Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/221

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 161 The court of quarter sessions for Cape Gir- ardeau district was organized ou March 19, 1805. The following judges were present and toolv part in the organization of the court: Chi'istopher Hays, Louis Lorimier, James Ballew, Robert Greene, John Byrd and Fred- eric Liinbaugh ; Josepli McFerron was clerk of the court and John Hays was sheriff. A grand jury was summoned which returned indictments for assault against William Har- per, and for burglary against Baptiste Manie. Both of these men were tried and convicted at the next term of the court. The court ap- pointed John Randall, Jeremiah Still, Will- iam Hand, William Ross, William Lorimier, and Michael Limbaugh as constables. At other meetings of the court licenses were issued to Louis Lorimier and Thomas W. Waters to run ferries across the ilississippi river. Rogers was also given a license to con- duct a tavern at Hubble 's Mill. The settlers at Tywappaty Bottom presented a petition, which was granted, for the opening of a road from that settlement to Cape Girardeau. An- other petition asked for a road from Hubble 's Mill by way of Andrew Ramsay 's to Cape Gir- ardeau ; this petition was signed by a number of settlers and was granted. Another petition prayed for the extension of the road from Ste. Genevieve to pass the upper Delaware towns to John Byrd's thence to William Daugh- ei'ty's, thence to Jeremiah Simpson's, thence to the edge of the Big Swamp, to meet the New Madrid road. The court appointed viewers who were ordered to make a report at the next term of the court. The court also fixed rates of taxation. Each house was taxed 25 cents, each head of cattle 6>4 cents, each slave 50 cents, and each one hundred dollars' worth of property 25 cents. Besides these a poll tax of 50 cents was levied on each able bodied single man Vol. I— 11 who shall not have taxable property to the amoimt of four hundred dollars. This is probably one of the first instances in the state of a tax on bachelors. The courts convened in Cape Girardeau. This was in obedience to a proclamation made bj' Governor Harrison on January 1, 1805. In that proclamation Governor Harrison sayg that he was not in possession of sufScient in- formation to determine the proper site for a permanent seat of justice but foimd it neces- sary to determine a temporary site. Accord- ingly, he directed that the courts of common pleas and general quarter sessions of the peace and the orphans' court be held at Cape Girar- deau upon the lands of Louis Lorimier. The proclamation further appointed the ju.stiees of the court of quarter sessions as commis- sioners to receive proposals and to make recommendation concerning the selection of a p>ermanent site. The commissioners thus appointed for this^ selection of the seat of justice received pro- posals from Louis Lorimier, William Daugh- erty and Jesse Cain. Daugherty wanted the site to be placed on the Ru.ssell farm, which he then owned, near the site of Jackson ; Cain wanted it established on the farm afterward owned by August Henecke; Lorimier pro- posed to give to the district four acres of land to be selected on any part of his grant north of his dwelling house, to furnish all neces- sary timber for the public buildings, and filially to give two hundred dollars and thirty days' labor of a man toward the erection of the buildings. As a further inducement he declared his purpose to reserve for the use of the inhabitants of the town, which he meant to lay off at Cape Girardeau, all the timber on a certain part of his land. The rather peculiar method of land description is seen in the manner in which Lorimier de-