Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Feb.[February] 22, 1839.

AN ACT to organize the County of Carroll.
1

Boundaries of Carroll county.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That all that tract of country contained within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the northwest corner of town twenty-five north, range two, east of the fourth principal meridian; thence, east, on said township line,2 to the middle of range seven; thence, south, on the section line, to the north boundary of Whiteside county; thence, west, along the north boundary of Whiteside county, to the middle of the channel of the Mississippi river; thence, up the middle of the channel of the Mississippi river, to a

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point opposite the place of beginning; thence, east, to the place of beginning, shall constitute the county of Carroll.3

County seat to be established by vote.

Sec. 2. That, for the purpose of fixing the permanent seat of justice of the said county, it shall be lawful for the legal voters within the above named boundaries to meet, on the second Monday in April next, at the several places of holding elections, and vote for the place where the county seat shall be located, and the place receiving a majority of all the votes given shall be the permanent seat of justice of said county;4 and if no one place shall have received a majority of all the votes given, then it shall be lawful for the said legal voters to meet, at the several places of holding elections, on the second Monday, in July, 1839, and then and there select and vote for one of the two places only heretofore voted for in April having the two highest numbers of votes where the county seat shall be located; and that place having a majority of all the votes given shall be the permanent seat of justice of said county.5

County buildings.

Sec. 3. The county seat shall be located on lands belonging to the United States, if a site for said county seat on such lands can be found equally as eligible as upon lands owned by individuals. If such location shall be made upon lands claimed by any individual in said county, or any individual having pre-emption right or title to the same, the claimant or proprietor upon whose lands, claim, or pre-emption right, the said seat of justice may be located, shall make a deed in fee simple, to any number of acres of said tract, not less than twenty-five, to the said county; or, in lieu thereof, such claimant, owner, or owners, shall donate to the said county at least three thousand five hundred dollars, to be applied to the building of county buildings, in six, twelve, and eighteen months after locating said county seat. If the town of Savannah, in said county, should receive the majority of all the votes given, the proprietors or owners of said town are hereby required to donate to said new county, for the purpose of erecting public buildings, a sufficient number of lots, in the town of Savannah, for the accommodation of the necessary public buildings, and three thousand five hundred dollars in cash, payable in three equal instalments, say in six, twelve, and eighteen months,6 from the time the location of said county seat is established.

Election for county officers.

Sec. 4. An election shall be held on the second Monday in April next, at the different election precincts, for the purpose of electing county officers, who shall hold their offices until the next general election, and until their successors are qualified; which said election shall be conducted, in all respects, agreeably to the provisions of the law regulating elections. Returns of said election shall be made by the judges and clerks to the justices of the peace within said county. Said justices of the peace shall meet at the town of Savannah, within seven7 days after said election, and proceed to open

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said returns, and in all things perform the duties required by law of the clerks of county commissioners’ courts and justices of the peace in like case.

Com’rs[Commissioners] to meet at Savannah.

Sec. 5. That the county commissioners shall meet at the town of Savannah, within ten days after their election, and, being first duly sworn, shall proceed to lay off the county into justices’ districts, and shall order an election to be held for the purpose of electing additional justices of the peace and constables within said county; shall provide means for raising a county revenue, lay off the county into road districts, appoint supervisors, assess the amount of road labor, and perform such other duties as are required by law: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be so construed as to repeal out of office any justice of the peace or constable now entitled and residing within the limits of said new county.

Courts held in Savannah.

Carroll co. to form part of 6th judicial circuit.

Sec. 6. The courts of said county shall be held at the town of Savannah, until a suitable preparation can be made of the county seat; said county shall constitute a part of the sixth judicial circuit, and the circuit court shall be held for said county twice a year, at such time as may be fixed by the judge of said district, until otherwise provided by law.8

Cl’ks[Clerks] of Carroll and Jo Daviess to compare poll-books.

Sec. 7. The qualified voters of the county of Carroll, in all elections except county elections, shall vote with the district to which they belong; and the clerk of the county commissioners’ court of said county shall compare the election returns of said county with the clerk of the county of Jo Daviess, and shall make returns of elections to the Secretary of State as is now required by law. The provisions of this section shall be observed until the next apportionment, or until otherwise provided by law.

Part of Ogle county.

Sec. 8. The east half of the seventh range lying north of Whiteside county and south of Stephenson county, in towns twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-five north, shall be attached to and form part of Ogle county.9

Approved, February 22, 1839.

1On January 19, 1839, John Moore, from the Committee on Counties, of which Abraham Lincoln was a member, introduced HB 163 in the House of Representatives. On January 23, the House passed the bill. On February 5, the Senate referred the bill to a select committee. On February 11, the Senate concurred in several amendments from the select committee and passed the bill as amended. On February 19, the House concurred in the Senate’s amendments. On February 22, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 239, 266, 268, 382, 443, 479, 485; Illinois Senate Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 217, 283, 310, 366, 387.

2The Senate apparently amended the northern border of the proposed county from “beginning at the North west corner of Town twenty in North Range two east of the fourth principal meridian, thence east on said Township line (to the range line, between ranges three, and four, thence north on the range line, to the section line between Sections eighteen and nineteen in town twenty six north of Range four East, thence east on said section line to the line of Stephenson County in Range five, thence south with the line of Stephenson County, to the south Corner of said County, thence east with the south boundary of Stephenson County)” to the present text.
Illinois Senate Journal. 1838. 11th G. A., 1st sess., 310.

3Between statehood in 1818 and 1867, the Illinois General Assembly authorized the creation of 104 Illinois counties. During Lincoln’s four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, the General Assembly authorized 38 counties. The General Assembly allowed voters in the affected county or counties to accept or reject the creation of the new county in only twelve of those cases. In four instances, a majority of voters rejected the creation of the new county. The Illinois Constitution of 1848 made such referenda mandatory in the creation of new counties.
Michael D. Sublett, Paper Counties: The Illinois Experience, 1825-1867 (New York: Peter Lang, 1990), 12-14, 22; Ill. Const. (1848), art. VII.

4The Senate apparently added the rest of this section.

5For the 38 counties authorized by the General Assembly during Lincoln’s four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, the General Assembly appointed commissioners to designate the county seat in 23 instances, allowed the voters of the new county to select the county seat in 11 instances, including this one, and designated the county seat directly in the remaining 4 instances.
Sublett, Paper Counties, 14-18.
Voters in April 1839 selected Savanna as the county seat of Carroll County.
The History of Carroll County, Illinois (Chicago: H. F. Kett & Company, 1878), 234, 241.

6The Senate added, “in cash, payable in three equal instalments, say in six, twelve, and eighteen months,” here.

7The Senate changed “Ten” to “seven” here.

8The Senate added “until otherwise provided by law” here.

9The General Assembly authorized Ogle County in 1836. By this act in February 1839, it added these three half townships to Ogle County’s western border, and by a separate act created Lee County out of the southern half of Ogle County. Two years later, the General Assembly allowed voters in these three half townships to decide whether they would continue to be part of Ogle County or join Carroll County; they remained in Ogle County.
An Act to Establish Certain Counties; An Act to Create the County of Lee from the County of Ogle; An Act to Extend the Boundaries of the County of Carroll