ceola, Reeve, Clinton, Oakland and Morgan. This board before adjourning passed this resolution:

"Resolved. That the amount of exemption from taxation, shall be $2.50 on each acre of forest trees planted for timber; 50 cents on each mile of shade trees, along the highway. Also $1.00 for each half mile of hedge, and $2.50 for each acre of fruit trees, in a healthy, growing condition. The fruit trees to be not more than eight feet apart. This resolution applies to trees planted in 1870, only."

CHAPTER VII

MEN WHO HAVE SERVED THE COUNTY-JUDGE J. B. REEVE THE FIRST OFFICIAL-ESTABLISHMENT OF VARIOUS OFFICES-BOARD OF SUPER

VISORS.

COUNTY JUDGE

The office of county judge was the most important in the county at the time of its organization. James B. Reeve, the pioneer settler, was the first to be elected to this office and after two years' term was reelected in 1857. The opposing candidate was Dr. S. R. Mitchell, who unsuccessfully contested the vote. Judge Reeve was the incumbent of the office until January, 1860. The names of his successors follow: 1859, Henry Shroyer; 1861, A. T. Reeve; 1862, Austin North; 1867, W. W. Day.

Mr. Day remained in office until it was abolished in the year 1869.

treasurer

When the county was organized, and for some years thereafter, the offices of treasurer and recorder were combined. The work of both was about the same as at the present time but there was little to do and the duties were not onerous; so that one man could perform them and still have leisure time upon his hands. Isaac Miller was first elected to this office. He was succeeded in 1859 by James Thompson, and he by George Beed in 1861. In the winter of 1863-4, the General Assembly passed an act separating these offices. Beed, however, continued to attend to the duties of both until 1865, when he was elected treasurer, and in 1867 was reelected. The names of his successors follow: 1869, A. T. Reeve; 1873, R. S. Benson; 1877, T. C. McKenzie; 1881, C. L. Clock; 1883, John E. Evans; 1887, Louis Elsefer; 1891, N. W. Beebe; 189;, Henry Proctor; 1899, H. A. Clock; 1903, S. H. Mendell; 1908, E. H. Mallory; 1912, C. D. Williams.

AUDITOR

When the office of county judge was abolished in 1869, that of county auditor was created. Capt. R. S. Benson was the first auditor of Franklin county, being first elected in 1869. He was reelected in 1871 and performed the duties imposed to the utmost satisfaction of the whole county. Below is a list of the auditors of Franklin county from the creation of the office to the present time: 1869, R. S. Benson; 1873, J. M. Wait; 1877, C. L. Clock; 1881, J. M. Wait; 1885, C. W. Boutin; 1889, T. E. B. Hudson; 1894, Charles Krag; 1898, E. D. Haecker; 1902, W. T. Adams; 1906, Frank G. Luke; 1910, Frank McSpaden.

recorder

Isaac Miller was the first county recorder, first serving in the dual capacity of treasurer and recorder. The first person to perform the duties of this office after the separation was James H. Beed. The names of his successors follow his name in the list below: 1855, Isaac Miller; 1857, Milton Clover; 1861, George Beed; 1866, James H. Beed; 1868, Henry Meyer; 1871, R. S. Benson; 1873, J. M. Wait; 1877, C. L. Clock; 1881, J. M. Wait; 1884, Louis Elsefer; 1886, William Avery; 1890, H. E. Latham; 1894, W. L. Burres; 1898, John W. Cummings; 1902, George H. Lambert; 1906, Will Lane; 1910, Floyd Gillett; 1912, B. D. Lane.

clerk of the court

According to early historians of the county, Dr. S. R. Mitchell was elected clerk of the court in 1855 and served until 1857. At that time he was succeeded by Sowel C. Brazzelton, of Maysville, who figured quite prominently in the efforts to secure the location of the county seat for his home town. John D. Leland was elected clerk of the court in October, 1858, defeating the incumbent and John E. Boyles. D. W. Dow, still living in Hampton, was the successful candidate for this office in November, 1860, defeating J. D. Leland and Henry White. Mr. Dow served the county acceptably in this office for six years, part of which time he was fighting for his country in the Civil war. Others who presided over the office were: 1866, R. S. Benson; 1870, T. C. McKenzie; 1874, M. A. Ives (failed to qualify and T. B. Taylor appointed to the office); 1875, T. B. Taylor;

1878, Henry A. Harriman; 1880, C. S. Guilford; 1884, J. S. Raymond; 1888, G. R. Miner; 1892, David Vought; 1896, R. E. McCrillis; 1900, G. T. McCrillis; 1904, W. J. Van Nuys; 1908, W. T. Webb; 1912, H. L. Proctor.

prosecuting attorney

Early in the '50s, and prior to the organization of Franklin county, the office of prosecuting attorney was created by an act of the General Assembly. The first incumbent was Q. A. Jordan, who was elected at the time of the organization in 1855. He was succeeded by Samuel B. Jackson, who was elected in August, 1856, and served but a few months. Robert Piatt was then elected in the following April and held the office until it was abolished by law and that of district attorney took its place, which was in 1870. In that year J. H. Bradley was elected to the office without opposition. His successors were: M. D. O'Connell, who was elected in 1872 and served four years; J. L. Stevens, elected in 1878 and remained in the office until 1886.

In the General Assembly of 1885-6 an act was passed abolishing the office of district attorney and creating the office of county attorney, thereby confining the duties of the prosecutor to his own county. The first election in Franklin county for county attorney was held in 1886. W. D. Evans was the successful candidate. The list of county attorneys follows: 1886, W. D. Evans; 1890, D. W. Dow; 1894, H. C. Liggett; 1898, John Y. Luke; 1902, B. H. Mallory; 1006, J. M. Hemingway; 1908, S. A. Clock; 1912, J. J. Sharpe.

sheriff

Solomon Staley was the first person to occupy the office of sheriff in Franklin county. He went to Chickasaw county to qualify and then returned to Franklin and performed the ceremony of inducting into office the various other persons elected in 1855. Staley remained in the county until 1876, when he went to Nebraska. The names of his successors follow: 1857, A. S. Ross; 1859, F. A. Denton; 1861, J. W. Ward; 1867, A. Pickering; 1869, A. B. Hudson; 1873, Abel N. Miner; 1877, Martin B. Jones; 1881, S. C. Stevens; 1885, Josiah Phelps; 1886, James Ormrod; 1888, Josiah Phelps (to fill vacancy caused by death of James Ormrod); 1889, W. T. O.