In force, Feb.[February] 23, 1839.
AN ACT to incorporate the Liberty Steam-mill Company.
1Name & style.
Powers.
Erection of mill.
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That all such persons as shall hereafter become subscribers to the stock hereinafter
described shall be, and they are hereby, constituted and declared a body politic and
corporate, by the name and style of “The Liberty Steam-mill Company,” from and after the passage of this act; and, by that name, they and their successors
shall have succession for twenty years, and shall, in law, be capable of suing and being sued, plead and be impleaded, in all courts and places
whatsoever; may have a common seal, and alter the same at pleasure; and they and their
successors may also, by that name and style, be capable, in law, of purchasing, holding,
and conveying away real and personal estate for the uses and purposes of said incorporation,
<Page 2>
(which real estate shall not exceed one acre of ground,) in the town of Liberty, for the purpose of erecting said mill upon, and one hundred and sixty acres of land
elsewhere, whereon to erect the necessary enclosures for carrying on the business
of the company .
May manufacture and export.
Sec. 2. The said company hereby incorporated shall have power to erect a steam-mill in the county of Randolph, town of Liberty, and are hereby authorized to carry on the manufacturing of the various kinds of grain
and other manufactures; to export the same and other products of the country; and
to use all such powers and privileges as may be necessary to carry on the said manufactory
according to the objects of this act as herein expressed.
Capital stock.
Sec. 3. The capital stock of said company shall consist of six thousand dollars, with the privilege of increasing the same
to twenty thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each.
Commissioners to open books.
Meeting of stockholders.
Sec. 4. For the purpose of carrying into effect the object of this corporation,Samuel Mansker, A. H. Frazer, William W. Higgins,
Harvey Clendenen, and Fitch W. Kelsey, are hereby appointed commissioners to obtain subscription to the capital stock of
said company; and said commissioners, or a majority of them, after given general notice thereof
in some newspaper printed in this State, may open books for the subscription of said stock at such time and places as they
may direct, and keep the same open till at least fifty shares have been subscribed.
Every subscriber, at the time of subscribing, shall pay to said commissioners two
dollars for each share subscribed; and when such subscription is complete as aforesaid,
or within sixty days thereafter, said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall call a meeting of the stockholders at Liberty, by a printed notice in some newspaper of general circulation in this State.
Election of directors.
Annual election.
Sec. 5. At said meeting the stockholders of said company shall proceed to elect five directors, who shall manage, direct, and govern the affairs of said company for one year from the period of said election, and until their successors are elected
and qualified; and at said election each stockholder shall be entitled to one vote
for each share he may hold, and a majority of all the votes given shall be required
to make an election. The period of election of directors as aforesaid shall be annually on the first Monday
of the month in which the first election thall be held.
Quorum.
Officers to be chosen.
Sec. 6. Immediately after the directors are chosen as aforesaid, they shall hold a meeting,
at which, and at all subsequent meetings of said board, a majority of the directors shall constitute a quorum. They shall proceed to the election of a president from their own body; a secretary,
who shall be sworn by a justice of the peace to the faithful discharge of his duty,
and who shall record all votes of the corporation in a book to be by him kept for that purpose; a
<Page 3>
treasurer, who shall give bond to such amount and in such manner as the said president
and directors shall direct; and the board shall appoint all other officers and agents
as to them shall seem necessary.
Transfer of stock.
Sec. 7. Said president and directors shall have power to make and establish all such
by-laws, rules, and regulations as shall be necessary, and not inconsistent with the
laws of this State and the provisions of this act, for the payment or collection of the subscriptions
to its stock, and the transfer of the same, or of property, or that in any other way may concern
the management or direction of the affairs of said company.
Sec. 8. If it should happen that any election should not be made on the day when by the
provisions of this act it should be made, the corporation shall not for that reason be dissolved; but such election may be held on any other
day within thirty days thereafter, public notice being given by directors thereof.
Act deemed public.
Sec. 9. This act shall be deemed a public act, and shall be construed favorably, for the purposes therein expressed and declared,
in all courts and places whatsoever.
Approved, February 23, 1839.2
1On February 2, 1839, Senator Richard B . Servant introduced SB 193 in the Senate, and the Senate referred the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary. On February
14, the Committee on the Judiciary reported the bill without amendment. Senator Orville H. Browning then offered an amendment, and the Senate concurred. On February 19, the Senate
passed the bill. On February 20, the House of Representatives passed the bill. On February 23, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Printed Document, 3 page(s), Incorporation Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Eleventh General Assembly (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1839), 170-72, GA Session: 11-1,