On May 3rd, 1894, Hannah Rebecca (Rhoads) Green signed her will, only a few days before her death on May 23rd. She named her son J. Kent Green as executor and trustee of her estate. He was directed to use the income from the property for her husband, Jesse Green, during his lifetime. If not all the income was needed by Jesse, the trustee was directed to pay off the debt owing on the estate. At the death of her husband, the property was to be divided among her sons, Thomas Henry Green, Joseph Green, James A. Green, Frank Green and J. Kent Green and her grandchildren Ethel May Williams and Frank Roger Williams, children of her deceased daughter, Cora, wife of H. B. Williams.

You can see the full text of the will here.

The following residents of Dayton were declared eligible for jury duty in 1959:

Ainsley, Florence H., R1, Ottawa.
Clifford, Charles W., R1, Ottawa
Clifford, Grace C., R1, Ottawa.
DeBernardi, Dominic, R1, Ottawa.
Eltrevoog, Bjarne M., R1, Ottawa.
Ganz, Grace M., R1, Ottawa.
Leonard, Jesse W.,  R1, Ottawa.
MacGrogan, Herbert M.,  R1, Ottawa.

If you were living in Dayton in 1845, it would be against the law:

To plant or cultivate castor beans without a good and sufficient fence;

To take up a stray animal and use it prior to advertising it, unless it be to milk cows and the like, for the benefit and preservation of such animals;

To charge for passage on a toll bridge to any public messenger or juror when going to or returning from court;

To bet on a card, dice, or any other kind of game;

To charge more that six percent interest on a loan;

For any sheriff or jailer to confine persons committed for crimes in the same room;

To sell any goods or merchandise without a license;

To have more than one ear mark or brand, or one the same as the ear mark or brand of your neighbor’s;

To marry under the age of 17 (male) or 14 (female);

For a notary public to refuse to pass on his books, papers, and other documents to his successor;

To refuse to support one’s parents, if sufficient resource is available;

To remove or pull down any barrier on a public road closing it for the purpose of repairs, except for carriers of the US Mail;

To hire a carriage driver known to be a drunkard;

For a carriage driver on any public highway to allow his horses to run;

To charge to view a performance of juggling, tightrope walking, wax figures, circus riding or the like, without a permit;

To run steamboat races;

To cut any black walnut tree without the permission of the owner;

For married women to write a will.

                             

Illinois law in 1845 allowed for payment for certain tasks required by law:

Coroner’s Fees:

For holding an inquest over a dead body, when required by law, five dollars.
For summoning the jury, seventy-five cents.
For burial expenses, &c., ten dollars.
All of which fees shall be certified by the coroner, and paid out of the county treasury, when the same can not be collected out of the estate of the deceased.

Juror’s Fees:

To every juror sworn in each civil action in the circuit court, twenty-five cents.
To each juror sworn in a civil case, before a justice of the peace, twenty-five cents.
For attending an inquest over a dead body, when summoned by the coroner, to be paid out of the county treasury, twenty-five cents.

Fees for Guarding Jail:

To each man, for every twenty-four hours guarding jail when required, on producing the certificate of the jailer, sheriff, coroner or justice of the peace, of the same, to be paid out of the county treasury, one dollar.

The twenty-five cents paid to jurors in 1845 is equivalent to about $7.50 in current money. Until the Illinois law governing juror’s pay was changed in 2015, jurors were getting from $4 to $10 a day. Taking inflation into account, their pay hadn’t gone up in 170 years! However, jurors are now a little  better off – the present-day juror’s fees are $25 for the first day and $50 for each additional day.

Women and non-whites need not apply:

At any and all elections held in this State, all white male inhabitants above the age of twenty-one years, and having resided in the State six months next preceding such election, shall enjoy the rights of an elector, whether such elector has been naturalized or not;¹

There was no such thing as a secret ballot:

Electors shall vote, by first announcing their own names to the judges and clerks of the election, and then the names of the persons for whom they wish to vote; and the clerk shall enter their names and votes accordingly: Provided, That a voter may vote by presenting an open ticket to the judges, containing the names of the persons for whom he votes, and the offices; and the said judge shall read the same to the voter, and the clerks, with the assent of the voter, set the same down in their books, as in other cases.²

And precautions were taken, should things get ugly:

For the preservation of order, as well as the security of the judges and clerks of the election from insult and abuse, it shall be the duty of any constable or constables residing within the precinct to attend at all elections within such precinct . . .³

Judges could impose a fine of up to $20 on any persons who persisted in conducting themselves in a disorderly or riotous manner after having been warned. If they refused to pay, they could be jailed for up to twenty days, or until the fine was paid.

If any judge or clerk knowingly allowed an unqualified person to vote, that judge or clerk had to pay $100 to the county, for use in defending any suit that might arise. If a judge refused to receive the vote of a qualified person, he could be indicted and, if convicted, fined $500.

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1. Brayman, M., Revised Statutes of the State of Illinois (Springfield: Walters & Weber, 1845), 217, Sec. 18
2. ibid, Sec. 15
3. ibid, 218, Sec. 21