*History
Selected excerpts transcribed from a long article in the Clayton
County Register, Wednesday, September 14, 1938, pgs
1 & 8:
Between 1,000 and 1,200 people
participated Sunday afternoon in the celebration
observing the 100th anniversary of the holding of
the first court of record in Prairie La Porte
(now Guttenberg) on September 11, 1838.
Following his introduction by B.W. Newberry,
president of the Clayton County Bar association,
Mr. Bliss (of Mason City) spoke of the
appropriateness of holding this observance in
Guttenberg and Clayton county. He pointed out a
series of events in the early history of this
county which had much to do with the history, not
only of the county, but the state as well.
[the program] was closed by the benediction as
given by the Rev. Father J.P. Taken of Elkader.
Interspersing the program was a vocal solo by
Adolph Benson and a clarinet solo by C. Paul
Reagan, both of Elkader. Miss Frances Finley
accompanied Mr. Benson, and Mrs. D.L. Wood
accompanied Mr. Reagan.
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Historical Data
- The first Court of record in what is now
Clayton County was held at Prairie La Porte, in
the Territory of Wisconsin, beginning on May 29,
1938.
- First Court of record in Iowa Territory held at
Prairie La Porte, beginning on September 11, 1838
- First Term of Court to be held at Jacksonville
(now Garnavillo) began on October 23, 1843
- Last Term of Court to be held at Jacksonville
was on January 16, 1860
- First Term of Court to be held at Elkader was
on May 21, 1860
- First Divorce of record in county was granted
September 3, 1839
- First Naturalization was for John Downie, June
29, 1842
- First Will of record, William Beyer, Mallory
township, executed September 22, 1849, admitted
to probate September 27, 1849
- First Marriage of record in Clayton County -
Thomas B. Walker and Susan E. Lyons, October 10,
1839, Eliphalet Price, J.P. officiating~*~
Additional history & related information:
Clayton
County Bar * Chapter II, 1882 County History
* Chapter
VI, 1882 County History
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*General Index, District
Court, 1868-1873
Due to the difficulty in
transcribing the handwriting in these old records, they
will be most useful if browsed
Indexed by plaintiff: A * B * C * D * E-F * G * H * I * J * K * L
Indexed by defendant: R * S * T * U - Z
*The
Courts & Legal Profession, 1907 - historical data, biographies & photos
*Jurors - Iowa District Court
and U.S. District Court
| Historical Notes: 1834-1921:
only a man could serve as a juror in Iowa if he
qualified to vote (age a least 21; disqualifying
examples: mental incompetency, non-citizen,
convicted of treason or felony)
In 1834 Iowa was part of the Territory of
Michigan, then of the Territory of Wisconsin. On
June 12, 1838, Iowa was divided from the
Territory of Wisconsin. Restricting jurors to men
eligible to vote remained in effect when Iowa
became a state in 1846. It was not until 1921
when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that women had
the right and the duty to serve as jurors because
the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution
(1920) had granted them the right to vote.
(source: iowacourts.gov)
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Misc.
years 1855 - 1879
Misc.
years 1880 - 1889
Misc.
years 1890 - 1899
Misc. years 1900 - 1919
Misc. years 1920 - 1929
Misc. years 1930 - 1939
Misc. years 1940 - 1949
Misc years 1950 - later Added
1957 Nov. petit jury (11/13/24)
*Clayton county Justice and
District court proceedings
*Iowa State Training Schools / Reform Schools -
adjudicated delinquents from Clayton co.
The Boys' Industrial School at Eldora & the
Girls' Industrial School at Mitchellville (AKA Reform
school / Juvenile Detention)
Court-ordered Inmates
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