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CHAPTER 12, laws of the fourth General Assembly, approved January 12th, 1853, attached
Yell and Risley counties to Boone county, and prescribed the manner In which they
should be organized. By virtue of this act the citizens of Webster county, in March,
1853, petitioned the Hon. SAMU B. MCCALL, County Judge of Boone county, to order an
election for county officers. The judge issued an order for an election to be held
on Monday, the 4th day of April 1853. The election was held. The whole number of
votes cast was sixty-three, and returns made to the judge of Boone county, who, on
the 9th day of April, 1853, issued certificates to the following officers: County
Judge, Win. PIERCE; Clerk of the District Court, JESSE GOODRICH; Recorder, JAMES
HOOK; Prosecuting Attorney, GEO. W. HALL, and JOHN H. COFER each received twenty-eight
votes—a tie; Sheriff, JAMES DOTY; Coroner, THEODORUS ESLICK; School Fund Commissioner,
LOUDOWIC MARICLE and JOHN TOLMAN, each received twenty-seven votes—a tie; Surveyor,
GEOROE W. HALL; Drainage Commissioner, DANIEL GAYLOR; Township Assessor, SAMUEL ESLICK;
Justices of the Peace, JOHN H. COFER and JOHN TOLMAN; Constables, JOHN DEVORE and
CHAS. BURCHARD; Township Trustees, ISAAC HOOK, ANDREW GROSSOLOSE and JOHN GAYLOR;
Township Clerk, LOUDOWIC MARICLE.
The first official act of Judge PIERCE of which there is a record, was the issuing
of a marriage license, May 14, 1853, to JOHN JACOB HOLMES, who was then Hospital
Steward at the fort, and Miss EMILY LYON, a housekeeper for the officers. Soon after
the organization of the county, the District Judge of the Fifth Judicial District
appointed three commissioners to select a site and locate a county seat. They
selected the southwest quarter of section 6, township 87, north of range 26, and a
town was laid out and named Homer.
In March 1866, the citizens of the county petitioned the Hon. WM. N. MESERVEY, Comity
Judge, to order an election on the question of removing the county seat from Homer to Fort
Dodge. The election was held on the 7th day of April 1856, and as soon as an office could be
procured, the records were taken to Fort Dodge and the present county seat established.
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BY chapter 142, laws of the fifth General Assembly, approved January 24th, 1855, the
following unorganized counties were attached to this county, to-wit: Wright, Humboldt,
Pocahontas, Palo Alto, Kossuth, Hancock, Winnebago, Bancroft and Emmett. These
counties were all organized by the County Judge of Webster, as follows:
WRIGHT.
BY an order of the County Court of Webster county, an election was held in
the County of Wright, August 6th, 1855, and DAVID DEAN was elected County Judge. A full
set of county officers was chosen, and the returns made to the judge of Webster. At this
time Wright county polled twenty-eight votes.
KOSSUTH.
AT the general election held on the 6th day of August, 1855, Kossuth county was organized
in the same way as Wright. There were thirty-two votes polled and ASA C. CALI, was elected
County Judge, and LEWIS H. SMITH, County Surveyor.
HUMBOLDT.
ABOUT the first day of April, 1857, Hon. SAML. KEES, then County Judge of Webster,
deputized HENRY A. CRAMER, at that time a resident of Humboldt county, as Deputy Sheriff,
and gave him a warrant for the holding of an election in that county, on the first Monday In
April, with orders to serve the same. CRAMER took his warrant and went to Humboldt county,
but found the homes of the settlers deserted, they having fled to Fort Dodge from fear of the
Indians, who were at that time reported as being on their way down the Des Moines river.
CRAMER found food cooked and warm on the stoves. He helped himself to eatables and
returned his warrant unserved. Judge KEES subsequently issued his warrant for an
election to be held on the first Monday in August, 1857. The election was held and 103
votes polled. The returns made to the judge of this county, show JONATHAN HUTCHISON
elected County Judge, A. MCLEAN Treasurer and Recorder, and HBNRY A. CRAMER, Coroner.
WINNEBAGO.
THIS county was organized by an order of the County Court of Webster, previous to the
general election held the second Tuesday in October 1857. The returns made to the Comity
Court show that there were twenty-seven votes cast, and ROBERT CIJ'AHK received the whole
number for County Judge.
PALO ALTO.
ON the 23d of September, 1858, the County Court of Webster ordered an election to be
held In Palo Alto county, on the second Tuesday In October following. The election was
held, but the returns being irregular the election was held to be void.
On the 22d of November 1858, the Court again issued an order for an election to he held on
the 20th day of December 1858, and a full board of county officers was elected. These returns
made to the Court show that JAMES MICKEY was elected County Judge, and JOHN M.
MUI,RONEY, Treasurer and Recorder. The whole number of votes cast was forty-four.
EMMETT.
ON the first day of January, 1850, the County Court of Webster issued an order for an
election to be held in Emmett county on the 7th day of February following. The returns show
that an election was held on Unit day at which there were cast twenty-six votes for county
officers. A. JENKINS, was elected County Judge, and STANDI.EY WESTON, Treasurer and
Recorder.
POCAHONTAS.
THIS county was organized by an order of the County Judge of Webster comity, who issued
an order the 19th day of February 1859, directing an election to be held on the 15th day of March,
following. At this time a full board of county officers was elected. The returns show that
twenty-three votes were cast, and DAVID SLOSSON elected County Judge, and WM. H. HAIT
Treasurer and Recorder.
HANCOCK.
THE records of Webster county show no county organization of this county.
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