The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-04-11
Mr.. CHAPMAN'S PAPER.
List of the Early Population OF Man.
kat0.

The following is the interesting
paper read by G. A. Chapman before
the Blue Earth County Historical
society yesterday afternoon:
There is now in the possession OF
one of our citizens a thin book, about
eight by twelve inches in size, which
contains record covering a period
of about eight months, from Aug. 81,
1857 TO April 20, 1853, of an associa-
tion of citizens comprising nearly the
whole population of Manakto.
In order to understand the object of
this association it must be borne in
mind that at this time two rival
townsite companies laid claim to the
townsite of Mankato, the ''old COM
pany'' and the ''new company" as
they were then popularity designated.
Between these two companies stroVe
the settlers, who had squatted on the
town lots, had built houses on them,
and were occupying them without
title. They had conceived the IDEA
that when the title passed from the
United States, it should go not to a
company formed for speculation, but
TO the actual settlers and improYers of
the land.
Therefore we find that on August 81,
1857, quoting now from the record, ga
meeting of the settlers residing in the
townsite of Mankato in Blue Earth
Co. NJ. T. was held in the schoolhouse
in said town, in the evening of the
above date, for the purpose of taking
into consideration proper measures
for securing their homes" The school
house here mentioned was the log
school house on Broad street where the
Union school house now stands.
Ephraim Cole was chairman at this
meeting. He lived in shanty on
block 10, and laid cut that portion of
said block which is called "Cole' 8
subdivision " w. @. Milligan was
secretary. He may have been a good
secretary, but he spelled worse than
CHANGER. A committee was appointed
to draft articles of association and
another to draw up memorial to the
secretary of the interior, asking him
to instruct the district judge to center
the TOWNSHIP in trust for the occupants.
This committee consisted of Branson,
Milligan, Lomery, (Lawoureaux?)
johnson and Century. This last name
suppose to be intended for Guenther.
After this, meetings were held for a
while almost every day. On Sept. 3
committees were appointed to confer
with the new company for the purpose
of ascertaining their intentions. To
gather information respecting conflict
ing titles conveyed by members of the
old company and to take the names of
all bona-fide settlers on the TOWNSHIP.
1t was to be mutual cooperative
consolidation of all who claimed lots
by virtue of actual occupancy. On
Sept. s they adopted constitution,
no copy of which appears, but it was
considered SO important that it was
written in both English ard German.
They fixed upon the name "Mankato
Settlers association" and elected as
officers A. D. Seward, president ;
Samuel Kitchin, vice president; W.
6. Milligan, secretary and Leo Lamm,
treasurer. The president then ap-
pointed permanent committees,
finance committee consisting of w. r.
Mcmahon, Jacob Pfaff and F. NJ.
Cunning. Also a yigilant committee,
duties not specified, but may be i'm
agined. The 'vigilant" were D. Fl.
Igner, +. a. Willard and Messrs. Mil
nor, Hoerr and Noys.
Question of finance and of the cur
rency had begun to agitate theapeople.
The desperate condition of paper
money in those days is shown by the
following record. It was resolved
"that the treasurer be Instructed to
exchange all the bank notes in his
possession belonging to the association,
for specie and henceforth not to re-
ceive any money for the association ex-
cept gold or silver. -
To the minds of those settlers it ap-
peared that the most "proper measure
for securing their homss' lay in the
making of survey and map of the
townslte. The old company had caused
a map to be made by E. d. Bruner
The new company as the rival of the
old one was absent doing the same
thing by its surveyor, A. D. Nc
Sweeny. A map had been made in
1852 by Simeon P. Folsom, and had
even been Autographed, but as it COW
'&red an immense scope OF country,
much more than the law allowed to be
entered as TOWNSHIP, it was aban-
doned and Bruins map took its place
Everitt also, the surveyor who ran the
section lines, had been employed to
make a map, but by some strange
fatality he had got the points of COM
pass so mixed that his boundary lines
ran diagonally instead of square north
and south, east and west. Each of the
other contesting claims had now it's
map, held out for acceptance by the
government So our settlers must
also have their map, and the land de-
ceded according to it ''for the use
and benefit of the occupants thereof. :"
In all these maps the streets and blocks
occupied the same positions but re-
ceived different names and numbers.
The survey was ordered Oct. Sd and