Proceedings. - - The first term was held at the house of Theodore F. Tong, on July 12, 1819, by Judge Thomas. Charles Hutchings performed the duties of clerk, but at the next term Nathaniel Cook received the appointment. The sheriff was Joseph Montgomery, who returned the following list of grand jurors: Jason Harrison, John White, Adam Ground, John Clement, Jacob Shook, Elisha Bennett, Thomas Cooper, Lee Pettitt, Nicholas LaChance, John B. Deguire, Alexander Fletcher, William Dillard, James Pettitt, Thomas Crawford, Peter Sides, John Best, John Sides, Henry Whitener, John Wright and E. Mitchell. They returned indictments against John Callaway, Samuel Strother, J.G.W. McCabe, Joseph Bennett, D.L. Caruthers, George and Jacob Nifong, Peter Chevallier, Moses Baird, Samuel Anthony, Thomas Craddock, George Robertson, John Bridges, Adam Henderson and Arthur McFarland for assault and battery; against "Fred. Mires" for horse stealing; against George Wear for "cow stealing;" against J.B. Stephens for larceny, and against William Stephens for hog stealing. In the assault and battery cases all were found guilty, and fined in various sums, except Bridges and McFarland. In the other cases there were no convictions. Stephens was charged with having stolen a considerable sum of money from his neighbor, Caruthers, but there was not sufficient proof to convict, and the case against him was discharged. Soon after a man named John Duncan came to the county from Tennessee, and, hearing the reports of the robbery, planned to murder Stephens, secure the money which he was supposed to have stolen, and make his escape. He went to Stephens' house, two and one-half miles east of Fredericktown, and represented himself as a land buyer. Stephens was at work in the woods, not far away, with his sons, two young lads, and thither Mrs. Stephens sent Duncan. The latter by strategem succeeded in securing the ax and gun which Stephens and his sons had, and murdered all three. He went to the house, killed Mrs. Stephens, spent some time in searching for the money, and departed, leaving two small children unharmed. He was arrested a day or two later, tried, convicted and sentenced to be hung on April 5, 1821. The execution took place in the northeast part of town, near the creek, at what is still known as "Duncan's Hole." People came from all the surrounding counties, and several hundred were present. Duncan made a full confession upon the scaffold, entirely exonerating two worthy citizens who had been indicted as accessories. At the November term, 1827, Conrad Cotner was brought on a change of venue from Cape Girardeau County, and tried for the murder of Charles Hinkle. He was found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of $500. To this the court added the following order: "It is ordered that said Cotner be put to labor in the blacksmith shop of Elisha Bennett in the town of Fredericktown, in the county of Madison, in the manner following: The said Cotner shall labor in said shop, chained to the anvil block therein, the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth and eleventh months of the time for which he is to be imprisoned, the said Bennett furnishing the said Cotner with diet, and returning him to prison every night." In February, 1844, A.W. Smith killed John Vincent. The two men, who were neighbors, had had a quarrel about some stock of the one breaking into the field of the other. Smith, who had previously borne a bad reputation, waylaid Vincent as he was returning home one night, and shot him. He lived only long enough to reach the nearest house and relate what had occurred. Smith upon trial was convicted, and was sentenced to be hung. His counsel took an appeal to the supreme court, and pending a decision an election was held in Fredericktown, at which several friends of the murdered man were present. After indulging very freely in whisky they proposed to take Smith from the jail and hang him, but this the sheriff with a posse of citizens prevented. After standing guard for about two hours the sheriff, to quiet the mob, proposed to vote upon the question of hanging, knowing that the majority present would sustain the law. This was agreed to, but no sooner had the guards left the jail than the lynchers made a dash, broke open the door, secured the prisoner, and, putting a rope around his neck, literally dragged him to the place of execution. Then they compelled a Methodist minister, Rev. Jesse P. Davis, to offer up a prayer for the condemned man, after which they proceeded with the hanging. Fourteen of the mob were subsequently arrested and indicted, but, with one or two exceptions, the entire number died within a year, and before any trial was had. The county court of Madison County held its first meeting on February 12, 1821, at the house of J.G.W. McCabe, at which time William Dillon and Henry Whitener, justices, were present, and appointed Nathaniel Cook, clerk. At this time the county extended west to Black River, and was divided into three townships, Castor occupying the eastern part, St. Michaels the western, and Liberty the northern. Two new townships were now laid out. They were Twelve-Mile, which included all the southwest part of the county, and German Township, which adjoined it on the east. Election places were then fixed, and judges of election appointed, as follows: Liberty - - at the house of John Renohue; Ephraim Stout, Anthony Sharp and Elisha Bennett, judges. St. Michaels - - at the courthouse; Thomas Cooper, James Holman and Thomas Craddock, judges. Castor - - at the house of William Anthony; Hugh Fulton, John White and David Ward, judges. German - - at the house of the widow Whitener; John Bess, Michael Mouser and Anthony Clubb, judges. Twelve Mile - - at the house of William Boren; William Boren, William Cravens and A. Johnston, judges. Other townships were subsequently organized - - St. Francois in 1845, Arcadia in 1848, and Union in 1850. In 1857, by the organization of Iron County, Arcadia and the greater part of Union and Liberty were cut off. Liberty was then re-established and Polk Township formed. Prior to 1822 the courts were held at private residences. In that year the present brick courthouse was completed. It is in a remarkably good state of preservation, and is the oldest structure of the kind now in use west of the Mississippi. A jail was completed a year or two before the courthouse. It stood on what is still known as the jail lot, and was built with triple walls of logs, in the middle wall the logs being placed upright. It was burned by an escaped prisoner named Mitchell. A brick jail was then built upon the public square. It met with the same fate as the first, and for over thirty years the county has been without a jail. In 1822 the total receipts of the county were $249.42, and the expenditures $343.72. In 1859 the receipts were $4,542.01, and the expenditures $5,931.91. The indebtedness of the county was then $14,946.76, of which $12,850 was incurred in the construction of the Fredericktown and Pilot Knob gravel road. This indebtedness has been paid, and the county is now in a highly properous condition. Officials. - - The following is a list of the officers of Madison County since its organization: Clerks of the County Court. - - Charles Hutchings, from April to December, 1819; Nathaniel Cook, 1819-23; Thomas Moseley, Jr., 1823-32; William M. Newberry, 1832-42; Edward H. Evans, 1842-62; A.C. Leclere, 1862-63; William N. Nalle, 1863-65; H.H. Finley, 1865-67; William M. Newberry, 1867-70; Sol. D. Caruthers, 1870-74; Thomas E. Roussin, 1874-82; N.B. Watts, 1882. Clerks of the Circuit Court and Recorders. - - The same as the clerks of the county court to 1870; Thomas Holloway, 1870-74, T.H. Johnson, 1874-79; W.J. Collier, 1879-80; J.P. Gabriel, 1880-86; Hiram Berry, 1884. Sheriffs. - - Joseph Moore, 1819-21; John Callaway, 1821-23; Micajah Stone, 1823-28; Peter Chevallier, 1828-30; C.C. Burdett, 1830-32; Micajah Stone, 1832-34; Richard Britton, 1834-38; James Marshall, 1838-42; Charles K. Henderson, 1842-46; Frederick M.L. Sullivan, 1846-50; David B. Brewer, 1850-54; David N. Griffin, 1854-56; J.M. Spiva, 1856-60; Thomas B. Grigsby, 1860-1865; Martin G. Foster, 1865-67; William H. Higdon, 1867-70; D.N. Griffin, 1870-73; R.C. Cooper, 1873-75; G.W. Lanpher, 1875-78; Felix Slater, 1878-80; J.M. Arnett, 1880-84; H.S. Spiva, 1884. Assessors. - - William Egar, 1820-22; E.H. Bennett, 1822-23; Robert M. Friar, 1823-24; Andrew Wight, 1825-27; William Anthony 1827-28; Andrew Wight, 1828-29; Thomas Craddock, 1830-31; Elisha Spiva, 1831-32; D.L. Caruthers, 1832-33; Abraham Britton, 1833-34; James Marshall, 1833-34; Jeremiah Cravens, 1834-35; E.H. Spiva, 1837--; David N. Griffin, 1846-56; C.C. Burdett, 1856-58; B.C. Cooper and George W. King, 1858-59; C.C. Burdett, 1860; N.B. Allen, 1863-65; Philip Schulte, 1865-67; Ira L. Wood, 1867-69; D.E. Underwood, 1869-70; George W. Lanpher, 1870-74; Powell Callaway, 1874-75; Joseph Deguire, 1875-79; George L. Bruce, 1879-80; John H. Townsend, 1880; A.A. Deguire, 1880-82; William Matkin, 1882-84; R.A. Buckner, 1884. Treasurers. - - Thomas Moseley, Jr., 1820-34; Zenas Smith, 1834-37; Jeremiah Spencer, 1837-41; Caleb Cox, 1841-52; Hiram N. Tong, 1852-54; Anthony Leclere, 1854-59; W.F. Cox, 1859-63; J.W. Hill, 1863-65; Daniel Peterson, 1865-70; J.W. Hill, 1870-72; Frank T. Lee, 1872-78; R.H. Nalle, 1878-84; N.J. Berry, 1884. Judges of the County Court. - - William Dillon, 1821-22; Samuel Anthony, 1821-23; Joseph Bennett, 1821-25; John Burdett, 1822-23; John Bennett, 1823-24; Elijah O'Bannon, 1823-25; Thomas Cooper, 1824-25; William Anthony 1825-26; John McArthur, 1825; Allen Duncan, 1825-26; Wesley Garrett, 1825-26; Caleb Cox, 1825-27; R.M. Friar, 1825-27; Joseph Bennett, 1826-27; Anthony Clubb, 1826-27; John L. Pettitt, 1826-27; Anthony Sharp, Sr., 1826-27; Elijah O'Bannon, 1827-31; George Weir, 1827-31; Isham Harrison, 1827-31; Moses Cox, 1831-32; Thomas Cooper, 1831-46; William Anthony, 1831-39; Anthony Clubb, 1832-35; Allen Duncan, 1835-41; Josiah Berryman, 1839-41; J.D. Villars, 1841-45; William Anthony, 1841-50; Richard Britton, 1846-50; R.M. Shannon, 1845-52; Uriah Duncan, 1850-52; J.C. Berryman, 1850-60; Robert Sloss, 1852-56; John B. Belmar, 1852-56; A.C. Farnham, 1856-57; Richard Britton, 1857-58; R.M. Shannon, 1856-63; William Maze, 1858-65; L.M. Clowninger, 1860-65; E.M. Spiva, 1863-65; James Finley, 1865-67; Caleb Berry, 1865-72; James Addison, 1865-67; J.C. Berryman, 1867-68; B.F. Kelly, 1867-70; John Schulte, 1868-74; E.H. Spiva, 1870-76; Ancil Mathews, 1872-78; John Schulte, 1878-82; Chris. Weigenstein, 1878-82; W.M. Matkins, 1878-80; John Q.A. Whitener, 1880-82; E.L. Graham, 1882-86; J.G. Donnell, 1882-84; W.B.M. White, 1882-84; John Hahn, 1884-85; Joseph Schulte, 1884; L.A.W. Clowninger, 1886; J.W. Vincent, 1886. Judges of Probate Court. - - D.M. Fox, 1850-51; S.D. Caruthers, 1851-53; Edward Evans, 1853-56; William M. Newberry, 1856-58; D.M. Fox, 1858-60; Thomas Holladay, 1860-65; Daniel Peterson, 1865-73; S.D. Caruthers, 1873-75; L.H. Alford, 1875-77; D.W. O'Bannon, 1877-79; Chris Weigenstein, 1879-83; N.B. Allen, 1883. Collectors. - - M. Stone, 1821-22; Edward Bennett, 1822-23; M. Stone, 1823-24; W.M. Newberry, 1824-25; M. Stone, 1825-31; John Holbert, 1831-33; James Marshall, 1833-34; James Henderson, 1834-35; John M. Teal, 1835-37. From 1837 to 1879 the sheriff was ex-officio collector. Since the latter date Thomas O'Bannon has filled the office with the exception of four years, 1881-85, when William Newberry was the incumbent. Representatives in the Legislature. - - Theodore F. Tong, 1830; Thomas Mosely, Jr., 1834; Jeremiah Cravens, 1836; N.B. Harris, 1840; Henry Kemper, 1844-46; C.K. Henderson, 1846-48; S.D. Caruthers, 1848-50; James Lindsay, 1850-52; G.W. King, 1852-56; John Polk, 1856-58; Josiah M. Anthony, 1858-60; Daniel Rhodes, 1862-64; J.F. Foster, 1864-66; Richard Britton, 1866-68; W.N. Nalle, 1868-70; S.C. Collier, 1870-72; J.B. Duchouquette, 1872-74; J.M. Anthony, 18744; John R. Turner, 1878-80; J.M. Anthony, 1880-84; J.G. Donnell, 1884-86; F.R. Newberry, 1886. * * Copied verbatim from Goodspeed's History of Southeast Missouri - published 1888 - pages 339 thru 344