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In force March 1st, 1837.
AN ACT supplemental to an act to establish certain counties, approved Jan.[January] 16, 1836.
1
McHenry county, what it shall include
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the county of McHenry shall include all that portion of Lake Michigan which lies in the State of Illinois, and due east of said county as defined by the act to which this is a supplement.2
Commissioners to locate seat of justice.
Their duties.
Shall make report.
Compensation.
Sec. 2. That Peter Cohen of Will county, Meritt L. Covell of McLean county, and Daniel Dunham of Kane county,3 are hereby appointed commissioners to locate the seat of justice of said county, who (or a majority of them) shall meet at the house of Hiram Kennicott in said county, on the first Monday of May next, or within thirty days thereafter, and after being duly sworn before any justice of the peace of this state, faithfully to take into view the convenience of the people, the situation of settlements, with an eye to future population, and the eligibility of the place, shall proceed to locate the seat of justice of said county, and shall make their report thereof to the county commissioners court, which report shall be spread upon their records; and there shall be paid out of the county treasury of the said county to the said commissioners, the sum of two dollars each, for each day they shall be necessarily engaged in going to and returning from, and in locating the said county seat.
Election of officers.
Judges of election.
Sec. 3. That an election shall be held in the said county, at the house of Hiram Kennicott, on the first day of June next, by the qualified voters, for three county commissioners, one sheriff, one coroner, one recorder, and one county surveyor, for said county. A. S. Willis, Richard Steele and S. Brooks, are hereby appointed judges of said election, who shall appoint clerks, be qualified and conduct the same according to law, as in other cases of elections. The said judges shall give certificates and make returns of said election.4
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When county organized.
Sec. 4. As soon as the said county commissioners shall be elected and qualified, the said county shall be deemed to be fully organised.5
Approved 1st March, 1837.
1On January 23, 1837, Peter Pruyne in theSenate introduced the petition of various citizens of McHenry County, requesting passage of an act to locate a seat of justice for the county. The Senate referred the petition to a select committee. In response to this petition, Pruyne from the select committee introduced SB 119 in the Senate on January 25. On January 31, the Senate referred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on February 7 with an amendment, in which the Senate concurred. On February 8, the Senate passed the bill as amended. On February 25, the House of Representatives amended the bill by striking out the name “Hiram Kennicott” and inserting in lieu thereof the name “Charles G. Wheeler.” The House then passed the bill as amended. Later that day, the House reconsidered this vote and passed the bill in its original form. On March 1, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 514, 676-77, 714, 716-17, 767; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 270, 291, 327, 357, 366, 536, 572, 590.
2Section one of the act had set the boundaries for McHenry County.
3The bill identified the third commissioner as David Dunham. There was both a Daniel and David Dunham living in Kane County during this time.
Gravestone, Daniel Dunham, Little Woods Cemetery, Kane County, IL; Gravestone, David Dunham, Westside Cemetery, Geneva, IL.
4The election occurred as scheduled on June 1, 1837. In September 1837, the county commissioners ordered a general election to be held on October 9 for one county commissioner, one clerk of the county commissioners court, and to fill vacancies for magistrates and constables.
History of Henry County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1885), 185.
5Section sixteen of the act creating McHenry County stipulated that it would continue to be part of Cook County until it was organized.
History of Henry County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1885), 185.

Printed Document, 2 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Tenth General Assembly (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1837), 89-90, GA Session: 10-1