Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/225

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 165 Thomas Neal, John LaValle, "William Win- chester, and William Gray. This court di- vided New ]Iadrid county into townships. The territory about New Madrid and Little Prairie was named New Madrid township; Big Prairie township was established to in- clude the settlements about Sikeston; Tywap- pity township included the territory lying east of St. John's Bayou and extending as far north as the Lucas place ; Moreland town- ship embraced the territory between the north part of the Big Prairie and Cape Girardeau county. All the western part of the county of New Madrid was organized into a township called White River. The court also appointed judges of election in each of the townships. For New Madrid township John E. Hart, George Tennille and Robert McCoy were made judges and the house of Samuel Cooper was appointed as the polling place. For Big Prairie township the judges selected were Enoch Liggett, Samuel Phillips and Thomas Bartlett. The election was to be held at the house of Samuel Phillips. John Tucker, Drakeford Gray and John Brooks were the judges of the election of Tywappaty township ; the polling place was the house of Edward N. Matthews. For Moreland township the polling place was at the house of Charles Friend and the judges of election were John Ramsay, Hugh Johnson and Timothy Harris. The house of Captain Harris on Spring river was the polling place in White River town- ship and the judges were George Ruddell, Amos IMusick and Captain Hines. In March, 1814, the court, as reorganized, met at the house of Samuel Phillips in Big Prairie, and the June term was held at the house of Jesse Bartlett: In November, 1814, the commissioners for the seat of government selected fifty acres of land in Big Prairie Vv'hich was donated by Steel Ross and Moses Hurley. This land lay about one-fourth mile south of the present town of Sikeston. Joseph Story was the county surveyor, and he was ordered by the court to lay the fifty acres ofi: into lots. These lots were sold at puljlic auction in November and December of that year. The money thus derived was used for the erection of a jail which was built in 1817. This place continued to be the county seat of New Madrid county until the organi- zation of Scott county, when the county seat was removed to New Madrid. On the removal to New Madrid a new court house and jail became necessary ; the old jail was sold on the orders of the court and the new commission, consisting of Mark H. Stallcup, John Shanks, Thomas Bartlett, Francois Le Sieur, and John Ruddell, were appointed. They proceeded to erect a court house and jail. This was the first court house in the county ; they were both frame structures. The court hoase was used until 1854 and the jail mitil 1845. This organization of New Madrid coimty into townships was maintained until 1822. In that year the area of the county having been very greatly reduced by the erection of new counties, townships were formed as fol- lows : Big Prairie was all that part of the county north of a line running in a westerly direction north of Rawl's old mill to the western boundary of the county. New Madrid towTiship was to consist of all of part of the county lying south of Big Prairie township and north of a line beginning on the Missis- sippi river and running west so as to divide the surveys of Roljert McCoy and Joseph Vandenbenden ; thence to tlie west just south of the plantations of Robert G. Watson and Aaron T. Spear on Lake St. Ann to the west-